Okay...Week #2 is here!!

Hi all,
I am having so much fun with this new challenge! Not to mention making the digital freebies to go with it! Here is a preview of Week #2's freebie. You will find it in the 10 Weeks Before Christmas Challenge at KjoiStudios!

This weeks challenge is about making those dreaded gift lists...and making it FUN to check them twice!! Here's an idea...how about scrapbooking them!! More on this in the Challenge forum!! Come share fun family gifting traditions with us!!

Week #1 - Kjoi Chat!! Come join me!

What to know that the whole deal is REALLY with this fabulous challenge?? Well, come see what you can find out tonight at the KjoiStudios Chatroom...where I will be hanging out from 11 EST to 12 EST and will have more details to share!!

I am VERY excited...so come join me!! You must be registered in the forum to get into the chatroom...so be sure to get that done beforehand! I look forward to seeing you there!! Oh...and I might just have a heads up for you on the supplies needed for weeks 4-6 of the challenge!

Here is the FORUM!!

And have I mentioned that things are starting to brew for DSD at DigiScrapStation...hmmmm...well they are, be ready to hear what on Nov. 1st!!

Week #1 Challenge

Hi all...the first challenge is up in the KjoiStudios forum!! Go check it out! Here is the freebie template you get there to help you along:


That is if you need to have help...we don't all need it, but I know sometimes I want it!! You can get it and more in the Challenge thread!!

And here is my first months calendar(made using mostly my week 4 entry from the contest):


AND...IF you are silly and forgot that today is when registration starts for Jessica Sprague's new class...GO SIGN UP!! LOL!

10 Weeks Before Christmas Challenge!!

I am already busy at work at Kjoi!! LOL! I am having a blast!!

Those that know me in RL...know how MUCH...I LOVE CHRISTMAS! I generally prepare MONTHS in advance, starting in June...but this year I am WAY behind. So, I got to thinking...how do I catch up with my Christmas to do's and still digi-design and have FUN!! Well, at KjoiStudios I am putting my answer(here is my ad):


I had a LOT of FUN coming up with the poem...and only used a little piece of it for this ad!! The whole version is up in the Kjoi forum. I will probably be doing a weekly chat, but haven't nailed down the exact time yet!! And here is a run down of what we will be doing:

Week #1: Calendars...for family or the scrapbook...works either way!

Week #2: Gift Lists...this will be a TON more FUN than it sounds...LOL! Come prepared to post family gifting traditions you either do or would like to do!!

Week #3: Christmas Cards...with a LOVELY surprise to help them along!!

Weeks #4, #5, and #6: We will be doing fun Photo Craft or Scrapping related Gifts for those on our Gift Lists...or ourselves...LOL!

Weeks #7 and #8: Ornaments for our trees...every year I make one for my family with a story. I will have a fun Christmas story to go with these two as well!

Week #9: Time to Wrap some gifts! We will have some ideas for FUN gift tags, or dressing up gift bags and wrapped presents!

Week #10: This is when we reward our hard...but FUN work!! I am REALLY excited for this week!! Stay around and you will find out why!!

Now...just in case any of you may have forgotten...Jessica Sprague starts her newest class Registration TOMORROW at 9 EST! DON'T MISS THIS!! There is NO ONE that explains PS as well as she, and this is a class you don't even have to be a scrapper to attend!! It is called Stories In the Hand...and is like it says...ALL about getting our stories in our hands rather than just in our minds...which, LOL, we all know can be faulty with stress or time!!





Now on to Challenge #2...hmmm, no not yet, LOL! You will just have to check out DigiScrapStation in a few weeks for this one. I want to make sure it is FABULOUS first!!

Kjoi's New Designers are Announced!!

I MADE IT!!! YAY!! All of the hard work over the past 2 1/2 months has paid off and I am now one of the KjoiStudios Designers!! My things are already up in the store there!!


I am still going to be selling at DigiScrapStation as well...I have made a LOT of great friends there and the environment is GREAT!

Joi De Vivre-Kjoi Blog Hop!!

Okay, so you made it to my blog!! YAY! Here is a little about me...

I am a 29 yr. old, SAHM of 4 young children, and I am married to my best friend and biggest supporter. I have been traditional scrapbooking for nearly 12 years...some years more so than others. I have been playing with digital scrapbooking for about 2 1/2 years, but have REALLY found it beginning of this year...thanks to Jessica Sprague and my great friend Janei (who introduced me both to digi and to Jessica). I have wanted to get into the designing aspect ever since I started playing with digi!! I LOVE creating things...music, a smile on someone's face, almost any craft, more projects for myself...LOL! Creating things is what makes my heart sing with joy...that is ME!!

