I’m really excited to be doing a demonstration this weekend for The Big Art Event at David M. Mangelsen’s store in Omaha, Nebraska. I’ll be teaching a make and take as well as demonstrating a variety of techniques with Copic Markers. If you live within driving distance of Omaha, you should totally stop by for this fun event. There’s also a web coupon available at the store’s website, so make sure to bring it with you.
Here’s a photo of the cute little make and take that I put together for the event. What I love about this is that believe it or not, this is actually a hybrid card. The butterfly is a digital stamp (or brush) created by Obsidian Dawn. I printed the image onto Neenah paper using a laserjet printer. (Inkjet will bleed when used with Copics, but laser printers work better than almost any other ink. It’s awesome! To create the set of cards, I just chose three markers in the same color value and blended them into the wings. Such a fun simple card. To complete it, I colored a piece of white ribbon to coordinate with each colored butterfly. With copic markers, there’s no need to worry about finding the right color, just buy white ribbon and you’re good to go!
Sneak Peeks on CHA Summer Trade Show Release Dies!
July 9 – July 22, 2009
Commenting on this post is welcome but does not enter you into the contest. This contest is sponsored directly by Spellbinders Paper Arts. Please read the post to find directions for entering. If you have any questions, please e-mail ContestQuestions@Spellbinders.us.
Welcome to the 13th day of Spellbinders CHA Sneak Peek Blog Frenzy!
Spellbinders is revealing 17 new die templates to be released at the Craft and Hobby Trade Show on July 28, 2009, with some of their greatest fans…YOU! From July 9 – 22, 2009, you will have the opportunity to be a part of these world wide sneak peeks through visiting the Spellbinders designer blogs listed below and trying your luck at winning spectacular die templates! You will have a chance to win the die I’m introducing AND the dies previously revealed in this CHA Blog Frenzy by entering the contest at the end of this post. This is a progressive prize, each day the daily prize grows! Be sure to read all the rules before entering! You still have until July 22nd, 11:59 pm EST to enter Becca Feeken’s blog contest at: http://www.amazingpapergrace.com/ and until July 23rd, 11:59 pm EST to enter mine.
To see previous reveals, or to go to any of the blogs of future reveals, feel free to visit the following:
After the entry deadline is reached, Spellbinders will randomly pick one entry from each Blog Frenzy reveal as stated in the “Rules”. Winner will be contacted by e-mail within 24 hours of the contest deadline. Winner will have 72 hours to reply to that e-mail to claim the prize. If Winner fails to respond within 72 hours, a new name will be drawn for said prize. Winner will receive the new die templates being revealed on the specific daily blog post they are entering.
Entrants visiting all 14 Spellbinders CHA Blog Frenzy Reveals and correctly entering their information into the separate drawings, as described below, will automatically be entered into a GRAND PRIZE give away of a full set of the CHA Summer 2009 die templates and Impressabilities releases, 29 products, with a retail value of $561.71.
I am so excited to share the projects that I’ve created here for you today. I love Christmas, even in the middle of the summer! These dies are fantastic for both scrapbook pages and those Christmas cards we’re already planning to make.
The scrapbook page I created to share features lots of distressing. I’ve put together a video to take you through the creation of this page. Watch and enjoy!
Spellbinders Supplies:
S7-015 Grand 12″ Holiday Lights Border
S4-225 Holiday Cheer
S4-224 Snowflake Borderabilities Petite
Other Supplies: Digital Frame: Rhonna Farrer/House of 3; 3D Foam Squares: 3L; Chalk Ink: Clearsnap; Distress Ink: Ranger; Cardstock: Bazzill; Versamark Ink: Tsukineko; Clear Embossing Powder: Stampendous; White Embossing Powder: Mark Industries; Ribbon: Creative Impressions; Patterned Paper: Doodlebug Designs; Pen: Creative Memories; Metal Charms: Unknown.
