Friday, December 31, 2010

FotoFusion Template No. 17

 Well, I took a break, but now I'm happily back to creating! .Scrap Template No.17 is now posted.  I love non-symmetrical designs, as you can see here. LOL Using one pattern or color of paper for both the background and the paper directly underneath the photos would create a nice, subtle texture.  If you find that you need a place for a horizontal photo, try rotating one of the frames. The overall look would still remain the same. Note: .Scrap templates do not work in other scrapbooking software programs. They only work in FotoFusion.

Click below to download FotoFusion Template No.17. 
Good-bye 2010. Hello 2011!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Homemade Giving

Click on the layout to turn the pages:

There's nothing quite like watching someone open a gift when it's something you've made yourself. This digital scrapbook that I had printed by Adoramapix was a complete surprise to the recipient. I "stole" the pictures from Sara one day when she wasn't looking. (Every so often, I organize her photos on her computer, so I grabbed a moment when she wasn't by the computer to copy them to my camera's memory card.) Tee hee. I love doing that! (not sure why the image is blurry...sorry!)

The cover of the album was actually my FIRST PUBLICATION in the Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine!!

Products used:
Vinnie Pearce Placid, Night Bird and Posied kits and Alpha Pebbles
Karla Dudley Digi Essentials
FruitLoop Sally Frosted Grunge brushes
Katie Pertiet various items
and more...


To see a review of AdoramaPix that matched my experience, go here: www.designsbymeganturnidge.com

Happy New Year to All!


Saturday, December 11, 2010

Merry and Bright

The Christmas season brings many Christmasy things, so I'm taking a break from creating templates. Come January, I'll start working on them again. 

I just love felt roses! They make great gift toppers, too!

My sister found instructions for these roses here. We had planned on making a cream rose wreath, but then I got to thinking about Christmas. LOL

Friday, November 26, 2010

Template 16

This .Scrap (FotoFusion) template would be perfect for scrapbooking little details. Details like your child's favorite toys.
Or how about your favorite twelve photos of the month? Like my sister and friend are doing every month of the year 2010. One of these days I will post pictures of that gorgeous project.

You even have room for a little bit of journaling. (Which is always high on my priority list when I create a layout.)

The template comes with a FotoFusion "smart" frame. Notice the beveled edge in the yellow background? The frame is actually applied to the brown paper, not the yellow. FotoFusion has 115 different frames you can apply to your papers. Another 151 that you can purchase are available as well.

So here goes:


See you next Friday?
Now I need to get back to the precious little kidlings that I'm babysitting. Gracie and Riley are so darling. (One just poked another in the eye.) Ouchies! Gotta go!


Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Beautiful Amara

Creating this layout for a friend of mine was amazing! She is such a cutie!


Products Used:
Creashens - XO and Smitten
Vinnie Pearce -  My Drama Queen
Michelle Martin - Mischief Maker
Michelle Underwood - You Picked Me
Brittt-ish Designs - Tie It Down
Shabby Princess -Sprout
Katie Pertiet - Edge Die Cuts 4
CD Muckoskey Suzie Q Alpha
Burst My Bubble Font


Monday, November 22, 2010

FotoFusion Template 15

Sometimes we need extra space for journaling, and this template is perfect for that.

Notice the beveled edge on the inside frame? It is made using one of the free FotoFusion frames that comes with the program. Check them out next time you open FotoFusion. If you're unsure how to use the Smart Frame, please read my template tips that come with your download, or go to the Help menu in FotoFusion. Click on the tab that says Help>Help>Smart Frames>Display (at the bottom right corner)>What are Smart Elements>Display.


Click below to download Template No.15.



Thursday, November 11, 2010

Free Template Friday

Here is another one of my free FotoFusion (.Scrap) templates! I sure hope it works for you.

With a spot for many small photos, this template would be nice for a summary page at the end of a theme album, or perhaps an introductory page? I created a layout back in 2009 of my daughter using many small photos. I went through a year's worth of photos of her, and chose my favorites. It was called Beautiful You. You can see it here. Hmmm....looking at that layout, It gives me an idea for a new template. I will be creating six more one-page templates, and then I want to do a series of ten two-pagers.

