~ My Fanciful Muse ~: Duncan Reunion - Digital Scrapbook Double Layout

My husband's family holds and annual family reunion and this year I decided to put some

of my digital scrapbooking supplies to use and create a fun layout.

December 2011 - Family Reunion digital scrapbook layout. Using various digital collections from ScrapGirls

I have a large collection of digital scrapbooking supplies,

yet I have not really scrapbooked digitally very much... till now.

That's my new goal for 2012 and going forward.

I've created several "real" scrapbooks in the past and though they are nice, there is only one copy of each. For example - My Mom has a book I created for her of her early years when she grew up in Spain and I did a book for my Dad of his life growing up here in the States. Each was a labor of love and is a cherished item in their homes; however they were extremely expensive to create and very time consuming with still only the one copy at each of their homes; so it's not as if I, my brother or the grand-kids can flip through them unless we happen to be visiting.

Then another concern - what if... flood, fire, unforeseen catastrophe and they are gone forever.

(ya, none of us like to think of those things happening but it happens and most people lament the loss of family photos that will never be seen again. - Going digital can be a safeguard.)

I also soon grew tired of running out of this or that and not having a good color match when working on a layout. I always seemed to be at a loss for the right color or right item or size needed for my layout regardless of the huge assortment of papers, embellishments and supplies I had stockpiled. Then there was the huge process of dragging everything out and put it away again when I'm through. Basically I gave up on scrapbooking and moved on to rubber stamping and other crafty projects.

Then in 2011, I took the dive to learn Photoshop and started playing digitally.

One of the first things I did was purchase digital scrapbooking supplies to use in my digital creations. And I've even created digital scrapbooking supplies of my own - see HERE

I've decided for 2012 I want to create a series of these double page layouts to commemorate special occasions or family trips. This way I have them and I can easily share them with friends and family. (and if something happens to my copy there will be other copies out there)

I love scrapbooking digitally! Now I always have the right color paper or embellishment and I don't run out of anything!!! I buy a product once and get to use it over and over. I can change the color or adjust the size anyway needed. It's just so much more fun and enjoyable to create layouts this way - at least I thing so.

The Full 2 page layout

So the Duncan Reunion from December 2011 was my first large digital layout.

I created it so it could be printed and placed in 8.5 x 11 sheet protectors in a binder;

just in case any of the recipients wanted to print them out and start an actual "book".

Left side of Layout

I used downloaded fonts already on my computer for some of the wording.
Family Reunion is font type - "Giddyup Std"
Duncan Gathering is font type - "Pristina"
Angier, NC is font type - American "XBd BT"

The Bold Lettering for DUNCAN and 2011
is from the Alpha portion of "The View Collection" from ScrapGirls

The hinges that connect the two pages and the copper hinges on some of the
photos are also part of "The View Collection"

The "Leather" items (Buckled Strap, Ring with leather trim and the Leather Corners)
all came from the "Persian Breeze Collection Biggie" from ScrapGirls

Right Side of Layout

I had a lot of photos to work into this two page spread so I scanned through my ScrapGirls collections and found several sets that worked well together. This is one of the great things about purchasing digital collections thought sites like ScrapGirls. The items in the collections are made to work together so you are not pulling your hair out finding things that "play nice" with other elements on your page. Then again you can alter colors, shapes and sizes as needed and you don't run out of anything since you can use the products over and over again. All for one small investment. I call that a Win- Win!

Tip - I always stock up on the sales - especially the 40% off ones.

I keep a "wish list" and every time they have a big sale I buy several items from my list.

Don't forget to sign up for their daily newsletter - this gives you tips and tricks to using the product as well as great layout examples. It also reminds you to download the "free" item of the day. That's right "FREE" items!!!

Backgrounds, Embellishments, Word Art and more... for FREE!

*****

Here is what I used for my Duncan digital layout.

I wanted to keep my layout quick and easy to put together

so all my digital items came from collections at ScrapGirls

Please Note - Items do retire and artist leave from time to time so it is possible that some of these products may no longer be available from them. That is something else I quickly learned - if there is a collection you want don't wait too long to buy it or it could disappear.

Sigh - it's happened to me a few times.

Retired - No longer available at ScrapGirls

The colorized version of these Portrait Frames by Jan Hicks

are now available over at "Happy to Create" - HERE

Retired - No longer available at ScrapGirls

I did not see these at "Happy to Create" under Jan Hicks.

(You could always email them and see if it's possible to get them)

I have a thing for vintage frames so, I'm glad I have mine! - grins

I used the Rust one listed as 3_8 as the bottom background layer

Gesso 3 (Neutrals) - by Durin Eberhart

Value Pack - Gesso Paper

I bought the Value Pack that has all

three Gesso Collections for one low price.

Gesso 1 (Reds) - Gesso 2 (Blue/Greens) - Gesso 3 (Neutrals)

and I also bought THIS Value Pack of Gesso Styles for Photoshop.

Can you tell I have a thing for stucco looking textures???

I really do save by purchasing the Value Packs and it's a Super Savings when

they run their 40% off sales; so I always look to see if a product I'm considering

for purchase is part of a "Value Pack"

I used the Christmas ornaments on the Left page of my layout

Christmas Angel Dust Collection by Brandy Murry

The embellishments are available as a separate purchase from the paper set;
or if you like the whole collection you can save some money in getting the full set.
That's what I did with this one.

I used several of the "Leather" items from this collection

Persian Breeze Collection Biggie by Brandy Hackman

The embellishments are available as a separate purchase from the paper set;
or if you like the whole collection you can save some money in getting the full set.
That's what I did with this one.

I used the Stucco-Washed Background, Window Frame, Shutters

Hinges and Alpha Letters (DUNCAN & 2011)

The View Collection by Brandy Murry

The Stucco background in this collection listed as "Stucco Washed"
Was used to create the two upper most background layers.
The top background (the lightest) is the paper as it comes in the set.

The slightly darker layer below it is the same paper but I added a
color filter in Photoshop to change the look.
Also by using drop shadow and outer glow effects
I got a nice "rim" on the backgrounds.

My finished layout

I created my Duncan Reunion layout by taking parts and pieces from the above 6 collections.

I'm a bargain shopper so I collected most of these on the 40% off sales ScrapGirls has a few times a year (another reason to sign up for the newsletter - you won't miss the big sales).
I've got @ $30 invested in the 6 collections I used. I've already created this one great layout and have not even scratched the creative possibilities these collections still contain.
(I can use all the items over as many times as I want and adjust them as my layout calls for it.)

If you hurry you can take advantage of the 40.5% off sale that ends tonight
February 29, 2012 at Midnight.

I've already bought 2 more collections to add to my ever growing stash!!!

Here is what I bought yesterday.