How To Use Digital Elements for Masking and Misting – Tutorial

Hello! Francine here again. Today I am going to show you how to use digital elements as masks on a hybrid layout. Here is the page I made using this technique.

I used Notions Pink & Co Elements kit by Jen Allyson for this layout.

Other supplies needed:

Photo Paper
Spray Ink or Mists
Patterned Papers
Journaling spot, letter stickers and buttons

Step 1

Prepare the large photo by layering the ribbon wrapped frame over it

Print out all photos.

Step 2

Make a new document that is the size of a sheet of photo paper and copy the elements onto it. Include two copies of the banner and buttons; one copy will be used for the mask, and the other on the finished page.

Step 3

Cut out the pieces that will be used for masking leaving a large border (about 1/4 inch) around the pieces

Step 4

Arrange patterned papers, photos and masks until you are happy with the layout

Step 5

Remove photos and spray lightly with mist.

Discard masks

Step 6

Cut out second copy of images and add to page along with the photos

Finish page off with title, journaling and additional buttons.

Some close up shots

Because you can use digital elements over and over again, they work really well as masks. Simply print and cut out! What project would you use this technique on?

Until next time!

How To Make a Hybrid Mini Album – Tutorial

I wanted to create a hybrid mini album to document some of my favorite aprons. I used Jen Allyson’s Notions Blue & Co. kit to create an easy project.

Print Papers

• print 5 sheets of solids  and 2 patterned papers as borderless 4×6 prints

Die Cut

• Die cut each solid paper
• Die cut 5 pieces of cardstock
• adhere cardstock to back of solids for a total of 5 pages
• die cut one patterned paper with fancy shape

Cover

• Die Cut a patterned paper and trim to size
• adhere to cover
• add title with adhesive letters

Inside Pages

• use Japanese masking tape to adhere an apron picture to the page
• punch 2 of each size circle out of patterned papers
• use small hole punch to punch a hole in larger circle to add a brad
• use pop dot to adhere each circle
• add journaling on tape strip

I hope you are inspired to document one of your collections!

Use a Point-and-Shoot Digital Camera for Scrapbooking – Choose your Digital Camera

Compact point-and-shoot cameras are great cameras to use while digital scrapbooking. Because they are small, you can bring it with you everywhere, and you’ll have it with you when you’re ready to take those memorable yet everyday photos.

I’ve asked some of the Design House Decorators what they have to say about their point-and-shoot cameras. And I asked my parents, who use their point-and-shoot camera all the time. I think it’s interesting to see that many have both point-and-shoot cameras as well as more high-end digital SLR cameras, yet use their point-and-shoots more often because of their convenient size and shooting techniques.

Canon PowerShot

Renee Fink says this about her Canon PowerShot:

“Honestly, most of my shots are made with my Canon PowerShot SD1200. It is an ultra compact little camera that I have with me EVERYWHERE. I think some of the key to photography for me is having a readily accessible camera – and switching to a compact camera that fits in my coat pocket enables me to capture those memories that would otherwise be lost.”

“I bought this little Canon right after Christmas when it was super cheap. It is actually about the size of my phone but takes really high resolution pics that are great for scrapping. Many (most?) of my P365 photos have been with this little Canon.”

iPhone 4g

iPhone 4g

Heather Guenther says:

“Is it horrible to say that I am hoping my “main” camera will be my new iphone 4 and my dslr will become more of a special event camera? I am looking forward to having it be a decent camera & hd video in something that I already try to carry everywhere I go.”

Point-and-shoots are great cameras & I so agree with your having whatever camera with you everywhere. That is a big key to good photography… having it with you & using it frequently no matter what you use to become familiar with it.”

Sony Cybershot

Missy Backues says this about her Sony Cybershot:

“I have a Sony Cybershot H1. It’s not a DSLR but it does have additional programming features. My husband picked it out for my 40th birthday, so I really had to learn about its features after it was given to me. I love that I can get some really nice non-flash photos with it!! It does have the ability for additional lenses but we don’t have any of them.”

Fujifilm FinePix

Jen Papadimitriou says this about her Fujifilm FinePix:

“I have a little compact Fujifilm Finepix. Probably the low end of what everyone here has! It’s my goal to one day own a really fancy one (and learn how to use it!), but frankly not in our budget right now.”

“I like that that my camera is small so it can fit easily in a purse, diaper bag, etc., and there is a setting on it that takes two pictures at the same time (one with flash/one without), so I don’t have to worry about ‘to flash or not to flash’ when I want a quick shot. ”

“It takes really clear pics outside and when we went to Hawaii 2 years ago the photos I got where surprisingly amazing! But not so wonderful inside sometimes. That is when I want to throw it out the window!”

“It’s a love/hate relationship.”

Nikon Coolpix

My parents use their Nikon Coolpix all the time. They live in California, and when they fly out to see us in Utah for family events, they bring their Nikon Coolpix. They have a digital SLR camera, but don’t really know how to use it and feel more comfortable with this compact point-and-shoot camera.

Your compact point-and-shoot camera is really an ideal camera for digital scrapbooking! So pack it in your purse, and bring it with you everywhere! You’ll be glad you did when you come home with great candid photos for scrapbooking.

This is the third in a series. To view the others:

1. Choose your Digital Camera for Digital Scrapbooking
2. Use your Cell Phone Camera for Scrapbooking – Choose your Digital Camera

Use your Cell Phone Camera for Scrapbooking – Choose your Digital Camera

Do you ever end up in a place where you wish you had your camera?  Maybe you have a camera, and just didn’t realize it!  Does your cell phone have a built-in camera?  If so, you don’t have to miss out on that great photo opportunity!

Take the Shot

If you don’t have your regular camera nearby, don’t be afraid to pull out your cell phone and take that shot.

On my birthday, my husband and I went to one of our favorite restaurants, Tucanos in Salt Lake City.  I didn’t bring my camera, but instead I pulled out my iPhone and asked the waitress to take a shot of us together.  It was a good photo of me, and those are rare, so I was really glad we did that!

Mary's Birthday Photo

Get your Photo off your Cell Phone

Of course, if you have a high-performance phone like an iPhone or a BlackBerry, you can get those photos off your phone when you sync with your computer.

The easiest way to get one photo off your phone is to email it to yourself.  To do this, you’ll need to be sure you have a data plan with your camera.  Just browse to your photo, and look for “tools” or “options” icon or link.

If you don’t have a data plan but can send your photo over text messaging, “text it” to someone whose cell phone has a data plan, and ask them to email it to you.

Email your Cell Phone Photo

Touch Up your Photo

Cell phone photos are not going to come out like a professional-level DSLR photo will come out.

It will most likely have a resolution of 72ppi (pixels per inch), so if you go to print out a 4″x6″ at a resolution of 300ppi your photo won’t be as clear as you will like.  Also, your cell phone will often focus on the wrong object in your photo and get the lighting a little bit wrong.

So you’ll want to touch up your photos in an editor such as Picasa, Photoshop, or Photoshop Elements.  For the photo below, I went into  Photoshop and used Images > Adjustments > Curves and then Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask.

Unsharp mask does a lot to sharpen up a photo that was taken on a cell phone.

Mary's Birthday Photo (touched up)

Use your Photo in your Layouts

Now that you have your cell phone camera on your computer and touched up, you can use them in your layouts and share them with your friends and family!

To be completely honest, I did the layout below at 72 ppi because I don’t plan on printing it out.  I’m sure it would be fine if I print it out, though maybe a bit fuzzy.

Mary's Birthday Layout

It’s my hope that this little post helps you feel empowered to take photos using your cell phone when you don’t have your camera with you.  It’s great to not lose out on recording those memories.

This is the second in a series.

• Choose your Digital Camera for Digital Scrapbooking
• Use your Cell Phone Camera for Scrapbooking
• Use a Point-and-Shoot Camera for Digital Scrapbooking

Wacom Bamboo Craft Tablet – Review

A few months ago, the generous folks over at Wacom (pronounced “wockem”) sent me one of their Bamboo Craft tablets to try out… and BOY, was I excited! I’ve been wanting one of these babies for a while now, and I couldn’t wait to get started with it!

I immediately pulled it all out, and noticed a few things right off the bat:

1. It was pretty. I know, this seems really shallow, but if this is going to sit out on my desk constantly, it needs to have some good design, right?
2. It was sleek and thin. This goes along with #1, but this is definitely not some hulking bit o’ hardware.
3. I knew that I was only minutes away from doodling my own cute little VW bus, just like on the box.

Along with the tablet itself and the pen stylus, it came with a few extra things: an installation CD (of course!), a CD with 26 training lessons, and a disk of Adobe Photoshop Elements 7. There were also a few extra stylus tips, and a metal ring. (I haven’t quite figured out what it’s for.)

So, I loaded things up, ready to get going; I have a VW bus to doodle, after all. I started on my training lessons, and…

I made it about halfway through the first one. I decided to just give things a go, since patience never was my strong suit. (I taught myself Photoshop… this has got to be a breeze compared to that, yes?)

The stylus is actually pretty comfortable. It’s sized to about the size of a pen or pencil, so my hand certainly didn’t get all crampy like it can after a long session with my mouse. There’s a thin tip on one end, and a rounder, ball-like tip on the other. (Yeah. I’m not sure what that’s for, either. Maybe I should try those lessons again, huh?)

I played around with my doodles for a while, but no VW bus magically appeared. Darn it. Then, I started playing with my handwriting.

You know those electronic things you have to sign when you have a package delivered? And how the signature NEVER looks like your real one? Yeah. I did find that I had better results when I watched my hand, instead of the monitor, and I liked using it much better in Illustrator than I did in Photoshop, since my strokes looked so much smoother there.

When it came time to actually use it for a layout, I struggled a bit. I kept wanting to move my hand over to my mouse! In the end, there was no super cute VW bus, no super cute doodled border. (FYI: straightish lines are surprisingly hard!) I did end up with a hand-lettered title, which was pretty cool. Being able to choose exactly what I wanted it to say (and have it in my own handwriting!) can’t be beat.

Layout by Gennifer Bursett

I know many people that use this exclusively instead of a mouse. It’s a difficult transition, though, I expect I’d need to put the mouse completely away for a while to get to that level of competency. The control and precision is definitely unbeatable, and I’m excited to try it with some photo editing next! And maybe a few straight(ish) lines.

Bottom Line: For $129, this is a handy tool to have. (But I recommend sitting through the lessons!)

Credits: Design 365 Layered Layouts, vol. 6 by Deena Rutter; Wooded Whimsy Papers by Audrey Neal, Silly Disguise Stickers by Jen Allyson