Hi everyone! Today I am showing a quick example using the Retro Digital Frames from the Ella Store. The set includes five custom frames, but since I have a passion for Polaroids, I chose to use the Pretend Polaroid frame for my layout.

I followed the included instructions to create my three polaroid photos, then printed them out onto 4x6 photo paper.



I trimmed off the excess and then made my page with my three Pretend Polaroids.



I cut a piece of patterned paper the same size as the photos to form a grouping of four, and then continued with my embellishments, title and journaling.

Here are some other ideas for using the frames:
1. You can add text or digital embellishments before printing your photos out
2. You can make the photos smaller by resizing them before printing
3. You can use them directly on a digital page instead of printing them out like I did.
4. You can use a different frame for each of five photos for an eclectic grouping on a page.

I hope I've inspired you to give these frames a try. This month they are on sale for only $3! and click on the banner below to find out the digital month happenings here at Ella

Welcome to Ella's new series featuring the best of photo projects brought to you by our amazing Ella friends.

Are you familiar with the site PhotoJojo? It's a great photography website with a store that sells photography supplies and gadgets, but also they post a variety of DIY projects using photos. Me and Lee Currie tackle one of my  favourites, the Photo Journal, which uses supplies you no doubt have on hand: two photos, scrap paper, and craft glue.



With two photos and paper cut to the same size as the photos, you use craft glue (any PVA glue like Elmer's will work) to make a "perfect bound" notebook. Add another piece of paper as a binding and you're ready to start journaling.

The video tutorial by Judy Lee, formerly of Five and a Half Journals, gives step by step instructions on how to make the journal. It should take you less than an hour from start to finish.

I used two 5x7 photos of this Ixora flower that I took while visiting my aunt in Grenada. Here's the back of the journal:

 

The photo is of the same flower as the front, but zoomed in some more. For my pages I cut up notebook pages from a larger notebook.



This would be a perfect project for photos that you have already scrapped, or that are similar to ones you have scrapped, landscape and macro shots, or those random portraits that you love and want to do something else with. You can use any kind of paper for the pages too, not just notebook paper. How about magazine and catalog pages, or old maps? The journals are a great gift idea too.

Now it's time for me to start filling those blank pages! For those of you that like to read the steps, Lee shares steps below.





1. Choose your photos: Every year I have the privilege of heading to Cape Cod for a couple of weeks. This year I’m heading there with a few friends and decided to take previous photos to make a journal to account for my stay and our adventures in 2011.
2. Cut scrap paper: In this case it was mostly leftover sheets from an almost full sketchpad. I added in some sheets of gridded paper and printed scrapbook paper. These were all cut to 5” x 7” to match the size of the photos chosen. About 50 sheets of paper make a good sized journal.
3. Square up: Tap the now-cut paper along with the photo front and photo back. Secure with the binder clips – one on either side. (I put scrap paper on the front and back photos to protect the finish from being harmed by the binder clips.)
We love photos here at Ella- below are the best offerings from us to you!


4. Sandwich: Between the two smaller books, in my case I used composition books, use the binder clips to help keep the journal steady to apply glue.
5. Apply Glue: Using my foam brush I spread a generous, but not drippy, amount of glue along the top.
6. Dry & Re-apply: This took a bit of time, about ½ hour for the glue to dry to the point of tacky. I then re-applied glue in order to make sure nothing was missed the first time. Again, I waited, this time about 10 minutes. Remove the binder clips and place the journal in wax paper sleeve.
7. Press: Lay flat on a table and put your Big Heavy Book on top. Do this until the glue is fully dried. (Because I was in no particular hurry, I let the glue cure overnight.)
8. Trim: Sometimes with the moisture of the glue paper will “grow”. With your scissors, trim off any excess before you finish off with the spine. I find, even with a paper trimmer, that the paper is not “perfect” so I am not too upset about some misalignment.
9. Add the spine: You pretty much need to saturate the printed-paper to add to the finishing touch to the journal, especially the edges so they don’t curl. I chose some coordinating American Crafts printed-paper in a fun summery stripe.
10. More drying: Once dry you’re all done! I added a quick title and voilà, my journal is all ready to record the memories that will be made in June.

Lee shares,
"If you’re like me, you won’t be able to stop with just one! Additional projects on the go include: Move More, Eat Better; Decorating Ideas; Gardening Plans; Christmas Plans; and, Quiet Moments.For the decorating, gardening and Christmas books I changed things up a bit: orientation, cardboard backing, gaffer tape spine. That was the most fun of the whole project – changing things up."

and don't forget all of Ella's photo offerings

Picture Perfect
Special Effects for Digital Photos
40 Top Tips for Photos

Retro Digital frames
On the Go photo tips
 

Happy Tuesday everyone! Today I want to share with you a cute customized gift that you can make for a baby boy using your scrapbooking and general crafting supplies.  I've given this gift to both boys and girls with great success! Here are two examples:  



To make this gift you will need
A plain wooden shadow box house - available at your local craft or dollar store.
Acrylic paint in chosen colours
Patterned Papers
Baby themed chipboard and other embellishments
Die cut machine (optional)
Letter stickers

1. Paint your box in your chosen colours.

2. If you want to use patterned paper backings like the first image shown: measure the sections of the box and cut patterned papers to fit them. Check to see if any of your punches will punch the right size piece to save some time. You can also cut pieces to fit the roof and sides of the box. 

