Framed!

Tuesday, 12 June 2012Tuesday, 12 June 2012 / LivE / 6 Comments

Hello, new week! It’s a mad, mad Monday today, and you know why? I’ve got not one, not two, but five brand-new products on sale for 25%-off today (till midnight Pacific time)!

If you love frames, you’re in luck, because that’s the bulk of my new products… plus the latest addition to the EZ-PZ Template Collection!

“A picture paints a thousand words,” so the song goes. And sometimes images do speak louder than words. Now you can let your pictures paint a thousand words with my Storyteller Frames. Each Frame Pack has 30 textured storyteller stapled frames with 5 pencilled labels per pack and in 3 different versions (simple with no drop-shadows, pre-shadowed, and lifted), with both portrait (vertical) and landscape (horizontal) orientation. The labels per pack are specific to each pack, so you get a whole collection of labeled frames from each of the three packs!

Storyteller Frames – Solos

Storyteller Frames – Duos

Storyteller Frames – Trios

These are super versatile and you’ll find that you can use them in endless ways – you can line up several frames or arrange them in clusters. Or you can use one set alone, or use different sets together. You can use each opening on the frame to house your photos, or you can use some openings to hold your journaling or patterned paper or elements. Really, it’s amazing how these will serve you in so many ways!

And just in case you find yourself falling in love with all three packs, I’ve included the option of grabbing the entire collection at a huge discount of 40% (and if you get them today, that discount increases even more!)

Storyteller Frames – Bundle

{ Clicking on the images above will take you to my shop where you can load them into your goodies cart! }

And now for some awesome Storyteller eye-candy from the JessicaSprague.com Creative Team (and not only do these works of art give great inspiration but they also offer amazing proof of the frames’ versatility!)

This layout is by Keri:

This one is by Lisa B:

This one is by Kelly:

This one is by Jenn M:

This one is by Lorrie:

This one is by Tronesia:

This one is by Jana:

This is another one by Lisa B:

This one is by Miki:

This one is by Margje:

And this one is by my designer-on-hiatus buddy Linda:

But that’s not all! For those of us who feel the need to document our precious moments but don’t have much time, my EZ-PZ template collection do the job neatly… plus offer a wonderful array of items that can be used over and over again on other creations!

Here’s the latest in the collection:

EZ-PZ Template 10 – The Story of Two

EZ-PZ Template 10 – The Story of Two is especially suited for those times when two photos tell a more complete story than just one photo. (Ever heard of diptychs? This is the best way to house those awesome twin-story-photos!)

Here’s what you’ll get, aside from a fully-layered .psd template:

a fully layered 12×12 .psd template
a plain textured and slightly-grungy two-photo tied-with-twine frame (so you can add your own drop shadow)
a pre-shadowed textured and slightly-grungy two-photo tied-with-twine frame (so you don’t need to bother with adding your own drop shadow)
a lifted textured and slightly-grungy two-photo tied-with-twine frame (for that delicious dimensional look)
two photo masks to clip your photos to
two textured and blended 12×12 background papers (one is clean and the other has sanded edges)
one optional text path
one penciled rub-on
one stamped rub-on
one ink-and-text overlay

Isn’t that awesome? 😀

{ Clicking on the image above will take you to my shop where you can grab this little baby! }

Of course you knew some delish artwork would be coming up, right?

This one is by Sarah:

This one, by Deb:

This one, by Lisa B:

And this one is by Kim K:

I hope these brought lots of inspiration and cheer to you today, my dear friends! May your Monday be full of stories worth telling, and may you find the time to capture them in photos!

Monday Madness

Tuesday, 22 May 2012 / LivE / 2 Comments

Okay, so this is coming a bit late, but there is so much awesome-ness happening today that I couldn’t imagine not sharing it with you!

First of all, let me invite you to a whole week-long party that’s guaranteed to get your creative juices flowing while you grow your skills! I love taking photos and I love writing, and I think that if you put photos + words together, what you come up with is the complete story of a precious moment forever documented not just for you and those you hold dear now but for all the generations yet to come. Add art to the mix of photos + words, and you have all that you need to make your creative muses celebrate! 🙂

So if you’re looking for an incentive to finally use all those amazing photos you have in your hard drive, and to jot down that story that you’ve been tucking in your memory bank before it fades away, you’ve got 1..2..3… no wait, you’ve got 7 chances to do it, while having enormous fun too, this coming week.

