Simply Scored Rosette Tutorial

Hi Everyone!

The orders for Simply Scored tools are coming in!! Keep them coming!!! EVERYONE who orders one through my online store through tomorrow will get a FREE pack of Simply Scored Markers, and for every 10 ordered there will be a drawing for a beautiful fabric bag!

Today I wanted to share you a card along with a tutorial that will show off just one of the MANY things you can make with Simply Scored — Paper Rosettes!

First, here's the card:

It was inspired from this SWAP that I received at Founder's Circle:

And if you want yet ANOTHER idea with this template, stay on the lookout for October's Stamp Set of the Month! It's one of the bonus designs!

So now for how to make it!! You're going to use your brand spankin' new Simply Scored to score at every 1/4" of an inch. I used the SMALL tip of the stylus since the lines are fairly close together.

The strips of paper you work with can really be any size. I'm demo-ing on a 1 3/4" x 12" piece, the Christmas Card shown above was a 1 1/2" x 12" piece and the Halloween Card shown above was a 1" x 12" piece.

When you're done scoring, you'll use the score lines to create an accordian fold:

And allllllll the way down until you have this:

When you let go, you'll have this:

You'll put sticky strip on one end:

And stick the ends together, it will almost look like a bracelet (or a lampshade!)

All you have to do is push it flat, and it will pop into place like this:

To attach it to your card, I've found that hot glue works best. Here's a side view of the Christmas Card so you can see how it looks attached:

View yesterday's post HERE to learn how you can get your FREE Simply Scored Markers and to be entered to win this exclusive Simply Scored carrying bag:

 

  CLICK HERE to order your Simply Scored Tool Today!

Colors to Create Moods

Have you checked out my Color Experimentation Station I talked about in this post? I'm ALL ABOUT color these days – I'm just LOVING playing around with it and trying new things after the fantastic renovation.

Color is all around us in life, and truth be told the colors we're surrounded with really contribute to our moods! You should live your daily lives in warm colors (reds, oranges and yellows) and sleep in cool colors (greens, blues and purples). When we repainted our home – we did just that! Red Living Room, Yellow Dining Room and Terra Cotta Kitchen! Upstairs our bedroom is blue and the guest bedroom is green. When I'm "living" downstairs I feel energized and awake, and when I'm winding down upstairs I feel calm and relaxed looking at the colors I'm surrounded with.

I was fascinated with color as a very little girl… I remember helping my mom match her fabric to thread colors at the fabric store (she was an avid sewer at the time) and at just 6 years old I announced to the children's pageant director at our church that "I don't do pastels" when it came time for wardrobe… I have vivid memories of my strong dislike for pastels at that age… they made me feel like I needed to be quiet and subdued like they were… and being the HIGHLY energetic girl that I was, I wanted bright and bold! Those colors made me feel more empowered to speak my mind (God Bless those around me!).

Because color has been such a huge part of my life from the very beginning, it's no wonder that I fell in love with Stampin' Up! for their extraordinary color palate, and I'm just thrilled that it has received a trendy new "update", allowing me to get back to my creative roots without the "color clutter" as I like to call the colors that collected dust prior to their retirement!

So here are some Color Combinations I've put together using the Color Experience section of my website and how they can dictate the "mood" of a card:

Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise and Chocolate Chip: These colors are fun, bright and summery! They are over all solid "Feel Good" colors that just make you happy. Use a color combination like this for Birthday, Thank You, Hello or Summer Party Invitations.

Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Certainly Celery, Early Espresso and Sahara Sand: These colors are soft and subdued – the opposite of the combination above! Use a color combination like this when you want to create a mood of calming such as Baby Shower, Wedding, Sympathy or Get Well.

Baja Breeze, Basic Black, Whisper White and Crumb Cake: This color combination says classic, professional, crisp, fresh and maybe even industrial. I see these colors and I think of excellence with it's clean, sharp look. I would use this combination for the following types of cards: Business, Congratulations, Graduation, Retirement, Milestones and Masculine.

Now it's your turn to play with color and drop your color choices into this template to see what you can create! CLICK HERE to get started on your color journey! And once you've played – leave me a comment with YOUR favorite color combination!!!

TO ORDER STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS ONLINE 24/7 CLICK HERE!

How to Take Good Photos!

May is National Scrapbooking Month! And to celebrate, I wanted to share with you a tip on one of the things I think prevents people from scrapbooking – not having good enough photos to scrapbook!

Scrapbooking is all about preserving and cherishing our memories. And there is nothing more frustrating then going to organize your memories only to not have good photos of those special moments.

I found a great article on WikiHow on taking better photographs, and one of the tips they mentioned is something that I've found to be so true when taking photographs for my blog – make sure you set the white balance. When you take a photo, the white in your photo is your best litmus for the rest of the colors in your photo being true to color. If your white looks grey, then there isn't enough light in your photo.

The best way to keep the white balance in your photos is by taking your photos in direct sunlight whenever possible. When I'm taking photos indoors, I put my object under an Ott Light which has natural light technology in the bulbs. But even then, it's not guaranteed so I always check my white balance in Adobe Photoshop as part of my photo editing process.

Here's a great example of what I'm taking about… I took this photo of my son, Landon, about 6 months ago. He was playing in the bathtub, being a goof ball, and I wanted to capture the moment! Obviously, he was in the bathtub playing so I couldn't move him outside into natural lighting and I wasn't about to go down and grab my Ott Lite to shine on him. So this is what I was stuck with:

Our tub is white in this photo, so that is my litmus for whether the photo is true to color or not. Since the tub looks yellow, we can conclude that the White Balance is most certainly off in this photo. But I have the photos that I have, and I want to scrapbook them! So how can I make this photo usable? I'm going to edit in Adobe Photoshop by going to "Enhance" and then select "Auto Color Correction" as shown here:

After I select that… here's the photo I have!

See how the tub is now white? My White Balance has been restored, and I know I have a fabulous, perfect for scrapbooking photo!

Now that you know how to take good photos, I encourage you to come to one of my Scrapbooking Classes so that you can learn how to put the photos you take into spectacular keepsakes. Click Here for more information!

Speaking of Scrapbooking… Stampin' Up! just announced MORE Add On Images for My Digital Studio!!!! Here they are:

There have been a LOT of new Digital Download releases this month in celebration of National Scrapbooking Month, and it's gotten a little confusing for some! So I've done a big update on my Digital Download Master List – view it here.

If you don't have My Digital Studio yet, be sure to check it out!! It is a FABULOUS Digital Papercrafting Program (not just for scrapbook pages, you can do cards and Multi Media projects, too!). Click Here for more information on MDS.

Order My Digital Studio by May 31st and get a FREE pack of Designer Brads!!

TO ORDER STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS ONLINE 24/7 CLICK HERE!

Don't Forget!

• To check out the NEW Aly Stamps Boutique! Click Here to View!
  
• To register for the June Scrapbooking Class, "It's a Journey"!! Click Here for more details!!
  
• To register for the June Card Making Class, "Cards for Him"!! Click Here for more details!!
  
• To order from the Clearance Rack Today!!! Click Here to get started!!
  
• To join the Stampin' Up! Family and receive two FREE Technique DVDs! Click Here for more details! Contact Me to get started today!
  
• To order your favorite Retiring Stampin' Up! Colors before they are gone forever! Click Here for more details!
  
• To place a qualifying order to receive FREE Designer Brads! Click Here for more details!