Help [ME] Ronda

Distress Inks Tutorial + Captured Layout

I absolutely adore this photo i snapped at my neice's wedding.  It's of my sister Sandra and sweet nephew Jacob.  Taking in the deep south, hence the spanish moss on all the oaks.  I love all the love this photo captures.  I knew i had to document this special moment. On this photo i used my "This Life" photo overlays that you can purchase in my downloadable shop. 

The background of the layout uses lots of distress inks.  I love the colors against this photo.  it warms up the photo.  I used lots of Tim Hotlz Ideaology on the layout, layering the pieces together.  The metal pieces on the side are made with a texture trade from Tim Holtz/Sizzix on metal tape.  I also used a die cut to make the patterned paper tag.  I stamped the words alongside the patterned paper next to the photo along with the numbers at the bottom.  The key is a vintage find that i just love.  Below is a video detailing how i created the background.

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from the Archives..Simplicity Canvas

Sort of

I did this piece in 2010 and never shared it on my blog.  That is, until now.  this Simplicity canvas has now found a home in the guest bedroom.  It is actually one of the pieces that inspired the now completed and decorated room.  I really love the colors along with the title.  When i look at it i am reminded to see the beauty in simplicity.  Here's a little tutorial on how to create some of the techniques on this canvas.

start with a layer of gesso.  then add book pages to the wet canvas.  add another layer of light gesso and let it dry.

Paint your first layer of the canvas.  As you can see above most of this layer will not be showing.  Choose a color that you want to POP, like the yellow.  Let it dry.  Next using a stencil or die-cut and a palette knife, scrap another layer of gesso over the image and the rest of the canvas.  Lift up the stencil/die-cut and let the gesso dry.  Add in more layers of paint. 

Use more stencils and/or die-cuts to add cool images around the canvas.  I like to use thick paint (heavy body paint) to create these layers.  Doodle around them with a paint brush to highlight them. and remember to just have fun!

in other news....

I got my hands on my new stencils and have been playing lots & lots.  I know you will love them.  I will share sneaks down the road. 

coming very soon is something new i am very excited about starting and i hope you will join me in this new adventure.  I will post details on Monday!

Love You Tag Trio

i made this Love Tag trio as a homemade Valentine’s gift for my husband.  inside there is a gift card and coupons with gifts of my time.  i think with all the things in the world, time is precious.  The greatest gift of my love i can give him is my time.  Coupons include date night, his favorite meal, etc.  You can see how i put the base of the tag trio on the My Mind's Eye Blog.

i layered pieces of patterned paper from the 6x6 pad.   i punched a border around the bottom piece and then layered a colorful patterned piece on top.  On top of that, i added a piece of book text and vintage thread.  i punched a heart die cut, added a brad and pin, and inked the edges.  The enamel dots were perfect to add color around the tag.

i love to tie my tag trios closed with twine.  To keep it in place, i used a piece of washi tape to secure it to the back.  i stamped the sentiment and added the heart sticker.  My Mamma always said the back should look as pretty as the front.

On the middle tag, i added a piece of patterned paper with words cut from the 6x6 patterned paper.  i adhered it to the tag with a small bit of decorative tape.  Under the piece i added my favorite picture of the two of us.  On the right side is a gift certificate tucked into a pocket with a layer sticker.  i like that he can take this tag trio back to his apartment as decor to sit on his dresser as a reminder of my love for him.  

Here's a link to another tag trio i created using stencils to emboss the tags. 

Joy Mini Canvas

We are heading to Doha in December.  Andrew's apartment is small but we want to decorate it for Christmas.  I love that we are decorating with some homemade items, some made here and some things we will make there.  This 4x4 mini canvas is perfect size to bring along.  Here is a look at how i created it. 

I really have been enjoying making these little canvases.  To start this one, i cut strips of an old text using a Sizzix Tattered Banners Strip.  I added a layer of gesso on the canvas and then added the strips.

I wanted these to lay in the background adding texture. I added a little gesso on top of the canvas too. 

