Happy Tuesday everyone!

There are so many beautiful things in the store right now! I love it when people share their favorite products so I thought I'd share what's in my cart right now. :)

This Sassafrass paper has it all -- gorgeous scene on the front that makes me want to frame it for my daughter's room. Or there are so many things you can cut out and use on a page. The bottom polka dot strip is fun too. And the back grid paper is a huge bonus. You really can't go wrong. :)

I love these velvet pleated blooms from Maya Road. These would be so pretty on a page or on a hair clip.

I can't wait to get this die cut paper from Creative Imaginations in the mail -- last time it sold out before I could buy it. I have seen it cut up and used in tiny strips or pieces, or layered over a page to give it depth. It would work great as a background, too.

This crushed velvet flocking powder from Doodlebug looks fun to use, too. You can use it over stamped images, or chipboard shapes, or any design you can cover with glue. Such a great way to add some texture to your project. And a fun technique to try with your kids.

What's in your cart? I'd love to hear!!

Hope you have a great day!

Rhonda Bonifay

 Hi,  Shannon here!

I just have a quick product spotlight I want to share with you guys!  I have been looking for labels to put on my albums for awhile now.  Then I came across this kit from Katthering Teague...Print Its Circles.  

I opened up the sheet in PhotoShop and added text boxes to the circles and simply filled in with the year/album title. It looked like this...

And now, look how great my albums look!

Good morning, everyone - Erica here

I have a long list of people in my life that I'm grateful for and to. I figured it's about time to put my abundance of supplies to use in order to show appreciation for all that they do for me. This card literally took 2 minutes. I'm ready to whip out about 10 more now and get to writing!

Today's challenge is to create a thank you card and post it to our gallery. Seriously folks, you can complete this challenge in less that 10 minutes start to finish and think of how great you'll feel when you brighten someone's day with a few words of thanks. And the bonus? One of you will be the lucky winner of a 2Peas gift certificate. Be sure to check the challenge box when you upload to be in the running. You have until midnight tonight to get your entry in.

Supplies used:

We R Memory Keepers Nonsense - Fiddle Faddle (back side)

American Crafts Details

BasicGrey Offbeat Rub-ons

My favorite organizational tip I want to share today is to WRITE IT DOWN!

When people think about being organized regarding scrapbooking it probably leads to supplies and how to arrange them, but for me the foremost important thing to be organized on are the moments with my family. 

My kids say and do the best things every day, but obviously I don't have the time to scrapbook every moment as it happens and let me be honest.. my memory isn't so great these days! So what I do is, I keep a computer file where I date each entry and add in those funny things the kids say, what their teachers talked to me about or what the Dr. said at an appointment etc etc.. Then, when I finally have a chance to be creative and scrapbook... those moments are ready and waiting to be preserved with a photo and some style for other people to see! 

I like to live in the moment and experience things as they happen, but I also want to be able to go back later and relive them.... writing things down is the best way for me to be able to do that. Sometimes I write things down on paper and then later type it into my computer file because keeping it as a computer file allows me to be able to search for things... a date to match a photo with or an event I had a lot to say about. Whether you keep a notebook, a diary or a computer file I hope you will WRITE IT DOWN....

Jennifer Harrison

This weeks challenge is simple, Scraplift Yourself!! Whenever I am in a rut & not sure what to do, I usually go straight to my gallery to get inspiration. Scraplifthing yourself is a fun way to see how your style has changed. It doesn't have to be exact either. you can incorporate a particular placement of the photos, a technique or it could just be the design of the patterns you used. With all the new product that is in the market, you can scraplift the same layout over & over again & still keep it fresh.

My own layout i scraplifted...

the results...

So, take a look through your online gallery or browse your scrapbook albums & get inspired to create. When you upload your layout to the peanut gallery, make sure to click in the box next to Weekly Challenge:Scraplift Yourself! Looking forward to seeing what everyone creates!

