Wednesday, April 30, 2008

This and That and a lot of pink!

Lilly sporting her strawberry bikini! I found this at a childrens specialty shop before she was born and had to have it no matter what the cost! I think it was definitely worth it! This LO was created with the Blooming Colors kit from Anita (Nana's Attic) http://nanas-attic.blogspot.com/Okay, maybe I have time to answer some questions today. April and the end of quarters always drive me batty. Why I chose accounting as a way to support my lifestyle is sometimes a mystery to me! This is probably 'gonna be a long one, but you may pick up a tip or two if you read on! So grab your drink of choice and settle in for a long ramble today!
Rena asks about layering elements on your page and not having them "float". I'm guessing you are asking about using drop shadows. (Girl...shoot me an email, then I can answer your questions better, after all, I've shown you mine, now you show me yours!). I almost always use the low drop in Photoshop. The default is 21/21. A lot of the time this is way too big. Example, if I use a staple, the default makes it float, I change it to 10/10, this looks good to me. If you are stacking a lot of items, the top most (and thicker) will have the heavier shadows. Take some real paper, ribbon and a button and lay it on your desk to get a real perspective. Remember, the undo button is your best friend! Play with it till you get the hang of it, soon it will become second nature to you, I swear!
For the dear sweet ladies who still scrap in 8.5 x 11, I wish I could help you, but honestly, for all the years that I scrapped in this size, I always ended up with a double spread, this size just isn't enough room for me to get my message across. I like BIG and SQUARE! I have a large format printer, but for most of my books, I have lately started to make my pages in 12 x 12, resize to 8 x 8 and print on my regular photo printer. The Paper Studio makes terrific 8 x 8 albums. If you do not want to convert to a different size, perhaps you can still scraplift my designs and make them into 8.5 x 11. I don't mind at all. I always post the name of the kit I used, so you should be able to copy the design fairly easily.
Lori wants to know if I have any tips for non-creative people. Uh...download quick pages? Scraplift? Nah...seriously, PLAY!!!! This is supposed to be FUN! Check out some tutorials, read blogs (hint, hint!) and just keep creating! As long as you are preserving your memories and you are happy with the end result, you have accomplished something! Password is: berrycute
This is just something I started thinking about when I was playing with Kim's new kit, "An Ordinary Day". Scrap those "ordinary" moments. Everybody remembers the wedding or the graduation, but the pics of Lilly gnawing on a rib will be great to show her boyfriend when she is sixteen! ROTFLPIMP!!!
Take lots of pictures! I carry my camera with me all the time. It does come in handy, once I took pics of a drunk driver hit and run because I had my camera right beside me and he was hunted down and sent to jail because I had taken photos of him along with his vehicle at the wreck! I took a photography course in college and the professor said "Take lots of pictures, film is cheap, and you may get that once in a lifetime photo". Well, we have digital now, so there is no excuse. I may shoot 100 pics, and the only one that is worth saving is of Wyatt running to Lilly's beck and call or her putting her hand over the camera lens. Ahhh... these are the REAL moments of life.
Here 'ya go: Link Expired
Remember your manners!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I do the same - scrap in 12x12, then print 8x8. I also take tons of pics, and my hubby gives me a hard time about it, but the real gems have been stuck in the middle of 160 other photos taken that day! Since I got 'caught up' on my scrapping about a year ago, I've been better about scrapping those regular, everyday moments. Thank you for your wonderful work - I LOVE quick pages!

Nani said...

SO true about the camera with you everywhere! The one thing I really love about digital is that I can feel free to snap anything I see! So of the pictures are priceless memories, some are great elements for scrapbook kits, others are great for keeping the finger that hits the delete button in shape! :)

I paper scrapped in 8X11, but I'm doing all digital now - my computer hand is much better than my writing and cutting hand! I digi-scrap in 12X12 and get the books printed through Shutterfly!

Great blog (as usual) and great tips! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Absolutely ADORABLE QP Vicki, perfectly perfect for that precious little girl in the "$weet $wimsuit",,,Oh I would love to know how much you Splurged...yeah I know, you will never tell...ha! I have had those moments myself...
thanks for the Super cute QP!

Thank you also for the TIP on drop shadows, (sorry I didnt have the technical term in my head when I wrote the note) I will give your suggestion a try and see if I can get a better flow without the float, I didnt even realize you could CHANGE the default level....*duh*
seeeeeeee
this is why I rely on you for those QP's...I get incredible pages and keep SANE all at the same time! =) thanks lady...much appreciated!!
Rena

Susie2shoes said...

I'm also a 12 x 12 and print 8 x 8 scrapper. Every time I go to the store I pop another 1 gig memory card in amongst the groceries. You just cant have enough memory for you camera.

I love creating scrapbooks, the only thing is I have great difficulty finding good, quality scrap books here in the UK, I wish I had the resources you guys have over in the USA.

Thanks for the lovely QP and tricks of the trade :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great tips.....never thought to scrap 12x12 and print 8x8. Gonna try that one. This QP is beautiful thanks for sharing it.

Tiffany said...

Vicki,
Thanks so much!!! You are wonderful!!

Lori said...

Hi Bubbly one! hehe I'm back. I've been missing for a couple of days. I take an intermediate Paintshop Pro class and a Photoshop class and both are due Monday and I'm behind so I've been trying to catch up. I'd much rather read blogs than tuts and info. lol

Anyway, I wanted to thank you for the tips...I posted a new layout I did yesterday...it's on my blog. Will you look and tell me what you think? I think it's off balance.

Thank you for this great qp! I love Anita's work!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for another wonderful qp Vicki!

CalvaryGirl said...

I love this page. You are right about the ton of pics turning out to a couple of good ones. I was just telling my best friend that the other night at her daughter's ballgame :)

Sue said...

What a good idea to bring your camera with you all the time. I always wish I had it at odd moments.

I LOVE to take pictures as my family knows (to their sorrow). It's a great idea to take a lot of photos. Thanks for passing that tip along, too. I'm learning a lot reading your blog!

Thanks for the quick page, too! ;D