Libby Pritchett Designs

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 1/14

2012-01-13T22:35:00.001-06:00

Happy Saturday!

I'm so excited to have a new kit for you this weekend! Love You Out Loud is the perfect choice for your sassy Valentine! With a fun pink and red color scheme and funky pops of zebra print, this kit will definitely make a statement!

Remember new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Click the product image to see the kit up close in the shoppe!

My creative team and the Sweet Shoppe Sugar Babes have been busy, too! Check out their awesome inspiration!

Happy 2012!

2012-01-01T09:55:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!

I'm so super pumped about all the fun changes we've got going on at Sweet Shoppe! If you haven't looked around yet, you'll want to take a moment to look at some of the fun things we've prepared for you! Robin did an amazing run down in this week's newsletter if you are looking for a tidy recap!

First up this week is a new product that I'm so excited to share with you! This was the winner of my "Inspiration Contest" back in November. I love the way it turned out, and I hope you will, too! Pipe Dreams will help you document all your favorite video game memories in style! Full of unique elements and papers, this kit is the perfect choice for the gamer in your life!

Remember, new releases are 20% off today only. All product images are linked!

Did you notice that new packaging!?!? As part of our new site design, we gave all of our products a face-lift! So be sure to take a peek through my store to see some of your old favorites looking fresher than ever!

And check out what my team and the Babes have done with this week's kit!!

Another new feature that we're debuting today is our new Bargain Bites section! We've done away with our old Penny Candy section which was just too difficult to navigate with so many products. Now, each designer has chosen 2 products to feature at a 40% discount for a limited time! This section will rotate regularly, so be sure to check back often to pick up some goodies at a sweet price!

And finally, we've added an all new freebie section to the shoppe!!! You won't want to miss these amazing goodies! Just click the product to be taken to the shoppe where you can add it to your cart and grab it for free!!

On that note, I'm off to try to get caught up on designing now that all of this fun behind-the-scenes stuff is taken care of! Hope you all have a WONDERFUL 2012 filled with amazing memories!

Reminder - Going, Going, GONE!

2011-12-22T12:05:00.002-06:00

Just a reminder that we're in the final days of our Going Going Gone sale! These items are available through Saturday. Remember, the designers are taking time to spend with our families for the holidays, so we won't be having new releases this weekend. :)

In an effort to prepare for some exciting stuff going on in the new year, I'm cleaning house and retiring more than ever before. I've got over 60 items retiring this go-around! Check it out! All images are linked to the corresponding product in the store... what could be easier?

The final Sweet Shoppe Saturday of 2011

2011-12-16T23:08:00.000-06:00

Happy Saturday!

Did you forget about me? It feels like it's been so long since I've released a new kit! LOL This week though, I've got a nice basic kit that you'll be able to use for a variety of projects. Project 2012 will be the perfect choice for scrapping your Project 52 or 365 photos.

As always, new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Product image is linked!

Check out these rockin' samples from my creative team and the Sweet Shoppe Sugar Babes!

And a couple of quick reminders...

In case you didn't see the SSD newsletter this week, there are some BIG things happening at Sweet Shoppe in the new year! To gear up for that, our store will be closed from Dec 25 - Dec 31. So, be sure to stock up on all those goodies that you'll need to scrap your Christmas memories before we lock our doors. Then, you'll want to come back on January 1 to see the reveal of some AMAZING new features at Sweet Shoppe! You won't be disappointed!

Also, our Going Going Gone Sale is still in full-swing! You can check out my blog post here with links to each of the products that I'm retiring this go-around. With over 60 items leaving my store for good, there's bound to be something that you still need!

Going, Going, GONE!

2011-12-09T23:35:00.003-06:00

Happy Saturday!

Today, we're kicking off a surprise edition of our Going, Going, GONE event! In an effort to prepare for some exciting stuff going on in the new year, I'm cleaning house and retiring more than ever before. I've got over 60 items retiring this go-around! Check it out! All images are linked to the corresponding product in the store... what could be easier?

__________________

Cyber Monday Freebie

2011-11-28T00:01:00.002-06:00

Today, several of the designers from Sweet Shoppe have a little Cyber Monday goodie for you! We all have various printables available for you to download. You can grab mine below, and be sure to check back because I'll be updating with the other designers' links as they post them!

Hope you enjoy this set of printable Christmas gift tags that Joana Studer created for us using my Blitzen, Jelly Of The Month Club, and Don't Shoot Your Eye Out kits! Click the image to download. :)

Be sure to check out the blogs of the other girls who are participating. I'll update this list as more are added!

Darcy Baldwin {fontography}
http://darcybaldwin.blogspot.com/

lleilla designs
http://scrapgoo.lliella.com/

Heather Roselli Designs
http://heatherrosellidesigns.com/

Penny Springmann Designs
http://pennyspringmann.com/

Melissa Bennett Designs
http://melissabennettdesigns.blogspot.com/

Meg Mullens/Wild Dandeline Designs
http://confessionsofadigijunkie.com/blog/

Traci Reed Designs
http://tracireed.com/blog/

Shawna Clingerman/My Little Scraps
http://www.mylittlescraps.com/designblog/

It's Black Friday!

2011-11-25T06:00:00.003-06:00

Happy Day-After Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a fabulous turkey day. Today, we are kicking off our biggest sale of the year at Sweet Shoppe, so you get to see our yummy new releases a day early!

That's right, Friday & Saturday only, our entire store is 40% off! But don't worry if you're still traveling because you'll still be able to grab everything for 30% off Sunday & Monday, too! A sale like this is so big that it only happens once a year, so don't miss out!

If that news wasn't exciting enough, I even have a new release for ya today! My team has blown me away with samples from this kit, so I hope you love it as much as I do!

As a side note, you'll notice that things are gonna be slowing down for me in the coming weeks as far as new product goes. We've got some majorly fun stuff going on behind the scenes at SSD that is keeping me busy right up until the new year. And when you add that to the fact that I'm nearing the end of my pregnancy and trying to get ahead on kits so that I can take a little maternity leave when Chloe arrives (not to mention all this nesting that's going on in my home)... well, that doesn't leave a lot of hours in the day! Keep checking back though because I promise, I've got some really great things in the works, including the winning kits from my Inspire Libby contest!

Inspire Libby Winners!

2011-11-12T21:24:00.000-06:00

Hi guys!

I couldn't believe the number of entries I got this year for my inspiration contest. I'm seriously blown away. Unfortunately, there just aren't enough hours in the day to use all the amazing ideas that came my way this week. So, even though I originally was only going to take 1 winner, I ended up adding 2 runners-up, too. You can look for these kits in the shoppe sometime between now and February.

Grand Prize (free kit + $20 coupon to my store): Kenzi - Super Mario theme

Runner-up (free kit): Mary (Happy Now) - Office theme

Runner-up (free kit): Sara (misfitinmn) - Sock Monkey theme

There were lots of other great entries, so I'm keeping those on file for possible future use!

Thanks to all who entered. This is always my favorite contest that I do because I love to see what you guys have in mind!

Digital Scrapbook Day FUN!

2011-11-05T11:43:00.003-05:00

In celebration of DSD, my team has put together a couple of fun games and contests for us!

First, if you missed Lib-ingo last night, there is still another chance to play Sunday afternoon! So, get those cards in! Full details can be found here.

Next up, Kristin is hosting a super simple contest. All you have to do is guess how many solo kits I've ever made! Check it out here.

And finally, Angie put together this super duper cute ad for me. I'm looking for inspiration again, and this is your chance to get a custom kit designed just for you!!

And don't forget... everything in my store is 30% off now through Monday! That includes all 7 of my new release products. You don't want to miss them!

Hope you're all enjoying your DSD fun!

Digital Scrapbook Day 2011

2011-11-04T23:48:00.002-05:00

Happy Digital Scrapbook Day!

I have so much to share today that I'm just going to jump right in!

First of all, everything in my shoppe is 30% off now through Monday! That includes my new releases for this weekend!

AND this weekend, we have a special free with purchase team collab!

All product images are linked. Check them out!

I had the honor of doing a Christmas kit with the Christmas kit queen herself... Melissa Bennett! I hope you love it as much as we do!

I had sooooooooooo many amazing samples this week that if I showed them all to you, we'd be here all day! LOL So here is just a little sampling of the awesomeness created with this kit!

As if that's not enough to get those creative juices flowing, I also have a funky retro solo Christmas kit for you this weekend!

On that note, I'm taking a couple of weeks off from product releases to try to get ahead before baby Chloe makes her appearance! So, I'll see you again with another kit on Black Friday!

Lib-ingo is BACK!

2011-11-03T18:57:00.002-05:00

Leila is back with another round of everyone's favorite game... Lib-ingo!

Join her tomorrow night at 9:30pm (Eastern) and again on Sunday afternoon at 1pm (Eastern) in the Sweet Shoppe chat room for your chance to win gift certificates to my store!! There are five prizes up for grabs, including one for BEST DECORATED!!

So, how does it work? First, download the bingo template by clicking the preview image below. Decorate it, choose some words from the list in the zip file and email it to Leila at the included address. Then, show up and play!

Can't wait to see you all there!!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 10/29

2011-10-29T12:32:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday!

"There is always, always, always something to be thankful for…"

Fullness of Life is a collaboration kit from Libby Pritchett and Meghan Mullens. Fullness of Life is just the kit you need to scrap about the people and things in your life that you are grateful for. Full of muted tones and unique elements this kit is bound to inspire you to scrap about the simple things in life that you are always thankful for.

Remember new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Product image is linked!

And check out these beautiful samples my CT and the Sugar Babes have done for you this week!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 10/22

2011-10-22T11:55:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday!

This week, I wanted to do something rugged and manly. I based this kit on some bedding that I found, and it sorta took on a life of its own! Courageous is perfect for scrapping any guy in your life... teen boy, husband, dad, or military hero.

