Stamping Intervention

My Digital Studio is MINE!

I've been busy working with Stampin' Up!'s new digital paper-crafting solution, My Digital Studio. Yes, it does digital scrapbooking, but it does so much more than that!

You can create greeting cards, calendars, dvds.

You can conceptualize projects before actually using the card stock. (Saving you time and money when you realize you wanted a larger layer beneath that stamped image.)

You can design templates and photo layouts for your scrapbooking!

It's a wonderful tool and I've been busy playing with it for the past two weeks. Also, I'm currently working towards my My Digital Studio Certification with Stampin' Up! by watching online tutorials, taking quizzes and working with the challenges Stampin' Up! has given.

Here's one page to my East Coast Tour photo album that I've been working on.

This was a photo template that Stampin' Up!'s designers came up with. I chose the Designer Series Paper, card stock, photos, embellishments and text. This is what I came up with!

If you'd like to learn more about My Digital Studio, click here.

Scrapbooking your Ultrasound Pictures...Don't make the same mistake I did!

Ultrasound pictures are like a trophy of pregnancy...They resonate with women as something to be cherished and that memorable experience of seeing your little "peanut" for the first time. However, do you know how to scrapbook with them?

Unfortunately, they are not acid free. The inks will eventually fade and could even do damage to your scrapbook pages. What should you do instead of scrapbooking them directly onto your page? Digitally scan them into your computer and have a print made the next time you have pictures developed. That way, they'll be of scrapbooking quality!

Now...my problem is trying to remove and replace them in my son's scrapbook without doing any damage to the rest of the page. Ahhh...hindsight is 20/20.

Don't forget, National Scrapbooking Month ends tomorrow! To take advantage of the Designer Series Paper buy three, get one free promo, be sure to place your order by tomorrow night! Click on "Place an Online Order" in the right sidebar to visit my Stampin' Up! online store.

How to Light a Photo

From eHow.com:

Proper lighting is one of the most crucial elements of a good picture, yet is one of the most commonly overlooked. Follow these simple steps to make sure your pics impress.

Step 1 -
Determine the "dominant light source." An easy way to do this is to look at the shadows in the area - they will point away from the dominant light source. If there are multiple light sources, the dominant one will create the darkest shadows.

Step 2 -
Decide what type of shot you're after. Usually you'll be wanting a fully-lit shot of your subject with as little shadow as possible.

Step 3 -
If you're going for a normal, well-lit photo, shoot away from the light source. This will eliminate harsh shadows and make sure your subject is lit up in your pic.


Other Tips -

• Don't rely on the flash! Most digital cameras have an automatic flash that's there to "fill" in bad lighting situations. Problem is, it's usually a pretty harsh light, and can wind up reflecting off your subject and making them look washed out. If there's enough light in the area and you're following these steps, turn the flash off!
• If you're outside during the day, the dominant light source is easy to find - not much is going to outshine that big light in the sky. Shoot away from the sun whenever possible.
• Don't stifle your creativity. Odds are you've got over a hundred shots to waste on that camera of yours - use them. This is simply how to properly light a photo - sometimes improper shots can accidentally wow everyone with your artistic ability!

For more great Scrapbooking Tips, book your scrapbooking workshop with me! Email me at sara@stampingintervention to reserve your date!

Valentine's Journaling Quotes for Scrapping

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Hi, all! Here's a list of some really nice quotes to use on your scrapbooking pages for Valentine's Day. Please note, they are from the website, scrapbooking.com. Enjoy!

 

From scrapbooking.com:

Valentine's Day Journaling Quotes:

Within you I lose myself...
Without you I find myself
Wanting to be lost again. - Author Unknown

Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye. - H. Jackson Brown Jr.

Where there is love there is life. - Mahatma Gandhi

For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was
not my lips you kissed, but my soul. - Judy Garland

Whatever our souls are made of, yours and mine are the same. - Emily Bronte

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.- Unknown

The heart has its reasons that reason knows nothing of. - Blaise Pascal

His Hello, was the end of her endings.
Her laugh, was their first step down the aisle.
His hand, would be hers to hold forever.
Her forever, was as simple as his smile.
He said, She was what was missing.
She said instantly she knew.
She was a question to be answered...
and his answer was I Do - Author Unknown

Just because somebody doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have. - Author Unknown

A bell is no bell 'til you ring it,
A song is no song 'til you sing it,
And love in your heart
Wasn’t put there to stay -
Love isn’t love
'Til you give it away. - Oscar Hammerstein

