Daily Download

Designer Spotlight February 2024

February 3, 2024 by Jan

ScrapChat Designs

Hey y’all! How’s February treating you so far? This month’s Designer Spotlight is on Jill, aka ScrapChat Designs.

Some of you may remember that Jill was my guest here last April. We bonded over our shared enjoyment of a good bourbon. 😉 This time, she was driving so we had tea instead. 🙂 Since we’ve already covered a lot of the blahblahblah stuff during her last Spotlight, this time we just had fun.

O: Jill, it’s so good to touch base with you again! Let’s get the mechanical stuff out of the way and tell me how long you’ve been designing.

J: I started designing templates in May of 2021. Looking back it was such a random decision. I later entered a design contest. I did not win but it certainly gave me the bug to keep designing.

O: I remember your first template designs. I have some… What do you use when you’re creating?

J: I use both Photoshop and Illustrator to design. My skills in Illustrator are very limited but I enjoy the challenge of trying to learn new things.

O: Yeah… Cricut Design Space… I find myself doing my stuff in Elements then converting it to Cricut-friendly format using a free website. It’s less work! What motivates you when you’re designing?

J: When searching for ideas for kit, I often look at photos of my children and grandchildren. Looking at photos from my daughter and daughters-in-laws’ points of view often shows me what a customer might need such as a kit I did called Toddler Life. I imagined either of my daughter-in-laws scrapbooking their photo rolls. Occasions and accomplishments in the lives of my children and friends helps as well.

O: How sweet is that?! Do you have a favourite child …ummm… kit in the Store?

J: My current favorite is my For Your Service collection. Raised by a former Marine, appreciating the military service of our vets was a huge part of my upbringing. My youngest son is in the Ohio National Guard, my oldest is a Navy vet. I really enjoyed creating the collection.

O: Wow, we have something else in common. I was raised as an Air Force brat, married an Airman and raised my own Army cadet. Have you ever met anyone famous?

J: When i taught paper scrapbooking, I used to attend conventions each summer. I met Stacey Julian and Becky Higgins a couple times there.

O: I barely got my feet wet with paper scrapping before I moved to digi-scrapping, and now all that stuff I collected I’m using for card-making. Those 12×12 sheets of patterned paper make fabulous envelopes! Other than absolute necessities, what one thing could you never live without?

J: My photographs or scrapbooks. Photographs are an instant of time that we can return to by looking at them. The same photograph can be a source of a smile or a tear depending on my mood. I would be lost without photos of the past.

O: I LOVE that! I think most of our GingerScrappers do too. That gives me a nice little segué… If time travel was possible, would you go back in time or ahead? Why?

J: I would go backwards. Born the last year of the baby boomers generation, I tend to be a bit old fashioned. Aging myself, I can say I miss the good old days or at least the people from earlier in my life. I would definitely go back and enjoy the time I had with my family and late daughter more. Appreciate things more rather than stressing as much as I did. Ah they say hindsight is 20/20 don’t they?

O: I’m so fascinated by history, I’d want to go back too. It would be hard not to want to change some things though, and that could really mess up the now. I’m absolutely sure I don’t want to know the future, other than in broad strokes, if you know what I mean. Can you play any musical instruments?

J: Nope! I thought I wanted to learn how to play the trombone when I was sixth grade. The band director was old, set in his ways and in a 6th grader’s opinion, mean. I think I went to band for about 9 weeks. After that I skipped band and went to gym. Seriously who skips a class to go to gym. I am one of THE most nonathletic persons on earth but went to gym to avoid band. I’m not sure how long it lasted but I remember getting grounded for a good long time when my mom found out I was skipping band.

O: OMG. I’m dead!! I took piano lessons for awhile when I was about the same age. But we didn’t own a piano – I had to practice on the piano at the elementary school. No supervision, no encouragement, not ideal. Then I broke my left pinky finger and that was my excuse to quit. My oldest grandson is learning to play the cello; it suits his personality to a tee – he’s very introverted and sober. If you had a warning label, what would it say?

J: “Easily distracted.” It’s best not to ask me an open ended question, something that isn’t just yes or no. You will get three side stories, one restart of the story and the answer to a question I forgot to answer that you asked yesterday.

O: Me too! I’m the queen of tangential storytelling! (To no one’s surprise.) What would you change about yourself if you could?

J: It would go right back to the above question. I would like to be able to concentrate for longer periods of time.

O: Well, that got heavy really quickly. Rapid change of subject: Tell me about your dream vacation!

J: Over Christmas we were blessed to be able to go to Lihue, Kauai in the state of Hawaii. Prior to going to Hawaii, I had never thought I liked the beach. Five days there and I’m hooked on beach vacations although I cannot swim. Long quiet walks on the beach with the sun rising or setting. Beautiful and perfect.

