Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Homegrown Scrapbooks June Newsletter



June Kit Content
1 sheet of each of the following papers from the Gin-X Take a Vacation collection:
Eddie's Homestead
Aunt Edna's Patio
Rusty Rings
Super Sports Wagon
Wally Moose Tracks
Large Ball of Twine
2 sheets Guacamole cardstock
2 sheets Applesauce cardstock
1 set Take a Vacation Photo Corner Coasters
1 Spiced Marmalade Ranger Distress Ink inkpad
1 Heidi Swapp clear stamp: Favorite
1 box Pressed Petals Lime Hip Chip Chatter
10-12 assorted Karen Foster Citrus Biggie Brads
3 Doodlebug Limeade Silk Flowers
2 yards ribbon

Design Team Projects
Are you anxious to see what our design team members did with the gorgeous May kit? Well, the wait is over! Look below for some amazing inspiration from Homegrown's talented designers! Be sure to post your creations in the Homegrown Member Gallery.

Audrey Neal :





Lori Gentile:





Meera D'Souza:





Severine Langlois:





Stacy Rogers:





Scrapped In Ink
by Audrey Neal

When it comes to the basic tools in your scrapper’s toolkit, one of the most versatile is ink. With a few ink pads and some common household items, you can create numerous looks for your pages and projects.

Ink pads come in various sizes and types, so make sure to find the type to fit your needs. Most dye-based inks are great for use on paper or chipboard, while more permanent solvent inks (such as Staz-on) will work on a wider range of materials, including acrylic surfaces.

When it comes to using your ink pads, you have two basic options: you can apply them directly to the surface you are stamping, or you can use a variety of tools. Direct-to-paper stamping can be accomplished in a number of ways. The most common is to hold the ink pad in your dominant hand and brush it lightly along the edge of your paper. Sand or distress the paper’s edge for a different look. You can also lightly swipe the ink pad across the surface of the paper, leaving streaks of color behind. For more complete coverage, press down with the stamp pad as though you are using a stamp. This can create an interesting technique, depending on the shape of your stamp pad.

Rubber and foam stamps aren’t the only tools that can be used with your stamp pads. Bottletops, pencil erasers, and homemade stamps cut from sponges or potatoes are other options. Take a piece of cardstock and fold it up several times, then ink the crease. Rub the crease along the edges of your paper to create a worn, weathered appearance. Experiment with other household items for a variety of cool looks.

The next time you pull out your scrapping supplies, I challenge you to experiment with the various looks you can get from some basic tools and a few inkpads. You’ll be surprised at how versatile this basic tool really is!

Sketch Challenge
Enjoy these sketches by two of our talented designers, Severine and Stacy. The first is for a layout and the other is for a card:


Photoshop 101 - Adding Text to your Image
by Lori Gentile

With so many of us going digital, the way we scrapbook has changed. We now have a new world open to us. We can embellish and enhance the very focal pieces of our layouts, our photographs. There are so many fun techniques available for us to choose from; masks, brushes, color conversions, text addition and so much more. Traditionally, we have been taught to crop out any white space (or extra space) in our photographs. The theory is to tighten the view and help draw theeye to the image focal. With our new editing techniques, we can leave that extra space to create a dramatic canvas just begging to be filled with text, doodles, or whatever we can imagine, that won't take away from, but rather enhance our image focal. Let's start with adding text to an image. This is a simple and fun way to enhance your photograph. Once you start you aren't going to want to stop!

In Photoshop:*Open your image



*Click on the Horizontal Text tool (this should be in the tool box open to the left of your screen.) It should look like a capital "T" .



*Next click on the space in your photograph where you want your text to be.

*At the top of your screen you should see the optionsfor text. Choose the font and size you prefer. (refer to image 2)

*You will, also, see a little box of color at the top of your screen. If you click on that it will bring up your color pallet. You can select any color you like.(refer to image 2)

*Type your text and you're done!



*Save your image and print. Congratulations! You have just added text to your photograph. Experiment with colors and sizes, and create titles or simple sayings. Now that you know how, you can be as creative as you like!

