Off to the magic!

Sorry my blog has been neglected, but I hope you will join me in the new year because I have been working on some seriously exciting stuff! :) New freebies of much better quality will be coming your way before you know it!


Alrighty now,
I am off to the magic, so head on over to Twitter to follow me :)

DSD Freebie #2 "Carousel of Color" mini kit

Hi everyone! :)

I see my Pluto mini kit from yesterday has been a bit popular...please continue to leave me feedback so I know how I can create things you'd want in the future. I truly appreciate your honest feedback, so please don't be afraid to tell me what you really think. This mini was inspired by "World of Color"...I still can't believe I witnessed that wonderful show on opening weekend..it was seriously amazing. Can't wait to see it again in 37 days!!!

Alrighty, looks like its time to release freebie #2...

(Please forgive my horrible preview making skills, lol)

-freebie link expired- 

I'm not sure if I even like this, but I'm hoping someone gets some use out of it.

The preview doesn't really show the detail of the paint strokes very well either :(

DSD freebie #1!!! "Everyone's Favorite Mutt" mini kit!

Well hey there scrappers!!! How did your DSD weekend go? Mine went well :) I only bought a few things but I downloaded SOOOO many freebies..tons of blog trains going on! If you haven't checked out Scrapmatters' BT or DSA's BT ...you simply must! I think you're on a time clock too so get downloading!!! :)

I snagged 2 items from Tracie Stroud that I can't wait to scrap with! I will spotlight them sometime next week hopefully :)

But first, before you go, I am kicking off a week of freebies for you here on my blog!!!

For all of my talented, wonderful, lovely MouseScrappers friends in particular I bring you:

"Everyone's Favorite Mutt" mini kit

 

-freebie link expired-

Check back tomorrow for more freebies!!!!

Only 38 days till I'm back to the magic!!!!!!!!

Autograph Book Tutorial Part 1

Hi everyone! I am leaving for Disneyland in a few short hours...!!! EXCITEMENT !!!


So I have had lots of people messaging me on MouseScrappers asking me for a tutorial on how to make the autograph books. I came up with this idea after seeing all of the other books available out there. I saw lots of traditionally scrapped books and they were awesome. However, given I am 100% digital these days I came up with this idea last year. This helps my digital kits get a little extra use and it's dirt cheap. I made 3 autograph books last December for less than what ONE costs at Disneyland. :) Intrigued? Then let's dive in!

Hybrid Autograph Books Part 1 by Kayla

Materials

*scissors

*glue (whatever you prefer, but I found Glue Dots do NOT work well)

*digital scrap kits

*printing service (I swear by Kodak Gallery for picture prints)

*book rings (I buy mine at Walmart for $1.50 for 8 rings)

*ribbon (optional)

*hole puncher (they have hand held single punch ones at Walmart for .75 cents to $1, or you can pickup a 3 hole punch for about $5)

Step One // Create Your Autograph Pages (or print at home to eliminate Step Two!!)

Use your favorite program using your digital kits to create your book. I prefer the 4x6 size because they are small enough to carry, especially if you have to carry around multiple books. I just open up a new document in Photoshop CS4 and size it 4x6 at 300 dpi. Save all of your pages as JPGs. One other thing to keep in mind is to have an idea of the order of your book, that way you know which corners not to put lots of embellishments in since you will be hole punching the pages.

CREDIT TO BRITTISH DESIGNS for the use of her kits in this project.. "A Halloween Nightmare" & "It's Good To Be Bad".

Step Two // Order Your Prints & Wait For Arrival

I have always ordered from Kodak Gallery and I am so pleased. If you are a new member you can get 50 free prints and shipping charge is very fair. I love the glossy prints they offer, they are always stunning and the colors are great. Be sure to order according to how many of each photo you will need. For example, if you are creating 2 books, you will want 2 of each print, one for each book.

Step Three // Gather Your Materials

Here is a photo sample of what I used to create my books, after you have your prints the hardest part is over. From here on it literally takes minutes to complete your books.

(Hole punch isn't shown in the photo as it was missing in action when I was snapping away, lol)

Step Four // Put Your Prints In Book Order & Punch Holes

**NORMALLY this is the part where I glue each of the pages together in book order so that it makes the pages tougher and easier to turn, however, this time I am waiting to glue them so that way I can remove unused autograph pages after the trip in order to prevent from extra blank pages. Here is a photo to show where you would place the glue on the white backs of the pictures. Pay special attention to lining the pages up straight. Usually I would glue and let the pages dry before hole punching.**

Since you need to know where to punch a hole in the page, you will want to find an order to your book. I usually just punch one hole in the top left corner of the book. I divide each book into 3 parts so they fit into the hole puncher, but still keeping them in order, and punch. Then I take the finished stack and set it aside then move onto the next book and punch that as well.  

The photos below demonstrate sort of what your pages will look like when you flip through them, be sure to double check be for you punch holes!!

Step Five // Adding The Book Rings & Optional Embellishment Of The Rings

After the holes are punched I add my book rings. Normally I will get into my old ribbon stash and cut a few pieces in colors that match my books. It's fun to cut them in different lengths and add frayed edges to some of the pieces to add more flair to the books. Then I double knot the pieces of ribbon around the book ring. You can even add a little dab of glue to the knot to keep them from coming undone. I had all of the colors I used for the cover of the book, how lucky was that?!?

