Category: Inspiration

Accomplish: Learning Something New

Hey there, scrappers! As we say goodbye to winter and welcome spring, it is the perfect time to learn something new!

I love learning about new techniques and tools that will help me in my scrapping journey, and this time of year seems like the perfect time to break out of my scrapping rut and try something new. So, I decided to peruse The Digital Press Blog for some new ideas.

If you haven’t checked out any of the site’s amazing Tutorial Tuesday posts in a while, you are missing out! There are some really fantastic posts with techniques from color editing, to photography, to hybrid projects, and more. I am blown away by the awesome ideas shared in these posts. So, I decided to highlight a few fabulous tutorials that you might be able to incorporate into your next project or layout.

 

Photography Tips

First, if you’re hoping to improve your photography skills now that the weather is nicer and you can get outside with your camera… TDP creative team members Farrah and Chloe have both shared great tutorials recently.

Check out…

Here’s an image I created using Farrah’s color tutorial….

I don’t usually use selective color with my photos, but I am working on a layout about my son Will’s favorite stuffed animal. I love this photo because it captures how he is always carrying “Raffi” (his giraffe) around, however, the colors and background were quite distracting. By using selective color, I was able to eliminate the conflicting colors and put the focus on his favorite toy.

 

Scrapping Techniques

If learning a new scrapping technique is on your to-do list, The Digital Press Blog has you covered with a few really great recent articles by team members Pallavi and Biancka.

Check out…

 

Hybrid How-To’s

Finally, The Digital Press blog is also overflowing with hybrid goodness. A lot of us digital scrappers get nervous when we see/hear the word “hybrid” because it looks… well, just so complicated and difficult! But some of these recent articles really simplify the process and make it seem like an attainable goal for anyone!

Check out…

  • Alina’s recent post Prettify Your Pantry, in which she uses hybrid techniques to organize and beautify her pantry while up-cycling containers that she already had laying around the house!
  • Tanya shared some adorable mini Easter baskets in her tutorial. I think these would be really cute as party favors, too, decorated with festive paper and embellishments!

 

With all these amazing ideas and tutorials on the blog, you are sure to find something new to learn!

And to give you an incentive to give one of them a try… I am hosting a challenge over in the The Digital Press Forum, in which you can use one of our fabulous Tutorial Tuesday posts to create your own project. I hope you will come check it out, play along, and earn some TDP challenge points! Happy learning and happy scrapping!


Katie

About the Author  Katie is a member of the creative team here at The Digital Press. She lives in central Florida with her husband and their four sweet-but-crazy boys. When she’s not dodging Nerf bullets or trying to dig out from under a never-ending pile of laundry, she enjoys photography, cooking, going to Disney World with her family… and, of course, digital scrapbooking.

Accomplish Something

Accomplish Something

Happy April!  No tricks on this April Fool’s Day – just fun inspiration, challenges, and tutorials coming up this month.  Our word of the month here at TDP is ACCOMPLISH.  I always think of Spring as the start of something fresh – starting with a Spring cleaning of my home and decluttering what we no longer enjoy and need.  Of course, I also take that cleaning frenzy and apply it to my EHDs by cleaning out older digi supplies, making room for the oodles of new goodies the TDP Designers are sure to create.  To me, this is a sense of ACCOMPLISHED and always makes me feel like I am ready to tackle something more exciting and new.  What about you?  What makes you feel like you have ACCOMPLISHED something?

Browsing around the web, I found some fun inspiration images to kick-start your thoughts about the word ACCOMPLISH

Accomplish Something

[ sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 ]

Each month, we like to encourage you to step out of the box with regard to our challenges. Below, you will find the list of upcoming challenges for the month of February — each of which focus on our theme of ACCOMPLISH. For more information about our challenge system, please read this information post in the TDP forum.

The handy image you see above can be saved to your computer for reference throughout the month, as it features our schedule for March. 🙂 It was made by the ever-talented Alina from TDP’s creative team, using the brand new store collab, Hello, Beautiful Daywhich was released today and can be purchased for just $4.00 for the first 4 days of the month!

We cannot wait to see how you implement our Word of the Month into your daily lives and memory-keeping!


About the Author  Rachel Alles is on the creative team here at The Digital Press. She is fortunate to share her life with her loving husband, Doug, and her two blessings: Madeline and Maxwell. The three of them are her main source of inspiration for her pocket and traditional style pages. When she’s not scrapping, she enjoys anything Disney-related, learning more about photography (and attempting to turn the dial off “Auto”), and dabbling in home decor projects.

