Author: The Digital Press

Feature Friday | Karla Noél

Happy Feature Friday! This week, we’re excited to help you get to know our very own Karla Noél (formerly Dudley) a little bit better! Karla has a love of art, design, and family. She enjoys spreading her love of design and scrapbooking to all. Her design style is uniquely her own — filled with artsy, hand-drawn patterns and elements… eclectic colors… and fun handwritten word art.

This is just a small sampling of the inspiring product offerings you’ll find in her store here at The Digital Press…

 

And now, let’s get to know Karla a little better! We asked her to answer a few questions so we could learn more about her…

Where do you live?
I live in Downtown San Diego.

When you’re not designing, what do you do with your time?
I’m working and crocheting… or is it crocheting and working… 😉

What are 5 tidbits of trivia we might not know about you?
—I can do backflips.
—I’m together and in love with my first love.
—I prefer my eggs burnt (and pretty much all of my food that way, actually).
—I know my fonts!
—I lost over 100 pounds in one year.

Which of your products is your favorite?
Hmm… in the store right now, I think it would have to be the Epic.ness collection. It’s fresh and fun and timeless…

 

Here is a look at some of my favorite projects using Karla’s designs…

If you haven’t already browsed through Karla’s shop here at The Digital Press… definitely check it out HERE! You will want to take a peek this week, for sure, because her entire shop will be 30% OFF through the end of next Thursday (sale will end at 11:59pm ET on Thurs 10/13)!

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About the Author  Lindy Krickbaum is a member of the creative team at the Digital Press. She is a happily-married wife, and best friend to her twin sister. She currently lives in Johnson City, Tennessee in the United States. Lindy is a self-admitted scrap-a-holic, rarely missing a day to scrap. She also enjoys designing jewelry, reading, and traveling every chance she gets.

Tutorial Tuesday | Blending Text

Hi there, scrappers!

My tutorial for you today is all about making your text look more realistic. When you write or type on real paper, what you see is a mixture of the ink and the texture and material of the paper. But, when we add a type layer on top of a digital paper, we don’t automatically get the same result. I’ll show you a couple quick steps that you can follow in order to make digital text look more like it is written on the paper instead of floating on top.

  • First, type your text as you would like it to appear on your layout
  • Right click on your type layer and choose Blending Options (or, you can also click the little ‘fx’ button at the bottom of your layer palette)

  • When the Layer Style menu opens up, you will see two sliders. You want the bottom one, Underlying Layer
  • Grab the left side of the bar and drag it to the right until the text starts to disappear
  • Hold down the Option key and click on the little carrot you just dragged to the right so that it splits into two little arrows

  • Drag the left of the two new arrows to the left until you like the way the text looks

  • Tweak it as much as you like until your text looks just right!

 

Here is a look at the original text… and the blended text… so you can see the difference!

 

Isn’t that great? I hope you’ll give this technique a try. I find that it really gives that extra realistic look to my digital layouts.

KatieAbout the Author  Katie is a member of the creative team here at The Digital Press. She lives in Central Florida with her husband and their four sweet but crazy boys. When she’s not dodging Nerf bullets or trying to dig out from under the never-ending pile of laundry, she enjoys photography, cooking, going to Disney World with her family, and, of course, digital scrapbooking.

Hybrid How-To | Halloween Countdown Decor

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Hello and HaPpY OcToBeR!!! And Happy Digital Scrapbook Day! Arielle here and I’m so glad you stopped by today! I have a great project that will get you all scrappy this weekend – snipping and gluing and layering – oh my! I’m going to show you how I designed this little Halloween Countdown decor, and give you some tips on creating your own Halloween decor!

Here are the supplies I used:

  • Digital Kit – Magic Hour by Mari Koegelenberg
  • Thin cardstock
  • Adhesives (I used an ATG gun & dimensionals)
  • Scissors and paper trimmer
  • Other embellishments such as buttons and twine.
  • Base material – you can adhere your decor to an adhesive magnet sheet to use on your fridge or a filing cabinet or you could mount it to black foam core.

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Step One – Design your project! I like to pick my kit and completely design my project In Photoshop before I print out the elements. That way I know everything will work together and I will only print what I need for the project.

I found this antique~y frame in another kit and blew it up, adjusted the threshhold settings and superimposed it over the star paper. I used some free spooky fonts, as well.

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(Once my design is complete, I divide all the elements onto separate sheets for printing. I usually throw in some extra elements in case I mis-cut something or I decide it needs a little something extra!)

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Step Two – Print your elements and gather your supplies! It’s always a great idea to add some buttons, gems, ribbon, twine… you get the idea – mix in some real stuff. It will be fun & you can’t get it wrong. I promise.

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Step Three – Trim out your elements. Yes, you could think of this as tedious… or you can realize it’s really therapeutic! I just love cutting out cute little things!

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Step Four – My frame paper printed really dark, so I went back in with a white pencil to add a little definition. Don’t be afraid to grab paint, glitter or other media to layer onto your project! It adds another dimension to your hybrid work!

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Step Five – Start layering! Pop up different layers with dimensional adhesives. It’s great when you can find them at different heights. Add some different textures, I used buttons and twine. (I added a couple enamel dots to the cat’s eyes, too!)

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(I made my own Halloween “sticker” by just leaving a white border as I trimmed around the word. I used a craft knife to cut out the space in the “H”. I added some depth to my paper flowers by pressing them into my palm to push the petals up!)

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Here’s the finished project! I still can’t decide if I want mine on my fridge or my wall, but I have both magnetic sheets and black foam core when I do! I’ll just trace around my frame, and trim the backing to size.

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Craft stores also sell all kinds of blank signs you could use as a base – canvas, chalkboard, wood, burlap. You could also make a hybrid Halloween banner or bunting, on paper or fabric. hey, you could even print out a bunch of these and let your kids decorate a tin can pencil holder or a cute garland!

Now it’s your turn! Want to try your hand at some hybrid Halloween decor? It can be as easy and as simple as you want it to be! Please come join us in The Digital Press’s forum for a fun challenge related to this tutorial! You can create an amazing item for yourself or someone you love AND earn points doing it! Points can later be cashed-in for discount coupons to the shop at the end of the month if you participate in the challenge system at The Digital Press!

Feature Friday | Inside Pixels by Lisa Bell

Hello everyone, its time for another Feature Friday… and I am thrilled to be introducing you to the face behind Inside Pixels by Lisa Bell!

I love Lisa’s colorful, fun, themed kits and versatile elements. They are perfect for traditional scrapbooking, as well as pocket-style scrapbooking. Lisa balances her designs with realistic elements, attention to detailing, and little creative touches that make her designs stand out. I especially love her wordarts and pocket cards.

Lets take a look at some of my favorite designs from Lisa’s shop here at The Digital Press…

I also had an opportunity to ask Lisa some questions about herself and her designs, and here’s what she had to say…

Where do you live?
I live in Utah.

When you’re not designing, what do you do with your time?
I play board games or video games, or watch Netflix (Gilmore Girls with my daughter) with my kids and hubby… frisbee/ball with my puppies… or play the piano if I need some alone time. Beethoven is probably my favorite to play.

What are 5 tidbits of trivia we might not know about you?
—My eyes are 2 different colors. Certain colors make it more obvious. They are both hazel, but one is more blue than the other.
—I have 4 kids and my youngest child is 16 so we are in the adulting years at our house. It is usually a lot of fun (for me), especially when they have to make a phone call or set up an appointment bwaha ha ha!
—I am a soda pop junkie with Coke Zero for the win. My children have been known to bribe me to make an appointment for them with a Coke Zero!
—I try to do something silly to make me laugh everyday because there is always something to be grumpy about.
—My youngest son, 16 years old, is Autistic/Aspergers so I quit my job in the paper scrapbooking world to be a substitute teacher in his first grade year. I learned a great deal about him and what I needed to do to teach him to manage social situations. Eventually, I made it back to scrapbooking… just took a small detour through elementary school.

Which of your products is your favorite?
My favorite kit to date is my Adulting Kit, because it reminds me of some fun/silly times going on at our house (especially the dinosaur card in the Life Card Set… “I’ve got a big head and little arms. And I’m just not sure how well this plan was thought through… Master?” from Meet the Robinsons)…

Here are some of the layouts that show the range of Lisa’s amazing products. It was hard to pick just a few to showcase, what with all the gorgeous layouts in her gallery…

I hope you have been able to get to know Lisa and her designs a little better today. I, myself, have already discovered some of the next few items from her shop that I will definitely be adding to my wish-list next! And if you haven’t had a chance to use any of her products yet… this is your chance! Her entire shop here at The Digital Press will be 30% OFF all week long (the sale will end at 11:59pm ET on 9/29).

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About the Author Shivani Sohal is a donner of many alter-egos. A finance professional by day in busy London, she morphs into a seemingly normal mum of two in the evenings and weekends. She is constantly found with her fingers in too many pies and juggling the metaphorical balls. That is living on the edge for her; aided by the two ankle biters and a darling hubby who define the warm and mushy for her. She is ferociously dedicated to memory keeping — almost immune to any nay-sayers (or equally-disruptive crying children or annoying house fires!); keeping her head down and forging ahead at all times.

Tutorial Tuesday | 5 Ways to Create Visually-Appealing Layout Designs

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Do you want to absolutely LOVE every layout you create? Do you want to spend less time pulling everything together to make a great layout? Do you want to spend less time on arrangements and more time telling the heart of your story?

