Playing with Photography - A Tutorial

Once upon a time, when I did a lot of work for design teams I spent soooo much time on my photographs. I am finding that I don't have the patience to set up a scene with props, get out the SLR camera, transfer the photos to my computer and edit them in Photoshop. I look at Pinterest and blogs and see the most beautiful photos but I know just how much work goes into making them look that way. Kinda like the real photos that you see that show the pretty photo and then back up and show the mess that surrounds the photo set up. It really makes me laugh.

credit - Geraldine West

For this round of experimentation I am using a piece of poster board, two extendable lamps and a small cake plate that I purchased at Michaels. Notice how the poster board is curved at the center, this  helps so that there aren't any disturbing lines in the photograph. The reason for two lamps is to light the background behind the photograph and then the front of the card. It isn't perfect, I could use another lamp or two, but I really don't want to spend the money.

Instead of using my SLR camera I am taking advantage of the great camera on my IPhone XSMax. I don't use a flash as that blows out the photo, in other words it's just too bright and the white balance is all over the place. I edit the photo on my phone. The things I usually play with are the exposure, highlights and the cast. Sometimes I mess with the shadows. I send the photos to my computer and place them in my blog post. It is so much easier than working with my SLR and then Photoshop. The only thing I am missing is a watermark. I will figure that out though.

So that's where I am at right now as far as photography goes, keeping it clean and simple like my cards. Well the cards are clean, but not simple. Simple is deceiving.

Here's how the card in the above photograph turned out:

A fun note, the Happy is die cut out of felt.

I hope this helps someone out there have a little more success with their card photos with less expense and time.

Alicia

DIY "Enamel" Dots - A Tutorial

I adore enamel dots on cards. I could go through a million of them. So how's this for an idea - let's make our own for pennies! Check out the instructions with photos below for some crafty fun.

1) Get some Perler beads, I mean the actual name brand. The ones from the dollar store really don't work well for this project. I went to Micheals and used their 40% off coupon and got this entire bucket with ALL the colors for $6.00. There are way more than I will ever use.

It's kinds like opening a new box of crayons, so pretty!

2) Preheat your oven to 290 degrees fahrenheit (143 celsius). 

3) Place the Perler beads on a silpat sheet standing up. Make sure they are placed this way in order to melt correctly. It takes a little time, but I just sat in front of the tv and did it in less than 10 minutes.

4) Place in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.

5) Here's what they look like about 1/2 way through baking.

6) Remove them from the oven and let cool. Don't they look delightful? I use a scraper (I found mine at the dollar store)  to get them off quickly, as there are so many. It would take forever to pick them off one by one.

I use Micro Glue Dots to adhere them to my projects. The Mine Dots are a little too big.
Link - Micro Glue Dots

Here's a bright and cheery card with several of the enamel dots.

Have fun making all those adorable enamel dots. Isn't it rewarding to create?

Alicia

Te Quiero

My first card for the week is for the Fusion challenge. I rarely stray from more than three colors so a rainbow inspiration piece pushes me out of my comfy zone for sure. What else can you expect from St. Patrick's Day season... at least I didn't have to put a leprechaun on it. Not that my Irish roots have any problems with leprechauns. The card turned out to have a bit of a fiesta flare... I decided to make it for my Spanish speaking daughter. Te Quiero, I love you.

Here's the inspiration:

And my card:

Until next time, Alicia

Three Cheers

Some cute little cheerleading pandas for a cute little birthday girl. A card driven mostly by color and card stock. I could have taken the time to cut out and pop up the pandas, but why when they work so well across some white card stock. One last card for this easy going Sunday for one last challenge that closes tomorrow. The Freshly Made Sketches #376 challenge. A pretty straight forward sketch, I took the liberty of moving the greeting to the bottom of the image though.

My card:

and a very happy day to you! Alicia

You are a Blessing

An exciting note, this card made me the Featured Stamper - at the (link) Color Throwdown

Busy Sunday for me in the Card Cave. Not the official name of my little paper crafting studio... not sure if I like it or not. lol. I've made another card for a challenge that ends tomorrow. The Color Throwdown #531. Not super fond of the colors, but I really like how the card turned out. It's always amazes me how much work can go into a card that appears so simple and clean. If you look closely there are several touches that made this card ebb and flow. I always hope that my cards offer ideas and inspiration to my fellow card enthusiasts. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions regarding how I did something.

I used two different Altenew sets for this one, Leaf Canopy and You Are. Here's the color inspiration:

My cards has die cutting, stamping and heat embossing... that's a lot of techniques for this ol' gal on only one card:

Thanks again for coming by, leave a comment to say hi... and don't forget to follow me!

Alicia

Keep Being Awesome

Another new stamp set for me, this one is from The Ton, Wave. The sentiment is from Altenew's Leaf Canopy. This card was really fun to create. I found the wave actually more rewarding to watch come together with the three layers than I had thought it would be. It reminds me of Japanese style art. I felt  that the greeting was a great fit consider the "awesomeness" of the wave. :)

The purpose of the creation is two fold. One, for a friend going through a sticky divorce and two, for a sketch challenge. The Cas(e) this Sketch challenge #310, here's the sketch:

My "awesome" card, don't you think the wave turned out cool?

