Last week for me was just insane.

I had a new release to get ready…

I had a sick husband at home (who was trying to simultaneously rest, work remotely on web sites for his job AND finish the Digichick’s upgrades!)…

I had a collab to wrap up before the weekend…

I didn’t spend any “me time” on the web, and thus I had no Friday Finds for you last week. But this week was better! Not back to 100% yet… but better! So, without further ado, here’s some cool stuff I found this week:

Art Journal Month

Did you know that it was “Art Journal Month?” I didn’t! I’m enjoying this series on Karen’s blog, karenika. Check out this beautiful page from Day 3:

[Post: Art Journal Month – Start Where You Are]

This page really spoke to me… so often I am frustrated with myself because I am nowhere near where I want to be with my scrapping and papercrafting. I get really frustrated sometimes. I forget that we learn by doing! If I want to get better, I need to make time to play and shove away the bad, icky, condemning feelings that drag me down! I need to start where I am and just enjoy my creative time. Because it’s supposed to be a hobby, right?! It’s supposed to be fun…

I’m contemplating joining in on a project like this, even though I’m “late” in the game. Just looking at these beautiful pages makes me itch to go make something! Who cares about the dates?! I love the concept and I think it would be a good creative activity for me… one that leads to more creativity just from participating in it!

What’s Your Process?

This week at the Digichick, we’ve been asking people “What’s your typical process?” when it comes time to scrap. I thought this would be an interesting thing to talk about on the blog today!

When I’m not making a layout for a creative team, I find that I’m always thinking of what photos I’d like to use first before I think of what kit I’d like to use. Sometimes I work the other way around—like when I’ve just gotten a kit that I’m really excited about! But typically, it’s “Photos First!” for me. I think that’s because I enjoy scrapping as a beautiful mix of my love of photography, art and journaling. So, while I enjoy making pages just to play with pretty papers and elements, my goal is always to showcase a photo with a story. For me, photos are usually my starting place.

Something else we talked about was when in the process of making a page we add in our shadows. I have a set of saved styles in Photoshop, so I’ll add mine right away. I just add a quick shadow that basically fits the height of the element I’ve placed on the page. Once I’m about finished with everything, I’ll go back and tweak all the shadows. I may warp them or change their distance—whatever looks best to my eye. I’m still learning how to really do this, though! Shadows frustrate me. I have not figured them out yet, despite trying many tutorials and tricks from other scrappers!

Another question that was asked was “How do you decide which kit or elements to use?” I tend to use whatever I think suits the feel of my layout… and whatever really appeals to me from a kit. If I don’t like an element, I simply don’t use it. I’m really picky like that. Ha! And if there are not enough elements in a kit that I like, I’ll hunt up some more to add to my page from other kits. Keeping things matchy-matchy is not as important to me as being pleased with my end result and having a beautiful page in the end.

As for shortcuts I use in scrapping, my saved styles are probably the thing I use the most. I created my styles based of tutorials I’ve read and I love being able to just click a button and be done with it. I also have a few hotkeys I’ve assigned to my favorite photo actions that I use all the time. Another action I made for myself will save a layout, copy it, close it, resize it to 600 x 600, sharpen it a tad and then pull up the Save for Web menu—all at the press of a button! I really like that one.

So, how about you? What’s your process like? Feel free to leave a comment here or join us in the forums! I think it’s really interesting to see how we all can do things so differently.

Cool Finds:

• I got to catch up on two Paperclipping Digi Shows this week: #19 – Katie the Profanity Lady and #20 – Purple is a Death Sentence. I just love this podcast. Be sure to take a listen for some giggles and thought-provoking conversations! And while you’re at it—let me know: What’s your take on purple? Love it or hate it?
• Here’s a great post I found with a compilation of 50 Halloween Crafts from The Long Thread. Very inspiring!
• Speaking of Halloween, if you like all those cute little owls you see in digital kits, check out this amazing tutorial on how to make a fleesy Owl Costume for your kids! It looks super easy and it’s totally adorable! I wish I had more time to sew myself…
• Ready to get started on handmade Christmas presents? The Daily Digi has a HUGE list of great hybrid goodies and ideas for you: Christmas in October. Pretty awesome!
• I enjoyed this article by Tara on The Scoutie Girl blog on how to be a follower—in the right sort of way. A good post to follow this up with would be this art journal page by Karen: Stop Comparing. (I need to make a page with that message for my own journal! LOL!)

And one last question for you today: What’s your favorite blog? Do you know of any great blogs like these that I should be checking out? Link me up and let me know! I’d love to hear from you. (Your comments make my day, you know.)

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