Remember, new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Product image is linked to the shoppe!

Between my CT and the SugarBabes, I've got a ton of awesome samples to inspire you this week. Check them out!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 10/8

2011-10-08T12:30:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday!

So, I've had PINK on the brain a lot lately, and that definitely carried over into this week's kit! I absolutely love Halloween kits, so I couldn't wait to make a pink one this year. Hope you guys love it as much as I do!

Remember, new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Product images are linked.

And the amazing Joanna Ellis has one again created an incredible set of quick pages with this kit!

My creative team and the Sweet Shoppe SugarBabes went nuts with this kit this week! Check out their awesome inspiration!

I ♥ Amazon.com

2011-10-02T12:57:00.003-05:00

It's my turn to host the Sweet Shoppe Blog today, and I decided to write about the new Kindle releases this week! If you've been considering one, I've written out a brief run-down of all you need to know when choosing your new toy. Check out the post here.

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 10/1

2011-10-01T11:29:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday!

At the request of our loyal customers, Meg & I teamed up this week for a Bento-inspired kit! Lunchy Love was inspired by creative lunch displays and the love of Bento style packing. Packed to the brim with adorable bento stye lunch elements as well as just general lunch type elements, this is a kit you'll come back to time and time again to scrap those memories about your finicky eater or your little one who will eat just about anything.

Remember, new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Don't forget that today starts the kick-off of the Sweet Shoppe Mystery Grab Bag event. With any purchase this week, you receive a free mystery bag with goodies from 4 of our designers!

It's a half-baked freebie!

2011-09-27T12:18:00.002-05:00

Hi there everyone!

Do you know what today is? Today marks 20 weeks in my pregnancy... yep, we're exactly 1/2 way through! We found out last week that we are having a little girl, and we couldn't be more excited!

To celebrate, I thought it would be fun to offer you guys a fun little freebie based on my newest kit, Pickles & Ice Cream.

So, I asked my sweet CT Member, Angie Miller to create a little something for you guys. She came up with these CUTE cards that will be perfect to use as baby shower invites, thank you notes, birth announcements, or even journal blocks! She did up 6 different styles, and they're all in 4x6 size for easy printing.

Hope you enjoy them!

download here

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 9/24

2011-09-24T12:28:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday!

I'm super excited about this week's kit as it's something that has been on my mind a lot lately... pregnancy! From weird food cravings to the baby bump photos, this kit will help you document every step of the journey!

Remember new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Product images are linked.

And this week, I also have this CUTE set of coordinating quick pages that Joanna Ellis created for us! I remember Joanna's work from when we were both paper scrappers, and I LOVE that her digi pages still have that paper-scrapped feel. When she asked if she could make some QPs for me, I was thrilled! I hope you love them as much as I do!

If you still aren't convinced, check out these amazing samples from my creative team and the Sweet Shoppe SugarBabes!

Have a great week!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 9/17

2011-09-17T10:49:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday!

This week, I got to collab with one of my favorite designers ever... Shawna Clingerman! Shawna and I always have so much fun collabing. She's so talented and easy to work with! For this collab, we decided to pay a little tribute to one of our favorite childhood board games! Hope you love it as much as we do!

Remember, new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Product image is linked.

Between our teams and the Babes this week, we had a MASSIVE amount of awesome samples! In fact, there were so many that I couldn't fit them all in the collage here! Here are just a few to get those creative juices flowing!

Be sure and check back next week for a kit that's hitting pretty close to home for me these days

Lunchbox Blessings Freebie!

2011-09-05T08:29:00.005-05:00

Now that school is back in session for most of us (or will be starting this week for others!), the designers at Sweet Shoppe have decided to create a little goodie for your favorite student!

Lunchbox notes are a great way to let the kids know that you're thinking of them while they're at school. Simply download this set of 8 notes, add any text you'd like, and print! Then cut them apart and stick one in tomorrow's lunch box!

So, check out all the other designers' blogs (I'll update with links below as I get them) to grab a free set of printable lunchbox notes!

Download here.

A special thanks to Angie Miller for creating this printable for me!

Other designers participating (with links as I have them):

Meghan Mullens

Jenn Barrette

Misty Cato

Julie Billingsley - Check the SSD forum for Julie's

Lliella Designs

Shawna Clingerman

Darcy Baldwin

Kristin Cronin-Barrow

Heather Roselli

Melissa Bennett

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 9/3

2011-09-03T09:19:00.000-05:00

Spirodelic brings back the doodley fun of our youth! Contains 12 spirodelic shapes in PNG, ABR, and CSH (Photoshop Custom Shape) format. Also includes the same shapes in layered PSD format with a clipping mask base for the ultimate customization as you add these to your projects.

Remember, new releases are 20% off Saturday only!

Don't forget!

2011-08-29T09:10:00.002-05:00

Just a reminder that we're in the final days of our Going Going Gone Sale! The items below will only be available through this coming Saturday, September 3. After that, they'll be locked up in the vault for good! Don't miss out! :)

Plus lots of coordinating quick pages sets and bundles that aren't shown here!

Also be sure to check out the Penny Candy section. I added 38 new products to that section, and they are also on sale for 50% off during the GGG sale! After that time, the Penny Candy items will remain 30% off every day.

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 8/27

2011-08-27T11:20:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday!

It's no secret that fall is my absolute favorite season! So, I may be jumping the gun a little bit with my new fall kit (especially when the high today is still supposed to be 3 digits!), but I just can't help it. I love fall!!!

Remember, new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Product image is linked to the shoppe!

And check out the gorgeous inspiration from my team!

Finally, did you hear about the contest we're having at Sweet Shoppe to find our next Sugar Babe? As someone who was a Babe before I was a designer, I can tell you that this is definitely the sweetest gig in digi! You don't want to miss this opportunity... get those nominations in!

Going, Going, GONE!

2011-08-20T13:00:00.000-05:00

It's that time again... the semi-annual SSD Going Going Gone sale! This time, I tore it up! I'm retiring more than ever before. You won't want to miss these before they're gone for good. Each image is linked to the shoppe.

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 8/13

2011-08-13T12:33:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday!

This week, I had the chance to scoop with the awesome Melissa Bennett! She & I have worked on some triple dips together in the past, but this was our first time to get to scoop. I was so excited!

I'm currently addicted to Francesca Battistelli, so this kit was inspired by one of her songs. It's perfect for scrapping those all about me pages, general girly pages, and so much more!

Product image is linked. Remember, new releases are 20% off Saturday only!

Our teams and the babes were busy this week! Check out these amazing samples to inspire you!

A little hiccup

2011-08-10T12:21:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone!

Just a quick note to let you know that things will be wonky around my site here for a few days. My previous web host closed their doors with only 4 days notice, so I had to scramble to get everything moved to a new provider. Thankfully, my new host is AMAZING, and they've been very helpful. But it's going to take a few days for things to get fully propogated. I'm also having trouble getting some of my images to show up here.

We'll get everything back working soon! I appreciate your patience! :)

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 8/6

2011-08-06T11:01:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday!

Super excited about my new kit this week. If you have a special someone in your life who loves these little blocks, you won't want to miss it!

Remember new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Preview is linked to the shoppe!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 7/30

2011-07-29T23:33:00.001-05:00

This week, I have an addition to my Border Basics line! By request, I've created a set of 12x24 border stitches perfect for all those 2-page layouts! You'll receive 8 different stitches in 10 colors each for a total of 80 stitches!

Remember, new releases are 20% off Saturday only! Product image is linked.

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 7/23

2011-07-23T13:27:00.000-05:00

Good afternoon!

I'm a little late getting things posted today, so I'm gonna keep this short and sweet. Today, I have a new baseball kit!

Remember new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Image is linked to the shoppe!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 7/16

2011-07-16T15:53:00.003-05:00

Happy Saturday!

So sorry I'm a little late today posting about my new kit. It's a fun one though, and you won't want to miss it!

This week, I teamed up with one of my favorite designers on the planet! So check out Live In The Sunshine by me & Lauren Grier!

That was certainly unexpected!

2011-07-11T23:09:00.002-05:00

Since I've made the decision to be more personal on my blog and record those memories that I want to make sure get into my scrapbook at some point, I thought this would be the perfect time to share about our surprise news we received last week!

As you may have seen in the forum at Sweet Shoppe or on Facebook, I'm pregnant! Now, while we're thrilled and feel extremely blessed, this isn't your typical "we've been trying and are finally going to be adding to our family" kind of story.

As it is, we weren't trying. In fact, we sorta trying NOT to. But God had other plans and thus, Baby Pritchett will be joining us sometime in February. We both agree that children are ALWAYS a blessing, so we're excited about this new chapter in our lives... even if it wasn't what we were planning.

I have to laugh now because looking back, I don't know how I didn't know I was pregnant. I'd been sick for a month and had missed a period. Hello??? Jeff finally insisted I call the nurse after one particularly bad weekend of illness, and her main suggestion was "You need to be seen for sure, but before you come in, I'd suggest taking a home pregnancy test." I sweetly replied, "Well, I'll be glad to do that, but I know that's not what it is." Famous last words!!!

So I took a home test which immediately showed a positive result. You could've knocked me over with a feather. I just remember saying to Jeff, "I need to talk to you NOW." I was convinced I'd done something wrong with the test, so I took it 2 more times. It took 3 home tests before I was convinced that what I was seeing was really real. And even then, it wasn't until the doctor did a blood test to confirm it that I was 100% sure. I kept googling about how often you might see a false positive... answer: not very often at all.

Anyway, like I said, we're thrilled! We're just shocked and both feel like we're starting over as our two older kids are 13 and 14. A *lot* has changed in the past 14 years! LOL So, this feels like a first time pregnancy to both of us; we're just older and wiser (haha). Now, if I could just shake the morning sickness, we'd be well on our way to preparing for our new little bundle of joy!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 7/9

2011-07-09T14:25:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday!

