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Picklemama Report
by Annette (fazzbech)

The team at Pickleberrypop are so incredibly excited! In February, Australian Scrapbooking Memories magazine launched it's latest issue which included a FREE CD containing seven awesome digital scrapbooking kits, created by our very own Aussie designers!

Scrapbooking Memories

The feedback so far has been fantastic, and everyone really seems to be enjoying the kits. And who wouldn't, they are just fabulous!

Below are a couple of layouts created by PBP Creative Team members Kaye and Amanda, using the kits on the CD. To get a closer look at the kits and quickpages that are included, scroll down to the last section of this newsletter!

Layout by Kaye Layout by Amanda

Pop Deals!
Click on the images to grab a bargain!

For two days only, as a special newsletter promotion, the following items are on sale at 25% off!
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Inspirational Places!
by the PBP Team, compiled by fazzbech

Lacking inspiration?
Mojo getting you down?
Need something different to look at to get the creative juices flowing?
Do we have a great list of websites for you! These sites have nothing to do with scrapbooking, but you would be surprised how much inspiration they provide, check them out!

Etsy
The place to buy and sell all things handmade.
http://www.etsy.com

Little Birdie Secrets
A nest of creative tips, tricks and tutorials.
http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com

Bakerella
Fun and easy baking! It’s a place to explore recipes, desserts, decorating and even photography.
http://www.bakerella.com

Pioneer Woman
Photography and cooking.
http://thepioneerwoman.com

Smashing Magazine
Delivers useful and innovative information to Web designers and developers about the latest trends and techniques. You can also find all sorts of very cool graphics there!
http://www.smashingmagazine.com

The Daily Grommet
An online marketplace where you can discover and buy inventive new products and learn their true stories.
http://www.dailygrommet.com

Games for the Brain
Good distraction to get the mojo flowing!
http://www.gamesforthebrain.com

And if the above isn't enough, try googling 'book illustrators' for more inspiration!

 

Quick Tip - Altering a 12x12 paper to fit A4
by Lisarose

This tutorial is written for Gimp users, but the idea will work with other software too.

Have you ever wanted to use a 12x12 inch paper on an A4 sized or rectangular layout but not lose edge details or rescale and alter the aspect ratio? Well, here's how!


1. Create a new document, and position the left edge of the paper so that it lines up with the left edge of the document:


2. Duplicate the layer

3. Position the duplicated layer so that the right edge lines up with the right edge of the document:


4. Choose a very large, soft brush and lower the opacity.

5. Work on the top layer and erase the left edge to reveal the paper underneath

6. Continue blending and erasing until you are happy with the way the papers are aligned.

7. Merge both layers and you're done!

 

Amanda's Fabulous Font Find!
by Amandac

Font Find

I don’t know about you, but I do love a nice, hand-written font. I just adore fonts that make it look like you have just written on a piece of paper, it is so realistic.

This month after seeing a number of challenge prompts revolving around fonts, I went looking for a fun font that would give me a nice hand-written look. Checking out dafont.com was a great idea, they really do have a huge number of fonts that suited what I was after, but this one, Sunshine in My Soul, really caught my eye. I hope you enjoy it too!

 

Collage Fun!
by Annette (fazzbech)

Check out this awesome and FREE application for creating collages in custom shapes (and even words), using your photos!

You can either use the online version which is quite limited in it's functionality, though great to try it out quickly, or the downloadable application which is available for Windows, MAC, and Linux operating systems.

I had a quick play with the downloadable application, and here is the result!

desktop wallpaper

The collages can be saved in JPG, PNG, or PSD formats, and they will contain a Shape Collage watermark, which can easily be removed with Photoshop or similar if you're just using the images for personal use, or you can buy the full version of the software for $25USD. The software is quite powerful, fast, and robust, as I tested the limits with a collage using 2,500 photos!

Super Quick Tip!

Check out this blog post from PhotoRadar - 225 Photography tips to inspire you!

 

Gallery Standouts!
Check out the gallery for more inspiration!
 
Here are just a few fabulous layouts that really caught our eye over the last few weeks!

Keep on scrapping and uploading to the gallery, you never know when your layout might be featured here!

gallery gallery
gallery gallery
gallery gallery
gallery gallery

In This Issue :
Picklemama Report
Pop Deals

Inspirational Places
Quick Tip - 12x12 to A4
Fabulous Font Find
Collage Fun!
Super Quick Tip!
Gallery Standouts
Challenges!

