My Christmas Album Pages for 2016

My Christmas Album Pages for 2016


 


I recently finished up Journal Your Christmas, and wanted to show you the completed pages.  Please note that I am only sharing the pages right now...I figured I would do a separate post about getting the pages printed and into a book or album at a later date.

The key to getting an album like this done is keeping it simple.  As I mentioned in my earlier post about holiday albums,  I used a set of 6 x 8 templates and a set of Christmas kits I picked out ahead of time (I will provide links to these products down below).

When it came time to make each day's page, I just opened a template in PSE, saved it as a new file, plopped in any papers and embellishments I wanted to use, and added journaling.

A few years back, I made a font of my own handwriting.  This is pretty handy when you want to include your own writing, but are short on time.  This is another tool in my arsenal that helps me get my pages done quickly and easily.

If you are interested in turning your handwriting into a font, here are a couple of sites that allow you to do so.  One of the sites provides this service for free, and the site requires payment.  I included both so my readers could choose the one that suits their needs.

Paintfonte

Fontifier


Here's my latest video, with a slide show of each of the layouts I did for this project.  I hope you'll watch and get a feel for how the pages all tie together.




If you want to get a better look at each of the pages, you can find them at either of these two places:


JYC 2016 Photo Album on my Facebook Page
 
My Scrapbook dot com gallery


Here are the page kits I used:

DYD 6 x 8 Templates by Just Jaimee




Holly Days Advent Calendar Kit by Amy Wolff:

 


Holly Days Element Pack:





Holly Days Paper Pack:




List of Fonts used on my layouts:

Tangie Momraths: part of this font package
 2Peas Gift
LDJ Knuckle Type
Cry Kitty
Impact Label Font (I used a different labelmaker font that is no longer available, but this one is a close substitute for it)
Thirsty Script
Snowinter
Autumn in November
Penelope Anne
Outlaw
Pussycat
Bebas Neue
Sketchetica
Creampuff
Coolvetica
Stamp
Grutch Shaded
Blackhawk

Wow...that's 19 fonts!  I did warn you that I was a font junkie, right?

Anyhow...I appreciate you stopping by here, and I hope you found some inspiration you can use in your own holiday album or project.
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Simple and Elegant Gift Tags

Simple and Elegant Gift Tags



When I get really busy during the holidays, I find that the best thing to do is to stop what I'm doing, and make a little time to craft something.  I've also learned that if I focus on a smaller project rather than a big one, I feel more relaxed and more satisfied with what I've made when the project is finished.  It's one little way that I slow myself down and enjoy this time of year, which is great for letting go of that holiday stress. 

My latest YouTube video shows you how fun and easy these little tags are.  I hope you'll give it a watch: 





Here's a list of the supplies I used to make these cute little goodies.  And just a little disclaimer:  If I cannot find a link to the supplies below, or they are discontinued, I will link you up to other projects that are similar and would work just fine in their place. 

And, as always:  if you prefer to use items from your stash, do it!  I'm a big proponent of using what we already have.  


Digital Kit:  Merry Little Christmas Elements Pack #1 by Fancy Pants




Traditional Supplies: 


American Crafts Red Ribbon (this is a close substitution)
Clear Scraps Shapes & Albums (not all the shapes I used are there, but some of them are)
Clear Scraps At Scrapbook dot com (they have some shaker and chipboard shapes that could be used for this, too)
Studio Calico Wood Veneer Stars
Baker's Twine (This is a pretty good deal for all of these spools)
Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue
A standard sized hole punch  (found at most office supply stores)
Scissors
A black gel or writer pen, if you want to write on "to" and "from" (not pictured)

I have some blue ribbon, some photo squares, and some adhesive pearls in the picture, but they ended up not making it into this project, FYI.





Here's another picture of the tags, as well as a couple of gifts I attached them to: 












I hope you like these tags, and will make some of your own, even if it is just for your own enjoyment!

