Oooo, Lookie, A Tutorial!

When I look into your eyes...

I really like the effect on this picture. I love mistake pictures like this- you are looking at the right side of the picture, the left was booooring, so I cropped it out. I'm serious- he was cut in half in this picture, and I don't normally do that (on purpose, anyway).

What I did with this picture, after I placed it on my layout and cropped it, was duplicate the layer three times. I hid the top two layers, and changed the bottom layer to black and white using my favorite method (Image>Adjustments>Gradient Map), and then I adjusted the levels so that the light parts were white and the dark parts were black, but not so light/dark that there wasn't any detail left.

Next, I un-hid the middle layer. I went to Filter>Guassian Blur, and blurred it so that the details were hard to see. Then I lowered the opacity to 20%. Then I CTRL+ click the bottom layer, inverted the selection, and cut the extra stuff out.

Finally, I un-hid the last layer, and then zoomed in on his eye. Using the lasso selection tool, I traced the iris of his eye, inverted the selection (Select>Inverse) and cut the extra out.

The faded, dreamy look of the rest of the photo causes his eye to just pop out at you. Since this layout is about what I see when I look into his eyes, I wanted the focus to be his eye- and not the bright red shirt that he had on, or the van in the background.

I created this layout for practice with negative space (a neat concept that I've never really felt all that comfortable with) for the design class at P4D. As for the meaning behind the layout, I'm not talking about reflections- I'm talking about how he's so much like me. Sometimes, journaling can distort that magic of a layout. When I look at him, I see me at five. A little quiet around other people, chatty and talkative around people I know, completely and totally accident prone and one huge dirt magnet (Twenty-two years later, and I'm still accident prone and a walking dirt magnet).

Freedom of Discussion

I belong to only one scrapbooking 'discussion' list. Discussion being the operative word here. It seems like every single time someone tries to get a good discussion going, the mods stop it before it can get good.

Ok- moderators are GOOD things, don't get me wrong. If a discussion were to go downhill (like the one about ads and not participating in the group- that one got a little... nasty), they should step in and say 'ok, that's enough.' But, if a discussion is civil, and everyone is being respectful, the mods shouldn't say anything about it. This list recently had a discussion about scraplifting. It was civil. It was quiet. It was people sharing their thoughts in a polite, respectful way.

And this morning (or last night, I can't remember anymore), one of the mods sent out a message that the scraplifting discussion was closed. Why? What was disrespectful about the discussion? That we were all sharing our views on it? That we had the nerve to say that digital scrapbooking is more of a craft than part of the graphic design world?

But this isn't about scraplifting- it's about being able to discuss things. I don't think that I like where the list is going, and I'm tempted to just say screw it and leave. Which is really sad, because I was invited to join that list way back in the day, and for awhile there, I really did enjoy it. I still like the people on the list, I just don't like the 'discussion list without discussion' aspect of it.

In fact, I have to wonder about some of my message boards too. There's already one digital board that I won't even visit anymore, and I don't always remember to go check the other one out. I should- but unless things have changed, there really aren't any discussions going on there. I'm not talking about the 'what are your five favorite designers' or 'what are your favorite kits'- I'm talking really deep discussions, like this thread or this one over at Veggieville (btw- I use Veggieville as a term of endearment, and because I like the way that it sounds. I like 2peas, and visit there every single day). Sure, Veggieville gets it's share of 'favorite designer' and 'favorite kits' threads, but sprinkled throughout are these awesome threads that are actually talking about stuff. And they are, for the most part on the digital board, CIVIL. Yes, folks, scrappers can have civil discussions over hot button topics! :falling out of chair:

Seriously- that's what I look for in a board. A place where you have the light hearted, frivilous posts alongside the deep thought provoking ones with some controversy thrown in for good measure (I get my controversy from the NSBR board- I really don't see it on the digital board). I also look to see who the members are. I'll shamelessly admit that part of the fascination with Veggieville is the fact that I'm posting on the same board where some of my favorite designers post (let me just say now that when I saw that one of my favorite designers commented on not one, but two of my entries that I fell out of my chair? I swear, my neighbors must think that I'm completely insane. It's probably the jumping up and down screaming 'Holly commented! Holly commented!' Heh). Part of it is being able to open up a scrapbooking magazine and go 'I know her, and I know her, and I know her...' Yeah, I'm weird like that. But my husband loves me for it.

What was I talking about? Oh yeah- that 'discussion' list. After reading that message this morning, I couldn't help but think that the list was veering off in a direction that I don't want to go in. It's become more of a place to advertise and a place to go begging for comments. I think that I'm just going to leave that list- I spend more time deleting messages than I do actually reading them.

Blog Challenge!

My answer to Tenika's blog challenge.

The challenge was to paint something, so I painted this. A flower. It's actually something that I used to doodle *all* the time. I like to think that I got pretty good at it.

For more on the blog challenge: click me baby.

R*E*S*P*E*C*T- The Other Side

Designers need to respect their customers. That's a given. I recently commented on how a designer acts on a message board can affect their sales- guess what? This goes DOUBLE for chat rooms! If you are in a chat room, do NOT talk about customers and their habits, ok? It looks very, very bad for YOU, not those customers in question!

But- customers need to respect designers as well. The respect issue here is a little different. I'm not going to refuse to sell to someone because of how they act on a public message board- that's just not right, and I have no control over someone else's behavior. Hey- their money is just as good as the next person's, right?

There are reasons that I will refuse a sale.

1. The customer has shared illegally or passed off as their own someone else's work.
2. The customer pops into a chat to ask for the password for a crop that took place two weeks ago.
3. The customer refuses to treat me with respect when I make a mistake, and instead fires off an email full of swear words.

Number one: this is ILLEGAL. Got that? I.L.L.E.G.A.L. We're talking lawyers and lawsuits, not just slap on the wrist stuff here. Copyright law exists for a reason- and it's people like this, the ones who think that it's perfectly fine to steal someone's hard work or share it with everyone on the planet because they feel that nobody should have to pay for digital scrapbooking supplies. I don't care if it's something that I gave away for free, or if it's something that I'm selling- if you have it, and it has my name on it, and I see you out there trying to pass it off as your own (and I'm not talking about posting a layout made using a kit and forgetting to credit me- I'm talking selling it or giving it away as your own), I will find out and I will press charges, if it comes to that.

Number two: This is just bad manners. I'd be perfectly happy, as co-leader for a design team, to help a customer who downloaded a kit for a crop, but ended up missing it (for whatever reason) get in touch with the person who designed the kit for the crop. The only person who can decide whether or not to give out a password after a crop is over is the person that designed that kit. Email them and ask- don't stick your head into a crop and ask 'Does anyone have the password from Monday's crop? My daughter was sick, and I missed it...' Take it to the designer and keep it private! If the designer say that they can't help you, then either buy the kit or realize that sometimes, we miss out on the good things in life (like it kills me that there isn't a Baskin Robbins within 40 miles of here and I can't enjoy free scoop day- but when I'm near one, I do not walk in and say 'I live 40 miles away, and couldn't make it to free scoop day- can I get one? They'd probably laugh me out of the store!). So- if something comes up and you miss a crop, ask the designer for the password, NOT other scrappers. Especially do not ask them in front of another designer- it just makes you look greedy (and if I see it, I will not give out a password to you because of this).

Number three: We're all adults here. This is completely about respect. Have a problem? Email me politely and I'll do what I can to fix it. Send me hate mail, and I won't even bother to answer. My rule of thumb: if it's something that I can't read to my grandmother, then I don't send it to a customer. Customers should think the same- if you can't repeat it in front of your grandmother, then don't send it to me. By all means, complain. I can't improve if you don't tell me what I'm doing wrong. But keep it polite, please. If I feel that you aren't respecting me, then I don't think that you are worth my time, and I most definitely don't want your money.

We all want the freebies to continue- they are one of the greatest things about digital scrapbooking. But if customers don't respect the designers, then the designers aren't going to want to create freebies- or anything, really- anymore. Most of us don't make enough to make the rudeness, the greedy behavior, the complaints, and the disrespect worth it. I can handle just about anything- but even I have my limits.

So- designers: respect your customers. Customers: respect your designers.

Freebies: A Rant

First- you have to read this entry in Holly McCaig's blog, Chicky Talk. Interesting rant. When you are done with that- check out this thread at 2Peas. Both places make some interesting points.

I have no problem with freebies, or the people who choose to give them away. I've been following this hobby for over two years. I feel like I'm still somewhat new to it, but then comments like this one:

Was someone under the impression that this is a "freebie" hobby? Were they thinking that the only thing they had to invest in was a computer and a decent graphics program? I hate to be the one to disappoint, but every hobby has a price tag and this one is no different. Just like a paper scrapper wouldn't dream of walking into the LSS and asking for a stack of free paper and embellishments just because she wanted to "try them out", digital scrapper shouldn't anticipate doing the digital equivalent.

