Ask and ye shall receive.

 

That’s right baby! It’s BACK.

There has been many a demand…er request to bring back Mint-spirational Mondays, our spotlight on the best pages and projects of the week from the Peppermint Creative Gallery, and since I’m a bit of a people pleaser – here we are. But I’ve got a bit of a bone to pick with you folks. If you’re going to ask that I bring back a spotlight on gallery pages – then you’ve got to post your pages in the gallery! I cannot post what I cannot see…capiche?

And on that note, I’m excited to announce that I will also be awarding a fabulous $5 gift card to Peppermint Creative to one Mintastic gallery poster every month. All you have to do is post your pages (using mostly Peppermint Creative products) in the gallery and at the end of the month ‘I shall select a winner’ (to be read aloud in a bad British accent). Everyone is welcome to post. And as I mentioned in a post last week, I love to see what you guys are creating. It makes all the long lonely hours designing in the middle of the night with random infomercials playing in the background while I snack on things I shouldn’t be eating totally worth it so don’t rob me of that joy – okie dokie?

CAUTION: High levels of MINT-SPIRATION ahead! Keep a pen and notepad handy in the event of a creative emergency.

Note that you can click any of the pages below to view them in the gallery where you will find credits listed for all products used if something should strike your fancy. Ok, it’s time for some MINT-spiration…so lets get to it!

Art Show | by: my2monkeys
This page is stunning! The layers, the colors – where to look first? It perfectly captures the artistic theme of the page. And I love all the photos of artwork included.

Perfect | by: Lijezz
Ahhhhh! SO LOVE this! It really is (as the title suggests) perfect on so many fronts. Love how the patterned paper is clipped to the Messy Love Mat behind the photo. Love the arrangement of the title with jars and bread on each side. Gorgeous overall design.

Army Cadets | KirstieGai
What a super idea for a birthday party – put those kids to work! Great mix of products and colors to really capture the army feel!

Race Day | by: Cherry Limeade
This page is such an inspiration – the layout, the colors, the photos…just makes me want to lace up my sneakers and go for a run. Fantastic!

Artist | by: rjcjme
Ahhh the elusive photo-less page. Often talked about but rarely seen. You have to look closely to appreciate all the detail in this one. The scanned artwork hanging by a wire, the colored pencils and scissors tucked behind it, the arrow pointing to the slightly tilted hand-written journaling. It all works together perfectly to give this page a child-like, crafty feel. Great page!

We Are Here | by: mj.johnston
JEALOUS! I want to go too. Love the large photo up top with the small ‘highlights’ underneath. The bright colors and fun pictures perfectly captures the joy that I was personally assured by Mary Jo was whole heartedly felt on this trip. They had a great time and it really shows.

backyard bootcamp | by: KirstieGai
If you scroll up a few layouts you may notice a theme in Kirstie’s layouts….child labour. LOL. No wonder she is always so fast to get everything done. She’s got a gang of workers on hand! ;) But seriously folks. LOVE this page! Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment but this looks like a ton of fun to me. Love seeing the kids being so active and having a great time. Great use of Missy’s Template here – so many pictures without it looking too cluttered.

3 Months | by: shutterspeed
So cute! I love the choice to convert the photos to black & white here – it works really well and let’s the colors of the page pop!

Soccer Practice | by: Mommy2Talesia
That clever border of soccer balls totally caught my eye! Love the clean and simple design – not to mention the great action shots!

the handbag | Gabby
And last – but certainly not least…this LOVELY page from Gabby. OOOOOOOOOH. A PURSE. LOVE purses. Can never have enough. In fact I was just thinking of going to find a new one today. I love the delicious color and how only one of the photos is in color – very artistic shots! So purdy.

Thanks everyone for sharing your wonderful work. Tune in every Monday for a look at the Minty goodness from the gallery. Be sure to post your PC pages in our gallery and you might see them featured right here – and you might WIN!

Want more Mint-spiration? Take a peek at past Mint-spirational Monday posts.

Keep scrapping and posting!

xox
MM.   

Happy Mother’s Day! I hope you’ve seen this coupon already either in the newsletter, on the Facebook page or in the store but JUST in case you missed it you’ve got until Monday night at midnight to redeem and buy yourself a little Mother’s Day treat.

And for the occasion I have for you this lovely kit. LOOOOVE this kit. Especially the papers. I’m very pleased with how they turned out! Lots of patterns, flowers and fun stuff. I also made some coordinating ‘Mom’ wordart which is yours FREE when you purchase the kit before Monday May 14th (midnight EST). Just add both items to your cart at checkout and the deduction will automatically be reflected at checkout.