Today I have a new set in my Paper Clips series. I have to admit, I've loved the samples I've see with these so far. The girls were teasing me about all the layers, but I think you'll agree that the final result is worth it!

Remember new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Product image is linked to the shoppe!

Libby Lou Anniversary Freebie!

2011-07-06T22:30:00.002-05:00

It's day 3 of the Libby Lou Crew Anniversary celebration! Today the girls on my team have done an incredible job on this set of stacked backgrounds! Just add your own photos, titles, and journaling, and you'll have 8 finished layouts in no time at all!

I've separated the previews so you could see the details better, but you can download all 8 pages here.

3 years ago today...

2011-07-05T12:24:00.002-05:00

...I debuted as a designer at Sweet Shoppe! To celebrate, my team has a week packed full of celebrations for you! Be sure to check my blog, facebook, or the forum each day to see what's going on!

For today, we have a straight forward scrap-challenge! Check it out!

And if you'd like a little stroll down memory lane, head on over to the Sweet Shoppe Blog for today's edition of 365 Days of Bliss!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 7/2

2011-07-02T10:59:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday!

Today is a GREAT day because there is a surprise SALE at Sweet Shoppe! You regulars will know that a sale is a rare treat, so you want to take advantage of it while you can. Everything in the store is 25% off now through Monday! To go straight to my shoppe, click here.

This week, I have a special new release as this is the last of my winner's from my NSD inspiration contest! Jenni submitted pics of her baby's bedding and requested a kit to match. This is the result!

Click on the product image to go straight to the shoppe!

Check out what my CT girls have done!

Not enough hours in the day

2011-06-28T13:38:00.002-05:00

Well, my last chatty post indicated that it was almost the official beginning of the summer, and that would explain my absence over the past week and a half or so!

My daughter arrived on the 17th, and Jeff's son came this past Friday. It's been non-stop action since then! We always have such big plans for things to do while the kids are with us, but we almost always run out of time to do it all. There really just aren't enough hour in the day! Between trying to work on my kits (my poor CT has been so patient as I have been getting things to them later than usual), projects around the house (you should SEE how nice my back porch looks after my 6 hr work day yesterday!), and trying to spend time with the kids, I've found that some things are gonna have to give. I'm just hoping it isn't my sanity! LOL

Today we have an exciting trip to the laundromat to keep us entertained (I need a new ginormous washing machine so I can fit my comforter in it and can avoid trips to the laundromat!). Then tonight, we have the $1 movies... can't beat cheap family entertainment!

So, if you don't hear much out of me over the next 4 weeks or so, you'll know it's because I'm busy trying to stay afloat while the kids are here. I keep telling myself that I'll get back to the swing of things once school starts back in August!

Have a great summer!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 6/25

2011-06-25T11:29:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday!

This week I have several alphas and a new paper pack to share with ya! Remember, new releases are 20% off Saturday only. All product images are linked to the shoppe.

First up, by request, is this mega pack of tone-on-tone papers.

Next, also by request, I have this fun glittery alpha in some neutral colors.

And finally, I decided to package the following alphas from a few of my kits. Each of these alphas was previously released as part of the whole kit, so please check your files before purchasing to avoid duplicates.

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 6/18

2011-06-18T10:47:00.000-05:00

I am a C, I am a C-H...

Are you singing along yet? I hope so because this song has been in my head all week long! LOL

I created this kit to capture one of my favorite parts of summer... VBS! With a fun rainbow of colors, a glittery alpha in 5 colors, and loads of elements, this kit is so versatile, you'll want to reach for it all summer long!

And check out these samples from my girls and the Babes!

The official beginning of SUMMER!

2011-06-16T19:55:00.002-05:00

I realize for a lot of people, school is out, and summer is already in full-swing. In the Pritchett household though, it isn't officially summer time until our kids come visit. That day, my friends, is TOMORROW!

I don't even have words to tell you how much I miss Kendra (or "Gracie" now that she's in jr high and is re-inventing herself). To put it bluntly, it really stinks that she doesn't live with me. But being a teenage girl, she didn't want to move away from friends when I came to Kansas. Honestly, when I was her age, I wouldn't have wanted to either. Doesn't make it easy, but at least I understand where she's coming from. At any rate, I'm totally psyched that she'll be here for 5 weeks. We don't have any big plans, but I don't even care. I'm just thrilled to get to spend some time with her. Jeff's son will be here, too, so I'm sure it'll be all we can do just to keep up with 2 teenagers after we've been used to being by ourselves for so long!

In other news, I looooove my kit for this week! It completely captures one of my favorite summertime childhood activities. If your kids go to VBS, this is one kit you definitely won't want to miss!

That's it for today. Keeping it short and sweet!

Write.Click.Scrapbook

2011-06-15T13:00:00.001-05:00

Today, one of my best buds, Cheryl Overton did a write up featuring my product over at Write.Click.Scrapbook. You neeeeeed to check out her post (and be sure and read through to the end cause the girl is witty as can be).

But you'll want to grab my freebie mini kit add-on to my And Your Bird Can Sing kit.

Check it out!

Oh, and if you go, would you care to leave her a little love in the comment section? Her projects were amazing!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 6/11

2011-06-11T10:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday!

Today I have another kit inspired by one of the winners of my NSD contest! Amanda (aka mkcdaisy) requested a veterinarian themed kit. When I thought of the possibilities (how many of us have kids who wanted to be a vet when they were little?), I had to do it! So, here's my take on her request.

Remember new releases are 20% off Saturday only! Product image is linked to the shoppe.

And check out these cute samples my girls did!!!

Be sure and check back next week for another of the NSD contest winners!

A little peek of my new kit

2011-06-10T18:33:00.003-05:00

In about 4 1/2 hours, the shoppe will go live with this week's goodies. It isn't often that I get a chance to scrap... much less with one of my new releases before it actually hits the shoppe! So, I wanted to share with you today!

First up, here's the official peek that Sula put together for us this week:
And here's the page I created using my new kit as well as a new template by Janet Phillips.

This is a layout about my dog Scrappy. My daughter named her (Kendra was almost 3 at the time). She'd wanted to call her Scooby Doo, but I wouldn't have that. So, she settled on Scrappy-Doo or Scrappy for short! We got her when she was just a few weeks old, and she was almost 10 when she passed. We had gone through a lot with her (oh the stories I could tell!). As crazy as she made me most of the time, I can truly say that it left a hole in my heart when she died.

Super quick fb survey

2011-06-10T14:02:00.001-05:00

I just posted a super simple 1 question survey on my fb fan page. If you don't "like" my page already, now would be a good time to start as there might be something in it for a random poster or two. Just sayin' ;)

A new routine (hopefully)

2011-06-07T12:31:00.004-05:00

So, I have to admit that Jeff & I have a pretty unusual "schedule" compared to most people. The fact that we don't have kids at home, Jeff is retired, and I work from home... all of those things lead to a very laid-back routine.

Jeff & I are pretty opposite when it comes to sleep schedules. I've always been an early to bed, early to rise type who needs a good 7-8 hrs of sleep each night. Jeff is a night owl who can make it on 5 or 6 hrs. When we got married, I knew that one of us was going to have to change our sleep habits, or we'd never see each other. As a result, it's not unusual for us to stay up until 3 or 4am and sleep until 10:30 or later.

The problem with that is that I feel like half my day is gone by the time I get up. Now granted, we are up just as many hours as everyone else... we just do it at different times than "normal" people. So, why can't I just accept that? It's like I feel that I can't be productive if it's noon before I'm even finished with breakfast.

We want to get back in the habit of going to the gym, but I prefer to be there and back home before noon so that I can spend the whole afternoon working. (I realize this is a handy excuse for NOT going to the gym! LOL) Plus, our kids will be here visiting for the summer in just a couple weeks, and we both agree that we have to change our sleep schedules while they're here. We don't want to waste a minute with them, and we don't expect them to be staying up until 4am with us! By the time they go back home, I'm hoping that our new "routine" will have become habit and we can stay on track.

So now, it's 12:45 here, and I'm going to sign out and go take a shower so that I can get to work! My goal is to be in bed by 1am tonight. Let's keep our fingers crossed! LOL

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 6/4

2011-06-04T11:27:00.002-05:00

Happy Saturday!

This week, I had so much fun working on my kit. It's been 2 1/2 years since my last bowling kit, so I decided it was time for another!

Remember new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Product image is linked to the store.

Cheap Date

2011-05-31T22:15:00.003-05:00

Wow! What an exhausting day. It's been a long time since I've been ready for bed this early, but this was a good kind of exhausting as Jeff & I had a date day! :)

Now, some would argue that we don't "need" a date since we are alone together 24/7 (I work from home & Jeff is retired from the military -- he'll be going back to school full-time this fall. I'm so proud!) Anywho, as much as we love our time at home together, we really were in the mood to do something fun (and cheap. LOL)

Tuesdays, our local 2nd run theater does $1 showings all day long. So, we actually went to TWO movies today (grand total $4). We also tried a new restaurant (well, new to us anyway) because we'd purchased a groupon (so with tip, we spent less than $4 for lunch!). In between movies and lunch, we managed to go to WalMart, Sam's Club, and the mall (where we spent $4.50 on candy). Then finally tonight, after the 2nd movie, we stopped at Sonic for an ice cream $6). So, our full blown date day consisting of 2 theater movies, 1 lunch out, 1 stop at the candy store, and ice cream for dessert came to a grand total of $18.50.

