Good morning everyone! It’s hard to believe we’re already at the beginning of April. Our temperatures have been crazy this week. 85° F three days ago and 55°F yesterday.
Remember if you spend $10 in the store you’ll get this great collab.
Let’s see the new items we have in the store this week.
Have you started on your challenges for April? Complete any 10 challenges to get this kit as a reward.
Welcome to the April Buffet. Did you have fun with the No Joke sale? This months buffet will run from April 3-7.
Remember if you spend $10 in the store you’ll get this great collab.
Don’t forget to check out the Buffet Bundles. One easy click to add bundles of Buffet goodies to your cart.
Let’s see what is in the buffet this month. Remember that you can combine any of the buffet kits to make your own collection.
Have you gotten a jump on your challenges? Complete any 10 challenges to get this great kit as a reward.
Inspiration for the April Scraplift Challenge
I’m very literal (I know, I say that ALL the time) when it comes to the Scraplift Challenge. If I like a layout enough to emulate it, I’m gonna EMULATE it. So I was looking at the April 2024 Scraplift Challenge last night and what resonated with me was the abstract drawing Alexis used for her no-photo sample layout.
Then I started thinking about what I could use to emulate it. Do I have any doodle drawings in my stash? Will they work? What else could I use? And just about the time I fell asleep, it occurred to me that maybe using a dingbat could be an option. So I pored over the dingbat section at dafont.com and I found a few you might like. All the sets I’m showing you are 100% free for personal use; the bold name of the dingbat (font) is a direct link to the download. Let’s take a look.
First and most closely related to the image above is this collection called Woman Faces. Don’t be fooled… there are a LOT of options with this set that wouldn’t fit into the screenshot. 236 different glyphs, to be exact! Many of them are line-drawings, so very suitable.
If you like a less formal effect Cartoonabha might work for you. This one comes with 66 different options. some of them are very expressive!
This set contains the 12 constellations that make up the Zodiac. If you’re into that kind of thing, Constellations Ostia could provide your non-photo focal point. Or you could use the glyphs as background stamps.
The Goddess gives off a bit more of an esoteric vibe. There are 30 options in this one; the letter X is a fairy!
Art Nouveau Flowers offer a lot of possibilities. They can be filled with the Paint Bucket, Styled to look like wrought iron or lead, have papers clipped to them, or just be left as is.
For a more whimsical take, Country Cuties is your friend. Mostly line-drawn, there are some sweet kittens, cutie bears, a frog, and that hilarious pig.
For the Disney fans, there’s Disney family 1, with all the usual suspects represented.
If you’re more of an old-school Star Wars gal, check out Lucas characters. No Grogu… so if you’re looking for him, skip this one.
These Vintage Mixed vol1 dingbats remind me of print ads from the 60s. There’s even an image of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers for elegance. The pointing finger could work for quite a few topics, don’t you think?
I just love the gossipy image! Vintage Mixed vol2 has even more retro images; I think my fave is the cartoon bride and groom on the run.
If you’re in the Path of Totality for this month’s solar eclipse, this set called Galaxia might have something you could put into a photo-less layout. Or you could use the drawings for a border.
These just made me laugh. Smile 2 Me has a huge assortment of expressions; I love the one flashing a peace sign.
From the ridiculous to the sublime… Caligrafia Divina strikes a more elegant chord. The dragon is fabulous.
And last, since we do Takeout Tuesday at my house, there’s a food set called LMS Junk Food Junky. (Of course!) I could see myself creating a layout and calling it In Praise of Pizza.
I had one more for you but for some reason WordPress isn’t allowing me to attach an image of it. I’ve tried several different tricks and failed……… It has a selection of fairy tale images in it and is called Once Upon a Time2.
If you’re not sure you see anything you like, check out the other dingbats at dafont.com. There’s something for everyone there. These are just my picks for what would work as line drawings. (I won’t tell you how many I downloaded today. 😉 )
Before I let you go, I should explain how to use these dingbats as line drawings, shouldn’t I? Install your dingbat set; they take a little longer to install than say a script font, because of the added details. Then open Elements. Dingbats are essentially fonts, so the Text Tool will let you see what’s in the set. I usually run through the alphabet, looking at which image is attached to each letter. For this purpose, I’d use a huge size, like 200 pts. Then I’d Simplify the text (image) so it can be manipulated. Now it’s resize-able to whatever will work best. And then I’d work my layout into the canvas.
For sets that have additional glyphs you can’t access via the alpha keys, check out this tutorial Unlocking the Secret Extras in Your Font Files.
This might be fun!
