Assignment #2

This week's lesson was on aperture...a good thing, since this is something that has always confused me. An open (large) aperture lets in more light, and usually uses a faster shutter speed, resulting in a blurred background...
1/50
f/3.5
ISO-400
22 mm

A closed (small) aperture is a smaller opening, meaning less light and longer shutter speed, things are more in focus, even in the background...1/6
f/10
ISO-400
24 mm

This is not the best example...see how the background is still a little blurred? But there is a difference between the two.

The confusing this is that a large aperture is a smaller number and a small aperture is a big number. Less is more.

Right now I only have the kit lens for my camera (I just ordered a new lens...I am excited!). It doesn't allow for a very large aperture, so in low light it doesn't do very well. Which is too bad, because I take a lot of pictures inside. I took this picture outside in the middle of the day and I love how it turned out...my baby didn't really want me taking her picture. She wanted me to push her on the swing.

1/1600
f/5.6
ISO-400
50 mm

Photography class assignment #1

I started taking an online photography class this week and am already learning so much! Here are the pictures I posted for assignment 1. This week's lesson is on shutter speed. The first picture is a slow shutter speed:

f/36
1/50
ISO-400
46mm

The second is with a high shutter speed:


f/10
1/500
ISO-400
52mm

Both were taken in natural light with a Canon Digital Rebel Xti. See the difference? A few days ago I could not have told you how to do this. Hee hee. Learning is sooo fun!

Using the Seventies Action

Today I took this picture of my daughter:



It looks fine, though I did let her pick out her own clothes. We are potty training, so I figure the pants won't last for very long. As a result, I wasn't too picky. But the bright pink and yellow contrast a little too much. So I decided to try out a Pioneer Woman action that I have been eager to use. I pulled the picture up in Photoshop and used the "Seventies" action to try a different look. It really washed my baby out, which isn't THAT hard to do...we are both pale faced girls. So I played with opacity. I think I reduced it clear down to 25-30%...just enough to avoid looking completely washed out but enough that you can tell a difference between it and the original. Barely. Here is the result:


One of the awesome things about the Pioneer Woman's Action Sets is that they are free! I am still somewhat of a novice in using photoshop, so I haven't felt brave enough to buy any actions elsewhere. They can be a little pricey. So if you are like me and are just starting to play, I highly recommend them. You can find them here.

A Valentine for Your Sweetheart

Here it is...Valentine's Eve. If you are like me, you are still putting the finishing (or beginning) touches on that special someone's Valentine. What says "Love" better than a handmade card? Especially one that looks like this:

I am keeping things simple with this card...here's what you need:


Brown, red and cream colored paper or cardstock
Heart stamps or images...I used the Happy Hearts set from Stampin' Up!
Letter stamps or images...I used the Big Deal Alphabet from Stampin' Up!
If you are using stamps you will need a red inkpad, preferably one that matches your red paper.
A paper cutter and or scissors
2 paper punches...one that is a 1/8" circle and the other is a square...you don't necessarily need to have a square one, but it helps.
Adhesive of some sort

To get started, cut a piece of brown paper to be 4 1/4" tall by 5 1/2" wide.


Using your 1/8" circle punch, make a row of holes along the bottom of your card, about 1/4" up from the bottom. You can use a ruler to space them out exactly or estimate for a less perfect look. I wound up with 24 holes.


If you have a little 1/4" square punch, use it to punch out some red and cream colored squares. Then cut each one in half.



Make sure you have the same amount as you have little round holes, because you're going to glue a little piece of red or cream paper on the back side of your card so the colors will show through the holes.




Then stamp your letters and a small heart on cream cardstock using your red ink pad. If you're using a pigment ink pad (like I was) give yourself some time for the stamped images to dry before you cute them out. That way you will avoid smudging.






Then follow the instructions below...click on the image to enlarge it:


Arrange your squares in the center of your card to look like this (think the "Love" postage stamp that was around a few years back) and then place the small heart in the center of your letter "O". I used a dimensional to puff the heart out a little from the rest of the card. These are little sticky spongy doo-dads. You can get them in the scrapbook/card making section of your craft store. I got mine from Stampin' Up.

Cut an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of cream cardstock in half and then fold one of the halves in half to create the base of the card. Glue your card front on and....ta da! A Valentine for your sweetie!


Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I hope it's a good one!

The PW Layer Mask tutorial

Ever since PW posted this nifty technique here I have been itching to try it. But I wasn't sure which photo I wanted to try it on. This morning as I was avoiding being on the computer (so I would actually get some stuff done), I noticed this picture pop up on my screen saver:


I know I have seen it before, but that was before I learned about the layer mask technique...so this time I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it! I pulled it into photoshop and carefully followed Ree's instructions. Here is the result:


I have to say I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I may crop some of the background away in the future to focus more on my girls. And I have a feeling that with a little yard work, this spot may become one of my favorite places to shoot pictures!

Family Picture

Every year we take a bunch of pictures, trying to get the "perfect shot" for our annual Christmas picture. I liked a lot of the pictures last December, not for our card, but for a fun scrapbook page! I love seeing all the different pictures and the flow of the photo shoot. Since so many of our pictures were similar this year, I chose the final choice and then 3 others (including why they were not chosen) to highlight on the page.


Supplies:
Papers: brown background from the Chocoberry Creme kit, DigitalFreebies.com; light blue from the Strong Shoes add-on, DigitalFreebies.com
brown star: Rainy day Sunday add-on, DigitalFreebies.com
Fonts: CK Becky and CK Higgins Handprint
arrows are all custom shapes in Photoshop

Finally getting things back together...

I am revamping this blog...its original purpose was to sell my handmade cards, but since there has been zero interest in that I have changed my mind. And some of you may be thinking...she already has a scrapbooking blog. Why does she need another? My highly intelligent and thought out answer? Because. Actually partly because, without really thinking, I called my other scrap blog cardbug scraps. But when you read it without the space, it could be cardbugs craps. And once I discovered that, I wondered how many other people had noticed.

Eventually this will be a nifty website with tutorials for cardmaking and scrapbooking, but for now it will be a catch all for my crafty little self. So here is what I created for my dad's birthday today:


Supplies: Background paper and photo mat from the Tropical Dreams mini kit (Digital Design Essentials); cupcake from Party Pants kit (Peppermint Creative); Fonts are Bell MT and CK Becky.
I actually ran a couple actions on the photo. Both were from the Pioneer Woman Action Sets. The first was the "Fresh and Colorful" action from set 1. I played with opacity a little bit before running the second action, "Colorized" from set 2. I played with opacity of that one, too. It was making the photo wash out a little much and since my girls are both kinda pale-faced right now (like their mom) it made them look a little...um...more pale-faced. If that is even possible to do. Anyway, it is a subtle change from the original. I could really get to like these actions...I'll have to play with them more. More posts coming soon!