A Crafting Friday Night (and Saturday morning)

The urge to craft and make things comes and cannot be denied, lol. I like making bookmarks. They're smaller. This is good because the larger page is more intimidating. The blank page when I'm writing doesn't bother me at all, ever. But the blank page when making arts or crafts is highly daunting! I'm not that creative with making things. There seems to be a disconnect between my mind's eye imagination in seeing, and my hands in producing it. What I produce is amateurish, and only that, after a struggle.

Anyway, last night I made bookmarks from my photos, and overlaid scripture on them. Then I laminate. I've been dissatisfied, though, in the results. I can't quite get the size right. Sometimes they come out too skinny and other times too fat. These two came out not-horrible.

I finally got a clue and searched online for a bookmark template. I found one on Teachers Pay Teachers, for free.

The next challenge was to figure out how to insert the clip art, photos, or pictures that I want, into the bookmark while keeping the shape. Hmmm. Just copying and pasting didn't work. After clicking around some, I found that if you click the image, then click 'Fill' and then follow the pop-up menu to where or what you want to fill the shape with, it will work. In my case, I had prepared some clips of work I'd already done.

When I paint or collage or stencil, I then scan the finished product into the computer, thus digitizing it. So I had a number of items from which to clip sections from and insert into the shapes above.

From left to right: an acrylic painting, a color pencil stencil with digital clip art overlaid, a watercolor, a stenciled and painted collage, a paper collage with stencil on top. All art is by moi.

Then the job is to print out. I forgot that when printing pictures from Word I need to lighten it in the edit section, so, they came out a bit dark. I used regular paper and I think photo paper would make it a little sharper. Something went wrong with the last bookmark and there is no black line border all of a sudden, but those are the vagaries of printing. If I make the margins smaller the whole thing goes funky. So, I'll figure that out next time. I just need to cut out this last batch. Overall, I'm pleased. I like the different shapes of the bookmarks, it makes them more interesting I think.

I plan on attending the Annual Winterville Marigold Festival later this morning with a friend. I'll be visiting and also photo taking at this charming festival held in a small and pretty town.

I might be so jazzed up that I come home and have a blast processing my photos and maybe make more bookmarks. Or the predicted heat might make me decide to lay down with the kitties and take a nap, falling asleep listening to birds out my window. Anyway, it seems to be a good day ahead. I hope it is for you too!