Author: Jana Holden

Happy Holidays Everyone! After much consideration, I have decided this will be my last Gallery Standouts blog post. I have thoroughly enjoying being on this fantastic team the past several years, but I need to shift some of my time commitments in the coming new year. I do have some gorgeous and exciting layouts to share with you today, so let’s get started. I hope you get inspired to create some holiday pages in the coming weeks.

Kind or Creepy? by zlemon

First of all, that title grabbed my attention and I was looking at this Santa Claus! Be sure you read the journaling to find out. I do love the beautiful vintage feel to this page with the colors, the old fashioned Santa and the postmarked letter.  The pops of red are beautiful too and the blending is gorgeous.

12th Day of December by tammielsmith

Oh how I love this December page! This artist shared not only a special memory, but also a special fudge recipe. I adore this page design with the cluster in the top left corner and then the series of photos at the bottom right. It’s well-balanced and leaves plenty of space for that yummy recipe! She also used beautiful, vintage papers and colors, perfect for an old family recipe.

Snowy 2017 by cfile

I love how this photo is framed; very eye catching. The branches on either side are beautiful and keep the photo grounded. The subtle colors throughout this page are so tranquil and I feel as if I could walk with that subject in the snow. I also like that blocked title underneath the photo with the journaling beside it. A snowy overlay completes this lovely winter page.

Dear Santa by *gina*

What a delightful page this is! I adore the colorful background and all of the sparkles! This color palette is a mix of traditional with contemporary, which works beautifully here. The photo is adorable and I love the little Santa cluster in the top corner of the frame. That blended title is the perfect compliment to this holiday page!

Cuddles by Anita

Oh my goodness, this is so sweet! The large photo is adorable and I love the perspective looking out the window. The little girl and the cat sure look cozy cuddled up together on that fuzzy blanket. The vertical word art is amazing and the colors really tie in with the cat’s fur. Love that! A very warm and special page!

challenge 6 by veer

This layout was done for an “all about me” challenge and I think this artist created a stunning page! The photo of her with her camera, photographing on the ground, really shows how a photographer has to work sometimes to get that perfect shot. The vintage edit and muted colors on this page work beautifully together. I love the simple cluster and brush work on one side of the frame and also the deep shadows. The word art is blended in perfectly and captures the essence of this photo.

I leave today my friends, with much gratitude and appreciation for the past several years as a contributing team member. It has truly been a pleasure. I wish all of you the very happiest of holidays and nothing but the best in 2018! I know I will still see many of you in the galleries; that won’t change. I hope some of these layouts today will be inspiring to you and that you save back some scrapping time for yourselves. Thanks to all of you!

 

 

Hello Everyone! I’m really getting into the spirit of the holidays seeing all of the beautiful pages in the galleries today! My shopping is almost done, which is the earliest I’ve ever been able to say that. No matter what holiday you may celebrate, I think you will find some wonderful inspiration today to create your own digital layouts. The links to the artists’ pages are highlighted in the titles, in case you want to find out more details or leave them any love.

blessings by lizj

This beautiful page was created by our own talented blog team member, Liz Jutila! I adore the sweet photos of her granddaughters and the sepia tones she used. Liz is a pro at taking a template and making it her own. The doilies, the butterfly, the buttons, all perfect little additions. I admit to getting a tear in my eye when I read her journaling. A very special layout expressing much love and gratitude!

Believing? by kellygirl!

This page jumped out out me for a couple of reasons. First of all, it’s simply gorgeous! Love the colors and the art journal doll; she’s darling! There are some great textures and and trimmings all across the page. But then, okay, seriously, is that word art not just the best? I was totally LOL! Awesome art journal page!

Don’t cage me by JanaO

This page…..wowza! Absolutely stunning in every way! The powerful image of the woman is enhanced with a plethora of textures such as gesso, drips, lace and gorgeous blending. I love the feathers, the hot air balloon and the pops of yellow against the blue background. The subtle title adds visual interest and the words are so powerful. Outstanding layout!

fashion week by *gina*

Can you say Paris Fashion? Love the artsy style of this layout! The models wearing the latest fashions from Paris and the Eiffel Tower in the background are charming and so elegant. This artist took the sketch look and the blending to the next level; really superb! The actual color photo pops against the monotone background and certainly draws the eye right to the focal point. Truly a glamorous and sophisticated layout!