And you're done!

Part 2 will show up next week and it will basically consist of me glueing and removing some of the pages that went unused. Also, I will showcase the autographs I got! :)

Alright, I'm out for now...gotta go get my bags together..leaving in a few hours! Please let me know if you enjoyed the tutorial!!!

"This is Halloween, this is Halloween"...well, 10 days away it is! :)

So..here we are, 10 days away from Halloween, how crazy is that? It's so weird, I finally just got used to writing 2010 instead of 2009 and here we are, just a few months away from 2011.


Now, I am also 1 week away from attending the Villains Victory Party at Disneyland. I seriously don't know what to expect so it's going to be nuts I'm sure. Also, tomorrow I will be able to call and make all of my Priority Seating reservations for the December trip! Yayyy. So only 54 days from today we will be leaving for our big trip! :)

If anyone is curious about where I am planning to book, tune in tomorrow and I'll post a list of places with reviews.

Now, since I am absolutely giddy for Haunted Mansion Holiday in a week I have whipped up a couple freebies for all of my scrapper pals :)

First up, it's.... "Happy Haunts: Regular" Word Art Pack

DOWNLOAD HERE

 

 Next up I have... "Happy Haunts: Seasonal" Word Art Pack

DOWNLOAD HERE

PLEASE NOTE....these are: created at 300dpi, PNG files, a few pieces are available in multiple colors, and DROP SHADOWS ARE FOR THE PREVIEWS ONLY! :)

Thanks for stopping by, and go scrap something magical!!!

You asked for it.... & Villains Victory Party autograph book preview :)

Well thank you so much to everyone who's been leaving me feedback in the poll for the Halloweentime mega add-on that Kathleena will be giving away for her participation prize for her challenge at MouseScrappers in November.

I can tell you that there will definitely be several solid papers and as many Mouse-type elements as I can cram into the add-on.

Leave me some suggestions below for anything slightly or extremely specific you'd like to see in the add-on!

In other news, I haven't had time at ALL for layouts or anything lately. I am 2 weeks away from graduating and simply swamped. However, I did finish my Villains Victory Party autograph book over the weekend and sent the pages to be printed on Sunday night. They have been shipped and should be here by next Monday! I will also be creating a tutorial on how I put together my book so that if you like my method, you can try it out yourself. It's truly very easy! :)

Here are watermarked previews of a few pages:

COVER

(made using "It's Good To Be Bad" by Brittish Designs)

 MICKEY

(made using "It's Good To Be Bad" & "Mouse Buttons" by Brittish Designs)

 

 MINNIE

(made using "It's Good To Be Bad" by Brittish Designs)

 

EVIL QUEEN

(made using "It's Good To Be Bad" by Brittish Designs)

 CRUELLA

(made using "It's Good To Be Bad" by Brittish Designs)

 JACK SKELLINGTON

(made using "A Halloween Nightmare" by Brittish Designs)

SALLY

(made using "A Halloween Nightmare" by Brittish Designs)

These autograph pages wouldn't have been possible without all of the lovely kits from Brittish Designs! So thanks Britt, your talents are very much adored and appreciated!!!

Well, gotta run, can't believe we leave a week from tomorrow!

I won tickets to the Villains Victory Party at Disneyland!!!

So I was minding my own business on the Disney Parks Blog yesterday and refreshed a page only to find a brand new entry that had been posted seconds earlier. I quickly skimmed the article looking for the trivia questions because I really wanted a shot at these Villains Victory tickets which you cannot buy anywhere. The contest was over so quick I couldn't believe it. Nearly 10 minutes after I sent in my answers I had a confirmation email saying that I won! They even posted my name on the winners list--> HERE.

I am so super excited but also super rushed now. I'm planning to make up an autograph book in a hurry to take with me to the party on October 28th.

Who's my favorite villain, you ask? Why, it's Captain Hook, of course! 

But, I have to say, the Little Mermaid was my favorite movie when I was little, and that Ursula still creeps me out lol. I hope she doesn't win! In all honesty, Maleficent has really been a front runner and I think she will "take the cake" this year.

You can still vote for the "baddest" villain on www.Disneyland.com/Halloween until October 28th and the winner will be announced at the Villain party.

One thing I am REALLY looking forward to is Club Skellington and I truly hope I get to meet Jack & Sally!!! They are also having these Haunted Cruises on Mark Twain Riverboat so I'm just dying to see what that will be like.

As far as the autograph book goes, I'm running around trying to come up with pages for characters I will possibly be meeting...

I made a list of potential pages I want to create:

Maleficent

Evil Queen
Jafar
Ursula
Captain Hook
Cruella
Pirates
Jack & Sally
Mickey
Minnie
Donald
Goofy
Pluto
Red Queen
Pooh & pals
Critter Pals (from Splash Mtn)
Toy Story Pals

Anyone else have any ideas of ones that I might be missing? I will also include some blank pages for unexpected characters as well, but I wanted to make sure I had the most popular or the most expected ones. Drawing from the Disney Parks Blog, these were the only ones I could think of. Any suggestions would be helpful :)

Also, be sure to follow along with me on Twitter if you wish!! I will have a full trip report available here on Halloween weekend! :)

-Kayla