Happy Friday friends. I hope you have all had a great week. We are firmly into Fall and the new kits by our designers show that.
Don’t forget this great Free With Purchase kit you get with any $10 spent in the store!
Take a look at the new challenge reward kit. If you complete any 10 challenges this month, you get this gorgeous collab (or a variety of other choices from previous challenge collabs) as a reward!
Greatest Hits: Paper Tears Updated
You might wonder why I’m doing another rerun here. If you worked through the shadowbox effect tutorial from earlier this month, you might recall that Jill‘s request had two examples of shadowbox techniques. I showed you how I duped the first one, and mentioned that when I showed the second one, I’d be focusing on paper tearing. Since I wrote the original posts I’m going recap today, I’ve learned a few things… and those tears can look even more realistic. Yes, you read that correctly: I’m doing a double-header today! The first technique tut is 9 years old already…
THIS LOOKS REALLY LONG!! DONT PANIC. IT’S NOT THAT BAD!!!
Obviously, the easiest way to add a paper tear to a layout would be to use an already-roughed-up paper from any of the GingerScraps Designers, or to use a Photoshop Elements Action that automates the process. But if you don’t like those options you definitely can create your own tears.
If you were to tear a piece of high-quality cardstock, which generally has colour applied to one or both sides with a white core, you’d get a bit of an irregular edge, with varying amounts of white backing paper showing along it. So to demonstrate this, I’ve used an embossed cardstock from Ooh La La Scraps‘ simply gorgeous bundle You and Me. Fortunately for me, there is also a solid white, textured paper in the kit too, so I’m going to use it for the core. (For the first few steps, I turned the visibility of the white paper layer off.) And to make it easier to see what I was doing, I put a piece of gray patterned paper behind it all.
I wanted to have tears along both vertical edges of the paper and I wanted some of the background to be visible. I also wanted to Work Smart Not Hard. So I selected the layer with my pink cardstock on it and using the Rectangular Marquee tool, I selected a portion of paper then Edit>Cut [WSNH: CTRL/CMD>X]I trimmed away some paper from each side. You’ll see why this is a WSNH tip as we go along.
I then selected the Eraser Tool and a relatively small brush size. [Update: Instead of using just a round Basic Brush for this step, check out the Artistic Brush set that’s included in your software. There’s a Rough Bristle option in there and when you set the Size to about 100 pixels, it adds some amazing texture to your tears.] Working along the right side of my canvas, I erased away some of the pink cardstock in an irregular, jagged manner. Don’t try to be too careful because you want it to look… well, TORN. If it might make it easier for you to visualize, take a real piece of paper, any kind, and tear it. For real. Then look at the edge. It’s not gonna be perfect!
Because I wanted both sides to be torn, I repeated the process on the left side of the canvas too. You may have noticed that I broke my own rule of only erasing on a Layer Mask. If you’re wondering why, it’s because it really doesn’t matter if I erase too much of these papers. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s better if it ISN’T perfect.
Once I was happy with the edges of my tears, I turned the visibility of my white paper layer back on and trimmed away some of it along both edges in the same way I did with the pink. It made me so happy to see that the texture of the white paper was the same as the pink – that core layer should have some texture to it too. [Update: if you’re using a flat paper or a Fill Layer for your white core, you can get some texture by using a Filter>Noise>Add Noise set to 5%, Gaussian Distribution and the Monochromatic box ticked. If it’s too in-your-face, you can tone it down by adding a Blur>Gaussian Blur>1 pixel.]
The next step was to erase the edges of the white paper just like I did with the pink cardstock. Zoom in close to your work so you can see exactly what you’re doing.
This time I erased close in to the pink paper in some places and veered away a bit in others.
When you zoom back out, there may be some bits of white paper still there. These have to be erased too.
After I had my white edges the way I wanted them, I selected the pink cardstock layer again and went back with the Eraser Tool and created some little slivers of torn paper as shown below. This would happen with real cardstock, so I always include a few little shreds.
Here’s a full screen view of the two torn edges.
