See it. Live it. Doc|u|ment it!

PSE Frame-Ups

OK, I have to share some more of my excitement about my digital class! If you have Photoshop Elements or CS version, you need to make sure you are taking full advantage of what it can do! I had a blah picture that really wasn't that photo album worthy, but now it's like a piece of scrapbooking heritage! I recolored the photo with adjustment layers, added 3 textures, and overlayed it with a frame (brush kit I purchased at DesignerDigitals.com). Take a look at the before and after:

 

Notice the gray skies, vehicle in the pic, and tire tracks? Plus, my subjects are far away!

 

Now it has character, the subjects are the focal point, the distractions are gone, and the textures and color changes make it look like it could be from any decade. Can't wait to get this printed and sent off to Grandpa! Just goes to show, maybe you have better photos to work with than you think! With a few minutes of digital playtime you can turn a so-so shot into a masterpiece! There are a few freebie tutorials at Jessica Sprague and DesignerDigitals that should keep you busy enough for a day of play! See what you can do. Post a comment with a link to anything you create and upload (to any online gallery you choose).

Wedding Layouts

Thought I'd post a few wedding layouts since I know it's wedding season! These I actually did for a customer. He wanted specific dates so his bride-to-be could add the photos later. You'll see on one layout I attached the date to a strip of acrylic, and attached the acrylic to the layout with ribbon at the sides. This way she can slip her photos behind the date! All the dates were cut with the Silhouette.

Layout 1 It doesn't translate in the photo, but I also added Stickles over the flourishes on the patterned paper(Creative Imaginations). The scalloped edge border was cut with a QuicKutz Border Die out of Doodlebug Sugared paper. There's also a closeup of the acrylic strip!

 

Layout 2 For this layout, I added some pearls to the pre-printed damask (Kaiser paper) and I went over the date title with Glossy Accents to give the letters an epoxy look. The back cardstock is Dotted Swiss by Bazzill. The large diecut is by Accucut. You can see the pearls and title in the close up shot!

 

 

Layout 3 The last layout has more sugared paper (QK Border die) and a dainty layered flower. I started with a Bazzill paper flower, added tulle, a patterned paper homemade flower, and a button. I tucked a couple Making Memories stick pins in there, too! The date is cut on the Silhouette from pearlized paper by Bazzill. You can see all the flower's detail in the zoom shot!

 

 

 

So, if I left off any details you need, like paper brand or technique tips, just leave a comment and I'll post an answer! In the meantime, love is in the air...

More Early Bird!

I wanted to make a layout with more of the Cosmo Cricket Early Bird collection (since I bought 2 of every sheet!) and came up with this one! I did my journaling on the computer using the Becky Higgins font. The chipboard numbers are from Maya Road and I painted them with Glimmer Mist. I cut some of the round flowers off the patterned paper to make my own diecuts. I also added a couple red & yellow velvet flowers from Maya Road. The aqua pearls are by Basic Grey. The cream colored brads are by SEI. As a final step I brushed a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink around the outer edge of the whole page. For my facing page I can put at least 4 pictures since this one only has 2, and I probably won't need to do any additional journaling on the facing page since I covered the whole who, what, when, where on this page! I like how my red smurf shirt matches the red in the patterned paper almost perfectly! This is another one of those layouts where opportunity and preparedness meet! And just a side note: I am 9 in these photos - the same age as sleepyhead in the last post! Ha! That was totally a coincidence!

My Sweet Sleepyhead!

I'm taking Jessica Sprague's photo editing class right now and I'm so excited! I've used Photoshop Elements for a few years, but never really got into using png files or masks. It's only day 1 and I've learned some new stuff...can't beat that! Today I learned how to drag frames and wordArt onto a picture. For my homework, I altered a picture of my baby (who happens to be 9 years old and weighs over 90 pounds...but still!) by adding a frame and some wordArt. Both png files are from my House of 3 Housewarming digital kit that I purchased a while back. Another effect I did was to blur the area outside of the frame and darken the contrast a bit.

Just a pointer to do the blurring: while my layers were still separate, I selected the layer with the frame. I clicked on Quick Selection Tool, clicked the box at the top for All Layers, then selected the area inside the frame opening. Then I went to Select-> Inverse and it changed my selection to everything but the frame opening. I hid the frame layer and added the blur filter and the reduced contrast.

If you haven't checked out Jessica Sprague's website and you want to know how to use Photoshop Elements or the complete suite, you need to boogie on over there! She is the master!

1 Shape 3 Ways

Thought I'd do a post about one of the new Silhouette Digital Download Shapes! I picked the tattoo_1867 that was released last week, and I'm going to use it 3 ways. Hopefully it will get you Silhouette owners to go cut some shapes and play with your machines!

First, I used it on a card. I resized it to be the same height as my card base. For the mat, I trimmed some of the mat away to match the tattoo lines. For the pattern on the mat, I layed the diecut facedown on the mat and inked over it with Distress Ink. After adhering the mat and diecut to the card, I added some Stickles (Vintage Photo shade) along the curves of the diecut. I also inked around the edges of the card with Vintage Photo Distress Ink on an Ink Blending pad. The crown diecut is by Making Memories. The stamped sentiment is from Stampin' Up (stamped with Faded Jeans Distress Ink).

 

Next, I used the tattoo diecut on a layout. Other shapes featured in the layout are the QuicKutz tattoo art set and the Frankie alphabet. The tab is a Marvy punch. I spritzed the tattoo diecut with some Glimmer Mist, too, to help it shimmer and stand out more. I traced the outer edges of the diecut with black journal pen to make the edges stand out more over the busy graffiti background.

