Digi Picks 5/16/08
I am so ready to go home! It is a rainy Friday afternoon and I think I'll be here late tonight waiting for my tour that is scheduled to arrive at 5pm ;-( Forgot to bring my laptop to work so I can't even sit here and scrap after 5. Oh well....I'll just surf!!!!
Layout of the Day
Eva's 26 Secrets jumped out at me as soon as I saw it in the gallery! I just had to click to see what was going on here and I'm so glad I did. Gorgeous composition and as many of the commenters have pointed out, the blocking is wonderful. It's not exactly perfect, which is a great touch. I really love the pictures in black and white. I'm totally going to attempt a scraplift of this. I've done about me layouts before, but this one has a really nice feel that I think I can have fun with!!! Awesome job Eva!!!!!
On Sale Today at Scrapbook.com
I have this paper pack from DCWV and it is awesome!!!! It's nearly impossible to find in a store anymore, especially in the 8x8 size, which I love. So go grab it now!!!!!
Digi Picks 5/15/08
Well I survived Taste of the Nation NYC last night! It was at the Roseland Ballroom and it was PACKED! It was so hot in there at one point I had to get out of the crowd. Overall the food was excellent but the liquor left a little something to be desired. I did discover one new wine from Sicily called Rocca something-or-other. I'l have to look it up on Wine Library. My faves of the night were the two cheese tables. Artisanal Cheese Center is on W. 37th but they also have a website!!! I'm so excited!!! Awesome aged sheeps milk cheeses and a very mild soft goat that I liked even though I like my goat a little funkier ;-) The other cheese table wins hands-down for practicality and presentation. Vermont Butter and Cheese had a little cardboard plate that held a slice of crusty bread with a bit of fresh butter, a communion cup with a creamy soft mild goat w/honey, an aged goat with raspberry chutney on a water cracker and a solitary mound of their aged goat. A little cardboard plate of Melissa Heaven!!!! I had 5 of them....not even remotely kidding. With that wine from Sicily....YEAH BABY!!!
Element of the Day
Okay, I know you didn't come here to read about my love of stinky cheese. So, here's a link to a very cool alpha in both png and abr format from Lisa Sisneros. Her Cracked Rub On Alpha is a great realistic looking alpha that will mimic the effect you get when you use rub-ons that either don't quite go on all the way or have been in your scrap bag for way too long! I'm one of those strange people who loves it when her rub ons look a little rough, LOL.
Need some NSBR Inspiration?
Don't forget about my new blog. I hope it will bring you hope, inspiration and at the very least laughs. For now I don't have a fancy name so you can find it at Melissa Thinks Out Loud.
Digi Picks 5/13/07
Wow. The middle of may is already here! How did that happen. I've been in my new office for 6 weeksish (that's so not a word) and I love it. The hardest thing is finding ways to fill my day. I should be writing or something because there's no way I can do 8 hours of solid work even if I network my brains out. Once I start going out on the road, I'll get busier I'm sure. It's just a very strange feeling after running a marathon everyday for 19 months! The good thing is that I get to spend time checking out the digi galleries. You've all been very busy!!!
Layout of the Day
I love it when Gracie butchers a saying. We, of course, adopt her phrasing and a new family joke comes to life. Cindys732003 has captured one of those great moments in her Perfect Makes Practice . Great title work! Also love the action shots coupled with the great shot of her looking at the camera. We get a taste of the movement as well as a good look at the girl who finally accomplished a very hard motor skill. My daughter still pumps her legs in the wrong direction, LOL. I love how she used the sun element as the journaling spot. Great job!!!!
Digi Picks 5/9/08
I'm so Happy ;-)
I'm so happy today for so many reasons. Not only is it Friday, but there is a water main break at the Metropark Center, which is where I USED to work. Today it is not my problem and I am beyond grateful!!!!! Another reason to be happy is that tomorrow Memories Expo comes to New Jersey. Krista and I will be there when the doors open and we will be hooking up with Robin. The Vendor list appears to primarily be scrap stores from nearby states and direct marketing companies like Creative Memories and my favorite Top Line Creations repped by my buddy Judy. I'm really hoping someone is going to demo the Slice and maybe have a show special on it for when its ready to ship in June. After the show we are heading back to my house for a little cropping time and my scrapping buddy Patti is going to join us. Patti has recently gone digi so we'll get to spend some time giving her some tips and tricks. So I am one very, very happy girl today!!!!