The last step to ensuring realism is to add a very infinitesimal shadow to the cardstock layer. I like to have shadows visible on both edges, so to accomplish that I Duplicated [WSNH: CTRL/CMD>J] the pink cardstock layer before I applied a drop shadow. I used a simple shadow, with the following settings: Size 0, Distance 2 and Opacity 75. (These aren’t hard-and-fast, use whatever settings look the most realistic to you. Just remember them for later.)
When I had my shadow just so, I Simplified the layer. Doing that locks the shadow to the cardstock so it doesn’t change later.
Then I did the same thing with the second pink cardstock layer, with one difference – the angle of the shadow.
After both layers had that little extra definition provided by the shadows, I merged the two pink cardstock layers with the white paper layer. [WSNH: Select all layers then CTRL/CMD>E]
And here’s the finished layout.
Now, the second trick I’m going to add is to Copy a paper tear from a template! This one is so simple!
There’s a way to import a paper tear from a template into a layout-in-progress that only takes a few easy steps and very little time. However, you must have a template with a paper tear on its own layer, or a commercial-use paper tear template. They have their own limitations, and may not give you the look you’re after. So try this.
I started out with this template from (former GingerBread Lady) Tinci Designs’ Second Chances V.2 collection. I resized all of the layers (except the background paper) to allow for adding a tear.
I was waiting to find a template like this one from CarolW Designs’ Spring Dawn. That tear is moveable!! But how can I move it onto Krizstina’s template?
There are a couple of steps that need doing first. But to start, I found the tear layer in Carol’s template, right-clicked on the layer and chose Duplicate Layer from the dropdown menu.
Now Elements needs to know where to put it. The new menu shows all the files currently open in the Photo Box, and offers the option of creating a New Document. That’s what I’m going to do.
This step is completely optional. I chose to give my new document file a name, Paper Tear Mask, for clarity.
And this is what happens.
But look at that Bounding Box! I was thrilled to see there’s more to the tear that can be used just by Resizing it.
Now to make it useful and not work too hard while I’m at it. I added a new blank layer underneath the tear layer. Just hold down the CTRL/CMD key and click the sheet-of-paper icon at the upper left of the Layers Panel.
Next, I used the Paint Bucket Tool to fill the whole of the blank layer I just created. Pick any colour you like (but not white) for this step.
To turn the coloured part into a Layer Mask so papers can be Clipped to it, I used a hard, round brush within the Eraser Tool to remove the coloured part above the tear. This can be done quickly because as long as I don’t cross over the tear into the lower part of the coloured area, I can just scrub it away.
And that’s it for creating the tear mask! To move it over onto Krizstina’s template, I’m going to Activate both layers by click-shift-clicking on each of them, then right-click to open the dropdown menu to Duplicate Layers…
This time, I’m going to send them onto the Tinci template.
‘MKay. there are the tear and the mask, placed on top of the background paper and underneath the rest of the layers.
I don’t like the tear up there, just to be a non-conformist. So I’ll move it.
And all that’s left is to add the papers. I’ve used North Meets South Studios’ March 2022 Daily Download kit, When Life Gives Lemons. I want the woodgrain paper to be my background and the yellow gingham to be a tablecloth, sort of – maybe one of those vinyl ones with the fuzzy background and now it’s torn . By Clipping the woodgrain paper to the coloured part I added to the tear, that’s what I get. Cool, right?
Now, if you’d like to do this technique again sometime, you can Save your work As a .psd or .tiff file and reuse it again and again. By having all that coloured area, you can pretty much put the tear anywhere!
So, how will this novella make next week’s tut easier to follow? The review will ground you in the basics, so when I throw in some curls on those torn edges, you’ll already have great tears to play with! Have I piqued your interest?
Happy Friday Friends! We hope you have had a wonderful week. In this weeks newsletter, you will find new kits with beautiful colors to get us ready for Fall and Halloween. It will all be here before we know it.
As a reminder, make sure to check out the September Bake Sale going on until September 20th.
Don’t forget this great Free With Purchase kit you get with any $10 spent in the store!
Take a look at the new challenge reward kit. If you complete any 10 challenges this month, you get this gorgeous collab (or a variety of other choices from previous challenge collabs) as a reward!
Challenge Spotlight: Initial Inspiration
I must say, September arrived and our weather flipped a switch. It’s chillier than usual and we’re actually getting some rain. We’re so happy!
