2.for.Tuesday

one: I am here today. Template Tuesday is winding down. Next year will be full of new + exciting adventures. Get your templates while you can.

two: free class. Yep, that's right. F.R.E.E. Here's what Jessica has to say about it:


Every year, I take the opportunity to give back to the community by offering a free class. Not only does it give you a chance to make a cute project and record some special holiday memories, but it will also give you a chance to take a look inside the online class environment available in ALL of the classes here at JessicaSprague.com.

In our class, we'll be using cardstock and digital patterned paper to create a stunning, but EASY and REPEATABLE garland you can hang from your ceiling, drape around your tree, or hang on the wall. Each year as you create December memories, you can create a new garland. Even the storage box is a keepsake!

In addition to our amazing project, our week-long class will be filled with ideas to make your holiday memory making, and memory-keeping a little brighter and a little more fun!

I can't wait for class! Please join me!

I've signed up! Now it's your turn. Here is the info + free code. 

ps. Right now there is a really great sale going on at Jessica Sprague... All of the digi kits (excluding Becky Higgins) are 35% off. All of the classes currently open for registration are 20% off. That even includes our new Digital Art Journaling Class and The Art of Poster Design Classes. 


pps. Check back tomorrow for my monthly round-up of projects. 

2.for.Tuesday

Today I am...

one: here.

two: and here.

2.for.Tuesday

one: Template Tuesday made by my friend Mindy over at the Jessica Sprague blog. It's free and here's the downlow on Template Tuesday: Every Tuesday there will be a free template [you'll find it under news + announcements on the homepage]. You make a page using the template + upload it to the Template Tuesday gallery at JS and after you've uploaded 10 pages [using 10 different templates] you get a coupon for $5 off a minimum $10 purchase at JS. Everybody's a winner! Yay Mindy! Awesome template.

two: pretty paper postcards. That's what I'm calling them. I've got way too much digi goodness floating around on my computer. I can't find anything. I find myself going to the same stuff all the time because I have no idea what's really on the thing. I'm working on an organized digi project. This is phase one. I'm making postcards out of all my paper packs. I'll just keep them in a little flip album or on a binder ring so I can easily see what I have. Along with this process I'm attempting to organize the files on the computer so everything will be in one place. We'll see how that goes. I love the postcards though. This is my first batch. I'm thinking I'll make duplicates of my favorites and actually send them as postcards. Who wouldn't love to receive a pretty paper postcard? I want to hang them on my walls. Really. Oh, and of course I haven't forgotten you... if you'd like to make your own you can grab the first 5 templates in the box. Enjoy!

Woot! Woot!

Last stop! Everybody off! Thank you for riding the Spraground Express! Don't forget to grab your complimentary quickpage on your way out The bloghop is now over. It's been a pleasure. Really. Come again soon!

2.for.Tuesday

one: I'm over here today! Yay! I designed the template for Template Tuesday over at the Digi Lovely blog.

two: A huge birthhday bash. That's right. JessicaSprague.com is FOUR! To celebrate, they're (we're) throwing a HUGE Birthday Bash & Summer Sale. From June 14-26, you can save 20% off of every self-paced class, and 35% off of ALL digital products. In addition, grab all 27 episodes of Jessica's amazing Photoshop Friday tutorials for just $1 each before they're retired on June 26! As part of the celebration, starting on June 24, you can participate in an incredible 49-person blog hop, picking up a sweet digital freebie at each stop! Best of all, on June 26 Jessica will be making a special announcement of a brand new class coming up in July. We only put our site on sale two times a year, so don't miss out on this GREAT savings opportunity! For all the info on the Summer Sale, Photoshop Fridays, blog hop, and the new class, just click here!

Saying Thank You

A while back Brooke Hellewell of Inchmark Journal showed a simple + fun little birthday card she made for her nephew. I loved it. This idea for a teacher appreciation card grew from that one. It's quite a long accordian fold card and I love how it turned out. Here's a little tutorial: 1. Modify the five PSD files to suit your needs and print. I simplified the word layers then used the words as masks so I could cover them with lined school paper from Splendid Fiins Too Cool For School Paper Pack 1. I defined the edges more by using the stroke/outline feature under Edit in the task bar.

