Picturetelling!

P + S: The Basics of P + S. Bloggers Who "Get It"

 

THE SETUP

Pictures and Story.  P and S.  They're both key to preserving your memories for generations to come.  Today I'm featuring some other bloggers that "get it".

An interesting note: Some of these pictorials are made by professional photographers, but in most of these blogs, the photographer is just like me (and maybe you)--a nonprofessional who wants to save the daily moments that may SEEM insignificant, but that add up to a life really lived.  Lived, not only through big events, but through observation; a child's discovery, a pet's expression, the colors and scenes of a landscape, the pleasure of a finished craft, the visual memory of a tranquil walk with a loved one.

 

THE PICTURES

Ah...the pictures are embedded today--you'll have to click on the links, but you won't be disappointed!

 

THE BLOGGERS (and their blogs)

A popular theme on the internet right now is 365 days of photos.  These women have the right idea: they're documenting the moments in their photos, and not just reiterating what we can see. 

http://jennielyse.com/project-365-week-4/

http://www.ayearofhappy.com/

http://pencilshavings.typepad.com/pencil_shavings/

http://jlangeimages.blogspot.com/

Though not strictly a daily photo-log, Tracy posts remembrances of little moments we can all relate to (or wish we could) almost daily at http://www.pinkpurl.typepad.com/slant_of_light/

 

How-to's scream for both P and S--we need to see how something is made (pictures do it best), and what it's going to look like, but we also need to have it explained to us; probably have the materials identified, thus the story.  I enjoy these blogs because I know there's enough information available to copy the craft.

http://pinkpurl.typepad.com/pink_purl/2010/05/summer-breeze-quilt.html

http://paperimagerydesigns.blogspot.com/2010/04/fabric-atcs-by-arlene-mobley.html

http://nikkishell.typepad.com/wardroberefashion/

http://jonag.typepad.com/stop_staring_and_start_se/2008/07/a-little-bias-is-a-good-thing.html

 

THE BASICS OF P+S

As I wrote in my very first post, in July, 2009:

    Pictures are good.

    They capture a moment; freeze an image in time.  But not only can the memory be lost, it can be reconstructed...inaccurately...

    Pictures + Story are better.  Story doesn't just explain a long forgotten picture, but it can help us relive a whole event, day, even season.

P and S is best!

~Donna

P + S: New Craft Idea (for me)--ATC's

 

THE SETUP

Have you ever heard of ATC's?  Well, I hadn't until this week.  They're an intriguing art form that I was introduced to in a blog post at Altered By Me.  Apparently, there's a whole community of multi-media artists and crafters who make these little Artist Trading Cards using a variety of fine art techniques.  I say little, because they are restricted to 2.5 X 3.5 in size.  They're traded among members of the ATC community.  Arlene Mobley offers instructions for making them out of fabric embellished with transferred images.

 

THE STORY

Are you like me?  Do you love a challenge?  Do you love creating NEW artwork or writing?  I'm not one to produce repeats of the same project.  Oh, I'll create multiples of the same Heritage Makers storybook so all the interested people in my family can have a copy, but then I'll move on to a new, novel project.

So, reading about ATC's sparked my imagination, (I'm not alone--read Jessica Torres' blog, Life, Love, Yarn), and I wondered if I could create some artworthy ATC's in the same vein as Arlene Mobley's using Heritage Makers' online Studio. 

THE PICTALE

I tried my hand at creating paper trading cards with Heritage Makers' Premier collection of digital art.  (The photo below is a digital rendition of downloaded previews of the four separated artist trading cards, which is why the resolution is not as sharp as the actual cards will be.)

Also, in the Heritage Makers Online Studio, previews can be downloaded and printed onto fabric or transfer sheets to make fabric ATC's and book covers the way Arlene Mobley does.

I truly welcome comments and critique from artists who trade ATC's.  I may have broken all kinds of rules by making up designs without thoroughly researching the art form.  What do you think?

 

A PARTIAL HOW-TO WITH AN OFFER

I can tell you how to make 4 ATC's on one 5 x 7 digital postcard.  The dimensions fit perfectly. 

    1.  In the online program I use, there's a ruler on the Studio Toolbar that helped me create boxes that are 2.5" x 3.5".

  

   2.  I swapped out the boxes for background papers.

 
  

   3.  Then I embellished each card with photos and digital artwork.  (Some of you will recognize my granddaughters.)

 

If you're trying to make your ATC's online, would you like to eliminate the first step where you create the template?  If you said "YES", then you're in luck--I'll give you the 4-piece template so you can start creating your ATC's immediately!

