I have been really inspired on using the Enchanted Digital Kit for my flower photos that I have decided that I will do some page prints to put in the Enchanted Coverset. Here are some my first pages to start of this album.
The Flowers in My Garden were inspired by a layout that I saw on Pinterest by Two Peas in a Bucket. Unfortunately, it appears that that link is now unavailable.
As usual the instructions on how I have achieved these layouts are on my Digital Creations page.
I would like to take this opportunity of wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
I have just been completing my first calendar using the CM Enchanted Digital Kit. The Enchanted Range is gorgeous and I find it difficult to put large photos or embellishments on the pages and cover up the beautiful papers, so I try to work around the backgrounds to enhance my photos. The colours go well with the flower photos that I have used.
I have just got a new camera and have been enjoying learning how to do macro photography using flowers as my subject matters. I love flowers, but I am not able to keep any in the house as I get bad hayfever. Even taking photos can be difficult with my eyes streaming from the pollen. But when you get an amazing photograph it is worth it!
I used to show roses but now only have two roses that we inherited with the house. One of the roses is Josephine Bruce (I think) and I love photographing it as there are so many different colours that come out depending on the light and conditions. In fact I walk past it every day to get the mail and the neighbours must think I am mad when I rush inside to get my camera out to take catch the roses in different light conditions. And the bonus is that it is pink, which is my favourite colour. I had to restrain myself to just using three images of this rose in this calendar. The other rose is a deep red (I am not sure if it is Loving Memory) but I find red a much harder colour to photograph as the strong light washes out the colours, unlike the other rose which highlights yellows and pinks. This is a work in progress to get this mastered. Lots of trial and error coming up.
I don’t have a big garden so I just make do with what I have including the bindweed which is trying to take over my garden. However, the bindweed flowers make beautiful images. There is beauty all around us if we go searching for it, including the weeds.
My intention next year is to take photos every month of the flowers in bloom and then put them into a calendar so it is more seasonal.
Here are the pages and I have included instructions on how I have achieved these layouts on my Digital Creations page. Please feel free to contact me if the instructions are not very clear or you would like further clarification of what I have done.
Today I have been to the Upper Hutt Library to do some Christmas cardmaking with children. We were surprised to get 29 children and 14 adults come along for the session. The ages of the children ranged from pre-school to about 12 years old. Last night I had cut up lots of circles to make Christmas trees and snowmen. My Custom Cutting System has been sooo useful. With the snowmen I just cut 3 circles – 1.5″, 2″ and 2.5″ and then glued them together to make a snowman shape. The children had lots of fun and the library had different embellishments to decorate the cards. The parents were also very keen to participate including a couple of Dads! A couple of the mothers were very intrigued with how I folded the Christmas trees and will probably practice doing them at home. I was really impressed with how the children decorated their cards. They have no inhibitions or rules and just went for it. As long as they went home happy with their endeavours I am happy.
This week I have a very easy page. Scrapbooking does not have to be difficult and take ages to do. I have been doing a 8 x 8 album for my son’s baby album. I have used an 8 x 8 scrapbook album kit, Rugged Baby Boy, from Creative Memories and it has been very quick to complete as the pages are beautiful and do not need much embellishments at all.
For this page I have just added a title sticker to the page and matted the photo on a StoryBox photo mat.
Here I have just added a photo mat as the paper has a pattern on it and I did not think it need more embellishments.
My plan this year is to complete a 12 x 12 album for James so will spend the holidays sorting his photos out in order. I have decided on the Rugged Power Palette Range as the colours work in well with James and the colours in his photos. So this should keep me busy for the next few months. The bigger pages should give me more scope to add more embellishments and photos.
I have just uploaded another couple of digital layouts on my Digital Creations Page. Please check it out for the instructions on how I have achieved these layouts.
I love taking photographs of flowers, and especially like how the light falls on flowers creating a contrast of light and shadow and bringing out different colours not always apparent. I used to do watercolour painting and used these photos as a basis for my paintings. Now I am in the process of putting the photos into an album. Here are a couple of large photos that I have trimmed down a little and put into a double page spread. It has been quite a challenge with large photos so I think it has turned out well. The Reflections Range of papers and embellishments complement the colours of the roses and also go well with all my flower photos – and I have a lot and still counting now I have a lovely new camera. Sigh… It will keep me very busy for a long time! At least I have my Memory Manager 4.0 to keep my photos organised on my computer.
