It’s never too late for a shout-out! We might be entering the final third of the month, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a moment to look back at last month’s layouts and celebrate the gorgeous work produced by our community. Not only is it a good thing to share words of praise with others, but it’s also an awesome reminder to go participate in this month’s Show Off & Shout Out thread!

If you’re new to the Sweet Shoppe, you’ll quickly learn that we love “leaving love” on one another’s layouts in the gallery. In fact, we believe in it so much, we’ve made it part of our monthly challenge-and-reward system. You’ll find the “Show Off & Shout Out” thread in our This or That Challenges forum. When you leave love for 15 layouts in the gallery, share a layout you created this month and want to show off, and share a layout someone else created and posted in the gallery to which you want to give a Shout Out, you could win a free kit or mini bundle up to $15 in value.

Our winners for the month of September were Jennifer (bienejen) (in the ‘leaving love’ category), Mone (mone) (in the “show off” category), and Tina (got2scrap) (in the ‘shout out’ category, as nominated by Stefanie). And the winner of our monthly drawing for a $50 gift certificate for completing all 15 This or That? challenges in September is … drum roll, please … Melinda (scrappinnewbie)! Congratulations to you all, and thank you for being a part of our community here at the Sweet Shoppe.

I asked some of the Sugar Babes to share their own Show Off and Shout Outs to wrap up the month of September. Here’s what Cassie, Jaye, Krista L., Sarah, Sheri, and Trina had to say.

Cassie’s Show Off

Why Cassie is proud of this layout: “I really love how this page turned out! Amber’s templates always result in a gorgeously cluster packed page and that just makes my scrappy heart happy! I also like that everything blends together so smoothly that it’s hard to tell in some spots where the photos end and the page begins!”

Cassie’s Shout-Out

Why Cassie loves “Pula” by MirandaB: “I’m a sucker for a great travel page and it looks like Miranda has a series in progress! I love how each of the pages in her {presumable} scrap album uses the same kit/color/theme to coordinate so well with each other and create a cohesive album! She does a great job at detailing her trip and each location’s activities and memories for her viewer! It truly is a memory keeper’s treasure!”

Jaye’s Show Off

Why Jaye is proud of this layout: “I love how the weathered wood background fits in with my photo. The stamps also complimented the butterfly and colours in the photo. I remember this day and how peaceful it was, I feel that my page reflects that.”

Jaye’s Shout-Out

Why Jaye loves “Books Who Change My Life” by Ginette: “The extraction…wow! I love the way Ginette did the title and added the border of leaves around her page. It has an old-world feel to it and I love how she used the journal card.”

Krista’s Show Off

Why Krista is proud of this layout: “I am proud of this layout because my photos match the kit perfectly and I was able to use a lot of the kit papers, journal cards and embellishments. My motto when creating pages is more is more!”

Krista’s Shout-Out

Why Krista loves “Laser Tag 14th Birthday” by knclark: “Hooray for another Pocket Page! I love the clean lines with the white photo borders. The QR code is always a good idea.”

Sarah’s Show Off

Why Sarah is proud of this layout: “Of course, I am proud of my son. And I can’t believe he’s 18 months old already. Time flies! I love this layout because it combines two templates. I used the 10 months old template from this template set and changed the 0 into the 8 from the 8 months old template. And I just love the result.”

Sarah’s Shout-Out

Why Sarah loves “Autumn Joy” by stephc777: “Where do I start? How cute is that photo? Looking at this layout just puts a smile upon my face. I love the neutral browns she chose for her background and I love the colors she chose for the rest of her layout. She did such a perfect job combining all those kits together. What a perfect Fall layout. It makes me want to pick up my son, put him down in a pile of leaves and take his photo.”

Sheri’s Show Off

Why Sheri is proud of this layout: “I love the Halloween theme of this page. I always think it’s fun to incorporate extractions into my layouts. While I tend to default to light backgrounds, I also think the black background of this page is really striking. I downloaded the Batman font specifically for my title.”

Sheri’s Shout-Out

Why Sheri loves “In the Clouds” by Stefanie: “I really love all of the layers Stephanie used, how she incorporated lots of photos, and how she peppered the title work throughout her page. What a really fantastic way to showcase a trip. A perfect travel page.”

Trina’s Show Off

Why Trina is proud of this layout: “I love how the colours of the kit worked perfectly with my photo (and the siding of my house!), and how light and airy it is, for a fall layout. I love the change in my daughter too, although she looks way older with the haircut. This came together so easy with the Page Draft, and it is definitely my favourite of the month.”

Trina’s Shout-Out

Why Trina loves “Espresso” by scrappinnewbie: “This page has everything I love in a scrapbooking page – great layers with flowery clusters, some great paint and an overall WOW feel. This jumped out at me from the gallery as it’s so striking, it’s just perfect!”

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As the month of October winds to a close, I want to encourage you to set aside some time for sharing words of praise. Show verbal appreciation to your spouse or partner, give your children recognition and compliments, and leave some love on the layouts of your fellow scrapbookers here at the Sweet Shoppe. The more we focus on the positive and building up the people around us, the more it brightens our overall outlook on life. And I know I could use some of that!

So join me by browsing through the Gallery, and when you find a layout you like, hit the “comment” button and leave some kudos for their work. I’ll see you there!