Sneak Peek 06/09..

Hi everyone! I'm just stopping in to show you a little sneak peek of Amber's newest products that will be released on Friday. Amber has teamed up with a designer that she has collabed with several times to bring you this week's super cute kit! Not only is there this fab kit, but Amber has created something fun to help with keeping journaling fun on your page. Enough talk about them already.. here they are!


I just love the colours of this kit and with summer here for most of us, this kit is going to come in handy if you have a family vacation planned. Now.. it wouldn't be sneak peek Wednesday if I didn't offer you a chance to win this right? So.. to be entered to win your choice of product from this week's new release, just leave me a comment telling me your favorite vacation place - that's it! Amber will be here on Friday to reveal the full kit and announce the winner.

Have a great rest of the week!!

My New CT! {and some other stuff too...}

 Well, here we are, another Friday has come and gone, and boy has it been a crazy week!  Lots of fun with the family and friends over Memorial Day weekend, oodles of projects at home, oh yeah - and let's not forget scrapping, designing, and a CT call mixed in there, too!  :D  

I was absolutely floored with the number and talent of scrappers that applied.. What a complete honor {and tons of work} to be able to look through so many beautiful galleries!  So thank you, thank you to all who applied!  I truly feel like this is my best team ever, and am SO excited to introduce...

 

 

These girls have already been hard at work, creating up a storm with my newest release..

 

Monogram It

Anyone who attended my speed scrap last weekend received these as a participation prize, and they really are SO versatile!  Even I was surprised at what you can do with them!  Check out this awesome project by reboscraps...  I'm totally stealing this idea to do something similar for my little one!

We've taken a moment getting organized, so only a few of my girls have been able to play with them,

but here are some super fantastic pages by my ALL NEW CREATIVE TEAM!!

 

 

 

I also have a brand new set of blogwear out this week.. 

 

Makin' Me Happy: Blogwear

 

Created using pieces of The Happiest Bundle, this blog design will have you making up reasons to blog, just so you can look at it!  Bright primary colors make it universal for personal family blogs, as well as personal scrapping blogs - please note, not for commercial use or to be used for designer blogs.

And speaking of blog designs, how would you like to WIN a personal design of your very own?

 

 

All you need to do is snag this preview and post about my service on your blog - remember to link back to the product in the store - then head over to the Scrap Matters forum and leave me a link to your post.. I'll come back on June 10th and choose a random winner to receive their very own blog design straight from me to you..

Just to give you taste, here are a few samples of blogs I've done recently..

DigiScrap Fun
Flight Suits and Fairytales
Artsy Fartsy Stuff by Jewels
Sunny Sue

Now before I head out for the weekend, I have the winner from my little {aka totally spontaneous & not well-advertised} layout redo contest - see two posts down..

Heather you've won $5 to my store!

Email me to get your coupon.. :D

And that does it for me this week, but I'll definitely be back next week with an incredible collab with one of my favorite partners ever!  Trust me - you won't want to miss this!

Have a great weekend, and happy scrapping!

Spotlighting Kim

Today is the last spotlight I'll be doing for the current Stolen Moments team.  So last but definitely not least let me help you get to know....