Ice Skating by Ozegirl

Winter will soon be in many places around the globe and ice skaters will take to the frozen ponds and rinks. This is a gorgeous collage of wintry goodies such as ice skates, snowflakes and sparkles! I do love the holiday feel this artist created and how the photo, framed in blue, is gently tucked in amidst all of the elements. There are some beautiful colors throughout too! Splendid layout!

Joy of winter by Mary-11

Ah, the wonder of a child, beautifully showcased on this holiday layout! That photo is just adorable and I love those big brown eyes and the little fingers resting in the corners of her mouth; so sweet and innocent. The faded lyrics in red against the snowy background are a great way to add texture and journaling at the same time. The cluster is simply gorgeous and is the perfect way to connect the two photos. The small black and white photo adds a nice contrast here and echoes the large, blended one. Special standout!

I will keep this a bit shorter than usual. Today is our anniversary and I have a dinner date with my hubby! Time to go get ready! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day/night and upcoming weekend! I’ll see you next month!

Hello Everyone! Hope your Monday has been a pleasant one. We woke up to some frozen fog this morning, so I decided it would be a good day to stay in and work on some crafting projects. After that, I enjoyed browsing through a lot of digital galleries and found these goodies to share with  you. Let’s get started.

Winter’s Light by Heather Prins

This is such a beautiful winter page! I almost feel like I am walking right alongside her. The sunlight really is striking and brings the focal photo to life. There’s a great balance with the smaller supporting photos on the right side of the page. I love the simple accents of nature (the leaves, the branches, the pinecone and the snowflakes) and also the pops of purple. The word art over the bottom framed photo is perfect and so is the blending.

seven days by Maruma

Fantastic example of a grid layout with only black and white photos! I have seen a lot of people posting this type of challenge on Facebook; one photo a day for seven days, black & white only, no people, no explanations.  It’s so interesting to see what people photograph and to wonder what the stories are behind them. The big title and journaling placed vertically on one side of the page are really striking along with the chevrons. Great idea to document her seven days of photos all on one page!

sgleason_teak by Kawouette

Wonderful artsy page full of eye candy! I love all the brush work and stamping on the kraft background and also the the bits of stitching! The paper pieces and elements placed behind the photo remind me of my days as a paper scrapper. Another great visual interest is the patterned paper behind the main page and the top edger. Her shadows are amazing and all of her colors work beautifully together. What a cute little frame too! She offset the photo with a staple and then placed a few more bits and pieces to tie everything together.

Anna Lift by suslyn

What a glorious page! It’s like being in the middle of a beautiful rose garden. Fabulous blending and amazing textures dominate the entire layout. The petals in the bottom right-hand corner really pop and look like your could just pick them up off the page. Brilliant colors, brilliant roses, brilliant artistry!

yes this! by KPertiet

Wow! Love this fabulous page by the very talented Katie Pertiet! Not many people could pull off a layout that is made almost entirely with word art, but she did it in such a stellar fashion. Great mix of fonts and brush work, mostly in black but with pops of pink as well. Her photos provide splashes of bright colors and the striped wall just adds to the eclectic mix found throughout. Wow!

NONSENSE by COJan

My final pick is the darling, whimsical art journal page. Those colorful ladies are wonderful and I love the bike with the cupcake in the basket. Love all the fabulous brush work on the background and the paint splats too. Cute little word snippets and the circular stitching not only mimics the bicycle wheels but ties everything together beautifully. I bet these two would be fun to hang out sometime!

I hope you enjoyed today’s gallery standouts and feel inspired to scrap a few layouts of your own. You have all week! 🙂 These artists always welcome praise so please click on any of the title links to go directly to their galleries. Have a wonderful week!

 

 

 

 

Do you have all your treats ready for the little ghosts & goblins tomorrow night? Halloween is such a big deal for kids, in the U.S. anyway. I imagine there will be lots of classroom parties tomorrow. As a retired teacher, I remember well! I painted in my studio all day, so now I’m ready to relax, peruse the galleries and share my latest picks with you. Grab a cold/hot drink and join me!

archaic face painted by ALBamass is such a beautiful “painting!” I love the drama created with the brush strokes, how it’s cropped and the script on one side of the face. The blending is gorgeous and this is truly a remarkable page by a very talented artist. A very painterly standout!

