Make an easy Digital / Hybrid Bookmark

Where dolls, fire trucks, new clothes, basket ball gloves and ballet shoes used to be on Christmas wishlists there's now Ipads, MP3 players and game computers. Time change and I get that but in between all the hardware and software, bits and bytes I love to hold on to a bit of a personal touch. That's why I love to embellish my gifts with beautiful wrapping and add a handmade crochet heart or flower. So when Christa showed me her bookmarks I was instantly excited.

Even though I have been a Kindle reader for 3 years now, I still LOVE to buy and read magazines which I never ever finish in one session plus I also love to knit and crochet, a bookmark comes in pretty handy to mark the pattern I am working on or the article I was about to read when I ran out of time!

How great a gift would a set of home improvement magazines with a personalized bookmark be huh?!! EXACTLY! Here's mine marking an article I am about to read in Flow magazine.

So without further ado here's Christa's tutorial on how to make one! If you decide to make one too, and I really hope you do because it's super easy and loads of fun, then by all means show us!
We love to see what you made!

As Mirjam wrote in her intro I too know many of us have all this new technology of reading books on Kindle’s, Nooks or iPhones but there's also still some people that are “old school”, who don’t own those gadgets, are “techno-phobes”, or just love the feel of a REAL book in their hands.

With the holidays approaching, are you going to the local book store to get someone a gift card, or a REAL book? Or do you love the idea of a magazine bundle as Mirjam suggested? If so, why not add to your gift and make them that personal bookmark! Include photos of the kids, scan something they wrote like a special note to Grandma & Grandpa and add that to it… the sky is the limit and can become a special keepsake!

Okay, so enough with my ramblings.  This is going to be a quick tutorial not with “step by step” instructions, but an overall concept so that everyone can do this regardless of graphic software they have.

SUPPLIES NEEDED
Knowledge of your software
Template
Card Stock (white preferred)
Digital elements, favorite font & favorite papers
Software Printer
Scissors for Trimming
Glue or Glue Stick

THE MAKING OF
Start with the template. Click HERE to download. You will not only find the template in .PSD and .png format in your ZIP but also my sample bookmark and the one Mirjam made.

Add your papers and elements. (You also want to overlap items on the folded line so that when you are done and it is folded it will give a wrapped appearance.)

(Since I am using Photo Shop I used “File: Place” to place my background paper on a new layer above the left template side layer, resized the paper, and then clipped the paper to the template. I had to duplicate my paper and moved my duplicated paper above the right template layer and again clipped it to the template.)

{With the .png version you would just place your background over the template.}

Now decorate with elements, effects, etc. For my example, I have used Pink Reptile Design’s Sweet Promise, Something Old and the font The Hedgie Hog.

I recolored my background with a hue of green, and also overlapped elements on the fold line so that once done you will have a wrapped & continuous effect when you flip your bookmark from front to back.  (Second picture below shows the crocheted flower and the butterfly in regards to the wrap effect so they would be aligned when it is folded.)

Complete your bookmark and print out on white cardstock. Trim the outer edges of the rectangle, and then on the fold line fold the bookmark in half. With the glue stick, glue the inside and press together. Voila you are done!

*An additional idea is you can make a punch hole in the top center and add a ribbon or you can even stitch around it for more of a “hybrid” feel.

Make one for yourself. I have made bookmarks for myself based on themes of the books. One example is the Twilight Saga books (by Stephenie Meyer) I was reading, so I made several bookmarks based on the books. They are re-read books for me, so the bookmark is there waiting for me when I pick it up to revisit.

Have fun and get the kids involved making bookmarks for their family members, teachers, etc. It is inexpensive and a handmade gift that will bring smiles to their faces.

The December BYOC is here!

Happy Friday everyone! It’s a new month and you know what that means!! The new BYOC is here!! The colours are so yummy they're “More Than Words” can explain so gorgeous! I absolutely love this December palette and I just know you are going to love it too!

 

December is a busy month with the holiday festivities and all their preparations but also a month of spending time with loved ones, family and friends. A wonderful opportunity to grab your camera and capture all of them together and make sure you can scrap the people that mean the most to you. 

Use this “More than Words” collection of papers, elements and a super cute vellum alpha to make those pages not only “POP” with love but also with colour!

All More than Words packs are 20% off through December 8!