This month’s Challenge Spotlight is focused on a new Challenge hosted by Alexis Designs. It’s called Initial Inspiration and it looks like a LOT of fun! I’m going to let Alexis explain how the Challenge works:
“Each month, I will choose a letter of the alphabet to use as the starting point for your page. Your challenge is to incorporate words, colors, themes, supplies, techniques, or other creative details that begin with that month’s featured letter.
This month, we will use the letter “S“.
Create a layout inspired by the letter S. You may interpret the challenge in your own creative way, but the featured letter should be clearly represented throughout your page.
Theme: (thought starter)
School, September, Solstice, Students, Scarecrows, Sunsets for a few thought starters.
Background:
Sienna, Sapphire, Scarlet, Sepia, Straw, Saffron or other colors beginning with S
Embellishments:
Stars, sweaters, squash, squirrels, soup or anything else beginning with S
Flowers of September:
Asters, Morning Glories, Sunflowers, Snapdragons, Salvia, Wildflowers and other flowers that align with September. It could be anything really.
Journaling:
Write about back-to-school, late summer days, early autumn, farmers markets, September activities, adventures, or annual traditions.
Photos:
First day of school, leaves turning, long drives, campfires, etc.”
As always with the Challenge Spotlight, I’m going to share some of the participating layouts submitted to the Gallery for this month, and we’ll examine each to see how the Scrapper has met the Challenge‘s criteria. Each layout will be linked to the Gallery via the Scrapper‘s user name so you can get a closer look or leave a comment. Or both! This is your reminder that whenever you see bold text that is underlined and in colour, that’s a clickable hyperlink. There were quite a few entries in the Gallery already so I edited the selection to ODD numbered layouts to keep this from turning into War and Peace. Let’s jump in!
Katherine Woodin was first out of the blocks, as she often is. I think she’s the most prolific Scrapper we have! 😉 She has the letter S in her title, she’s used starry paper, snowflakes to play off the bird’s common name, silver and sapphire colours. That’s a pass!
Windswept chose to stick to sunflowers and the letter S in her title, plus some saffron-coloured paper mats. That’s a pass!
Here, msbrad has lots of places where the letter S appears, including her subtitle, and a bunch of stars.
Grace went with the month, September, and a straw-coloured background for the autumnal elements she used. The tag has sepia inky edges. Those sparkly swirls… that’s also a pass!
Aha, a back-to-school layout, but with a justpennys twist! She’s used a lot of school supplies elements and a classroom photo to incorporate the theme. Pass!
FormbyGirl chose an alliterative title with S for the initial consonants, a straw-coloured background, string, and her journaling is all about the title’s subject. Pass!
BriannasScrapper chose to focus on Sonic for her title, her journaling and her photo. Shall we call the shapes in the background swirls? Pass.
Shadows – the title, photos of them, how they’re created (sunwashed), a stylized sun paper clip, a stamp, some striped paper… glee‘s got the bases covered. Pass! <whispers: That looks like a tree-of-heaven. which isn’t heavenly at all, it’s demonically invasive.>
I’m going to keep this Challenge on my radar, because I think it’s a fantastic concept. Do I have a layout for it in mind? No, not really, but I DO have thousands of photos of sunsets… What do you think? Something to try, or no?
Happy Friday Scrappers!! Did you enjoy the Gingerscraps Birthday Party. There were so many sales and games going on.
This week we are jumping both feet into fall it seems. I think these are becoming my favorite color combinations.
Don’t forget this great Free With Purchase kit you get with any $10 spent in the store!
Let’s see what we have in the store today. I’m seeing quite a few kits with apples in them. It’s that time of year.
Take a look at the new challenge reward kit. If you complete any 10 challenges this month, you get this gorgeous collab (or a variety of other choices from previous challenge collabs) as a reward!
Are you ready to party? You know Ginger when it comes to celebrations. And this one is big because Gingerscraps is “legal”. So we’re having a HUGE party!!
Have you participated in one of the Scavenger hunts? They are so much fun and I always find kits I “need” while I’m looking for that crazy Gingerbread Man (he’s a little sneaky).
And our designers have some fun games going on in the Forum as well!
