6 posts tagged “scrapbooks”

Black is the New Black

Sep 9, 2006
1 comment

With all of the doodling, handwriting, and inking going on in the scrapbook world right now, I'm happy to report that Black is the New Black! I have found myself jumping aboard, and embracing the style with much enthusiasm. When my grandchildren look back at my 2006 scrapbook, they'll refer to it as "Grandamme's Dark Ages".

Last year, I went through my "Pink Period", and perhaps next year will be "The Year of the Earth Tone". But for now, I'm cranking up the AC/DC and freestylin' with the Sharpie. I outlined every single damn element in the K & Company mini book in black, and today as I was working on my new upcoming collections for autumn, I found myself tuning the Lightness on my Hue/Saturation dial down to nearly nothing.

If these layouts get any darker, we'll have to bust out the black light, and call it a party!

How have you been using black in your layouts or designs these days?

Wayang Golek

ScrapbookLab.com Update

Sep 8, 2006
1 comment

This is reposted from the official ScrapbookLab.com Blog.

Aloha designers, beta testers, friends, and developers!

It’s been awhile since I have had a chance to put together a status update, and I apologize for not getting something out to you sooner. The summer has thrown us some curve balls, and as you well know if you’ve ever been part of a new software release, hurdles happen!

See the New Designs

Here is the skinny on where we are today:

The user interface and site design have been completely overhauled. Take a look at all of the designs on Flickr today to get an idea of what the new site and interface will look like, and feel free to provide feedback. See the new design!
Beta release postponed until mid September. Bummer, I know! The development team has given me a September 10th date for the beta release, but since I threw a new design at them at the very last minute, I’m sure that will be pushed back a few days. But we’re SO CLOSE!
Font licensing: We are in negotiations with two foundries to attain an embedded license for 20 fonts for the public release. During beta, we will be using a mish-mash (technical jargon) of public domain fonts. If you have fonts that you use constantly in your scrapbook projects or fonts that you love, please leave a comment and request that we consider licensing it for use in the application. We’re open to all font suggestions and recommendations.
Artwork: It has been an interesting challenge trying to find designers who are ready to jump in and sell their artwork through ScrapbookLab without being able to see how the software works. We have handshake commitments from a few designers, but are still eager to fill the libraries with yummy artwork for the public release.

If you are a designer, and are still on the fence about selling your kits through ScrapbookLab, never fear. There will be a beta release for you to see soon! If you are a designer that has submitted Test Kits for us to use during beta, THANK YOU! You all are wonderful! I’m amazed at how much talent there is out there, and the generosity of the designers I’ve encountered.

If you would like to submit a kit to be used during beta, please e-mail a link to where we can buy the kit or download the kit. We are happy to buy the kit from your normal retailer. We won’t be distributing it, or using it in any commercial form during the beta. It will strictly be used for beta testing.
ScrapbookLab Shop! The public release will now include a ScrapbookLab online store where users can purchase top loading scrapbooks, books with layout ideas, and our ScrapbookLab Crop Circle Kits. Any designers who are interested in also selling their kits via high resolution download will have the opportunity to sell in the online store as well.
Training Lab: We have been approved by YouTube, and now have our own YouTube Director’s Level Channel where we will be broadcasting all of our training labs, and holding online classes, shows, and exhibits.

Over the next week, you may receive a series of surveys from us, asking you questions about your scrapping habits, likes and dislikes. If you have a minute, fill out the surveys. We promise they won’t take long, ask you personal questions, or share your information with anyone outside of ScrapbookLab, LLC. This kind of focus group feedback is amazing, and helps us develop the features and functions that are most important to our users.

Well, that’s about it for the moment. Things are moving fast, and will be picking up speed as we move through September. Thank you again for your continued interest, and your feedback. You guys are the bees knees!

Take care,
Beth

Digital Scrapbook Technique- The Big Picture

Aug 28, 2006
3 comments

Digital Scrapbook Technique- The Big Picture

If you're trying to add new dimension to your digital scrapbooks, one of the fastest and easiest ways to create complex effects is to take advantage of the hundreds of Photoshop Actions that are available for download on the web.

I used The Big Picture Action from PanosFX to create this photo collage effect for a quick 15 minute layout.

Click to Enlarge

How to Do It:

1. Visit www.panosfx.com, and click Free Downloads.

2. Download The Big Picture Action, and save it to your computer.

3. Extract the ZIP file, and make a note of where the Action file is on your computer.

4. Open Photoshop. Click Window, and open your Actions Window.

5. Click the small right arrow on the far upper right corner of the Actions Window, and click Load Actions.

6. Browse your computer and install The Big Picture Action you just downloaded.

7. Open the photo you want to apply the action to in Photoshop. From the Actions window, run the action by clicking The Big Picture action directly underneath the PanosFX copyright information.

8. Once you have clicked The Big Picture action, click the RUN button to execute the action. The run button looks like the play button on your DVD player or remote control. It is circled in orange in this example.

The Big Picture action will automatically take your picture and create a 25 photo collage, and create individual layers that you can manipulate to futher customize the effect. The layout I created used the action straight out of the box with no alteration.

Once you have run the action, you can drag the Layer Group onto your digital scrapbook layout. I added a black layer underneath to make the photos pop. I then added some inked edges to my paper, a nice fat Circus Ornate type treated title, and a simple pair of angel wings (another Photoshop brush I downloaded from the Internet somewhere along the way!), and the year 2005.

I think this would make a nice title page to a scrapbook full of Beckett's 2005 memories.

I hope you found this digital scrapbook technique to be helpful and informative. If you use The Big Picture action in your layouts, send a link! I'd love to see your work!

Tags: digital scrapbook techniques, digital scrapbook idea, digital scrapbook layouts, digital scrapbooks, Photoshop Actions