How to create a photo slider for your blog

If you've been around here for a little while, you've probably seen my blog change time and time again. I use a Blogger blog format, which is FREE!, and I've been really happy with all the available customizations and options on this free format! My sweet friend, Magda, initially helped me fancy up my blog and over the years, I've researched and read and learned just a weeee bit of code to help make my blog the way I want it!

DIY Watercolor Mini Album

You just can't go wrong with mini albums in my opinion! They are so fun and easy to make and I just love that you can create them in any fashion you want - messy or simple, crazy or plain! Anything goes! Today, I have a quick video for you showing you how to create your own DIY watercolor mini album! All you really need is some paper, paints, stamps and a few of your favorite photos! This simple album is perfect for those times when you want to get messy with your watercolors!

For this album, I used some of my favorite photos + a few favorite stamps and created a unique and colorful album! Every album will be unique and of course, it would be the perfect gift for a loved one or friend!

I hope you enjoy this simple video and I hope I inspire you to create your own watercolor mini album! Have fun!!

Tutorial: Simplified Memory Keeping

I am having so much fun with my memory keeping processes this year! Between snapping photos, creating photo albums and adding stories to my Handbook, my days are full, but great! I love creating and playing with paper and not setting really high expectations for myself this year (like a weekly project) has been wonderful for my mind!  

My "simplified" handbook has slowly become my very favorite. I'm writing more stories and recording more of our everyday than I have in previous years even though I might have kept up with monthly albums or weekly spreads. I love the words. I love recording details that I so quickly forget.  And I love the photos. Photo collages have always been my favorite and they are definitely in abundance in this album! Sometimes it's hard to pick just ONE photo, right??

Today, I wanted to share a quick look at my 2016 album, as well as walk you through my process and encourage you to try something simplified and easy too!  As I mention in the video, this process would be perfect for anyone who has been wanting to start out in "memory keeping", but really just doesn't know where to start!  I'm a firm believer that you can make the process whatever you want! There is no right and there is no wrong! The most important thing is to tell your story and get your photos printed!

Are you keeping an album of your stories and memories this year?? How's it coming along??

Handmade Embellishments

Is your workspace covered in scraps, papers and embellishments?? Then grab your punches and create your own unique handmade pretties! It only takes a few simple steps to create these lovely embellishments and it's probably likely that you have all of these supplies just sitting around waiting to be used!  

To get started, you will need: punches (I like pinked circles, various sizes of round circles and scalloped circles for my bases and then smaller shapes, like butterflies and hearts for the top), scissors, glue (or a sewing machine) and a few small extras (think sequins, tiny buttons, small wood veneer pieces).

To create these handmade embellishments, you will basically just layer your shapes onto one another, adhere and then voila, you have pretty embellishments!

Let's get started!

1. Start by punching your base shape! I like to use my circle punches for this step!
2. Next, use your scissors (or small punches) to create a small, thin layer for your base. I like to get creative with this layer and try to bring in some texture and movement by using ribbon, doilies, crepe paper and tissue paper here.
3. Once you have the first two layers together, start adding on your "top" layer.  Here you can add additional punched shapes, like butterflies and hearts, wood veneer pieces, sequins, brads and more! I find that once I get started, I just can't stop! 

I typically use my sewing machine to really hold everything together, but hot glue or any other strong adhesive would work well here! Just be sure to glue as you go so each layer will stick to the previous layer! 

After you are finished adhering your pieces together, you will have a set of the prettiest handmade embellishments around! I love using my scraps and extras to create these unique embellishments!  Go grab your supplies and makes some for yourself!! 

Tutorial: Full Spread Photos

I LOVE full spread photos! Adding them into my albums and mini books is one of my very favorite ways to showcase special photos.  These types of photo pages are SO easy to make and today, I thought I would share with you just how easy they are to create using your photos!!  This short video will show you step by step my process for creating fun full spread photos!  

So what did you think?? Easy, right??

Go print your favorite photos and create a full spread photo page in your albums!!!  They are just so fun! xoxo

Video: Altering Page Protectors for Interactive Layouts

I get a lot of questions about how I incorporate my interactive layouts into my albums, so I thought I would put together a quick little video showing how easy it is to alter your page protectors to add these fun layouts!

