Design Principles: Rhythm & Movement

Close To My Heartart principles, Central Park, design, design principles, movement, rhythm Leave a comment

Many of us scrapbook with storytelling as our primary goal. Preserving story is the main factor we keep in mind as we design pages, layouts, and albums. The story is what guides our photo placement and the order of events. Sometimes, we even go as far as labeling parts of our pages to help the viewer follow a specific path through our stories.

Today we’re going to discuss two design principles that will help your artwork do some of the storytelling for you. These two principles work together to organize different elements within your artwork in order to create a natural visual flow.

Rhythm is something that catches the viewer’s eye and continues to move it through the artwork. It is created through slight differences in a pattern and repetition of elements, and, just like in music, it can vary in pace depending on how heavy your patterns are and how often they repeat. Movement is the path that your eye takes through the art.

Can you spot the rhythm causing elements in our example scrapbook page above? There are several, so let’s talk through a few of them. First, take a look at those colorful pennant banners. There are two, both made up of equal-sized triangles and the same color scheme. As a pair, these two banners catch our eye and move our attention from the top left of the page to the center. Even each banner has its own rhythm because of the repetitive triangle shape.

A second place we find rhythm in this piece is in the cluster of squares and rectangles made up of the two small photos, the white rectangle behind the lower banner, and the small journaling card.

They are all similar enough in shape and size to consider them a repetitive pattern. This rhythm generates a sense of movement in the lower middle section of the page.

A third, subtle, way we created movement in our example is through the repetitive use of blue sequins.

We started out at the top left, moved to the middle, then across to the bottom right. Another place we see rhythm and movement in this one page is with the color yellow. From the banners, to the photos, and the paint washes, there are small accents of yellow carrying our attention from one place to the next.

These are just a few of the many ways rhythm is creating movement in this example piece. Now that you know what to look for, can you spot any more?

Most of you reading this blog naturally look at things from left to right, top to bottom. It’s how we’ve been trained to read the world around us. To keep with this natural rhythm we’ve all been subconsciously taught, keep it in mind as you create your artwork so that the finished product will look and feel pleasing to you and your audience. In the following two-page layout we use lines, shapes, color, and space to create rhythm and movement from one page to the other, following a left to right, top to bottom flow.

In the left page, where we will always know to begin, we are first drawn to the title for several reasons. One of which is because it is framed with yellow lines and accents.

From this highlighted title, the yellow rhythm continues to the surfboard in the 4 x 6 photo and then from one cluster of embellishments to the next until we reach the end (or right side) of the second page. Also creating rhythm and visually moving us along from left to right are the blue lines, blue photo mats, and blue arrow.

Creating rhythm and movement in artwork will take practice and patience to master. The first step in the process is to know that it is there. Make note of it in other people’s art and to learn from it. Take what you see (and like) and incorporate it into your artwork as best you can. With practice it will eventually become second nature and you will be visually guiding others through your artwork and your stories intentionally and with purpose.

Recipes:

12″ x 12″ Yay Summer Page
D1772 My Acrylix® Documented—Scrapbooking Stamp set, D1780 My Acrylix® Aloha Spirit Stamp Set, X7231B Central Park Paper Packet, X7231D Central Park Coordinating Cardstock, Z2892 Pacifica Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2808 Lemon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, X7231C Central Park Complements, Z4178 Central Park Sequins, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3188 Paintbrush Set

12″ x 12″ Endless Summer Sunshine Layout
D1775 My Acrylix® Central Park—Scrapbooking Stamp Set, D1772 My Acrylix® Documented—Scrapbooking Stamp Set, D1733 My Acrylix® Splash of Color Stamp Set, X7231B Central Park Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5967 Pacifica Cardstock, Z2825 Mink Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2892 Pacifica Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2841 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2808 Lemon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, X7231C Central Park Complements, Z4178 Central Park Sequins, Z4197 Central Park Alphabet, Sewing Machine

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July 17, 2018Celebrate, Create

Cardmaking & Scrapbooking with Here’s to You

Close To My Heartanniversary, August, birthday, campaign, cardmaking, cards, Celebrate, constant campaign, friendship, graduation, Here's to You, July, page, relationships, sale, scrapbooking, wedding 1 Comment

We are celebrating life’s special occasions with the Here’s to You special! Featuring four exclusive stamp sets and a workshop designed for making elegant cards and layouts, this special is the perfect way to get prepared for the happy events coming up on your calendar!

Exclusive Stamp Sets:

Not only are the sentiments on these stamp sets a must-have for celebrating relationships, but each set also coordinates with a shape from the Cricut^® Artistry collection, giving you an easy way to add dimension and extra detail to your projects!