Next i added some glass beads around the canvas to give it that sparkle.  Christmas always needs a bit of sparkle.

Once that layered dried, i added in some Maya Mists for a bit of color drawing on My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 3 Ruby as inspiration.  Greys, Pinks, & Reds make such a lovely color combo for Christmas.  Next i added a few Sizzix snowflakes.  There are so many beautiful ones from Sizzix it's hard to choose!

I am happy this little piece is making the journey with us.  I can see myself making a few more either here or there. 

Check out these other mini Canvas blog posts:

• Beauty Everywhere Mini Canvas
• Little Bird Mini Canvas
• HeartStrings Mini Canvas
• Find Your Place Mini Canvas

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Christmas Past: Albums & Layouts

Perfect Cocoa

It's that time of year.  Christmas is creeping every so close.  I love this season and creating for this season.  So i thought i would share some of my favorite pieces from years past.  Today is all about albums & layouts.  If you click on the links below the mini albums, it will take you to the corresponding blog posts.  They will either have detailed shots or step by step tutorials. I have my Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's December Art Journal Kit from Cocoa Daisy.  I am ready to start building my album for this year.  I know i will also do some layouts too.  Here's a look at mini albums & layouts from Christmases Past. 

My Gift

Peace & Noel Covers (with 25 interior pages)

Gingerbread Hugs

Joy Album Cover

Joy

Evolution of a Cookie

Joy Mini Album (from Art of Layers)

Seasonal Delights (Art of Layers)

Noel Album

Winter

Christmas Past: Decor

Poinsettia Wreath

It's that time of year.  Christmas is creeping every so close.  I love this season and creating for this season.  So i thought i would share some of my favorite pieces from years past.  I want to update some of these pieces and make new projects as well. Today is all about home decor beginning with my most popular piece, my poinsettia wreath.  If you click on the links below each item, it will take you to the corresponding blog posts.  They will either have detailed shots or step by step tutorials. 

Christmas Garland

Christmas Story

Fancy Trees

Winter Tag Display

 Spool Tree (You can purchase a kit here)

Christmas Tree Button Pillow

Instagram How to, the fine print part 2

This week's series is coming to a close.  I hope you have found this post useful to capture your daily life.  Today's topic is actually printing instagram photos along with how to use them in your life & scrapbook journals.  If you haven't been saving your photos to your camera roll there is a program called instaport.me that helps you export your instagram photos to your hard drive.  I have not tried it so i cannot tell you how it works or if it works well.  It's just a resource for you to check out. 

I usually import my photos to my PC by plugging my phone into the computer via usb cable.  I copy & paste my photos from the iPhone into a folder named instagram.  it's quick & easy to do for me.  Another quick way to grab just one photo is to just email it to yourself.  I print at home so it's easy for me to decide what size i want my photos. 

If you don't print at home, don't worry there are lots of places out there to print your photos.  You can also use a photo editing program (i use photoshop) and make your own 4 x 6 prints using the instagram photos.  You can do many variations like 2x2 photos, 3 in a row, 2 columns; two 3x3 photos with an inch border; a 4x4 and two 2 x 2 photos. Upload these to your favorite printing places as a 4 x 6 (snapfish, shutterfly, etc).  it's cheaper than printing them as individuals.

I use my instagram prints in my scrapbook pages. (Click on any of the above layouts to make them larger) I love that little square.  I will print them 5x5, 4x4, 3x3, 2x2, and even 1x1 (think a month of documentation on one layout). 

I use them in my mini albums & art journal pages. 

I use them in project life pages.  All these photos are from my camera/instagram.  Because i save both sizes, i have the option on how i want to print them.  I love that 6x6 photo of Andrew & I on the page (Design e). 

I just ordered these 4 x 4 sleeves from Cocoa Daisy.  They are from We are Memory Keepers.  Next time i think i will order the 4 6x4, 3 4x4 pages too. 

