There are a couple of easy black and white conversions you can use. In Photoshop Elements you can try one of the following:
1. Go to Image>Mode>Grayscale. It’ll remove the color from your photo. You can play with the lighting levels, brightness and contrast until you like it.
2. Create a new adjustment level in your Layers Palette. This will create a new layer over top of your photo that gives it a crisp black and white look.

First I used the grayscale mode. Go to the top menu bar and select Image, choose Mode and click on Grayscale.

This will remove the color. Here is a before and after sample.

I’m not terribly fond of the gray tones, so I played with the lighting a little until I liked it more.

If you like the result, you’re done. If you’re like me, I like a little crisper black and white and almost always use option #2, the Gradient Map. To do so, go to your Layers Palette. At the bottom you’ll find a little circle that is half dark and half light.

Click on Gradient Map in the pull-down menu. It creates a layer on top of your photo. (It might go to the default setting which is black, so you’ll need to go one more step and select the black and white map.)

This is what the before and after look like.

If you like the results, merge the layers and save your photo with a new name (so that you don’t lose your original). I usually use a suffix of BW.

Finally, one more comparison for you. Here is the difference between grayscale (which was adjusted a little) and the gradient map option.

Play around and see what you like!

Credits: Libby Pritchett Be Awesome. The Everyday font by Heather Joyce.

There’s no better time to hit the digi stores than on Funtastic Friday! Here’s some suggestions for some fun podcasts, classes and new products…

Steph, Katie and Peppermint got together to record a mini DigiScraps episode of The Digi Show. Tune in to find out what’s more boring than a bunch of Mom’s on Facebook.

Katrina Kennedy is joining in The Phone Photography Project Workshop at Big Picture Classes. Check it out!

Chelle is super excited about the arrival of summer & strawberry season. Yum! And a special thanks to those who serve to protect us this memorial day!

New at Sausandesigns: Six unique art papers in Letter Size or A4 format for easy printing. Perfect backdrops for your digital or hybrid art journaling pages, wall art, home decor and more.

For one week only, Fans of my Facebook page can grab this super fun mini! Grab Geek Chic while you can!

Kami of Ziggle Designs has a new collection that will help you document your summer bucket lists! Stop by her blog to check it out and find out where you can pick up 4 coordinating freebies!

Jenn Labre has an awesome bundle this week – perfect for all of those beach and vacation photos!

This Weekend by Erica Zane and Sugarplum Paperie is a fresh and vibrant digital scrapbooking kit that celebrates the best part of the weekend–being together and doing nothing!

Danielle Young has this adorable new collection that’s perfect for your little ones’ big accomplishments, and “Lil’ Graduate” is 25% off right now!

A fun bright kit for all your pages about home, cities, and town, filled with fun veneers and loads of handmade goodies.

From Quirky Twerp a set of CU vintage Career Cards.

Gina Miller & Karah Fredricks have teamed up to bring you this adorable kit, just in time for summer! And for a limited time, TDD readers can get 20% off the kit by using the following coupon (exp. 6/8): sandytoes-TDD

Val will be in a chat room to celebrate her birthday. 1 day, 2 times—Pick the best one and join the fun! (Click on the ad for all the details.)

New this week from Kimeric Kreations at the Digichick!

Scrapping with Liz has a couple of new template sets out this week that are going to help you scrap a lot of photos! Purchase Bunch of Photo Templates 2 and get Remember That Templates 2 for FREE!

Passion for P365 templates by Maya de Groot make scrapping your Project 365 pictures fun, quick and easy!

After more than 3 wonderful years, I’m closing up shop at Scrap Orchard and opening a studio at Scrapbookgraphics on 5.27.13. Subscribe to receive updates about the sale, freebies, & more!

This weekend only: press plate no. 37, is available as a free download to facebook fans.

Salty Sea is new from Jacque Larsen, and handmade!

New kit from River~Rose Designs, She Sells Seashells and she sells this kit 20% off now through Sunday, May 26, 2013!

Wendyzine has a new action for shadow lovers. And, to celebrate, all her shadow actions are on sale.

