New FLICKR Group for Biograffiti!

Hey All,
I set up a group/pool over on Flickr for us to share our layouts created with Biograffiti products. You can check it out here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/biograffiti/ I would LOVE to see what you do with my designs so please share! Flickr is such a fun (and easy) way to share photos. You upload once and then can choose to add the photo to different groups. Just make sure you read the rules for each group. Rules for Biograffiti are to only upload layouts that use my designs or were created with my templates.

ScrapArtist has a group too and if you want to add layouts to this group your layout must use all ScrapArtist supplies.

There are also several digital groups that are not specific to a store or designer. I’m hoping DST, MSA, DSA & other online digi forums will start flickr groups.

My layout sharing process (in case anyone is interested) has changed a bit… Here is my workflow..
Save PSD to external hard drive
Flatten & save high resolution JPG to my hard drive
Resize JPG to 72ppi 600×600 then SAVE-AS to a folder on my hard drive called Save4Web

Then
High Res JPG is uploaded to my smugmug account (this serves as my online back up for photos & layouts)
Save4Web is imported into iPhoto
I tag (or keyword) the photo with designer name + kit name
I follow the Library of Memory system and have albums made in iPhoto. I then drag the layout to the appropriate album
Now I go back to my layout in iPhoto right there in iphoto (‘09) I just click the flickr button and it exports this to flickr with the tags
Now in flickr I can choose to add it to any group and when my photo is viewed the tags are legible so I don’t spend extra type re-typing the credits into the description.

So, that’s how I do it in case anyone wondered
Hope to see you contributing to the Flickr group! (You can also share your layouts on my facebook fan page, just click the facebook link here on my blog and then click photos at the fan page and upload).

Thanks for sharing!

Project 365 February Winners

Thanks again to everyone who played along. I absolutely LOVED reading your responses / advice and will be sure to check here when I need a little photo inspiration. Now for the winners….
(just so happens Comments 2 & 1 were the random numbers LOL I use random.org).

You have both won a P365 Simple Solutions February bundle! Please check your email a little later tonight.

For everyone else, the templates go on sale tomorrow but you can get them today at 20% off too by clicking the links below. I’m also going to throw in a coupon for my blog/facebook readers for 10% off. That’s 30% off if you buy today or tomorrow for Totally New Tuesday! Coupon code for 12×12 = bioP365febFuN12 and Coupon code for 8.5×11 = bioP365febFuN8.5.

Here are the previews, click on the image to be taken to my shop:

12×12 (also includes 12×24)

8.5×11 (for easy at home printing)

P365 February Bundle **Giveaway**

Project 365: Simple Solutions February bundle goes on sale Tuesday January 26th at ScrapArtist.

As you know this is my first year doing P365 and already I find myself looking for interesting things to shoot. I took a photo of this stop sign by my house. I love it and it makes me smile every time I see it.

Now for your chance to win the P365 February bundle! I’ll choose TWO random winners on Monday 1/25. To enter post a comment below giving a suggestion or an idea of what to take a picture of when you get stumped during your P365 journey. Then come back on Monday to see who won

template bundle no. 1

It’s Totally New Tuesday at ScrapArtist.

And a little inspiration from the ScrapArtist creative team.

Mega Kit FREEBIE!!!

Check it out – a HUGE collaboration kit from all the ScrapArtist designers (see images below)!  Here’s how you can get this kit for free….

Sign up for our monthly newsletter (the Muse) and don’t forget to subscribe to “what’s new” to see all the fabulous new products that come out each Tuesday!

Essential Albums “27+9=36″ Winner

And the winner is…. (chosen by random.org random number generator).  I’ll email your coupon code.

Thanks for playing along!  Come back on 1/20 when I’ll have a contest for the P365 February bundle of templates.

Q & A

Question (comment left on “About” page):

Hi!
I love your work and I need help with mine!! I am working on an auction item for my son’s third grade class. I would like to use some of your items but would love some personal suggestions from you regarding the project. How could I accomplish this?
I’m asking the kids what peace means to them – I’m having them draw a peace sign & I’ve taken pictures of them. I also like your new valentine’s template – and was wondering if you might be able to customize that for me with a peace sign.
I was also thinking of using your peace hybrid book template but then I think I also need a big visual component to the project. Here, I’m not sure if I should do something like your “big picture” item that you listed recently or if I should do a large book & use one of your templates.
We’d raise more money if we had a large item to sell along with the books.
Can you please help me?? Do you work ever work as a consultant?? I could really use your help!
Thank you.
Kirsten Griffin

My Response:

Hi Kirsten,
I am flattered that you thought of me! I have a couple ideas….

1. Have the kids do their original peace sign drawings on a large white photo mat (uncut- you can probably get one cut to the size you need from your local frame shop). Use different colored acid free markers (available at most scrapbook stores) – stick with bright colors, not yellows or pastels (they won’t show up very well). Might also be good to use a variety of tips. Some fine tip, some thicker.