Thanks & HAPPY SCRAPPIN :-)
Cindy

As soon as I saw this layout, "First Day" by bibirodriguez I had to book mark it!  I absolutley LOVE the little chipboard apple she used.  After scrolling down and seeing that she used the Back To School chipboard Keychain by Maya Road I immediatley added them to my cart.  Aren't the the cutest thing for a school page!  I love how she covered her's with patterned paper.  There aare so many cool things you can do with these!  Thank you for the inspiration.  I just LOVE your layout :) - Wendy Bretz

Here is the keychain:

As scrapbookers, we are really story tellers.

Are there some stories you have been hanging on to?

Things you just haven't gotten around to journaling yet?

Laura's class on weddings has really gotten me to thinking things I haven't put down on paper yet.

I made a little list of items for myself:

my grandfathers

the day my son was born

the day I got engaged

Sept. 11

the Challenger Explosion

I threw up skiing

the day I suddenly understood my Mother In Law

Your story is important.  It is worth telling.  The challenge for today is

to take a story or idea and journal it.

It is ok if it is just a list of sentence fragments.

It is ok if you don't have photo in mind to go with it.

Post your journaling before midnight EST Thursday AND CLICK THE CHALLLENGE box dated 9/25.

The winner will be contacted via peamail.  

I know, it is kinda wierd to post just journaling...but you are going to be happy you did.

Maybe you can start a notebook of journal entries that are just waiting for a scrapbook page.

Happy writing!

kellicrowe

 Happy Wednesday!

This week's digital challenge is to blend a series of photos into a single image. For my challenge layout, I used two pictures, one of each of my children that were taken against a mosaic wall. They both stood in the same place, just at different times. Then I flipped one of the images horizontally and blended the two together so they look like they were standing together on the wall when in reality they weren't.

Here are the before pictures:

and after:

To blend the pictures together in Photoshop, I used the eraser tool at a reduced opacity and erased areas of the image that overlapped. Then if I had any areas that needed to be filled, I used the clone tool to fill in the areas with a similar pattern.

And the finished product:

We'd love to have you join in the digital challenge. Just upload your layout and select the box to upload it to the Digital Weekly Challenge : Blend a series of photos into a single image.

Hope you have fun creating this week! 

-Cherie

We have such an amazing community here at Two Peas...TONS of talent everywhere! 

One of my favorite thing is to browse the gallery & get inspired by everyone!  So, today our contest has to do with what we call 'user inspiration'.  We do this a lot in our Designer Garden.  Today, let's all join in.

Here are the rules:

1. Select a fellow PEA who inspires you! 

2. Contact them & ask permission to 'scraplift' a layout!

3. Glean ideas & inspiration from their layout & create your own. (this is not copycat time!)

4. Post your layout AND their layout in the gallery so we can see! (You  must check the box for the challenge, not simply put the link in the feedback for this blog post.)

5. MellyPea will select a random winner & some lucky Pea will win!  (but, we're all winners, cuz we are having fun scrapping & sharing our 'user inspiration' with each other!)

So....here's mine: I chose Ranie; JulietJoy. I love her work...she always inspires me! 

For my layout; I gleaned inspiration from her half circle motif with the photo...some swirls & journaling! Thank, you Ranie for being so inspirational!

Supplies:

Urban Junque2 Color Pieces

Damask Evolution

Roughed Up 2 Tool Kit

Etched Edges Overlays

Fanciful Edges

Think Font

Ok, it's your turn!  Get inspiRed by our community & share! Remember to check the Challenge button!

So I have a girly girl at home. Nine years old. She loves glitter and bling and pink.. and crafts. And so many of the scrapbook items I see in the 2peas store just yell out for me to buy them for her. Seriously cute embellishments- packaged perfectly for little gifts and treats. So I find myself adding bits and pieces to my 2peas orders .. saving them up for stocking stuffers or little extra gifts here and there.

