When it comes to hybrid projects, I (Katie) tend to brush them off as too much effort. That’s why I like to keep an eye out for easy and doable hybrid ideas. All of these are very practical for all skill levels and will add some more fun tricks to help you enjoy your digital supplies even more!

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What a fabulous idea! Persnickety Prints has a template for you to make your own water bottle labels. These would be great to customize bottles for bridal/baby showers, birthday parties, family reunions, and more.

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These “Nuts About You!” cans on the Sweet Shoppe blog would make a great gift!

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A fun little hybrid banner tutorial on Jennifer Fox’s blog. I love banners!

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Personalized travel mug from The Hybrid Chick. What a great way to keep memories with you all the time! This would also make a fun gift for kids and grownups alike.

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I’ve heard a lot about Copic markers so I was excited to see this tutorial on The Sweet Shoppe blog about how to color with them. What a fun way to use digital stamps!

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If you have dismissed hybrid as not being “your thing”, take a fresh look at some of these great projects. You don’t have to create albums or boxes to be working in “hybrid”. Simply using digital scrapbooking products in new ways will make you a hybrid artist!

We’d love to see your hybrid projects in our flickr group. Be sure to add the tag “hybrid” so we can be inspired by your creations!

Michelle Batton’s kit is part of The Digi Files this month.

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If you’ve heard of Chase Jarvis, you are probably familiar with his book, website, and iphone app all based on the idea that “The Best Camera is the One That’s With You”. The general premise is that even a a lower quality camera is better than no camera at all. Because so many of us carry smart phones that include cameras, we are ending up with lower resolution pictures. Many scrappers wonder if they can scrap with these? The answer is YES! There’s no reason why phone photographs can’t be used for layouts, and as digital scrapbookers, we have a big advantage for making the most of phone pics.

I (Katie) love to digi scrap with my iphone photos. I don’t use them all the time, but I have no problem adding them to a scrapbook page and I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well they print up! My advice is to keep lower resolution phone photos a smaller size on the layout. You won’t notice the difference in print quality as much if your pictures are smaller.

Layout by Katie. Anna Aspnes template. Times New Roman font.

I like to make a note right on the layout to let the viewer know that I used phone photos. I think it adds interest to the page and it documents the technology I used at that time. It also might explain to future generations why some of my pages have sharp and crisp pictures, while others have a distinctly different look. Of course, some photographers can do such an amazing job with their phone cameras that you might not ever guess where they came from.

Another favorite trick of mine is to use iphone photography apps to create pictures that have unique filters or effects that are only achieved through a phone camera. For this layout I used pictures taken with the Shake It photo app. I love the “polaroid” look of these photos!

Layout by Katie. Credits: Weeds and Wildflowers Life 365 & Find Your Bliss. Century Gothic font.

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Jenn says:

I haven’t gotten many decent pics with my camera phone, but did manage to scrap one last year with a picture taken on my blackberry that only had a 1 or 2 mgp camera. This layout was printed in a photobook, and I was surprised that the quality came out pretty comparable to some of my other photos. My only tip is to keep the resolution set as high as you can on the camera, so you can get the highest quality photo possible from it in case you do want to print it later on.

Layout by Jenn. Credits: JenLin Designs (Pewter Date Tag, Stamp Frame) Art Box alpa by Holliewood Studios Its Bath Time by Jofia Devoe Summer Memories by Holly Designs Fonts: Orator Std, Papyrus

Layout By Jenn. Credits: Pool Party and Splashtastic alpha by Kate Hadfield
A Beautiful Beginning by Michelle Batton Get Real Realistic Shadows by Jenn Barrette
Journal Away font by Fontologie

Phone Photos:
These are the original size of the photos as taken from my iPhone. The color was extremely orange, so I adjust them slightly by opening Image > Adjustments > Photo Filter and chose the “Cooling Filter 82″ preset. I then duplicated the photo and changed the blend mode of the top layer to “Screen”, with an opacity of 50%.

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Jenny says:

When my second son was born, we left all of our stuff (including my camera) in the car thinking my husband would go back out and get it after we got checked in to the hospital and figured out where my room would be.  Well, things progressed a little faster than I thought they would!  Thankfully, my husband had his Blackberry with him, and used it to snap a few of those first precious photos.  I did my son’s whole baby book at HowFastTimeFlies.com, and this is one of the pages.  The two photos on the bottom right (of our son being checked by the nurse and weighed) were taken with the Blackberry.  All the other photos were taken with my Nikon D40.  Even printed out, there’s really not a huge noticeable difference in the quality.  I have noticed that my husband’s Blackberry takes decent pictures, as opposed to our other camera phones (not smart phones), which don’t take decent pictures.

