Photo Storify

Photos, Stories and Scrapbooking

Color Challenge

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On October 17, 2018

In Scrapbooking

This is the first layout that I have finished as part of the 100th Color Challenge with Anna Aspnes Designs. It’s all about red, black and white in combination with one of the quotes provided in the forum at Oscraps. I already had an idea for a photo when Kate and I walked to the park Saturday afternoon. Below are the steps for creating this page.

After extracting Kate and the play apparatus from four photos, I combined them to create one composite. I gave the composite a custom shadow.

Note: I made the black and white adjustments to the photos in Lightroom.

To color just part of the apparatus, I duplicated the composite and then used the Quick Selection tool to extract just the part I wanted red. I added a color overlay using the styles panel at the bottom of the layers panel.

To build a background, I placed brush 1 from Countryside No. 2 and brush 2 from Countryside No. 1 on the page below the extractions. I blended out part of the second brush with a layer mask.

To ground the play equipment, I added threads from UrbanThreadz No. 9 and three layers of stitching from UrbanStitchez Misc. No. 1.

The hardest part was scaling and combining the four extractions so that I could have a complete scene. That and adjusting to a new version of Photoshop CC. The rest was easy!

Start with a Brush

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On October 5, 2018

In Scrapbooking

Sometimes all you need to begin a piece of art is just one brush as I share below.

Stamp brush 1 of San Francisco No. 1 on a new blank document.

Drag the frames, stitching and one text box from template 3 of Travel Album No. 4 on to the document above the brush.

Clip a photo to each mask. In this case I used just one photo, but changed the crop for each mask.

Below the brush place transfers 1, 3 and 4 from ArtPlay Mini Palette Harken.

Add heart and button from mini palette. Create title and write journaling.

Yes, I left my heart in San Francisco and I’d go back to see all the things I didn’t see.

Best Man

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On October 4, 2018

In Scrapbooking

I can’t tell you how difficult it was to work with that old photo of my husband and his best man. I had to figure out how to correct the color and hide the photo crop and bland background. Stu and Bill have been friends for a long time; their parents had known each other for years. They both loved the outdoors: camping, fishing and hunting. That’s what gave me the idea to create an unexpected look for the background of them at our wedding. The guys were good sports when I asked them to recreate a wedding photo for our 50th anniversary.

To begin, I extracted my husband and his best man from the photo on the left. I gave the extraction a custom shadow. I placed the layers of file 13 from WaterColor Template Album No. 2 on the right side. On the left, I pulled the text box from page 1 of WaterColor Template Album 1. I moved one frame, duplicated another from the other side and changed the stitching.

Next, I extracted the guys from a photo I captured on our recent anniversary trip. I added a custom shadow.

I clipped some photos to the small frames and adjusted the exposure with adjustment layers.

To fill in the background on the right side, I placed layers of files 1 and 4 from Artsy Transfers Sonoma.

On the left, I placed transfer edge overlay 1 and transfer 4 from ArtPlay Palette Sonoma. In addition, I added artsy transfer layers to create a better edge for the old photo.

I am going to revise the journaling I think and try to find that photo of the red Mustang convertible.

Fifty Years of Friendship

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On September 27, 2018

In Scrapbooking

It’s been six years since we were last all together. We’ve shared more than fifty years of friendship with Bill and Sue Woods and Stu and Patty Macy. We’ve attended weddings and baby showers for one another, traveled together, i.e. the zoo, San Diego, Disneyland, even as far as the Philippines. We watched the Olympic Soccer finals in 1984 and numerous fireworks shows together. We made one more memory when we had lunch at Azul Latina Kitchen in South Lake Tahoe. For me the contrast between the photo of us all now and a few snapshots from the past are a treasure.

To create this page, I began with the template from Heritage Live and psd file 4 from Feuillemort FotoBlendz No 1.

I clipped a copy of the photo from our trip to the fotoblendz mask. I could have left it at that, but I wanted the photo to pop with depth.

I extracted parts of us from the photo and gave that extraction a shadow. Then I added two adjustment layers, one on Soft Light blend mode at 40% and the other on Screen blend mode at 30%. Between the two layers angled transfer 1 from ArtPlay Palette Feuillemort.

Note: I clipped copies of the photo to the stains included in the psd fotoblendz file.

Below those layers, I placed a combination of layers from Artsy Transfers Feuillemort 4 and 5.

On the right side, I used template 16 from WaterColor Template Album No. 3, deleting some of the stains included with the template. First, I clipped another photo to the fotoblendz mask included in the template and added an adjustment layer.

I clipped my photos to the small frames and added a stroke layer style to make the photos look as if they had the same frames used on the previous pages.

Note: the frames on the template are different from those that I’ve used for the other pages in this book. I deleted the masked included in the template, leaving just the frames. I added the stoke to the frames of the template by clicking the styles button at the bottom of my layers panel. Each frame has a style attached.

