Photo Techniques - Adding Words to Photos

Sometimes we take photos of the people & animals we love that are incredible photos. They are perfectly clear, the lighting is fantastic, brilliant colour, everything is just so... except for that one big patch of background "blankness" that we just can't crop out of the photo without lessening the impact of the photo as a whole.
Don't disparage you do have options.

1. Get over it and just live with it as it is.
2. Disguise it somehow.

Sometimes I choose option 1 when nothing else I try works. It doesn't mean I have failed as a scrapper, it just means for the time being I am allowing it to be seen as it is - it doesn't mean I won't change my mind... it just is what it is.

If I go with option 2, I have a number of techniques at my disposal with which to disguise the big blank blob (from hell).

1. Hide it with rub-ons - for more on this see my earlier blog post.
2. Cover it with a decorative element or embellishment.
3. Cover it partially through the use of layering materials such as other photos, journaling, titles etc over it.
4. Disguise it using journaling or a title directly onto your photo using your photo software - in my case PHOTOSCAPE.

Whatever you favourite photo software is, it should be able to do something similar one way or another.

1. Open Photoscape
2. Select Editor
3. Open the photo you want to add the title or journaling to
4. Select the object tab
5. Select the text tool - this brings up a pop-up menu
6. Type in your journaling or title. You will see the text box automatically increases in size to accommodate the amount of typing you have entered.
7. Once you have keyed in what you want to include you can then start to alter the appearance. Try changing the colour of the font, adding a shadow, change the font size or font style until you get a look you are happy with.
8. Click OK to finishing editing the text box. This closes the pop-up box, though you can re-open it at any stage by double clicking on the text box.
9. Now move your text box to where you want to add it. You can at this stage resize the box to fit the available space and even alter the angle of the text box for added interest.
10. Once you are happy with the new look, save your photo to a new file name. Remember don't save over the top of your original photo... just in case!!!
11. Then you can print out your photo as you would normally print your photos and scrapbook.

Here are some before and after pictures...

This was just a sample to show the difference so I don't have a layout with picture... yet, but here are some examples of layouts.

With "Air Jordan" I kept the background as the original background - sky in this case. However in the picture below, I wanted to remove some of the background distraction (sorry Aunty Jean) so added a small heart onto which I then added the text block and this time changed the angle of the text box so the words would align with the heart frame.

Photo Techniques - Sand Paper Distressing

There is just so much we can do to our photos these days, from removing or adding colour, background objects, red eyes & even unwanted people to adding digital distressing and frames. Still sometimes nothing compares to that grit under the fingernail feeling (not to mention the therapy it offers) of taking to a photo to distress it with good old fashioned sandpaper or the like.
Most of us have happily sanded away at our cardstock and patterned paper with gay abandon for many years. We don't even blink as we reach for the industrial strength high grade sandpaper from the home hardware depot... but I for one still remember a tense moment of hesitation before turning the aforementioned sandpaper to one of my precious photos.
Even though I knew it was a copy and I could reprint it with the mere click of a button, it somehow seemed sacrilegious to destroy my precious photos like that. Still my need for creative release and fulfillment won out eventually and I held my breath during the few few tentative sweeps of that caustic tool... then it was all on for young and old.
I look back now and fondly remember my apprehension, though now a glimmer still appears each time I furtively look at an other photo deciding what its fate will be.
Still nothing can compare to the thrill of the attack as you launch at your photos to deliberately scar your precious memories all in the name of creativity.


Instructions:

1. Select your photo to distress. Be sure it is a copy or a digital print you can reprint at any time. NEVER try this on your one-of-a-kind irreplaceable originals. I guarantee you will regret it.
2. Select your tool of destruction - sand paper, sanding tool, sanding disk, sanding block, pot scrubber, emery board etc
3. Gently rub around the edges of your photos to distress the photo by removing the colour from the front of your photo image.
4. Repeat until you achieve your desired look. You may need to rub the sand paper harder, or more flatter against the front surface of your photo to get the level of distressing you like. Remember to build up in layers. You can always distress some more... you CAN'T undo the distressing.

Variations:

• Try different grades of sandpaper for different looks
• Try different materials... sandpaper distressing looks different to distressing with an emery board
• Try different levels of intensity of your sanding - harder sanding will give you more of a whitish frame around your photo compared to softer sanding which leaves a lot more of the former background colour showing, just more blurred

I have two examples here, both distressed using a sanding disc. The wedding photo (my first marriage) was printed on professional photo paper while the baby (my nephew) was printed at home on my photo printer. And for the records, no I was not trying to get rid of my former husband in this photo... honest!!!

First Digi-Scrapping Competition

OK.. so its been a while since I visited and even longer since I posted, but I have been busy... I just can't show you everything that I have been working on YET!!!

I am in a Kiwiana charm swap with some of my scrapping girlfriends and as I know they look at my blog, I am under threat of death for posting pictures before the charms are handed over. Suffice it to say, they are SOOOOO CUUUUUUTE!!

Sorry but you will have to wait.

What I can show you though is my first entry into Round 1 of the goDigitalScrapbooking.com "Supreme Team IX Contest". We were all given the kit Sew Chic which you can buy through the GDS shop at http://www.godigitalscrapbooking.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_dnld_info&cPath=29_132&products_id=6019 to create a single 12" x 12" layout, using only the kit and our digi-scrapping software and the default tools it includes.

I have just posted my entry in their gallery and you can check out my competition at GDS Gallery.

Here is my entry anyway - "Million Dollar Baby"

I used the kit "Sew Chic" - no extras allowed.
Software:
For photos - Photoscape (Freeware)
For Digi-Scrapping - Paint.NET (Freeware)


I used three of the patterned papers in the kit layered on top of each other. The bottom was left as it came, the second was placed as an overlay, the third an overlay with a slight colour burn to enhance brownish tones.