Hope you enjoy this short video! If you are interested in seeing more awesome interactive ideas, check out my class over at Big Picture Classes!!  There are LOTS of interactive and inspiring ideas!  Let me know if you have any questions! xoxo

DIY Accordion Album

Summer is slowly fading into fall around here.  The temps are starting to drop at night a little and there isn't as much humidity in the air during the day.  It's still pretty darn hot outside, but I can tell fall is on it's way.  

One thing I really enjoy doing every year is to create some type of "summer" album.  I have our June, July and August memories documented in my Project Life books, but sometimes it's nice to pull out my favorite photos from the summer and create a simple and easy mini album.

Accordion mini albums are so easy to make and are so perfect for a handful of photos.  If you've always wanted to try a mini album, but weren't sure where to start, then I highly recommend trying out a simple accordion book. It can be made with just ONE piece of 12x12 paper, and the only else you really need is your photos.  Hop on over to Maggie's blog to see a quick DIY tutorial, as well as the rest of my summer accordion album!

Fun with the Photo Sleeve Fuse Tool

I spent some time this weekend playing around with the new WRMK Photo Sleeve Fuse tool.  I have long been a fan of altering my page protectors to create pockets and add in odd-shaped elements, but I always use my sewing machine.  Sewing is fast and easy, but the plastic page protectors don't always move throw the sewing foot easily.  I've torn my fair share of page protectors in my sewing machine.  So when the Fuse came along, I couldn't wait to try it!  It really is easy to use (MUCH easier than my sewing machine) - and I love that I can customize a page protector with any size pockets that I want!  For the example above, I used a full 6x8 page protector and created several individual pockets.  The bottom two are roughly 3x3, but the other pockets were created for the specific items (sequins, buttons/wood veneer, letter). The only "issue" I came across was sealing a small pocket that had bulkier items (confetti and buttons).  I think part of my problem was not being directly over the pocket (since I was filming a video and all you would have seen was my head, lol). 

I filmed a quick video of my process, more for just an informational video.  I know a lot of people are curious about this tool, so I thought it would be fun if I could share my process and thoughts as I was trying it out for the first time!

So what do you think?? Is the Fuse on your wish list?

How to Create a Collage

You probably know by now that I am a BIG fan of collages.  I think there is something so cool about seeing a ton of photos all grouped together!!  I love adding collages to Project Life spreads, layouts and especially here on the blog!  I usually always use Picmonkey to create my collages.  It's fast and it's easy.  And I don't have to even worry about opening Photoshop!!  Yay for that!

As I mentioned yesterday in my Project Life video, today I have a quick video tutorial for creating collages with Picmonkey to share with you!  It's so easy to do I feel kind of silly posting this, but hopefully it will help or inspire someone out there in blogger land!!  

Here ya go!  Let me know if you have any questions or if I need to clarify anything!!  Happy collaging!

Embossing and Watercolors

Sometimes I need a little bit of a nudge to get out of my creative zone.  Paints, watercolors, embossing and stamps aren't necessarily my "go-to" items when I'm creating, but whenever I do pick them, I fall head over heels for them (again)!  There is just something so magical about painting and watercolors.  I'm definitely a novice when it comes to watercolors, but I actually kind of like NOT knowing how a page is going to turn out until it's finished.  That's just so different than my normal creative routine.

For this fun page, I used the Little Things stamp from Studio Calico and a few little odds and ends from the Flying Trapeze add-on.  The best thing about this stamp is it's size!  I love large stamps and how they are so dramatic on a background!!

I started by embossing the floral stamp using opaque embossing powder on my page.  I had the idea of maybe having the watercolors/embossing on one side with a photo to the right of it, so I embossed the flowers a little to left of center.  Then, I grabbed out my watercolors, picked a few colors that seemed to coordinate well with some background papers and then painted around the embossed flowers.  As you can see in the photo above, I also added in a few paint splatters here and there.  I love the messy look of watercolors!

I layered my photo to the right of the watercolors, but made sure you could still see those beautiful embossed flowers!

I kept my embellishments pretty simple and scattered a few hearts and stars around the page.  The Dear Lizzy gold foil word stickers were a no-brainer when it came to a title.  The pop of gold was exactly what the white background needed. 

To add a little more depth and contrast to the white background, I adhered a medium sized butterfly by my photo and lifted the flaps for some dimension.  The bold color definitely helps the photo pop from the page!

I just love the effect of embossing and watercolors!  Have you ever tried out this technique??

