Tips & Tricks: The Importance of Scale

Digital story and scrapbooking is fast and easy, enables multiple copies, carves far less “creative space” from your home and is typically much less expensive than traditional memory keeping. But there is one small downside, with “small” being the important word. While you’re working digitally, you don’t usually see your project at 100%. Constrained your laptop’s screen size, it’s not always easy to judge the actual scale of your finished project. To assist you in making the most of every page inch, let’s look at some tips, tricks and screenshots that will help get size and scale into perspective.


How Big is Big?
To illustrate our discussion, let’s look at the screenshot above. It’s a page from a 12 x 12 storybook that looks fairly well laid out, right? Well check out the page below. It’s the same 12 x 12 storybook, but now you can see that the enlarged design is really an “import a page” from a 5 x 5 storybook (Michelle Wolfley’s “Daddy's Little Girl,” template 133363) that actually could fit on a 12 x 12 page four times with room to spare in the middle.


Tools for Judging
Here are several suggestions for using the space on your page well, while keeping it size appropriate. 


1. Go to the size slider bar at the top of your project, just under the Heritage Maker’s logo and examine your project at close to 100% several times during your design session.


2. In the “toolbox,” go to the “layout” tab and check the size of unlocked photos against other photos you’ve published or have around the house. In this picture, the photo highlighted is about 2 ½ by 1 ½ inches. That’s about half the size of a playing card. Such comparisons can help you judge the designs you are creating.
3. Download Lynda Angelastro’s “Title & Text Cheat Sheets” to your “my templates” folder and choose “start my own.” This 5 x 5 storybook, template 17444, contains page after page of Studio fonts at the appropriate size for body text and headings on small to average pages. No need to print it, just use it to check and see which fonts work best at which sizes.

Scaling it Just Right
Ever got a book back and thought, “Wow, why did I try to pack so much on the page?” If the size and scale is off at either end, big or small, the overall design is not pleasing. Think of it like a home. If you’ve got a very small living room, you don’t try to crowd it with many pieces of large furniture. You choose fewer pieces in smaller sizes. Your page designs will benefit from the same attention to size. Use these suggestions and see if they don’t help you get the page scale just right.

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Make it in Moments: Family Reunion Cards and Christmas Ornaments

Family Reunion Playing Cardsby Lynda Angelastro, Studio Product Manager

Show and Tell or Souvenir
Looking for a fun show-and-tell or souvenir for your Family Reunion this year? Try a playing card deck with one card for each family member. Super fast and simple, this project encourages family members to seek out relatives at the Family Reunion and preserves the family bonds that are built at the event.



Why Playing Cards?
Here’s why. Every year, I send a deck of playing card ornaments to each branch of the family to be decorated and hung on the tree. The bond-building potential of these cards really hit me hard this year when, nine months after Christmas, a photo was posted on Facebook by my daughter-in-law. “Aww! Look what I found under Robyn’s pillow. I asked her what it was doing there and she said she likes to keep it there because it makes her feel close to Lindsey,” she wrote.

Whether you take your cards to the Family Reunion or use them as a reminder of the good times you had when you were there, this “2013 Family Reunion” playing card set, template 110716, (under the name Lynda Angelastro) is versatile, easy to create and is designed to help form and strengthen relationships, much like the holiday ornament cards. Tape these cards to the fridge, spread them out on the coffee table, or make a display with them. They are a fast and easy way to get kids talking about their extended family.



Step1: Choose & Input Your Information
Select the text information for the bottom of the card. Will it be the marriage partner and the birth date or will it be mom's and dad’s names? In this template, I chose to use the mom's and dad’s names for cousins and the “married” and “born” information on older generations. This text box could also be a quote, a favorite activity or something you want to remember from the Reunion. Once your photos and information are in place, change the names and the “relationship” text boxes on the banner.



Step2: Choose Your Colors
To keep family members organized, I chose a different color frame for each generation. Keep yours the same or use one color for each family unit. Here’s how to find more colors. Open the “art collections” tab. Enter “color” in the search box and it will bring up the “Color Pickers” collection. Use this for a faster, easier way to pick the pastel colors you want to use on your cards.



Step3: Put a Name on the Back
Not as easy as it sounds. Choose the name of the grand- or great grandparents from which you are all descended or use the Reunion place as your name. Add a date if you want, push the publish button, and you are done.



Only One Life to Live
Live intentionally. Plan projects, like this one, that enhance family lives and relationships. It’s simple and easy-to-do, but it really works. Start your “2013 Family Reunion” playing card deck tonight!

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Creating your own Color Palette

by Lynda Angelastro, Studio Product Manager

Getting the Perfect Color
Creating the perfect color palette in Studio is easy. Follow our tips and you’ll be transforming photos and stories into meaningful and beautifully colored keepsakes in a snap.


