9 Things to Check Before Flattening Your Layout

Posted by Aaron aka Sir Scrapalot on Apr 11, 2011 | View Comments

If you’re anything like me, you’ve had that “uh oh” moment when you realize that your title is misspelled only seconds after flattening your layout.  If you are lucky, you catch it that quick, and you can use the handy dandy History menu to revert back and fix the mistake.  What happens if you’re not that lucky though?  I’ve not noticed errors until months after, when browsing my photos in a gallery.  I’ve found things I left off only after I have saved and shut down Photoshop.  It’s a sinking feeling in your stomach….that thought that you want to fix it, but there’s absolutely NO WAY for you to do so.  If you’ve ever been there, you know the panic that I am talking about.

After having that happen to me a number of times, I started putting together a list of things that I would personally check before flattening my layout for saving.  The list has saved me on a number of occasions.  If you’ve had this problem before, you are probably wondering what I have on this checklist, what things do I check for before I flatten my layout.  Wonder no more, after using this list for months on my own, I decided to create a handy printable checklist that you to can check before you flatten your layout.  It’s available for you to download for FREE!

9 Things to Check Before You Flatten Your Layout

This list is made up of the 9 most common mistakes I have made in the past when flattening a layout.  Yours may be different, but these 9 things I check before I flatten my layouts will be a good starting point to make sure you never find yourself in that “uh oh” position again.

What would you add to the list?  What would be your #10 Thing to Check?  Let’s share in the comments below!

21 Creative “About Me” Layout Ideas

Posted by Aaron aka Sir Scrapalot on Mar 3, 2011 | View Comments

Last week, I asked everyone who follows me on Twitter or “Likes” my Facebook Fan Page what topic they wish they scrapped about more.  One answer that seemed to come up over and over was “me” (not me, as in scrapbooking about Sir Scrapalot, but me meaning about themselves.  Aren’t you glad I cleared that up?).  I find it extremely difficult to scrapbook about myself as well, so I thought I would share a list of creative “About Me” layout topics.

1. My favorite pair of shoes
2. One song I can’t stand is…
3. A time I felt special was…
4. My morning routine
5. My secret hideout
6. If I had a theme song, it would be…
7. A time I helped someone special
8. Games I like to play
9. What my BFF and I have in common
10. One thing people usually don’t notice about me is..
11. My favorite sounds
12. My favorite words
13. One time when I got in trouble…
14. If I had a time machine, I would…
15. The day of the week I look forward to the least
16. What “trustworthy” means to me
17. If you looked into my closet…
18. My favorite Tweet is..
19. The last thing I posted on Facebook was…
20. If I were a color, I’d be….
21. My most prized possession is..

Hopefully these will help you get a jumpstart on doing some awesome “About Me” layouts!!  Make sure to come back and link us to the ones you do!

Scrapbooking Experiment #1: Success?

Posted by Aaron aka Sir Scrapalot on Feb 22, 2011 | View Comments

A few weeks back, I blogged about the three scrapbooking experiments I wanted to try this year.  They weren’t so much goals, but things that I knew I wanted to try.  They were things that I find challenging, and maybe have not done before.  I decided that this weekend was the perfect time to give Experiment #1 a shot.

Scrapbooking Experiment #1: Clean and Simple Scrapbooking

So I figured my best bet for creating a clean and simple scrapbook page was to dig into my template archive, specifically my Janet Phillips templates.  I like her clean, linear style so I knew that I would find a template that would work for what I was trying to achieve.  I decided on using one of the templates from her Collection 29, from when she was still selling at The Daily Digi.

I had a bunch of pictures from a day when the girls were playing restaurant, and I knew I had Kitschy Kitchen by Jennifer Barrette and Sahlin Studio to use, so I gathered my materials and got started.  After a bunch of moving things around and experimenting, this is the layout I ended up with.

After going through the process, these are the things I came up with.

