Scrapbooking Tip #6 Matte & Mat

I've been stingy with these tips! I have to remember to get some more together. Here's one I thought of the other night while making this layout: Matte & Mats. I print all of my pictures through online sites (Snapfish, Kodak, etc) and when I order them I make sure to get them in matte finish. (Hey, when one of your good friends is a professional photographer, you occasionally pick up a good tip or two, thanks Melissa!) Glossy is way too shiny while matte gives a great look to my layouts.
As for mats, I never just place a photo on a page... I always mat it to give it definition within a page. The mats can be multi-layered or single but, to me, they are 100% necessary.

As you can see, this one made it to my "Wall of Fame"

Scrapbooking Tip 6 1/2: Scraplift! I have a subscription to "Creating Keepsakes" and they have many great ideas. I have a certain look & style but often times this leaves me in a scrapping rut. By looking at other people's layouts, you can get new and exciting ideas. I "scraplifted" the idea of the diamonds on this page from a layout I saw by Elizabeth Kartchner, CK's Scrapbooker of the Year (hey, if you're going to scraplift, you better take from the best). I love this layout because it allowed me to use some of my small scraps that usually just gather dust in my drawer. Guess that would count as another scrap tip.... use your scraps!!!!