Photo Storify

Photos, Stories and Scrapbooking

Alexander

By

On July 18, 2018

In Scrapbooking

Anna always packs a lot of information into her classes; last Friday was no exception. Although I want to view the recorded version of Heritage Live, I now have the format, based on a template provided in the class materials, for my anniversary project. I have already changed the first two pages that I had already completed to fit my new format.

I love the white border because it will unify my book no matter what color I use on the pages. This format will also provide more flexibility when it is time for me to publish the book. It took time to rework my original pages, adjusting the text especially, so I am going to begin each page with the template. It will be easier for me.

Bill taught biology and math; sometimes his students brought him critters that he would bring home as pets. While it was nice that our first pet was a good size for our small apartment, I really didn’t want a pet rat. The left side tells two stories: one about Alexander, our pet rat, and the second story about a rosy boa for which I don’t have a photo. However, as you read, you’ll see that the two stories are connected.

I began my page by clipping solid paper 3 from ArtPlay Palette Elysium to each large mask on the template.

Next I placed overlay 4 from FotoBlendz Overlays No. 12 on the left mask and clipped the photo of my husband, Bill, feeding our pet rat with an eye dropper. I masked out the background on the photo and clipped artsy paper 4, placed below the photo, to the overlay. I adjusted parts of the overlay with AnnaBlendz Artsy brushes.

Below the masked photo, I placed transfer 3 from ArtPlay Palette Elysium and the layers of transfer 3 from Artsy Transfers Elysium. I added a layer mask to hide a part of one layer that interfered with the text.

I clipped two photos to the frames from WaterColor Template Album No. 4. The thread was part of the template.

Finally, I added a button, title and wrote my journaling.

While I’ve added a bordered template, I am still using fotoblendz overlays and masks, small frames from template and artsy transfers. My project is not complicated; I like that when I’m attempting to create a book.

Mother

By

On July 6, 2018

In Lightroom, Scrapbooking

Finding the words to express what I feel now and then about my mother is difficult. I don’t think I ever really knew her. I remember the pain in the few stories she shared from her childhood with me. I know I didn’t understand her un-diagnosed Bipolar. She was complicated, always demanding my best, our relationship never intimate. I know that she gave the best she could. I will always be grateful she did. I imagine that everyone has a few difficult stories to tell about family. It’s not that I wanted this to be one of my first pages for my anniversary book, but the color in Anna’s ArtPlay Palette Rougir was perfect for an early color photo of my mother from 1947.

As I did on my first page, I used primarily fotoblendz masks, artsy transfers, brushes and small frames from templates.

I worked with the photo of my mother in Lightroom first to improve the color. After importing it into Photoshop CC, I used the Camera Raw filter to improve it further. The background was dark so I extracted my mother and added a custom shadow. I clipped transfer 2 and solid paper 2 from ArtPlay Palette Rougir to overlay 1 from FotoBlendz Overlays No. 12. Below that I placed the layers of psd file 5 from Artsy Transfers Rougir.

To build depth and interest, I added the notebook from ArtPlay Palette Rougir and pasted photos on it to create the look of a photo album. I added addition transfers, leaves and lace from ArtPlay Palette Rougir as well as the layers of file 1 from MultiMedia Roses No. 1.

On the right side, I began by clipping the original photo to mask 5 from Hipster Plume FotoBlendz No. 7. To the left of the masked photo, I placed transfers 1 and 2 from ArtPlay Palette Rougir and masked out parts as needed with blending brushes.

Note: I used the basic design of template 15 from WaterColor Template Album No. 5 for this page.

I continued to build the background by placing the layers of transfers 1 and 4 from Artsy Transfers Rougir, masking as needed.

Note: My jumpsuit was actually yellow. I recolored it by masking out just my clothing and adding a color overlay to that layer.

Finally, I clipped photos to the small frame masks of template 15 of WaterColor Template Album No. 5 before adding elements from ArtPlay Palette Rougir.

I’m looking forward to hearing how Anna handled her difficult stories in her upcoming class, Heritage Live. Maybe its a good thing that I’ve finished one of the difficult stories early in my project.

First Page

By

On June 20, 2018

In Scrapbooking

I enjoy the challenge and learning involved in digital scrapbooking, especially when I begin a new project, i.e. completing the first page for my 50th Anniversary book. Just the process of experimenting and thinking about this first page helped me to define what I want to do in this book.