Paper Pack of the Day
Anyone who has seen my paper scrapping knows I have developed a love of sanding and inking. I sand everything including my pictures, embellishments, stickers..whatever I can sand, I sand it ;-) I try sometimes when doing my digi work to create the sanded effect, but it's not as much fun as it is in real life. So I was super excited when I saw the debut of Jacque Larsen's Sanded Papers . The sanding effects on the papers looks very realistic and I like that she didn't just do the same exact effect on each paper so if you use them together it will look very organic.
Layout of the Day
I love it when I get really cool ideas from other scrappers. Mamanan's Beginning of a Fairy Tale is both a gorgeous layout and a great idea. I love what she said in her description about starting a fairy tale book for her daughter. I really think I would like to try that. Then I could upload it to Shutterfly or I could print it out and make a cool chipboard book with all kinds of charms and ribbons! Beautiful work on this layout. Just stunning!
Digi Picks 5/6/08
Kit of the Day
About 6 months ago I added my all time favorite quote to my email signature as an assertion of my beliefs and a reminder to myself. The quote is now the title of a gorgeous new kit from Weeds and Wildflowers. Follow Your Bliss is the most cheerful kit I have seen in a long time. I absolutely love these colors!!! The word art is perfect for some inspirational layouts and projects like wall hangings and cards. I love, love, love the black and white polka-dot alpha and all the polka-dot elements in the kit ( you know how I love the dots!!) The highly textured solids are a great complement to the bold and whimsical elements. Love it!!!
Layout of the Day
I take a ton of pictures. Especially on holidays, vacation and birthdays. I want to document many of them but I also don't want to end up with 20 layouts to commemorate some events. The solution is obvious, put many pix on one page. The question is how to do that without looking like your EHD exploded onto your page. ReSales' Zoo is a great example of multi-photo scrapping beauty. The pictures are balanced out by the white space and journaling on the right side and she gets to showcase some of her favorite shots. I love that she even managed to get a ton of journaling on this page. The flow is perfect and that's what makes it all work. I tend to get all linear when working with multiple photos, but this is a wonderful reminder not to go all blocky on my pages!!!! Gorgeous!!!!!!
OMG Coolest Paper for Digi Printing EVER!!!!!
I am so freaking out right now. I found THE COOLEST PAPER for digi printing ever!!!!! Paper.com has a whole line of papers by Moab designed to be printed on inkjet printers but they have amazing fine art finishes. I think I'm going with this first one, but the whole Moab line looks very, very cool!!!! I tried linking the pictures but it was opening in teeny tiny windows. So just cick on the paper.com link above or right here ;-)
Anazazi
True weave canvas with a highly engineered inkjet
coating to produce exceptional prints flexible enough to be stretched.
Suitable for both art reproduction and original photos..
Somerset
A truly authentic artist paper capable of producing outstanding results with
a good inkjet printer. The paper is made using quality materials to give an
archival sheet and buffered with calcium carbonate to help protect prints
against attack by atmospheric pollutants. Somerset Enhanced is ideal for fine
art reproduction and fine art photography producing prints which look and feel
like an original piece of art.
Colorado Fiber Satine 245
100% alpha-cellulose paper reminiscent of a true air-dried F-type 'pearl'
paper. The smooth surface of Colorado is enhanced with a slight fiber texture
and feel.
The Colorado papers feature a whopping 2.4 dmax* and a glacier-like white
surface yielding the ultimate in dynamic range and gamut. Colorado truly takes
digital printing capabilities to a new level. If you yearn for the look and feel
of a traditional darkroom paper and don't want to sacrifice brilliant colors and
velvet blacks, then Colorado is the answer.
