Category: Digital Art

CTMH Studio J

On By patriciamanhireIn Close to My Heart, CTMH SOTM, Digital Art, Scrapbooking, Studio J Digital Scrapbooking4 Comments

Welcome back.

We are coming up to Christmas and lots of photos will be taken so this week I will be featuring the awesome Studio J from Close to My Heart.  This is great software that is FREE to use and you just pay for the layouts and/or a JPEG file.  You can use pre-designed layouts and just add journalling and photos or you can design your own layouts and add embellishments.

For those that have followed me for some time you will remember that I used to do a lot of digital scrapbooking with Creative Memories StoryBook.  Now that is no longer being supported I have switched over to Studio J.  Last month we had a very special deal where we could get a double layout for just $5 which normally  costs $12 so it was a very special deal for us.  New Zealand pays a lot more for their CTMH products but when we have the same deal as Australia, Canada and the United States we certainly win big time.  I took the opportunity to have a play with some layouts and also get some photos printed.

First up  I used a pre-designed layout using the Skylark papers from the last catalogue.  My photos of the orchids went really well with the colours of Skylark and I really didn’t need to add a lot to this layout to detract from the photos.

lisa-jane_-_2

 

Then I had some photos I had taken of my daughter a few years ago and had already scrapped them in her album but I wasn’t happy with what I had done so thought I would have another go with them online and I am very happy with the result except for a typo which I can look at fixing at a later date.  I love that there are a lot of papers and colours from past CTMH releases to choose from and here I have gone for Olivia which went well with the photos – very earthy and ethereal.

lisa-jane_-_1

 

As I said before you can also get your photos printed to then add later to layouts.  You can get all sorts of sizes – 8″ x 6″s, 7″ x 5″s, 6″x 4″s, 4″ x 4″s, 3″ x 3″s , 2″ x 2″s and a number of other different combinations.  Different size photos make for more interesting scrapbook layouts.  Even at $12 a double 12″ x 12″ getting your photos printed this way is good value for money and so much easier sorting out the photos in the comfort of home.  I bought a few of these layouts to cut out later and here is an example of one.

 

sweet_pea_-_2

A couple of weeks ago for the SOTM blog hop I did a layout using the Brushed B&Ts and the Cutie Pie stamps and said that I had ordered the photos from Studio J.

CTMH SOTM Dec 2014 Cutie Pie layout

 

Well here is the completed layout with the photos that I had printed.  Doesn’t it make a big difference and I like the fact that I can get specific sizes printed and organise the layouts in advance.  I have also done some journalling and will look at it for a while to see if I need to embellish it more.

DSCF1878

 

I am sure you will enjoy using Studio J and to help you get started there are also videos on YouTube here that will help you get more out of the programme.  Create an account here and then start playing…

Have a good week and happy crafting.

Patricia

Die Cutting Using Toilet Tissue

On By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Crafts, Digital Art, Marianne Craftables, Marianne Creatables16 Comments

Hello everyone.

A warm welcome to all my new followers of my blog.  I hope that I can inspire you to go and create your own masterpieces.  I also enjoy looking at your amazing blogs in return.  I love that we can share and inspire each other.

While I was waiting for Close to My Heart to come to New Zealand my Aunt and I have been doing some experimenting.  We had just had a fashion competition and show using toilet tissue to create beautiful fashion to wear.   My Aunt works in a rest home and the residents were curious about how this would work and so she and I got together to see what art we could create out of toilet tissue.  I would like to credit my Aunt for the idea but we worked together to see what we could do with the tools and materials I already had.

Firstly we used adhesive glue to glue several layers of tissue together and discovered by trial and error that we needed to let it dry overnight.  So we had to make another date to finish off the die cutting.

Some dies cut better than others including the English Rose die from Marianne Creatables.  These were easy to roll up into roses, and in fact they came up really well.  Leaves and the little Memory Box Pippi Butterfly were also really good to die cut.

Here are some photos of us and our handiwork.

Toilet tissue ready to be die cut Diecut flowers from toilet tissue Diecutting toilet tissue My aunt rolling up flowers

 

Here is my Aunt very busy getting all the flowers sorted.  I did all the Cuttlebugging and she did all the rolling up of the roses.  To finish these she bought small canvases to put the die cut ovals on and then she was going to get the residents to help choose which flowers and embellishments they want to make a little wall hanging for their rooms.  She has based this on some cards that I have done and I will include a link at the bottom to give you an indication of what these may look like.

