Tutorial Tuesday (Individual Style)

Challenge Spotlight: Color

Wow, you ladies are totally rocking the Challenges for the Scrapathon!! Every one of the Challenge Galleries is brimming with new layouts. Incroyable! I’m trying to shine the Spotlight on a different Challenge each month until all of them have been discussed but I also don’t want to keep y’all here all evening so I had to make a decision. Rather than showcasing every layout posted to the Challenge I chose for this month – there are 58 of them – I opted to go with every fourth layout, beginning at the beginning. So the layouts I’m sharing with you today from the Color Challenge Gallery are (sorta) randomly selected. As usual, each layout is linked to itself in the Gallery so you can provide your own feedback to the GingerScrappers; just click on the scrapper’s user name.

First, let’s talk about the Challenge criteria. For the Color Challenge, hosted each month by the inimitable Aimee Harrison, we’re provided with a color or color swatch for the Challenge palette. Because this is also Scrapathon, Aimee added a theme: My Scrapping Friends. So each of the Challenge layouts must have the same palette and the same theme. How did they do?

Our first layout is from pjm117. Full points for the colors, but she seems to have missed the part about the theme. That photo though! So CUTE! I like that she added some dusty mauve and white to the palette, and her clusters are gorgeous!

Next up is this pretty one from pizzaz. She went with a softer, brighter green, and more pastel blues and yellows, Those pops of orange are very eye-catching. But alas, she too missed the theme.

SusanSays has the color, 100%. And her photo is so sweet. The banners really move the eye around the layout. Theme? Um. No.

Here, snickels has also used the palette with an almost perfect tone match. The blue stucco on the house is front-and-centre, contrasting nicely with the palette. Theme?

Tamsin McAtee met the first part of the Challenge quite ably, but again, the theme is missing. (Maybe random selection wasn’t the best way to go?) I do like how she’s tucked her elements behind the photo to anchor them.

Windswept‘s layout is beautifully created. The green is muted so the blues and yellows really pop. Her title is cleverly arranged.

I think Kristi Martin has hit both targets. Somebody in her craft circle has to be a scrapper, right? I like that she’s added some brown to augment the rustic aspect of the retreat’s location.

Now we’re talkin’! Flighty-188 has the theme fully locked down. Her cluster hits just the right notes. And those colors are definitely there.

Lucky lawyerlyn got to meet one of her favourite digiscrap designers. She kept her layout simple so the photo could take centre stage. Palette? Check.

The palette chigirl used is muted but ticks all the boxes. The theme? Maybe. Whatever they were doing, they clearly were having fun!

I absolutely LOVE the papers lilholmes6 has used, and how they showcase her photos. (I also love tulips!) Now, if only the theme was “spring”. <sad trombone>

Yes! This layout from macsandy scored ALL the points! They’re scrapping the old-school paper way and all the elements she used are related to the theme.

AlyciaIN has also ticks all the boxes. Makes me nostalgic for the crops I used to enjoy so much… although I brought my laptop, not a bag full of paper and glue.

Is there anything better than having friends who share your passions? KatherineWoodin is surrounded by them. I see several laptops in her 2011 photo too.

What a clever take!! AJsRandom plays with words, but still hits the mark. Her simple layout really captures the essence of the Challenge.

Hazel’s learning the ropes at day care so she can become honeybee‘s scrappin’ buddy. This layout is simply beautiful. The way the patterned paper is masked behind the photos leads the eye around and the scattered beads accent everything.

Purple71 brought the color, but not the theme. I like the cutouts behind her photo and use of the journal card though!

This layout by hichchei makes me smile, although I’m not fond of Irish stereotypes. She’s got the main color palette nailed, and added a rainbow of other colors to the mix.

The last layout of the day is from digiscrapmomma. Colors? Check. Theme? No check.

Okay, now I have to go back to the Challenge Gallery and take a closer look at the ones that fell in between the every-fourth-layout to see if I could have gone with a different randomizer… I feel like I was scoring a figure skating or gymnastics competition!

I hope you’re seeing signs of spring where you are (northern hemisphere peeps). The golf course behind our house is currently hosting a large flock of cobra chickens and the racket they make is unreal. I think our resident coyote might have fallen into the water hazard trying to catch supper last night.

Tutorial Tuesday (Individual Style)

Challenge Spotlight: Created With Rewards

Here we are, at the third Tuesday of the month again. Crazy how time flies!! This month our Challenge Spotlight falls on Created With Rewards. For those unfamiliar, each month our GingerBread Ladies – the GingerScraps Design Team – work together to produce two Rewards kits, one for completing 10 Challenge layouts and one as a Free-with-Purchase. The Created With Rewards Challenge requires participants to use only the previous month’s Rewards kits; templates are the exception – they can come from anywhere. For October 2022, the Free With Purchase kit is called Bootiful; the Challenger Reward is We Are Family. Let’s see how our intrepid GingerScrappers have risen to the occasion. The layouts are in the order they were posted; each is linked to the Gallery – click on the scrapper’s nom de plume and you’ll jump right to the Gallery, where I hope you’ll leave some words of praise.

