Scrapbook Gal

Eternally Layou

2010-08-04T10:29:00.004-06:00

I love paper with big patterns & designs on it! If you cut ever so careful around the edges of it, it can overlap on your photos and add dimension & embellishments to it! I did that on the dragonflies that were part of this beautiful paper:

Here's the entire layout: Not the best photo, but you get the idea *wink!*

Graduation Invites

2010-03-19T12:25:00.003-06:00

I love how this turned out!

If you want something different from the norm, and are interested in having me do your son/daughter's graduation invite, please contact me. My prices are very affordable, and when I'm done, you will have a CD to print as many as you'd like.

I also do party invites & baby announcements.

Thanks!

Who Loves Baby?

2009-10-05T17:07:00.002-06:00

We have a huge family all over the place, so I thought I would make a book with baby boy and all our family members so he would learn to recognize him. The first book I made was chipboard and cute inked scrapbook papers that I was afraid to let him play with by himself because he could put it in his mouth and destroy it. So then I made him this 4"x4" acrylic album that I used twice as many interior pages so that the paper & photo were between them. It's hard to hide the adhesive with clear albums, so you can see it pretty clearly....but's that's okay! I'm still happy with it!

Almost each page has a photo of him with his

Aunt, Uncle, Grandparent or Cousin. :)

It's been awhile...

2009-10-05T17:03:00.002-06:00

a long while since I've posted to this blog! Well, hopefully that has finally come to an end! During this long period of absense I was pregnant and miserable and had zero interest in anything crafty....seriously! Then in January 2009 I birth to a darling little boy. That made things wonderful but hard to craft. Well the little turkey is now almost 9 months and I'm finally getting back into the swing of things! So, I thought for my first "returning" project I would post a little book I made for him! Coming next post..... :)

Baby Announcements 101 (using Photoshop)

2008-08-08T11:12:00.015-06:00

I was asked for directions on how I made my nephew's baby announcement with Photoshop. After 4 hours of writing & doing these instructions, I thought I'd post it here for everyone to use. If you do happen to make a card, announcement, etc, I hope that would would leave a comment to this post & share your creation with us!!

The original post of the announcement can be found here:
http://scrapbook-gal.blogspot.com/2007/10/photoshop-cs3.html

Baby Announcements 101

(using photoshop cs)

(Note: If you do not own photoshop, you can download a 30 day free trial from Adobe at http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/photoshop/. Once your 30 day trial is over, you can simply uninstall the program, or purchase it to continue to use this awesome program!)

To first start, open you photoshop & create a new file, 4"x6" at 600 pixels/inch. Then use your rulers to make a 1/4" buffer around the edges.

Turn your rulers on if they aren’t already (Go to view & make sure Rulers has a check on the side). Take your mouse, click on the ruler and drag it towards your blank sheet. You will see a black hidden line, move that 1/4" on all 4 sides, when you have placed it where you want it’s a light blue color. You can keep them on, because they won’t print.

This is your working limits, you don't want to put any text or photos in here because they might be chopped off.

Next you need to pick the size of the photo you are going to use, the fonts you want, and the patterns. I like to use digital scrapbook sets, because I don't make my own backgrounds very good. There are tons of sites out there with scrapbook sets you can purchase, but there are some awesome freebies too. You just gotta search for them. My favorite site is: http://www.shabbyprincess.com/ They have beautiful stuff there!

If you want to design your own patterns, you can do that too, just depending on what you want, lines, or circles, or whatever, however I’ll show you how to do it with an existing pattern.

I have decided to use Shabbyprincess URBAN KIWI kit and match this style of announcement. This announcement was found as an example off the internet. (I can’t seem to find the link but will post it as soon as I can!)

The first paper I’m going to use is the one called ShabbyP_Kiwi_StripedPaper. Open it up in Photoshop, and drag in onto your blank announcement.

