INSPIRATION | FORCED INSPIRATION!

 

So it’s my turn to write the Inspiration Blog post and there is nothing there! Absolutely Nothing! Zero! Sigh...

Normally I have a vague idea of something that I have loved that month and will happily make a post about it but this month a complete blank!

What to do (besides panic)?

We have all been there and normally a break away from our scrapping gives us some breathing space and by the time we get back to it, the ideas are flowing but time is a factor so again – what to do?
Time to force inspiration – similar to the thought that writers just need to get something down on paper, I just needed a kickstart!

Firstly, check out the Gallery at The Lilypad to see if there are any new trends that are emerging – ok, all the wonderful pages that I loved have used techniques or styles that we have already written about – maybe a something about paint – hmmm, not bad but which way to go from there?

On to Pinterest next – what are paper scrappers doing? Lots of flowers, antique tones, also doodling and freehand drawing is making a comeback – Ok, Paint and doodles – slowly getting there!

Finally hit the jackpot – Googled Designs Trends and came across a wonderful post from PicMonkey
Top 10 Graphic Designs Trends for 2020 – so many wonderful ideas. I highly recommend checking out this quick read!

https://www.picmonkey.com/blog/top-10-graphic-design-trends-for-2020

The image that totally caught my eye was this one - 

How cool is the torn paper insert across her face? And the gradient background - so gorgeous and easy to incorporate into a page - even if it is in a small way like my paint brush stroke.

This idea can be used a number of different ways (i'm thinking landscape backgrounds with group photos inserts, school portrait with class photo or fun selfie inserts, pet photo with owner insert - they totally think that way anyway!). I used the idea as an piece torn from an art book for my photoless page.

Of course it was in their Ripped from a Scrapbook category – so now to combine this image with paints and doodling – and the following page came together –  so pleased with the end result – forced inspiration can sometimes work!  

So if an idea drought has hit you, sometimes diving into the internet can actually be a good thing  - just avoid Facebook and Youtube if you need to get some serious work down - they are two rabbit holes you don't need to venture down - trust me on this!

AUGUST BYOC | EXHALE

It's that time of the month again....a new BYOC launched at TLP!

We have all been going through a lot these panst months. Hopefully we can get back to some sort of normalcy in the not so far away future when they have created a vaccine.
In the meantime, let's focus on the happy moments for a bit and rejoice in what we have. That is one thing that I am happy about with the quarantine, that everyone has been spending a lot of quality time with their loved ones. With all that has happened, isn't it nice to take a deep breath and reflect on the happier moments in life. That is what I had in mind when I created my contribution to the August BYOC called EXHALE.

The new packs are ALL 20% off through August 9th and of course there's special offers for newsletter subscribers!!! Not a subscriber yet? Click HERE to join the gang!
Now let's check out new stuff!

EXHALE | ELEMENTS

A great set of 69 unique elements [106 in total !!!!!!!] in all kind of shapes, sizes, textures and styles. The perfect set for putting your thoughts to paper, reflecting on (everyday) life, giving yourself a pat on the back and to celebrate those special rainbow moments.

EXHALE | PAPERS

A great set of 10 beautiful, subtly textured patterned papers, 10 alternate color combinations PLUS 10 gorgeously textured matching solids. Which makes this a pack of 30 papers in total.

EXHALE | ALPHA

This fun and quirky alpha includes upper case, numbers and some punctuation [ ! ? & * - { } . , " " $ ]. All seperate .png's, 48 characters per color, 10 colors in total. Perfect for some fun mixing and matching titles or eyecatching monograms.

EXHALE | TEMPLATES

Rejoice in the little things, give in to whatever tugs at your heart...and off you go!
Let these 4 amazing 12 x 12 templates help you tell your stories in an eye catching way.

And with that I am wishing you a wonderful weekend and Happy Scrappin'!

TUTORIAL | STYLES & TEXTURES IN AFFINITY

While I am completely enjoying scrapping on my iPad while sprawled out on the couch using Affinity Photo, I do miss me some Photoshop styles. One click, fun effects achieved. Affinity Photo does have the Fx Studio but on first look it is a little limited in comparison to PS. Perhaps some digital product designers will jump on board at some point and we’ll see style options for purchase.

Today, we’ll explore a few simple effects and learn how to save our own styles. We’ll also discuss how to add textures as a way of creating our own “styles”.

I’m going to demonstrate using a simple shape and a font because these seem to be the most common used with styles. Mirjam usually includes gorgeous matching alphas with her collections but not everyone does. So we’ll be able to make our own.

One easy Fx that can be customized and saved is a sticker, adding a small border around something. This is accomplished using the Outline option. The outside edges (the sticker part) are customizable and can be a solid color or even a gradient, which can resemble metal.

Another Fx is a Color Overlay. You could use this to create a solid color matching alpha or title work to go with a kit. To do this I would pull in either a solid paper I wanted to match or a paper with most of the colors in the kit and use the eye dropper tool in the Color Studio. To use it, you click and drag it. You’ll see almost a magnifying glass so you’ll know it’s picking the right color. You can also use the color wheel to select a color.

Another option is a Gradient Overlay where you can have varied color effects using colors you choose.

So you could create a custom color or gradient overlay to match a paper, give it a 3D effect to round the edges, add a drop shadow (outer shadow) and save the effect to use again.

To save your own Fx, you click on Styles at the bottom and then click the three line box on the pop up screen. You select Add Style from Selection. This is also the spot where you can group styles into categories. The default naming structure is numbered but you can rename them. It also saves styles into the active collection or category so if that is not what you want change it first.

Then to test it, I apply my new style to a font. Voila! It worked.

But I’m still missing my PS styles... so I start researching. I could add textures to my elements to mimic styles, even though it’s a multi step process. But where to find them? Affinity Photo has you covered in the Stock Studio with easy access to Pixabay and Unsplash (subject to their terms of use, of course).

I was able to search and access multiple cork, fabric, wood and chipboard textures. You just click and drag them onto your canvas and clip them to your shape or alpha. You can add just the texture to a kit’s word art by adjusting blend modes. And adjust the color of the effect using the Adjustment Studio if you'd like.

One tip: Trial and error shows me that color overlay and gradient overlay overrule other choices, so if you make a change and don’t see anything, toggle off the overlay just to check. Like here, I added a texture but why isn’t it showing? Turn off the gradient overlay and it’s there.

So what style will you create first?

_________________
Stacia

PRETTY PAGES by KAREN

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are continuing to stay well during these most difficult of times!

It was such an eye opener going through this month’s gallery! It was so hard to choose 3 of the best but in the end I cam down on the following wonderful pages!

Firstly we have a page I fell in love with – so bright and happy! @astrofairy’s page – Ce-bel-ete, she has used Wildflowers from July’s BYOC to such a wonderful, dreamy effect! What a cute Grandson!

Next we have Magnolias by @Bebimora. I choose this one to highlight the wonderful title work. She has combined several alphas to such good effect – this effect replicating the slightly out of focus magnolia towards the bottom of the photo – it balances and frames the page perfectly! Love it!

Lastly a nice clean page from @caapmun. The triple framed photo is a little piece of perfection that doesn’t need big bold elements around it – it would be lost in a busier page. The colours of the Blue Skies kit absolutely compliment the photo! Flower Power indeed!

That’s it for this month – don’t forget to enter this month’s recipe challenge, we have some beautiful pages already, thank you! Stay safe and hopefully next moth will be a happy one!

SAN's FAV FONTS | TYPEWRITER

Probably not everyone has had one but I remember very well using this object for my reports when I was in school and for making the labels on my cassette tapes look neat: the typewriter.

Now we use the computer or laptop for reports and letters and you will not be bothered if you make a mistake, you can remove your typo with a click of a mouse. When using a typewrite however it's a whole other story! I had to use special white ink, tipp-ex or a correction roller for example. It's also not a big problem if a glass of water falls over your typed work. You now have the advantage of just printing it out again …..10 times if you want instead of having to type the whole thing out again and having using a copier in the library if you want more than one copy.

 

My kids said after seeing the typewriter "gosh that's a really crazy laptop" they don't know it, obviously. Still, I always like the shape of the letters and numbers very much, it is a timeless font, right? While the typewriter is now no longer used for reports many scrappers still love to use it for their journaling on their layouts and cards.

 Here some nice examples of free typewriter fonts:

1. traveling typewriter, 2. telegraphem, 3. stampwriter-kit, 4. modern typewriter, 5. skinny type, 6. old typewriter, 7. oceandside typewriter, 8. harting, 9. hand typewriter, 10. dubble trubble

Do you have a typewriter in your home or have you ever used one? And what is your favorite typewriter font?

Do you have a typewriter in your home or did you used one?