Capture the Everyday Moments

CaptureTheEverydayMoments

 

I’m sure I’m not the only memory-keeper out there that loves to scrap the ‘big’ stuff in life. You know what I mean…  the vacations, the birthdays, the celebrations, the weddings, and the holidays. There are obviously many reasons to document those “big” moments, and they definitely have an important place in our scrapbooks.  In fact, going through photos of those “big” events at a later date conjures so many memories and wonderful feelings. Anyone else feel the same?

But… what about the “small” things?

So much of our lives are made up of the little everyday moments. Someday, we’ll love remembering those moments, too.

I’m talking about the moments, activities, and feelings that happen during the course of a “normal” day. I’ve really been contemplating this idea lately — the question of “who on earth would want to know what happens during my typical day?” But then I think to the future… I think of my kids growing up to become adults, and looking through the scrapbooks that I put my heart and soul into creating. I think of them reminiscing about vacations we enjoyed, celebrations we happily celebrated, and proms that they attended. I also think of them looking through these scrapbooks and thinking about our everyday life. I want them to see and remember all the facets of our lives… from the “boring” to the exciting. I want them to know ME. I want them to see how I spent my Saturdays (because, let’s face it, they are a little clueless when it comes to what goes into running a household!). Scrapbooking is about documenting our lives, and what a great way to share those memories, even the little things.

Here’s a layout I recently created that shows what a “normal” Saturday in our life looks like through my eyes (created with Talkative Templates by Scotty Girl Design and Daily | Scrapbook Kit by Little Lamm & Co.)…

 

If you need some ideas on the “little” things that you may want to document… just think about what makes up your life each day. You may be so annoyed about the toys on the floor… but, before you know it, there won’t be toys on the floor. Capture them while they’re a part of your story! How about that pile of dirty laundry? Think of how blessed you are that you are and your family are clothed and warm. Think of sharing a meal with your family… the smiles, the food, the conversation. Don’t you always want to remember how it feels right now? What about that wonderful glass of wine that is so deserved after a very long day… take a photo of it and document why it is so deserved! There are so many little moments during the course of our day that all add up to create our lives… and we don’t want to forget these “little” things, because they’re really not that little. We want to capture them, so they can live on and reflect our real lives…. that’s the legacy we want to leave. Our REAL lives.

Here’s another great example of capturing the “little” things… this lovely pocket-style page was created by the very talented Farrah of TDP’s creative team (using Daily | Photoshop Templates, Daily | Scrapbook Kit, and Daily | Pocket Cards and Printables by Little Lamm & Co.)…

 

I have one more fantastic “everyday life” layout to share with you… this one, created by Amie, another one of the wonderfully-inspiring TDP creative team members (she created this with the Project Twenty Sixteen | March Kit by Wishing Well Creations and Talkative Templates by Scotty Girl Design)…

 

Hopefully this post has given you some ideas about ways to use the “everyday moments” in life to help you capture your real life when you scrapbook. It is such an important part of leaving our legacy!

And now… are you ready to capture your own everyday moments? Head over to The Digital Press’s challenge forum, because I have a related challenge waiting for you!

 


Heidi NicoleAbout the Author  Heidi Nicole is happily married to an amazing man, a step mama to 2 wonderful kiddos, and mama to 3 sweet and sassy furbabies. She’s a radiation therapist by day, and creator of pretty things by night (she’s pretty confident that she’s hit super hero status, but refuses to wear a cape). She loves cats and huskies, coffee, audio books, Friends reruns, St. Louis Blues hockey, cooking, baking, and traveling. Oh, and wine… she really likes wine. She lives a normal and happy life, and enjoys all the absolutely extraordinary people she gets to share it with on a daily basis!

Tutorial Tuesday | Mini Easter Baskets

EASTER BASKETS: A HYBRID RECYCLE PROJECT

Since we just celebrated the first day of Spring, I thought it fun to start it off with bright Spring colors!   One of my favorite things to do is take recycled containers and turn them into treasures.  One of my co-workers has McDonald’s oatmeal every morning.  Every time she threw the container away, I couldn’t help to think what cute little Easter baskets they would make, so I started collecting them.  I used them to make mini Easter baskets for my kiddos.

Since it’s an Easter project, I wanted to used an Easter themed kit.  When I saw this new kit, It’s a Spring Thing by Juno Designs and Wendy P Designs, I knew it would be perfect to use.

