What are you working on in September (2023)?

[Susan Ewart]

9 hours ago, Ann Seeber said:

I did an entire magazine with those templates in Aug 2021.

This is beautiful Ann.

 

[Cristina]

On 9/11/2023 at 10:22 PM, Julie Magerka said:

Yet another layout inspiration I saw online. I didn't scraplift it entirely, just the basic idea. Background paper is from the Lilypad, a set of Fusion papers called "For Art's Sake". Then added the elements & text for the theme of books. Nothing much is mine, except the frame. I do love books and reading and do it whenever I find time. I met a man in a book club once who worked in an automotive assembly plant. He had a book with him all the time as he worked. If he could complete his part of the assembly in less time than allotted, he would read as much as he could, even if it was only 30-40 seconds at a time. I think that's amazing. (The quote is from Stephen King.)

Julie, I like the layout very much!   I like a lot this kind of background paper.  I have to remember to use them more often.

I also love reading; I always have books and the Kindle on the bedside table.

[kasany]

10 hours ago, Susan Ewart said:

This is beautiful Ann.

 

Very interesting work.

[Michele]

12 hours ago, Sue Thomas said:

A page I did the other evening, as I was sorting through my photos.  I thought I'd post it, seeing as Carole  has added a tutorial on   "How to use punches in PSP", in the blog today. 

 

I like how you used punches on multiple layers. Great idea!

[Bonnie Ballentine]

On 9/11/2023 at 4:22 PM, Julie Magerka said:

Yet another layout inspiration I saw online. I didn't scraplift it entirely, just the basic idea. Background paper is from the Lilypad, a set of Fusion papers called "For Art's Sake". Then added the elements & text for the theme of books. Nothing much is mine, except the frame. I do love books and reading and do it whenever I find time. I met a man in a book club once who worked in an automotive assembly plant. He had a book with him all the time as he worked. If he could complete his part of the assembly in less time than allotted, he would read as much as he could, even if it was only 30-40 seconds at a time. I think that's amazing. (The quote is from Stephen King.)

I do this too. Sometimes I see a layout I love and just have to copy the idea. I think it is the teacher in me. A friend once told me, "Teachers are licensed thieves." I copied all sorts of ideas for lesson plans and for bulletin boards for 32 years. It has now carried over into retirement.

[Susan Ewart]

Isnt copying how we learn. Right from childhood, we see someone doing something so we copy it until we learn how to do it.  Then once we are proficient at it, we put our own spin on it therefore creating our own style.

Animals do this too.  I've watched one Magpie try to get into one of the bird feeders.  It kept at it until it could fly and land in it.  Then several other ones started doing it too.  After that, they taught the pigeons how to do it  (I had stern words with them for that).  

[Shirley]

Page 4 of Shenae's memory book.  How cute is this kid.

[Julie Magerka]

10 hours ago, Bonnie Ballentine said:

I do this too. Sometimes I see a layout I love and just have to copy the idea. I think it is the teacher in me. A friend once told me, "Teachers are licensed thieves." I copied all sorts of ideas for lesson plans and for bulletin boards for 32 years. It has now carried over into retirement.

Me too, Bonnie. I never thought of it as being "thieving" when I borrowed for lessons, just expanding my repertoire and paying homage to the original.?

[Julie Magerka]

10 hours ago, Susan Ewart said:

Isnt copying how we learn. Right from childhood, we see someone doing something so we copy it until we learn how to do it.  Then once we are proficient at it, we put our own spin on it therefore creating our own style.

Animals do this too.  I've watched one Magpie try to get into one of the bird feeders.  It kept at it until it could fly and land in it.  Then several other ones started doing it too.  After that, they taught the pigeons how to do it  (I had stern words with them for that).  

As they say, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, right?

I bet those poor birds were quaking when you used your stern voice! ?

[Julie Magerka]

In my determination to keep producing a layout regularly, I made this one. I did a "curved photo" from a tutorial on a photo I used for something else (likely from Unsplash or Pixabay), and then just started "playing around". I used a punch from Carole's new batch on the strip, added some other stuff and called it a layout. Fall colours and "busy" backgrounds are things I like.

