:LAYOUT: Valentines in 3D

Valentine's Day has passed, but unfortunately all the candy that Kaitlin brought home is still hanging around and tempting me!

Things were so busy around Valentine's Day this year that I didn't get any pictures of Kaitlin filling out Valentine's for her class. Are you in the same boat? It doesn't have to stop you from scrappin' the holiday.

Here's layout I completed for Valentine's Day last year...look, no photos in site! However, I did include some super-cute Valentine's Day cards that Kaitlin received!

Journaling:

We didn’t get any great pictures for Valentine’s this year, but Kaitlin did get some pretty cool Valentines! Looks like she’s got a few little boyfriends from all the bugs and dinosaurs that filled her bag!

Supplies:
Adhesive: Duck
Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey
Alpha Stickers: Basic Grey
Stickers: Basic Grey
Corner Punch: Marvy
Ink: Colorbox
Pen: American Crafts, Signo

:REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Stretch Your Sketches from Ella Publishing (CONTEST CLOSED)

Personally, there are two Becky's that made me fall in love with using sketches - Becky Higgins and Becky Fleck - and I'm sure I'm not the only one that uses sketches as a valuable tool in their scrapbooking.

While I don't start every layout with a sketch, they have helped me out in more than a few cases of scrapper's block.

However, there could be no more worthy author of Ella Publishing's newest eBook offering - Stretch Your Sketches. Author Donna Jannuzzi states in her introduction, "I start every single layout with a sketch."

In the book, she offers seven sketches starting at one photo and working the way up to a seven-photo layout. Each of these sketches includes three layout examples. The first one always follows the sketch exactly while the other two (one 12 x 12 and one 8 1/2 x 11) examples show how to 'stretch the sketch'. In all, there are 14 variations to give you ideas for how to start with a sketch, but end up with a layout that is uniquely your own.

At the end of the eBook, there is a 'Sketch Gallery' that includes two more variations of each of the seven sketches AND a 'Bonus Sketch' section that includes 18 of the authors favorite sketches. So there are actually THIRTY-NINE sketches included in this great eBook!

If you are a lover of sketches, this eBook is a must-have for your inspiration library.

Contributors for this book include Jodie McNally, Monica McNeill, Barb Wong, Tami Morrison, Lisa Kisch, Linda Barber, Noel Culbertson, Pam Young, Margie Scarpignato, Katie Scott, and Kathy Thompson Laffoley.

To check out the other great Ella Publishing Co. eBooks, check out their website.

GIVEAWAY:

Would you like to win a free download of Stretch Your Sketches by Donna Jannuzzi? To enter, leave a comment below answering the following question by Friday, February 19th, 2010, 11:59 p.m.:

What percentage of your layouts would you say start with a sketch? Please choose one of these percentage ranges:

0-25%
26-50%
51-75%
75-100%

Random.org will select the winner on Saturday. Be sure to come back to find out if you've won!

GOOD LUCK!!

:QUOTES: on LOVE according to Aquinas, Mother Teresa & Viscott

SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS:
"The things we love tell us what we are."

MOTHER TERESA:
"There are no great things. Only small things with great love. Happy are those."

DAVID VISCOTT:
"To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides."

:LINKS: More digi freebies and downloads for Valentine's Day

I know these are kind of last minute, but I ran across these all within the last few days and still wanted to share. If it's too late for your projects this year, then you can save them in your stash for next year...although I'm betting I'm not the only one that still has a Valentine's Day project or two to finish up.

While these cute tags from Love. Obsess. Inspire aren't necessarily Valentine Day's specific, they certainly could fit the bill. The other fun feature about them is that you can actually customize them with your name before printing which makes them even easier to add to your gifts or other projects quickly.

Here's a great little coloring page for you kids (or you!) from Vale Design. The colored result could be an adorable accent to a Valentine's Day layout about your child. Too big? Scan and resize it.

These DIY Valentine's from A Field Journal are simple, yet sweet!

Sweet Agent Josephine has these wonderful printable Valentine's available for free download. Just print and trim!

How about these super cute tags from Studio Calico?

Scrapbook Trends blog has another lovely free digital kit available for free download. Not exactly what you would consider traditional colors, but it's actually a refreshing change.

If you like these, but missed my Valentine's Day freebies and printables list from earlier in the week, you can check it out here.

Also, don't miss the word art freebies of my own design that I posted on Thursday.

:WORD ART: Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is only a few days away. So, here a Valentine's gift from me to you. Use these wordart creations on your cards, layouts or other crafting projects.

Downloand here.

Download here.

Download here.

I do hope that you enjoy them and would love to see any creations that you might create using them. Leave a link or send me a email and I might even feature your project here on the A Matter of Memories blog!

:LAYOUT: I 'heart' this face

Here's a layout in the spirit of Valentine's Day for you!

Did I mention yesterday that one of my favorite color combinations right now is red and turquoise? Well, I also love adding pink into that mix!

To utilize space better, I overlapped the two supporting photos and part of the title over the empty area of the main photo.

I created the custom text background (THIS FACE...) in Microsoft Word and I printed in pink on pink cardstock to create a tone on tone effect.

(Click for a larger view.)

Supplies:
Adhesive: Duck
Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned Paper, Die Cuts: Fancy Pants
Rub ons: 7 Gypsies
Chipboard: American Crafts
Ink: Colorbox
Scallop Trimmer: Fiskars
Pen: Zig
Font: Impact

:FIVE FAVES: A little digi love for Valentine's Day...

First off, if you follow my blog, I think you'll know that I'm not a digi scrapper. However, there are so many great digital scrapbooking products out there that I think they deserve their own highlight now and then.

Also, even if you're a traditional scrapper like me, that doesn't have to stop you from adding a little digi to your layouts now and then. Most digi papers and elements are easily printable for inclusion on your traditional layouts. Even better, they can also often be customized before printing to coordinate perfectly with the project at hand.

Here are a few of my favorite Valentine's Day themed digi items currently available over at Two Peas.

#1 - Love One Another ADD-ON Papers By Jen Martakis

There is also a larger coordinating kit that goes along with this particular digital paper pack, but I just LOVE the intersecting circle design on these. Also take into account that turquoise and red is one of my current fav color combinations and you've got a winner in my book!

#2 - Love You Quick Page by Shimelle Laine

OR, if you want to give digital scrapbooking a go...the easy way...pop a few photos into this finished digital template and your done! Undoubtably the fastest page you'll ever complete! If you want a copy to add into your album, you can order it through a site like http://www.scrapbookpictures.com/ that specializes in scrapbooker friendly sizes.

#3 - The Month of February by Hero Arts

Here's a few super simple, yet super cute, images that would be great to use as titles or page embellishments.

  

#4 - Winter Love Notes Digital Stickers By Holly Brooke Jones

Every scrapbooker loves stickers!! Print these out on sticker paper, cut out and you're good to go!

#5 - Write it Down Lovely Labels by Shimelle Laine
Journaling is a big part of most of my layouts, so it's always fun to have a cute spot to write your thoughts.

One thing to keep in mind with digital scrapbooking elements is that most providers often offer two levels of purchase - personal and commercial. If you are just planning on using the items for your personal projects, the personal license will be just fine for you. However, if you are planning on using them for cards or other items that you might sell for profit, you'll want to purchase the item under the commercial license. Really, it's still a good investment as you can use the elements an unlimited number of times (unlike traditional scrapbooking products).