Sweet fall by AJM is absolutely gorgeous! First of all, the focal point, the mushroom, is such a unique representation of fall. Then, the colorful leaves compliment it beautifully. I’m obsessed with all the colors and textures this artist incorporated. Love the blending, the scribbles and the faded word art. Fabulous standout!

a pumpkin Mount Rushmore by jw is certainly an eye-catcher with those unusual pumpkins. Take a closer look and you’ll see what I mean. Very cool! I love how the pumpkins photo is framed and the hinges and other elements are a nice accent. Great layers and brush work throughout! Certainly an awesome standout!

Rough around the edges by dawninskip is so cute! I couldn’t resist another pumpkin page. That is certainly a grungy pumpkin and I think the title tells us why. I adore the little bird and the flowers behind the pumpkin. Great textures throughout and the pops of teal are really beautiful! A haunting standout!

Art Therapy 4 by Traumelfe is a beautifully artistic layout! I adore that sweet photo and isn’t her little hat darling! This page has it all…gorgeous colors, awesome brush work, blending and great textures. The visual impact is amazing! The little buttons and flowers complete this page along with the title word art. A delightful standout!

Create Art by Ozegirl reminds me of a hybrid layout. (Maybe it is.) The artsy flowers on the card are so beautiful and I love all the splatters! The chicken wire is a great way to add texture and interest to the kraft cardstock. How creative to make a card for a page! Love the ribbons peeking out and also the two flowers. The mix of an alpha with a cursive word makes a wonderful title. Terrific standout!

I hope you enjoyed these layouts today and feel inspired to create a few of your own! I know these artists have inspired me. Again, Happy Halloween and here’s to looking forward to a new month that begins on Wednesday. See ya next time!

Happy Wednesday! I’m loving all the gorgeous fall colors in the gallery! I think October is one of the best months of the year and definitely a favorite of mine! Today I’m sharing a variety of themes with you. Enjoy these Gallery Standouts and  inspiration!

Johnson the White Mule by musicmom3

The blending of 2 photos here is remarkable! It caught my eye right away. The mule’s head seems to truly lead my eye right down his path and the colors are gorgeous. This artist’s journaling is straight from her heart…a beautiful read.

Today by lkdavis

Ah, for the love of blue pumpkins! There’s something so fun about seeing a non-traditional page like this. I love the blue pumpkins, the stitched outlines and the way a little brown makes its way to be discovered. If you want to know how you can turn your pumpkins blue, Linda has a tutorial on her blog. Just follow the link to to this layout!

Gorgeous by Poppy

This is just a wow! The mix of the rich colors and brush work is fabulous and the strong drop shadows on the word art are really striking. There are so many wonderful layers here! The overlay on the framed photo works beautifully with the color scheme and I think the blended photo off to the left is a great way to tie everything together.

TLP-Inspiration by KarenZkrap

Darling Halloween page! Someone knew how to do some creative face painting…so cool to be on opposite sides of their faces! Fun photos for sure and I like the angled frames connected by the flower and heart. There are so many cute accent elements on this page but my favorite is that glittery, teal background! What a great color in contrast to the traditional orange of Halloween.

Happy Halloween by myssp

I couldn’t resist one more Halloween layout! Take a look at that carved pumpkin…so incredible and rich with details! The festive edgers and elements surrounding the photo are awesome and I love the corner decorations as well. The spider web makes the perfect backdrop for this amazing page.

My Story by stellamarie

Oh be still my heart! Two little bundles of joy and how precious they are! Their smiles and little bunny ears hats are just too cute! I think blended photo is such a wonderful compliment to the framed one. You might want to try that on your own layout if you never have before. This is a masterpiece of clusters and layers and I love the soft yellows and blues. Wouldn’t you just love to hold these little darlings?

The week is half over…bring on the weekend! For more details on these awesome pages and to leave some praise for these artists, just click on the title links. Have a wonderful rest of the week and I hope to see your pages in the galleries real soon!

