As much as we don’t want our enlisted loved ones to be deployed and leave us, it’s a very different world that we live in today as opposed to the Korean War, Vietnam and even Desert Storm. With the helping hand of technology we are looking at and speaking to our family members via Skype instead of waiting weeks for a reel-to-reel or a Polaroid. As documenters of our family history we feel it’s our job to record the experiences of...
Read MoreA really fun technique: making a gatefold. I mostly use this technique for the cover of mini books, but it can be used any way you choose. Today, I am using it to create a fun invitation to a Vintage Tea Party...
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by Denise Gormish
One of the advantages of digital scrapbooking is the ability to recolor any item. Brushes, alphabets, images, text, paper and word art can all be colored easily. There are several methods for coloring a digital item.
Lower the Opacity. By reducing the opacity of the item, you can get a subtler and lighter shade. The color will lighten as it is reduced. If you will be reducing the opacity a lot, layer a white background under the item you are changing. If you do not, it will get lost in whatever item is below it. I liked a certain patterned paper for my layout, “Babies,” but it was too dark. I lowered the opacity to 34% to get the more pink effect that I wanted.
Clip to Digital Cardstock or Patterned Paper. Clipping a paper in the desired color and/or pattern to your item will easily change its color. The item can be anything but remember it will change the whole item to the color of the paper. Thus, it is more useful for stamps and other images that are one color. In my layout, “Lucky Traveler,” the background featured two sets of stamps. I made a copy of the stamp, giving me two versions – the original and the copy. For the original stamp I clipped the purple paper to it. The copied stamp was placed on top of the purple paper layer and I clipped the orange paper to it. At this point the top layer (the orange one) shows through and the purple can’t be seen. Using the eraser tool I erased the orange from where ever I wanted the purple to be visible. To clip the paper to the stamp, I placed the cardstock paper above the stamp and I did Layer-Create Clipping Mask.
Fill in the Area. You can fill in a border, text, frame, etc. with the “color fill” command. To use “color fill” select the magic wand. Make sure you are on the layer you want to work with and then select the area to be changed with the magic wand. That area will appear with marching ants around it. Choose Layer – New Fill Layer – Solid Color. Name the layer, then choose the color. It will fill in the area with your new color. In my layout, “FreeSpirit,” I wanted to change the color of the sticker. I made new color fill layers to make the title red and the birds and flowers blue-green.
Create Multiple Layers. Any of these techniques can be used more than once and/or in tandem with one another to color an area of the layout. Feel free to use whichever method works best for the item you wish to color.
Personalize your layout by changing the colors to suit your needs. Take advantage of these methods to give your pages the best look.
Supplies for DesignerDigitals:
- Katie Pertiet: Scrubbed Layered Template,Watery Wings Brushes and Stamps, Little Shores Kit brads, Little Princess Element Pack, Fine Lines Border Lines Brushes and Stamps No. 04, Freespirit Layered Template, Snow Fun Kit, Digital Date Stamps Vol. 01, Tabbed Brushes and Stamps No. 03, Holiday Word Strips, Snow Pushers Paper Pack, Drop Shadow Styles Collection, Lucky Layered Template, Tabbed Dates Brushes and Stamps, Classic Cardstock: Spring
- Michelle Martin: Siri Paper Pack, Siri Solids Paper Pack, Janine Solids Paper Pack, Carissa Solids Paper Pack , Love, Peace and Happiness Solids Paper Pack
- Jesse Edwards: Flying South Brushes and Stamps
- Anna Aspnes: SnowSpray No. 01 BrushSet
- Pattie Knox: Felty Flakes No. 02
by Jeanette Giancaspro
Are you tired of making the same old standard-sized cards again and again? Get yourself theUltimate Crafter’s Companion, and you’ll be able to create some of the most eye-popping cards you’ve ever seen. Follow the easy steps in the manual, and you’ll never make a plain card again.