Layout by Jenny. This page was designed exclusively for How Fast They Grow by Hostess with the Mostess.  It is “Mod Squad” template #2.

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From Melissa S.

Layout by Melissa S. Squee by Flergs and mgl Scraps Font 2Peas Sunshine, 2Peas Scrumptious

Layout by Melissa S. July Songbird Ave kit

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From Melissa L.

Layout by Melissa L. Darcy Baldwin Inspired by Alexis templates
Zoe Pearn Bohemian Summer kit Digital Design Essentials kraft paper
Syrin stitching Miss Mint cardboard frames Font is DJB Lizzy Fizzy

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Are you ready to get scrapping with your phone photos? Here are a few great tips and links to explore:

• Digital scrapbookers have a big advantage when it comes to scrapping with lower resolution photos. Use your photoshop skills or other editing programs to make the most of your phone pictures. You will find lots of resources in our tutorials section.
• Remember, it’s NOT about the camera!  You can take great pictures with any camera. You will be amazed at the results in the “You Must Have a Great Camera” post!
• Check out Chase Jarvis’ website and/or book about phone photography.
• Read this National Geographic article on how to take better camera phone photos.
• Miz Booshay has a great post about phone photography on Pioneer Woman’s website.
• Try some fun camera apps to make your photos more fun. My favorites are: The Best Camera, Mobile Photoshop, and Shake it Photo.
• When I want to geotag my photos, I always snap at least one picture from the shoot on my iphone since it automatically adds the location to the file if you have the location feature enabled. There are times when I don’t want this recorded for privacy and safety reasons. I do like to geotag my travel photos though and map them on Flickr (after the vacation is over).

I hope you will be inspired to use any camera to capture the memories you want to scrap. Remember, a phone camera is better than no camera at all and with a little help, your phone photos can be mini masterpieces!

The Daily Digi Playbook is brought to you by the readers who purchase THE DIGI FILES each month!  THANKS for making this possible!!

Well, all of the products that are included in THE DIGI FILES this month have been revealed, so we thought we would share our secrets with you again!  We are very excited to release the second Daily Digi Playbook as a FREE gift to you!  The Playbook is where we give you the play-by-play for many of the layouts that were featured on the site during July.  There are tutorials with screen shots for many of the techniques that were used, links to even more tutorials and resources, as well as instructions for a hybrid project and hybrid layout!  There are even some links to a couple of free gifts for you as well!

From the beginner digi scrapper all the way through advanced, there is something for everyone in the Playbook!  If you are newer and come across a play that is overwhelming, then just skip it and move on.  Chances are that down the road, as you get more practice, those more difficult techniques will become less intimidating!

In this playbook, we also included a tutorial (including screenshots) for using Emily Powers’ Photology overlays that are included in THE DIGI FILES this month.

Go ahead and download July’s Playbook, grab THE DIGI FILES,  and LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!

P.S. Shannon was the random winner selected from yesterday’s comments, here’s what she said: I really like the look of the Expectantly Yours line. And Everyday Celebrations is probably my most used kit.

Check your email Shannon, you just won $10 in product from AUDacious Designs!

I am excited to welcome Audrey of Audacious Designs back to THE DIGI FILES this month!!  Audrey was one of the very first contributing designers in THE DIGI FILES #1!  I absolutely love Audreys use of color in her kits and can’t wait to show you what our team did with her contribution this month!  Here’s a closer look at what she contributed to THE DIGI FILES this month:

Here’s what our team created using this kit:

Layout by Karen, additional supplies: Janet Phillips Collection 49 template; Font is Steinem

Layout by Katie, additional supplies: Template No. 39 by Ali Edwards, Krafty bare paper by Katie Pertiet, DJB Tracy Script font.

Hybrid layout by Sunghee

Layout by SharonS (a reader), additional supplies: brush: R. Young, font: SF Katie.  Sharon made this layout to go inside her purse that displays layouts.  She decided it was ‘perfectly find to scrap my boys in pink when it’s for my purse’.  I love it!