Contest Corner
By Meera D'Souza

Mocha Mondays:
Come feel some Mocha Love on Mondays at Homegrown. Each and every Monday we will be giving away a $5 Starbucks gift card to the top poster in our forum and gallery. We're going to be working on the honor system, so you'll need to keep track of your beginning and ending post count. At the end of the day, you can post to the thread in the Contest Announcement forum with your total post count for that Monday. The person with the most posts wins the gift card - simple as that! Good luck and happy posting! Tracy Rhodes won the first gift card! Congratulations to you!!!!

Fingerpainting Challenge:
Guest Designer Tia Bennett has challenged us to FINGERPAINT on our layouts! Are you game?
Create a layout and post it in the Fingerpaint Challenge Gallery. You could be a winner of a wonderful surprise package from Homegrown!

May Kit Contest:
Create a boy layout using the BG Baby Girl papers. Tough Guys wear pink! Yeah! So come on, create your best boy layout with the May kit and win a FREE July kit! We'll choose two winners to receive a FREE July Hybrid kit from the entries posted in the May Members' Gallery!

Get To Know Your Design Team



What is your full name and screen name? Jeanne Tamez (jeanne)
How old are you, if you don’t mind sharing? 35
What’s your guilty pleasure? hording supplies!
What music do you listen to while paper crafting? I don't- I listen to audio books and have a travel dvd player at my table for my netflix movies
Is there a product or technique that seems to find its way to most of your creations? silk flowers, different fonts, bazzill of course!
Do you have a favorite manufacturer (scrapbook related)? I really don't. I bounce back and forth between Basic grey, Chatterbox, and then the assorted finds.
Do you use rubber stamps on your paper crafts? What are some of your favorites? I do use rubber stamps...and foam stamps. Alphas, and for background designs. One of my current favorites right now are the stitch style stamps.
Who in the scrapbooking world inspires you? Everyone! I will find a little something from each layout that I like and want to try!
If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I would be the whole box! I love bright colors!

Monday, May 22, 2006

May News and Happenings




It’s a Girl!!!

Huge congratulations are in order for Homegrown Scrapbooks owner Stephanie Fearn, her husband Bryan, and sons Eli and Noah. Stephanie gave birth to a baby girl, Delainey London Annelynn Fearn, on March 16, 2006. Delainey weighed in at 8 lbs., 3 oz. and was 20 in. long. May’s kit will honor Delainey’s arrival – something just as beautiful as she is!


Basic Grey Oh, Baby! Girl
It’s not just for girls anymore!
Okay, so obviously this paper is great for scrapbooking your adorable baby girl, and oh what a treat this has been for me! But the Basic Grey Oh, Baby! Girl papers don’t stop there! In true Basic Grey style, they lend themselves to your spring, mother’s day, book of me, friendship, wedding, and yes, even your boy pages!


May Hybrid Kit Contents
1 sheet of each of the following patterned papers from the Basic Grey Oh, Baby! Girl collection: Sophie, Karina, Madison, Carlie, Lilly, Taylor, Hannah
2 sheets Heather cardstock
2 sheets Lemon Drop cardstock
1 sheet Oh, Baby! Girl cardstock Monograms
1 package Making Memories Pearl and Diamond Gem Stickers
1 set Li'l Davis Designs Pearl Crillon Chipboard alphabet set
2 yards assorted ribbon
1 Wisteria Cat's Eye Fluid Chalk Inkpad


This month’s papers were just PERFECT for this layout of my son Noah wearing my birthday tiara! I’ve been searching for just the right combination of papers and embellishments to show off this picture (one of my faves!) since Fall, and as soon as I opened the BG papers, I knew I had a perfect match!

Now not all of you have pictures lying around of your silly boys wearing “princely crowns” (as my husband likes to refer to the tiara), but I’m sure that you DO have pictures of you and your best friend or photographs of your garden gnome surrounded by beautiful spring flowers! BE CREATIVE and think outside the pink box! The possibilities are limitless with the Oh, Baby! Girl papers and embellishments that we’ve put together for you this month.