Fun with Shaped Photos

Playing with photos in various shapes is always a fun way to think outside of the box and to spark a little bit of creativity!!  To me, there's just something about shaped photos.  I love looking at them, and I think they are so visually interesting.  I also love how you can play around with your paper and embellishments to help make your photos pop.  Plus, I'm always looking for a fun reason to use my stamps or my Silhouette!!

CIRCLES

I love circles of all shapes and sizes!! I love how soft and pretty they look all gathered together.  If you flip through your supplies, I bet you will spy circles all over the place!  I usually pick one and then use it as my starting point for a page.  Then I print out a few circled shaped photos and start layering away!!

After I printed my photos, I just used my paper punches to create circles with various patterned papers.  Just like with all of my layering, I like to alternate between neutral and bold patterns.  I also like to layer in vellum and other little stickers on my pages.

Playing around with the direction of the circles can change the effect of the page.  By layering the circles down the middle on the above page, it almost gives off a cascading effect. 

Here, I layered the circles along the middle and tucked my photos in the layers.  This page is a little busier because it has more colors and patterns.  I used the vellum and die cuts to help tone everything down and to create a little depth to the page.

Creating nice balanced layouts is probably one of my favorites.  It just screams to my OCD personality!!

This may look like a busy page, but it really was so simple to create.  I used my circle punch to punch out a bunch of pictures and then created a few layers with some circle tags!  I added on several simple embellishments, included a title and called it done!  I am so planning on "lifting" this design again soon!!  

For this page, I used a pre-cut page.  It was originally a 12x12, but I trimmed it at about 6 inches so I could layer it along one side of my page with a title on the left hand side.  Again, I used a circle punch for my photos and sprinkled on a few embellishments!

TRIANGLES

Triangles are funky and fun!  You can play with the angles and really add personality to a layout!

I think I love triangles because you can pair them together to create squares (ha!)...and that's one of my favorite things to do with triangles.  I love pairing together pretty triangle papers and creating a balanced square.  I used a digital template to mask my photos into triangles and then used my triangle photos as a template for all of my paper triangles.  They may not be perfect triangles, but I think they adds to the playfulness of the page!

More triangle fun!!  I created a simple triangle shape in my Silhouette software and cut out various sized triangles.  I used them as a guide for my photos and then stitched everything into place.  I really like the moments and flow this page has!  (And I so want to "lift" this one now too!).

HEXAGONS & DIAMONDS

I don't think hexagons and diamonds are a "go-to" shape for me, but they are fun to play around with!  

For this page, I masked my photos into a hexagon shape, printed them and trimmed them out.  They were my starting point for the page.  As you can see, I also used my Silhouette to create various sized hexagons from patterned paper.  I used lots of pop dots with my images to create more depth and dimension on the page.  

This is my most recent "shaped photo" page, so you are probably tired of seeing this one pop up, right??  I shared a tutorial for this page just last week.  :)

If you are interested in creating shaped photos of your projects, you can check out this older video for a quick tutorial.

What about you??  Do you love to play around with shaped photos on your pages??  What's your favorite shape??

Creating a Diamond Inspired Layout

Each month I'm hoping to post some type of video tutorial or process post about how a particular page came together.  This month, I decided to do a little walk through of this super duper diamond page I created using the January kits from Studio Calico.  At first glance, I think this layout may look difficult or hard to assemble.  BUT....it is seriously SO easy.  It really only requires cutting and layering!

My main inspiration for this page were the wood veneer pieces from the Far Far Away Scrapbook kit.  I really wanted to highlight them on my page and that's where I came up with the diamond idea. 

I started by popping out one of the diamond shapes and tracing the negative onto a piece of white card stock.  I cut two diamonds....one a little larger than the wood piece and one a good bit larger than that first piece (and to cut them, I just laid the wooden diamond on my card stock, traced it and then trimmed outside of that line by about 1/4 of an inch).  

Next, I grabbed out my various pieces of patterned papers and traced the two diamonds I pre-cut onto the paper.  I traced two of each size so I would have a good variety of patterns to layer with on my layout.

After my diamonds were cut, I started layering everything together.  I moved the papers around quite a bit to get a good visual on the page and to try to keep the duplicate papers a good distance from each other.  

Once I was pretty happy with how the papers looked layered, I grabbed out three photos and used one of my diamond shapes to trim my photos.  I just eyeballed everything here and trimmed them roughly into the diamond shape.  Then I added on a few more wood veneer diamonds, mini alpha and chipboard pieces for texture and to make the page more visually appealing.