Layout by Sharongrey8 (a reader)

Hi! My name is Audrey Neal. I currently design digital scrapbooking products under the name Audacious Designs at Design House Digital. Over the past six years, my articles and designs have been featured in numerous idea books and magazines, such as Scrapbook Trends, BH&G Scrapbooks Etc., Memory Makers, and Scrapbook Answers. As a writer, my work includes monthly columns with Memory Makers, Scrapbook Dimensions, and Scrapbook and Cards Today, as well as editorial positions with Digital Artist Magazine and Scrapbook Dimensions. Along with co-author May Flaum, I wrote a book about hybrid scrapbooking called Paper + Pixels, which features step-by-step techniques for beginning, intermediate, and advanced scrapbookers. I’ve also released two paper lines with Dream Street Papers and two stamp sets with Inque Boutique.
I live in western Kentucky with my husband, Chris, and two daughters, Cassidy and Cami. A former middle and high school English teacher, I currently work fulltime for a federal education grant at a local state university. When I’m not designing or scrapbooking, I love to read, take photos, travel, camp, scour flea markets and thrift stores, and attend concerts.

STORE

BLOG

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

Credits: everything from Audacious Designs: Winterberry (patterned and solid papers, elements, word art); Sketchy Stamped Alpha; TTV Frames; Pieces of Me (elements: notebook paper and messy stitches)

I started off as a paper scrapper. After I had my oldest daughter, I decided to create a small scrapbook album for her grandparents; we lived 6 hours from them and there were lots of everyday things that they never got a chance to see. So I gathered up some of my favorite photos of her and browsed the scrapbooking aisle at Wal-mart. This was back in 1997, so my options were fairly limited: brightly colored patterned papers, stickers, and a spiral-bound 6×6 album. It was nothing fancy, but it achieved my purpose. After completing that project, I didn’t scrap again until 2000 or so. I picked up a copy of Becky Higgins’ Scrapbooking Secrets book and decided to scrap our wedding photos. From that point on, I was hooked. I paper scrapped up until 2006. At that point, I was working with Scrapbook Answers magazine and had gotten a number of hybrid assignments, so I started playing around with some of the options that using my computer gave me. I co-authored a book on hybrid scrapbooking with May Flaum, titled Paper + Pixels, which really made me curious about moving further into the digital realm. Not long after that, I attempted my first digital layout. Slowly but surely (after once claiming that I’d never go digital), I started making the transition from paper to hybrid to fully digital.

Designing just seemed to grow naturally from that point, after I started really learning my program. I was just so excited about all the things I could do, and these ideas started forming in my mind. I started off making templates and handwritten word art, and then progressed to papers and elements.

I love color and pattern and the way that those two things can combine to tell their own little story. A lot of my kit ideas come from little words or phrases that I hear, that spark an idea. Then it’s a matter of finding the right mix between colors, patterns, elements, and those words or phrases. Honestly, I’m not nearly as talented, artistic or program-proficient as a lot of other designers out there. But I work hard to put together kits that take a common theme and add a little bit of humor or whimsy, feature a great color scheme, and keep things simple so that your words and pictures can be the main focus.

I scrap on an HP Pavilion dv2000 laptop with 3 GB of RAM. I also have a 500 GB EHD that we use for backup, and I have a Western Digital Passport EHD with 360 GB of storage that I use for storing my scrapbooking and design files – it’s perfect for the traveling I have to do because it is so small.

I use Photoshop CS (the original version) and PSE 5.0 for designing, as well as CorelDRAW. I know that I should upgrade at some point, but to be honest, there are so many other things that I’d rather spend the money on.

I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50, which is essentially a hybrid – it’s more than a point and shoot, but it’s not quite a dSLR. It does give me the option to shoot in RAW, and I can change lenses on it. It has been a great transitional camera for me, but I would love to upgrade to a true dSLR.

I have a Wacom Bamboo tablet, but my oldest daughter uses it much more than I do. I’m very much a creature of habit when it comes to the way I work, so even though I have some fancier tools and programs available to me, I stick to what I’m most comfortable with.

My favorite product is probably my Chemistry collection (papers, flair, elements, word art, and grids).

It’s one of those instances where a color scheme and a phrase came together perfectly and melded into a really fun take on a love-themed kit.

