Studio 5: Graduation Card & Panini Party

In preparing this segment I realized what a great opportunity highschool graduation can be for parents to 'fuss' over their child. Really, just birthdays, their wedding (which they share with spouse) and graduation(s).

In some ways this milestone is more than just finishing a course of study, it is moving from childhood to adulthood (at least we can hope!). It's a great time to celebrate their accomplishments but also encourage and support them in their future endeavors.

I hope you enjoyed some of my ideas for cards, invitations, announcements etc...

Below is the free download we mentioned on air. Please visit my download site and enjoy my road card. You could easily make a dozen of these in less than an hour. I have to tell about my road photo. Steve took me to fish at Strawberry Reservoir last May and while we were driving around I noticed a sign on a steep part, got out of the car, took my picture and then noticed how cool the road looked with it's incline, cracks and yellow lines. I lay down on the road to capture this angle.

A few months later Susan Opel at PaperCrafts magazine asked me to create a photo card around the quote (on card). I immediately remembered my road photo and the rest was easy. It's in the current issue of PaperCrafts magazine in the Photo Finish column.

So, don't forget to take pictures of odd things you normally wouldn't and create a photo library. These are easy and effective cards. I am planning on doing a tutorial on adding text to a photo soon, so stayed tuned.



Important note: Rebecca from Montaque Photography alerted me to my mentioning on air about scanning in a professional photograph to copy. I must apologize to all of you. This is illegal; please don't do it. I knew this, but obviously forgot it when I was trouble-shooting my "if you didn't buy the CD scenario". Really, if you didn't buy it, your photographer (if they offer this service) will most likely still have your pictures on file. And please take a moment to visit Rebecca's website, her work is truly stunning.

And here are my yummy panini recipes! We sat around after the show and munched them all up! Crunchy, buttery bread. Melty, crunchy bits of cheese, the zing of mustard and horseradish...you just can't go wrong!

Visit the Studio 5 website for more details about the Graduation card segment and the Panini Segment.

Lastly, the winner of my Studio 5 Sneek Peek Give-away is LeAnn! I guess I need to make my photos a little harder as so many of you got it right!

PC Connection tease

If you'd like to see the rest of the picture, please visit the PaperCrafts Blog for my latest post and FREE download.

Also, stay tuned, I'll be picking a winner for my fill-a-box giveaway on Friday!

Get Inspired

Do you ever read your magazines backwards?

It never fails, the first thing I turn to when I get an issue of Paper Crafts Magazine is the last page which happens to be the 'Get Inspired' column. It's perfect; a quick read and always fun to see the designer's creative interpretation.

A year ago, I got this very assignment for the Feb. 2008 issue and was matched up with a Hall of Fame (Creating Keepsakes) winning layout. The other day I was looking through my computer files and came upon my work in progress for this column. I remembered how much fun I had working on this and wanted to share with you the process. I did something I had never done before, which, for me, is often the best way to learn.

I really wanted to use this picture of Savannah (my youngest daughter, isnt' she Schweeet!), but also wanted to stay true to the color combo Sheri Reguly had created...love the pink, green and red! The challenge was the photo didn't have the visual impact I wanted, mainly because her dress was a small print (first photo) that was somewhat drab.

Using photoshop, I was able to select her dress and change the color to coordinate with my papercrafting elements. I'd love to re-create this tutorial for you, but wow, I don't have several hours to spare right now! But I will point you in the right direction.

I used the magnetic Lasso Tool and painsakingly selected just her dress. Once that was done, the rest was pretty easy. In fact, it was fun. This is where you can play around and explore your image adjustments either replacing colors or enhancing them.

The same thing can be done in Photoshop Elements and many other photo editing software programs. So, when you have some spare time; play around, get creative (I've even whitened teeth before!) and customize your photos to your supplies instead of the other way around.

~ Sue

That’s my door!

I was at my monthly card swap, exchanging our cards when this one, by Shauna Hunt, was passed to me.

I took a moment to look…my first thought was (sorry, this is the PC Pro in me) “where did she find that paper?” and “how did she do that?”. As I sat there puzzling, with the background buzz of 7 other gals talking about it, Shauna got my attention and said “don’t you recognize that door?”.
Oh my HEAVENS…that’s MY DOOR!

This was a shining moment for Shauna. As a photographer, Shauna, like all good photographers, looks at life through a lens. 2 years ago, she spotted my fabulous front door (It was actually kind of boring compared to years past) and took a few shots.

She created this great look by using my favorite photo editing software, Photoshop. After cropping the photo and removing the hanging lights and the reflection of the house across the street she took it through the watercolor filter (Brush detail 9, shadow intensity 1, texture 1 in case you want to re-create it) and printed it on watercolor paper she found at a local craft store.

Here are a few more hints from Shauna: “You have to play with the filter because it can really distort faces. There is a lot of black put into the picture when you use the watercolor filter so I keep the Shadow Intensity to very low numbers. It is fun to play with and each picture deserves individual attention to the filter details.”

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial. I’d love to challenge you to photograph some of your holiday décor and play around with the watercolor filter. Maybe you’ll end up using it for next year’s Christmas cards!
~Sue