If you want to resize it, make sure that layer is current (it’s layer 1) and Ctrl-T. Use your Shift key when dragging at the corners if you want to keep it proportioned. If the stripes are too big, and you want them smaller use this command. Of course if it’s too small, you might have to do duplicate layers of the stripes to cover your announcement. I’m going to keep this simple and keep it at the size it is.

Next pick your photo. I’m going to use a photo my friend Katie took of my nephew. I love her work & she has her own business Intimate Reflections Photography.

Open you photo you are using in Photoshop and drag it onto your announcement and scale it using Ctrl-T. Make sure to use the Shift key when sizing it so it stays in proportion.

Make sure to keep saving your work.

Okay, next I’m going to use ShabbyP_Kiwi_BlackLinenPaper for the brown area. Open it up, drag it onto your announcement. You’ll have to use Ctrl-T to scale it down at the corners and sizes so it lines up with the photo.

If you want the white lines that are framing the photo make your foreground color the color you want.

I chose to use a green that matched the patterned paper, so click on the foreground color and then when the color swatch pops up click somewhere on the green patterned paper and it will pick it up.

There are a few ways to make the border. You can do a line, or a rectangle that is a little bit bigger than your photo and put it behind it (layering). We’ll stick with lines for this announcement.

First create a new layer that your lines will be on and make it your current layer by clicking on it.

Use your pencil tool and change the size to 9

Then draw your lines. To keep your line perfectly straight hold your Shift key down while drawing it. This might take a little practice, and you can always undo your last command.

Your announcement should look like this now:

If you don’t like the border, you can change the color, the thickness or style of the line and redo it.

Now the text. Pick on the text tool. We’re going to keep the color the light green since it’s on the black.

Now pick your font. You can use several fonts, or just one. Make sure you stay inside the blue lines.

And you’re done! Save it. Then save it as a .jpg file (quality at max – 12). Burn it to a CD and take it to your local photo print shop & print one to see if you like it. Then print as many as you need & mail out to your friends & family.

I think this is a great inexpensive way to create announcements. You can print them on 4"x6" photos (19 cents at piece @ Wal-Mart!) and they look professionally done (at least I think so) lol!

Hope that helps! Good luck!

jen :)

Embellished Idol ROUND 1

2008-07-11T10:08:00.002-06:00

I’m ‘competing’ in this contest for the next 8 weeks called embellished idol, to make it to the next round I need votes.

You have to vote for your 5 favorite! (my name is stediagirl, hint, hint!).

The gallery of submissions are here:
http://www.embellished.com.au/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=964

To vote you go here:
http://embellished.typepad.com/idol_2008/

Bonus round:
Boy Birthday Card

Father's Day Cards

2008-06-16T11:08:00.002-06:00

Carve

2008-06-13T13:33:00.003-06:00

A busy layout, yes. But in real life, it's a really cute layout! There's nothing wrong with having layouts with more than one 4"x6" photo on it (as you can see I tend to do that a lot!)*wink*

Christmas Lighting

2008-06-13T13:27:00.004-06:00

Fun ribbon techinique:
I used my ATG gun and rolled adhesive all around the photo, then placed my ribbon on it allowing little 'bubbles'. It gives it texture & an awesome photo frame!

Also, take those large patterned paper & cut it out. Overlap it on your photos, etc. It's a 'flat' embellishment, but can add so much more to your layout. :)

Paper Used: Basic Grey

Sleepover

2008-06-13T13:23:00.002-06:00

Hand journaling & the cutest nephew in the world *heart*

Halloween 2008

2008-06-12T13:53:00.003-06:00

A simple layout. I love to stack :)

Anniversary Card

2008-06-12T10:42:00.003-06:00

My Minds Eyes - Bohemian Collection.
A favorite technique I like to use on my brads & eyelets - sand them just a little bit to make them a little more 'rustic/distressed' and textured :)

Honey, I love you

2008-06-12T10:34:00.004-06:00

A card I made for my DH :)

Thanks to my friend Nicole who gave me that felt diecut flower. Add a little glitter & it's perfect!