I’m so excited to show you what the girls did with this kit – they did such a phenomenal job with this one!!

How gorgeous is this page? Tasha’s (my2monkeys) pages never disappoint! She’s a super skilled stacker and has a magical way of piling loads of layers onto a page without it ever being ‘too much’.

You might take a look at this kit and think it’s super girlie but Missy (missys3lilbugs) proves that this kit is just perfect for boys too! Check out these two AMAZING pages from her:

Ok, this one is from me….I scrapped. It’s true. I don’t scrap often if only to spare you guys from my super cool Instagram selfers. But I figure you can stomach it once in a while. I just couldn’t resist taking this kit for a spin. That flowery brown paper is my FAVE. I’m tempted to make it in even more colors. It’s just so fun!

Want more? Here’s a peek at even more FAB page from the team. Check out what the girls did:

Page by: mommy2talesia

Page by: my2monkeys

Page by: Keela

Page by: glumirk

Page by: Scrappie Irene

Page by: KirstieGai

Love it? Don’t deny it.

Buy the Uniquely You Kit & get the coordinating Mom Word-Art FREE.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Turn an ordinary deck of cards into a thoughtful, custom gift for Mom!

This Mother’s Day give Mom (or Grandma) a really special gift – straight from the heart. This super cute project is easy to make and will mean so much. I originally debuted this project for Valentine’s Day in classic red and black and it was unexpectedly such a HUGE HIT (it actually became Peppermint Creative’s best-selling product to date!) that I knew you guys would appreciate some alternative versions for different occasions.

Inside you will find editable templates. Just add your own text, print, cut and assemble. Files are included individually and pre-assembled on a print-ready 8.5×11″ sheet in 3 different formats – yep! that’s right, it’s easier than ever to customize and print. (PSD, TIF, JPG/PNG).

I’ve also included a print-ready PDF of the lined cards so you can just print and fill out by hand. Two cover options are included: 52 Things I Love About You and the cover shown below. Plus, you can even change the text to make your own cover ;)

Software Compatibility: To edit existing text, font and colors, layered PSD & TIF files are included. Suitable for use in Photoshop, Elements, Paint Shop Pro or any comparable software capable of reading layered files.

START YOUR’ 52 THINGS’ ALBUM NOW.

Don’t have Photoshop? That’s ok! Blank JPG & PNG files are also included for you to add your own text. These are suitable for those with programs that allow you to add text to a blank graphic image. A graphics software/scrapbook software program is needed to make use of the .PNG files which are the photo inserts. Instructions included for Mac Users to edit using PREVIEW.

No Software? No problem. A print-ready PDF with fill-in-the-blank style pages is included. Just print and fill out by hand – an excellent option for kids! Just print them out, cut them up and let the kids fill them out and build their own albums for Mom! Two cover pages (52 Things I Love About You, 52 Reasons I’m Lucky To Have a Mom Like You) included.

Check out this awesome tutorial for instructions (complete with pictures) on how to put your deck of cards album together.

START YOUR ’52 THINGS’ ALBUM NOW

One Photographer’s Relucant Move from dSLR to Camera Phone
Article by: Sarah Harbuck

This bonafide “always-use-my-dSLR-camera-to-take-photos” gal had become one of the converted….

In today’s world, technology allows us to use our phones to talk to people, to email, to surf the web, to social network, to take photos & upload them immediately online. Nowadays cell phone cameras rival the quality of some P&S cameras.

I’m one of those who’s given up using a point & shoot camera in favor of using my cell phone camera to take snapshots of my kids & daily life. For a couple of years I carried my dSLR camera with me almost everywhere. But after awhile that became tiresome & cumbersome. I’d have to wait to upload the photos online until I got home & took the photos off my CF card and did a little editing. Sometimes instant gratification is so nice! Of course there are some P&S cameras that have the direct uploading & geotagging feature which is helpful if that’s something you’re interested in. It’s not just limited to cell phone cameras.

All that to say that this bonafide “always-use-my-dSLR-camera-to-take-photos” gal had become one of the converted. I’ve let go of the notion that every photo I take has to be some perfectly composed wonderful photographic piece of art. What’s important is capturing the everyday moments with my family & friends that I’ll look back on and remember fondly.

Not since my Project 365 (in 2010) have I taken photos everyday like I do now with my cell phone camera. I feel like I’m capturing more everyday moments now than I have in the past because I’ve taken away the pressure of every photo being absolutely perfect. It’s amazing what you’ll capture when you just take photos. Let yourself off the hook & just go for it.