Yes, yes, yes! We all do. 🙂

Here are 5 simple tips to help you create visually-appealing layout designs every time…

1 — Create a Main Focal Point
Make the most important piece on your layout take up the most room on the page. This will help ensure that it is what you see first (see the target I added?).

 

2 — Use the Rule of Thirds
As with photography, using the Rule Of Thirds (ROT) helps to place the focus of your design elements in a more appealing place. Simply divide your page into thirds, horizontally and vertically and choose a point where the lines intersect.

3 — Create a Visual Triangle
Place key elements along an invisible triangle to add interest and draw the eye from one point to the next.

 

4 — Create Movement & Flow
Use motion to direct attention throughout the page to tell your story. Arrows, lines, and tags help create a flow to follow within your layout, especially on Pocket Pages.

5 — Change up the Alignment
Creating a visual connection among elements helps to create interest. A row of three or more aligned objects creates harmony…

…but it’s also fun to mix it up — drawing the attention to something out of order…

 

I hope these tips will help you create layouts that you love, easier and faster!

 

FarrahAbout the Author  Farrah Jobling is a member of the creative team here at The Digital Press. She lives in Denver with her amazing family — Mike, Nicholas (9), Claire (7), Hope (2 yr old puppy) & Kringle (9 mo old bunny). She works from home as a photographer and enjoys scrapping her personal photos.

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Feature Friday | LJS Designs

It’s time for another Feature Friday… and today we are featuring Lorie of LJS Designs.

I asked Lorie, to describe her design style, and this is what she had to say…

“I would describe it as traditional paper style with an illustrative touch. I am a theme designer, so all my kits have to have a central theme that I can expand upon and even twist a little.  I love color and word art, so all my collections are bright and bold and include plenty of journal cards and word bits.”  

I couldn’t agree more! Lorie always comes up with awesome themes and her collections come with everything you need to make a layout (or several!). There is always a lot of color, tons of awesome patterns, journaling cards with great phrases and prompts, and word art pieces to add into the mix. LJS Designs has so many wonderful kits, collections, and even pocket templates in her shop… it is hard to choose favorites! I did try, however, and came up with the following… just a few of my favorites…

I asked Lorie a few questions in order to get to know her better…

Where do you live?
I live in a small town called Nappanee, Indiana that is known for its large Amish population. Our streets are full of horses, buggies, and bikes… and our town motto is “Embrace The Pace.”

When you’re not designing, what do you do with your time?
I work full time as a Production Planning Supervisor for an international fruit company that serves the yogurt industry, I design part time, and I am a mom as well as a caregiver to my own mother, so I have very little down-time. When I do have some “me time,” I usually find a quiet spot and read. It relaxes me and usually leads to a nice nap that helps recharge my batteries.

What are 5 tidbits of trivia we might not know about you?
—I love words. I am famous at the office for having a wide vocabulary and pulling out some oldies but goodies (like “behooves”) in my everyday speech. I am also known for making up my own words and phrases. Surprisingly enough, my made-up words catch on with my office mates and pretty soon they are repeating them, too. I totally get a kick out of it cause it is like my own super power.
—I am going to be 50 this year, and to celebrate it my sister and I are going to Disney World for a week. I am looking forward to the trip as a whole, but am most excited about my actual birthday because I get to be a Princess that day. I’ve always wanted to be a princess.
—My family nickname is Bug. My grandfather named me Lorie, and started calling me Loriebug right off the bat… but it quickly got shortened to just Bug. Ironically enough, I am scared to death of bugs. Ugh!
—I have a mad crush on Captain America. While I think Chris Evans is very handsome, I don’t swoon over him. But once he puts on the suit, I am a total goner. Must be something about a man in uniform that makes me giddy.
—I am a genealogist. I have been researching my family history for about 15 years now, and love spending time in courthouses looking at old records.

Which of your products is your favorite?
My favorite thing to design is the word art in my collections… but if I had to pick just one favorite collection, it would be Summer Fun: On the Trail…

Here are a few layouts to show off the wonderful products of LJS Designs…


I am so happy I was able to introduce you to Lorie and help you get to know her better! She is a wonderful designer (and person)! If you haven’t had a chance to take a look at her shop here at The Digital Press, you will definitely want to check it out this week — as there will be a 30% OFF SALE IN HER SHOP all week long (sale will end at 11:59pm ET on 9/22)!

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SabrinaAbout the Author  Sabrina is married to a hard-working man and has two rambunctious kids, nicknamed Captain and Sunshine. She loves to chase after the kids, clean up their messes, and say “stop that!” 100 times a day. When Sabrina gets a break she loves to scrap, read, or watch an occasional show.