22.4.16

Why not?


I am still loving my watercolour paints and practice every chance I get.  I totally adore black and white and adding a hint of watercolour is all the colour I need.
This layout is all about my need to document the "real" in our lives right now and the latest digital stamps from Kellie Stamps helped get this story told.



what stories are you telling lately...

love me :-)


4.4.16

Letterglow - using digital stamps


I have had many people ask me about the Letterglow App so I thought I would do a little tutorial on how I add Kellie Stamps digital stamps to my photos.  Many people think that you need to have Photoshop for digital stamps but in actual fact you don't.  I am no expert on this app and what I know how to do is simply from playing around with the app.  This is how I use the app but there may be other ways to this, and if you have another way please share.

A couple of things to note first though:
you need to have "dropbox" both on your computer and on your phone (the basic version of this is free)
 your digital stamps need to be in png. format
upload to Dropbox any png. files that you want to add in Letterglow (meaning any digital stamps that you want to add to your photos need to be in your Dropbox so that you can access them)

The photo above has been edited in Letterglow, I added "morning" digital stamp and text and now I will explain step by step how I went about this.

When you open Letterglow it will open to this screen.  You can see New Project and any completed projects you have done.
tap on the + screen to start a new project


you will then be taken to this screen. This is where you will choose from where your photo is stored that you want to work with. I took my photo from my Camera Roll so I selected "camera roll"


Your image will come up and now you have the option choose how you would like to crop your photo.  I kept mine as it was originally taken which is highlighted in green.  Once you are happy with your choice select "apply"


You are then taken to this screen.  The white icons along the bottom indicate certain actions that you can take on your photo.  We are going to add a digital stamp so you will need to select " + "


the next screen shows two choices, text and graphics.  We are going to choose graphics.


This screen allows you to add lots of fun stuff to your photo that are already in the app itself.  We are going to add a digital stamp so we are going to select "my graphics"

Along the bottom will appear any digital stamps that you have already added to Letterglow.  If you wanted to choose one of these you just scroll along until you find the stamp that you want and then select it.  As we are going to add a new stamp we will select the button with the three little dots.


This screen will appear.  Select the purple " + "

This screen will appear - this is where you will select where to grab your digital stamp from.  Under  "cloud" at the top you will see dropbox.  Select this


This will take you to your dropbox account where you will see all your files and photos that you have stored there.  The stamp that I want is in the file KS 03 AM-toPM-PNG.  I selected the file and then chose the stamp that I wanted - " morning"


Once you have selected your digital stamp it will take you back to this screen.  You should see the image of the stamp that you chose.

Next select the X at the top of the screen.


you will then see this screen again.  Scroll across until you see the digital stamp that you uploaded, select that stamp


Your photo will appear along with the digital stamp that you chose.  This is where you can play with your image.  You can make it bigger or smaller, change the colour etc.  Spend some time playing here, it can be fun seeing how you can change your digital stamp.


this screen shows how to alter the colour of your digital stamp


by selecting black I changed my digital stamp from white to black. You can also alter the depth of colour as well.  Again play around with it a little, it's the best way to find out how the app works.


Once I changed my digital stamp from black to white and then moved it to where I wanted it to appear on my photo.  You can do this two ways, select the digital stamp and move it around with your finger or use the icon that will appear at the bottom of the screen once you have highlighted your stamp.

(When you have finished with a particular screen, you will notice a long white area at the bottom with a black triangle.  This allows you to go back to the white icons that you see in the above photo)


Once you have finished editing your digtial stamp you can add text.  Select "text"

(again you will select the + which will take you to this screen)


Firstly choose your font.  Select  "F" which will take you to another screen to choose a font.


scroll down until you find a font that you like, then select it.


it will appear green with a small dot next to it.  Then tap on the white part of the screen at the top.


now you can add your text. Once you have finished select "done" 


again you can edit your text until you are happy with it.  Once you are all happy select  " > " .  You can then choose the square icon with the arrow, bottom right of the screen to save your photo to your camera roll, dropbox etc.



You will then be asked if you would like to save your draft.  I always click Yes just in case I find a spelling error or something.  It means I can go back and edit it and not have to start all over again.


Congratulations, you have successfully added a digital stamp and journaling to your photo without the need for photoshop.

This amazing little app has given me so many more ways to use my Digital stamps from Kellie Stamps.  

I hope this has been of some help, but please, if you think I have missed something or you have more questions about this, please leave a comment and I will do my best to help you out.  The most important thing is to play around with it and have fun.  It has certainly changed the way I edit my photos.  Quite often I will take a photo then add my digital stamp and journaling right then so that all I have to do later is print out my photo and slot it into my PL album or add it to a layout.  Its also a great way to record information that you might not remember later.

Have fun and please let me know how you go.
love me :-)













3.4.16

Comic style...



My son went to Oz Comic Con over the weekend and he managed to get some great photos.  I got this idea that I wanted to create a layout like a comic.  I spent a little while thinking about it as I wasn't quite sure how I would go about it.  But I was determined to find a way and I was thrilled with how it turned out.

I opened up the Silhouette store a searched "comic" to see if any images would come up that might help me get my layout started.  I found a cut file for the comic strip and then found a few "super hero" images and words.  Some were cut files and some were sketch pen files.  Then, before I knew it my layout was coming together.  Instead of using the files as cut files and used my sketch pen for the whole thing as was completely amazed at how well it came out.  I even added my journaling using the sketch pen.