We are both so cheap that this kind of adventure is thrilling for us. In fact, we even talked about setting a monthly date where we are allowed $20, and we'll see what kinds of creative ideas we can come up with (though I'm pretty easy, so I'd be happy with dollar movies and ice cream each time. LOL)

Oh, if you are taking notes, we saw both Source Code and Limitless today. Both very good movies that made us think. Jeff & I agreed that we liked Source Code better, but honestly, we didn't feel like we went wrong with either (certainly not for the price!) These would definitely be worth renting when they're on dvd if you like action or sci-fi types of movies (the sci-fi might be a stretch, but it's the best word I can think of to describe them).

That's all for tonight. Maybe this day of fun will get my mojo flowing so that I can bowl you over with this weekend's kit release. ;)

Have a good night!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 5/28

2011-05-28T13:24:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday!

This week, I'm excited to share with you one of the kits created from my inspiration contest over NSD weekend! I received so many awesome entries, and Melissa (mamaof3) had some great ideas for a couponing kit. This is the result!

Remember, new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Product image is linked o the shoppe!

Look for 2 other winners from my inspiration contest over the next few weeks!

Congrats to...

2011-05-27T21:24:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Random.org, we have a winner in my "Win it before you can buy it" contest for my new kit Bogo! The kit will be hitting the store in about an hour and a half, but in the meantime, congratulations to Leah! She was the 19th post as selected by Random.org. Leah, be looking for a PM from me over at Sweet Shoppe! :)

A rather ironic twist & a chance to win

2011-05-26T15:09:00.003-05:00

As you guys know, back on NSD, I held an inspiration contest. People could send in an entry with an idea of something they'd like to see made into a kit. I received everything from photos, color schemes, element ideas, etc. One of my winners was Melissa. She sent in some killer ideas for a couponing kit! Being as couponing is such a popular trend these days, I decided to tackle the kit, and I'm so glad I did. It's not often that I say I really love how a kit turned out, but I have to tell ya... I'm happy with this one!

Here's an early peek for ya!

So, why is this ironic? Well, last night around midnight, I was putting the finishing touches on the kit, and I went into the kitchen. I heard water dripping and realized it was coming from our refrigerator! I cleaned up the mess, threw out what I had to, and prayed that I could get it started again. I ended up having to call a repairman this morning, and they came out and fixed it right away. Unfortunately, we lost a ton of food as I'd recently stocked up on groceries. We had a freezer full of steak and chicken, not to mention all the ice cream, other frozen foods, milk, eggs, cheese, etc. So, we are having a massive BBQ tonight in an effort to eat up as much of the meat as we can before we have to throw it out. I certainly didn't plan on spending an extra $500 on refrigerator repair & food replacement this month. Perhaps I should take up couponing!

If you're still with me this far, you're in luck! This week, I'll be giving the kit to one lucky poster before it's released in the shoppe! All you have to do is post a comment here on the blog under this post. If you post on your blog/fb/twitter about the kit, you can link those posts back here as separate comments for an extra chance to win! You have until 10pm EST Friday May 27 to post. I'll choose a winner before the store goes live!

Have a great day!

Did you know...?

2011-05-22T12:55:00.003-05:00

Do you regularly check out The Digi Dares? Did you know that I was featured there earlier this month, and there is even a coupon that is good through the end of May?

Check it out!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 5/21

2011-05-21T13:19:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday!

After the awesome BBQ we went to last night, I'm geared up and ready for Memorial Day! My newest kit, Liberty, is perfect for recording all of those patriotic festivities!

New releases are 20% off Saturday only. Click the product image to go straight to the shoppe.

Check out the goodness from my team this week!

That's it from me today. Now to get started on next week's kit! It's one of the contest winners from my NSD inspiration contest, and you won't wan to miss it!

Hooked on Netflix

2011-05-19T13:03:00.003-05:00

I have to confess that I'm a total Netflix junkie. We only have very basic cable (local channels), so we don't watch much tv (the few shows we do watch are courtesy of Hulu). A few months ago though, we started doing Netflix and immediately fell in love with the instant streaming that they offer.

Our favorite thing is to find a series and watch the whole thing from start to finish. We recently finished up the 4 seasons of the show Heroes. It was one I'd never watched when it was on the air, but I remember hearing good things about it. Let me just say, we were hooked from the first episode! Even though it got a little hard to follow in the later seasons we still loved it and were sad to see it end. We had become attached to the characters and even jokingly wondered what "they" are doing now (of course, this was before we stopped ourselves and realized that "they" aren't doing anything as they were fictional! LOL) Anyway, if you haven't watched it and are looking for an exciting series to start, I definitely recommend adding it to your queue!

Last night, in taking a break from our instant viewing, we put in the dvd of the James Franco movie, 127 Hours. Wow. This was SUCH a good movie. It was one that we were still talking about when we woke up today. Very thought-provoking and heart-wrenching. Fair warning though, it's graphic in parts and the language is pretty bad, but it's all necessary to capture the authenticity of the moment. VERY well-done movie, in my opinion.

I think tonight (if I get finished with my kit!) we are going to catch up on some Hulu shows. So, have you seen anything good lately? Any series or movies I should add to my queue?

New releases - a little late

2011-05-17T10:41:00.002-05:00

I realize I'm a few days late with my new release post this week, but with all the craziness surrounding my life this week, I figure getting it up at all is a plus. LOL

This past weekend, I released my kit that was featured over at The Daily Digi back in April. I loved the kit and have been drooling over the layouts I've seen with it. Check out some of my faves! The preview is linked up to the shoppe!

Here are a few layouts to inspire! Click the image to go to the gallery for full credits.

by Angie

by Gemma

by Sheri

Now I have to try to get to work so I have more new goodies for you this weekend! I'm so far behind this week. If any of you have extra mojo vibes this week, send 'em my way!

Where I've Been This Week

2011-05-14T19:50:00.002-05:00

Hi there everyone!

I know I made a promise to be better about blogging, but I've been gone all week. It was an unexpected trip and after what happened, I can honestly say that I wish I'd been home having a nice boring, uneventful week with nothing to blog about.

I'm not even gonna talk about my new product today. I'll save that post for another day. For today, I want to share with you how I almost lost my mom this week.

We had decided last Saturday night to make a spontaneous trip to Arkansas to surprise my mom for Mother's Day. We got there Sunday afternoon and had the best time eating, laughing, singing, etc. She decided to take 1/2 a day of vacation Tues so that we could go for lunch and pedicures. I was planning to drive back home on Wed.

On Tues afternoon, immediately after lunch/pedis, we went our separate ways. Mom went home, and my sis, husband, & I all headed back out to my sister's house. We were about a mile from my mom's house when my mom called my sister's cell crying that she needed our help because she'd fallen. I should stop and point out that my mom has severe osteoporosis at the age of 50 and had broken her right leg in 3 spots in the last 3 years. She'd only been walking unassisted for a few months since Jan 2008.

So, when she said she fell, I immediately called 911 because I knew something was broken. We turned around and went back to my mom's house as fast as we could.

We found out that she had indeed broken her leg again (femur this time) as well as her wrist. You can only imagine how hard that is going to be for her to get around knowing her risk of falling and breaking another bone. So, all of this was devastating to us and we were heartbroken at the long recovery ahead of her (it isn't your typical 6 weeks that most people have for a broken bone). The plan was to keep her in the hospital for a day or two, go home, then come back for surgery next week.

But then things took a turn for the worse on Wednesday. She had been taking Dilaudid for pain. 2 mg every 4 hrs. Around 5pm, she took her shot. Around 5:30pm, she made this gasping sound, so I got up to check on her. I knew immediately something wasn't right, but I was afraid to go for help just yet as I didn't want to 'cry wolf.' Her eyes were about 1/2 open, and she was breathing, but it was a long pause between breaths. I was talking to her, shaking her gently trying to get her to just say something to me. She was totally unresponsive. So, I said to Jeff, "I'm gonna go find a nurse." and started walking to the door. I looked back over my shoulder, and her face was purple. I'm not exaggerating. Purple. Like you tied a string around the tip of your finger and cut off circulation. Purple. So, I took off down the hall (Jeff says he was ahead of me, but I honestly don't remember much of what happened).

Thankfully, her surgeon had just been in the room a bit ago and was sitting at the nurse's station. I yelled out to him, "Doctor! She's purple!" He quickly came into the room and started shouting her name and trying to get a response. He went for help and before I knew it, the room was filled with people. They put a pulse-ox monitor on her, and her oxygen was at 33. I was out in the hallway shaking and crying and praying. I tried to call my sister, but I couldn't even talk. Jeff ended up taking the phone from me and telling them what was going on.

It's all a big blur really, but I know it took several minutes for them to revive her. They gave her a shot to counteract the meds they'd given her and worked hard to get her to take a breath. The dr rubbed his knuckles on her chest (she has a big bruise to show for it), but the way he finally got her to breathe was to bend and manipulate the fingers on the hand of the wrist that's broken. It was that pain that finally made her take a breath.

You guys, this was by far the scariest moment of my life. I just knew she was gone. Of course, she doesn't remember any of it, but I am still incredibly shaken up. I keep seeing her purple face. I refused to leave her side much after that, and even now I'm nervous about being back home (300 miles away). I talked to the dr the next day, and he said that she may as well have been lying at the bottom of a swimming pool for the amount of oxygen she was getting. He said if we hadn't been in the room with her to go for help, she likely would have died. You can rest assured that I'll never be leaving a loved-one unattended in the hospital ever again as long as it's within my power to be there. One of the staff doctors told us that this kind of thing happens frequently... a least every couple of weeks!

She's doing much better now though she's in considerable pain. She got to go home today, and she'll go for wrist surgery on Tuesday. I believe with all my heart that we were there this week for a reason. We *never* make trips, especially spontaneous, to Arkansas. The last time we went was for Thanksgiving in November.

