Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Another layout, anyone?

I know, another challenge layout.  This time Kelly chose a Page Maps sketch for the Summer Nights challenge.  I loved the sketch and was so happy with how my layout turned out! 



This sketch has been showing up all over Pinterst since we did it over at Scrap Chicks.  I had a lot of fun with it and was proud of myself for actually using my machine to sew on it and for changing the thread to brown.  I tend to just use white thread on everything :)
I hope you're having a great week!  Go be crafty!

Saturday, August 13, 2011

My 10 on 10 pics

I decided to play along with the 10 on 10 challenge this month.  I don't have a logo or any real info to share, just that you take one photo an hour, for ten hours/photos on the tenth of each month.  Here's a peek into a regular, fairly boring day at our house :)


10:00  Up and watching some TV


11:00 Tucker's on the DS and I'm working on my computer


12:00 Lunch time!  We leave for school at 12:30 and this kid takes forever to eat


1:00 Dropped Tucker off and stopped at McD's for a drink and ice cream cone for my friend and her daughter.


2:00 Scrapping with Kim!  The highlight of my week, for sure :D


3:00 Still scrapping and Kim is going through some of the crap I threw at her :)


4:00 Kim left and I was snapping a card I made for gel-a-tins


5:00 and guess what Tucker is doing again?  I was working on the Scrap Chicks sketch challenge.


6:00 and Glennifer is making the tacos!


7:00 Tucker's out of the shower and back on the DS, Glen and I are trying to relax and watch some T.V.

Anyway, they're ugly pictures, but I'll work on that next month.  Hopefully my day has more to it than a kid playing video games :)

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

I do other things besides challenge layouts :)

See?  I do cards for DT work too! :D 


I used the Many Thanks set by gel-a-tins to stamp the ribbon with the leaves and also used it for the greeting.  I layered and attached all that ribbon with my Xyron 150 (love it for that).  I used my Xyron 510 to attach that canvas to the card blank too.  Any other way I would have tried would have been a mess for sure!

Remember the Sassy Lil' Sketches e-book I mentioned?  I got some more details!  It'll be out by the 15th of August and the cost will be $8.99.  That's a great deal for a book of about 70 sketches that's also filled with samples!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

I've started a new feature at gel-a-tins~

If you haven't already seen it today, head over to the gel-a-tin stamps blog.  We're doing a new monthly challenge.  You have to use your gel-a-tin stamps to make a project, making sure that you meet the details of the challenge and you'll be entered in a drawing to win a stamp set! 

This month I'm challenging everyone to use their stamps to make the embellishments for their page.  Check out the sample I made with the Super Star set...


Go to my side bar for the link to the blog!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Another challenge layout!

Before I get to the challenge layout I did last night, let's talk about Sassy Lil' Sketches.  Cherie is the one drawing all these amazing sketches and very soon she'll be releasing an e-book filled with them!  I'll be sure to let you know when it's officially been released, and I want you all to check it out because I'll be in it!  I got a little peek last night and it's going to be amazing!


Now, on to the layout.  We had another summer sketch challenge last night at Scrap Chicks.  These have been a lot of fun and I was pretty happy with how my layout for last night's challenge turned out.


The sketch was for an 8.5x11, but I do 12x12 so I just laid the smaller layout on top of a piece of cardstock. 

What have you been crafting lately?

Monday, August 1, 2011

How to get better project/layout photos!

If your layouts are important enough to share and post, it's important to know how to take a decent picture of them, right?  We don't start scrapping and immediately know how to take a good photo of a layout.  If you've only ever used your point and shoot on auto mode, it may not even occur to you to turn that flash off.  I have read a lot of tutorials and hints since I first decided to start trying for design teams, and I thought I'd share some of what I've learned with you.  You don't have to be on a DT to be able to take a good picture of your work, but in all areas of scrapbooking, good photos are important.

First, the don'ts...
1.  Don't prop or stand your layout up to take a picture.


This plate holder doesn't support the layout anyway.  When you look at the side view, you see where it really gets ugly :)
 

That big bend is what keeps your layout from being square in your picture.  Even if you have a piece of chipboard behind your layout to support it, you still end up with big old legs of the plate holder in the shot.  Kinda takes away from the layout too.


This was the best I could do with cropping that picture.  Not pretty!


This time it's just propped against a jar.  It's in a more suqare shape, but unless you're careful you're not going to get a square finshed picture.


See what I mean?  Cropped, but not square.  Very distracting.

2.  Don't take your photos against a busy background.

Just look again at the pictures we just checked out.  It may be very tempting to just throw your layout down on the table where you've been scrapping a snap a picture, but don't.  Clear some things off or head somewhere else.  The mess ends up being what everyone looks at, not your work.

3.  Don't use a flash!

Seriously, you guys.  NEVER.  Don't do it.  It doesn't matter how dark it is.  Wait for daylight or turn on all the lights, get some lamps, etc. to brighten things up.  Don't use a flash.


This is not pretty.  You can't even see the pictures you just spent time scrapping! 


How about some do's now? :)

1.  Get as much natural light as possible without being in direct light.

For a layout, it's best to go outside, but take your photos in the shade.  The direct sunlight will just wash out all the color and you will just end up with a photo of your shadow over your layout :)

Here's what I do:


See?  Just out of direct sunlight.


See my feets now? :)  That's because I stand with them wide apart and lean forward so that I'm directly over the layout and can get a square shot of my layout. 


I usually leave a little frame of the concrete around my layouts because I like the way it looks.  If I'm working on a white layout the grey helps to show off the edges.  I can trim it down to the layout and have that square shape, and it's because of the way I take the photo.  Now, don't get me wrong, this isn't exactly fun when it's 110 outside, but it's important to me that I take a picture of my work that shows it off, not one that just gets a photo on my camera.

What about projects and cards?  Same thing with the natural light.


This is in my scrap room right in front of the window.  You can just choose the brightest room in your house.  I use some foam core board in white (to help reflect the light) and set up there.  I use patterned paper as a background for my shots when I can (like, when the project is smaller than 12x12).  Something that coordinates with the project but doesn't distract from it.


I turn on all the lights in my room as well as opening the shutters.  This picture may be crooked, but with a little cropping...


Voila!  Bright and fun. 
Now, what if it's night time, you're on a deadline and there's no natural light for you to use?


2.  Use uncovered lamps.  No flashes! :)

I happen to have fancy lights that I totally stole from my younger brother when he moved out of my parent's house.  Not everyone has them, and I get that.  You can just as easily take a couple of lamps, remove the shades, and use them instead.  It'll be a little more harsh for lighting, but still wayyyy better than a flash.  Here's what I do when I have to take my pics at ngiht:


Same scraproom, but now it's late.  I get my lamps as close as possible (having 2 helps with getting enough light and with shadows), and squeeze myself and my camera in there to take pictures. 


This is also a larger project photo, so instead of using patterned paper for the background, I used a roll of shipping kraft paper and used it.  Picked it up at the dollar store!
Granted, this works great for cards and projects, but what about layouts?  Here's something I do when that comes up.


Remember this stuff from school?  Mine is empty because I think it fell behind my desk or something.  Ugh.  Anyway, grab a little of this.


Stick it on a wall in whatever room you want to take your layout photo.


Stick your layout to the wall.  Turn on all the lights and get some lamps too (uncovered means take the shades off)! :)


Is it the best photo ever?  No.  But, you don't see a flash, the layout is square in the picture and you've got a fairly decent picture to share, right?  That's something!


If you have more tips, feel free to share them in the comments! This is just what works for me.