Enough with the babbling, here are the details:

MORE THAN WORDS | ELEMENTS
This fun and playful pack of elements was made with love and friendship in mind. It contains 47 unique elements and many colour variations to serve your every need [including the 2 loveable Chipmunks – Madge & Ozzy!]
20% off through december 8

MORE THAN WORDS | PAPERS 
A gorgeous set of 18 versatile fresh and fun coloured papers (10 patterned & 8 solids), which are perfect for all occasions are also great for blending and a perfect foundation for any layout.
20% off through december 8

MORE THAN WORDS | ALPHA
A super fun and versatile vellum alpha to jazz up your pages! Use these cuties to create eye catching titles or use them as monograms! Either way they will give that extra oomph you were looking for!
20% off through december 8

INSPIRATION
And in sync with the title the Pink Ladies and TLP Polly's left me speechless with the stunning pages they created! And believe me that is NOT easy with a chatterbox like me.

by anja

by elina, janett and géraldine

by akizo

by farrah

by cynthia and li li

by tronesia

by audrey, christa and manuela

by erika, géraldine and susanne

by céline and manuela

by marnel

CHALLENGE REMINDER
I would also like to remind you that there's still more than a week left to participate in the November Blog Challenge and win yourself a discount coupon to my store! I would love to see your page!

That's it for today! Have a great weekend everyone and Happy Scrappin'!

Document Your December: Géraldine's Hybrid Christmas Album | Part Two

Two weeks ago I showed you Géraldine's Hybrid Christmas Album in progress. For this album she printed papers and elements of my Counting The Days Collection that combined with elements she made with her Cuttlebug machine and regular cardstock is using to make an album in which she will be documenting the whole of December. Not just Christmas.

She wanted to have the base of the album done before the start of the month so she would be able to fill her album along the way as December unfolds.

I am happy to be able to tell you that the 'framework' of her album is finished and I thought it would be fun to show it to you so we can follow Géraldine's progress.

At the top you can see how she marked where the photos are planned and how the dividers are stuck in between her filler pages. I also love the journal card in there!

And these last two images are showing the front and the back of the album. The next step is to add the photos and do some final embellishing. I just can't wait to see the end result. You don't have to use alot of imagination to know it will be gorgeous!

Black Friday MAD Discounts, Buy My Store + Awesome Giveaway!

First of I hope everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving had a wonderful day yesterday.

Today for all of us the counting down to Christmas officially starts. It’s Black Friday!!! Let the sale madness begin I say!

There's SO many things going on at the same time that I want to start with this little image that  pretty much sums it all up in a nutshell: the new releases, the sale and the Bart Bucks, but I have one more stunning BUY MY STORE offer plus some awesome freebies for you from the fabulous Pink Ladies and me!
So we better get started right?

BLACK FRIDAY AT THE LILYPAD

30% OFF NEW RELEASES
The counting down to Christmas has begun and to get you in the mood and to make sure you have everything your heart desires to Document Your December I extended my Counting The Days collection with 4 wonderful new add-on packs.

COUNTING THE DAYS | BRADS
20 perfect little page accents to brighten up your projects and layouts! They are great too for adding that little something to the corner of a photo edge in your layouts instead of a staple!
30% off through December 2

COUNTING THE DAYS | VELLUM
A set of 10 12X12 fun glitter patterned vellum sheets to add that little sparkle & twinkle to any page.
30% off through December 2 

COUNTING THE DAYS | CARDBOARD
Add a bit of funky robustness to your pages all year round with these 12 fun coloured cardboard papers that have a clearly visible yet subtle corrugated texture!
30% off through December 2

COUNTING THE DAYS | INSTAFRAMES
A versatile set of 9 hand drawn Christmas themed  4x4 word frames to use on your [instagram] photos, journal cards, Christmas cards or even place holders PLUS a set of cards to use as a mattes!
30% off through December 2

INSPIRATION
And a few pages to get your creative juices flowing!

by andrea

by barbara, li li and farrah

by géraldine

by marnel, natascha and janett

by akizo, donna and elina

BLACK FRIDAY SPECIALS
60% off through December 2

All these products will be 60% off through December 2and I will be adding 6 more specials on Cyber Monday [December 2]. Make sure you keep an eye on my store or FB page to find out which they are!

BUY MY STORE
With the crazy stories I hear about Black Friday in the U.S. , I couldn't resist joining the MADNESS so I am offering my entire store for $100! Specifics on this offer are in the product description in my store. Just click the image.
offer valid november 29 to 30 ONLY!!

