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November 2010

Digital Scrapper

Premier

Linda Sattgast

Christmas In November?

Yup. If you’re ahead of the ball game, you’re thinking about Christmas or Hanukkah in November, not the week, or even the day, before the holiday. Personally, I’m quite experienced at being late, so I’m thrilled to have Jen White’s video on making your own Christmas cards this early.

And speaking of Jen White—we know and love her from the Tip of the Week, but I’d like to officially welcome her as a first time Premier instructor. Yay!

More Good Videos

You’ll also enjoy two more videos with a holiday theme from Kayla Lamoreaux and me—creating tree lights and snow and stars, and Jan Walker will teach you a technique that you could use to make a gift for someone special—a watercolor painting from a photo!

So enjoy our training and get your holiday preparation done early so you can sit back and relax!

Love and scrapbooking success,

Improve Your Game

After losing yet another game of Catan, I asked my son Caleb, “What can I do to improve my game?”

For the uninitiated, Settlers of Catan is a board game where you gather resources to build up enough points to win the game—10 points, to be exact.

I’ve won once. And I think that was totally accidental. Usually I’m dead last. Thankfully, it’s a fun game, or I would have given up by now. So back to my question:

“What can I do to improve my game?”

Caleb thought for a few seconds, and then these wise words came out of his young (as in 26-year-old) mouth: “Maybe you should play more often.”

Huh. Play more often. Well, I’ll be switched. The boy’s a genius!

So you ask me, “How can I improve my scrapbooking?” I’d tell you the answer, but I think you’re smart enough to guess...

Welcome to the November 2010 Digital Scrapper Premier!

What a challenge I had choosing a favorite layout this month! The Premier gallery was absolutely overflowing with beautiful digital pages and it was difficult to choose only one to feature as my Top Pick.

Fall Golf, by legarts, is the layout that I finally chose to spotlight this month. What a fun page! There is SO much to see - great photos, wonderful embellishments, and perfectly designed pockets filled with even more goodies. With all there is to see, this page could have been busy and cluttered, but legarts has carefully chosen colors and elements that compliment her lovely photos, rather than distract the viewer. I keep wanting to pull the golf tee out of the pocket!

Thanks to legarts for this great layout, and to the other scrappers featured here who also created beautiful, inspirational pages.

Top Pick Page by legarts

“I created the leaf embellishments myself with the pen tool.

The quote came from my 10 year old great nephew who was explaining the game of golf to his younger brother.”

At Home and Thankfully Premier Kits

cate_55 connieg

ndaltonMISS PEPPER

angiedeeallen

Top Picks - October 2010

Congratulations to the other top picks, pictured here in alphabetical order. Click on each of the thumbnails to see the gallery pages for these great layouts and images.

by Susan Bartolini (Scrap Kitchen)

This kit contains:

10 patterned papers

6 solid papers

1 wreath

5 tags

4 wordy tabs

1 twine

5 scalloped frames

2 rickrack

4 ribbons

3 pine branches

3 paper trees

2 paper flowers

6 lace

5 journaling blocks

4 flowers

5 clothespins

5 buttons

1 alpha set

Christmas Past

Make your holiday memories come to life with this month’s stunning Premier kit, Christmas Past, by Susan Bartolini (ScrapKitchen). With a beautifully shabby pallete sure to warm up your Christmas season, Christmas Past is overflowing with darling tags, classic buttons, beautiful ribbons, and just the papers you’ll need to scrap your favorite Christmas photos - both past and present. Begin scrapping those memories now with our Christmas Past kit.

Hello, my name is Susan Bartolini, and I am the owner/designer behind ScrapKitchen Designs. I am the mother of two children and spend most of my time photographing and scrapping our lives. I began digital scrapbooking way back in 2004, before there were many digital designers and shops. I loved the freedom and flexibility that digital scrapbooking gave me. I could scrap multiple pages with just one kit!

I then tried to create items that I needed for my layouts but couldn’t find in a store. I really enjoyed designing paper and elements and decided to open my own store, ScrapKitchen Designs, in 2005. In 2007 I joined Sweet Shoppe Designs, one of the premier digital scrapbooking sites on the web. I would describe my style as shabby chic and tend to design pretty floral and feminine kits. However, I do enjoy designing more themed and masculine kits from time to time.

Since joining the Sweet Shoppe, my business has grown quite a bit, and I have been able to expand into the paper market. I have designed several paper lines for Bo Bunny Press and Pink Paislee.

Additionally, I have started a photography business and focus on photographing children, families, and high school seniors.

I hope you enjoy scrapping with the Christmas Past kit. I love the rustic colors and shabby feel to the kit and hope you will too!

Enjoy!

Getting to know...

Susan Bartolini (ScrapKitchen)

Click here to find more beautiful kits by ScrapKitchen,

available at Sweet Shoppe Designs.

November 2010

This month’s inspiring collection

of 18 QuickPages (8 double-page

spreads plus a front and back

cover) can be downloaded along

with the coordinating Christmas

Past Premier Kit, and will allow

you to complete a beautiful album

of your own in no time at all!

Christmas Past

Watch a video on how to use

templates.

QuickAlbum

All layouts on these pages were completed with

the

November 2010

QuickAlbum

See Premier Gallery for larger versions.

Christmas Past

Hello again! Isn’t it always nice to be able to put a voice with a photo? Well, here I am, Jen White, starting off on a new adventure at Digital Scrapper...Premier Tutorials. I feel like I get to play with the big girls and I am excited to see what’s in store.

