Turn a Printable Download into Gift Wrap

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Kristie Sloan

This week we have been on a tour of ways to use or jazz up a printable digital download. Today I’ve got a quick idea for a bit of gift wrap for a very small gift! Print out a printable and ta-dah! you have a little piece of gift wrap. Now, if you are thinking, ‘Why on earth would I do that?’ consider this.

Have you ever had someone give you a little unexpected gift? Maybe it really wasn’t expensive, but it just made you feel good to know they had been thinking about you, right? Okay, and isn’t it always nice to have a gift that is wrapped — as if it was actually planned? Maybe you don’t agree, but that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it! Well, you may be like a lot of people and not have a fully appointed and just for wrapping area of your home. Little gifts don’t need a whole roll of paper, and why not just print something from your printer? You may have a big roll of green, shamrock, March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day holiday related gift wrap, but I did not.

Small project, small group of supplies!

Here is just a little gift and I went ahead and used the same Lucky printable I used earlier this week. I like the fact that it has a limited color palette, and uses the subway art look that is popular. I would normally select a much smaller print for a small gift, but I kind of liked the fact that it was more about the lettering and fonts than it was about the words. If you’re wondering, the gift has nothing to do with the holiday, it was just a cute paper that was seasonally related! Added bonus, a sheet of paper coming out of my printer was a lot easier to deal with than a big roll of wrapping paper!

A peek of the top of the little gift.

One thing you may want to note, is the fact that your regular white printer paper is usually VERY white! Notice that the ribbon, which looks white on anything else I’ve ever used it on, appears a little more cream color against the stark white. That’s OKAY, I’m only pointing it out so you don’t write to me and let me know it doesn’t really “match” well.

Next time you have a small gift, think about printing a wee bit of gift wrap from your printer, and try out using a printable download, ready to go!

Please join me on next week’s Artful Adventures as we explore some watercolor techniques using markers and ink pads! Until then,

Cheers to YOUR creativity!

Kristie

Using a Printable Download for a Scrapbook Page

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Kristie Sloan

Many printable downloads have a quote or a thought that would be appropriate to use on a scrapbook page. By using one for a page, you are able to use a great deal of space on your page without having to think about it too much. Just think, someone else has done all the design work on the printable! They have selected the colors, the fonts, the layout, the phrase … ALL of it! If you like the way the printable looks, you are ready to go!

Have you seen this saying before? “She turned her can’ts into can’s, and her dreams into plans.” What a powerful reminder of determination! As many daughters as I have, and as many women as I know, I thought this would be a great one to use for today’s Artful Adventures project!

One of the first things that came to mind, when thinking of what scrapbook page to use this on, was my daughter’s college graduation. She decided to go back to school and earn her college degree. She did so while working full time. It was a lot of work, but she did it anyway. I had just a few pictures that turned out well and I still had never done anything with them. Actually, instead of looking at the pictures and only feeling happy about her achievement, I would look at them and become irritated about how awful they turned out. The pictures were a reminder to see about a new camera that would take better pictures in low light!

You will notice that the page is rather simple. It includes:

2 Photos
1 Printable digital download
Background Cardstock
Partial sheet of print paper
Journaling strip
3 Brads

Such a little effort to finally have a wonderful memory on a page!

This example uses the printable as it was. However, this particular one from Stampin’Up! comes with stamp/brushes that can be used in any program and the colors can be changes as you like. You have the option of using the file as is, or you can change the colors in appropriate software.

I have one more idea for this weeks’ Artful Adventures in printable digital downloads! Until next time, Cheers to YOUR creativity!

–Kristie

Doodling on a Printable Download

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Kristie Sloan

We continue our Artful Adventures today as we look at another way to use a printable download. How do you like the picture for our adventure this week?

My definition of a printable download is one which is ready to print and could be plopped in a frame as is, except for perhaps trimming it. The ones I am using this week are from Stampin’Up!, and come with not only the printable .jpg image, but have the digital stamps/brushes so that you customize colors of elements, change them around or use them on any of your digital projects. Yesterday we worked on one for St. Patrick’s Day, and today we have one that is not just word art, but has a sweet little picture.

Let’s take a look at what we are starting with today.

This is a very sweet piece which is certainly framable as is. However, around here, we like to kick it up a notch! So let’s grab a fine tip black pen and just add some doodles on this piece after we print it! We are only going to add a little definition to the larger elements, and let the more fine line work stay in the background, kind of like a piece of background paper on a card or scrapbook page.

