Why I’m Thankful for Studio J #30—Member Benefits

I spent this month sharing with you some of the reasons why I’m thankful for Studio J. On the last day of the month, I’m working on finishing up my layouts so that I can enjoy one of the perks of membership…free shipping! I love that I only have to purchase 4 layouts to receive free shipping but can fit as many as 20 in one box. That’s 40 pages for my albums and I don’t have to pay a cent for shipping. Woo hoo!

Today is also the last day to sign up for my Studio J 5-Pack giveaway by leaving a comment on the blog post that started this entire series, 30 Reasons Why I’m Thankful for Studio J. I will post the winner tomorrow evening!

Read More

Why I'm Thankful for Studio J #29--Warning Symbols

I'm thankful that Studio J gives me warning symbols when I'm using low quality photos.  When I try to resize a photo that doesn't have a high resolution, Studio J pops up the yellow warning sign.  I'm even more thankful for the fact that I can simply ignore the warnings and that they won't print on my final layout.  Sometimes I don't mind having a blurry photo on my page because it tells a story.  In this example, the images on the right were a screen capture from a TV station aired over the Internet...it's not surprising that the quality is low.  Yet, I'm still going to use the photos, because it is a record of my brief experience on Star Trek: Enterprise!

Don’t forget to leave a comment on the giveaway blog post to have a chance at winning a FREE Studio J 5-Pack (includes 5 layouts, page protectors, and shipping).  With only 1 day left, your chances are really good as there are only 19 comments on that post, so hurry up and click on over there!

Read More

Why I'm Thankful for Studio J #28 ~ Photo in Multiple Wells

Studio J gives us lots of ways to create visual impact with our favorite photos.  A fun technique involves placing the same photo in multiple photo wells to create an enlargement of the photo.  In the Grill Masters layout, I love the focal photo of my husband showing off pans of freshly seasoned beef.  Yet, the story is really about how he and my brother-in-law were in a grilling cook off.  I wanted their photo to carry almost equal weight as the focal photo, so I placed it in four different photo wells to create an "enlargement."  The steps to accomplish this are really easy:

1)  Select the photo you want to "enlarge" and drop into one of the photo wells.
2)  Increase the scale until the "ghost" image covers all four photo wells.  My photos are at 220%.
3)  Move the first photo into place and repeat.
4)  Once all four photos have been resized, you are able to move them around by grabbing the hand/move icon in the middle of the photo.  A "ghost" image will appear that will allow you to line up all four photos.  It helps to zoom way in so that you can really see what you are doing.

Don’t forget to leave a comment on the giveaway blog post to have a chance at winning a FREE Studio J 5-Pack (includes 5 layouts, page protectors, and shipping).  With only 2 days left, your chances are really good as there are only 19 comments on that post, so hurry up and click on over there!

Read More

Why I’m Thankful for Studio J #27—Changing Paper Colors

Like I showed you yesterday, Studio J gives me lots of creative control.  In classic scrapbooking, if my photos don’t match the paper, I have to turn my photos black and white or sepia.  Not so with Studio J!  In Studio J, I can change my background paper to fit the color of my photos!  I have the entire Close To My Heart color palette to play with…that’s 60 colors!  Now, the only limitation is that we can’t change the color of My Stickease, but with so many other embellishments available to us, I don’t see this as a problem at all.  I would love to see the layouts you create on my Facebook page, so be sure to upload your favorites and show me how you changed the color of the paper on your layout!

Don’t forget to leave a comment on the giveaway blog post to have a chance at winning a FREE Studio J 5-Pack (includes 5 layouts, page protectors, and shipping).  With only 3 days left, your chances are really good as only 16 people have left comments on that post, so hurry up and click on over there!

Read More

Why I'm Thankful for Studio J #26--Creativity

I've talked about how amazing Studio J is when you are short on time or new to scrapbooking.  It really can be as easy as dropping in photos, coloring embellishments, adding a title and journaling.  Yet, Studio J also lets our creativity shine when we have more time to spend.  For instance, last night I decided that I wanted to learn how to make graph paper in Photoshop, so I did!  I used the RGB codes for a Colonial White background and Chocolate grid to create my custom graph paper that will match the CTMH papers in Studio J.  As I look at it now, I wish I would have added a little distressing, but luckily I can do that in Studio J.

So, after creating the paper, I thought about a layout I had seen on page 24 of the November/December 2011 edition of Creating Keepsakes.  I loved the circles that were cut out of the paper.  I did the same on my graph paper and put a little drop shadow behind the circles.  I figured out which photos I wanted to use and created my photo mats.  You can download the layered Photoshop file under my Freebies tab and watch this video to see how to add your own photos.

I really want to see what you create with this file (and my other Freebies!), so please post your completed layout to my Facebook page!

Don’t forget to leave a comment on the giveaway blog post to have a chance at winning a FREE Studio J 5-Pack (includes 5 layouts, page protectors, and shipping).

Read More

Why I’m Thankful for Studio J #25—Layers

Like our classic layouts, Studio J lets us layer papers and embellishments to create clusters that enhance the visual impact of our layouts.  The key to successful layering is the right-click button on your mouse!  Right clicking allows you to send items to the front or back of your layout.  You may also send items forward or backward one layer at a time.  It often takes many right-clicks to send items forward or backward, so it does take a bit of patience.  This video tutorial gives you a quick example of layering in Studio J.

Don’t forget to leave a comment on the giveaway blog postto have a chance at winning a FREE Studio J 5-Pack (includes 5 layouts, page protectors, and shipping).

Read More

Why I'm Thankful for Studio J #24--Everyday Life

I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving with your families and friends!  I spent a fantastic day with my husband and our dear friends, Jan and Eric.  These are the moments that fill my albums--holidays, vacations, and special events.  I rarely took the time to scrapbook everyday life until Studio J.  Now I feel free to tell the stories that matter the most.  I hope you will take some time to scrapbook about your everyday life.

Don’t forget to leave a comment on the giveaway blog postto have a chance at winning a FREE Studio J 5-Pack (includes 5 layouts, page protectors, and shipping).

Read More