Just Two Words printables for Project Life

I usually try to make some printables each week but got so wrapped up in my mini-album (and weekend crop) that I let it slide.  So here is a set I was messing about with.  Just two words – I have a bunch of these in a file, always planned to do something with them and just never got around to it. Now I have. Simple but fairly colourful, with big paint-y splodges of colour: Just a single page PDF, but I have at least enough for another page of them if these prove popular – and might do them with no words, although not sure they would work for journaling.  They print pretty bold.  You could add a small photo to cover the words and use them as a sort of photo mat, I suppose, although I haven’t tried it. You can see the layers of colour better here, I think: Have fun with them!

Moving on…and a new mini-album

I am happy with the final version of the mini-book, with input on the real-life viewing at my crop so I am calling this DONE done.

I promise you won’t have to look at it any more!

I got totally sidetracked by some origami “corners” – what a palaver!  Someone on a bookmaking group I am part of posted a photo of a photo cube held together by these corners.  Good lord they were hard to track down!  I started with the photo, Googled it to death till I found instructions, then saw someone in the book group had posted a link to an old HGTV tutorial.  I remembered it as soon as I saw the photo, having looked at in waaaaay back and been annoyed at the poor quality of the instructions.  Found a couple of references to videos for that project, but they seem to have been removed.  I went BACK to the instructions, which comes up in a preview on Google Books but only page two of the instructions. Finally figured it out and ….

OK so you might comment that my folding is not the best – although I would argue that my folding is actually OK but the stupid wonky trimmers I own can’t cut a perfect square so I am starting with a flaw and it can only ever get worse from there. The point is I eventually figured out what those tiny photos actually told me to do and had success in the end.

And at the crop I got about 80% thru another mini-album idea I had.  DD is always rolling her eyes and making out like she is really unhappy that DS is coming home.  I don’t for one minute believe she really feels that way.  But given her issues, I though making a simple mini book where I can add tags or journaling blocks with HER words about her brother, in HER handwriting, might serve as a nice reminder.  I decided to use ALL of the mostly not very good photos from the few I snapped before he left.  There were a LOT of good photos of him and lots of not very good photos of DD.  But that isn’t the point – although it MIGHT convince her to stop mugging for the camera and actually smile nicely a little more often. It’s built on “pages” cut from an old pizza box (scrap supplies, not one that ever had pizza in it!) and is nice and chunky – probably bind with book rings.

Using what is left of a WRMK paper pad (Nonsense) I kept the pages simple and the photos big.  The whole thing should fit in a smaller sized pizza box, which is good, cause the name I began with was Brother in a Box.

I have one more photo of the two of them that I missed printing somehow (or I think I do!) and will try to get DD to write our some thoughts n the photos to add and complete.  It may not work to reminder her how much she really does love having DS around, but it’s worth a go!

Have a great Sunday!

 

You must be sick of seeing this….

…but I thought it might crystallize it in my mind and as you have been so helpful with your opinions I figure it’s only fair to share.

I worked thru a number of options for the colour of the photo.  The blue was felt by many to be too cold.  I do like it, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t a difficult thing to try a few more options.  Seeing them all side-by-side I thought might help me really SEE which one I preferred.

What that shows is (clockwise from the top left) standard sepia in PSE, antique effect in iPhoto, standard B&W in PSE, and Sepia effect in iPhoto.

Now, the antique version matches most closely the tone of the Tim Holtz papers, the pumice stone option rather than the blue.

It could be slightly warmer but overall it is my favourite, I think.

The B&W version is OK too, although I think it has less definition – the Convert to B&W in PSE is a but of a sledgehammer, IYKWIM.  I think you see that most clearly in the folds and creases of GFs jacket.

And the other two sepia versions are overall maybe too warm. But not the iPhoto sepia holds the same definition

and the PSE sepia is less so:

I still like all the words, but then I like text and think more is better 99% of the time LOL! But I’ve a lot of time invested in this mini and I am not willing to rush the decision just to have it done.  I may take it with me to my crop tomorrow and see what people think seeing it IRL, but I am pretty sure it will be DONE done by Monday.

