Looking back on October

Hi everyone, I can't believe the end of the month is here already! You know what that means: it's time to take a look back on all the blog happenings during the month.

Kiki added some exquisite papers and kits to her Kiki Halbert Design store.
* Summer Reminiscence paper pack & Timeless kit
* Not Easy Being Green & Retro Jungle kits
* Damask Romance, Glimpse of Twilight and Winds of Change

Megan started an insightful new series spotlighting the Creative Team:
* Interview with Nancy C
* Interview with SharonB

Kayre's blog challenges continue with a numbers challenge.

She also posted some fun Halloween poems to add to your spooky pages.

Stay tuned for all the exciting DSD celebrations happening next weekend. There are sales, new releases and RAKs on the cards.

Until then, here's a little freebie cluster frame made with Kiki's latest release, Winds of Change:

(Click on the preview to download)

Halloween!

I thought that it would be fun to share some Halloween poems with you to add to your Halloween layouts!

* A grandmother pretends she doesn't know who you are on Halloween. ~ Erma Bombeck

* Ghosts like ladies, never speak till spoken to. ~Richard Harris Barharn

* On Halloween, witches come true;

Wild ghosts escape from dreams,

Each monster dances in the park. ~Nicholas Gordon

* The witches fly

Across the sky,

The owls go, "Who? Who? Who?"

The black cats yowl

And green ghost howl,

"Scary Halloween to you!" ~ Nina Willis Water

* Candy, candy in the bag

It's that time of the year

Funny clown, witchy hag

Another house is near! ~Jimnks

Creative Team Interview with SharonB

Thanks for stopping by Kiki's blog and spending a moment with us. For most, I know we have the Monday morning blues, but just think in one week, we all get to dress up and use our imagination just like little kids again - for those of us who have children, we have a chance to be creative with them. How fun is that!!! We have a layout challenge that is going on where you can use those pictures you are taking this week and those new fun kits and win a prize!! So are we all perked up now - awesome - because right now I wanted to share an interview I did with Sharon B, one of the Creative Team Members here....

Your name and what you go by for digital scrapbooking layouts or kits? Sharon Bertolino and I go by sharonbertolino or sharonb in most forums

Kiki Halbert Tea on the Porch
Flourish by Kiki Halbert- Foiled You
Template by Kiki Halbert- Mojo by Melscraps coming out June 10

How long have you been creating LOs for yourself and for CTs? I paper scrapped for 7 years and digital for 11 mos. I started digi when I joined Kiki as a blogger in October 2010. Kiki took a chance on me even though I knew nothing about digi, I could blog so I self taught myself digi and got alot of help from Kiki and other scrappers.

Kiki Halbert Burst into spring hybrid/hybrid layout

How did you learn about Kiki Halbert Designs? I answered a blog call, not knowing she was a digital designer.

Paper and Elements- Kiki Halbert- A Beautiful Mess, Periwinkle Sighs and Symphony

What is your favorite kit and do you have a sample of an LO created with it? My favorite Kiki kit to date is the Dreamer collection and this is one of my favorite layouts "just being me"

I love the colors in the kit and enjoyed the word art.

Why do you like Kiki Halbert Design's kits? I like the grunge in the papers, the elements are so realistic and she always has that touch of bling.

That me by Kiki Halbert

How did you feel when you heard you were excepted to be a part of Kiki's CT? I was thrilled, but imagine my surprise when I realized it was a digital team and I didn't even know digital software! I bought PSE9 and I got lots of help and encouragement from Kiki. My first layouts are horrible and then someone told me about shadowing. My first layouts are flat!!

Kit is Dreams come true by Kiki Halbert

Any words of wisdom for those aspiring to be a part of a CT? Go ahead and apply and be honest when you do. There are alot of designers who will be glad to help you (as Kiki does with her apprentice program) Also spend lots of time looking at galleries and studying layouts and styles.

Kiki Halbert-Je Ne Sais Quoi

Thank you so much Sharon B. for spending some time with me and answering these questions. For those who are looking to join a CT...check out DigiShopTalk or DigiScrapAddicts for their advertisements and never be afraid to take a chance!

Have a great rest of the week.....Made by Me Inspirations signing off for Kiki Halbert Designs!!

Fun Friday...quick and easy color palette

Howdy everyone..It's Made by Me Inspirations posting again for Kiki Halbert Designs and I am so sorry this is a little late, we have had some construction going on our street and in our home that have taken my time away from the computer..but I wanted to share with everyone this really neat website that I found that I think will benefit not only designers but those of us who create layouts for any kind of use. (the site was actually recommended to me but I can't remember by who, sorry!!)

The Site is Big Huge Labs and they have a way that you can upload a picture and it will create a color palette for you. Now what is really cool is that most color palettes are 5 colors, well this site provides you with 15 colors from the picture that you can choose from. That is great for those of us who create layouts because when we look for kits to use in our layouts not all kits have the colors we want and sometimes we are unsure if a certain color would look good with the pictures we want to add to a layout.

Here is a sample of what you can expect

You can download the .ASE file format to automatically add it to your palette or you can grab the CSS code if you would like to use it on a website. Also, the site maintains the images you have uploaded so you can always go back and create another color palette if you lost one that have already created.

http://bighugelabs.com/colors.php

So when looking over Kiki's new releases and your pictures, you now have a useful site that can help you match them up! So have fun creating and don't forget to share you links with us for what you have created. Looking forward to seeing them!

New Release Day

I'm so excited to show you the beautiful kits that Kiki released in store today. The first kit I'd like to share is Damask Romance.

Take a look at what the CT made with this romantic kit:

Next up is another rerelease, Glimpse of Twilight.

It's soft and romantic and works beautifully for heritage layouts too, as these CT layouts show:

The last release this week is the brand new Winds of Change, a kit about fall and transformation, filled with soft warm colours.

The CT loved playing with this kit, as you can see from the layouts below:

Be sure to get these kits while they are on sale this week!

Sneak peek time

This week Kiki has three kits just waiting for release day. Two of these are rereleases, and one is brand new. Take a look:

Come back tomorrow when these kits are revealed.

New release sneak peeks

This week Kiki is rereleasing two fabulous kits that are geared towards more masculine layouts. Here's a little peek at what you will see in store tomorrow:

Be sure to come back tomorrow for the reveals and CT inspiration.

Don't forget to check out the latest challenge. It's a fun one!

Layout Challenge

Hi!
It's Kayre bringing you a Layout Challenge. The key number to this challenge is 5 or rather 55! I had a birthday last week and turned 55. I decided to use that number in our Layout Challenge!

New releases in store

It's New Release day! Take a closer look at the two new goodies at Kiki Halbert Designs.

First up is Summer Reminiscence, a paper pack with detailed botanical patterns over deep textured colours.

Mara used these papers in a layout:

The second release for the week is Timeless, a classic kit that is perfect for masculine, autumn and even heritage layouts.

And here are some layouts by the CT with this beautiful kit:

(Melissa)

(Melissa)

(Sharon)

(Nancy)

(Mara)

Both these new releases are 20% off for this week, so head on over to Kiki Halbert Designs and get them while they are on sale.

Sneak peek time

It's Tuesday, which means it's time for a little sneak peek at the new goodies being released at Kiki Halbert Designs.
This week there are two sets of goodies being released:
a paper pack

and a kit

Come back tomorrow for the full reveal and some CT inspiration.

Creative Team Interview with Nancy C

Thanks for stopping by Kiki's blog and spending a moment with us. For most, Monday's are a dreaded time of the week but I find Monday's a little refreshing because they are the beginning of the week and I have a chance every week to start new and refreshed. Today, I wanted to share an interview I did with Nancy C....

Wasteland Paper Pack and Cool Night Blue Sky elements

How long have you been creating LOs for yourself and for CTs?
Since 2004. Once I realized there was such a medium as "digital scrapbooking", there was no turning back. I was hooked from the start and have been ever since.

Burst Into Spring Collab

How did you learn about Kiki Halbert Designs?
There was a CT Call ad, I applied and received an email stating I was accepted as one of Kiki's CTMs.

Tea on the Porch kit

What is your favorite kit and do you have a sample of a LO created with it?
Gosh. I really don't have a favorite kit. I'm a layout artist for several designers and I honestly love all the kits I work with. I just created a layout using "Timeless" by Kiki and I so love the way it turned out. I guess for now, you can say that "Timeless" is one of my favorite kits.

Timeless

Why do you like Kiki Halbert Design's kits?
Kiki is very talented, prides herself on the quality of her kits, and I love her style. Many of Kiki's kits are very versatile and due to the present economy woes, I think that is a huge plus!

Princess Minuet & Foiled You

How did you feel when you heard you were excepted to be a part of Kiki's CT?
Thrilled. There's nothing like applying to be on a designer's CT and then receiving an acceptance email. Absolute joy!

Boy you are a Dreamer

Any words of wisdom for those aspiring to be a part of a CT?
Anyone can apply to be on a CT whether your experienced or a novice. We all started at the very beginning. All you have to do is just apply, be sure you love the designer's products and that you'll be able to fulfill the CT requirements. Also, don't be discouraged if you receive a non-acceptance email from a designer. Just put your big girlie pants on and keep applying.

Spring Alive

Thank you so much Nancy C. for spending some time with me and answering these questions. For those who are looking to join a CT...check out DigiShopTalk or DigiScrapAddicts for their advertisements and never be afraid to start your week off by jumping in and taking a chance!

Have a great rest of the week.....Made by Me Inspirations signing off for Kiki Halbert Designs!!

September blog roundup

It's the last day of September today, and I've decided to take a look back at everything that happened this month at Kiki Halbert Designs.

Kiki has been filling up her store with some beautiful re-releases throughout the month. The creative team has been very busy making layouts to show off the kits on the blog. You can read more in these posts:

• Boy You R a Dreamer / Girl You R a Dreamer
• Damask, elegant and grungy overlays
• Bubblegum Classic kit and several alphas
• Je Ne Sais Quoi 

Kayre hosts the bi-weekly blog challenges, and had some really creative ones this month. Check them out here:

• Flower challenge
• Alpha challenge (There is still time to submit your layouts for this challenge)

Megan linked us up to some fun ways to be creative with flowers. Have a look.

With all the new releases happening, it's easy for some older products to be overlooked. Megan reminded us of some versatile frames in Kiki's stores.

As a gift to our blog readers, I've created an October desktop that you can download.

Quite a jam-packed month, I'm sure you'll agree. October looks set to be equally busy, with more re-releases, new releases, challenges and spotlights coming up. Be sure to check the blog regularly so that you don't miss anything.

If you haven't done so yet, subscribe to Kiki's newsletter. Newsletter subscribers will get exclusive freebies and special offers. The button to subscribe is on the right.

Challenge Reminder

Hi!
It's Kayre wishing you a Thankful Thursday!

I hope that you haven't forgotten about our Alpha Challenge. The Alpha Challenge ends on Wednesday, Oct. 5. Kiki has some nice individual alpha kits and some great alphas in many of her kits. Her newest re-release, Je Ne Sais Quoi (available at Funky Playground Designs) contains a beautiful blue alpha. Can't wait to see your layout!

Re-release: Je Ne Sais Quoi

This week's re-release at Kiki Halbert Designs is the elegant Je Ne Sais Quoi.

Filled with beautiful textures, glitter, flowers and even a full alpha, you are sure to find many uses for this kit. Take a look at the layouts from the creative team:

 (Nancy)

(Sharon)

(Mara)

(Melissa)

Head on over to Kiki Halbert Designs and get Je Ne Sais Quoi while it is on sale this week.

One more thing: I've adapted my page and turned it into a desktop for you.

There are 4 versions to choose from. Just click on the links below to download.
* 1024x768 with month
* 1024x768 without month
* 1920x1200 with month
* 1920x1200 without month

If you would like more freebies and special offers, be sure to subscribe to Kiki's newsletter using the blue button on the right.