Come join us at our annual 7 Days in May Challenges, and whether you’re a veteran who’s done this in the past four years or it’s the very first time you’ve heard about this, you are totally welcome to jump in at any time this week (and if you could do so every day, that would be awesome!).

{Click on the image above to check out our challenges! }

Three New Products!

Every Monday, we have new products at the JessicaSprague.com Shop, and this Monday I have three! (And did I mention that new products are 25% off on Mondays? Yeah!)

Here are Wordlets (don’t bother googling what they are because I just invented the word, heehee), perfect for use at those times when no other word comes close to capturing the emotions we want to convey:

Wordlets Vol. 1 – The A to N Collection

Wordlets Vol. 2 – The O to Z Collection

And if you’d like to grab both volumes in one go at a better price, here’s Wordlets Bundle – The A to Z Collection:

{ Clicking on the images will bring you to the product page in my shop 😉 ).

And let’s not forget the awesome oh-so-inspiring art of our creative geniuses at JessicaSprague.com!

This awesome layout is by Tracy, one of our new Creative Team members:

This amazing layout is by Jen P:

And this wonderful layout is by Jana!

Alrighty then! With all that eye-candy and all the excitement of 7 Days in May, I wish you a madly wonderful Monday! (((hugs)))

So Krafty!

Tuesday, 14 February 2012 / LivE / Leave a comment

Just a quickie post today, as it’s Monday once again (phew, time flies, doesn’t it?) and I wanted to let you know that I’ve got some krafty madness going on in my shop!

Kraft paper is awesome, and kraft tapes push that “awesome” a notch higher. And they just happen to be the the newest product in my shop (wink, wink!):

This pack brings you 28 real, ready-to-use krafty tapes: 14 simple tapes (so you can add your drop shadows as you wish) and 14 pre-shadowed tapes (so you can simply slap them on to your projects nice and easy!). These have been torn by hand (and boy, did I have fun with that!) and then carefully and lovingly extracted with their rough, torn edges and crumpled areas preserved.

Mmmm, don’t you just love all that krafty-ness? And mmm, this whole pack happens to be 25% off till midnight of Monday Pacific time!

If you’re raring to grab this while it’s on sale, just click on the image above and you’ll find it ready and willing to jump into your shopping bag. 😆

Let’s not forget the wonderful eye-candy, right?

This one, by Sarah:

And this one, by Reeta:

Yummy works of art, aren’t they?

Big hugs to you on this wonderful, creative, kraft-y Monday, my dear friends!

A Hearty Monday!

Tuesday, 7 February 2012 / LivE / Leave a comment

It’s Monday, my dear friends, and you know what that means, right? (And no, it’s not another manic monday… are you singing yet? heehee)

Mondays are when new products come up in our shop at JessicaSprague.com, and because it’s the first Monday of February (yeah, that month when little cherubs with arrows start hanging around), here’s what’s up in my store:

This is a set of 40 hand-drawn and doodled heart rub-ons in basic black and white plus a complete brush set of 20 (individual-design) hearts so you can stamp away in any color of the rainbow! They come in various sizes, which you can resize easily (so make them as huge or as tiny as you wish).

Although they’re perfect for your February layouts, they’ll do an awesome job all year round as well – and they do a great job on art journaling pages too! 🙂

Best of all, they’re 25% off today only (till 12 midnight of Monday Pacific time). Just click on the image above to grab them from my shop. 😉

And now, for a hearty serving of eye-candy!

This sweet layout is by Lauren:

Lauren also used these products of mine to create her layout of her darling princesses: Brownbagger Paper Pack, Daybrushes Reloaded – Journaling Brushes, Loopies Vol. 1 – Flutterby, and Paint Plays – Swishes Paper Pack.

This adore-able layout is by Lisa B:

Jen P created this LOVE-ly layout:

Jenn also used my Sketched Framers on her layout.

