** This prize has now been claimed! Well done to Jayne, Katy, Theresa and Karen - you'll all be getting a surprise in the post! **

Things are changing at ScrapBook inspirations - we're moving to a new part of the office - and so we're taking the opportunity to have a massive clear out. I've got a box of mystery stash here on my desk and the first person to leave a comment telling me why they love scrapbooking can have it. Completely free.

Just leave a comment and your email address and if you're the first person, I'll get in touch. GO!

Keen-eyed readers may have spotted a layout by Mary Anne Walters called "5 Quirky Things About Me" on page 97 of the September issue of ScrapBook inspirations. It features a bingo card that Mary Anne designed herself, and which she has turned into a PDF so you can use it too.

You can download the blank bingo card here:
Blank bingo card

Need help with the download? Get downloading tips here. Don't miss the October issue where you can see Mary Anne's layout in detail. It goes on sale 19 September 2008.

I love the retro feel to these 'back to school' sticker designs from Martha Stewart. You can download them for free from Martha's website, then print onto sticker paper and use to embellish layouts and mini books. The PDF also includes three bookplates which would look great printed in colour onto cardstock.

Do you know of any cool free downloads on the web? Leave a comment below or drop me an email at scrapbookinspirations@futurenet.co.uk and I'll share the link here on the blog. Thanks!

The deadline for entries for the Best of British Scrapbooking is just a day away! You have until midnight on Friday 22 August to get your email in. So if you're still umming and ahhing, now's the time!

What you need to know
* Your entry must include photos or scans of six of your best layouts. Make sure you read our entry guidelines before submitting.
* And here are the all-important rules
* Remember, we've set up a special Best of British email address just for this competition: bob2008@futurenet.co.uk.

The deadline for all entries is midnight on Friday 22 August, so go and choose your six layouts and get sending. If you have any questions you can email me at the usual address, scrapbookinspirations@futurenet.com. Good luck!

Show us what you've got............

Why not submit your work to our Reader's Gallery. We see lots of fab work but are always looking for fresh 'new faces'.

We are currently looking for your original page designs for the following themes:

You! What has 2008 meant to you, or what does 2009 hold in store? This is the time to put yourself centre stage, because we want to see your 'Book of Me' pages!

Stamping - It's one of the oldest craft techniques around and deservedly one of the most popular. Show us your layouts with stamped effects ­any theme goes!

Email a digital image of your layout to me at our dedicated address sigallery@futurenet.co.uk. Remember to add your choice of theme to the subject line. All we ask is that your layouts are your own work and that you haven¹t submitted them to any other magazine. ScrapBook Inspirations does not accept layouts that have been published elsewhere, that are being considered for publication or have been entered in any competitions.

Please include the following details with your submissions: About you Your name, address, daytime phone number and email. About your layout Title of your layout, a few words to describe the story behind the photos and what inspired your design. Tell us about the techniques you used and your favourite products. About your hobby How long you¹ve been scrapping and what inspired you to get started. Have you ever had any of your work published before? What's your favourite product? Supplies What supplies you used and where you got them from.

If you want to submit by post, please send colour photocopies of your work to the following address (please do not send original work at this stage): Reader Gallery, ScrapBook inspirations, Future Publishing, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2BW

See there's nothing to it and you've got plenty of time as the closing date for entries is 15 September 2008

I couldn't possibly post a message without a photograph - here's a recent shot from the beach at Clacton. Watching my son and niece paddling in the sea brought back vivid childhood memories of my sister and I doing the exact same thing - I think I feel a scrappbook page coming on

Have you got your entry in for Best of British Scrapbooking 2008? The deadline is rapidly approaching, but there's still time. We're looking for six talented scrapbookers to hold the title of 'Best of British Scrapbooker'. If you've not been scrapping long, don't worry, as there's a special category for those who've been making layouts for under one year. Take a look at the full entry criteria and the rules, then get sending! Remember, we've set up a special Best of British email address just for this competition: bob2008@futurenet.co.uk. To spur you on, here are the prizes that our talented winners will receive.

Each of our six winners will receive a host of prizes from top companies, see below for details. As well as a massive stash boost, we’re offering every winner a paid-for commission in ScrapBook inspirations and Joanna Campbell Slan will be sending signed copies of her brand new scrapbooking murder mystery, Paper, Scissors, Death. The contest culminates in a Best of British Scrapbooking gallery at the Stitch and Craft Show at London’s Olympia in 2009. We’ll be displaying layouts from our six winners so you can come along and see them all up close!

The latest printing technology from Canon
For the ultimate scrapbooking flexibility, a photo printer is a must-have item. Canon has generously offered each of our winners a SELPHY ES2 compact printer and consumables. The ES2 is just the right kind of printer for scrappers. You can print straight from your camera, making use of built-in features including image trimming, colour adjustment and red-eye removal. Better still is the Creative Print button that allows you to add clip art, frames and speech bubbles to your photos. You can see the full Canon printer range online at www.canon.co.uk or call 0844 3690 100 for information.

Essential tools from Prym
Crafting specialist Prym produces a host of tools and supplies and we’ve got a selection of the best for each of our winners. Each prize includes a craft knife, spare blades, two pairs of titanium scissors, pinking shears, a large foldaway cutting mat and a ruler. The top prize also includes a rotary cutter and blades, self-adhesive ribbon, rub-ons, rhinestones and a jumbo storage box to keep all your new kit in. To see Prym’s full range of tools and accessories visit www.coatscrafts.co.uk or call 01325 394 237.

Brilliant brands from Craft Superstore
With a huge selection of top brands, Craft Superstore is a must-visit. Its prize includes an All My Memories Tote-ally Cool Tote and Urban album, We R Memory Keepers designer ribbon, chipboard alphabet and eyelets, BasicGrey rub-ons and a pot of Prima flowers. The overall winner will receive this plus even more! See www.craftsuperstore.co.uk for the full range of scrapbooking and crafting treats, or call 0870 0842 225.

Lush new stash from Craftime and must-have reads from David & Charles
Craftime and David & Charles have teamed up to create a bumper prize of scrapbooking goodies and idea books. From David & Charles each winner will receive copies of Scraptastic, Rubber Stamper’s Bible, Scrapbook Page Maps and Simply Sensational Scrapbook Cards. From Craftime: citrus papers, monograms, flowers and brads by Hot Off the Press, plus a heavy-duty tag punch from McGill and a 12x12in album. Our overall winner will get all this plus a McGill Hang Tags punch, Hot Off the Press acrylic stamps, tags and pinwheel pockets, courtesy of Craftime, and a bookshelf-boosting bonus from David and Charles: Travel Scrapbooks, Embellished Emotions, Words for Every Occasion and Paint on Paper. For more details visit www.craftime.com and www.davidandcharles.co.uk, or for David & Charles you can also call 0870 990 8222.

Sweet Fancy Pants designs from Creative Expressions
There’s a gorgeous array of treats by Fancy Pants Designs on offer, courtesy of Creative Expressions: 12x12in ‘Doodles and things’ clear stamps and acrylic block, selection of ‘Celebrate’ papers, titles and tags, rub-ons and ribbons, ‘Sweet and pretty’ 12x12in felt, pins and buttons. Our top prize winner will also get acrylic stamps, ‘About a boy’ papers, titles, tags, rub-ons, ribbons and transparencies, ‘Simplicity’ papers, titles, tags, ribbons and rub-ons, 12x12in felt and chipboard plus pins and buttons. To see the Creative Expressions’ full craft range visit www.creative-expressions.uk.com or call 01536 481 778.

Inspirational papers and embellishments from Melissa Frances
Renowned for her soft pastel designs, Melissa Frances’ latest ranges, ‘Hush a’ bye’, ‘Thankful’ and ‘Ambiente’, do not disappoint! The ‘Thankful’ range includes papers and stickers addressing breast cancer; Melissa was inspired by her own battle with breast cancer to create them and all proceeds from sales of the range will be donated to charity. Each winner will receive a selection of papers, stickers, embellishments, stamps and tags, with some extra surprises for the overall winner. You can see details about the ranges and discover more about Melissa’s journey to recovery at www.melissafrances.com.

The deadline for all entries is midnight on Friday 22 August, so go and choose your six layouts and get sending. If you have any questions you can email me at the usual address, scrapbookinspirations@futurenet.com. Good luck!

In the September issue of ScrapBook inspirations we're featuring a layout by design team member Mary Anne Walters with an example of paint transfer. On the same layout Mary Anne also 'blended' photos and digital papers with great results. Here is Mary Anne's guide to getting the look.

"Freestyle" isn't a style usually associated with my layouts, but I wanted this one to be very free and playful. I have also been playing with an Adobe Photoshop technique for blending photos, in this case, a photo of Jack and some digital patterned paper. I liked how the photos looked in sequence, showing the steps to got to the final image, and the quote "I am a walking work of art" fit perfectly.

How to blend digital patterned papers with a digital photo:

1 Open your image in your photo-editing software.

2 Convert it to a high contrast B&W image. I also added a POSTERIZE filter to mine. You want strong highlights and shadows.

3 Open a piece of digital paper. Drag it onto your image - make sure the paper is over the image.

4 In Photoshop 7 click LAYERS>Layer Properties>Blending options>Hard Light

Here's the result:

The September issue (44) of ScrapBook inspirations is on sale Friday 22nd August.

In this issue you'll find...

* Wedding inspiration galore!
We've got a host of layouts celebrating the big day in the reader gallery, plus mini book ideas and photography tips to help you capture a unique record of a wedding

* Calling all ribbon-aholics!
Try our super-cute ideas for this stash-favourite

* Photo Safari mini book
Find out what Anita Mundt got up to on a weekend away with her camera

* Tempting shopping suggestions
Feast your eyes on our pick of the latest and greatest scrapbooking goodies

All this plus lots more - don't miss out!

Here's the second in my occasional series of scrappy interviews. Today I'm talking to Caroline Scattergood, scrapbooker and owner of the online shop Bubbly Funk.

Rosie: What was the first scrapbooking supply you ever bought?
Caroline: I can't remember specifically - it was so long ago! Although one of the first purchases was a set of 30 inks which I am still using. They are not very juicy now, but it makes them perfect for edging card and paper and chipboard!

Who is your favourite scrapbooker?
I don't have a favourite as such, although there are several I like and they all have different styles. One in particular whose style I like is Christine Middlecamp. I love how she layers paper and flowers on her projects and have definately got my love of semi-hiding lots of embellishments from looking though her blog at her work. Her work is definately one that inspires me. You can see her blog here.

What’s on your desk right now?
Oh gosh, its a right mess! Two Momiji dolls which my daughter bought me, a little tealight holder - not used yet, although I might when the nights draw in , some cod liver oil capsules - which even though they are right there in front of me, I do forget to take! A memo holder and pot of pens, wooden address box - looks nice, but don't use it as much as I should!, calculator, telephone, cold cuppa tea, and a lamp. Scraps of paper filled with messages and notes to myself. And a Breast Cancer Care pin which I am going to put on my bag. Plus a little cube of wood which I am thinking would be really good decorated as a dice.

Do you have a favourite colour combination?
Well, I am working with a lot of pink and black at the moment although I do like anything pink, very much. Looking through my work though, you will find some black and white contrasts creep in to almost everything I do!

A layout by Caroline featuring her trademark pink with black and white to contrast.

Close up on the delicious embellished detail.

What’s your scrapbook superhero skill?
I can whizz things through my Sizzix Big Shot in the blink of an eye, lol! Definately one of my favourite tools, I especially like to run chipboard through it.

Caroline also makes cards!

Thank you to Caroline for sharing her corner of the scrapping world. You can see lots more yummy projects on Caroline's blog, Pink Candy by Caroline.

Would you like to be interviewed for the blog? Or would you like to nominate someone for a scrappy interview? Let me know in the comments below!

In every issue of ScrapBook inspirations magazine we feature a gallery of some of the best reader layouts. This month we're looking for layouts on the following themes to appear in our December issue:

* Christmas Yep, it may be the height of summer but we're already thinking about Christmas. Send us your most festive pages - from the planning and preparation to the presents and the parties.

* Metallics We want to see your layouts which include metallic elements of some kind: glitter, paint, cardstock and embellishments - or even metal-themed photos if you have them! Show us what you've got.

Deadline for entries: 13 August 2008

How to submit your layouts
Email a digital image of your layout to our dedicated address sigallery@futurenet.co.uk. Remember to add your choice of theme to the subject line. All we ask is that your layouts are your own work and that you haven’t submitted them to any other magazine. ScrapBook inspirations does not accept layouts that have been published elsewhere, that are being considered for publication or have been entered in any competitions.

Layouts can be paper-based or digital and any size (12x12in, 8.5x11 etc). We will contact you to let you know if we want to publish your layout.

Please include the following details with your submissions
* About you: your name, address, daytime phone number and email

*About your layout: title of your layout, a few words to describe the story behind the photos and what inspired your design. Tell us about the techniques you used and your favourite products

* About your hobby: how long you’ve been scrapping and what inspired you to get started. Have you ever had any of your work published before? What’s your favourite product?

* Supplies: what supplies you used and where you got them from

If you want to submit by post, please send colour photocopies of your work to the following address (please do not send original work at this stage): Reader Gallery, ScrapBook inspirations, Future Publishing, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2BW

Please note: we can only accept submissions from scrapbookers in the UK