Here are some of my favorite products by Audrey

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

Go have a look in Audrey’s Store and come back and tell her what you like, we will randomly select a winner from those comments to win $10 in product from her store! (Comments must be posted before midnight EST)!

As a thank you to our readers, Audrey has created this coupon to share with all of us!

Once a week, we do an “Un-Digi” post  as a little break. It’s good for the “mojo” to step away from digi scrapping once in awhile and refresh ourselves creatively. Lately, I (Katie) have been longing to grab a book and head outside for some reading time. I earned a college degree in English Literature and during those long semesters of required reading, I always vowed to myself that someday I would read books just for the fun of reading. Mysteries, simple novels, magazines, and non-fiction books all appealed to me while I was buried in classic literature and Shakespeare.

Those years are well behind me now and I do still love to read. Sadly, I still don’t take the time to do a lot of reading just for the pleasure of it. These days I spend my time reading school related materials (I homeschool both of my children). I also use a lot of reading time researching digital scrapbooking and blog related topics. I have become a seeker of information, not a recreational reader. There’s nothing wrong with that because I enjoy what I read, but I also don’t want to miss out on the pure joy of getting swept away by a good book.

I want to read a book. A really good book, with no deadlines or pressure. Just page-turning fun. The kind that makes you want to lie in bed with a flashlight because you can’t wait to find out what happens next. I shared some of my most memorable books in the bullet journaling post a few weeks ago. Now I’d love to know what books YOU love to read! I bet plenty of other Daily Digi readers feel the same way. Feel free to post about your favorite books in the comment section. Can’t wait to see all of your suggestions!

I always get a tiny bit jealous when I hear people talking about their digiversary. My journey into digital scrapbooking was a long process that I can track back to my earliest days in scrapbooking.  Because of that I can’t pinpoint an exact date that it began.

I started scrapbooking when I was a teenager, putting my photos, memontos, and journaling in the yucky magnetic albums.  I learned how to scrapbook as we know it today in 1994 when the second scrapbook store in Utah opened two minutes from my house.  I thought I would share a bit of my journey with you…..don’t laugh!

I created this layout in 1994 by arranging clipart from the DJ-Inkers CDs in PowerPoint, coloring it in by hand, using an exacto knife around the to images at the top to tuck my photo under.  I LOVED it!

Sometimes, I printed on COLORED paper and cut those out (the anchor and title).

In 1997, I upgraded to COLOR clipart and a COLOR printer.  Still using PowerPoint to arrange images, print and then add my photos.

This was one of my very first all digital pages.  I made it in 2003 using Microsoft PictureIt and a CK Clips and Fonts CD (they were way ahead of their time, the products were great quality).

I made this layout in 2004 when I switched to back to PowerPoint.  I had a hard time understanding the layers in PictureIt and couldn’t find any resources for help.  I understood PowerPoint and how I could create layouts with it (and my dad had bought me a magazine about crafting with your computer that had an article in it about scrapbooking with PowerPoint).  The supplies were again from the CK Clips N Fonts CDs.

Later in 2004, I discovered Scrapbook Bytes by way of a special issue of Memory Makers Magazine all about computer scrapbooking.  I started using PaintShopPro and created 12×12 papers for all of my layouts I had done in PowerPoint.  I printed these layouts on my printer at home on 8.5×11 paper and trimmed them down to 8×8.

That’s when I was able to learn about the power of photo editing programs and my life was never the same!  During May of 2004 and December 2004, I created 120 layouts and loved every minute of it!  What about you?  Do you have a digiversary or was it more of an evolution for you as well?

Hooray for Friday! I know that I (Katie) am ready for a weekend of sunshine, scrapbooking, and shopping (for digi supplies of course!) Here are some great “Funtastic Friday” finds to get the weekend started:

I had the privilege of being a return guest on the Paperclipping Digi Show this week. We discussed blogging and how it can help you preserve your memories. Guess who else was on the show? Long time Daily Digi readers will be thrilled to hear from Janet Phillips! It was so fun to hear from her all the way from Indonesia! She, Steph, Izzy, and I all had a great time, and Izzy made us all laugh really hard at the end of the show! You will have to listen to find out why.

Some of the posts we mentioned in the show and a few that relate to the topic:

• Getting the most from your digital kits
• Creating a boy layout from a girl kit
• How to blog
• tumblr
• Comments from the organization episode (PDS 5 That’s So Digi!)
• Be sure to check out links to our “picks” and the comments from this episode also
• Remember that you can submit ideas for future episodes! You might even win a free issue of The Digi Files because of the current contest. More details in the podcast.