Happy April Fools Day! It may be April 1st, but the sale running in the store is NO JOKE. This is the biggest sale of the year and runs for only 2 days.
Because of this storewide sale, the Buffet will run from April 3-7 and there will also be no $2 Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
We do have all our monthly collabs and Daily Download starting today.
Remember any $10 spent in the store gets you this great collab.
Embrace the beauty of the season with a burst of bright and vivid colors, perfect for capturing the energy and vitality of springtime. Let your creativity soar with whimsical elements like birds, bees, bicycles, and joyful kids having fun in the sunshine. Bring your layouts to life with charming details such as blooming flowers, buzzing insects, watering cans, and playful umbrellas, adding a touch of whimsy and charm to your scrapbook designs.
This Free With Purchase was created by CarolW Designs, Designs by Lisa Minor, Moore Blessings Digital Design, and Key Lime Digi Design.
This collab includes: 81 Papers (Including 14 glitter sheets}, 174 Elements, and 4 12×12 Template {png, psd, tif file formats}.
Immerse yourself in the beauty of the season with charming birds, fluttering butterflies, and vibrant blooms. This kit features a beautiful earth-toned color palette, a ton of word art, and is perfectly suited for any of your outdoor spring adventures, such as bird watching. Let your memories blossom with this delightful collection!
This Monthly Mix was created by Chere Kaye Designs, Craft-tastrophic, Ilonkas Designs, and LDragDesigns.
This collab includes: 1 Alpha {Uppercase, Lowercase, Numbers & Punctuation}, 62 Papers, and 100 Elements.
Now to the April Daily Download Sneak Peek. This month’s Daily Download is from Just Because Designs by Dani! Make sure you are checking the blog every day to get all the pieces of this kit!
Take a look at the new challenge reward kit. If you complete any 10 challenges this month, you get this gorgeous collab as a reward!
Capture the essence of spring with our delightful kit featuring Easter elements, pastel colors, and adorable critters like bunnies, chicks, ducks, and frogs. Create charming layouts with Easter eggs, sheep, birds, and flowers, perfect for commemorating the season’s joys. Bring your memories to life with “Spring Alive”.
This Challenge Reward was created by Aimee Harrison, Cindy Ritter Designs, Dear Friends Designs, Triple J Designs, and Scrapbookcrazy Creations by Robyn.
This collab includes: 2 Alphas {Uppercase, Lowercase, Numbers & Punctuation}, 55 Papers, 87 Elements, and 4 12×12 Templates {png, psd, tif file formats}.
Take a look at a few layouts from our store CT using the Challenge Reward Collab. Aren’t they beautiful?
We’re almost at the end of another month. The end of March marks the end of the Spring Scrap-a-thon. Make sure you get all your layouts posted in order to get all the great prizes.
Remember, if you spend $10 in the store, you will get this great collab for free.
Let’s see the great new items in the store this week.
How are your challenges going? Complete any 10 challenges and get this great collab as a reward.
Quick Trick: Cleaning Out the Cookie Jar
PDF Version : https://bit.ly/3PzYww0
I’ve noticed when I’m adding my Cookie Jar entry for the month that a lot of GingerScrappers fill their Cookie Jars with lots of unnecessary text, and I think that has to make life for Missi much more difficult than it needs to be. She checks every Cookie Jar every month to make sure Challenge Rewards are distributed to all who qualify. Sifting through the chaff to find the wheat takes time. Right? So I thought I’d show you all a way to ONLY have Cookies in your Jars.
I think we all understand the basics of Copy-and-Paste when it comes to putting the Gallery links into our Jars, so I won’t spend a lot of time on that. But I will tell you how I do things so that I’m Working Smart, Not Hard. My method is probably not what IT security folks would call safe, but it’s worked for me for 14 years, so I’m not gonna change it now. I always have three GingerScraps tabs open. One has my Cookie Jar (so I don’t have to remember what page it’s on, since I usually end up somewhere around page 90) all ready to edit. One has the Gallery open so I can quickly upload my new layouts. And one has the Forum open, so I can move between Challenges quickly, both for making sure I’m meeting the requirements of the Challenge and adding my finished layouts to the Threads. [editor’s note: If you do this, you’ll need to Refresh the tabs before you can do any editing of posts. Ask Jan how she knows.]
Let’s start by going to my Cookie Jar tab. (I reallyreallyreally wish I could make these screenshots bigger so you can see things better. Sorry…) In this image, I’ve clicked on the Edit button to get into the actual post so I can add my new layout.