So, that's where I've been this week. I drove back to Wichita today, and while I'm ready to get back to my normal routine, I'm nervous about being so far away. I need to get my house in order, and get back to work.

I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers from those of you who knew what was going on. I believe we witnessed a miracle this week!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday - iNSD edition

2011-05-07T12:01:00.000-05:00

Wow! So much going on today. I'll keep my ramblings short and sweet so that you can get back to shopping, playing, and SCRAPPING (that IS what this holiday is about afterall!)

First and foremost, if you haven't heard, everything in my shoppe is 30% through Sunday!

And that 30% off includes my 2 hot new releases, too!! Check them out!

And last, but not least, be sure to check out how you can win a custom kit in my inspiration contest today!

Happy iNSD Eve!

2011-05-06T12:52:00.003-05:00

It's a beautiful Friday here. The sun is shining, we're going to a BBQ this evening, my kits for the week are finished, laundry's done up, and tomorrow is iNSD! Really, does it get much better than that?

I'm seriously thrilled with my 2 kits that I did for this weekend's big release. And let me just pause right here and tell you that you DEFINITELY won't want to miss Sweet Shoppe tomorrow. We've got so much planned for you! I've been browsing through the peek thread in the staff forum and seriously drooling over all the goodies that are coming out this weekend. I'm going to have to find some time to scrap because the designers have ALL outdone themselves. I think we all saved our best work for this week. You won't be disappointed!

Anyway, it's too soon to share my kit previews with you, but I thought I'd show you a couple of layouts that my team did with these kits to give you a little peek of what's to come.

The first one is by Judie. She uses my new At The Crop kit which is an ode to paper and digital scrappers everywhere!

Next up, I have this totally fun and bright page by Angie. She is using my collab with Shawna Clingerman called Freeze Frame (and I have to pause again and say that Shawna is one of my favorite collab partners ever, so I was thrilled to get to work with her again!).

And finally, I did something a little different this week. I chose 3 customers to get to work with my kit in advance! I love the idea of getting a fresh take on my kits, so this is definitely something I plan to do more of in the future. It probably won't be every kit, and I'll likely just do 1 scrapper at a time. Since this is NSD weekend though, I wanted to do it up big! So here are today's spotlight layouts from Mary, Kara, and Amanda!

Whew! That's all from me today. Gonna get a little bit more work done and then off to our BBQ! Hope you guys have a great Friday!

Video Tutorial - Creating a title mask

2011-05-04T15:20:00.002-05:00

Happy Hump Day everyone!

Busy day around the Pritchett house as I'm covered up in design work trying to finish up my 2nd kit for NSD this weekend! I wanted to have it finished by now so that my girls could create some incredible examples for us, but well, real life has a way of getting in the way, huh? Anyway, between that, laundry, and church tonight, that doesn't leave a lot of time for blogging.

I thought I'd share this video tutorial that I created for the Sweet Shoppe portfolio this month. If you haven't been playing along with our monthly portfolios, you should SO check it out! Each month, we have an incredibly inspiring list of prompts and challenges. Each challenge is worth a designated amount of points. When you reach a certain point amount, you start earning discounts in the shoppe. You can earn coupons up to 40% off! So head on over to SSD and check out the May portfolio.

In the meantime, here is the video I created to help you with one of the challenges. This is a fun little technique for creating a title and using it as a mask for your photos!

View Video

A new direction

2011-05-02T12:09:00.003-05:00

It's the start of a new week, a new month, AND a new direction here on my blog!

If you aren't a regular reader of the Sweet Shoppe Blog you may not realize that we just started something that we're calling 365 Days of Bliss. Each day a different member of our staff will be posting a little insight into their daily lives. We'll have everything from recipes to craft projects to vacations to celebrations! The goal is to get back to what digital scrapbooking is all about... people and memories.

As I wrote up the first post for 365 Days of Bliss yesterday, it occurred to me that I was missing that personal connection on my own blog. I remember the old days where I'd share about what I was reading, what movies I was watching, or what was going on in my personal life. I really miss those days and have decided to get back to it!

So, starting today, you're going to see a new direction on my blog. My goal is to give a mix of personal tidbits along with my design projects. I'll still showcase new products, have tutorials, and occasional contests and freebies. But I want to get back to what made me fall in love with scrapbooking to begin with... the memories.

When I started scrapbooking (with PAPER!) back in 1998, I was a new mom who took pictures of EVERYTHING. I have to admit that these days, it's rare for me to even get my camera out at all. I scrapbook so infrequently now, and I know I'm missing out on tons of stories. So by keeping my blog more personal, I hope that it encourages me to record those moments that would otherwise be lost forever. And hey, I just might even get back to scrapbooking for myself now and then, too! What a novel concept! ;)

So, I'll start by sharing a layout I did last month. I absolutely LOVE Lauren Grier's designs, so it was super fun for me to scrap this spring break picture of Kendra with La's Can't Hold Me Down kit. This page made me realize how much I miss scrapping just for the heck of it. I used to churn out 25+ layouts a month, and now I'm lucky if I do 10 in an entire year!

So here's to the start of something new! I hope you'll join me for the ride!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 4/30

2011-04-30T12:07:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday!

Today, I have a new set of Paper Clips templates for you! These Photo Sheet templates are the perfect solution for fitting lots of photos on your page!

Remember new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Product image is linked to the store.

Don't forget! Last days for 35% off!

2011-04-28T14:33:00.002-05:00

Just a reminder, if you missed my spotlight over at The Daily Digi this month. My feature post has a coupon to my shoppe that is only good through Saturday! Check it out!

April Freebie

2011-04-27T10:00:00.003-05:00

Hello, fellow digi-scrappers, Sula here, and I'm really excited to share with you this month's team giveaway. Since summer is just around the corner for many of us, we thought that this month we'd create some titles/wordart that you simply can plop onto your layouts.

DOWNLOAD HERE

We hope you'll like these titles, and don't forget to upload your finished pages to Libby's gallery at the Sweetshoppe to share them with us.
Have fun!

Sula

Tickle Me Tuesday

2011-04-25T23:18:00.002-05:00

Hey all! Kat here with a little post to hopefully inspire you to run out and buy Libby's newest kit, Ace In The Hole.

Seriously, this is one of my absolute favorite kits! I can see myself making a lot of pages with it - trips to Reno, Bunko night with the girls, and even more pages about my two rough and rowdy boys.

Here's my first page:

If you don't have time to make your own pages, you can also pick up four fabulous quick pages made with this awesome kit:

I hope you all will come back here and share your favorite layouts made with Ace In a Hole!

Happy Monday!

2011-04-25T12:34:00.009-05:00

Happy Monday everyone! Judie (HeyJude) here with a Freebie to make the start of your week just a little bit brighter :) Believe it or not, April is coming to a close - so I have a May Desktop freebie for you, created with Libby's beautiful Andria kit. The colors in this kit are so bright and cheerful, it is the perfect pick for a desktop. Here is a preview of the Desktop Freebie (click on the image for the download):

And here is the beautiful Kit I used (linked to Libby's store):

I hope you have a great week!
~Judie (HeyJude)

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 4/23

2011-04-23T11:32:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday!!

I know I say this all the time, but I'm thrilled to bring you my new kit this week. This is my personal favorite that I've done in a long time, and I hope you love it, too!

Remember new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Product images are linked:

And my sweet buddy Leila Schweiss did up this amazing set of quick pages with the kit, too!

My team along with the Sweet Shoppe Sugarbabes really knocked it out of the park with the samples this week, too! Check it out!

Sneak Peek Friday!

2011-04-22T11:09:00.003-05:00

Hey guys!

Libby here with a little look at my new kit that is hitting the shoppe tomorrow. I have to say, this is one of my favorite kits I've done in a long time. I hope you like it, too!And check out this page that SugarBabe Nikki did with it!!

There once was a bunny, a chick, and a lamb...

2011-04-21T08:00:00.025-05:00

...and they lived happily ever after in Libby's latest Easter kit Dye Job! That may be the shortest story ever, but Libby's kit is very long on seriously CUTE elements and GORGEOUS papers! The colors are so rich and bright and who can resist that adorable happy bunny?

Libby's creative team did a fabulous job showing off the papers, elements, and alphas (yes, the alpha comes in FOUR colors!)
L to R, Top to Bottom: Gemma, Rachel, Angie, Rebecca, Lydia, Jude, Kristen, Sherri, Rachel, and Mary.

And if you don't celebrate Easter, this kit still works beautifully for all those spring pictures too!

Quick Page Freebie!

2011-04-20T06:00:00.036-05:00

Good morning friends! For some of us the goal of scrapbooking is to participate in a creative process and for others the objective is to get completed scrapbook pages into our albums. Either way digital quick pages can play a part in our scrapbook process.

One way to use a quick page is to simply place your pictures in the spaces provided, save the layout and print. This works ideally for people who are in a hurry or for people who might not have much experience using digital scrapbook software.

Another way to use digital scrapbook quick pages is to add your photos and then go above and beyond to add your own personal touches. Whether it be to add journaling, a title, or even extra elements from the original kit - you can customize digital quick pages to be more personalized and to show an element of your own personality and style.

For instance here is a digital quick page that has been created using Libby's kit Andria. I created the layout and then converted it to a quick page. This is an example using just the quick page as it will be available to you. I didn't add any extra touches.

In the second example I showed how you can add a few more bells and whistles (or flowers and ribbons) to the layout to personalize it a little more. I added the date, title, and extra elements to personalize the layout just a little more.

So download this freebie quick page here. If you decide to add your own touch to it post a link in the comments, we'd love to see what you come up with! But don't be afraid to use the page just as it comes - a quick and easy way to add layouts to your albums without the hardwork that a typical layout takes.