The dies I have used are:

Marianne Creatables LR0107 Flowers and leaf

Marianne Creatables LR0162 English Rose

Marianne Creatables LR0151 Branch

Marianne Creatables LR0206 Ivy

Marianne Craftables CR1205 Butterfly

Marianne Craftables CR1204

Memory Box Pippi Butterfly

I will try to get some pictures once the residents have done their artwork.  I am really looking forward to seeing what they look like as the toilet tissue was challenging to work with, but in some ways the tissue was easier to manipulate into a nice shape.

Have a great day and Happy Crafting

Patricia

 

 

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Black and White Photo Challenge :Texture

On By patriciamanhireIn Art, Digital Art, Photography9 Comments

Welcome

I have been inspired to join this Black and White Photo Challenge by my friend, Amanda from Unique So Chic.  She has been doing the most amazing things with her photos and photoshop so I thought it was time for me to give it a go.

So here are my efforts:

Raindrops on geraniumsFor this image I chose a photo of rain drops on geraniums and changed it to black and white.  I then used my Memory Manager’s Filters/Stylise function to create a negative embossed effect.

I did the same for the next photo of a daisy and the embossing was a lot stronger on the single flower.  The little raindrops have come up a lot stronger in this image and actually I feel that this has come out a lot better.

DaisyFor my last effort I have used the Filter/Surface and Frosted Glass function.

Daisy in the WetThis has made the daisy look quite fuzzy, but the raindrops still stand out.

I can see this is going to be challenging which will be good for me to stretch my imagination and do something completely different with my photography.

I hope you enjoy my efforts.

Have a good day and Happy Snapping.

Patricia

http://sonelcorner.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/black-and-white-photo-challenge-texture/

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Wow – Great News

On By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Close to My Heart, Crafts, Creative Memories, Digital Art, Photography, Scrapbooking2 Comments

Hello there

I have just received news that Creative Memories Australia and New Zealand has been bought out by Close to My Heart to  start their Australasian business.  I wasn’t really sure about Plan B, but I have had a look at the catalogue from America and it is amazing.  I love the fact that there is plenty of scope for my stamping and card making as well as for scrapbooking.  There is a lot more decorative products, plus there is also digital products as well.  It is also in a good financial position as well, which is very critical after what we have been through over the last few weeks. I still have a lot of questions about the structure and set up but I will now definitely be looking at this very closely.

So watch this space…

Happy Crafting

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The End if an Era!

On By patriciamanhireIn Art, Cardmaking, Crafts, Digital Art, Photography6 Comments

Hello everyone.

Well it looks as though Creative Memories Australia and New Zealand will be closing down on 10 June 2013.  This is very sad as the business in New Zealand and Australia was doing well and the products are of very good quality.  There is some hope in that there will be an announcement on June 11 regarding a new venture so all is not lost.  However, I have made the decision not to continue as a CM Consultant.  I have had significant health issues over the last year and it has been a struggle to maintain my commitment to my customers and to the company.  I have enjoyed my time with CM and have met some wonderful people.  I have also gained some great tools that will keep me going for some time yet.

But as one door shuts another one opens!  I have been involved in setting up an Art and Craft Collective in the Hutt Valley and in conjunction with the Hutt City Council, we are in the process of setting up a shop in the Hutt CBD.  This shop will be selling locally produced arts and crafts and be run by the collective.  I am really excited about this new venture and I am very grateful to the Hutt City Council and their About Space Programme that has allowed us to set up this venture and keep our costs to a minimum.  I will be selling my cards there (and look to doing some artwork with my photos)  and there are going to be a wide variety of products for sale – a one stop shop for all your gift needs.  So watch this space…

I hope you all have a safe and happy weekend.