FUNTASTIC FINDS:

After 5 Designs is having a month long summer block party! They have have games and challenges in their forums, and a photo contest with a $50 prize, along with a sale on all photo products. How fun!

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Free template to download!

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I just love products that simplify the scrapping process. This looks like a great summer album project! Sale priced through this weekend.

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30% off sale on Dunia’s gorgeous kits! I love all her bright and cheery color schemes!

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Great sale and her prices are already really low!

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A fun and FREE alpha

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From Jennifer Fox and Design Girl – to celebrate making it to the halfway mark of Project 365 they have put this fun collab on sale for 20% off.

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This was JUST added to ksharonk’s store – what a great deal!

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Mari Koegelenberg has a bunch of products for 35% off in her store right now. These ribbons are some of my favorites!

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Liz Tamanaha (Paislee Press) is hosting a giveaway on her blog for these gorgeous templates from Kitty Designs. Today is the last day to enter!

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I just LOVE this new collaborative kit from Shabby Miss Jenn and Kate Hadfield! It’s on sale for 20% this weekend. Available at The Lily Pad or at Shabby Miss Jenn’s Shoppe. I also love the matching fruit trinkets from SMJ. Fun!

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Scrapping with Liz and NeeNee Designs have a jam-packed summer grab bag. 8 brand new products for only $5! It’s available at that amazing price for one week only.

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Chelle is having a birthday celebration going on July 22 – 31st.

Her new kits are 20% off.:  Celebrate! (brite) is at The Digi Chick

and Celebrate! (bold) at Scrap Matters

Then on July 27th, everything in both store is 27% off.

There are daily freebie downloads on her blog. Love these free layered edges!

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Suzy Q Scraps has this super cute Expecting kit and Daily Digi Readers can save an additional 10% by using the code sQ-preggoTDD at checkout. Also, if you buy the kit before July 30th, you get this pregnancy timeline for free!

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Hope you have a Funtastic Friday!

P.S. Tami is the random winner from yesterday’s comments.  She won $10 to Emily’s store!  Congratulations Tami!

I am happy to welcome the amazing Emily Powers to THE DIGI FILES this month!!  Many of us will know and recognize her from her beautiful photography work.  She also has some great digital scrapbooking products!  She contributed some really fun products this month that you can get in The Digi Files EXCLUSIVELY (this will be your only chance at these products):

Look at the really fun things my team created with these products:

Layout by Karen, additional supplies: Dani Mogstad Just Stay Little kit; Ali Edwards word art; Anna Aspnes stitches

Layout by Katie

Layout by Jenn, additional supplies: Explore, Learn, Grow by Sahlin Studio, Font: CK Jot, Chalk Dust

Hybrid project by Sunghee, detailed instructions for this project will be found in July’s Playbook which will be out July 27th.

Layout by SharonS (a reader), additional supplies:  Papers, word art, ribbon: Two Little Pixels Collab, Template: Janet Phillips, Photo overlay: Emily Powers, Acrylic heart: Nikki, Flowers and pearls, Hero Arts, Font: CK Journaling

John Newton once wrote, “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.” I’m a mom, a wife, an artist, a dog lover, a photographer, a writer, an eternal optimist, a teacher, a limping worshiper, a storyteller, a dreamer, an entrepreneur, a night owl, and a bibliophile. I’m spontaneous, determined, loyal, whimsical, smart, eclectic, organized, passionate, creative, generous, ordinary, and resourceful. Mostly, I’m just me, Em.

STORE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

NEWSLETTER

BLOG

Photo dates are a free and fun way to grow as a photographer. Your community is an oyster; there are pearls hiding in the most unassuming, ordinary places. Grab your camera, head out solo and capture the world around you. Want to experiment with modern portraiture? Invite a significant other, child or friend to model for you. I like to occasionally schedule a photo date with another camera enthusiast and take turns photographing each other’s families; that way I’m in a picture once in awhile too!

Go on a photo date each month and your skills will dramatically improve as you wade outside of your comfort zone and photograph new people, places and things in new ways. Classes, books and workshops are helpful, but they cost money and nothing compares to self-discovery; get out there and engage the craft!