And Miki made this layout that’s sure to grab your heart:

Have a lovely, hearty hug-filled week, my dear friends!

More In Store Monday

Tuesday, 17 January 2012Tuesday, 17 January 2012 / LivE / 4 Comments

Happy Monday!

I am really excited about my first product for 2012, out in the shop today, because it’s something that I’ve long wanted to do. Years ago, I used to paint with oils and canvas, and I loved it! Loved the mixing of paints on the palette, loved the feel of the brush sweeping across the canvas, loved even the smears of paint on my old battered jeans (and all over the easel as well). The clean-up afterwards, the washing of brushes – not so much. 😆

I haven’t painted in years, though, because painting takes hours and somehow life just got too busy (and I definitely didn’t have much time to spare for cleaning up after, what with having to chase after my 5 boys).

So I guess it doesn’t come as a surprise to know that I’ve long wanted to be able to bring the world of paints and canvas to the digital realm – to get the same texture, the same look, but without the mess and the lengthy clean-up after. And that’s how this pack of ten deliciously-blended and highly-textured painted canvas papers was born:

Here’s another “full-sized” view of them:

Did I mention that this baby is on sale for 25% off this Monday till midnight Eastern Standard Time? Whee!

P.S. If you’re into the art journaling craze going on, this could serve you well too! (I am and I am taking the Digital Art Journaling class of my dear friend Jessica, which includes a delicious mega-200-piece kit by Nancy Rowe-Janitz (another super-friendly lady whom I had the honor to meet at the first Digital Scrapbooking Event at Utah a couple of years back). The class is out-of-this-world awesome and incredibly inspiring, and I wish there were 200 hours in a day so I can get to work on creating my art journal layouts! (Soon, soon, soon! Hope springs eternal! haha!)

Eye-Candy Time!

And of course, what would Mondays be without some delicious eye-candy from the ever-awesome JessicaSprague.com Creative Team ladies?

Here’s a lovely layout by Miki (all that attention to details is amazing):

* Miki also used these liv.edesigns products on this layout: Mask Me Photo Masks, Windsong Kit, I Sing for Spring Kit, Softly Gently Patterned Paper Pack, Scribbled Words Rub-ons & Brush Set, and Needs + Wants: Stitchies Vol. 2.

My dear friend Lisa created this wonderfully sweet layout. (Love the subtle effect of layering)!

* Lisa also used these other products of mine on her layout: Whispers of Spring Paper Pack and some of the goodies I gave as freebies for our Spraground Challenges. 🙂

Lorrie made this layout to honor her beautiful mother (I am always deeply touched by layouts that honor one’s parents):

* Lorrie also used my Scribbled Words Rub-ons and Brush Set and Paint Swashes Vol. 1 to create her layout above.

And this majestic layout was created by Nancy (I think it truly displays the beauty of nature’s canvas!):

Aren’t the creations of these ladies just amazing works of art? Love them. Love our JessicaSprague.com Creative Team members even more! 🙂

And now it’s your turn:

What place have you been to that has made you sigh in rapture over the beauty of nature? Do you have a photo of it? Feel most welcome to link me up in the comments so I can ooh and aah too!

PS. Have you signed up?

I just sent my first newsletter out with a special subscriber-only coupon for my shop, good till the end of March. If you haven’t signed up yet, go for it! (The “Sign Up for My Newsletter” button is right over there on my sidebar – go ahead and hit it! :D)

And have a wonderful day!

More In Store Monday ~ Paint the Town Blue!

Tuesday, 15 November 2011Tuesday, 15 November 2011 / LivE / Leave a comment

It’s Monday, and you know what that means, right? New goodies in the store! Yay!

I’ve always loved painting. I love the feel of the brush swish-swashing across the canvas. Love splashing colors. (Hm. I guess you can tell that I generally like making a mess… with paper and art materials, that is. :)).

My preferred medium is oil (I like the slick texture of oil and the way you can apply it thinly or thickly to achieve different effects). Here’s one of my paintings (the hubby’s favorite! :D):

The Blues

I haven’t painted with oil in a long time, though, because I have such difficulty finding the time (with five kids, I find myself cleaning up messes more than creating them :lol:). Oil requires time-commitment (not the least of which involves the drying time and the time spent on cleaning and washing the brushes!)

