Catchlights

I've always wanted to make one of these layouts with a single photo, some embelishments and lots of white space. When I saw a cushion in a magazine which had a bird and a tree branch I though I could use it as a starting point for a layout. But it is very possible that it would end up being a never-tried idea if it weren't for some godies that Lara (Claire) from CS send me. It had an assortment of felt flowers and some lovely die-cut little frames.


The photo is from one of last week's challenges in the 2peas photo course - the task was to get catchlights (the little glint in one's eyes). I asked my children to pose and got some photos I am happy with, including this one, and although Luke is looking down, I love it.

Photo Editing II

This is not exactly photo editing but it is something I have been playing with since I did the altered canvas.

Sometimes there are photos that I like but that are a bit boring, or the colours are a bit off, or a bit blurry. If no amount of photo editing seem to improve a photo there is always the alternative to try to get an interesting result using filters. You need to experiment with the parameters until you get a pleasing result but it is really great fun and the results are worth it.

In PSE, you can find the Filters by clicking on Filters->Filter Gallery or, on the right hand side of the screen, under Artworks and Effects, choose filter in the first drop down menu, and artistic on the second.

Here's some before&after pics:


Watercolour Filter, parameters set to 10/2/2.



Coloured pencil, parameters set to 2/12/25. My favourite filter and one of the few ones that work well with portraits too.


Poster Edges filter, parameters set to 4/3/3. Very subtle change, but somehow it improves the photos by 100%.

Cards again!

I made these two for Lucy's birthday. My intention was to make an slider card, but it took so long to find the image for the card that I run out of time and I took the lazy approach. They are plain digital. With this, I'll retire for cardmaking for a while :-)

The first one is from my son, the second is my husband and I.

Valentine's Day

I don't usually make cards, but this month I've done 5 cards so far. I've made husband's birthday cards plus Valentine's Day cards for my 3 dearest. The valentine's ones are all the same, I've only changed the letter. I've designed all digitally, but printed the foreground (heart, wings & monogram) separately, cut it out and stuck with foam pads. I've also printed the inside, with a suitable quote.

What you're seeing is the digital version.

Hybrid Canvas

This is my take on Lainey's class. I cheated a bit, there's no gesso nor paint, everything is stuck over the canvas. I tweaked the photo in PSE, blended with digipapers and frame and printed in transparency so that the texture of the canvas shows through.

The lacy papers were a present from Lara (CS forum). Thanks Claire.