O: That sounds so relaxing! I’m not a beach person, so I’m not sure how my daughter ended up one. She and her husband are in Cabo San Lucas right this minute, doing beach stuff. They’ve been to Hawaii twice. The photos are beautiful, but they don’t make me anxious to go… Anyway, I know you’ve got to get on your way, Jill, so I’ll finish up. Thanks for giving our community another glimpse into your world.

Now, as always, I’m going to tell you all the things about Jill we didn’t talk about. For example, as the Spotlight holder this month, she’s providing the Daily Download all month. Check out the post before this one for a sneak peek. This full-sized kit is free for the taking! Each link is up for 5 days, but if you don’t have time to collect all the pieces, or if you miss some, the kit will be in the Store sometime after Jill‘s Spotlight is over. But wait, there’s more!! She’s also hosting the Designer Spotlight Challenge on top of the A Year of Blessings Challenge she hosts EVERY month. And if that wasn’t enough, she’s also offering this HUGE discount on her entire store!!

I hope you’ll check out her Challenges and her designs. April was her best month last year, and YOU did that! See you Tuesday with a new tutorial I think you’ll love.

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Creative Style, Daily Download, Digital Scrapbooking, Digital Scrapbooking Freebies, Feature Designer, GingerBread Ladies, Product/Designer Spotlight Tagged With: Designer Spotlight

Designer Spotlight (January 2024)

January 6, 2024 by Jan

Heather Z Scraps and Scrapbookcrazy

Better late than never, right? I had good intentions to have this post out to you before now. Heather has been very patient!

Our first Designer Spotlight of 2024 is a pairing of Heather Z Scraps and Scrapbookcrazy Creations. (Robyn has so far declined being put under the microscope.) Read on for a glimpse into Heather‘s and my visit.

J: Heather, thank you for popping by to chat with me. The ladies at GingerScraps will love getting to know you better. Now that Christmas and New Year’s are in the rear view mirror, it’s time to get to work! How long have you been designing?

H: I’ve been digi-scrapping for 10 years (almost 11), and designing for 8.5 years.

J: Ah! You started digiscrapping right around the time I made GS my digi-home, 11 years ago in March. What was the trigger for you to start designing your own creations?

H: I started digi-scrapping as a form of therapy after my sister passed away suddenly in 2012, and then I moved on to designing about a year or so later because I just love to be creative and wanted another outlet for my grief. It helped to keep me busy and to make it through some very sad/dark years!

J: I think you’re in good company here. I’m so sorry to hear you lost a sister so young. You’re a strong person for channeling your grief into creativity. Distraction can be very effective, allowing us to heal. Do you have a special place where you do your designing?

H: I design right from my couch! I have a laptop, so I sit on the couch and design while watching TV and hanging out with my family.

J: Again, you’re in good company! I sit in my comfy IKEA wingback chair with my feet on the coffee table. Do you have a favourite colour? Colours you really can’t use?

H: Favorite color(s) is teal/turquoise, and my least favorite would be brown or gray, probably.

J: Aha! I created a custom colour for you on WordPress! I like teal a lot, so much that it’s the main colour in my bathroom. What did you want to be when you grew up? [It’s a theme at our house right now.]

H: I wanted to be a veterinarian for a long time as a kid … until I realized you also had to put them to sleep. That’s when I changed my
mind! Then I went to wanting to be a teacher and now I’m finally living that dream … I’m working as an Instructional Assistant in a Multiple Disability Classroom (mainly autism, though). I love my job!

J: Mmm. Yeah, the euthanizing part would be really hard. I LOVE that you work with kids like my son, who is a pediatric stroke survivor. He’s 40 now; he was in kindergarten when it happened and when he went back to school after his stroke, the principal had worked miracles setting up a comprehensive program for him. She took advantage of a new division guideline for physical classroom size and carved out a wheelchair-accessible washroom and therapy space from the renovations. She also saw to it that every entrance was ramped and an elevator was installed so ALL students could get to the library on the second floor. The six years he attended her school saw innovation after flash of genius after brilliant idea and the school became a model for the rest of the division. [Bless you, Cathi Hill!] Are you the sporty type, or more of a spectator?

H: I love watching football, basketball and baseball. I don’t play any sports, but I love to watch my boys play these sports!

J: I’m a true Canadian cliché, I was a varsity curler in high school… you know, with the brushes and the big granite boulders. I prefer baseball to the other “balls”; one daughter played rugby and ultimate, the other ladies’ fastball. Makes for busy days! Describe for me your perfect vacation.

H: Anywhere with my family, really! But I love a trip to the Caribbean, staying at a really nice resort, all-inclusive, with fun excursions! I’m planning something like this for my family and I next year or a cruise. Not sure which yet.

J: Daughter #2 was married (the first time) in Jamaica. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us. I’m not interested in cruising – my big boating adventure was a glass-bottom boat tour of Negril. What would you do if you won the lottery?

H: First, I would buy a house. Nothing fancy, but big enough for the four of us and my parents. Then I’d make sure both kids had college paid for in advance, and last I’d take us all on a fun family vacation! [See above!]