Workshop kit options:

Here's to You #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhhere'stoyou #constantcampaign #monthlyspecial #sale #workshopkit #scrapbookingworkshop #cardmakingworkshop #cardmaking #scrapbooking

CC7190

CC7191

We have two workshop kits available—one with a rose embossing folder and one without. Both kits include the four exclusive stamp sets and additional materials at a discounted price to create one 12″ x 12″ scrapbook page and seven standard size cards that can be used to celebrate friendships, anniversaries, weddings, and many other occasions.

Completed projects:

The designed workshop projects feature shapes cut with the Cricut® Artistry Collection. To keep things easy, we’ve compiled the necessary Cricut^® shapes to complete the workshop as a project file in Cricut Design Space™, Here’s to You Workshop (https://design.cricut.com/#/design/95920516). (If you don’t have a digital machine, specific Cricut^® cut information is also provided in the included instructions.)

Celebrate life’s special occasions with us and don’t miss out on this special offer! Only available through the end of August, while supplies last, get your cardmaking and scrapbooking in motion to commemorate the moments that matter most.

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July 12, 2018Create, Learn

10 Stamping Techniques You NEED to Know!

Close To My HeartStampaganza, stamping, stamping technique 1 Comment

We’re in the middle of Stampaganza 2018, which means you’ve got a great opportunity to add some fun new stamp sets to your collection this month, free! And since you’ll have the stamps, we came up with a list of 10 techniques to help you make the most of your stamping experience!

1. Heat embossing with pigment ink. Did you know that you can heat emboss in any of our exclusive colors? All you need is the pigment ink in the color of your choice and clear embossing powder. Stamp with pigment, add embossing powder, melt and seal together with a craft heater. That’s it!

2. Ombré stamping. To achieve the popular ombré effect, you have to gradually blend one color, or color hue, into another. There are several ways to do this, but let’s show you how we did it in our card.

We inked our stamp using mini pigment pads. Here’s a tip. Instead of pressing the stamp to the ink pad, reverse the process and press the ink onto the stamp for better ink control. First, ink the top two thirds of the stamp using the lighter color of the two being blended (in this case, Bashful). Starting at the bottom, add the second, darker, color (Lemon). As you get to where the two colors will overlap, use less pressure with the ink pad to apply less ink and achieve that blended look you’re going for.

3. String & block. An oldie, but a goodie, this technique is here to stay. Start by wrapping a My Acrylix^® block with twine, as many or as few times as you’d like, and tie it off at the top of the block. Ink the twine in your stamp pad and stamp away. There you have it! Your own, unique, texture stamp! Try spacing out the twine when you wrap it around your block for different looks, and then get to work experimenting! (Technically this one doesn’t use a stamp, but it’s still a great technique to keep up your crafty sleeves!) You can see what this technique looks like in the Happy card at the top of this post. For more inspiration using this method, click here.

4. Split stamping. The idea behind this one is pretty much what the name implies: you split your stamp image. One of the easiest ways to do this is to stamp an image on cardstock and then cut in into pieces (see trees in example below). For more split stamping ideas, click here.

5. Second-generation images. If you take a look at our trees in the top left corner of the page above, you’ll notice that some of the trees in the background are more faint than the ones in the foreground even though they were all stamped using the same color stamp pad. The lighter images were made with second-generation stamping and the darker ones with first-generation stamping. A first-generation image is one that is created when you ink your stamp and then press it to paper. A second-generation image is created when, without re-inking after the first-generation, you stamp on your paper again. (Take it further if you’re up for it with third-generation images!)

6. Masking. Masking is one of the classic stamping techniques of any seasoned stamper. The concept starts out simple. You have a stamp of a design or sentiment that you only want to partially stamp an image of. To keep those extra bits off your project, all you have to do is mask, or cover, those parts with scratch paper. (In our example above, the word “MEMORIES” was part of a sentiment that was masked and later cut out.

7. Stamping on vellum. Because vellum is less porous than other papers, ink will take longer to dry. You can help move the drying process along by using your trusty craft heater. For this technique, allow your heater to heat up before you use it. Once it’s hot, blow on the ink intermittently from behind the paper (which means you would need to do this step before attaching a piece like this to your project). If you blow directly onto the ink and vellum without pulling the heater away, the ink will move and the paper will warp. Once you’re done with the craft heater, blot any excess ink with a tissue. For learn more about stamping on vellum, click here.

8. Kissing technique. The possibilities are endless when we pair stamps together using this method. You can create different textures and compound images when you mix and match stamps. In the right card above we used the kissing technique to create the heart in the solid circle image.