Don’t forget this great Free With Purchase kit you get with any $10 spent in the store!
On top of all that fun, we have some great kits and other special sales and new releases!
Take a look at the new challenge reward kit. If you complete any 10 challenges this month, you get this gorgeous collab (or a variety of other choices from previous challenge collabs) as a reward!
ScrapChat Designs
The first thing Jill said to me was, “I feel like it was just yesterday that we last chatted!” It’s been a year…. But she’s not wrong about how hard she works at being a Spotlight Designer – it’s a LOT of work. A good half of our conversation was business-related, and then she gave me a peek into what REALLY makes her tick… Here’s a transcript of that conversation.
O: Jill! Good to chat with you again. You must be a glutton for punishment! Out of the 45 Designers here at GingerScraps, I think we’ve met more times than anybody else. (Not that I’m complaining!) So let’s talk about GS for a second. What’s the best part of belonging to the GingerScraps family?
J: Oh, where do I start? I love the sense of family at Gingerscraps, both as a designer and as a scrapbooker. I’ve made so many friends along the way, and I love being part of a community where people genuinely share the same excitement for preserving memories and telling their stories. It’s a place where I get to create, scrapbook, laugh, and connect with people who understand why this hobby means so much to us. It’s my scrapbooking home.
O: You’ve just said all the things I think about GS. I’ve mentioned before that I didn’t really *choose* to become part of the GS community, it was assigned to me by the designer I was creating for at the time. But it didn’t take long for it to start feeling like home. But like everything else, it comes with challenges – and I don’t mean the fun kind in the Forum. What do you find to be the biggest challenge to being a digital designer?
J: One of the biggest challenges is creating products that appeal to a wide range of scrapbookers and making sure each kit, regardless of its name, can be used for many different topics. Take my recent collection, Aced It, which was named after my grandson Jace and granddaughter Grace. Jace is starting kindergarten while Grace is in sixth grade, but I feel like the papers and elements can be used for school, birthdays, and plenty of other memories too.
O: You’re so right! This collection will work for a lot of different purposes. Our grands are starting Grades 7, 5 and 3 this fall. Where does the time go? 🙁 Your colour palette here…
J: I tend to gravitate toward primary colors, bright and cheerful palettes, and retro color combinations. I’m not much of a girly girl, and I’ve never been a big fan of pinks and purples. The same holds true in my designs, although I certainly use them when the theme calls for them.
O: Gotcha. I’m kinda the opposite. Variety’s the spice of life, right? Do you feel like your style has evolved over the years?
J: When I started designing, everything was dark-colored and grungy. These days, my style is much cleaner, and I’ve learned to work with a wider variety of color palettes. Although I still rarely work with pinks and purples without complaining! LOL
O: <snorts> Okay, we get it! ScrapChat Designs isn’t a fan of girly stuff! 😀 What does a typical design day look like for you?
J: Wake up and have coffee. That’s about the only thing that is typical in my design life! I often work on the back porch so our 13-year-old Lab, Sunny, can be outside. I’ve also been known to work in airport parking lots while waiting for my boyfriend to land after work. Once I find a creative streak, I completely lose track of time and can sit for hours without getting up. I definitely don’t have a set 8-to-5 schedule, and I often work until 2 a.m.
O: Sounds like me when I’m “digging up bones” – working on my family tree. It’s easy to get into the zone! But I tend to take a chaotic approach to it and often end up going down a rabbit hole I could have ignored. How do you keep yourself organized and on track when you’re working on more than one collection?
J: I don’t, honestly! I tend to compartmentalize projects like Buffet and templates. I usually work from beginning to end on one collection before moving on to the next. There are rare exceptions when another deadline suddenly needs my attention, but for the most part, I’m a one-project-at-a-time designer.
O: I need some kind of discipline. Too bad it doesn’t come in a bottle. 😀 Let’s change the subject here. Are you a prankster? What’s the most memorable prank you’ve ever been part of?
J: One year I served my family including my youngest son “cupcakes” for dinner on April Fools’ Day. They were actually meatloaf with colored mashed potatoes on top. He nearly cried when he saw them because he HATED icing. I never expected a silly prank to upset him so much! Once the truth was revealed, we laughed and ate.
