Today's Friday Favorites is a bit of an extended edition with a couple of late-breaking additions that I really wanted to include this week!

I'll start off with something brand new from Totally Rad. They're already the creative geniuses behind my favorite Lightroom Presets, and now they've come out with a totally new film-based set for both Lightroom and Photoshop that is simply incredible!

Replichrome merges the look of film with the ease of digital, and I am totally in love with the results so far. I've only played with it off and on for a few minutes since it was released earlier this week, but I'm so impressed by how Totally Rad took images shot on actual professional film stocks and translated them into editing presets. I'll be writing up a full review after I've had a few weeks to play with it, but I wanted to share one image with you now. This is a straight out of the camera shot from the Grand Canyon earlier this summer...

And this is the same shot with just a few clicks in Replichrome...

I applied the Kodak Portra 800 (Noritsu) preset, then used Saturation +, Grain Reset (grain is one thing I don't miss about film!), Darken Skies +, and Sharpen 1 from the Replichrome basic toolkit. It was never going to be the best shot in the world since it was taken in directly sunlight at mid-day, but I'm thrilled with the contrast and especially the color that Replichrome was able to pull out of it! There's nothing like film for great, natural looking color (even the new Star Wars movie looks like it will be shot on film, thanks to J.J. Abrams' influence), and if you want to read more about the process that Totally Rad went through when creating Replichrome, you can read more here.

And, yeah, I see lots of photo editing in my future for the holiday weekend. :)

Speaking of this weekend, that's the other thing I'm a little excited about. I've been on a cleaning and organizing kick lately, and earlier this week I was reminded that the annual Holiday Cleaning Grand Plan will be kicking off on September 1! It's a great way to combine a full cleanout and reorganization of the house with preparing for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. I don't usually go all out and make the planning notebook and print all the checklists since Google Docs works well enough for me, but you can find tons of helpful resources and full cleaning and organizing lists for each week here.

And now that I've gone through all that, I have the regular roundup of picks to share with you this week, too!

From the top left:

• I love tours of real, imperfect, but still well-loved and organized scrap rooms. Corrie Jones recently gave her readers a look at her own scrap room, and it's a great example of working with what you have. Corrie totally rocked it!
• I've included Laura Vegas's school album ideas for her girls on the blog before, and she recently wrote a pair of posts for Scrapbook and Cards Today covering them in a bit more depth. You can find the first post here and the second here.
• I love this sweet little tag-based mini album by Kim Jeffress. All of her little accents are just perfect! 
• I admit that I didn't pay much attention to Bella Blvd's feather embellishments when they were first released, but I'm loving all of the projects featuring them in this post!
• Lisa Storms shows how to get three different looks out of one simple punch on the Fiskars blog.
• Basic Grey's mini Capture albums are adorable, and I love this Christmas journal put together by Alexes Brown with one from the 25th and Pine collection.
• Laura O'Donnell offers some tips on adding stamping to your scrapbooking workflow at Write. Click. Scrapbook.
• I'm loving the look of purple mixed with hints of neon in this roundup post at 100 Layer Cake.
• Silhouette posted a fun idea for a washi exchange party along with a free cut file for making your own bobbins.

Have a scrappy weekend!

Layout - Anyone Home? (Hip Kits)

I made lots of projects with the July kits from Hip Kits, and since the owner, Kimberly, is awesomely laid-back about deadlines and posting things to her blog (seriously, she rocks at keeping things uncomplicated), you'll be seeing more of those layouts and cards here over the next several weeks.

Today's layout proves that not everyone is a conch whisperer.

Maybe I should back up and tell the whole story...but first, here's the layout.

So, the story goes a little something like this. One fall day in October, AirTran had a little overbooking problem that resulted in Darren and I getting not one, but two sets of round trip tickets good for any of their destinations, including the international ones. We ended up using them for vacations in Nassau and then Aruba, a mere 6 weeks or so apart. And I added the bit about the tickets being comps because we do not usually get to travel that much- this was a very special case!

The two back-to-back trips are important because on the first, in Nassau, one of the locals picked up a conch and showed us how to get the little critter to come out by holding the shell upside down. While we were on trip number two in Aruba, Darren found a conch shell and tried to same trick, but unfortunately didn't have any luck with it. The conch was definitely in there, and we could see the foot squishing around a bit as it moved inside the shell, but it was feeling a tad antisocial that day and refused to come out and greet us.