Here’s a little about me... I’m the big 4-0 this month! But that’s okay, because I live a blessed and comfy life. My hunk Larry and I have three children: Paige is 20, Galen is 18 and Carter is 13. We all live happily in the countryside of northern Indiana with our three dogs, one cat, and a gazillion fish.

I posted my first digital scrapbook page here at Digital Scrapper/Scrapper’s Guide in early 2007. I was completely new to the concept of digital scrapbooking and was

hooked from the get go. Before long I found myself designing Premier Quick Albums and writing basic tutorials for the Digital Scrapper newsletter. It is here that I find myself inspired to create and learn, right along with the rest of you.

Getting to know...

Jen White

Dive into the wonderful world of digital art with this simple but amazing watercolor painting technique. With an ordinary photo, some watercolor brushes and our textured background paper, you’ll be “painting” with pixels in no time!

Photo: Jan WalkerTextured watercolor paper: Jan WalkerWatercolor brushes: Jan WalkerFonts: Hannibal Lecter, Palatino Linotype

by Jan Walker

Digital Watercolor PaintingVideo Lesson 1 Video Lesson 2

Christmas Lights

by Kayla LamoreauxOne of the cherished traditions of Christmas are beautiful strings of lights placed on Christmas trees, our homes and more. In this lesson you’ll learn how to create your own Christmas light string - a perfect finishing touch for your holiday layouts.

Page: Kayla LamoreauxPhotos: Kayla LamoreauxO Holy Night lyrics: Placide Cappeau de RoquemaureKit: Christmas Past kit by Susan BartoliniTemplate: Digital Scrapper Blog, October 4, 2010.Font: Century Gothic

Christmas card etiquette tells us that the Saturday after Thanksgiving is the perfect time to send out your Christmas cards, which means good little girls and boys everywhere are starting to get their cards ready. Let me help you get a good start on yours!

Designer Cards: Christmas Portrait and Christmas Landscape by Jen White Photos: Maria Chupp Kit: Christmas Past by Susan Barolini (ScrapKitchen)Fonts: Quilline Script Thin, Century Gothic

Designer Christmas CardsVideo Lesson 4Video Lesson 3

Magical Snow and Stars

by Linda Sattgast by Jen WhiteUse filters to create a page of wonder filled with stars or snow! For a Christmas night layout, add a bit more drama by placing a Star of Bethlehem in the sky with rays of light streaming from it.

Page and Photos: Linda SattgastO Holy Night lyrics by Placide Cappeau de RoquemaureKit: Christmas Past by Susan Bartolini (ScrapKitchen)Fonts: Title—Aphrodite Slim Text; lyrics—Century Gothic

Extra TidbitsGold Seal by Linda Sattgast

Step 1: Press the letter D to change the Color Chips to black and white. Get the Polygon tool. In the Options Bar, enter 50 for the number of sides. Click on the down facing triangle to open the Polygon Options dialog box. In the Radius field, enter 1 in. Check Star and enter 10 for the amount of Indent. Click and drag slightly on your page to create the seal shape.

Step 2: Choose Layer > Simplify Layer in Elements, or Layer > Rasterize > Shape in Photoshop. Ctrl click (Mac: Cmd click) on the thumbnail of the seal shape layer in the Layers panel to get a selection outline.

Step 3: Get the Gradient tool. In the Options Bar click on the first gradient icon—Linear Gradient. Open the Gradient Picker and click on the “Blue, Yellow, Blue” icon, then click directly on the Gradient Preview in the Options Bar to get a dialog box where you can adjust the colors. Click on each stop, then click on the Color box and change the Hex color as follows:

Left Stop: #eabc30 Middle Stop: #e9d28d Right Stop: #eabc30

Step 4: Click and drag a diagonal line inside the seal outline, and choose Select > Deselect.

Step 5: Add whatever type or decoration you want above the seal. If you have more than one layer, merge them together. Add a bevel to this layer. (Layer > Layer Style > Style Settings in Elements and Layer > Layer Style > Bevel in Photoshop.)

Step 6: Click on the gold seal layer and press Ctrl J (Mac: Cmd J) to duplicate it. Drag the duplicate seal layer above the type layer. Press Alt (Mac: Opt) and click between the seal and type layers to group them.

Click on the Preview in the Options Bar to get the Gradient Editor.

Click on each Color Stop to select it.

Then click on the Color box to change the color.

Note: You may need to adjust the bevel on the type layer to get the exact effect you want.

Step 7: Add a drop shadow

to the bottom seal layer. Add ribbons below the seal.

Introducing Premier Membership

Every month you’ll receive:• A deluxe scrapbooking kit including at least 12 high resolution coordinating 12 x 12 pages, and a generous array of matching elements

• A QuickAlbum, made from the same kit, with a set of “QuickPage” templates, PLUS a front and back cover to help you scrap an entire album in a flash. We’d love to see your pages using this month’s kit!

•Four in-depth training videos for both Photoshop and Elements, plus any associated files, such as layer styles, photos, brushes, etc. used in the lessons. You’ll learn: * How to fix or enhance your photos * How to use Photoshop tools for scrapbooking * Digital scrapbooking techniques used by the pros * Design tips for making exceptional scrapbook pages!

• PDF manual for each video with all the step-by-step written instructions, making it easy for you to follow along and try out the techniques yourself.

• Access to exclusive members-only bonuses, archived Tips of the Week and Bonus videos, and of course, the exclusive Premier Forum.

Premier Membership - all this for only $8.99/month

© 2010 Scrapper’s Guide. All rights reserved. If you have friends or associates who are interested in this information, please refer them to www.scrappersguide.com where they can sign up for their own Digital Scrapper Premier subscription. Do your part to prevent digital piracy so we can continue to offer you valuable products like Premier.

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