Tutorial - Creating a template from a layout

2011-04-19T01:19:00.026-05:00

Often around digi-land you'll see people sharing templates of layouts that they have made, and for today's tutorial, I thought I'd go through the process that I use to turn one of my existing layouts into a template. This tutorial will use Photoshop Elements on a PC; however, the same concept can likely be applied to other programs (and operating systems) as well. Hopefully a few of the tips and tricks can be helpful in general scrapping as well. :)

For this tutorial, I'll be using my To the Moon layout (which was made from Libby's 3rd Rock From the Sun kit) to turn into a template.

1) Open the layered file in Photoshop and navigate to the bottom layer. I find it easiest to work from the bottom up, so this is where I begin.

2) Fill in the background paper with a solid color. I'll be using shades of grey for the template, so I first use the color picker to change my foreground color to a light shade of grey.

With my foreground color chosen and the background paper selected, use the shortcut keys Alt + Backspace to fill the layer with the foreground color.

3) Moving from the bottom up, navigate to the next paper piece layer to change its color. As in step 2, I first change my foreground color to a different shade of grey to distinguish it from the other layers; however, since this paper layer does not take up the entire canvas I have to slightly change how I fill it with color. There are two ways I usually do this - I'll describe each way below as I fill the next two paper layers. (NOTE - these two methods of filling a layer with a solid color can also be used in your scrapping when you have a solid colored element such as a doodle that you want to quickly change the color of)

Option 1 - With the layer highlighted in the layers palette, hold down the 'Ctrl' key and then click on the layer thumbnail (the picture of the layer itself) to select only the outline of the layer. Once you have the layer outline selected (outlined with 'marching ants'), you can use the shortcut keys Alt + Backspace (as used above) to fill the layer. When we used this shortcut before, it filled the entire canvas area by default; however, because we have made a selection beforehand, the fill layer only applies to the area selected. (NOTE - you'll want to make sure that the layer you want to fill is highlighted in the layers palette. When you Ctrl + click on the thumbnail, it will only highlight the outline of the layer, but won't move your focus to that layer. If you have focus on another layer when you select Alt+ Backspace, you will end up filling that layer with the color and not the original paper layer you were aiming to change)

Option 2 - With the layer highlighted in the layers palette, click on the 'Lock' box to lock the transparent pixels. This will prevent any transparent pixels in the layer from being changed. After locking the transparent pixels, you can use the Alt + Backspace shortcut to fill in the layer. Since the transparent area isn't affected by the color fill, only the paper itself will be filled with color. (Note - there are other layer lock options in Photoshop CS - make sure to use the transparent-looking box to only lock transparent pixels)

4) Repeat the above steps to fill in the rest of the paper layers (and photo layers) with different colors to distinguish each layer.

5) The next step is to replace your elements with generic photoshop shapes as suggested element placeholders. Once again, I work from the bottom up and use photoshop shapes to replace my elements. Select the element closest to the bottom of your layout and then select the 'Custom Shape Tool'

Select a specific shape to use for your elements:

Click on the canvas and drag out with the mouse to create the custom shape. After the shape is the size you want, right click next to the layer thumbnail and select 'Simplify Layer'.

After creating the element placeholder, delete the original element from the layers palette. Then repeat this step for all the other elements on your layout.

In the process of replacing your elements, there may be cases where you will just delete the element entirely instead of trying to create a shape to represent the element. In the screenshot below, I have identified two elements that make more sense to delete than trying to create representations of the element itself.

At this point, I have two elements left to replace: the frame and the stitching. I chose to use the dimensions of the existing frame to create a basic frame shape, and then used the outline of the stitching to create two square lines to represent the stitching. (Maybe a future tutorial will cover those two topics :) The template is now almost complete!

6) The last step is to delete or modify the journaling and title work layers. You can either delete these outright, or replace them with generic text (e.g. journaling goes here, TITLE, etc...). After that, you're done!

There are a few things to note when creating a template from one of your layouts that mostly apply if you plan to give the template away to others. (If you are only going to use your template solely for yourself, most of these things won't apply)

1) Take special care to ensure that if you used any special shapes, clipping masks, or doodles that were created by another designer that you do not simply re-color the shape and leave it as is, since it was the shape itself that was the creation of the designer. For instance, Libby has a large number of paper clips templates to create various shapes. If I had used one of her shape templates, I would have needed to replace her template with something similar that I created myself or just removed the layer altogether. The goal here is to ensure that you don't give away another designer's work without their permission.

2) Along with #1, it is probably best to only create templates from layouts that are your own original designs, and not layouts that were started with templates (it probably doesn't make sense to to this anyway) or scraplifts of another person's work (without their permission, that is... :)

3) It's a good idea to double check all your layers to ensure that you don't have any leftover elements that are just hidden from view tucked away in the file. You wouldn't want to inadvertently give away another designer's work. :)

4) It is sometimes helpful to go through the final template and rename each layer to be more descriptive - e.g. Paper 1, Paper 2, Element, etc... This is definitely not necessary, but often nice to have.

That's it! And as a reward for getting this far in this long post, I've included a link to download the template that I created for this tutorial. Click HERE to download.

Happy scrapping!

The Daily Digi Spotlight

2011-04-18T10:42:00.003-05:00

Hey guys!

Libby here with a very fun announcement. I'm the spotlighted designer over at The Daily Digi today! There is a look at my contribution to this months Digi Files as well as a coupon code and even a chance to win $10 to my store!

Go check it out!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 4/16

2011-04-16T10:31:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday!

I've got a ton to show you today, so I'm going to jump right in!

First up, by request, I made a lowercase set of my popular Jumbo Alpha templates!

These are available in sets a-m or n-z, or you can save when you buy them both together! With today's 20% new release discount, you're saving a total of 40% by grabbing the bundle!

Next up, I had the honor of collabing with Heather Roselli this week! Whether you're scrapping trips to Disney World, another amusement park, the circus, or your local county fair or carnival, you won't want miss our Amuse Me kit. With bright colors, tons of custom elements, and an alpha in 4 colors, this kit has everything you need to record your happiest of memories!

And be sure to grab this adorable 4x6 brag book created by Rebecca Kuchenbecker (aka MamaBee)

And look at these samples! They're sure to inspire!

And finally, I have a very special kit to share with you.

Lauren Grier is a fun, edgy, uber talented designer here at the Sweet Shoppe, but she shines in so many more ways than that. La is one of the voices that makes our community so open and fun, she is always ready to listen, la is a constant, and she certainly is one of the people that defines us here at SSD. One week ago Lauren fell severely ill and was hospitalized with 3 life-threatening blood clots. Our hearts were broken for her! La works so hard, and struggles each day to be an amazing single mom and designs her heart out as the sole provider for her awesome little son. So our designers, and friends from all over the community have come together to stand behind our la. So we bring you this labor of love, “A Little Help from My Friends.”

__________________

Hybrid Highlight - Easter Cards

2011-04-14T00:57:00.004-05:00

Hey there! Jen Tapler here with a hybrid post for ya today. In case you missed it (since we've completely ignored the holiday here on the blog this month - ha!), the Easter holiday is quickly approaching. But there's still plenty of time to whip up some cards and get them in the mail (or the baskets) to let a few special people know you're thinking of them this time of year. So I thought I'd share a couple of quick and easy cards I made recently using 2 of my favorite of Libby's Easter kits to inspire you to get out some cardstock (for the card base), some glue and get creative!!

I used Cottontail on this first card, adding some die-cut plaid flowers with a button center and grosgrain ribbon for embellishment:

And this second card (my personal favorite) uses Libby's latest Easter kit, Dye Job. I cut out the Easter title with my hobby knife and popped it up on foam adhesive for dimension, then added 3 turquoise buttons to the bottom corner. Super easy!

That's it! Either of these cards could be easily mass produced, or created completely in Photoshop and printed out in a flattened jpeg version ready to mail to make things even faster and easier (but personally I like the added dimension of physical embellishments and paper layers on my cards). I hope these have inspired you to create your own Easter cards this week and get them in the mail - time is running out!!

Video Tutorial - Creating a Quick Page

2011-04-13T01:00:00.002-05:00

Hi there!

Libby here with another video tutorial. This time, I'm teaching you my favorite way to make a quick page using Photoshop. You won't believe how fast it is! Unfortunately, this technique only works in full versions of PS. If you're working in Photoshop Elements, there are other methods for creating quick pages.

Click here to view video

And as an added bonus, you can download the quick page that I created in this tutorial below for free! It was based on this layout:

download quick page here

National Garden Month Freebie

2011-04-11T00:01:00.006-05:00

It's RealRach here today to let you all know that's National Garden Month! Yep, it's true! I've started to THINK about my garden (flowers) but here in Chilly Michigan it's only a thought! Has this been the longest winter on record or what?!

So in honor of this special time, I've created a Cardfront for you using Libby's Newest kit called ANDRIA. It's 5x7 finished size. Just print it on a ready-to-go card from your local hobby/craft store or print it cardstock and then add it to your own card. Add a little ink to the edges to finish it off! It took me awhile to get all those flowers lined up to spell out G R OW so I thought I share my time with you.

To download either click the photo or HERE. Feel free to add your sentiment to the front. Or just print as is, it's up to you!

May your flowers GROW into a beautiful garden! Until next time, enjoy the freebie and be sure to check out Libby's whole store at SWEETSHOPPE!

Gallery Standouts

2011-04-10T18:28:00.005-05:00

Hi everyone. Sorry, I'm a little late getting my blog post up. It's been a busy day. But, I'm here now to show you some of the fabulous stuff I found in Libby's gallery at SSD. So, let's get right to it!

This first layout, by switchwiz, uses Libby's most recent kit, Andria. I just love all the gorgeous papers in this kit, and this layout shows them off wonderfully!

Next up, are these super fun hybrid cards by chastml. I absolutely LOVE the way she used those adorable characters from Libby's Dye Job kit! Who wouldn't love to receive one of these fabulous cards for Easter?

