This week’s inspiration comes to us from Sill, who has been working on a gorgeous December Daily album.

There is so much inspiration to be found in her lovely page. For one thing, the design is a wonderful example of providing a logical path for the eye starting at the top left and moving along the photos then down to the number at the bottom of the page.  And I love her mix of photos in the series. Those close ups are fantastic! If you have a “storyboard” type layout, or any layout with a set of photos, it is worth trying to have a variety of shots - some close-ups and some distance shots. I love those rich, Christmassy colors too!

The torn paper is a perfect design element. As you can see from the pages below, there are lots of options for how to achieve it - from Anna’s wonderfully realistic Torn paper edges, to my worn page edges to Katie’s fabulous Roughed Up papers

Here’s how Sharon, Kathie, Kayleigh and Wendy were inspired:

Credits: layout by Sharon, Classic Cardstick Journey, Classic Embossed Cardstock:Christmas, Simple Spots:Months, Chipboard Blanks Elements, Stamped Sentiments No4, Autumn days kit, Cut-ups: Springtime, Fine Lines Borderlines Brushes, Classic embossed grds papers and coin holder (both coming soon) all by Katie Pertiet, Kraft torn edges and Stitching by Anna Aspnes, All About Me outline value pack’by Ali Edwards, staple and Anchor its! by Pattie Knox.

Credits: layout by Kathie, Stacked Classic frames, Letter Box overlays no.03, Botanic Gardens collection and Defining Spring Brushes (coming soon)by Katie Pertiet, Just Linens paperpack no.04 and Stems of Three brushes and stamps by Michelle Martin, staple Its! by Pattie Knox and Stitchingby Anna Aspnes.

Credits: layout by Kayleigh, Filed photo frames no.02, Collageables no.03, Little Bits alphabet, Date Labels no.01, Lifted Wings no.02, Cut Ups Springtime, Flossy Stitches White by Katie Pertiet (plus Date Stamp Strips no.04, Classic Embossed Grids paperpack and Chunky Chipboard Alpha white no.02 all coming soon), Stitching by Anna Aspnes, Worn page edges no.02 by Lynn Grieveson.

Credits: layout by Wendy, Journal Grunge strips by Ali Edwards (coming soon), Four pack mix and match templates also by Ali, Roughed up Autumn Mix paperpack, Roughed up cardstock: Yellow, Roughed Up notebook paperpack no.02, and Sacked Solids Neutrals paperpack by Katie Pertiet, Brad Bonanza by Pattie Knox and Stitching by Anna Aspnes.

~ Lynn

I’m hoping you have your own favourites too, there will be a post on the DD forums for you to add your choice

I’ve been thinking about what makes a good photo great for me. And I’ve decided its a photo that makes you feel as if you are there. Where you stop looking at ‘the picture’ and actually feel as if you have stepped right into the image. Thats what these images I’ve chosen do to me;

Lets start with this one by Mollie, aka readstoomuch/toomanydigishots. She has such a lovely knack of capturing the very best shots and angles. There is always a little piece of home in her pictures too

Speaking of home, there are a whole bunch of homes and buildings in my next choice. By Didgiscrapper. What a striking and glorious shot!

I adore this shot by Patricia,iuma2, Its like spot colouring, but better! And it has great reflections in, I cant get enough of reflections in pictures.

And finally, there is this cracking shot by Ordinaryeverydayme. I love it. I’m right there with the cat, watching those silly dogs

I hope you enjoyed my choices this week
Remember to take time to visit the whole group photo pool, and leave some love for the shots you like too.

Janet (JALong) created this adorable Easter Egg themed tree using Mindy’s Bunny Hop Kit and Mindy’s Bunny Hop Pinstriped Paper

I created these simple pencil toppers and Tic Tac Toe set for my girls.

If you are looking for ideas for teachers, I created these covers for Easter candy and gift bag toppers, too.

These were all created using Mindy’s Hunny Bunny Kit and Pattie’s Feltboard Friends Tweethearts and Anna’s Stitched by Anna Overlays 1

At Christmas, Mel (Britgirl) shared her lanterns she made as gifts and I added it to my list of things to make. When I saw these cute lanterns at my local craft store I bought several of them. They will make great gifts for the kids teachers, and we have a few to use around our house, too. I used Katie’s Vintage Spring Greetings

Get your printers ready and share your ideas in the Hybrid Gallery for all of us to see.

