The very happiest of Sundays to you, my scrapbooking friends! Whether today finds you recovering from a wild and crazy weekend or simply preparing for the week ahead, I hope you take some time for yourself. It’s important to treat ourselves gently and feed our creativity, and what better way to do that than by looking for inspiration in the creations of others?

It’s my pleasure and privilege to share with you a half dozen of the most stand-out-ing-est layouts our Sweet Shoppe Community members posted in the Gallery this week. Each of these, in fact, were inspired by the January This or That? Challenges which are a fantastic way to stay motivated and inspired to keep filling your family’s albums with completed scrapbook pages. (Plus, you can earn a 20, 30, or 40% discount or even a $50 gift certificate to the Shoppe! Be sure to visit the This or That? Challenge Forum for all the details.)

And now, here are today’s Sunday Standouts!

All is Calm by DivaMom96 (Deborrah)

Challenge 6a – Scrap a page using tons of snowflake shapes

This knockout layout is from community member DivaMom96, who just started posting in the Gallery again after a two year hiatus. We are so glad to have you back, Deborrah, sharing your work with us here at the Sweet Shoppe Community! There’s so much inspiration to take from her layout “All is Calm”. First, I am struck by the power of contrast in how she set her snow-laden white-heavy photograph against a solid, deep blue background. By then adding a beautifully layered and shadowed cascade of snowflakes, she leads our eye across the page, across the title, to the photograph, and then to the journaling tag. And I love the mix of alphabets she chose for her title – again, a study in contrasts, with the thin silver text next to the thicker ombre glitter letters in “calm”. Beautifully done, Deborrah, and welcome back!

Just a Day in the Life by iScrap (Jenny)

Challenge 15a – Scrap your Day at a Glance

Jenny’s journaling begins, “My days usually start trying to wake teenagers – which if you know, you know.” What a stellar job she’s done of supporting that story with gorgeous photographs! It’s an editorial-style spread, with a photo of one of her girls just waking up, a cute close-up preparing breakfast, and a candid shot in the kitchen. Add in the photo of her desk and the beautifully framed shot on the subway, and you get a full “slice of life” in six images. Jenny’s beautifully lit photographs are truly the standout here!

Elf Surveillance by bienejen (Jennifer)

Challenge 15b – Scrap your Month at a Glance

The flip side of Challenge #15 is, rather than scrapping a day, to scrap a month at a glance. I think Jennifer chose a supremely clever twist to interpret this challenge: it’s not her own activities, but those of her family’s Elf on the Shelf that are memorialized on this layout! If you have a tradition like this one, you may have a similar set of photos waiting to be added to your holiday album. They don’t need a ton of journaling, but you want to include all those adorable photos … well, take some inspiration from Jennifer’s layout and get ’em scrapped!

Knockerball by cutiejo1 (Joanna)

Challenge 4b Use the font Long Story Short

Two words: PHOTO EXTRACTION. Oh my word, it’s the big ol’ extraction of Joanna’s focal point photograph that grabbed my attention in the gallery, and the way it’s set off from the background with those sweet stickers and a fantastic shadow behind the inflatable ball … it’s an outstanding example of this technique in action. And speaking of action, those photographs make it look like the girls had a blast!

Dog Person by clucaswvu04 (Cheryl)

Challenge 9a – Are you a Cat or Dog person?

I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again … but I’m a total sucker for layouts about our pets. This one from Cheryl grabbed me specifically because of her use of so many different textures and the variety of elements to be found in the layers behind her photographs. There’s so much to look at, everything from the rough wood of the doghouse to the satiny orange fabric behind it, the metal and screws in the title and the rough texture of the ribbons and twine, to the bumpy texture of the dog bed – it’s a visual feast, and my fingers practically tingle with the sensation of touching each one as my eyes explore this layout.

Mia by CarolynK (Carolyn)

Challenge 7a – Tic, Tac, Toe … 3 photos in a row

Today’s final Standout made me say, out loud, “so that’s how you use those circles of lights!” I adore the look of the twinkly elements included in so many of Kristin Cronin-Barrow’s and Studio Flergs‘ kits – at least, the way they look on the kit previews – but I’m often at a loss as to how to use them properly on my own layouts. Carolyn absolutely knocked it out of the park with this one! By framing those three circular photographs with the twinkly circles of stars, and then applying different levels of shadows to each photograph so they look layered behind or on top of one another, and then a slight drop shadow on the twinkle elements themselves – so they look almost like wires with tiny filament lights – she’s turned them into photo frames, and they are stunning! Combine that with a gorgeous cluster of foliage, flowers, and ribbons, as well as a scattering of glitter placed to look like it’s falling from the photos like fairy dust, and you have a truly magical layout.

 

I don’t know about you, but I’m all inspired now! I hope you carve some time out of the day to play in your favorite graphics program with a few of your favorite photos and some of your favorite products from the Sweet Shoppe – and then post the results in the Gallery. Let’s go create!