The final step was to adhere everything together.  I used pop dots in-between my layers to add dimension and depth to my page.  I love the way you can glimpse little shadows on the page!

I then added a line of stitching along the left hand side, as well as some written journaling.  And that's it!!  I think it was a super easy page to put together, don't you?  I hope you will try out this fun method.  You can use just about any shape you'd like!  Just grab your scissors and cut away!

Making a Mini

Whenever I get the itch to create and really don't have a project assignment or an idea in mind, I always gravitate towards a mini album.  I'm not sure why it's the first thing I think of, but it's kind of like my comfort zone in some since.  A layout would probably be much easier and much faster, but there's just something about a tiny little album that holds all of our memories.

  I know a lot of people say they just don't know where to start, or how to finish one!  But making a mini album CAN be easy and fun!!  Today, I thought I would share some ways I keep my mini making process simple and achievable!

1. Start with a color scheme or some piece for inspiration

The colors for my album were all inspired by the banner you see my daughter holding!!  Putting together your own inspiration board, or even collecting papers/colors that speak to you can be very inspiring!  You really don't need anything special to put together an inspiration banner either....just some twine, your favorite papers/cards and clothespins!  Easy peasy and you are all ready to go! 

2. Use your scraps

I put together this little album after preparing a layout for the Crate Paper blog.  I often find that making a mini comes so easily after the papers are already trimmed and scattered all over the place.  I swear that making the first cut is sometimes the most difficult, so if my papers are already trimmed, all I have to do is layer away!  I think it's a big plus if you already have a coordinating collection or papers that work well together too!  It kind of takes out the guess work for layers!

3. Pick a size and stick with it

This mini album is 6x6 inches and I used just one piece of 12x12 white card stock for the album base (along with my photos, which I printed out at 6x6 inches).  I alternated between a decorative page and a photo page.  Finding and sticking with a "system" definitely makes mini albums more achievable.  Don't feel like you HAVE to stick to this system!  Deviating and adding your own creative ideas is always so much fun!  Sometimes it's just good to start with a plan and then go forward from there!

4. Print your photos first

Printing is always the hardest for me.  It's just that extra step that takes time and effort when all I really want to do is create, not stop and print photos.   Printing out your photos first will be a lifesaver and will make the process that much easier!  And since you know your size, you are all set to go!  (But don't feel like your photos have to be the size of your album!  There are no rules here!  Since you know the size of your base pages, give yourself some wiggle room and print out photos that will work with your page....like 4x4 or 2x2.)

5. Add depth and dimension to your pages through layers

The photos are always my favorite part of my mini albums, but layering and embellishments come in at a pretty close second!  Having these little pops of color and texture sprinkled throughout the pages really makes the album feel more personal and handmade.  As you can see, I usually use my scraps  and layer pretty papers onto pretty papers.  

6. Create interactive elements with papers and tags

I think the interactive elements of a mini book are my children's favorite!  They love finding cards and tags and photos that slip out or flap open in our albums.  I know one day they will read little stories about our life and hopefully it will bring a smile to their faces!!  Creating interactive pages is so easy to achieve too!  You really only need washi tape to hold the sides and bottom of a piece of paper in place to create a pocket (I love to use my sewing machine!).  I think these little bits really add a personal feel to mini albums!

So what are your thoughts on minis??  Do you love them or hate them??  If you've been sitting on the fence about creating one, I hope you will jump off and give it a try!  I promise it is super easy and the end result will be a treasured item!!  

For you Sweet Girl

Today I thought I would share one of my favorite.layouts.ever.  Ever.

This is an oldie, but goodie.  It was published in one of the issues at Northridge Publishing, so it never made it onto the blog.  

When I started this page, I knew I wanted to create little hidden journaling and picture flaps on my page.    I always love to make layouts interactive with hidden journaling, pull out cards, etc...  so I opened up my silhouette program and started drawing boxes all over my 12x12 template.  Then I erased the top line of each box, cut out my template and was ready to go!

I covered the outside flips with patterned paper or pictures and then added my journaling and notes inside each flap.

As I worked on this page, I decided to dedicate this page to my daughter so i included lots of fun info about her.....her favorites....her personality...just her...

Here is a better look at the layout.

Do you like making interactive pages??  I love making them and usually hang these up in my room since they are so fun to play with!  Slipping them inside of a page protector just doesn't do them justice!!