Valentines 2008

2008-05-12T09:44:00.003-06:00

I think I used almost the entire monthly kit from Memory-Works on this layout. It's so cute, and one of my favorites! Aren't the flowers my DH gave me gorgeous? I sure think so!!

Linus & Lucy

2008-05-12T09:41:00.002-06:00

You know that song from Charlie Brown Christmas that you hear around the holiday season? That is my Dad's favorite song!! Well, my brother was goofing around and started to play the bass clef part of it, so I jumped on the piano and played the treble clef. I think we played 500 times. It was so fun, and Dad was just tickled!!

Pals ALWAYS Together

2008-05-05T11:55:00.001-06:00

A good friend of mine taught me this AWESOME technique. Print clipart on transparencies!! (black swirlies)

A friend is someone who knows you and likes you anyway

2008-05-05T11:53:00.001-06:00

Snowmobling Yellowstone

2008-05-05T11:08:00.003-06:00

National Scrapbook Day was Saturday May 3rd, and I made this album with the help of my Dad who cut the acrylic pages for me. :)

Wedding Photos

2008-05-01T13:06:00.006-06:00

Playing around in Photoshop with photos that I took of my brother & his wife at their wedding :)
Not to shabby for an amateur! LOL

I think this one is my favorite! I love how soft it turned out. And my brother owns his own landscaping business so his hands were really cut up. I had to really fudge to fix that (click on the photo for a larger photo):)

2008-04-07T10:31:00.005-06:00

On one of the local online scrapbook groups, a challenge was given to scraplift one of our favorite pages, and to make the theme totally different. The layout I picked was one I did a few years ago, and was one of the first 'lumpy' scrapbook pages I had done. I'm mad at myself for wrinkling it, when pulling it out of the album...darn it!
Scraplifted layout:
Thanks Cindy for this challenge! What a great idea to case your own stuff! Not sure why I hadn't thought of that before! LOL

Remodel

2008-04-03T17:51:00.002-06:00

Okay, so our 'new' house wasn't exactly BRAND NEW, it needed some major updating. We pulled off the large flower wallpaper, and ripped out the blue carpet, repainted & re carpeted most of of the main floor. Thanks to the help of my Dad we did all of it ourselves, and learned so much too!!

A Place to Call Home

2008-04-03T17:36:00.002-06:00

The swirly vine is a fiber that I used a million glue-dots to put down. LOL. This is our new house!!! Last summer we became new homeowners :)

Sisters

2008-04-03T17:33:00.003-06:00

I had fun making this layout. I love to use silk flowers from the craft store in many of my layouts. I also wanted to use the KI Memories transparency, and so I cut it down and put it on the right side. Perfect :)

Lucky

2008-03-12T09:16:00.001-06:00

I made this LO using the March kit from Memory Works :) The papers are LUCKY from Rusty Pickle - very Irish :)

Lagoon

2008-03-01T12:52:00.003-07:00

Such cute paper! I couldn't just cover it!

Added a little of my own 'bling' to these cute Heidi Swapp Letters :)

Lovers of Loving Love

2008-02-28T19:59:00.002-07:00

Not that the paper was busy enough, I had to add some doodling & vines on it...lol.

"Lovers of Loving Love" is one of our favorite songs by The Aquabats.

Little Cowboy

2008-02-28T19:37:00.003-07:00

I've been tagged

2008-02-26T11:17:00.003-07:00

The Rules:You must list one fact about yourself for each letter of your middle name. Each fact must begin with that letter. If you don't have a middle name, just use your maiden name. After you've been tagged, you need to up-date your blog with your middle name and answers. At the end of your post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name.