O: Ooh, I did something like that to my kids too! I’d bought a Mrs Smith’s Aussie Pie (chicken pot pie) at Costco and heated it up for supper. Daughter #2 asked what it was, so I told her it was Aussie Pie. “Well, what’s in it?” What do you think is in it? It’s Australian. What do they have a lot of in Australia? She mulled that over for a minute… or five. She pushed it around on her plate and side-eyed me as I calmly put a big forkful in my mouth. She suddenly said, “KANGAROO??” Then she burst into tears. Husband and I were trying so hard not to laugh. I wonder if she remembers? What’s a ptotato chip flavour you’d like to see at a convenience store near you?
J: OLIVE, hands down. Wouldn’t that be amazing? Salt with more salty crunch! YUM!
O: I’ve gotta tell you, my first mental taste wasn’t that… it was olive OIL. Ugh. But now that I’ve thought about it a second, yes… it would be delicious! I’m quite partial to Tayto cheese and onion after I ate my weight of them in Ireland. I was so excited when Lay’s created a very similar version for their World Cup promotion. The halitosis though. Do you have a favourite outfit, one that you’d be okay wearing every day for the rest of your life?
J: Jeans with no zippers, a kinda dressy blouse, no socks, and probably no shoes. Although, since shoes are oddly required sometimes, I’d go with a pair of slip-on flats. I recently realized I’ve turned into my mother in the way I dress, and I’ve decided that’s not a bad thing.
O: I’m with you on all of that except the dressy blouse. For me it would be a medium weight t-shirt with 3/4 length sleeves. I can’t stand full-length sleeves and push them up to my elbows. No socks unless there’s a very good (unavoidable) reason, and Sketchers walking shoes or flip-flops. Perfect! I recently made the mistake of going on a 5K walk with my (very fit police officer) neighbour wearing my flip-flops. I won’t do that again! Although the ice cream was lovely. What’s the most random fact you know?
J: Did you know Walt Disney had an apartment above the fire station at Disneyland? He and his family used it as a place to rest and get away from the crowds, and Walt liked to watch the park guests from the windows.
O: I definitely didn’t know that! I think that’s a good spot to pause and talk about your Spotlight. You’ve already seen this sneak peek for the Daily Download.
Make sure to check out Jill’s two Challenges, her usual Use It All and the Designer Spotlight one. And… drumroll please…
Discover something new for your pages this month! Use code SPOT-SCD-2026 to take 10% off orders of $10 or more at ScrapChat Designs through September 30.
We’re finally getting some rain in the Okanagan Valley. Hallelujah! It’s almost like the weather looked at the calendar and flipped a switch. We went from dry, sunny and 33°C (91°F) to drizzly and 13°C (55°F) in the blink of an eye. I won’t complain though. Wildfires aren’t a good thing. See you next week!
Golden Harvest celebrates the rich colors and cozy comforts of autumn. Filled with pumpkins, fall florals, sunflowers, mushrooms, acorns, apples, leaves, buttons, cozy coffee, and charming seasonal details, this collection captures everything we love about crisp fall days and the changing season. Rich shades of pumpkin, rust, mustard, olive, deep plum, brown, and warm cream create a beautiful vintage-inspired palette.
Perfect for pumpkin patch adventures, autumn gatherings, cozy days at home, nature walks, harvest memories, and all your favorite fall traditions, Golden Harvest brings warmth and timeless autumn charm to every scrapbook page. Available exclusively at GingerScraps!
This collab includes: 1 Alpha {Uppercase, Lowercase, Numbers & Punctuation}, 50 Papers, and 93 Elements.
This Free With Purchase was created by Lindsay Jane, Magical Scraps Galore, Memory Mosaic, and ScrapChat Designs.
Chalkboards and Dust brings the charm of school days past to your scrapbook pages. Filled with chalkboards, books, rulers, pencils, apples, school supplies, science accents, an old-fashioned school bus, alphabet pieces, and vintage-inspired florals, this collection is perfect for capturing all the excitement of heading back to school.
