Scrappers Block? Try Color blocking to Unlock the Block!

Are you out of ideas for creative ways to do pages? Are your fabulous photos perched precariously in stacks of acid free photo boxes while you ponder their placement in purchased portfolios? Ok, I admit it; I was playing with you there to get your attention! But I know that most people say they go through a block or slump from time to time and I will share some ways to help you get those creative juices flowing again.

One thing that helps me is to look at colors and let them remind you of events, people, seasons, etc. That will remind you of photos you have .Another way with our HugWare is to pull up work by one of your favorite artists and let that work inspire you.

If I pull up Honeyville by Gina Jane I am taken back to those vintage photos I have- photos of my parents and of me as a wee thing. Her Paper Vignettes makes me want to write a love letter and frame it.

KaeLynn Winn’s realistic and romantic images inspire me to use my modern photos as well as vintage. I search for pages of the men in the family to use the fishing images and I especially love the gentleness of A Mother’s Heart.

I can find so much inspiration with Laurie Furnell’s work from pages about the family pets in her Cats and Dogs to the Holy Christ Child at Christmas in A Christmas Sampler.

If I’m in a whimsical mood I might search out things by Carolee Jones such as her Sugar Plump Fairies or Fairy Flutters.

Angel’s Wings is a favorite since no one draws angels as beautifully as Olivia Myers! I have used her work for memorial pages for friends who suffered the loss of family members.

Carol Halm’s warm heart shine through in her beautiful pages and I’m often just lost in looking at them and enjoying the memories her work brings to mind. My Backyard paints everyday items with love and creativity.

For colorful fun I pull up Kathleen Britain’s From My Heart.

Of course I sometimes pull up Gentle Moments and Quiet Thoughts because I know the creator so well….

I could go on and on but I hope you get the idea. I like to go to the Creatables section and just browse through the different artists’ work to get inspired. Each one has something unique and special to offer. Warning: Sometimes you will get so many ideas that you don’t have time to do them all!!

Let me share some ideas with you now.

Project 1: Colors to Inspire

1. Create a new page and insert shapes.
2. Fill each shape with a different color.
3. Write ideas in each color.

Project 2: Create some textures for the selected colors to match your ideas

1. Go to Effects, then Filters, then all.
2. Select the filter that you like and then go to options to make it more or less noticeable and to choose the image that will be imbedded in the effect as well as the size of the brush and transparency level.
3. I know the depth of the designs may not show up really well on your screen. I encourage you to experiment and have some fun!

Project 3 and 4: Creating a color blocked page

1. Arrange the photos in various ways on your page.
2. Either use them as mats or fill them with the photos using fill with color or texture option in DIP.
3. You can also fill the frames with HugWare backgrounds or image art.
4. Click on Fill with color or texture, then choose picture to fill the squares. You will be able to move and resize so don’t worry if you don’t like the first look.
5. If you select a photo and don’t like the way it looks, click undo and choose another one….just one of the delights of digital!
   

Depending on whether you have your photos on your hard drive, in your camera or in photo boxes as printed photos and how organized you are will determine how quickly your pages come together. Once you have created this blocking template save it in a working file and use it, as well as variations of it, over and over (and over)!

*If you click on fill with picture, the photo will fill the entire block, if you want the blocking to show, copy the block making it a bit smaller than the original and fill it with the photo.

Project 5:

Using this same page, move the blocks around, try different placement of the blocks and different shapes. Use the distortion effect and add photos.

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There you go! Now the rest is up to you! Have fun and enjoy creating!

Your assignments if you should decide to accept them:

1. Look for the positive in everything and once you find it….share and enjoy!
2. Try new things each day.
3. Do the old things with new zeal.
4. Hug someone!