J: We’ve been in our dream house for almost 4 years now. Our 2024 tax assessment was a shock… $1,048,000. GASP!! We paid about half that when we bought it! So I suppose you could say we did win the lottery. If time travel was a thing, would you want to? Would you go backward or forward?

H: I’d probably go back in time. Although I’d love to go in to the future as well. I’d love to go back to the 50s/60s and early 1900s to see what life was like and perhaps change the future for the better.

J: I was a kid during the 60s. Life was so much simpler then. If I could go back to the early 1900s I’d want to spend some time with my Swedish great-grandmother. I have a million questions for her. I feel like I should come with a label: Will drive you crazy with her chatter! What would yours say?

H: WARNING!!! SAYS WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS THINKING!!!

J: Hey, somebody’s gotta do it! On that fine note, I want to thank you again for the visit. I hope your Spotlight month is very good to you.

Now, before I let Heather completely off the hook, I want to take a moment to remind y’all that she and Robyn are providing the January Daily Download, found here on the Blog. Every day a link to a new chunk of the (FREE) kit is posted and the link is valid for 5 full days. If you miss enough of the links you can still grab the kit from the Shop a few weeks after the new month starts.

As well, both ladies have coupons to their Shops!

Robyn‘s is here:

Heather’s:

Make sure you check them out! But that’s not even all… they’re both hosting the Designer Spotlight Challenge this month. That’s on TOP of Robyn‘s monthly Template Challenge and Heather‘s Signature Challenge. They’re so busy!! I hope you’ll make them even busier… you know what I mean. 🙂

GingerScraps: New FREE with Purchase Collab, New Monthly Mix & More!!

January 1, 2024 by Stephanie MH

It is the 1st of the month and you know what that means; a huge, exciting newsletter! We have a New Buffet, New Monthly Mix, New Free With Purchase Collab, New Challenge Reward, & a New Daily Download on the GingerScraps Blog!

Let’s start out with the January Buffet. Don’t forget to check out the Buffet Bundles. One easy click to add bundles of Buffet goodies to your cart.

The January colors have a great winter feeling. And with the buffet kits, you can mix and match to get the perfect kit for you.

Remember any $10 spent in the store gets you this great collab.

‘Warm Wishes,’ is a delightful digital scrapbooking kit that captures the enchanting beauty of winter wonderlands and the joy of the holiday season. Immerse yourself in the frosty charm with whimsical elements like snowflakes, polar bears, penguins, snowmen, and igloos. This kit radiates the serene cold of winter through its cool color palette, creating a perfect backdrop for your cherished memories. Whether you’re documenting snowy adventures or festive celebrations, ‘Warm Wishes’ brings a touch of magic to your digital scrapbook pages, making every moment shine like a glistening snowflake.

This Free With Purchase was created by Aimee Harrison, Chere Kaye Designs, Ilonkas Designs, Triple J Designs, and Scrapbookcrazy Creations by Robyn.

This collab includes: 1 Alpha {Uppercase, Lowercase, Numbers & Punctuation}, 56 Papers, and 107 Elements.

Chill in style with ‘Freezin’ Season,’ a frosty digital scrapbooking kit that captures the essence of winter’s icy allure. Immerse yourself in a palette of icy blues and sparkling silvers reminiscent of glistening snow. Adorn your pages with adorable penguins, delicate snowflakes, and cozy sweaters, creating a whimsical blend of winter charm. Whether you’re documenting snowy adventures or celebrating the cozy warmth indoors, ‘Freezin’ Season’ brings the magic of the season to life, making your digital scrapbook a cool and delightful showcase of memories.

This Monthly Mix was created by CarolW Designs, Cindy Ritter Designs, Dear Friends Designs, Moore Blessings Digital Design, and LDragDesign.

This collab includes: 1 Alpha {Uppercase, Lowercase, Numbers & Punctuation}, 57 Papers, 91 Elements, 3 12×12 Template {png, psd, tif file formats}, and 1 12×24 Template {png, psd, tif file formats}.

Now to the January Sneak Peek. This month’s Daily Download is from HeatherZ Scraps and Scrapbookcrazy Creations by Robyn! 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!

Embark on a year-long creative journey with ’12 New Chapters,’ a versatile digital scrapbooking kit designed to help you document each month’s unique story. This kit features date tags and blank journal cards, making it effortless to capture the essence of your experiences and keep your memories organized. Infused with inspiration, ’12 New Chapters’ empowers you to craft monthly layouts that reflect the unfolding tapestry of your life. Let this kit be your creative companion as you embark on a beautiful adventure, one month at a time.

This Challenge Reward was created by Craft-tastrophic, Designs by Lisa Minor, and HeartMade Scrapbook.

This collab includes: 5 Alphas {1 Uppercase Only & 4 Lowercase Only}, 58 Papers, 207 Elements, and 2 12×12 Template {png, psd, file formats}.