*NEW* A Father’s Love – 20% Off through Sunday at ScrapMatters

I Love You One Hundred is a digital scrapbook collection by Bella Gypsy Designs. This kit is for those sweet everyday moments with that person *you* love more than anything.

Scotty Girl Design has a brand new set of fun templates, Round & Round – 30% off through Sunday.

In addition to 2 releases of artsy digital products in the aA store, we’re celebrating the release of the 100th Artsy Layered Template with a special in-store promotion: All 100 Artsy Layered Templates will be available for 100 cents/each for a period of 100 hours only. The promotion begins Friday 24 May 2013 at 9am EST.

New today from Piccolina Designs is a kit all about running. The proceeds from the first week of sales for “On the Run” will be donated to Huntsman Hometown Heroes, a running group that raises money for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation and its research.

There are amazing new releases from Mye De Leon this week! If you’re looking for more washi tape strips, her new Washi Love is a must have! Plus, she has some new Transparencies that are just breathtaking!

Every week over at Capturing Magic, you can enter to win $25 PayPal cash by guessing where Minnie Me is OR sharing about the contest socially. Contest runs all weekend:

See you next week for more funtastic finds.

I have loved Libby’s designs for a very long time now and I am thrilled to be welcoming her back to The Digi Files! I know I can always count on Libby for bright, bold, heartfelt designs! There are several of her kits that I find myself falling in love with each time I see them and srapping with her goodies is always fun. It was interesting to me to read through her explanations of the roots for some of her kits. I find her designs are ones I can relate to on an emotional level; if you listen to The Digi Show, you will know that’s true when you see the title of her contribution! Let’s take a closer look at “Be Awesome” that is included in The Digi Files this month:

This is ONE of SEVEN collections you get when you become a member of The Digi Game this month. You also get an interactive Playbook (in PDF and iBooks formats) that has lots of ideas for using the supplies including techniques, tips, and tricks! All of that, including access to exclusive collaborations every four months you are a member, for only $7.50 total per month! Here are some layouts created using Libby Pritchett’s contribution:

Layout by Vicki. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett; Fonts: Jailbird Jenna, Inked Gods, LD Twilight.

Layout by Ronnie. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett; .

Layout by Jacki. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett; .

Layout by Rachel. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett; .

Layout by Anne. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett; Fonts: Courier New.

You can see more layouts created with this kit on our “Team Inspiration” page.

Hi! I’m Libby, and I live in Wichita, KS with my husband of almost 3 years, Jeff. We are the parents to 2 awesome teenagers, Kendra & Rhys, as well as quite possibly the cutest 1 year old on the planet, Chloe.

We have a really unique living situation as I work from home full-time, and Jeff, retired from the Air Force, is a full-time college student. So, we spend a lot of time together as a family and wouldn’t have it any other way!

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It isn’t often that I find the time to scrap these days, but every once in a while, I just have an idea that I have to get down on paper. The kit that I used in this layout, Like… Ever, was actually designed with my oldest daughter in mind. Once the kit was finished, I just knew I needed to scrap a photo of her with it. She lives with her dad so that she can finish high school in the town where she grew up, and it kills me. We have a great relationship despite the distance, but I just really needed to document how much I miss her.

One of my favorite things to do with title work when I scrap is to create “stickers” out of the fonts for my title or subtitles. In this particular layout, I used the font KG Strawberry Limeade to type the words “this girl.” I clipped one of the solid papers to the font layer. Then, I selected the font (ctrl + click in the layers palette), added a new layer beneath the font layer, then chose SELECT > MODIFY > EXPAND and expanded the selection by 15 pixels. I then used my paint bucket (alt + backspace) to fill that selection in the new layer. Finally, I clipped a white solid paper to that layer and added a drop shadow to give it the sticker effect.

I started paper scrapbooking in 1998 after my daughter was born. I was hooked instantly and ended up working with several paper scrapping companies and magazines before deciding that I wanted to attempt digital scrapping in 2006. I had recently gone back to work full-time as a dental assistant, and I needed something a little more streamlined for my limited scrapping time. I honestly didn’t think it would replace paper scrapping for me, but boy was I wrong!