Check out some of these fun finds...

www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/67818/  My daughter loves to write sweet little notes for everyone in her family.. so these are perfect for her in such a fun package.

www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/67823/ This cupcake package was irresistable.  These would make great little tags or tokens or maybe even a necklace .

www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/60784/

More pretty notes for her to write..

www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/60791/

with matching die cuts of course.

www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/67827/

Scented stickers. She will love these..

www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/68638/

Now I admit I havent seen these flowers in person. But they are gorgeous. And I could see maybe making some barrettes or adding to a hat or even just tying them onto her backpack somehow??

www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/57066/

And bling of course.

www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/59232/

Hello. What sweet packaging here. Arent they fabulous.

www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/68967/

Aemilia actually looked over my shoulder one day when I was adding stuff to my bucket.. she wanted these to decorate her backpack with. I think I will confiscate the flirt and the kiss one however!

www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/68966/

Fun rub ons....

www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/59694/

This little kit is darling. We just gave it as a gift.

www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/58657/

I can see my daughter causing all kinds of trouble with this sweet little stamp!

www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/60762/

She would have so much fun decorating this little collection..

www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/56913/

And Giving her some scrap paper and her own house to decorate. This would be a great project for a friend to do with her.

And lastly ...

www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/59771/

Arent these sweet....

So I am stocking up on sweet little notebooks and stickers this year.

Great easy gifts..

Joy Bohon

I get to spotlight a user today, and I have a super fantabulous one: dnrscherer!  She's got a funky style that is clean and modern but always has an unexpected twist.

For example, look at this layout. It was the DW Calendar contest winner for August. See how she arranged the photos, and the photos are in a non-standard size? And what about that topic? I can so relate. ;-)

And this one. The visual balance between the photos and journaling, the different embellishments, the topic ... it is all just a little outside the box and makes for such a great layout.

This one cracks me up. A little unsettling? Maybe. But she made wild, crazy prints work together so well. 

I think this one is my favorite. I love the brads in rainbow form. Such a simple idea, but executed so well! I also love the handwritten journaling in the negative space on the photo. 

She's got tons of layouts, so take some time to check out her awesome style!

Jen L.

Hi all! Kristina Werner here. :)

Not too long ago, Laura Kurz spotlighted American Crafts Flair here at the GG Blog. I was also smitten when I saw these cute little buttons, so I thought I'd try to use them in three different ways on cards.

When you buy the flair, you get 8 different buttons, so there are plenty of different ways to use them. The first way I used Flair was part of the main message on the card. This pack of flair has a some buttons with words, so I incorporated the pink button that says "cute" (don't mind my MESSY desk):

After that, I thought to include it as a focal point on the card. Another great feature about flair is that AC has conveniently matched their styles with different lines of patterned paper, so it's super easy to match colors to get a cohesive look to your project:

And the third way I used it was to create a super easy and simple 3x3 card. These buttons are are so cute they can speak for themselves and don't need much else with them!

Anyway, AC Flair has endless possibilities, especially for cards. They are an easy way to create great cards!

Good Morning!

Happy Friday!!

This week’s challenge is to use scallops on your page. It seems to be one of the latest trends, so this one should be easy for you!

Good morning everyone. It's Veronica and today I want to talk to you about a technique that I use all the time and I hope it will help some of you as well!

I am a huge fan of texture on my pages. I love the richness and depth that they bring to design but sometimes, especially on close-ups of a face, texture can be distracting or even (dare I say it) a little ugly. So for today I want to show you an easy way to remove the texture just over the part of the face or skin. It's a simple two-step process. The image below is my final page after removing the texture. But follow along with me as I go through the steps.

Yes!  It's a hybrid page for a digital challenge! 

Our challenge this week is all about the photo...enhancing the edges of those fabulous photos with vignettes or inked edges.  There are a plethora of ways you can accomplish this with a photo-editing program, and you can do it with or without digital kits.  You can find the Digital Challenges page here.

I chose to use my digital kit, "Toy Camera Frames", for the photos in the above layout.  I opened them in Photoshop CS2, layered them over a copy of a photo, cropped the document to a square around the frame, and then printed them out onto glossy photo paper at home on my HP 8750.  Doing it hybrid this way gave me the fun in Photoshop, plus a great excuse to play with all the new colorful paper goods I'd received recently--such fun products and images!