This is a pop-out card that I made for a dear friend for Mother’s Day. Following the directions on page 9 in the manual, I started with two sheets of 8 ½” x 11” cardstock. I used solid cardstock and added layers of patterned paper to the front and inside. To create the hanging focal image inside, I sandwiched a piece of nylon fishing line between two identical punched shapes. Then I secured it behind the top crease with a piece of tape, making sure that it didn’t extend beyond the edges of the folded card.
I made this accordion card for an adorable two-year-old girl’s birthday. Following the directions on page 4 in the manual, I began with a sheet of cardstock that measured 4 ¼” x 11”. After creating the base of the card, I used the embossing design on the board and cut out a scalloped border. Finally, I inked all of the edges with pink pigment ink. This card is quite easy; and you can decorate it with die cuts, patterned paper, or just about anything else you’d like. This type of card also makes a wonderful gift-card holder. Simply adhere the front and middle panels together, leaving the top end open, and this will create a pocket that is just the right size for the gift card.
These are only two of the many different styles of cards, boxes, and envelopes that you can design with the Ultimate Crafter’s Companion. With this all-in-one crafting tool, never again will you be limited to single-fold, standard-sized cards.
May All Your Holiday Wishes Come True:
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Share the Joy of the Season
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Joy Instructions: Season’s Greetings
Merry Christmas
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Article Courtesy of Scrapjazz.com: by Robyn Ricks
I looked up the word “scrapbook” in Webster’s dictionary and this is the definition I found: “a blank book in which miscellaneous items (such as newspaper clippings or pictures) are collected and preserved.”
From a scrapbooker’s perspective, a better definition of the word scrapbook might be’ “a blank book in which precious memories (such as pictures, sentiments, traditions, etc.) are collected and preserved for future generations.”
Although recording pictures, dates, and places is the essence of scrapbooking, I think we would all agree that scrapbooks should be much more! Here are some ideas to help make your family related albums and layouts more meaningful.
FAMILY ALBUM IDEAS
Family Traits – Feature family members and write about their specific traits and how they compare to other family members.
Family Traditions - Write about family traditions,how they were started and by whom. Include pictures of family members participating in these traditions.
Immediate Family Tree - Feature layouts about each member of the family and their likes, dislikes, favorite things, etc.
Extended Family Tree - Showcase pictures and short bios of individual family members.
Family Recipes - Record favorite family recipes
Family Vacations - Document family vacations. Have each family member list their top 5 things done or places visited during each vacation.
Family Stories - Document family-related stories.
Family Reunion - Feature pictures and memories from family reunions.
FAMILY LAYOUT IDEAS
Letters - Write a letter to each individual family member. Express why that person is important to you.
Generation Photo - Showcase a photograph with multiple generations present.
Interviews - Interview family members. Ask a variety of questions and record their answers.
Stories - Feature stories that your children have told.
Family Portraits – Showcase a family portrait and write about why your family is important, what your family means to you, or what makes your family special.
Children’s Layouts - Allow your child to journal his/her own feelings and experiences.
Get inspired for the holidays with Jenni Bowlin’s new Vintage Holiday Chipboard Buttons!
Doris Sander, one of our design team members, created this charming Christmas tree and these delightful pumpkins and found the cute new buttons to be the perfect finishing touch.
A tutorial for the Christmas tree can be found HERE.
The pumkins and leaves she just sketched and cut. The pumpkin bases were cut out of JBS Coredinations cardstock and then painted and stitched for a folk art detail.
Hi There, my Crate Paper friends, Mou Saha here with today’s tutorial.
I know that you are big fans of Crate Paper just like me and probably save even the teeny tiny scraps of Crate’s patterned papers..I do, ’cause I don’t have the heart to toss them! I even keep the border strips with Crate’s name on it..you know, the strips that you trim off to make your paper a perfect 12 x 12..but, what do you do with the pile of small scraps?
Let me share with you, one simply that I created mainly out of table scraps of my favorite collection: Restoration.
