erin terrell clarkson [etc]

Playing With Fonts

Today, I'm just playing around with fonts. I love how a font can change the feel of a page. I also love browsing websites to see how the creator of a font showcases his or her style. For example, HERE is a link to font samples by Flat-It fonts. HERE are some samples by LoosyDesign. Finally, here are a few MORE from Dirt2. Just do a search for font illustrations or font portfolios and you'll be in for a visual treat.

If you aren't sure of the name of a font, you can submit a sample of it at WhatTheFont! and they will do their best to name it. You can also check into their forums for additional assistance.

Check out THIS LINK to see artwork made from fonts. Pretty unique stuff!

Also, the artists who create fonts usually come up with the most interesting names. Scrolling through my font list, I spot "DeadSecretary", "Bleeding Cowboys", "Ballpark Weiner", "Ghetto Marquee", "Cold Night For Alligators", "Abusive Pencil", "Batman Beat The Hell Outta Me"...and many others I can't list, because they aren't PG rated. ;o)

I rarely pay for fonts when there are so many great ones that can be downloaded for free. I do every now and then when I find one I love. Here are just a few places where you can get free fonts:

DaFont Free Fonts: link HERE

Font Bros Free Fonts: link HERE

2Peas Free Fonts: link HERE

Fonts For Peas Free Fonts (I learned about this one from Janna Wilson, and it is awesome!): link HERE

Finally, before I go, HERE is a link to my gottahaveit product of the day:

(I had to pick something that made use of some pretty fonts!)

The font on the sample at the beginning of this post is a font called "Heroin 07". It's one of my favorite grungy style fonts. What are your favorite fonts? Let me know, because I'm in the mood to get some new ones.

 

 

 

 

Why I Love UN-DU

In my "Must-Have Scrapbook Stuff" section, I mention one particular item I cannot live without. Below I'm going to demonstrate why I love it so very much...

The product: UN-DU Adhesive Remover

The issue: USER ERROR (that would be me)

This is what I do: I apply rub-ons to a page, and then decide I don't like where I placed them. (I do this quite often, sadly - one would think I would learn from my mistakes.) I also place letter stickers and photos on my layouts, then determine they are in the wrong place or that something is "off" about them. At any rate, there's no need to redo an entire page - or even to live with poor placement of items on a page - when there is UN-DU in the house.

Step One: Silly me. I applied these rub-ons, and then immediately wanted to remove them (not that I didn't like them. I "xoxoxoxoxo" them. I just wanted them elsewhere on the page.):

Step Two: Douse the rub-ons with a generous splash of UN-DU.

 

Step 3: Apply tape over the rub-ons/wet area.

Step 4: Apply light pressure over the tape with a Popsicle stick or similar "fancy tool" of your liking.

 

Step 5: (This is the cool part.) Lift the tape and the rub-ons will lift right along with it! 

I wish I could take credit for this unbelievably useful tip, but I can only take credit for perfecting it through repeated use. My friend Toni Boucha deserves all the credit for introducing the technique to me. Thank you, Toni! Give it a try sometime, and you'll be thanking Toni, too.

To use UN-DU to soak stickers off of a page, the steps are even easier. Pour UN-DU over the stickers, then peel them off the page. Wait a few minutes for the UN-DU to dry, and you'll be able to re-use the stickers. You can do this on photos, on glass, or on pretty much anything. I even pour it on the cutting mat that covers my desktop, then wipe away all of the adhesive dots that accumulate there over time.

You can purchase it HERE, or find it in your local craft store (if I don't beat you to it).

Must-Have Scrapbook Supplies

I just added a new page to the blog called "Must-Have Scrapbook Supplies" ( <--------- over there, to the left, under "Good Stuff"). I wanted a central place where I could list my favorite products. I notice I'm constantly linking to the same things (corner rounder punch anyone? I seem to use it on every page...) and I thought it would be nice to keep all of my go-to items in one convenient location.

Of course, I added shopping links, because I'm a good enabler. You can thank me later. :o)

There are so many must-haves in my stash that I think I'll be adding to this list on a weekly basis. I haven't figured out how to add my favorite papers, just yet. For now, I only added a few paper collection packs. I literally have hundreds of papers I never tire of, because I am a patterned paper fan like no other. Papers are discontinued so frequently that I hate to link them and then have the links go bad after just a few months. I'm going to think about it a bit and see if I can find a way to effectively share the paper love. If you have any suggestions, let me know!

I also need to find a way to link to some of my favorite discontinued items (like Making Memories Word Fetti stickers, which I could use on every layout I make, or Heidi Swapp chipboard hearts...which I could also use on everything!).

Until I get it all figured out, I think I'll just add my favorite paper-of-the-day for today. Pink and polka dots...how can you go wrong with that combination? :o)

 

My Mind's Eye, LLC. "Shine" Spunky Spots Abbey Road patterned paper. Love it!!