Now...enough about me, here is what I created for the contest:

And here are the various Avatars that I used:

...can you tell I LOVE Unicorns??:

And finally, last...but most definitely NOT least!!...what you all have been waiting for...My Blog Hop Freebie:

Click on the preview to download

You can find the rest of the Joi De Vivre Blog Hop here:


21206D-Lizard Dau Designs

21845B-Labline

21879D-Digidesigns By Amberbaz

22170C-Panda Bear Designs

22181A-April Dawn Creations<----------You are here!!

22342B-Camillas Kitchen

22596D-mITSYBELLE

22611D-luvfromindia

22896B-Lori Imel

22978-Schappys Scrapdesign

23075D-Stacey Crossley Designs

23494D-Cancer Moon Creations

24301D-KatLen Kreations

24588B-Belanna At Odds

24789C-SandEz Creationz

24864A-Biebels Scraps

24974b-By God's Designs

And don't forget to stop back by KjoiStudios for the rest of the Birthday Bash!! Oh, and the ANNOUNCEMENT!! YAY!!

Announcements...and more coming tomorrow!!

Hi all, I just wanted to say really quick...I know I haven't posted many LO's lately and some are missing my lovely young family...but there is a reason for that!! I have been doing the Kjoi contest for the past few months and in order to keep my identity secret, most of my recent LO's needed to remain hidden from public viewing. But here comes the first Announcement!!

Kjoi is having their BIG BIRTHDAY BASH tomorrow and the rest of this weekend, this means that the identities will be REVEALED and the new Designers ANNOUNCED!!! I am so excited, and nervous, and well...a whole gammit of emotions from one minute to the next!

I can hardly wait...BUT OH...THERE IS SO MUCH MORE!! Some of us designer contestants have gotten together to do a Blog Hop with the reveal...so MORE FREEBIES!!! YAY!! And there are even more that will be found at Kjoi tomorrow!!

Not to mention the HUGE SALE or the Challenges with Prizes!! It is seriously NOT a party to be missed!

And I do promise more LO's next week after the Party RUSH calms down a bit!! Oh...I have more for you too...

I have designed some more Corner Brushes...these ones are MUCH more Elegant, so I am naming them...LOL...Elegant Corner Brushes! I know...I know...SUCH very creative naming! Anyway, here is what they look like:

I will be putting them in my store today, so hang in there one day more and then you can be sure to:

-pick them up from the store,
-swing by Kjoi for the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT and Birthday Bash
-Find out both here or at Kjoi where the Blog Hop is starting and "HOP" along with all of the FUN!!

Oh, and to all those that may have missed my lovely addition to my sidebar...JESSICA SPRAGUE IS DOING A NEW CLASS!! It is FREE and SHE IS FANTASTIC!!! AND...registration starts on MONDAY!! DON'T MISS IT!! She gives you access to the videos and class info from the class FOREVER! So, if you are wondering if you have time to do this...YOU DO!!

Now, I just KNOW I am missing something...so I will probably come back and post more in a bit, but this gives you enough to chew on for now!!

Calendar Tutorials as promised...with freebie.

There are two routes that you can use to make a calendar grid in PS. You can make one using Microsoft Excel, save it as a pdf file with a PDF Writer like Ghostscript, and then open it with PS and use it as you need. Or you can simply use your line tool in PS to make a grid and use that as you need for your calendar. For example purposes I am leaving off a spot in the grid for the month...I figure that can be added creatively later!! Here is the tutorial for making it in Microsoft Excel first(scroll down for version 2):

I was able to use PDF Writer (Ghostscript) to convert my Excel file into a pdf. PSE and CS are both able to open and manipulate pdf files. I find this software through my print screen when I go to print. I will have to check with my DH to see how we got this software on our computer, but I am pretty sure that it was a free download. Anyway, when you go to File>Print then a screen comes up that gives you an option of choosing where to print to. I select PDF Writer (Ghostscript) in place of my printer and it prints it to a pdf file on my desktop...you are able to save it somewhere else when you save it. This is probably the EASIEST way to convert it to workable in PSE or CS. It does print it a brown shade, but that is easy to fix in PS.


For the example grid above, I highlighted 7 cells across by 6 cells down. Then I right clicked and selected format cells. Next put a border around the cells. I left a blank borderless row of cells on the top so there would be room for the name of the Month. Depending on what you want to do with the days of the week you may not need 6 bordered cells down, just 5 will do, but be sure to leave room for you to add them if you want to.

