At Last - Back to Digital!

I am well on the road to having my computer back to normal.  I still have lots of data to transfer (and about 40,000 more photos!) but I am getting there.  I am so glad that I have back up copies of all my photos and files.  Please remember that something can go wrong with your computer despite all of the security measures you take and back up regularly.  An external drive can be your best friend when things stop working!

I took a little break from all of the reinstalling to relax and make a digital design.  On of the programs that I wasn't able to access for the past five weeks was my Creative Memories StoryBook Creator Plus 3.0 digital scrapping software.  (I didn't realize how often I use this until I was not able to open the program!).

To make this design, I started with a fantastic image from Twisted Papers (here is a LINK to the page on their site).  I eliminated the white background with the magic wand cropping tool.  Then I copied and pasted the image and rotated each to create a star shape.

The overlap when the fifth image was added was awkward so I traced and copied one of the flowers to use as a "patch."

The flower did not have a perfect edge but it blends in with the bouquet nicely.

Here you can see the flower added on top of the other images.

I copied and enlarged the extra flower and used it as a center for the image.

Once I had all of the elements placed properly, I grouped the design.

I then could copy and paste and resize the entire design.  

Adding a shadow makes the design stand out with more dimension.

(I haven't printed this yet - I have to find the correct download for my printer since my operating system is newer than the CD that came with the printer).

I'll be back with a Cricut design tomorrow.  I hope you have a nice weekend!

Signs of Spring...

I am still away but will be home soon.  I thought I'd share this photo to show that Spring is truly arriving.  I always enjoy the first buds on the trees.  I may get a chance to be online later to share one of the projects I did before I left - but the day could be hectic, so I am sneaking in a quick post! 

I wanted to let you know that Twisted Papers has some great specials going on right now.  You can have free shipping on orders of $25 or more until March 31st or you can save 40% on merchandise (excluding digital downloads and Designer Shops) until midnight Easter Sunday (April 4).  If you haven't already seen the free downloads for March you will want to try these - they are great for last minute Easter projects.  There are also special free downloads on their FaceBook Page each time they add another 100 fans.  If you make a project with one of their images and post it on their FaceBook page you can also have a chance to win a month's subscription for 500 free downloads - the details and rules are all listed HERE (just scroll down a bit to see them).

I hope your week is off to a great start - I'll try to check in later...

Vintage Valentine

I made this card recently and I was very happy with the way it turned out.  The image is one that I was taken by the minute I saw it.  I have always liked topiaries and the little hearts are just charming!  I did some editing and resizing to make it work for my card.  The image is from Twisted Papers - here is a LINK to the page.

I was planning to post the details and file for the card.  However, my computer has stopped communicating with my Cricut and I have been trying to resolve this problem.  I think there must be an issue with my USB ports but I have no idea what caused it and so far I have not been able to fix it.  One minute everything was working and the next it wasn't.  I can't use my wireless mouse either which makes me feel clumsy and frustrated so I won't be able to do a full post for today.

So enjoy the pretty picture and send some "good vibes" my way.  I have so many things to do this weekend and I need to use my Cricut with Design Studio for them.  My fingers are crossed that tomorrow will be better.

It all started with one butterfly....

I was working on some digital images for my new project (shhh, it's a surprise!) and I took a little break to check out the latest offerings on the Twisted Papers site.

It all started with this butterfly - one of a group of five in the new Victorian Nature Illustration collection.  Here is a LINK to the specific page on the site.  These images are beautiful and very reasonably priced (most are $1 or $2).  I started with the five butterfly image and cropped to this one image, then  erased the background using the "magic wand" tool in my Creative Memories StoryBook Plus 3.0 software.  If you want more information about this software you can contact me or check out the website HERE.

Once I had the single butterfly image I started rotating and overlapping the butterflies.  I filled in a few gaps using the color sample option to match the green of the butterfly. I ended up with groups of four butterflies and I added a black circle to the center to fill in the shape.  Then I took the groups and arranged them to overlap.  The antennae created a tiny lattice design where the groups met.  I added more black circles at the corner connection points.  I kept copying and pasting and arranging groups until I filled an entire 8 1/2 x 11 page.

For another effect, I took one group of butterfly images, enlarged it and put it on top of the sheet of images.   I worked with the sizing to get a pleasing coverage in the center and create a new design.

I cropped each of the larger sheets to create a square image which I can resize to suit the project in which I use the image.  I can also use this as a background paper by adding effects and changing the opacity.

Here are the two variations side by side on a black background - eliminating the white areas creates a new look for the images (background color is so important!).

It is amazing what you can do with one little butterfly!  I enjoy the kaleidoscope effect and have made quilts using a similar technique to create many patterns from one small image or set of images.

So...after I played around with the digital butterflies, I tried something similar with some Cricut butterflies.  This butterfly image is on the Picturesque cartridge.  It has several layers so you can use different colors for each to get nicely detailed butterflies.  I added a background in three layers to finish the design.

Here is a closer view of the new image.  I couldn't get a screen shot of the full design at 100%.  I need to move the file to my gypsy so I can group the butterfly layers and work with various sizes.  Working so quickly and easily in the digital program with the grouping and duplicating of grouped images made me realize that an actual "select all" and "group" function can't come soon enough (we have been waiting a very long time for an update to Design Studio to provide this basic tool).

I hope to find time to test cut this design tomorrow.  It will be fun to choose the paper colors - so many possibilities.

Tomorrow night is New Year's Eve - time to make those resolutions!  I am excited to have actually completed my year of daily blogging - a post each and every day for an entire year seemed like an impossible goal but I made it!  (or I will have made it once tomorrow's post is done...)  I have some great new plans in the works and I will share them with you as soon as I can.  In the meanwhile, I'll keep on blogging here - too many people have told me that they count on a daily post for me to stop cold turkey right now!

Simple Vintage Card with digital images

Yesterday I told you about the Twisted Papers site and promised I'd show you how to use one of the images for a project.  Much to my surprise, I had a nice comment from Russell & Stan, the owners of the site, and they said it would be fine to post one of the images, so I have edited yesterday's post.  I am so impressed at the quality of the images - very sharp and clear and I was able to enlarge them quite a bit.

I made this simple card using one of the images and my Creative Memories StoryBook Creator Plus 3.0 software (here is a LINK for more information about this program).  I downloaded the jpeg image from the Twisted Papers site and saved it in a file on my desktop.  Then I opened a new project in StoryBook and imported the image.

The next step was to resize the image to fit perfectly on an A2 card.  The original image is on the right and the slightly altered on on the left.  I sized it at 3 3/4 inches x 5 inches so I could have a mat layer on the card.

Once I had resized the image, I copied and pasted to set up four images on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. I used the properties box to get the alignment and sizing perfect.

 Next I added a plain black rectangle to fill the entire sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 page and moved it behind the images.

Then I filled the black rectangle with the tan color by sampling the background color from one of the images - I do this so there won't be a harsh contrast if my trimming of the image is a bit off.

I selected all of the images and grouped them - here you can see the individual selection boxes around each image.

After grouping, there is just one box.  I could now copy and paste these images to another page and keep the perfect spacing between images.

I printed the full sheet on letter size matte photo paper.  Here you can see the page before I trimmed the images.  I cut green mats at 5 1/4 x 4 inches and cut 8 1/2 x 11 white cardstock in half for the card bases.

I did not ink any edges - I liked the crisp look and contrast from white to green to the tan of the image background.  I did add some Stickles - you know I can't resist that bit of sparkle!

I used Crystal Stickles on the snow on the tops of the bells for both cards.  For the card on the left, I also dotted Christmas Red Stickles on all of the holly berries.  I hope you can see the sparkle if you click on the photos of the cards to enlarge them.

This is a fast and easy way to make a card - you are adding some personal touches but you can easily create a lot of cards in a hurry!

I haven't had a lot of time to use my Creative Memories software lately - I had forgotten how much fun it is to work with images for card projects in addition to the digital scrapbooking I usually do with the software.

This angel is also one of the images that Stan & Russell are sharing.  I added background paper, a flourish, a title, used a corner punch on the image and added shadows and glows to the elements.

Here is one more little experiment I made using one of the filters that creates a mosaic effect.  The mosaic seems to make the Santa even more twinkly!

So, if you want a change of pace - try doing some digital/hybrid projects.  They are lots of fun and a bit less messy.  I will definitely be buying a month subscription to Twisted Papers so I can download lots more of their great images - I will just need to wait until after all of the holiday festivities so I can spend time choosing my 500 images!

Sorry, no Cricut today but don't forget about the chance to win a free copy of the Cricut A to Z instructional DVD.  You need to go back to yesterday's post - here is a LINK - and leave a comment on that post to be included in the drawing.  Thanks again to Megan of Above Rubies Studio for donating this DVD.

We are watching the weather news very carefully again - tomorrow, if all goes well and there are no more airport closings and flight cancellations, our older son will arrive in Boston.  We can't wait to see him!