I’ve been scrapbooking, in one form or another, since high school, but I started digital scrapbooking and experimenting with photography in January of 2006, six months after my daughter was born. My sister-in-law, Angela, stumbled onto digital scrapbooking while browsing online. She introduced me to the concept and we both said goodbye to our paper scrapbooking supplies and never looked back.

Addy was my creative catalyst. Every day she changed, grew, moved on to something new and memories slipped between the cracks. I think it’s important to look back at where we’ve been in order to see where we are going. This is one of the primary reasons that I document our journey through photography, art and storytelling. One day, Addelyne will look back. She will know that she was loved and wanted from the very beginning. She’ll be able to trace the themes and stories that crisscross her life. She’ll know where she’s been and that will set her free to see where she’s going.

About a year after I dove into digital scrapbooking and photography, my entrepreneurial mind began to spin. Deann McDaniel, a close friend of Nancy Rowe Janitz, emailed me and suggested Angela and I contact the ScrapArtist owner about selling templates in her store. Long story short, Two Sisters Designs was born. When Deann decided to open her own store, we joined her team of storytellers. At that time, Angela and I also started individually designing digital scrapbooking products. After {We Are} Storytellers closed, I took a six-month hiatus, but then decided to join my good friend Liz Tamanaha at Oscraps.

It’s always been important to me to love what I do and do what I love! I agree with interior designer, Summer Thornton: “If you don’t love what you do, do something else. Even if you have to take a pay-cut, even if you have to ’start over.’ Do whatever it takes to do what you love.”

I’m inspired by my family, particularly my husband and daughter. Matt is my heartbeat. We’ve been high school sweethearts and best friends since the 10th grade. It’s stirring to wake up to your soul mate every day. My daughter, Addelyne Raine, is four-and-a-half. She’s a 3’6” adventure. If Matt is my heart, Addy is my soul. She’s taught me to live moment-by-moment with my eye’s wide open.

My Abba inspires me most of all.

“Welcome, child,” he said.

“Aslan,” said Lucy, “you’re bigger.”

“That is because you are older, little one,” answered he.

“Not because you are?”

“I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”

“For a time she was so happy that she did not want to speak.”

(From Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis)

Blogs are never-ending source of inspiration. There are many blogs I like to pop in and visit every day.

Computer – MacBook Pro, Processor 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Memory 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

Programs – Adobe Creative Suite

Camera – Canon 20D

Printer/Scanner – Epson Stylus Photo RX580

Tablet – Wacom Bamboo

The Hybrid@Home, PHOTOLOGY, Expectantly Yours Kit + Album lines are all my favorite. One example from each is shown below.

The PHOTOLOGY line

Here are some of my favorite products by Emily

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

Go have a look in Emily’s Store and come back and tell her what you like, we will randomly select a winner from those comments to win $10 in product from her store! (Comments must be posted before midnight EST tonight)!

Emily will be leaving digital designing and closing her store at the end of July, the products in THE DIGI FILES this month will not be avilable in her store (so grab them while you can).

As a thank you to our readers, Emily has given us this coupon code to share with all of you!

DD50%OFFEMILY

AMOUNT: 50% OFF YOUR PURCHASE

EXPIRES: SUNDAY, JULY 25

ONE TIME USE.

GOOD ON ALL EMILY POWERS PRODUCTS.

EXCLUDES COLLABORATIVE PRODUCTS.

INCLUDES CU PRODUCTS.

COUPON CODE FOR TWO SHUTTER SISTERS:

DD50%OFF2SIS

AMOUNT: 50% OFF YOUR PURCHASE

EXPIRES: SUNDAY, JULY 25

ONE TIME USE.

GOOD ON ALL TWO SHUTTER SISTERS (ANGELA + EMILY POWERS) PRODUCTS.

EXCLUDES COLLABORATIVE PRODUCTS.

INCLUDES CU PRODUCTS.

Beaches are a favorite place for photographers and scrapbookers alike. The gorgeous scenery, and beautiful colors are begging to be captured and celebrated in a photo or on a layout. Beach visits are usually associated with vacations or special trips, with many memories to document. Because I (Katie) live in the Rocky Mountains of Utah, I don’t get to the beach as often as I would like to, but I’ve been lucky to travel to many wonderful beach destinations over the years. Beach layouts are one of my very favorite things to scrap!

