October Feature Designer – BoomersGirl Designs

Welcome to October. Our Feature Designer this month is Lori of BoomersGirl Designs. She slowed down a little from the DSD preparations to answer a few questions for me!

How did you get started in digital scrapbooking?

I wanted a way to preserve the precious memories of my kids so that watching them grow up so fast wasn’t quite as painful. My oldest son is 21 years old and I’ve been scrapbooking since he was a baby.

What made you decide to design?

Although I’ve been a nurse for 25 years now, I had always been blessed not to have to work too much so that I can stay home and raise my kids. I had tried making and selling a variety of items (from flavored lip balms to beaded leather bracelets to soft sculpture dolls) to supplement our income so I could continue to stay home with the kids most of the time. Everything was an epic fail. I finally decided to try my hand at creating my own digital scrapbook kits. It’s been an adventure of continual learning and growth over the past 4 years, but it allows me to be productive while at home, helps provide for our family and gives me a creative outlet.

What do you use to create your designs (program, additional tools, etc.)?

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Describe your design workplace.

A large desk in our living room with my personal computer that I do all of my designing on.

What is your favorite thing about designing?

I have met so many wonderful people from customers to fellow designers to my Creative Team members who I would never have met otherwise.

What is your favorite kit currently in your GS store and why?

That’s tough – I would have to say either “Lords & Ladies” because the medieval time period fascinates me, “Garden of Eden” because it celebrates God and the Bible or “Totally 80s” because that is the decade I grew up in.

What do you do when you are feeling very sad or depressed?

I like to eat – LOL.

Which is the best vacation you’ve ever had in your life?

We haven’t had the opportunity to take actual vacations because we have a large family (6 kids), a limited budget and several pets. But our favorite family day trip so far has been to Washington DC via the MARC train. Unfortunately, only 4 of our kids (plus the girlfriends of the oldest two boys) were able to come along, but it was so much fun and we can’t wait to go back!

Which is your most cherished childhood memory?

I would have to say that the magic of Christmas was my favorite memory.

Do you believe in ghosts?

I have never personally seen one, so I’m not convinced.

Who is your celebrity crush?

I would have to say Johnny Depp.

What do you order when you go to Starbucks?

I’m not a Starbucks fan.

What is your favorite kind of cookie?

Either No-Bake Cookies or my daughter’s Panera Bread-inspired chocolate chip cookies.

How old were you when you had your first kiss?

Mmmm… 16, I think. It’s been soooo long ago!

Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

I try to be an optimist, but life gets in the way sometimes.

Would you change your name if you could? If so, what would you change it to?

Tabitha. It’s a Bible name that you rarely hear, but isn’t too unusual.

What is your favorite pizza topping?

Banana peppers.

If you could give the world one piece of advice, what would it be?

Your kids will grow up way too fast. Don’t waste a single moment with them, because before you know it, they will be teenagers and not want to be seen with you. 😉

What do you do to wake up in the morning?

Alarm clock and coffee.

What is a small luxury that you treat yourself to?

I don’t think I treat myself to any luxuries as I always prefer to do things that our entire family can benefit from and enjoy.

What did you want to be when you were small?

A nurse or a psychiatrist.

Which would you rather do: wash dishes, mow the lawn, clean the bathroom, or vacuum the house?

I’d have to go with vacuuming.

If you could hire someone to help you, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or yard work?

Definitely cleaning.

What would you do if you won the lottery?

I would quit my job to be able to stay home with my kids full-time and move us into a nice house out in the country (in a better area with better schools). I would definitely spoil all of my kids with the money – even the grown ones. And go on some awesome family vacations.

What’s the most interesting thing you can see out of your office or kitchen window?

Probably our “mini” potbelly pig destroying the back yard with his all day grazing.

Share your favorite recipe with us.

These are called “Halfway to Heaven Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies” (yep, it’s a long name – feel free to call them whatever you want). They taste like chewy Nutter Butters!