PINK REPTILE CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY
Thank you SO much for your support!
As a token of our appreciation the Pink Ladies and I made a gorgeous set of Christmas and New Year themed journal cards that we are offering in 2 packs. One pack you will be able to grab right here on my blog at the other one we're offering on the Pink Reptile Facebook page

[each pack contains 12 journal cards, 1 PSD and 1 PDF print sheet. because of the size each pack is offered in 2 ZIPS so between the blog and FB page there's 4 ZIPS for all 24 cards]

I hope you know by now that I am not forcing anyone to join Facebook so if you don't have a FB account just send me a line at pinkreptiledesigns at gmail dot com I will send you the links to the other journal cards as soon asap!

DOWNLOAD LINK 1

DOWNLOAD LINK 2

Have a wonderful and loving holiday season, happy shopping and happy scrappin'!

Document Your December: Géraldine's Hybrid Christmas Album | Part One

I am really excited about this BEAUTIFUL hybrid album Géraldine is making to document her Christmas.
Excited and proud because she told me it was my Counting The Days DYD products that inspired her to make it!

In this album Géraldine will be documenting the whole month of December. Of course that means all the Christmas stuff like the Christmas preparations, the tree and the presents but apart from that she will also include other December activities like maybe making a snowman when there's snow.

I was in awe with the photo's she showed me and I asked her if she would be willing to let us follow her in her process of completing this album. Lucky for us she agreed and we both hope that this will inspire you to Document YOUR December or maybe another event in your life that you find is worth saving in such a special way.

Before starting on this album Géraldine worked out the structure of her album on paper. She decided what the setup would be, the size, what things she wanted in there, etcetera.
For example: The last page will be a compilation of December highlights [small pictures with small squares of papers and journaling like a patchwork].

Then she cut different pages [format 15 x 15 cm which equals approximately 6 x 6 inches] and dividers [15 x 5 cm]. The Dividers will separate the different topics of her album.

Once that was done she decorated the front cover.  She told me that making the cover is a very important step in the process for her because the way it looks, the elements, the colours and materials used on it will be the guideline for the rest of the album.

front cover

After the album cover is done, the rest of the pages and dividers are decorated. She pre-printed and cut several journal cards, papers and elements. For this album she is using kraft paper, white paper, thin black wire, wooden hearts plus papers and elements in red, white, black and orange colours from Pink Reptile's Counting The Days products. Graphically she decided to combine circle and line patterns.

decorated divider

Normally Géraldine adds her photos while she's decorating. Binding her album is the last step because she finds it easier to work on single pages and doesn't have to work around the binding that sometimes can really get in the way.This album however will be decorated and put together before the photos are added. This way it will be ready and waiting like a daily journal that is created while December an it's events unfold.

decorated divider

She used a Cuttlebug machine to cutout snowflake shapes and leave shapes [Brands: Kesi'art and Stampin'up] and finally a glitter alphabet by American Kraft to add a "magical" touch to echo the magical time of December. A girly touch!

decorated divider

Géraldines love to cluster so of course both front and back covers have lots of layers that give volume to her album.
She doesn't like it when her creations are too "neat". That's why she chose to use black wire and added a few drops of black ink here and there.

back cover

Coming up and writing down the specifics for het album plus scrapping the covers, pages and dividers took her approximately 4 hours. She guesses that she will need another 2 hours to add the photos and make the finishes touches of adding some more embellishments and make the whole album come together.

new: counting the days | word frames

To make sure you have everything you need to Document Your December the way you like it I made this additional set of 9 hand drawn Christmas themed  3x4 word frames to my Counting The Days collection. Use them on your photos, journal cards, Christmas cards or to customize your Christmas dinner place holders!

Included are a basic black .png version and a gold leaf .png version of every design PLUS a set of  7 .jpeg  paper textured solid coloured 3x4 journal cards, one for each day of the week, both in portait and in landscape.

Use the word frames as they are or let your creativity take flight and add a layer style, change the colour, the orientation, use your favourite patterned paper as a background, add photos or photo crops. The sky is the limit!

COUNTING THE DAYS | WORD FRAMES
20% off through November 24

INSPIRATION
Here's some beautiful pages from the Pink Ladies and one of the TLP Polly's to inspire you!

by anja

by marnel

by amanda, christa and fe

 by cynthia

by ellen

Have a great weekend and if it's getting colder where you live, it definitely is getting colder here, then why not stay warm inside, grab the templates and scrap a page for the Pink Reptile Blog Challenge?!!