Inspiration
Need a little more inspiration? We’ve got that covered too!

Looking for a contest? We’ve got one!
Use this kit to create layouts of YOUR prince, and you could win free stuff!!! Post your work in our Members’ Gallery by June 15th and we will choose our favorite creation to win a prize! See the Homegrown Contest Announcements section of our forum for more details!

Looking for some inspirational quotes for your pages? Try these!
When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts.
A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.
~ Sophia Loren

Her children rise up and bless her. - Proverbs 31:28
No language can express the power and beauty and heroism of a mother's love. - Edwin H. Chapin

Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of the instruments, not the composer.
~ Geoffrey B. Charlesworth

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.
~ Proverb from Guinea

Spring - An experience in immortality.
~ Henry D. Thoreau

Looking for ways to make your Hybrid kit stretch even farther? We’ve got those too!


**NEW FEATURE** Hybrid Accessory Packs
Check out our new Hybrid Accessory Packs and expand your creative horizons! The Hybrid Accessory Pack is filled with more embellishments, inks and tools that perfectly complement your Hybrid Kit, and the Deluxe Hybrid Accessory Pack features an additional sheet of each patterned paper and even more coordinating cardstock!

And the best part about these Accessory Kits is that there is no additional shipping charge for our domestic customers when your purchase is shipped with your kit. Pick yours up today in our Current Kits Section!

**NEW FEATURE** Daily Inspiration
And if you still need more inspiration, check out our new Inspiration of the Day and Project of the Day threads in the forum!

Inspiration of the Day
Each day, design team leader Charissa Stanton chooses an\Inspiration of the Day and shares it with everyone in our forum. This is a great feature for those of you who don’t have time to go surfing for the latest techniques and the newest offerings from your favorite trendsetters! Charissa does all the research for you, and brings inspiration to your desktop daily!

Project of the Day
In an effort to work even harder for you, our design team has created the Project of the Day series in our Class Corner and Resource Room forum. Each day, a member of the team will post one of their layouts or projects in this forum. Along with the photograph are step-by-step instructions that will guide you through the project from beginning to end. Now you will have a daily, detailed guide for working with your Hybrid kit!

**NEW FEATURE** Bits and Pieces Section
Need more of something found in your Hybrid kit? Check out our Bits and Pieces section for sale prices on items found in previous kits!


Design Team News
Homegrown Is Pleased To Welcome Tia Bennett as our Guest Designer!

You’ve seen her name everywhere, but have you gotten to know Tia Bennett – the woman behind the Freestyle craze? Now you can!...

Hi there! I'm Tia Bennett. I am the girl who, in 1st grade, laid her head down and cried when her teacher told her she had to color inside the lines. It wasn’t a matter of skill—I was pretty accomplished at being precise—I just wanted to add some ‘scenery’, is all! To this day, I continue my drive to challenge the ordinary; to color outside the lines, with a creative energy that lives within my every breath.

I'm a 30 year old wife (of 11 years) and mom (to 3 kiddos) and live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest in Washington State. I've been scrapbooking since Fall of 2004, after the tumultuous birth of my 3rd child left me feeling rather emotional and needing to express myself creatively. It only took me a month or so of papercrafting until I dove head-first into the design world, and haven't looked back since!



I've been published in many magazines and books, most recently Autumn Leaves' "Freestyle". I design products for Autumn Leaves and the stamp company Fontwerks, and release weekly designs at http://www.designerdigitals.com/. You can also find my fonts at http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/. I feel so blessed each and every day to do what I do; to design and create, while still staying home to be a mom!

Redesign
Homegrown’s Re-Designed Design Team
We’ve been in the process of re-designing our Design Team, and are proud to announce our talented group of Homegrown designers!
Aimee Takayoshi, Audrey Neal, Audrey Tan, Catherine Sebree, Chantal Andress, Jeanne Tamez, Lori Gentile, Lynne Wilson, Melissa Bierlin, Meera D’Souza, Severine Langlois, Stacy Rogers. Charissa Stanton will head up this talented group of papercrafters as Design Team Leader. Come see the latest projects we’ve done to inspire you and keep watching for more info on our two new designers!

