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and these for week 2

this month in another Forum I made this challenge Layouts week 1

So much to do...and such limited time! I have to pick and choose what will get some attention. I have AFF 2.6 and PSE 2024 and I'm trying to learn/use both. I think, at this point, I have seen more PS videos over the last few months, and so I am tending to prefer that program. But when I want to do something quickly, I default to PSP. Considering how little I knew of any of these apps a few years ago, I feel pretty good. It's the process that I enjoy. There's a creative team member at Vicki Robinson Designs (Gina) who uses only images from sources like Pixabay, Unsplash, etc. for her layouts. She looks first at the kit or parts of it that she wants to use and then searches for a photo to suit the feeling. I also like to find online images, but I tend to work the opposite way: photo first, kit or elements later. The older couple layout uses an image I got from one of those sites. I'm playing mostly these days, trying to work in PSE or AFF, to achieve the image/effect I have in my head for the photo(s) I want to use. Once I began following particular photographers on FB, then I receive lots more of those feeds from Meta. I have become aware of some wonderful work. In the icebergs layout, the images come from Ray Mackey in Newfoundland. They are all from Twillingate which is offshore from the northeast coast of Nfld. It is known as the Iceberg Capital of the World and presently has some in the harbour. If you don't know Newfoundland/Labrador, you are missing some of the most spectacular rugged and natural landscapes. Also, the place names in that province are so unusual and endearing. The hospitality of the people you meet is legendary.

Oops that isn't nice and it costs too; however your "adventure" in you brother's shower is hilarious 🤣

I have six smoke alarms, they are all Nest Protect alarms. You can give every Nest a meaningful descriptive name. They speak and communicate with each other through the wifi network. When one detects something, it transmits the info to the others. So, wherever you are in the house, the smoke alarms says what is happening and most important, where in the house. It says the descriptive name, so you never have to guess ans search where the alarm comes from. A bit pricy, but in my opinion well worth it.

Wow, Anja, all layouts posted are beautiful! You were really inspired!

I think it's a great idea to use stock photos. This way, the lack of our own photos doesn't limit our ability to express our creativity. And you did just that marvelously, Julie!

Years ago I lived upstairs in a two-family house. One of the smoke alarms was beeping the low-battery alert. I replaced the one I thought it was, but the beeping continued. I changed another battery and I still heard the beeping. One at a time I took down all the alarms and removed their batteries one at a time. Eventually I removed all the batteries and still heard the beeping!!!! At that point I was seriously doubting my mental health. What I didn't know was that there was an additional smoke alarm at the bottom of the stairs. That was one frustrating day. 🤣

Some of my thoughts before coming up with the toy elephant were: earrings, earbuds, eyedrops and envelopes! Not very exciting. I would have probably used earrings because I do have some unique ones.

Love all those little bees hovering around. I can almost hear the buzzing!

The difference is that I very much like to take photos. I almost never go out without my phone, even if it is to run an errand, and very often there is something I take a photo off and I'm very happy that I can use those for my layouts. My husband isn't overly interested in the photos I take and on a good day he will say: "oh nice" without even looking at them. Just the way it is, to quote you!

I love using stock photos and illustrations on weird and wonderful subjects that I could never possibly get to photograph or create myself. I think we live at an amazing time with this great wealth of shared images and photos that we can use or simply be inspired by. At the moment I’m trying to get grips with AI generated images because these also offer us a vast amount of material to work with. I’m into week 10 of a P52 AI art project -it’s fascinating to see all the different images that are created starting from a single word. To me, scrapbooking is about telling a story about something that matters to the person creating the page – the photos and images are simply one element and they don’t have to be created by us.

Empty is a thing. But Julie you are the Queen of Ethereal layouts, go with that! Get a flower off whatever site you get photos from and use you blending magic and make it feel ethereal. Or in the best use of a font all prettied up use the word "Empty" in the space of white. and put a frame around it like you have been doing.

Very beautiful Julie. I tend to work both ways depending on the project. Photo first if I have no layout in mind and Layout first if I'm doing a workshop or using a template and need to fit photos to the template or theme. Your work is outstanding.

Anja all your layouts are lovely in their own way! So nice to see more of your work.

In the house we now live are 2 smoke alarms and no carbon monoxide because we only have electricity and no gas. The alarms have an electric connection and a battery as back-up. Those batteries are suppoost to live 10 years. When we bought the house we didn't know how long they were already in and after a couple of years one started to go off at the time we usually go to bed. False alarm!!! They are placed high against the ceiling and we were afraid the whole block would wake up and my husband had no alternative than to shut off the electricity before he went to the shed to fetch the ladder. In the dark with the light of my phone and a flashlight, while standing on a chair so he could more or less see what he did, he managed to get the alarm loose. The next day we called an electrician to check on the alarm and see if it could be repaired. No that wouldn't be a good idea, so installed a new one and checked the other one. We were happy we hadn't already been to bed! However after only 2 weeks the alarm that was replaced sounded again and this time in the middle of the night. So we had to do the same as before and this time it took us longer to get it off, when you are in deep sleep it takes a while before you realize what is happening. Our next door neighbors woke up too! The electrician came again and said this was the first time that he installed a new alarm that had a manufacturing fault. We have a new one and until now it is without fault................. but you never know!

