Beware of Dog! [Bad Dog!]

Details: If you have the great fortune to share your home with a canine companion...you may have many reasons to consider this particular layout. *grin* Alternative titles for pet-related projects are limitless: "Who's walking Who?", Bad Dog!, I love my Dog, Puppy Love, Chew Toy, Buy One Dog...Get one FLEA! (I could go on, but you could probably add more to this list than I can...I'm still stuck on BAD DOG!)

Children Color Your World [Bunnies]

Details: Alternative suggestions could include pages for Easter (coloring eggs), paintball, parenting humor (an alternative layout scan is provided for example), arts and crafts projects, hide and seek (games) and general family photos or mischief! With modified printable elements provided, rebel bunny could be contributed to "You're GROUNDED!" anecdotes, sibling rivalries, feeding toddlers/new foods, teenage angst, Grey Hairs/Hares are brought on by Parenthood, etc.

Baby Shower [New Parent / Pregnancy humor]

Details: Alternative titles or suggestions for these pieces could be limitless! Some of the babies could be used individually to create alternative pages celebrating a new addition to the family (baby holding up a title, clinging to page elements or surrounded by other pieces such as cribs, strollers, toys, blankets, etc)...Announcement cards, photos depicting play or attempts to walk/crawl...favorite foods (add splats and mess, give baby a high-chair to sit in!)...more than one baby could be made to appear "airborne" in a jolly jumper or frolicking in an exersaucer...Baby in a Christmas stocking (add red hat!)... the list goes ON and ON! There are far too many potential titles addressing this subject to contemplate listing them here, but there's a 6 page list of titles to download here in word document format if you can use it! (Files are available in PINK or BLUE.)

Busy As a Beaver [Beavers / Construction or Renovation humor]

Details: Alternative titles or suggestions for these pieces could include subjects which involve children's craft projects, family activities (Men at Work!), home renovation, decorating, construction, DIY projects and building or repair. Figurative uses could include self-improvement subjects, and in cardmaking projects, this might be particularly useful for families that have recently changed their address (new home announcements/ address changes).

I See Spots! [Giraffe]

Details: Alternative suggestions could include themes accommodating zoo pictures or a HUGE variety of figurative subjects! For anyone in the family prone to "stick their neck out" or to acknowledge a character trait which relates to this, the giraffe would be a particularly fun way to share a specific anecdote. Tall subjects in photographs might be compared literally to a giraffe, and if you're feeling particularly mischievous...for the teenager that eats you out of house and home...the giraffe is the ONLY safe thing to put on a fridge. (EVERYONE knows that it's not safe to eat food with spots on it. *snicker*) Alternative titles: "We BeLONG Together" (Romance, Friendship, Adoption or Anniversary pages/ cards), "I Look Up to You" (Father or Mother's Day cards or pages for parents) etc.

Hear Me Roar! [Tiger]

Details: Alternative suggestions could include themes accommodating sports pages, attitude, encouragement (greeting cards), parenting subjects (Mom is a Pussycat...or a TIGRESS!) ..."It's a Jungle around here"...or fun alternatives to acknowledge characterisms that pertain to certain individuals: "Don't Change your Stripes"..."The Meek May Inherit the Earth, but I'm Taking Charge of THIS little piece of Real Estate!" etc. You get the idea. *grin*

Horse Power Elements

Details: Alternative suggestions could include themes accommodating equine sports pages, 4H, auto restoration projects, new cars, racing, driving lessons, teen drivers, Piggy back rides from Dad? etc...anything incorporating speed in a figurative sense or horses in a literal respect!

Lobster Jacuzzi [Lobsters]

Details: Alternative suggestions for these pieces could include subjects which involve seafood meals, specific family challenges (medical issues, accidents, difficult career decisions---any circumstance that represents figurative "hot water"), hot-tub or jacuzzi pictures, sunburns (Looks like a lobster! ---or SPF..Sunscreen Prevents Fire!---Vacation cards), Bath/swimming, Is it HOT in here?! etc.

Housekeeper/ Zookeeper Mom [Zoo]

Details: Alternative suggestions could include titles such as "Goldilock's Couch" (Use Mom and the sleeping bear to suggest what's lurking in YOUR living room!), "Vacuum: an appliance that sucks and a job that pays peanuts!"...."Domestic Wildlife", Spring Cleaning, Never Bored..."What do we do for FUN around here?!" etc.

