I finished two project life spreads using the Studio Calico April Bluegrass Farm PL kits. I am a bit behind, so I want to use my leftovers to finish some more weeks. There were so many cool elements in the kits. My favorite part of this month's kits were the digital items which I used throughout both of my spreads. The project life kit is still available HERE. Look how cute it is!
Let's start with my Bluegrass Farm Project Life kit only spread. Colors, so many wonderful colors. MY type of colors - springy ones! You can click on the image to see it larger or go to my gallery where I have lots of close up images.
My favorite part of this kit were the stamps. I love banners and the set came with a little triangle perfect for making your own colorful banners. I used them across several of the cards so the spread is more cohesive. Is is also my daughter's birthday week, so the banners added a festive feel to the spread. I used the new Color Theory inks for all of the stamped images.
I used a lot of the digital files this month. First, I used the amazing template that Shanna Noel created shown above. I used it for a 6x12 pocket, but there are several sizes/shapes available. I love grid layouts and it takes all the work out of it for you! You can see it in use closer here:
I cropped my photos to be 2.5" wide x 2" tall and then dropped them on top of the boxes. I added a beveled drop shadow so they look like slides. I love how it allowed me to display all these cute images of my daughter and her friend. We were at her birthday dinner and they were making me laugh so hard so I just kept taking pictures. This spread makes me VERY happy!
I also used the cut file by Paige Evans, but instead of using it as a cut file, I used it as a digital brush. I changed the color to white and placed it on top of my photo in the top right corner to frame our faces. The three frames in this set are so cute and work well both as cut files and as digital stamps! I also added some of the XO stamps from the PL kits digitally to the same photo.
The poloroid frame with the heart inside and the everyday banner are also both cut files. I just cut them from plain white cardstock and love that they add some white to the spread. The word "photolove" is also a digital stamp. They are so easy to add to the top of any photo and look great when the photo has a lot of white space on it. Here are the images of the frame as it is sold and in use:
This was not only a birthday week for our family, it was also a celebration of another kind. My son got engaged! I had a lot to document! And my sister came out from Utah to spend the week with us, so there were so many pictures, I made two full spreads. This one was made with the two PL add-on kits called Gertrude and Tabasco as well as the add-on stamp set called Nelly.
This second spread is primarily about my son's engagement. I used more of the digital files again, including the scrapbook kit digital stamps.
The stamp set by Kelly Purkey was one of my favorites, so I used two of those directly on my photos after changing them to white and I applied a drop shadow behind them so they would stand out more. I used the digital stamp happy running vertically on the top right photo.
I also used the stamp add-on digital set to add "the good life" tab to the top of a photo. Last, I used another of the cut file banners - amazing - across a photo. I used lots of the printables as well throughout both spreads. These were my favorites this month by In A Creative Bubble:
Digital files give you such a big bang for your buck. You can customize them to whatever colors and size you need them. They add so much to your spreads and go perfectly with each month's kits. I'm no photoshop expert - I use an older version of PS Elements. I am self taught. I'M NOT A PRO (((I'm no Shanna Noel))). But guess what? These files work perfectly for old timer idiot's like me! haha So do NOT be intimidated. If I can figure them out, anyone can. And if you have any questions, ask away...
I hope you enjoyed the Studio Calico April reveal. If you haven't had a chance yet, check out all the amazing work by the very talented Creative Team HERE. You can still add items to your orders to consolidate shipping until midnight tonight! I just added one last thing I could not resist - the new Gelato set. I figured it was perfect timing with the Mixed Media class starting tomorrow. What did you add to your orders this month? Happy creating friends! suzy
Great designs Suzy and great blog post! :) TFS!
Posted by: Suz | March 31, 2014 at 07:23 PM