Hi, this is Janet (JALong) here.  This year my three married daughters, who are known as stephie_long, Missybaby, and R. Steinbeck here at Designer Digitals, have been getting me really excited to decorate for Halloween.  They have been browsing magazines and blog surfing and coming up with the greatest ideas.  We challenged each other to find a Halloween decoration and make one for each of us so that we will all have a bunch of new decorations.  I found several fun things that I used Designer Digitals products for and I will show you them to you.

First of all I used a bat brush and had it cut out with vinyl and then my eleven-year-old daughter helped me stick the bats to the shades on our chandelier.  This was a very simple project, it was fun to do, and we love the results.

Product used:
Bats and Potions Kit
The next idea is called subway art.  I used a bold font and arranged the black words in a square to fit my frame.  Then I made an orange overlay using some of Ali Edwards hand drawn words to complete the Halloween phrase.  I then had this cut out in vinyl and layered it on the glass and then I hot glued the glass into the frame.  I just removed the back of the frame and hardware so that the wall behind the subway art shows through.  You could also print this out on cardstock and place it in a frame and I think it would cute that way, too.

Products used:
Fall and Halloween Hand Drawn Brushes
Sewing and Quilting Hand Drawn Words
Essential Words Hand Drawn Value Pack Vol. 01
Essential Words Hand Drawn Vol. 02
Hand Drawn Numbers 1-31 Brushes and Stamps
I hope these ideas will get you thinking about some new Halloween decorations that you could decorate your home with.  Please remember to post your projects in our Hybrid Gallery.

Welcome to the Just Finish It Challenge!

This week I’m going to show you a super-easy way to get a layout made in 10-15 minutes. The trick to this layout is to use one large photo. I’m going to show you my process along the way so you can see how quickly the layout was made.

Step 1: Move the photo onto a blank document.

Step 2: Add a piece of patterned paper behind the photo to be the background paper. (I like to do this step second rather than first so that I can see what color paper I might like to coordinate with the photo.)

Step 3: Add a ribbon or a strip of patterned paper or maybe some stitches to the bottom of the photo.

Step 4: Add a title and journaling and your layout is done!

Total time taken to finish layout: 9 minutes.

Step 5: OPTIONAL - Go back later when you have more time and add an embellishment or two. Here, I added in an ampersand to my journaling and two small embellishments to the top right of my layout.

Total additional time: 6 minutes.
Total layout time: 15 minutes

Supplies: Tonals: Scarlet Paper Pack, Orinoco Paper Pack, Creative Life Phrases Brushes and Stamps, Awarded Alphabet No. 2, Ledger Mixed Monograms

Next time you’re in a time crunch, try using one big photo and see how quickly the page comes together.

Can’t wait to see your layouts!

~Steph

It’s Thrifty Thursday at DesignerDigitals where we have a brand new item priced at just $ 99 cents and 381 items marked down 30%. These specials only last until 6am EST on Friday morning so don’t miss out.

Good morning!  It is Mollie {readstoomuch} again with the 3 Kits 3 Ways blog challenge.  Our every other Wednesday challenge consists of 3 Creative Team members using 3 kits in 3 different ways.  Merrilee {digigrandma } &  I alternate with the challenge posts . . .  so this week I am pulling three terrific Designer Digitals products from the shelves of the DD Shop for you to play with.  I have been on vacation and I am glad to be home again and back to scrapping!  I’ve lots of good inspiration with these three kits and the three extraordinary layouts . . . and can’t wait to do a page of my own for the challenge this week . . . I’m thinking maybe an old Halloween photograph/memory might be fun!

First is Anna’s [Oh My Gosh] O.M.G. Page Set.  I love the many items that Anna has put into this kit . . . all of them lovely . . . all of them so useful for scrapping.

Next is Katie’s Notebook Edge Frames No. 02 . . . I love the little bit of whimsy that so many of the notebook items in the store lend to a layout!

For this week’s third product, I have chosen Cathy’s versatile Monthly Printables for 12 x 12.  These elements can be used by both hybrid and digital scrapbookers.

Now we will take a look at the layouts from Creative Team members Terri { tdavenport }, Patricia { iUma } & Merrilee { digigrandma }.

From Terri is TapeWars . . . a wonderful page to keep a wonderful memory.  You are going to love Terri’s page and you will LOVE the story that goes with it!  This just shows how very creative Terri is in her home . . . we already know how creative she is at Designer Digitals, don’t we?  Terri used Stamped Stitches No. 09 Brushes and Stamps &  Messy Stamped Alpha No. 08 in addition to the 3 Kits.

And next is my 3 Kits 3 Ways partner, Merrilee’s Words to Savor.  Merrilee has scrapped a treasured Bible verse along with some of the words that are so wonderful for each of us to hear . . . words that are so meaningful for us to say to others too.  Thanks Merr . . . these are things that I need to remember to say to my children, grandchildren and friends.  Merrilee used the three kits plus Iconic Papers and Stickers, Yellow Word Bits No. 02 & Staple Its!

The third layout this week is from Patricia.  It carries the interesting title of X-Man Stories . . . you must read every word to see the meaning behind the clever title!  The pictures of Patricia’s handsome grandboy are adorable (as always)!  P. took the three kits in hand and used only them . . . a purist!

For your layouts you should use at least one product from each of 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.

I hope you had a chance to catch the iTunes chat during the latest DD all day chats? It was truly great fun and the pages created were AMAZING.
Now we’re back on schedule with Challenge No. 51!

This CD cover - found on my sons’ iPod!- is our starting point…

I wonder what will inspire you most? the black and white picture with the coloured frame? The two tone font? the painted strokes? All of the above ?

Well, to give you some idea of one way you could interpret it,this is my page.  Its a simple yet striking way to showcase my youngest and her stroppy face….!!

Once you’ve made your page, please upload it to our Itunes inspiration gallery. And then take a little time to look through the other pages and leave some love for everyone else too