Pickle Pick of the Month
Universal Desktop Wallpaper
Photography Corner
Quotes

Great Sales and Offers!
Scrapbooking Memories cont

Challenges!
Participate for your chance to win PBP gift certificates!

 wordart challenge

This month's word art challenge is about friendship! To participate we would like you to choose one of these great word arts from agnieszag's blog and use it as inspiration for your page. Please be courteous and leave her some thanks for sharing this pretty Word Art.

Post your layout in the
forum BEFORE the challenge closing date, to be eligible for the gift certificate prize.


 scraplift challenge

In this month's scraplift challenge we are lifting a very diverse scrapper, Sweeet. Her gallery is full of gorgeous layouts of many different styles, so there should be something there for everyone to try.

Post your layout in the forum BEFORE the challenge closing date, to be eligible for the gift certificate prize.


photography challenge

The Photography Challenge this month has Amanda singing to us... "I wanna know what love is.... I want you to show me ... I wanna feel what love is ... I know you can show me ... Aaaah woah-oh-ooh.." Photograph something that represents love!

(Above photos 1. True love stories never have endings, 2. Still in love? I think so ; ), 3. Lots of Love. via flickr)

 

Pickle jar challenge

This month's Pickle Jar challenge is about food, food, glorious food!! There are our favourites, there are the ones that revolt us, there are the family traditions, the ones that were craved during pregnancy, the very first solids, we are surrounded by food, so let's scrap about it!

Post your layout in the forum BEFORE the challenge closing date, to be eligible for the gift certificate prize.

 

Template challenge

Get a head-start on your next page and join in this great template challenge with the lovely Lorie!

Pickle Pick of the Month!

pickle pick

My funny ValentineJenny79

This month’s layout of the month jumped out from the gallery with it's wonderful vertical design and use of white space. The rich colour of the elements is complimented beautifully by the blush of colour on the edges of the paper and the use of the delightful black and white photo. Texture and depth is added by realistic shadowing and provides the perfect finishing touch.

Congratulations Jenny79! Please PM fazzbech via the forums to receive a special gift certificate for your next order in the pop shop!

 

Universal Desktop Wallpaper!

desktop wallpaper

You loved the debut of our universal desktop wallpaper last month, so we are going to keep offering them! Not only can you resize to suit your screen size, but you can place the photo cluster wherever you like, so as not to interfere with important items on your desktop!

Our March Universal Desktop Wallpaper is brought to you by MagicalReality Designs, using her
Kiss the Cook Part 1 and Kiss the Cook Part 2 kits!

You can download HERE or click on the image above, no coupon required!
Instructions for use can be downloaded HERE.


Photography Corner
Photo taken by Geert at Morguefile.com
Fantastic short tips to help you take some amazing and creative photos!


photo tips

Don't forget the elderly! So many of us scrap our little ones, or other people's little ones, but the elderly shouldn't be forgotten! Why not capture a photo of an elderly person you know doing something they love, and scrap about it! It might make a nice change from your usual, and you might be pleasantly surprised with the outcome!!

Quotes!
Are you busy? Just hanging in there by the skin of your teeth? Scrap about it with these great quotes to help you!

When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

Fall seven times, stand up eight. ~Japanese Proverb

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. ~Harriet Beecher Stowe

The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning. ~Ivy Baker Priest

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Most of us, swimming against the tides of trouble the world knows nothing about, need only a bit of praise or encouragement - and we will make the goal. ~Jerome Fleishman

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves. ~Edmund Hillary

If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again. ~Flavia Weedn, Flavia and the Dream Maker, © Flavia.com

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. ~M. Kathleen Casey

If you're going through hell, keep going. ~Winston Churchill

A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn. ~Author Unknown

The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief. ~William Shakespeare,Othello

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. ~Mother Teresa

We acquire the strength we have overcome. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have got it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known. ~Garrison Keillor

I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders. ~Jewish Proverb

We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey. ~Kenji Miyazawa

Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are. ~Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha

I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing. ~Agatha Christie

When it is dark enough, you can see the stars. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

 

Great Sales and some Special Offers!

Huge 50% off Retirement Sale
until February, 28th, then it's all gone!

Scrapbooking Memories Magazine ~ Vol. 12, No. 2

Included FREE in Vol. 12, No. 2 of Scrapbooking Memories Magazine are these amazing digital scrapbooking kits, created by Pickleberrypop designers!

Contributing designers, in order as they appear below: Cara Mia Designz, Carolyn Rose Kite, LorieM Designs, katef, Joanne Bain Designs, deb fisher designs, and Lindsay Jane!

The Kits
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The Quickpages

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