Digital Scrapbooking

I have spent so many years being all 'touch, feely' with all of my paper products and stickers that it was a really tough transition for me over to the digital side.  I really did fight it off like the plague and looked upon those who embraced this hobby as 'not being creative' or 'taking the easy way out' of what I consider to be hard work  (not to mention the man hours involved).  I was very naive, what more can I say?  Still, I wanted nothing to do with it.  Then the inevitable happened.  I came across a photo that I absolutely adored; you know, the perfect pose, perfect smile kind of photo?  Only problem was the lighting and a big fat tree causing a huge shadow on those precious faces.  I knew I was stuck and going digital was the only way out.  Little did I know, that would be the start of an amazing journey of education, self-discovery, and a sense of accomplishment.  I am far from mastering any program or technique but I haven't stopped learning or growing.  Its amazing how good you can feel when you step out and really try something new and then keep at it and keep at it.  

For those of you new to this hobby or frustrated, please don't give up.  I still want to throw my mouse through the computer screen on some days, but I know that the frustration eventually turns into reward.  

I just wanted to send a little encouragement your way.  And share just a little piece of what 'elements' can really do.

Valentine Photo Frame

As my profile says, I have a hubby who travels ALOT for his job.  He misses many a birthday and special occasion because of it.  This year is no exception.  He is overseas right now and will be missing Valentines Day.  I know its not necessarily a major holiday but its still time away from the family.  I try and do what I can to keep our relationship front and center, even with the thousands of miles between us.


I don't know about you, but I always seem to have these little wooden dollar frames from michaels hanging around my house. I wanted to use one to showcase me and my hubby this V-day.  We were very fortunate to go to Jamaica kid free about a year and a half ago.  While there, I convinced my white knuckled man to go zip-lining with me.  My husband hates anything where he is not in control so this was B-I-G, and most certainly memorable (and monumental on his part). I couldn't think of a better picture of what love is than doing something you are afraid of or incredibly uncomfortable with just to please your spouse. (insert the cheesy aww's here, I know) Here is the final Result:

Supplies:  Wooden frame from Michael's
                2 Sheets scrapbook paper plus word art
                Mod Podge
                2 different colored pieces of felt
                Scissors, heart punch or cricut cartridge
             
I wish I could take credit for the tutorial on the flowers, but I can't.  You can find detailed directions for these rolled flowers here.  I used mod podge to glue the paper down onto the frame and also to seal it with a top coat.  Once dry I added the embellishments.  Easy peasy.  One little hint about the frames.  When you buy them, they come with a cardboard piece in the middle with the dimensions on it.  DO NOT throw that piece away.  It is perfect to add stability and backing to whatever picture you decide to frame.  That's about it.  Now go and display your crafted glory!

Valentine Gifts for Teachers

I really do try to remember my children's teachers, especially around any holiday.  They work so hard for our kids and are not given enough credit for the work that they do.  I've been on a mission these last few days to search for projects that could be made for them without breaking the bank, yet still personalized and special.  Here are some of the ideas I have found:

Valentine Fortune Cookies

Heart Shaped Soap

Decorated Candy Bar Wrappers

Decorative Hanging Cone

Now it's just a matter of collecting the supplies and getting a move on.  What are your suggestions for teacher gifts this upcoming Valentines Day?









Digital Scrapbooking Sites

 

Since I have already shared some of my digital scrapbooking pages with you (this one being my hubby and I), I wanted to give you some site ideas to help jump start your own and get you shopping.  Now that Christmas is over, the pictures are taken/developed, and Valentines Day is just around the corner, these pages/kits/albums would make great gifts for yourself or others.  My choices have been made by looking at quality and detail in design, variety, color, and having a multitude of package options.  Having more options is a must as I don't always want to buy a whole kit when a quick page will do.  Or, if I want to use a new alphabet or learn a new action, I want to be able to do purchase them separately and stretch my money farther. So, here goes:

Scrapbookgraphics

Pickleberry Pop

Designer digitals

The photo above is just a sample of what you can do (for your sweetie or whoever) with just a quick page purchase and two or three added elements.  I know I have stressed this before but, quick pages are the perfect option if you are a newbie tackling this hobby or if you want to finish a project on the fly (or are impatient, like myself).  Have fun.  There is no right or wrong here and its sooo much easier than you may think.

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Gingerbread Lollipop Bucket

I know this is going to come out wrong but here goes:  We are not putting up a tree for Christmas.  It's not that I dont want one, really I do.  But, we are headed up north for the holidays for a few weeks and I will be decorating THAT tree and two is just tooo much.  Especially if I can't really enjoy them both.