To finish my page, I added transfers from ArtPlay Palette Feuillemort and layers from transfer 5 of Artsy Transfers Feuillemort. I added a title with a thread from UrbanThreads No. 17.

I really didn’t take many photos with our friends over lunch, but that one was enough to tell this story.

Honeymoon

By

On August 29, 2018

In Scrapbooking

Bill’s brother handcuffed us together as we left the church following our wedding, but his dad unlocked the cuffs on the way to the airport to catch our flight to San Francisco for a short honeymoon. We only had a few days before I began my first teaching assignment at Langdon Elementary. I didn’t capture many photos on our trip; I can’t remember what kind of camera I used. However, I will have my Fuji X-T2 when we return to San Francisco in a few weeks.

To create the right side of this layout, I clipped solid paper 1 from ArtPlay Palette Riant to both sides of the template that I received in Anna’s class, Heritage Live. On the right edge, I placed the layers of frame 1 from UrbanThreadz FotoBlendz Frames No. 2.

Next, I clipped my photo to the fotoblendz mask included in the psd file. I used a brush to darken parts to reveal more of my photo. I extracted myself from the photo and gave the extraction a custom shadow. I also duplicated the entire photo twice, one on Screen blend mode at 50% and the other on Soft Light at 50%.

Note: I blended my legs into the mask to disguise the way my feet were cut off in the original photo.

I placed the frames from template 10 of WaterColor Template Album No. 7 on my page and adjusted the placement of one frame to accommodate one of my photos.

Note The thread and text boxes was included in the template. The button is from ArtPlay Palette Riant.

After adjusting the position of the frame grouping, I clipped my photos to the frames. I adjusted the exposure by duplicating the photo copies and changing the blend modes to Screen or Soft Light.

Below the group of frames, I placed most of the layers of psd file 3 from Artsy Transfers Riant, adjusting the position of the layers to line up with the top frame.

Below the circular frame, I placed transfers 3 and 7 from ArtPlay Palette Riant.

Note: I adjusted the yellow in transfer 7 with a Hue and Saturation adjustment layer after I rotated it. I had already created the textbox on the left before adding the transfers so all I needed to do was adjust its position.

My friend, Adryane, is going to help us recreate a couple of these photos for the opposing page of this layout when we are in San Francisco. We are really looking forward to our trip.

The Boat

By

On August 23, 2018

In Scrapbooking

In the spring of 1971, we bought a 21 foot inboard outboard Gulf Stream. Why would two teachers who lived in a tiny apartment need a boat? I guess a boat sounded like a fun thing to have for our summers. We hooked the boat to our yellow Plymouth Duster and set off for Lake Havasu, Isabella, Folsom and Orville. Despite the fact that owning a boat turned out to be a bit more complicated than we anticipated, there is no denying that the boat was a great value for the time we owned it. We made some wonderful memories with friends. However, all good things come to an end. By the end of the summer I was pregnant with our son. We sold the boat for a downpayment on our first home.

To create this page I clipped solid paper 3 from ArtPlay Palette Mountain High to the template’s large masks before dragging the layers of templates 7 and 8 from WaterColor Template Album No. 4 on to my page.

Note: I chose the square shape of the fotoblendz masks from template 7 because they suited the 3.5×3.5 snapshots so common in the 1970s. I duplicated one frame on the right instead of using the longer framed mask included in the template.

However, because I wanted to include as much of the square photo as possible, I added overlay 2 from FotoBlendz Overlays No. 7 below the template’s mask on the right to square the mask shape more.

I then clipped copies of the photo to the two masks and stains below.

Note: I extended the photo by blending in an edge on a separate layer in order to get rid of the trapped space in the template.

I clipped two additional photos to the fotoblendz masks on the left as well as the stains below that were included in the template.

I clipped my photos to the small framed masks, adjusting the exposure and look by duplicating copies and changing the blend mode.

Next, I placed overlay 1 and 2 from ArtPlay Palette Coastline below the fotoblendz masks and stains on the left. On the right, I rotated overlay 2 and placed it below the fotoblendz masks and stains.

Finally, I added layers of psd file 5 from Artsy Transfers Coastline on the left. I used the same layered psd file on the right, but rotated it and moved some layers.

Writing our story was the last step in creating this page. Oh what memories we have made together.

Family

By

On August 16, 2018

In Scrapbooking

“Strive to capture the heartbeat of love in this family: preserve and transplant it into the hearts of its members both present and future,” my grandfather said. His children, including my father, reflected that love of family and it’s history. That is what I wanted to capture with these two pages.

First, I extracted my parents from a photo with the Quick Selection tool using a layer mask and gave the masked result a shadow.

Note: I used the Clone Stamp tool on solid paper 4 from ArtPlay Palette Bravura so that I could erase the transfer on the paper to create a background for both pages.

Next, I placed the overlay from ArtPlay Palette Bravura and blended into the background another photo of my father. I changed the blend mode to Overlay blend mode at 60%.