Seriously, these are the sorts of things that amuse us on vacation.

With the end of August rapidly approaching, meaning Fall is just around the corner, this is the time of year that I find myself starting to wish for another tropical vacation! Normally I don't make it through the month of October without booking one...we'll see how I hold up this year! :)

Color Me : Bold + Bright

Image Sources: Rachel Singleton (Etsy) | Confetti | Spoonflower | 100 Layer Cake | SF Girl By Bay

Harpers Ferry - A Two Page Layout for Lawn Fawn

Lawn Fawn is celebrating their Fall/Winter release this week, and today I have a layout on the blog that features the new Into the Woods paper collection along with the coordinating sequins and flair. I put the new Stitched Leaves die to work, too, and will all that goodness going on I decided that I two-page layout was in order to fit it all in!

I'm finding that I really love the extra pop of contrast that you get when mixing a light and a dark background on opposite sides of a double page spread, and that gorgeous woodgrain print is the perfect thing to offset a piece of distressed white cardstock layered on teal patterned paper.

Fall is not my favorite season, so I don't have many fall photos and reached back to these from a 2011 trip to Harpers Ferry while we were visiting Darren's brother in Washington, DC. As I was scrapping them, I kept getting this nagging feeling that I had used them on a layout before, but when I checked my albums the layout was nowhere to be found! It wasn't until I was done with the page that I remembered I'd used them on a CHA layout for Pink Paislee last year, and it was one of the layouts that they kept- no wonder it wasn't in my albums! I'm happy to have these photos home for good finally, and with the two page layout I was even able to include more of them than last time!

All of my typed journaling for my Project Life album is starting to rub off on my other scrapping, too, and I can see a lot more computer printed writing in my scrapping future. There's something about being able to compose my thoughts with the exact amount of available space clearly visible in front of me that makes journaling easier to work into the design. I'm pretty sure I'll be doing this a lot more in the future!

I made a card for an earlier release week post, as well, using the Woodgrain Backdrops stamp set, more Into the Woods, and another round of Stitched Leaves dies.

All of these new Lawn Fawn goodies are currently being shipped to stores and should start showing up on shelves both physical and virtual any day now! Until then, you can check out lots more inspiration from the rest of the super talented Fawny girls over on the Lawn Fawn blog.

Project Life 2011 - July 3-9 with Capture by Basic Grey

This week's Project Life layout is another entry for my 2011 album. And the reason I went back to 2011? Because I was running out of printed photos for 2013!

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

Between a graduation, a few birthdays, some holidays and a massive vacation I let my photo editing get out of hand for a while, but I'm happy to say that I just sent off a massive print order that will catch up all but two weeks of my 2013 Project Life printing, along with the rest of 2011. And those straggling two weeks are the vacation photos that I'm still working through- there are so many! 

I don't worry about keeping my Project Life albums caught up, but I do like to have several weeks' worth of photos on hand so I can choose the ones that I most want to work with at any given time. Luckily these photos from 4th of July week a couple of years ago were a great match for some of the products that Basic Grey sent over for my guest design spot with them last week!

Looking back at these photos reminded me of some of the things I loved doing two years ago and gave me a little push to make sure I do some of them again before the summer season slips by completely. We've already crossed one item off the list- takeout from Mei Wei. We hadn't eaten there in a long, long time, but that photo brought back memories of their awesome lemon pepper shrimp, and a couple evenings later Darren ran out to pick some up for us. Burn Notice and Chinese food- I really can't ask for a better evening than that!

I loved, loved, loved mixing up several Basic Grey collections on this page- there's a bit of Capture and some Carte Postale, and though each of the lines and waterfall packs has its own theme and color scheme, it all has the same feel that helps it hang so well together. And I know I keep talking about how much I love all the new Basic Grey releases, but, seriously, yum!

A big bonus of having my Project Life printing caught up is that it means all of my photo editing is also done for that same time period, making choosing and printing photos for traditional layouts a breeze. I'm in the middle of getting that particular print order together now, and there's nothing like a fresh infusion of new photos to make me want to get scrapping!

