Hybrid Scrapbooking is something I have been doing since before it was even a “thing”! By using my computer for fonts I used to print out titles and cut out my own custom letters before the age of die cut machines and the plentiful options in alphabet stickers.
 
These days, I find myself using the computer for less titles and journaling, and more for amazing photo overlays and digital designs that enhance my crafting. Today I’m going to show you how even if you don’t have photoshop – you can totally have some fun and get some quick projects going that are hybrid.
 
First, just open up Microsoft Word and go to insert > picture. You can insert any image – whether it’s a photo or a digital element such as a .png file! SO COOL! They all get treated the same.
 

 
For this project I’m using one of Rhonna Farrer’s spring digital images. She has some beautiful images and digi art on her site. Here’s the link.  Back to this project - once your image is in, you want to change the orientation to “tight” as I have here below:
 

 
The default is ‘in line with text’ which will not let you do anything you want and will restrict your editing. By changing to “tight” This will let you move, size, and adjust the image freely. No rules! Wahoo!
 

 
Now just size, adjust, and play with your image until you’re satisfied. There are a lot of options in the “format” edit bar including cropping, some color adjustments, sizing, and more. If you want to add in more images or layer – go right ahead! Need to adjust where a layer is? Just right-click on the image and you can move what order it is in (top, bottom, etc).
 

 
For today, I’m just going to print mine right out onto a tan cardstock and turn it into a card.
 

 
Once I add some letter stickers (by Echo Park) and some ink around the edges I’m all set. I could add more elements if desired, but I love how quick and simple this card is. With so many possibilities – hybrid scrapbooking gives you the best of both paper and digital – I hope you can see why I love it so much.
 
How fun was that? I hope you had fun – if you’d like to see more of my projects and what I’m up to you can visit me at www.mayflaum.com and www.facebook.com/mayflaumdesigns.

Happy Crafting!


Giveaway:
I am teaming up with Nic Howard to teach a Double page layout class at Big Pciture Classes: Double Take.

Join Nic and May as they embark on four weeks of double fun! Each week you’ll receive four new sketches, eight example layouts, tips, techniques and step-by-step instructions. Working together to create double page layouts, while using your stash of scrapbooking products and making a dent in that pile of photos is the goal - all while having fun with two instructors that love to participate alongside the students on the message board and in the gallery.

Enter to win a spot for you and a friend by commenting here sharing your most common hybrid technique.

Enter a second time by connecting with one of the digi guest bloggers:

• leave a comment on their blog
• like them on facebook
• follow on twitter
• subscribe to newsletter

then come back here and leave a comment sharing what you did.
Giveaway closes in 48 hours August 26 at 10:00am MST.

GIVEAWAY WINNER IS bunnyfreak

Guest digi bloggers

Mary Jo Johnston twitter   blog
Lisa Jurrens blog
Barb Wong blog + Cathy Zielske blog facebook page
Shaui from Fei Fei's Stuff blog  facebook page   twitter
Francine Clouden twitter   blog  
Peppermint Granberg facebook page   newsletter   twitter

If we’re talking about adding color to your scrapbook pages, patterned paper is often the very first thing that comes to mind! Of course as simple as it seems, the trick is making sure you use the right colors (and quantities) to compliment your photographs. Today I’m going to share five tricks to making colorful patterned papers work for your scrapbook pages.




1. The single-color burst
Sometimes a single color can really be the most powerful, effective statement to use in a scrapbook layout. In this layout (using the new papers from Authentique) I played up the beautiful blues by die cutting flowers, using strips of paper, and of course the bold floral background paper as well.



2. Punched, die cut, or strips
One of the best things about patterned paper is that it can be anything you want. Torn, whole, punched, cut, layered, transformed into something special – it can be ANYTHING. In my layout above you can see I used small bits of patterned paper punched out to add pop and a flash of color to my page. Patterned paper can become flowers, shapes, even used like ribbon if cut into thin strips. The possibilities are endless.





3. Bold patterns and colors
Bold patterns and colors are often the hardest to use. Depending on your photos, I often suggest either starting with a cardstock base to provide balance, or some neutral or otherwise calm solid so that you do not overwhelm the photos and story. Fellow Ella friend Keshet Shenkar has advice to share:

"I like to use a neutral paper as a base, and then a brightly colored patterned paper to add a pop of color. In my layout above, 'So Pumped,' I used the yellow Cosmo Cricket paper as my background, matted over a sheet of woodgrain paper to provide some depth. The warm, neutral colors of the woodgrain and yellow papers provide a place for the eye to rest on the layout. On the other hand, the KI Memories calendar paper is a bright, forest green that adds vibrancy and youthfulness to the layout. By using the neutral paper in as a background with smaller doses of bright color, the layout doesn’t feel too busy and the bright colors stand out."

4. Mix it all up!
Keshet has another great idea to share:

"Don’t be afraid to mix up your patterns for an eclectic feel! On this layout, 'Candle,' I used lots of strips and punched squares of patterned papers. Even thought the papers are very different from one another, and range from pastels to black, by using them in small amounts they don’t compete with each other and create a cohesive layout."

5. ultimate mood enhancer
Color can say a lot of things and sets the tone of your layout. With patterned paper, you can take that one step further and set the mood through design. Whimsical or elegant, playful dots of color or graphic circles – the amount of designs and color palettes available is stunning. Take advantage of this to let your paper do some of the work for you.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these ideas – and that you look to patterned paper the next time you want to add a pop of color, dash of fun, and bit of something special to your scrapbook page.

Day 6

Today we are showcasing journal cards created by www.shopormolu.com. Ella friend May Flaum played with these and we love what she came up with.

You must look at Ormolu's web site; they have some lovely products. A few favorites are below.

Paper Chains:

Lovely Tags:

And finally the product May used, Examiner Cards:

To enter to win a set of these journal cards from Ormolu, leave a comment below!

Comments close Friday, December 17 at 8:00 am MST. This post will be updated with the winner's name on Saturday.

**Update**

winner is brown eyed girl

Cocoa with marshmallows, cracking fires, and spending time with loved ones are just a few of my favorite things about this time of year in my house. When it comes to scrapbooking – I have favorites as well. It’s Ella Best Friend May Flaum here, and I’ve got some holiday favorites to share with you here today. With all the hustle & bustle and to-do lists growing every minute, it’s a time of year where I like to put even more focus into getting things done (quickly) and get my stories preserved. When it comes to my favorite scrapbook products to work with, you might be surprised to learn that I lean heavily on non-themed product. I’ve found that cardstock, glitter, metallic finish, and other sparkly items work great and if I don’t use up my purchases they will remain useful all year-round.

When it comes to my photographs, my favorite photos tend to be those awful group shots with bad indoor lighting, and the annual cheesy mall Santa pictures. They are usually the worst of all my pictures, and yet I love them most. They capture very real moments, and the awkwardness of my own childhood photos is something I cherish, and something I want for my kids as well. For better quality photos I suggest snapping a lot of photos, and also making sure to take photos earlier in the day or event. I try to grab people and pose photos right when they arrive instead of when a gathering is in full swing.

I have some suggestions I’d like to share for holiday scrapbook supply shopping:

• Think about the subject(s) of your photos and shop for appropriate papers. Thinking about the background of your celebrations – elegant, casual, outdoors, whimsical, vintage, etc – as well as who is in the photos will help you avoid products that while you might love, won’t actually work for your pages.
• Think about color! I love the new Dear Lizzy Christmas line because it has traditional red and green with touches of other colors. The rub-ons made even this Santa photo (with an aqua velvet cushion) a joy to scrapbook!!
• Multiple uses- I love lines like Tinsel & Twig (The Girls’ Paperie) because the paper is both themed and neutral enough to be used on any number of pages. Finding double sided papers with a subtle or non-themed back side is great in case you buy more than you can use.

No matter what your style is or what you buy – the key is really to have a good time with what you have. This goes for both your holiday photos and products you work with!! My top 5 suggestions for products that are timeless and great to work with this (or any) holiday season are:

·         Rhinestone Brads (Making Memories has been making these for a long time – I still love them!)

·         American Crafts Christmas cardstock pack

·         Stickles (glitter glue)

·         Kaiser Craft Journal tags

·         Webster’s Pages sparklers (non-adhesive designer buttons)

I love ribbon on layouts, but sometimes cardstock works too! With the odd aqua seat Santa had, and my daughter’s pink dress, not to mention the decorative photo frame I wanted to make sure and not overwhelm the photo with patterns so I opted to go pure cardstock instead. I punched some trees making a ribbon of sorts – as well as added lots of fun festive bits all over. This page was fairly simple to make – and it came together quickly.

Now that I have shared my layout and favorites, two of my fellow Ella Best Friends have their own favorites to share – I can’t wait to see what they have to say!

Francine shares,
My favourite moment from last Christmas was watching what Kieran made of the Christmas Tree. He was quite curious about it, but I am happy to say he was very careful and only batted gently at the ornaments. The is one of the photos that I captured of him checking out the tree.

My absolute favourite photo however, made it onto this layout, which totally sums up the moment

Since I don't scrap many seasonal photos, I tend not to buy a lot of themed paper. When it comes to scrapping the holidays I prefer to use products that are graphic, but still have a classic take on the holidays. Do you see those Christmas Trees on the layout? I cut them out from this sheet of patterned paper by Pink Paislee

It's called White Christmas and is from the Tinsel Town line which sadly has been retired. You can still find some stores selling it online though if you do a search. Anyway, I love that paper and have been hoarding my one sheet for the last two years judiciously cutting little trees out to use on Christmas layouts and projects. Maybe I should try to buy the last ones that I can find in stock!
 

Valerie shares

I’m not usually a big fan of themed product, except during the holidays (well, and Halloween, too – but that’s a post for another day!) Since there is so much fresh and fantastic product on the market every year, I seem to find a new collection of faves each season. Last year was my ‘silver foil cardstock/ silver thread/red button & kraft’ season, as illustrated in this layout from last December. I think it’s my all time favorite Christmas layout ever:

So, today I share a few of this year’s fave products ‘according to Val. I’m a lover of old stuff so it’s no surprise to me that most of my picks are vintage-inspired:

Martha Stewart Adhesive Scandinavian Die Cuts: Translucent and graphic, these are great to layer, sew through and stick down – and add a little pop of color.

Martha Stewart Bakers Twine: I use this in place of ribbon or thread

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist/Silver Sugar: makes everything – especially chipboard – look like old silver.

Tim Holtz Tissue Tape/Tidings: just enough stick to hold things in place, but not enough to destroy paper when repositioned. Love to sew through it and use it to add graphic lines to projects.

Vintage Words from Scrap Rat – these are handmade with an old typewriter on old paper and come in sets for different occasions. I love them on layouts and on cards.

and here’s a layout that includes all of these products:

I hope you’ve enjoyed Francine, Valerie, and my ] favorites – I invite you to share your own holiday favorites here with us.