The Groove Newsletter - October 2006

The Groove

Digital Scrapbooking Inspiration - October, 2006

BOO! Welcome to the Halloween edition of The Groove (cool Halloween layout, don’t ya think?). Take a look inside for “frightening” tips, “chilling” inspirations, and a “spooky” layout contest! (Okay – maybe our content isn’t all that scary, but you’ve got to dig that groovy Halloween spirit!) And speaking of spirited…

NEW! Look for the Weekly Challenge in the Scrapbook MAX! forums, hosted by Julie C. Every week, Julie throws out a scrapping challenge (a theme, a type of font, a scrapping style, etc.) and looks for the best layout in that category. It’s been extremely popular right from the start– so be sure to take a look and join the fun!

Musings on Halloween

I live in the middle of Canada, and Halloween night is inevitably freezing. I recall cruel blizzards blowing into town on the very eve of October 31. Not that it stopped us – oh no! We trudged ahead in our door to door pilgrimage, pillowcases hopefully outstretched, shouting “Trick-or-Treat!” at the top of our lungs. Our mouths would water at the thought of all that candy inches from our faces, in need of parental inspection before we’d stuff ourselves silly on a school night.

But we’d first have to “stuff” our parka-ed, mufflered, mittened, capped, booted selves into our costumes. Snow White swelled to unsightly proportions. Superman looked as though the donut rather than kryptonite was his arch nemesis. We walked the streets in a stiff shuffle, bloated versions of our svelte, school-costume-party selves.

It finally dawned on me in my last year of trick or treating to masquerade in gear appropriate to the climate. I donned an ancient fur coat that had belonged to my grandmother, wrapped a scarf glamorously around my head, and sported elbow length gloves and knee high boots. I was a movie star, and oh so toasty!

Digital Scrapbooking Tips

Groovy Tip #1: To group two or more objects together, hold Ctrl, select the objects with your mouse, and choose Edit > Group from the menu.

Groovy Tip #2: To avoid accidentally moving an object, right-click on the object, then select Pin or Lock.

Scrapper Profile

He cooks, he programs software, he’s handy, he makes music, and of course... he creates awesome scrapbook layouts! Meet Stephen from Arizona – another familiar face from our friendly forum family (whew! – now that’s alliteration!). Below – check out some of Stephen’s groovy layouts.

Q-Tell us a little about yourself.

A- My wife Shelley and I have lived in Phoenix, AZ area for many years. We have no children, but have two Black Labrador Retrievers that might as well be. I enjoy doing anything creative, so I've done many careers concurrently... I'm a professional chef, musician, programmer, multimedia developer and cabinet maker. I run my own software development business from my home.

Q- How did you get started on digital scrapbooking?
A- I've worked as a developer and designer on scrapbooking-type programs in the past, but I've never done any kind of traditional scrapbooking. For the last 15 years, I've created many CD-ROM interfaces, websites, games and programs, so when Scrapbook MAX! came along, it was a great fit.

Q- Where do you get your layout ideas?

A- Many of my influences come from ordinary everyday things or objects. I'll see something on television or in the store and say "I can use that idea for a scrapbook page!". Sometimes I think of a general category, like "Travel", then think of a theme that will be appealing to the masses. I never really know what my layout will be until it's finished. I've always been known for "thinking outside the box,” so many people have said that my scrapbooking style is very different.

Q- What is your favorite Scrapbook MAX! tip or trick?

A - Using an image swatch as a quick border around a photo.

Q- What are your hobbies/interests (other than digital scrapbooking of course)?
A- I love to travel, do photography, shoot video, play with my dogs and swim. I've recently started going to concerts. I love all types of movies and music.

Q- Who is your favorite movie star?

A- My favorite actor is Robert Deniro - He is one of those "once in a lifetime" actors that is great in anything he does. My favorite actress is Marg Helgenberger - great dramatic actress in both movies and television.


Some of Steve's favorite layouts!





Click on "Happy Halloween", "Winter", and "Basketball" to view larger images.

Interested in being one of The Groove’s profiled scrappers? Write to us at newsletter@scrapbookmax.com for details.

Creative Genius

Self-publish a picture book!

A great project to do with the kids: Write out a draft of a short story- either an original or a retelling of a favorite. Think like a picture book – keep one action or event to a single page. Now get out the costumes and props and take a picture to accompany each page. Then the scrapping fun begins – put your text and pictures together with Scrapbook MAX!, print it out, and bind it in an album. You are now a published author and your children are the stars of their very own book!

Contest: "Happy Halloween"

It’s Halloween season – time for pumpkins, candy, costumes, black cats and full moon fever! To get into the “spirit”, The Groove is hosting a “wary, scary” layout contest! We want ghosts, ghouls, and goblins - even if they are the “cute” variety. Send us your best Halloween page layout…if you dare! The winning layout will be published in the next issue of The Groove and the winner will receive an official Scrapbook MAX! mousepad!

To enter, publish your layout as a JPEG image using the ‘High Quality’ and ‘Web/Email’ size options, and upload it to the contest page in the Scrapbook MAX! gallery. All entries will be available for viewing. Contest closes October 25, 2006, Midnight (CST). Good luck! **Note: You must be a registered member of the Scrapbook MAX! forums to enter this contest. To register for free, click here.

“Back to School” Contest Winner!

Click here to view larger image

Congratulations to Kristy C. from Rockford, MI - our “Back to School” layout contest winner! Besides the adorable scholars en route to class, we love the summery sunflowers that compliment the yellow and black school bus in the background. What a good eye!
Top marks to all entries! We’re preparing ourselves to be “scared silly” (in a good way!) by your submissions for next month’s contest.

Inspirations

Variations! Choose a “focal” picture for your page. Paste several copies of the picture, each cropped differently. Or, surround your main picture with several other pictures taken from the same photo session, and bring your page to life! (Thanks to Kristy C. who provided the adorable "Dylan" layout!)





Click on "Dylan", "Friends", and "Birthday" to view larger images.

Totally Textured! Add texture and interest with photo effects. Right-click on your photo, then choose Effects and experiment with the options in the list. Hint: Emboss and Crackle create particularly “touchable” images.

Click on "Grasshopper", "Baby Boy", and "Gardening" to view larger images.

The Groove Wants You!

Have a Lois Lane complex? Put it to use by contributing to The Groove! We’re always looking for fresh ideas to make The Groove fun and exciting – just like our readers! Tips, musings, inspirations, ingenious scrapbook ideas - if you’ve got ‘em, we’d love to read ‘em! Email The Groove your bright ideas today! Contact us at newsletter@scrapbookmax.com

Next month:

The Groove celebrates Thanksgiving! Plus - look for October’s “Happy Halloween” contest winner!