Storytelling: Look for a story and you might just find it!

How are you holiday preparations going so far? Things are in full swing here and I'm loving every carol-filled minute of it! I've often heard that scrapbooking holiday pages are very difficult for people. Usually it's the same old, same old year after year.

Well...this year that's all going to change!

OK, maybe not, but maybe you'll think differently about how you want to scrapbook your holidays. This year I want you to be open to a new story. While you are going about the same old, same old, try to look for a story to tell. Look for something different, something unique, something funny?! If you are looking for a story...you just might find one!

Looking back through some of my holiday LOs, I'm surprised at how often unexpected things happen! I hope you'll find some inspiration in some of these LOs.

Like the year we had a Boxing Day Christmas...

Or the Fourth of July when Great Grandpa passed away...

Finally documenting a tradition of Thanksgiving Breakfast...

Or the year we started a tradition of Homemade Christmas PJs...

I love this Easter LO to document what the kids are into and also share a little of my faith...

And the next year's Easter LO...

Maybe use a catch phrase as the inspiration for your page like this Ho Ho Ho LO...

And I still laugh every time I see this poor, poor pitiful tree! (Hey...that would have been a cute title...)

Hope you enjoyed a little holiday tour!

And remember, look for a story as you celebrate, and you just might find it!

November Product Highlight: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Hello everyone! Roxana here with the Product Highlight this week! This month we are featuring Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, a beautiful kit with lots of gorgeous elements and papers, and so versatile you can use it for many themes, I'm sure you will be using this kit again and again!!

(preview linked to the store)

Here´s a layout I made with this amazing kit:

(for credits visit my ScrapMatters gallery)

Right now the kit is on sale, so you can purchase it for only $3.85, then make a layout, upload it to PDD gallery at ScrapMatters, or any other gallery and link us back here, you will be enter to win a $10 gift certificate for Plum Dumpling store!! Isn't it amazing?

Hurry up! The winner will be announced December 1st!

Moving Sale!

Hi all! Big news...Plum Dumpling Designs is closing shop at ScrapMatters! My shop will close on November 22nd. I'll be opening up a new shop at Funky Playground Designs on December 1st! Hooray! Enjoy 30% off my shop through the 22nd. Your discount will be applied in your cart.

A Holiday Trick!

Hi Plum Dumpling fans! Nikki here with a quick tip for making the most of your template collection during the holidays! I love being able to resize templates for my non-12x12 projects, so I thought I'd show you a couple of ways I like to resize in PSE, and a bit of inspiration for resized-template projects.

First, I wanted to turn a 12x12 template into a 4x4 Thanksgiving dinner placecard. I love any project that can be printed cheaply at a 1-hour photo counter! To turn this big template little, I went to Image>Resize>Image Size and changed the dimensions to width 4 and height 4. This kept all the template's layers looking exactly the same, just smaller. (This is also a GREAT trick to make inexpensive 6x6 gift albums... just set the dimensions to 6x6 and make your pages as usual, then arrange four flattened pages on a 12x12 blank canvas to send them off to print!)

I then filled the layers with papers and elements from Pieces of Fall and Indian Summer, and used the Family Gatherings alpha to put a name at the bottom of the placecard. Keep in mind that your layer elements will be much smaller, so you may need to resize your papers as well. I love the "I'm thankful for" wordart/journaling strip, which makes these placecards interactive.... and would also make them a wonderful collection into a tiny mini thankfulness album when Thanksgiving Day is done!

For my second resizing project, I wanted to make a Christmasy card, using only a part of a template. I selected the Crop tool, and set the dimensions on it to 5x7, a standard card size. I clicked on the template and moved the crop box around until the area that I wanted to use was evenly centered in the crop box.

Once I clicked the green checkmark, all the excess of the template disappeared and I was left with a perfect Christmas-photocard-sized template. I used Modern Prairie Girl, Yesterday Today Tomorrow, a button from Black & Blue, and red berry-ish brads from The Open Road to make this merry card front.

I hope these simple tricks will inspire you to stretch your template stash, and help you to create some personalized accessories for the holiday season! Happy scrapping and happy celebrating!

November Product Highlight: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Happy Monday Everyone!!

Denise here with another installment of our monthly product highlight. In November we are featuring Plum Dumpling Designs' fantastic Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow kit!  It is so gorgeous and incredibly versatile! With 13 beautiful papers, a full alpha, and lots of fun elements....hearts, flowers, butterflies, buttons, tags, scalloped borders, string and the list goes on....you can use it to scrap almost anything!

Adorable isn't it? I absolutely loved working with this kit. Here is one of my layouts with Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow:

The kit is on sale at ScrapMatters right now 30% off - so snag it for $3.85!  As part of our product highlight, we are sponsoring a contest for one lucky random layout poster to win a $10 gift certificate to Plum Dumpling Designs!!  Yep.. you read that right.. $10!!!

