STOP ME IF I’VE TOLD YOU THIS….

Have you ever started to tell someone something that you thought was important and realized there was a look on the person’s face that was halfway between a yawn and feigned interest …..and you asked them….Have I told you this before????

Sometimes our lives get so busy that we forget what we have said and what we haven’t said that we meant to say…..need I say more? This is what happens sometimes as I share my joy of computer scrapbooking with you.

This may be a bit shorter than our usual lesson as I take a bit of time to recover from surgery that rid me of a disagreeable gallbladder. Loss of the gallbladder seems to have affected my spelling …or maybe it is the pain pills! I am feeling much better and hope to be back to normal soon-whatever that is!!

Over the last three years we have gotten so many wonderful and easy to use programs, so many beautiful images in the HugWare family and so many varieties of art that some of you say that you feel guilty because it is just so easy now to create a page!! You have asked in hushed tones “Is this really scrapbooking, it’s so easy!”

Well, let me assure you that you can be guilt free. The easier it is to create a page, the more fun you have and the more pages you can create for your albums and the more albums you can finish! There! Did that do it for you? Are you guilt free now?

I know that we always have newcomers to the computer scrapbooking experience and for you newbies, I want to add a little information on getting started. I am recommending that you invest in one of the computer programs such as Picture It, Digital Image Pro, Creatacard, Printmaster, Printshop or Adobe Photoshop which you can manipulate your photos and create your pages. I am using Microsoft’s Digital Image Pro V7 for the pages I will show you.

A number of you have confided to me that you bought HugWare because you loved the look of it, but weren’t sure how to use it. I will show you how to create pages using images in a variety of ways.

Getting Started Couldn’t Be Easier:

Today I looked at the photos of my friend’s son, Adrian, expressing this displeasure with his laptop. I went to my Web Hugbug and typed in “computer” and up popped some imageart. I chose the laptop and then typed in “apple”. Several varieties of apples popped up on the browser and I made my choice.

We will do some simple but fun pages to show you a variety of styles you can do with the images in the downloadable Creatables. As always, you can step them up a bit by adding more detail, more journaling or more photos to your page.

Project one: When Laptops Go Bad

(*Images are from Peeking Thru the Garden Gate (apples and bushel). Apple border is from Cutting Edge.)

1. I created a new page. I always set my options to create in 300 DPI so that I should want to submit them to a magazine or print them out as a large poster, the resolution will be good enough.
2. I added a shape and then filled it will color.
3. I added mats and then added the edges to match the Apple colors on the laptop.
4. I added my photos and then added the clipart and the title.
5. I place one apple as a bottom layer to add a bit of color to the page.
6. With the transparency brush in DIP, I erased a bite (byte?) from the apple.

Project two: When Under Stress….

1. To set a little different tone to the page, I used the same photos and added one of Adrian playing chess.
2. I used a white background and after typing “boy” into the Hugbug browser I came up with the stick figures by Amy Dott which I placed around the page, some of which I placed under the top photos.
3. I used the distort function to add a bit more “stress” to the word in the title.

Project three: Baby's Kissing Spot

1. I took the picture into effects and added a dry pain effect to it
2. I created a background and chose a light blue with a tiny bit darker for the poem mat.
3. I made the mat almost transparent and added eyelets from DIP.
4. I did searches on my Hugbug Browser for angel and for baby to find the embellishments I wanted. I used the bows from Mom and Me and the angel from Angel Wings by Olivia Myers.

Project four: I Love You a Bushel and a Peck

1. I added the black and white photo to an apple red background. I chose apples from the Hugbug Browser from Peeking Thru The Garden Gate by Debbie Lewis
   and Lorie Lakey.
2. I added an apple with a stem to replace the one in the little boy’s hand.
3. To make him hold it, I placed the apple on top of his hand and then erased it
   with the transparency brush until his finger were on the top layer and parts of the
   apple were removed.

Project five: What's More Fun...

1. I used the effects, caveman effect in DIP for the background texture.
2. I used the add edge to add white and created corners with the add shape function.
3. I added the hand prints with the stamp function in DIP and the stick kids are by Amy Dott.
4. I added the vellum and wrote a little verse.

Project six: What's More Fun...(Version 2)

1. I added the photo to the page and enlarged it.
2. I added the imageart and then use copy and paste to make a row of the little boy.

Once again we have created several pages in a short amount of time.

Thanks to those of you who introduced yourselves to me at CKU Provo. I also had the fun of meeting one of my friends from the PCC Message Board…Shirley, please stand up and take a bow…. She was so sweet to meet me at the airport as I got ready to depart.

Your assignments should you desire to accept them:

1. Try something entirely new to you.
2. Do something old but in a new way.
3. Use an ad from a magazine to inspire you and create a scrapbooking page.
4. Turn a page into another craft.
5. Take some photos in both black and white and color and look for the subtle differences. Which do you like the best? Why?
6. Hug someone (Now, you knew that was coming, didn’t you?)
7. Call your oldest and dearest friend and make plans to get together.
8. Have hot dogs (or sandwiches or pizza) for dinner so you can play with the kids longer today.
9. Send a note to the HugWare folks and tell them they are cool!
10. Take care of yourself and enjoy your family and friends and

MEET ME BACK HERE NEXT MONTH!!!

And until then….Happy Scrapping!!!