FINDING THE “FUN” IN THE FUNDAMENTALS

I think I’ve told you about July in my hometown, about the parade, the fireworks and all the family festivities…how the little town comes alive and comes into its own on July 4th. But not even I realized how fast one fourth of July turns into another, how fast the kids in those parades grow up and how quickly one generation seems to have evolved into another! Is the world going this fast for everyone, or is it just me?!

This is just one more good reason to take those photos, lots of them and do something to preserve them in good shape and keep them handy to look at and appreciate as things are ever changing and ever so quickly.

At this stage in my life, my photos taken at parades are so different than the ones I took when our daughter was young. In those days we focused on her view of the world and our view of the world through her. We focused on things that appealed to her and to friends her age.

Reflecting on this makes me realize that no matter what our age, station, sex, rank or position in life at this moment, it is good to switch viewpoints occasionally and take some photos.

For instance, we took photos of clowns with her reaction to that clown. We were interested in preserving the moment for her and her reaction to the moment. And this is the way it should be. Years from now we want to see her little face highlighted and showcased as well as the entire memory.

Today when I go to the parade I may take photos of the clown with no one else around, just for the fun of his costume, his personality or even from his point of view as he looks over the crowd and does his antics to delight and amuse. I may also (with parent’s permission) take a photo of a child reacting to him or laughing at him just for the sheer delight of sharing in the fun. Kids are such wonderful subjects whether yours or mine! I tell the parents that I am a scrapbooker and would love to take the child’s photo and they usually don’t mind. Nowadays parents have to be protective of their children.

Americans love their cameras and I believe Californians love them more than the rest of the nation…nay, the world! Or maybe that is just my feeling again! Wherever you go in California, you will see at least one camera if not more dangling from the wrists of several family members. If we walk along our bay or beach in Coronado, we may be approached several times and handed cameras to take photos of a family in order for them to all be in the photo together.

This is another point of view that you might consider. My husband and I sometimes take a day and just play tourist. We arm ourselves with cameras and go for a walk or a drive and just take photos. Even if you have no small children to photograph, don’t stop taking pictures! Photography helps you see things through different eyes, it helps you see and appreciate and inspect life in a different way.

To get ideas on other points of view, look at the advertisements in magazines and on television. Have you noticed how many photos are taken from up above the person or scenery? It offers a unique perspective. I have seen some adorable photos of kids on the ground and mom taking the photo from above, or kids hanging upside down from their favorite tree limb or jungle gym and mom on the ground looking up to take the photo!

Lest I digress further, let me take you back into the world of scrapbooking and continue with our journey of creating our pages from the bottom up!

Last month we created a couple of simple pages using (1) a picture of a rose from my garden as the background and (2) a textured background using the effects feature in our software program.

Backgrounds can be created from anything and everything. Just to prove my point, I walked out into my backyard and took some photos of whatever I saw and I will use some of them to create a page for you.

Ways to start a simple page: (I’m using Digital Image Pro)

Even if I am blocked and have no idea where I ‘m going, I find if I go to a blank page and start drawing or blocking out a page, I usually get on a roll and finish something that I find acceptable.

Let’s choose one photo to start with and begin thinking about the colors in the photo to determine the background we desire and the theme we want for embellishments, etc.

Project 1: Where Chelsea Walks

1. Create a new page.
2. Insert a shape (use a rectangle) and fill the page with it. By filling the entire page you can then change the color anytime you want or you can leave it white and have a white background. *
3. Add a title or a place where your wonderfully creative and imaginative title will be.
4. Add another shape for the placement of your photo.
5. Decide on the size of your photo and where your journaling will be. (See figure 1)
   In this instance I am using a photo of Wendy’s daughter in the hay field and have decided to use the whole photo and let the beautiful field serve as the background. This photo can stand alone. It has a painting like quality which I decided to emphasize by using the dry brush effect in DIP.
6. Choose the fill the page option and then crop off any unwanted parts of the photo.
7. Add the title to the top of the page.
8. Add your journaling or a little poem to illustrate. (Figure 1a)

*If you post a layout online, the white background will disappear into the page. Adding
an outline will give it a more finished professional look online.

