December Blog Train

Welcome to my portion of the December Mega Blog Train! I'm super excited to join this HUGE train that features 100 designers!!! This month's theme is, of course, Christmas and Holidays. This mini kit features great warm colors, super cute elements, and great papers.

Click on the preview or HERE to grab my part of the kit. From here, you should head over to RebeccaPSP Designs. If you get lost, you can find a list of ALL participating designers and links to their contributions at the Blog Train Blog. You'll also find a slideshow that reveals each and every part of the kit there. Please be sure to leave some love at each of your stops. Also keep in mind that we are all in different time zones, so be sure to check back if a part seems to be missing.

While you're here, why don't you follow my blog and subscribe to my newsletter? You'll get announcements, be the first to hear important news, and even get great coupons and freebies!!! Hope you enjoy and remember to link me up to any LOs featuring my stuff--I'd love to see what you do!

Until next time,
Jennifer ♥

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December Desktop Freebie

Hi out there, Sprauncey1 here!

I was thinking about my Christmas decorations earlier today (after seeing my neighbor's house's decorated for a couple weeks already!) and thought I'd "decorate" my computer first. You know I got to have priorities! So I created this desktop calendar using a kit Jennifer made for a little special treat in December. It is super cute and oh so Christmassy fun! But for now here's a little desktop/sneak peak!:

PC desktops

Mac desktops

Now I just need to get going and get the rest of my decorating done! Time to turn on the Christmas music and make some cocoa and start dusting off the boxes, its going to be a long day! Hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend!

Ciao!

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Huge Sale This Weekend!

Stop by my store at Polka Dot Plum this weekend and save 50% off your entire order!

Use code: jf_BF50 at checkout to get your discount. This offer expires 11/30, so hurry!!!

Enjoy and have a great weekend! ♥

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Spotlight Sunday!

Hi everyone, guest CT member Trina here with your Sunday Spotlight for this week. I decided to see what people have made with Funkalicious Fall by Jennifer Fox Designs and GSD by Nikki Epperson, and I had so much fun perusing the galleries, there are so many talented scrappers out there!

Here is a preview of this gorgeous kit :
First up this one caught my eye at DST - Mr. Ringbearer by schock77. I love the circle, the layered backgrounds, the placement of the elements and of course the wonderful journalling. This uses

Isn't this the most adorable face ever? This one is by ladyponies23, and it went straight into my scraplift folder - love the blocking, the titlework, and again the journalling.

This one also uses Scraps to Go 1, some of Jennifer's awesome templates. Awesome titlework and clustering, yet again! Little Pumpkin by knlchevys

And this is my favorite page of mine that I did this month is this one, Pretty in Pink.

Thanks for looking at these pages, hopefully you got some of your own inspiration and you can pick up Funkalicious Fall to create something beautiful! Link us up here to your creation using this kit!

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A little weekend inspiration...

Hey! Alix here, or as some of you know me, sassynsweet ;) I am *loving* my time as a guest CT member and seeing as it is drawing to an end *sob*, I thought I'd share a fun little photo tutorial I created with you all.

One of the best parts of being a photographer is there is always something new to learn! Even if you already know about a certain technique or tip, it never hurts to practice, so go ahead and give this one a try!

One of my favorite techniques is when part of the picture, usually something in the foreground is sharp and the background is blurred. I like how a nice soft background will contrast with your subject and it really helps to make the photo 'pop'. Kinda like this:



In order to get a nice soft background, you need to use a bigger aperture, like f2.8 or f4, because smaller apertures mean more of your background is in focus. Obviously this is easier if you have a dSLR camera, but for those of you with point and shoots you can fake it using photoshop and I’m going to show you how!

First choose a picture that has a distracting background that you would like to tone down. I am going to use this one:



First duplicate your photo, because you should never work with the original! Now just like with everything in photoshop there is more then one way to do this, but I am going to show you my favorite way.

Using your magnetic lasso, being by selecting a starting point on your image, then follow as closely along the subject as you can (if the magnetic wand chooses something you don’t want then just click ‘backspace’). You can also click along the subject to make the selection points if you’d like or the magnetic lasso is having a difficult time with a certain area. Once you make your way back to your starting point, the ‘marching ants’ will show up. Like this, here it is up close:



Again, there are probably several ways to do this part, but I’m just going to show you the way I am most comfortable with.

Click on Filters --> Blur --> Lens Blur



Adjust the settings to your liking, I changed 'radius' to 30, but I didn’t change them much from the default.



Here’s it is after the filter is applied



And the before and after:



Whew! If you made it this far, thank you! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, it was my very first, so thanks for being my guinea pigs! If you try it out post a link to your photo in the comment section, we'd love to see them!!

{Hugs}

Alix

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Freebie Pillow Box

Kate here wishing everyone a Fabulous Fall! This is a great time of year to reflect on blessing in our lives. I have so many wonderful family and friends in my life. So I thought, why not make them a little thank you. So I grabbed my Funkalicious Fall kit by Jennifer and GSD by Nikki Epperson and I put together this little pillow box for you to fill with candy.


They are quite easy and I will show you how to do it. First you will need to download the TEMPLATE HERE and then print it.

