Winter Snow

Swirling Snow in nontraditional colors for Christmas or Winter

make this little chipboard mini book extra special.

Front Cover

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Interior Pages

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Interior Pages
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Interior Pages
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Back cover

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The colors used in this mini book are just a little bit different from your normal Christmas colors, but who says it can only be used for Christmas. This book could be used for winter photos too. By not using traditional reds and greens this book has more potential for various uses. I created this book two years ago and it now belongs to a very good friend in Canada. Being in Canada she probably has more photos of snow than some of us who live further south.

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My tip for creating a coordinated color theme in a book like this is to use one collection from a designer or paper manufacturer. You may need to purchase more than one pack of the papers so that you will have enough if you plan on making a large book or one with a lot of pages.

Search for coordinating cardstock if the papers do not come with some preselected sheets of cardstock. Gather fibers or ribbons and other items to embellish the tags and pages.

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By using preselected and coordinating papers your book will turn out looking more professional than if you use a hodgepodge of papers. Now, don't get me wrong. I like books that are an explosion of designs and colors too, but each concept has it's own place.

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The main thing is to enjoy your work.
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Please leave a comment. It makes me smile.

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:) Sharlotte

Fall is Pumpkin Picking Time

Hand Painting on your

Scrapbook Pages

I recently decided to try something that I hadn't done in a while.

That was painting.

Only this time I would be trying it on

a scrapbook page layout.

With acrylic paints and some cardstock I set out

to create a two page layout of pumpkins and vines.

To give the layout some dimension and interest,

I also painted a pumpkin on cardstock,

cut it out and then elevated it above the page.

Above is the left side page with the elevated pumpkin in detail.

The photo of the right side page of the layout is above.

Here is a close up of the elevated pumpkin on that page.

Below is an image that shows both pages side by side.

The layout has no title.

The words and phrases on the photo mats say it all.

If you like to paint and also scrapbook,

I encourage you to get out your paints and try to combine the two.

I love how this layout turned out and plan to do more in the near future.

As we continue into the fall season, I would like to take this time to thank all the people who follow and read my blog. May you all have a wonderfully blessed and joyous Autumn Season.

Happy Halloween!

.... and the goblins'll get you if you don't watch out!

This little Halloween book is up for bids on eBay.

Click ~ HERE ~ to see the listing.

I don't normally do many vintage / primitive items, but I have to tell you this was so much fun.

All the pages are covered with details.

If you like primitives this is perfect for your Halloween photos.

Swirling Leaves of Autumn

Fall is here in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Our leaves and grasses are showing their beautiful autumn colors while many of the leaves are already flying in the wind. The shades of orange, rust, brown, gold, yellow, burgundy, red, and several hues of green are painted across the rolling landscape in large splashes of color. I love this time of year when there is so much color outdoors, the air is dryer and the temperature is cooler. The smells of wood smoke drift across our area as neighbors begin to use their fireplaces invoking a peaceful image of homes preparing for winter. The mums are in full bloom, and if I look closely down by the creek I may find some bittersweet vines. Our oak tree out in the back yard is nearly stripped bare of all its acorns. Looks like the squirrels will be blessed with food all winter.

My own blessings are many, and I am so grateful for all of them. One way that I am showing my appreciation for the blessing of good health is by lending a hand to others who are not as fortunate as I have been. In one of my online scrapbook eBay communities, ScrapaDeeDooDah, we are hosting some auctions to benefit a charity. We all selected to create and sell items that will benefit breast cancer awareness, treatment and/or research. The money raised from the sale of my item will go toward the Greater Kansas City Susan G. Komen for the Cure Organization. Other members will select a breast cancer charity of their own choice. The charity auctions will begin on October 20, 2009 and end on November 1, 2009.

To see all the charity auctions and other listings by these group members just go to ebay and do a search using the keyword, SDDD. That will bring up all listings by the ScrapaDeeDooDah members who are participating in this event.

With Autumn being my favorite holiday it was not a difficult decision as to what to create for the charity auction. I decided on a mini album in a fall theme. The title for this little mini book is "Swirling Leaves of Autumn". This book will go up for bids on October 20, 2009. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit the chosen charity. Please take a look at the auction when it starts and place your bid to help out a very worthy cause.



The first photo is of the front cover.

The book cover measures 6 inches by 6 inches and is bound together with metal book rings which have been lavishly decorated with ribbons, yarn and fibers. A silk leaf and a dimensional cardstock leaf appear to have settled onto the satin ribbon that runs vertically down the cover.

A tiny 1 inch leaf charm is attached to the upper book ring so that it dangles.

Interior pages are 6 inches wide and 5 inches high.

Each page has pockets so that the buyer can slide photos and memorabilia inside.

This little book would be a great way to preserve your fall or Thanksgiving photos.

Click on the thumbnail images below to view all the pretty details of this book.

When this auction starts, I'll post a direct link to it here or you can search using SDDD as a keyword.

Please help by doing what you can to find a cure for breast cancer.

Thank you.

Don't delete that pic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh ... we all have them. Those photos from vacation that were so much fun to take. We get home, download them off the camera and have so much fun reliving the trip. When it comes time to scrapbook them, it's a different story. At least with my photos it usually is.

I loved this one of my grandson, but the photo had other people standing next to him and a busy background. What did I want to keep in the photo? What did I want to crop out? With this one shown below, cropping would not totally remove the people standing next to him.




This is where a cloning tool comes in handy. With Paint Shop Pro you can use the clone tool and cover up the distracting part of the photo. In this case I wanted to eliminate the people beside and behind him. So by right clicking on a section of the photo and then left clicking over the people I was able to cover them up and blend in the background. Now you notice my grandson and not the baby stroller and other people right by him.



This makes for a great picture of the vacation and one of the things that we did. What if you want to use the photo on a page that is just about the child and not about the vacation? You can eliminate more of the background for that. Find an area of the photo to clone and cover up everything that you don't want around the child. In this case I chose the sandy ground for the bottom and more of the green fencing for the upper background.
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Next I went one step further and blurred the background with the wind tool. To do this without blurring the child you use your selection tool. I chose the freehand version and drew a line around the child and to the edges on the sides and top. Then while this was selected I went to effects and chose the wind option. Now my background is blurry and does not detract from the child. After that I cropped the photo. See photo below.

This photo is now ready to print and use on a scrapbook page that is about the boy and not so much about the vacation. :) I created the digital page below using Print Shop 22 along with digital backgrounds and elements from various digital designers.

Click images to view them in a larger size.

Freebies for Fall

I have some freebies posted on my companion blogs.

1. Backgrounds are available at TraDigiScraps .

2. Matching printable tag sheets can be found on my blog titled Print 'n Scrap.

I posted some on both blogs that are vibrant orange and black for fall fun.

I hope that you enjoy using them. :)

All Grown Up

Our son: He grew up so fast.

While we were busy, he grew up. While we worked to pay bills, he grew up. While we were going through life day by day, he grew up. He grew up fast. He grew up handsome. He grew up strong. More importantly he grew up loving us and knowing that we loved him.

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This is a 2 page, 12 x 12 layout of photos of our son Steven. The images were taken during his senior year in high school. The year was the fall of 1991. I'm just now getting them onto paper and arranged as a page. I should be embarassed, but I'm not. I have tons of pics that will never get scrapped because there is not enough time to get them all onto paper. That's okay. My scrapping hobby only began about 6 years ago. I'll do the photos of the moments in time that are important to me. I'll do what I can when I can. That's all I can promise.

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This two page layout uses two sheets of 12 x 12 textured cardstock, four sheets of patterned paper trimmed, four photos matted and trimmed, chipboard flourish, number and photo corners, cardstock initial and number, buttons and ink on all the edges of the papers. Images are of stones or river rocks and sand.

Your Blog - Let me know about it!

Hi everyone!

I've found blogging to be so much fun. I spend a lot of time reading other blogs too. Please post a comment and put a link in your comment so that I can find your blog. I would love to see what you are doing and read your comments.

Here's a blog that I found today: It is giving away a prize so go read it and post a comment. :)

http://pamelasworldofscrap.blogspot.com/2009/08/getting-creative-and-giveaway.html

Now, I'm off to catch up on blogs or at least as many as I can get read before real life calls me away from the computer again.

Scraps of Faith Scrapbooking Classes Have Begun

The Scraps of Faith Scrapbooking classes have begun at First Baptist Church of Council Grove, Kansas.

We began by starting on this little mini book to be donated to the Wrapped in Belief Outreach Ministry. A second or third session will be needed to complete the book.

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The photos and instuctions for creating the project are posted on the Scraps of Faith Scrapbooking blog.

Click here to see that blog, view the photos and to read the instructions for the project.

Creating Digital Backgrounds Using Photographs

Mother's Day Memories

I recently created a chipboard scrapbook mini album to use as a gift. I liked the color palette and took photographs to keep and share since the album would be given away to a young lady for her graduation.

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After cropping one of the images, I used Paint Shop Pro to create a series of digital backgrounds. Some were repetitive patterns and others were kaleidoscopic.

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By layering one on top of another and also using some elements cropped from the original photo I created the image below. It is 8 x 8 inches at 300 dpi.

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This image can be used as a background for a digital scrapbook page.
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Just insert your photo, add a drop shadow, add some text and you will have a page like the one below.
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The photo is of my mother and me when I was approximately 6 weeks old. I created this for Mother's Day for my own album.

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You are welcome to right click and snag the digital background image and use it for one of your own pages.

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Happy Mother's Day!