DHD Blog Hop!!

Hello & welcome!  I'm glad you've made your way to my blog as part of the Design House Digital Blog Hop!  If you are starting here first and have no idea what I am talking about, you can head to the beginning at the DHD Blog.

In order to snag the free collaboration kit below, you must collect a part of a code from every blog you visit.  Put the items together in order and you will have a coupon code to redeem on the site for your free collaboration kit, Sweet As Spring.

Twelve designers contributed a total of 67 elements, 51 papers, and 4 alpha sets to this gorgeous
kit, and the treasure is worthy of the journey. But, in addition, everyone who downloads the kit before
Wednesday, March 27, will also be entered into a drawing for a $15 gift certificate to the Design House Digital shop!

We have a challenge for you, too: build something amazing of your own! Using just the Sweet as Spring collaboration kit (and your own photos, of course), create your own project and put it into our Sweet as Spring Challenge Gallery. If you post your project before April 17, you will be entered into another drawing for a $15 gift certificate to the Design House Digital shop, but the challenge gallery will remain open afterwards, and we would love to see your layouts any time.

And that's not all.  If you want even more goodies that coordinate with this kit, be sure to "like" DHD on Facebook (here) and to sign up for the store newsletter.

Before I get to sharing my part of the code, I want to talk to you a little bit about ombre.  The ombre trend has been budding all around us for a while.  From fashion to home decor, from food to craft, adding a bit of ombre can really add some fun to your life!  I've created a board on Pinterest to give you some examples too so take a look.

And I'm going to show you one simple way to add a little ombre to your layout using the gradient fill tool.  Here's what you need to do:
1) Choose a background paper
2) Choose something to overlay onto the paper (ie: a background overlay, a brush, or even some text)
3) Create a layer above your overlay layer
4) Set your foreground and background colors.  These will be the two colors that the gradient blends.
5) Use the gradient tool to fill the layer (ombre is generally top to bottom but you can mix it up if you like)  You can also play around with your gradient tool as much as you want.  Go from the background color to nothing, fade to a lighter shade of that color, fade to another color completely, or even add additional stops with other colors.
6)Clip the fill layer to the overlay layer and presto!

Here are a few examples using a paper from Be Bold and a damask pattern from Just Basics Distressed Overlays.

 In the first example, I fade from the background color of the paper to a lighter shade, top to bottom.

In this example, I set the foreground to a hot orange and the background to the paper color.

In this final example, I added in a bright yellow by adding another stop on the gradient.  I also used the tool at a diagonal.














These are just a few of the ways you can add a little ombre to your layouts!  What other ways will you use it?

Well, thanks for stopping by! You can visit as often as you like, and you can also like me on facebook for more inspiration and updates. And finally, here is the item you are looking for!!

You can use the list below of all of the stops in the blog hop, or you can jump directly to the next blog:http://scrapznbitz.blogspot.com/
Design House Blog- Start here!
Sarah Sullivan
Vanessa Fenton
Inkling and Wit
Diane Rooney
Mary Moseley
Kristin Damon
Imaginenation
Courtney VanSickle

Kandy Caballero
Krystal Winn
Tracey Allen
Qadirah Gomez
Kelly Birrell
Amy Lanham
Sweet as Spring – a blog hop treasure!

Freebies + New Releases + Sitewide Sale + March Preview

It's officially the last day of the shortest month, February!  It feels like it has flown by quickly in so many ways.  Life is busy keeping my boys busy but I know we are all looking forward to spring and summer so we can get outside more and have a little change.  Last year we had such an early, wonderful taste of spring and I hope that happens again this year, but I'm sure we'll just get more snow!
At Design House Digital, I've had many new releases this month and today is the last day to grab any of the $1 kits before they are full price, but we are also having a sitewide sale - 30% off everything!  Here's a snapshot of all my February releases:

Whew!  I didn't realize there were so many until I put this together!  Most of these kits can be yours for just $1.  So head on over to my store and fill up your cart while the good sales last!

It also happens to be Thursday - new release day at Design House Digital.  Today I have a new collection for you and a new template kit.
First, my new collection is Capricious.  It's a fun and colorful kit and I hope you will check it out.
 

 
And I hope you can see from the previews just how fun this kit could be for your projects or scrapbook pages.  Also out today is Just Basics Journal Card Templates.  These card templates come in both 3x4 and 4x6 sizes and in both PSE and PNG format.  There are just so many uses for them too!  You can use them as customizable journal cards or frames.  Simply clip your papers to them and they will match any kit you own.  They can be used vertically or horizontally.  You can recolor them.  You can add any embellishments to make them even more your own.  You can add shadows for a layered look.  Use them in your scrapbook pages, project life, photo journal or project 365.  This set is surely something you will reach for over and over again.  And with all my new releases, you can grab them for 30% today only!