So these days I find myself generally limited to messing around on a much smaller scale LOL!:

A Smaller Mess

Which brings us to this Monday’s new product in my shop 😉

Singing the Blues

If you love the effect of paint but hate the clean-up after ;), now you can get that artsy goodness without having to worry about smeared paint on your tabletops or spilled water containers or paintbrushes to wash over the sink! 🙂

My newest goodie in my shop lets you turn your layouts and projects into works of art with these 6 real swashes of paint!

liv.edesigns Paint Swashes Vol. 1

I’ve handpainted all these swashes and then lovingly extracted them so that they retain their awesome texture, in various sizes, with the largest one measuring about 10inches (Feel free to resize as you desire!). Each swash comes in its original blue color and in a greyscale version, so that you have maximum versatility. They come in .png format (transparent files) so you can use them with whatever program you create your magic with!

You can use these as photo masks or masks for paper or as artistic accents for your layouts and projects. (If you use these as photo masks and you work with Photoshop, I suggest clipping your photo to the greyscale version of the paint swash, merging it, then setting your blending mode to soft light and duplicating it a couple of times so you get the awesome texture and effect of paint. 😉 ). Really, there are no limits to these; let your creativity soar as you play with these!

Oh, and this set is Vol.1 … which means we’ve got more painting goodness coming up soon! 😉

Guess what else? This baby is 25% off today, so if the painting without the mess rocks your boat, go row quickly to my shop and grab this off the shelf before it goes on regular price again! Click HERE or on the product image above to get some shopping therapy :).

The Best Messes

I just love-LOVE-L.O.V.E. the awesome masterpieces that our JessicaSprague.com creative team members have come up with using my Paint Swashes. Prepare to feast on these stunning works of art!

Sarah used my paint swash both as an accent and a background for her journaling. I think it’s just A+wesome! (Pairing it up with the torn paper effect also works major wonders!)

Layout by Sarah

Monica turned my paint swashes white and used them to give her layout that awesome “messy” look, perfect for adding that “boyish” feel to her wonderful layout (“Messy” in quotes because as you can see, everything is really perfectly put together!)

Layout by Monica

I love how Jana incorporated the paint swash in her layout so that it looks like an extension of the water in her photo. I think it’s just simply amazing and maaahvelous!

Layout by Jana

And I love how Renee demonstrates on her layout that using the paint swash in its original greyscale version totally works wonders as well! (It also gives her layout a totally pulled-together unified look! Fab!).

Layout by Renee

So you see, you can really use these paint-y babies in a kajillion ways and in all the colors of the rainbow! Now excuse me a moment while I go searching for these creative ladies to give them humongous hugs for their amazing art :D.

Happy swish-swashing around, and go paint the town BLUE! (Or red or green or orange… you get my drift… :lol:)

Join the STAMPede on this marvelous Monday!

Tuesday, 8 November 2011Tuesday, 8 November 2011 / LivE / Leave a comment

Every time I’m on vacation, I have a bit of a problem keeping track of what day it is; do you have that problem too? 😆

Good thing I remembered not too late that today is Monday, because Mondays aren’t manic around here… Mondays are Mahhhvelous! Because Mondays on the Spraground are More-In-Store Mondays! And what that means is: Mondays are when our shop comes alive with new schtuff! Yay!

STAMP your feet in joy!

Or… maybe let your fingers do the stamping? 😉 My newest product in the shop, debuting today, will help you do just that, so that you get the real goodness of stamps but without the mess, without the smudges, without the clean-up! How awesome is that? 😀

Even more awesome, this baby is going into the shelves at 25% off just for today! Wheeee!

CLICK HERE TO GET THIS BABY AT 25% OFF TODAY, Monday, Nov.7th!