To give yourself an extra challenge with these type of black overlay-style frames, try doing a Color Overlay in the Layer>Blending Options, and then play around with the Blending Modes of the overlay....Color Burn, Overlay, Pin Light....all kinds of cool lighting and colors can be created wtih this method!

Also, to create a Vignette effect of your own (using Photoshop CS versions)  go to Filter>Render>Light Effects and select the Style>Flashlight and Light Type>Omni.  Play around with the properties and intensity for the effect you desire.  Have fun and get creative....and share what you've done! 

To achieve an inked effect, you can experiment with stamping random grunge style or graphic style brushes around the edges of your photo, manipulating the direction and size of the brush as you go to create some texture and diversity.  Also, there are various actions available to make an inked effect with the touch of a button!

Have fun....and thanks for playing!   (Remember....you don't have to be a "Digi Scrapper" to join in!  It's easy to blend the two mediums!) 

It's my turn again for the community challenge post here at the Garden Girl blog! I chose to celebrate fellow Garden Girl,  Shannon Tidwell today because it is her birthday! She's my good friend and a super talented scrapbooker-- her galleries are full of inspiration! Here are a few of my favorites:

I love her use of bright colors and product. I am always shopping off her seeds! Her cute kids make me smile and her little bits of sewing are just enough to make me want to bust out my machine. :)

How could you not want to make one like this? And she is the queeeeeeen of KI memories! She uses it like no other!

And now.. after seeing years of fun boy layouts, it's going to be sweet to see her break out the pink for her little girl :)

Please join today's challenge by uploading a scraplift of one of SHannon's layouts to our challenge gallery. I will be picking a winner at the end of the day, TUESDAY, the 16th.. it's only a one day challenge so be sure to join in! There will be a 2peas GC up for grabs! Her stuff is so inspiring, I'm sure there is lots for you to choose from! :)

Happy birthday, SHannon! :)

Jamie

Hi everyone!

I'm so excited to be here at the garden and to get to share with you some simple ways to play with the new Jenni Bowlin Mini Bingo Cards. I loved the large ones, but when she came out with mini ones...and in brown...I was smitten! :)

There are so many things you can do wtih these vintage bingo cards. I had fun playing with three of them that could all be used as a card, a tag, an embellshment on a page or an ATC.

For the first card on the left, I stamped this cute tree image from Hero Arts with Versamark ink then sprinkled it with silver embossing powder and heated it to melt the powder. I added some paper flowers, gems and sewing to create a simple card.

The card in the middle was done with some of that yummy Bo Bunny dot paper and some strips of paper and rubons at the bottom. I used the back piece that came with the Bingo card pack that shows/tells you what is in the package. I simply die-cut the butterfly out of the piece that shows the images of what is included - love the tiny pictures of those bingo cards!

For the third card, I simply embellished it like it was an accent on a scrapbook page. I used my markers to color in some of the title, some punched out cardstock circles outlined with brown marker and some buttons.

I hope that this will help inspire you to try some fun new things with the mini bingo cards.

Some other ideas:

- Cut some pieces of paper the same size as the bingo card and sew them all together on one end to create a tiny little book.
- Add journaling strips or journal block to the front to create a cute journaling tag.
- Stamp!
- Die cut letters or shapes out of the cards.

If you have any other ideas...share here to inspire all of us! Have a great day!

Robyn Werlich

First off let me apologize for my lack of friends layouts in this month's garden. I really had high hopes for scrapping a ton this month.  With a theme so awesome I was sure I could bust a few pages out. There's my husband - my bff. I could do several pages on him. I could do some pages on the boys' friends. I certainly have a lot of pictures of them.  And of course I have my own friends to scrap. I have been very blessed with really great friends and I really wanted to do at least a few pages about them. Unfortunately, my life has left me with zero time to do anything other than what is absolutely necessary. Eat, sleep, work, shuttle the kids off to school or baseball or soccer or karate. Its been a very challenging few weeks to say the least.  