~Sarah

Worn Edges Mixed by Lynn Grieveson

Irish Solid Papers by Andrea Victoria

Fanciful Felt: Flourished Shamrocks by Pattie Knox

Speaking of being pleased, Creative Team members, Amy, Kathie and Sarah gave me wonderful examples to show off on the blog. It’s great to see the green on these pages and our favorite pooch even dressed up for the occasion! Of course, he did!

Amy’s (aka AmyL) Page

Amy’s additional products are Layered Memories No. 06 by Michelle Martin, Little Folded Ribbon Bits by Pattie Knox, Sun Kissed Kit by Jesse Edwards, and Messy Stamped Alpha No. 07 by Katie Pertiet.

Kathie’s (aka Kathie 02)Page

Kathie’s additional products are Stitched by Anna: Lime by Anna Aspnes, Spot Dots Paper Pack no. 11, Spot Dots Paper Pack No. 17 and Postage Strip Alphabet No. 01 by Katie Pertiet.

Sarah’s (aka shhbabymine) Page

Sarah’s title is from Painted Words Brushes and Stamps by Ali Edwards.

Thanks for taking a look at this challenge. Be sure to snap some pictures today! We’d like to see how you spent the day celebrating the wearing of the green!

It’s a very easy assignment but one that takes just a bit of planning. Choose any day of the week and photograph your activities as you go about your regular routine. You will want to take at least 3-4 photos that day but you may want to take a lot more. A layout might include photos such as these: your kitchen as you cook breakfast, the kids as they leave for school, your cup of coffee, the drive to work, a meeting with your co-workers, the laundry, a grocery run in the afternoon, your hubby coming home, the kids going to bed and then you logging onto DD as you settle into your evening. The point is to take photos of the everyday routine that you have and to focus on the details that you might otherwise overlook.

We were very lucky this week to have community member Denise Gormish help us out on this challenge. I have known Denise for years and her gallery is one of my absolute favorites! She is a master of clean and simple scrapping and every layout that she makes is an inspiration to me.

Denise’s layout is entitled “It’s So Typical” and her photos tell such a great story of her daily routine. And I also love that she included two photos of herself - we often forget to put ourselves in front of the camera and I love that she included these photos.

Supplies: School Album Layered Template Set (12 x 12 ), Drawn Blossoms No. 01, Negative Sleeves No. 03, Drop Shadow Styles Collection, This Is The Day Word Art, Just Linens Paper Pack No. 04, Weathered Neutrals Paperie No. 05, Absolutely Acrylic: Arrows

Creative Team member, Kari, documented her daily routine for us, also. Kari’s photos are full of color and fun and her journaling is detailed and goes through her entire (very long!) day. Fantastic glimpse into her life right now!

Supplies: The Story Word Art + Hand Drawn Brushes, The Story of Today Overlays, Grid No. 02 Layered Templates

My daily routine is not entirely typical right now since we’re in the middle of buying a new house but I’m hoping that my family will enjoy looking back on this time as a new adventure for us.

Supplies: Ali Edwards Layered Template No. 33, Caught Red Handed Kit, La Cremerie: Fruits Noirs Kit, This Is The Day Word Art

I hope you’ll join in with us on this challenge and preserve a day in your life. I can’t wait to see your layouts!

~Steph

We have all grieved the sudden loss of our team member, Bonnie.  She was a gifted keeper of stories for her family. To honor her I’ve chosen to focus PageKraft:WriteTrue on the significance of leaving a story.  We are all committed to keeping the images and events and beautiful pages we create as a testimony to our families experience.  But sometimes we need to drop deeper into our own hearts and think through what we want to tell others. 

What have you learned about life that might help your son?  What do you know about loss, for instance, that might nurture your niece in her long term care of her chronically ill husband?  Is there knowledge about your mother, a deep story of wisdom, that you know and need to “keep” for your own children or for those you know?  Is there some story of truth which you need to tell yourself?

Memories are particular and fragmented, and they are all we have to offer the loved ones with whom we have shared life.
Maureen Murdock

When you want to tell a story which will move another into deeper thought, tell the details - all the way down to the sensory specifics - and also tell the point.  You will have a unique twist on the details you remember and the way you write it out.  Those details, those unique qualities of your own mixing are part of how you share who YOU are.  But to tell a truth in story you will want to give the point and that does not have to be straightly told, either.  You can leave the reader with the truth in their lap without writing it out as a conclusion. 