Here is how I set up my example: The first row of cells(blank for the month) I put at a row height of 40. The next row (first bordered-for the days of the week) I put at the typical row height of 12.75...you may want to play with that depending on fonts. The last 5 rows (for the calendar body itself) I put at a row height of 66. Then all 7 of the columns are at a column width of 12.

I did add a little more decorative border around the days of the week row and the whole outside...but you can play with the borders as you like in your own. Also, If you like mine enough...you can go ahead and use it. Just right click and select Open with Adobe Photoshop....etc. Hope this helps you. Let me know if you have any other questions.

And now for version 2...how to make a grid in PS (whichever version you have):

My example this time is a 12x12 one, open a new 12x12 file, white background, and 300ppi. Next click on your line tool to make sure that is the tool you are using. Next, if you don't have the grid showing, go to View and click on Grid so that a checkmark shows up next to it. While you are in there make sure that Rulers also has a checkmark next to it.

Now for the example above this is what I did...

In the top option bar for the line tool click on the weight box and type in a weight of 10 px. (This sets how wide your line will be.) Now click on the calendar screen to set it and it will give you a plus sign in place of an arrow. Place the plus sign at 1" on the top ruler and 2" on the side ruler using the grid to line it up. Click and Drag while pressing Shift until the "plus" sign lines up with the 11" mark on the top ruler and then let go. This will give you your top line. Now do the exact same thing only move down to the 11" mark on the side ruler, again click-shift and drag it from the 1" mark to the 11" mark on the top ruler. This gives you your bottom line.

Most calendars have at the most a need for 5 rows down for the body of the calendar...with just a few exceptions (that is when they add a slash through the the bottom rows first one or two "boxes"), but you can decide if you prefer another row or to slash them. For my example I am just sticking with the 5 rows and no slashes as this will be fine for majority of the time.

So, the next step is to right click on either the top line layer or the bottom line layer and duplicate layer...do this over again until you have duplicated it 4 times. This will give you a total of 6 lines. Click on the move tool, and uncheck Auto Select Layer. (Make sure to recheck this when you are done.) Now move the 4 duplicate line layers so that they are space out...IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE PERFECTLY SPACED!!...just make sure that they are between the top and bottom lines. Now click on the top of the line layers in the stack to highlight it in the layer palette, then hold down shift and click on the bottom of the line layers in the stack. This will highlight all of your line layers. While still on the move tool, go Distribute on the top tool option bar. Click on Vertical Centers. This is really COOL!! It will perfectly space your lines for you!!

Now, while they are all still highlighted, is the time that if your lines got a little out of line...LOL!...then you can line them up. Go to Align, and Horizontal Centers. You should find that you now have all of the horizontal lines you need for your calendar, and they are spaced just right. The next steps are easy, you basically are doing the same thing only dragging from top to bottom instead of from left to right. And you will need more duplicate line layers as there are 7 days in a week, meaning you need 7 columns. So, here goes...Go back to the line tool and place the "plus" sign back on 2" on the side ruler and 1" on the top ruler. Click-Shift, and Drag it down to 11" on the side ruler and then let go. Again, using your grid helps. Now you have your left grid line and your grid is starting to look more like a box or grid then just a bunch of lines. Place your your plus sign at 11" on the top ruler, and 2" on the side ruler. Do the same thing: Click-Shift, and Drag your line down to the 11" mark on the side ruler. This gives you your right grid line. You are ready for Duplication. This time you want 6 Duplicate line layers. Space them apart, again NOT PERFECTLY. Click the move tool, Distribute, and this time you want Horizontal Centers. Again, while highlighted still, if needed you can go to Align and this time pick Vertical Centers.

You should now see a very nicely spaced grid. However, if you are picky like me, you might be looking at the corners of your grid and saying...WHY AREN"T THEY MATCHED UP??? Well, not to fear...mine didn't either. So, now for the final touches.

You should still be on the move tool...if not, click on it. Now I want you to simplify/rasterize all of the vertical line layers (if you are like me...LOL!...that means the ones from top to bottom!). Highlight all of the simplified/rasterized layers in your layer palette and watch for the transform box. Then I made the lines much longer by using the "mini" boxes on the top and bottom in the center. (Let me know if I lost you there!) This doesn't change the width of your lines so it still looks fine.

The final step is to take your Rectangular Marque tool and select a rectangular area around the extra pieces of vertical line on the top of the grid, click on each of the vertical line layers in turn and hit the delete button on your keyboard. Now do the same thing only select a rectangular area around the extra on the bottom of the grid.