The Pros

• This layout came together pretty quickly.  I just put the papers and the pictures on the layout and then made the adjustments.  It was very different than my usual process, which involves adding elements in and shadowing over and over.
• I like the simplicity of the page.  The linear design appeals to me, and I feel like the simplicity keeps the focus on the photos.
• I was able to keep the simple design, but still use some great patterned papers.  I didn’t want to have to use a bunch of solids in the design.
• I was able to incorporate a few choice elements that supported the theme.

The Cons

• I really wanted to layer more.  There is so much great stuff in the kit, that I wanted to include more.  I found myself thinking about tucking stuff behind papers and piling the elements on.  I had to restrain myself from doing this.
• There isn’t a lot of depth created by this style of layout.  I like to really enhance the dept of my pages, so that they appear realistic.  This layout didn’t give me many opportunities to do that.

I guess, overall, I am happy with the results of the page.  I got a nice looking layout done in a short amount of time, one that keeps the focus on the photos and tells the story I was setting out to tell.  Will I start doing this style scrapbooking all the time?  No.  I don’t think it will fit the “look” I want all the time, however, it’s an option for “branching out.”  I would like to experiment more with this style of scrapbooking, and see if I can make it fit my own style.

Do you do clean and simple scrapbooking?  What techniques and tricks do you use? What advice would you give me to help me do this style of scrapbooking?

Finding Color Inspiration

Posted by Aaron aka Sir Scrapalot on Feb 2, 2011 | View Comments

People often ask me what inspires me to create digital scrapbooking kits.  A lot of times, I am inspired by the world around me.  Sometimes, however, I am inspired by colors alone.  As a scrapbooker, I also find myself inspired to create layouts with certain color combinations that I really like.  There are a few places that I go to for color inspiration.

Colour Lovers – I love the abundance of palettes available at Colour Lovers.  I also like there is the opportunity to design your own palettes, which I have done from time to time.

Inspired Bride – I absolutely LOVE creating kits from Wedding Palettes because often, the images with the palette are as inspiring as the colors.  Inspired Bride has some of the classiest palettes I have seen.

Design Seeds – I am new to Design Seeds (thanks to Pinterest), but I can already tell that we are going to have a long and fruitful relationship.  Everyday, there are multiple palettes, and I have a hard time deciding which ones I like best.  All based on beautiful photos, these palettes have rich, fun colors.

Those are the few places that I find color inspiration.  Do you use color inspiration in your scrapbooking?  Where do you find your color inspiration?

My Three Scrapbooking Experiments for the Year

Posted by Aaron aka Sir Scrapalot on Jan 31, 2011 | View Comments

As we wrap up January, and the dust begins to settle on all the “New Year” hoopla, I’ve really started thinking about what things I want to try out in terms of scrapbooking this year. Performing scrapbooking “experiments” helps me to keep my scrapbooking fresh, and stretch myself as a scrapbooker. Sometimes, I know the things that I want to try out, and sometimes these things come to me. Today, I thought I’d share the three experiments I am looking to try out this year.

1. Clean and Simple Scrapbooking – over the last year or so, as I have discovered Cindy Schneider and her templates, I have really grown into the layered and clustered style of scrapbooking. I still love it, and think that it’s a great representation of me, but I really would like to branch out a bit more this year. I have a bunch of Janet Phillips templates that I am hoping to give a try to this year. Maybe I can switch it up a bit.
2. Adding Lighting to my Pages – Last week, I happened upon a tutorial on Traci’s Hawt Mamas’ Blog about adding lighting to your scrapbook pages. I was intrigued as to how the completed layout looked, and knew I had to try it. I am a little weary, the lighting effect really dabbles into the idea of fantasy scrapbooking, and personally, that doesn’t fit my style. I am excited to try this tutorial out and see how I can make it work for me.
3. Scrapbooking without a Template – This may possibly be the scariest one to me.  I have come to rely on templates to help me get my pages done and look good.  This year, I am going to try and take what I have learned and see if I can put together some layouts on my own.  I’m not sure how they’ll come out, but I think that I need to give it a try to help myself grow as a scrapbooker.

So those are the three experiments I am looking to try out this year in my scrapbooking.  What are you looking forward to trying this year?  What are your experiments?