I have a little secret. I am a misting virgin. Yes, I have seen it being done on many layouts. I have noticed the pretty bottles lined up on the shelves at my local scrapbook store. I have even BOUGHT some bottles of the glorious stuff...but have I used it? No. I guess I had some jitters about the whole thing. I was worried about wasting the mists, ruining my paper, and just generally making a mess of things.

Enter Ella Publishing's Spring Training Coach Nichol Magouirk! In just a short 12 minutes, she had me inspired and encouraged to give misting a try. I loved her fun video and how she showed me just how to use masks to created beautiful effects with my glimmer mists. I had never thought of creating my OWN masks, and I immediately went to work cutting out a mask on my Silhouette craft cutter on vinyl. I was going to DO this!!

I decided on a beautiful lace background shape from the Silhouette Store, and cut two pieces out of adhesive vinyl. While I was waiting for the intricate pattern to cut, I pulled together my papers and embellishments and planned out my page. I loved the idea of using a die cut shape as a mask to use with my mists. I hadn't thought of that, and it opened up a HUGE world of possibilities! If you are like me, you have a lot of die cut shapes, punches, etc to make quick work out of creating custom masks. Besides that, it felt a little "naughty" spraying mists all over my paper! I loved it! Here is what I came up with:

Click image for larger view

Am I a misting pro, now? I’d say ‘no’, but (and here is the important thing) I can’t WAIT to try it again! I will definitely be getting out my mists for my next project. Thanks, Nichol!

Supplies: Tattered Angels “Peppermint Stick” Spray Mist, Becky Higgins Project Life 'Clementine' patterned paper, Silhouette shape “Grandma’s tablecloth background”, and various ribbons and bling from my stash.

Interested in Spring Training? Learn more about this live event here. Yes, you can still register.

Already registered? Click here to visit the exclusive Craftnasium. (Must be logged in to your Ella user account for the link to work.)

Spring Training participants get the chance to win great prizes from 13 crafty companies, including today's spotlighted sponsor:

Can I let you in on a little secret? I love product. I really love piling the product on my layouts. I’m not sure where the obsession came from, but I somehow came to the conclusion that a great layout MUST have dozens of elements incorporated somehow. Boy, was I wrong!

While spending an evening scrapbooking with my sister, I was stumped on a layout, so I went to my go-to resource for scrapbooking inspiration...ELLA!! I read the fabulous e-book “Eight is Enough” and thought...”uh..really? Only 8 products? I don’t think so”. Good thing I love a challenge! I set to work choosing only 8 products. Want to see what I chose?

• Four  DOUBLE SIDED patterned papers from Becky Higgins’ Clementine Kit
• My Silhouette SD Craft Cutter
• Turquoise Micro Beads (I bought mine at Dollarama, but you can purchase from Michaels)
• Zots 3D Glue Dots
• A sheet of Charcoal Bazzil cardstock

Here is the resulting layout:

My sister and I were both so surprised by how quickly this layout came together, and guess what? I love it!!

One fun little technique that my sister shared with me is the fun little flower center. You take one 3D glue dot and stick the flat side to the center of the flower. Pour your micro beads into a shallow dish, then press the glue dot into the beads, pressing gently to cover the entire dot. Voila!  A cute and unique flower center.

My conclusion? Not only is 8 enough...it spells FREEDOM! Using fewer products really allows the creativity to flow. It prevented the hours spent wasted just SEARCHING for what to use and allowed me to get right to the fun part...creating! I highly recommend this amazing e-book. I know it will transform how you create!

Bobbi Jo here with part two of How to Take Great Group Photos

3. Make sure you can see each face. This takes just a second looking through the viewfinder in your camera. Take a quick glance at each face to be sure they can be seen easily with nothing concealing any part of anyone (including shadows from other faces!).

Creative posing can help with this, too, as well as moving yourself around. Find the best possible spot where you can see each and every beautiful face.

4. Get CLOSE Together. Going along with the idea mentioned in number one, we want to convey a feeling of closeness...so, the obvious solution is to physically GET CLOSE to one another! Look for gaps and try to fill them by having your subject shift slightly, move an arm, or tilt their head. It will change the whole feeling of the photo!

5. Have some fun! I know it sounds cliché, but really having FUN makes for the best and more memorable group photos. Remember, that they don’t have to be looking at the camera to get a great shot! Let them interact with each other naturally. Tickle fights are usually a great start, unless it’s great-grandma - though, maybe even then ;) Have a few knock-knock jokes up your sleeves to get them laughing. Have the parents tell a joke to the kids, or have them sing their favourite song. Having them sing their “A,B,C’s” gives you a lot of great expressions. I have even resorted to telling them that I need to change a few settings so they can just relax for a bit – then I secretly start shooting. I find these group shots are the ones that families love best.

I hope these tips give you a little more confidence when photographing groups – whether they are groups of 2or 3, or groups of 20 or 30!

Visit me on my blog, It Works For Bobbi, for more fun Photography tips, as well as Photoshop tutorials and lots of free printables!

I have been a professional photographer for the past 6 years and the number one question I get asked from other professional and hobbyist photographers is...HOW do you pose groups? GREAT question. I struggled with the same thing for a long time, but I have since come up with my four favourite tips that really make for interesting group photos. These tips will work with any group size from 3 to 30!

1. Pay Attention to Hands!

Hands play an important part in the language of the portrait. Especially when photographing families, we want to portray a feeling of closeness and togetherness. That means we want to see the subjects interacting with each other and looking as natural as possible. Try not to have arms or hands hanging straight down. It looks about as fun and exciting as it sounds. BLAH! Instead, encourage those you are photographing to put their hands into their pockets, around shoulders of those next to them, or have them hold hands.

2. Stagger the head levels. This is so important in creating an “interesting” group pose. We want to avoid lining everyone up like they are being arrested. This is supposed to be fun! Pose short people next to tall people, have tall people sit, crouch, or kneel, or have moms hold little ones in their arms. Try to be considerate of the elderly who may not be able to crouch or kneel, though.

A great way to get a bunch of different levels in your group poses is to use uneven footing. For example, if you can find some stairs – it’s a guaranteed way to get lots of levels. Or you can use benches, stools, chairs, the floor – whatever is at your disposal! Be confident in asking your subjects to sit here or try kneeling there. It’s not written in stone, people can move! You’ll find you’ll love the results of using lots of levels in your group shots.

Come back tomorrow for three more tips. I hope these tips give you a little more confidence when photographing groups – whether they are groups of 2or 3, or groups of 20 or 30!

Visit me on my blog, It Works For Bobbi , for more fun Photography tips, as well as Photoshop tutorials and lots of free printables!