Let’s look at some great layouts from our Store CT using the January Monthly Mix.

Filed Under: Buffet, Daily Download, Digital Scrapbooking, GingerBread Ladies Tagged With: buffet, Daily Download, Digital Scrapbooking, GingerBread Ladies

Designer Spotlight: December 2023

December 3, 2023 by Jan

Scrapping Serenity!

Typing the word December is painful! But here we are… This month our Spotlight falls on Christie Dawn, also known as Scrapping Serenity. We had a lovely little chat and I’d like to share some of the fun with all of you so you too can get to know her better. Be sure to read all the way to the end, because Christie has some fabulous treats for us!

J: Christie, thanks for spending some time with me. I know my readers are interested in getting better acquainted with the GingerScraps Designers. How long have you been at it?

C: I’ve been designing for like 14 years! I needed a hobby after my youngest was born, and just started designing after scrapping for a while!

J: That’s a long time! Do you have a dedicated workspace?

C: Currently working on a laptop in Photoshop Elements 2022, on a lap-desk in my living room! Our 2 year German Shepherd puppy is super hyper and needs eyes on her at all times! 🙂

J: Ooh I remember the puppy stage really well. They get into mischief almost worse than toddlers! Do you have colours you prefer to work with, or colours you avoid when you design?

C: I DO! My favourites are purple and teal. I don’t love yellow and orange.

J: We’re kindred spirits there! I love blues, pinks, purples, teal and some greens but tend to avoid yellow and orange except in the fall. Do you have a green thumb?

C: I grew some veggies – tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers – this summer from seeds!! First time hadn’t killed something!

J: That’s awesome! I don’t have space to grow veggies. I hope you don’t mind that I’ve got a roast in the oven. I felt like I should put some effort into supper tonight. If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

C: Pasta! Any way you can cook it!

J: I do love pasta. Even just plain macaroni and butter. Maybe I never grew out of the toddler age. Might be my super-power. If you could have one, which one would you want?

C: Mind-reading, having teenagers is hard! Mind-reading could really help!

J: Oh noooo! I don’t think I would ever want to know what my kids were thinking when they were teens! My younger daughter was pretty clear about what she thought of her parents. I’m still trying to process that. She’s 42. Aside from necessities, what’s the one thing you couldn’t live without?

C: Is a phone a necessity? Cause I definitely need that to play my Monopoly Go! 🙂

J: I can relate! I play Words with Friends, Design House and Wordle on mine every day. When I booked my son’s dental cleaning I asked the receptionist what we did before smart-phones. Did we really have to remember all the stuff we keep in our phones? But seriously, I need to win the lottery so I can pay his dental bills. What would you do if you won?

C: Pay off the house, the cars, the camper. Put plenty of money aside for my kids colleges and future houses. Buy a vacation house on the ocean… any ocean.

J: Being debt-free is fabulous. Fun question for a second… If you came with a warning label what would it say?

C: Caution – Brutally Honest – Don’t ask questions if you don’t really want to know the answer.

J: That’s actually a super-power. No pussy-footing around. I see it’s getting late. One last question for you: If time travel was a thing, would you want to? And which way would you go, to the future or the past?

C: I’d love to go back in time and tell my Grandma everything she’s missed and how much we miss her!

J: Oh, yes! I’d love to spend some time with my great-great-grandmother so I could ask her why she wasn’t able to settle in Canada. She tried. Three times. But every time, she went back to England. Anyway, thanks so much for the time and the chatter! I enjoyed it.

Before we close this down, I want to make sure all my dedicated readers know the business side of being in the Spotlight. Christie is providing this month’s Daily Download, found right here on the Blog. Here’s a sneak peek:

Isn’t that just so cute??! She’s also hosting the December Designer Spotlight Challenge, in addition to her usual Font Challenge. Be sure to check them out. But that’s not all!! She also has not one but TWO very generous coupons!

She’s practically giving her work away! Make sure you take a look at her store.

I can’t believe this year is almost over! Where does the time go?? I feel like I’ve accomplished NOTHING this year, but when I look at it objectively, I actually got a LOT done, just nothing to write home about. I bet you know exactly what I mean. But onward and upward. 2023 isn’t over yet!

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Creative Style, Daily Download, Digital Scrapbooking, Digital Scrapbooking Freebies, Feature Designer Tagged With: Designer Spotlight

DD: OCT 20

October 20, 2023 by Stephanie MH

https://bit.ly/3ZISk8E

Follow JB Studio in her Facebook Fan Group.

Remember, the download is kept up for 5 days, and then it is taken down. If you miss pieces, the kit will be available for purchase on the first day of the following month.

Filed Under: Daily Download Tagged With: Daily Download

GingerScraps: New FREE with Purchase Collab, New Monthly Mix & More!!

October 1, 2023 by Stephanie MH

Let’s start out with the October Buffet. Don’t forget to check out the Buffet Bundles. One easy click to add bundles of Buffet goodies to your cart.

