July is a special month here in the USA. We celebrate our nation’s birthday as well as reflecting on our continuous freedoms and liberties as “one nation under God with liberty and justice for all”. As a child reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in school, I always felt as if I should say Amen afterwards. Indeed, that should be our prayer, that there would be liberty and justice for all.

Just as December draws our focus toward Christmas, July serves to stir up our most patriotic feelings, especially now as we miss our loved ones who are away and involved in the conflict or mourn the loss of those who have given their lives. I cannot convey deeply enough my sincerest appreciation to and for our military men and women.

I have chosen this as my theme for July and hope you can find some ideas and inspiration from the following examples:

From time to time I love to share some of the work of our talented message board members. This month I would love to introduce you to Carolyn, or as she is know on the message board, funnyfarmer. Not only is she a wonderfully talented artist but a wonderful friend to all of us on the board. Be sure to stop by the message board and see for yourself!

Project 1: Carolyn’s Clock

Making a clock from a miniature lunchbox is so much easier than it seems. Let’s begin by understanding some of the “basics”.

You will be working with a very SMALL “canvas”…the lid of your mini-lunchbox (all are different sizes). When choosing graphics, you must be sure that you will have room for your clockworks once the design is completed. The battery and casing are approximately 2 and 1/8 inches square with the “stem” in the center. So, you will need at least one inch of space on all sides of the stem to allow for the battery case. This will become clear when you see the pictures and step-by-step instructions!

The supplies that you will need include the following:
• At least one mini-lunchbox
• Hugware to use in crafting your design for the “face” and back of your clock. The design I have chosen for my clock was made using graphics from Star Spangled Summer and Star Spangled Summer 2 by pcCrafter.

• Clockworks
• Xyron with Permanent Adhesive and Laminate Scissors
• Hammer
• Pliers
• Punch or nail set
• Scrap wood
• Large, sturdy cardboard tubing as found in a roll of masking tape
• AA battery

1. Attach the face to the lid of the lunchbox and the back label to the other side of the lunchbox.
2. To create the hole for the clockworks, it will be necessary to make a hole in the lid of the lunchbox. Please mark the spot for the hole, trying to make sure it’s centered as perfectly as possible.
3. Now, there are MANY ways to make the hole for the clockworks…some probably much easier than my way! But, my choice to date is to use a nail set and a hammer. It is most important to remember that your lunchbox is fragile. DO NOT attempt to punch a hole through the lid without making SURE it is stabilized. I do this by inserting a small scrap of wood into the lid as shown.
4. After stabilizing, turn the lunchbox over and start your hole with the nail set or punch. Without removing the wood, you will not be able to drive the punch all the way through to make a ¼ inch hole. So, the next step is to remove the wood. Here’s where that sturdy cardboard tube comes in. As shown, I rest the lunchbox lid on the tube to finish driving the ¼ inch punch through the lid..
5. Once completed, I turn the lunchbox over to clean up the inside of the lid. I remove any torn paper from my design. I “hammer” any rough or lumpy edges made from the punch and I make sure I have a flat surface. I re-inert the punch to be sure the size of the hole remains in tact. It must be ¼ inch.
6. Now we insert the clockworks through the hole from the inside of the lid.. Instructions for specific steps will come with the clockworks you purchase. As in the picture, my instructions included disassembling the movement in order to insert it into the lunchbox. Each nut, bolt and washer, as well as the hands, will go on as instructed. Assemble your clock as instructed by the manufacturer. I have included pictures of my process.
7. Once this assembly is completed, add a AA battery and…you will be addicted! It’s a good idea to let the clock run for a bit to be sure it will work properly. The hands could stick or be too loose…it’s always good to check. Happy clockmaking!
   

Click to see an enlarged view of step by step pictures

Thank you Carolyn for sharing such a wonderful project! Now for some simpler projects…some scrapbook pages!

Project 2: Free to Be (A few variations on a theme with a photo)

* A wonderful friend (Heidi) loaned me these adorable photos of her
beautiful daughter, Bailey for this article. Thank you to both of you!
(Waving to Heidi and Bailey and their friends!)

This first project shows how effect a simple page can be with just a poem
and a photo. No supplies needed here except for your photo and your image
manipulation program (DIP in this instance).

1. I enlarged the photo and cloned out Bailey in order to have a continuous background.
2. I experimented with various effects to find a look I liked and then cut out a portion of the page that I wanted to use as my background. (I did this to get a sampling of the photo and to make it conform to the square shape.)
3. I added to the page and then chose the fill page option. I used the insert function and added a rectangle and then created a torn edge to create a mat for the poem.
   I had a plug in to create the torn edge but you may create it by using the transparency brush and brushing away bits of the edge of the mat. Just choose the layer the mat is on.
4. I used the gradual transparency effect to meld it into page. With this tool you can make a selection of the type of gradual effect that you want and flip it to make the transparency begin or end where you want. I wanted it to flow gradually into the background.
   

Project 3: All of God’s Kids Should Be Free

1. I used the enlarged photo for the background
2. I used effects for the textured look of the photo.
3. I used fill page to fill up the entire square. Make sure you use size to page rather than stretch to fill if you have a photo that can be distorted by stretching it. If you square does not entirely fill the page pull from the corners to extend it, in order to avoid any distortion.
4. I added three shapes (squares) and arranged down the side of the page.
5. I used the fill with photo option in DIP to fill the frame. After photo is in the frame it can be adjusted to get the amount of photo desired.
6. I used the add border function to add the outer frame.
7. I cut the child out of the original using the freehand tool to trace around her, and the transparency brush to erase any remnants of edge, and I added her back in at a different spot for effect.
8. Font is PC Becca Brush (one of my very favorites!)
   

Project 4: For those who requested that I do 8 x 10 pages as well.

Project 5: Happy Birthday USA

1. I used the background from Laurie Furnell’s Star Spangled Summer 2.
2. I added a white mat behind my photo and a shadow.
3. I erased a bit of mat away to reveal the edge of the stars (using the transparency brush).
4. I added text in and duplicated in red white and blue for the USA.
5. I added a little poem.

If you are new to DIP or any other program, take time to look at each tool bar and become familiar with the different effects and functions. You will find that I always start off the page by

1. Choosing the dpi (300) and page size, usually either 12 x 12 or 8.5 x 11 in which to create.
2. Add shape. Fill shape with color and stretch to fill page. (This can easily be texturized or changed as you complete your page.)
3. Add your photos and arrange them. Add your imageart or mats.
4. Add your text. DIP now has a text box which makes adding a lot of text easier than in older versions.

This is a brief description. For more information, look in your program under help or watch their instructional tutorial. Also DIP comes with a user’s guide which will be very helpful for you to learn some of the things you can do with these and other tools.

These are a few fun things you can do with your computer and a bit of HugWare. Be sure to join us next month for more!

And your assignment if you should you desire to accept it:

1. Enjoy, Explore, and be Enthusiastic about life!
2. Make someone’s day by being the listening ear, the helping hand or
the shoulder to lean on.
3. Speak softly and wear a big smile.
4. Hug someone.
5. Tell the folks at pcCrafter how special they are.
6. Write a letter to someone and tell them how they have blessed your life!
7. Create a silly page and share it.
8. Create some background pages.
9. Hug someone else!
10. Meet me back here next month.

Hugs,
Thena