Design Team Call
Homegrown is holding a Design Team search beginning in May! We will be looking for new designers to join our talented design team beginning this summer! For more details, check out our forum at http://www.homegrownscrapbooks.com/.


Did You Know?
Forum Facts
Did you know we have a font forum here at Homegrown? Our resident font guru and design team member, Jeanne-Marie Tamez, posts a Font of the Week with a link to download the free font.
If you’re new to font downloading, Jeanne has useful information and easy-to-follow tutorials posted on how to download fonts and how to install them on both MACS and PC’s.
And if you’re all too familiar with fonts and have too many to keep track of, she has a link to a font viewer that allows you to see all your fonts at one time!
Be sure to stop by our font forum to see all of Jeanne’s resources and download a font or two today!

**NEW FEATURE** Free Fonts
Jeanne has chosen several free fonts to match your Hybrid kit! The following fonts were chosen to coordinate with your May Hybrid Kit. There’s even a great floral dingbat font included!
http://www.dafont.com/lms-hippy-chick.font
http://www.dafont.com/kr-spring-me.font
http://www.dafont.com/search.php?q=girls+are+weird

And as an added bonus, here is a great paisley font to go with your April Hybrid Kit. It’s called Paisley Caps and it even included numbers!!!

http://www.1001fonts.com/font_details.html?font_id=2399

**NEW FEATURE** Forum Francais
We now have a special French Forum for our French-speaking members!

Create Your Own Custom Stamps in Just Two Easy Steps!
by Charissa Stanton

After seeing a lot of the new products releases over the past few months from CHA, it would be an understatement to say that stamps are a big trend right now! Rubber stamps, foam stamps, acrylic stamps, digital stamps – they’re a “must have” item for our scrapbook pages. Quickutz has even come out with stamping products!
This got the frugal scrapper in me thinking about several stamping possibilities... Every die cut machine I am familiar with will cut basic craft foam.
So here’s how you do it…
1. Cut a die-cut shape out of basic craft foam (can be found in the children’s section of craft stores)
2. Adhere the shape or letter to an acrylic block with double stick tape and voila! – you have your own custom foam stamp!
How cool (and frugal) is that? The possibilities are endless!

Contest News
And The Winner Is . . .
Congratulations to amberjane, mei_lye, scribler and flcropper, winners of our March Madness contest!

Check your raffle ticket…
Check those raffle tickets you’ve been holding onto that came in your March kit! The winning numbers are posted in the Contest Announcement forum. Three free May kits are up for grabs!

More great ways to win free stuff…
Fill out our questionnaire! Return the paper copy of the questionnaire included with your April kit, or fill it out online! It couldn’t be easier! We will pick two winners at random to win a FREE 3-month subscription to our Hybrid Club kit!

Get those boy pages uploaded…
Post those layouts of your little prince created using this month’s kit and you could be chosen as the winner of a fabulous Basic Grey prize pack!

Coming up next month…
Get ready to welcome Summer with open arms!

Welcome to the Central Line!

We've created this blog as a way to keep up to date with the happenings at Homegrown! This will be the central location for you to find all things kit-related and more!

Read more about our talented design team, check out new challenges and get inspired to create!
If you have never heard of Homegrown Scrapbooks, let me tell you a little bit about us...

We are a kit club that creates monthly kits of scrapbooking supplies for members the world over. We have a brilliant design team that provides daily inspiration in our forums at www.homegrownscrapbooks.com . We also have an open gallery where you can come and post your own work!

Our main kit is our Hybrid kit. As the name suggests, we take the best of everything scrapbooking and mix it together into one great kit every month. We have accessory packs if the Hybrid isn't big enough to tackle your project of the day, and a Paper and Ribbon kit if simple scrapping is your thing.

Some come on by and check it out - we'd love to meet you - stop by and say hi!