This month’s colors are definitely October colors. This month’s buffet has a lot of Halloween in it. And with the buffet kits, you can mix and match to get the perfect kit for you.

Remember any $10 spent in the store gets you this great collab.

Ignite the spirit of autumn with our “Bonfires of Autumn” Digital Scrapbooking Kit. Embrace the warmth, crackling fires, and golden moments of fall with this collaboration created by some of your favorite GingerScraps designers. Whether you’re capturing bonfire nights, marshmallow toasting, or the camaraderie of the season, this kit sets the stage for crafting scrapbook pages that glow with the magic of autumn. Ignite your creativity today and watch your memories flicker to life beautifully!

This Free With Purchase was created by CathyK Designs, Craft-tastrophic, Designs by Lisa Minor, Ilonkas Designs, and Key Lime Digi Design.

This collab includes: 6 Alphas {Uppercase & Numbers}, 66 Papers, and 103 Elements.

October Monthly Mix

Step into a world of enchantment with our “Halloween Magic” Digital Scrapbooking Kit. It’s that time of year again when ghouls, ghosts, and goblins come out to play, and this kit is your key to capturing all the spooky fun! Dive into the eerie spirit with a captivating collection designed to transport you to the heart of Halloween. Whether you’re documenting costume parades, pumpkin carving extravaganzas, or the sheer delight of trick-or-treating under the moonlight, our kit has everything you need to craft scrapbook pages that conjure the magic of Halloween. From sinister shadows to playful pumpkins, our elements are carefully curated to ensure your memories of this thrilling holiday shine brightly. Embrace the eerie, preserve your bewitching moments, and get ready to relive the spooktacular magic of Halloween for years to come!

This Monthly Mix was created by Aimee Harrison, CarolW Designs, Cindy Ritter Designs, and Scrappin’ Serenity.

This collab includes: 1 Alpha {Uppercase, Lowercase, Numbers & Punctuation}, 69 Papers, and 104 Elements.

Now to the October 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!

Embrace the beauty of the season with our “Leaves Falling, Autumn Calling” Digital Scrapbooking Kit. Capture the warm hues, crisp air, and cozy moments of fall with a collection of thematic elements and papers. Whether you’re documenting pumpkin patch adventures, leaf-peeping excursions, or simply savoring the essence of autumn, this kit helps you create scrapbook pages that echo the magic of this enchanting season. Start your autumnal storytelling today and let your memories fall into place beautifully!

This Challenge Reward was created by Chere Kaye Designs, HeartMade Scrapbook, LDragDesigns, Triple J Designs, and Moore Blessings Digital Design.

This collab includes: 1 Alpha {Uppercase, Lowercase, Numbers & Punctuation}, 64 Papers, and 94 Elements.

And how about a little sneak at the Mega Collab that will be available for DSD starting on Friday 10/6 and a few store CT layouts using it.

Filed Under: Buffet, Daily Download, Digital Scrapbooking, GingerBread Ladies Tagged With: buffet, Daily Download, Digital Scrapbooking, GingerBread Ladies

GingerScraps: New FREE with Purchase Collab, New Monthly Mix, NEW Designer & More!!

September 1, 2023 by Stephanie MH

It is the 1st of the month and you know what that means; a huge, exciting newsletter! We have a New Buffet, New Monthly Mix, New Free With Purchase Collab, New Challenge Reward, New Daily Download on the GingerScraps Blog, & a New Permanent Designer! Plus it’s Friday so we have Fresh Baked goodness as well.

Let’s start out with the September Buffet. Don’t forget to check out the Buffet Bundles. One easy click to add bundles of Buffet goodies to your cart.

I love the colors of this month’s buffet. It reminds me of Summer moving into Fall. And with the buffet kits, you can mix and match to get the perfect kit for you.

Remember any $10 spent in the store gets you this great collab. Have you ever been to an {apple orchard}?

This Free With Purchase was created by Cutie Pie Scraps, Heather Z Scraps, Memory Mosaic, The Scrappy Kat, and Cornelia Designs.

This collab includes: 1 Alpha {Uppercase, Numbers & Punctuation}, 56 Papers, 128 Elements.

The September Monthly Mix is just beautiful.

This Monthly Mix was created by Connie Prince, Lindsay Jane, Magical Scraps Galore, Scraps N Pieces, and Tinci Designs.

This collab includes: 1 Alpha {Uppercase, Numbers & Punctuation}, 49 Papers, 103 Elements, 4 12×12 Template {page, png, psd, tif file formats}.

Now to the September Download Sneak Peek. This month’s Daily Download is from Cheré Kaye Designs! Make sure you are checking the blog every day to get all the pieces of this kit!

We are happy to announce that Twin Mom Scraps is staying on permantly to become part of the GingerScraps family.

Not only do we have the wonderful Buffet and other first of the month goodies, it’s also Friday and that means Fresh Baked goodies too!

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!

