It’s time for another Simply Inspired Contest!!! For our inspiration this week, we’re using a poster I stumbled upon. At first glance it didn’t seem like anything special. When I took a closer look, however, I knew I found our next Simply Inspired challenge!

Your mission this week is to create a layout based on this poster:

Odd choice? Perhaps. But I love how the understated design lets the humor simply shine. Don’t you? Are you still asking yourself, “How in the world am I supposed to create a layout based on THIS?” Here are a few thoughts to get you started. Try pulling inspiration from the concept of humor and document a funny story or a joke your child told you. Use the parchment style background as an inspiration point. Take your key from the lovely animals and create a layout using a silhoutte. Or run with the idea of using scroll work on your next page.

Just remember. This isn’t about trying to duplicate the poster. It’s about pulling one piece of inspiration from the design (no matter how small) and using it to spark your own creativity and designing something uniquely yours! Don’t forget to upload to the Simply Inspired gallery on or before August 11, 2009 to be in the running for a $10 gift certificate to the Designer Digitals store!!!

I can’t wait to see how you are simply inspired!

It’s time for another Simply Inspired Contest!!! Come along as we delve a little deeper into the world of creative design inspiration! Then submit your own creation for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate to the Designer Digitals store!

We’re turning once again to magazine advertisements. They have to be my favorite source of inspiration. Even a seemingly simple ad, upon a little studying, holds a wealth of design ideas. This week your mission is to create a layout based on this advertisement:

Simple enough, right? Now take a closer look. Of course we immediately notice the large black and white photo and simple design, but what else? Did you notice the text appears to be printed on fabric…the selective coloring in the photo…the clean typography highlighting the mantra in a different color? All of these would make great starting points for your next layout. Or feel free to be inspired by the color scheme of black and white with small pops of vibrant color or use this as an opportunity to document something that challenges you.   

We want to see the creative ways this ad inspires your next layout! Don’t forget to upload it to the Simply Inspired gallery on or before July 27, 2009 to be in the running for a $10 gift certificate to the Designer Digitals store!!! Yay!

And be on the lookout in the Forum for our latest contest winner! It could be you!

It’s time for another Simply Inspired Contest and your chance to win some free goodies from the Designer Digitals store!!! Hope you all had a great weekend and are ready for some fun new design inspiration! This week we want to see how this book cover can jumpstart your creativity: 

Feel free to pull inspiration from the clean color-blocked design, the cool color combination, or the idea of using an acronym on your layout (B = Beautiful, A = Accepted, etc.). Or try creating a layout that celebrates being a girl or honoring a significant girl or woman in your life! It all qualifies! This is just about taking one piece of design and seeing all the different and unique ways each of us is inspired.

When your layout is complete, upload it to the Simply Inspired gallery on or before July 13, 2009 to be in the running for a $10 gift certificate to the Designer Digitals store!!!

I can’t wait to see how you are simply inspired!

Time for another Simply Inspired contest!!! Your mission is simple! Take a look at the current inspiration piece and use it to jumpstart your next layout. Then simply upload it to the Simply Inspired gallery on or before June 29, 2009 to be in the running to win a $10 gift certificate to the Designer Digitals store!!! Simple. Fun. Inspiring! Let’s get started!

This week your challenge is to create a layout using this ad as your inspiration:

I love the idea of creating images with text! Don’t you? We want to see you borrow this idea and create a layout that uses text in a new and different way. There are so many possibilities with this one! Try using text paths to “draw” a simple image with text, create a circle of text to highlight a photo, or type sentences close to your photo subject so they appear to be spoken into the air. Use your imagination and think outside the box for this one!

For help with creating text paths in Photoshop, be sure to check out Cassie Jones’ tutorial, Laying It All Out No. 06: Text Paths and Simple Shapes. Don’t have Photoshop or the ability to create text paths? No worries! Check out the multitude of ready-made shaped text paths in the store by Pattie Knox. One more tip? Several layered templates have text paths included so be sure to take a second look at those as well. Wow! What sweethearts our DD designers are! They make it so easy for us!

Don’t forget to upload to the Simply Inspired gallery on or before June 29, 2009 so we can all be inspired by your creations!!!

I can’t wait to see how you are simply inspired!

Ready for another Simply Inspired Contest?

What fun entries we’ve been receiving for these contests! I’ve noticed people pushing themselves to think outside the box and searching deep for fresh new concepts to put on their pages. Way to go! That’s what this contest is all about! This week we will be using a book cover for our inspiration. Book covers are one of my favorite sources of inspiration. The eye-catching designs and bold typography are so fun to incorporate into our scrapbooks. So…

Your challenge this week is to create a layout based on this book cover:

There are so many possibilities with this. Try creating your page on a fun angle, use a black background, incorporate horizontal and vertical text on your layout, or create a cool photo collage with perfectly equal margins. We want to see the creative ways this book cover inspires your next layout! Don’t forget to upload to the Simply Inspired gallery on or before June 15, 2009 to be in the running for a $10 gift certificate to the Designer Digitals store!!!

I can’t wait to see how you are simply inspired!