After initially completing the right side of the two page spread, I decided that I would focus on our stories using old photos clipped to fotoblendz masks and adding artsy transfers for depth. Simple enough, right? Rule number one, always do double page spreads at the same time. I didn’t, thinking I was only experimenting with an idea. As a result I had trouble with the balance when I began creating the left side to coordinate with my page on the right.

Note: The solid paper is from ArtPlay Palette Lateritious. I explain how I created the right side in a previous post.

For consistency with the right, I first clipped a photo to overlay 1 from FotoBlendz Overlays No. 12.

Then I added the frames and text boxes of file 5 from Project Template Album No. 3. Below the frames, I stamped brush 7 from Spackle Textured No. 8 on a new blank layer.

For interest on the left, I used the same psd transfer from Artsy Transfers Lateritious that I had used on the other side, reducing the size and deleting layers. I also placed transfer 4 from ArtPlay Palette Lateritious below the frames.  Just above the transfer layers, I combined layers from two different psd files from MultiMedia Suns No. 1. I stamped brush 4 from Bunny Rabbits No. 1 on a new blank layer to the left of the black and white photo. It is on normal blend mode at 100%.

It’s at this point that I realized I had a problem with balance. The left side was too heavy because it carried more weight with the frames and the black and white photo.

However, when I added two additional frames on the right side, the page looked more balanced.

I finished my double page spread with a button from ArtPlay Palette Delight below the thread included with the frames.

Now I have a tentative plan for my anniversary project which involves combining the stories with our old photos. I’m going to use primarily fotoblendz masks, artsy transfers, brushes and small frames from templates. Will my plan change as I work on this project? Probably, projects tend to take on a mind of their own. I’m looking forward to Anna’s heritage class in July. Right now, I’m trying to figure out which story I want to write next.

A Hunting Together We Went

By

On June 13, 2018

In Scrapbooking

On Monday I signed up for Anna’s course, The Art of Heritage. The challenge of creating a cohesive book without a template using my favorite products appeals to me. I have a great deal of information about my husband’s family as well as my own from genealogy books, but I don’t have a lot of old family photos. However rather than cover that history, I thought that I might create a book about my fifty years of history with the man I married on September 7, 1968. I could culminate the project with photos from the anniversary trip we’ve planned as a celebration.

We definitely have a history together. One day, I went out hunting with Bill and his college friend. They gave me a gun to carry. As we were eating lunch this afternoon, I asked Bill why he gave me the gun.

This is the photo that our friend captured with an old Instamatic. I worked on it in Lightroom, exported it to Photoshop CC and added an adjustment layer on overlay blend mode at 70%. I placed it above solid paper 1 from ArtPlay Palette Lateritious.

To give it an artsy look, I clipped it to overlay 3 from FotoBlendz Overlays No. 12.

Note: I enlarged the 3.5 x 3.5 photo about 20% and reduced the size of the overlay to accommodate the photo.

Below the photo and overlay, I placed the layers of transfer 3 from Artsy Transfers Lateritious. I used only six of the layers to support my photo.

Note: Artsy Transfers are one of my favorite products by Anna. I am seriously considering using them throughout this book.

I wrote my journaling, added a yellow button, a thread from UrbanThreadz No. 16 and a title.

When I asked Bill why he gave me that gun to carry. He responded, “to keep you feeling like you were with us. Good grief, that was 50 years ago.”

“Not quite,” I replied.

Remember These Moments

By

On June 6, 2018

In Photography, Scrapbooking

I captured the focal photos on Kate’s last day of preschool, the day she told me that I don’t need to miss her when she goes to school next year because she can still spend the night with me. For this page I decided to combine the photos I captured that afternoon in the park with other photos that tell some of her preschool story. Some of them I scanned from a little picture book that her teacher had created for each child and other photos, I had captured with my camera. With Anna’s new Hipster Plume Template Album No. 3, creating a two page spread documenting preschool memories couldn’t be simpler.

Place template 4 on the left and template 5 on the right.

Note: I replaced one square frame on the right with a copy of the smaller square frame.

Clip photos to fotoblendz masks and add Adjustment Layers as needed.

Note: As I have previously explained, I use Adjustment Layers rather than duplicating a photo and changing it’s blend mode. I also used a brush on the masks to darken areas to accommodate the photos I used.

Duplicate photos and clip to stains. At the bottom of the Layers Panel, place a photo across the page gutter. Add an inverted mask and brush back in enough to extend the scene.

Clip photos to small masks and adjust as needed.

Note: I blurred the faces of the other children in two of the photos.

