Thoughts of a Cardmaking Scrapbooker!: 1/4/15

Thursday, January 8, 2015

JustRite's January Release-Spring Wishes

I am home with the kiddos once again! Part of me is happy, and the other part is dreading having to make up these days in June.

Guess I will worry about it in June. ;)

I have another new set to share with you today from JustRite, called, Spring Wishes. I love sentiment sets because I can incorporate them in numerous ways, and let's be honest, can you ever have enough sentiments?

Since Valentine's Day is around the corner, I decided to make a sweet Valentine slice of cake.

The cake was cut using my Silhouette.

I added liquid applique to the frosting and finished it off with a bit of glitter while it was still warm.

I then added glossy accents to the cherry. The sentiment was stamped in hot pink and tucked under my ribbon/flower combo. I added a few sequins to finish off the card.

Here is the entire set. Covers just about everything, doesn't it? ;)

For more inspiration using this fantastic set, be sure to pop on over to these ladies' blogs!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

I truly appreciate your visits!

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Season's Giving Blog Candy Winner!

I am so sorry to be posting my winner from the Season's Givings blog giveaway so late! So without further delay, Random.org selected number 108!

That means the winner of my crafty stash is Memaw Dell!

memaw Dell said...

Enjoying my very first Blog Hop. Nice to find you.

Please e-mail me and I can ship your goodies out to you!

Thanks so much everyone for participating! I am so glad to have "met" so many new crafters!

JustRite's January Release, Celtic Lattice

Good morning! I am home with the kiddos for a COLD day! The wind chill is way below freezing so the schools are closed. Gotta love Chicago weather! ;)

JustRite has been showing their new releases for January/CHA all week. I am so happy to show you two sets today. One set is a pretty background stamp called Celtic Lace.

I cut the Lori Whitlock teacup card using my Silhouette, stamped Celtic Lace with Versamark and embossed it in white. I sponged a bit of pink ink around it for a bit of soft color.

The sentiment is part of the Caring Thoughts set. It was also stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in gold. I cut it into a banner shape. The flower was cut using the Rose Creations Spellbinder's die and felt. I added a bit of twine, and a couple of tiny paper daisies I had in my stash from K & Company.

Here is a side view of what the card looks like. It does lay flat when not propped on the brad. Perfect for mailing.

Be sure to hop on over to the other talented ladies' blogs for more inspiration!

Have a great day my friends!!!

Monday, January 5, 2015

Winner of Top Ten Blog Hop!

It is time to announce the winner of my Top Ten Blog giveaway!

Using Random.org.......
Number 44!!

The winner is.....
Blogger Savanna Lea said... love all your projects but the flag card is my favorite!!

Savanna, please e-mail me and I will mail your goodies out to you!

Today is the last day to enter the Season's Giving Blog Hop giveaway! Scroll down for your chance to win. ;0

Crafty Secret's Design Team Challenge and Tutorial on How to Take Pictures of Your Cards!

Good morning!

It is the start of a new month and that means it is time for the Crafty Secret's Design Team Challenge and Linky Party!

I am showcasing a new set today called, Bedtime Kids AND showing you how I photograph my cards! But first lets talk about the card. :) I printed the image and colored it with my Copic markers. The dark blue paper behind the image is a digital paper from Crafty Secrets. I used various Spellbinder's dies to create the circular background. (Scalloped Circles,Pierced Rectangles, and Crisscross). I also added Spellbinder's feathers, ribbon, and a Prima flower.

I added a bit of lace and a scattering of sequins to finish off the card.

I've had several people ask how I take my pictures of my cards. So here is my attempt at a mini tutorial!

When taking pictures you want to find a good light source. My living room can be quite dark due to the dark furniture I have. But fortunately for me I have a large picture window and a side window. (One faces west and the other south)

I have determined that taking pictures behind the couch you see here, is the best place in my house.

My family thinks I am a bit goofy when I am sprawled out on the floor with my camera.... ;)

I also use this particular lens, a 50mm. I love it because I can set the apperature as low as 1.8 if I want to get a nice blurred (bokeh) background.

For the card above, my settings were a 2.8 aperture, an ISO of 100 (the lower your ISO the less grainy your photo will be), and a shutter speed of 200.

And one more VERY important item....I ALWAYS shoot in RAW format.

You have WAY more control when you edit the photo when it is shot in RAW format!

So here is my little set up behind my couch in front of the picture window. To be sure the flowers were blurred, I put some space between the card and the flowers. The further back I place the flowers, the more blurred they will be. As you can see it is nothing fancy. The white foam core you see on the right helps to reflect the light from the window and fill in some of the shadows.

If you have any other questions or anything I can show you that would be more helpful, please leave a comment and I will address it in my next post. :)