YoYo's coming to you via video

okay girls...now i know there is alot of subscribers to this t and t blog so you can learn something as well :) if you don't already know. This video was made for our sizzling summer crop.

Have fun!

Yo Yo Tutorial from Greta Adams on Vimeo.

Stamping Techniques Class with Michele Kovack!

You have all seen Michele's *AMAZING* stamp work/ techniques...and she is now offering a 5 day workshop to share all of her knowledge and tips with you! Make sure you sign up...you won't want to miss it!!! It will be offered over on the MB frm August 17th-21st. And even if you can't make those days it will be up for you to study and ask questions about for months after...so don't hesitate. :)

Punch Organization

Hey there! I just happened to reorganize my punches this past week and I thought it would make a perfect tip for you!

First, I originally had all of my punches in a metal cart what had 3 baskets -- it worked perfectly in the last place we lived because it was wider and I could move it about. But since the move I have converted our closet that is narrow but is very long - into my scrap space. The cart thing was bugging me because it was always in the way when I wanted to get to one of my storage shelves. So I finally changed it up and I am happy with the result. It is nothing new - but I changed it so I would like it and like looking at it. Here it is
I have seen this done with the clear shoe organizers and was not really wanting one - but it made sense to me. And all I could find were mesh ones --- so I utilized this shabby chic one that is usually in my daughters room - but we have not used it here - so I gave it a shot. To help me tell which punch was where I punched the design out onto black cardstock and then glued that onto kraft paper. Then I simply used a safety pin to hold it in place.

I can fit about to or 3 punches in each depending on the size. And the top one with no tag has my new ek success ones.

So just an idea if you need to free up some space and/or are looking for an alternative to the clear shoe organizer.!

Michelle

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Homemade Flowers

I saw this cute flower in Martha Stewart's Living magazine and thought it would be great for cards and scrapbooks! (She used hers for pillows) I scanned the magazine and resized it in Photoshop. If you would like to create your own flower template, right click on this image and save it. I printed mine in Photoshop using multiple photo sizes and printed it on photo paper because it is a heavier weight. When I printed it, I had a single sheet of photo paper with multiple sizes of flower petals. I then cut those out.

See the two sizes I used here? Lay your templates on the fabric and trace around with a pen.

Cut the petals out using good fabric scissors.

Lay petals out and sew a loose straight stitch, pull thread tightly and secure last petal to first petal.

In Martha's magazine, she used 4 petals, but you can create 5 or 6 petal flowers too!

I secured a button to the center of my flower.

For my scrapbook page I actually created a 5 & 6 petaled flower.

This is my finished product!

Be creative and try making flowers out of felt, fabric, wide ribbon........

: )

Bookpaper

I have had such a thing for BOOKPAPER lately! I love that it's another "neutral" I can add to my pages to give the eye a rest. Next time you go to reach for a sheet of black, white, cream, or kraft cardstock . . . try replacing it with a sheet of bookpaper and see how you like the results!

I have used it for a background:





To cover chipboard letters:





Layer punched circles behind other accents to give them more visual weight:



Punch (stars) or cut it (clouds) into accents:





Layered it as part of a flower:




Spritzed it with spray inks or color washed it with paint:



It's fun! And it's also an inexpensive way to add a sense of "history" and texture to your pages. I bought an old book at a second-hand store for $2. That book will last me a long time.


Give it a try and have fun!
I can't wait to see what you do with bookpaper!

Jana

Shabby Chic Tags Free Download!

Hi everyone! We are lucky enough to have Veronica Milan as our guest designer this month. If you are not aware, Veronica and her husband are the owner/operators/designers of Shabby Chic Crafts! Veronica was sweet enough to create these custom tags for all of our customers as a FREE download! for this kit.

These coordinate perfectly with the Rise and Shine, Five Foot Two and Eyes of Blue kits! So be sure to get your free tags and have loads of fun playing with them!

Thank you Veronica!

Making your layout "pop"

Ok so taking pictures of your layout is never easy -- I know I put it off until the last possible minute. But here is a couple tips I have for you.

First, take your picture in indirect sunlight --- I use the kitchen, and sometimes even take it outside on my patio table. Some other ways I have taken photos are:

*scanning it (although I had a 12x18 scanner so I don't know how to "stitch" the layout together)
*I also used to place it right on the ground on top of a white towel and shoot directly above it. I did this outside in the evening.
*If I am running real late on a deadline I will use my external flash inside and that usually gets a decent picture.

I want to show you where I start with all my layouts. I upload into Picasa and usually crop it (for me it is easier there than in PSE. This one is not cropped but it shows you what my photo looks like straight out of camera. Not too hot - look at all that background noise --and just fyi - I have a cookie jar propping my layout up. Sometimes I will use a little display easel but that means everything has to be nice and neat and lately that ain't happening! LOL!


Ok so this is what it looks like with the background noise cropped out. Note: This is in Picasa

Ok, now I need to brighten this layout so it looks true to life.

In photoshop elements (and this works in PS too), I go to..


ENHANCE>ADJUST LIGHTING>LEVELS

Now you should see this on your screen. When you do click on the WHITE eye dropper.

ok with that white eye dropper you will take it to your layout and click on anything that is white. When you click it you will see your layout "pop". I would suggest not settleing on the first pop -- some white parts are lighter than others and you have to find the right click to make it look true to life.

This is what my final take looked like

Big difference from the first one huh?

**************************************************************************

I have a bunch of little 'cheats' that I use to edit - this being one of them. I am also excited to announce that I will be holding an editing photos class here at Noel Mignon - yay! I will be teaching you some of my favorite techniques that I use to make my photos pop as well as trying to fix those not so awesome (but a great moment) photos.

Here are the details...

*click on the image to make it larger



And if you want to take the class purchase here!