2. cut using solid lines as guides.

3. Fold each sheet in half to dotted line and then fold along dotted line as seen here.

4. I used paper scraps to keep everything clean while applying glue. It worked very nicely. 5. glue as shown so that the glued tab is on the underside of the previous page. 6. This is what it will look like unfolded with two pages glued together.

7. repeat the gluing process until all of the pages are glued together to look like this. Clear as mud? Feel Free to ask any questions! Now on to the fun part!

8. Decorate the front and back of your card as you see fit. I used the elements included in the Mouse Paper Scissors + Mouse Paper Scissors - Mom classes for my embellishments. I also used the file folder cut template from MPS-Mom class to make a mask. Just drop in your chosen paper [I used papers from Splendid Fiins Too Cool For School Paper Pack 1] and print or print as is and use as a cut template. I wanted mine extra sturdy so I printed a mirror image and sandwiched them together.

9. Repeat step 8 for back cover. I included a library card pocket to house a gift card. This was sandwiched between the two layers of the back cover. I failed to get photos of this process. I apologize. Have your child write on the card before adding the inside contents. It would be much easier that way :). To attach the guts to the cover you will want to mark where there is overlap [you can see this well in photo 8] then cover the back side of page 1/page 8 with glue avoiding the overlap areas then stick them together + use a brayer or something to really stick it down with minimal bubbles.

10. This is what it looks like all stuffed.

Here's what I included:

1. pencil
2. googly eyes
3. chocolates
4. heart stickers
5. paperclips
6. candy buttons
7. sixlets [though they typically come with 8 per pkg... lucky me!]
8. dollar coins [our teachers like to go to Cafe Rio and this just about covered lunch.]

Truthfully, this was a bit of work, but so worth it. Really. So cute! In the box you will find a zipped file that includes PSD files for the inside pages, the file folder mask + mirror image, and the library card mask. Help yourself! Please let me know if you use it. I'd love some feedback.

ps. It says:

one - two - three - four - who's the teacher we adore

five - six - seven - eight - Mrs. Layton's our teacher is really great!

The Toothfairy

is notoriously flakey at our house. You can read about it here. And here. So this week, when I realized I am quickly running out of month, I decided it's time to do a page about it. Plus, I've had these photos in my holding file and they're some of the first I see. That always makes a difference. I fall into the category of, "out of sight out of mind," thinker. Anyway. This is *A*. He lost his two front teeth on consecutive days. The toothfairy missed them both. After a bit of fumbling she made a nice recovery. All is well. All dollars accounted for. The first was found after a quick "check" in the jumble of covers/under the bed. The second? Well, wouldn't you know that sneaky toothfairy had tucked it under a piece of yarn that is tied around the bar on his bed. I just happened to see it when I was looking for something in his room... three days later.

This template is a modified version of the very first one I ever made. I can't believe I'm up to 39 now. Crazy.

For this layout I used the Kitschy Digitals Vintage Frames again. Love them! I also used Cosmo Cricket Boyfriend Elements, and Queen of Quirk/Paislee Press You Are Here Paper all from JS. The paint is Spencer Nugent Garage Grunge Brushes 4 from DHD.

Girl Friday

Today the girl insisted on popcorn for lunch. Really? We don't even have any of the healthy popcorn. So I compromised. She could have popcorn + cheese + banana. When I got it all laid out I realized that she must be white today [well, with the exception of the nasty fake butter stuff]. She also had a glass of milk. I think I'll give her a few mini-marshmallows when she's done.