Digi Picks 5/2/08
Toots
My first toot is for myself and it is totally NSBR. I was one of only 24 managers in the Northeast Region to meet my deal target for April. I'm pretty stoked about it because this is my first month in the position and didn't actually start until April 7th!! I'm very, very happy and feeling good about my decision to change roles in the company.
Another toot is for my buddy Robin who co-wrote an article on Surviving NSD in the May issues of the DigiShopTalk Insider. They've got lots of great tips which will come in hand when the madness descends at midnight!!!
Kit/Sale of the Day
I'm trying to be organized about what I buy, but as soon as I got the Shabby Miss Jenn Newsletter a few minutes ago I went nuts!!! All I can say is.....$1.00
I'm sure you're already gone so there's no point in my writing anything else ;-) Have a great weekend and enjoy your shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Digi Picks 4/29/08
Altered Project of the Day
I absolutely love hanging out over at Dani Mogstad's CT (Dani's Girls) blog called Girl Talk . They have some of the cutest layouts, but my favorite part of the week is when they do altered projects! This week's is one of the best so far. Shrink plastic for making Mother's Day gifts. I love, love, love this idea and I have always wanted to play with Shrinky Dinks but my mommy wouldn't let me, LOL. Go check this out. Very, very cool idea.
Layout of the Day
I remember the very first time I let little baby Gracie sit on the grass with just her diaper on. She sat so incredibly still with her eyes wide. She clearly wasn't sure if she liked it or not. Then she grabbed a chubby little handful of the prickly green stuff and aimed right for her mouth. I paused for a brief second while I decided whether to photograph this moment or stop her from eating potentially harmful stuff and decided on the latter. Good Mommy Award for me!! Anyway, this sweet memory came flooding back to me when I laid eyes on Barefoot in the Grass by Tater Tot. First of all, don't you just want to bite his chubby little legs????? The photo is really what grabs me on this one. The close cropping really brings us to the focus of this memory. We get to see his adorable visage in the other smaller shots (nice touch) but the focal photo gives us the story. Love how it looks like he's going to start playing soccer at any second. Also love the angle and depth of focus on this shot. Really, really great shot. Did you catch the way she ghosted the image over the textured background? Very cool indeed!!!!
Need an Office? (Shameless plug alert)
I just happen to need to sell three more offices by tomorrow 9PM to meet my target for the month in my new job. If you happen to be in the market for office space whether for temporary or long term use, check out our website at www.hq.com or email me at melissag@digipickoftheday.com. I'd be glad to hook you up with something really cool. Oh, we're in almost every state and in 70 countries so we probably have something near you somehow, LOL.
Digi Picks 4/25/08
Project Pick of the Day
I am hoping to get some paper crafting time in this weekend. I've got the itch to print, glue, sand and ink. I went to Michael's today and drooled over the KI Memories Sassafras Collection again. OMG!!!! MUST HAVE!!! Anyway, I was looking for some fun projects to do and came across Adobe*Addict's Gift Tags . How cute and what a great idea? I really love home made gift tags. It's just that little extra something y'know? If you've got the urge to create, but lack the mojo to do a big full blown project, you could sit down and pre-make a bunch of cute tags for various occasions and stash them away until you need them!
Element Pick of the Day
How adorable are these little critters and Happy Garden - Living Things from Weeds n' Wildflowers? I love that you can create all kinds of looks with these guys by switching around the trails and the styles of bug etc. Just soooooo cute!!!!
Digi Picks 4/24/08
Sale at the Shabby Shoppe...new products...free stuff with purchase...well
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!!!!
Visit the Shabby Shoppe
Here's what I got...this has Gracie written all over it!!! (pix are linked)
I also got...
and
because I literally bought badge holders two years ago for the express purpose of creating cute little albums like the ones I saw in a magazine and I have been carrying those buggers in my scrap bag ever since! I'm doing them this year darnit!!! I'll give them as Mother's Day Gifts!!!!!!
What did you get?????
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