As sweet and musical
As bright Apollo’s lute, strung with his hair;
And when Love speaks, the voice of all the gods
Makes heaven drowsy with the harmony. - William Shakespeare


And now these three remain:
Faith, Hope and Love,
but the greatest of these is Love. - 1 Corinthians 13:13


Love bears all things,
Believes all things,
Hopes all things,
Endures all things.
Love never fails. - 1 Corinthians 13:7,8

I love you
Not only for what you are
But for what I am
When I am with you. - Roy Croft

My Heart has found its home in you
And once nestled in your arms
Nothing else would do
My heart wants only you.
My eyes have found their resting place
And once my arms found your embrace
My eyes just could not leave your face
My eyes see only you.
My ears have found the sound they love
Your voice is like music from above
My ears love to hear the sound of your voice so dear.
My ears hear only you.
My soulmate you are and always shall be
For my heart is full of love you see
I will love you faithfully and true,
For my heart has found its home in you. - Thena Smith

Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place. - Zora Neale Hurston

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind. - William Shakespeare

We loved with a love that was more than love. - Edgar Allan Poe

A kiss, when all is said, what is it?
A rosy dot placed on the "i" in loving;
'Tis a secret told to the mouth instead of to the ear. - Edmond

Rostand

 

Scrapping the Weekend Away

I'm ashamed to admit, my stamping space is a disaster area right now! I spent a lot of time this weekend scrapbooking (which for me, is a very time-intensive and sometimes stressful sort of activity). Needless to say, I get an idea, pull out a set or two, actually stamp my idea and then I move on. Before I know it, my space looks like a bomb exploded!

Scrapbooking, to me, is absolutely more of a production than card making. There are more steps involved: choose pictures, figure out a layout, choose colors, choose stamps, figure out a title, what to journal...Okay, maybe it's the same basic planning processes as making a card, but it seems like a lot more. For someone with a touch of perfectionism, it becomes a daunting task, especially when I'm working on 12X12" Double Page Spread pages (aka: two pages that face each other telling the same story). And of course, I almost ALWAYS do the DPS although I know it takes twice the amount of planning and work, thanks to high school Publications/Yearbook class.

Scrapbooking doesn't come naturally to me. I feel like I have to really force myself to journal, even though I know the story behind the pictures are equally important. (I think I'm self-conscious about my hand writing.) I often use layouts that I find in my Creating Memories magazines or the Idea Book & Catalog because I lack confidence in telling the story visually. And, I just about always ask my husband's opinion before I put it all together because I figure two sets of eyes are better than one.

But, in the end, I have this great sense of accomplishment when I'm able to put my pictures and cardstocks and inks together in such a way that it does, in fact, tell OUR story. I have never claimed to be an expert in scrapbooking...I'm trying to look at it as a learning process. I'll gain my own scrapbooking style and voice someday. For now, I'm content with at least trying.

  I'm still in the process of working on Jackson's first birthday. These pages are about Jackson eating (or not eating) his cake. Notice, I still need to add the journaling. I'll get there.

 

  These pages were "My First Birthday, By the Numbers" and I chose a list format to journal, which is so much easier for me than to write a full paragraph.

 

 

"Being Sara" Pages

Honestly, I used to be afraid of 12X12 scrapbook pages. I stuck to the 6X6 brag book size because I didn't have to worry about multiple pictures, layers, and journaling. I could basically make a page with one picture, a layer or two, and a title.

However, I decided to go outside of my comfort zone and start working on 12X12 pages. Due to being very Type A personality, I tend to think of things as very black and white, including my scrapping and stamping designs. So, I not only have to make one page, I need to make two to allow them to sit side by side. (Please, don't read this as this is how you should scrapbook! I'm just a little nutty...that's all!) So, this, of course, has added to the stress of making larger pages.

This is my double-page spread (in publication terms) about me. Thanks to my sweet Sharon in Maine, I made this as a challenge from my Business Bootcamp...at first, I was totally terrified to have to scrapbook about myself. I'm the last person I'd want to have to focus on! But, once it was finished, it felt like an accomplishment to me. 

I used Mellow Moss as my main color, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, and Bella Rose DSP as accent colors. I used Short Order and Big Deal alphabets for the title and chose not to stamp anywhere else on the page. I even journaled using my computer so I wouldn't have the pressure of perfect handwriting working against me. (I used RGB codes to make the ink Chocolate Chip to coordinate to my page.)

This is what it looks like side by side...how it will look inside my scrapbook. I just love the layout!

Please feel free to comment or ask any questions by clicking on the "comment" link below the post.