2. Frame this Original art (frame shop can suggest what style looks best and provide a bright colored mat to match the artwork if desired) and make this be your big auction item. I would have all the kids sign & date the back of the piece rather than sign on the mat. If they sign on the mat it will draw attention away from the peace signs.

3. Make smaller books (smaller will be cheaper for you to print and you can probably still charge a decent amount netting a larger profit/more money for the kids). You can scan in the original artwork or take a clear, crisp, natural lighted photo of the mat before framing and use this as the artwork for the cover of the book. Wrap it around the entire spine, etc.

4. Create a nice title page that says something like “What PEACE means to me. By Mrs Smith’s third grade class 2010 at Elementary School. Then use one page for each kid and keep the format consistent and balanced. I wouldn’t make it all scrappy, I would keep it very clean and balanced. Use mostly white backgrounds but maybe throw in a 4-5 solid color backgrounds too throughout the book – not sure see how it looks. I would have the same sized photo on each page and on that same page type out the kids’ response and their name + age. You could also lay this out on paper and have them write their response in a designated area then scan and add to the pages so you have authentic handwriting. It really depends on how much time you can commit to the project. Using a plain white cardstock have all the kids sign their names (not in line, just scattered signatures). Scan this in and brighten, adjust white balance so it looks really crisp and make this the end page of the book.

5. Along with the original art print the winning bidder should get one of these books too.

6. You can call around to frame shops or art studios too there might be something better they would recommend for the students to draw on.

If you need a custom layout/template for the book please let me know and I can create something. I would not recommend doing the hybrid peace books for such a large project as they are really quite time consuming.

Good Luck and please keep me posted on what you end up doing!

Essential Albums – New Release & Giveaway

Tomorrow I’m releasing a new “Essential Albums” bundle of templates at ScrapArtist.

I’m using these templates to make a graphic style album (just photos + journaling) for my Nana. Included is a title page and end page and then a full page photo left side that you pair with the 9 right side templates. I just love how the book is turning out. I really like the balance that you get by repeating that full photo on the left page.

Ok, now for the giveaway….. Please post a comment leaving an album theme idea. I’m always on the lookout for fun new albums (or mini books) to create. The next one I’ve thought about making is a book about the places around town that we love to go (or maybe our favorite camping destinations). Maybe a photo + a bit of journaling about why we love it as well as the address. It would be a fun little book just to have and would also be great to share with out of town visitors. Looking forward to hearing your ideas too!

I’ll announce the winner tomorrow January 12th around 6 pm MST (that way if you aren’t the winner and still want to grab the album @ 20% off there will be plenty of time).

$1 Fab Friday – I Remember [You] Quick Album

Today only you can grab this beautiful 7×5 quick album for just $1.

I really love this album and it makes a beautiful memorial album. With this album it’s really easy and quick to put together a nice album in time for a memorial service if needed. You could quickly make the pages, then have the prints done at your local photo lab and buy a 7×5 album at Archivers or another scrapbook store. Or if you have time to wait I have also included a cover for photobook printing. One thought for having this album at a memorial service would be to print on matte photo paper and leave the left side “i remember” open for family and friends to write their own memory. Or maybe you could keep this to just family and ask everyone to write something they remember about your beloved then present the book to the next of kin as a keepsake album.

Now, you can also use this book as an everyday moments book too. The left pages all say “i remember” and you can add your own journaling here that’s reflective of the photos. Maybe a book for your daughter who’s getting married. Start at the beginning “i remember falling in love the moment i first saw you” then a baby picture, “i remember when I you needed me to hold your hand”, “i remember the girl you were & am so proud of the woman you’ve become”.. You know a nice sappy book like that LOL.

Big Picture Scrapbooking – Design Your Life Class

I’m so excited to be taking some classes this year at Big Picture Scrapbooking! Right now I’m taking Design Your Life by Cathy Zielske and thought I would share a couple layouts from this first week.

(psst this is my “I Remember You kit“

(and this uses products from the ScrapArtist “Artist to Artist” for Jan.)

I’m really loving this class and am really excited for the Library of Memories class coming up! busy-busy-busy!!! but so fun!!

Artist to Artist with Kelly Barton

I am really excited about the Artist to Artist collaborations going on each month at ScrapArtist! This month we’re featuring Kelly Barton. She is such a creative inspiration! You can find her at Camp Indigo and she has a super fab etsy shop too.
Here’s the ScrapArtisit Inspiration Board for our Collaboration with Kelly:
(how can you not LOVE this!!)

And here are some samples of Kelly’s work taken from her Etsy site:

Kelly & I teamed up to make you a hip & funky ABC Template album (6×4). I did the templates and she created the alpha. Everything is on it’s own layers for easy customizing.