Next Friday's template will be simpler and stream-lined; for all of you who prefer fast pages. This one is definitely not a quick page. LOL

Sorry, no layout sample this time. Maybe I'll have the time next week to upload one.

Enjoy! 



Click below to download template No. 14.


Again, please share the layouts you have created using  the templates with me. I'd LOVE seeing them! Have a great weekend!

Christmas Cards Anyone?










I have a hankering for Christmas card designing.....These are all 4x6. Definitely the cheapest size to print. But, I could make any size really. :) Sepia and black and white photos look spectacular with these.  We could have a green theme, or blue, or pink, whatever! And they wouldn't have to have a vintage style either. 

Friday, November 5, 2010

A Crazy Week

My family is putting together a party for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary, and I'm in charge.

So, sorry to say, I have not been able to work on another FotoFusion template this week. The template design is ready, but I had a few people email me to say that they were having troubles opening and/or outputting previous templates. So, I want to work on getting that fixed before I offer another one. Is that a good enough excuse? I hope to have it all fixed by next Friday, so please come back then, okay?

By the way, if you're one of those people that had trouble with the templates, can you please contact me? The more info I can get, the better the chance of fixing the problem. Include which ones you have trouble with and what version and build # of FF you own. (You can find out the build # by clicking on Help>About FotoFusion.) Thanks!

Sorry again, and happy weekend!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

No Domestic Goddess

If my house was as organized as my digital scrapbooking files are, I'd be a domestic goddess. So, I'm not going to share my home organizational system (Yikes! You don't wanna know!), but I will share my digi system. Here it is: (For what it's worth.)


I created a Digital Scrapbooking file under My Documents. Then I created subfolders named: 
Alphas and Numbers
Brushes
Calendars
Color Swatches
Embellishments
Fonts
Frames
Inspiring Layouts
Journaling Labels
Kits
Layouts
Masks
Overlays
Papers
Quick Pages
Sketches
Stitches
Templates
Word Art
Zipped Files
and more...

- In each subfolder, I have more subfolders, named with the Store, Designer and Kit  Ex. OScraps KDSmet Her Personality. So this is the tier: My Documents>Digital Scrapbooking>Kits>OScraps KDSmet Her Personality.

- If I have one brad (for example) with nothing else with it, I store it under Embellishments>Misc, I also have a Misc file under Papers, Overlays, Stitches, etc.

- For kits with just paper, I store it under Papers.

- I make a copy of all my alphas that come in kits. One copy is stored in Alphas and Numbers and the other is stored with the kit.

- I use stitches on almost every page I create, so I've copied my favorite stitches that come in kits to the Stitches folder.

- Anything I've created myself, I store under my design name: Annawhocropsalot.

- I store all my zipped files temporarily under Zipped Files. When I have enough to fill a CD, a move them to the CD to get it off my computer for backup. I also store them online at www.mediafire.com. They offer a free service, but they erased all my files without warning me, so now I have a plan which has a monthly fee of $9 or so.

- Try to move the files where they need to go right after you download something. It's so easy to forget and then have an overwhelming mess.

For those of you that struggle with finding your digi stuff, I hope this helps you out.

Here's a screenshot of my main digital files: (Of course, what you can't see, are all my subfolders.)


I laid it out in more detail here.

Friday, October 29, 2010

I'm Smitten

Well, it's Friday again, so here is Template #13. I really enjoyed creating this one for some reason. I guess I'm happy with the result. I hope it'll be useful to y'all.




My take on the template is done with my favorite photos of my daughter, Junia, on her tenth birthday. I haven't really scrapbooked them until now.
                 