Your Friend the Color Picker
Search for “png” in the Studio art search and you’ll find a wealth of black or grey elements that were designed to be easily changed to a different color. While you can change the color of anything, these flat, one-color items work best as you’ll lose texture and shading in a complex art piece. Choose your color with the eye-dropper-looking “Color Picker” by going to fill color, clicking on the small square with the arrow in it and selecting a color from the pop-up palette, as we did when changing Jill Means’ 7 x 5 invitation, template, 698337, from warm pink to lavender.

 

Pick Color from Anywhere

Pick your color from the palette, from any Studio artwork or from the photo you’re using.


Upload an Image Just for Color
You can even grab a dress, paint chip or other image from the web, upload it to your photo folders and use that as the basis for your color scheme. Here we’ve uploaded a paint chip from the Valspar Paint website.

 

Try Transparency
Have a color you like but want it in several shades? Just “Color Pick” from the original color and change the percentage of transparency using your “Transparency” slider bar.


When Transparency Won’t Work for You
If you don’t want transparent color, change the transparency of a color sample and then “color pick” off the transparent color. You’ll have color that you can’t see through in the various shades you want.

 

Color on the Personalized Press
With so many products to choose from, what kind of color should you expect from a personalized press? Will a particular color print the same on a mug, a canvas, a metal print and a book? The answer is “not typically.” When you think about the creamy color of canvas, it’s no surprise it prints in slightly more muted tones than on ultra-bright white book paper. And consider metal prints. Part of their high-end appeal is the translucency that allows metal to shine through. The same color on a metal print is going to look a little different on a card or book. Look at the book and mug in the photo shown above. The color on the mug, which is printed on a different printer and has a creamy china base, looks a little peachier than it would printed on a book page or cover. Another tip is to check your project in progress on a couple of different computer screens. Each screen is calibrated differently and it’s good to know if your display is a little red, a little green, or pretty darn close to your printed products.


Always Easy, Always Yours
If you’d never thought of downloading paint chips or using transparency to broaden your color palette, it’s nice to know you have almost unlimited color potential inside Studio. Make friends with your Color Picker. Create projects that are uniquely yours with Studio’s simple-to-use color capabilities. Follow our easy directions and get started tonight!

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Snapshot Stories

by Lynda Angelastro

Snapshot Stories are Heritage Makers' way of recording memories in small, more doable chunks. Pair 6 x 4 or 4 x 6 Invitations with photos, or cut your Invitations in half to make 3 x 4 inserts. Saved in scrapbook albums or binders, the Snapshot Story approach is popular with busy women, mothers of small children and all who are looking for a unique, smaller slice of creativity to document their lives. To create the popular rounded corners shown here, we used an inexpensive corner rounder.

 
Regular or Special Page Protectors
Scrapbooked on 6 x 4 Invitations or on 12 x 12 Scrap Pages, finished Snapshot Story pages or pieces are assembled inside either traditional (for the 12 x 12 Scrap Pages) or specialty (for those made on 6 x 4 Invitations) page protectors. The divided page protectors, like the ones shown above, can be purchased at many hobby and craft stores or purchase online through www.beckyhiggins.com or www.amazon.com. They are often referred to as “Project Life” page protectors. These specialty page protectors usually have pockets that fit 4 x 6 and/or 3 x 4 sized cards in a variety of arrangements. 

  
Looking for Inspiration?
Snapshot Story type projects can be found everywhere. Typically, the terms for this very popular kind of memory keeping include “Project Life” from Becky Higgins, “Photo Freedom” from Stacy Julian and "Sn@p Studio" by Simple Stories. Google any of these terms and select “Images,” or go to Pinterest and search these same terms. You’ll find an amazing number of people are scrapbooking this way and posting a wealth of ideas to guide you. Search on “snapshot” in our own Template Gallery to find templates designed for this approach.


Art to Support You
Try your hand at this contemporary approach to scrapbooking and you’ll find a wealth of art to support you. While no special art is needed really, Heritage Makers is all about making it as simple as possible for you! We've recently added art collections to our library that were specifically designed for Snapshot Story type of memory keeping. And we’re not done yet. Watch for more additions of smaller slice scrapbooking collections each month. 
Here are some collections to use now: “Reasons to Smile,” “Life's Little Helpers Bright Papers,” “Life's Little Helpers Bright Labels,” “Life's Little Helpers Bright Journal Cards,” and “You Are So Beautiful, Papers.” These collections contain journal cards, labels, word art and other embellishments that work perfectly with the Snapshot Story approach to scrapbooking. 