First, ink the stamp that you want to have as a base. In our example, we inked the circle in Bashful. Then, with both stamps on blocks, press the two stamps together. The second stamp will not have ink on it and will remove some of the ink from the first stamp in its shape. After your stamps kiss, stamp your base stamp on paper. Ta-da! Use this method to add textures and all kinds of shapes or designs to your stamping!

9. Rock & roll technique. Here’s another fun way to blend colors while stamping.

First, ink your stamp in a base color. We started by inking our sentiment in Pacifica. To add that second color to the outer edges, you gently roll your already inked stamp in the second color. In our case, we rolled in Glacier. Only make contact with the stamp pad on the edges where you want to add the color. You have to rock and roll your block to achieve this look.

10. Using the back of a stamp. One of the many advantages of having acrylic stamps over wooden mounted rubber ones is that you can attach them to your block whichever way you want. Mount your stamp on your block backwards—yep, backwards—so that the smooth back of your stamp is exposed. Ink it and stamp it this way to create a shape outline for you to then stamp the front of your stamp on.

Even though this idea will only work with stamp sets that are symmetrical, like the round sun in this example, it’s definitely one to keep in your reserves.

That’s a wrap! 10 techniques every stamper needs to know!

Recipes:

4¼” x 5½” Happy Card (Vertical)
B1232 My Acrylix^® Solos “h” Stamp Set, X7231B Central Park Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3367 Vellum Paper, Z2506 Adventure Exclusive Inks™ Mini Pigment Pad Set, Z2852 Poppy Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z4014 White & Gold Twine, Sewing Machine

4¼” x 5½” Enjoy Card (Vertical)
B1229 My Acrylix^® Solos “e” Stamp Set, X7231B Central Park Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2506 Adventure Exclusive Inks™ Mini Pigment Pad Set, Z2508 Bashful Exclusive Inks™ Mini Pigment Pad, Z2088 Ranger™ Clear Super Fine Embossing Powder, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, Z3274 Clear Sparkles

12″ x 12″ Memories Page
D1783 My Acrylix^® Fresh Air—Scrapbooking Stamp Set, X7231B Central Park Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5955 Pebble Cardstock, Z2850 Fern Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2825 Mink Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, Z3274 Clear Sparkles, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3188 Paintbrush Set

4¼” x 5½” Love Card (Vertical)
B1236 My Acrylix^® Solos “l” Stamp Set, X7231B Central Park Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2819 Bashful Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2816 Cranberry Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles

4¼” x 5½” Happy Butterfly Card (Vertical)
B1232 My Acrylix^® Solos “h” Stamp Set, Z7231B Central Park Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy, X5978 Glacier Cardstock, X5947 Mink Cardstock, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, Z3274 Clear Sparkles

12″ x 12″ Beautiful Reasons to Be Happy Page
D1775 My Acrylix^® Central Park—Scrapbooking Stamp Set, X7231B Central Park Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5978 Glacier Cardstock, X5947 Mink Cardstock, Z2843 Canary Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2808 Lemon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2841 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2892 Pacifica Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, Z3274 Clear Sparkles, Z3024 White Shimmer Trim, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3188 Paintbrush Set

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July 10, 2018Memory Keeping

Telling Your Story In Lists

Close To My Heartjournaling, Journalling, list, Memory Keeping, storytelling 1 Comment

Journaling is the key ingredient that turns our scrapbook pages from a decorative photo album to a memory-keeping keepsake. Sometimes, even though we may know it, we get so caught up in everything that life throws at us that we don’t take the necessary time for this essential step. A quick and simple solution to this journaling dilemma is to incorporate lists in your memory keeping. Lists can be a fun way to include stories and details of stories that otherwise might get left out or would take too long to write out in paragraph form.

Take a look at the following examples we came up with.

How many of us create lists of things that we want to get done, either during a season or maybe even a lifetime? These bucket lists are such a big part of who we are and why we may have some really cool and unique photos later. These kinds of things from our story tend to not be told and eventually get lost over time. Imagine how special a list like this would be for your children and grandchildren to have of you, or even for you to look back on in later years.

There are several approaches to scrapping a bucket list. You can start with your list, before you begin checking things off, like we did here in our example. If you choose to include photos, you can find stock photos online or photos you already have that somehow relate to your list.

You can also go the other way and scrapbook your bucket list as you accomplish it. This second way you will probably have more photos of you actually doing what is on your list, but it won’t include your whole list with all the things you hope to eventually do (and in reality, we don’t always accomplish everything on our lists exactly how we think we will, so there’s that to consider, too).

