I love this layout by AmyL:

Aside from that gorgeous, muted color scheme, I love how grounded everything is on this page. Amy is a expert at beautifully structured pages and this is a great example. The block that contains the photos almost acts as a “layout within a layout” which is a fun design idea to play with and one that works really well for a set of smaller photos to stop them being “lost” in the layout.

It certainly inspired Sarah, Mel and Erin. Look at the fantastic pages they came up with:

Credits: layout by Sarah, Essential Bases No.03 by Lynn Grieveson, Text bytes No.1 by Pattie Knox, Abstract token words no.1 by Anna Aspnes, Alandia Paix kit, Notebook paper no.1, Rounded corners stitching holes and Transperancy frames No. 05 all by Katie Pertiet (plus colored film strips, roughed up photo mats and vintage postage frames which are all coming soon).

Credits: layout by Melanie, Tenement paperpack (coming soon) and Pelican Lake kit by Lynn Grieveson, Postage frame superpack, L’il bit tags and Sunprints postage all by Katie Pertiet (also roughed up photos mats by Katie and “This is the day” wordart by Ali Edwards, both coming soon).

Credits: Layout by Erin, Krafty Bits alpha, and Drop shadow styles by Katie Pertiet, Lolly Papers (coming soon) by Michelle Martin, Layered template No. 33 by Ali Edwards, Chipboard bare alpha no. 3, Barnyard buddies, Have a heart felt and Have a heart 2, Pin Its and Staple its by Pattie Knox.

~ Lynn

Make sure to checkout our Thrifty Thursday specials today.  There are 247 items marked down 30% for today only!

A hearty thank you to all of you who have been playing along with us for this challenge in recent weeks. Mollie and I love it when you
join us. The way this challenge works is that Mollie and I take turns choosing 3 products from the Designer Digitals Store. That is the 3 kits part of the challenge. We post 3 examples using the 3 kits here on the blog. That is the 3 ways part of the challenge. Angie Wagner (aka Wags) and Sarah Bartlett (aka Sarahbcmc) are the Creative Teams members helping me with examples this week. You are invited to create a layout for the 3kits 3ways gallery to share your ideas. You can even add extra Designer Digitals products if you wish.

I recently discovered how fun and easy it is to use the pinked and wavy scalloped shapes in Katie Pertiet’s Fabric Swatches Brushes-n-Stamps Kit to give an interesting edge to photos or papers. I decided to feature it for the challenge this week.
Fabric Swatches Brushes-n-Stamps

Next, I found a set of papers I think are so pretty in Wish Flowers Paper Pack

and, then I added the versatile brushes in this kit by Mary Ann Wise:
Flowers and Dots Brushes and Stamps

To jump start your own ideas, Angie Wagner (aka Wags), Sarah Bartlett (aka sarahbcmc) and I (digigrandma) created examples to show you:

Angie used the fabric swatch stamp as a mask to give the photo of her son, Jake, a pinked edge. How cool is that? She made great use of the striped paper for the background and her son’s monogram. She used the striped paper again as a mask with the Flowers and Dots Brush and made it part of the monogram! Angie added Doodled Day Dream Kit by Katie Pertiet; Alpha Columns No. 01;Abstract Tokens Numbers by Anna Aspnes; and Fasten Itsby Pattie Knox. Wonderful, Angie! Thanks!

Sarah used the Fabric Swatch with one of the pretty flowered papers to layer little swatches of patterned paper under the beautiful photo on her page. Note that she re-colored the orange color in the flower paper to pink. I think it was very clever of her to select parts of the Flowers and Dots brush and sprinkle them around the page as lovely white accents. Sarah also used Messy Stitches No. 02, Basic Paper Alpha White, Buttoned Up Dates and Loosely Labeled No. 02 by Katie Pertiet; and Mini Word Stickers by Mary Ann Wise. Thanks for showing us such a pretty page for a sweet little girl, Sarah!

For my own example, I used the same background paper as Sarah did to create a page for this 1973 vintage photo of our youngest son at very young age. I used Mary Ann’s brush as centers for the flowers. My additions are Stitched Chip Strips and Lil Bits Tags by Katie Pertiet. The button I added is from Quaintly Roam Kit by Anna Aspnes and the brads are from Pattie Knox’s Brad Bonanza.
Please post your creations in the 3kits 3 ways gallery. Mollie and I will be around to visit!
3 Kits 3 Ways Gallery

Welcome to a new week! We’re kicking it off with a super fun Daily Dose challenge! This week we’re pulling inspiration from the gorgeous layout by Katrina Kennedy on the March 19th page of the Daily Dose Calendar. I just love how she used Anna’s plumes as a mask for her paper! Now we want to see your interpretation on the concept.

Challenge Six:
Use An Element As A Mask

Select any type of element and use it as a mask to hold patterned paper, photos, even text! Whatever your heart desires.

Check out how three of our creative team members took on this challenge. Can you spot which products they turned into masks?

Making Music Credits: Layout by Merrilee Larson; SuperStar Dude Mega Paper Pack; Brad Bonanza No. 01; Dipped Chips Bookplates; Where? Arrows; Date Strips Stamps No. 02; Laying It All Out No. 13: Spot Coloring and Custom Overlays Tutorial

40ish Credits: Layout by Debbie Hodge; Easy Living Kit; Notebook Happy Alphabet; Die Cut paper pack; 12x12 CurvyCorners Stitched Borders No 01; Stitched By Anna Brown No 01; Stitched By Anna White No 01; Traveling Typewriter, Pea Olson and Futura Bold fonts

Parts of Me Credits: Layout by Sam Ellis; Shaped Notebook Journalers; In Review WordART No 01 (as title inspiration); Stamped Stitched Frames Brushes-n-stamps No 02; Drawn Stitches No 02 brushes and stamps; 09 Date Stamps

Hope these layouts inspire you to get creative with masks! And remember to upload your layouts to the Daily Dose of Digital Gallery so we can all be inspired by your creations!

The new Simply Inspired Contest starts now! We want to see layouts that showcase the most basic and versatile of all digital tools : the brush!  Just upload your inspiring layout(s) to the Simply Inspired Gallery and you could win a $10 gift certificate to the Designer Digitals store! Check out this thread in the Contest Forum for more details and to see the winning layout from our last contest!