The first thing I do after that is change the number of Challenges Completed. So I don’t forget to do it! When I set up my Cookie Jar post, I only Copy-and-Paste the first bolded line from Missi’s Cookie Jar post. I leave the bold format in, because I like it. 😀 I don’t bother with all the possible Challenges, because I know I’m not going to do them all. Or even most of them… Doing this gives me a place holder in the Thread.
Then I type in the name of the Challenge I’ve completed, followed by a colon and the name I’ve given my layout. As a modified Type A, I insist the Challenges are in alphabetical order. You can see how I’ve done that in the screenshot, if you squint.
Next, I Highlight just the name I’ve given my layout by click-dragging my cursor over it. Then I click on the button in the Control Panel that has a globe-with-links-of-chain on it, the one to the right of the emoji icon.
If I’ve remembered to Refresh the tab, this dialog box will open up. The outlined bar is where the layout’s URL from the Gallery goes. It’s been copied and pasted into the box. Then I click OK.
All that’s left is to click Save, so the name of my layout becomes a clickable link to the Gallery, making it super-easy for Missi to check if she needs to. And the bonus is that my post takes up very little space in the Thread while being simple, tidy and straight-forward. It can be scrolled past in a matter of one second…
Do you think you might switch to this method? You might find you like it!
Happy Friday, scrappers! I hope you made some special memories this past week. Is the spring weather coming your way yet? I know we have scrappers from all over the world, so I can’t assume you are even in the spring months where you live, but here in my neck of the woods, it has been a beautiful week!
There are only 9 days left to complete your March Scrap-A-Thon layouts! Make sure you reach your goals, you don’t want to miss your chance to get all those fun prizes!
Are you ready to see some wonderful new scrapping products?
Remember, if you spend $10 in the store, you will get this great collab for free.
Let’s see the fun new items in the store this week.
Remember we also have the Spring Scrap-a-thon going on.
How are your challenges going? Complete any 10 challenges and get this great collab as a reward. Complete more and earn even more during the March Scrap-A-Thon!
Challenge Spotlight: Word Art
Whew! I wasn’t sure I’d get this tut out to you today. We started the day with an unplanned trip to the dentist – Adam lost a filling that had only been in there a short time and it was RIGHT IN FRONT!! He needs IV sedation for dental work and that adds a ton of time to everything. But in the end, he was awake enough to get him into the car before noon so here I am! I’ve chosen the Word Art Challenge this month; the Challenge is to use the provided word art as inspiration and have it on the page somewhere. The host for this Challenge is Cheré Kaye and this is the word art she created for us. There are so many ways this can be used!
March is a brutal month for choosing a Spotlight Challenge… Scrap-a-Thon being in full swing. The Gallery is overflowing!! So, in a bit of a departure, rather than showing you every layout that has been submitted for March I decided to go with every OTHER layout. Otherwise we’d be here all week. 😉 The layouts are in the order they were uploaded, the GingerScrapper‘s user name is the direct link the the layout in the Gallery so you can get a closer look and leave a comment or two (I hope you’ll also look at the others, they’re awesome!) and I’ll be making my own comments as we go.
First up is Karen Diamond. She preserved the gradient colour of the word art, using it as her title, and took colour palette cues from it. It’s a little ironic that she chose the humble dandelion as her focus – they seem to “awaken” earlier than a lot of other plants.
This layout from jojores is a true original. The word art title looks a bit muted, but in the original gradient colours. I like the detail she’s added to the upper corners and how she included food-related elements to riff on the book covers in her photos.
For her layout demma_b13 also used the word art as is, and drew her palette from it. I can almost hear birds singing when I look at her layout, and don’t know how the woman in the photo can sleep through it!
Look at all the white space tillykaye has given us. The simplicity of her layout lets her photo shine. As the others have, she pulled colours from the word art for her palette.
Dhariana has given us more white space with her layout. She’s scaled everything down to draw the eye to the butterfly in her photo. I like the washi tape holding the photo in place. Against the buttery-yellow background the colours in the word art seem a bit brighter.
It’s interesting how the background colour can change the way our eyes see something, as biche57 shows us here. The gradient colours of the word art look more purple. It’s a perfect accent.
Let’s look at photocrazy‘s entry. See?! By putting the word art against a bright yellow background, the colours in the word art pop yellow too! She’s the first one (of this baker’s dozen) to use the wings that Cheré included with the word. The blue provides beautiful contrast.
AHA! AlyciaIN recoloured the word art!! Such a rebel. 😉 In the same way nature changes all the brown to green, she’s given the word art a lovely, shimmery look.