Just scrap a layout with Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, post it in the ScrapMatters design gallery and link us on the November 7th product highlight post on the Plum Dumpling Blog!  We'll announce the winner on December 1, so hurry up and get scrappin!

Tutorial: Filling Acrylic Elements

Looking for a way to stretch your scrapping stash and cash? How about filling acrylic pieces to create a completely different look?

This tutorial was from a request from my CT. When they used the grab bag, some of them filled their acrylic pieces with a paper instead of leaving it clear. I thought...what a FUN way to think outside the box. 

Speaking of stretching cash...This example was created using the new alpha available in my grab bag. The grab bag is still on sale at ScrapMatters for only $4.50! hehe...shameless plug!

Let's get started...I've created this tutorial for PSE users. Other programs may have similar features and work arounds.

1. Open your Clearly Oversized Alpha letter (or any other acrylic element).

2. We'll use the Magic Wand Tool. Be sure that the box marked "Continuous" is checked. Click on an area on the outside of the letter.

3. We are going to add the middle of the letter to our selection. While the marching ants are still going around the outside, hold the shift key and click the inside of the "a". When you press the shift key, you should get a little plus sign next to your cursor. This means you are adding to your selection. 

4. Create a new layer under your letter (Layer>New>Layer or Shift+Ctrl+N). Now select the Inverse by choosing Select>Inverse or Shift+Ctrl+I. Then fill the selection with any color. Edit>Fill Selection>Foreground Color

5. Your letter should now look like this.

6. Open a paper and clip it to your filled letter (Layer>Create Clipping Mask or Ctrl+G)

Now you have a perfectly filled letter to add to your LO! Sweet!

October Product Highlight Winner Announcement

The winner from last month's product highlight is annamarieje. Please send us an email and we will get you your GC.

November Product Highlight: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

It is Tuesday and everyone here in the Dumpling Gang are totally stoked about this months product highlight! I am so excited to share Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow with you. I love the versitility of this kit. It is perfect for any occasion you are scrapping, and I know you will use it again and again!

We would love to see what you can do with this gorgeous kit. Just scrap a layout with it, post it in the ScrapMatters Design Gallery and link it right here on the November 7th post. One lucky random poster will win a $10 gift certificate to the Plum Dumpling Designs store at ScrapMatters!!

I made this layout using Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow as well as Dating Around

Of course we have a freebie for you........

Grab Bag RAK Winner

Congratulations to andastra who has won my complete grab bag! Email me or PM me at ScrapMatters to receive your code!!

Happy DSD!!

DSD Grab Bag, Inspiration and Freebie!

It's DSD weekend! Hip, hip hooray! I hope you've got your hard drives ready for some serious downloading! If you have a chance, check out the ScrapMatters' DSD forum for some fun games and lots of great prizes! There may even be a freebie surprise for you if you scroll down far enough. 


Today I've got a grab bag for you! 4 brand new products for only $4.50! In the grab bag, you get a full kit, a date element, and AWESOME new alpha, and a set of templates (PSD, TIFF, PNG, and PAGE formats). Full reveal in the shop; simply click on the preview. Check it out!

Just look at the fun the CT had with the grab bag...

by abish



And let's not forget a little freebie?!  Download here.



Have a fantastic DSD weekend!

November Freebie Challenge

Are you ready for another freebie? I'm here to speed up your DSD scrapping with a template! Check out the end of this post for challenge details on how to win a $5 GC to my shop!



Check out the LO I made with the template. I'm only a year "behind" on my fall leaves scrapping, hehe! click image for full credits


Lisa has created another beautiful LO with the template using an oldie but a goodie!


Challenge Details: Each month we 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!!

The winner from last month's challenge is...SueP1963...congrats and thanks to all who participated!! Sue, watch your ScrapMatters PM box for a coupon code for my shop.

Have a fantastic DSD weekend! I'll be back tomorrow with a grab bag!

Sneak Peak

DSD is right around the corner and Plum Dumplings Designs has great things in store for you!  Here is a sneak peak of what is coming!

What's better the new goodies?  A chance to win!  Leave a comment here and Mary will be back on Friday to give one away!

New Releases: Simple Gifts

**scroll down for blog train post**


November 1st means Mix A Kit at ScrapMatters! The colors were just beautiful and reminded me of the simple gifts that I have in my life that are the most important gifts. I've created a sweet little element pack and coordinating papers.








The CT has scrapped about some of their simple gifts as well.

Spend time enjoying your simple gifts today!

Walk with Gratitude: LDS Blog Train

It's November 1st! Can you believe it? I'm still in shock. Good thing I have a blog train to keep me sane, lol! For a complete list of stops, please visit the LDS Blog Train blog.


This month's theme for the LDS Blog Train is Walk With Gratitude. The color palette is just beautiful.


Here's the slideshow of what you'll be picking up on the train.


And my portion...click on the image to download



Check out what Lisa from my CT did with the mini...



And Eve's LO...I know I have had experiences like this one...



Wishing you much to be thankful for!


Your next stop is Word Art World.