People ask me all the time how do I get to be a better photographer. My answer is always this….take photos all the time. And I mean ALL the time. It doesn’t matter if you have an expensive dSLR or a budget P&S or even a cell phone camera. Practice practice practice. Knowing some rudimentary technical information is helpful for sure, but I’ve found that getting “real world” experience and taking photos regularly is a great place to start. And another big key to this little puzzle…stop comparing yourself to others. Nothing is more debilitating to our creativity than wishing we were like someone else.

So I challenge all of you reading this to tuck your P&S camera in your purse or use your cell phone camera and just start taking photos everyday. They don’t have to be National Geographic cover worthy, they just have to speak to you and give you memories of whatever activity you’re doing or whatever you want to remember.

As scrapbookers, we are the memory keepers for our families. Capturing memories is our goal. Do that in any way you can and don’t worry if it’s perfect! Just take the picture…it’s worth a thousand words afterall! =)

Sarah Harbuck is a freelance photographer in the East Texas area specializing in artistic portraiture. “Like” her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AMZphotoartdesign or contact her at sarah@amzphoto.com for information.

Oooh so very very exciting! If you missed the news on Facebook, Twitter or you don’t get our newsletter (seriously girl, get with the program), I am thrilled to bring you brand new templates from the fabulously talented Missy Strand. Missy has been a member of my creative team almost since the day I started Peppermint Creative in 2006! I’m sure you’ve seen her amazing pages under the handle Missys3lilbugs and now her fab pages have been turned into templates so we can all scrap like super stars ;) I am so excited about this!

All four sets (12×12″ or 8.5×11″) are sold separately but the best deal is the 4 set bundle.

Use coupon code: SCP30 and take 30% off
Missy’s brand new 4 set template bundle
Only until Tue. May 8th (midnight EST).

(Add a few more items to your cart and save up to 50% with code SCP50!)

Here are a few great samples pages created using the templates above and Peppermint Creative products.

Template Set.01

Template Set.01

Template Set.02

Template Set.02

Template Set.02

Template Set.02

Template Set.03

Template Set.03

Template Set.04

Template Set.02

Template Set.03

Template Set.04

Template Set.03

Ok – your turn! Grab some templates and go! Don’t forget to use your coupon codes by midnight EST on Tuesday May 8th and be sure to share your creations with us in the gallery. I love to see what you guys are creating. It makes all the long lonely hours designing in the middle of the night with random infomercials playing in the background while I snack on things I shouldn’t be eating totally worth it so don’t rob me of that joy – okie dokie?

Happy Scrapping
xo Miss Mint.

Happy National Scrapbook Day everyone! Can you believe it? It’s official. We have a day. Well, technically we had a day and it was yesterday – Saturday May 5th. But don’t worry – you haven’t missed the boat my little digi sailors.

The sale did start yesterday but it runs until Tuesday May 8th so I’m blogging today because yesterday was SUPER busy. Look man, there are only so many hours in a day and it was either post this blog or change out of Friday’s pajamas and get some groceries before I starved to death. And you should know, I almost always choose food.

So, sorry blog. You’re sh*t out of luck.

But I have changed (and showered!) and have been fed and hydrated and I am BACK to show you the fun new products I just released and the super cool pages my Creative Team has made with them.

Ready? Ok, let’s go.

Introducing the new Work It Paper Pack. This ain’t no ordinary paper pack my friends. First, let me say that I LOVE these papers. They are playful, versatile and completely gender neutral so they could easily be used for a multitude of pages. But that’s not all folks. This innocent looking paper pack is a two-timer. It coordinates with not one but two (yes, two!) different element packs.

If you’re a gym rat, a runner, a fitness enthusiast or are trying to make some healthier lifestyle choices you will love the Work It Element Pack

If you’ve got a sports nut in the house don’t miss the Sports Star Element Pack

And of course,  I wouldn’t NOT include some coordinating Alphabet Sets. It would be unheard of! Unthinkable! So here you go:

Check out these amazing pages from my super talented Creative Team:

by: Missy Strand

Page by: Kirstie Ibrahim

by: Keela Fox

Page by: Kirstie Ibrahim

Page by: Megan Whitney

Page by: Sarah Harbuck

Page by: Kirstie Ibrahim

Page by: Sarah Harbuck

Good stuff, right? I have to admit I’m itching to scrap with this kit. If you pick up the Sports Star Elements don’t miss the Award Ribbons – too perfect and totally customizable. The center stamps and the ribbons are included separately so you can use any color and even add your own text to the center if you want.

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Happy scrapping and enjoy!!
xo Miss Mint