Ironically, it is my friends who have gotten me through this rough patch. They email  - "How are you Lisa? Im worried. Check in when you can." They call "Dude, where are you? Call me." They offer to watch my kids in order to ease my load. They let me vent when my head feels like its going to explode. They are in fact amazing and I truly dont deserve the kindness and understanding they give me. But they lift me up for sure. They give me little bursts of energy to keep on putting one foot in front of the other and tackle all that needs to be done. Its like that old Beatles song "I get by with a little help from my friends."

-Lisa McGarvey

When looking through the peanut gallery, I often am caught by layouts that are totally different than those that I create.  I am just drawn to styles other than mine.  I think that is where I find the most inspiration... a challenge to push beyond my own creativity to do something different.  Venture out of my scrapping comfort zone, if you will!  

And that is where I am drawn to CandiMandi's layouts.  They are so different than my own, AND so dang inspiring!!!

I just love candiMandi's work!  I noticed it a few weeks back and fell in love. :0)

Her work is distinct and simple, but with lots of technique and texture.  

This layout was the first to catch my eye:

YOU ARE

Check out the paint spatters over the pattern paper.  And the simple loveliness added by stitching circles around the photo - ADORE that technique!

Then I began searching her gallery and found this one:

Johnson

Again, the stitching around the photograph, and the extra stitching in the grassy background pattern.  Plus, the color combo works so nicely with the kraft background!

And last but certainly not least:

one year down

That journaling on the background pattern paper knocks my socks off!!! I love the technique and even more so, she stamped the title with paint - Goodness, I love it!

Be sure to check out her gallery for more!!!

Thanks, CandiMandi for the wonderful inspiration. 

~Rebecca Trump

Tracy Miller here and I have the weekly challenge for you this week. One of my favorite ways to journal on a layout is to make a list. It could be a list of everything that we did in a particular time frame:

It could be a list of something we want to do - in this case, a summer reading list for the girls:

Or it could be a list in pictures:

A list is a good way to get a lot of information on one layout. I loved that Joy U. recorded all of her sons' birthday gifts on this layout:

In my challenge layout for this week, I recorded the books that Meredith read for the summer reading program at the library. I think this is the first time she has finished it - even though we sign up every year! Plus, I really want to scrap that picture a friend took at our summer championship swim meet. It cracks me up!

So, I challenge you to make a list...check it twice...and then scrap it!

Hello!

Today I am going to talk about stamping and watercolours.  I recently did a layout that I uploaded to the Peanut Gallery...  I stamped and then filled in with watercolours.  I loved it.  I have done it a few times before... but now I think I am addicted! lol  I have this inner desire to 'let go' and be all creative with messy things like paints... but every time I try, it doesn't feel right.  It definitely doesn't feel like i 'let go' ha ha!  So for now, I have decided that 'colouring in the lines' is an ok thing for me.  It is a good fit!  I need the lines I think! 

Here is another painted owl.  *Can I just say again, how much I looooooove this stamp!??* heeee!  You can find it here if you like it too! 

I had fun making this guy all bright and colourful!  Or should I say girl?  Looks more 'girly' hey? heee!

Watecolours are so versatile too!

You can make them dark, or water them down a lot... just to add a tiny bit of colour.  However you like!  You can mix 'em up to make the perfect shade to match your paper just right... anything!  

I love colouring in stamped images with watercolours!  It just might be one of my favourite techniques!  If you are like me, and you want to let that inner 'artist' out and get messy with paints... but still need to 'stay in the lines' ...this is a perfect technique to try out!

Here is the layout i did last week with the painted stamp...

Who can resist a tray of yummy colour?!

Have fun getting all messy! 

Jen Johner (theLITTLEbug)

Blend your photo into the background. I created a mask for my photo that went from black to transparent. I used the gradient tool to achieve this. I set my gradient to go from black to about 30% transparent on the other side rather than a full 100 opaque white. I then placed my photo over this mask and clipped it to it using CTRL g. You can also achieve this look by simply reducing the opacity on your photo. Try it on your next page- it's fun!!  I love the way it makes my photo look as if it goes on forever across my page. It gives it an ethereal feel.

