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!

It’s Thrifty Thursday at DesignerDigitals where we have a brand new item priced at just $ 99 cents and 512 items marked down 30%. These specials only last until 6am EST on Friday morning so don’t miss out.

Isn’t technology awesome? When I look through my Project Life pages I’m amazed at how many of the photos were taken with our cell phones. Although camera phones don’t always give us the greatest quality photo they are incredibly convenient and look fine at 4 x 6. It’s nice to be able to grab it and quickly get the shot that otherwise would have been missed because the DSLR was left at home. All the photos on these pages were taken and processed with my iphone.
Week 14

I also use my phone to do a screen capture of the weather by holding down the power button and home button at the same time. 
Week 12

My two favorite apps for processing photos are Instagram and Camera+. I also enjoy using the Pici Booth app to make a film strip of photos. It’s fun to layer them on journal cards and then add embellishments.

A few of my current go to products for Project Life:

Check Cards No. 01
Days of the Week Journalers No. 02
Sure Shots Brushes and Stamps
Random Fact Journal Cards
I hope this encourages you to not stress out the next time you go out without your DSLR. It can be fun taking photos with your phone. If you want some more Project Life inspiration check out the gallery here. 
-Lisa Pate