This Challenge Reward was created by ADB Designs, Alexis Design Studio, Karen Schulz, and Tami Miller Designs.

This collab includes: 2 Alphas {Uppercase, Lowercase, Numbers & Punctuation} {One alpha uppercase only}, 56 Papers, 80 Elements.

Stay tuned for next week. It’s Birthday Time!!!

Filed Under: Buffet, Daily Download, Digital Scrapbooking, Fresh Baked, GingerBread Ladies Tagged With: buffet, Daily Download, Digital Scrapbooking, Fresh Baked, GingerBread Ladies

Designer Spotlight: August 2023

August 3, 2023 by Jan

Cindy Ritter Designs!

Remember my comment about updates in Tuesday’s Tutorial, that they mess things up? Well… it happened again. I couldn’t find my notes for this post. <fuming> All is not lost though. I’ve been able to recreate them. Now, let’s get to know Cindy Ritter a bit better!

Cindy and I chatted at length last week over margaritas on the patio. We got the housekeeping stuff out of the way early, so we could really dish later.

J: What do you use to create your designs?

C: I primarily use Photoshop but am trying to learn to use Illustrator and a tablet. I also use various types of paints, pens, papers and my scanner to create unique products.

J: It can be really challenging to learn new software. I’m trying to wrap my head around Cricut Design Space right now and really wishing there was a common lingo for these applications. I mean, what the heck does “weld” mean, and why didn’t they go with “merge”? I think I’ll need a glossary… Okay, now that we know HOW you work, let’s talk about WHY. What motivates and inspires you as a designer?

C: Most often I am inspired by music, my emotions and color. I absolutely have to have music when I’m working.

J: Oh, me too! I’m often inspired by song lyrics I find especially resonant. Tell me about your favourite kit in the GingerScraps store. Let me guess… it came to you in a song. 😉

C: My favorite is the Beautiful Struggle collection. It WAS inspired by the song “Beauty in the Struggle” by Brian Martin. Like many women, my life has been a series of struggles and challenges, so for me it was very personal. I collaborated with Aimee Harrison and Cheré Kaye and really enjoyed working with both of them.

J: It’s amazing! I LOVE IT!! (I linked it for our readers – just click on the title above and you’ll go right to the collection.) Honestly, who among us hasn’t struggled at one time or another? I think I might be able to guess your answer for this next nosy question: What are your most favorite and least favorite colors?

C: My favorite colors are greens, yellows and orange, I really don’t like pinks and purples.

J: Ladies, take a look at the collection… See any pink or purple? Me neither! Cindy, since you love green, do you have a green thumb? What do you grow?

C: I have a fairly green thumb and do pretty well with green and blooming plants but I don’t have much luck growing anything edible. I live in an apartment so I do container gardening and love growing anything blooming that can survive the heat of Mississippi summers. My current favorites in my garden are Hibiscus, Rock Trumpet, and Bromeliads.

J: In Mississippi you get heat AND humidity. Here, we get the heat but it’s tinder-dry, which is why there’s so much smoke in the air all the time. <sigh> Our HOA has very strict rules about planting anything that isn’t drought-tolerant and every house has drip irrigation to minimize water use. Water is one of the necessities of life for everything. Aside from necessities, what is one thing could you not go a day without?

C: My cats! All 3 are rescues who weren’t old enough to be away from the mama cat when I got them. Bowie and Ziggy have both been with us for over a year now. Our most recent rescue, Phoenix, was only 4-5 weeks old and under a pound when we got him recently. He was brought to us on July 18th by a neighbor who found him injured in her driveway. Apparently she knows I’m a crazy cat lady. Lol

J: I’m not a cat person, but I get the desire to take care of living things who can’t take care of themselves. That’s why I was a nurse for 25 years. 😉 Perfect segué… What did you want to be when you were small?

C: As a child I dreamed of being an artist. I spent most of my working years as a floral designer and also worked as a graphic designer. After I retired I taught myself scrapbook design. My childhood dream is my reality.

J: That’s fantastic! Who says dreams don’t come true? As a fellow retired person, I have so many things that fill my days. Are you a sports fan, or a gamer?

C: I love to play Cribbage. My grandmother taught me to play when I was young and now that she’s gone it brings back pleasant memories of time spent with her. I’ve taught my grandson to play and I hope that years from now playing cribbage will hold pleasant memories for him.

J: Ooh, yes!! I learned to play Cribbage when I was about 10, but I don’t play it well. My late father-in-law skunked me almost every time. When we had a family retreat for my parents’ 60th anniversary, we taught our son-in-law to play. He’s brilliant and caught on right away, now he loves it too! We also got him interested in curling. Such a Canadian thing. If you could have a super power, what would it be?

C: I’m torn between teleportation and time manipulation. Having ADHD, I get distracted very easily and am usually running behind schedule. Both of those would be helpful in getting things done and getting where I need to be on time.