When I first started, everything was so totally different. Those who were digital scrapbookers either made their own papers and elements, or they downloaded web graphics. Questions in mailing lists covered 'How Tos'- how to make a button, how to make an eyelet, how to tear paper. When someone asked 'Why digital?', multiple people would respond with 'Because it's free.' Yeah- two years ago, it was, for the most part 'free' (we won't get into the cost of a good graphics program, printers, scanners, digital cameras, printers, inks, and- in some cases- fonts). Imagine how many paper scrapbookers that are now at least partially digital scrapbookers have read those threads. It should come as no surprise that they are expecting free stuff- afterall, it's what we've been telling people since digital went mainstream.

Digital scrapbookers have, for the most part, greeted the changes in the business with open arms. There's always going to be someone who complains about the cost, or the fact that they have to jump through hoops in order to access a freebie or whatever. Most digital scrapbookers are used to the speed at which things changes around here. Again- not talking trends, but the business aspect. With paper scrapbooking, businesses changes aren't as apparent. Paper scrapbookers pick the paper, pay for it, take it home and use it (or wait for it to arrive in the mail before they use it if they ordered it online). The part of the business that the customer sees hasn't changed that much. But, with digital, we've gone from not being able to find digital scrapbooking products, to CDs that are shipped to your door, to individual designer sites that sell downloadables, to consignment sites with multiple designers selling downloadables and CDs. Most of those changes have taken place in the last year. A year. That's not a long time, when you think about it.

I think that in order to change how the customer views freebies, we, as designers, need to change how we handle them. Our actions, past and present, have created this 'monster'. At this moment in time, we can't expect our sales to increase because we offered a freebie, with no strings attached. Why not let those freebies be thank you gifts- nothing asked in return, just a 'thanks for stopping by'. If you want sales from your freebies, offer them as a 'gift with purchase'.

Ah, nuts. I'm probably not making much sense right now. I've been working on this for forty five minutes now, and feel like I'm just rambling on and on into incoherency (is that even a word?).

What You See Isn't Always What You Get

Breakaway

I did it! Yay! I love how it turned out. The kit is awesome (for the most part- read on), the brushes that I made (used around the edge of the photo) turned out awesome, and even though it took me almost all day to complete the layout (ahem), I'm really happy that it's not only done, but looks great.

Now- for the kit. It is the first kit that I've ever purchased that disappointed me (in a teeny tiny way). It has to do with the product description- I would have liked to have known that it was 8x8, instead of 12x12. I still would have purchased the kit, but I can imagine that there are some people who would be disappointed in finding that a kit that they purchased wasn't the size that they thought it to be. While I would still have purchased the kit at this size (hey, it's on sale! Only $3!), there are probably some who would move on and buy something else.

Truth in advertising- I want to know exactly what I'm buying. Unlike paper scrapbooking, I can't browse through a gallery and know that a paper is 12x12 because I see it as the background of a 12x12 layout. It's too easy to resize digital papers to fit any size, and unless the person who created the layout told you what size the layout was, you won't know if that square layout is 12x12, 8x8, or 6x6. I think that it is in the digital designer's best interest to give all of the information up front- be honest, let your customers know exactly what they are getting. Otherwise- you might find yourself losing customers because they can't trust that what they see is what they get.

Blocked

Yesterday, while driving my son to the hospital for some lab tests, I caught the song Breakaway on the radio. I love this song- it's so beautiful.

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly
I'll do what it takes til' I touch the sky
I'll make a wish Take a chance Make a change
And breakaway
Out of the darkness and into the sun
But I won't forget all the ones that I loved
I'll take a risk
Take a chance Make a change
And breakaway
~Breakaway, Kelly Clarkson

The other day, I took these awesome pictures of my son.

Evan, walking away from me

I love how they look when they are together- like he's walking away from me (which is was doing). After I took them, before I uploaded them to my computer, I was thinking something along the lines of the first step being the first step away from Mommy. Ok, yeah, it was fine and would have worked- but it was extremely cliche, and I'm trying to avoid that (most of the time). Besides, I've already done a layout about his first steps, and these aren't them.

So, yesterday, I catch this song. It's not really my type of music (Kelly Clarkson doesn't really fit in with CKY, Lacuna Coil, or HIM), but I really like the song. Specifically- the chorus. As soon as I heard it- I knew. That's what I want to use on this layout.

The problem? It's just not flowing. I've tried to work on this layout three times. I have the kit that I want to use (Holly McCaig's Grandparent kit), but it's just not working. I may have to go and buy a new kit. I'd make one, but my creative block doesn't end with just layouts- I have one page kit that I've been working on for over a month. A month. I love the papers that I made- muted greens and browns, perfectly for those muddy days in April- but I just can't get it perfect. *Sigh* But this isn't about making kits- it's about designing a layout.