Project 2: Creating a Patterned Background Paper

1. Chose any piece of image art that fits the theme of your photo and multiply it on your paper. I chose the vintage shoe from the CD “Cottage Garden” by Gina Jane and flipped it to add variety to the page.
2. I added a transparent layer over the page to soften the shoes and then saved it to jpeg.
3. I then added more shoes and on each one I used the “make transparent feature.
4. Now I am ready to add a mat and my photo and any other embellishments.
   (See Figure 2)

Project 3: Merging Past and Present Layout

Pam had these adorable photos of her daughter and her granddaughter in the wheat field at about the same age and at the same place. She wanted to do something simple but effective with the pages for her scrapbook. Let’s look at some very simple ideas.
A touching and effective page doesn’t not have to be complicated or involved, just done from the heart. Of all the expensive supplies or software you might buy or own, you can never duplicate or replace the most important one…the feelings that pour from your heart as you work on your pages.

1. I created a new page in Digital Image Pro.
2. I added a portion of the photo as the background.
3. I cropped the photos into ovals and added onto the page
4. I added a little poem and the title to tie them together.

Project 4: Creating a Template

Don’t panic over the term “template”. That is just a fancy name for something that you can reuse with different photos. You can create templates with any of your pages or photos.

The neat thing about computer scrapbooking is that you can create templates and use them as many times as you want to have continuity in your books or you can remove a photo from a great page and turn that page into a template. Ready?

1. I chose images from Angels’ Wings by Olivia Myers which
   lend such elegance to a page.
2. I arranged them in several different ways so that the pages would be different but have the continuation of basic elements.
   These would be great for graduation pages that want pomp and circumstance! (see Project 4a b and c)

Project 5: How to do a Poster Page

If you are new to computer scrapbooking, one of the easiest ways to start is to let your photo do all of the work. I think of these as poster pages or Quote Pages. They remind me
of the poster adorning our office walls to inspire and encourage us.

1. I chose a photo and enlarged it to fill all or most of the page.
2. Added some lines or shapes to give added interest.
3. Chose a font that is pleasing and added my quote.
4. I changed the background to black and white and emphasized the most important parts by blocking them back in color. The simplest way to do this is to cut those portions out of the photo before you change the photo to black and white.
5. To color only one portion of a photo you can place a black and white copy over a color copy and erase away the black and white to let the color show through.
6. For poster 5a I used the dry brush feature of DIP to turn the photo into a painting. I added a little poem instead of a quote and a border to make the page pop!
7. When you use the dry brush feature you may find it takes away all of the features of the face. To remedy this I put the original photo underneath the dry brush photo and used the eraser tool to bring out a bit more of the features of Jacob and Grandpa.

Project 6: All-American Girl

I promised you a random image turned into a page. I walked into my backyard and through the rose bushes and flowering shrubs I could get a glimpse of my neighbor’s flag blowing in the gentle breeze. I took a photo and brought it right to the computer and created this page.

1. I filled the page with the photo.
2. I cropped out portions of the flag to create a frame.
3. I add the cropped portion to itself to make a double frame.
4. I added the photo and the poem.

This is just to show you that an interesting and colorful page need not take its toll in time or worry. Use what you have around you…it will make the pages really yours!

Project 7: Create A Background from Words.

My mom had some favorite little sayings that we have long remembered. I thought it would be fun to create a page using those as my background.

1. Write out the words or phrases that you want to use.
2. Copy them or change the font to different fonts.
3. Use effects to emboss them or the transparency tool to make them transparent.
4. Use add shape and add a thin layer of color over the phrases.

How simple is that! And you can use it to make everything from scrapbook paper to wrapping paper!

I have been spending a lot of time on backgrounds but they are so important and can make or break your page. If you know how to create a good background you can create a lovely page.

Now for your assignment if you should decide to accept it:

1. Create a background using a photo.
2. Create a template using a photo.
3. Create a background using words in script and different fonts.
4. Hug someone.
5. Take photos of your town and use them in a page.
6. Take a photo of your house and garden.
7. Smile at the person who cuts you off in traffic.
8. Kiss your hubby.
9. Hug ‘em again!
10. Meet me back here next week after working all week to make the world a better place!!