I created a double layer of the photo, the bottom layer in sepia tones, then removed the bits other than the purple flowers to give me a colour highlighted photo. 


For the background I added a frame and then blended it into the background as well as changing the opacity of the photo so it became like a transparency.


I enlarge the frame, rotated it and added it to the main photo, then later added a facet gemstone which I had recoloured to match the flowers.


I added the various elements to which I: rotated, resized, changed tone, adjusted brightness & contrast, recoloured, adjusted hue, saturation and light, erased bits to make some elements look like they were behind others (especially the flowers and leaves behind the tape measure).


I then added the title (Font - Adler) in two colours, with the top colour slightly offset from the bottom colour.


Yes it took absolutely ages, but then I have to admit that 90% - 95% of the techniques I tried with this, I HAD NEVER DONE BEFORE... and it was only after I looked to see what other's had done (checked out the competition) that I decided some serious experimentation was in order.


First time for me:

• Using layers
• Recolouring
• Adjusting anything such as hue, tone, brightness - other than to correct colour in a photo
• First time using overlays & colour burns (still not 100% what this really is but I loved the effect so kept it)
• Erasing
• Using a kit from a digital scrapbook shop (Other than freebies and TLC's Lifetimes supplied papers etc).
• Flattening pages

Yes I have loved every minute of it.

Yes I was surprised at how long it took me, but much of that was familiarizing myself with the software and self-teaching how to use the thing. It will get easier as I get more familiar with it.

No digital scrapbooking doesn't have to be expensive - you can do it all completely with FREEBIES - including the software you use to create your pages as well as the patterned paper & elements etc that you use "on" your page.

Will I do it again YES.

Will I convert from paper to digi-scrapping, NO - I still love the feel of paper and smell of glue and the feel of stuff stuck to my fingers and inks and embellishments and brads and..... ALL OF IT!!!!

Watch this space for news - good and bad - of how round one goes. There are four rounds in total so fingers crossed it may be a busy digi-scrapping month for me.

I'm so Spoilt!!

I have been downloading and snaffling one or two digital "freebies" so that I can get back into my digital scrapping. I say this as I lost everything I had when my darling husband accidentally downloaded an email with a virus which "ate" all my emails and C Drive.

Along the way I have found some absolutely amazing sites and some incredible designers who I have become a huge fan of. One of these is a lovely lady by the name of Paula (great name). We have emailed a couple of times about digital scrapping and stuff... and I was so totally overwhelmed and overjoyed to receive back a special gift from the charming and delightful Paula... which I have attached below. 

If you want to take a look at some her freebies for your own digital work, you can find Paula at "Paula's Creations" - http://paulasglitters.blogspot.com/

I'm sure you will love her creations as much as I do.

Scrapbooking Heaven

I just found THE MOST AMAZING DIGITAL FREEBIES... Chris from Polarfuchs Treasures Digital Designs has just hit this one out of the ballpark from a home run. I am in absolute heaven.
To tell you the truth I am torn between wanting to share these... and keep them all for myself (mwah ha ha ha - evil laugh there)... but I'm in a generous mood cos they are just too amazing.

Chris has created so much amazing Digital "stuff" and SO MANY FREEBIES, her work just has to be seen to be believed. I am definitely a fan and a convert. Can't wait to try these out... I just need to stop downloading so I have some time to play!!!
You must go and see her blog for yourself!!!

The blog address is:
http://polarfuchs-treasures.blogspot.com
And the heaven sent gift can be found at:
http://polarfuchs-treasures.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html

Tooth Ache

I'm not now, nor have I ever been a fan of Dentists... sorry if anyone reading this is a dentist... but they and their equipment and the smell and the sound just make me cringe... even the mere thought of it sends shivers down my spine.

So why the sudden interest (or lack thereof) in dentists... a few months ago I had tooth ache so I went to the dentist and he put in a temporary filling. Now it seems that the temporary filling may have finally fallen out. I know this because for the past week I have been feeling the odd twinge of pain in the tooth that I know I had the filling in. Alas over the weekend the twinges got a little bit stronger and a lot more frequent. 

I have therefore spent much of today avoiding all food and drink completely and popping pain killers and would you believe - rubbing bonjella on my gums - in an attempt to reduce some of the pain.

The really funny part is that I had to tell my granddaughter's parents not to touch MY bonjella as bubby is currently teething.

The biggest problem is not the pain... that comes and goes even though at the time it can be fairly debilitating (sitting there holding my jaw, trying to will away the pain or use some kind of primitive acupressure is not all that attractive) it is the time inbetween the pain that can be the worst. 

What do you do while you wait for the inevitable to happen? What do you do while you are not in pain, yet you know that the pain could reappear at any moment?

If I was more organised (and yes I can see some of you reading this saying that is a really big IF Paula) then I would have a list of tasks with all the right equipment and all the necessary tools at hand ready for all those moments between the excrutiating pain bits. 

But I'm not that organised and in reality I am just a big woosey. Unfortunately what this means is that I didn't achieve anything creative today at all. I did manage to download some digital scrapbooking elements from some creative websites... though I still have not managed to actually look at what I have downloaded. I will post some links and give some credit to the talented people who have created these things and most importantly made them available FREE online to other creative people such as myself.

Alas that is all for today... apologies its not more exciting or more creative... promise to make up for it tomorrow (or later today to be more accurate).

Here however is the Mini Album I created for our Camp Challenge at Scrap Camp a couple of weeks ago. The theme was "Key to my Heart". We were given the theme, a silver double heart charm, a silver heart paperclip, a silver key, some white ribbon with hearts on it and some silver fabric / paper stuff.

Will add additional photos later today!!