Patricia

 

Rainy daisy

On By patriciamanhireIn Art, Creative Memories, Digital Art, Photography2 Comments

My photo of the day for the people in Oklahoma who are facing yet more tornadoes. I think the people in Oklahoma are incredibly brave to deal with these forces of nature. I am not sure if I could do it.  We get southerly storms here but they are nothing compared to the twisters.
My computer is now up and running again after being without for a week. I have had to get windows re installed and I am now faced with the mammoth task of transferring my photos back into Memory Manager. Fortunately I was able to activate the both my Memory Manager and StoryBook Creator before the cut off time midnight last night. I will now look at using Picasa to store my photos as well so if this problem happens again I won’t lose my photos and it will be a good back up for Memory Manager. There is now no Digital Centre from Creative Memories and I suppose that at some stage I may have to look at Photoshop or Lightbox in the future as well.  However, people can still get their photobooks and other digital products printed until midnight 3rd June.  There is to be a meeting on Tuesday in Australia so it will be interesting to see what the outcome will be for Creative Memories Australia and New Zealand.  This is such as shame as the products (especially the albums and pages) are really good quality and I have done a lot of pages for my children’s albums.  It has been so easy to use coordinated products that last a long time.
While I have had no computer for the last week I have been busy with doing cards and scrapbooking and when I get the photos sorted out then I will upload them on here. So watch this space…
I hope you all have a good weekend.
Patricia

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Creative Memories update

On By patriciamanhireIn Art, Crafts, Creative Memories, Digital Art, Photography, Scrapbooking5 Comments

Hi there

Just updating you on progress on Creative Memories Australia and New Zealand.  There has been a very positive meeting today in Sydney with the appointment of different administrators and the formation of a Creditors Committee to help represent the interests of Creative Memories Consultants and their Very Special Customers.  The indications coming out of this meeting are positive and here are some of the outcomes so far:

The following can be claimed for:

VIP – Annual Subscription – Unused Portion
Digital Vouchers – Claim the balance you were not able to use. Example: For a customer with $100 voucher – Use the $25 on an order and submit claim for other $75.

(Please contact me for further details)

Complete and UPLOAD STORYBOOKS you are working on!

Feel free to join us on a virtual crop every Friday night – click on this link  https://www.facebook.com/groups/113744225467835/

This is great for new ideas, motivation  and sharing.

Don’t forget we still have lots of products in the warehouse including tools, albums, paper packs, stickers, embellishments and accents and the consultants are all sharing their products so if there is anything you would particularly want please contact me and I can put the message out to the other consultants to see if they have it.

So keep positive, stay calm and keep scrapping.

Patricia

 

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Happy Mother’s Day

On By patriciamanhireIn Art, Babies, Cardmaking, Children, Creative Memories, Digital Art, Greetings2 Comments

Today is Mother’s Day and it is a chance to reflect on how important mothers are in our world today.  They provide unconditional love and support to their children and are the glue that holds families together.

I have created this card for all the mothers in the world.  I have used the 2013 Anniversary Digital Kit and used the colour coordination feature to change the colours from blue/green to my favourite pink.  I hope you enjoy my offering.

Happy Mother's Day

 

Happy Mother’s Day

Patricia

Memory Manager Magic

On By patriciamanhireIn Art, Creative Memories, Digital Art, PhotographyLeave a comment

Welcome back

I would like to take the time to thank all the people that visit my blog and take the time to comment and like my posts.  I really appreciate the feedback and hope that you are enjoying what I am posting.

Yesterday I was doing a digital presentation and was playing around with the Memory Manager filters.  I was showing how you can create different effects with the Filter button in the Adjust ribbon once you have double clicked on the photo.

Here is the original image:

Original image of Wellington Harbour

The image after having the rotating, cropping and AutoFix:

Edited using the Rotate, Crop and AutoFix functions
Edited using the Rotate, Crop and AutoFix functions

I then clicked on the Filter>Artistic Effects>Oil Painting to finish with an oil painting.   Here is the finished image:

Oil Painting

One aspect of doing this effect is that there were some elements in the image that could have been cloned out, but would have been time consuming, but the oil painting effect covered it all over.  I was really impressed with my artwork and will look at creating a card out of it.

I am normally a purist with my photography, but my old camera was not quite so good as my new one and sometimes there is a need to do something completely different.   This just opens up a whole new artistic direction for me!  Watch this space for more special effects…

The Memory Manager 4.0 is reasonably priced and very simple to use, so if you would like more information please feel free to contact me.

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