Our second example doesn’t include photos at all! Yep, we went there (and you should, too, on occasion 🙂 ). Including a page like this one in a road trip or family vacation album, for example, will add so much of your actual personality and will also give the reader (including future you!) a glimpse into your world at the time of the event you’re scrapbooking about.

List journaling really is so simple and effective! You can include so much detail and information that would otherwise get left out, and quite possibly eventually forgotten, by organizing it all in a list and adding it to your memory keeping albums.

For more list journaling artwork inspiration, revisit the following posts:

12 Days of Christmas
Preserving Holiday Memories

Recipes

12″ x 12″ Summer Bucket List Pocket Page
B1484 My Acrylix^® Jennifer’s Hand Stamp Set, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2805 Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, 1772 Glue Dots^® Ultra-thin Dots, Z1950 Memory Protectors™ Design 3

12″x 12″ Road Trip Music Page
B1484 My Acrylix^® Jennifer’s Hand Stamp Set, D1787 My Acrylix^® Music Speaks Stamp Set, X7232B Fresh Air Paper Packet, X5958 Peacock Cardstock, X5978 Glacider Cardstock, X5963 Poppy Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2849 Peacock Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2895 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2852 Poppy Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2841 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z4177 Documented Dots, Z3328 Thin Cuts—Basic Ovals, Z1979 Marvy^® Uchida^® LePen™ Journaling Pen

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July 5, 2018Celebrate, Learn

Stampaganza 2018!

Close To My Heartabcs, album, alphabet, campaign, letters, mini album, my acrylix, numbers, sale, set, Stampaganza, stamping, stamps, summer 7 Comments

We did it again! Stampaganza is back! For every two stamp sets you purchase at full retail price during the month of July you get a third of equal or lesser value FREE! Any of our current stamp sets found in our Annual Inspirations and Seasonal Expressions 2 catalogs are up for grabs. AND, to make things even more exciting, we brought back our popular alphabet and number Solos stamp sets just for this sale!

Celebrate this Stampaganza with us as we highlight some of the Solos sets in a fun summer album, below!

stampaganza #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhstampaganza #stampaganzaxctmh #solos #solosstampsets #stamping #stamps #free #July #sale #summeralbum #marveloussummer #summer #album #numbers #alphabet #abc #letters #numerical #MyAcrylix® #MyAcrylix

Features: Solos “a”, Solos “e”, Solos “h”, Solos “i”, Solos “l”, Solos “y”

These first two pages are the title and subject introduction of this album, where we get invited into a little girl’s “marvelous summer” adventures. In the pages that follow, we recount 10 of Ali’s favorite summer memories doing all of our stamping using only the number and alphabet Solos. Can you spot your favorite?

Features: Solos “1”, Solos “2”, Solos “e”, Solos “i”, Solos “m”, Solos “p”, Solos “s”, Solos “w”

Features: Solos “3”, Solos “4”, Solos “b”, Solos “c”, Solos “e”, Solos “g”, Solos “i”, Solos “k”, Solos “n”, Solos “o”

Features: Solos “5”, Solos “6”, Solos “a”, Solos “c”, Solos “e”, Solos “f”, Solos “i”, Solos “k”, Solos “m”, Solos “r”, Solos “s”, Solos “t”

Features: Solos “7”, Solos “8”, Solos “a”, Solos “d”, Solos “e”, Solos “g”, Solos “m”, Solos “r”

Features: Solos “0”, Solos “1”, Solos “2”, Solos “9”, Solos “a”, Solos “c”, Solos “f”, Solos “l”, Solos “r”, Solos “t”

Just remember, these stamp sets are only back until the end of July, so make sure to snatch up your favorites before they are gone! (You really can’t ever have too many fonts 😉 )

Which stamp set is calling your name this Stampaganza? Tell us in the comments below!

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July 3, 2018Celebrate, Community

Operation Smile™ for the Win!

Close To My HeartCharity, convention, Convention 2018, Donations, operation smile 6 Comments

For the last ten years, Close To My Heart has partnered with Operation Smile™ in an effort to bring children around the world healthy smiles. Operation Smile™ is an international medical charity that provides free surgeries to children and young adults in developing countries who are born with cleft lip, cleft palate or other dental and facial conditions. It is one of the oldest and largest volunteer-based organizations dedicated to improving the health and lives of children worldwide through access to surgical care.

Last October, we kicked off the Share a Smile Challenge that promised to reward three Close To My Heart Consultants a spot as a volunteer on an Operation Smile™ medical mission. Unless you are a medical doctor, these non-medical volunteer positions are hard to come by and highly sought after. It is an opportunity of a lifetime, to witness first hand how our contributions and efforts can change the lives of children and the families they come from. The winners of our contest were announced at our North American Convention just this last week. So who are they?

