Photo Expressions

Creative Corner with Tanya

Take a look at these GORGEOUS cards designed by Tanya for her "Getting Crafty with Crafty Secrets" class. I absolutely love their heritage-whimsical-distressed-elegant feel! Tanya has an amazing gift for creating the eclectic with finesse and perfect detail :-)

Yardstick of Success

“Never lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people - your family, friends, and coworkers, and even strangers you meet along the way. ”
Barbara Bush

Let's 'Scrap' Cancer Together!

I don't know about you, but I am so done with the havoc that Cancer is wreaking on the people that I love! So I jump at any opportunity to donate to the cause, so that we can discover a cure and be done with this horrible disease.

I would greatly appreciate it if you would take the time to visit my friend's 'CIBC Run for the Cure' web page and consider supporting her in her endeavour. Colleen has miraculously survived 10 years with cancer, and is continuing to be victorious in her battle! She is a very special & dear friend of mine, and I would love it if you'd consider reading about her story and supporting her fundraising efforts by reading the info below and following the links.

Thanks so much,

Kate

	Hello Everyone, This year I have registered a team to do the CIBC Run for the Cure on Sunday, October 3rd, 2010 and I am inviting you to join me!! Follow the attached links to my personal page and/or the team page, to sign up.  If that's not your thing you can sponsor me or the team, just follow the same links.  If you aren't able to do that then maybe you could donate something, or you know someone who would be willing to donate something that I could use for a raffle or a silent auction to raise money.  If none of the above is manageable for you then maybe a good fundraising idea?  Or just cheer me and the team on, you can even do that by e-mail!  Anything and everything will make a difference! Please feel free to send this on to anyone you think might be interested. Thanks, Colleen. Click here to visit my personal page.

Creative Corner with Kerry

Thank you Kerry for letting us photograph these gorgeous projects so we could share them on the blog. They're absolutely stunning!

All of these projects feature Bo Bunny's papers and embellishments....

    

   

 

Family Vacation Photo Tips

 

The Family Vacation and Photography – A Peaceful Offering

By Russ Burden

Some tips to get the most from your trip if you’re the family photographer

It’s time for the family to plan its annual vacation. So just how does the photographer in you get appeased? You can still get your pixel-capturing fix by adopting a few of the following suggestions and agreeing on a few compromises beforehand.

a) While the family sleeps and relaxes in the morning, head out for a few hours at sunrise to capture the great light on whatever subject you fancy. From the tallest skyscraper to a tiny flower, subjects bathed in the warm light of sunrise look great.

b) Accept the fact sunset is family time, but expect a compromise that maybe you get to claim a few sunsets for yourself. Some sunsets may mean you’re out photographing other families involved in their activities (get their permission first!) or the same scenery from your morning shots – to see how different light can change the picture.

c) During the day, when it’s family time, keep everyone very active. You may wear them out enough so all they want to do for sunset is relax – and you wind up with a bonus family shoot.

d) During the day, when the light is not at its best, augment with fill flash, and focus on your family members. Try to keep the photography low-key so it doesn’t become the priority. Let your family have fun while you simply document the events. Orchestrating a full-blown shoot may wind up backfiring.

e) Use a trusty point and shoot rather than carting around all your gear. Having your complete pack connotes you are taking charge and infringing on their time. Using a point and shoot is less intimidating, and you’re still getting your fix.

f) Don’t expect the vacation to be like it was when you had the luxury of being on a photo tour where the entire focus was getting great shots. While you may wish it to be that way, lower your standards, which, in turn, will make every image you capture more special.

g) Give the camera to your spouse or kids. Let them take a few pictures, and allow them to share in your enthusiasm. More often than not, the photographer in the family is the person who seems to not have gone on the trip. Let the others take shots of you, and have some fun posing.

h) Use the trip to create a nice family portrait that can be used as a holiday card. Turn it into a fun event. Let the kids get goofy for a few shots. While it may not make the cover of National Geographic, you’re still practicing your skills of lighting, posing, and composition.

Prepared by TakeGreatPictures.com. For more tips, visit www.takegreatpictures.com.

All photos © Russ Burden

Cute Teacher cards

Video: Teacher Cards By Jennifer McGuire Show a teacher that you think they are special by giving them a set of personalized cards.

Instructions: Print the personalization on the Daffodil folded cards. Stamp the note paper image with black ink on a piece of Snow layering paper. Cut out and punch holes as shown. Attach to the Daffodil folded card. Score the folded card to create the edging detail. Stamp the apple image with Punch chalk ink. Add color to the stem and leave with Copic markers. Cut out the image and attach to the folded card with foam adhesive. Add the "A+" with a red marker. Visit the Hero Arts Website to see a video

Smile Quote

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.

Mother Teresa

Make sure you smile at someone today!

Massive Clearance Sale on Now - huge scrapbooking savings

As you know, Phase 1 of our store rearrange in the scrapbooking department is done.  It feels great!  If you haven't been in for a visit lately, come in and see how much fresher and spacious it seems in the store. You will find it much easier to shop. Phase 2 is underway now to put the finishing touches on each display.

Massive Clearance Sale : We have also cleared out our "Harry Potter" cupboard, and pulled out many many many boxes of product that had come off of displays to make room for new stuff, and then got forgotten about in the boxes in the Harry Potter cupboard.  Needless to say, in our nice organization of displays, there is NO room to put the product out.

So, it is priced to MOVE NOW - from 50-90% off!!!! Lots of fabulous product at amazing prices. You won't believe the pricing! We had a few people in today shopping from the bins as we were getting set up (waaaay too much on sale to get done before we open tomorrow morning!) and there were lots of squeals of delight at the prices and "really?!", and "oh my gosh!" and "yes, I'll need a basket!" 

Make sure to bring your friends too! Stock up for you, for your kids, for your friends, for your school, for your crops etc etc! This sale is even better than our summer Solstice sale! Come early for best selection, but don't worry if you can't make it in right away, there is LOTS!!!

Creative Die Cutting Ideas

 

Add Glitter to Die-Cut Adhesive Sheets

Design by Robyn Werlich

Robyn made her die-cut bird, damask shape, and "J." Then she cut identical adhesive sheets to layer over her pieces. She sprinkled glitter over the sheets to add sparkle to her page.

Editor's Tip: To keep glitter from spreading across your page, seal the finished die cuts with a spray adhesive.

Use Die Cuts as a Mask

Design by Vicki Boutin

Vicki inked her background, masking some areas with butterfly die cuts. She painted die-cut pieces and folded them to make it seem as if the butterflies were fluttering on the page.

Editor's Tip: Use solid and intricate die cuts in your scrapbook page layouts to create diversity.

Turn Transparency Sheets into Creative Embellishments

Design by Irma Gabbard

Irma used a black solvent ink pad to better define the edges of her flowers. She also applied lime acrylic paint to the leaves to add a touch of color and make them stand out against her scrapbook page.

Editor's Tip: Boost transparent die cuts by attaching them to the page with adhesive foam. Cover the foam sections with decorative accents such as buttons or patterned cardstock.

Sprinkle Die-Cut Fabric Flowers Across Your Scrapbook Page

Design by Nichol Magouirk

Nichol used her die-cutting tool to create these cute flowers. She selected a button for each one and sewed them to her scrapbook page.

Editor's Tip: Be careful when you use thick fabrics with your die-cutting machine, as it may break or jam it.

Add Flock to Die-Cut Adhesive Shapes

Design by Tracy Kyle

Tracy die-cut pieces of double-sided adhesive Then she applied flock to the adhesive and rolled over it with a brayer to help the powder securely attach.

Editor's Tip: If you have difficulty die-cutting the adhesive paper, press down twice with the die-cutting tool to assure a clean cut.

New from Cuttlebug

We have some great new embossing folder sets from Cuttlebug! Take a look...

   

Have you seen their Embossing Plus dies? These dies cut and emboss at the same time....and they do a brilliant job at it!!!

   

   

Flat Bunny Tea Party

We had an absolute blast hosting a Flat Bunny Tea Party at Photo Express. Thank you Barb for entering the Flat Bunny contest so that we could be a part of the fun! Flat Bunny came dressed in her best pearls and fancy hat for a fancy feast! Here are some pics of our time together...

     

And unbeknown to us, Flat Bunny is very social! She even stopped by the Sushi restaurant next door to say hi to Michael & Sue, the owners...they make great sushi by the way, for any of you looking for a new restaurant to check out!

Stay tuned to Flat Bunny's blog for an update on her visit to PE!

Olivia from Basic Grey

                 

Plus lots more! Come check it out at PE today!

Page Commitment Album

How are your pages coming along for PE's Page Commitment Challenge? Be sure to check out our Facebook album to see how other people are doing. Feel free to post your pages to our Facebook Wall and we'll be sure to add them to our album too!

August Club Member Special - 5x7's 4 for $5!

Get 'em while they're hot!!!  High quality 5x7 prints (our trained technicians colour correct every one) are on special in the month of August for Club Members.

Basic Grey Page of the Month Kits Available!

Attention Basic Grey lovers! We have a whole set of Basic Grey Page of the Month kits available for purchase! This is the second year that we've run this program and it's HUGELY popular! Each kit comes with full colour instructions and waaay more product than you need to make your layout. You will have enough leftover product to make an additional layout or a handful of cards. All the design and product coordination is done for you. It's a brilliant idea!

The Jan-July kits are ready for pick up. You can then choose if you'd like to attend the monthly classes from Aug-Dec, or if you'd simply like to have the kits.

The kits are $25 each plus tax and are well worth the cost! Here are the layouts from Jan-Aug....

If you're interested, please call the store asap. First come, first serve! This is a full year commitment; individual kits are not available for purchase.