Creative Memories Digital 411 Blog

WARNING: Overlay overload ahead. Yeehaw!

Everyone knows how to use an overlay. You know how it goes... you plunk it down on your project and it gives it a nice lovely pattern that generally spans across the page either in black or another obscure color that you've set it to be - but generally, it remains black. Overlays rock. They're fun, look awesome, and they're a very painless way to radically change up your project.

BUT... overlays are WAY more than just a nice little "stenciled addition" to a project. I bet most people aren't even aware of just how many sweet overlays we have tucked neatly into our digital embellishment kits... overlays that just need discovering. My two all-time favorites are Jewel Heritage Digital Overlays and Distressed Digital Overlays. They're both very versatile - I LOVE 'em!

I started playing today, and I found that if you layer a few overlays strategically on top of a solid or gradient pattern, you get fun things that turn out like this:

 

This one was a simple solid olive green background layered up with Jewel Heritage 4 Overlay, Distressed Digital Overlay 1, Jewel Heritage Overlay 3 and finally Jewel Heritage Overlay 2.  Oh, the tree was wanded out from an embellishment in the new Cheerful Halloween Digital Additions (available October 1).

 

This one was a gradient background - black in the upper right corner to medium grey in the lower left corner. I layered it with Jewel Heritage Overlay 2, then Distressed Digital Overlay 7, then added Jewel Heritage Overlay 4 and turned it light grey.

 

This jean background pattern is done exactly the same as the previous one, except the background is a gradient fill with royal blue on the top, black on the bottom. Stitches from Digital Embellishments - Sewing Room Stitches, rivet is from Distressed Digital Embellishments.

 

This started with a turquoise & black gradient - the gradient pattern starts in the upper right corner with turquoise, blends to black in the center, then lower left is turquoise. This can be done with a 2-color gradient. The first layer added was Winter Frost 2 Overlay, and that overlay was gradient filled with white in upper left corner to turquoise in lower right corner. Next layer was Winter Frost 3 Overlay turned white. Last layer was Jewel Heritage Overlay 2 turned white.

 

The first layer for this design was a solid, deep charcoal grey fill. Next was Distressed Digital Overlay 3 turned white. Next layer was Jewel Heritage 2 Overlay. Lastly I added Jewel Heritage Overlay 4.

 

Lastly is a variation of a background paper you've seen created by me before, but this one has additional layers to give it more grunginess (one can never have too much of that). First layer was charcoal grey solid fill. Next layer was Distressed Digital Overlay 3. Last layer was Discover Youth Overlay 5 with a light grey fill. Add a heavy shadow to the last layer to give it a little more depth.

Have fun playing with layering up overlays. You never know what you're going to end up with until you try it. :) 

Create your very own funky background papers!

Today I was playing around in StoryBook Creator Plus Software with the cutting tools and I ran across a super easy, fun way to make a fun background (see it over there on the right?). I have to say I think it's pretty cool.

Anyhow, I'm now going to teach you how to make one just like this, and then you can fill it with whatever paper your next project calls for. It just requires a few simple steps:

1. Create a new 12 x 12 project.
2. Add a full sheet of paper (make this paper be one of the several colors that you will be filling your triangles with later - I started with a lime green sheet here). You will need to make repeated cuts to this piece of paper to create several small triangle pieces to fill.
3. To get started, click on the full sheet of paper, then click on "Cut & Fill" tab, then choose the "Straight" cutting option and select the "Straight" pattern. The first cut I made was from upper left corner to lower right corner. (Hint: grab the green arrows next to the cutting line to rotate your cut line, then when you've got it near the corner it should snap to the small white boxes in the corners). Now, you will want to click "Cut around the shaded area". This will give you 2 separate pieces - both selected. DON'T UNSELECT EITHER PIECE.
4. To finish creating your small triangles, repeat this process over & over again - with the second step being cutting diagonally from upper right corner to lower left, the third step being cutting the papers vertically, then horizontally, etc. Continue until you have 16 triangles (you can create more if you like, I stopped at 16). (Hint: never grab the cut line at the yellow crossarrows in the center - always adjust them by clicking & rotating on the green arrow icons).
5. When you are finished cutting, fill each separate triangle with a different color. I chose Reminisce Digital Power Palette papers.
6. After all triangles have been filled, hold down the "Control" key, press the letter "A" (this will select all pieces at once), then right click and select "Flatten".
7. Ta Da. You've got yourself a brand new custom paper. Have fun!

Fun stuff to do with fonts - Idea #2 - Create a Fun Family Manifesto

So I ran across this idea a while back when surfing around on the internet - the idea of creating a family "manifesto" of sorts.  While the idea of creating a super stuffy and serious one wasn't all that appealing to me, the idea of a very fun one sure was.

The idea behind this thing is to simply use fonts to get your thoughts documented and up on the wall for all to see and be reminded of. You should sit down as a family, regardless of the ages of all your family members, and scribble down all the things that are important to each person individually - things that are important to keep in mind before you leave the house every day. After you've come up with your list, sit down with StoryBook Creator Plus, fire up a new Wall Print Project (there are two sizes to choose from - 16 x 24 and 20 x 30) and go to town. Create individual text boxes for each thought, then give it a fun font treatment with fun fonts. (visit www.dafont.com for super fun font options if you're looking for a fun font fix). Then colorize the fonts and add a few pieces of bling here and there to complete it. When you're done, simply order it right from the Creative Memories Digital Center!

