April Layout

This is one of the easiest type of digital layouts to do, similar to the one I did here. This is called a quick page. Everything is done for you except to add a photo and text. The only change I made beyond that is to add some splatters around the edge. The background layer is locked on this type of page, so I had to make the changes to the top layer which was unlocked. The only quick pages I've downloaded have been freebies. They're a great way to get started, but I don't think I'd pay for any because of the limitations. Since the background layer is locked, any additional layouts I did with this would look waaaay too similar. However, when you get a layered template, you can make any changes you want. You can change colors, papers and the order of the layers. You can turn off layers you don't want to use. Much more useful down the road!

First Year Continued

Here are some more pages of my scrapbook. I'm keeping these pages very simple, so the process is going quickly. For the background of this first one, I used a gorgeous paper I had with a raised glitter design. I put a rub-on on top of the photo, and that was that!

The next page also went together quickly. I combined two coordinating papers, edged in brown. I stamped the word "family" in brown, and added the felt flower to the bottom left corner. I also used a small rub-on over the top right corner of the photo.

Enjoy!

Immi

Siblings

I love, love, love this photo of A & N. This was taken in the morning, while we still had our jammies on. I think Abba was working the camera that morning.

I had a little trouble with this layout. I wanted to use green and pink together, but because of my robe, my patterned papers all looked too busy. (I could have worked around this by converting the photo to B&W, which works well to avoid clashing colors.) The pink paper was originally white textured cardstock. I started with Tim Holtz' distress ink in Worn Lipstick and his ink applicator tool. Wonderful color, but really too strong for the effect I wanted. Next I tried using his Tea Dye distress ink to tone it down, but the brown on top of the pink looked too orange. I added a layer of a Fresco chalk ink (Botticelli Blush), using the direct to paper technique (pressing the ink pad directly onto the paper), but it still wasn't right. Finally, I rubbed Brilliance Pearlescent Orchid over everything. I also stamped flowers in white ink on top. The green was also pretty bright to start with so I toned it down with some of the tea dye ink followed by the Fresco. The stamp in the corner is from a teeny set designed by Ali Edwards. The set has a variety of words, and I combined the ones I wanted onto a single acrylic block, then stamped it in black.

Today

This is a layout celebrating a personal accomplishment. I made this digitally using a quick page, adding text and photos. I printed it on cardstock, using our Epson color printer. This particular layout is 8.5 x 11, which is not the size I typically do (12 x 12).

It's been interesting to watch the changes in page size over the years I've been scrapping. When I first began in late 1998 or early 1999 (don't remember for sure), the only page size available was 8.5 x 11. Later, 12 x 12 became very popular. Now it's possible to find papers and albums in both these sizes as well as 6 x 6 and 8 x 8. With the proliferation of mini books you can bind yourself and other forms of altered books, the sky's the limit now. One of the professional scrapbookers whose style I admire, Ali Edwards, mixes page sizes within albums. It's also popular now to use divided page protectors along with scrapbook pages. The sections can be filled with photos, journaling cards, patterned paper or ephemera. This is an easy way to make use of more photos without doing a layout every single time.

I'd like to encourage you to make scrapbooking about the little, daily things as well as events. The big push today is for us to tell our stories. A scrapbook page doesn't even have to include photos to count!

Happy crafting!
Immi

Grandparents

Here is the second page, featuring the doting grandparents, Abba & Immi. One of the things that's been so amazing to me since becoming a grandparent is how fascinated I've been with these babies. I can hardly take my eyes off them, and could watch them for hours!

This page was very simple. I used a Basic Grey paper for the background, and edged it with brown ink. The saying came on a piece of transparency; I used my Xyron to add the adhesive and backed it with textured white cardstock. The strip towards the bottom was left over from cutting another sheet; I colored and edged it with some inks. Simple!

Happy crafting!
Immi

New Scrapbook

I've started a new scrapbook about N's first year. I'll be posting pages from this for a while. This is the first time I've done anything with an 8x8 format. A while back, I chose the scrapbook as well as some possible papers and embellishments.

Last week I spent some time choosing pictures and sent them off to Shutterfly. When the pictures came in the mail, I decided which ones to use and slid them in the page protectors.

Here's the first page, using a photo taken when she was only a few days old. I love the way the light coming through the window illuminates her precious little face! I layered some textured white cardstock with a watercolor-look paper (edged with blue ink). The rub-on at the bottom of the page is one I've had for a while. The flowers came in a package; they're made from an iridescent fabric. The flower center was punched from a scrap of pink paper.

I think this project will come together pretty quickly, now that I've got all my stuff together. Enjoy!

Immi

The Results Are In

I want to share my very first "from scratch" digital layout. I used one of my freebie papers as the background. I also used a brush set, coloring it with a color I picked up from one of the photos. I experimented with adding drop shadows to the photos. The label at the bottom is another brush, with text added inside. (I realized after I sent it off to be printed that the date should have been August, but I decided I could live with it.) Finally, I played around with some of the default brushes that come with Photoshop Elements to add the color around the outside edge of the layout. This is not an outstanding layout, but I was happy with my first try at building from the ground up.

If you are interested in experimenting with digital, you can find some great free digital products out there to get started. One of my favorite sources is DesignerDigitals. You have to join their online community to have access to the freebies, but they are very generous. They also have a vast selection of items to purchase, as well as some tutorials.

The online printing service I used is ScrapbookPictures. The service is easy to use, and the turnaround is quick. I sent two layouts to be printed, and I'm quite pleased with the way they look. I was concerned that the layouts would look too flat, but that's not the case. I'm not ready to give up my paper, but this is a fun and creative alternative. It's also nice to have a very thin layout to slide into my album.

Try something creative today!
Immi