A rich palette of navy, teal, sage, rust, mustard, cream, and warm neutrals pairs beautifully with distressed textures, plaids, stripes, and classic schoolhouse patterns. Whether you’re documenting the first day of school, classroom memories, favorite teachers, school activities, or growing up through the years, Chalkboards and Dust makes it easy to preserve those special school day memories.
This kit includes: 1 Alpha {Uppercase, Lowercase, Numbers & Punctuation}, 48 Papers, and 96 Elements.
This Monthly Mix was created by Scraps N Pieces, Tami Miller Designs, The Brit Chick, amd Palvinka Designs.
September’s Daily Download is provided by ScrapChat Designs. Stop by the blog each day in June to collect pieces of this beautiful kit.
Take a look at the new challenge reward kit. If you complete any 10 challenges this month, you get this gorgeous collab (or a variety of other choices from previous challenge collabs) as a reward!
Autumn Gathering is a warm and cozy celebration of everything we love about fall. Rich autumn colors, pumpkins, mums, mushrooms, acorns, leaves, lanterns, cozy coffee, and rustic details come together in a beautifully nostalgic collection. Plaids, florals, vintage textures, and woodland touches add warmth and charm to every page.
Perfect for documenting pumpkin patch adventures, fall gatherings, cozy days at home, nature walks, seasonal traditions, and all those little moments that make autumn special. With its rich palette of rust, pumpkin, mustard, burgundy, deep teal, sage, and warm neutrals, Autumn Gathering brings the beauty and comfort of the season to your scrapbook pages.
This kit includes: 1 Alpha {Uppercase, Numbers & Punctuation}, 40 Papers, and 63 Elements.
This Challenge Reward was created by Adrienne Skelton, Key Lime Digi Design, and Wetfish Designs.
Let’s take a look at these gorgeous layouts from our store CT using the September Free with Purchase.
Remember, spend $10 in the store and get this beautiful collab for free.
Now time for the fun new kits in our store this week.
PU Shop Link: https://store.gingerscraps.net/Neia-Scraps/ CU Shop Link:https://store.gingerscraps.net/Neia-Scraps-CU/
Are you working on your challenges? If you complete any 10 challenges this month, you get this gorgeous collab (or a variety of other choices from previous challenge collabs) as a reward!
The SUMMER Scrap-A-Thon! is almost over. This is a relaxed and inspiring scrapping event with no pressure, no sign-ups, and no voting. Just scrap at your own pace, encourage one another, and have fun together in the forum. The whole event is built around our beloved Monthly Challenges throughout August, making it the perfect way to stay motivated and creative all month long.
Welcome to another Friday at Gingerscraps. We have so many new items in the store, featured products, the continuation of our Summer Scrap-a-Thon, and a special announcement below.
Remember, spend $10 in the store and get this beautiful collab for free.
Let’s start with the new products in the store.
We have some difficult news to share about our friend and GingerScraps designer, Neia of Neia Scraps.
Last week, Neia suffered a brain hemorrhage and has been in the hospital ever since. She is still undergoing tests and being closely monitored by her doctors, and unfortunately, she doesn’t know yet when she’ll be able to go home or return to work.
Because she is unable to work right now, we wanted to find a way for our GingerScraps community to come together and support her while she focuses on healing.
For a limited time, we’re having a special sale on Neia Scraps designs. Your purchase will give you some beautiful new goodies while also helping Neia during this difficult time. If you’ve enjoyed Neia’s designs or simply want to show one of our GingerScraps family members a little extra love, we hope you’ll join us.
Please keep Neia in your thoughts and send her lots of love and encouragement as she works toward getting better!
Thank you, as always, for being such an amazing community.
PU Shop Link: https://store.gingerscraps.net/Neia-Scraps/
CU Shop Link:https://store.gingerscraps.net/Neia-Scraps-CU/
Are you working on your challenges? If you complete any 10 challenges this month, you get this gorgeous collab (or a variety of other choices from previous challenge collabs) as a reward!
Also in August, we have our SUMMER Scrap-A-Thon! This is a relaxed and inspiring scrapping event with no pressure, no sign-ups, and no voting. Just scrap at your own pace, encourage one another, and have fun together in the forum. The whole event is built around our beloved Monthly Challenges throughout August, making it the perfect way to stay motivated and creative all month long.