I've been hyperfocused painting the past little bit and the blog seems to be suffering some withdrawls. I'm hoping to make up for that with a new template in the box. It's for the page I did last week. The one with the goofy glasses [aka: smartie face]. The zipped file contains the template complete with a sample page layer and a list of products used in the sample layer - you'll just want to disappear those [I'm not sure what the correct term there is]. The file was too big so I had delete the preview, but you can see it here. Also, I've added a terms of use page that has a quote from Mondo Beyondo that I really liked. It's a PSD file also so you can disappear the terms and print the quote [that's it down there at the bottom of the post]. Hope you like it. I'm wondering how these work out. I'm planning on sharing a template at JS in a few months and would like some feedback on ease of use/kinks/likes/dislikes, etc. so if you download this please let me know and if you use it I'd love to see your page and get your thoughts on the files. Thanks!

ps. That speech block was totally inspired by Queen of Quirk. I loved using hers on the page I made and decided to make one for the template [though admittedly, mine is a bit wonky. If you prefer not wonky pick up hers. It's very straight and pretty :)]. It totally made the difference in the template [in my opinion]. It may be too close and against the rules. If someone knows please let me know and I'll take it off.

Mandi Makes

scrapbook pages and templates. And it takes her far too long. It's ridiculous. But whatever. Here's the latest using Kitschy Digitals Vintage Photo Frames: I also used: Queen of Quirk: In Bloom Paper + Elements Packs [available monday!] from JS. Queen of Quirk + Paislee Press: You Are Here Kit from JS. Spencer Nugent: Garage Grunge Brushes 4 from DHD.

Mandi Makes

My most recent digital layout. So many fun new things. Journaling tags. Numbered labes [that are part of a mini album kit]. Doodle swirls + hearts. Awesome papers. It really is too bad that it's virtually impossible for me to make a "quick" page because I really do enjoy it. If I had all day everyday. Sheesh! I'm trying to decide if I should add the template to the box or save it for Template Tuesday. I'm leaning towards the box. I'm thinking that it's only fun because of the products I used. What's your vote?

The Internal Debate

replaying in my head as I type goes something like this... "It's been over three months since you posted. You're free. Everyone is gone. No more expectations. Do you really want to do this again?" etc. I'm still not sure that I do. But here I am. Typing. See, I've been feeling restless and I get bored walking around my house [plus, when I'm walking around my house I start to feel guilty for not cleaning it better], so I've been doing some digital scrapbooking [which as you may or may not know means I've also been making some digital templates]. I've never invested in templates really, so when I'm putting together digital pages I've been taking the little bit of extra time to create a template of my own. Only I really don't think I'll ever use the same template again, so I guess I'm making them to share. You must be Irish. You're the very lucky recipients. Here's the link to my most recent: template 27. And this is what I did with it [as always, ignore my lack of words. Right now I'm toying with the idea of getting a book printed at Blurb and just writing the words in with a pen later]. So there you go. Happy St. Patrick's Day. Enjoy the journey! ps. As always, if you have template usage questions just ask. You can change the paint color, give the speech bubble a pattern, etc. The tape is a Friday Freebie from Gunhilde Storeide and you can still get it + lots of other really great stuff. Just follow the link.

2.for.Tuesday

hello! hello! Today I've been working on some templates. Yes, I'm sure you've seen them someplace before. I've seen lots of pages that are more or less organized this way and I really like the look so I decided to make a template. Truthfully, I think I like making templates because I don't have to think about journaling + which photo to use + which paper to use. I way overthink things and it really makes scrapbooking less fun for me. Thus my obsession with templates lately. Lucky you!

one: hello Christmas! >>> made with template 18 + a tag from JS (her thank you freebie kit), houndstooth + grid papers from Hof3, background paper is Katie Pertiet @ Designer Digitals. I just changed up the colors a little. The rest is just random stuff I have floating around on my computer...

two: Hmmm. The template is there. I'm working on the page... Enjoy Today. I used some scanned vintage book pages, scanned to-do list + sticky notes from knock knock biz [they have some of the funniest sticky notes I've ever seen!]. The paint is from Ali + paper strips from Hof3 + Crystal Wilkerson at JS. I've uploaded the templates to the box for those with photoshop. Help yourselves to these links: template 18 + template 19. If you have questions about how to use the templates ask away. Enjoy the journey!