The second project I put together is a really exciting one that I think my kids are going to love. This is a fantastic low-cost gift idea for Christmas and I just love the way it turned out. I used an old frame, plastic baseball card pockets and several Spellbinders dies to put this together. This was also a great “use your stash” project. I used lots of older stickers and products that might have otherwise gone to waste. And can I just say how much I love the new Labels 8? It’s perfect!
Here are the images of the two awesome dies that I’ve been working with for this sneak peek. They are: S4-225 Holiday Cheer (MSRP $19.99) and S7-015 Grand 12″ Holiday Lights Border (MSRP $24.99).
Rules
Any participant wishing to be included in the daily drawing for the Spellbinders CHA Blog Frenzy give-away must adhere to all of the following rules. We are happy to welcome US and international blog guests for this Frenzy.
To enter each drawing on sneak peeks between July 9 and July 22, visit the reveal blog and click on the contest link to reveal an e-mail window. In the subject line of the e-mail, enter the die template name being revealed. Each blog reveal will remain open for 48 hours. Only 1 entry per blog is allowed and participant must use the same email address daily to be considered for grand prize entry, no exceptions. Please consider whether you will have access to the same e-mail address from July 9th through July 22nd and plan accordingly.
Spellbinders Design Team members and employees are not eligible for drawings.
Any participant wishing to be automatically entered into the drawing for the CHA Blog Frenzy Grand Prize must enter all 14 blog reveals and follow all the above rules.
Please note:
*Spellbinders will only use email information to contact the winner.
*Spellbinders will not share this email address with any other parties.
*Spellbinders will not use this email information for advertisements or communications
other than to contact the winner.
*If you wish to be included in further communications from Spellbinders, please go to their homepage SpellbindersPaperArts.com and sign up for their newsletter.
(If you use an e-mail client that does not work with this pop-up box, you may copy and paste this address to send your entry to: ContestDay13@spellbinders.us
Most commonly we see computer fonts listed with the extension .ttf at the end, telling us that the font is a True Type font and will generally work with both Mac and Windows. True Type is the standard font format, although there are several other types.
In recent years, font developers have been creating more and more Open Type Fonts, denoted with “OTF” at the end. This font type is an extension of the True Type format and will also work with both Windows and Mac, but here’s something that many font users don’t know… Open Type Fonts have many more capabilities than True Type Fonts. Many Open Type faces come with options called Stylistic/Contextual alternatives, meaning that you can change the way a certain letter looks in different situations. I’ve put together the example on the right using the font Reminga. (By the way, there are lots of free Open Type fonts out there, check out this list for a few ideas).
In the first example, you can see that I’ve turned on the Stylistic Alternatives option, and the “s” becomes an old-fashioned one, giving the whole phrase a new look. To do this in Photoshop, I opened my Type dialog and checked out the menu options. Not all Open Type fonts have all options. In fact, many don’t even take advantage of the feature at all.
With contextual alternatives you can really change the look of certain letters, depending on the situation or where they are in your text or title. So let’s say I want to create a piece of word art for a title on a scrapbook page or a sentiment for a card. I can do several different options using different alternatives.
In the last example below, I’ve created one title with the default letters in the high-end font Affair, a second with stylistic alternatives, and the third with contextual alternatives. The “s” changes with each selection, and the “l” changes with the contextual alternatives.
Next time you’re playing with fonts, check out the Open Type fonts you have on your computer. You might be delighted at the fun titles you can create and print by changing up the type face with Open Type features. What I’ve shown you here is just the tip of the iceberg. There are thousands of Open Type fonts out there with many fun alternative letters. Have fun creating!
I’m excited to share with you a scrapbook layout that I created for a page call a couple of months ago. It didn’t get accepted, but that means now I can share it with you and show you how much I’ve been loving 12″ borderabilities, along with using 12″ stickers and ribbon to break up a layout.
I hope you’ll forgive me for bringing Halloween into your lives a bit early this year. For this layout, I printed the journaling straight onto the round paper. I used my wide format printer for that, taped the patterned circle paper onto another 12×12 sheet of paper and ran it through. This is a great way to add journaling to shaped items or any patterned paper.