And it wouldn't be the beginning of a new month without another Facebook cover photo template.  This one uses the Capricious papers and elements and you can grab it right here.  Add your photos to the .png file, save it as a .JPEG, and upload it as your Facebook timeline cover.

I also have one more treat for you but you have to wait until tomorrow to snag it. ;)  I have a new freebie for DHD that coordinates with the Capricious collection.  Be sure to check it out and the rest of the freebies at DHD.  You can find it March 1st here.

It feels like a great way to start a new month, don't you think?  There will also be new challenges for March.  Remember that each time you play along you have the chance to win a $5 gift certificate to DHD.  Check them out!  Have you tried the new hybrid challenge?  Well, if not, you will find some great inspiration there as well.  March also brings another DHD House Party and this one is Fabulous.  No really, it is.  I have two kits that will be out tomorrow and on sale March 1st to March 5th.  You can pick them up and mix and match them with all the other great Fabulous House Party Kits.

Are you a NCAA basketball fan??  I know I am.  I love when tournament time rolls around to cheer on my alma mater and just watch some great basketball.  Well, even if you are not a fan, DHD has a way for you to join in the celebration with fun competition, sales, and a site wide blog hop that will let you grab a collaboration for free!  Be sure to check back here for the latest announcements and check the DHD blog.  I hope that gets you excited about another month ahead!

I've saved the best for last...inspiration!  Happy Creating! Sarah

Layout by Cheryll Kammerer using Capricious Freebie Kit

Layout by Cheryll Kammerer using Capricious

Layout by Cheryll Kammerer using Fabulous

Layout by Sarah Sullivan using Capricious

Facebook Freebie + New Releases + February Happenings

February is going to be a really big month at Design House Digital and it all starts today! (well, tomorrow, I just couldn't wait to post this!)  First, stop by DHD to check out the new House Party Collection!  It's bright and fun - perfect for everyday events and a little something for Valentines Day too.  So go ahead and grab it while it's on sale!

 I have several kits in the fold, including this adorable Valentine's Day mini kit!

 What is a House Party?  Well, it's our take on a store collaboration kit.  Each month a new theme and color scheme is chosen.  Each designer that participates takes that and makes their own kits.  Since we've all used the same colors, you can mix and match to your hearts content to create your own kit!  So stop by to check out my new goodies and those of the other designers!  You'll see even more creative inspiration in the DHD Decorators Gallery.

AND there is a great Valentine's Day contest going on!  Are you interested in having some fun and a chance at winning a Wacom Tablet (have one, love it!)?  Then check it out!!  RIGHT HERE

 AND today is the first official day of our February dollar day sales.  I've got several releases coming out this month and you can pick them up for $1 all month long.  But when the clock strikes March, they will all go back to their full prices.  Sounds like an amazing deal, right?

AND keep checking back here as I will be having a sale weekend sometime in February too!  I'll have a brand new kit ready for you, a store sale, a free kit, and one more kit for a $1.   Wow!  So much going on!!

AND enjoy a little inspiration with the Happiness House Party:

Layout by CT Member Heather Steed --Also using Simply Said Small Square Frames

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST to get in the holiday spirit, of Valentine's Day that is, I have a facebook freebie for you!  Click on the image below to download this .png file Facebook Cover banner.  Add your own picture, save it as a .JPEG and upload it to your Facebook account to show off the one(s) you love.

Smart Phone Wallpaper Freebie

Tis the season!  I've got a freebie for you today - wallpaper for your smartphone!  Now you can incorporate the holiday cheer just about everywhere you look.

While some phones may differ, you can simply right click on this image and save it.  Then email it to yourself and open it up on your phone.  Next "Save Image" and then add it to your wallpaper.  On my iPhone this is done under settings - Wallpaper.  Find the image in your photos and then hit "set".  Just a simple and easy way to spread some holiday cheer!

Happy Halloween!

Are you having a frighteningly fun Halloween?  Halloween is such a fun holiday and our neighborhood celebrated yesterday evening with trick-or-treat.  So much fun to see all the little kiddos out in costume having a fun time.  But unlike the saying goes "Trick-OR-Treat", today I have both a trick and a treat for you!