I then placed a small frame from a template from WaterColor Template Album No. 7 to the left of my dad and clipped a photo of my dad with his siblings to the mask. Below the frame I placed a splatter and stain from the template.

I then positioned the layers of file 3 from MultiMedia Flowers No. 5 below my mother. To ground my parents, I also added file 6 from UrbanStitchez No. 1.

To finish the right side, I wrote my journaling in the textbox included in the template and added a title.

After placing the same solid paper on the left side, I dragged the layers of template 4 from WaterColor Template Album No. 7 onto the page. I clipped a photo to the templates’s fotoblendz mask and adjusted the focal photo by clipping duplicated copies to the original: black and white at 90%, Screen blend mode at 30% and Soft Light at 100%. I switched out one frame by duplicating the top one to accommodate my photos.

Note: I adjusted the size and position of the lower two text boxes.

I clipped my photos to the small frame masks. I added a button from the artplay palette.

Note: I initially adjusted these photos in Lightroom but added a duplicate copy of each and changed the blend mode to Soft Light.

Below the frames, I placed most of the layers of the layers of transfer 5 from Artsy Transfers Bravura.

Note: The splatter is part of the template.

Finally, I added the quote from my grandfather. I thought the word family summarizes what was most important in my dad’s family.

Extractions with Old Photos

By

On August 1, 2018

In Scrapbooking

My grandmother, the little girl on the far left, died in 1952 from a stroke at the age of 52. The small photo of me and my sister on the right is the only photo that I have with my grandparents. We moved to California not long after my Grandmother Irene died. Although I didn’t see my grandfather often, I have a few photos and memories for which I am grateful.

I love the effect of partially extracting the people from an old photo. That way I can change a background and add shadows to the people to create depth on my pages. That was my first step for this page, extracting the people from both photos.

Note: I didn’t have a lot of space with which to work in the photo on the left, so I blurred part with brushes on the layer mask. I duplicated each photo and changed the blend mode of the duplicated photos to soft light to increase the contrast.

Next I clipped the photo of my grandfather on the right to overlay 5 from FotoBlendz Overlays No. 12. On the left, I used overlay 1 from the same package. I will add a different background, i.e. artsy paper or artsy transfers to create a background within the mask/overlays.

To fill the black areas, I positioned artsy paper 2 from ArtPlay Palette Fernweh between the photo and mask on the right. On the left, I placed most of the layers of psd transfer 5 from ArtsyTransfers Fernweh between the photo and the overlay.

I continued to build the background on both sides. To the right, I added the layers of transfer 5 from ArtsyTransfers Fernweh. To the left, I positioned the psd layers of files 3 and 5 from the same set.

Note: When I work with Anna’s transfer layers, I often move them around, add layer masks to hide parts of a layer I don’t want or delete layers.

Once I had finished the background for each photo, I placed the small frames and thread from Hipster Plume Template Album No. 1 on the right. I clipped my photos to the frame masks. Below the frames, I added file 4 from MultiMedia Branches No. 10, reducing the size and adjusting the position. On the left, behind my grandmother, I placed file 1 from MultiMedia Branches No. 1o. I reduced the size of those layers, added masks so that the layers didn’t interfere with the photo and changed the position of other layers, i.e. the button. Finally, I added wrote my journaling and a title.

Although these pages took time, I enjoyed every minute.

Let’s Not Forget

By

On July 25, 2018

In Scrapbooking

At the moment, we are dealing with a sewer backup that flooded our daughter’s basement and the reconstruction entailed. So I am very grateful that I already have a plan for this project. As I explained last week, I am using a template provided in Anna’s Heritage Live class. In addition, I am using fotoblendz overlays and masks, artsy transfers and frames from templates.

I had already clipped the solid paper 3 from ArtPlay Palette Elysium to both masks. I placed overlay 3 from FotoBlendz Overlays No. 12 on the right side and clipped my focal photo to it. I reduced the size of both the photo and mask.

Note: I darkened parts with a brush directly on the mask and lightened other parts on a layer mask once I knew where I was going to place the text.

I then placed the frames from template 16 of Hipster Plume Template Album No. 1.

Note: I am selecting the frames based on the design I want with the mask I use. That way I don’t have to make adjustments, although I did reduce the size of the frames just a little.

I clipped my photos to the masks.

Note: Because I am clipping everything to the page mask, I cannot use adjustment layers on my photos as I normally do because those layers affect the entire page. So I am duplicating some photos to apply a blend mode like soft light for example.

I created the title and list subtitle.

Below the fotoblendz overlay, I placed the layers of file 4 from Artsy Transfers Elysium. I added a layer mask to one layer and reduced the opacity of a couple of others so that my text was more readable.

Finally, I finished writing the story in two text boxes that I created. I also added a button from ArtPlay Palette Routine and thread 5 from ButtonThreadz No. 3.

I’m enjoying remembering our stories.

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.

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