Templates to Get You Going
If you’re ready to start a Snapshot Story album, you’ll find loads of Snapshot Story-type templates in the Template Gallery, including these school days designs from Roxanne Buchholz. “Snapshot Story: Grade School Album” 12 x 12 Post-bound Album, Template 103236; and from top to bottom “Snapshot Story: Grade School 1” 6 x 4 Invitation, Template 103235; “Snapshot Story: Grade School 3” 6 x 4 Invitation, Template 103233; and “Snapshot Story: Grade School 2” 6 x 4 Invitation, Template 103234. All are designed with the school aged child in mind. Just recently released, these are just a small smattering of the school focused projects we offer. Paired with photos and coordinating digital paper, just a handful of these 3 x 4 cards finish off a divided page protector.


Fast and Easy Baby Album
Young moms with babies will love this approach for baby albums. Easy, fast, one bite at a time—this approach is doable for even the busiest of moms. Shown here are a handful of BASIC 6 x 4 Invitations by Michelle Bell. “Snapshot: Baby Girl Basic, Stats” Template 103041, “Snapshot: Baby Girl Basic, Month 1” Template 103039, “Snapshot: Baby Girl Basic, Meeting You” Template 103043 and “Snapshot: Baby Girl Basic, Oh Baby” Template 103040 will all get your baby album off to a fabulous start.




Family History in Smaller Bites
While cutting edge contemporary is the typical Snapshot Story style, nothing says you can’t preserve historical facts about your family in this way. Roxanne Buchholz used this format to show off dates and events from her ancestors’ lives, and you can too. “Snapshot Story: Portraits 1” Template 102904, “Snapshot Story: Portraits 2” Template 102903, “Snapshot Story: Portraits 3” Template 102902, “Snapshot Story: Portraits 4” Template 102901 and “HM F is for Family Post-Bound” 12 x 12 Post-bound Album, Template 81570 are templates designed specifically for those treasured family facts and photos. 


Scrap Pages in Similar Style
Mix and match your divided page protector mini projects with full-size scrap pages in the same bite-at-a-time style, like those shown here from Lynda Angelastro. Create “Baby Boy Bits,” Template 103561, on our lighter weight scrap pages and scrap back to back projects, in almost any page protectors. It’s the perfect way to scrap when you have a page or spread you want to devote to an entire topic.


Keeping It Convenient for You
Trends in scrapbooking represent changes in the way you want to preserve your memories. Here at Heritage Makers, we listen. Snapshot Stories are just one of the ways we’re making it easier for you to get those memories down while they’re still fresh in your head and heart. Get it done today with the Snapshot Story method. Give it a try tonight!

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One Project, Several Ways

by Cynthia Coulon

The concept is simple. The results are fun!

This month we challenged some of our Design Team members to create their own 6 x 4 birthday party invitations—starting from the very same project foundation. We were curious to see what different designers would do with the same photo, the same text, and even the same page format. 

We started with a gray-scale template, or map, indicating the basic position/arrangement and shape of elements on the page, as well as the text to be used.

"Birthday Party Map" 6 X 4 Invitation by Cynthia Coulon, template 102966

As you can see below, while the basics stay the same, six wonderfully different invitations were created from our original template. You can see variations in style, color schemes and even themes. Which one do you like the best? 

"5th Birthday Boy" 6 X 4 Invitation by Shanna Vineyard, template 103288


"HM Wild Boy Birthday" 6 X 4 Invitation by Roxanne Buchholz, template 103009


"Birthday Balloons Party" 6 X 4 Invitation by Cynthia Coulon, template 103027

"Camping Birthday Party" 6 X 4 Invitation by Kari Pieratt, template 103205


"Western Birthday Party" 6 X 4 Invitation by Michelle Bell, template 103008


"5th Birthday Party" 6 X 4 Invitation by Cynthia Coulon, template 102953
Because we love all four versions, we’ve added them to the Template Gallery so you can use the one you prefer! Just click on a project image to see it in the Template Gallery. 

Or, even better, create your very own version of this invitation using the gray-scale map template. Drop in your own photo, change the text, and enjoy playing with all kinds of colors, patterns, embellishments, etc! Try things on like you would at a clothing store until you find a look you love. You’ll see that you don’t have to be a trained designer to create beautiful and unique projects. 

And you can do the same thing with all the templates in the gallery! Just because a template isn’t gray-scale, you can still think of it as merely a map. Retain the position/arrangement of the photos, text and other elements, but change colors, patterns, fonts, effects, and embellishments to suit you. 

Remember that whatever your style, whatever you story, whatever your project theme—Studio has the art for you! 