[Cassel]

The discussion about "thieving" can be interesting and as Susan says, we all imitate in some way, and learning is about copying what we see (until we learn by messing up). There is a big difference between copying an idea to "play with" versus copying an idea and taking the credit.

Many years ago, someone saw a new product in a store and she bought it, however, it was limited to 4 particular words, and she had no use for those words. She asked me if I could code a script to allow her to use other words and other fonts. I did. However, at the time, I didn't know who had designed the product I was recreating, and it caused a HUGE uproar when designers started calling me a thief because I "stole an idea" that one designer had created and it was very unique. They said I was just going to cause her to lose all sales because "everyone" would buy the script instead of her PNG product. That turned out to be a horrible week of name-calling in a very popular forum. That is, until one designer recognized the technique from an online tutorial. It turned out that the designer who claimed to have "created that unique effect" was, in fact, just copying it. She was using the same text, the same font, the same settings, and claiming it HERS and "never done before". In the process, *I* was called a thief.

All that to say we all get inspired by something else, whether it is another digital project, a TV ad, a craft tutorial, or even nature! Being inspired is one thing. Taking credit is just something else.

[Susan Ewart]

4 hours ago, Cassel said:

The discussion about "thieving" can be interesting and as Susan says, we all imitate in some way, and learning is about copying what we see (until we learn by messing up). There is a big difference between copying an idea to "play with" versus copying an idea and taking the credit.

Many years ago, someone saw a new product in a store and she bought it, however, it was limited to 4 particular words, and she had no use for those words. She asked me if I could code a script to allow her to use other words and other fonts. I did. However, at the time, I didn't know who had designed the product I was recreating, and it caused a HUGE uproar when designers started calling me a thief because I "stole an idea" that one designer had created and it was very unique. They said I was just going to cause her to lose all sales because "everyone" would buy the script instead of her PNG product. That turned out to be a horrible week of name-calling in a very popular forum. That is, until one designer recognized the technique from an online tutorial. It turned out that the designer who claimed to have "created that unique effect" was, in fact, just copying it. She was using the same text, the same font, the same settings, and claiming it HERS and "never done before". In the process, *I* was called a thief.

All that to say we all get inspired by something else, whether it is another digital project, a TV ad, a craft tutorial, or even nature! Being inspired is one thing. Taking credit is just something else.

What a horrible experience.  That is one reason I rarely did commissions when i sold jewelry/glass.  We used to say, nothing is unique, because somewhere in the world someone is doing the exact same thing you are.  

[Susan Ewart]

4 hours ago, Julie Magerka said:

In my determination to keep producing a layout regularly, I made this one. I did a "curved photo" from a tutorial on a photo I used for something else (likely from Unsplash or Pixabay), and then just started "playing around". I used a punch from Carole's new batch on the strip, added some other stuff and called it a layout. Fall colours and "busy" backgrounds are things I like.

This is a beautiful fall layout Julie.  I love the punch, I bought them but havent even loaded them yet.  They make a striking element.  this layout is really well balanced.

[Shirley]

Page 5, and here she is with her Dad and the grandies. Her Dad's pet name for her was "my wee fluff".

[Michele]

12 hours ago, Shirley said:

Page 4 of Shenae's memory book.  How cute is this kid.

She is too darn cute!

[Cristina]

13 hours ago, Cassel said:

The discussion about "thieving" can be interesting and as Susan says, we all imitate in some way, and learning is about copying what we see (until we learn by messing up). There is a big difference between copying an idea to "play with" versus copying an idea and taking the credit.