Our first layout is from Dovedesign. Her layout has a good portion of white space. She used Bootiful and took it off-theme, which is awesome!

Next up is this CUTE little Hallowe’en layout by Jill. I really like the spiderweb base for her paper cluster. She too used Bootiful.

For this layout, becky_a has used a block style to anchor her photos and added some seasonal clusters. Bootiful is getting lots of airtime!

Ah! Finally We Are Family makes an appearance. I like how hiddenartist has stacked papers in several ways and positioned her clusters to frame her photo.

I love how fontaine has used blended masks to such good effect here. The green and orange contrast beautifully and the little Bootiful witch and warlock are cute additions.

See how kabrak1207 has turned a very theme-specific kit into an all-purpose one? Without the word strip and sticker, it’s hard to tell this started out as a Hallowe’en kit.

This looks like greenfiend27 went to a lot of trouble adding all those little bats! I think they’ve been cut from the background paper and individually shadowed. Impressive!!

I love how Katherine Woodin used the Hallowe’eenie kit for a fall layout that has no Hallowe’en flavour at all.

 

What a clever riff on the donuts mum23ms has in her photos!

Here’s another mainly purple layout using Bootiful. The pops of orange breoni has added, along with vignetting some photos, give the layout depth.

Look at all the spookiness angbrey has injected into her layout! I love how the elements move the eye around and right back to the photos.

Here’s another look at We Are Family. The way gadawg83 has echoed the bluebonnets in her photo with her tiny-flower borders is perfection.

 

Tbear has used some incredibly inventive techniques here to give the impression that the beaker has bats painted onto the glass. And maybe I’ve been watching too much paranormal investigation TV, but I think I see a ghost flying out of the test tube!

Tamsin McAtee went for complementary colours here, with her orange and blue palette. I like how she picked out the brown from the ceiling in her photo and included it in the elements she used from We Are Family.

Our last layout comes from mom2triplets04. She too has used We Are Family and kept her layout simple, focusing on the photos and her journaling.

I find it fascinating that more than 75% of these layouts were created with the Free With Purchase kit. It tells me there was a lot of traffic in the shop in October, and that’s fantastic! It’s also really interesting to see how different scrappers’ visions are when it comes to using a single kit. It’s inspiring!!

See you next week for Quick Trick Tuesday.

Tutorial Tuesday (Individual Style)

Spotlight Challenge: Recipe

Have you ever taken part in the Recipe Challenge? It’s a lot of fun! Hosted by Sweet Pea DesignsPenny, the basic objective is to take the Ingredients List and create a layout. Sometimes, there are additional Directions – for example, “Place one of your photos in the top left quadrant of the layout” – that are required to meet the Challenge goals. Participants can add to the Recipe if they want to, but MUST follow the basic Ingredients List. Let’s take a closer look. Here’s the September Recipe.

There have been quite a few layouts posted for this Challenge. We’ll check them out and see how each GingerScrapper has met the requirements. Each layout is in the order it was uploaded and is linked to the Challenge Gallery so you can see them in greater detail and leave some praise, if you’re so inclined. Just click on the GingerScrapper‘s user name.

First up is Windswept. Her first-day-of-school layout has each of the required ingredients, and she’s added an extra journal card.

This layout from alexandergirl68 ticks all the boxes, and then some. I needed to take a good look to see the ‘bling’ – gold lettering on the large flair. Very subtle!

KatherineWoodin‘s layout seems to be missing the pocket card. Do you see one? I love the visual impact of her arrangement.

I had to look for the bling on jenazs‘ layout too; it’s a subtle glitter spray behind her clusters. The pocket card is the size of a postage stamp, so it’s there but not center-stage. That crocheted border though!!

I LOVE this one from ElkFan! The kit she chose coordinates perfectly with her photo. The glittery paint, the little fishes, the lacy border… just beautiful!

Jill‘s layout just jumps out of the Gallery. The bright colour palette against that dark background is stunning.

The beach photo that inspired khoskins‘ layout really pops and is beautifully supported by her tiny clusters. The very narrow white border around the photo was the right choice. Simple elegance.

Could this layout be any cuter? I’m not sure I see a flair, but kristal has all the other goodies in there.

