Month: August 2023

Printer Ink… Is it Acid Free?

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Creatively Carol's Q & A CornerQ .   Is it ok to print clip art and fonts on a laser or color ink jet printer, then use them  in my scrapbooks? DoI need to worry about acid or lignin?

A.  I hear this question often and to be perfectly honest, we really don’t know. Computer scrapbooking hasn’t been around long enough to truly know.
We can pull out our grandparent’s scrapbooks and see how materials 50 years ago are treating the photos, but there is no scrapbooks that have been around that long that we can refer to now. What I can tell you is the acidity of the ink isn’t the issue, but how fade-proof the ink may be. Lignin is only a by-product of paper making and isn’t found in any type of ink. If you want to use clip art from your computer, attach it to the page so it doesn’t touch anything else then there is no damage to the photographs. As far as fading, you don’t keep your scrapbooks in the direct sunshine, so I think you are safe there, but I am no expert in this field. I usually stamp images either in color, or color them in. I hope this helps. If you have a question you would like to have answered here, please e-mail it to Carol@CreativelyCarol.com Creatively, Carol

Adding Designs to Cricut Design Space

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A feature of Cricut Design Space is the ability to upload unlimited SVG files for free and it is easy to do. The reason an SVG is easy to cut in Cricut Design Studio and other machines is that it is mathematically designed with points and lines unlike JPG or PNG files that are created using pixels.

There are lots of places you can download SVG files. and when I find good ones, I will post them here. I hope to also create new SVGs for you. Most cutting files come with several different versions of the file. To cut an SVG file I Cricut Design Space, you first have to unzip the downloaded file.

Start by opening a new, blank canvas in Cricut Design Space. Upload the SVG file by clicking the upload button on the left side design panel and click save. The image will then show in your “recently uploaded images. Select the image and click on “insert images” and your chosen SVG will import onto your canvas.

If your design file is large, you may need to reduce the size of the image. If you change the X & Y positions to 1 it will make it easier to see. You can then hit the “Make it” and cut the image out on your machine.

 

Scrapbook Trends

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Using texture in your scrapbooking pagesOne of the biggest trends in contemporary scrapbooking is the use of mixed media. This involves combining different materials and techniques, such as paint, stamps, stencils, and washi tape, to create dynamic and visually interesting layouts. The result is a scrapbook page that is both artistic and personal.  There are lots of ways to achieve the mixed media effect in your scrapbooking and I hope to showcase many of these techniques on the new Technique Tuesdays feature here on the blog.

Texture is a big part of scrapbooking today. Whether you use texture in your background, in a border or even an embellishment you bring a layer of dimension into your scrapbook pages. In the layout to the left, we will ignore  the fact that I mounted the masked section upside down, on the wrong side!) you can see a section that was painted with a thick coat of black craft paint over a mask of bats. This was done on a separate piece of cardstock so the paint wouldn’t affect the photograph. An added benefit of this being done on a separate piece of cardstock is that it creates a pocket for hidden journaling if wanted.

There is also added dimension by using painted chipboard letters for my title. At the time I created this layout, lots of blank space was NOT the trend. The class was also on the cutting edge of painting and masking techniques.  This is one of those layouts that, when I look back at it, I definitely feel the pull to re-do the layout, correcting the mat, straightening the letters in candy and moving the journaling so it wasn’t hidden, however, if you read my previous blog post, you understand why I don’t do it. I can see the progression in my own scrapbooking and I still have a mountain of photos to scrap… I will never get done in my lifetime, and that is if I live to be 100 and take no more pictures!

Please come back on Tuesday for my new Technique Tuesday feature and give the new and old techniques a try. I am excited to share more with you about current scrapbook trends, and maybe bring back a few…maybe

 

11 Lessons I Wish I Learned When I Started Scrapbooking

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If you read my newsletter this week, you read about the evolution of your personal scrapbook style. I found an old list that I thought you would find interesting. You will see you are not that different from the published scrapbookers you idolize.
” Here are some of the things I know now that I wish I knew then”

  1. Decide what is most important to leave for your posterity. You’ll know which subject matter to include, and you’ll put more heart and soul into the journaling.
  2. Good, strong photographs are the start of any great scrapbook page.
  3. A clean and organized layout is a timeless design.
  4. Color is essential. It will make or break the overall feel of your layout.
  5. Being creative and experimental with techniques and products is great if it helps to enhance the pictures or theme.
  6. Be choosy with your photos. Every photo you take does not need to be scrapbooked
  7. Events and themes that carry on to more than one layout flow nicely together if they look similar in design or color.
  8. Include a title- even if it is a small one – on every layout to announce and clarify the theme of the page.
  9. Don’t forget the everyday stuff. Life is made up of more than birthdays holidays and vacations.
  10. Even if it’s small and insignificant, include the date somewhere on every layout.
  11. This lesson is from the genealogist in me… if you don’t name everyone in the photo in your journaling, take a moment and write the names on the back of the page where it doesn’t affect the design. Somebody looking at your scrapbook 50 years from now most likely won’t know who is in the picture. Journaling often just has 1st names, put the last names on the back if your can.