DIY Simple Digital Embellishments

 


Would you look at this layout and think that everything on the page (excluding the fonts and pictures) came from the kit I'm going to show you below?

 

Well, it's true!  Using only The Watercolor Summer kit by Kim Jensen and some tools in Photoshop Elements, I made the Easter layout at the top of this post.  

My latest video shows you how you can take a small kit, and make some embellishments to go with it.  There are times when a kit doesn't have what we need, and we can improvise enough to make a great scrapbook page. 


I'm not saying by any means that this is how pro digital designers make their products...they use different programs and have spent a lot of time honing their skill.  All I'm saying here is that this is a great way to spruce up a page in a pinch, or create a custom embellishment or two when you want it. 

FYI, the only supplies I used other than Kim's beautiful kit were some fonts --- Phosphate Solid, KG Sorry Not Sorry Chub Regular, and my own handwriting are the ones you see on the layout. 

 I'm curious...have you ever made your own digital embellishments?  Why or why not?  I'd love to hear from you!

Alrighty, guys!  Have a beautiful day!









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A Digital Bullet Journal Using Morpholio Journal App






You guys, I am so sorry!  I forgot to get this blog post up after I made the accompanying video.  It kind of got lost as I was spending time with my family after the passing of my dad.

Anyhow, I just wanted to you to know I did remember and here's the lowdown on my digital bullet journal.  I wasn't sure which app I wanted to use for a project like this. I tried note taking apps at first, like Notability and Evernote's Penultimate, but neither of those were really ideal for me.  When tried using them, I found that each page in the journal was a completely separate document.  And while that was OK, it wasn't optimal.  I wanted an app that had the look and feel of a book, where I could flip through the pages.

I went back to the App Store and finally found an app called Morpholio Journal.  It is made to look like a Moleskine journal, and soon, the ability to have a digital journal printed off will be available.
This app has some great features, which I will show you in the video below:



Here's the link if you wish to get this app for yourself:  Morpholio Journal App

I use the app on my iPad Pro with my Apple Pencil, but you don't have to have either one.  You can use an older iPad and any stylus that will work with it.  I have a list of styli that are compatible with older iPads: alternative styli for iPads

Also, I used a couple of PDF from ETSY, and a "Hello 2017" title and the February Habit Tracker pages that I found on the BOHO Berry blog.  Here are links to those items:

Year at a Glance Calendar PDF
Boho Berry Tribe (Be aware that you need to join the blog's mailing list to access to the title and tracker pages as well as the rest of Kara's (the blog owner) free and awesome goodies.  This is a list that is worth your time, so I recommend you giving it a try).  Kara is amazing bullet journaler, and her content is fabulous, so check her out.

Here's a few photos of the bullet journal pages, if I showed if you wanna get a better look at them:



January Memories:

 



January Gratitude Log:



One of my February Weekly Logs: 



I've appreciate the comments I've seen on YouTube, and welcome any constructive comments you guys would like to leave here.  Thanks so much for spending part of your day here...:)







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A Reminder About Why I Scrapbook





The handsome guy in the picture above is my dad...when he was in service during the 1940s.  He passed away about a week and a half ago, and I cannot tell you how much I miss him.

During this time, when I'm still getting used to the fact that he is no longer with us, I have been so thankful that I have pictures of him...those that I took and those that belonged to him that we took the time to scan in.   Also, I'm glad I took time to scrapbook some of those photos, and that there are others that I still have the chance to scrapbook.

I have realized that while I love the pretty papers and embellishments and have fun using them, they are not the main reason I do this.  The most important reason, and why it is so dear to my heart, is so I can preserve those memories and remember what the good things and good people in my life.

Being able to look back at the pages I've made with photos of my dad have really brought me peace and helped the sting of our separation to be less painful.  Certain memories have made me laugh, while others have made me so grateful for the good man he was.  I'm so glad I had such a wonderful dad and what a sweet grandad he was to my kids.

You can hear more about this in this week's video:



The layouts I included are posted here in case you wanted a better look at them.


This one features my dad with one of his elementary school classes:

 



I love this page because it shows my parents on their wedding day and then on their sixtieth anniversary:




This page shows one of my favorite things to do ever, which is taking a hike with my dad and my kids:

 


 This was such a fun Christmas, because it was our first in the new house we just moved into, and my parents surprised us by stopping by to spend some time with us:


I loved looking back on this day because we went to the courthouse to make the adoption final, and become a family in the eyes of the law.   I loved having Mom and Dad there:




Thanks for taking time to visit today, and remember --- scrap those memories!  And, if someone you love a lot has been on your mind, and you haven't talked to them in awhile --- don't wait!  Call, visit, Facetime them, or take them to lunch.   You won't regret it!
 


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Beginner Handlettering on a Layout








If you've looked around the web lately, it seems like there has been an explosion of hand lettered items...fonts, invitations that have been hand lettered, instructional books on how to do it, and more.

And, if you have been on Pinterest in the last 6 months, bullet journaling, and hand lettering in those journals is all over it.  I have been dying to try lettering since then, and decided to just plow ahead and give it a shot.

Obviously, I am just starting out as a beginner, and I in no way stating that I have this skill down or that I'm an expert in any way, shape or form.  I am willing to learn, and decided to take you along as I made my first scrapbook page with a handwritten element on it (the word "snow" on the layout above).

Even though my hand is shaky, and I know it will take a lot more practice, I'm really enjoying this process.  And I know that as I go along, I'll get better hopefully can share what I learn.

Here's the video I created showing how I made my hand lettering.  Please note that I used my Apple Pencil, iPad Pro, and the Procreate app to use do this word art.  I then imported it as a .psd file from Procreate and sent it to myself in an email.



Digital Kit used:  Arctic Exploration Kit by Katie Pertiet at Designer Digitals:




 Here's a list of awesome hand lettering blogs you should check out:

Hello Brio
Random Olive
The Postman's Knock  (focuses a bit more on calligraphy, but there are some brush lettering resources as well)
Dawn Nicole Blog

I hope you guys find this helpful...and if you feel so inclined, would you let me know if you are a hand letterer?  Have you ever tried it?  Let me know!

Talk to you all later,





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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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