 Products Used:
Template: Annawhocropsalot (me): 12x12 FF Template No.13

Papers: Vinnie Pearce: My Bag Queen, Paislee Press and Sugarplum Paperie Colab: Patisserie, Cat Scrap: Something Blue ALT365 January
Brushes: Basic Grey:Color Me Silly, Designer Digitals: AASPN Korner Plumes No.02, House of 3: Rhonna Farrer Bird Cages
The paper that's behind the slide mount and the flat pink flower brush: OScraps: Nina Inspirational
Scallop Embellishment: OScraps Kim DeSmet: Happy Days
The middle of the scallop: Paislee Press and Sugarplum Colab: Patisserie
Metal wordart: OScrap: Kim DeSmet Freckles and Giggles
Diamond bling: OScrap: Kim DeSmet Cherish
Pink Daisy Flower: Vinnie Pearce Full Bloom Freebie
Pink Rose: Cat Scrap: Creashens: XO
Letters: Cat Scrap: Creashens: Smitten
Stitches: Designer Digitals AASPN Stitched Circles White and Stitched By Anna Bubblegum No.01, Scrap Matters: Britt-ish Designs Tie It Down
Fonts: Landliebe and Burst My Bubble



Friday, October 22, 2010

FotoFusion Template No.12















































This time I decided to stick with the color scheme of the template preview picture. I love yellows!

Template tips:
1. The flower petals and and some of the middles are see through. (Low opacity) You can change that in your image dialog box. The opacity levels affect the way any pattern paper you drop in to the image frames would look. To change everything back to normal settings, Click on the little arrows on the top right of the image dialog box>RESTORE TO FACTORY SETTINGS.Play and see what cool affects you can come up with!

2. There are empty photo frames behind the slide mounts.

3. You can change the shadows on any of the elements.

4. Add your own text to the background wordart. Each line is a separate text frame. You can change the font, too, to add more detail and interest.
Products Used:
Yellow Papers: Annawhocropsalot Designs
Blue paper (strip), journaling mat: Kim DeSmet Her Personality
Flowers, wordart,: OScraps Cinzial Moments
Stitches: Kim DeSmet Happy Days
Fonts:Fineliner Script, Burst My Bubble, Esat Hoxha, Juice


Come back next Friday for another free template. 
Do you have any suggestions or ideas for upcoming ones?  
After these ten, I'll create a series of two-pagers. 


Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Flourishes, Friends and Family


















I just love that brown paper by Paislee. The scallop border and the wooden flowers are my creations.  :) The mask I used for the photo and paper are my all-time favorite. They are so versatile. They're not crazy, but just give a slight distressed look to anything you apply it too. The flourishes are ones that I go back to again and again.
Products Used:
Flourish: Designer Digitals AASPN Hipster Plumes12
Stitches: DD AASPN Stitched by Anna White 7
Background paper: Shabby Princess Hopscotch
Patterned paper: Paislee Once

Word circle brush: Britt-ish Designs 

Mask: MScraps Designs by Anita Cracked Masks
Alphabet: Karla Dudley Digi Essentials 5-recolored
Flower and brown scallop: Annawhocropsalot (ME!)
Font: Fineliner Script



Friday, October 15, 2010

New FotoFusion Template and Layout

Have you seen this amazing sale?!?! Kim DeSmet is retiring, so her entire store is on sale for twenty bucks! The following layout was created using one of her kits. It's called Her Personality. I love it. Click here to go there.


I've made another template and created a layout with it. I hope you like it.


Template No. 11


Tips on using the template No. 11:


1. I created little circles for the flower middles, but you could always add brads, buttons or bling. 


2. You might have difficulty moving the little circles. The mouse tends to click on the yellow "panning" circle. To cease your frustration----:P----click on the blank area around your canvas to reset your mouse. Then click and drag. (The panning tool won't be activated with that first selection.) Does that make any sense at all? If not, just disregard my tip here and figure it out yourself. LOL (And declare Anna plum crazy.) Oh, don't select and release, click and drag is the order of business here. :)


3. You can add patterned paper to the slide mount (the little rounded frame). Just select it, go to the paper in your bucket you want to use, right-click>APPLY TO SELECTED FRAME.