Elena has krafted this powerful page of renewal and the lessons of loss after a great life sea-change.  The elegant design serves as a strong foundation for the transformational experience and her bold reorientation to life.

For a long while I have thought about teaching my grandpeople the importance of staying true to themselves.  It is a complicated endeavor and one requiring ongoing attention.  Worthy of a page of instruction in my opinion and from my own frame.

Think about what you might want to give back in the way of story.  What would you like for others to know that will help them on their own life’s journey.  This need not be about you but may be your own wisdom from someone else’s story. 

Life and loss and chipping away the edges teaches us things which should be shared. Join us in this different way of PageKrafting and enrich our lives with your knowledge.
Leave a trace.
Post your pages in the PageKraft:WriteTrue + Click Gallery. 
Or if you just want to read the stories others leave, see our pages more closely and find out about what great materials we used, feel free to click on the link and see what we have to share.

We look forward to seeing your pages with embellishment clusters in the Gallery. Find more ideas and design lessons for embellishing scrapbook pages in Embellishing with Alphas and Every Little Thing, e-books by Debbie Hodge and the DesignerDigitals team.

“You’re gonna love this story” says the title on this week’s inspiration page by Denise Gormish. Well, you’re gonna love this layout! It’s so lovely and fresh. The white background allows the light, bright photo to really shine and is always a good choice when you have a photo with strong colors in it. Yet, it is far from plain, thanks to the yummy colored brushwork and the little details Denise has added. A fab design too, with great use of journaling strips.

Look at how different the layouts inspired by this great page turned out (and don’t forget to share your take on it too in the Saturday Scraplift gallery!)

Credits: layout by Janet, Mailroom no.01 paperpack, Stacked classic frames, Messy Stamped Alpha no.04, Domesticity hand-drawn words, Staple its, File Folder Labels element, Lil Bit tags, Loopdaloop artstrokes, Stitching by Anna Aspnes (including Stitched Bitz).

Credits: Layout by Lynn, Classic Cardstock: Natural Beauty, Vintage Photo Frames: Large, Vintage Photo Frames no.04, stitching from Year in Review Template no.03 and Rounded Word strips by Katie Pertiet, Journaling spots and strips by Lynn Grieveson, Brad Bonanza by Pattie Knox.

Credits: layout by Angie, ArtPlay Magic Solids, Classic Curled Photo Frames no.02, Typesets Memory No.01, Little Plastic Flowers no.01, Scatterings no.04, Different Strokes no.04.

~ Lynn

This week, I am proud to present Starlite9711/Bailey, a member of our Creative Team, and her terrific page - she says this is her first Art Journal page and she is hooked. She made an important point in saying: “I made a vow to myself to scrap more OF me, and FOR me…..this stuff is important even if our kids faces aren’t plastered all over them.” I could not have said it better myself.
(And I promise, it was pure chance that both Bailey and myself decided to use Anna’s Potpourri paper!)

And here is my page and secret.

I used one of Anna Aspnes’ superfun Potpourri paper packs, where the white background paper is already folded and stitched down. The other elements I placed on top and carefully erased where I wanted to create the effect as if they were tucked beneath the fold. The phone I googled and shamelessly grabbed off the internet, used my Magic Wand Tool in Photoshop to erase all the white and then “glued” it onto my page. SO much easier and less messy than with a magazine, good old scissors and glue.

You may also notice that most of the title (Truth) is hidden and hard to see. Don’t be afraid to partially or mostly hide elements, titles or journaling on your pages. In the end, your Art Journal pages are not for a grand audience (well if you don’t mind the rest of us who are oooooh’ing and aaaaaaah’ing at your creative work) - these pages are for YOU. As long as you know what you wrote and your intentions, that’s good enough. I say it again, in Art Journaling it is the Process more than the final product that matters. And having fun while doing it.

These are some of the products I used: Anna Aspnes - Potpourri no2 (Coming soon!), Pattie Knox - Absolutely Acrylic: He Said/She Said, Jesse Edwards - Retrophide Kit no2, Katie Pertiet - Twisted Stitches and Watery Alphabet No. 03.

Have fun revealing your secret, opening the backdoor and unveiling part of you!!    - Aino.