Pinterest Template 1

A while ago I discovered Pinterest and the wealth of creative inspiration that can be found there. Just for fun and as practice I started recreating the layouts I liked. I saved most of them as templates to use later with different digikits I own.

Today I would like to share with you one of those templates. The .craft file contains shapes only to crop your papers to. To do that:

• drag paper onto the page, resize if necessary. Make sure the paper covers the shape completely. 
• Select the shape (use Layers tab on the right), hold SHIFT and select the paper. Both shape and the paper should be selected now.
• From the Arrange tab (bottom right of the screen) choose Crop to Bottom.
• Add your background, embellishments and text to create your own unique page.

                                                     Download the template

Here is the page I created using that template.

Happy scrapbooking!!!

Paper: cutting, cropping, resizing....

Traditional scrapbooking is all about paper. Cutting it and arranging it. Once cut, you cannot uncut it so the 'measure twice cut once' rule was super important back then. Computers make scrapbooking so much easier: you can resize and recolor all you want until you are completely happy with the result, and the 'undo' button is always there.

Computer offers us three options to adjust the size: resize, cut and crop. I use CraftArtist2, but even if you prefer a different software, the concepts are still the same, so read on. Let's look at all the three in detail.


Resize: this one seems like the most obvious one. Great for text and embellishments, it is not ideal for paper though, as it distorts the pattern and robbing the page of that realistic look.

Cut/scissor tool: even though you might want to use it as your main tool for cutting paper, it is more practical to use it for patterned edges and diagonal lines only. For the same simple reason that once cut, you cannot uncut it if you change your mind three embellishments later. If you do use it though (oh, the beautiful things you can do with your scissor tool...) remember to always start with the same size paper. To keep that realistic look, you know...

Crop: this is the tool you would want to learn to use and love. It allows you to adjust the size easily, without distorting the pattern of the paper (you can even move the paper within the cropped shape if you want to include a specific part of the paper). There are two way to work with this tool. You can drag the paper onto your page and crop it directly or first create a shape and then crop or clip the desired paper to it. Starting with a shape allows you to change the paper hassle-free in just a few clicks: uncrop the items, delete the unwanted paper, drag the new one onto the page and crop it to the shape. Important point to remember: before you crop your paper, make sure you always start with the same size paper.





After that, all you have to do is add a few embellishments, journaling and your photos and your page is ready. Happy scrapbooking.

Stacked Paper: new look for old kits

About a week ago a friend who is also into digital scrapbooking came to visit and somehow we ended up talking about photo albums (could it be because I'm obsessed and the holiday season is almost upon us??? yep, must be that...) Our conversation inevitably turned to the kits we have and how we like some of them and don't know what to do with a few that looked great and promising at the time of purchase but somehow never found their way to our creating hearts.

'I love kits with lots of embellishments. And I never know what to do with all those 50 different papers that come with the kit...I've used the same embellishments over and over but haven't used more than half the paper... not even once...' she sighed.

Oh, I can totally relate to that. That's why I don't like traditional paper scrapbooking or other paper crafts: I can never get the stacked paper right the first time (often not even the second or third...) and computer makes it easy to redo the whole thing without actually ruining my paper stash.

That visit got me thinking... perhaps there are more people out there who are not very confident about using different patterned paper... those who are looking for new ways to use their favorite kits...  or finally start using those less favorite...

For all those people, and for everyone else looking for new inspiration I started this blog in general and this post series in particular: PAPER.

Stacked paper looks great, it's perfect as a background, border/corner decoration or a photo frame  but somehow it's trickier that it looks. Points to remember here:

• Dimensions: stacked paper should be smaller than the background and each additional layer should be just a little smaller than the one before. When creating a border, though, you might consider resizing the paper to the same size as your background.
• Position and rotation: totally up to you, you may have to play for a while here until you are happy with the result. If you rotate the papers both clock- and anticlock-wise, you will get this 'carelessly stacked' look that you are aiming for. (Apologies for the white frame around the photos, I'm new to this whole blogging thing and not sure how to remove it... Any suggestions?)

 

• Pattern: choose papers that come from the same kit - remember, designers are very good at what they do so all the papers go together well. That said, it is a good idea to use both plain and patterned items, and if you are not very confident using bold patterns, position them on the lower levels. This will leave you with a nice and easy paper to add your photos and embellishments to.

• Shadows: remember to add them so your page looks more realistic.

P.S. Try it yourself: take a kit you don't know what to do with and create a page...

P.P.S. For my digital creations I use CraftArtist, easy-to-use software that is perfect for scrapbooking and crafting. For this post I chose one of their free kits, Farther Day 2011, that I don't like very much... not sure why because it's really lovely.

A Letter to Santa Claus

"Mom, can I get a  Mermaid's fintail?"  my daughter asked me last night. "I found this great website where they sell them. And guess what, I can put it on and swim in it and then I will be super fast..."
I thought about it for a second... "Why don't you start writing letters to Santa Claus?"
"To Santa Claus??? But it's only October.." she looked at me strangely.
I shrugged... "Why not?  Christmas is coming. October is a good time to start dropping hints about what gifts you would like.... And I need time to find it, order it and then we need to wait for it to arrive, I need to pack it... You may change your mind..."
She nodded.
Believe it or not, this morning I found a draft of a letter in her room. Addressed to Santa Claus...  with a link to a website.. my daughter is ten, but she still loves to play...

Fintails aside though, October is NOT too early to start planning Christmas gifts. These last couple of weeks I've been busy. Here is a minimalist layout from one of the albums I am making for a friend...

The first post

Hello, my new blog. I created you about a week ago but not much has been going on so far... Nothing, to be exact... Partly because I've been busy with the kids, party because I am still unpacking from our move to Singapore, but mostly because I just didn't ..still don't... know where to start...

So, I've decided to start by sharing one of my favorite layouts of something I am already beginning to miss: snow.