After digi scrapping for 2 years, I decided to try my hand at designing because the hours of my full-time job didn’t allow me a lot of time with my family. I was fortunate enough to have a designer friend who held my hand through the entire process. She answered all my questions and helped me learn to design. I went out on a limb and left my full-time job to focus on designing. I was thrilled to open my very first store at Sweet Shoppe Designs just 2 months after starting my first kit. I’ve been at Sweet Shoppe almost 5 years now, and I truly can’t imagine being anywhere else. The girls there are like family to me, and I am so blessed to call it my digi home.

Like many other designers, I’m inspired by the world around me. Most of my kit ideas though, start with a fun kit name. I look to song lyrics, movie lines, and pop culture references to find that jumping-off point for my kits.

Computer: I have a PC with Windows 7 64-Bit. My husband built this computer for me in 2011, and it’s a monster. I have 16GB of RAM and a 23″ monitor.
Program: I use Adobe Photoshop CS6 as well as Adobe Illustrator CS6.
Camera: Most of my photos these days are taken with my phone (Samsung Galaxy SIII), but I recently dusted off my very old-school digital SLR. It’s a Canon 10D that I’ve had since they first came out probably close to 10 years ago. It still takes beautiful photographs!
Anything Else: I do use an old Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet. I’m hoping to upgrade in the near future!

One of my favorite things about Photoshop is that you can create shortcuts for functions you use regularly! My poor husband learned this recently when he was working on a project late into the night when I was already in bed. The next day he told me how he spent hours doing this one particular thing over and over, and I said, “Why didn’t you just create a shortcut?” Poor guy! He had no idea! To create a shortcut in Photoshop CS6, go to EDIT > KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS (alt + shift + ctrl + k), and choose the function that you’d like to create a shortcut for. Once you’ve found the function, just press the key you’d like to have associated with it. If that key is already assigned to another function, you’ll be given the option to override it or choose another key. This is something that I use just about every time I’m in Photoshop!

Loser is a kit that’s very close to my heart because my weight is something that I’ve struggled with all my life. I created this kit when I was on the brink of making some serious choices about my health and lifestyle. I chose some of my favorite colors (orange!!) for this kit because I wanted it to be personal and motivational to me. This is one of those kits that I could see in my head before I ever started creating it, and it turned out exactly like I envisioned. I love it when that happens!

I think this kit really embodies what I think of when I try to define my design style. It’s filled with bright bold colors, clean graphic patterns, and just an overall “happy” feel. For this kit, I knew I wanted to do something different than the traditional pink & red for Valentine’s Day, and I’ve been hooked on the rainbow color scheme. This was probably the most fun I’ve ever had creating a kit, and I think it shows. I wish they all came together this easily!

Here are some of my favorite products by Libby Pritchett:

Here are some more inspirational layouts using Libby Pritchett’s products. All of the layouts are linked to the originals with credits.

Use coupon code lp_tdd35 for 35% off anything in Libby Pritchett’s store except 2Scoop or Triple Dip collabs. Expires May 31.

We will randomly select TWO winners to win $10 in product! All winners will be selected through the Rafflecopter widget below. There are several ways to enter and you can do ALL of them to gain more entries for yourself!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Layout by SharonS. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett, Template by Suzy Q Scraps, Fonts: LD Remington Portable, The Sharon.

Layout by Mandy. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett.

Layout by Tanyia. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett.

Layout by Kristin. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett.

Layout by MilMomma. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett.

Layout by Vicki. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett; Freebie Template by Amy Martin;
Be Awesome by Libby Prichett.

Layout by Trina. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett; Heirloom Garden by Sara Gleason.

Layout by Vicki. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett; Fonts: Jailbird Jenna, Inked Gods, LD Twilight.

Layout by Ronnie. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett; .

Layout by Jacki. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett; .

Layout by Rachel. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett; .

Layout by Anne. Supplies: Be Awesome by Libby Pritchett; Fonts: Courier New.

Sometimes, when my life gets overwhelming and feels out of control, I remind myself to just do the basics. Take care of the basic things that NEED to be done and start eliminating the extras. What might be extras and what are basics are probably different for me than they would be for you, but the idea is the same.