Geek Girl - August 25, 2013

This week's geek girl is a bit late, I know, but I've been off spending the day with family and am just now back at my computer! I had a fun day having lunch with my family, then came back home this evening to finish the voiceover for my next video at Two Peas. Now it's time for a bit of geekiness before I run off to catch a little sleep tonight!

From the top left:

• We've seen every kind of geeky ice cube tray imaginable, and now you can add Daleks and TARDISes (TARDISi?) to the lineup.
• We're getting mostly rumors and rumors of rumors about new Star Wars projects these days, and Suvudu recently reported that ABC is in talks to develop a Star Wars television series. Variations on this theme have been floating about for years, so this one definitely goes into the "I'll believe it when I see it" category.
• This cupcake variant on the Jayne hat has to be one of the cutest things I've ever seen!
• This fun couple chose to include video game references from Mario Bros. to Zelda in their wedding.
• Oh, how I wish I had space to build one of these Star Trek cat trees for my little fuzzy dudes!
• Nerdalicious featured a set of awesome Harry Potter cookies.
• This bit of Star Wars news is definitely fact and not rumor! Mark your calendars for September 4, when the next episode of Lego Star Wars : The Yoda Chronicles is set to air.
• The theme for this year's annual York Corn Maze? Doctor Who, complete with Daleks!
• And, if that's not enough Doctor Who for you, the newest Lakeland Catalog features a variety of Doctor Who baking items. Thanks so much to Zoe for sending the link along to me!

MTFBWY!

Giveaway - Simply Playful Accents Class with Angie Gutshall at Big Picture Classes

Yes, it's another Saturday post from me! These are normally rare things, but when fellow Citrus Twist design team member Angie Gutshall asked if I'd like to give away a spot in her new self-paced class at Big Picture Classes, I knew I had to get it in somewhere!

Here's a bit about Angie's Simply Playful Accents class, straight from Big Picture classes:

Stitching, and sequins, and ribbon...oh my!

Would you like to add a bit of fun and whimsy to your layouts? What if you could do it in a way that was not only fun and playful, but also simple! In Simply Playful Accents, instructor Angie Gutshall will share more than 20 ideas for using items in your supply stash to add a little bit of pizazz to your layouts.

You'll receive 20 emails with before-and-after images, each showing how just adding a little accent here and there can take your layouts from blah to beautiful! You'll also receive four bonus emails with additional ideas and inspiration. Angie even shares her layout-creating process in a fun video tutorial!

If you'd like to enter to win a spot in this class, just leave a comment on this post by Friday, August 30th at midnight CST. I'll choose a winner next Saturday and get in touch with you to set up your free access to this class.

Enjoy your weekend, every, and thank you so much for stopping by!

Friday Favorites - August 23, 2013

As I was writing up today's Friday Favorites posts, it occurred to me how many of these girls I've gotten to know either in real life, via email, or through a design team. Here are just a few that came to mind immediately:

• Christina Nunez, a fellow Lawn Fawn design team member, is another geeky software engineer like me, and she comes up with some of the most clever and creative card ideas!
• Ruth Bonser is another techy geek girl whose blog has an awesome name- "We All Live in a Yellow Scrap Machine"- though every time I read it, I do get that song stuck in my head for a while!
• I've had the pleasure of meeting Christine Newman in person, and, apart from her general awesomeness, she endeared herself to me with the first words she said to me when we met at CHA in January. Those words? "Oh my goodness, you're so tiny!"
• Jenni Hufford is a fellow Star Wars fan and Project Life addict, and I love the different creative ways she uses the good old standard "Design A" page protector.

I make it sound like I talk to so many people on a regular basis, when in reality I have serious "inbox issues" and don't reply to people in nearly as timely a manner as I should. And that list covers just the bloggers in tonight's roundup- there are so many more sweet, kind, talented scrappers out there that I'm grateful to have the chance to know and work with. Bloggers and scrappers are truly a wonderful bunch, and I'm so happy to be able to feature selections of their awesome work each week!

