2 New Digital Art Journal Pages and some Good News I'm Sharing

Here are my Art Caravan Journal Pages for Weeks 7 (theme was Wonder) and 8 (Reinforce).

Also, I've been taking a few new classes at Big Picture Classes and I've been playing more with my paper scrapping materials lately. Here are a few tags I made as creative jumpstarts in May Flaum's Creative Retreat class:

Get it?

True, right?

And finally - my digital layout of Bloom Where You're Planted will be published in the Spring 2011 edition of Somerset Digital Studio! I can't tell you how excited I was to receive my copy in the mail. I opened it with my dear ScrapCellar Girls (my wings) and my dear Peggy took a photo of me posing with my copy. I'll be crossing that goal off my to do list now!

Thanks for letting me share! Have a fantastic week!

An Affirmation

Altered Artspiration #63

I played along with a challenge at www.scrapbookgraphics.com - the challenge was to use this ad as an inspiration for a art journal or scrapbook page. Here's the ad:

Here's my entry, "I Am Captured"

Credits here

Credits Here

Happy New Year!

A new year, a new page!
My resolutions are rather low key. Check that silly picture of me sticking my tongue out when I was, like, 3? I have photos of both my kids doing the same silly thing - I need to dig them up - family resemblance!

A little inspiration

So, I've set my intention for 2011 - Organize! And here's a little inspiration page:

Credits: Make a Change, Laura Banasiak Designs

Have an inspired day!

Inches of Gratitude

I know....I'm neglecting this blog right now. I'm getting my December projects ready, working 2 jobs, and being a mom....but I did have time to put this together for an Altered Artspirations challenge at Scrapbookgraphics.com. I needed to fill a 25 square template with things I'm grateful for. Here's my entry:

 

Can you say COLORFUL? 

(And in case you are wondering where my beloved is...since he doesn't allow himself to be photographed...really....well, you see, he's the key.)

Here we get technical.....resizing layouts for the web

Oooops! I forgot to post this when I was sharing my digi stuff!!!.....

A little something I learned, that I wish someone had told me about digital layouts.....they take up room! 

I like to create my layouts as 12x12 at 300 dpi, but then I resize them to 8.333 x 8.333 inches (or 600 x 600 pixels) and 72 dpi (for posting on the internet), which will usually shrink the file size from 10 MB to about 192kb - a HUGE savings on space.  I save all my layouts in PSD (the type of file created by Photoshop and Elements) and as a smaller JPG file, for sharing. Why save that big PSD file? Read on.

One big reason to save your layered file is that you can see what you've used. When I started out, I'd post my completed layouts without giving credit to the designers who make the elements and kits that I used....a no-no and just bad form. Since I saved all the layered files before squishing them into a merged file, I could go back and see what I used and properly give credit where I posted. 

Another reason? Um....typos! I've made more errors in spelling on my layouts than I care to share, and though I'm all about "being real", I can't get past a typo on my work. With the layered file, I can go back in and edit that layer, rather than starting over or just "dealing with it".

I also find that if I want to print my layouts at home, I'll have to resize to 8x8 @ 300 dpi to get a crisp image that my home printer will print. For this reason, I suggest saving your layered PSD file (the type of file created by Photoshop and Elements) as a full sized layout @ 300 dpi, as it gives me the ability to re-open that file and merge layers and resize the page to what I need. Once all the layers are merged (which I do by right clicking on the bottom layer of my completed layout), I Save As a .jpg file, which I can then share on the web, in email, on Facebook, on the blog....

Additionally, some of the galleries you can post to will limit the size of the file you post.  For example, MyScrapbookArt is 154 kb max....which I can rarely do...I'm sure I just need to work at figuring that out, but Photoshop Elements does have a feature called Save for Web, which allows you to define the optimal size for your layout, which is much better than the guess and check method I started out using.


I've just re-read and I can see how this would be like reading Chinese if you aren't familiar with all this. Sorry!!! Once you start playing with it, it'll make more sense, I promise (no, I hope!). Those tutorials I shared with you earlier in the week will help, too.


So, here are my steps:
File - New - Blank Page
....create something layered (see previous posts for sites that have tutorials on how to do this.....)
Save PSD file with all layers open
Right Click on bottom layer and Merge layers
Image - Resize - Image Size (see sizes I use above) and save as a JPEG to post, print, etc.

Are you still with me?

Today, We Share Our Work

Another thing I quickly learned about the digital world was that getting feedback was easy and, like blog comments, strangely addicting! Most of these encouraging people were perfect strangers who also loved the digital offshoot of the hobby, and left "love" for whatever I was brave enough to post in a gallery....(a gallery is often found in a store, though some digi sites are purely for sharing your completed pages....).

One word of advice....just as in life, you have to give love to get love in return....or at least you should. 

This is how I found Log Your Memory, a site dedicated to sharing layouts and inspiring others to use this hobby to preserve memories of everyday life. You have a pile of laundry to the ceiling…take a picture of it and write about why spending time with your family is the tradeoff you make for daily chores, or write about your family’s laundry routines. The idea being, one day, you may want to remember what it was like to live every regular day, not only the birthdays, holidays, and other big events of your life.