Hope you're having a great day! ~e

What Type of Thinker are You?

I just completed a project, and I'm about to begin a few more. However, before I do, I felt compelled to clean off my desk. Anyone else the same way? I know some "artistic types" need to have a clean slate between each project, while others function better in the midst of a creative mess.

I have to admit, I'm in the middle. During a project, my desk is a complete and total mess, but  I strip it down to the basics before beginning anything new:

[The basics, for me...are apparently anything mac related. I guess you can tell I'm a bit of a mac junkie.]

As explained to me at some point in time, the logic behind this is because I fall squarely in the middle of being left-brained and right-brained. What exactly does that mean? It means I'm about 50% analytic/rational/logical and about 50% creative/artistic/free-thinking/emotional.

To be exact: I'm 52% left-brain dominant and 48% right-brain. ;o) Here are the results of my test:

If you want to take the test yourself (it takes less than 2 minutes to answer the questions), here's the link: Left Brain vs. Right Brain Test

It's evident in my projects that my logical side tends to rule. Almost everything I create is very linear and contained. Sometimes it's evident in others as well. For example, if I had to bet, I'd say Mary Macaskill is left-brain dominant and Elsie Flannigan is right-brain dominant. (Neither style of thinking is better than the other, in case you were wondering.)

Look at your own creations and see if you can determine which side rules. When flipping through magazines or online layouts, you may also notice you're drawn more towards a certain person's style, based on how closely their thought process relates to your own.

Give it a try, then let me know what your results are!

Ask Me Anything (Answers)

From Laura: how do you store your layouts? chronological order, or in random order? theme albums, or all together? are they all in albums, or in piles, waiting to be put in albums?

For the first 5 or 6 years of Daisy's life (I began scrapbooking shortly after she was born), I arranged albums in chronological order. I have a single album for each year, with the exception of one year which is divided into two. I guess I took a lot of photos that year! Here is the basic layout of each album:

Title page

Calendar page, summarizing our activities for the month. On the facing page I included miscellaneous  photos from that particular month--ones I wasn't going to create an entire layout about, but still liked.

Double-page layouts, usually 5 or so per month, showcasing some of my favorite events from that month.

Then I'd repeat the calendar pages and layouts until I'd captured the entire year.

Final page, which usually incorporated my favorite funny shots or "oops photos" from the past year.

These days, I don't do chronological albums. I do pages at random--usually as a magazine sample or a manufacturer sample. When my layouts are returned, I add them to a [very large] stack of pages in need of a home. My favorite albums are mini albums. They don't take too long, and I can summarize an entire season of photos into one small book. 

From Michelle: If its not too much trouble, I would like to see some comparisons between the Big shot and the Cuttlebug.. would you be able to give some pointers as to which is a better performer? 

I would love to point you in the right direction, but I don't have either one of those products. However, you can read user reviews for each product if you click on these links:  Big Shot vs. Cuttlebug. Check to see how many stars each one is rated. Next to the stars you can read reviews.

You can also click on the ad located in the upper right-hand side of this page called "Shop Where I Shop: Scrapbook.com". That will take you to their web page and you will see tabs along the top. Click on the "video" tab, and you'll be able to search for videos covering a wide variety of topics. There are several tutorials available for the Big Shot (or Big Shot Express) and Cuttlebug. The videos may help determine the ease of use for each one. You can also search You Tube for video tutorials. Finally, you can do a search on a forum for scrapbooking and see if others have requested the same comparison.

From Keshet: I always love hearing more about the publishing process--how you got into way back in the day, how magazines select pages, etc. 

I began scrapbooking so long ago, I don't exactly remember how my first page was published. I do remember submitting to scrapbook contests, which were held quite frequently "back in the day". ;) I won a few small contests and then I entered Creaking Keepsakes "Hall of Fame" contest the first year they held it. I received an honorable mention, and from that day forward I made it my goal to win the next year. I'm *slightly* competitive. (That may be an understatement.) (OK, it is.)

I studied pages of those who won, tried to determine what they were looking for, then developed my own "style" based on those factors. I won the next year. :) From there, I was asked to contribute to their magazine and to do sample work for various manufacturers. That basically led me to where I am today! I currently tend to focus on behind-the-scenes work, such as writing and managing articles, but I still create page samples. I try to have at least one sample in every issue of Scrapbooks etc., and to date I have done so about 90% of the time.

I can only speak for myself, but when I'm selecting layouts for an a magazine I do look for a few common denominators:

• clean pages (pages can be "deliberately/artistically messy", but that is different from a page that simply isn't well assembled)
• a clear focal point
• good photos (layouts are shown smaller in a magazine than they are in actuality, so it helps if the photos are discernible in a smaller format)

Other than that, I look for pages fitting the theme of the article or ones showcasing a technique or tip beneficial to our readers.