Last but not least, is a layout by sigmakap95 using Charles Edward Limburger. I love the blocking of the papers and the photos. And, this kit is perfect for documenting this little guy's first time eating out like a big boy.

Check back next week to see who's standing out in Libby's gallery. You never know, it might be you!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 4/9

2011-04-09T11:37:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday!

In the fall of 2010, my sister Andria was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation. Through all the pain and suffering she has kept the best attitude and most positive outlook on life. I'm so proud of her and wanted to do this kit in her honor.

And I actually scrapped with this kit! Here's a layout about my sister just in case you need a little inspiration!

And my team was busy this week! Check out this collage of inspiration that Angie put together for us!

Sneak Peek Time!

2011-04-08T09:22:00.004-05:00

TGIF! That means it's time for the sneak peek of the awesome inspirational kit coming from Libby tomorrow!

Check it out:

How awesome is that color palette? Perfect for spring, uplifting and inspiring! Stop back by tomorrow for the full reveal!

~Joana

Bunny Hop

2011-04-06T05:41:00.002-05:00

I'm sure you have noticed the chocolate bunnies and bags of jelly beans lining the aisles at your local grocery store. And don't forget the handsome shirts & ties or the frilly dresses, too. Put these things together and you guessed it... Easter is almost here!

To scrap all of the photos taken during your festivities, there are several adorable Easter kits in Libby's line up... Cottontail is a boyishly cute Easter kit that could easily be used for girls, too. Dye Job is Libby's newest Easter kit- full of bright colors & perfect for those Easter egg hunts & egg coloring pictures. But today I'm going to put all the focus on Bunny Hop.

Look at all of the fabulous layouts the creative team came up with...
by Christy

by Mary

by Judie

by Christy

To see more inspiration using Bunny Hop, visit Libby's gallery. Oh and did I mention that Bunny Hop is penny candy?? That means it is 30% off! Enjoy!

April Contest.

2011-04-04T14:08:00.004-05:00

Hey readers, Gemma here with the April contest.

This month I wanted to see you use a themed kit, which Libby is AWESOME at doing, but I want to see them used as non themed paged. I have some examples from Libby's fab team.

One from me using Who's Your Caddy? -

One from Joana using Good Eye -

A fab example from Leila who has done non themed AND recoloured the kit, she used G.I Josephine -

You have until the end of the month to enter and remember to use at least 75% of Libby's goodies. Also remember to post your link in the comments to be in with a chance of winning!! :)

One last thing, we have a March winner from the March contest, it was Mary (Happy Now) Congratulations, Mary, Libby will PM you soon! :)

Sunday Gallery Standouts

2011-04-03T16:27:00.002-05:00

Hello there and happy Sunday!
Stephanie here browsing through Libby's gallery and picking some gorgeous layouts that jumped out at me.

First, 10 Things I Love Doing, by Leontine. I love how she used Cindy's template, but most of all, I love the patterned papers and all those elements under the journal boxes! Beautiful!

Second, Happy Birthday To Ewe, by Sizemore. What can I say, that sheep is just so cute!

And third, Autumn Attitude, by scrapmommaof3. I always appreciate a great blended photo! It gives so much character to a page!

Have a nice evening!

Sale Extended!

2011-04-02T14:20:00.002-05:00

Due to some technical difficulties at Sweet Shoppe this week, Robin has extended the 20% off new release sale through Monday at noon PST. In addition, she's also made the entire store 20% off as a thank you for your patience as we work through these issues. If any of you have purchased my products and can't get to your downloads, please drop me a note with your order number, and I'll be happy to get you a direct link.

Libby Pritchett Designs at Sweet Shoppe Designs

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 4/2

2011-04-02T12:41:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday!!

Foooooore! Whether you like to tee it up yourself or you prefer to ride in the cart, Who's Your Caddy is the perfect kit for capturing all of those memories on the green! With fun & funky tones and unique elements, you'll never have to ask for a mulligan with this kit!

and here's a closer peek:

And check out the awesome stuff my team did with this kit!

Winner of "Who's Your Caddy?" kit

2011-04-01T22:10:00.002-05:00

Thanks to all of you who commented on the peek this morning! I'm happy to announce that (thanks to the help of Random.org) the poster who will receive the kit for free is Christy Haig! Christy, I sent you an email, but if you don't get it, please contact me for your coupon code. :)

The kit should be hitting the store in about an hour, so be on the lookout for the full preview and some yummy sample layouts!

Win it before you can buy it weekend!

2011-04-01T06:49:00.004-05:00

FORE!

Head's up... Libby is releasing another fantastic kit tomorrow (April 2, 2011) that is an ace in the hole! It will have you polishing your 9 iron and calling up for a tee time! Here is the official peek..

Would you like to win it??? Well it is super easy... here are the summer rules -

all you have to do is leave a comment in this post by 9:30CST tonight (April 1, 2011)!

So, don't pull a double bogey... enter for a chance to win! Libby is giving you a Mulligan (another chance to increase your odds...), tell your foursome about this giveaway on Twitter and Facebook... and leave a separate comment mentioning that you did!

May you find the sweet spot on your club and hit a double eagle all the while avoiding the beach. (If you aren't a golfer... that means, Good Luck!!)

Rebecca aka Mamabee

Hybrid Tutorial by RealRach

2011-03-31T00:01:00.001-05:00

Hi, I'm Rach and I am going to show you how I created a cute little Carrot box for Easter.

I used Libby's Kit called Dye Job for this project. I found a freebie template for one at Mirkwood Designs and just modified it to fit my digital needs. I will walk you through the steps with pictures and some verbal directions.Print out your template box. I brought the original jpeg into PS and then duplicated my box and then deleted the paper around the template and then clipped paper to the original shape and saved it as a PNG file. Then printed it out on heavy weight paper.Next I cut it out and fold on the lines.Then use a super strong adhesive to seal the carrot box.Ink the edges if you want. This kinda hides the fold lines too!

Then with the original box opened so I could compair sizes, I brought in items to decorate my box. Print those out, cut out, ink, and apply to your box.

Here's one side of my finished carrot box.

Here's the other side of my finished carrot box.

I filled mine with Easter Grass and jellybeans. Who wouldn't love to get one of these as gift for Easter, Spring, or May Day?! You could make it with any theme!

Enjoy and have fun turning your digi supplies into something more!

March Freebie

2011-03-29T08:48:00.005-05:00

Good Morning! Corinne here bringing this fabulous pack of templates from our Libby Lou Crew members, Sherri, Kat, Joana, and Rebecca. I am sure these templates will get your creative juices running. Before you know it, you have four awesome layouts to show for it! Let us know if you create a layout with any of the templates from the pack! Happy Wednesday to all!

:: DOWNLOAD HERE ::

Samples layouts from the Crew:

April Desktop Freebie!

2011-03-29T00:43:00.004-05:00

Sheri here with a fun and Springy new desktop for April!

I'm so excited that Spring is finally starting to set in, and I hope this helps get you in the mood for nice weather and all the sounds that come along with Spring! I hope you enjoy it!

You can download it HERE!
And it comes in two sizes with and without calendars!
Here is one of them!

And I used Libby's fun kit called AND YOUR BIRD CAN SING!

Monday Standouts 3/28

2011-03-28T11:19:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone, a day late but Gemma here doing the Sunday Standouts on a Monday lol, I couldn't get on the SSD gallery yesterday as it wasn't working so I put it out until today! I loved looking through all the pages using Libby products, there was so many gorgeous pages.

Here's a few that I aboslutely loved -

By tx-nana-scraps. She used And Your Bird Can Sing by Libby Pritchett -

Yum by rochelle789. She used the awesome And Your Bird Can Sing by Libby -

A card I loved, Happy Birthday to Ewe! by sizemore. She used Dye Job by Libby -

And how awesome is this one using the Jumbo Paperclips. M is for by sigmakap95 -

That's all for now, remember to upload your pages to Libby's gallery over at SSD and you could find your page here next time! :)

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 3/26

2011-03-26T12:50:00.002-05:00

Happy Saturday!

Today I have another package of Jumbo shapes for you! If you missed my first set, be sure to check those out, too!

Remember new releases are 20% off Saturday only! Product images are linked.

It's Friday - what does that mean???

2011-03-24T23:27:00.001-05:00

You got it! Another sneak peek of Libby's fabulous new stuff hitting the shoppe on Saturday. I'm sure you love these as much a the rest of her team does!!!

See you all back here tomorrow for the big reveal!

It's National Goof-Off Day!

2011-03-22T04:04:00.001-05:00

Today is National Goof-Off Day. If your family is anything like mine, you have a million reasons each week to embrace the goof inside of each of us. In honor of the day, I decided to take a stroll through Libby's gallery at Sweet Shoppe & find a few goofy layouts. {Each layout is linked, so make sure you leave them some lovin' for scrapping the goofy of everyday life.}

Angie grabs the camera when her little guy lays on the goofiness in Krazy Kid. (I would have, too!)

Rachel cheers her son's goofy factor on in Good Eye.

Jamie & her little guy are embracing goofy in the layout, Kooky Glasses.

Lori did an awesome job of journaling about the joy of her little girl's goofiness in Be Yourself.

Love the goofy looks on MamaBee's hubby's face in these pictures! {image linked}

There you have it. Go on, now. Be goofy. And don't forget to scrap it!

The Basics of Exposure

2011-03-21T02:04:00.008-05:00

Happy Monday, everyone! Sula here, with a little insight into digital photography.

Before I start, I have to admit that I'm no pro as far as photography is concerned. But throughout the years, I've taken tons of pictures and done some reading here and there, so with all the trial and error, I learned a thing or two!