I enjoy creating simple clean designs. Yet, I love the layered look which I try to create in a subtle way. This layout is no exception. Because there is little to explain in terms of technique, let me just walk you through my steps.
Project Supplies:
- Cardstock (Recollections)
- Patterned Papers & Chipboard Accents (Restoration Collection)
- Jewelry Tag Punch (Stampin’ Up!)
- Distress Ink (Ranger)
- Pen
- Adhesive
I made this flower by layering the red floral button chipboard onto the pink doily chipboard, with a
little circle cut from the Refinish paper that I fringed with scissors and curled with my fingers, in between.
To me, the story behind a layout is very important, so journaling makes a vital part of my layout. I used the jewelry tags (it’s actually a cute little punch from Stampin’ Up!) to record place and date the picture was taken. I used a fine tip black marker to journal above the photo. I added another jewelry tag at the bottom left corner of the photo to write the names.
I’m loving the layered chipboard accents from this collection and used the tiny photo corners to embellish the photo.
And, last but not the least, is the title. This time it was easy.
See what I mean? Well, here is my finished layout done mostly with table scraps. I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and will look at your scraps a little differently from now on.
Happy rest of the Summer!
Want a super quickie layout that looks like you fussed for hours getting it right? Cut FOUR- 5” x 7” pieces of complimentary patterned papers and lay them out similar to this on a cardstock background…Tack them in place when you’re happy with they way they’re arranged and then go to town with Bella’s fun Sunny Happy Skies papers, stickers, Blooms and your summer photos!
It’s a fun, colorful layout full of textures and patterns.
Be sure and vary the size of the patterns to add interest! Have fun with this little idea…I’ve used it lots taught it in classes and folks seem to think it’s totally doable!
Hello there! Michelle Lanning here to share with you a little back to school homework box. I know, I can’t believe it either. School is right around the corner and I thought that putting this box together for my daughter would be a great way to start off the year. I hope you like it!
For this Project you will need:
- Box
- School Spirit Line Pattern Paper & Embellishments
- Glue
- Double Sided Tape
- Alpha Letters for the top
- School Supplies
- Decorative Tape for finishing the edges
We have a rule in our house that homework must be finished before any playing or television is put on. Being a teacher I try to practice what I preach and made a little homework box that has everything she should need when completing her homework. That way there is no getting up from the table and searching for things. It wastes precious time and allows her to lose her focus. Last year, I made my daughter a basket with all her supplies, but there would be times when things would fall out, misplaced, etc. So when I found this box over at Michael’s at 50% off I knew it would make a perfect homework box.
As you can see it is a decent sized box that can be filled nicely with all her supplies. I made sure to pick a box that had a color inside that would be useable with the School Spirit line. I started by covering the top of the box first. I simply traced the top and the back so I could cut it out in one piece.
To make sure that the folds were crisp I placed it along the top and made marks where the lines of the box were. Then with my bone folder I creased in these areas so there was a nice crisp edge.
That was probably the trickiest part to the box. The bottom was simple since they are triangular shapes. You just need to mark off where they need to be cut and that’s it! Super Easy!
The next part was embellishing! The fun part, right?!
I just added some embellishments to the top as well as the tab where the box opens. I used one of the layered chipboard pieces.
Of course, I couldn’t leave it alone and decided to spruce up the supplies I have bought her. Although my daughter has a tub full of crayons, I like for her to have her “homework” crayons as well. Glue (that I know won’t last long but for now it’s super cute), scissors (almost forgot to add), pencils, sharpener, erasers. And then of course the teacher in me knows that she’ll need a ring of index cards for her sight words. I spruced up the front and will add the words as she progresses through the year.
I hope you liked this. I’m saving it for the first day homework as a surprise to my daughter and I know she’ll think it’s “so cool”! Ha, ha. It’s definitely a life saving tip when you have so many things to do in the evenings AND get homework done. This will make your life a little easier!