My middle name is...Lee

L...I am lefthanded. I have been a lefty all my life, but just the last few months have been trying to learn to write with my right-hand, just to see if I can do it! lol!
E...I love education. I love to take classes, learn new stuff, and teach what I do know!
E...I work for a engineering company. I am a civil designer and draw & design for 2 civil engineers. :)

I tag Lana!

Dad

2008-01-30T14:36:00.001-07:00

This layout took A LOT of buttons & ribbon, but it looks so cute!! The only way I could have improved on it was to enlarge the photo.

Some of the ribbon is tied around the paper circle, others are 'glue-dotted' on.

Nauvoo

2008-01-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this layout. The colors went perfectly with the photos. I even used a super duper old tag (like 5 years old) lol

I cut the patterned paper out with a exacto knife so the vines & leaves would be hidden and covered them over the photos, tag and journaling.

PP: KaiserCraft (Australia) - Elegance Collection

Fabulous Zoey Rose

2008-01-30T14:31:00.001-07:00

Scuba Swimming

2008-01-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

Journaling reads: Dad took Joshua scuba diving for the first time and he LOVED it!

(The photos tell all :)

PP: My Minds Eye.

Comfort food

2008-01-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

Journaling reads: Grandma~although you may be gone, memories of you are everywhere. When I was little you used to cook this meal all the time. I will cook the same meal for my family and tell them stories of you *heart*

Pancakes

2008-01-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

I HAD to do a LO of my husband and his 'pan cakes'. While down at Lake Powel, each couple is assigned a day to prepare meals. The morning we were assigned to make pancakes, my husband make up a song that stuck the rest of the trip and it still sung many breakfast mornings. It requires a spatula, and him singing "I'm making PANcakes!"

Patterned Paper is Junkitz. It was a little too bright, so I distressed it with white paint. :)

Silverlake

2008-01-30T14:11:00.001-07:00

I could fly higher than an eagle...if I wasn't such a Chicken

2007-12-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

Week 8 at ScrappyGiraffeKits.com. Sketch design by Leisha's Page Plans & scrappygiraffekits

This is the last week for ScrapThatTune...I'm sure going to miss it!!

I finally used my mica on this layout! I've had it for 3+ years & have never used it. It's fun stuff, I don't know why I was afraid to use it before. LOL

There are 3 hidden photos & 1 hidden journaling that you can pull out from the top.

Hidden journaling reads: We went to the state fair this year & saw the world's largest pig & alligator AND Josh actually road the rides! I think he got sick...but it was worth it because it was something he had always wanted to do. Now he can say been there done that!! Sept. 07

Trouble

2007-12-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

Front:

Back:
Side 1:

Side 2:Top:

Week 7 at ScrappyGiraffeKits.com

I think it turned out cute, but not as detailed as I would have liked it...I am still happy with it considering the day I had. :) (& we all have those days :) )

This is a gift that I made my Mom for Christmas. It's filled with handmade cards for any occasision. :)

My PRINCE charming, you make me DELIRIOUS

2007-11-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

Week 6 at SGK's! DH actually felt honored to see the crown on his head...too funny!! I had so much fun doing this layout!! My challenge was to use the song Delirious and the song artist Prince. :) (Note: There is pipe cleaner in this layout! Can you see it?!?!)

I get a lot of comments about our 'twinner' glasses. We actually both wore these glasses before we met each other, and on our first date (which was pretty much a blind date) that was the first thing we talked & laughed about....even then you could tell we had a lot of the same tastes & interests. :)

Sketch by Leisha's Page Plans & Scrappygiraffekits.com!

Peaceful Easy Feeling

2007-11-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

Scrap That Tune - Week 5 at SGK!

A perfect description to how I feel about Lake Powell!! And these photos prove it!! LOL!!

A simple, clean layout, and quite the challenge putting 10 photos on 1 page. I like how the flowers look almost like the sun to me. :) In this cold weather right now, I'm so missing it!!!

Sketch by Liesha's Page plans & Scrappygiraffekits!