Good Morning! When I took photos of my space this morning it was a little dark in my basement. I do have some windows, but it takes a while for light to shine through them. I must confess that I use this space mostly for tutoring students after school hours, and I tend to haul my Amy Butler scrapbag full of the essentials up to my diningroom so that I can be closer to my family. After purging and sorting (sorting means randomly throwing things in pretty baskets) this weekend, I think I might just want to spend a little more time down here. I share this space with my kids and their toys. You won't be seeing any of their space in these photos....too chaotic looking for this lovely blog post.

Above is the view when you first walk through the doors to this fun basement room. Here is a view from my kids' area.

There was a time a couple years ago when my husband installed a darling IKEA faux wood floor. One Spring things melted too fast and water came through the back basement door. So sad. Ugh is all I can say to that. So, once we do a little work in the backyard to solve that issue, we will do something charming on the floor again. He did however make the cute fabric covered square bulletin boards. They are clutter free at the moment. These photos don't show the  2  rubbermaid  bins underneath the table. They are holding way too much patterned paper than I actually use. I need to really go through that  and decide what to keep and what to give away. Too much stuff makes it hard for me to  create.

I have been scrapbooking seriously for more than 9 years now, and I know what works well for me. I have tried various systems for keeping my things organized. The thing that works best for me is to have things visible and to not put anything in any specific place. Sounds crazy, but I love to dig. I love to put things out where I can see them to use them. I love to save scraps of my favorite papers and use them until there is nothing left of them. So, I stuff them in containers like these. Randomly. No labeling of baskets. Too much pressure to put things back in the exact right place. Buttons do stay together. Paint stays together. Papers that are just out of my Two Peas order stay together in this wood paper sorter. Letter  stickers  can be found together in a little plastic  folder with clear sleeves.

 I have things out where I can see them, and I love to dig. That's the theme of this blog post. That's my organizational style. This little rusty tray is the best example of that. Whatever little thing I am working on goes in there. Things get swapped out fast enough to keep my attention focused on making fun things.

I am really looking forward to playing in my space today. Thanks for looking! And I would love to hear from any out there that can relate to my very non organized system. Tell me why it works for you!

Margie

Ok I am not going to lie - I am the MOST unorganized scrapper you will ever meet.  I wish I could say that I have this big room with everything in it's place but i am the total opposite.  I have a small corner in my bedroom and everything is just, well . . . everywhere.  The proof is in the pictures -

I am embarrased that I don't have any tips - in fact, my blog post is actually asking for HELP!  If you have a good tip for me I would LOVE to hear it!  I know I need to spend some time and money on supplies to help me get organzied but have no idea where to start.

Please leave me your best tip and I will include you in a drawing to receive an RAK from me!

Sarah

Hi :) I just wanted to share a little technique that can help you make your white letter stickers work in more ways for you. Sometimes I want a certain color letter sticker for a particular layout, but they aren't made in that color or  the shade isn't quite right. I buy extra white letter sticker for this situation. Then all you have to do it pick the desired color from your ink pad collection (the Queue Chalk Inks from Hero Arts work great for this!) and rub it over the letter sticker. Allow a minute for the ink to dry and your done. Quick and simple and perfectly coordinated to the colors on your layout :)

Enjoy :)

-Amy Grendell

Hello everyone, Chelsea here.....

You all know how much I love Rhonna's swirls! 

Well, this week she came out with  Rhonna Swirls V15 Oversized  Yumo!

I cant help myself, I have to go overboard and use them LOTS!

Also used in this Layout is my Little Bird Alone piece of paper.  Love it!  School holidays here...so it's back to the kids for me!  Have a good one...

Hi there!

Jackie Bonette here and I have set up a kind of 'your choice' challenge for you to hopefully particpate in this week. It will be easy... just choose any one (or more) of the following and create a project or layout:

1. Use a recycled item on your layout. {on my challenge layout, the bottom brown floral was actually a packaging insert from a BasicGrey chipboard album that was just too pretty to toss out.}

2. Make your project/layout about what you or a family member are doing to try and be more 'green'. {I sewed the shopping bag in the photo (& need to make more)...and am trying to remember to always take them into the store with me rather than using plastic ones.}

3. If you are making a layout for the challenge, make it 6x12. {I have been wanting to do this size for awhile but just hadn't so it was truly a challenge but a fun one! I will be doing more this size.}

 Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Jackie

Hey, folks!  Jennifer McGuire here...

