I'm a total n00b at this. Where do you get the template for the scrapbook layouts? Or do we have to make it ourselves?

try myscrapnook.com

Im gonna try and Redo my scapbook page and try and resize it right then and see if that works..ill keep you posted on my progress

You are supposed to make it yourself. This contest is about design and image editing, but there is nothing that says you can't use a template. I do highly recommend you look at scrapbook pages and come up with an idea based off what you see. You can start with using a template and evolve your skills over the rounds if you don't feel ready to do it by yourself first. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Olynicole, try to start with the right size image opposed to resizing it afterwards. That way you will keep your image quality.

Would everyone else considering putting a link to the contest into their signatures? We really need more people to join.
Use this: http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=475093

All right. I'll try.

By the way, can you elaborate about the picture sizes? How big is the photo supposed to be, as opposed to the scrapbook page itself?

This book was given as a gift to Jessie and Adelle by maid of honor Kendra, for the couple to create a memory book of their life as a married couple - however long that may be! :lovestruc

Application Round:



Round 1: Wedding
"Dear Jessie and Adelle,
To you in celebration of your wedding, may your day be filled with joy, laughter and sunshine.
I give you this book as a way to keep track of your life together, because you will surely want
to cherish these next few milestones in years to come, however stressful they may seem at
the time! Enjoy your day and may God be with you.

Love, Kendra"



Round 2: First Baby

"Delilah Cassidy Pree, born March 2nd 2013 at 2:17pm at George Washington University Hospital to Jessie and Adelle Pree, 7 pounds 4 ounces in weight and 19 inches in length"



Round 3: Vacation

"Welcome to Colorado! We at Frisco Lodge know the stresses that life can bring, so we aim to make sure you have as relaxing a stay as possible and offer the very best facilities we can. We do hope your vacation is a pleasant one, and if you have any requests please do not hesitate to let us know."

vhanster, I've placed no restrictions on the size limits of the photos themselves. I have made the page large enough though that most people's sim camera settings will take a photo that will fill a good bit of the middle, or your could place two images on a page (not for the cover though, one looks better here). The scrapbook page needs to be at least 954 square. You may go wider to add binding, and you can make the image file as large as 1024 by 1024 if you want to add white space around it so as to not cut off 3D elements (like I did with my bow). 1024 is the largest we can attach and upload at MTS, so thats where that came from.

Kisses, that is beautiful! We have our fifth contestant, the Pree Family. It's a little too small though, and it needs to be attached here. I'm going to add your name to the list, can you fix up your post for me?

We are officially half way there now! Keep them coming!

It's up to Phae if she will allow multiple entries for contestants. As she mentioned, you would need to be able to complete all the work without needing extensions or otherwise being unable to finish without extra accommodations.

However, I do not think counting second entries as part of the ten would be best. The contest will need to have ten different contestants and then, if allowed by Phaenoh, contestants could enter multiple times.

Thank you heaven, beeps also PMed me.
It sounds like a double entries won't help us, and they will really only hurt the contestants, so I'm going to say no. No one is locked into their application until they submit for Round 1 though, so if you want to change or edit or completely switch gears, go ahead. I think that's actually what leah was asking about.

I can, but I'm really not active in the forums, so...probably wouldn't do any good. I posted about it on FB, but I don't have any friends that are MTS members, and I think most play 3 only now. (I still go back and forth, but my 2 is a bit unstable, that's why I opted to judge)

*EDIT* I added it to my signature, I was forgetting that my signature is on uploads too.

Phae, I dunno if you saw this in chat; I would be absolutely honoured to judge, but I've not done scrapbooking since I was a kid, so I haven't got anything to submit as a "judge application", and I can't guarantee that I'll have enough time to make something up before the applications round is over. So, it's up to you whether you want to go for more qualified judges, or drop me in as EJ, or whatever.

white, we'd be honored to have you. *I* know you are qualified to judge, you've been judging my work for years! If you get us some reference photos by Sunday that would be nice, but don't worry about it if you can't. Do them when you can. Contests shouldn't be stressful things, I really don't want this to be like that.

Thank you to everyone sticking the link in their signatures and facebooks and twitters and whatnots; it would be a shame not to see this contest take off. I'm betting you are all looking forward to it as much as I am.

Oh no. I, the typo queen flunked fingerpainting in kinniegarden. However, I intend to cheat using photoshop.