I’d like to note that when using large border dies from any company, the Grand Cut Mat Kit is really nice to have, but it’s not necessary! Early next week, check back here soon for a video containing instructions on using the 12″ borders with your regular sized plates.
Supplies
Patterned Paper: Robin’s Nest, Crate Paper; Letter stickers: Me and My Big Ideas; Pumpkin Embellishment, bracket sticker: Crafty Secrets; 12″ Sticker: Cosmo Cricket; Dew Drops: Robin’s Nest; Glue Dots; Epoxy Stickers, rub ons: Crate Paper; Classic Lace Border Die,Labels One, Assorted Leaves: Spellbinders;
Even though I’m a fairly advanced user in Photoshop, I appreciate taking classes, reading tutorials and learning from other people. Every time I read through a tutorial, I remember something I forgot or learn a new tip or trick. I’ve only scratched the surface of what there is to learn from the Photoshop Hero behind http://pshero.com/
When I heard about Jessica Sprague’s free class in photo editing, I decided to follow along. While I haven’t learned vast amounts of new information, her methods are solid, and she definitely sparks creativity in others.
So Assignment 1 is here, adding a frame and word art to a photo. The first photo is just the class assignment, since I’m so busy with house and projects, the second is a quick version I did on my own.
Click the image to visit Clever Some Day and download the free dingbat font.
This free font from Clever Some Day is so cool, and I can just imagine the uses for this with hybrid crafting. Just type one of these out in a word processor or photoshop, resize as desired, give it a color (or leave it black!) and print. Then match up with a Nestability and cut and emboss! So cute!
While it is made for electronic cutters, I think it would work fabulously to decorate traditional die cuts in a different way. I plan on giving it a try very soon. I’ll let you know how it goes.
I am so thrilled to have been a part of the Spellbinders Blog Frenzy. I’ve been overwhelmed by the kind comments several of you have made. I’m so glad that many of you appreciated the tutorial. I can’t wait to make more for you.
As promised, I’ve put together a digital kit containing the embellished shapes from my scrapbook page as well as five free digital papers. For tips on printing out digital paper and using it in your papercrafting, check this post from a few weeks ago.
Spellbinders Introduces:
Shapeabilities Pendants Blog Frenzy
June 22 through June 29th, available for ordering June 30, 2009
Commenting on this post is welcome but does not enter you into the contest. This contest is sponsored directly by Spellbinders Paper Arts. Please read the post to find directions for entering. If you have any questions, please e-mail PenContestQuestions@Spellbinders.us.
Welcome to the 8th (and last!) day of Spellbinders Pendants Blog Frenzy!
Spellbinders is celebrating the introduction of Pendants die templates, a new die line that will inspire your creative mind. You have the opportunity to win the Pendant and Borderabilities dies I’m introducing today by entering the contest at the end of this post. Be sure to read all the rules before entering! You still have until June 29th, 11:59 pm EST to enter Linda Duke’s blog contest at: http://www.lindaduke.typepad.com and until July 1st, 8:30 am EST to enter mine.
Edit: due to issues with my blog and Internet Explorer, the contest deadline for Day 8 has been extended until July 1st, 8:30am EST. I am very sorry for the inconvenience this issue caused. I believe the problem is now fixed. Thanks for your patience!
To see previous reveals, feel free to visit the following:
My friend Karen Hunsaker needed some red polka dots for a project. I threw these together really fast yesterday in 8.5×11″ size, not really knowing exactly what kind of polka dots she was looking for. Here’s hoping these will work for what she needs!
Have a great weekend Karen!
ETA: Here are the black on white dots you requested. HUGS! ~Jen
I’m really excited to be doing a demonstration this weekend for The Big Art Event at David M. Mangelsen’s store in Omaha, Nebraska. I’ll be teaching a make and take as well as demonstrating a variety of techniques with Copic Markers. If you live within driving distance of Omaha, you should totally stop by for this fun event. There’s also a web coupon available at the store’s website, so make sure to bring it with you.
