Saturday Inspiration

As I'm figuring out how this blog will work, and what I'll post when, I know I want to have weekly inspiration posts - one post for showing off some of my recent layouts (and maybe others I find around digiland?) and one post for showcasing some of my favorite, drool-worthy new products from various designers. And probably this will happen on Saturday and Sunday. Sound good to you?
Okay, here we go with the first official layout inspiration post! Today it's just my own work, and I included a little bit about each layout or a technique that I used. Hope you can find some inspiration!

"Jordyn Angel" 

This one is for my niece's baby album. I love being able to scrap girly pages once in a while! Isn't Jordyn the cutest? I used Angel Hartline Design's Paper Wings collection, and enjoyed practicing my photo blending (the blend mode is Overlay at 100%). I love that Angel includes glitter styles in her collections - I love glitter, and the styles are so easy to use. I applied them with one click to my title - instant pizzazz! 

"December Day 25"

My plans for a daily December album didn't quite turn out as, well, planned. I hadn't planned on a last-minute 9-day trip to Michiana, or on moving the week of Christmas. Oh well, that's life! I made sure to scrap a page for Christmas day, though, and choose a template that had lots of picture spots and journaling space. I used Mscrap's Holly Jolly Christmas collab, Allison Pennington's Smitten, and Biograffiti's Itty Bitty Dates No. 1. Also, I edited all the photos with My Four Hen's Peace or Hope actions. I rarely use non-edited photos any more, and I almost always use actions - so easy!

"Random Moments 2010"

I like the simplicity of this template - it's an old Log Your Memory (LYM) freebie. This was my page for the LYM 2011 Weekly Challenge #1 - to make a list. Making "top" lists of anything totally stresses me out, though, so I decided to compile a completely random list. I went through my photo folders and grabbed a picture from each month, the first one that caught my eye. Turned them all black & white, added a few cute papers and embellies from Ange and Deca Designs' Revolution kit, and there's my list page! Oh, yes, and the month wordart brush on each photo is from Cinzia Loosemore's Dates and Days (not sure if they are available to buy anymore). One thing to remember when using brushes, create a new layer (Shift-Ctrl-N in PS) before stamping with your brush so you have the freedom to move, resize, recolor, etc.

I'll be back tomorrow sharing some of my favorite new products on the market, and hopefully posting my first Project 365 weekly layout!