Aaaah having some issues with resizing the image! I used a template on Mixbook and they don't let you preview it in full size mode Serves me right for using it in the first place!! No worries I will make a new one and upload it soon as xxx

One of the things about the image size, once you have one that works (your application) you can easily work from that image to create the rest of your pages and you know they will be right. That's kinda why I'm pushing for people to fix stuff now, so we don't have to go through this each round.

porkypine, that's not cheating. Photoshop is what I'm using and its kinda the point of the contest. Cheating is when you find an online scrapbook automatic thingy and just submit what it spits out for you. Points won't be taken off for that specifically, but we could totally nail you for not having a design that relates well, or just isn't suck. Can't wait to see what you come up with!

ahahaha.. 'sweetheart sims'.. ol. Reminded me of 4th grade. Me and Jose - 4th grade 'love'. He'd grin, slug me on the arm and run away. I'd chase him and slug him back and laugh and run away, He'd chase me again and slug my arm. That happened all spring semester during recess. (Thank gooodness that stopped after 4th grade. It isn't a good romance model for adulthood! lol) and, after, 4th grade all the excitement went out of that romance and we never progressed to more adult versions of romance. or else, we just were exhausted from chasing each other all that spring.

Now, you KNOW I'll have to make a scrapbook using this idea! That 4th grade 'love' picture will be the image on the Sim family scrapbook. I don't know what the family name will be as of yet, I have to disguise the names to protect the guilty. Ah! Title logo - Spring Fever!...... not sure of the family's name yet.

p.s. I finally got a new computer and all my software and games installed so I better not have any hardware problems like I was plagued with in the last few years on the old machine.

P.S. I have a question on the binding for every the inside pages. Normally you would not see the binding on the inside pages. Why are we including it in our scrapbook pages? For continuity? confuzeled...

oh Phae i think i'll keep my entry the way it is after all

porky, it really depends on the kind of binding you use. My book will just show binding shadows on the inside pages, but a spiral bound book will show the spirals on each page. Some ribbon binding shows on each page as well. It just depends on what you choose to use. See my photos of my actual scrapbooks, you can see the binding on the second one.

leah, sounds fine to me, I think its pretty already. You do have a BUNCH of family members though, it seemed a bit intimidating.

Does anyone want me to create a blank page template so they get the image sizes right to start off with? I'll go ahead and do that.

Edit: I've attached your two different image sizes. Your scrapbook page is the blue area, and if you have 3D elements that are partially off the page, you can use the 3D version. Please don't submit a page with this exact color if you are using my template. You should use a color that works for your book. Your application page should be a little wider though, to include binding area.

Family Name = Machado
Spring Fever = Our active life together





Our Honeymoon was such an adventure! I had to post some pictures!





We went to Playland by the Sea for our vacation!


Happy Halloween!


It's a triple birthday!


School Days!


It's a PROM!


Finally! Graduation!

And we have our 6th contestant, porkypine! Cute photo! If you are using Photoshop, there is a Save for Web option that seriously shrinks the file size. And when you are clicking Save As, a dialog box pops up asking for the quality and it tells you how many kbs each option is, go for the highest one under 250kb. I've uploaded images under as low as Medium-5 and its still be decent enough. Please attach the image to the post when you get it shrunk down. MYP deletes things periodically

As far as the fasteners and stuff goes, usually finding a good quality photo taken from the top down on google isn't that hard to come by and it doesn't take much tweaking to get it to look right. And OMG those stars, pass the eye bleach please? Kiding, they aren't quite that bright. Anyone else who feels rather shaky with their image programs, this contest will give you the chance to get better and explore them. I personally learned how to Photoshop by making stuff for MTS. Later my classmates eventually caught up with me and we've since surpassed those levels (hand painted shadows!!) But I owe my start to MTS. That's kinda one of the reasons for me hosting this contest, pay it forward? Anyways, keep the coming everyone! We've passed the halfway mark. We need 4 more in 3 days - can we do it!?

Well, vhanster said they'd give it a try, so that would only leave 3 more... Here's hoping we get them! If we get all 10, do we need the EJ to proceed? Or can we go on with just the 3?

Aw! And here I went and HAND PAINTED that texture and it took a LONG TIME!! I told you I was no good at finger-painting. Making meshes and modeling vertices! I am very good at that spatial type stuff. painting.. - meh.

I request that we extend the application join date by one week because I only found out about this yesterday. It will allow people to find the contest. It's a good contest idea and I hope to learn more about photoshop doing the contest.

p.s. I DO NOT expect to win. and Thank you for the saving tip! I shall upload it tonight when I get home.

I'm not going to close the application round until Round 1 is over as well, but if we don't get 4 more people within the next 3 days, we won't get to have a Round 1 at all, forum rules (yeah I'm a moderator, but not in this area, so I don't get special treatment) Please, everyone, if you want to enter but don't feel you can do anything decent within the next couple of days, throw something together quickly. You are not being judged on it and you can always fix it later.

lol. I changed my siggy. Hopefully people will notice.

I realize you're very anti-3, Phae, but maybe you should have made it for either game. Might have been easier to get more entries. Oh, well. Here's hoping we get enough. I'm really excited about this one! I had originally thought about entering, but my 2 is a lil testy sometimes, and I didn't want it to not work right halfway through I may play along on my own though