And if you haven’t used your coupon yet, you can get this baby at 25% off + 35% off = 60% off? Ohmygraciousgoodness, can this Monday be any more awesome or what? 😉

With my Alpha Stampede 1, you’ll find yourself reaching again and again for this most basic and essential all-caps alphabet and number set. It comes in separate .png files for each letter and number, all of which are sized just a teeny bit larger than half an inch. They’re easy to resize too! And you can stamp in whatever size you want if you use the brushes (.abr files) included in the set! The possibilities are really limitless, my friend.

These were extracted lovingly from real stamped goodness, and I hope you take the time to check this baby out because I promise you these stamps will prove to be loads of fun to use!

Stampin’ Great Eye Candy!

Our creative team ladies did a super-fabulous job of using these brushes in the most creative ways!

I just love how Jen used the stamps to bring humor and reality (and create leading lines too) in her layout!

Layout by Jen P

Other liv.edesigns products used by Jen on her layout above: Tape It Up Frames, Needs + Wants: It’s a Date (Date Stamps), and Alpha Clips.

Below, I love how Monica used the stamps in different sizes to give her layout amazing title-work!

Layout by Monica

Monica also used my Needs + Wants: Stitchies Vol.1 (Crayon Box Collection) on her layout.

And right here, I love how Reeta used the stamps to add a subtle pattern-like beauty to her layout:

Layout by Reeta

Reeta also used my Brownbagger Paper Pack on her layout.

I love our awesome ladies on the creative team… they are just so out-of-this-world amazing!

Now doesn’t all that eye candy that make you want to play? By all means, let the Alpha STAMPede begin! 😀

Oh and before I forget… here’s more Monday awesome-ness!

FREE? Who doesn’t like FREE?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to dip your toes into digital scrapbooking? Wonder no more, because my dear friends, the great Jessica Sprague, is offering a wonderful FREE webinar on Friday, November 18th!

Wait. That’s not Monday. LOL! Yeah, the webinar isn’t today but registration for it IS! And because the slots are limited, you’ll want to rush over and get your name listed right away!

She’ll be holding two sessions (so if you can’t make it to the first schedule, you have a second option – isn’t that wonderful?). And she’ll walk you through the process of creating a digital layout using Photoshop Elements. (Don’t have Photoshop Elements? You can download a free trial version right HERE). She’ll even give you a free quickpage to play with (‘cos yeah, she’s awesome that way). And when you’re done, you’ll have a beautiful layout with your photos and your journaling that will wow not just YOU but your friends and your family and anyone who happens to lay eyes on your amazing creation.

Convinced that this is something you shouldn’t miss? Just click on the image below to find out more and get yourself enlisted for the webinar. (And have I mentioned it’s free? 😉 )

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR JESSICA'S FREE WEBINAR!

Just look at my gorgeous dear friend there… doesn’t she just look super-friendly? That’s because she IS, all that and more! She’s a darling, she’s the original Awesome, and she’s one of the most hilarious people I’ve ever known (and have had the pleasure and honor of calling friend and sista).

So don’t wait… run to get yourself listed! You won’t regret it, I promise. 🙂

And with that, I wish you a happy Marvelous aMazing Monday, dear buds! Mwah!

More In Store Monday

Tuesday, 18 October 2011Tuesday, 18 October 2011 / LivE / Leave a comment

Mondays begin the week (mine began with a sleepless night, working on a joint kid-parent school project… sleepless since the entire weekend was spent taking care of my littlest one who was beset with fever ~ do I hear moms around the world groaning in empathy? :lol:)

Mondays are exciting, though, sleep or no sleep, because it’s the day our newest products debut at our shops over at JessicaSprague.com!

This week, I have three new products (related to each other, like triplets doing a debut 🙂 ):

Anyone who knows me knows that I love writing… though I must confess that my pencils and notebooks are covered with sketches of layouts and design ideas and plans leaving the rest of my literary writing adventures in the care of the keyboard (the fact that my chicken-scratch, long, pointy penmanship sucks is only one of the reasons why).

So it probably won’t come as a surprise that my latest products seek to bring the actual-writing-on-a-notebook dimension into the digital world. (My OC-happy desire to highlight and underline and ring around stuff is equally to blame, haha!)

Presenting the triplets: Highlight It!

First, the soft, gentle version: