Happy End-of-September!

Good morning! Nikki here with a little fall freebie for you.... to help tide you over til the new Mix-a-Kit release tomorrow!

DOWNLOAD HERE

I love cute decorated journal spots! This one was made with elements from Plum Dumpling Designs' wonderful kit Indian Summer.

I hope you'll enjoy using the journal spot to record some favorite fall memories! Enjoy, and be sure to come back tomorrow for some Mix-a-Kit fun!

Teaser and RAK

Hey there!  One day late, but that's because Plum Dumpling Designs has an amazing MAK product coming out on Saturday, October 1st!

But the fun doesn't stop there!!  Just leave a comment on this post and Mary will pick a winner on Saturday morning when her product goes live in her ScrapMatters Store!

Good luck everyone!!

Storytelling: Living Life in the Plural

Do you ever have those little moments in life when they make you think of BIG things? I had such an experience a few weeks ago and finally got around to putting the story on paper. I'm so glad I did.

As I was leaving the library (by myself), I almost bumped into someone. I backed up and said, "Excuse us." I meant me and the boys! I'm so used to having them with me. Hence...living life in the plural...

full credits here

Start looking for those little moments that make you think of BIG things. They'll make fantastic scrapbook pages that you'll treasure for years to come.

Surprise! It's a sale!!!

It's a surprise sale!

All wordart is on sale for 30% off!!  Use code: surprisesale_927.  It's good for one day only - September 27.

Everything listed below is included in the sale.

Prehistoric Pals Word Art
Vintage Postcard Creator
Season's Greetings Borders
To Be Continued
July 4th Word Art
The Good Ol' Summertime Word Art
The Great Outdoors Word Art
Hidden Messages
Adoption Word Art
Gratitude Grunge
Family Fun Word Art
Cut It Out Word Art Templates
Chatter
Messy Christmas
Faded Columns: Single Sentiments
Faded Columns: Favorite Phrases

Head over to Mary's shop and take advantage of this ONE DAY ONLY sale!!

Happy Birthday to Me (last month)!

Isn't she lovely? She's  my new best friend! Sorry for the poor quality photo, but you see...I'm taking a picture of the good camera with the bad camera. Hmmmmm... DH suggested that we get this for me for my birthday (last month), and I decided to go with it...no brainer, right?!

It's been so fun to play around with. A few weeks ago, I came across a great deal on this friendly little ebook by Kristen Duke, Say No to Auto. I had read so many great reviews from different bloggers, so I decided to spend a little bit of money on the ebook even before I bought my new camera. I am so glad I did! I love this little ebook. It is formatted so that you can print it on 4x6 pics and then have it spiral bound to keep in your camera bag. The book covers 3 steps for unlocking the manual modes of your camera. So helpful. My favorite part is the handy ISO reference chart. Seriously...makes such a difference. Kristen is such a talented natural light photographer which is really where I'd like to focus my photography efforts with my own kids.

Check out the difference between auto and manual settings! I can't believe it! This is Clark's new Godzilla. Isn't it lovely? If you want details on the Great Godzilla Gala check out this post on my family blog. Hopefully I can help someone else out who has a child who wants a Godzilla party - eek!

So...if you have a DSLR (or are planning to get one), get yourself a copy of Say No to Auto!! You'll love being able to unlock the manual modes on your camera! My kids will thank me in years to come. I'm sure of it.

**NOTE: The above review is my own opinion on the Say No to Auto ebook that I purchased.

Product Highlight: Adventures in reading

Hello everyone! Just wanted to remind you of this month's product highlight challenge. There's only a few day left to enter the challenge. All you have to do is create a layout using Adventures in Reading, post a comment here with a link to your layout and you'll be enter into a drawing to win a $10 GC to Mary's store. Here's a preview of the kit, it's 30% off this month. 

Here's a layout I did using the kit.

Good luck everyone!!!

New Release: Getting Dirty Alpha & Last Call for the CT Call!

Dirt, dirt and more dirt! Everyone needs a little dirt, right? I know with two boys I'll be using my Getting Dirty Alpha a LOT!

Getting Dirty Alpha RAK Winner: Barbara! Congrats Barbara! Please contact me with your email or ScrapMatters username and I'll get you a coupon code for your free alpha!



These pictures were the inspiration for the alpha, but I know I have many more!!


And some more Inspiration from the CT...
Ophelia


Nikki


Heidi


Today's also the last day of my CT Call! Don't delay...get your app in NOW!


Happy Friday!

Call Ends Tomorrow!

This week's sneak peek!

Post a comment here for a chance to win this new product! Mary will pick a winner when the product is revealed on Friday... so be sure to come back then for all the "dirt"!

Hybrid for the Holidays

Did you know there are only 13 weeks until Christmas?!  Are you ready? I'm getting there and this Christmas Planner, using Doodle Me Christmas by Erica Zane, is going to be my constant companion until the big day arrives! At the end of the holidays last year, I created a Google Doc Spreadsheet of all the major things I needed to do for the 13 weeks leading up until Christmas and one week after. I created my list based on our own family traditions and lists from several different websites. Anyway...this year, on my list was to make it cute! Mission accomplished!

I created a cover, a page for each week, a wardrobe checklist and a photo checklist. The weekly pages have what week it is, things to do, items for the calendar, and ways to celebrate. The wardrobe checklist is to keep me organized for those big occasions and to make sure that everyone has coordinating outfits for the days when we will be taking photos. Maybe I should color coordinate them to the kit I want to use to scrap too, hehe!! My photo checklist is a list of photos that I usually take around the holidays. I love seeing the progression of our family and the boys at the same time each year. Too fun!

How do you keep organized for the holidays? Did I miss anything?

Storytelling: Reflections

I'm so excited to be hosting one of my all-time favorite challenges at ScrapMatters this month: Word Up! I've been really focusing on how my scrapbook pages tell the story of the day, event, past 10 years, etc. I want my journaling to bring home more than just the who, what, where, when and why (though these things are very important). I want to pass on thoughts, feelings, how I've changed from an event. So today I challenge you to share some reflections on a LO. Try it, you'll be so glad you did!

Here's the LO I created for the ScrapMatters' challenge. I've been wanting to do a LO of September 11th for 10 years. I finally forced myself to sit down and write about it. Was it still hard? Yes. Was it worth it? Definitely.

full credits here

You still have time to enter the challenge at ScrapMatters too if you are interested. The challenge runs until the end of September.

Happy Reflecting!

Product Highlight

Hi blog readers, just a friendly reminder of our featured product for the month!  Adventure's in Reading:

http://shop.scrapmatters.com/adventures-in-reading.html

 

and add on:

http://shop.scrapmatters.com/adventures-in-reading-add-on.html

 

These kits are perfect for school layouts, or the adventurous reader in your life.

 

Here is a layout I created using this kit and add on:

Here are the details of our featured kit again.  Don't forget, you have until the end of the month (you can read more about it here:  http://plumdumplingdesigns.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-product-highlight-adventures.html   ).

Here's what you need to do:

--If it's not already in your stash, hop over to the Plum Dumpling Designs store, HERE, and snag Adventures in Reading for 30% off.

--Create a layout with the kit, and upload it to the PDD gallery at ScrapMatters HERE.

--Come back to this blog post and leave us a comment with a link to your layout in the gallery.

--Watch the PDD blog on October 3 (the first Monday) to see if you've won!

 

Can't wait to see your layouts using this fun kit, in Mary's gallery!

 

New Release: Feeling Griddy Templates & a CT Call

Time to get GRIDDY! I love using grids on my LOs because they allow me to fit so many photos on without looking too cluttered. I've created this awesome template pack so you can use grids too! They'll make scrapping those lots-o-photo occasions easy peasy. Think birthdays, holidays, zoo trips, vacations and so much more!



And some griddy CT work...

The winner of our Sneak Peek RAK was roxanamdm. Congrats Roxana! Your coupon code is in your ScrapMatters PM box.


But wait! There's more!



Happy Friday!

Gallery Stand Outs

Starting this month, Mary's CT are going to highlight a few layouts from her gallery at ScrapMatters (here) on this blog every month.  I was very excited to pick the layouts for September. 

Our Wendy's Tradition by sporte91
I love the clean lines of this layout and the sprinkle-flower clusters are so cute!

Monsoons by shanellgambel
 I am a big fan of blocking! and the photos on this layout are just so fun.  The touches of metal just pull the layout all together.

Little Helicopter Pilot by tsmspt
Wonderful clean lines but what really made me smile was the happy dog.  This layout uses my favorite alpha Basically Black Alpha by Plum Dumpling Designs I love how this alpha is so useful.

And I have one more layout to showcase. 
CA Adventure 2010 by WenRob
She used the Vintage Postcard Maker!  I have such a hard time using them and they always turn out so cool!  Combine that with all the layers in the layouts, love it!

Sneak Peek and a Chance to win

Hi everyone! I'm here to bring you a sneak peek at this week's new release and not only that, but you also get a chance to win it. Just leave a comment on this post and Mary will pick a winner on Friday morning. Good luck everyone!! 