Many years ago, someone saw a new product in a store and she bought it, however, it was limited to 4 particular words, and she had no use for those words. She asked me if I could code a script to allow her to use other words and other fonts. I did. However, at the time, I didn't know who had designed the product I was recreating, and it caused a HUGE uproar when designers started calling me a thief because I "stole an idea" that one designer had created and it was very unique. They said I was just going to cause her to lose all sales because "everyone" would buy the script instead of her PNG product. That turned out to be a horrible week of name-calling in a very popular forum. That is, until one designer recognized the technique from an online tutorial. It turned out that the designer who claimed to have "created that unique effect" was, in fact, just copying it. She was using the same text, the same font, the same settings, and claiming it HERS and "never done before". In the process, *I* was called a thief.

All that to say we all get inspired by something else, whether it is another digital project, a TV ad, a craft tutorial, or even nature! Being inspired is one thing. Taking credit is just something else.

Carole, I can only imagine how upsetting it was for you until everything was clarified. ? 

And the person who cried the loudest was the one who took credit for somebody else's work. One needs strong nerves to deal with this situation!

[Susan Ewart]

41 minutes ago, Cristina said:

Carole, I can only imagine how upsetting it was for you until everything was clarified. ? 

And the person who cried the loudest was the one who took credit for somebody else's work. One needs strong nerves to deal with this situation!

I went through this (not as bad as Carole) when I made a product for the rubber stamp community.  I had a commerical order from a stamp maker and she used solvent to clean the product I made which caused cracking of the product.  When she informed me i asked her to give me a couple hours as I was going to go the the raw material supplier to see why this was happening, which turned out be the solvent (they were 45 min drive away).  By the time I went there, had the meeting and got back home she has smeared me and my product all over the craft forums (I never saw it as I didnt follow them but was informed by a friend who did).  So I sent out a return for refund letter to every client, and only this one client took the refund.  Luckily, most sent me nice emails that they were happy with the product and were keeping it.  I stopped production and that very client asked me: "So, can I make an order?".  It was a relief to get rid of that, as it was labour intensive and took me away from my main source or income (silversmithing and glass art).  Social media wasnt as big as it is now, what Carole went through was horrible.  Especially the one who took credit for someone else's work.  Strong nerves and the ability to keep calm.  I think if I had looked at the forums where my client was bashing me, I would have acted in a bad way.  I wanted to remain as professional as possible.  Not always easy as it's a very personal attack.

[Jannette Nieuwboer]

YOU all have done so much here. My compliments to all of you.  

[Jannette Nieuwboer]

I've made something in Particle-shop today. A castle in a bottle. The background is made of 2X the castle, one upside down and merged. Then activated  Particle-Shop and the image was in.  I blended the whole layer of the background to what you see by using several disciplines. In the end, I gave it some sparkles. And added the castle to it. Than accepted. back in PSP, I placed the background behind the bottle and the castle. Selected the bottle, reversed, and Dell. The bottle was finished. In the end, I gave it some sharpness. And so was my empty bottle filled. 

Edited September 15, 2023 by Jannette Nieuwboer

[Julie Magerka]

A kit from Erika at ET Designs. I like a lot of her designs. All the elements come from that.

I was thinking of losses and felt like making something. I'm not sad, just thinking of those who are gone.

[Shirley]

Shenae had so much fun on her 2nd Birthday

[Ann Seeber]

6 hours ago, Shirley said:

Shenae had so much fun on her 2nd Birthday

Beautiful child, beautiful name and beautiful layout! 

[Donna Sillia]

I am definitely not an artist, but I wanted to try to make a Teddy Bear. Starting with vector shapes to which I applied plush using the cass plush script, I used a lot of what I have learned about shading. The paws are tubes which I modified. I used a vector to trace the ear of a teddy that I downloaded using AI and the script to merge and cut out the inner shape. The background is from the Masterclass on Pop ups that I never completely finished. The tree is from Digital Scrapbook, and I'm not sure where I got the presents. All the other shapes--head, body, legs and arms were made from vectors.

[Shirley]

Thanks Ann

[Suzy]

There is a book called 

Steal Like An Artist

10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

Kleon, Austin

 

On the NY Times bestsellers list!

I just downloaded it from my Public Library.

the first page is a quote from Picasso. “Art is Theft”