1. So first, cut out your pillowbox


2. Next, fold on the straight lines


3. Next you are going to score the ovals. I don't have a bone folder but that's okay. I take my scissors edge and score around the inside oval edge.


4. Fold the ovals in like this


5. Next glue the cream flap to the back side of the box
6. Make sure on one end the ovals are in and the other end they are open. Now you need to fill this cute box with some yummy treats.
7. Now go take this pillow box to your family and friends that mean a lot to you!!! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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Hybrid Heaven

Looking for a hybrid idea?? Look no further. I have a great idea for you to give out for a "just because day!" or teacher gift, or to pretty up your own home or office.

Just make a cover for a hand sanitizer jar! Tie on some ribbon and bam...instant gift or just a pretty little something to have around.

Here's how I did mine...Measure around the bottle to see how long it needs to be and then measure the height. How tall do you want it? That's up to you.

Then open up a new project in the size that you need. Mine was 11x3. But yours will depend on the bottle you picked to decorate. Then just work your magic. Save the project and print. Cut it out and tape it on the bottle. Tie some ribbon and you are done!

In today's world, who doesn't use hand sanitizer? Might as well have it be pretty!

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Spotlight Sunday...a few days late!

Hi Everyone! Erin here (a November guest) with the Spotlight Sunday (or Tuesday)! I scoured the gallery at PDP looking for layouts made with Jennifer's kits and I found some gorgeous ones! Check them out!

I love the blocking in this one by valeriapiemonte! She used the kit Take Me Away.



I LOVE the pictures showcased in this layout by uinthas (using Funkalicious):

And the last layout uses Jennifer and Sir Scrapalot's grab bag Best of Both Worlds. I love the composition of this page! It's by Roxxygerlie.

Don't forget to upload the layouts you create to Jennifer's gallery at PDP so we can comment on the gorgeousness! Have a great day :)

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Happy Digital Scrapbooking Day!!!

Yay for Digiscrap Day!!!! There are so many great things going on at Polka Dot Plum today!!!

I have a couple of New Releases in my store and they're 40% off this weekend!! Check them out:

Even though my store's on sale already, I wanted to give my bloggie readers and extra 10% off for this weekend! You can stock up and save money, too!!! Enjoy! ♥

Be sure to visit Polka Dot Plum today for tons of fun all day!!! There are games, prizes, contests, and more! You don't want to miss this!!!

Finally, I have a little gift for you from the Polka Dot Plum DSD Blog Train. Click on the image to grab this part of the Blog Train kit!!!

From here, just head on over to Allison Pennington Designs: http://allisonpennington.familyartspace.com

Enjoy and have a great DSD!!!

Jennifer

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Freebie Friday

For this Freebie Friday I made a little framey goodness from Jennifer's new grab bag Best of Both Worlds kit she just released this week!!



To download this little gift click below:
Such a Hoooooot Frame Cluster Freebie

Enjoy!!

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DSD SALE AND CONTEST!!!

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Get Ready for DSD Fun @ Polka Dot Plum!!!

DSD is this Saturday, November 7th and PDP is celebrating in a BIG way!!!

You won’t want to miss this jam packed weekend! The Design Team and the Sugar Plums have some fun and exciting games, challenges, and chats planned. Check out all the happenings:

All Day Chats:

8:00am – Coffee with Sir Scrapalot
9:00am – Chitter Chatter with Alix
10:00am – Powwow with Pink Peacock Designs
11:00am – Bingo! with Jennifer Fox
12:00pm – Small Talk with Sharon
1:00pm – Speed Scrap with Allison
2:00pm – Template Challenge with Nikki
3:00pm – Trivia with Rae’s World
4:00pm – Trivia with Christina
5:00pm – Use it or Lose It with Allison
6:00pm – ChitChat with Dawn
7:00pm – Speed Scrap with Jill
8:00pm – Scuttlebutt with Susan
9:00pm – Bingo! with Aaron
10:00pm – Crossword with Susan

Games in the Forum:
Gallery Scavenger Hunt
The Gallery Game
Spot the Difference
Guess How Many
Shoppe Scavenger Hunt

*Storewide Sale Friday to Sunda--Save 40% on EVERYTHING in the store!
*PDP Designer Grab Bag Blog Train

*Are you the Ultimate PDP Fan? Participate all weekend and you could win the ultimate prize… A guest spot on the team of any PDP Designer!

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The Sneak Peek is Here!!

I cannot wait to show you this absolutely amazing kit Jennifer is releasing tomorrow! It's a little rustic, a little shabby, and a little whimsical. It's the best of everything! And if you love glitter, this kit was made for you! Gorgeous fall colors and lots of glitter!

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November Desktop Freebie

Hi there! Sprauncey1 (Kim) here...

Can you believe it, November is here! As I was preparing to make up this desktop for you I was inspired by all the candy my DS has already gotten and will be getting this Halloween night! So rather than boring old fall colors, I thought I would do some fun, happy colors. Jennifer's Cuppycakes kit is perfect for this and it just came together! Check her new kit out at Polka Dot Plum, it is my new favorite!

So hope this new desktop brightens your day as you start up the new month and all the activities in it! Well that is it for me tonight, I have to prepare fo rthe sugar madness we like to call Halloween night here! =)

(Three different sizes in each download for different screens.)PC desktops

Mac desktops

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