From the top left:

• Christina Nunez (aka Yainea) has come up with one of the most innovative uses for washi tape that I've seen yet. Her little washi pom-poms are simple adorable!
• Ruth Bonser posted a super helpful comparison of the available Project Life kit subscriptions that are currently available, complete with analysis of postage to both the US and Australia. 
• Ann Marie Morris guest posted for Ali Edwards recently with a fun little tutorial using paint and stencils.
• Christine Newman wrote an excellent tutorial for Write. Click. Scrapbook. showing how to make confetti pockets. 
• I love Tanya Batrak's fun tutorial for making big color splats, posted at Lemon Owl.
• This lovely watercolor summer berry stationery set is a free download at Creature Comforts.
• Jenni Hufford posted a Project Life-style vacation album at Elle's Studio.
• How awesome is this 3D text effect? Learn how to do it yourself with a video by Betsy Veldman at Papertrey Ink.
• Debee Campos shared a tour of her recently updated studio.

TTFN!

Two Peas Gardeners' Digest Blog Hop - August 2013

Update: Congrats to Tatiana (Two Peas user taorni) who won the free pass to Jill's class. Thanks so much to everyone who entered!

 

It's hard to believe that it's already time for the August Garden Girl blog hop! The last eight months have been a whirlwind of learning to make videos, trying to get comfortable with the sound of my own voice (soooo still not there!), and of course having lots of creative fun. I know that the next four months of my term are going to go by in a flash, and December will be here before I know it!

That's why I love scrapbooking- it captures all those daily details that would get lost as the weeks and months blur together. I cannot count how many times Darren has looked at something in one of my albums and said, "I completely forgot that we did that!" So, in celebration of remembering those little things, I have a sneak peek at my next Project Life video, some inspiration from the Two Peas Gallery, a few new favorite products, and a giveaway to share with you today.

A bit of housekeeping- if you're following the hop, then you most likely arrived from Nancy Damiano's lovely corner of the web. If you landed here in the middle, are lost, or just want to see all of the links in one spot, then the Two Peas blog is the place for you!

 

My coming soon photo is a bit of a tease, but I'm just now in the starting process of filming my next Project Life video for Two Peas, and this is where things are right now! I'll be scrapping a week that includes birthday photos and one very funky shade of purple using some Capture collection items from Basic Grey's RSVP line. RSVP isn't out yet, and the only things in the shop at the moment are the Snippets pads and Waterfall Theme Pack, but there are plenty of other products both old and new that coordinate with this line, and I think that this layout will be a lot of fun!

 

I'm inspired by a little bit of everything in the gallery this month! One page layouts, two page layouts (go, Diana!), neutrals, bright colors, single photo pages, layouts with lots of pictures, and even a mini album! I've rounded up five rather diverse favorites to share, and you can click on any of the links to see the full project in the gallery.

Fun! by Michiko.K Summer Memories Mini Album by Marie-Pea Swing! by Peally Scrappy Feeling Froggy by Missy Whidden Best birthday EVER! by Diana Waite

InLinkz.com

 

I'm loving little things lately. With so much patterned paper in my stash, all it really takes is a small element- a journaling card, a die cut, a cute puffy sticker, or a stamp to freshen older papers up and, most importantly, help get them used! This month it's no secret that I'm crushing on Capture from Basic Grey, and there are also some awesome new cut-apart journaling card sheets in the shop. And those stamps by Shimelle? So awesome! I love that she added some snark in, because, hey, life isn't always perfect!

Capture Rsvp Waterfall Theme Pack by BasicGrey Capture Journal Snippets by BasicGrey Woodgrain Heart Puffy Stickers by Skipping5 Nailed It Shimelle Laine 4X6 Clear Stamp by Two Peas You And Me 12X12 Photo Freedom Volume 2 by Echo Park Paper Co.

InLinkz.com

 

Jill Sprott has a fabulous new mini workshop at Two Peas this month, and I have a spot in it to give away to one of my readers! Here's a bit about Scrapbooking from the Soul, and you'll find entry details below.

As scrapbookers, we do not document life as passive observers -- we have the power to make meaning, sharing what matters in ways that matter. Join Garden Girl Jill Sprott for Scrapbooking from the Soul, a workshop that explores ways to embrace the “soul scrapper” within and infuse pages with layers of meaning.

If you'd like to enter the giveaway, just leave a comment below (including your Two Peas user name) by August 29th. I'll draw a winner on the morning of the 30th and get in touch with the winner. Note: I don't make separate blog posts for winners of giveaways, but I do contact the winner directly and will try to remember to come back and update the top of this post, as well.

Thanks so much for stopping by my little corner of the hop today. Celine Navarro is waiting for you at the next station!