When I was thinking the other day about how much I wanted to create some layouts and document some memories, I decided it was time to get back to basics in my scrapping. Even though I work in the industry, I’m not that different from most of you. I have a lot going on, I want to do far more than I have time for, and creating layouts quickly falls to the bottom of my list. I know, from past experience, that if I want to scrapbook, I have to make it priority and make it happen.

Here’s how I got back to the basics:

• Last week, I decided that on Monday (of this week), I would spend a few hours scrapping. Everything else would wait. I kept that time slot open on my calendar.
• At 1:30pm on Monday, I stopped answer calls, stopped checking texts, and closed my email. (see how I’m getting rid of the extras here?)
• I had a list of stories in my head and heart that I wanted to tell on a layout. I picked one of them.
• I found a photo that would help me tell that story and skipped the editing (getting rid of more extras)
• I chose a SIMPLE template that had ONE photo spot.
• I stuck with ONE kit.
• I love manipulating shadows and can work with them for hours. I skipped the complex shadow editing this time.

In just 30 minutes, I was finished with this layout:

Supplies: template by Katie the Scrapbook Lady; Crossbone Cuts and included in The Digi Files during May, 2013. Font is Printing Primer by Fontologie

I was so excited because I had time to scrap MORE! So, keeping with just the basics, I created TWO MORE layouts (it typically takes me at least an hour to scrap ONE layout):

Supplies: template by Katie the Scrapbook Lady; Britt-ish Designs except yellow paper which is by Crossbone Cuts; fonts are Printing Primer and Beyond Wonderland

Supplies: template by Katie the Scrapbook Lady; papers by Kristin CB, Washington DC card and metro card created w/supplies by WMsquared; ASL cards by me

It felt SO GOOD to just spend time in Photoshop, creating and getting down some memories I’ve had stored up waiting ! THAT is why I love this hobby!  That is why I do what I do! THAT is why I need to get back to basics in my life and in my scrapping more often!

What about you? Is it time for an appointment with your software and supplies?

Studio Blagovesta Gosheva Things I love about You (part of this month’s digi files collection)

Anyone who knows me is aware that I have a special fondness for “badges”. For some reason, I just love cute little buttons with designs or words on them. I used to go kind of crazy using the pieces of flair app on Facebook – in fact, that app is the only reason I joined Facebook in the first place! I simply wanted to make my own flair. Those flair buttons were low resolution though and it wasn’t long before I discovered how much better digi flair is! With all the talented designers in digiland, there is no shortage of fabulous flair to use on our creations.

How to digi scrap with flair

I love the way that the single flair button is acting as a fastener for the journaling card on this layout. Such a simple touch that really makes the page great!

The repetition of flair pieces along the side of this page keep the eye moving through the design and tie everything together perfectly.

Flair buttons don’t have to be round, sometimes they come in rectangles, squares, and even whimsical shapes like hearts. They give nice dimension and interest to any page, and I love the way they add some fun to this beautiful layout!

Flair buttons with words or themes can emphasize the message of the page and call attention to the important points of the memory.

A well-placed piece of flair on a layout is the equivalent of a cherry on top of a cupcake. It just adds a special little something!

A few tips for flair

Pieces of flair are just as easy to use as digital buttons on a layout and can often be shadowed in a similar way. I personally like my flair pieces to have a little more shadowing since they would be thicker than a button in real life.

Shadowing can be done in many different ways and you will need to play around with your own settings to see what you like. There are several tips and great links to explore in our drop shadows tutorial section. For this example, I used a regular button and a flair button (both by Pink Reptile Designs) and applied the following drop shadow settings (in PSE 11):

traditional button:

• angle 45 degrees
• size 21
• distance 23
• opacity 37

flair button (badge):

• angle 45 degrees
• size 21
• distance 26
• opacity 43

Another tip to keep in mind is the size and proportion of the flair in comparison to other elements of the page. I like to think of these flair buttons as the same size as the little pin on badges you can find in the real world, or pieces of flair from the paper scrapbooking store. Think about the size of the piece in relation to the other items on your page. The layouts displayed at the beginning of this post all demonstrate great proportionate use of flair buttons.

Let’s go shopping!