Trick: Removing unwanted shadow areas
For the most part applying shadows to your elements is pretty straight forward but at times you end up getting a shadow in places you really don't want.  I mostly see this happening in my layouts when I put a frame over my pictures and part of the shadow hangs into my beautiful picture.  However, there is a super easy way to resolve this issue while keeping the rest of the shadowing on that element that you love.  Simply hover your cursor over the layer style (in this case "drop shadow") and right click.  A menu will come up and you will want to select "create layer."  Now your shadow will be on it's own layer in your layer palette!  Simply grab your eraser tool and select the right brush, generally a small, hard, round brush, and remove the parts you don't like.
Treat: Free Mini from the collection Boho Chic, available here.  You will get everything I used to make this page:

To check out the rest of this collection or my other kits, please visit my store.

Toot, toot! The train is rolling in....

I sure hope you've made a stop at ndisb.com to check out all the fun being had with our BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!!  For starters, EVERYTHING IN MY STORE IS 40% OFF!!!  I know many other designers are featuring great sales as well.  Plus there are plenty of games including a treasure hunt where you can find all the pieces of our birthday collaboration Color Me Beautiful!

On this stop of the train, I've included quick page using several papers and elements from Color Me Beautiful which is yours for free.  Grab it for your personal use by clicking on the image below.

You should have come here from scrapdragondesigns.co.uk and your next stop is snackpackgu.blogspot.com  Enjoy the rest of the blog train and the birthday celebration!

Free Mini - September NDezine now available!

If you signed up for the NDISB.com newsletter then you know that the September NDezine is now available.  I hope you are well into downloading and enjoying your free mini kits.  If not, please sign up for the newsletter or visit the publication section of the store to get your copy today!

Free Mini - Our Family, Our Home

If you have subscribed to the NDISB newsletter, then you should be receiving your September issue of ND E*zine.  It is also available in the Publications section at ndisb.com.  Yours truly is featured along with some of the other new designers and to celebrate we've all included a minikit for you to download for FREE!  Come check us out!
I've included a goodie in my download for you and hope you will take the time to enjoy the ND E*zine issue for some fabulous inspiration, as well as to download my mini and make some fun pages of your own.  So hurry on over to ndisb.com!
Here is a preview of my kit and some of my digi pages:

I'm working hard to get more into my store as soon as possible.  I'll probably be posting a preview of a kit I am really excited about, Boho Chic, which I hope to have up in stores sometime in October.  I know, the wait.  But I'm working on this kit during a design class I am currently enrolled in and I would love to get the final project critique before letting it loose!  But when I do, I think you are going to love it!

Cupcake Party Quick Page

I've really missed scrapping lately!  That may sound odd but sometimes I get so bound up in putting together kits (I think I have about four in progress right now) that I don't leave time to go back and scrap my own life or to even finish the demo pages I have for my kits.  Writing that down makes me realize how silly that sounds.  I MUST be more proactive on doing that!  Well, I had a couple hours in the car the other day and thought it would be a great time to do some scrapping so I revisited my cupcake party collection and really had some fun.  In fact, I created a quick page which you can find in my store HERE.  I had so much fun that I'd love for you to celebrate with me so from now through Tuesday, September 6th I am offering this quick page for free and the Cupcake Party entire collection is available at half off until Tuesday as well!

Here is the page I made with my quick page:

And here is one more that I put together on my car ride:

I really had a great time using this kit and I know that YOU can come up with even more fun designs.  With 4 different paper packs there is surely a "look" for any type of scrapper.

Sneak Peek and Template Freebie

As I've mentioned in prior posts, I am busy working on several new kits but know that I will not be releasing them for a few more weeks yet.  I want to ensure I get the finishing touches on them just right. :)  However, I do want to share a sneak peek with you!  Here are three layouts I've put together with my first paper set from my soon to be collection - Boho Chic. 

Fonts used: Elephants in Cherry Trees, For the One Hundredth Time, Pea Cathi 
I'm excited to continue working on this collection.  As the title of this post suggests, I also have a freebie for you today!  The first layout design was inspired by a pillow I saw while shopping and for some reason I immediately thought of scrapbooking.  lol!  You can pick up the .psd template here for your personal use.  Please come back and show off any pages you make.

New Freebie! - That's Birdie

I cannot believe I am already to Challenge #4 in the Design Factor Race.  It's been a great time pushing myself to try something new and I am really enjoying the specific requirements of each challenge.  The latest challenge was to choose a shape (but not a circle or square) and incorporate it into patterned papers, embellishments, and an alpha.

After much debate, I decided to have fun with a little birdie I drew in Illustrator - I know, how fitting for me!  I made a few patterns with my shape but also made a few more so that I could have additional patterns on the birds themselves.  I do love patterns!
This mini kit will be free for download until July 26th RIGHT HERE!