To create my manifesto, I simply used a boatload of fonts, Dress It Up Digital Embellishments, Digital Embellishments -Elements (for the cardboard piece only), and Distressed Digital Overlays to grunge up the background a little. Colorize them and move them around until it looks just right. Have some fun with this. :) I did!

Fun stuff to do with fonts - Idea #1

I'm always trying out fun things to do with fonts, and I thought it might be kinda fun to share those fun things with you whenever I come up with them.  So today, I'm going to be showing you what to do with a great font I have had for quite a while called Impact Label. It's a free font you can download from dafont.com, and it's cool. Here's what I do with it:

You remember the good ol' dial-a-label thingys (Dymo Labels)? Ya know, these things:Well with this font, it's super easy to create that effect to use on titles & journaling on your pages. Here's how you do it:

1. Download Impact Label font from dafont.com. If you need help in understanding how to get your fonts installed and ready to use in StoryBook Creator Plus Software, close down SBC+, then visit this help page on dafont.com.
2. Next, open SBC+ and create your project.
3. Create a text box, then change the font to Impact Label:
    
4. The next step is to create the black rectangle shape that will serve as the black background. So, add a new shape (rectangle) and using your mouse, drag it into a shape that somewhat resembles a strip of the black Dymo Label tape (you can always adjust the height and width of this later).
    
5. Next, you'll  move the black background so it's behind your text (you'll just drag it in your left elements tray so the rectangle is under the text), position it on your project so it sits directly behind the text, then change the text to the color white:
    
6. Now you will want to flatten your text so you can easily drag it to size it so it fits on your black tape:
    
7. Once it's flattened, you can drag the text so it fits nicely in the black rectangle. If the text is too wide to fit on the tape, simply hold down the shift key to drag one edge of the black tape to make it wider. Adjust the font and the tape until they fit nicely together.
8. Lastly, click on the words, hold down the shift key and click on the black tape (so they are both selected at the same time), right click and choose "flatten". This will smoosh the text and tape together so you can size it and move it around on your page however you like. For an added touch, I like to add a heavy shadow to give it a tiny bit of depth:
    

That's all it takes. Have fun creating these - they're fun for use in all kinds of projects. More fun stuff to do with fonts coming in the future, too! :)

 

Don’t Miss Creative Memories Digital Deals Sept. 8 – 21 Only!

Have you heard!? We've got HUGE savings (US Digital Deals Page | Canada Digital Deals Page) on ALL digital artwork downloads and select storybooks goin' on right now! Save 30% on ALL digital artwork downloads, save $20 on 12x12 Hardcover StoryBooks, and $10 on 11x8.5 StoryBooks.

This is a great time to expand your digital artwork collection! Pick up the newest Cheerful and Reminisce Power Palettes, or the brand new travel digital kits (images shown below of these)! Or... if you're already in the swing of creating that StoryBook, get it ordered at a discount for a perfect holiday gift! Happy digi creating! :)

Have you heard?? Photo Panels are on sale!

So if you haven't yet seen a photo panel in person, you should. They ROCK! I have them sprinkled throughout my house, and EVERYONE who sees them asks me about them. They're super easy to create, and they're stunning as a home decor piece. And best of all - they're on sale right now! Yep, they're 15% off now through September 30.

The coolest thing about these is that no matter what theme you choose to incorporate into your design, it looks AWESOME! So far, themes I've put on a photo panel include dog, wedding, love, men's beer-league softball team, engagement, price list (for hair salon - see sample in gallery link below), heritage, and even more. If you were at our Showcase event, you might have seen some of these samples in the glass cases at Tradeshow.

If you'd like to learn more about Photo Panels, visit the Digital Center. There, you'll be able to create your Photo Panel project on the fly by simply dragging and dropping a photo in and adding some text. Or, you can create fully custom projects using StoryBook Creator Plus Software and some rockin' Digital Content of your choosing (there's now an option in the software at the very beginning when you create a brand new project to select a photo panel), then upload it to the Digital Center and create your project.

We've even added some samples of custom Photo Panel Projects on the Digital Project Center. This gallery contains more than just Photo Panel ideas, but you could realistically incorporate any of the designs into a Photo Panel project.

Have fun!  These things ROCK!

Check out these non-cheesy cards!

Tired of buying cards at the store with cheesy sayings on them that *almost* say exactly the right thing? Yeah, me too.

Luckily, these super coolio new cards launched today fix that little dilemma! You can create your very own custom ones using StoryBook Creator Plus, or choose predesigned templates for quick drag 'n drop completion.

There are several different styles, sizes and configurations to choose from. Available are 4x4 Accordion Cards, 4xD Accordion Cards and 5x7 Folded Cards. Check them out on the Digital Center, and I can guarantee... unless you intentionally write a cheesy sentiment on your card on purpose - you won't have to worry about eye rolls or groans at the next party when they open your card.

OH, one other fun thing about these - you don't just have to use them as greeting cards. You can use the Accordion Cards to celebrate heritage photos, send out mementos to the whole family after a big reunion, fun thank yous or photos from a wedding, new baby, graduation and a TON more. These are FUN!