My condo has 3 smoke alarms + one that only detects carbon monoxide that my utility company sent as a gift. One day, I heard the familiar high-pitched screech but, looking around, I couldn't find why one or all of them were sounding off. They are all fairly close together because I only have a total of 900 square feet of space. I called the landlord and he ordered me to #1) check the stove burners and #2) get out immediately! I found one burner knob turned but with no flame. I shut it off, roared around opening windows and turned on the HVAC fan as I ran out the patio door, while worrying about my pets! Of course, they were in hiding so I had to trust the gas would dissipate quickly. It was a scary experience!

I am also learning both programs. After the Magazine Workshop, I have been watching more PSE videos to catch up on the time I spent only using Affinity. At the same time, I am working with PSP for the Build-A-Kit workshop, which is my relaxing time, because I don't have to find out where things are, how they work, etc. I love all programs! Each one has something that, imho, works better than the others. Once you start working with Affinity, you'll probably see that it's also a great program.

Yes but it could become a top seller!

That would be a very expensive script! 🤣

I was wondering....can you write a script that magically transfer to us the energy you have for all that you are doing (lots that we don't even know about)? 🙏

My work based on Our Fractal Garden /https://ourfractalgarden.blogspot.com/ /where I was working with fractals of my friends in the past. BTW, I know spider is not an insect but it is visible in the darden very often so excuse my mistake.

Yup, I have been working in the backend to add more Affinity Photo tutorials. I guess I forgot to tell you all 😁

Ta-Da! Thanks to the encouragement and ideas of RENE and SUSAN, I got motivated for the Letter E. And it didn't take long to throw it together. I made the fabric piece to hang the dangly earrings on years ago, when I often wore that style. Nowadays, they mostly languish in the spare bedroom, hanging forlornly. I don't dress up that much these days, and I think they look odd with yoga pants and t-shirts! 😁 The acrylic clear frame is from Annie C. Digitals, the pastel pink flower from Digital Scrapbook. The background falling petals come from online somewhere.

My alarms also notify before going to full stress. If there is smoke or water vapor they first say that there is 'smoke' in such and such room. You have some time to check it out and press the button in the middle of the alarm to shut it down. Of course you need to get rid of the 'smoke' after that or the situation will repeat itself.

I also have quite a collection of earrings that I rarely wear anymore. Thanks for the great idea, Rene.

I love the idea of using EMPTY, but that might be a bit depressing? But I love your layout ideas.

Is that you Anja in the first layout? I just love that one.

Alarms in my house have only gone off due to my cooking! At my brothers house the upstairs landing is small and has 3 bedroom and one bathroom off of it. So when they shower and forget to turn the fan on in the bathroom the smoke alarm in the hallway, which is about 5 feet long from one end to the other, goes off. When we first moved to where we are now we were staying in our little RV trailer. I'd go to my brother for a nice long hot shower and forgot one day. OMG! being in the shower with no clothes on and the alarm rings is no picnic. it took about 5 minutes of waving a towel at it for it to shut off. Good thing my brother and rest of the family was at work or school! We do however have water alarms. With sudden downpours here we have had sewer backups (yup, poopy fishys in the basement!) so we bought this fancy alarm and I could dunk in a pool of water and it never went off so we got these other little simple alarms and believe me when they go off I'm sure the neighbors can hear it. Up three levels at the opposite end of the house it's like the alarm is right beside my ear. Luckily my city has a crew that comes out anytime to free the clog which has always been over 150 feet out from my main drain (ie. across the street!). I have to pay for it (used to be $90, the city ate the other $90, now we pay the whole $180. Roto rooter would be $500-700!). We have huge boulevard trees and the roots are caving the the old clay pipe my old 1964 house has.

It also looks like an ant, at the stem, is coming to the party too! Mother Nature using a complementary color scheme too! It's neat to get this up close look at something most of us dont even see or realize is there.

This little guy is so cute. He(she?) looks like he's hyped up on caffeine and ready to rumble

Julie I love what you do with stock photos, but this isn't something for me. I only use it when I want to make a layout, like the AAM series and really need something that I don't have, otherwise I want to use my own photos.

That's a pity and I'm sure you will find something; Rene has a couple of good ideas and before I decided on my Eiffel tower I thought of Easter eggs.

Thank you for doing those tutorials for Affinity, it must be a lot of work! As you can see there is always someone that discovers them and tells us all 😉

Thank you Cristina, that high compliment makes my heart sing.

Thank you that is a very welcome tip and I'm going to take a look in between doing the Build-a-Kit. I want to stay up to date in that one, because of my upcoming trip! I don't want to have a big load of things to finish and catch up as well. I decided to skip the rest of the time-line challenge; I don't have much photos about the coming periods and later on I do have photos, but those are all family related which I can't use here and you know I don't like to blur them. Of course I remember the moonlanding and the assassination of JFK but yah everybody knows about that.

I'm looking forward to seeing it, Susan!

I also think it's great! The title, the egg shells, the pan in the middle... It looks very professional to me

@Sue Thomas Instead of commenting on all your layouts one by one, I just want to say they all look stunning and of course they are in your so unique style. It learns me a lot of insects that I don't know and most of them aren't living in my part of the world, or when they do it is often another variety.

This afternoon's project for the insect challenge. I can remember seeing a layout quite some time ago, and have been wanting to replicate my own, in other words scarp lifting. Using vectors, I created a template first. I chose an insect which is out of the ordinary for most yet common, that would't be posted on here. Again, my own macro photo. A plain layout.

They are aphids. The North American Ladybirds predominately lay their eggs on the Kochia plant (also known as the tumbleweed, which rolls across the North American landscape during the winter). Their diet consists of aphids. A gardeners best friend.

I cannot think of anything with E!!!! Might have to skip this one, and maybe some others????