Cheers to all who voted and commented, either here or on PollDaddy – while I am never one to do something just because other people like it, I am certainly not so dim that I can’t agree to look at suggestions and see if they really are an improvement.  A few people did say that, at the end of the day, it’s MY book and I need only please myself, but it is helpful to know WHY they suggest a different version, then to see it in action.  So thanks for that.  I promise I WILL move on from this…soon….

{wink}

 

 

Help me decide!

I did finish the cover of the mini, sort of.  I finished it three times!  Not really – but I did play around with three options and can’t make up my mind which I like better.  It’s been a while since I did a poll so I thought this might be a good way to collect some info about what fresh eyes think looks better.

To begin with, I took the photo and altered it in Photoshop Elements.  It was pretty much two simple clicks and a few sliders.  First I did Enhance > Convert to Black and White

Then I clicked Enhance > Adjust Color> Color Variations and Increase Blue to the highlights. Wish I had played around more with the GREEN to get it slightly more of a turquoise shade, but then it might have blended into the background a little too much.

Options One Although I do use a few circle elements, I’m just not sure that this many dots work.  Some times I like it, some times I just think for it to work I would have to go back and add circles to every page to tie it all together:

Options Two I originally thought The 3 STAGES of Jack but then I thought playing on The Three Ages of Man (painting, by Titian, actually in the Scottish Gallery, so that is another tie-in, since DS is living in Scotland at the moment) worked better so went with that.  But space was tight, and really I should have decided first then stuck stuff down, but…

Option Three I like spelling numbers out, but then I thought that the number might be best.  The die I used didn’t have numbers on it so I opted to trim the lower-case m to make something a bit like a 3.

Letters a bit wonky cause none of them are stuck down…yet.

So what do you think?

Just a day to reply, so I’m not expecting many but I would be interested in your opinion.  Cheers!

WOYWW 264

Drs appointment this morning but if I a lucky I may get to finish up my mini-album this afternoon.  I am playing around with a photo f DS and his GF that some club in Dundee tagged him on in Facebook.  Not crazy about the colour with the blue of the cover so I might mess about in Photoshop and see if I can tweak it a bit.

Some 2015 calendar printables are lurking there under the mini.  Had fun making them although they are a little busy for my taste.  Still, I did learn a few things about the process with this design. always a benefit! Also off to a crop this weekend so I may have to try to sort out a few layouts. It’s been too long!

Hope your WOYWW day is a creative one!

2015 calendar Printables

I’ve been dithering over adding these – for a start, I worry they are too busy.  I know people tend to like colourful printables but I usually do my calendars with a lot of whites space, cause I like them like that.  I stepped out of my comfort zone and made this set them just kept holding them back.  Also, it IS pretty early in the year – come December/January, I imagine people will have forgotten all about them.  But what the heck…

They are usable for PL books, obviously, but would also work as CD calendars mounted on a bigger piece of cardstock.  You can find many other ways to make them work, including printing them two to a page. That will give you blocks that measure just shy of 3 x just shy of 2 1/4.  They could then be used to make tear-off calendars.  Perhaps a little ink-intensive but you can decide if it’s worth it!

It’s a three page PDF .

I always print them, because I can find errors more easily in print than I can on the screen.  Still, I do always have a fear that I will have made some stupid, unnoticed mistake, get the dates wrong somehow, and still miss it.  {sigh}

There are the 12 months then there are three blocks with slightly smaller chevrons, in three not-used colours, that you can use for journaling or filler cards if you like

And a screen shot so you can see all the colours:

You should be able to click and see it slightly bigger. Maybe – it doesn’t work in the preview but may when it’s live. 

Nope…

Hope you find them useful.

 

 

Final section finally done!

Here are the last section pages from that mini-album.  Love how it turned out.

In three sections:

You can see it’s quite a chubby book but still contained.

 

 

 

 

Ooh, check out that curly perm and Deirdre glasses!