Here are the two pages side by side. I have linked the two pages together with a Reflections Range Ribbon and also cut out images from my photos for balance and alternated the outdoor roses with the roses in the vase. As you can see I love flowers and couldn’t resist a little flower on the ribbon under the journalling. I have finished off with a sentiment from Creative Memories and some Enchanted Epoxy Stickers.
Everyone has their own style and I am very much a “square” person and everything has to be balanced. I am trying very hard to be more “freestyle” but it is an ongoing battle.
I also look a the photos themselves and the colours that are in the photos. Here the complementary colours of pink and green help bring the photos alive and stand out. I have never used a colour wheel and am instinctive about how I use different colours. However, a colour wheel can be a very useful tool if you are unsure about how to mix colours together.
Please check out my latest creations using my StoryBook Creator 4.0 under Digital Creations. I have put the instructions on this page for your information. I really enjoy using this software and find it very easy and flexible to create the most amazing layouts. I also find that the kits give me good inspiration for my own traditional scrapbooking.
Creative Memories StoryBox packs and embellishments make great cards and are really easy to do. Here are some of my examples that are already on Pinterest, but please feel free to repin them from this site.
These cards have been created using the Cheerful Storybox Papers, Ribbons, and Buttons. The greetings are printed of my StoryBook Creator 4.0 and the picket fence is made using my Border Maker System.I have used CM Reflections Storybox Papers and Flowers with some accents from Divine Flowers. I have used my Storybook Creator 4.0 to create the Greetings.4 cards Using CM Reflections Storybox Papers, Flowers and Enchanted Expoxy Stickers. I have also printed off greetings using my Storybook Creator 4.0.Thes cards have been made using the Fabulous Storybox Papers, Flowers, Buttons, Paper Ribbons and Sayings.The Divine StoryBox papers, Ribbons and Flowers make very elegant cards for special occasions such as Weddings and Anniversaries.
As you can see the Power Palette Ranges provide an easy way to coordinate colours and embellishments for simple but effective cards.
I have gone back to my scrapbooking roots and here is a sample of what I have been doing.
I have recently attended a VIP Roadshow and one of the projects was this layout. We were given a basic layout template and then it was up to us to put the embellishments to finish the page. Here is the original template
Instructions for my layout:
1) One sheet of 12″ x 12″ Designer Print Paper – Enchanted as base
2) I used the straight blade of my 12 -inch Rotary Trimmer to cut a 10 x 28 cm sized rectangle from the red 12″ x 12″ Embossed Paper – Enchanted. I then rounded the four corners with the Corner Rounder. This rectangle was then placed on the Designer Print Paper base about 1.5 cm from the top edge and 10 cms from the left edge of the base.
3) I used the Border Maker System and the Twinkle Chain Border Maker Cartridge to cut a pattered border out of the red Embossed Paper – Enchanted. I trimmed this chain to fit on either side of the rectangle.
4) I chose a green coordinating peice from the Storybox Photo Mats & Journalling Boxes – Enchanted and placed this over the red Embossed Paper – Enchanted about 2.5 cms from the left hand side and about 6.5 cms from the top.
5) I then used my Custom Cutting System – Circle Patterns to cut a circle from a red piece from the Storybox Photo Mats & Journalling Boxes – Enchanted. I then placed this circle on the lower right corner of the green piece. I put a landscape photo onto the green sheet and then using the Custom Cutting System – Circle Patterns to cut the portrait photo into a circle and then placed it onto the red circle.
6) I then cut a strip of green Paper Ribbon – Enchanted approximately 23 cms and placed it under the red twinkle chain border and this went over the red rectangle as well.
7) I used one of the journalling squares from the Storybox Photo Mats & Journalling Boxes – Enchanted and placed it on the upper right corner and then wrote about the photos using my Dual-Tip Pen.
8) Finally I have used the Paper Ribbons – Enchanted and Epoxy Stickers – Enchanted to finish the page and placed a Title Sticker – Enchanted under the landscape photo.
The Flowers in My Garden were inspired by a layout that I saw on Pinterest by Two Peas in a Bucket. Unfortunately, it appears that that link is now unavailable.