Just respond to my email, and write ATC Template in the subject line; I'll send you the template as a jpeg.  Do you want to use the program I use? Click here to start creating! Just go to "Start a new account" at the top of the website's home page.

There are several videos and tutorials on the website I use and on You Tube to help you create.  And then, of course, I can help you, too.

ATC ARTISTS...

I meant what I said when I asked for criticism of my first foray into making ATC's.  Just venture on down to the red word COMMENTS, or possibly an open comment box at the bottom of THIS post.  I'd love to know if I'm on the right path, or way off, with my digital designs.  I'd also be interested in knowing what the most satisfying or motivating factor for making ATC's is.

Arlene, (I think) I'd love to know what you think... 

I ordered publishing of my postcard today, so I can trade my cards in a week or so.  Does anyone want to trade with me?

P + S IS BEST! ~Donna

 

P + S: Will you help me choose a Mother's Day design?

THE SETUP

I NEED YOUR HELP!   I'm hoping you will help me choose the right picture for one of my Mother's Day gifts.  Mother's Day is coming up May 9, and I'm making a necklace with pendants of my granddaughters for my daughter, my mother, and the other grandma.  (I'm also treating myself to one!)  It may seem early to be doing this, but it's not too soon to shop when you're making personalized gifts; my deadline is April 22.

The 21" necklace will look like this, except it will have two pendants instead of one.

 

 

 

 

 

THE PICTURES

 

THE STORY

I love both of these pictures of 7-month-old Kalaiya because

• she's happy
• she doesn't have a binky in her mouth
• she's not lying down

But now I can't decide which one I want to make into the necklace pendant.  You see, I'm only using crops of her face.  First, let me show you what Keeleigh's pendant looks like: you'll have to go to the link. 

Now, here are the two pendants I've made of Kalaiya:

• K1  here's the link
• K2  click here to see it

Which one do you think I should make?  K1 or K2?  It will hang next to Keeleigh's on the necklace.

You can let me know by going to the end of this post and clicking on COMMENT to comment on the blog.  You can also email me at donna@sharefamilystories.com to vote.

 

BONUS #1

I know you didn't say, "What's in it for me?", but guess what?  There's something in this for you!

My deadline to order these gifts in time for Mother's Day is April 22, but I can't wait that long. I'll choose the winning pendant by Friday, April 16 from all of your votes.

Then...I'll pool all of the contact addresses who voted for the winning image, and I'll pick one to receive a free 12x12 poster credit from Heritage Makers!  There's so much you can do with a 12x12!  That's a great size for a hanging OR standing 12x12 frame, or a decoupaged 12x12 or larger ceramic tile.  Even simpler, it can go into a photo album sleeve.

 

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MAKING HM JEWELRY FOR MOTHER'S DAY?

Here are 2 ways:

• Email me and I'll send you the simple directions for making a necklace pendant or bracelet.
• Go to my website, www.sharefamilystories.com, and open a free account.  You can make the jewelry with the FREE, BASIC account, and all you pay for is the product that you make and shipping.  There are explicit directions on the website.
• If you decide to make a Mother's Day present from Heritage Makers, I'm your personal tutor, so contact me for help, PLEASE.
• April 22 is the deadline for ordering publishing in time for Mother's Day.

THANKS FOR VOTING!  I appreciate it.

P + S IS BEST! for Mother's Day ~Donna

P + S: I've seen the first flower!

THE SETUP

Here in the Portland area we're all craving signs of better weather, since this is the rainy season.   I'm excited because I saw my preview of Spring yesterday morning!

 

THE PICTURES

 
Can you tell why I took this picture?

 
This one?

 

HERE'S THE PICTALE

 I spotted a happy sight when I let the cat out and walked past the porch railing.  Through the branches of a naked shrub, there it was--a single crocus sprouting out of the soil!  It's the first flower I've seen in my yard, and at this time, it's the only one--I circled the house to check!

I had to see it up close.  It wasn't in bloom yet, but would be soon!  This was a flower after my own heart!  An impatient, impulsive sort; a rebel with plans of its own!  It wasn't going to be part of the crowd, but a groundbreaker!  And to me, it was announcing the approach of Spring.  For the past two days we've had some beautiful sunshine, so I'm encouraged!

 

DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN PRESERVE A MOOD?

Since I was so excited that I noticed this flower, I chose to preserve the thrill in a Heritage Makers  family fold.  That's a multi-paneled card that can show several pictures, and stand on its own because it's folded accordion style.  With pictures AND a little story, I'll have a permanent record of this moment that I can display for a daily reminder of the scents and lush landscapes, warmer temps and sunshine to come.