In order to win, two of these amazing people had to submit the highest total in donations between October 1, 2017 and May 31, 2018. The third winner was drawn at random on stage among all Consultants who submitted donations of at least $1,000 in the same time period.

In first place, with over $14,000 raised and donated to this wonderful cause, is our friend Avis Latimer, from Glenn Dale Maryland! Taking second in our Share a Smile Challenge, with donations adding up to $10,000, is Holly Veselenak from Macomb Michigan. And, our third winner, drawn at random from a set of 25 names (which means that’s at least another $25,000 raised for Operation Smile™!) is Brenda Rose from East Bethel, Minnesota.

Congratulations to these incredible women! And sincere heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in this challenge and does their part to contribute to this never-ending need.

But there is more!

Every year, as many of you know, we also raise funds for Operation Smile™ during our Convention by accepting donations and auctioning off artwork (albums, layouts, home décor, etc.) created and donated by a handful of our most talented Consultants. This year, one of these Consultants had the idea to not only auction off the completed album, but also to provide instructions for recreating the album to anyone who made a $50 donation to Operation Smile. By the end of the day, this initiative of hers had raised an incredible $19,200!! We got on the phone with Operation Smile™ right away and told them of this amazing feat. They responded by opening up another spot for her to attend a mission as a non-medical volunteer!

There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when none other than Jennifer Smith, hailing from Alberta, Canada was brought to the stage and announced as the FOURTH medical mission participant winner! (You go girl!)

We so appreciate everyone’s support of Operation Smile™, and want to continue to give you new reasons to talk to your customers about this donation opportunity. Starting with our new catalog coming August 1, we will be updating our Operation Smile™ stamp set with each idea book (instead of once a year), giving you three new stamp sets per year that will benefit their organization. Additionally, make sure to keep an eye out for a new Operation Smile™ t-shirt that will be available in the coming weeks—just another fun way to support Operation Smile™ so that this important work can continue.

Until then, let’s keep blessing the lives of these children who need it so much! It only takes $240 to perform a single life-saving reconstructive cleft surgery. No matter the size of your contribution, you are making a difference.

Share a Smile #closetomyheart #ctmh #operationsmile #charity #nonprofit #shareasmile #stamping #stamps #punnypals

My Acrylix® Punny Pals Stamp Set

You don’t have to be a surgeon or a nurse to help these children; you don’t have to fly around the world or even leave your house! Operation Smile™ takes care of those parts—all they need from us, from you and me, are donations to make it possible. Close To My Heart is committed to helping Operation Smile™ receive these donations. With each donation from you, whether from rounding up your order or by purchasing this year’s special stamp set, My Acrylix^® Punny Pals, you are helping them, too. To learn more about how you can help Operation Smile™, talk to your Consultant today or find a Consultant in your area by visiting closetomyheart.com and clicking Find a Consultant under the What We Do tab.

Thank you for helping us make a difference!

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June 26, 2018Create, Learn

Creating Pocket Cards in Cricut Design Space™

Close To My Heartadventure, cricut, Design Space, DIY, Fresh Air, layout, Pocket Cards, pocket scrapbooking 2 Comments

Are you ready for some new Cricut Design Space™ ideas? Today we’re going to walk you through creating your very own pocket cards for your pocket scrapbooking layouts. Making pocket cards is a great and relatively easy way to add unique shapes or titles to your memory keeping projects using images that can be manipulated in Design Space. Simply follow our steps below to learn how.

This layout shows three different pocket cards made with the You Are Here Cricut^® collection. The variety of shapes from this travel-themed collection pair perfectly with the colors and patterns of the Fresh Air paper.

These three pocket cards come together quickly when you use tools like Contour and Slice in Design Space. Let’s show you how to make the layered pieces for the title card, “THE Adventure BEGINS,” from one image in Design Space.

Before getting started, make sure you own the You Are Here Cricut^®collection so you can use the same title that we did on this pocket card. You will also need a Cricut^®machine that is Design Space™ compatible (any of the Explore models or the new Maker) to link your collections to your account. (If you do not know how to do this, click here.)

The steps below show you how to work in Design Space from a desktop or laptop computer. If you use the app on a mobile device, the buttons and tools will be located in slightly different places on your screen, but the same features are available on any device.

1. Sign in to Cricut Design Space™ at design.cricut.com.

2. Insert and resize a basic square shape.

To make the pocket card base, you will first insert a square by clicking on Shapes on the left side of your screen. Next you can easily resize this square to a 4″ x 6″ rectangle. Click the lock to unlock the size and change the width to 6″ and the height to 4″.

