Ztampfilicious

A customer emailed me this:

“I have purchased a number of your beautiful packages and would like to use the Album and Ensembles pages on 8.5×11 pages. That means I am trying to re-size them and when I do that I loose the benefit of using the Group with Previous function that makes these pages so desirable. I am working and printing from home and so would very much like to keep this standard size.
Can you help?

I absolutely love your work and will be very disappointed if I cannot use your wonderful packages to the fullest. I know of a couple of other scrappers that would like to hear this answer so may be it would be a good subject for your newsletter. I am somewhat new to scrapbooking and so hope that I am not bring up questions that you have answered long ago!

Looking forward to your reply.
Pat”

Are you a 8.5×11 scrapper? Do you face similar problems with her? Don’t worry, I’ve written a couple of small tutorials here to help you out :). I hope they are clear enough. Do not hesitate to ask if you need further clarifications, OK!

The instructions here are for Photoshop/Photoshop Elements. The main thing before you begin is to make sure to have the ‘Constraint Proportions‘ option in the Image Size dialog box selected. If you are using other program, I’m sure there is a similar option available, so be sure to look for it. The bottom line is to make sure that when you resize, you do so proportionately so the result will look right.

1. Using 12×12 QuickPages on 8.5×11 pages
To keep the right proportion of the QuickPages, first resize them proportionately to 8.5 x 8.5 in (if you use Photoshop/Photoshop Elements: in the Image Size option, set to 70.83% or 2550 x 2550 px). Then choose a complimentary background paper. You can use a matching main paper used in the QuickPage, or you can choose a contrasting paper instead. Resize this paper to 11 x 11 in (91.67% or 3300 x 3300 px).

Now open a new file of 8.5 x 11 in page. Copy or drag the resized background paper layer to it. Align it so it’s centered. Then copy or drag the resized QuickPage and center it as well. For a softer blending between them, use your Lasso Tool, set the feather to around 55, then ‘draw’ it around the edges of the QuickPage. Then cut that portion by pressing Control+X for PC or Command+X for Mac. Finally insert your photo behind the QuickPage layer and if you wish, you can add further text or embellishment on top of the QuickPage layer. See the samples here:

Sample 1. Using a matching background paper: ‘lasso’ the edges of the QuickPage and remove the area to achieve a somewhat seamless look. I’m using Bohemian Rhapsody Package Saving here.

Sample 1b. Here’s how it looks like without utilizing the ‘lasso technique’ - note the straight, more obvious edges of the QuickPage against the background paper behind it:

Sample 2. Using a contrasting background paper:  elements are added between the QuickPage and the Background Paper (the lace), also on top of them for a more unified look (the beaded stapler and stitches). I’m using Phrench Phoebe Package Saving here.

Sample 3. A few QuickPages can be simply cropped to fit 8.5×11 pages like this one from the Birthday Bliss Album Set. It is dragged and centered on a 8.5×11 page then proportionately resized to 90.75%.

2. Using Ensembles on 8.5×11 pages
For the Ensembles, it is easy too. A few of them might be small enough to just be dropped on a 8.5×11 pages.The key is to get the background paper you want to use with it resized correctly. There are 2 ways to do this:

1. By resizing the background paper to 11×11 then center it on a 8.5×11 page like described above for using 12×12 QuickPages on 8.5×11 pages. This work best for papers with evenly spread out patterns.

Sample 4. a 12×12 page proportionately resized to 11×11 and then cropped to fit a 8.5 x 11 page. Paper is from Syrin Seamstress Kit.

2a. By cropping the 12×12 paper on the most interesting part to fit a 8.5×11 page. Open a new 8.5×11 page. Then open the 12×12 paper you want to use. Drag it to the 8.5×11 page and move them around until you found the most interesting part you like the best.

Sample 5. a 12×12 paper cropped on the most interesting part to fit a 8.5×11 page. Paper used here is from the Bohemian Rhapsody Kit.

2b. By resizing the 12×12 background paper to 11×11 first, then drag it to a 8.5×11 page and move the up and down until you find the look you like the best.

Sample 6. a 12×12 paper proportionately resized to 11×11 and then cropped on the most interesting part to fit a 8.5×11 page. Paper used is from Year In Revue Kit.

For the Ensembles themselves, just resize them proportionately. If you’re on Mac, just press the ‘Shift’ key while you are dragging the corner of the Ensemble with your mouse to resize it. In PC, I think it’s it’s the ‘Control’ key that you have to press - I’m not sure though but you can try. Another way is to use the Image Size feature: select the Ensemble then set the scale percentage accordingly.

Sample 7. An Ensemble proportionately resized to fit into a 8.5×11 page. The paper is proportionately resized down to 92% and placed on a 8.5×11 page while the Ensemble is proportionately resized down to 85%. Both are from the Birthday Bliss Package Saving.

Tips: It is usually easier to work by dragging whatever you want to use on a 8.5×11 page. This way you can see how exactly things look would look like when you resize and move them around on the 8.5×11 page.

That’s it! I hope you will find these tutorials useful. Questions? Just ask me here on the Comment section or email me. Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Scrapping :).

It’s been a week since the last entry! What’s up? Well, something weird is happening with my body. Somehow I have developed an allergy to something that has yet to be found. It all started at the beginning of this month… just a harmless little itchiness above my left wrist. But then I noticed a splatter of tiny reddish bumps there. Hmmm. Insect bites? I didn’t give it much thought until a few days later when I noticed similar itch and bumps on my right arm, above the wrist - almost symmetrical to the left one! Within a week, it got so much worse - all the way up my arms…

So I’ve been to a doctor twice and to a dermatologist once. So far none of the medication seems to really work. The new medication did ease off the bumps but new ones still appearing here and there… Spreading to my legs and parts of my body. Never mind how my skin looks now… I know one day it will smooth itself out. But maaan… it’s so itchy all over! Although I know that everything must come to an end which means this itchiness will come to an end one day, it is still a royal PITA indeed! What’s worse, it disturb my sleep too so I’m not getting enough sleep although I go to bed early (an achievement for me, the chronic night owl!).

The thing with allergy is that there are thousands of possible allergen. To pin point exactly what it is could take a lot of time, time and resources. So for cases like me - which considered to be not so bad, most doctors would just choose the take the short cut. That is, easing off the allergic reaction without really knowing the cause of it.

Now, allergy could happen suddenly. Things or food that you have been having all your life could out of the blue become allergen. Your body simply decided to react badly to them. I’m worried that this is the case with my allergy because I can’t recall having anything new/unusual around the time I first got the itchiness. Then the possibilities are wide open… it could be anything! Although… according to the dermatologist, judging from my itchiness it doesn’t seem to be from food. Food allergy usually give wider reaction, i.e. retching, dizziness, swelling and such. So I guess my condition is not so bad indeed.

But still… what could it be the cause? A mystery to solve! If I don’t know what it is, then I can’t do anything to prevent it from happening again! And trust me, it’s a royal PITA to have this itch all over your body!

Ohkay. Enough about that unpleasant subject. Let’s move on to something more useful and fun! Have you heard about TrailFire? I found out about it from Heidi of DigiscrapInfo.com. You can read about it here. It looks like a useful thing to implement so I gave it a try!

I’ve always wanted to see how my kits are being used by my customers (you!) and from time to time I’m lucky enough to see them on public galleries such as DST or SBB. Some of you would give me links or even uploaded your layouts to Ztampfest Gallery. But what if we could build a list of layouts done using certain kits that everyone can add to and view! This will create a good inspiration source too!

For example, here I made a trail for Phrench Phoebe Layouts:
http://trailfire.com/fhung/trailview/48120

If you’re registered at TrailFire, you can add to the list! See how easy it is done. I like the nifty buttons - very clever! In the future, I might add more trails for each kit so if you need more inspirations for using certain kits, just visit the trail and you can see various layouts from various sites, not limited to Ztampfest or DST or SBB or wherever:).

I’ve also created this trail: Mac Tips’n Tricks - for Mac users like me. I hope they will find it useful!

To see all the Trails that I’ve created so far, you can visit: http://trailfire.com/fhung/. I’m still building them. I think that over time it could be a handy valuable cross-reference vault that is accessible from anywhere on the net :).

And speaking of Mac… Leopard is unleashed today! I’ve been waiting for it for so long! You know what my plan is? I’m going to get myself a top of the line iMac. 24″. 2.8 GHz. 4 GB RAM. 1 TB HD space. Yes, I need a really powerful machine for my kind of work. Large display will help too! I’ve been doubting over whether to get a desktop or not since the last time I was using desktop was in 1998, on a PC. After much reconsideration… I decided that yes, a desktop will work best for me. So as soon as the iMac is shipped with Leopard inside, I’ll place an order at Fortress. What is Fortress? It is an electronic shop chain in Hong Kong that offers 2-year interest free installment plans when you spend over HKD 2,000 (USD 255). Isn’t it just great? That’s my secret why it seems so easy for me to just decide: “I want the top of of the line iMac available out there!” :D.

Now… the Ztampfans Challenges. I’ve made a boo boo which you can read about in Ztampfans Group @ FaceBook. But more importantly, the voting is now begun! Go there and vote for your favorite layout! The lucky winner will get a $20 Gift Certificate to be used at http://ScrapSupply.com!

And I made a new layout today using my new halloween stuff:

Well, that’s it for now! TEO is just back with chocolates and DVDs for the weekend! He’s cooking dinner now - I’d better go to the kitchen and harass him a bit ;).

Have a wonderful weekend, Everyone! Wish me luck so the allergy will go away soon!

As you might have noticed, Ztampfest Gallery is using a different script than those of Photopost generally used in most forums. As a lot of people are not familiar with this type of gallery, I decided to share some tips and tricks on using the gallery here.

First of all, did you know that you can easily and quickly navigate the Ztampfest Gallery through the navigation panel on the left? Well, on the left panel right under the Ztampfest Gallery title, you’d see ‘Expand’ and ‘Collapse’. Just click on the ‘Expand’ and a navigation ‘tree’ will appear, which makes it very easy for you to jump from one gallery to another!

Click on either the + or - sign on the left side of each Album to expand or collapse the navigation tree. Try it out! I think it’s a pretty cool and useful feature!

Next, with the new updated script recently, for the first time now certain Albums in the Ztampfest Gallery are open to the registered users. This means they are given access to upload, edit and delete their own layouts.

Which Albums are open? They are: the Ztampfellas Album & Weekly Challenges Albums!

So how to upload your layouts there? Here’s how:

First of all, you have to be a registered user at Ztampfest and the size of your file should not exceed 125KB, nor larger than 600×600 dpi. Ready? Then make sure you are logged in and follow these steps:

1. 1. Locate the Album where you wish to upload your layouts to (i.e. Ztampfellas Album
   or Weekly Challenges’ Albums).
   2. On the Album page, under ‘album actions’ on the left bar click ‘Add Items’.
   3. In the page that appears, under the tab ‘From Web Browser’ click ‘Choose File’ and locate the file you wish to upload from your hard-drive.
   4. Type in the title of your layout in the ‘Caption’ field.
   5. Add more files as you wish.
   6. Scroll down until you find:
   Set item titles from:___ please choose ‘Caption’
   Assign caption to:___ please UN-check BOTH options
   7. Leave the ‘Create Thumbnails Now’ Checked as it is.
   8. Click the ‘Add Items’ button.
   9. On the following page that appears, click on the title of the layout you want to add detailed information to.
   10 Click ‘Edit Photo’ under the ‘Item Actions’ drop-down menu.
   11. You should be on the ‘General’ tab now, if you are not, then click on the ‘General’ tab (on the far left).
   12. Type Your User Name in the ‘Summary’ field.
   13. Type related search words in the ‘Keywords’ field if you wish.
   14. Type in whatever you want to share about your creation in the ‘Description’ field but first, type in your User Name here as well.
   15. Type the Credits of product(s) used, including the Fonts name here as well, below your description.
   16. To Edit your description later or re-upload your layout, just click on the ‘Edit Photo’ under ‘item actions’ in the menu on the left or below your image.

You’re done! I know this seems to be lengthy and it’s not very commonly used in the digiscrapping sites/forums but once you got the hang of it, you’ll love it! Remember that you have to be logged in in order to do any of the above steps.

Thanks in advance and I’ll look forward to receiving your ztampfilicious creations there!

Now that you know how, don’t forget to upload your entries for the Week 1 of the Ztampf! 2nd Birthday Weekly Challenges! The deadline is Saturday, 22 Sep. 2007 at midnight of New York time zone. The prize?

3 lucky scrappers will win the following:
• a Ztampf! $135 Gift Certificate
• a KOLO Cortina CD Album shipped to your address - cool and perfect to keep your backup cds!

• a KOLO 10% Off Discount Coupon to be used at http://mykoloalbum.com - a gorgeous and flexible alternative for printing your digital layouts. Read more…

So get your creative sparks blazing… I look forward to seeing your entries there soon :).