This should make it so that when you are done your grid now looks like a box with smaller boxes inside...or a GRID! Now pat yourself on the back...you have a calendar grid perfect for making your family calendars!!

I didn't leave much room for Decorating, just for adding Month and Days, in my example. But you can easily resize your grid to a smaller size for you to have embellishing room. One other option for making it a bit more decorative is to do the same thing as described above, only with the brush tool. If you like the dashed or dotted line look this might work better for you. Just be sure to hold shift so your lines are straight, skip the simplify/rasterize steps, and create a new layer everytime you draw a new line. That will make it easier to play later with matched up corners and edges. Hope this helps you! If you have any questions or I just simply lost you let me know and I will do my best to answer the questions and reword the step I lost you on.

Now for the FREEBIE!!!! I went and made some calendar grid brushes...both landscape and portrait directions for an 8.5x11, and then my 12x12. You can get them by clicking here. Enjoy!!

New Class with Jessica Sprague!!

I am so very excited about Jessica's announcement today, that she will be doing one more class this year. It is called Stories in Hand and is all about capturing your stories...whether you have pictures for the story or not!! This is a FREE class good for the scrapper and the non-scrapper alike, great for beginners and very advanced learners in scrapping as well!! Check out the flyer she made up for this!!

Click on the image to be taken to her FABULOUS site!! She is all about helping others learn how to capture their stories...whether in the scrapbook page, on the page of a journal, or now it sounds like even on our blogs!! YAY!! THANKS JESS!!

If you have never taken one of Jessica's classes this is a great time to find out exactly why she has made so many friends in the scrapping world with her classes and her site!! This is a great way to find out if the way she teaches her classes will work for you!! And Heather P., email me if you want to do this...I am taking it too!!

Freebie Template and Tutorial...

...but it isn't the calendar one yet! Yesterday I got to playing with a template design after I saw a video on making a Journaling Card Page from traditional supplies at ScrapSupplies.com. They have a few different videos, so feel free to check them out. Now I thought to myself, I wonder if I can create something similar in digi...and so I had a LOT of FUN doing it!! Here is what I came up with...

This peaked my interest as I just finished the Type+Write Class at JessicaSprague.com that focuses on fun ways to add truly meaningful journaling to you LO's. IT WAS FANTASTIC!!! And Jess had put together some INCREDIBLE templates for us to use, that also had me wondering...can I figure out how to do THAT too??!! So, there are some added fun layers to this template that you won't need to touch...unless you don't like what I did with it. It still isn't quite up to Jessica's caliber...but it is getting closer!

Now in the cool tutorial video they took tags and made them into flaps that they could put photos under. I have included a template without a shadow behind the cards for this purpose, this is what you will use. Anyway, here is a little tutorial for you on how to do something similar:

Go ahead and clip on your papers like you would with any other template...if by chance you don't yet know how to do this with PSE or CS, not to worry, check out a FABULOUS video tutorial by Jess done for CKM at The Spraground Free Tutorial Area . You might need to be logged in to see it. It comes with a Freebie too!

Take your page once everything is added and it has been printed, and grab a cutting tool...I will be using an exacto knife.

( I hope I don't lose anyone by adding this here, but if you want the BACK of your tags to have a color or patterned paper on them when they are open you will need to adhere the paper of your choice to the back of your printed layout BEFORE you cut!}

Next cut along the edges of the "cards"...BUT BE SURE TO LEAVE ONE SIDE ATTACHED. You have flexibility here, you don't have to choose to leave the top attached on all of them, but you can go that route if it is your preference.

Use something to score along that remaining side, this makes it easier to fold. If you don't have any traditional scrapping supplies to do this you can use a pair of scissors. Open them and VERY GENTLY run the blade along where you want to fold. (If this isn't done carefully then you will cut through it...so again BE GENTLE if you go this route.)

After you have done this to any of the 11you want photos under, than you want to have a way to put the photos underneath your card "flaps", but not to fear there are a few ways to do this:

1. I have created a template...simple though it be...for that too, just adhere it under your journaling card layout.

2. Just glue/adhere them under after you have made the flaps.

3. Take a piece of 12X12 cardstock and adhere them to that then attach the two.

You should then have a completed page with both Journaling and Photos. The project that I took the inspiration for this from used this as a month page...so there is one thought for you. I look forward to seeing what you come up with. If you remember too...I know I forget things often...please post back here with a link to your finished layout! I only created the templates yesterday, so I have not yet had time to do an example for you...but I will be posting it here when I have it finished.

You can download the zip of the templates by clicking on the preview here:

(This will only be a freebie on my blog for one week...then it will be able to be found in my store at Digiscrapstation.com .)