Everyone gets blocked from time to time. I need to do something to break my block- I'm thinking that I might try to make some brushes today (I got some neat pictures while at my grandfather's yesterday, but I haven't looked at them yet), and then see what I can do that isn't scrapbooking related. I'm loving all these wallpaper patterns that are coming out now- the swirls and curliques in bold colors. There's a kit featured in DigitalScrapbooking.com's premier issue (if you haven't bought this yet- DO IT. It's awesome, and April's customer service is perfect- I had a complaint about not receiving the issue, and she promptly sent my the copy that I ordered and a free PDF version to hold my over until it arrived) that is just to die for. The kit is the Viva Valentino collection, shown on page 37. I'm drooling over it.

But- back to being blocked. It sucks- big time. I want to complete this layout, I want to complete the Mud Pies kit, but I just can't seem to concentrate that much on it. Maybe tonight...

Show Them Off!

Mother's Day is creeping up on us. I love my mother, my mother in law, and my grandmother to pieces, but I'm tired of the traditional card and flowers gifts. Yuck. This year, I'm going for something a little different- personalized brag books.



Brag book for Meemaw

This book was really simple to make. I used a 6x6 gatefold ringbound album from K&Co's Life's Journey collection (one of the plain ones- not one of the predecorated ones). Then, I removed the cover, and covered it with paper from Basic Grey's Dawson Collection. I added a tag from that collection, using black and white polka dotted ribbon from Walmart for the tie. I then used the letter stickers from the Dawson Collection to add a title to the album, a year, and the initials of my three boys. Once the cover was back on, I went and choose a series of layouts for this album (I removed three pages from the album so that I have a total of 26 pages before putting the cover back on). I chose 26 of my most recent layouts for this project, printed them out at 6x6, and placed them in the book. Then I wrote some basic information about the layout on the back of the page.

Digital scrapbooking makes completing beautiful handmade albums so easy and simple... without it looking easy and simple. You don't have to decorate your album- there are many predecorated albums that are absolutely gorgeous out there. Just print out some of your favorite layouts, place in the album, and voila! A beautiful handmade gift for those special women in your life.

Brag books come in all shapes and sizes- one of my favorites was recently shared on a mailing list. A member shared images of her tag books- small, laminated digital layouts attached to a lanyard. She made them for her daughters, but they would make great portable brag books for grandmothers.

So- I challenge you to go out and create a brag book for one of the mothers in your life.

The Ever Changing Digital World

I went to a funeral this week. My father and sister had gone to the wake the night before, and were telling me that one of my cousins had gotten into scrapbooking. I was excited about it- i figured that we'd talk about it.

She did bring it up, and when I told her that I was a digital scrapbooker, she said that she wasn't good with a computer (no funny looks or snide comments about it). But, what I wanted to talk about was a comment that was made- she said that all the supplies were so expensive, and she implied that digital scrapbooking was cheaper.

I didn't have the heart to tell her that my set up probably cost more than her set up. I spent $600 on my program of choice alone (Photoshop CS, for those who don't know me). Her comment got me thinking about the cost of digital scrapbooking.

When I first started with digital, there weren't any consignment shops. The cost of digital scrapbooking lay mainly in the start up- a good program, printer, scanner, camera, computer, pen and tablet... Most digital scrapbookers wanted to create their own elements and backgrounds, and most did. Many of those who did create their own elements would then turn around and offer them as freebies to other digital scrapbookers.

This, in effect, limited digital scrapbooking to those who were really interested in learning how to create their own elements. Sure, there were still those who had no interest in making their own who chose this form of the hobby, but many just had no interest in learning how to create their own elements.

Now- there are little digital boutiques all over the internet. Join a group like Promos4DigiScrappers and you'll see just how many there are out there. What this means, aside from the fact that the hobby is getting more expensive, is that anyone can start. Anyone. You don't need to know how to make your own anymore- there are certainly fewer 'how to make elements' threads on digital sites now. I've even run across digi scrappers who have never made an element (and these are very talented people with a good eye for design).

The hobby is becoming even more user friendly than what it once was. What I love the most about it is that you don't have to read a magazine to get tips from the 'pros'- Rhonna Farrer posts at 2peas, the designers are Digital Scrapbook Place are very helpful (and friendly), or you can ask your question in P4D's forums and get an answer for numerous designers at once.