4. There are empty image frames behind the slide mounts. If you find your picture does not want to fit into the little rectangular window, try changing the shape of the image frame. That worked for me. :)

5. The best tip is #5: The "title" and "subtitle" text is on the COLLAGE layer, not on the default text layer. In plain English, that means you can move the title backwards and forwards in your layers. You vant to know how I didit it?:)
Here she goes: Select the title>right-click>MOVE TO LAYER>check the little box that says COLLAGE.
You're welcome.:) (You just don't know how excited I was when I discovered that little tidbit.)

6. FOR THE NEWBIES. If the above tip made absolutely no sense to you, you gotta know this! If you would like a flower petal, for instance, to be BEHIND your photo, but you dragged it onto your canvas after your photo (so it's above your photo),you can change it! Select the flower>right-click>choose SEND BACKWARD. Whoo hoo! Isn't that great?


ABOUT THE LAYOUT:

1. The patterned paper that kind of fades into the background on the left side of the canvas was created using the matte called BLACK HORIZONTAL GRADIENT. Drag the paper onto your canvas, resize it the desired size, open your BORDER DIALOG BOX. In here you will find that coooooool matte. Select it, and VOILA! I also reduced the opacity of the image so that it wasn't quite so bright on my page. You know, it was gettin' busy and all. You understand.:) Remove the shadow on the paper. Very important.


2. I always remove the shadow on my stitches to make them look sewn to the page.

3. I split the largest image frame into two to better compensate my photos. If you don't know how to use the splitting tool, check out my tutorial on that awesome tool.


There you have it. All that blatherin' has come to an end. I heard the sound of relief from all you. See ya'all a little later!
Products Used:
Papers, flowers, buttons, bling, etc: OScraps: Kim De Smet Her Personality 
Stitches: Designer Digitals: Anna Aspens Stitched by Anna White No.07
Mask on upper right area of layout: Designer Digitals: Anna Aspens FotoBlendz Clipping Masks No.6
 (I "copied" this mask into my FotoFusion Mattes Folder.)
Fonts: Arial Black, Burst My Bubble and Cheri
ANOTHER TEMPLATE NEXT FRIDAY. I hope to, anyway. I'm not very good with my promises sometimes. I gotta work on that.


If you have any questions or comments, please email me at customscrapbooksbyanna(at)gmail(dot)com.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Creating layouts With FF Templates



































































I created this layout using the first of ten free templates available here as freebies, called 12x12 FF Template No.01.
To decorate like we like to do, I used stuff from three different kits, plus I used my own Chocolate Canvas Cardstock, available for free download here at my blog. It is listed in the right sidebar. :)
The one below is from OScraps called Patisserie which is by Paislee Press. I used the frame and a scallop border. The scallop I recolored.

































I also used stitches from this kit called Tack it Down by Britt-ish Designs. I find I like to use stitches on every page I do.  LOL

































For the paper stars, I used one of the gorgeous papers from this kit by Joyce Paul Designs at MScraps.



Tweeking my template: Instead of using the two small frames as is, I replaced them with the decorative frames and tilted them a bit. One feature I use a lot in FF, is duplicating elements instead of dragging a second one in, like I did with the frames. I dragged one in, resized it to my liking, and since I wanted two the same size, I just pressed Control + D on my keyboard. You can also find the command under the Selection tab. Make sure you have the element selected that you want duplicated, or else it won't work.

I wanted my title a little larger than the template had it, and I didn't want the title sticking out above the pattern paper behind the title, so I enlarged the paper frame a bit too.

My Chocolate Canvas paper looks blocked when I just drag the paper and drop it into the empty frame, so I zoomed in closer on the paper to create that Bazzill paper affect. (If you have been paper scrappers before you were a digi scrapper, you know what I'm talking about. LOL) I'm not sure why the zooming in works, but it does. :)

Now looking at the text, I wish I'd brightened it a bit more, so that it would be more readable. Oh well.







Monday, October 4, 2010