J: I grew up in a military household, so if you’re only 10 minutes early for something, you’re already late. Teleportation would really be a boon for that! I’m also a serious procrastinator, which means I spend a lot of time in conflict with myself. What would you do if you won the lottery?

C: Give each of my kids a house and the money for college. Anything left I would use to help the homeless.

J: Every time I ask that question of designers, I get a variation on those answers. Which leads me to remind everybody that Cindy is providing this month’s Daily Download (and it’s a-freakin’-mazing!) and has already posted a template freebie on the GingerScraps Facebook page. If you’re on FB and haven’t seen it, LOOK FOR IT! You won’t be disappointed! Of course, Cindy is also hosting the Designer Spotlight Challenge this month, in addition to her usual Real Moments Challenge. But if all of THAT wasn’t enough, she’s also put her entire store on sale at 40% off (with bundles and collabs excluded, naturally). But wait! There’s even MORE… Spend $12 or more and you can get an ADDITIONAL 15% off with the coupon code SD_cindy_8-23. What are you waiting for? Go shopping!!!!!!!!! (If you see me with a cartful, just look the other way, okay?)

Cindy, thanks for letting us have a peek into your world. Have a fabulous Spotlight month!!

WordPress is being snarky today… no signature line. Love JAN

Tutorial Tuesday (Individual Style)

July 18, 2023 by Jan

Challenge Spotlight: Word Art

I feel like we’ve done a Word Art Challenge Spotlight not that long ago, but when I looked at the layouts in the Gallery, I just had to choose it for this month’s Spotlight. You’ll see why once I get all them all into this post.

Challenges are a great way to grow your scrapping skills. They encourage creativity and highlight individual style. They can also be a good way to break out of a slump by motivating us to think about what we have in our stash and how we could make it fit into a specific Challenge. Several of the Challenges at GingerScraps include freebies: #2023, Brush, Created with Rewards, Daily Download, Font, Jumpstart Your Layouts, Mini Kit, Memory Mix Up, Photomask, Template (there are 3!), Use It All and Word Art all provide you with some building blocks for zero dollars. (I’ve linked all of the freebie-included Challenges for you.) These are the Challenges that really offer the best insights into individual style because everybody is working with the same key items.

The layouts I’ll show you have been taken from the Gallery in the order they were posted. As always, I’ve linked each layout to its spot in the Gallery for those inclined to take a closer look or to leave some comments. Just click on the scrapper’s user name. Cheré has provided 2 separate versions of the word art, the teal one as shown above and a grey-scale that can be recoloured as desired. Let’s see how they’ve put Cheré‘s word art creation to use.

First off the hop is justpennys. Her layout is a photoless, minimalist one where her Top 3 are things she likes about herself. The teal word art is her choice.

KAPOH has recoloured the word art a vivid yellow to mirror the topic of her layout. It’s clear she’s a soccer fan!

Here, we can see that wvufan04 used the grey-scale version and left it as is. It works beautifully with the theme of her layout, favourite photos of grandparents. I love that line drawing of the antique sedan.

For her layout, fontaine surveyed her family to list their Top 3 places they’d visited together. Glacier National Park got the most votes. She used the teal version of the word art and kept the layout simple to keep the focus on the choices.

Roller coasters would never appear on any list of mine, unless it was things I don’t like, but elfmaiden687 has her own Top 3. She also used the original teal word art, using it as the basis for her palette.

The grey-scale version works nicely with nimble4u‘s layout too. It seems to reflect the dusty olive green of her background paper.

Got2Scrap recoloured the word art to coordinate with the colour palette she chose for her white-space layout. Look at those clusters! Incredible.

This layout by lulumoon is deceptively simple. (Cluster alert!) She pulled the lighter teal colour from the original for her subtitles, which compliments the coral background to perfection.

I think Jill‘s layout is my favourite of the bunch. She chose the deep red of the flowers in her cluster to bring the focus to her title, which then leads the eye to her black-and-white photo. Her colours absolutely POP off the page.

Pixel Palette chose to keep the original teal for her philosophical layout. (She’s not wrong!) The focus of the layout is firmly on her photos.

Once again, I have to commend Katherine Woodin for (literally) documenting the good, the bad and the ugly of everyday life. I like how she’s divided the layout into perfect thirds and used the same paper in 3 different colours to reinforce the 3 aspect of the Challenge.

Grace‘s layout is a work of art in itself. Her colour choices relate to Klimt’s work in the best way. She recoloured the word art a golden brown that also reflects Klimt’s sort of grungy look.

The faith-based simplicity of dkane‘s layout is its strength. She opted for a beautiful deep green for the word art and it works.

For her layout, glee also kept the original teal and pulled it into her overall palette. I like the stencil look to the fern-and-leaf border and that her title tells the whole story.

Grey-scale for the win here! These are hichchei‘s Top 3 foods. Can’t argue with any of them!

I’ve thought about this Challenge a lot and still don’t know how I would meet it. I have 3 siblings. I have 3 children. I have 3 grandchildren. I have 3 best friends. I have 3 favourite wineries. It’s making my brain hurt! Maybe I’ll save it for later.

