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Community > Articles & Projects > Thena's Article
Thena's Article
Thena Smith
Thena Smith
Hug Someone on the Fourth of July
ZOOMMMMM! That was the sound of June and the previous 5 months going past at a rapid pace! I have been doing belated spring cleaning (like from 2003... belated) and enjoying family from Washington state and San Francisco.

One of the wonderful things about scrapbooks created on the computer is that they can grow and develop as you do. I began an album for my brother in 1997 or so when my computing skill was in its infancy. As my abilities (and software) progressed, I realized that I could do so much better. As a result, I kept postponing the presentation of the portfolio of photos until soon I was too embarrassed to do it.

Finally, the night before my brother and his family arrived; I took the album down, dusted it off, and gave it to his family. It didn’t matter to them that the old family photos had been printed out on cardstock after being scanned on a lower resolution scanner and printed on an older, less efficient printer. We looked at the album together, laughing over funny memories and getting misty-eyed over the pages of family members long gone from this earth but not forgotten. We giggled over some of my computer mistakes, tries and retries, and ohhh-ed and ahhh-ed over special pictures of us dressed in what we considered our finery. It was such a delightful experience, and what fun to have hubby, brother, sister-in-law, nephew, his wife, and great niece and nephew all crowded around the sofa, peering over shoulders and snuggled up close in order to look at the album together. Only now do I think: that is a photo that I would have loved to have! But I have the memory of that day engraved forever in my heart and mind.

That is what scrapbooking is all about. It isn’t about perfection. It isn’t about the latest and greatest in techniques and tools. It’s about family, friends, feelings, and sharing our love. That’s why I love it!

Now, it’s that time again; time to show you some projects and pages that have been “hugged”.

*On the pcCrafter message board, when we use Hugware to create or embellish something, we say we “hugged” it. I asked some of my message board friends to share with you some of the things they have recently hugged.
Project 1: Stephanie hugged a poem for her son.
Stephanie made a layout using the Creatable Debbie Mumm's American Festival and a poem I posted on the PcCrafter board:

I created the layout in Paint Shop Pro 9. To create the border on the photo, I used the Super Blade Pro plug-in and the stained-glass-a preset. A free trial is available at http://www.flamingpear.cbladeom/html. (The stained-glass-a preset is in the Free Blade-Pro resources download at the same site.)

To make the layout:
  1. Go to Debbie Mumm's American Festival collection in your HugBug browser. Click on BGD Flags of Glory, and then the “Copy” option at the bottom left corner of the screen. Go to PSP9 and right-click in the workspace. Choose “Paste as New Image”.
  2. Click on “Image”, then “Canvas Size”, and apply your desired settings.
  3. Open your picture file. Click on “Selections”, then “Select All”. Then click on “Selections”, then “Modify”, then “Contract”. (I set the number of pixels to 50--adjust this number to fit the size of your picture.). Now click on “Selections”, then “Invert”. Then click on “Effects”, then “Flaming Pear”, then “SuperBladePro”: choose stained-glass-a preset and then click “OK”. Now click on “Layers”, then “Merge”, then “Merge Visible”. Click on “Edit”, then “Copy”.
  4. Click on the open background file and then “Edit” and “Paste”. Use the mover tool to place your picture on the center right hand side of the page. Use the deform tool to resize the picture frame if needed.
  5. I created my own plaid frame, but you can make one with any coordinating plaid background. Open the plaid background and resize it to 700x100 pixels. Click on “Layers”, then “Promote Background Layer”. Then click on “Selections” and “Select All”. Then click “Selections”, “Modify”, “Contract”. (I set the number of pixels to 100--adjust this number to fit the size of your poem.) Hit the delete key. Click on “Selections”, then “Invert”. Now click on “Effects”, “3D Effects”, and “Inner Bevel” using the following settings.
  6. Fill the middle of your poem frame with the color of your choice. Use the text tool to add the poem and size it to fit the space. Click on “Layers”, “Merge”, and “Merge Visible”. Click on “Edit”, then “Copy”.
  7. Click on the open background file and then click “Edit”, and “Paste”. Use the mover tool to place your Poem on the center left hand side of the page (use the deform tool to resize the poem/frame if needed).
  8. Go to Debbie Mumm's American Festival collection in your HugBug browser. Click on American Eagle, and then the “Copy” option at the bottom left corner of the screen.
  9. Click on the open background file and then click “Edit”, and then “Paste”. If this is not already the top layer, move the eagle layer to the top. Use the magic wand tool to remove the white around the edges of the eagle. Use the mover tool to move it to the top right corner of your poem/frame. Use the deform tool to resize the eagle if needed.
  10. Once you are satisfied with the location of your picture, poem, and element, merge all layers and save your layout!
Project 1

Project 2: Nanc Allman hugged a bunny.
In Nanc’s own words:
  1. I used the Creatable Petals and Patches by Colleen Parry.
  2. I cropped out the bunny (the one sitting back to back with a bear).
  3. I printed her out in the black and white format.
  4. I also printed out a copy in the painted format.
  5. Then I traced all of her pieces (from the black and white copy) on a piece of paper to use as patterns.
  6. I then traced these on a piece of mulberry paper and tore them out, using some water.
  7. I then put her back together and dressed her using the graphics from the color copy.
  8. I put the entire piece on some card stock with a short saying.
** These Creatables have so many uses besides just printing them out.

** For strictly digital gals, there are furry plugins that you can download for various programs to digitally enhance your bunny. Some programs such as Adobe may include a texture effect of fur.

Project 2 a
Project 3: Thena celebrates the joy of freedom.
  1. Choose the background paper from Debbie Mumm's American Festival.
  2. Add shapes where you want photos and titles.
  3. Bevel the shapes and add images to each shape.
  4. Bevel the clipart.
  5. Copy the cat and place a layer under the cat to serve as a mat.
  6. Bevel the cat mat.
  7. Add a title.
** Experiment with moving the shapes around in the png format to create additional pages for album.

Project 3

Project 3

Project 4: All American
Using the brand new All American Creatable by Lori Gardner was a lot of fun!
  1. Choose your background paper and create a 12 x 12 page in 300 dpi.
  2. Add a tag three times and “thread” a ribbon through it by using the transparency tool.
  3. Erase after the hole on the first tag.
  4. Add a photo on top of the tag.
  5. Use gradual transparency to lighten the bottom of the page.
  6. Add highlight borders to the photos.
  7. Add a title to the page and bevel the title.
Project 4


These are some simple and fun pages we can do with our HugWare. We can make simple pages that share our joy in, and love of, our family, country, and community.

Your assignment, should you decide to accept it:

  1. Take time to appreciate those around you.
  2. Show your love for your country.
  3. Enjoy your family and friends.
  4. Take photos with your camera but take even more with your heart.
  5. Set about to make wonderful memories.
Meet me back here and hug someone, won’t you?

Hugs,
Thena
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