If you want to see more please check out all the goodies the ScrapArtist designers have created for this month’s Artist to Artist.

Excellent Video Tutorials for Biograffiti Project 365 Templates!

If you’re not sure how to use templates or want a little help, please check out these wonderful video tutorials made by Kayla Lamoraux of DigiScrap101.

Her site is jam packed with information & tutorials for digital scrapbookers (both veterans & beginners).

a NEW WINNER! Project 365

Ok, so guess what? The winner of my big Project 365 contest has not claimed her prize so… I am forced to choose another random winner (well, random.org chooses) to claim the grand prize of an entire year of Project 365 templates!!! And the new winner is….

Please comment here or reply to the email I send by end of day Tuesday January 5, 2010.

and the Winner is….

First a big huge THANK YOU for everyone who made comments about Project 365. Reading your comments jazzed me up and I’m even more excited to get started on my P365 adventure!  Ok, onto the winners… (yes, I said WINNERS w/ an “S” lol).

The winner of the big grand prize which is one full year of my P365 templates (your choice of 8.5 x 11 or 12 x 12) is….

And just for fun I’m also giving away THREE of my P365: Simple Solution January 2010 bundles to the following lucky ladies…

and

and

For everyone else, the templates go on sale tomorrow but you can get them today at 20% off too by clicking the links below. I’m also going to throw in a coupon for my blog/facebook readers for 10% off. That’s 30% off if you buy today or tomorrow for Totally New Tuesday! Coupon code for 12×12 = bioP365fan and Coupon code for 8.5×11 = bioP365fan8.5.

Here are the previews, click on the image to be taken to my shop:

12×12 (also includes 12×24)

8.5×11 (for easy at home printing)

Still interested in my P365: Simple Solution? You are!!- Yay!! Ok, for anyone that’s been wondering I have been working on the templates for February and thought I’d share a little with you. Here’s a sample of just one of the February pages. Check my blog again around the middle/end of January and I’ll post the February preview and choose ONE lucky winner to receive the February bundle for free and again I’ll offer a 10% coupon for my readers!! (you can follow me on facebook or subscribe to my blog to make sure you don’t miss this post!!)
And here’s a peak at February…

I Remember [You] Winners

Thanks to everyone for playing along! The winners of the quick album are…

DECA

TAMARA

I’ll send you coupon codes a little later today.
Thanks for playing along! You can get the quick album for 30% today only by using the coupon code iremember30

I Remember [You] & a Giveaway

Hey Everybody it’s TNT over at ScrapArtist today and I am so pleased to show you my new digital kit & coordinating Quick Album “I Remember [You]“. Perfect for making memorial pages or a memorial book and also great for remembering everyday moments from days gone by.

In honor of my very first digital kit I’m having a contest and will give away two quick albums!
To enter, just post a comment below and tell me what you like about the new kit or quick album.
Winners will be announced Thursday December 17, 2009.

WIN an entire YEAR of Templates!!!

Project 365: Simple Solution

Introducing my newest line of templates specifically made for your Project 365.  This year I am committed to doing P365.  I’ve never attempted before and keeping up with my weekly layouts is going to be a breeze with  my new system.  Here’s the details on how I’m going to do P365 (skip the details if you just want to get to the contest info LOL).

Typical P365 Problems:  Not enough time to scrap the photos.  It takes too long to put together my pages.  I missed a day of photos.  I have no idea what to write.  The pages are scrapped but none of them match, my book is a mess.

Please let me explain my Simple Solution to Project 365.

My template packs will be sold in monthly bundles and will be released the last Tuesday of each month (available at ScrapArtist).  January 2010 goes on sale 12/28/09.

Each template is a layered PSD file 12″ x 24″ letting you see the whole 2 page spread at once. The templates are a white themed minimalist style. This keeps your pages coordinated & uncluttered.
Included with the templates are:
–>Photo Clipping Masks (Pre-shadowed, on separate layers. Keep the shadows, adjust them or delete them all together)
–>”Itty Bitty Dates” (month + date and days), Arranged on your template in the order of 2010 (ie: Week One = Friday January 1st thru Thursday January 7th). These are on their own separate layer making it easy to re-arrange the week in the order that fits your needs.
–>A splash of color for each page. On a separate layer is a touch of color. Use your color picker to choose a color from one of your photos. Make a separate layer then clip this new layer to my splash of color and wah-la you now have a coordinating accent color tying your whole layout together while keeping it clean, simple and coordinating with all the other pages in the book!
–>Each layout includes a small “week one”, “week two”, etc. title
–>Each week I’ll also include a journaling prompt or inspirational quote. I don’t have time to write a blurb about each and every photo I take. Frankly some photos might not be interesting enough for their own sentence anyways LOL. Having a weekly journaling prompt and some weeks with just an inspiring quote adds just enough to keep the book real and “in the now” so that it not only documents our everyday with photos but also offers insight into who we are at this moment in time. For January you can see in the template above my first journaling prompt revolves around Ali Edward’s “One Little Word” concept. (in the example I show the word family but for anyone that’s interested my own word for 2010 is PURPOSE). You can read more about One Little Word here. You can also use the journaling prompts and quotes as an inspiration starting point. If you’ve run out of ideas for what to shoot then go ahead and complete the journaling exercise early and draw inspiration from that.
–>Another benefit to these templates is that there aren’t any elements placed too close to the edge. Yes, some photos run all the way to the edge but I’ve kept the dates far enough away that you shouldn’t need to do any special resizing before you print.

I designed this line with me in mind as a total solution to my Project 365 plan. I’ve never attempted P365 but I’m certain I can be successful and stay on top of it using my Simple Solutions system. This is going to save so much time that I’ll probably have time to edit the photos before making my layouts! And, if not oh well, this is the account of my life and it’s far from perfect so the little flaws, the unfocused photos, the imperfect stuff – yep’ it will all make it into my book- or should I say my “biograffiti”.

Oh, and for those days that I forget to snap a picture? Well, I’ll just do it really quick in the morning or maybe I’ll shoot the clock before bed or maybe I won’t do anything. Maybe I’ll replace those photo spots with a simple color and the words “out to play” or w/ a patterned paper taken from that weeks favorite digi-kit (I can’t be the only person that splurges on a new digital kit every week can I ??? ha, ha you know who you are!) Perfection is not my goal. Recording this year day by day and being consistent is my goal and I can’t wait to see how fun this album turns out!

Oh, and another thing… I’m still thinking on this but I’m toying with the idea of having my pages printed 12×12 from Costco or dragging my pages onto 8.5 x 11 and resizing then printing at home. I think then I might include some of those divided page protectors from We-R-Memory Keepers (like these ones available in 12×12 or 8.5×11) to store little tidbits throughout the year. Not each week. but you know just stuff I want to save like my little 2 year old’s coloring pages, maybe help her make a handprint w/ ink or paint, I could scan and print something cool like the cover of a book I’m reading (who am I kidding, it would be a scan of a new book I’m reading to Ashleigh LOL). You get the idea though. Concert ticket stubs, hospital bracelets, report cards, school photos, recipes, handwritten journal page, a piece of cloth, you get it, anything meaningful that usually ends up in a junk drawer or a big box somewhere. Now you can keep it together with the story of your life! How cool!

Ok, enough rambling. I hope my Project 365: Simple Solution has given you some ideas and I really hope you’ll do this along with me and share your layouts (link me up! I love to see what you create!)

Now for the contest!!

Here’s the scoop… One lucky winner is going to get ALL of my P365: Simple Solution templates for 2010! That’s right – FIFTY TWO weeks of templates!! To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling me what you love about Project 365. Please leave your contact information or check back on 12/28/09 and see if you won! The winner will be notified and posted here on 12/28. You must respond to claim your prize by 12/31. (if you don’t respond then the prize will be given to another random winner from this post).

And, because I really, really believe this is going to be an awesome way to share your story I’ll give away another years worth of templates if I get 250 or more comments (no duplicates & no double posting!!). So, tell your friends, spread the word, and share the concept!

New Products & a Giveaway!

It’s Totally New Tuesday and I have some fun new things to show you!

First I am so excited to share this fun and funky quick album with you! Amanda Rockwell and I teamed up and created this 26 page quick album! It includes a title page, an end page and twelve 2-page (double) layouts with Left and Right pages. This is perfect for throwing together a complete Year in Review book fast! And, because it comes with and without the monthly word art you can use it for other occasions too! Just slide your photos behind the pages (using a software program that supports .PSD files) and wah-la you’re all set.

Next check out this super cute hybrid quickie project. It’s a coupon holder! I made this one for myself using Fiddlette’s designs and loved it so much I asked her if we could sell it as a collaboration project. It includes the pre-designed template (made to print on 8.5×11 paper) and you get two versions – 1 with the titles I used and one without any titles at all. This is so easy to print and assemble and makes such a fun Christmas gift or stocking stuffer. (detailed instructions included).

Also available is the template only for the coupon book so you can make your own any way you want using supplies in your digi stash. You can make one for grocery shopping, or a restaurant coupon book or mall shopping coupons, etc.

And now for the giveaway….
I’m going to give away 5 of my coupon book templates! Just leave a comment and you’ll be entered to win. Winners will be announced Thursday 12/10.

Christmas!! {Freebie!}

Tis the season and the countdown has begun! We are having a fabulous sale on our Artist-Artist goodies this month at ScrapArtist. All items are 20% the entire week!
Here’s a fun little freebie just for you……

black friday sale!