Add title and blue buttons.

That’s it! The hardest part was deciding which pictures I wanted to include and what I to write.

Ready for Kindergarten

By

On June 2, 2018

In Scrapbooking

My granddaughter looks so grown up now. I have mixed feelings about this little girl beginning kindergarten in August. On one hand, I know how much I’m going to miss driving her to preschool, making lunch and playing with her in the afternoons.  However, I also know how much she will enjoy school, how much she’ll learn academically and socially. The teacher in me loves knowing all the wonderful possibilities waiting for her. I created this page in celebration of those possibilities. The steps are simple.

Roughly extract child from three photographs using the Quick Selection tool and a layer mask.

Clip photos of grass to mask 2 and 3 from WaterColor FotoBlendz No. 8.

Note: I photographed the grass to unify the extractions since each was a separate photo.

Add the psd layers of frame 1 from Postage Frames No. 1. Clip grass photo to masks. Above the masks, place a second copy of extractions. Add a custom shadow to each extraction.

Below the extractions and first set of frames, place a second frame set. Clip a copy of the grass photo to the frame masks.

Add one more psd frame 1. Again, clip grass photo to masks.

Add transfer 1, art stroke 2 and overlay 1 and 3 from ArtPlay Palette Ariose below the fotoblendz masks. Just below the top postage stamp frames, place two copies of overlay 4 and art stroke 2. Place solid paper 1. Lighten paper with a levels adjustment layer. Change blend mode to screen at 80%.

Note: I erased part of the paper with the Clone Stamp tool.

Finish with a title and cluster with elements from ArtPlay Palette Ariose.

Family Tree

By

On May 20, 2018

In Scrapbooking

At one time or another all of my grandchildren have asked me about my parents, even whether I ever had grandparents. While my parents and grandparents have all died, these photos keep them in my memories. I hope to share some stories about them so that my grandchildren will know them too. Working on this simple page has inspired me to consider working on a heritage project, but to take the perspective of my grandchildren and the questions they’ve asked as well as some of the stories I think they’d enjoy reading. Below are the steps for this page.

Move the template layers of Family Tree Template No. 6 to a new blank document. Recolor the branches behind the frames. Note: I chose a green.

Clip transfer 2 from ArtPlay Palette Moorlands to the tree brush layer of the template. Add a little brown to parts of the brush.

Note: Press command and the thumbnail of the brush layer to get the marching ants. Add a new blank layer above and stamp brown on some areas.

Clip photos to masks and add names. Add hue and saturation adjustment layers to give photos a similar sepia tone. Then add levels adjustment layers on overlay blend mode. Adjust as needed.

Note: I’ve added only first names for privacy purposes.

Next, to fill in the background, place transfer 1 and 3 from ArtPlay Palette Moorlands. Change blend mode of transfer 3 to darken at 75%.

Place most of the layers of psd file 3 from Artsy Transfers Moorlands. Turn off the gold paint.

Add a button from ArtPlay Palette Moorlands and journaling.

I’m looking forward to hearing the questions Kate will ask next week when I share this page with her.

Tulip Garden

By

On May 13, 2018

In Photography, Scrapbooking

The tulips weren’t blooming at Lauritzen Gardens in April, but they were simply stunning at my photography class Wednesday evening. With optimal light on these tulips for about forty-five minutes, I worked the angles with my little camera. My instructor suggested that I capture more of the stems with the tulip flowers. I’m so glad I did because those shots work perfectly with Anna’s new postage stamp frames. Below, I share the steps for working with one photo for the background combined with some detail shots.

Place photo and resize to fit the boundaries of a 12×12 document. Add inverted layer masks and bring back in the photo with AnnaBlendz Artsy brushes. The bottom layer is on color burn blend mode at 100%, the second layer on normal at 75% and the extraction at the top is on normal at 100%. Create a custom shadow for the tulip extraction by putting it on a separate layer, then warping and erasing as desired.

Note: I processed all the photos on this page in Lightroom before adding them to my page. I also added a levels adjustment layer on soft light at 100% just above the masked copy on normal blend mode. I used solid paper 1 from ArtPlay Palette Amaranthine as a foundation for this page.

Below the masked photo and extraction, place transfers 4, 6 and 8 as well as the lace from ArtPlay Palette Amaranthine. Change the blend mode of transfer 4 to linear burn at 75%.

Add transfer 5; mask as needed and change blend mode to liner burn at 75%. At the top of the transfer group, place transfer 3 on normal blend mode at 100%.