3. Insert the title image and resize.

To add the title from the You Are Here collection to your canvas, click Images on the left side of your screen. Then search for image #M2763105 in the search box at the top. This is the exact title you need. Select it and click Insert Images in the bottom right corner to add it to your canvas. Then change the width only to 5.25″. Design Space™ automatically resizes the height to the correct proportions as long as the lock icon above the size is locked.

4. Duplicate the rectangle and title.

To create this pocket card, you will need several images to slice and contour. To duplicate both the rectangle and the title, select the image and then click Duplicate in the Layers panel. The second rectangle will serve as the base for your pocket card.

5. Without ungrouping, use the Slice tool on one of your title images.

To slice the title, select it and then click “Slice” in the bottom right corner. This will help you create one of the layers on your pocket card. After slicing your first title, you’ll have several pieces of text remaining. The screenshot shows you the three different pieces that will be made after you use slice on this first title image.

6. Delete one of the extra titles.

Delete of one of the extra titles by selecting the red X. Make sure you leave the image with the words “THE” and “BEGINS” on your canvas.

7. Contour the remaining sliced title.

With the remaining title image from your slice, you will use Contour to hide the word “BEGINS” from the image to leave only the word “Adventure.” Select it and then click Contour in the bottom right corner. Then click on all the pieces you want to hide to get ride of the word “BEGINS.” This will leave only the word “Adventure” that you’ll use in the next step.

8. Use Slice to cut title into one rectangle.

To cut the “Adventure” title into one of the rectangles, click and drag your mouse over the banner and text to highlight both images. This will allow the Slice option to become available in the bottom right corner. Click Slice.

9. Delete extra text and contour the title.

Both titles from slicing into your rectangle can be deleted by selecting the text and clicking the red X. You won’t need to use them to build your pocket card. To allow parts of the solid cardstock to show beneath title you sliced in this pocket card, use the Contour tool to remove some of the extra cuts. Select the sliced title and click Contour. Then select some of the inside pieces to remove, like the inside cut of the letters “A,” “d,” and “u.” You can also contour part of the curly line at the beginning and the end of the word.

10. Ungroup the duplicate title image and delete extra pieces.

To create Juniper layer of this title, select the duplicate title and click Ungroup in the layers panel. Then delete the purple “Adventure BEGINS” image by select the red X.

11. Assign colors to your project pieces.

Assigning colors to your pieces is an optional step, but it can help you see what color of cardstock you need when you cut your project. You can also color each piece and move them around to visually get a sense for how your project pieces will look when they come together, like we did below.

12. Cut your project and assemble your pocket card!

When you’re ready, click the green Make It button in the top right corner and follow the prompts. We used light Toffee cardstock for the pocket card base and Toffee cardstock for the 4″ x 6″ sliced title card. We used Juniper cardstock for the title piece with the solid banner. Finish it off with New England Ivy cardstock for the separate title pieces, “THE” and “BEGINS” and then “Adventure”. After your pieces are cut, it’s easy to assemble the layers for this title on your pocket card. Just remember that the final layer will be your two New England Ivy pieces, and you’ll attach them to your card over the Juniper cardstock.

If you liked the title we made today but it doesn’t match your photos, that’s an easy fix. You can use the tools in Design Space to create other pocket cards in any color scheme. You’d follow the same steps and then simply choose other colors of cardstock when you cut the project. The creative options in Design Space can be used for your 12″ x 12″ scrapbook pages, but they also allow you to design projects for other types of memory keeping like pocket cards. Enjoy!

Recipe

12″ × 12″ Adventure Layout
X7232B Fresh Air Paper Packet, X7232D Fresh Air Coordinating Cardstock, X7232C Fresh Air Complements, Z4185 Fresh Air Shapes, Z4170 New England Ivy Burlap Ribbon, Z3389 Cricut^® You Are Here Collection

Cricut^®Shapes:
You Are Here
2″ Icon-1 <8> (p. 8, #M27202C7)
2″ Shift+Icon-1 <?> (p. 8, #M27606C7)
2″ Icon-2 <8> (p. 8, #M27606C7)
2½” Shift+Icon-3 <F> (cut 3, p. 24, #M2762C6C)
2¾” Title <j> (cut 3, p. 27, #M2763105)
2¾” Title <b> (p. 35, #M27F821B)
2¾” Shift+Title <B> (p. 35, #M27F821B)

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June 21, 2018Create, Learn

Balance in Your Artwork

Close To My HeartAsymmetrial, balance, design, design principles, Radial, reflection, Symmetrical, symmetry 2 Comments

We’ve talked quite a bit about how to make harmonious color combinations based on color theory and the color wheel. Today we’d like to branch out and look at some other visual elements that can boost your artwork beyond the use of color.