I hope that provides a bit of insight!

Danni, I'll send you an email regarding your question, but I did ship a box of fantastic giveaways in an attempt to make up for my absence. I will miss everyone, but I won't miss that long drive to Houston. ;o)

My Design Process: Cropping Photos

Today's post is a continuation of yesterday's where I discussed my design process. One of the basic steps when creating a layout is trimming (aka: "cropping") the photos. Cropping a photo allows you to remove distracting background clutter so the focus remains on subject/subjects of the photo.

I tend to use basic shapes such as squares, rectangles and circles when I crop photos. Anything too distracting detracts attention from the subject.

On the puppy themed layout I showed yesterday, I had quite a few photos I wanted to fit on the page. You can see I trimmed some of them right away:

 

I knew I wanted the close-up shot to be my focal photo, so I left it intact as a 4x6 print. On the print to the left, I trimmed it slightly smaller than 4x6 so it wouldn't compete for attention with the focal shot. Sometimes a page gets a bit too linear for me if everything is cropped into squares or rectangles, so that is why I chose to crop one of the smaller photos into a circular shape.

Once my photos are cropped, I tend to move them around on the page to see where I want them to be placed in the final design:

 

Then I move them around some more (I'm usually quite indecisive at this point):

While moving the photos around, I try to visualize other elements I want to add to the page and where they could be placed within the layout. On the layout above, I was happy with the way the top two photos fit together (my layouts are all 9x9 in size, by the way)--but I wasn't too thrilled with the bottom portion. I knew I would probably add a title somewhere, I knew I wanted to add some of the puppy themed papers and embellishments I had, and I knew I would probably add some journaling.

 

Finally, I decided on the placement seen above. I had metal rimmed tags that were perfect for framing my B&W photo and a few puppy paw prints trimmed from patterned paper. I used adhesive foam dots to adhere the tags and add some dimension. I cropped the remaining photo into a circular shape. The puppy was too close to the top of the photo for me to trim it to a full circle, but I knew I could always layer something over it. In this case, I layered a journaling strip over it:

 

When I'm cropping photos into a circular shape, I tend to use punches more often than a circle cutter. I consider my circle punches as some of the "most frequently used" tools of all my scrapbooking supplies. I like the Fiskars squeeze punches the best, because they are the easiest to use. I had to step on some of my old punches to get them to work, but that hasn't been necessary with the squeeze punch.

[TIP: If a punch ever stops cutting perfect edges, you can punch through aluminum foil to sharpen it again.]

My favorites:

Fiskars Squeeze Punch: Extra Large Circle

Fiskars Squeeze Punch: Large Circle

Fiskars Squeeze Punch: Medium Circle

Here are a few links to other layouts where I've cropped photos to draw attention to the focal point or so I can fit more on a page:

Bali

A Wish Come True

Daisy's Play Day With Pop (a circle punched photo incorporated into the title)

These Two (Tip: lightly sand the edges of cropped photos so they will stand out against patterned paper)

RolePlay

Oh How We Love This Lake (multiple rectangular cropped photos with circle punched photos layered over them)

My Design Process: Selecting Background Colors

When I create a layout, the first step is to print the photos and the second step is to select the background. paper. Selecting a background is often one of the most difficult steps in the entire process for me (that, and journaling!).

I'm going to share a few photos demonstrating the process I use to select a background. Remember, there is really no wrong or right way to choose your background papers.

For this layout, I printed cute puppy photos (also seen on THIS POST). I cropped them a little bit to remove distracting background images in the photos. The first background paper I selected was a light tan color, selected because it perfectly matched the fur on the puppy:

I didn't like that, because the puppy blended in with the background too much. That would be nice if I was doing a more sophisticated page (such as a wedding layout), but I wanted something playful and fun to represent the energy of a puppy. (I just noticed he appears a little worn out in these photos--not so playful.)

Next, I selected a darker shade of brown, thinking the light colored puppy would stand out against that background.

 

Hmmm...better, but still not quite right. The slight reddish tones in the brown paper brought out the reddish/pink in the tiles. I really liked how the B&W photo popped off of this background, but didn't want to reprint all of my photos in B&W. Puppies look better in color!

Next, I pulled out some dog themed papers and embellishments to see if that would inspire a color choice:

 

Bingo! I love the lime green, but thought it might be a bit overwhelming. I briefly considered the orange colors in the "fetch" paper, but decided that would have the same effect as the dark brown paper. The blue seemed to be the best choice. I decided I'd introduce the other colors sparingly through my embellishments. Blue wins:

I liked the energetic feeling behind the blue paper, and also appreciated the way the photos stood out from the background. Here is a sneak peek at the way the layout turned out:

 

Tomorrow I'll explain my logic for cropping photos the way I do (using the same page example).