Want to make your photos go from drab to fab?

Then check out my article here.  It gives you step by step instructions on how to edit the colors of your photos to give them some eye catching pop.

More samples.

And the editors of Memory Makers Books have a two part Q&A posted here and here about me and my book if you are interested in reading silly and strange things about me. :)  You can also ask questions here on the messageboard.

Remember to enter to win a copy of Cut Loose here.  They are posting a winner Monday July 7th.

The other day my pregnant sister came over for a visit.  Partly to catch up and hang out and partly so I could take some photos of her growing belly.  I have to admit I was sort of nervous about the photo bit. 

Since I have been designated the family photographer (mainly 'cause I am always at family events with camera in hand) I get the chance to take photos like this.  But I had never done belly photos before.  I know, if you can take a decent photo then you can take a decent photo of anything right?  Well not so much for me.  You see, I am not a photographer.  I am a scrapbooker.  A scrapbooker who for the sake of her pages has practiced taking photos and has improved.  I learned how to take photos in certain scenarios and what type of framing I like for taking photos of my kidlets.  I am happy with my picture taking ability but I have no delusions about being a photographer.

So enter a request for some belly photos.  I was so excited to be asked and then I thought what type of poses work, what type of framing, what would make my sister feel beautiful (she already is but I want her to feel it), what, what, what?

So I asked for advice on a few scrapbooking message boards and someone directed me to Flickr and told me to search Maternity.  Whamo!  Tons of inspiration!  I looked at all those beautiful bellies (I will admit to briefly longing to be prego but then I woke up!) and all the amazing photos and was slightly intimidated.  Again, I am not a photographer.  I am a scrapbooker with a pregnant sister.  But then I decided to narrow it down to a few favorites and study them.  I looked at the poses.  I looked at the framing.  I looked at all the details.  I looked and looked until I felt I understood what I liked about them. 

So when my sister showed up I felt more comfortable.  Well kind of.  I mean, it was my sister so I knew she would sit for me until I felt I got it right but I wanted everything to turn out OK 'cause these photos would be irreplacible in the future.  Talk about pressuring myself.  My sister - she was totally chill.  I bet she had no idea how nervous I was.  She is in her happy baby growing bubble. :)

So we took about 15 minutes and I took a ton of photos.  At first we were both a bit awkward but she relaxed and I relaxed and things got better.  And then we were done.  I was anxious so I uploaded them to the computer right away so I could see.  There were some not so great ones but there were a few treasures too.  I think that when we see great photos we often don't realize how many "just OK" photos were taken at the same time.  I mean obviously if you are a professional you might take less photos but even the pros take a bunch of shots knowing that there will be one that stands out from the rest.

Take for instance this photo.

I love, love, love it.  It was exactly what I had in mind.  But what you don't see is the 5 or 6 other photos I took that didn't turn out quite as well.

The one on the left is the one I love and then you can see the one on the right isn't quite as good.  Just subtle changes as I moved my camera slightly but they really effected the final photo.  This is what I mean when I say take a bunch of photos (especially if you have a digital camera) 'cause there just might be one that you love more than the others.

The same applies to these next photos.  Took a bunch of each pose but ended up with a particular one from each that I loved.  Of course there were some poses that didn't turn out at all.

So first thing first.  Happy Canada Day!  :)  Today is Canada's birthday - she's 141 years old.  She looks pretty good for her age - no wrinkles, no grey hair.

This means a day with family and friends, cheezy parades and BBQs.  Looks like it is going to be a great day. :)

Second - did you know that Memory Makers was giving away a copy of my book, Cut Loose, this week????  Oh ya!  There is chance to win a copy here - all you need to do is leave an answer to their question in the comments.  Pretty easy!  Go.  Enter.  Win.  Good luck everyone :)

So last night I wanted to scrap.  I actually felt like I was counting down the minutes until the kidlets went to bed.  You know the feeling.  I mean, I love them but sometimes I want a little me time.  Then they went to bed and I walked into my dining room/scrap space and....it was a mess.  I mean a I don't want to take a photo and show you cause I am too embarassed kinda mess.  It just sort of happened over the last week.  I would try to squeeze in some scrapping and I started stacking things to the side and whamo - total disaster!

But I was tired and to be honest I didn't want to tidy it up. (*insert foot stomp here, lol) So I decided to abandon my plan and cozy up on the couch while my hubby played video games.  Well, that got boring fast.  So I grabbed the laptop and decided to digi scrap.  That is the beauty of digital - when you already have one giant scrappy mess you can digi scrap cause it makes no mess!

So here is what I made. 

(a lot of the embellishments for this page are from this free kit - paper is from here)

One of the things I like about digi scrapbooking (beside the lack of mess) is I can use digital papers in ways that I wouldn't with physical paper.  For example, see the above paper background?  I would never cut and layer it that way 'cause I would need probably 2-3 sheets to create that look.  I am much too thrifty to do that.  BUT with digital I can "cut" my papers and not "waste" a thing.  Not sure what I mean - see the paper below.  That is what it looked like originally.  I cut sections from it, overlapping my cuts and then overlapped the pieces on my page.

And then I thought I was going to bed so that was going to be it but my hubby decided that he needed to finish just one more level so I made a really quick page in response to this challenge. 

I am an adventurer. Not always in real life but definitely in my heart. :)

(paper from here - I so love this paper - and embellishments from here)

Now I am off to have a fun Canada Day and maybe tackle the mess in my scrappy room. :)  Have a great one everyone out there.

Yup.  The humble glue stick.  The adhesive we start with and quickly leave behind as we get more "experience".  Well, it is time to revisit this great adhesive.

There are two reasons I love it for covering chipboard surfaces.  One - it is cheap & holds well - got to love that!.  Two - really important -I can get really good edge to edge coverage. This is what I really love about it.  I can just rub away not worrying about using too much cause it is expensive and I can get every little bit of the surface covered in adhesive.  With mini albums that are to be handled without protective covers it is important to make sure all the edges are secure so they don't start to lift and eventually tear. 

I always apply it directly to the chipboard cause it is stiff & sturdy and I don't have to worry about accidently bending or tearing my paper.  (have fun!!  LOL)

So slap that paper down and rub with your fingers (or a brayer if you have one - I don't) to make sure the paper gets adhered everywhere.  Now you may find this has happened...

Remember how I said don't worry about being super precise when cutting?  Well, unless you spend forever  cutting (and who wants to do that????  LOL) you will get some "wobbles".  It's ok.  This is why sand paper was invented! (and ink too)  It is the miracle tool for hiding wobbles!

You can use a regular piece of sand paper, a sanding block (found at the hardware store), a nail file (check out the dollar store) or if you really want luxury (at a decent price, lol) go for the Basic Grey Precision file set.  Love, love, love this tool.  BUT of course my set is in the same box as my Finger Tip Craft knife (see above!) so of course a new plan was needed.  If I had my file set I would use it to get in an around all the edges of the shape as well as all the little binding holes (this is what makes this tool so great - you can get into small, tight places). 

You want to sand the edges to remove any paper that overhangs as well as tidy up any uneven "wobbles".

No special tecnique involved - just sand the edges!  You will get a white edge as the printed part is sanded off.  You can leave this as is or if you want to disquise your "wobbles" even more you can ink or paint the edges.  This will hid everything!

But I don't have my BG tool and I am feeling a bit lazy so I grab this...

Yup - found this in my hubby's tools.  Attached the sanding bit and went to town (have used it for this before so I knew it works).  Talk about getting the job done quickly!  Just a tip - use the LO setting so you have better control.  The downside?  You can't get into tight places like the "V" of the flower petals or the small binding holes.  So in about 2 minutes I had all the major areas sanded and then I had to stop scrapping as life needed me :).  So today I need to figure out how I am going to sand the small holes and then get to decorating the cover.

Have a great day everyone. :)