Have you ever been flipping through the Gallery here at 2peas and have something just jump out and catch your eye?  So you click on it to take a closer look and your chin immediately drops and you slowly say "wowwwwwwwww" as you begin to drool? 

Yep.  That's what happens to me whenever I see a page from mooner363.

This girl achieves what I think is so very hard to do: create a stunning layout that is simple and classic.  She nails it everytime.  Her pages are simply amazing. 

Take a look...

Wow... isn't her work amazing?  You can see it all HERE.  Thanks, Moon for sharing your wonderful talent with us.

- Jennifer McGuire

 Hi there Peas!

This week I'm giving you a little more "technical" challenge to use filters to create motion either on a photo or on a layout. I used this photo of all the neighborhood kids on the teeter totter and blurred the side with the younger kids trying to show what happened when all the older kids jumped on the left side and sent them all into the air (a photo I didn't capture). 

To find your filters in either Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, go to Filters>Blur>Motion Blur

Here's the layout I created with the photo. 

If you're new to digital or have been thinking you'd like to dabble in digital a little, we have some new video tutorials for you to get you started. The program used in the tutorials is Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 but what is shown will help you in earlier versions of that program as well as Photoshop. 

You can find the video tutorials here:

Tutorial #1

Tutorial #2

Tutorial #3

Check them out if you get a chance!

Sande

Happy September!  It's me, Kelly Purkey here with your Community Challenge to kick of the month with some fun :)

I've been trying to take a photo of the day everyday since the beginning of the year.  I don't have any cute kiddos of my own to take photos of so sometimes I have to get really creative.  I love looking back at the photos and remembering the little things from that day.  It definitely helps to carry your camera with you everywhere... even the laundromat...

(Yes we are cheesey!)  I know that when I'm older I'll love looking back at these simple everyday photos and think yeah, it was a pretty good life.

The challenge for today is to post a photo from your daily life.  Be sure to click the community challenge box when you post so you can get entered into a drawing for a 2ps gift certificate!  Have fun!!!

It's September 1st- and that means a *new* Garden Theme in the 2peas Designing Garden!

This month we're focusing on documenting the "Friends" in our lives- I loved seeing how each Garden Girl chose to highlight the friendships that are important in their lives.

Some chose to talk about the "friendships" between their children:

"Best Buds" by Shannon Tidwell

"Best Friends" by Kelli Crowe

"Friends" by Jennifer Johner

"Not Quite Friends" by Joy Bohon

There are the friendships of kids between kids:

"Olivia & Meredith" by Tracy Miller

"A Cautionary Tale" by Sande Krieger

"This Friendship" by Cherie Mask

Then there are the all important friendships that we have as adults:

"My Friend Lynn" by Chelsea Parsons

"Cruise" by Margie Scherschlight

"The Thing About Jamie" by Erica Hernandez

"The Hemingway Effect" by Lisa McGarvey

"My Chicks" by Veronica Ponce

and of course, we can't forget about our Scrapbooking Friends:

"For This..." by Rebecca Trump

"Doris" by Kelly Purkey

and last, but certainly not least, we capture our love for our "four-legged friends"

"New Best Friend" by Jackie Bonette

"Buddies" by Jennifer Pebbles

These are only a small handful of all the important and beautiful friendships documented in this month's Garden. Be sure to check out the Designing Garden to see the rest of the batch, and I am sure you'll find inspiration that will help you share your special friendships in your scrapbooks.

Happy Crafting!
xoxo
Jen Pebbles

Happy Labor Day! Hope everyone is enjoying a relaxing day today... :)

I wanted to spotlight one of the new products I am most excited about: American Crafts Flair! More of it just came into shopping here at 2peas just the other day. :)

I was so excited to see this in American Crafts new releases, and I can't wait to use them on everything - from layouts to cards, and holiday gift tags. I might even decorate my bulletin board at work with a few of them.

Laura K. :)