paper: pretty paper. true stories. {and scrapbooking classes with cupcakes.}

Happy New Year’s Eve! As it’s the end of the year, it’s time for year-in-review blog posts and scrapbook pages! And a 99 cent template to make those pages come together in a flash if you scrap digitally. To make it extra useful, here are six examples of this template in action, both for traditional year-in-review pages and a range of other scrapping opportunities. Each page uses the template with just one other digital scrapbooking kit.

Here’s the obvious year in review page. One photo from each month of 2009 snapped into the boxes on the template and one comment in the journaling for each month of the year. The papers are from the Wrap it Up kit.

The twelve boxes can also be used for just one photo. Select all those layers and merge them into one layer, then use it as a single clipping mask for a photo, and it will appear as a mosaic. Definitely easier digitally than on paper, when mosaics take ages! This page uses Rhonna’s Travel Journal Tool Kit, which is one of my very favourite digital kits.

The twelve boxes can be exchanged with one large photo for a single photo page, and the journaling and date can be switched off to leave the scroll + photo structure to the page, with plenty of room for additional embellishment to dress up a special photo. This was our best shot with the self-timer in front of the Christmas tree this year, so please excuse that we perhaps do not all have the best in smiling faces all at once! This page uses the template with the December kit from Songbird Avenue, who raise funds for a new charity each month.

Or keep the words and swap out one scroll for embellishments from a favourite digital kit. These papers and embellishments are from Brandy’s Willow Tree Kit.

Or select all the layers you want to keep and resize them all to suit a small photo in the corner of the page. The papers and embellishments are from Kate’s Love Mix kit, which works for non-valentiney things too, if you like pink. And we all know I do!

And one last page with four photos instead of one or twelve. All of the text on this page is set to overlay mode (sometimes in multiple layers so it would be enough to be visible) which works so well with Chelsea’s kits. These papers and such are from her Gray Garden kit.

The template for all these pages is available here for just 99 cents.

I hope your New Year’s Eve is happy and safe, and 2010 brings you a very fabulous year indeed!

xlovesx

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A few snaps from Christmas and Boxing Day around here. Looking forward to scrapping these and some more in my Christmas journal for this year! Just a few more days of celebrating here as we head north in the morning to visit a few more people…and blog posts will return to normal after that!

Hoping your holiday was fabulous and happy!

xlovesx

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And that’s a snowy scrapbook of what it looks like here lately.

xlovesx

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Just a short note to say please pop over to the Frog Blog to catch this post about some of the tags on my little black and white tree this winter.

Tonight I saw some of this:

accompanied by this:

and the atmosphere was like this:

so it was all quite magical indeed.

xlovesx

PS: It’s snowing again! I am giddy!

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There are new pages in the garden, including winter, Christmas and lots of two-pagers. I loved the gingerbread men and the patterns in Brandy Buffinton’s fab Homespun Holiday kit — definitely packed with good stuff that can be used again and again for new looks.

Some of my favourite pages in the garden this time are…
…this gorgeous Christmas page by Jennifer Gallacher,
…an amazing Advent project by Stephanie Dagan,
…supercute digi page by Sheri Horton,
…very cool text treatment by Kelly Purkey,
…and this sweet and happy two pager by Caroline Ikeji.
And lots more — see them all here.

And yes…it is snowing here! Just the teeniest bit, but that totally counts! Colour me excited.

xlovesx

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It so goes that when I disappear from blogging, it’s usually because something big is happening behind the scenes. In this case, that is definitely true: not just Journal your Christmas (which I am loving this year!) but also something else entirely new…so new I cannot completely talk about it just yet. Don’t you hate that? I definitely do.

But there is one thing I can mention: this project involves submissions for publication. Is that something that sounds good to you? If you would like to receive all the details for submissions to this project, please send me an email with Page Call Info in the subject line. I’ll get back to you with a list of what I’m looking for and when I’ll need it.

Submissions can include paper pages, hybrid pages, digital pages and related projects such as mini-books and display pieces. Submissions from anywhere in the world are welcomed, though physical projects will need to be posted to the UK for photography.

Looking forward to spilling the rest of the beans very soon, so do spread the word of this call for submissions!

xlovesx

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_{Supplies include the ever-so-lovely Jolly by Golly collection from Cosmo Cricket and journaling paper by Making Memories.}

Throughout 2009, I’ve led a weekly challenge at UKScrappers called Scrap Like You Mean It, and we’re in the final few weeks of that year-long adventure. We’ve scrapped with different materials, different topics, different sizes and different designs to make sure we made time each week for something fun and crafty.

This week’s challenge is a sketch challenge based on the layout above from the December issue of Scrapbook Inspirations. The sketch is also available as a free digital download.

Click to download this sketch as a digital page template in psd format.

The challenge runs through the end of next Wednesday and I’d love to see your pages! Paper, hybrid and digital all welcome! Find this week’s challenge discussion here on UKScrappers. UKS members can upload their pages to the Scrap Like You Mean It gallery, or you can play along by leaving a link to your page in the comments here.

If you’re downloading the template, it would be lovely if you said hello! I hope you find it useful.

Happy scrapping!

xlovesx

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October in Moutain View by Avital.

Today we’re heading home to Londontown, but while I’m on the way I wanted to share some fabulous polka-dotted projects from the Baker’s Dozen! They’ve been busy making both digital and paper scrapbook pages with the Polka Dot Paper kit, which is currently on sale for the holiday weekend (as are lots of other kits, so be sure to check it out).

Plus be sure to enter the Journal your Christmas giveaway this weekend!

And now, fab pages from the Baker’s Dozen! I have even more dotty projects to share with you, but I’m saving those for later in the week.

Autumn by Sheri.

In the Autumn… by Karen M.

Time for Coffee by Anso.

I heart Photography by Elisa.

Autumn in October by Scrapdolly.

I love what these ladies are making and I hope you find it inspiring too! And now, off to home!

xlovesx

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