Can you believe that spring is almost here?  Does it feel that old man winter is packing his bags yet?  I think that he is trying to linger a little bit longer this year, so I’ve chosen three kits that are sort of non-winter & non-spring for the 3 Kits 3 Ways challenge on the DD Blog today.  I hope you can draw inspiration from the pages made by Designer Digitals Creative Team members:  Julie {Julie De Guia}, Patricia {iUma} and me/Mollie {readstoomuch}. 

 

Here are the three kits for this week:

 

A Good Life Paper Pack from Jesse Edwards

 

Buttoned Up Numbers from Katie Pertiet

 

 

and, Ally Oop Alpha No. 01 from Lynn Grieveson

 

Lets take a look at the 3 ways next . . . the fun part of the challenge!

 

The first one is from Patricia {iUma}.  Patricia found these photographs of her adorable grandson playing with his stuffed tiger and created a great double page layout from them.  I love the deep colors that she used . . . perfect for her two pages.  Be sure to go to Patricia’s Gallery to see the second page of this darling duo.

 

 

Supplies in addition to the three kits are:  A Good Life Solids Paper Pack,  Holiday Postage Frames &  DIY: Great Big Brackets.

 

The next layout is from Julie {Julie DeGuia}.  I just love the bright & clean look that Julie has created for her page . . . and I LOVE that Julie ( “the Mom” ) is in the shot with her children!  So often we mothers & grandmothers are seldom in our scrapbooks.

 

 

Julie’s additional supplies: 

Mon Petit Ballon Bleu Solids Paper Pack,  Date Labels No. 01,  Art Class Frames No. 02,  Around Words Brushes and Stamps No. 04,  Lil Bit Tags,  Classic Cardstock: Autumn Ice,  Stamped Sentiments No. 04 Brushes and Stamps,  Have a Heart Felts No. 0,  Absolutely Acrylic: Tabs and Tags,  Felt Board Friends: In The Woods - Gear,  Stitched by Anna:  White No. 05,  Stitched by Anna:  White No. 04 &  Scratched FotoBlendz Clipping Masks 12 X 12.

 

And, last is my page created with a bright photograph made of one of our five grandsons recently when he spent the afternoon with me.

 

 

Here are my extra supplies from the DD Store:

Digital Date Stamps No. 12 ,  MonoBlendz Paperie Bananas & Custard , Plastic Button Stars & Circles &  Stamped Stitched Leaves.

 

For those of you who may be new to this challenge, here it is in a nutshell. Merrilee {digigrandma} & I will post a challenge for you on the DD blog every second Wednesday morning.  We will choose three kits from the store and three members of the Creative Team will use those three kits in three different ways. For your layouts you should use the three challenge kits along with any extra products from the Designer Digitals Store that you wish.  Remember that you can recolor papers, shift elements around, stitch and clip to your hearts content too.  We love giving some inspiration for the versatility of the kits and we hope that you will join in on the fun!  Merrilee and I look forward to seeing your pages posted in the 3Kits 3Ways Gallery. 

Welcome to the 4th All About Me Challenge! I’m so enjoying seeing all of your pages in the AAM Gallery- the last challenge was just full of joy and smiles.

This week’s challenge is a bit different than last week’s and will help to connect your past with your present.

AAM Assignment #4: When I Was Your Age

The assignment for this challenge is to scrap a page with the subject, “When I Was Your Age.” It can be in the form of a letter to someone you care about, it can be funny, it can be serious, it can be advice-driven or it can simply be a page about your childhood. You can choose to tell your kids something about your life as a child or give your adult children some parenting advice. It can also be addressed to a friend or a younger sibling. Anything goes! If you need some journaling prompts, you can start with a list like this:

When I Was Your Age:

I wished…............
I wore…...............
I listened to…......
I loved…..............
I was scared of….
I was friends with…..

This week, I was honored to work with Doris (aka echogirl). Her gallery never fails to amaze and inspire me and this layout is no different. Doris chose to write a letter to her 5-year-old daughter.

Supplies: Pure Kit, Little Shores Kit, Going Away Collection, Naturally Kraft No. 8 Paper Pack, Vintage Sun Prints Paper Pack, Engraved Birds Paper Pack, Spot Dots No. 18 Paper Pack, Letter Box Brushes and Stamps No. 3, Taped Photo Masks No. 1, Stamped Stitch Flowers Brushes and Stamps, Flossy Stitches: White, Mixed Bag Brushes and Stamps No. 3, Paper Flowers No.4, Paper Textures No. 2 BrushSet, Stitched by Anna White No. 2, Worn Page Edges No. 3, Nanyang Paperpack, Stitches and Flowers, Laying It All Out No. 09: Blending In and Standing Out, How’d They Do That? No. 06: Offset Stamping

Our next layout comes from Creative Team Member, Jodi. I gasped out loud when I saw this. What a cool layout! Jodi’s layout is addressed to her daughter and since Jodi didn’t have any photos of herself at her daughter’s age, she asked her daughter to draw a picture of what she thought Mommy might look like at that age.

Supplies: Help Haiti Collaborative Collection, Curled Photo Frames 4x6

My layout is a comparison of me at 12 and my daughter at 12. The inspiration for this challenge came from my daughter, Emily. She’s constantly asking me what kind of music I liked at her age or what was school like at her age. So, I went with a simple list format to show her. And, like Jodi, I don’t have any photos of myself at this particular age so I simply took a photo of my daughter and used it by itself.

Supplies: Ali Edwards’ Believe Layered Template, Caught Red Handed Kit, Colorful Clusters Brushes and Stamps, Le Marche Kit (staples), Round A Bout Felt No. 2, PiRATS of the Caribbean Kit (brad), Whimsy Titles No. 1, 31 Days Circle Numbers

I can’t wait to see your pages this week!

~Steph

Find meaning in the small things.

I have a simple style. My pages are clean and often minimally embellished. My photos, story, and some great papers are my pagekraft. Simplicity can also help the small details of your photos shine. Get close to your photos, step closer, look at the bits that aren’t always so obvious. What small things in your life provide meaning?

When I took my photos, I had no idea the story they would tell. Through my lens, I discovered the Made In Italy stamp. It made these more special. I focused on it and photographed it since it gave the wine opener character and history and context. Over dinner I discovered they were even more special.

Using macro extension tubes and a 70-200mm lens, I was able to isolate the details of our wine opener.  It’s placement in front of a north facing window ensured nice, even light on it without harsh “hot spots.”  The wooden cutting board it was placed on gives a nice texture in the background.

You can capture the small details without a macro lens or extension tubes. Use your longest focal length (the larger mm number on your lens) to get in close to capture the details. Find something that means something to you. Tell the story it holds. Share the details in the PageKraft: WriteTrue + Click Gallery.