You know this is my favortie part…I can’t wait to show you all of the fun flair out there in digiland!

If you are looking for a great way to add the perfect finishing touch to your digital layout, don’t forget the flair!

I’m very happy to be welcoming Blagovesta to The Digi Files this month! She is a super talented designer that has overcome many challenges in life. I love her collections that are over flowing with beautiful whimsical, slightly weathered and worn designs. Her contribution this month works equally well for girls, boys, or an All About Me layout.  Let’s take a closer look at “Things I Love About You” that is included in The Digi Files this month:

This is ONE of SEVEN collections you get when you become a member of The Digi Game this month. You also get an interactive Playbook (in PDF and iBooks formats) that has lots of ideas for using the supplies including techniques, tips, and tricks! All of that, including access to exclusive collaborations every four months you are a member, for only $7.50 total per month! Here are some layouts created using Blagovesta Gosheva’s contribution:

Layout by Monica. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva; EZPZ8 and Then (Photo Mask) by LivE Designs; Font: Pea Mily.

Layout by Kimberly K. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva; Photo stacking action by Wendyzine Scraps; Font: Another Typewriter.

Layout by Vicki. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva; .

Layout by Heddy. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva; Captivated by Lynn by Captivated Visions; Free Spirit (alpha) by CD Muckosky.

Layout by Jacki. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva; Fonts: Digs My Hart.

You can see more layouts created with this kit on our “Team Inspiration” page.

I am 36 and I am from Bulgaria. I live in Svishtov, a small academic town on the Danube. It is a quiet and beautiful town with many young people. I have a six-year old daughter. She was my inspiration to take up digital scrapbooking. Four years ago her father left us and I had to take care of her on my own. We have had our hard times, of course, but with a lot of hard work and love in our hearts we do well and feel great. I was born an optimist and I believe that people can do anything as long as we really want it and take an effort to make it happen.

I have a Master’s Degree in Business IT and another one in Accounting. I must admit, though, that you would not like to have me as your accountant – all those figures totally scare me! )

I work as a graphic designer at Tsenov Academy’s Publishing House. I love my job, yet, being involved only in economic projects for such a long time makes me feel a bit bored and slightly constrained in what I am doing at times (just don’t tell the boss about it! . Digital scrapbooking and designing is not merely a second job for me. It is something I really love, as it allows me to express myself, to give freedom to my imagination, and above all, I do enjoy being involved in it.

As for my free time, mountains are one of my passions. I have climbed most of the highest mountains in Bulgaria, some of them – more than once. It is such a great source of energy and joy! I also love reading books, going for walks in the countryside, and I am fond of good coffee and chocolate. (I must admit I am nearly addicted to the latter

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My daughter inspired me to create this layout while watching her grow and change so much and so fast… I wanted to keep all those nice memories before she had changed even more and I definitely did not want to forget all those curious, funny and cute things that were typical of her at a certain age. Later on, I started making a similar layout every year for her birthday. I am sure when my girl grows up she will be fascinated to learn what she used to be like, what she loved or did not like in her childhood, how she changed over the years. I have great fun when I look at those sweet moments later because they have saved the most interesting and unusual things about her and I am sure she will laugh just as much when she sees them herself many years from now. I love those layouts as they have both a lot of pictures and plenty of sweet and curious facts about my daughter which I would love to keep for myself, and above all, for her.

Kit: Happiness captured by Blagovesta Gosheva; Template: List girl template set #8 – Artsy Fartsy

I came across Digital Scrapbooking by chance in 2007 while I was reading the posts in a forum. It seemed quite interesting to me and I decided straightaway that I should have a try at it. So I did and I just got addicted. Now I have several photobooks ready, and many more stories and pictures waiting for me to put them in photobooks.

In 2011, a van hit me as I was going to work in the morning and I had a leg badly broken. I had to undergo several surgeries and that leg is full of metal bits and pieces to this day. I was bed-ridden for a very long time, and I couldn’t go to work. I spent those endless days at the computer at home while my daughter was at the kindergarten. I scrapped many pictures. I had many photos of my daughter with her favourite dinosaurs (she is crazy about them) and I started looking around the shops for a good dinosaur kit. Then I thought I might try to make my own. So I got to it and made my dinosaur kit as well as some other stuff … it was such a fun! At first, I did not intend to sell them, but then I decided to try out of curiosity and in June 2011, my first kit was released.