I then measured the areas where I wanted to place photos, cropped the photos in photoshop and had them printed out.




I honestly love this layout so much.  I can't believe that it looks exactly as it did in my head.

I have listed below the Silhouette files that I used for this layout:-

Comic strip frame by Silhouette
Super heroes sketch by Cali Arroyo
Bam by Silhouette
Pow by Silhouette
Zap by Silhouette
PN In a Galaxy Far Away - font by ScrapNfonts
LD Cute lines by Lettering Delights

Love me :-)







2.4.16

Good times...


I have been following Felicity Jane kits for a while and just loved all the colours that go in the kits each week along with the touch of black & white (which we all know I am a huge fan of the black and white).  I thought about subscribing but each time I would go to do it, it was just too expensive with the Aussie dollar and international postage.  I have not been buying kits or paper for quite some time and my stash of paper is at an all time low (ok, I'll admit that it's not that low but it is in terms of paper that I like - add in #projectCRAFTroom  which you can read about here).  So last month I decided to dive in and subscribe to Felicity Jane.  Well to say that I love my first kit is a total understatement.  I totally love it.  The colours, the papers, the embellishments and the stamps.  If I was to be totally honest, it is a little expensive but that's only because of the Aussie dollar and I am prepared to overlook that slight problem because the kit is just so adorable.

Thought I would share my first layout using the "Tuesday" kit which was released in March.






Everything used to create this layout is from the kit with the exception of the black splotches (Mr Huey's mist), white cardstock (Stampin Up) and the star die cut.  The "star cluster" die cut is from Felicity Jane and is available in the Silhouette store.

Can't wait for the next kit to be available.

Have a great weekend
love me :-)

30.3.16

My thoughts on A Day in the Life...


I think you have heard me say this before, I am great at starting something, not so good at finishing it.  And that is particularly true when it comes to big projects like A Day in the Life. I love the idea behind it but I seem to run out of steam part way through and then never finish it up.
I promised myself that this time I would start and see it through till the end.
Right now, it's 10.30pm and I have just finished the majority of my documenting and I have made lists so that I can finish it up tomorrow.

Here are some of the goals I set myself so that I would succeed this time round...


I didn't get too fussy about the quality of the photo.  I just snapped what I wanted and accepted it just how it turned out.  It saved me a heap of time trying to get the best shot, editing etc etc.


I made sure I captured some everyday stuff, not alot, but some.  And I didn't worry about other "stuff" that might me in the photo ie. mess etc.


I also made sure that I made it into some of the photo's.

But... the most important thing I did was to use the Letterglow app to add journaling to my photos as soon as I took them.  Adding journaling etc after the event is where I generally fall down so by using this app I could do it right there and then.  All my photos have journaling on them and all I have to do is print them out and add them to my Project Life album.

I also kept a piece of paper where I added other stories that I wanted to capture.  I have already typed this list up and all I have to do in the next few days in the check it, set it out nicely and I am finished.

So excited to have this project organised and to know that I will actually finish it.

How did you go?
love me :-)

29.3.16

mmmmm coffee time...


As my term comes to an end for Feed Your Craft I am feeling a little sad that I will no longer be working with the lovely Elise and all the girls on the creative team.  It has been such an honour to be part of her first Creative Team and such an honour to get to play and create with her wonderful flair buttons.

I have had this layout in my head for some time and it finally came together during the week.  As you all know I have a huge obsession with coffee so finding photos to document is not hard and when I received these amazing flair buttons I was stoked.  As soon as I saw them the first thing that came into my mind was Coffee.

This layout completely explains how my brain works during coffee time - actually that's how I came up with the journaling on my layout (with stickers).



Other products used:- Kellie stamps, studio calico, stampin up & silhouette cameo

I sure am going to miss being on this creative team but I will definately be using these great mini flairs for quite some time.

Love me :-)

Note:  mini flairs are awesome.

28.3.16

#projectCRAFTroom part 2...


So, things are happening a little faster than I had planned (insert deep breath).  We are having a street rubbish pickup and that makes for the perfect time to get rid of stuff.  Getting rid of the two desks was always going to happen but not for some time, or so I thought.  But last weekend we found a new desk for my room so that meant we could get rid of the old ones in the street rubbish pickup.  That meant this weekend was all about moving out of the craft room so we could get the desks out, put the new desk in and then move back into my craft room.   A huge job to say the least but I just keep thinking of the bigger picture.


Once the desks were out, I cleaned the blinds, the windows, washed the floor and just generally dusted and cleaned.  While my hubby was putting the desk together it gave me the perfect opportunity to start sorting through some stuff.  And boy is there some stuff in this room!  

One of the things that I am sticking to is to only keep what I use.  With that in mind, I gathered up a whole heap of stamps that I no longer use and listed them for sale.  I was stoked when they sold as that gave me the money to start buying my new desks and shelves.  Initially I felt funny getting rid of the stamps but when I sold them and had the cash in my hand it meant I could start buying my new furniture and that made me feel so good.  Getting rid of stuff I don't use meant I can get stuff that I do use.

Although I still have a long way to go sorting, purging and cleaning it is already starting to feel light and airy.  I can feel inspiration getting ready to move in and I am so excited.

moving "stuff" out so inspiration can move in
Love me :-)


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