New Release | Dayplanner (with Paislee Press)

Nothing offers reassurance the way a day planner can.  It lets you know what lies ahead in the day and keeps you on track.  And nothing beats the sense of accomplishment you get when you look back at the end of the day and see how many things you have ticked off, achieved, and completed.

I waffle back and forth between electronic and paper planners. I’ve been predominantly electronic for the past couple of years, but this year I opted for a beautiful little paper number by Laurel Denise that I leave laying out on my desk. I just felt like writing this year, and this planner is so classic and elegant that I find myself smiling every time I write in it.

On that note, I’m excited to announce the arrival of my latest collab with Paislee Press. Dayplanner and the coordinating Dayplanner Journal Cards are perfect for documenting big milestones or the everyday wins in your life. To say that I am totally in love with it is an understatement. I love working with Liz, and I always love the results. ♥

Early Bird Savings

Purchase Dayplanner by January 27, 2013 and you’ll save 20%. PLUS you’ll receive the Dayplanner Journal Cards free with the purchase of this collaboration through 1/27/13, as well.

Take Me Shopping!

|| LAYOUTS BY THE FLOCK & THE POLLYS ||

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by Elisa

by Elisa

by Jenny

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Powerful Techniques | Non-Destructive Cut Outs Using Inner Shadows

Hi everyone.  I’m beyond thrilled to be here with my first post for the One Little Bird blog. Today I wanted to share with you a tutorial for how to create non-destructive cut out shapes on a background paper using clipping masks and the Inner Shadow layer style. Make sure to read on down to the end for a special treat from Peppermint!

Let me share with you an example of what I’m talking about.  Here is a beautiful layout by Susanne. Notice on the right side of the layout how you can see three long rectangles cut out from background paper and to show a zigzag striped paper underneath? I’m going to teach you an easy way to create this look without having to do anything as permanent as cutting away pieces of the background paper – so you can alter and move the cut out through your design process as necessary.

Materials: Generations by One Little Bird & Paislee Press; Round about now vol. 2 by Paislee Press; Mix Max Vol. 3 by Jimbo Jambo Designs; picture by Marika Burder.

 VIDEO WALKTHROUGH

Are you ready to try this out for yourself?  In this video I will walk you through the process.  I’m using Adobe Photoshop Elements 11, but you can use this trick with any program that allows for inner shadows.

TIPS & TRICKS

1. Make sure all your shadows on your page are going in the same direction. If your shadows are all going down and to the left of your elements (like on my page), then your inner shadows should be in the top right corner of the shape, making it look like a shadow on the background paper is down and to the left.

2. I like to keep the paper layer that is clipped to the shape layer separate from the shape layer instead of merging them. If you do this, keep the inner shadow style on the shape layer. And if you want to move the shape, make sure you move just the shape layer and leave the paper layer still.  As you move the shape you will then reveal different parts of the paper layer as you would if you cut a shape out of a different part of the background.

3. You could use this same technique for cutting shapes out of other papers, elements, or even pictures. Create a shape. Copy the layer that you want to show through and bring it over the shape and clip it to the shape. Then add an inner shadow to the shape. You could even use letters instead of shapes to make a cool cut out title on a layout.

4. Because your cut outs are actually on new layers and not part of the background layer, make sure you don’t let papers or elements slip “under” them. Let me show you what I mean. In the image below follow the red arrow and you will see that I let my journaling card go “under” the cut out star making it look unrealistic like the star is being cut out of both the journal card and the background.

Instead, the card should be in the layer above the star shape like this:

I hope you found this tutorial helpful and can have fun “cutting things out” on your digital pages.  Here is a peek at my finished layout:

Materials: Big Ideas by One Little Bird.  Font is Apple Symbols.

FREE DOWNLOAD

To help you get this look on your own pages, Peppermint is offering her Cut Out Like Me shadows for free. Click the button below to download them.

Download the Layer Styles

PSE 7-10 Users: See the PSE Installation Guide for instructions on how to install these layer styles in your software. (PSE 11 users, it’s just a simple drag and drop!)

This Is A Break-Up

The time has come for me and my Nikon D50 to start seeing other people. I think we just want different things. It wants to be “old school” and “classic”, and I want more auto focus points and a higher ISO for low light shots.

Plus a few more bells and whistles won’t hurt. Afterall, my smartphone has a higher resolution than this camera.

But I still love it, and it won’t be going anywhere. This camera has provided my family with thousands of perfect shots – and thousands of not-so-perfect shots, too. It will forever hold the title of “my first DSLR”.

For the past year or so it’s been showing signs that it’s ready for retirement, but the problems are still few and far between and it’s going to be the best “back-up camera” that a girl could ever ask for.

(It’ll still be available for Tom’s “rock and twig” photography series, if necessary.)

My new Nikon D7000 will be arriving any moment now. I’m sure I’ll put it through the paces, racking up thousands of photographs in no time flat – lured by the thrill of getting to know it a lot better. That’s good news for my photo collection!

So this is a break-up, with one big exception. We’ll still be friends, this D50 and me.

It’s a part of our history. Forever.

Birds of a Feather | Gallery Standouts

One of my favorite things to do in my spare time is to go through the galleries and admire all of the awesome that is there. The One Little Bird gallery at The Lilypad is full of amazingness. I had such a fun time going through the layouts from the past couple of weeks, I just had to pick a few of these to show y’all.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS PICTURE | by charmedeebob

First up is this beautiful layout. I love the great use of white space and the vertical orientation of the photo, papers and elements.

Materials – Epic by One Little Bird and Paislee Press. Font is The Antique Typewriter by Heather Hess

BATH FUN | by 3littleks

I’m a big fan of blocked layouts and this one is so fun. I love the playful photos that she chose, how the patterns work so well off of each other, and the little details she placed throughout the layout.

Materials – Sweater Weather by One Little Bird; Round About Now vol. 2 by Paislee Press.

SWING | by mollyc

How could you not fall in love with this layout?  The photo is so cute and then the layers of patterned paper, the word art, the stamping, just perfect.

Materials – Sweater Weather by One Little Bird

JUST KEEP PEDALING | by sporte91

What a fun summer layout. I’m in love with the hexagonal photos and journaling here, but also her placement of embellishments. I just love that little bike flair in the corner.

Materials – Pedal Pusher by One Little Bird; Poly Play v1 by Angelcloud Art Room; Grunge by Sahlin Studio; Boyish Charm by Jennifer Barrette.

SWEET | by MrsFinn

Oh my gosh, that sweet smile, the white space, the title, it’s all just so perfect, plus I love that the journaling really tells the story of what the artist is thinking when she looks at this photo.

Materials – Happygram Elements, Sweetness Papers and Elements, Flight Plan No. 17 by One Little Bird.

Want to see your layout featured here? Post your layouts using One Little Bird products in the One Little Bird Gallery at The Lilypad.

New Release | Flight Plans No. 19-20

I’ve got two new Flight Plan templates in the shop, perfect for those times when you need a little extra help getting from point A to point B. You might recognize Flight Plan No. 19 from our recent Holiday Template Challenge.  Well if you missed snagging it then, now you can grab it for a steal of a price during the LilyPad’s Birthday Celebration.

The LilyPad’s Birthday Celebration Sale

Purchase Flight Plan No. 19 or 20 by January 21, 2013 and you’ll save 30% off as a part of the LilyPad’s storewide Birthday Celebration Sale.  

Take Me Shopping!

|| LAYOUTS BY THE FLOCK & THE POLLYS ||

[Show as slideshow]

by Leontien

by Tali

by Stacy

by Valorie (Polly)