EASTER BASKETS: A HYBRID RECYCLE PROJECT

I also used the Deco Trims: Simple by Scotty Girl Designs.    I loved using the scallop for a fun edge around the top of my baskets.

EASTER BASKETS | A HYBRID RECYCLE PROJECT

I used my Silhouette Cameo to do this project, but you can easily use your favorite photo editing program and a pair of scissors.

Let’s get started!!

SUPPLY LIST

  • Recycled oatmeal containers from McDonald’s
  • White cardstock
  • Ribbon
  • Scissors
  • Glitter – optional
  • Double sided tape
  • Glue pen
  • Pop dots
  • Green Easter Grass
  • Assortment of candy

EASTER BASKETS: A HYBRID RECYCLE PROJECT

Step 1:  If using a Silhouette, open the scallop from deco trims and do a trace.  I had to trace so that I could fill the image with the papers from the kit. To do this,  open Select Trace Area, uncheck High Pass Filter and move the Threshold bar to the right until the image is completely yellow.  Next select the Trace Outer Edge option.

EASTER BASKETS: A HYBRID RECYCLE PROJECT

After the image is traced, move  it off to the side.

EASTER BASKETS: A HYBRID TUTORIAL

Now pick the paper that you want to use from the kit and fill the image.  The Fill Pattern section is where you would enlarge the print and move it around as well.

EASTER BASKETS: A HYBRID RECYCLE PROJECT

To make the band around the container, you will draw out a rectangle at least 10.5 in long x 3 in wide.  Fill that shape with the paper of your choice.  After printing, I simply used my paper trimmer to cut the band.

EASTER BASKETS: A HYBRID RECYLE PROJECTNow choose the elements that you want to embellish  your basket with. I made a name tag to put in the middle of the basket and tied off with a cute tag.  Make sure that you have the registration marks on and double check to make sure that cut lines are on in the right places.  Send through printer and then through your Silhouette machine to cut.

EASTER BASKETS: A HYBRID RECYCLE PROJECT

Step 2:  Gather pieces and start assembling.  I first wrapped the band and the scalloped trim around the container with double sided tape.  I gave dimension to my tags by cutting additional pieces with a pair of scissors and assembled with pop dots.

EASTER BASKETS: A HYBRID TUTORIAL

EASTER BASKETS: A HYBRID RECYCLE PROJECT

Final Step:  Fill with Easter grass and fill with candy…..you can eat the ones that fall out…hehehe!  (I later added a gift card to the baskets)  After filling, I wrapped with a cellophane bag and tied it off with ribbon and added the tags.

EASTER BASKETS: A HYBRID RECYCLE PROJECT

I also made some treats for my co-workers.  I made this simple tag and tied it to the little tubes that I filled with M&M’s.

EASTER BASKETS: A HYBRID RECYCLE PROJECT

I hope that everyone has enjoyed this tutorial and has a Happy Easter!!

Hugs, Tanya

 


About the Author  TanyaTanya is a part of the hybrid team here at The Digital Press. She has been hybrid crafting for at least 10 years now, and loves creating and sharing those creations with others. Her all-time favorite tool is her Silhouette Cameo. She has been married for 26 years and has two sons: Chris, 23 and Chance, 19. She also enjoys crocheting, photography and woodworking.

 

Hybrid Saturday | Tissue Decoupaged Bunny

HYBRID: Tissue Decoupaged Bunny

I am a sucker for bright colors, and Easter is one of my favorite holidays of the year! Arielle here with today’s “fun, easy, inexpensive and perfect to work on with the kiddies” project, a Tissue Decoupaged Bunny. Wouldn’t it make an awesome centerpiece for your Easter table? This technique is perfect for other decor items, such as picture frames, miscellaneous objects, old wooden chairs… you name it!

First, pick your favorite papers! I used It’s a Spring Thing | Papers by Juno Designs and Wendy P Designs. All these beautifully bright papers were perfect for my little bunny!