Jill went in a different direction with the “awaken” theme, and it works really well. Her shadows really give the brushes and paintbox realism and dimension. The word art colours appear in the paint splatters to tie it all together.
I like how greenfiend27 created contrast with the teal and blue elements to coordinate with her photo. Using a gradient paper in one of the shades in the word art is next-level thoughtful.
CathyS opted to recolour the word art to pick up the sandy, beachy look of her photos. Good choice!
Windswept has gone Easter-candy with her colour palette. The beautiful pink of her photo demands some drama. Clever girl, she used the same font to build her own addition to the word art, and she eliminated the white border around the words. Pretty!
Lucky 13 belongs to Zanthia. And her layout is stunning! She used the word art as created, pulled colour from it and reinforced the theme with her photos.
We’ve had four days of record-breaking warm days in a row here, and there are already two wildfires in the area. What will it take to awaken people to the climate crisis? I don’t know, but I’m really not looking forward to fire season. Please send rain!
Happy (almost) St. Patrick’s Day. Do you have plans for all things green on Sunday?
Remember, if you spend $10 in the store, you will get this great collab for free.
Let’s see the fun new items in the store this week.
We have a new Guest Designer starting this week!
BIO:
I am so very happy to be guesting at GingerScraps. Here’s a little about me:
My name is Karen and I live in the UK on the South Coast. I have been scrap booking for around 20 years. Both traditional and digital. Then a couple of years ago, I ventured into designing. I absolutely loved it and so here I am today. I live with my husband Paul, and my rescue dog Tilly. Most days see me hiking around the countryside or walking on the beach. Plus gardening, crafting of all kinds, listening to lots of music and, of course, scrapbooking. I work 2 days a week as a children’s nanny. Which leaves lots of time for designing. I also have 3 grown kids all living away from home and I love visiting them.
Scrap wise, I enjoy simple designs with lots of white space. And I love to focus on family, everyday life, gratitude and nature.
I am really looking forward to getting to know everyone here!
Today also starts the March Bake Sale.
Remember we also have the Spring Scrap-a-thon going on.
How are your challenges going? Complete any 10 challenges and get this great collab as a reward.
Tucked Photo Frames Made Easy
PDF Version : https://bit.ly/3VmV2R8
Anyone who has spent any time touring the GingerScraps Gallery knows that we have some inordinately talented and creative scrappers in our midst. And some equally superlative Designers. If you’re ever needing a healthy dose of inspiration, you won’t have to look far. Karen found a layout using one of these fabulous tucked frames in the Gallery and had to try it for herself. Turns out Sheri (Jumpstart Designs) has already done ALL the work and all we have to do is customize. Here’s a link to the product in her Shop.
So how easy is it to use these gems? I’ll show you! While I’m at it I’m going to add my tucked photo to a template from this month’s Spotlight Designer, Connie Prince. (Alas, it’s discontinued, but this will work regardless.) As you can see in the screenshot below, I’m using a layered file, in this case a PSD.
The only difference with using PNG files for this is that you’ll have to add them to the template’s photo spot manually, one at a time, aligning them as needed. I dropped this photo of my grandson Aaron onto the Photo Mat layer of the PSD.
When I Resized my photo, I found it still wasn’t a great fit; there were important details I didn’t want to crop out.
But… I CAN Resize the rest of the layers to fit to the photo. I Activated all those layers EXCEPT the photo and made my adjustments. The nice thing about the Photo Mat layer being black is that it’s easy to see if the Resized frame still isn’t right.
Did you notice the tab is partially covered by the photo – which isn’t the look I want? To solve that problem I just Clipped the photo to the Photo Mat layer. There are always multiple ways of doing these types of things in Elements, and I usually will show you two of them. Right-click>Create Clipping Mat is one way. The keyboard shortcut for Elements 14 and earlier versions is CTRL/CMD>G. For Elements 15 and more recent it’s CTRL/CMD>ALT/OPT>G.
Simply by Clipping the photo to the Mat, the tab now looks like it’s part of the paper the photo/frame combo is tucked into!
Now to move it all to the template. I just moved the whole stack as one object onto the photo spot on my template. Will it still work like a PSD though? One way to find out!
Brilliant! All I did was turn visibility for the template’s photo spot off and the tab looks like it’s the same paper that’s under the photo.
As you can see on the finished layout, Clipping a paper to the template did exactly what I wanted it to do, and my photo is neatly tucked under some brown cardstock.
Now I can’t wait to try the others in the package!!
Next Tuesday, it’s YOUR turns to shine! Which Challenge will be in the Spotlight?