Although I have to wait to receive my family fold in the mail, I made a mock-up of one so you can see how it will look--I don't want to have to wait 10 days to show it to you!  (Don't be distracted by the red fold lines--those don't appear on the actual printed card.)

The yellow text says, "The first crocus of 2010!"  I decided I'd better highlight that with an outline before I published the actual card, because it doesn't show up well in the sample.
 

Isn't this a great quote by Audra Foveo?  Sorry the artwork (it's a crocus!) is obscured by glare.

Do you know if other companies make multi-paneled cards?  I'd love to know if any do.  Please email me if you know of any, OK?

You can make 3-, 5-, or 7-paneled Family Folds at www.sharefamilystories.com.  Set up your free account today, and I'll send you a free tutorial that shows you how to make a family fold from a template.  I'll also give you this original template that you can make about any memorable event.  There's so much artwork in your Heritage Makers account that you can change the digital paper, the text, the photo borders; there's even a quote library, so you can change the quote!

P + S is best for preserving a mood!  ~Donna

P + S: Sleep, Little Girls--visual lullabies

Sure, a picture is worth a thousand words--but pictures alone are up for interpretation. Story is essential to understanding your pictures! I can show you how to tell your pictures with the stories that bring them to life!

 

THE SETUP

I miss my granddaughters something awful!  We live 1100 miles apart, but we travel to see them about 4 times a year.  I take LOTS of pictures of them when I'm there, and load them directly onto my computer where they stay until I decide which ones to print.  My mom doesn't have a computer, so I take my computer to her home and show her slide shows every time we get back from a trip, but I have to orally explain what each picture is about.  Even though my daughter has a computer, I know she doesn't order her own prints of my pictures to frame or scrapbook.   I've had to use other creative ways to give the good pictures to them.

 

THE PICTURES

So, obviously, these are my granddaughters as infants, snapped being cute.  I'm not sure why the resolution of the second picture is so bad, but I love it anyway.  That happens, doesn't it?  Sometimes our favorite pictures are not the most perfect compositions--Life's a lot like that!

What can I say about them?  My firstborn granddaughter was blowing bubbles.  (Any new grandparent can relate--we're easy to entertain!)  Our younger granddaughter (they're 2 years apart) was only 4 weeks old and laughing.  Gotta freeze that moment!

 

 But there's more storytelling that can be done with pictures, and you don't have to keep explaining them to people...

 

THE PICTALES

I really love these pictures of the girls, and I wanted to showcase each of them as part of a whimsical landscape.  

The idea started when I only had the one grandchild, and I had a blast creating a "lullabye landscape" to hang in her room.  I love the song In My Arms by Plumb, because the lyrics convey a mother's promise of safety and unconditional love, so it was incorporated into her poster.  The lyrics mention "your baby blues", and "curlycues", so I found those images to decorate the landscape.  She sings about castles, so I added castle and fairytale images--lots of sparkle, silver, and gold.  I added the protective images of angels, and moved everything around in my digital studio until the composition was balanced.

 

There's a lot going on in the poster, but as a child, I liked looking at busy pictures to see what I could pick out, and I hope my granddaughter will be entertained by the picture, too.

When my second granddaughter arrived, I made her a similar poster.  For hers I chose the Beatles song Golden Slumbers, and embellished her poster with lots of gold.  She also has some glitter and curlycues and angels and symbols of love, but her poster is unique, too. 

Finishing touch: they were framed using (reusing?) frames and mats from Goodwill.  It's just a thrill to stumble upon the perfect framing supplies at Goodwill and other resale shops!  (A little shimmery ribbon will bridge the gap under a mat that's not quite the right size.)

 

You can make this sort of fantasy landscape with traditional scrapbooking embellishments--it's probably a great way to use up scrappy leftovers.  You can also make this kind of poster or scrapbook page with Photoshop and Scrapgirls.com tools.  I create in Heritage Makers online Studio because I have access to over 40,000 pieces of digital artwork and complete freedom to place my elements anywhere I want, and to position and resize them and give them special effects.  

If you've done this through other digital services or websites, I'd love to hear about those companies.  I'm sure my other readers would like to have some variety to choose from.