Using a paint swatch as a pocket card, as basketladyaudrey has done, is genius! And her interpretation of bling, a pearl dangle, is also brilliant.

Lisa Campbell chose to pull colours from her photos, then supplement them with themed elements. Love the sparkly crown that suggests the Magic Kingdom.

Daydreamer understood the assignment. Such a cheerful, colourful layout is an attention-grabber. Glitter paper… YES!

The woodgrain and plaid papers and hinges play to all the fallen leaves in the background of robinoes66‘s photo. Is there a hidden pocket card somewhere?

And last but not least, curio has created a simple but eye-catching layout. I like how she’s used the offset purple frame to draw the eye to the focal point of her photo. And the paper lanterns are amazing!

Have you been playing along with the monthly Challenges? Which one is your favourite? Maybe we’ll feature it next month!

Tutorial Tuesday (Individual Style)

Photo Mask Challenge with PrelestnayaP

Omigosh, the 2022 Challenges are fabulous! There are some new ones that I’m still familiarizing myself with, but I wanted to highlight the new-for-2022 Photomask Challenge brought to us by the incredibly talented PrelestnayaP Design (Irina). I’m always intrigued by how each of us interprets a Challenge based on a single, specific element and how we arrive at such unique results. For this Challenge, Irina has provided this photo mask that must be part of the layout.

I visited the Challenge Gallery and randomly (well, not exactly) selected a dozen layouts to share with you. I’ll offer my critique and why it caught my eye. Each layout will be linked to the Gallery so you can take a closer look if you like, and maybe leave a little praise for the scrapper too. Just click on the scrapper’s name!

The first layout is from etycz. She’s blended the plaid paper with a snowflake paper quite seamlessly by placing the mask the full width of the page. I suspect there’s another mask at play here too, under the Challenge mask. Then she concealed the edges of the mask with clusters. Beautiful!

PixyGirl has used the mask to create a paint swatch, and then used it again for her photo. See how the photo follows the contours of the larger painted mask?

The way chris01 has used the mask is to focus the eye on the heron in her photo, an effect she amplified by framing it with foliage. It looks like it could just fly away!

I love this layout by HalinaMiga. She’s used the mask to make the skier look like he’s surrounded by blowing snow. The stone cottage, fir tree and leafless bush with birds in it create such a charming image.

What drew me to Pippin‘s layout is the overall vintage look she’s obtained by using the mask to blend her sepia-toned photo into a dark brown background. It’s hard to tell where the photo ends and the cup-and-saucer-pitcher cluster starts.

Jill‘s layout is another example of flawless blending. The grungy paper she chose for her background is an inspired choice. Her clusters enhance the overall look of the layout and the whole effect is amazing.

Here, gmae has created an echo of sorts with the build-up of colour variation. It reflects the principle behind the cairns in her photo, careful stacking to achieve a stable foundation. And what a whimsical touch, tucking the photographer behind her cluster.

Wait! What?!! How clever of fontaine to cut the mask and rearrange the pieces to create a mask map of California! (Please tell me I’m not the only one who sees it…) Her layout is super-simple, but eye-catching nonetheless.

Katherine Woodin documents all the little moments of each day through photos and layouts. Here, she’s used the mask to frame that beautiful snow-covered mountain. The kit she chose pulls colours from her photo so accurately!

I’m positive Karen Diamond has used multiple brushes and masks for her layout. I zoomed in on it and there are so many layers of paint and snippets of paper, then a stack of paper pieces, the Challenge mask and her photo. That cluster is exquisite – balancing out the photo stack without taking centre-stage.

For her layout, Lisa Campbell has used the mask to create a paint swatch that ties the the whole layout together. Her clusters are perfectly positioned to put the focus on her photo.

And finally, NHSoxGirl has evoked a sense of dreaminess and imagination with both the photo she’s masked and the elements she’s surrounded it with that wouldn’t be there if she’d simply framed her photo.

Examining all these layouts has given me some inspiration for my own Challenge layout. Off the dig through my supplies!

PDF Version : https://bit.ly/3GIbxx8

 

Challenge Spotlight: Mini Kit Challenge

Hey there scrappers. How is your iNSD going? Are you enjoying all the fun and games?

Today I’m focusing on the Mini Kit Challenge hosted by Alexis Design Studio. She is providing this gorgeous mini kit to use:

These colors are amazing. Reminded me of spring flowers. Photo credit to my hubby on this one. He loves to take pictures for me to scrap.

And I found these beautiful layouts as well.

From moorefarmcrafts:

From pagefrocks:

And from poki04:

The colors in this kit are just gorgeous.

Remember when you complete 10 challenges, you get this amazing kit:

Challenge Spotlight: Desktop and Inspiration

Happy Monday! Today is the last of my April spotlights. We’re focusing on the Desktop Challenge and the Inspiration Challenge.