Only the cover left to do and I am dithering about what to do with it.  I know I want a couple of fat eyelets and a tie to hold it closed but not sure what photos (if any) to use.  Not going to rush the decision but will add a shot when I am done.

Two final bits of info – first, the entire essay Children are Like Kites:

Children Are Like Kites

You spend a lifetime trying to get them off the ground.
You run with them until you are both breathless.
They crash. They hit the rooftop.
You patch and comfort, adjust and teach.
You watch them lifted by the wind and assure them that
someday, they will fly.
Finally, they are airborne;
They need more string and you keep letting it out;
But with each twist of the ball of twine,
There is a sadness that goes with joy.
The kite becomes more distant and you know it won’t be long before that
beautiful creature will snap the lifeline that binds you two together and
will soar, free and alone.
Only then do you know that you did your job

 

and second, that tee-shirt.   If you live in the UK and watch TV, you may find you “know” Ugly Duckling – the song, Just a Little Samba was used in the Visa/Usain Bolt advert.  You can watch the video on YouTube.

Film Leader printables for Project Life

I had a day off yesterday – I really should have finished up the mini-album, and will hope to sort the final section today, but the sunshine called to me.  No, not for anything fun, just a good day for hanging out laundry.

But I have these printables lurking in my unfinished object (UFO) folder so I though I would make some decisions and finish them to add.  I am ever mindful that printables that consume a lot of ink aren’t always economical, so for the larger 4 x 6 version, where my idea for use was to add a photo to them, I’ve made a white box in the middle.  The photo, when added, will hide that nicely.  You could instead use the blank area for journaling, either by adding some drawn lines for writing, printing journaling within the blank area, or even stamping with a journaling stamp.  You could add grid paper over it, or a strip of black or coloured cardstock and maybe two small square photos side-by-side, or size them to fit and to leave the white border.

For the small 3 x 4 cards, you can scatter them across the page with sequential photos, as a countdown.

Just a 2-page PDF for you.  Hope you find them useful. Hope you are enjoying as lovely a day as I am – warm, sunny, breezy and clear.  Summer.

Second Section done!

Slow going – party because I seem to have misplaced the triangle die somewhere on my desk.  DOH!  It’s at best stuck to something, at worst in the rubbish that got collected yesterday.  Double DOH!

Anyway, here is my progress – just the final section to complete then the cover!

Such a silly photo – I remember scrapping this one, early on, with the title Pasta Man.

Having to be careful with the placement of the text, to make sure the number works out for the last section.  A photo only section or two sorts it nicely.

And I thought the hammock was string-like enough for this bit!

just had to work with the bits of leftover border I had already cut.  At this point I think I have totally used every scrap.  But I have a solution…

I used my pinking shears to get the same, if smaller, effect.

Now I have to decide – I had already printed and sized a number of photos, before I began, when my design plan was different.  Shall I carry on with the smaller photos or size and print more?  I’ll play around with it and decide today…

Finish it either today or tomorrow, as I have a scrappy friend coming for lunch today and that is usually good for a couple of hours of chit chat, which eats into my crafty time, but is well worth it!

Progress on the mini-album

Just a few shots of the progress.  I have used this little essay by Erma Bombeck before, but it is as near to the perfect summation of what it is like to be a parent as I have ever read, and the photos I managed to find seemed to “fit” some of the text pretty well, so I’ve used it again.

You possibly can’t tell, from what you can see here, but that is DS in a plane – see what I mean about the photos fitting the text?

I liked these two, which are actually on two different “pages,” because he is wearing the same little jacket in both but clearly, time has passed between the left and right photo, based on the fit! And of course he is running (hence the blur) in the right photo.

I’ll add a little something on the left there, just not sure what at the moment….

and not lifted by the wind, but by Mom and Dad!

I have two more sections to finish and the planning, to fit the photos (without having to scan and resize and print them, for the actual photos is the goal) and match them with the text and make it all come out to the final page, is tricky. As you can see…

At least a day more on this I guess.  And one more possible addition just arrived in email, from his GF – a nice photo of DS kicking back in Spain. . . night make a nice final shot but more have been hinted at so I may wait a bit for the last page…