Donna B Miller

Just a Little Toot

I know my scrapbooking pages can be a little offbeat, so I was absolutely surprised when the magazine, "Digital Scrapbooking," asked to use one of my art journal pieces in the February/March issue . The issue explores the idea of scrapbooking as art. Here's my piece, featured on page 67.

 
Journal photo by Sophie from StockXChng; glitter and ribbon from Traci Reed's Reckless; arrow from SBG's Funky Train; flower doodles are Maya's Scribbler's brushes; staple from Michelle Godin's Marilla; and label courtesy of Atomic Cupcake. Fonts are DearJoe4, Journaling Hand, and Polaroid 22.

Due to difficult conditions in both the economy and the publishing market, CK Media has made the decision to cease publication of the print version of Digital Scrapbooking magazine after this issue. The magazine will continue in the form of a free e-mail newsletter, delivered twice a month. To subscribe, send an email to webmaster@ckmedia.com with "subscribe me to Digital Scrapbooking e-newsletter" in the subject line.

A New ATC, and a Technique for Making Text Pop Off the Page

I hardly ever scrap with the kits I make. Weird, I know. But since my latest freebie was made specifically for altered art, I decided to give it a shot. I used it for this week's Quirkle challenge at Digital Art Quirks. Yorkshire Lass challenged us to use striped legs, a heart, and the color red in an art piece. I ended up doing an artist trading card.

Papers, crown and stamps from my Quirk with Me freebie; vintage photo from Robyn England; legs from Kathryn Balint's Make a Doll; and heart from After Five Design's Artemia. The font is Cracked.

Here's a quick and dirty look at how I did the text. First, I pulled up the paper in Photoshop. I typed my text and used the select tool to select the text (layer 2). Then I selected the paper layer (layer 1) and hit command-C to copy the paper version of the text. Going back to my ATC layout, I pasted the text, rotated it and sized it to fit, and added a 3 px black stroke. It's an easy technique, and one that will really make your letters pop off the page.

Ready to try Moo?

Regular blog readers know that I'm a big fan of Moo's minicards (28x70mm) and sticker books. If you're interested in having your own artwork printed, I have a coupon code good for 20 percent off your purchase. It's HVUHKX and it's good through January 31.

Want to learn more about Moos? Check out the Make a Moo or Two challenge site for lots of inspiration. This week's challenge theme is Circles.

ArtsCow: Cheap and Fun Photo Publishing

When I first heard that ArtsCow, a Hong Kong-based online photo shop, would give me 1,200 free prints, three 8"x8" photo books, and other great photo gift credits just for signing up, I thought it sounded too good to be true. But then I thought, what have I got to lose? So right before Christmas, I placed my order for 50 free prints, a free photo book, and a deck of personalized playing cards (the cards would have been free, too, but I didn't see the coupon code until after I had placed my order). 

The photos were printed and shipped the day I ordered them and showed up a few days later. The photo book came the next week, but the cards didn't show up until a few days ago. So, ArtsCow isn't the place to go if you have to have something quickly. But if you're not in a hurry, you sure can't beat the price. My entire order was only about $20 when shipping and handling was added.

And the quality is excellent.  ArtsCow uses Fuji photo paper and processing and the color reproduction is outstanding. I was particularly happy with the quality of the playing cards. This time, I created a single-design deck using an ATC design. Next time, I'll do a 54-design deck. What a great way to print and display your entire collection of digital ATCs.

 

If you drop by the site, be sure to check out the Fun Stuff tab. You can place your photos or artwork on everything from calendars to watches to coasters.

Want to give ArtsCow a try? Click here.

Oops! New Files Uploaded

I'm so sorry. Apparently, a couple of the alphas and the ATC template showed up corrupt in the Quirk With Me kit. I've uploaded a new version. If you downloaded this morning, you might want to download Part Two and the alpha again.

Come Quirk With Me: A Digital Freebie

You’ve seen the term “quirky” used on layouts and in art; you may have used it yourself. You may have even visited Digital Art Quirks to see what all the fuss is about. But what does quirky MEAN? Webster’s dictionary says it means “full of quirks.” Under antonyms, it lists fanciful, strange and wacky. Hmmm!

But at Digital Art Quirks, we use the word to refer to someone who truly knows how to celebrate their uniqueness and the uniqueness of others. So when we add a little bit of quirkiness to our layouts, all we’re really adding is a bit of what makes us unique. And isn’t that the goal of every scrapper and artist?

If you look through the DAQ gallery, you'll find everything from artist trading cards and gothic arches to art journals to more traditional layouts and artworks. You'll see lots of wings and crowns, but you'll also find pieces that explore the artists' darker sides.

To celebrate the uniqueness of my blog readers, I've put together a basic Quirk kit, complete with templates for such basic items as ATCs, arches, and bookmarks. I hope you enjoy using it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

Here are the links:

Download Part One

Download Part Two

Download Part Three: Alpha

Have fun!