Thursday, July 31, 2008

New Design Team Announcement

Well, it's time to introduce you to our new design team members. Without further ado, they are:

Paula Barber
Brenda Hurd
Pamela Palmarini
Paloma Riera

A heartfelt thanks to all of you who took the time and energy to apply. We were so impressed with your work and your willingness to put yourself out there. Please PLEASE continue to play with us at Method Playground.

Keep an eye out over the next couple weeks as we do some upgrades to the site, such as links to the design team members' blogs and photos of our new design team members. We also have a SUPER GREAT guest in store for you for the next challenge, so make sure to check back.

Thanks to you all for making Method Playground so much fun. :)
Jennifer

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Challenge 24 - Ephemera!

Can you believe that the summer's two-thirds of the way through? It's more astonishing to me that this summer's been busier than the school year - with camps, out door activities and recently back-to-school shopping. I've got quite a collection of ticket stubs, receipts, and other ephemera already - and we haven't even gone on our vacation yet!

My challenge to you is to grab some of those things you've been hanging on to from this summer, last summer, or whenever -- as long as it's ephemera -- and use it on a layout.

Link your layout to this thread by Sunday, August 10 to be considered for a RAK. And I've got a fun RAK full of embellishments, flowers and vintage things, including an Oceanside adornment package from Scraps of Time.

Here's what the team did:

I found I had a variety of things -- just from one week. Ticket stubs, clothing tags and a photo strip from one of the mall picture kiosks that my son dragged me into.


Becky used airline ticket stubs on her layout of her child's trip to NYC.

Jen used tags from her daughter's clothing. The brightly colored tags make a great accent.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Challenge 23 - Slide Show!

I loved seeing what everyone did with this challenge. We'll post the winner and the next challenge in a bit. Meanwhile, here's the show:

Friday, July 25, 2008

New Team Members have been chosen!

Well, we have sifted through the entries and have chosen 4 new Method Playground designers. I'll be emailing the ladies very soon and then we will make the grand announcement once everyone is on board. Check back soon!

And remember, you have until Sunday night to post your layout for the Black and White and Color challenge.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Challenge 23 - Black, White, Color

I don't know about you, but I love black and white photos. I love the artistic flair they give and I love the simplicity as well. But then again, I also love color. Photos of bright orange pumpkins or my kids' blue eyes.

Luckily, we do not have to pick just one. Mixing color and B&W on a page is A-OK, and sometimes the mix can give you some real benefit. Try it when:
(1) You want to use several photos but want one to really "pop" off the page. Make one color.
(2) You have some photos that just don't look "right" in color. Change some to B&W.
(3) You want to use bright/bold patterned papers on part of your layout and your photos will clash - make them B&W.
(4) You just want to mix it up a bit. :)

So this week, my challenge to you is an easy one... simply combine both color and black and white photos on a layout. At least one of each.

For some great tutorials on converting photos to B&W on the computer, check out these tutorials: http://jessicabell-tutorials.blogspot.com/ http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/color-black-and-white.php http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/digital-black-and-white/

Link us up here or send us an email with an attachment. As always, there will be a RAK involved. Deadline is midnight on July 27. Have fun everyone!

Alicia's digital layout:


Becky's layout:
Deb's layout:

My (Jen's) layout:

Challenge 22

Congrats to YOYIN, who is our winner. Please send us an email and let us know where to send the RAK.

Close runners up were Keely and Mica, whose layouts also caught Cindy's eye. As always, thanks to all of you who participated in Cindy's fibers challenge.

Check back later today for a new challenge!

Challenge 22 Slideshow and winner!