 

 

The last way I used the same tattoo shape was as a mask on a layout. I decided to use some old pictures from when we were stationed in Hawaii! The patterned paper is by Rusty Pickle but probably not available anywhere anymore. Other diecuts on the layout are the tropical flower by QuicKutz available as a 2x2 die and as a digital download. I cut the tattoo and attached it to the edge of the layout's page with repositionable adhesive. I spritzed it with Glimmer Mist and then removed the diecut. Once the mist dried, I just rubbed the adhesive away. I added some dots of Stickles and a few Basic Grey pearls amidst the curves of the void left by the diecut, then added my patterned paper and photos. The font on the journal strip is called Hawaii Killer and it's free at dafont.com.

 

 

 

It's actually a 2-page layout, so here's a close-up of the mask on the second page! Anyway, hope your Independence Day weekends have been a blast! Now go play with your diecuts and see what kind of fun techniques you can invent on your pages and cards!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Finished a layout mixing Karen Foster's pink & black zebra print and Glitz Designs black & white grunge zebra print. For the title I cut a phrase cluster with my QuicKutz Silhouette. I couldn't match the pink perfectly with regular cardstock, but the backside of Bazzill Bling in Diva was right on! To spruce up my plain-jane photo mat, I added a QK damask shape on the lower edge. The idea for the sketch was part of the July Page Maps from Becky Fleck's blog.

 

 

For dimension and just plain girliness, I looped some sheer ribbon around the photo and secured a few extra versions of the ribbon with a small, pearled stick pin. Journaling with a white Signo pen completed the project!

Repurposing My Starbucks Cup

I'm so glad I finally got to make this little dandy! I saw one somewhere online and I've been itching to do my own version. "kellerstamps" wherever you are - thanks for the inspiring idea!

 

I cut out the bottom of the cup, flattened it, and sewed up the sides. I used the cup cozy to make dirt layers. The diecuts are all from QuicKutz: flip flop 2x2 shape and the Reuse Spring Set. The 3 cards that insert into the cup say different things and feature more Reuse die shapes, but they all center around the theme "Together we make a difference."

 

It didn't show up in the picture, but the woodgrain card has a cute little squirrel on it, too! The final project will fet nicely in a 5x7 envelope in case I need to mail it. I used the "tall" sized cup from Starbucks. I created cloud shaped masks and attached them repositionable adhesive before inking my "sky" on the cup, then took off the masks and rubbed away the adhesive dots. The patterned paper is by BoBunny, the solid cardstock is by Bazzill. Comment if you have any questions! I think this will be a great idea to use at Christmas with a giftcard enclosed!

Welcome to Nesting Dies

Time to chat about one of my favorite products: QuicKutz Nesting Dies! I made this fun little Welcome sign using Basic Grey's Wisteria papers and 2 different nesting die sets. The base shape and its outline are part of the Nesting Label set. The flowers are made from 3 sizes of the Nesting Flower set.

 

To make the flowers, fold the scalloped circle in half, open it, fold it in half the other way, and open it. The backside looks like a plus sign. Now make a circle with your left hand - bring thumb and pointer finger together. Push your flower piece down into the the left-hand circle you just made and once the paper is in - squeeze it together on all sides. It reminds me of folding up one of those little drink umbrellas! Next - pinch and twist the tip (which used to be the center of the diecut) and hold onto it as you open the flower back up.

On my project I layered a couple sizes and wrapped a floral stem leaf around the middle. I secured buttons to the flower centers with Glue Dots. I stamped Welcome with the Heidi Swapp alphabet set and added Glossy Accents for dimension. The ribbon runs through eyelets and now I can hang it anywhere!

So what kind of projects do you make with your Nesting Die Sets? Leave a comment and let me know!

Summer Fun Layout

I was playing with the new BoBunny papers and conjured up something sweet! I had these two lone pictures from a Youth Group trip and now I've finally found a home for them in my scrapbook album! I took one piece of patterned paper, one piece of solid paper, and a bunch of scrap pieces of solid to create the layout. Then I dug through my odds and ends to find a few buttons and the little felt words to accent the layout. Luckily we have an Accucut flower die that looks like it was made for this paper!

 

The journal spot was created with the QuicKutz Nesting Label die set. Flowers that were too small to give centers got a dab of Glossy Accents instead! To make the leaves pop, I folded them in half, inked the outer edges and the fold line, then put a foam dot behind the fold before tacking down. The white ribbon is literally a scrap from the end of a roll. I tried to sew it down, but my machine broke (and almost mangled my page - eek!) so I used a lot of ScoreTape to keep it in place. I like the generic titles so I could have put any type of photos on the layout. Here's some close-ups:

 

Mixing Techniques: Diecuts and Inking

I've been watching the videos for Jennifer McGuire's Thinking Inking class and I decided to try some of the fun Distress Ink techniques out! I cut several butterflies from patterned paper and QK chipboard and tried a few variations on each one. I inked from the outside in using Ranger Distress Ink and the foam blender. Then I stamped swirls with Versa Mark ink and tapped a little Pearl powder over them. I used my Ranger Mini Mister to create a watercolor effect on one! With a little crinkling they look just like the pre-made embellishments that Prima sells! I also did some journaling on the computer for the layout (I hardly bother with computer journaling!) and used a Page Maps sketch to pull it all together.

 

The diecut paper on the left margin is by KI Memories. I tucked some paper behind a few openings and set a brad through other openings. The fabric & jewel flowers are by Prima (they are so good, those Prima people!). I used two fonts for the title: Sophisticate and Chocolate (both dies by QuicKutz). I used foam dots behind some of the butterfly wings so they wouldn't get squashed in the album. Here's a couple close-ups:

 

OK, your turn now! Go play with your inks and your diecuts and see what kind of fun project you can create!