Thanks for taking time from your day to take a look...:)





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My Favorite Holiday Fonts

My Favorite Holiday Fonts

Whenever I do a Christmas album, I usually go on the hunt for great fonts.  I search my crazy, oversized collection on my laptop (my husband mocks me because I have over 1000 of them), and often go online to find more.  I just can't resist going to free font websites and seeing what's new, because awesome font creators release new goodies nearly everyday.  Here is my latest videos on my favorite fonts I'm using for my holiday projects:



My all-time favorite place to find free fonts:  Dafont

Another great one: 1001 Free Fonts

There's also: Font Squirrel

***Edited to add:  please note that most of the fonts I've shown here are free for personal use.  Should you need any fonts for commercial use, check out Website Planet.

Of course, there are more places to find free fonts, but these are the ones I frequent the most.  A Google search will Probably find you several more.  Here are links to the fonts I mentioned in my video:





Here's some samples of it on the blue card below,  as well as two Journal Your Christmas pages I did:






I used it here as a page title along the side:



Sorry Not Sorry font

This one comes in regular and bold styles, and both are great for journaling:



Since I just found this one, and hadn't had a chance to use it on a project, I made up a sample journaling block so you could see how awesome this font is: 





Thanks for taking time to read this post, and I hope you are enjoying this wonderful holiday season!






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It's Almost Time for Holiday Themed Albums Again...

It's Almost Time for Holiday Themed Albums Again...

...are you excited abut this prospect?  Or overwhelmed by it?  I'm excited about it, and can't wait to jump in again.  I chose not to do Journal Your Christmas or any holiday themed album last year, simply because I was going through some stuff and was just emotionally exhausted.  So whether or not you are joining in with the crowds doing themed holiday albums this year, I feel you either way.  I hope however you choose to celebrate this season, you'll find a method that brings you a measure of peace and happiness.

Since I am doing an album this year, I decided to go hunting for a Christmas kit that would work well for Journal Your Christmas, which means I want more than just the standard papers and embellishments --- I also want to find a number set for each day of the holiday season, unique color combinations, some awesome templates to keep the process simple but still fun, and I want a decent mix of solid and patterned papers.  I made a video about the best kits I found that meet this criteria.  I hope you'll watch if you have the time:




Also, I decided that it would be easier to put the links for all the kits I featured (and some others that didn't make it into my video, but are still worth checking out) here on the blog.  I hope this helps you as you do your shopping for digital goodies.  I haven't started my foundation pages yet, which is unusual for me, but that's OK.  I will just jump in tonight or tomorrow with some new digital goodies. Here are the links to the stores/kits I think are best suited to this type of project.  Happy shopping!

From the LilyPad Digital Scrapbooking Store:

DYD 2015 6x8 Mega Template Album kit by Just Jaimee




Holly Days Kits by Amy Wolf

Holly Days Elements kit


Holly Days Advent Calendar


Holly Days Paper Pack




Merry & Bright Bundle by Lynne Marie


Other LilyPad kits to consider:

Krafty Christmas by Mommyish
Tinsel by Lynne Marie
Sewn Pockets by Valerie Wibbens
(has the look of stitched 6 x 8 sheet protectors --- so cool!)


Kits at the Digital Press:

12 Days: The Collection by Mari Koegelenberg



Once Upon a Christmas: Collection by Anita Designs & Wishing Well Designs



Honorable Mentions:
25 Days Templates by Wishing Well Creations (6 x 8 size)

25 Days of Memories 12 x 12 Template set by Anita Designs

31 Days in December 2011 by MEG Designs 
(8.5 x 11 templates; could be modified to fit the current year)


Kits at Sweet Shoppe Designs: 

Christmas Countdown Collection (Collab by three Sweet Shoppe Designers)


Days of December (Collab by Meghan Mullens & Becca Bonneville


Other great kits at Sweet Shoppe: 
Stories: Templates 6 
(while not technically a holiday themed template kit, it would lend itself easily to a December Album.  There are 15 - 6 x 8 templates for about $5 --- that's a great deal!)
From Digital Scrapbook Ingredients:
Xmas is Coming Labels
Xmas is Coming Word Strips
(Neither of these are full kits, but might work well with kits you already have)

Kits featuring other December Holidays: 
Eight Bright Nights Full Kit (Hanukkah)
Eight Bright Nights Journaling Cards
Festival of Lights (Hanukkah)
Kwanzaa Patterned Papers by Striped Elephant
Kwanzaa Digital Scrapbooking Elements by Poppydreamz


I'm so glad you stopped by today, and here's wishing that we all have an joyous holiday season! 



