July Challenge at Filekutz - Free SVG

Its time for the July challenge with LisaJane at Filekutz.  Head on over to the Challenge Blog to take a look at this month's challenge and download this wonderful free svg cut file that LisaJane has generously allowed us to use for this challenge.

Here is a photo of the great flowery border that can be used in the challenge.  Its a great leaf boarder with multiple sizes of flowers that can be layered and embellished in anyway you choose.

This page set unfinished for about a year before I finally found the right embellishment to tie it all together with LisaJane's flower and leaf boarder.  It is amazing how one small piece of embellishment can help the eye travel through the layout and bind it all together.

Both pages together

Page 1 Detail

Page 2 Detail

HOT WHEELS - July 3, 2007 - Ancient Thira, Santorini island, Greece

JOURNALING:
We set off on the 4-wheeler for the ruins of Ancient Thira. We rode the 4-wheeler up a very steep road with about 20 switchbacks and were rewarded with spectacular views of the island

PHOTOGRAPHS:
Matt and Angela Shetzer of Shetzers Photography

SUPPLIES USED:
GCD Studios Planes & Trains patterned paper, DCWV Neutrals card stock, Bazzill Dotted Swiss card stock, Best Occasions Glitter card stock, Paper Pizazz Pastel vellum paper, K&Company flowers, VersaColor Royal Blue ink, Tim Holtz Distress Peeled Paint ink, American Crafts Precision Pen (black), Diamond Glaze, Little Yellow Bicycle Traveler Alphabet, My Little Shoebox Sprinkle Glaze Alphabet, Diamond Stickles, Bazzill Stitch Template, Flower and leaf border svg cut from Filekutz' July Monthly Challenge


For  more examples of layouts using Distressing as a technique, please visit my website here.

Photography Tips & Techniques

Starting this week, I will be sharing photo tips that can help everyone take better photos. If you have friends who would like these as well, please feel free to share.

 

GET LOW!!!

 

One of our common mistakes is to put the camera to your eye, line up the shot, and click away. To improve on your wildlife shots (or not so wild shots of Fluffy the cat, or that speedy toddler) get down on the ground and play around with your angles. Take some images of the subject at the subjects eye level, and then a bit lower, and a big higher. You will find that your images are much more engaging to the viewer and real low images offer a unique perspective.

 

Please feel free to share with us some of your “low” shots on our Facebook Page!

 

Happy Shooting – Angela.

Hunting Birdies

HUNTING BIRDIES - April 2010 - South Padre Island, Texas

JOURNALING: South Padre Island - Nature & Birding Center

SUPPLIES USED:  Stamped Cricut cartridge, Tahiti Beach Stack by DCWV

TECHNIQUE TIP:  I love the use of color blocking on a layout.  I love the simple lines and how my photos seem to pop off the page.  However, I don't always like how blocky and simple the layouts end up looking.  On this layout, I decided to soften it up a bit and round my corners and layer some border strips with softer lines.  the overall result is a great balance of photos and corresponding colors to enhance our wildlife shots.

Double page layout

Page 1 Detail

Page 2 Detail

Calm Days

No matter how many flowers I purchase, I never seem to have the right color so I decided to purchase quite a few of the cream colored paper flowers.  With these, I can use either glimmer mists, stamps, or ink to recolor them to the perfect color.  In this layout, I wanted to match the blue and green and my stash of flowers just didn't have the right shades of the color.  A little glimmer mist created the green flowers and the blue ones were created with the help of stamps and ink.  Perfect match for this double page layout!!

CALM DAYS - April 2010 - South Padre Island, Texas

 JOURNALING: One of our favorite places to visit on calm days as the Birding & Nature Center.  We enjoyed the beautiful board walks and the peaceful setting watching the various birds and the alligators.

SUPPLIES USED:  Day at the Beach by EK Success, George & Basic Shapes Cricut cartridge, Sketch by: Mary Yountz, Summer Cardstock by DCWV, Inkadinkado Coastal stamps, Stampabilities blue ink, Glimmer Mists

Close up of Page 1 - Click on image for larger size

Close up of page 2 - Click on image for larger size

The Sunny Side of Life

I wanted a very simple but colorful layout to showcase our wonderful sunset photos. The papers chosen in this layout were chosen to compliment and help paint the mood of the photos. The sand textured background paper paired with a bright orange paper that is bordered by the black core'dinations strip mimics the silhouetted lines that you see in the main photo.

THE SUNNY SIDE OF LIFE - April 2010 - South Padre Island, Texas

JOURNALING: N/A 

SUPPLIES USED:  Stamped Cricut Cartridge for all letters of title, Tahiti Stack by DCWV. Core'dinations Black Magic papers, Fiskars paper crimper