Groove Newsletter Contest January 2007: Pets (FREEBIES HERE!)

[Maggie]

I liked this picture a lot and tried cropping it and doing other things to minimize the gate, but finally realized that's what I LIKED about the picture!

Story: Last fall, a local farmer asked if we would allow his foal to come to our farm to wean. We don't have any "real" pets at present, having lost them to accidents.
The foal came right around my daughter's birthday. This day was the first day she went to visit her "new pet"! Such awe she had.

Process:
*I added some "pink" hue to the pic to make it work with girly paper better. You can't imagine how much that helped the layout integrity.

*Made flower embellishment from paper to to balance the LO.
*Added transparency to the flower and quote box to let the background bleed through.
*Used "painted" journaling block to eliminate any harsh line elements to compete with the picture frame.
*Added text color the same of the paper purple.
*Added a tiny glow "star" on the flower to help it catch the eye...it seemed too muted. (photoshopbrushes.com--free)


Okay, I think that's it! I love these challenges. They are a blast.

THANKS FOR LOOKING!



http://www.scrapbookmax.com/gallery/...49/S_Horse.jpg

[The Groove]

Greetings from The Groove, Scrapbook MAX!'s free monthly newsletter!

A reminder that our January "Pets" Layout contest ends tomorrow (January 26,2007) at midnight, CST!

Click here to upload your favorite pet layout now. You may be eligible to win a $20 Gift Certificate to the Scrapbook MAX! Booster Pack Store and one of two official Scrapbook MAX! mousepads.

We are BLOWN AWAY by your fabulous entries this month! Way to go to everyone!

(Psst...Want to sign up to receive The Groove each month for free? Click here!)

Karin and Marnie
The Groove Editors

[Marion]

Here's my entry. Tried something new by creating a SHAPE for the outline of the page using our SBM program. Submitted tutorial if you want to learn that process in embellishments section. That gave the punched window look. I wanted to highlight Fisher and Johns faces but came out looking like I cut off their heads..by making another shape with circles over the picture...Enclosed pictures to show.
As for content..My son John is autistic. Life was a real struggle taking him to stores, guarding him from desire to escape through the front door and run out into street, etc..WAITED two years for Fisher...Long process for dogs to go through..$10,000 dog given through donations. Fisher could follow 53 commands by the time we got him. Much better than my kids!! Life changed dramatically. John would hold to the harness and I'd have Fisher's leash. It was hard not to treat fisher like a PET..He kept John safe just by his presence and John knew that FIsher was HIS dog. Fisher is officially retired as of last year. 10 years old. Sleeps next to John almost every night..but having knee troubles now. The goals were accomplished to help John TALK..the 53 commands were very motivating to John. Then socialize..You can imagine all the folks who wanted to pet the "Seeing Eye DOG" (they thought)..but would fuss and try to not allow us in the stores when they realized John was not blind..I had to hold my ground with Walmart a few times and WON but the battles were hard..we had to break the NORM for service dogs and what they are good for. John not only came out of his AUTISTIC world but also became more aware of everything around him and interested. Fisher is the only thing John hugs without prompting. John has done so well over the years with his disability. We won't replace Fisher with another SERVICE dog when he goes. The need is not there anymore.Now all our dogs will be PETS.
Used Fisher's dog tags for embellishments and made a dog bone shape for tag also. Used Nanac's thumbtack. http://www.scrapbookmax.com/gallery/...=6635&cat=1349

I somehow missed this story before. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Marion

[KristyAnn]

http://www.scrapbookmax.com/gallery/...=500&ppuser=47

[The Groove]

Congratulations to Donna T. a.k.a. autisticwonder, The Groove Newsletter's "Pets" Contest 1st Place winner!

We love Donna's layout - the photo backdrop, the complementary colors in the embellishments, the "mini" photos and journal text that complete the story. And what a story it is! To read all about Fisher the very special dog and Donna's dear son John, click here (hint: scroll to the bottom of your page to find the feature article).

To check out Donna's awesome layout in the gallery, click here.

We also want to send a big congrats to our runners up, Lisa S. and Lor, who've pleased both dog lovers and cat lovers with their stunning layouts and touching stories! Click on "Life and Dogs" and "PK" to have a closer look.

And to all who participated, you sure love your pet friends, and we loved looking at them! Your layouts were lovely, funny, cool, kooky, sentimental - just as pet layouts should be.

We look forward to looking at your entries in this month's "Be My Valentine" contest! Click here to read more, or get the details on Page 3 of the January 2007 issue of The Groove!

Happy Valentine's!

The Groove Editors
Karin and Marnie