Small, ordinary everyday things inspire me the most. Each time it is something different. Sometimes I spot the colors somewhere, and then the theme comes along and sometimes I have a theme on my mind, and I’m looking for the perfect colors. I can see them while I’m walking on the street or looking at a magazine, I find them on the net, or in my daughter’s clothes

Computer: I work on a PC that runs Windows 7 64 bit, an Intel Core at 2,8 GHz, with 8 GB RAM, 23″ monitor.
Program: I use mainly Photoshop and Illustrator.
Camera: My camera is Nikon Coolpix
Anything Else: I use a Wacom Intuos tablet and HP ScanJet scanner.

How to add a little more pop to your ready to print or upload layouts

May be you already know how to sharpen your image or ready to print layout using the main sharpening filters in Photoshop – Unsharp mask and Smart Sharpen. Now I’ll show you how I usually do that in few quick steps using another filter, which is not only easier to use but also very effective. This is the Photoshop High Pass filter. The reason I prefer this way to add more pop to my images (layouts) is not only because it’s not so complicated. Using this way of sharpening images the only areas in the image that have sharpening applied to them are the edges, and all other areas left untouched.

How it works:

1. Open your already finished and flattened layout (or image) and on the background layer in the Layer palette right click and select Duplicate Layer.2. With this new layer highlighted go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen and choose Other, then High pass. Using the slider set the radius to about 10. (This value is good if you work with high resolution images or layouts before you save it for web at a lower resolution. In case you want to add more pop to your page saved for web at 600×600 and 72 ppi, you have to choose lower value. Best for me in this case works 0,4-0,5). Click OK.
2. Go back to the Layer palette and in the top left corner from the drop down change the blending mode to Hard light
3. Go to the opacity slider in the top right corner of the Layers palette and select the level of sharpening that seems best for you. When you lower the opacity value this reduce the amount of sharpening. Something between 20% and 80% will work best, it depends on your image.

And this is all
Click the eye beside this layer on and off to see the difference.

Just the way you are is definitely my favourite collection at the moment. Maybe this is due to the fact that the inspiration to design it came from my dearest people, the people who give me their love and support. They are all so different from one another with their good features and innocent imperfections. This collection was my way to say how much I love them and how blessed I feel to have such perfectly imperfect people in my life.

I Love kit turned to be the most popular and widely sold of my products so far. I designed it last year, shortly before Valentine’s Day. I tried not to make it too topical as I wanted people to use it for various purposes. Maybe people like its soft colors and sweetness.


Here are some of my favorite products by Blagovesta Gosheva:

Here are some more inspirational layouts using Blagovesta Gosheva’s products. All of the layouts are linked to the originals with credits.

Save 30% of your order at Blagovesta Gosheva’s Studio at Scrapbookgraphics with coupon BG-TDD-30. Not valid during Sale Events. Expires on June 31, 2013.

We will randomly select TWO winners to win $10 in product! All winners will be selected through the Rafflecopter widget below.  There are several ways to enter and you can do ALL of them to gain more entries for yourself!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Layout by SharonS. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva.

Layout by Elitka. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva.

Layout by Melanie. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva.

Layout by YvonneFraser. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva.

Layout by Tia. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva.

Layout by Conny. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva.

Layout by Anny. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva.

Layout by Edna. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva.

Layout by Jacquelinne. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva.

Layout by Eleonora. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva.

Layout by Fliffy. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva.

Layout by Yogovonne. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva.

Layout by Yogovonne. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva.

Layout by Tanpopo. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva.

Layout by Amelia. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva; Around 1 (Template) by Biograffiti.

Layout by Jenn. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva.

Layout by Rachel. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva; Fonts: Happy Daze, GF Halda.

Layout by Vicki. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva; Font: LD Twilight, Impact Reversed.

Layout by Trina. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva; Oh Happy Day Alpha by Designs by Lilli;
Fresh Cut Tulip Templates by Sara Gleason.