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Year-End Books - A Memory Keeping Tradition

With all the photos we take in a year, you'll love seeing them all together in a year-end album that chronicles the past 365 days of special milestones and everyday moments. Family and friends will enjoy reviewing the pages and reliving the. While your list of other Heritage Makers projects may vary from year to year, promise yourself you'll find a yearbook style you love and commit to publish one each and every January. It will quickly become one of your most treasured keepsakes.


Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Year-End Albums
If you want to read the best book on family albums, download the Kelly Wolfer template “Ultimate Family Yearbook.” This 12 x 12 storybook template, number 77508, is a complete yearbook template that also includes every tip and hint about making a yearbook or modifying one that you could ever imagine. These instructions can be found on the last pages of the storybook's template so you can refer to them while creating, then delete them prior to publishing.
  
As shown above, this template showcases plenty of photos as well as journaling blocks in a clean and simple style. This allows the reader to focus on the photos themselves, instead of distracting design elements that may cause a cluttered look. You’ll appreciate the information on the edge of the pages that gives you the numeric location of each photo block so that should you want to increase the size by replacing three photos for one, you’ll know at what coordinates to replace the photo.

Organization Tips & Tricks
As Kelly’s book points out, the key to an easy yearbook process is organizing your photos. This is best started on your computer, not in Studio. First, create a "2011 Yearbook" folder on your computer and fill it with 10-15 photos per month from your images on your hard drive, flash drives, camera memory cards or CD/DVDs.

After you've selected several options that best tell the story for each month, you're ready to upload these into Studio. Create a new folder named "2011 Yearbook" with new "albums" for each month. Note the numerical naming structure, which helps them stay in chronological order in the folder. See an example with this 2010 version shown below.

Once those are loaded, your project will be a breeze. Everything is already organized for you. No matter which yearbook template you choose, it's unlikely you'll need more than 12-15 photos per month. If you have more than that for a special occasion like a holiday or birthday, for example, you can simply duplicate a spread and use it for an extra "month." If you don't have as many photos as the layout shows in a month, simply modify the photo spaces to be larger versions, delete some of them and add more copy blocks, or swap them with coordinating papers or fill the spaces with embellishments or quotes if you wish.


Family Album in Basic
If you or someone you know does not have a Premier account separately or free with a Club HM membership, they can still create yearbooks too with a free Basic account. “Our 2011 Family Year Book” by Lynda Angelastro is a 12 x 12 storybook, template 77502 and has the same clean style as Kelly’s Premier template.
  
You may also opt to do individual scrap pages for your yearbook instead. While these are not on sale this month like the 12 x 12 storybooks are, you can design a year's worth using "Our Year in Pages," template 77507.

A Photo a Day
You may have heard of this "Project 365" idea of taking a photo a day for a year. It's an incredible undertaking and a brilliant way to capture your year in a unique way. If you were one of the dedicated photographers who took a photo every day in 2010 or 2011 or you’d like to set that goal for 2012, “Project 365” by Darcie Toom is the right 12 x 12 storybook for you. Template 36226, Darcie’s book is arranged to allow you to document a photo a day. Variations in the month of February from year to year are easily managed by copying a new set of pages from a larger month and removing a space or two.

For 2012, February's Leap Year will technically make it a Project 366 but it's simple to add an extra photo to make room for February 29th.
  

 

It's an organized design that not only showcases a photo per day, but also includes a small caption box to let you journal about each one, as well as a few more lines about the month as a whole.

  
12 Photos a Month
If you don’t usually have your camera out every day, Tanja Rigby has made scrap pages for every month of the year that require just 12 photos a month. “Year with You - Jan thru Dec” by Tanja Rigby, 12 x 12 scrap pages inside template 77329 is perfect if you'd rather keep up month-to-month instead of only publishing once in December or January. While all the pages are in one template, download it, do the months you want, delete the rest of the pages, publish and do the same thing next month. You COULD wait and publish them all at the end of the year, but why not let your family enjoy your pages every month?

The Weekly Way
However you decide to approach year-booking, it takes so little effort if you do it on a regular basis. That could be once a day, once a week, once a month or even once a year, but don’t let yourself get a year or two behind or you’ll never get those priceless memories in print. Designed with a single page for each week of the year, Michelle Bell's 11.5 x 8.5 storybook called "Family Yearbook: 52 Weeks" template 61136 is ideal for year-booking the weekly way. Michelle makes sure she updates it every Sunday evening so she stays on top of it and has very little left to finish during the busy holiday season, and she can publish right after the New Year.
  
Pages can easily be traded using “manage pages” so that a week has more or less photo spots, depending on the week. Headings are plain text and so the week number can be changed in an instant.
Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013
What better New Year’s resolution could you make than to preserve your family’s memories of 2012? With our wide variety of templates and organizational tips and tricks, it’s a project that offers so many rewards for comparatively little effort!

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