When it comes down to it, the everyday routines are what make up a life, and the big events are just frosting on the cake. If you are already a fan of or familiar with Ali Edwards, Cathy Zielske, and Stacy Julian, you know that this focus of the hobby has a great following. I always think of it this way, I’d love to know how my Grandma, who’s no longer with us, felt about my mom’s first day of kindergarten, or how she felt when she was learning to drive and crashed into the garage and never drove again, or what it was like for her growing up. She didn’t keep a journal, so I’ll never know these things, so I’m trying to leave some of these memories of my own for my kids, their kids and their grandchildren. Scrapping about everyday life is not only the good stuff, but also the bad, though I tend to keep those pages to myself right now.

Log Your Memory is run by Kristen Rutten, who I’m sure has figured out how to get 30 hours of stuff into a 24 hour day. Maybe even 31 hours. Her store offers a Logbook to keep track of those everyday happenings and weekly challenges and prompts to help you tell your story.

(I’m not compensated in any way by Kristen to advertise, but her site propelled my excitement with this hobby, and I think she’s done a great job of inspiring others as well).

The challenge early this year, Sweet Talk Challenge, gave us 13 different ways to tell our stories. The challenge may be over, but the methods are still a great way to start journaling. There are loads of other inspirations all over the site – hopefully, you’ll be inspired by something there like I was.

Other places you might want to share you work, and stores I frequent (though there are many, many others)

Scrapbookgraphics – my current favorite haunt
The Digi Chick – this is the store the designer I CT (creative team) for sells – she’s Laura Banasiak and she’s cool and fun, and can also cram 30 hours a day into 24
Sweet Shoppe Designs
DigiShopTalk
After 5 Designs
Gotta Pixel
The Lily Pad

Do you already have a favorite site? Share it here!!!

Where to Learn Digital Scrapbooking or "I did it my way"

Despite my misgivings, I made an honest attempt to learn digital scrapbooking in January, after finding this year-long free class being offered by Erica Hernandez at Two Peas in a Bucket: Digi 101. I watched the first tutorial video and played along with making the layout.

There were three things I discovered in this first class that got me hooked:
1) designers of digital scrapbooking papers and elements (this is what embellishments are called in the digi world) are wonderfully generous individuals who often give freebies of their design kits for people to try before they purchase a full kit - a search for digital scrapbook freebies in Google will find you lots of freebies from digital stores and these wonderfully generous designers,
2) if I didn't like the way something looked on my page, I could move it, resize it, duplicate it, recolor it, not to mention I could REUSE it!,
and 3) cleanup for this hobby is a breeze! (Though it does take some space on the computer).

I won’t be sharing the how to put a page together here; those tutorials have been done by many others who are way better at that than I am.

Here are just a few other places to get started with the nuts and bolts:

The Daily Digi and lots of tutorials to get you started there – on the right side of the page, you’ll see tons of links on how to get started, how to learn the programs you’re using, how to do certain techniques. Bookmark it!

Ali Edwards did a series of tutorials on digi, too.

Cathy Zielske walks you through creating a 12x12 page here.

And don’t forget Erica Hernandez’s class I mentioned earlier, Digi 101. There are other tutorials on the Two Peas in a Bucket Site, as well.

Other gurus: Jessica Sprague, Renee Pearson (though I think these cost $)

If you know of any others you’ve come across, please share here.

***Note: I’m not compensated in any way from these designers or sites. I’ve been asked often, how I learned and these are the places where I started learning.

 Next Up: How to Share Your Work and Real Life Scrapbooking, Digi-Style

Digital Scrapbooking....So, Here's Where to Start.....

In case you haven't noticed, or you are new to my blog, I really enjoy digital scrapbooking.

Before I started really trying to learn in January this year (after some failed attempts), I thought of it is "cheating" in some way. I had been a paper scrapper for 15 years. I liked to buy stickers and paper and adhesive. I liked to print photos and arrange embellishments onto a layout and create a finished page that I could put into an album to share with others. I still like to do that, especially with my creatively, inspiring friends in the Scrapbook Cellar. Nothing beats real live friends getting together to create, inspire, and support each other. But, day to day, I don't have all the time to haul out my supplies, ponder an arrangement, complete a page, and then clean it all up (I have a dedicated creative space, but it's in the front room of my house...the first thing you see when you come in, so I like it tidy, and I share it with my creative daughter, who usually has her projects drying on the table. So, I'd really need to add another step to getting creative on a daily basis, as I'd be the one most likely to clear off her work in progress before I could even have room to start mine.) This is where using the computer came in handy for me, and the start of my digital obsession.

For this hobby, I use Photoshop Elements. I'm using version 7, but I think they've just released, or are about to release version 9. I've had PE, as it's referred to, since version 3, but back then, I only used it to store and sort my photos. I had no clue of the full capabilities of this program until I started digital scrapbooking, and even then, there is so much more I need to learn to get it's full usefulness. There are other programs you can use, the full Photoshop (which is expensive, so I don't have) and Paint Shop Pro (which I've never used). Likely there are more out there, I'm just not familiar with them.

So, to start, you'll need a program to work in, some digital papers and elements (which I'll talk about in the next post), and a little time and patience to learn.

Tomorrow, I'll share where I started learning about how to do digital scrapbooking. I'll also be posting my journey into digital all this week, and how I went from this:

To this:

Here's the plan:

Tuesday: Digi 101,  tutorials

Wednesday:  Feedback, Real life Scrapbooking, Telling Your Story, and Log Your Memory

Thursday:  A valuable lesson in resizing your layouts

It's 10-10-10.....Here's what I won't be doing!

 

And sweetheart, if you're reading this.....I love you! 

If you have been following my blog, you know that I've being doing a lot of digital layouts this year. Many have asked me how to start, how to learn, and what goes into a digital scrapbooking layout. Every day this week, I'll be posting my journey into digital. Please come join me!

Also, if you are on Facebook, my blog now has it's own space in the grand scheme of FB....come join me on So, That's Why here!

What sets your creativity on fire?

Here's what sets mine a blaze:

Now, how about you?

 I'd love to know!

A Little Story....in Digiland

 

 

Remember Paper Dolls? I remember going to the store with my mom (wish I could remember the store...might have been Woolworth's) and having dozens of paper doll books to choose from. I remember one I had with babies and toddlers, and I remember playing with them while in the waiting room of my Grandma's doctor's office. How delighted I was to find digital "paper dolls". These were made using the Ultimate Art Doll Collection by Tangie Baxter.

New Fall Layouts

I'm so glad fall is almost here. I love the cooler weather, the smells of the season and the rich colors. It was time for a blog header change, too....the fall '10 edition.

Some fall pages to share:

Kit: Pumpkin Spice by Laura Banasiak Designs

Kit: Artisia by Krystal Hartley and Amy Stoffel

Kits: Elements: Leaf it to Me Freebie, Studio Flergs; Repository, Studio Gypsy; Today We Learn, Rosey Posey; Bird and Frame, She Found her Bliss, Tangie Baxter; Font: Hobbes

For Monthly Scraplift Challenge at Scrapbookgraphics.com of Doodlebug's Innocent No More. Using Tangie Baxter's Compendium of Dreams; Remember the Time Add On, Studio Manu, Alpha and Stamps: Stampy Goodness, Heather Roselli; Destroyed Watercolor Brushes by The Shoreways; Elements from Altered Girl Talk by Viva Artistry

SuzyQ Scraps, Journey 365 Jumbo
The Digi Chick, Every Life Has a Story, Chapter 3

Back to School

The Courage to Trust

I've being going through a lot of changes lately. I'm able to finally share all that's been going on.

So, you know it's the beginning of the school year, and also my favorite time of year. I look forward to the weather getting cooler and the leaves changing. We've spent many hours back to school shopping, getting into new routines, and preparing our home for the new school year. I've got one in high school now, and my youngest in 4th grade, the same grade I taught when I did my student teaching 10 years ago.

New changes for the kids, and changes for their mom, as well. After 5 years out of teaching, I'll be back in a classroom, teaching writing. You know I had to get myself new school supplies, too, right? Love new school supplies! Also, after 5 years with my employer, I've decided to move on to a new opportunity. This is the longest I've stayed at the same job, given I've jumped out of the work world twice to have my kids and changed careers twice, as well. It's bittersweet, but I have to say, I'm very excited. I've been treading water, riding the rollercoaster economy, but praying that something would break -- that is the story behind the new art journal page above.

All this means is that I haven't had much time to write or create, what with getting everyone ready and planning my lessons for the first few weeks of class. Of course, I could argue that I am being VERY creative in getting all these things done. I know, from experience, that the first time I teach a course is always the hardest on me, so I have to gear up for that. I'm looking forward to a day with my scrap cellar girls this Saturday, to fill my soul and feed my creative energy. I sure could use a recharge!

Happy Birthday Ana!

Oh My! My baby girl is 14 today, and tomorrow is her first day of high school! I'm so proud of her - she's really come a long way in the last 2 years. This is for her:

The kit I used is the one she picked out called Candy Box by Miss Vivi. I won a gift certificate to her store by winning a chat game and let Ana choose.

The journaling: 

Happy 14th Birthday
 to my beautiful young lady.
I’m so proud of the woman you’re becoming.
You are the perfect blend of serenity and vibrance; of purpose and fun; of vintage and modern.
You know your style and you express it with every choice you make
Be true to your heart, and show them how it’s done.

Sharing a couple of new pages....

Just a few things I've been working on....

created with Growing on Me kit by Spinkydink Scraps and Kinda Cursive Alpha and Doodle Frames by Laura Banasiak

created using Fiesty Girl collab kit by Laura Banasiak and Bella Gypsy

Classy Kid Grab Bag, Laura Banasiak Designs
Lyrics from the song, "We're Going to Be Friends" by The White Stripes (but I know the Jack Johnson version better....Curious George Sountrack!)

How my kids got their names....Using Great Expectations kit by Jen C Designs, Bead n Bits alpha by SpinkyDink Scraps and Arrows by Laura Banasiak

The page created using Art Stomp (I think) by Tangie Baxter 

 More to follow.....