Playing with Photoshop

2007-11-21T08:43:00.002-07:00

BEFORE:
AFTER (hair in face gone, most blemishes gone, teeth whiter):

BEFORE:

AFTER (background all changed to grass):

I believe In Us (Acrylic Album)

2007-11-10T19:40:00.002-07:00

I am really excited about this project. The Scrap That Tune Contest/Challenge (week 4) over at www.scrappygiraffekits.com has really pushed me to work harder & has really helped me improve my skills. I give them all the credit for that!! For this challenge, I decided to make an acrylic album. I didn't have time to order one online, so I went down to Lowe's and bought a 18"x24" sheet plexi-glass and with the help of my Dad we cut the sheet down to smaller individual pages, sand the edges and corners, and drill holes in the side to bind. Unfortunately one sheet didn't make it to the final cut, because it was our 'guinea pig'. lol. Anywho, Here it is!

Page 1 (Cover)

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Page 6

Page 7

Page 8

Page 9

Page 10 (Back Cover)

Another Day In Paradise

2007-11-03T17:28:00.000-06:00

Scrap That Tune Week 3 at scrappygiraffekits.com. Sketch by Leisha's Page Plans

I took a blue sheet of cardstock and used white spray paint & a Heidi Swapp Mask. I used a Cayman coin for part of the flower. The flower is spray painted to soften it, and then I added glitter down the center of the petals. There is journaling under the photo. (Hence the hinges & pull tab). All cardstock has the edges distressed.

I am really pleased with how this turned out, however I haven't figured out how I'm going to put it in a scrapbook album...LOL.

Photo of Joshua & I in Grand Cayman last March. It looks really dark, but looks fine IRL. hmm..wierd.

Lyric in the Fall

2007-11-02T11:43:00.003-06:00

I took these photos of Lyric yesterday afternoon, and played with a few of them with Photoshop. :)

Way Up High....Up in the Sky

2007-10-31T09:55:00.001-06:00

Keys

2007-10-30T10:12:00.000-06:00

Yes, I just realized I mispelled KEYS....this is going to require some heavy duty fixin', cuz those letters are stuck on there good!! LOL!!! I am such a nerd!!!!

Frame & doodling by me - Jen :)

This LO was for the October Sketch challenge at SGK -Sketch by Liesha's Page Plans & Scrappy Giraffe Kits.

The swirlies & frame are drawn by me.

All You Need is Love

2007-10-27T13:36:00.000-06:00

A layout I did for the Scrap That Tune Contest over at www.ScrappyGiraffeKits.com - Week 2
The journaling is the song by the Beatles, and is written all along the edge of the Layout with a souffle pen.

Kits

2007-10-26T16:27:00.001-06:00

I stumbled across these the other day, these are a few kits I made a while ago when I had my online scrapbook store, I even scanned them in & digitized them for digital scrappers. I made probably 15 different kits. I'll have to look for my other ones & post them, because I never put them in a scrapbook!

They are pretty much old school now, but I had a lot of fun making them. The last one I made for a benefit @ Promos4digiscrappers as a free download (yeah, it's old - note the OLD last name...so this was like 2+ years ago!).

Blinkies for Chuck :)

2007-10-26T16:14:00.002-06:00

It seems like it's been FOREVER since I played around with animation with Photoshop & Image Ready. Yesterday I thought I'd see if I still 'got it', and well, these didn't turn out too bad. :)

I absolutely LOVE this show, and since I couldn't find any online to use, I'd figure that I'd make some to use on the message boards I'm active on. :)

Small toot: StoryTellersClub.com still uses the blinkies I made for them a couple of years ago when I was on their Design Team. They are all still linked back to my old photobucket account. I think that's kinda cool :)

Fall Thank you Card

2007-10-26T10:51:00.004-06:00

Doodle All Day Book

2007-10-26T10:51:00.003-06:00

I finally covered up the composition book I have been making all my doodles in. It's simple, but bright & colorful, just like I wanted it. :)

Don't Blink

2007-10-20T20:02:00.000-06:00

A layout I did for scrappygiraffekits.com's "Scrap That Tune" Challenge/Contest. Sketch by Leisha's Page Plans and Scrappy Giraffe :)

More doodling assignments :)

2007-10-17T13:23:00.002-06:00

Photoshop CS3

2007-10-15T09:49:00.001-06:00

I love to play around with Photoshop, and fell in love with the new CS3! This is the baby announcement I made last year, and an invite I made (this weekend) for my nephew's birthday party.