Today, I'd like to go really basic, though, and talk about exposure. As I just mentioned, I've been taking pictures for years, but to actually grasp the concept of exposure, it seems like it's taken years for me. But there are actually really simple ways to understand what's going on. In a nutshell, "exposure" means the light that enters and interacts with the camera. There are three basic elements that contribute to a picture's exposure:

1. ISO (measure of sensitivity to light)
2. Aperture (size of lens opening at the time a photo is taken)
3. Shutter speed (length of time the shutter of the camera is open)

Now, these three areas are huge aspects in themselves in photography, and we could write entire books about every single one of them. But as I promised - I want to keep things really simple today. I'll use an example I came across the other day that explains fairly well the role these three elements of exposure play in photography. Some people compare the processes by using the illustration of a window.

According to Darren Rowse (Digital School of Photography) your camera is ...

"... like a window with shutters that open and close.

Aperture is the size of the window. If it’s bigger more light gets through and the room is brighter.

Shutter Speed is the amount of time that the shutters of the window are open. The longer you leave them open, the more light comes in."

ISO - according to Rowse - works like a pair of sunglasses you put on to manipulate the amount of light your eyes are exposed to. It works similar with the camera. The lower the ISO, the lower the sensitivity to light. In other words, a photo taken at ISO 100 will turn out darker than a photo taken at ISO 1600. This means that you will have to adjust the ISO depending on the light conditions you are taking pictures in. If it's a bright, sunny day, to choose an ISO of 100 or 200 will work just fine. The darker your shooting environment is, the higher you have to go with the ISO. That, however, will have an affect on how grainy your photos turn out. The higher your ISO the grainier the image gets. (See the very grainy image below that was taken in a high ISO mode.)

So, the alternative to high ISO is to choose a lower ISO and use a tripod to steady your camera. If you choose a low ISO in poor lighting conditions, chances are your picture will turn out blurry without a tripod.

Also, to use low ISO in a low-light environment means you have to keep your subject very still in order to get a clear shot. Depending on your shooting conditions (and how much influence on the scene you have), it's your call to decide how high or low you set the ISO.

The same is true for aperture and shutter speed. All three of them have an affect on your image exposure, and all three will affect each other.

You can increase the aperture, which is like choosing a bigger window - more light can come in (important for low-light conditions).

You can change the shutter speed as well. Increasing the shutter speed, means there is less time for the light to come in, which will result in a darker image (necessary in bright daylight conditions). Decreasing the shutter speed, means you allow the picture to receive more light (useful in low-light conditions), but it also means your photos can get blurry more easily, the lower your shutter speed is.

If you have a camera that allows you to use manual mode, try playing around with these different aspects of exposure. Knowing how to use them well, can spare you not only a lot of blurry or over-/under-exposed photos, they can also help you avoid the use of a flash-light, which usually causes harsh shadows and lighting of your pictures.

Standouts in Libby's Gallery

2011-03-20T10:23:00.008-05:00

Hi everyone! I'm home from church today with a few sick kids, so that gives me a little extra time to look around in Libby's gallery and show you some of the amazing layouts there. Let's get started!

First off is this fun layout by Kim (kim21673) using Dye Job. I just love all those fun photos, the small clusters spread across the layout, and the way Kim used the word strips. So fun!

Here's another layout using Dye Job by Mary (marnel). Aren't those photo strips down the side of the page just perfect? And, I love all the layered mats as well. Such a cute page!

This layout by Jamie (jamie.novey), using 4 Meddling Kids, is just adorable. I mean it just couldn't be more perfect. I love how she used all the elements from the kit to show her little guy's love for Scooby-Doo. I particularly love the episode titles that border the main background mat. Fantastic!

Last but not least is this gorgeous layout by Leah (paperboutique) using Blessed. I love the simple design of this layout, but I especially love that beautiful cluster along the top of the journaling. Just stunning!

Thanks for sharing your gorgeous layouts with all of us, ladies! If you would like to see your layouts using Libby's products featured here on the blog, remember to upload them to Libby's gallery at Sweet Shoppe Designs. You never know, you might see your layout here next week! Until then, I hope everyone has a great week!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 3/19

2011-03-19T09:53:00.001-05:00

... And your bird can sing!

hehe Are you singing along? This song has been in my head for about 2 weeks now, so I had to create this kit!

Remember, new releases are 20% off Saturday only! Product images are linked.

And here's a closer look!

My team knocked it out of the park this week! Check out these pages!

I've also got this set of quick pages new today made by the awesome Leila Schweiss using my Charles Edward Limburger kit!

We have a winner!

2011-03-18T22:25:00.003-05:00

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments and posts about my new kit! As promised, I've chosen 1 lucky poster to receive And Your Bird Can Sing for free!

With the help of www.random.org, a big congrats goes to our winner, Kate Duvall! Kate, I left you a message on twitter, but if you'll send me an email, I'll get your coupon code over to you so you can download it! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Win it before you can buy it weekend!

2011-03-18T12:09:00.002-05:00

Happy Friday everyone!!

I'm super excited about this week's release because it's so fresh and springy! Makes me excited for the warm spring days at are starting to show up. :) And I have to admit, the name of the kit, And Your Bird Can Sing, makes me start tapping my toe and singing. LOL

Because I'm feeling so happy right now, I thought it would be a great idea to give away a copy of the kit before it goes into the store tonight!

Here's a little peek of a layout by Sula using And Your Bird Can Sing. Keep reading to find out how to win!

All you have to do is leave a comment in this post by 9:30CST tonight! As an added bonus, if you post about this kit on facebook or twitter, I'll give you an extra entry. Just be sure to link up to those posts in separate comments here.

Speaking of facebook, if you aren't following us on Libby Prichett Designs, you should! My team has been super busy keeping the blog hopping with tutorials, contests, and freebies. If you follow us on facebook, you'll be the first to know about all the special events we have going on!

That's it! Hope you guys have a great Friday!

Thinking about green today?

2011-03-17T16:00:00.004-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day! As I was thinking about what I could spotlight today while GREEN is on everyone's mind, one of Libby's kits came to my mind immediately!

While this kit definitely has a military theme, I love that it can be used for so many more things - especially when you are wanting to scrap some green!

This kit was perfect for these photos I wanted to scrap of my son playing outside on an early spring day.

I love how "HellePF" used this kit to highlight an old tree. Love this use of it for an outdoor layout. And isn't her title work great, too?

And how about this cute one from "lmno" of her little guy in the sink? How adorable is this? The kit is such a great match with these photos!

And finally, I love the twist on the theme that "jovi_girl" used in her layout. My little guy was an army crawler as well, and this was a clever way to tie the kit theme in with the photos.

Hope you enjoyed that little bit of green today! Have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!

Hybrid Highlights - Cards

2011-03-16T05:59:00.003-05:00

Hi there! Jen Tapler here with a super easy Hybrid Highlight post today. I decided to simply share a few favorite cards I've created recently using some of Libby's new kits and collabs. There's not really a lot of blah blah blah to say about the cards, they're pretty self explanatory, so I'll just get right to it.

How about a generic birthday card to start things off using the fun and colorful Charles Edward Limburger kit?

And here's another (slightly more specific) birthday card, this time for a 5th birthday, using Libby's collab with Jenn Barrette and Julie Billingsley, It's All Fun and Games. I added a stamped sentiment and some fun pom pom trim I picked up at the fabric store to this one:
And finally, here's a thoughtful Be Yourself card using Libby's ultra-versatile music-inspired collab with Meg Mullens, Don't Stop Believing:

And that's it! I hope these cards have inspired you to get crafty and create your own hybrid cards for someone you're thinking of. Happy Crafting!

Happy Pi Day!!

2011-03-14T13:15:00.002-05:00

In honor of Pi Day and since I don't need to eat any actual PIE today, I thought I'd offer up a little coupon on my blog for my faithful readers! :)

If you use the coupon code piday you can get $3 off my Pie Are Squared kit! Just make sure you're logged in, add the kit to your cart, and add the code. But hurry! The coupon expires tomorrow night (3/15).

Now go have a slice of pie! :)

Look who we're loving--3/12 late edition...

2011-03-13T00:04:00.000-06:00

Good Sunday morning everyone!! Did you remember to change your clocks?? I'm so jealous of those of you who don't have to deal with that! So I'm here to share with you another set of absolutely wonderful layouts from Libby's gallery! Let's get started, shall we?

Thank You by Dana

I just adore how real this page looks! Dana did a fabulous job with the layering and shadow work on this page that I feel like I can pick the flowers right off it! Her mixing of patterns shows off Olive Juice so well!

My next choices all use the fabulous Don't Stop Believin', a collab kit from Libby and Meghan Mullens!

Musique Maestro by IngridFasquelle

Seriously? Just a big, fat, puffy, sparkly, spinning heart for this one! Ingrid really knocked this layout out of the park. All the little details, the photos (look at that cute face!), the---well, everything!! Love. Just LOVE!

Replay by Ther

Ther's page made me chuckle a bit. I'm pretty sure I have pictures of my boys in the exact same position with their MP3 players. I think my younger son has the same glasses, too. Really just a fab page, everything comes together so well to create an amazing peek into Ther's world.

Silly String Girls by Paula

Irresistible! I love how the open circle mat and the zig zag patterned paper seem to mimic the look of silly string. Paula manages to use this kit in such a fun way, I just love it!

I hope you love these pages as much as I do, and that you'll join us next week to see what we're loving!!

Sweet Shoppe Saturday 3/12

2011-03-12T00:22:00.001-06:00

Happy Saturday!

It was 70 degrees in my neck of the woods today, and spring is definitely in the air! I'm so ready for the bright colors, warm weather, and longer days of spring time!

This week, I'm excited to bring you Dye Job! Remember new releases are 20% off Saturday only. Product images are linked below.

here's a closer look:

My team has been super busy knocking out layouts this week. Check them out!