So, instead of pulling out all of my holiday decorations that I would normally do, I have been making smaller items to place around the house to continue to keep me in the holiday spirit until we leave. 

I love making anything with these crazy fan folds and this was the perfect opportunity to utilize them.  What's not to love? 

The bells came from the dollar store in a pack of 9.  All of the paper came from the same paper pack (I love getting more bang for my buck.) I stuffed the bucket with polyfil to make it look like snow.  There is no snow in sunny Florida so I will make-shift it any way that I can.

I used shish-ka-bob sticks for these 'lollipops' and kept them their natural color.  I didn't want to take anything away from the gingerbread men as the stars.  And the bucket had enough color on it on its own.

So, there you have it.  Just one of many quick, simple, frugal holiday decorations for the home.

Handmade Holidays: Gift Tags

One of the easiest projects to give your gifts a personal touch is the gift tag itself.  There are sooo many ways to make them.  I just so happened to have a paper pack that included them with the stack.  But, I didn't want to just cut them out and put them on a package.  I wanted to give them life and dimension.  I want them to really stick out.

For few of them, I chose to cut up other pictures in the paper stack to add that dimension with foam tape.

Others I chose to use my cricut to cut out additional shapes.

On others I added stickers found in any scrapbooking section at your local craft store.

And then on others, I decided to make the fans you see here with coordinating paper, once again, adding dimension.

All of these tages take literally no time to make, especially if you have a start off point like I did in the pre-made tags.

Merry Christmas!

Linked to:  Home stories A to Z
                Today's Creative Blog

Handmade Holidays: Christmas Photo Books

When it comes to crafting, there really is no 'last minute' anything, at least not for me.  I need time to get my creative juices going and can't just come up with some new project on the fly.  Lately, I have been working on a cardboard Christmas album to give to one of my friends.  I made one for myself a few years ago and it is soo fun to look back on a Christmas past. You can find these albums in the dollar spot at Michaels.  (not yet decorated, of course)

I try really hard to add pages for things other than photos.  There is so much more to the holiday besides the pictures.

There are gift tags and favorite holiday recipes and music.

There are wish lists and traditions and the family Christmas tree.

There are all those family 'funnies'  and mishaps that make the holiday so memorable.

I want to capture every moment.  The journaling only adds enrichment to the project and the process.

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

I just finished designing our Christmas Card for this year.....and here it be! Our family took a trip to Atlantis this year and I just had to find a way to show off that beautiful dolphin, so this was it! What do ya think?  I'm trying to get on the ball for the holiday season as I am going out of town for Christmas and will need to get them out a little early.

I think I have used shutterfly for over 5 years now and have never been disappointed with their quality or service.  If you are considering printing your own, they have many many designs to choose from, using 1 or more pictures. 

**My opinions are strictly my own. I am not paid for this post, but may be compensated in product. **

Decorating with Digital Scrapbooking

I am a fan of shutterfly.  I am not paid to say that, I just love the convenience of loading all my images into a printing sight and choosing which size to print for future projects.  I just so happen to have had a free code for an 8 x 8 print and I took advantage of it.  The easiest form of decorating your home with your photos is canvas.  It is so easy to get canvas at a good price with coupons.  You can either purchase Modpodge or you can make your own.  Brush the decoupage on the canvas and back of your print.  Stick together and let it sit until it forms a good seal.  You also want to seal the top of it from all of those little handprints.  I put 3 coats on top of mine but do whatever you feel comfortable.  This is my end result:

I really do love my girls!  :)

Digital Scrapbooking: The basic approach

Scrapbooking has been a hobby of mine for many years now.  While I don't think you can ever catch up on all of the photos you want to 'scrap', there is a way to get the job done a little quicker and without much effort or knowledge on your part.  If you have adobe or other photo editing software that can read .PSD files, then you are good to go.  Grab yourself some photos and load them into your program.  I chose this one plus a few others:
  
This is me and my hubby last halloween at our church trunk or treat festival.  I was trying to get a scrapbook made for our church with everyone's photos so I turned to my favorite digi-scrap website, scrapbook graphics, for some pre-made 'quick pages' to get the process done in a timely manner. You can buy a kit of about 9 pages for $5 give or take, depending on how many pages are included.  Once you download your 'kit' and load it into your scrapbooking program, its just a matter of plugging your photos into the blank areas, flattening and saving the image, and printing.  The final result of this picture came out like this:

Total time:  15 minutes!

You really CAN do this!

**faces scribbled out for privacy**