Cookies:
1 1/2 c. quick oats
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 egg

Filling:
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. creamy peanut butter

For cookies, preheat oven to 350.

In bowl, mix oats, flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix butter, sugar, egg, peanut butter and vanilla. Add the oat mixture, stirring just until blended.

Drop by rounded teaspoons 2 cm apart. Pat down to make flat circles. Bake x 8 minutes (or until lightly brown on edges). Cool

Whisk powdered sugar and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Approx. 5 minutes.

Place frosting between 2 cookies and press lightly.

Thanks Lori!! Make sure to check out her GS Store, her FB page, and her blog. And don’t forget to grab the pieces of the Daily Download every day from this blog!

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Scrapping with Pumpkins

Are you in full scrapping mode today?! Today is the official day of DSD. I have been scrapping like mad. Do you know what October also brings with it? All things pumpkins! That is what we are going to talk about today. Scrapping with Pumpkins.

I was looking around on Pinterest and found some really cool ideas on inputting pumpkins in your digital scrapbooking layouts. Here are just a few of them that I love. (Images are linked to source.)

Scrapping with Pumpkins

You will be hard pressed to find any digital scrapbooking kit without at least one button in it. Take a look through your stash. FInd all those orange, yellowish, brown, and green buttons. How cool would this be on a digital scrapbooking layout?

 

I am absolutely going to do this on one of my digital scrapbooking layouts for my sister's book. This is such a cute idea. You can find a lot of pumpkin templates out there (see below) to accomplish this. You can also cut your photos whatever shape you want and just place them on your pumpkin paper with the right shadow work to look like they are cut out.

I am absolutely going to do this on one of my digital scrapbooking layouts for my sister’s book. This is such a cute idea. You can find a lot of pumpkin templates out there (see below) to accomplish this. You can also cut your photos whatever shape you want and just place them on your pumpkin paper with the right shadow work to look like they are cut out.

 

Another great example of a pumpkin shaped scrapping. Just cut out your papers/ photos the size you want and arrange them to look like a pumpkin!

Another great example of a pumpkin shaped scrapping. Just cut out your papers/ photos the size you want and arrange them to look like a pumpkin!

 

There are so many great ideas you can do when it comes to scrapping with pumpkins. I found some great ideas right here at GingerScraps! Our gallery is filled with some of the best layouts around digital scrapbooking town. Here are some lovely ideas you can scrap lift!

 

 

 

 

 

Wonderful, right? You know what is next!! Here are some great items from here at GingerScraps to scrap all things pumpkin. Like the images above, they are linked to their counterpart in the store.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fresh Baked: October 01, 2016

It’s OCTOBER! The time of spooky themes, oranges, blacks, and purples. The fun is truly starting now. So many holidays starting with October and continuing on! Time to get those cameras ready and create so many new memories, as well as catching up on those summer ones that we didn’t have time to scrap!

It is the First of the month, and that means the revel of our new Buffet!! Don’t forget the new Buffet items will all be 50% off during our DSD sale, through October 6th.

*NEW Buffet Bundles* Take a look at our all new Buffet Bundles! Each buffet for 2016 will have a sub category for our Buffet Bundles. One easy click to add bunches of Buffet goodies to your cart, and an amazing value too!

buffet

The designers all had their own take on what the colors and theme said to them! I love the variety!

The designers definitely each made the palette their own and came up with some gorgeous designs, each unique but working so well with the other designers’ creations

The CT did such a great job showing how well all of the kits blend. They all did wonderful work!

This is just a few of the layouts. Keep an eye out in future newsletters to see more. Maybe even one of yours, if you make sure you put it into the Buffet section of the gallery!

This month, we have two guests and our guests from September are staying with us as well as permanent designers! Welcome to the team permanently Lauries Scraps and Neia Scraps

And now to our guests! Miss Fish Templates and Bella Gypsy!