Once again, I want to stress that it doesn’t have to be perfect! Like our friend Joanne Sharpe says, “Perfectly imperfect!” If it needed it to stay perfect you would just leave it as it came off the printer. Just try your hand on a little bit of doodling, if you haven’t. If you have, you may not have thought of giving yourself a headstart by using something straight off the printer!

Next, I just added a bit of a shadow to some of the lettering with a light, warm gray marker. I wish I would have used a smaller tip marker, but…. it’s done. Nobody is really going to be up close and examining it with a magnifying glass. If they are, and they don’t like it, they should just make one of their own to admire their own self-imposed perfection!

This next photo is up close and personal. Take a look and notice how imperfect it is. (I have to say, I never in a million years would have dreamed I would be telling people to take a close look at something I did to take special note of how imperfect it was!) There are finer tipped pens that may have been more appropriate for the doodling on this, yet they weren’t handy at the moment I wanted to work on this. Remember when you were young and liked to color and doodle? It’s still fun!

Try your hand at a project like this and come post it on the Artful Adventures Facebook Group! We would love to see what you are up to!

St. Patrick’s Day Digital Printable Jazzed Up

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Kristie Sloan

Thanks for joining me again this week! Our Artful Adventure today continues with ideas to jazz up a word art digital download. Digital downloads can make quick word of creating something special, whether you want a piece of decor or a card to send.

Here you can see the original version of the template. Since this version is able to be quickly transformed, you’ll see that it was easy to tweak the color just a wee bit. Only the green has been changed. This makes it such an easy way to personalize it in a way that best fits your color needs.

Original colors of download

The green color was tweaked just a wee bit.

One way to change up your printable is to print it out and then use a fine tip marker to outline some of the words. If you don’t really feel confident with your hand lettering skills, this is a perfect way to have a little practice.

Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Note to self, don’t have so much caffeine before you do this again! Some of my lines are less than desirable, but that’s okay. I was rather pleased with the outcome.

This was meant to show you a quick project, so I only did some of the larger words, which I knew would be much easier to outline. When you try something like this, you’ll begin to notice the little nuances of the particular font of the word you are working on. That is what lettering is all about, the little things that each letter has in common.

St. Patrick's Day printable enhanced by outlined letters

Pick some of the words with larger lettering to outline! Glad this isn’t under glass yet, I see I forgot to do part of the “k” in “lucky.”

As long as you are going to print it out, why not make a smaller size and create a card? Here is a card that was created from the same template.

Reduce the template before you print and you can create a card!

Just a little embossing can really jazz up a quick card! The Hollogram Effects embossing powder combines a bit of glitter in a clear embossing powder, which will let the ink color show through!

Card Recipe

Half sheet of black card stock (cut 8.5″ x 5.5″), folded in half
Lucky Limeade card stock (cut 4″x5.25″)
Printable Template reduced to allow some of the white border (cut 3.75″x5″)
Before assembling the card pieces wipe the printout with an embossing buddy
Use Versamark marker over some of the letters.
Sprinkle Hollogram Embossing powder and use heat tool to emboss!
Assemble card pieces

TaDah! You are done!

Okay, now that the card is finished, I realized that the Hollogram embossing powder is no longer available! SO….. some other ideas to add a quick bit of sparkle or shine (these are options, not steps):

Use 2-way Glue Pen over selected letters and sprinkle with glitter.
Use Clear Embossing powder
Use Dazzling Details on selected areas
Try some Crystal Effects on a few letters!

St. Patrick’s Day Digital Printable

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Kristie Sloan

If you want just a quick and easy something to decorate for a seasonal holiday, that you don’t normally go all out on a decorating spree for, frameable word art is a quick and fun way to add a little something for the occasion! Today I am going to give you the information about this word art, and then tomorrow I’ll be back with a couple of ways to jazz it up. So grab it today and you’ll be ready! It’s just $1.95. Even if you don’t use this one, come back for ideas on using something similar!

Not only can you frame it, but it will make a great card in a smaller size! Come back tomorrow!

Download includes:
* One-page 8-1/2″ x 11″ designer template
* 22-piece stamp brush set

Also, Stampin’Up!’s Whisper White card stock is a perfect paper to have on hand. It is a bit lighter weight than their other color card stocks, and it will go through many printers. Obviously I can’t guarantee that, but it goes through mine and several people I know. If not, it’s still a great white card stock to have on hand!
Cheers to YOUR creativity,
Kristie