My sweet & gorgeous friend Jude made this awesome family canvas using her instagram prints.  You can check out her tutorial here!  Make sure you leave her some love from me as she generously let me use her photo & link to her post.  I really want to do something like this. Maybe for Andrew for a Christmas present!

Like i said, there are a great many places to print instagram prints.  Here is a list of a few of the ones i have looked into.  We have used Printstagram for stickers.  

1. Printstagram: 2x2 squares, stickers, mini prints, posters, calendars
2. Canvas Pop: Canvases (i so want a grouping of these!)
3. Persnickety Prints: 2x2, 3x3, 4x4 Silk Cover, Matte, Pearl or Linen
4. Stickygram: Magnets think about a fridge covered with those photos
5. Casetagram: Custom Phone Cases & iPad cases
6. PostalPix: Pics from your phone delivered to you
7. InstaThis: Prints on Wood & Acrylic in a variety of sizes

I hope you have enjoyed this week of instagram and learned some tips & tricks along the way.  If you'd like to follow me on instagram, simply click on the camera icon to bookmark my instagram feed on your computer or find me on instagram: rondapalazzari

Instagram How to, the fine print part 1

This week we have covered the basics to advance settings, uses with other social media, using instagram with other apps, etc.  Today we will be covering some things to think about regarding social media & picture taking.  So before we dive into the second two, let's take about social media itself. 

Nat shared with me a post i think you will find interesting. She's right.  You have the right & responsibility to decide how much of your life you want to share publicly.  You can set your instagram photo feed to private and require approval of who views them.  The same goes with adding photos to your map.  You can choose when & where you add these to your personal map.  I use Instagram both as a place to record daily life as well as a way to share my art/job.  I do share family photos and such but i do not add my home on the map.  I will add places i am locally on occasion but use the map feature more when i am traveling.  You need to decide what is okay in your opinion and then set your features accordingly.  This goes for instagram and any other social media platform. 

Tap to focus when taking pictures, especially if you want something specific in focus.  And remember the crop & angle makes a difference.  Sometimes i will take the photo with the iPhone camera and then load it into instagram.  I can control the crop this way and move the photo around easier.  This is also great for macro shots, that is close up photos.  it is easier to get the lighting (no camera shadow) by changing up the angle with the regular camera and then zooming in with the instagram program.  I also found a video on how to get  a jump shot here. 

Let's talk a bit about what photos to take.  Sometimes this topic can be overwhelming.  People sometimes get wrapped up in what others want to see instead of thinking about what tells the story of their lives.  So let's start with the obvious, family portraits.  Pretty straight forward, their faces, yours & theirs together.  easy peasy lemon squeeze.  On some of the iPhones, you have the ability to use the forward camera so it's easier to get these portraits.  Perfect the one arm reach. Did you know you can click the Volume buttons on the side to take your picture?  This way you don't have to try to hold the camera and click the camera button on the front screen with one hand!

a twist on family portraits.

The everyday events that make up your life.  What did you do today?  What did the family do?  Do the kids have after school activities?  Are family dinners a must?

Self portraits.  These are important.  Nobody knows you better than you.  Tell your story.

what's for breakfast/lunch/dinner?  Do you bake or cook?  Share your recipes.  Special lunch date?  Dinner out?  a foodie?

where you live... around the house, around the town, the scenery, the special things about the place you live (Colorado sunsets are amazing!), the places you shop, favorite local spots, the park, favorite places in your home, favorite decor, etc

Right now moments.  What is happening right now?

seasons & holidays.  Is there something that reminds you of winter, spring, summer, or fall?  Is it the changing of leaves, the Starbucks red cups, the first snowfall, the first buds of spring, outdoor activities, specific clothing (hats & scarves, boots, flip-flops)

Travel & events.  Birthday parties, girls nights out, weddings, cities, vacations/holidays, anniversaries, etc.

What does work space look like.  This can be both your creative life and your work life. Working on a project?  Tools of the trade, what do you use on a day to day basis.  Are you creative?  Got Quilt, crafts, paints, layouts, mini albums, etc.  let us be inspired by your creativity. 