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR SCRAPPING THE BEACH:

• Take great beach pictures. These 10 Beach Photography Tips from Digital Photography School will give you some helpful hints for capturing the very best of the beach with your camera.
• Steph posted some useful tips for scrapbooking epic vacations in the Theme Parks post. A lot of the same advice can apply to beach layouts if you have a lot of them to tackle.
• Play up the natural colors of the beach with blues, whites, and sandy neutral colors. Bright colors also look great with pictures of blue water and sandy beaches.
• Have fun with beach themed embellishments like shells, fish, and flowers. Adding a few of these whimsical elements can emphasize the subject of the layout or add interest to a journaling block or title.
• Don’t limit yourself to beach theme kits. Many kits can be used to create beach layouts, especially if you use the right color schemes.

Our team members here at The Daily Digi love the beach and have plenty of layouts to prove it!

Layout by Katie. Template by Kitty Designs. Papers by Cinnamon Designs, Background Paper and seashell by Jofia Devoe. Font is Franklin Gothic Book

Layout by Dunia. Scrap Easy Template 3 by Dúnia (me) The Delightful Collection by Gina Marie Huff Torn N Tattered Templates 4 by Anna Aspnes

Layout by Dunia. Sandy Toes by Kate Hadfield Sunburst Alpha by Kate Hadfield Let’s Curve by Loreta Labarca Papers from a Pocketful os Sunshine by Jacque Larsen Super Sized Alpha by Katie Pertiet Font: SF Zimmmermann

Layout by Melissa L. Shabby Princess Sandbox kit Cindy Schneider template
Miss Mint curled frame Fonts are DJB Poppy Seed and DJB Gimme Space

Layout by Melissa L. Gina Miller Sandy Toes Gina Miller Simple Singles Template White Space #3
K Studio stitching Fonts are LD Blankie and CK Ali

Layout by Melissa L. Water Park by Sahlin Studio/Jacque Larsen

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Here are some beachy layouts that caught my eye in the galleries and our flickr group. (All images are linked)

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Get ready for some serious enabling! We have scoured the internet to find some amazing beach themed digi goodies to help you document your beachy memories. Each image is linked for easy shopping!

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I’m ready to do some beach scrapping, and some digi shopping! My pay pal account is about to take a beating!

P.S. The tags used for headlines in this post are from the Hot! Hot! Hot! Digichick Collaborative. The font is Fontologie Messy Bessy.

Most of the digital scrapbooking I (Katie) do is making one or two page layouts. I love to work on a single layout for awhile and then enjoy the accomplishment of having finished something. It’s a great feeling! I guess that is why I’m sometimes reluctant to tackle a bigger project like an entire album, a mini-book, or even a hybrid-inspired creation. Lately I’ve come to appreciate those types of projects, and I’m realizing that it is a very satisfying and manageable approach to documenting the many memories I want to include in scrapbook form. I’ve been searching my bookmarks and favorite websites for project ideas and I’m so excited to share them with you!

(All images are linked)

I can always count on Ali Edwards for project-based inspiration! She is so good at bringing together pieces and creating a whole and beautiful finished product. This “I Love You Today” mini-book is just the kind of treasure I want to create for my children. The link also includes a free download for journal strips and a video tutorial.

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Do you remember this mini-album that Steph posted on Ali’s blog? I sure do! It’s been on my mind’s “to-do” list for months now. It’s a simple, but very meaningful project. There is even a free download still available to give you the tools you need to get going!

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Stacy Julian put together this adorable little album for her daughter using mainly photos and titles. She used paper products, but there is no reason why this couldn’t be done with digital supplies. Just create a canvas size that works with your mini-album (4×4 is a fun size!) and use that for the photos and title/end pages. You can even add text right on your photos. (See my post about writing on your photos for more ideas.)

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Cathy Zielske has an inspiring post about putting together school albums for her children. Love that she has digital products to make this project super easy!

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I put them together these two Shutterfly Baby Books last December and we still enjoy looking at them. They are very easy to complete and I shared screen shots of the process on my blog.

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Want even more inspiration for some quick and easy projects to work on? Check out these links:

• Teeny Tiny Mini Albums
• How to Plan an Album or Photobook
• Quickly Creating a Year in Review Album

This post has inspired me to get working on 2 album projects that I’ve had on my mind for awhile now. I promise to share them here when I am finished!

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