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Staz-On Ink
Here's the quick ink primer. There are two main types of ink "Dye" and "Pigment" Dye is quick drying and great for stamping words and fine detail stamps. If you've tried stamping in the past and the image came out smudgy or blurry, it's probably the ink you were using, not your stamping! Pigment is slow drying (thicker) and great for watercoloring and embossing. Staz on adds another specialty layer, it is a solvent ink designed for glossy surfaces like glass, plastic, acrylic, metal or glossy paper. Staz on blends together better than any ink I've seen. With just a red, blue and yellow (see photo left), you can blend vibrant greens, oranges purples just by using some cut and dry foam and pulling one color into another. The new color pops immediately and makes soft, gradiated edges. |
Photography
Scrapbook pages should be all about the photos (or memorabilia). You know you've really got it bad when just as you take the photo you know which paper you'll use. I take lots of digital photos and edit down to my favorite shots. Layouts of different angles on the same subject are visually pleasing.
I get all my photos developed at COSTCO, you can upload and opt for free shipping or pick them up immediately. COSTCO just revamped their photo center and now have options for "Square Sizes" Yep, that's 12x12 and 8x8! Print in large format and then use rub ons or acetate layovers as design elements.
Tips for better photographs:
Remember the rule of 3's - that things designed in 3's are more appealing to the eye. Imagine a tic tac toe grid through your view finder, push half way down to focus and then move your camera
for landscapes: position the horizon line along the bottom or top line.
for portraits: position the focal point to the left or right of center. Many cameras now have "portrait mode". Switch to protrait mode and zoom in really close. Always focus on your subjects eye...everything else can fade to blurry, but not eyes.
Clear Stamp Tricks
I just learned that you can use both sides of a clear acrylic stamp to stamp an image. Using any symetrical stamp (or semi symetrical if you are doodling), flip it over to stamp a background in a lighter ink. Using a dark ink then stamp the full design over your background.
I'm always looking for a strong white ink for
photographs or dark paper. For a different
look, use the new Adirondak Paint Dabbers
as your ink. Just apply them directly to your
rubber stamp and then stamp.
My new favorite inks for scrapbooking are
Technique Tuesday's blocks of 9 mini inks.
These dye inks are finally rich enough and
sharp enough that I can stamp a title in light
colors and have it look alright.
Reuse, Reuse, Reuse
Reuse those old letters! I have stacks of left over chipboard letters and alphabet stickers. Take my Basic Grey cardstock stickers for example. While I have lots of different colors, I don't have enough of one color to make a consistent looking page. Enter my new favorite tool: the Adirondack paint daubers. No mess, no fuss. Just daub the letters with paint (direct from the bottle). Paint them while they are still attached to the backing, that way you don't have to worry about the edges, everything looks perfect when you pop them off the paper. The paints dry really quickly, and now all my stickers match the current layout AND each other.
How to "Scraplift"
Stymied on where to start? What’s the best way to make use of all magazines and idea books around? Grab your stack of photos and copy, copy, copy.
- How many photos are used in the layout? What size and what orientation? What is the major focal point of the layout? Which are accent photos?
- Count how many different patterns of paper and cardstock are used.
- What do the patterns look like? Are they large elements, stripes, polka dots, bold designs or subtle patterns? The color and items represented don’t matter, but their size and strength do.
There is a huge trend toward using larger photos. Don’t pass up a great layout for this reason. You can combine two 4x6’s on a single matt OR use a square punch and grab faces or smaller elements from a stack of mediocre photos. (get them out of the box and into an album or the trash!) As long as the patched together end result is approximately the same size as your master, you’re good to go.
I love the layouts with huge flowers cut out (like basic grey) But I can only do so many floral layouts of my nephews. Instead, look for repeating patterns that can be cut into a larger element (large concentric circles, swirls, etc.) Develop the eye for looking at a piece of paper and seeing a subset of it that can be cut out.
Pick paper according to YOUR colors and theme, cut and set down major elements first. Find empty spots to toss embellishments and you’re on to the next page.
Photography Tips
The Best Light...
I recently took a digital photography class and with a few simple tricks I just LOVE the results in my photos. First, the flip flop logic: turn your flash OFF indoors and use ambient light; second force your flash ON outdoors to fill in the shadows on faces.
Closer than you think ...
Flatten the perspective in your photos. If you take a photo of a friend with the Golden Gate bridge in the background and stand close to your friend, the bridge will appear to be far off in the distance. Now, change your position, move further from your friend and use your zoom to focus on his/her face. The bridge will appear MUCH closer then in the first photo.