The Patriot [Military Dude]

Details: Additional titles or projects that might be useful with these pieces include 4th of July, USA, Support our Troops, Military themes, special occasions ....Independence day, We Salute you... What makes a patriot? Community spirit, volunteer work, etc.

No Cooties Allowed [Bugs]

Details: Alternative titles such as "Don't Bug Me!", Moving themes, Teenage bedrooms, spring cleaning, Get well soon (greeting cards), Heard you caught a bug! (germs!), kids in bath (shampoo & lather pictures!)...Flea control (pets!----Dog in bath?) etc.

Call Me Flipper [Turtles]

Details: Aside from the obvious projects acknowledging swimming lessons or water sports, these characters might be good for aquarium/zoo photos, specific pets, "Spot the Extrovert!" (outgoing personality is wearing a rocket, of course!), new drivers ("Stay off the Sidewalk!") and racing themes...adventurous spirits, "Out of your shell" or "Slow and steady" analogies, or incorporated with other characters to reference specific subjects (like tortoise/hare for relay race or a child's favorite story, or jet-propelled tortoise next to an angry snail: "Crazy driver!", etc.)

Wish you were here! [Beach Babes]

Details: Beach Babes: (ANY pictures--for example, scrap the characters in a "thought bubble" and use whatever photographs you have --shovelling snow?!--to indicate where you'd RATHER be!), "Best Friends", "Beach Babes", "Life's a Beach!", "Having a Ball!" (add beach ball), etc....for cards, these could be used to create "postcard" type greetings using a "Wish you were here" title, pool party invitations (add party hats and give the girls a pool to sit on instead of chairs!), etc... Birthday cards: "Birthdays are like bikinis...they're better when they're LITTLE!"

Teacher [School]

Details: Alternative suggestions could include titles such as School Rules, The Bus Stops Here, Teachers Count! (Greeting Cards for teacher, etc.), An Apple a Day...A Vowel will fill YOU up more than a consonant can! *grin*

Once Upon a Time / Wedding or General Family Albums [Frogs]

Details: Additional projects for frogs...."Time Flies", "Welcome to my pad!", "Don't BUG me!", "If I were a Frog, I'd eat everything that BUGS me!", "Hoppy" cliches (happy), Toad puns (Mistletoad...add Christmas hat, etc.) You get the idea! MANY elements here are interchangeable with other characters... (toadstools, cat-tails, etc can be mixed with other printable characters to create different pages) Instead of printing something like the cattails on white cardstock... printing on light green paper makes them more attractive once they're cut out. (Retain shading, but no messy white leftover edges and less work than using as a template.) This is a HUGE collection and features additional project designs and examples.

The downloaded pages are meant to be printed UNRESIZED on 8.5x11" sheets with the unprinted gutter trimmed off. What can you do with prints...? Scrapbook page elements, templates, greeting cards, craft projects, gifts, etc. Before cutting each piece out, if you prefer a sharply defined edge, consider using an acid free black marker to outline the pieces. For more dimension after cutting elements out, foam or glue dots may provide a little "lift" where desired. Printing particular pieces twice to "layer" elements with a pop-dot or foam tape also contributes to a more dimensional appearance. OR...prior to cutting, (if you're confident that your scissors are sharp enough and your hand will survive the effort..!) consider using an adhesive to glue the entire sheet to the back of a cardboard or chipboard sheet. (A cereal box might even do the trick!) A small black ink cube or STAZ-ON ink applied around the outside edge will finish off the "raw" edge nicely and add dimension. If you decide to print the title on a transparency, consider filling the lettering on the reverse side of the printed sheet so that the letters are opaque! I used a white opaque paint marker to do this, and was REALLY suprised by the result! It worked well and was a relatively simple way to achieve the look of a title on transparency without having background elements show through the printed piece. If you have never used crystal lacquer or diamond glaze before...it's also GREAT for "sealing" a printed image and adding dimension. Apply LIGHTLY to a printed sheet with a wide soft bristled brush. NOTE: this technique can also improve the appearance of printed elements so that the colors appear more similar to the original pieces! (If you print on Photo Paper, this is NOT recommended.) A bit of glitter or a metallic pen applied to specific areas can contribute to the appearance. Using colored lacquer, dimensional media, ink or embossing powder to add raised areas will also make elements more appealing! Downloadable / printable elements include an instruction text file and a sample layout (as shown above) for reference. Each character / element has been reproduced at full size. Additional elements which appear in the ORIGINAL listed collection but DO NOT appear here are not included. Characters and content included here are products of my own imagination.

Permissable Use (for downloaded material)