Balance is a design principle that refers to the distribution of visual elements (such as shapes, colors, space, and textures) and how they relate to each other in terms of their visual weight. That term “visual weight” sounds a bit complicated, so let’s take it back to the playground to explain.

Consider two children on a seesaw. To have a fun experience, the children on either side of the seesaw should be relatively the same size or weight. If one child is heavier than the other, the seesaw is unbalanced and it will continuously want to tip to the one side, creating an unpleasant experience for everyone involved. The same idea applies when working on two dimensional paper projects, such as scrapbook pages or cards.

We tend to strive, usually without thinking about it, to create artwork that is balanced. A balanced work, where the visual weight is distributed evenly, appears stable, is pleasing to look at, and makes the viewer feel comfortable. Work that is unbalanced does the opposite. Sometimes artists will create unbalanced art on purpose, but that is pretty rare in scrapbooking and cardmaking.

So how do we apply this design principle to our craft?

There are a few different approaches to achieve balance in your artwork—and we brought examples! So far we’ve been alluding to probably the simplest approach, and that is something known as reflection symmetry, where one side mirrors the other (both kids on the seesaw are the same size). This is an easy way to achieve balance and doesn’t require too much consideration. Simply draw a line (hypothetically, you don’t really have to draw a line) down the middle of your work and then mirror what you create on one side on the other side. The line can be drawn vertically, horizontally, or even diagonally.

Radial balance is another type of symmetrical balance where the visual balanced is based on a circle (don’t worry, we won’t quiz you on these terms we’re throwing around—the principle matters more than the vocab 🙂 ). The design has a center and it extends from there. Daisies, a star, and the sun (when depicted with it’s rays) are all examples of shapes in radial balance. The page above is a beautiful example of one way you could use radial balance in your scrapbooking.

The downside to symmetrical balance is that it can sometimes come across as too simple, or boring, since both sides are visually the same. But there’s more, so keep reading!

Asymmetrical Balance

To have balanced artwork does not mean that all of the pieces on your scrapbook page or layout have to be the same size and laid out in perfect symmetry. Back to the seesaw—if you have a big kid that wants to play but don’t have a child of the same weight to balance him out on the other side, you create the weight by stacking two or three kids opposite the big kid. Another option would be to move the big kid closer to the center of the seesaw with just one smaller child on the opposite end to achieve balance where the two can play harmoniously.

In art, if you have a large object on one side of your work it can be balanced with several smaller items on the other side. Or, instead of increasing the number of parts on your scrapbook page (because sometimes we don’t have them or just don’t want them), move the larger piece closer to the center and balance with the smaller elements on the opposite side.

Take a look at our asymmetrical page above. This page is asymmetrical because it has unequal visual weight on opposite ends. To balance it, our “heavier” elements were moved closer to the center and were countered with a handful of lighter elements on the other corner.

When done correctly, asymmetrical balance is more interesting to look at. It offers more visual variety and even has a more modern feel to it.

To determine whether or not your artwork is balanced, rely on your perception of it. No one area should draw your eye so much that you can’t see the others. Also, consider how it makes you feel. Do you like it? Is it comfortable to look at? Or do you sense that something is off?

Balance is the first of several basic design principles we will be discussing on this blog. Make sure to subscribe and to check back with us regularly to learn how to better use the elements of art in your artwork.

Recipes

12″ x 12″ Life In Color Page
B1484 My Acrylix® Jennifer’s Hand Stamp Set, Z3353 Basics Fundamental Paper Packet, X5965 Ruby Cardstock, X5963 Poppy Cardstock, X5962 Goldrush Cardstock, Z5961 Saffron Cardstock, X5982 Canary Cardstock, X5981 Sweet Leaf Cardstock, X5970 Willow Cardstock, X5968 Lagoon Cardstock, X5967 Pacifica Cardstock, X5966 Pansy Cardstock, X5957 Sapphire Cardstock, X5974 Raspberry Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2832 Pewter Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, X7232C Fresh Air Complements, Z3355 Happy Moments Complements, Z3356 All-star Complements, Z4178 Central Park Sequins, Z4197 Central Park Alphabet, Z4177 Documented Dots, Z3090 Red Gems, Z3274 Clear Sparkles, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, Z1979 Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen, Z3290 Circuit® Flower Market Collection

Cricut® Shape:
Flower Market
3″ Flower-2 <7> (p. 7, #MD389A5, cut 12)

12″ x 12″ Summer Page
X7231B Central Park Paper Packet, X7232B Fresh Air Paper Packet, X5968 Lagoon Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X7231C Central Park Complements, X7232C Fresh Air Complements, Z4185 Fresh Air Shapes, Z4178 Central Park Sequins, Z4197 Central Park Alphabet, Z1297 Edge Distresser, Z1979 Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen

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June 19, 2018Create, Learn, Memory Keeping

Making Title and Created By Cards in Story Starter

Close To My HeartAuthor, Author Card, Colorful Texture, Created By Card, mini album, Quoteable Words, Stacy Julian, Story by Stacy, Story Starter, storytelling, title, Title Card 2 Comments

Even though every story is unique, there are some important parts that each one includes. For example, every story has a title and an author. This is why you’ll find specific cards in the Story by Stacy™—Story Starter workshop kits just for adding those two essential pieces. Story Starter helps you access a collection of memories that you can write as small stories in an album. Each workshop kit includes one title card and one created by card for you to add those story elements to every album you make and share.

Title Card

Story by Stacy™—Story Starter is perfect for documenting the people, places, and things that you love, and by sliding a title card in right at the front, that subject is clear at the very beginning. These examples from Story Starter albums we’ve made show a few ways you can personalize the title card to fit whatever it is you are documenting.

Story by Stacy—Story Starter #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhstorybystacy #ctmhxstorybystacy #ctmhxstacyjulian #stacyjulian #storystarter #titlecard #album #minialbum #storytelling

Use the coordinating stamp sets, Colorful Texture and Quotable Words, to add stamped images in colors that match the rest of your album. You could also combine stamping with a small photo, or fill the title card with a larger square photo that has written words on the edges. The title card is yours to customize however you want.

Created By Card

Part of what makes the stories you tell in Story Starter albums special is you! The words you write and the photos you use to illustrate them are yours, and that is why each Story Starter kit comes with a created by card. You, as the storyteller, should also be documented because these memories come from your perspective.

Story by Stacy—Story Starter #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhstorybystacy #ctmhxstorybystacy #ctmhxstacyjulian #stacyjulian #storystarter #createdbycard #album #minialbum #storytelling

Just like your title card, you get to choose how you add the finishing touch as the author of this album. It might be a simple black and white photo with your signature. This is another place where you can add a little something extra with stamped images from Colorful Texture or Quotable Words. You could even go one step further with personalizing your created by card by flipping it over and using the back. This gives you a blank card to arrange a photo and stamped images in any way you like.

Another reason why we love having a created by card is that it gives you a place to write a small note when you give a Story Starter album as a gift. These small albums are both an easy and incredibly fun way to celebrate the people and moments that you cherish. You can use the created by card to include your name as the author of the story and add a note to that special someone.

As you make your own Story Starter albums, don’t skip the title or created by cards. These little additions highlight your album’s subject and the storyteller (that’s you!). You bring something exceptional to every story you tell, and it’s an important piece of the memories you include both inside your Story by Stacy™—Story Starter album and in any memory keeping project that you make. Keep telling those stories!

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Exclusive Stamp Sets:

Workshop kit options:

Completed projects:

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Features: Solos “a”, Solos “e”, Solos “h”, Solos “i”, Solos “l”, Solos “y”

Features: Solos “1”, Solos “2”, Solos “e”, Solos “i”, Solos “m”, Solos “p”, Solos “s”, Solos “w”

Features: Solos “3”, Solos “4”, Solos “b”, Solos “c”, Solos “e”, Solos “g”, Solos “i”, Solos “k”, Solos “n”, Solos “o”

Features: Solos “5”, Solos “6”, Solos “a”, Solos “c”, Solos “e”, Solos “f”, Solos “i”, Solos “k”, Solos “m”, Solos “r”, Solos “s”, Solos “t”

Features: Solos “7”, Solos “8”, Solos “a”, Solos “d”, Solos “e”, Solos “g”, Solos “m”, Solos “r”

Features: Solos “0”, Solos “1”, Solos “2”, Solos “9”, Solos “a”, Solos “c”, Solos “f”, Solos “l”, Solos “r”, Solos “t”

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1. Sign in to Cricut Design Space™ at design.cricut.com.

2. Insert and resize a basic square shape.

3. Insert the title image and resize.

4. Duplicate the rectangle and title.

5. Without ungrouping, use the Slice tool on one of your title images.

6. Delete one of the extra titles.

7. Contour the remaining sliced title.

8. Use Slice to cut title into one rectangle.

9. Delete extra text and contour the title.

10. Ungroup the duplicate title image and delete extra pieces.

11. Assign colors to your project pieces.

12. Cut your project and assemble your pocket card!

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So how do we apply this design principle to our craft?

Asymmetrical Balance

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Title Card

Created By Card

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