It works out great, because you can print them on 4"x6" photos (19 cents at piece @ Wal-Mart!) and they look professionally done (at least I think so) lol!

He has grown so much!!

Sometimes I wonder why I don't just switch to Digital Scrapbooking, I am so much faster at it. It must be a texture thing...lol.

When I Grow Up

2007-10-12T09:02:00.001-06:00

A layout I did for a contest "When I grow up".

The journaling reads:

When I grow up

I always knew what I wanted to be - like my Dad a Civil Engineer & my Mom a Mother.

I am not a civil designer & work next to my Dad everyday.

As for being a Mom, I'll get there someday :)

Young photo of me: 1983
Current photo of me (sorta): 2006

Doodle All Day

2007-10-11T08:54:00.001-06:00

I am thoroughly enjoying this online class from Big Picture Scrapbooking. Here are a few of my doodles from my 'doodle book' :)

Keeping Cool

2007-10-07T13:06:00.000-06:00

I made this Layout for an assignment at Big Picture Scrapbooking - Doodle All Day.

Card: Obscure Hi

2007-10-01T12:58:00.001-06:00

A fun card using Basic Grey's Obscure paper, Colorbok rub-ons, Chipboard, misc. ribbon & clear buttons.

Obscure Thanks

2007-10-01T12:55:00.002-06:00

A clean Thank You card using Basic Grey's Obscure paper. Simple is good too :)

He Loves Punk Rock

2007-10-01T12:50:00.000-06:00

A layout using Basic Grey's Obscure paper. My DH LOVES music, and LOVES the Aquabats, and LOVES punk rock! This photo is of him backstage at & the Aquabats. My brother is a sound engineer and invited Joshua to join him backstage. This is was a TOTAL treat for him!!

I have to seriously figure out my scanner. These Layouts are not coming out good!

Obscure Hi

2007-10-01T12:49:00.001-06:00

A card using Basic Grey's Obscure line.

Birthday Calendar

2007-09-28T16:43:00.003-06:00

Inspired by Memory-Works class kits, I came up with my own rendition of the Birthday Calendar with Basic Grey Romani-Gypsy collection. I created each month in Photoshop & printed it on white cardstock. I seriously made 12 of these to give out to all the gals in my family for Birthday gifts this year!

Husband & Wife

2007-09-28T16:41:00.001-06:00

I made this card with KI Memories old stuff (but still love them!) for some friends of ours that were getting married!

Valentine's Day '07

2007-09-28T16:37:00.000-06:00

I am a huge StoryTellers Club fan, and can't take credit for any elements in this Layout except the photos & journaling. :) They make scrapbooking sooo easy! Especially when you scrap every single thing like I do! (Ignore the line down the middle, I was lazy in scanning these)

Spring Time

2007-09-28T16:35:00.001-06:00

I love my Mom's Garden, especially in the Spring Time :) Her Tulips are absolutely AMAZING!

Lagoon Fun '06

2007-09-28T16:33:00.001-06:00

I was rather impressed that these photo's actually came out decent. We took them with Joshua's cell phone. :)

Ugly Paper Challenge

2007-09-28T16:20:00.000-06:00

I did this layout over at Memory-Works.com message board. I had to incorporate all the ugly paper into a Layout. All those pieces are hand cut out. And here are the uglies I had to work with, can you see each of them in the Layout?