Can I share a site that I found recently? I love One Digital Scrapper. Most of her blog entries are reviews of page kits- which is great (and no, she hasn't reviewed any of my kits). What I like about it is that it's not a designer's blog, it's a customer's blog. She reviews the kits, gives her honest opinions, while writing about other things (recent posts include links to blogs, a new ezine, and even a post about her son).

While I'm on the subject of blogs- I have no intent to use this as a way to sell my kits. It's just nice to have someplace where I can go to talk about all the designer stuff that is on my mind. Sometimes, I can share my thoughts on a message board, but the way that my mind works, I tend to go off on tangents and stuff. Besides, it's fun.

R*E*S*P*E*C*T

I want to thank Blog Frocks for my new look- while I can design a scrapbook layout, when it comes to designing websites and so on, I so totally suck at it (for proof of this- check out 4Ever Digital). So I'm relying on the talented people who posted blog skins and such to decorate my blog. So- thank you! I love it!

And on to today's rant. Because that's what it is- a rant. I came across a post on 2Peas where a customer offered some suggestions. She was upset that she had purchased a kit where the scanned/photographed elements weren't cleaned up as well as they could have (and should have) been. I came across the same post on another site.

The responses shocked me. On 2Peas, designers and customers alike agreed with her. 2Peas, where simple threads on what a SAHM wears around the house can turn ugly in a matter of moments. Pretty civil thread, I read her comments (didn't reply there) and took them to heart. Sure, I wondered if she had purchased one of my kits (don't we all?), but I also know that I do not offer scanned elements in my kits- no scanner, a little hard to do. On this other site, the responses were, well, insulting.

Designers: customers do not deal with us on a face to face basis. We do not have the luxury of meeting our customers in person, and many live hundreds of miles away from us. Customers get to know us, personally, through message boards. How we respond to a thread that complains about kit quality can have a major impact on whether or not customers will want to buy from us.

Think about it. If I'm reading a thread where a customer says 'Designers, please take pride in your work, please double check all elements, yadda yadda yadda', I would much rather, as a customer, read 'Great suggestions! Have you emailed the designer? Most designers would be more than willing to help resolve any issues if you do email them. Thanks for posting' instead of 'Have you emailed the designer? Because posting this in a public forum is harsh/insulting/inflammatory/humiliating and nobody wants that.' I really, truly do not see the point in humiliating a customer for posting not only a complaint, but a suggestion on what can be done to fix the problem so that it doesn't happen again. Because that is what they did.

Truthfully, when I read those posts, I was turned off by the designers that did say that posting the complaint in a public forum was harsh/inflammatory/insulting/humiliating. I will not buy from that site, will not visit that site again. If this is how their designers treat a customer in a public forum, I'd rather not associate myself with them. I treat all of my customers with respect- whether or not they have a complaint.

The reason that this bothers me is that I think that designers need to be able to handle criticism well. We all want to improve our designs- we want our customer to be happy. I just don't see how humiliating a customer in public (because, let's face it, if I had posted that comment, and people said those things to me, I'd be humiliated for even bothering to post my opinions- and that's not how it should be). Some people can't handle criticism well (and I'll be honest- I'm not the best at it. See my post about using flowers on boy layouts).

Once we start to design elements, we stop being totally free on message boards (at least on scrapbooking message boards). We do need to think through our posts, because everything that we post will be seen by potential customers (especially if we use the same screen name on every board). Respect your customers- no matter how they choose to post their complaints, compliments, and suggestions.

The Hardest Layout

The Hardest Layout

There isn't too much that I can say about this- I just wanted to share it. Emma and Ethan are twin angel babies- Ethan passed a few months ago and Emma passed away this week. No parent should have to live with the death of their child. I cried while I was creating this layout and I can only hope that when their mother sees it, she'll understand that even if I said the wrong thing, I said it in the right context.

I chose that particular song, 'My Heart Will Go On' by Celine Dion, because of something that happened years ago. When my great grandmother died, I was in college. After I received the phone call, I packed my bags, and went to tell my boss at work that I wouldn't be in that week. Because I had to go to Walmart before leaving town, I chose to drive over there. When I got in the car, this song was playing. I changed the station. It was playing on that station. I changed it again- and again, that song was playing. After talking to my boss, I went to Walmart. Every station was playing that song. Every. Single. One. Yes, it was a popular song at the time- but someone wanted me to hear it. Someone wanted me to listen to it. I like to think that it was my great grandmother who wanted me to hear it. I plan on writing a letter to Emma and Ethan's mommy, something to tuck behind my layout in her book, explaining why I chose that song. I hope she understands.

Thank you to Michelle Underwood for creating the page kit that I used here. Her Shades of Sweetness kit is available at Scrapbook-Elements.