
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.