Layout by Monica. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva; EZPZ8 and Then (Photo Mask) by LivE Designs; Font: Pea Mily.

Layout by Kimberly K. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva; Photo stacking action by Wendyzine Scraps; Font: Another Typewriter.

Layout by Vicki. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva; .

Layout by Heddy. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva; Captivated by Lynn by Captivated Visions; Free Spirit (alpha) by CD Muckosky.

Layout by Jacki. Supplies: Things I Love About You by Blagovesta Gosheva; Fonts: Digs My Hart.

Credits: Things I Heart About You by Studio Blagovesta and Worn Page Edges by Lynn Grieveson

Every week at the Daily Digi, we dedicate Sunday to an un-digi topic. It can be anything from couponing to birthday cakes and crafts to smartphone cases.

Today I was thinking about laundry. I’m a mom to two little kids, so it’s a near-daily chore for me. I’ll bet it’s a regular item on your to-do list, as well.

I line dry my laundry as much as possible. Beyond the fact that it environmentally friendly and gentle on clothes, seeing laundry on the line is very satisfying to me. I stand in my window and watch it blow in the breeze. It’s oddly relaxing to watch nature take care of drying the clothes. There is nothing for me to do beyond pegging the clothes on the line. The drying just happens.

Although I line dry almost everything, my favourite item is bed sheets. The smell of linens dried on the line is heavenly! On the days when my sheets are freshly line dried, I find myself coming up with reasons why I should go to sleep at 8:30 pm. It’s just too tempting to snuggle into those comfortable and fresh sheets.

I’m so into the smell of air-dried laundry that I even line dry in the winter!

(Although they do need a 10 minute fluff in the dryer afterwards to soften them up!)

Sometimes, laundry on the line can add a touch of excitement to an otherwise regular day. We’ve found that our family can really pull together to get laundry off the line quickly when the wind starts picking up, indicating an imminent rain storm. I pull the laundry off the line and toss them at my husband to pat down into the hamper. My daughter helps gather clothespins. We can have a load off in under a couple of minutes, when it’s needed.

Even if we’re too late, and the laundry on the line gets wet – no harm done. I just leave it and know that it will dry eventually. The sun always comes out again.

Now, if only I enjoyed the actual folding and putting away part of laundry!

Have a great day!

I love using online resources for creative and easy photo editing and most of these sources have great tools for making collages as well. There are many reasons why you might enjoy making collages such as:

• Creating a unique image to use on a digital scrapbook page
• Combining several photos into one image to use for a blog post
• Recapping an event with multiple photos in a small space
• Sharing several images at once in a social media environment (instagram, twitter, facebook, etc.)
• Compiling many photos into one image to use on a photobook page
• Just for fun!

With Memorial Day coming up, I’ve been thinking about our 2012 summer trip to Washington D.C. I still have so many photos that have not made it into my albums yet because I took hundreds of pictures! I decided to pull together some of my favorites to create a collage.

Here’s a collage I created with Pic Monkey. There are many free options to use on the site, and even more if you become a paid member for as little as $2.75 a month. I used a template under the “square deal” collage category for this one.

Even using a free collage, I was able to save a full size 3600×3600 resolution of my creation. Now all I have to do is print it out for my travel album!

I tried several other free online photo collage sites and I honestly can’t recommend very many of them in comparison to Pic Monkey. The other sites don’t have as many free options and it is much more difficult to get your photos imported as well as saving the finished collage to a high resolution file suitable for digi scrapping. Pic Monkey is my go-to source for creating collages online.

Here’s another collage I created with a free template at Pic Monkey in the “Biggie Smalls” category.

I went ahead and upgraded to the Royale membership and I created this collage using a Jigsaw template.

It is also super easy to create a collage image to use as a facebook timeline cover. They do the sizing for you!

There are also other sizes available under the “cards” category such as 5”x7” which would be great to use in those pocket scrapping albums!

I love that it is so easy to change the spacing between photos and you can even round the corners with the slide of a button!

You can also write on your photos (and collages) using Pic Monkey by following the instructions in Steph’s post. For more information on how to create easy collages with photo editing programs, be sure to check out this past post. Have fun making collages!