First up is Miss Fish Templates, with designer Juli!

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Here’s a quick bio she gave us when we asked:

I have been into crafting and making things since I could hold scissors! For the last 12 years I’ve been a digiscrapper. This past year I decided to take my passion for digital scrapbooking and digital pocket scrapbooking and put it to use to create fun and easy to use templates. When I’m not designing templates and scrapbooking I’m a mom to two teen daughters and wife to my husband of 19 years. We are blessed to live in Florida and on really lucky days you can find me on the boat, relaxing in the sun, thinking up scrapbook pages in my head.

Just a few things you’ll find in her store:

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https://store.gingerscraps.net/Miss-Fish-Templates

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https://store.gingerscraps.net/Miss-Fish-Templates

Our other designers joining us are a team, known as Bella Gypsy! Welcome Lena and Tabatha!

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https://store.gingerscraps.net/Bella-Gypsy-Designs/

Tabatha & Lena are sisters who live in central Kentucky and have been designing as Bella Gypsy Designs since February 2006. You’ll find them in forums typically as lenagardner and gypsystar. Bella Gypsy was born when they both discovered a love for digital scrapbooking in late 2005 and it blossomed from there! Tabatha lives in the country with her fella and six beautiful children. (They are 2, 3, 5, 8, 12, & 13–don’t worry, there won’t be a quiz ). She has cats named Jasper, Kaiser, and Rocket. Her hobbies outside of scrapbooking include planners & planning, watching TV, and spraying under the bed for monsters. Lena lives in the city with her husband and three kids. Her kids are 8, 10, & 16. She has a bearded collie named Daphne and a tortie cat named Gwen. She enjoys all kinds of crafts, crocheting, naps, reading, knitting, and anything related to digiscrapping.

And they have some great stuff in the store. Here are just a few things:

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https://store.gingerscraps.net/Aglow-Mini-Kit.html

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https://store.gingerscraps.net/Spooks-and-Spells-Digital-Scrabpook-Bundle.html

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https://store.gingerscraps.net/Mosaic-Bundle.html

I can’t wait to see more from these wonderful designers!

Remember when you spend $10 in the store, you get a great cards and template set, it coordinates with our Oh Snap MEGA that is FREE with any purchase over $20.00! Lots of amazing free goodies!

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https://store.gingerscraps.net/GingerBread-Ladies-Collab-Oh-Snap-Cards-Templates.html

This month’s Monthly Mix is called “Leaves Falling, Autumn Calling”! It is a gorgeous kit created by CathyK Designs, Connie Prince, Key Lime Digi Design, and Tinci Designs. You can almost smell the fall air with this kit!

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Our DSD CELEBRATION is still going on strong!

DSD

Here are a few more HOT deals to check out!

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Grab Bag: https://store.gingerscraps.net/October-2016-Grab-Bag-Halloween-Party.html
Flair Pack: https://store.gingerscraps.net/Halloween-Party-Flair-Pack.html
WordArt Pack: https://store.gingerscraps.net/Halloween-Party-WordArt-Pack.html
Alpha Pack AddOn: https://store.gingerscraps.net/Halloween-Party-Alpha-Pack-AddOn.html
Quick Pages: https://store.gingerscraps.net/Halloween-Party-Quick-Pages.html

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https://store.gingerscraps.net/October-2016-Template-Bundle.html

lauries
Grab Bag #1: https://store.gingerscraps.net/iDSD-Grab-Bag-1.html
Grab Bag #2: https://store.gingerscraps.net/iDSD-Grab-Bag-2.html
Grab Bag #3: https://store.gingerscraps.net/iDSD-Grab-Bag-3.html

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https://store.gingerscraps.net/iDSD-Special-Grab-Bag.html

magical
https://store.gingerscraps.net/Chipmunk-Fun.html

mandy
https://store.gingerscraps.net/Feels-Like-Fall-Grab-Bag.html

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https://store.gingerscraps.net/Magical-Scraps-Galore

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https://goo.gl/DQK8T

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https://store.gingerscraps.net/iDSD-Special-Grab-Bag.html

It is also time for a new Daily Download on the GingerScraps blog!