Next week’s tut will be another Quick Trick. With the announcement of GingerScraps‘ partnership with the Digital Scrapper and their suite of video tutorials, it appears I’ll soon be rendered redundant. Time will tell.

Filed Under: Be Inspired, Behind the Scrapbook, Challenge Spotlight, Creative Style, Daily Download, Digital Scrapbooking, Digital Scrapbooking Freebies, GingerBread Ladies, Tutorials Tagged With: Tutorial Tuesday

Designer Spotlight: July 2023

July 8, 2023 by Jan

In the Spotlight: Neia Scraps!

It feels like forever since I had this chat with Edneia, aka Neia Scraps. Things kinda went sideways here and I put our conversation on the back burner; just as I was falling asleep last night I remembered and had a mini panic attack. I’m so sorry, Neia. Hopefully all is not lost.

Neia told me she enjoyed our last visit when she was in the Spotlight with Dani (JB Studio) and hoped we could switch up the topics a bit this time so no one is bored. Absolutely! Let’s see how much I remember of our chat.

N: Let me start!! Hello, fellow Scrappers! My name is Edneia, I’m 43 years old, I’m married for 20 years and I have 2 cute kittens.

J: Oh, that’s a first! I need more coffee. So. Tell me how long you’ve been designing so we can get the formalities out of the way.

E: I started designing in 2011 when I found out I was pregnant with my second daughter.

J: Is that what inspired you to jump into digital scrapbook design?

E: I decided that I would have a profession that would give me the opportunity to be closer to my daughters and I liked it so much that today she is 12 years old and I still work at home.

J: It’s wonderful that you’ve been able to work from home for so long! I stayed home with my kiddos until the youngest was 4, then I worked part time, mostly evenings. Are your daughters your main motivation?

E: No, actually, my biggest inspirations to start a project are colors. When thinking about a theme, I look for the colors that inspire me, but often the colors inspire me first and the theme is based on a color palette.

J: That seems like a good place to start, rather than trying to shoe-horn a palette into a structured theme. Do you have a favourite kit in the GingerScraps Store?

E: My current favorite kit is “Ocean Wonder“. I’ve always loved the sea and blue is one of my favorite colors. I loved the wood effects I used in this kit. The sea can be soft and at the same time have the strength of the blue immensity.

J: It’s GORGEOUS!! I have to say, I really like how your design style has evolved over the last year or so. What would you do if you won the lottery?

E: I would love to travel the world, see some different places, like Australia for example. (Even with so many huge spiders lol)

J: Travel is a common theme for that question. You can have the spiders… but that makes me wonder, since I’ve found quite a few of the 8-legged creepy-crawlies in my bathroom, are you more likely to sing or dance in the shower?

E: I sing AND dance, hahahahaha!

J: I do too. I love my Bluetooth speaker and my Amazon Music playlists for that. It helps to have a huge shower-only spa bathroom. Spiders notwithstanding. Do you have a green thumb?

E: I love plants but they don’t love me. I already tried it, but my finger is not green.

J: Gardening is one of my stress-busters. I can think troublesome things through and work out some frustrations digging up all the rocks our yard is built on. But I think I’m done digging holes. What colours do you like? Are there any you really DON’T like?

E: My favorite color is pink, I really LOVE the color pink. And the least favorite is some shades of green. Although I LOVE plants and nature, there are few shades of green that I really LOVE.

J: My flowers are mostly pinks, purples, blues and whites, with the HOA-required Stella d’Oro daylilies adding some yellow. My wardrobe is pretty much the same… but NO yellow. I look awful in yellow. All those yellow isolation gowns I wore on the job. <shudder> One time at work we did a little thought experiment. One of my coworkers asked each of us who we’d want to portray us in PICU: The Movie. It was a lot of fun. So…

E: Margot Robbie. She could play me as sweet as the Barbie doll and also as crazy as Harley Quinn.

J: Hahahahaha! I can see it! I had no idea who would be right for my part; my coworker thought for a minute and said, “Judi Dench!” Uh. She’s 20 years older than I am, pal. “But she’s so dignified!” Uh. Have you met me?? Anyway. My warning label would say “Caution! May explode without warning!” What would yours say?

E: “Be careful, it’s fragile but it knows how to bite.”

J: Same, friend. Same! Thank you so much for letting our readers get to know you better.

E: Thank you, I loved participating. GS is a very dear store to me. It is my home. And all the staff are always very friendly.

J: You are so right, Neia! Before we wrap this up, I just want to remind everybody of all the ways you’re making GingerScraps a better place while you’re in the Spotlight. Besides creating beautiful kits, that is. Ladies, Neia is providing this month’s Daily Download and is hosting the Designer Spotlight Challenge. In addition to her regular monthly My Memories Challenge. And… drum roll please… her store is on sale all month PLUS she has a coupon!!