Did you see this wonderful page by Shellb?

I love the way the design of the page completely reinforces the message of the layout. It is like a visual story, with every element helping to tell the tale. And look at how that red stitching pops against the brown paper - and how it literally divides the page. 

As an inspiration layout it could take you in lots of different direction, as the layouts by Patricia, Mel and Terri prove:

Credits: layout by Patricia, Blocked out paper pack, Photowrap, twill words, Blueline Botanicals kit and spring trees and pinned frames 2 (both coming soon) by Katie Pertiet, Baby’s breath kit, Hunny Bun kit and Pretty Please kit by Mindy Terasawa, Have a heart ribbon and bows by Pattie Knox, Sanctuary brushes and rub-ons by Rob and Bob.

Credits: layout by Mel, Sanctuary brushes and rub-ons, Torn and tattered single template, Krafty frames, Little vintage frames, Today kit, Text bytes 04, notebook paper pieces, Love tickets, Kraft torn edges, assorted tape, chipboard blanks, Out of a box overlay, Graphic Garden 01 kit, file cards, Fancifel felt pagemats and frames, seventies ephemera, magic sparkles 03.

Credits: layout by Terri, Clean and Serene paperpack, Katie’s jewels felt alpha and Backyard Bugaboo Felt friends (coming soon).

I can’t wait to see what you come up with based on this great page. And don’t forget to post in the Saturday Scraplift gallery. There were some especially stunning layouts there this week:

~Lynn

Make sure to checkout our Thrifty Thursday specials today.  There are 130 items marked down 30% for today only!

Wouldn’t it be great to have a professional photographer with you when you shoot photographs? An expert to tell you exactly what aperture, shutter speed or ISO you should be using for any given situation. Trust me, I DO want to learn how to do this myself and even though it’s a very fun and rewarding process, I often get frustrated when I miss a shot because I don’t know what I’m doing.

Over at the IdeaBooks4u blog, we’re getting some help on which camera settings to use. No, we’re not shooting in automatic mode, we’re going straight to the pros for tips on how to shoot a great photograph (specifically a portrait). Our source book for all of these professional tips is “The Digital Photography Book” by Scott Kelby. You Photoshop users are probably well familiar with Kelby. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Photoshop User magazine and also co-host of the Adobe Photoshop TV video podcasts. For this challenge you’ll get killer tips on what aperture to use, where to focus and how to frame the shot.

Here’s the portrait I got with these techniques:

I even learned a thing or two in the process!  Click here to check out the blog at IdeaBooks4u.  If it inspires you to take a portrait, we would LOVE to see it!  Post your work in the IdeaBooks4u Inspiration gallery.

Happy shooting! 
Jill Hogan

We’re back!

My laptop had to go to the laptop hospital for a new lcd screen, new ac adapter, new top cover and a new system card. Whew! But we’re back in business and all is right with the 3 Kits 3 Ways world.

This challenge is to use 3 kits (products) from the store in 3 different ways by the creative team. The rules are simple because you can use anything else you want in addition to the 3 kits and you can recolor, etc. as you see fit. Easy!

Here are the kits for this week which are chosen very scientifically….this first kit shares its name with my blog! LOL

Along for the Ride by Lynn Grieveson

Sanctuary Brushes and Rubons by Rob and Bob

Journaling Strip Masks by Katie Pertiet

And here are the 3 pages this week:

Page by Mollie Taylor

This page just takes my breath away. I love how well this kit worked with her vintage photos and how the background print shows through the sanctuary brushes. Just awesome. Mollie used a few products in addition to the 3 kits. They were: Journaling Spots and Strips, Paper Bag Alpha both by Lynn Grieveson and Primarily Buttons by Katie Pertiet.

Page by Jodi Perry

These pictures are soo precious! Jodi stayed true to the 3 kits and did a great job showcasing the love between Cade and Umpa.

Page by Wendy McKeehan
I decided to use this kit with some Easter Sunday photos and once again, I think it works pretty well. This is just such a versatile kit! I added one additional product to the page and it is the Vintage Evergreen Overlay by Anna Aspnes.

Thanks so much for stopping by and please feel free to play along and post your pages in the 3Kits3Ways Gallery.