Brown Eyed Girl Collab - 20% off!

Have you seen them? Three fantastic collabs at ScrapMatters with one fantastic color palette!

Isn't this gorgeous? You can pick it up here for 20% off! I'm hoping to get some time to play with it later today!! I just love the fun and funky patterns!

Hello Friends! Heidi here to highlight Mary's Adventures in Reading kit...reminding you it's 30 % off this month!! I love that her kits are so versatile...they can always be used for boy LOs (which is important to me since I have 4 boys! lol). Don't forget to pick up her kit!

Happy Monday to YOU!!

Tuesday Tip: Twirl your Text

Happy Tuesday all! Mary here with another little tip to stretch that Vintage Postcard Creator of yours! This trick works well for twirling any text, but this is how I created the curve for the states and provinces in the Vintage Postcard Creator.

Now you can create postcards with ANY destination or greeting! Awesome.

1. Start by opening a 12x12 canvas. This is important because the size/shape of the canvas will alter the way the twirl filter works. You can test a few out and see what you like!

2. Place all of your letters from the alpha in the middle of your canvas. This is also important because where you place your text will change the way the twirl filter works. Again...trial and error is FUN!! You can see I've placed mine a little right of center.

3. Select all of your layers and merge. (Layers>Merge Down or Ctrl+E)

4. Filter>Distort>Twirl

5. The setting I used was -25 degrees, but play around with it and see what you like!!

6. Now that you have curved text, let's fit it in the postcard. I placed the postcard in the layer above the greeting.

7. I like the longer, skinnier letters, so I squish it using the bounding boxes and NOT keeping proportions constrained. When it fits in the postcard, I click the green check.

8. Now you have a lovely postcard greeting that is ready for the filling!!

Enjoy! Now if only I had a vacation planned to Hawaii...

September Product Highlight: Adventures in Reading

Hi everyone! Nikki here with another new Plum Dumpling blog announcement: our first monthly Product Highlight, sale, and challenge! Each month Mary will be offering a kit for sale in her ScrapMatters shop, and here on the blog we'll be flexing our scrapping muscles with the selected kit, and inviting you to show us your creations.

And the REALLY good news is, at the end of each Highlight month, a $10 Plum Dumpling gift code will be awarded to one lucky kit-user!

Here's what you need to do:

--If it's not already in your stash, hop over to the Plum Dumpling Designs store, HERE, and snag Adventures in Reading for 30% off.

--Create a layout with the kit, and upload it to the PDD gallery at ScrapMatters HERE.

--Come back to this blog post and leave us a comment with a link to your layout in the gallery.

--Watch the PDD blog on October 3 (the first Monday) to see if you've won!

Be sure to come back on Mondays throughout September to see ways the PDD CT has played with Adventures in Reading. I went a little crazy with blending modes to achieve a whole different color scheme!

(also uses a Family Fun template)

Enjoy your new school year, your fall weather, and especially your Adventures in Reading! We can't wait to see where they take you!

And... one more item of business... our lucky winner of the One Amazing Summer RAK is...

JILL!!

Congratulations, Jill! Drop us a note with your email address and your gift code will be on the way!

New Release: Prehistoric Pals & a Freebie Challenge!

September? Really? It's a little bit sad and a little bit wonderful all at the same time. I'm happily exhausted from a play-filled summer and ready to settle down and get back to work. This month we are changing things up here on the Plum Dumpling Designs Blog. Be sure to check back often. We'll be offering tutorials, inspiration, a freebie challenge, discounts, RAKs and so much more. You can even subscribe so you don't miss out!

And Mix A Kit is here! I always love Mix A Kits. It's so fun to see how differently everyone interpreted the colors. This month is NO exception. There is a fantastic array of products from all of the designers. Be sure to stop by the shop and check it out. This is my contribution. We are all about dinos around here and I love it. I had so many photos sitting on my hard drive waiting for a dinosaur kit, so I had to just sit down and draw it out! I give to you the Prehistoric Pals Collection!!







And I've scrapped a LO with it too! I have plenty of dino photos to scrap, so I'll be using these products again and again!


And some romping stomping CT work!


But wait! There's more! How about a freebie template?!?

Each month we'll have a freebie challenge here on the blog. Complete the challenge with the freebie, post in my Designer Gallery and link us up here at this post and we'll choose a winner to receive a $5 coupon to my shop! There is a link on the sidebar so you can click back to this post easily when you finish your LO. I can't wait to see what you create!!


OK - now go and enjoy your September!!