But before I show you this month’s, here’s the full preview of last month’s:

dd-sept
https://store.gingerscraps.net/Summer-Memories.html

I’m sad to see summer leave, but at least we had a gorgeous kit to help us say goodbye!

And here’s this month’s:

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https://gingerscraps.net/gsblog/2016/10/dd-oct-01-3/

I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry now!

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.

Remember, if you complete 10 challenges, just ten, you get a free kit as well!!

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I know I’m going to make sure I do my 10 challenges for THIS, that’s for sure

DD: Oct 01

It’s time for a new daily download, and this one is awesome.

But before I show you this month’s, here’s the full preview of last month’s:

dd-sept
https://store.gingerscraps.net/Summer-Memories.html

I’m sad to see summer leave, but at least we had a gorgeous kit to help us say goodbye!

And here’s this month’s:

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https://bit.ly/2dknsZ3

I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry now!

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.

Digital Scrapbooking Day 2016: Celebrate at Gingerscraps!

It’s time for Digital Scrapbooking Day 2016! But one day is never enough, we will be celebrating the amazing art of scrapbooking for one whole week!!
Let’s start right off with the 50% off storewide!!(some restrictions apply)
Please visit the {FORUM} for all the details!
https://forums.gingerscraps.net/forumdisplay.php?1225-Digital-Scrapbooking-Day!-2016!

What would DSD be without some epic $5.00 Grab Bags?

https://store.gingerscraps.net/-5.00-DSD-Grab-Bags
We also have a Shop Scavenger Hunt and some fun going on in our Chat Room too! Stop by the forum for all the details!
https://forums.gingerscraps.net/forumdisplay.php?1225-Digital-Scrapbooking-Day!-2016!

Remember when you spend $10 in the store, you get a great collab!

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https://store.gingerscraps.net/GingerBread-Ladies-Collab-Lets-Fall-In-Love.html

 

[Read more…]

Sneak Peaks DSD Weekend!

Its one of the most awesome weekends in the digiscrapping world!!!! Not only are there great kits coming out tomorrow, there’s fantastic sales, chats, and a fwp! Plus on Saturday it’s buffet time!

From Amy Stoffel

From ‘Keley Designs

 

From Dagi’s Temp-tations

From Neia Scraps

From Little Rad Trio

From Dear Friends Designs

From Tinci

From JoCee Designs

From Bella Gypsy

 

From Clever Monkey Graphics

And here is a peak of the upcoming Buffet!!!!

Check back all weekend for new flash sales and the reveal of all the new releases!!!

Designer Sneak Peeks – DSD and more

Oh my what a busy weekend we have. In case you haven’t seen the hullabaloo, DSD has been moved from the first weekend of November to the first weekend in October. Add the normal GingerScraps Buffet releases and some regular Friday Fresh Baked releases and WOW…. there is a lot going on in the store this week. I think the best way to handle these is to just throw them out there. 🙂

Oh my. And this is just a snippet. Make sure you are checking out the GingerScraps Facebook page several times a day this week and weekend as we post kit releases and sales…. lots and lots of sales.

Like every celebration throughout the year, our sweet Ginger has big things planned for this weekend.

I know I can’t wait!!!

Tutorial Tuesday (Photoshop Elements)

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One Photo, More than One Photo Spot

Greetings Gingerscrappers! Are you ready for another Tutorial Tuesday?

Ruth posted the following when Stephanie asked what kinds of topics I should cover: “How do you add a single photo image across more than one photo spot… I see this all the time and can’t figure it out.” Well Ruth, let me show you!