Inspiring stuff, words of wisdom, awesome art, cool decor, etc...

I know this was a picture heavy posts.  I hope it leaves you feeling like you are ready to capture your life this instant.  One more blog post tomorrow on Instagram and then i hope to see you on the feed!

Instagram How to, Web Viewer & Combining Apps

Now that we have gone through most of the app, let's take a look at other programs you can use in conjunction with instagram.  There are so many fun apps out there and i am going to share a few of them with you. But first let's talk about something brand new instagram, your own instagram web viewer.  So now you can see your feed on the web like this: http://instagram.com/rondapalazzari

pretty darn cool i think. you can see yours and others if you know their user names. like say for instance Julie Balzer, Emily Pitts, Dina Wakley, Nat Kalbach, Lisa Pace, etc

In capturing every day life, I tend to take lots of photos with my camera.  These next few apps work in conjunction with Instagram.  A collage is a great way to share multiple photos and there are a few apps i use.  Again these can be found on the iPhone but i am not sure if they are found on the Droid.  If you have some you like, please feel free to share.

 

PicStitch and PicCollage are two collage apps that are pretty darn cool.  You can export to multiple places including Instagram.  To fill in the spaces on PicStitch, you just double click on the spaces to fill in photos from your camera roll.  On PicCollage you tap the background to add photos.  You can add them from your camera roll or from Facebook with PicCollage but you will have to allow the program access to facebook. 

InstaCollage is another collage app but you can also add text to the collage.  Again you can export it to many different places including instagram. Typoinsta is another app that be used to add typography to photos.  

Bokeful is an awesome app that allows you to bokehs to your photos.  You can rotate the color wheel to pic a color and then click on the shape.  Once you pick your colors and shape, you simply tap on your photo to add the bokeh. 

Two fun apps are Be Funky and Postagram.  With Be funky you can add cool effects to your photos.  And while you cannot send it to instagram, you can send it to other social media apps and save it to your camera roll.  With Postgram you can upload photos (including instagram photos) and send postcards to friends and familys for a fee.  I haven't used this one yet but plan to put it to use next Doha trip. 

So what apps do you use with Instagram?

Instagram How to, Sharing

Time to dive into some more advanced settings and sharing possibilities.  There is so much you can do with instagram whether you are capturing day to day life or using it as a marketing tool.  Let's take a look at some more settings and sharing capabilities. 

When you post your pictures, you have the option to add them to your map.  It's a cool feature that shows where in the world your photos have been taken.  In order to use this feature you need to change your share settings on your phone.  For the iPhone, click on settings>privacy>photos and then switch the button to on.  You can also look at other photo maps if the people you follow have that featured turned on. 

You can also share your photos on different social media sites like facebook, twitter, etc.  You need to enable this feature first in your profile settings (see yesterday's post about profile settings) and then when you are posting your photos, click on the ones you want to send your photo and caption to.  In the captions of your photos, you can also add at symbol & user name (@mlepitts) that will link to friends on instagram and/or twitter. 

When you do, it will link automatically on twitter to those people.  The photos will also show up on your twitter feed on the left side.  You will also see a link to the instagram photo on your twitter feed. 

If you click on Facebook, it will also be posted in an instagram photo album on your Facebook profile.  It will not be tagged and you will have to do that on Facebook. 

You can like other peoples photos in two ways.  You can double click on the photo.  See the heart on the photo on the left?  it appears after double clicking.  Or you can click on the like button.  You can comment on photos by clicking the comment button and typing in your message.  Again you can use @username in the comments and it will show up on that person's news feed. 

Say you want to share someones photo on your twitter feed. Dot, dot, dot on the right side pulls up another menu that allows you to share it.  Once you click the tweet button it pulls up their name & photo in your twitter dialog box with their user name and a link to the photo.  You can also add a message.   

Remember this is all using my iPhone 4s (ios 6.0) but hopefully the droid phones aren't too far off from this.