 

THE DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

It's not obvious, but I used the first poster as a template for the second poster.  In my Heritage Makers Studio, every project I've ever finished, and every project I've ever started are saved until I delete them.  I can go back and recreate or tweak old projects and update them into something fresh.  I can use elements from other projects and put them in the creation I'm working on.  You've really gotta try it!  If you're game,

• Go to www.sharefamilystories.com and create your own free account.
• Watch a tutorial in the ONLINE CLASSES section.  There are live classes that may fit your schedule and archived classes that you can watch at your leisure.
• Once you've watched a tutorial, you're ready to get started!
• Look through the template gallery for ideas or an actual template to start with, if you're not sure how to start from scratch.  They're free too!  My posters are 18x12 landscape posters.
• When you open an account at www.sharefamilystories.com, you'll have the opportunity to have one or both of my templates placed in your account to use!

If you want a little more one-to-one instruction, email me at donna@sharefamilystories.com.

In a visual lullaby, P+S is best! ~Donna

P+S: Vegas is always NEW. Finding and photographing Aria.

(Sorry, this is a belated post that I just couldn't get up when I started it.  It's got no Christmas sentiment at all, but there is a contest at the end that only runs till Dec. 31.  So I've put it up anyway...)

THE SETUP

Our vacation last week to visit our daughter, her boyfriend, and the granddaughters coincided with the Grand Opening of the Aria Resort at Las Vegas CityCenter.  Although we couldn't make it to the fireworks on opening night, we went last Saturday to check out the designer shops and highly touted architecture and artwork.  I was mostly impressed by the exterior!

THE PICTURE

Aria: The newest addition to the Las Vegas Strip is more than a casino, more than a hotel, it's literally a multi-faceted lifestyle hub, in the most vibrant part of the entertainment center of LV.

That's one description of Aria; it uses the picture to give the caption a memorable image.  But what about the story behind THIS picture?  When you use your camera, the image you take has personal meaning, and people care about your connection to a photo.  I can link you to facts and articles about Aria, but how else will you get the story about THIS picture if I don't share it?

THE STORY (Let's call it a Pic-tale!)

My view of the skyscrapers was amazing, and I felt privileged to enjoy this exclusive treat!  I had the best vantage point, after I sought parking simplicity.

Understand, it was an ordeal for the kids in their car, and me in mine, to find the right gateway into the City Center--we repeatedly lined up  behind other drivers like lemmings, in the wrong turn lanes, on the wrong streets, and we followed taxis into closed-off areas.  We kept in contact by cell phone so we could at least get lost together!  Once we found self-parking, our phones went dead inside the garage, so we were on our own to park.  I was SO READY to find a good parking spot, without having to search for IT, too, so I shot straight to the top--7th Floor.  That's where I saw a mere handful of other smart visitors and just a few maintenance vehicles, so I lucked-out with my choice of parking spots right next to the elevators.  And I discovered this fantastic photo op!!  This structure sparkles!  Can you imagine it on a bright summer day?  It'll glisten like smooth-chested Edward Cullen on a rare day in Forks!

WHAT TO DO WITH ARCHITECTURAL P+S 

It doesn't seem to make much sense to take these wonderful photos of the NEWEST part of Las Vegas if I don't share them.  So let me share my postcard with you--made with Heritage Makers online digital tools.  Custom-designed (by YOU), 2-sided postcards can be mailed directly from the company, or just e-mailed to save time and money!  Ask me how to make your own before your next vacation!  See my LV postcard here.  (The pictures of Aria are on the back)

A really fascinating landscape or architectural shot might be just the right image to feature on a framed poster, perhaps with an inspiring or funny quote.  I can help you do that, too.  Here's one I made of a tree near my house that represents the rebel in me--it stands alone and proud, as tall as it will ever get, among a whole bunch of bigger trees that are established and the same.  This landscape poster inspires me every time I look at it!   

Any location that has special meaning for you could be an incredible focal point for your wall if it's broken up into 4-9 pieces and then reassembled on a wall.  8x8 or 12x12 scrapbook pages are an inexpensive way to get that effect; any of Heritage Makers' mounted canvas sizes would create an artistic and classy mosaic.  Imagine this image of Aria as a 9-panel installation with the power to motivate!  I can help you make this, too.

SHORT AND SWEET: WHY IS A PARTICULAR PLACE SPECIAL TO YOU?

Post a picture and share the place's significance to you in two paragraphs or less.  I'll do a random drawing December 31, and one contributor will have the opportunity to make a free 12x12 poster with the location's P + S!  Send your picture and story to donna@sharefamilystories.com and I'll enter you in the drawing.  I'll post as many pic-tales as I can on the blog before December 31 comes to a close--I'd love to post yours!

P + S is best!