I used a template from the GS Digital Scrapbooking Day 2014 mega blog hop kit called Family Game Night for this lesson, along with pieces of 5 designers’ September Buffet kits. Many scrappers like templates for the ease and speed of their workflow and templates are great for this simple technique. I chose this one because it has two photo spots, close together and aligned with each other, more for simplicity than for any other reason.

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I started off by finding the two photo spots in the layers panel. I nudged them a little closer together so there was still a visible gap, but not a really obvious one.

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Then I selected both photo spots in the panel and shifted them a little so they were more centered in the layout.

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As I explained in my Basic Template tutorial, I like to work from the bottom up, so I laid down all the layers below the photos first. When I finally reached the first photo spot, I dragged my photo onto the template and resized it so it would crop nicely. Then I duplicated that layer. (Right click on the layer and select Duplicate Layer from the drop-down. Or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL/CMD+J.)

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After moving the copy of my photo above the second photo spot in the layers panel, I clipped the photos to each photo layer. (Right click on the photo layer and select Create Clipping Mask from the drop-down, or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL/CMD+G.) When I was finished with that, this is what it looked like.

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Once I had the rest of the layers filled, I didn’t like the amount of disconnect between the two sections of my photo so I nudged the bottom PHOTO SPOT layer up toward the top one a little more to close the gap. It’s still visible, but not glaringly so.

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That’s all there is to it! Easy-peasy!! If you want to use a single photo to cover more spots, just keep copying the photo, moving it on top of the next photo spot and clipping it. You can do this as many times as you want… the sky’s the limit. You may need to shift some of the embellishments so they don’t cover up important parts of your photo, but you’re only limited by your imagination. The final version of my layout is here. I’ll be checking out the gallery to see if anyone has tried this over the next few days. Play with it. Have fun!

Kits used for this layout:

Aprilisa BeYouTiful elements

Connie Prince Empty Nest extra papers

Mandy King Autumn Skies wood paper

Ooh La La Scraps Autumn Chill alpha and papers

Seatrout Scraps Autumn Odyssey elements

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Let’s Celebrate! Autumn (Fall)

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Good morning GingerScrap’s scrappers! I don’t know about you, but here in the southern part of the States, it is starting to look a lot like Autumn! It is my favorite time of the year. From cooler weather, changing colors, holidays, and pumpkins. All these things make this season the best! We should of course scrap it, right? Never fear. GingerScraps has so much to offer when it comes to scrapping seasons. Autumn is no exception. There is even a whole category dedicated to it. Today, we are going to take a look at just a few of those items. Get ready for all things Autumn! (items linked to the store).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, not everything is about pumpkins. There is such a great variety of goods to scrap your Autumn pages. Make sure you check out this month’s and past October and November’s buffets! There is so much more autumn goodness to be had. I will link those up for you here to help out. October 2015 | November 2014 | Crisp Autumn | November 2013


 

You don’t just have to take my word for it. I looked around the gallery and found some great Autumn layouts. Here are just a few to get your creative juices flowing. All layouts are linked to their counterpart in the gallery. I will include the credits as well. You know, since you will be wanting to check out those great Autumn/Fall digital goodness.

Handwritten Fonts

Good morning scrappers. Team member La’Shawn here to talk about fonts. I think it comes with the scrappy territory…font addiction. I don’t think I’ve met a scrapper who didn’t have more fonts than they could ever use. That being said, if you are anything like me, you never stop to think about adding another font to your collection. I went searching around and found 6 handwritten fonts to share with you. Handwritten fonts are my favorite! One of these days I am going to actually get my handwriting done for my own pages. So, here you go.

handwritten fonts

My favorites are always the ones with the little additions to them. Little hearts and smiles. All these fonts are free. I will link them up below for you. I hope you like them. If you make a page with them, come back and link us up in the comments!

Here are the links:
DeeDee Stretch

I Love Me Some Brook

This Is Me

Little Flying Spider

Roundmarker

Heart Attack

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