Place psd frames 2 and 8 from Postage Frames No. 1. Clip photos to masks. Tilt frames to angle on the page.

Add thread 6 from UrbanStitchez No 12 as an edge for the extraction. Add stitch 11 to tack down the frames. Add button from ArtPlay Palette Hello Autumn and button thread 2 from ButtonThreadz No. 2. Finally, add a title and journaling.

Note: I adjusted the color of the button with two levels adjustment layers, one on overlay at 100% and the other on screen at 50%.

After all the browns, grays and whites of winter, I’m more than ready for some color.

Waiting on Spring

By

On May 4, 2018

In Scrapbooking

I fully intended to capture the tulips while I was at my evening photography class at Lauritzen Gardens a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately the weather was so cold during April that they had hardly sprouted the day I was there. Frost killed my bowl of pansies in April, so I shouldn’t have been surprised to see that the large pots along the brick wall in the Victorial Garden were empty. There were a some daffodils and few struggling panies in the beds, but the tulips were just emerging from the ground. What a shame, I love a good tulip display. I’m going to my class again next week and hope to see a few left.

Even without any flowers, I decided that the photos that I made of the ornaments, urn and door with all the brick deserved a page.

For this page, place two copies of overlay 3 from ArtPlay Palette Ariose (free with a $20 purchase of Anna products during the NSD sale at Oscaps. Both layers are on normal blend mode.

Note: This might be an odd place to begin, but I love this overlay.

Place the layers of template 3 from WaterColor Template Album No. 6 on the page. Add two copies of the gold paint and change the blend mode to color burn at 50%.

Note: The overlay layers are just below the fotoblendz mask from the template. Initially, I turned off all the template layers except the fotoblendz mask. I also applied a painted treatment to the photo with Topaz Studio.

Recolor some stains and/or clip copies of the photo to others.

Turn on three of the small frames. Clip photos to two of the small frames. To the third, clip artsy paper 1 from ArtPlay Palette Ariose and adjust the position within the framed mask.

Place overlay 4 and art stroke 1 from ArtPlay Palette Ariose just below the small frames, both on normal blend mode. Complete journaling.

Turn on the template’s urban thread layer. For additional interest, add the flower, bird and thread from ArtPlay Palette Ariose. Add title.

Note: As I finished up, I decided that solid paper 2 with a levels adjustment layer on screen provided a better background than white.

Now I can’t wait to see what’s in the Victorian Garden next week.

Brush Play

By

On April 26, 2018

In Scrapbooking

Sometimes, I just play with brushes. While the end product may not be my favorite layout, I think that simply experimenting with blend modes and brushes is valuable. On this layout, I painted with digital brushes in Photoshop. Below, I explain my steps.

Stamp brush 6 from ArchiTextures No. 10 on a new blank document. Below the brush layer, place solid paper 1 from ArtPlay Palette Home.

Note: The brush is partially transparent which allows the texture to bleed through on normal blend mode.

Paint the house with brushes from ArtsyPaint No. 14 and ArtsyStains No. 6 on separate layers.

Note: Using separate layers allows you to rotate or duplicate a brush. I practice using the Brush Panel to rotate brushes, but sometimes it’s faster to move it after stamping.

Place a photo below the stamped painted house with added paint. Click command and the brush layer from ArchiTextures No. 10. Marching ants appear. Go to the photo layer and click the add layer mask icon. An inverted mask will appear linked to the photo. Then stamp with white as the foreground color on the black mask with brushes from ArtsyPaint No. 14, ArtsyPaint No. 8 and AnnaBlendz Artsy No. 10 to fill in a scene around the house.

Note: I “undo” a brush stroke if it doesn’t look the way I want. Once it looks right to me, then I duplicate the mask and clip it to other layers of the photo. The top layer is a sketch on linear burn at 70%. The second photo layer is linear light at 50%. The bottom photo layer is multiply at 50% with a screen adjustment layer attached.

Above the photo layers but below ArchiTexture brush 6 layer, place layers of file 3 from Artsy Transfers Evanish, a glow from ArtPlay Palette Glance, overlays from ArtPlay Palette Evanish and splatters from ArtPlay Palette Home.

Add word art 8 from ARTWord ART Mix No. 1, a red button from ArtPlay Palette Merry Tree and thread 7 from ButtonThreadz No. 1.

I’m not going to say that this is my favorite layout, but while playing, I enjoyed myself practicing.

Page 1 of 18

Next →

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives

Categories

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén