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8/31/14

Blessed


Feeling super blessed on this amazing day!  How about you???
Happy Sunday!

8/29/14

Project Life: Studio Calico Poet Society Review & A Giveaway

UPDATED:
Congrats Meliandre! You are the randomly selected winner!  Email me your information and I will send it on over to Studio Calico (stephanie @ stephaniemakes.com).
Just love your spread!
I'm curious to see if I can do something that amazing with a SC kit...never tried but it's so tempting :)


Hey hey! Happy Friday friends!
I'm so excited to share a few of my new favorite Project Life spreads with you today!!  I put together these two spreads using this month's Poet Society kit from Studio Calico.  I'm also super excited to giveaway one Project Life kit (Poet Society) to a lucky reader, as well as offer you a discount code on a new subscription!  Be sure to read all the way to the bottom!!

Like always, the Project Life kit from Studio Calico is jam-packed with goodness!!  The journaling cards have a perfect mix of colors, phrases and white space!  And all of the embellishments are divine!  My plan was to put together one spread for my album, but once I started, I couldn't stop!!  

I created a typical Design A spread, as well as one insert which I trimmed to 9x12 inches.  I love mixing in sizes and having spreads peeking out and tucked in within my album. 

Let's take a look!



First up is a regular spread from July.  This was the week that my daughter started kindergarten so I included a lot of details about that week, some Q&A with her and a little experience we had with a certain white uniform shirt the first day of school.  It's so awesome that I have a place to record these memories.  I always like to "think" that I will remember the whys/hows/whens, but I know they will soon fade with time.  Thank you Project Life!



I broke my own rules and used a 3x4 photo in one of the 4x6 photos.  I had it on hand and it worked so perfectly with the Q&A journaling card that I just had to include it that way!  I love it when my journaling leads the way of my spread.



The right side of my spread is more of the same....photos and words.  Marcy's "Are you picking up what I'm throwing down?" printable card was PERFECT for the dinosaur wars my husband and son were having in the photo above!!  


Here are a few detail shots: 





The Studio Calico kits come with so many awesome cards and I just couldn't stand to pack my kit up and put them away after completing just one spread.  I loved all the different graphic and filler cards from this kit and really wanted to use them together in a spread.  Since I typically fill most of my spots with photos, I usually only have a few spots left for pretty cards!  So...I decided to print out my July 12 on the 12th photos and add an insert into the July section of my album.  


I knew I wanted to use the 3x3 inch square page protector from October Afternoon, so I started this spread by trimming 1/2 inch off the top and bottom of the journaling cards.  Don't feel like you have to use them as they are!  Get your scissors out and get creative!!  To keep with the uniformity of the spread, I printed my photos each at 3x3 inches.  


I added some simple journaling about my photos and our day, as well as a few embellishments here and there. 


Since these photos cover one entire day, I didn't really have too much journaling to add to my spread. I kept it simple and clean, which also keeps it super easy!  It's all about the photos anyway, right??


I tucked a little love note from my daughter in one of the pockets.  I love seeing how her writing has evolved over the past few years. 



I also continued my favorite way of journaling, which is typing directly onto my photos!  Cropping in white space for journaling is a must for me!


And there you have it!!  Fast, easy and super fun!!  Two more spreads in my album and July is officially documented!!  

Now do you want to know the best part??  Not only am I giving away one Poet Society Project Life kit to a lucky reader, but I also have a coupon for $10 off your first kit if you start a 6-month subscription at Studio Calico!  Just add a 6-month subscription to your cart and enter STEPHANIEBRYAN in the coupon code at checkout!  This code expires on September 12th at midnight EST!  

To win your very own Poet Society Project Life kit, just leave a comment here on this blog post and I will randomly select a winner this Sunday evening!  Good luck and happy creating!



8/28/14

Glitz Design: Handmade Gift Wrap


If you have patterned paper, then you have gift wrap!  I'm getting creative over on the Glitz Design blog today with some pretty wrappings!  Stop on over to check out how my gifts came together!!












8/27/14

Crate Paper: Handmade Embellishments

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know that I've been hinting at something fun and awesome coming soon.  I can't quite share everything yet, but I did want to share what sparked this journey for me....

It's these little handmade embellishments...


You can read more about how I created these on the Crate blog today, and in just a few short days, I'll spill the beans on what they inspired!!  Let's just say that I have poured my heart and soul into this adventure and I can't wait to share it with you all!!  In the meantime, enjoy these eye candies...



So....any guesses???






8/25/14

Weekly Round Up


Hey hey!  Happy Monday everyone and welcome to this week's edition of the Weekly Round Up.  Every Monday, one of the former Garden Girls will be linking up some of our projects on her blog, and we would love for you to join in our fun!

Here's a few links from us.  The numbers correspond to the photos above. :)


And now it's your turn!  We can't wait to see what you have been up to!  Link up your projects below, and if you get a chance, stop by some of the linked up projects and leave some love!!


8/22/14

Project Life: How I photograph my pages


As I was photographing this spread in my Project Life album (and staring at my toes), I decided to play around with my camera and show you how I take my completed Project Life photos AND also why I take my photos in manual mode. 

Before I get started, though, I just wanted to share that I definitely DO NOT consider myself a photographer.  I take pictures.  Usually of my kids and pretty papers.  That's about it.  I do, however, really love taking photos, setting up shots and finding pretty light.  Everything I know about my camera and photography, I taught myself by trial and error.  

MY CAMERA
I have a Canon T1i. I purchased it as a kit camera from Costco about 4 years ago and have greatly enjoyed it!  It gives me the freedom to shoot in manual mode, and that's what I love most.  I might upgrade one day, but we shall see.  


For the most part, I set my photos up as you see in the above two pictures.  I use a large white foam board (that I ordered from Amazon, but you can find them at Target or office supply stores), a stool to stand on, some pretty light and my camera.  I've really paid close attention to my room and know when it gets the best light.  Morning light isn't good because it's too harsh and anything after 4:00 p.m. gives a blueish-tint to my photos that drives me batty.  Anytime between 11-3:30 is pretty perfect in this room.  To the right in the photo above, I have two large windows, and you can see how I set my white board up a few feet from my wall.  I always make sure that my board is outside of any direct sun rays.  And I also try to position my board so I don't see any harsh shadows on my projects (this applies more to scrapbook pages where you have lots of layers and depth).

I then lay my spread down on the white board trying to center it in the middle.  I always stand behind my board (to not cast a shadow on my project), and I always photograph my spreads (or any project, really) with them facing the sun (so it's usually upside down to me).  By facing them towards my windows, I'm (hopefully) eliminating any shadows or overcasts on my project. 

Then I focus and take my photos.  
I use the lens that came with my camera.  While I love my 50mm lens, I have a difficult time getting a good focus inside.  My kit lens is usually pretty good as long as I have good light.  


MANUAL MODE
So I mentioned previously that I only shoot in manual mode.  It took me a while to feel comfortable enough to do that because it does require me to pay attention to details and settings (ISO, shutter speed, aperture, exposure...).  BUT...I wouldn't have it any other way.  You probably know that I like my photos bright and light, and shooting in manual mode is the only way I've found to do that (without having to do lots of post processing). 

When I take my photos, the main thing I change is my light meter, or exposure.  I'm basically "over-exposing" my photos.  BUT...the thing you have to remember about exposure is that it's totally dependent on your light source.  If I'm outside on a pretty day, or even on a cloudy day, I'm less likely to play around with my exposure (maybe just a little).  If I'm indoors and am trying to get as much light as possible, I'm definitely playing around with my exposure.  My goal isn't to over-expose or make my photos seem unnatural.  My goal is to make them look like they do to the naked eye (and I have really good eyesight, so maybe I see things naturally a little over-exposed. Who knows?).

Below are a few examples of what I'm talking about and why I choose to play with my light meter as I photograph. 

This photo was taken at "0", or basically the setting my camera would be on if I used the automatic settings and let my camera do all of the work.  It's so dark.  Like really dark.  My room was so bright and light, and this is just not what I was looking down on. 

Ok...so let's bump it up a little.
(Get out your manual and play around to see how to do this...)

The light meter is divided into thirds, so I increased my exposure by 1/3.  
Nope.  Can't do it.  It's still way too dark.

And another increase...
It's a little lighter, but still not the same as what I'm seeing with my naked eye. 


Now I'm at +1 on my light meter.
My white board is actually looking white, instead of grey and the colors on my project are starting to pop a little.  

Let's go up a little more to see what happens...

I've increased my exposure a little more and you see the board is brighter and whiter.   It looks pretty decent from this photo, but when I uploaded it to my computer, it was actually a little too blown out for my liking. 

So...I went with the +1 exposure photo, cropped my image, removed the color cast (that's the grey undertones you see in the above photo...I can share more about this if anyone is interested) and tweaked my exposure just a wee bit in Aperture and then uploaded it to my blog.  

Here is a look at my cropped spread...


That's why I shoot in manual mode.  Because I want to have the control over the light and brightness of my photos.  I want them to look like I see them, not like how my camera thinks they should look. 
If you have never ventured out of automatic, I highly recommend it!  Get out your manual and read about your settings.  Play around with your camera and take a million photos just to see what happens.  I suggest starting out with still objects.  Busy kids make for blurry photos, and that can be frustrating when you are trying to learn.  Starting with objects around your house, or even your projects would be the perfect place to begin!!  Good luck!  Let me know how it goes!

8/21/14

Project Life: July 2014

I'm moving right along in our year trying to stay "some what" caught up.  I know I've said it a zillion times before, but going monthly with Project Life has been a saving grace.  I reeeeeally stressed myself out last year about being behind and taking daily photos, but those two thoughts haven't even crossed my mind this year.  And I love that.  I love that I can pick this up whenever I want and play around with a spread or two, then leave it where it is and pick it up again later.  My 12 on the 12th photos have been an awesome way to make sure our "everyday" is documented, so I don't really worry that much about photos either.  I like taking photos, so it's obviously something I do on a daily basis, but I definitely don't want to feel like it's a chore or a stressor in my life.  I've got enough of those already! :)

Like most of my Project Life spreads this year, this one is also very simple.  Lots of photos and words of our day.  I do want to be better about including my kids funny phrases and comments.  They both make me laugh so much and I need to remember to write those moments down.  I usually "think" I will remember them, but we all know how that goes...

On to the spread...


Lots of summer-ish photos here...being lazy, playing, sleeping.  Ordinary days.


On the far left card, I did add a quote from my sweet boy ("precious blueberries" who says that?).  I typed my top and bottom text with my typewriter and then used my alpha stamps to add in his quote.  The rest of the middle cards are either filler or journaling cards.  I know the page protectors were designed for that and I'm really loving that look....rather than trying to squeeze in more photos. 





Same kind of deal with the right hand size.  More words and photos.  Most of these journaling cards are from One Little Bird over at The Lilypad.  I love that I could just print out what I needed when I was ready to create my spread.  Peppermint's designs are my favorite.  Her clean, pretty style makes my heart go pitter-patter! 



And another spread is in the books!  Thanks so much stopping by today!!  Come on by tomorrow too!  I'll be sharing my process for photographing my Project Life spreads!




8/20/14

Maggie Holmes: Open Book Blog Hop

Hi there!!  Welcome to the Maggie Holmes' Open Book Blog Hop!!  

CONGRATS JANET!  You are the winner of the Open Book prize pack.  Email me your information and I will send it on it's way!
I so need to own this collection! It's gorgeous!!