3. Decorate the box with embellishments. Use stickers, chipboard and shapes cut using a die cut machine.

4. Add the baby's name in the sections. You can either do one letter per smaller section like the first image, or the entire name in a larger section like the second image. If you don't yet know the name, simple put the word "name" in the section and let the parents know that you will supply the correct letters later! You can also choose to label one section for a photo, which the parents can add. if you're giving the gift after the baby's birth you can also include pertinent info like the date and time of birth. 

5. Embellish one corner at the outside of the house if you like.

6. Wrap and present with love!

Hello friends! Have you been tempted to try out hybrid scrapbooking, but haven't wanted to deal with learning a new software program or a technique? Well today my friends Lee and Monika will share with you three ways you can use simple methods to make a hybrid page or album.

1. Monika shows us how she adds personalised text to a photo without using a fancy photo editing program!



Here is what Monika had to say about her layout:

Layouts for my only boy are always a bit tough for me. I try hard to hard to incorporate patterned paper and cardstock that  in colors other than blue or black {though this one has both} and patterns that still add interest without being distracting. I try not to get too distracted by it all and just focus on the story I want to remember. I adding text to photos as it conveys some of the details without having to point them out in my journaling. And in this layout, the photo was taken long before I ever journaled the story.



And here is how she got her photo effect using a word processing program:

2. Lee shares the process she uses to make the hybrid pages in her Twelve of Twelve photo album. This is an idea that she found via Cathy Zielske to document the 12th of each month. Lee has been doing this for a couple years, and now has a wonderful album of memories.



This is what Lee had to say about her project:

"Of course, the first thing to do is document the day. Though the project requires only 12 photos, we all know that many more will be taken! The idea is to capture every day moments and if we’re lucky, some special celebrations. With my four kids I do my best to make sure that they are represented at least one time each, so I’m guaranteed to have four shots. That’s not always manageable and therein lies the beauty of the project – if you miss something one month you have the next to rectify!"

To print her photos Lee uses a simple 8” x 6” digital layered photo template which is perfect for a basic 8.5” x 11” page. She prints two months worth of photos at a time in order to save on printing costs.

Here is how she puts her pages together:

Grid + Journaling + Printed Paper = Simple Hybrid Layout

A. All page elements are collected. My completed 8”x6” grid is retrieved from my photo processor (I print no photos at home); month one and two are printed on an 8.5”x11” sheet of cardstock; and a sheet of patterned paper is selected. In this case, my 2010 album is coordinated with the Basic Grey Indian Summer paper.

B. My base, the printed paper, is trimmed to 8.5”x 11”.

C. My journaling is cut in half, from 8.5” x 11” to 8.5”x5.5”.

D. Coordinating cardstock is trimmed to accommodate the photo.

E. Photo is mounted, time to trim down the journaling – about ¼” each side.

F. Journaling is adhered to printed paper below photo.

G. I have a page of title strips which coordinate with the font used to number the photos and are sliced into ¼” strips.

H. The strip is mounted on a coordinating coloured piece of cardstock from my stash. In this case it is orange to coordinate with colours associated with October. Anything to help use up scraps is good!

I. Done. A quick and easy page! You can always add stuff like buttons, brads and bows, but in my case I’m happy to have it finished and in the album.

Great idea Lee!

3. Finally. I'll show you a quick way to print out digital patterned papers without using a photo editing program, like I did for this layout about my son's first forays into eating solids.

(Digital Patterned Papers from the Jude kit by Karla Dudley)

I happened upon this purely by chance, as I was in the process of printing out some photos I had a "What if I?" moment. In this case it was "What if I tried to print out papers using the Windows Photo Printing Wizard"?

To print out nine wallet sized pieces of patterned paper, here's what you do.

Go to the folder containing the digital papers and select the nine you want to use. Then click on "Print these images" in the top left menu (apologies, my Operating System is installed in French, but the steps are the same for the English version)

The Windows Photo Printing Wizard will pop up.

Follow the steps, selecting the paper type and size. In this case I am using an A4 (or European letter) sized sheet.

The last step of the wizard asks you to select the size the images will be printed at. You can choose from full page, 4x6, 5x7, 3.5x5, index and wallets. In this case I chose wallets, which is the last choice on the list.

Click ok, and voila! You now have nine pieces of patterned paper!

I then cut out each piece individually to use on my page. You can play around with this and select different photo sizes like 4x6 or 5x7 to get varying sizes of patterned paper for your projects. The photo wizard will automatically print these out on as many pages as necessary. For example if you select 4 patterned papers to print out at 5x7 size, you will get two printed sheets each with two images. I like to print out my patterned papers on white paper that is a heavier weight than printer paper, but not as thick as cardstock.

I hope the techniques we have shared today will encourage you to give hybrid scrapbooking a try. You don't necessarily need a fancy photo editor to be able to use digital papers and techniques! Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments if you need further clarification on any of the techniques we shared.

Happy (Hybrid) Scrapping!!