See you around.... Alicia :)

What an Interesting Sketch...

Today's card is for the Cas(e) this Sketch challenge #309. I've been wanted to do some navy blue for a while and since this challenge doesn't have anything to do with color I thought it would be a great place to pull it in. I used three Altenew sets here - You Are, Needlework Motif and Geo Frames. I don't have the dies for the diamond frames so I had to free hand cutting those out. I hate how expensive dies are. It seems that once you buy an expensive stamp set and then look at getting the dies and then add shipping you are in it for $50+ bucks. So cost prohibitive. I'm guessing these companies have quite the markup.

Here's the sketch:

My card, I took a few liberties with the sketch on this one. The lines in the center represent the squares in the center, while the greeting represents the square on the outer left.

Thanks for stopping by, Alicia

Free Hugs

The sketch challenges begin. Today I start with The Card Concept #109, here's the inspiration:

I couldn't recall if I had a pineapple stamp. I am sure I do somewhere. Dang I have so manny stamps I don't even know what I have. I have a tendency to use what is closest at hand. This stamp set happened to be one I recently purchased, so there it was, sitting on my desk. It didn't have a die set available to purchase with it so I used my Scan n' Cut to cut out the cactus and the wording. The die cut rectangle is Inside Scalloped Rectangle from Craftin' Desert Divas. A little black and white bakers twine and I'm done. According to the rules of this challenge I'm supposed to identify which style this card identifies with. I'll say this is Clean and Layered.

My card:

Thanks for looking! Alicia

Feelin' Good About This

Wow! My first two challenge cards resulted in recognition. That makes me feel like I still "got it". :) I am definitely  encouraged to keep working to get my creative mojo back after this week. I hope I can get some feedback here on my blog! Help a girl out....


Cas(e) this Sketch, #308 #1 favorite:

Color Throwdown #530 #1 Mention:

Breaking in a Stamp Set

I haven't used this stamp set even though it's been in my arsenal for a while. Darling isn't it? It's called Rocking the Wreath from Tracy Hey.

Today was one of those days that I didn't really have a specific reason to make a card, just an hour to be able to sit down and be a little creative. I did get a new die set, but funny enough I didn't even use that today. Instead it inspired me to pull out this stamp set and give it a go. I love the white foliage on this and how it seems to pop without trying.

Happy Saturday, and thanks for taking a break to stop by... Alicia

Hand Stitched

One last valentine for my oldest. She prefers subtle colors, so I went for a blush pink on this one. I had a good time making the hand stitched embellishment, I think it's a charming addition. No challenge used for this card.... just for my girl.

Thanks again for coming by, Alicia

Worlds Greatest Hugger

Having four sweet valentines in my house gives me a chance to make four different cards. So I thought I'd make another for the previous color challenge. This time challenging myself by using the pink for a card for my son Alex. Although he's 19, he still gets a cute card from his mom. He's the worlds greatest hugger, so this one is just for him.

Color Throwdown Challenge #530

My Card:

Thanks for visiting, Alicia

Color Challenge Card: a Valentine

I decided to participate in a card challenge this week. Some bright colors to continue spreading my creative wings. Pretty simple and graphic, but that is my style.

Here is the inspiration from Color Throwdown, #530.

And my card.

I used three stamp sets here, Gingham Background from Simon Says Stamp, The Big, the Bold & the Happy from Winnie & Walter and In a Word: Love from Winnie & Walter. I don't recall where I got the cute stitched heart die, sorry. :) I did use a large stitched rectangle die to get the pink edge at the bottom.

Thanks ever so much for coming by, Alicia.

A Flower for My Valentine

I'm about stamped out for the day. One more card.  Here is the inspiration:

I was inspired by the colors and the colors and the flowers in the above photo, in addition I assume it's a valentine theme.... I am questioning the twine? Is it even in style anymore?

As always, thanks for stopping by, Alicia

Red and Pink Flowers

I finished up a second challenge today. Sundays are a perfect day for me to sit in the quiet of my office and get some creative time. I don't turn on the t.v. and keep the music off, so it's just me and my mind. I get some time with the kids, fun conversation keeps me bright and happy.

This time  it is Cas(e) this Sketch Challenge.

I started out with a hexagon stamp set, actually spent quite a while with it. It just didn't work. I went with a more fluid set. Started with the dotted backdrop and the rest of it came together quite naturally, that hasn't happened for a while. Felt good. I actually combined three different sets for this card... that kind of thing happens when I have them lying around on my desk. Red and pink push this towards Valentines Day, perhaps I'll use it for that.

Here is the sketch:

Here's the card:

Thanks again for stopping by, Alicia.

I HATE these colors. :P

This week I am participating in a new challenge.. the Color Throwdown Challenge. Once upon a time I used to do this quite regularly. Now that I am trying to regain my creative mojo I'm delving into it once again. So here it goes.

Heres the inspiration. By the way I HATE these colors, so it was a real challenge for me. These always remind me of McDonalds. That is literally all I can think about when I am working with them. LOL.

And here's the card, using Altenew's Starry Flowers from 2018. I created this with a friend in mind who is going through the sudden loss of a grandchild.

As always thanks for visiting and leave a comment to say "hi" if you stopped by. :)

Alicia