April’s Desktop Challenge is hosted by The Cherry On Top. Each month we are provided with a template that can be used as a desktop background on your computer. I LOVE this template. It’s gorgeous.

Let’s see the beautiful layouts I picked from the forum.

From cutiejo1:

From MarilynZ:

From sltppr:

And from constablec:

So lovely.

And finally, the Inspiration Challenge hosted by Sweet Pea Designs. Each month, we are given something to use as an inspiration for our layout. This month, the following picture was the inspiration.

Let’s see what I found.

From 01lousmith:

From alexandergirl68:

From lilholmes6:

And from roxana:

I love all of these.

Remember, 10 completed challenges gives you this kit:

Check back on Wednesday for a wrap up. How have you done this week?

 

Challenge Spotlight: Template #2 and Signature

Hey y’all. Tonight we’re focusing on two of the favorite challenges in the forum, the second template challenge and the signature challenge.

The second template challenge is hosted by Miss Fish Templates. The following template is provided for you to download and use.

Now here are a few samples from the forum. These are all so lovely.

From digiscrapmomma:

From Jill:

From momto4:

And from Yvonne55:

I love this template.

Next up is the signature challenge hosted by Boomersgirl Designs. Each month the host designer gives us a topic to use. This month, it’s to use animals.

From greenfiend27:

From ktmoonblue:

From rosecca:

And from shawnarenee31:

Remember that when you complete 10 challenges, you get this awesome full kit as a reward:

Let’s {bloom & grow}!!

Challenge Spotlight – Update

Just wanted to pop in with an update. I was doing so well and then I crashed and burned this week. I tried to do to much at once and it caught up with me. So I have a new plan. I’ll have some more spotlights this weekend and then I have a new plan beginning in May.

I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy!

Challenge Spotlight: Buffet and Back It Up with ADB Designs

Happy Monday my friends. It’s hard to believe it’s the beginning of another week. I hope you had an enjoyable Easter weekend.

Today we’re going to start with the the Buffet Challenge. This month the challenge is hosted by Trixie Scraps. The only requirement is that you use kits and/or templates from this month’s buffet. Each month the designers create kits using a color pallet provided to them. By using the same colors, it allows easy mixing of the kits. This month’s colors are definitely Spring inspired:

Let’s see some of the layouts these kits inspired:

From basketladyaudrey:

From Grace.:

From greenfiend27;

And from kimb:

I’m so in love with these colors.

Now for the Back It Up Challenge hosted by ADB Designs. Each month, Diane encourages you to back up those photos on your camera, tablet, or phone so you don’t lose them. Then she gives you a challenge to use those photos. For April the theme is: Spring break, staycation, family vacation, etc.

The layouts for this challenge are gorgeous.

From Elynnia:

From Lisa Campbell:

From msbrad:

And from poki-04:

See what I mean? They are gorgeous.

Are you close to getting your 10 challenges done? If not, don’t fret. For one, it’s not even the middle of  April yet (although it feels like it), and for another, if you don’t get them all done this month, they roll over until the next month until you get 10. Here’s a peek at the reward waiting for you for April.

Have a great week. I’ll be back on Saturday with more!!

Challenge Spotlight: Brush and Storytelling with Dandelion Dust Designs

Happy Easter!! Today we’re looking at two more forum challenges. I originally thought I would have some days that had only one challenge, but we offer so many in the forum, once I put them all in planner to schedule them, I realized I would have to double them up. I think it’s awesome we offer so many ways for you to earn the free collab.

First up today is the Brush Challenge. This month it is hosted by PrelestnayaP. She’s provided a brush to use in both .png and .abr formats. It’s an awesome paint splatter:

Let’s see what some of our members have done with it.

From AriadnesClue:

From dhariana:

From digiscrapmomma:

And from jjaprice:

It’s always so exciting to see how each scrapper chooses to use the brush in their layout.

Now let’s look at the Storytelling Challenge hosted by Dandelion Dust Designs. If you love to journal, this challenge is for you. Each month you are given a focus word and an optional idea. Here is the requirements for April:

  • 50 Word Minimum with at least 1 photo
  • Focus Word: Outside
  • Idea (Optional): What is your favorite thing to do outside? Walk, hike, go to the park, ride bikes, garden, etc.

Here are some of the submissions from the forum and gallery.

From bkasko:

From emscraps:

From Firstoscartgrouch:

And from ktmoonblue:

Absolutely wonderful.

You only have to complete 10 of these awesome challenges to get the full collab kit. It’s always so beautiful and full of goodies.

Come back tomorrow for two more challenges. Are you finding anything new to try?