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Using the iPad Pro + Apple Pencil as a Pen Tablet for Digital Scrapbookers

Using the iPad Pro + Apple Pencil as a Pen Tablet for Digital Scrapbookers











My husband recently gifted me with a new 9.7 in. iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil to go with it.  At first, I wasn't sure what the heck I'd do with the pencil...I didn't know if I'd do more with it than use it to click around with as I navigated between apps on my iPad.

One night, he and I were talking about my old Wacom Bamboo Tablet, and I was wondering if I could still find drivers for it, since it's getting to be an older device now.  We started talking about the idea of me using my iPad Pro and Apple Pencil as a pen tablet...I just needed an app to enable that functionality.

He had used an app called Duet at work, and thought it would be a good one for me to try, so I gave it a go.  It worked pretty well, as you can see from the the video demo I linked for you above.  I'm also kind of intrigued by Astropad, which I'm trying to decide if I want to buy or not, so that may be an option for some of you if you choose not go with Duet.

It took me a little longer this time to get this video ready, because I had a bit of trouble with the Apple Pencil, as it was giving me serious writer's cramp.  I also wasn't sure which angle to set my iPad at to be used most comfortably.

In the end, I decided to lay the iPad down flat, and used a couple of accessories with the iPad to help make the experience more comfortable, and now using it is a snap.  Granted, this set up only works with Apple Devices as far as I know, but if you have these goodies on hand anyway, you are all set and have a pen tablet at the ready the next time you want to scrap with one!



Let me know what you think of the video, and if you think you'll try using your iPad Pro as a pen tablet...I'd love to get your input on how the experience went for you.

Aside from my MacBook, iPad and Apple Pencil, here is a list of the supplies I used in my video:

Mudder Tablet Drawing Artist Glove

Ztylus Apple Pencil Case

Summer Mini Template:  unfortunately, it's discontinued.  But, here is a link to Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's stencil page on Scrapbooking.com  There are a few face stencils on this page your could easily use instead: Julie's templates at Scrapbook.com

Procreate App

Beep Beep Digital kit by Jen Allyson: Discontinued.  Here is another very similar Digital kit on the same theme by Kim Jensen at the Lilypad: City Streets Elements kit  
and City Streets Papers

I think that is everything --- so if any of you have questions, comments or constructive feedback, feel free to holler!  I know I've probably forgotten some things I wanted to include in the video, so ask away if you have further questions.

Thanks for stopping by today!

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Who Should Do Scrapbooking?

Who Should Do Scrapbooking?




OK, so don't get me wrong...I'm not saying moms shouldn't scrapbook, because of course, I am one.  I love to scrapbook, and I always will.  However, I still think there's this misconception that only women with kids can scrapbook.   Why should that be?  Yes, I do think it's important for moms to document their children's lives, but what about their own lives?

And what about teens?  Wouldn't it be awesome if they found value in saving their memories?  The same thing can be said for singles, college students, grandparents, and so on, and so forth.  Don't misunderstand...I'm not trying to force it on anyone who would rather bullet journal, art journal, or whatever.

I just know that I love looking back through my albums to see my older pages, and to remember why I scrapped those pictures.  I am so glad I can look back and remember things I've almost forgotten about.

In the video above, I posted five reasons I think scrapbooking should hold more of an appeal for a wider audience:

1 - You Have Your Own Unique Story To Tell.
2 - You Don't Need To Be A Specific Age, Gender, Or In A Certain Life Situation to Benefit From Scrapbooking.
3 - Show Your Kids You Have Dreams, Aspirations, and Goals Outside of Your Role as a Parent.
4 - We May Not Always Remember Small (But Important) Details About Our Lives If We Don't Document Them.
5 - Include a Mix of Both Positive and Negative Experiences in Your Scrapbooks.

I hope you enjoy the video, and let me know your thoughts on this topic.  Do you scrapbook or do you choose not to?  Tell me what you think!

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day, 



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Video: Set of Four EASY Halloween Cards

Video: Set of Four EASY Halloween Cards

Halloween is almost here, and I wanted to make a fun hybrid project in honor of the day.  Rather than focusing on treat bags or decorations, I prefer to make cards!!


I personally think that Halloween cards should be as popular as Christmas or Birthday cards...there's so many cool and silly ways you can use the theme of Halloween to create an adorable card to send to a friend.  

To make my cards, I used two kits from a collaboration done by Sahlin Studio and Britt-ish Designs who both create designs for the Lilypad: 







I divided this tutorial up into 2 videos, since I thought watching one very long one might get tiring.

 Here is part one: 



Also, here are the other digital supplies I used (or close substitutes) on these cards if you are curious or want to pick them up yourself:

Bebas Neue Font

Digital Distressing kit by Nancie Rowe Janitz

The Part Two video:



 Traditional scrapbooking supplies used (all are clickable links):

Hero Arts Yellow Gemstones
Recollections Adhesive Rhinestones - Black
The Paper Studio Le Petites Mini Paper Bows
3/8 in. Orange Gingham Ribbon
Queen & Co. Rhinestones in Snowflake
American Crafts White Cardstock
Aleene's Original Tacky Glue
Mini Jute String
Gelly Roll Pens in Black and Purple
Mini Glue Dots
Ranger Distress Ink in Seedless Preserves
Ranger Archival Ink in Black
Epson Matte Presentation Paper


Here is a close up look at the finished cards if you want to get a closer look:








Have a splendid day!!
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Five Great Reasons To Try Digital Scrapbooking

Five Great Reasons To Try Digital Scrapbooking

I made a video in response to questions I've had from other scrapbookers over the years about why I switched to digital scrapping, and thought I would share why I love and enjoy it so much:



If you aren't one for leaving comments on YouTube, feel free to comment here about what your thoughts are about digital scrapbooking...I'd love to hear any constructive comments.

Here are photos of the pages I featured in my video, if you'd like to get a better look at them:









Also, if you need the link to the Adobe PSE free trial, here it is: Free trial for PSE15

Thanks & have a great day,





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Using Photoshop Brushes on a Layout

Using Photoshop Brushes on a Layout


You guys wanna see how easy and fun it is to use brushes on a digital scrapbook page?  If so, then I have a helpful video for you on how to do just that.  It's a follow up of my previous one, where I demonstrated how to either load or install brushes.

To create this page, I used Mye De Leon's Fleeting kit, which is so fun and pretty:


http://www.snapclicksupply.com/fleeting-complete-kit


I also used this add on brush kit of hers to demo using brushes to create part of a title:


http://www.snapclicksupply.com/fleeting-stamps

And, last but not least, I also incorporated some of these fun tapes from this coordinating add on kit:


http://www.snapclicksupply.com/fleeting-washi-tapes/

All three of these great kits can be found at the Snap Click Supply Online Store, if you are interested in picking up these kits or any others. 

Here's the video, if you like it and wouldn't mind, then give it a thumbs up on YouTube and subscribe to my channel.  I would love to have you as followers: 





Also, as a thank you for watching my video and visiting my blog, I have a free template download for you.  I recreated the bones of my layout into templates --- there's one in 8.5 x 11 and another in the 12 x 12 size. 




 Grab the Free Templates Download Here.

Link for the font I used: Always in My Heart

Thanks again, for taking time to be here.  Have a wonderful day!!

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Video: Loading vs. Installing Brushes

Video: Loading vs. Installing Brushes



Here's a video on my thoughts about installing and loading brushes, as well as the advantages to each method.

I hope you guys enjoy watching this --- I think Photoshop Brushes don't get all the love they deserve.  You can do so many cool things with them, and you are limited only by your imagination!  Here are some of my favorite ways to use brushes in PSE:

 Painty splats made with brushes can be awesome and unique ways to ground a photo, and it's nice variety from using standard photo mats.




Another fun use is to to ink or paint up the edges of a patterned or solid paper, like I did here with the aqua cardstock: 


Brushes can also add fun texture to a page that needs that little extra "something to make a page feel finished.  On this "Speed Racer" page,  I used a brush that looks like tire tread marks to reinforce the theme of the page.




In a few more days, I will have a video that will talk you through the process of creating a new layout using brushes, and it will show you how fun and easy they are to work with.

Let me know what you think of the video and/or this post.

I appreciate you stopping by and have a great day!
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