It was fabulous to live in France for a month, but it’s also great to be back home - and able to spend time looking at all the gorgeous layouts in the gallery. And one of the pages that caught my eye was this lovely page by smerry:

The great photo treatment, the lovely use of color with the pops of teal, and the layers of distressed and vintage elements make for a visual delight. The strongly framed picture in the center of the layout means it is not overwhelmed by the layering, and it all comes together to make a great page. One which Debi, Mollie and Sharon found perfect to lift. Maybe you will too? Don’t forget to share with us in the Saturday Scraplift gallery if you do.

Credits: layout by Sharon, Sunshine and Summertime kit and Staple its! Clusters by Pattie Knox, jelly Alphabet No.04 by Maplebrook Studios, Worn Page Edges no.05 by Lynn Grieveson, Bead Scatterings no.01,Clipped Singles No.01, Notebook Edge Photo Masks no.09 and twisted Dots No.01 by Katie Pertiet.

Credits: layout by Mollie, Bracket outline 4x6, Hello Summer Hand drawn brushes and US States and Territories brushes and stamps by Ali Edwards, Bead Scatterings No.02 and No.03, Little Shores kit and Sealife Memories kit by Katie Pertiet, Venice Beach kit by Lynn Grieveson.

Credits: layout by Debi, Clock Parts No.08, Clipped Singles No.01, cardstock Tabs No.02, Stamped Stitches No.12, Watery Chevrons No.02, Twisted Dots No.01 by Katie Pertiet, Just Linens No.41 by Maplebrook Studios, Epoxy Extravaganza Chevrons and Little Enamel Accents: Sports by Pattie Knox.

We are celebrating {Inter}National Scrapbooking Day (iNSD) at DesignerDigitals! Tonight through midnight California time tomorrow (Saturday) every regular item is marked down 15% AND we have 33 new releases as well including one priced at just $ 99 cents. Those releases are marked down 20% and will be at that price until 6am EST on Tuesday morning.

And we will have two chats for tomorrow so make sure to join in for the fun and freebies!

This week’s Adobe Photoshop or Elements tip of the week is now available on video. This weeks tip is on Making Layer Panel Thumbnails Easier to See in Photoshop or PSE.

Teacher Appreciation Week is a week long celebration in the United States observed the first full week in May. Teacher Appreciation Day is the Tuesday that falls during Teacher Appreciation Week. That means that next Tuesday, May 8th is Teacher Appreciation Day here for 2012.

I came across this idea last year when looking for Teacher gifts - “we need s’more teachers like you”.

I didn’t have time to pull it together then but I was determined to get a head start this year! My daughter had three teenage boys teaching Sunday school so I wanted to have a little fun gift to give them. I purchased large bars of chocolate, a box of graham crackers that had a bunch of smaller packs inside and a large bag of marshmallows (I couldn’t find small bags, do they even exist?). Treat bags are pretty small so I used three of them for each gift - one had the bar of chocolate, on the crackers and one had some marshmallows. I attached the three bags together with a topper that I made using my digital scrapbooking supplies. I just loved this cute campfire from Pattie Knox! I was able to fit four treat toppers on one 8.5x11 sheet of paper.

Supplies:
Glorious Days Kit
Cardstock Alphabet: Whimsy Chocolate
Felt Board Friends: In The Woods - Gear

Digital scrapbooking is a very “green” hobby. We digital scrappers regularly recycle, reuse, and repurpose our supplies. Of course, that doesn’t mean we stop buying them by any means. That’s part of the fun of this memory-keeping art of ours. This week’s featured template is Pattie Knox’s Speed Byte No. 165, originally designed for Project 365 photos. I challenged the Creative Team members to repurpose the template and NOT use it for Project 365. Let’s see what they did with it:

Laura (laura grimes) used the template to scrap the photos from an Easter egg hunt she organized. In fact, she created a two-page spread, balancing a single large photo with the multi-photo template page. I really like how her pictures capture the fun of the day, and they pop against the black background.

Credits: Speed Byte No. 165, Jelly Beans Kit, Spring Hand Drawn Brushes, Essential Words Hand Drawn Value Pack Vol. 01, Essential Words Hand Drawn Vol. 02, Paleo Paper Pack

Linda (Lindar70) created one of my favorite types of pages – a through-the-years look at how her daughter grew and changed over a seven-year period. She’s completely adorable at every age, and Linda included in her journaling facts about her daughter’s development milestones and her interests.

Credits: Speed Byte No. 165, Hand Drawn Numbers 1-31 Brushes and Stamps, Adrier Solids Paper Pack, Clean Stitched Borders: Teal No. 01 (hue adjusted), Classic Cardstock: Coral Charm, Classic Cardstock: Sleep Softly, Scribbled and Scripted Shapes Brushes and Stamps No. 03

When I saw Pattie’s template, the idea for my page just popped into my head – don’t you love it when that happens? I decided to use the seven spaces on the layout for pictures of people I would invite to a fantasy dinner party. I reduced the size of the template slightly and matted it for extra emphasis.

Credits: Speed Byte No. 165, Santa Paws Kit, Getting There Kit, A Child Is Born Kit, Star Glows Brushes and Stamps No. 02, Cloudscape Brushes and Stamps No. 01, Basic Paper Alphabet: Orange (hue adjusted), Photo Corner Collection No. 03, In the Kitchen No. 01 Hand Drawn Brushes, How’d They Do That? No. 13: Bending Shadows

Digital scrappers are a creative bunch, and I can’t wait to see how you repurpose this versatile template. Pick up Pattie’s template for 30% off in the store today, and post your completed page in the Template Challenge Gallery by 11:00 PM EDT on Thursday, May 10, in order to be eligible for a $5 gift coupon to the store. Let’s see how “green” you are!