Month: August 2019

In the End

On August 10, 2019

There are times when a photo reminds me of something; I make a connection to something else. For example, I captured this photo in February while at the Japanese Tea House at the Huntington Library with my sister. The lack of clutter brings a feeling of calm. On this annual visit, I always resolve to find something else to throw out when I get home. This year we talked about two different authors on the idea of organization and decluttering.

I’m not sure which method for organization I like better: Marie Kondo’s idea to keep only what brings one joy or Margareta Magnusson’s Swedish death cleaning. I have rolled my t-shirts, socks and underwear per the Kondo method. My drawers do look nice that way; I guess that is a form of joy.

However, at my age, I think I might find more joy in Magnusson’s concept of death cleaning: getting rid of the abundance rather than leaving a mess for family to deal with after my death. I resized my birth stone ring for my daughter last Christmas. Her joy was priceless; the ring valuable to her. Yes, I am the type that finds joy in the process of decluttering, remembering what’s valuable and letting go of the rest.

Below are the details for how I created this page.

Clip Photo to Mask

Vertical photos don’t alway fit masks. Sometimes, I adjust the mask, but at other times I adjust the photo.

Place the layers of .psd file 4 from UrbanThreadz FotoBlendz No. 3 on a new blank document.
Clip a copy of the photo to the FotoBlendz mask.
Duplicate the photo and place above the original photo. Adjust the position so that it covers the left edge of the mask that wasn’t quite covered.
Attach an inverted mask and bring back in just enough of the color to fill the mask.

Place Transfer

Turn on the layers of the frame set.
Place Transfer 1 from ArtPlay Palette Ochre below the photo and frame layers.

Build Background

Place Transfer 4 on the left side.
Place Overlay 1 on the right side.
Above the Overlay, place Artstroke 2.

Embellish

Open .psd layers of file 2 from MultiMedia Flowers No. 6.
Angle layers above framed photo.

Add Journaling and Title

Place word art from Onward WordART Mix No. 1 on the right side.
Place At Once word art from Onward WordART Mix No. 1 below the title and reduce the opacity to
Create two text boxes for journaling, placing one above and one below the title.
Add subtitle “Inspiration”.

If your photo doesn’t quite fit a mask, there are multiple ways to fix the problem. Shifting the position and masking a second photo is one way.

Little Lime Hydrangeas

By Linda

On August 6, 2019

In Photography, Scrapbooking

Three years ago, I was looking for some hydrangeas that would live through the cold winters in Nebraska better than the Endless Summer variety I had grown in my yard until all but two died. I found this variety: Little Lime. The plants are no longer little but this green bloom changes to a beautiful rose color in the fall. And they live through long cold winters.

My hydrangeas are in full bloom right now, so I went out with my Fuji XT-3 and 60mm f/2.4 macro lens. In order to deal with a mild breeze, I set my shutter speed to 1000, put the ISO on 800 and placed the aperture at 2.4 so that I could blur the background. With my arms tucked close into my sides and patience, I captured some fairly sharp photos even with the large aperture.

As much as I love my little camera, including a very sharp LCD display, I went inside to upload the photos for viewing on my computer screen. I reviewed and then went back outside to photograph again and again, changing my angle and waiting for the still moments.

Template

Initially, I had already chosen a different template from FotoInspired Template Pack No. 2L to print and display my photos. I changed my mind. I decided to use template 8 from FotoInspired Template Pack No. 2L.

Open template 8 and place on a new blank layout.
Reduce the size to 85%.
Enlarge the mask on on the top left by dragging to the right.
Delete the mask to the right.

Note: At some point I will publish a book of flowers, all using the format of FotoInspired Templates. I have already completed nine pages.

Photos

Adjust Clarity and Saturation on photos in Lightroom to sharpen just a little. No other adjustments were made.
Clip the photos to masks, adjusting size and focusing on details.
Below the text, clip a blurred portion of a photo and place Transfer 5 from ArtPlay Palette Summer Days above it.

Note: I captured the photo on the right side of this 24×12 page on a white board on my deck where the lighting was different.

Add Color with Transfers

Place Transfer 4 from ArtPlay Palette Summer Breeze on the right.
Use the warp tool to arrange.
Duplicate the transfer, flip horizontally and place on the left side of the template.
Warp again.

Adapt MultiMedia

Open .psd file 2 of MultiMedia Spring No. 3. Place below the template layers on the right side.
Delete the flowers.
Recolor paint layers to blend with leaves in photos.
Erase lines as needed.
Above the template layers, place three copies of the brown art strokes and angle as desired.
Duplicate layers, placing set on the left.

Place Splatters

Place a copy of the splatter from ArtPlay Mountain High on the right below the leaf but above the green transfer.
On the left, rotate a copy of the splatter and arrange it on the left so that it looks different from the right side.

Embellish

Open .psd file 3 from MultiMedia Spring No. 3. Place on right.
Delete top leaf and reposition flower layers.
Recolor leaves as needed and center of flower.
Place lady bug from ArtPlay Palette Summer Breeze.
Place green button from ArtPlay Mountain High and add a shadow.
Tuck the label from ArtPlay Palette Summer Days below the button and give it a shadow.
Tack the button down with thread 13 from B uttonThreadz No. 3.
Place one more copy of the lady bug above the label to create a visual triangle of red.
Add title, font Molly’s Script.

I’m definitely going to have to create another page in the fall when the color of these hydrangeas changes.