Kim

{aka kim21673}

1. How long have you been scrapping?  about two years...Have you ever paper scrapped?  Yes, for over 10 years.  I have tons of albums and a basement full of paper scrapping supplies.  I have just about everything a paper scrapper would ever need!  When did you make the switch to digi and why?  My husband persuaded me to try digital scrapbooking several years ago so I started downloading any freebie that I could find.  I just couldn't get the hang of it.  I used CS2 for photo editing but just couldn't find a good way to organize my goodies to try and create a layout.  I was very much a hands on girl and needed everything spread out all over the table to scrap!  I needed to see everything.  I decided to give it a whirl again in the fall of 2008 and stuck with it...now I am addicted.  Of course, I do go back down in the basement every now and then to do some paper scrapping but not very often. 
2. What do you feel is your strongest scrapping skill?  I am still learning a lot about digital scrapbooking.  There is so much to learn.  I don't have a whole lot of confidence in myself, especially when I go browsing through the galleries!  If I had to pick my strongest skill, I would say shadows.  I love playing around with shadows and have my favorites that I created!!  I have grown a lot in the past year and cringe when I go back and look at my older layouts...they were really bad!!  I have come a long way, especially in layering and clustering! Your weakest?  My weakness would be creative titles!  So many of my layouts don't even have  a title because I can't think of something!  Even if I think of a catchy title, I struggle with where to place it on a layout.  This stinks because I LOVE alphas! 
3. What advice would you give someone just starting out digi-scrapping?  I would have to tell beginners to stick to it...PRACTICE a lot!  Join forums and don't be afraid to ask questions!  A year ago, I didn't even know what CT stood for and didn't have a clue was challenges were!  LOL  I finally got brave, joined several forums and got active around digiland.
4. Describe your scrapping "system"... What program do you use?  My DH upgraded me to Photoshop CS4 and I love it!  I had CS2 for several years. Where do you start first - photos, papers, elements, journaling?  I almost always start with a kit and then search for the perfect pictures...I try and match the boys' clothes to the colors of a kit!  LOL  I can't help it!!  Once I decide on a kit, I open the kit folder and look at the frames...my layout almost always begins with a frame.  Then I do all my paper shapes and layering...adding all my clusters of elements.  I always shadow as I go too.   Oh, you all know my secret now!!   Do you always have something in mind when you start, or do you let your creativity guide you?  It depends on the kit...I usually have an idea of what I want but not always.  Sometimes I have to go search the galleries for some inspiration or grab a template for a little inspiration.  I used to hate templates but LOVE them now.  
5.  How long does it take you to complete a layout?  I am usually a pretty fast scrapper.  It all depends on how many times I need to referee a fight, assist a potty training child, get a snack, a drink or clean up a mess!  I can finish a layout in 30 minutes if there are no distractions and other times it takes me over two hours to finish something.
6. On average, how much time do you spend scrapping each week?  Yikes!  Do I have to answer this?  I would have to average my time spent on scrapping to be OVER 30 hours a week...I scrap for at least two hours every morning while the boys have free time to play.  I scrap for about two hours during nap time and on the nights I don't work I scrap after the boys go to bed....that does not include my weekend scrapping time or the times here and there throughout the day that I scrap because the boys have decided to get along and play and don't want me next to them!
7. Describe your perfect scrapping environment - coffee? soda?  music?  snacks?  I love it when it is quiet...which only happens late at night!  It is suppose to be nap time right now and the boys are up in their room jumping off their beds!!  So...I make do with the time I have.  In the mornings I have several cups of coffee while I scrap, in the afternoons I have water and at night I will have a glass of wine if we have some.  I used to watch TV while I scrap but normally I just enjoy the quiet.  Oh...and I find myself nibbling on something too...maybe that's why I have gained some weight!
8. What's your favorite thing to do BESIDES scrapping?  I LOVE to travel and spend time with my family.  We haven't done a lot of traveling since the little boys came along, but we are planning a big vacation next summer.
9. What is one thing you would love to do, just so you could scrap it?  Have a baby girl!!  LOL  I am the mommy of THREE boys and I just drool over all the girly kits!!  I would LOVE to scrap with pink!! 
10. Who inspires you in the scrapping community?  Any person or site in particular that you look to for inspiration?  I couldn't pick just one person because there are sooo many talented people in the digital community!  I am in awe at the talent out there!  I do have to say that I love browsing Linz's galleries though...she rocks at layering, multiple photos and she isn't afraid of using flowers for her boy layouts!!!
11. If you could have Amber create a kit just for you, what colors, theme, etc would it be and why?  I love anything that is boyish!  No particular theme, just colors and loads of "generic" elements that can be used for a boy!  Hmmm, or maybe "couch potato" kit....I have a few of those in my house sometimes!

 Kim rocks at shadows and clustering.  I'm in awe evertime I see a layout of hers!  See for yourself on some of these layouts of Kim

First Layout

This is one of my first layouts I ever did! When I first started digi scrapping, I didn't have a clue about shadowing and clustering.  I didn't even think about layering or clustering.  I have some pretty boring pages from a few years ago.

Favorite Layouts

Picture of my family...this was taken in October near our house.  As you can see I am out numbered by the boys in my life!!!  I guess we will have to update our family picture this fall, when the new Baby Walker arrives!!

NICU Baby is one of my all time favorite layouts (and I used Amber's gorgeous collab kit).  Scrapping this page brought back tons of emotions of having a NICU baby.  This was definitely one of the hardest layouts I have ever done because I relived of all the emotions I felt when my youngest son was born.

Most Recent Layout

Getting Bigger is Exhausting is a recent one I did using some goodies from Connie Prince and word art from me.  This page is busy but I love all the clustering and layering!  The photos are just too sweet...Jason crashed one day from pure exhaustion.  This page just puts a smile on my face!  

Amazing layouts huh?!  Be sure and see more of Kim's layouts at her GALLERY!