HYBRID: Tissue Decoupaged Bunny

Then gather your crafty supplies —

  • Thin cardstock
  • Tissue paper
  • Adhesives (I used a Xyron machine & scotch tape)
  • Scissors or paper trimmer
  • Other embellishments such as ribbon and buttons.
  • Paper mache animal (or picture frame, etc…)
  • Mod Podge (optional)
  • Paint and brushes (optional)

HYBRID: Tissue Decoupaged Bunny

Start off by cutting some tissue paper to fit your cardstock.  (I picked up some cheap tissue at the dollar store.) I cut it approximately 7.5″x 11″, then using invisible tape, I adhered it to the cardstock at the top and bottom. Be sure to put the paper into your printer so that it will print onto the tissue.

ahg_easterhybrid2

Set up a document of “swatches” to print. My swatches measured 3.5″ x 2.5″, and I was able to fit eight, centered, onto each page.

HYBRID: Tissue Decoupaged Bunny

Remove the tissue, and trim off the excess, then run it through the Xyron. If you don’t have one, use Mod Podge, or some other glue. Be careful though and use it sparingly to prevent the ink on the tissue from bleeding.

HYBRID: Tissue Decoupaged Bunny

Tear your tissue into pieces and start applying. You’ll notice I also put a thin wash of white paint on my bunny before I started. Keep tearing and sticking the tissue to your project until it’s covered. It took a little over 2 sheets to cover everything.

HYBRID: Tissue Decoupaged Bunny

To finish, you can cover it in Mod Podge or spray a fixative on it to preserve it. I also added a pink button nose and an orange ribbon around his neck! Get creative ~ you could even add paper flowers, pearls or beads.

HYBRID: Tissue Decoupaged Bunny

Add some candy and Easter grass and you’ve got a great centerpiece!

HYBRID: Tissue Decoupaged Bunny

 

Want to try your hand at this easy decoupage? Please come join us in The Digital Press’s forum for a fun challenge related to this tutorial! You can create fantastic decor items AND earn points doing it! Points can later be cashed-in for discount coupons to the shop at the end of the month if you participate in the challenge system at The Digital Press!

 


Arielle H Gordon About the author  Arielle H Gordon is a wife and mom of two crazy kiddos, ages 6 & 7. She moved around (a lot!) before returning to settle down in her hometown of Enterprise, Alabama, to marry her sweetheart and start her family. She is an avid crafter — digital, hybrid and otherwise! She LOVES Jesus, family time, camping, gardening, reading cozy mysteries, hot tea, popcorn, and anything on the BBC! This time of year, you’ll find her hoarding Cadbury Mini Eggs and Peeps, dying Easter eggs and waiting for Lent to be over so she can resume one or two of her less obnoxious vices…

Capture History

Capture History

 

One of my favorite things about scrapbooking is that it allows me to capture the history of my life in ways that would never be documented otherwise. I have always loved knowing about the history of the people in my life, so I’m making an effort to include my story and the story of those who came before me in our family scrapbooks. We’ve likely all heard the old adage about those who don’t know history being doomed to repeat it… and, well, I think understanding where we come from and what we’ve experienced makes our lives more rich and nuanced! Take the time to include history in your scrapbooks, and you will be rewarded in many ways!

There are so many different ways to include your personal history in your scrapbook pages. The most common way is to scrapbook about the people, places and events from your family’s history. One idea is tell stories from the past that don’t have photos associated with them. You can tell about how an event in history affected your family like I did with the layout below about Pearl Harbor…

Capture History

 

Another thing to remember is that you can still scrapbook photos that you don’t have a lot of information about; you can always talk about why a photo is special to you, or about questions you have or different things you wonder about as you look at the photo. For the layout below, I don’t have a lot of information about the photo… but I decided to journal about what I notice when looking at it, and what it means to me.

Capture History

 

Not all pages about history have to be hundreds of years old, however. Telling stories about your own childhood will also allow you to capture your personal history. Your family will love learning about you as a child! Here is a layout that I created about my childhood and one of our adventures…

Capture History

 

It can be rewarding to take the time to make sure that you’re including your history in your pages. It’s a great way to get in touch with your roots and help you figure out what you can learn from the past.

Now it is your turn to capture history. Come on over to the forum and join our weekly scrapbooking challenge! I can’t wait to see the pages you create about YOUR personal history!

 


Amy

About the Author  Amy lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband of 14 years and their 11 year old boy/girl twins. Their 20 year old daughter is in the midst of her third year at West Virginia University! Amy has been scrapbooking since the early 1990s, but discovered digital scrapbooking in 2005 when her twins were born and has primarily scrapped digitally since that time. She is passionate about telling her family’s stories and documenting their life together! Amy is a huge reader (mostly literary fiction), and is a pop culture junkie! She also LOVES all things beauty & makeup!