Archive for Tuesday’s Tips

Fixing Photos

by KayCee
July 13th, 2010

So what do you do when the photos that you want to highlight are not quite the right shape or size? Or what if the photo or image is not centered?

Placing these photos or images onto a page “as is” makes your page look unprofessional.

To get a professional looking scrapbook page, you may need to make some adjustments to carefully crop, resize or center your images or photos. Doing so will enhance both the look and feel of your scrapbook pages.

One option that crafters may choose to use to crop, resize or center images and photos is to simply use a cutting tool , like an Exacto knife or even a pair of scissors. They do this manually with these tools and straight edges.

Measure twice and cut once.

If you choose manually crop and cut pictures and images, make sure that you mark the outline you want with chalk or a light pencil mark before you cut.

Try using eyeshadow if you don’t have chalk.

Using the manual method you can also completely remove a distracting or cluttered background by cutting out the background and replace it with a with a new paper or fabric background. This allows the eye to focus on the people instead of the clutter behind them.

Now, there is also an electronic method of adjusting your photos and images. There are many computer programs that can not only crop, size and center your photo and image, it can manipulate color, brightness, hue and add special effects like changing the backgrounds. And the benefit is that you do not have to delete, ruin or alter the original photo or image!

Categories Other Crafts, Paper Crafts, Tuesday's Tips

How to Choose and Use Color

by KayCee
May 25th, 2010

Back in the 90′s I took some design classes at the local college and learned about color and got my first formal introduction to a color wheel. It was a fascinating class and I learned a lot of techniques that I still use today in many of my projects. Fast forward a few years and now I find myself buying entire paint wheels from the local paint stores to get a wider variety of color matching, coordinating and contrasting. I find color charts and wheels to be a useful tool while crafting as well.

You might wonder how a color wheel or paint chip collection really plays a role in my craft projects… well, lets look at  how I use it when putting together a scrapbook page. When I am designing a page there are often areas on the page (even if I am using a sketch) that I want to draw attention to. By coordinating colors and using color contrast I can highlight or accent those areas. At the same time, I can draw attention away from areas that might be less than perfect (dare I say, a mistake – gasp).

A scrapbook page will turn out looking garish, mismatched or unattractive if my colors are not chosen correctly.

Here are some basic rules that I use when putting together my pages. I take a look at my photos and everything else that I am planning to use on the scrapbook page. I choose a background color that meets one of the three criteria. My background must either match, coordinate with or be in contrast to the items I plan to use on the particular scrapbook page.

When I choose to match the background color to my items it will add to the continuity of my color scheme. If I choose to coordinate the background color, depth is added to the scrapbook page. But when I choose a contrasting background color I am able to create a focus point for the eyes to hone in on. So I can manipulate and combine color to achieve the effect that I want on any scrapbook page or even within a scrapbook page.

Categories Scrapbooking, Tuesday's Tips

Tips For Beginners On Selecting The Right Crochet Patterns

by Cynthia Acres
May 18th, 2010

When first starting out with crocheting, it’s often hard to know where to start or to know which crochet patterns are the best to use or try out. Thanks to the wonderful resources made available of the internet or through how-to books, our options are virtually limitless. But where do you start?

When you first start off, try to start small and with the basics. Get an understanding by researching the proper tools used such as hooks and what sizes they come in, as well as what cut-outs are for, even though this will come later on. Following this, study the notations, terms and different types of stitching that are used. If you find that you struggle in this, as many often do, you can also print out this information for future use.

Generally, the first true step after to getting to know the terms and the tools is learning how to do a starting chain. You’ll find that there are many easy and accessible guides out there to help you get your on the way. Once you find one that suits your preference and needs, do take note of what tools will be necessary and make sure to have them ready.

Once you have figured out how to do a starting chain, the next step is learning how to do a single crochet that comes after the starting chain. Again, there are plenty of resources out there if you search for the proper terms for beginners. Once this has been achieved, try to find guides on how to do a second row and whatever follows next. Once you feel comfortable, you can find patterns that are good for beginners such as a scarf.

As you start to develop and practice your crocheting skills, you may soon come to learn how rows start to narrow. This is a very common beginner’s mistake and is due to a last stitch missing in each row. This can be corrected by counting back until you see where the last stitch on each row is missing and what it should look like, and then carefully crocheting in the last stitch of each row. It is, of course, advisable to find a video or picture tutorial with detail written instructions for this.

When you feel that you are ready and comfortable enough to move on, try to find step-by-step guides that can continue to help you farther in your journey. Learn the techniques of doing a double crochet, weave ends, and how to decrease the single crochet. With enough practice, you’ll be well on your way onto more exciting crochet patterns.

Want to find out more about Free Afghan Crochet Patterns, then visit our site on how to choose the best Free Baby Hats Crochet Patterns for your needs.

Categories Crochet, Tuesday's Tips

5 Easy Ways to Be More Creative Each day

by Guest Author
May 4th, 2010

Many people have lives that are directed on everything BUT being creative. We’ve got heavy things we just have to do, having to go to meetings, work on the house or aparment,commitments and ever increasing demands coming from every direction.  Who has time for creativity,and then who has the energy for it, even when we have the time?

Luckily,even small amounts of time enjoyed in a creative mind-set can increase our creative vision, and as well add a greater feeling of enjoyment to all aspects of your lives.  If you’ve lost touch with your creativity and want to recapture it again, there are very simple strategies you can employ to do just this– even if you don’t have a lot of spare time or much motivation available.

Look at doing something different as frequently as you can.It’s easy to let oursevles fall into a boring rut in our lives. You take the same way to the same workplace and spend the day doing the same activities day after day. Your mind goes in to a daze because of this repetition as you can accomplish practicaly all daily tasks without conscious thought.  Live life long enough like this, it’s easy to forget that your life could be any other way.  Make a commitment to add at the minimum a new activity to your life weekly. It could be as simple as attempting a new dish, visiting and buying at a different store,or experimenting with a different driving route. Alter your routine and you awaken  your mind– and your creative inspiration.

See your world with a changed viewpoint.When was the last time you really LOOKED at the people and objects surrounding you?  Are you really seeing them,or do they disappear away because you’re so concentrated on other priorities?  For a few minutes daily,take time out to really SEE what’s around you.  Take note of your friend’s brilliant smile, the way the sunlight plays on the clouds and landscape and the smells carried by the breeze. Lie down in the park and look up at the sky,or flip over and study the the life in the grass beneath you. Look at all around you in a bit more depth and you’ll suddenly realize you’re SEEING much more than ever before.

Seek ways to be creative more often.  A reason many of us avoid being creative is because we believe we litlle time to do them.  You don’t have to spend loads of time to get a lot of happiness from using your creativity.  It may not be able to escape from all your obligations but you can definitely squeeze in 10 or 15 minutes to write, paint, dance, sing, or stitch each day.  You may believe that such a tiny period of time wouldn’t make a change,but those few minutes can feel like hours when you’re doing something you genuinely love.  You may even get inspired to set aside more time to be creative by reducing your TV watching, stopping an activity you no longer enjoy,or even switching work to enjoy more free time.

Recognize the elements of creative inspiration in everything around you. Ever wondered how ideas for common products and discoveries were made? Look around in your house,from pictures to the things in your kitchen drawer,and think about the process that the inventors used to bring these items into your life.  Who first thought of that great little gizmo that helps you open bottles and jars faster?  Which bright spark got the idea to put paper towels on a roll for easier storage and use?  Can you think of any great inventions that would make people’s lives easier?  Can you think of ways to improve on the products you see around you?  Whether you take action on any of these ideas isn’t important; just by thinking more creatively, you will be tapping into your own creative inspiration.

Open your mind and let good stuff seep in.  One of the reasons we feel shut off from our creative vision is because we don’t spend enough time feeding it with positive ideas.  Take time to open and expand your mind.  Read more, learn more, and open to the possibilities in your life.  Focus more of your attention on positive, uplifting material.  Read books that inspire you, visit an art gallery and look closely at the beautiful creations on display, or listen to music that stimulates your senses.  Before long, you’ll be itching to express your creativity.

Remember that there is no right or wrong way to tap into your creativity; go with whatever works best for you.  Use these ideas as they are, adjust them to better suit your circumstances, or use them as jumping off points for your own creative ideas.  Simply focusing more on creativity alone will help you to tap into your natural creative flow.

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Categories Tuesday's Tips

Clicking The Best Digital Pictures

by Guest Author
April 27th, 2010

Taking great pictures doesn’t come naturally to many of us. However, we can improve the quality of the pictures we take with a little practice and some smart techniques which can help overcome all digital difficulties.Read on for some suggestions on how to make your digital clicking more creative and correct.

First off you need to find a high quality digicam.If you can get a camera that’s all the features you will need, you have gotten a good start. Lay down some basic criteria and make sure that the camera meets them before you buy it. Adjustable aperture and lens settings are a must have.In case you are just stepping in the arena of photography, choose a basic camera or you will be inundated by the range of settings.

Once you’ve found your camera, choose an acceptable subject you’d like to photograph.To provide a great don’t confuse you. When you are required to be well acquainted an OK subject since you cannot take great pictures of something you are not really familiar with. Select a subject that appeals to you personally.After all there’s no point clicking photos of buildings of something you’re more of a flower and scenery person.a subject that appeals

The next thing you need to do is to get into your experimental mode. Just step into your yard or any other corner of the house and start clicking. Start clicking objects that you may not have paid attention to. After you made a call to focus on a specific object, you may wish to decide on the other objects that you would want to include in the frame.

Once you have set the composition you can start clicking pictures from different angles and positions. For instance if you’ve already taken an eagle view shot of the object you may try clicking it from a lower angle next. This may help you determine which angles work and which don’t and also familiarize you with the camera and its workings. With a digital camera though,you won’t have to worry about wasting film rolls as in the case of their conventional counterparts. Thus, you can easily delete can help you detest and continue experimenting.

The most important aspect of photography is lighting. If you need to click good pictures,you need to understand the various sides of lighting for photography. Indoor shots are extremely different from outdoor shots because of light differences. Understand how natural and synthetic lighting works if you want to be a good paparazzo.

These tips and principles might appear too easy to most of the folk but experts always begin from basics. Try this recommendation and you will get the best out of digital camera, just like the experts.

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Categories Tuesday's Tips

Dig Out Your Chalks

by Tara
February 9th, 2010

This week’s tip is by Ally. Go ahead and dig out your chalks and utilize some of these great tips:

I have been creating a stamping class surrounding the use of chalks this past weekend so I thought I’d share some fun tips of stamping and using chalks.

You can buy some beautiful packages of multi-coloured chalk palettes for very little money. This means that you have a LOT of colours to work with with just one purchase.

TRY:
- Apply Versamark (watermark) ink to your stamp and stamp it to your paper. Using your chalk applicator, rub in small circles the colour(s) of your choice and watch your clear stamped images appear like magic!
- Apply white inked stamp image to a dark cardstock. Rub your chalk colour over your image to create a chalkboard like effect.
- Stamp a random pattern across your white or light cardstock with black or coloured ink of your choice. Take a cotton ball and apply chalk across your entire page; over top of all your stamps. Then take a ruler and a regular pencil eraser and erase lines of chalk across your stamped cardstock using the ruler as a guide. You can make a cool grid look!
- Using a paint brush or a water brush and dip it in some water and use it it to “paint” your chalk into your stamped image. Water will not effect your chalks.
- Try stamping an image using watermark ink. Apply clear embossing powder and apply heat to get the image to set. Now rub chalks over top of your embossed images and watch your image reveal itself!

I hope these few tips and tricks inspire you to pull out chalks for your next stamping adventure!

If you have a tip that you would like to share then email me for a ballot for the monthly prize draw!

~Tara~

Categories Scrapbooking, Tuesday's Tips

Tips on Using Blender Pens

by Tara
February 2nd, 2010

This tip was provided by Jacquelin Green a DT member over at weScrap!

Here are some tips to help you use that blender pen you bought and don’t know what to do with!!!

USING THE BLENDER PEN WITH INK PADS

Stamp an image using a water based dye pad. Use the blender pen to lightly stroke the outline color into the inside areas. This will result in an image with several tones of the same color; for example, a deep blue image with lighter, “watered down” blue inside.

USING THE BLENDER PEN WITH MARKERS

Stamp an image by coloring the rubber die of the stamp with water based markers. Pull color from the outline to the center areas by stroking with the blender pen, as above.
Use a blender pen to apply marker ink which has been scribbled onto a plastic plate, blending the colors just like you would blend watercolor paints with a brush.
Use a blender pen to soften the stroke marks left behind when you have colored an area with markers.

USING THE BLENDER PEN WITH WATERCOLOR PENCILS

The blender pen is perfect for blending watercolor pencil colors, eliminating the need for water and a paintbrush. The colors intensify and blend smoothly, and the paper does not buckle from being over-moistened.

USING THE BLENDER PEN WITH CHALK

Blend and moisten chalk colors with the blender pen to intensify colors and work the chalk into the surface of the paper. It will not need spray fixative to remain in place.

Thanks so much Jacquelin for these great tips. I will be getting out my rarely ever used pen and playing this week.

Jacquelin has earned a ballot for the monthly draw prize. If you happen to have a tip you would like to share with us at CCAS please send me an email with your tip. If I post it here on the blog you earn a ballot for the RAK!! Such an easy way to earn a ballot. Send it in today!

~Tara~

Categories Tuesday's Tips
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