 

 

Hello Everyone!  I have some wonderful standouts for you today! I don’t have as much time today as I usually do, so will have to keep my comments a bit short. I hope you enjoy them regardless and get inspired to created some new layouts of your own.

The perfect pumpkin by myla

I adore this artsy pumpkin layout! The cute little flowers behind the blended pumpkin really add interest to the page. The fall colors are so warm and beautiful too. No journaling required…just the awesome title word art!

music in my life by Maruma

What a grand page this is! This artist created a fantastic background and I love all of repeated circles that hold her journaling. The photos of the instruments in the rectangular frames are a nice contrast to the circles. The pops of red are very striking.

Dream Big by Meredith78

Oh my goodness, how sweet is this! The newborn baby all swaddled and yawning just melts my heart. The monochromatic scheme of black & white is really beautiful  and I love the big title word art. The journaling that spans the left side of the page from top to bottom is just amazing and it’s such a wonderful message for the baby.

Fall by KingsQueen82

Just look at that gorgeous tree with its brilliant display of color! The trees are turning where we live too; one of my favorite times of year. The background is quite a busy one, but somehow it works here. I love all the papers and textures. There are lots of fall elements scattered around but in the end, everything leads the eye right back to the photo, which is perfect.

Perfect Pick by bessiesue581

What a wonderful layout from the pumpkin patch! The photo is so cute and that’s such a cool-looking pumpkin! I really admire this artist’s talent for layering a plethora of products on her pages. There is eye candy no matter where you look. Love, love, love this!

a memory away by Adryane

I’m a huge fan of this artist and her creativity! This is a lovely vintage photo and the title is perfect for it. She did a remarkable job with her extraction and blending of layers. The frames in the back and all of the textures are fabulous and so are the subtle colors she used.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your week! If you want to find out more details about any of these standouts, or want to leave comments for the artists, simply click on the title links. Happy scrapping!

 

 

 

Hello Everyone! I think fall has finally arrived here. We had chilly temps today and the nights are even colder. Time to put the blankets back on the bed. It’s also time to share some new layouts I found in the galleries today. Make yourself at home and enjoy some new inspiration.

I thought I’d start with a seasonal layout, one I find quite delightful. 17-09 Let’s Blend by maureenreynolds. Who doesn’t love some pumpkins in the fall! I really like the mix of real pumpkin images with the water color one. Big shapes, butterflies and lots of fabulous blending make this a fantastic page! Great title work too!

Let’s go retro with this next layout. Go See the World by Miki. What a cute and creative idea this artist had here. Great viewpoint (read the journaling and title) and that postage stamp photo is just wonderful. It brings back fond memories of how we wore our hair in high school; yep, my era too! Love the Viewmaster showcasing her many places of travel.

This next layout caught my eye right away. Special things by dawninskip has a beautiful story to tell. I love the watery numbers scrolling down the page and the blocked title. But after looking at the photos, I really wanted to read her journaling. She shared these special family keepsakes, added the little fames and just a few elements along with a piece of torn paper, giving this a lovely vintage feel.

Wow! Amidst color by margje is simply gorgeous with all of its lush shades of rose. That’s a stunning photo and I love the subtle edits, giving it such an artistic flair. This artist used a simple frame but then added lots of brush work and blocked everything behind it. Really effective! The placement of a few leaves and a branch, along with the word art title,  complete this page beautifully.

This next layout, Wonderfall by Lady22, is perfect for this month…September. I absolutely love that dotted background with the white edging. Lovely photo and composition! The soft colors this artist used are so pretty and that little squirrel tucked in the cluster is darling.

I leave you with one more seasonal layout. Autumn Color by caapmun truly reflects this glorious time of year. Wonderful blending and those dimensional leaves look like they were just picked up off the ground. Cute little heart tags too. My favorite part of this page just has to be the photo masked in the maple leaf; so awesome!

Fall is my favorite season and I love the brilliant colors that emerge! I love the crisp, cool air and chilly nights. I love blankets and sweaters and the anticipation of the first frost. And I love to scrap on my computer when I’m all cozy warm inside our house. I think I’ll go do just that. Have a fabulous fall weekend and take some time to digiscrap on your computer too! The titles are direct links to the individual layouts for your convenience. Thanks for stopping by!