I am so excited to be Introducing Maggie's newest collection for Crate Paper - 
Open Book to you!!




This collection just screams "Maggie" and has her signature style written all over it!  There are lovely rich colors that just make me think of fall and a warm cozy house!!  And there are awesome new embellishments and other fun bits and pieces too!

In Open Book, you will see lots of vintage pieces and colorful embellishments that just make you want to sit down and write your story!  Capturing and recording your most treasured memories was the inspiration behind this new collection, and Maggie's desire is that you will enjoy telling the stories of your own life using the products from the line. 

My favorite color GOLD is sprinkled throughout this collection with lots of embossed details, glitter pieces and beautiful words.  It's a fun mix of icons, florals, words and ephemera that will be so fun to play with and layer together!

Here's a sneak peek at some of Maggie's new Open Book products. 



So beautiful, right?

To celebrate the release of this new collection, we are doing a fun blog hop and hope you will join in on the fun! Each of us design team members is sharing different sneak peek images and we are each doing a giveaway as well! 

Giveaway:
I am giving away a sampling of the new Open Book line here on my blog!! To enter the giveaway, leave a comment here on this blog post. I will draw a winner at random on Monday August, 25th. 

The last stop on the blog hop is Maggie's blog!! Be sure to hop along so you can see all the pretty pictures and enter each giveaway. You can enter to win on all of our blogs, increasing your chance to win!



8/19/14

Maggie Holmes Design Team: Oh My Gosh

Oh my gosh.  Do you ever sit and look back through all of the old baby photos of your kids??  I did that the other day and literally got stuck at my computer for hours.  I thought my kids were still "babies", but looking back at those photos reminded me of just how quickly they are growing up.  Sigh...

But, all of those were not lost, because I managed to create a layout using one of the cutest photos of my sweet boy.  Geez....it feels like just yesterday he was standing on that couch looking out the window, drooling allllll over the place.  Sigh...again...


I kept my page rather simple, but did use lots of layers to contrasting patterns and colors.  The mint green diagonal stripe paper from the Styleboard collection is still one of my favorites.  I decided to play around with it a little and created a peek-a-boo section between the two diagonal papers.  I love how you can see the "love this" text paper between the two layers.



A simple embellishment cluster was the final touch to my page.  With a photo as cute as that little guy, you really don't need much more, right??




8/18/14

My Thumb Sucker


Happy Monday!  I have a pretty new layout to share with you today!  I've really been on a mixed media, embossing kick lately for some reason. I really enjoy adding different elements and textures to my pages, but for some reason all of my mixed media supplies are the last thing I think about when I sit down to create.  I need to change that...

This page was inspired by this layout I put together for Wilna's blog a few weeks ago.  I used a similar technique for embossing the die cut in the video, so if you are curious about how I managed to make the hearts so pretty, be sure to check out that video.


The heart die cut is a file from Wilna's shop.  I love how it's so intricate and feminine.  And the shiny pink/peach color just makes it pop off of the white background.


The cut file is sized at 12x12, but I reduced mine slightly so it wouldn't take up my whole page. 


After it was embossed and adhered, I layered on my photo and a few pretty embellishments.




It may seem like a complicated page because there is so much going on, but it really was so easy to put together!  Sometimes a beautiful background and spark the beginnings of a beautiful page!!


8/15/14

12 on the Twelfth: August Pictures


I'm finally sharing my 12 on the Twelfth photos today!!  The 12th definitely caught me off guard this month.  It feels like it sneaks up on me every month, but especially this month.  I guess it's because my little man was sick and my sweet girl was in school all day.  I didn't even remember until about 5:00 that it was the 12th, but luckily I had captured various points of our day (because I'm a photo-a-holic, apparently).  

Here's a look at our day....

If you played along this month, I'd love for you to link up your day!!  Follow the link below: