Easter Eggs

Look what I made yesterday:



If you want to learn how, check out this AWESOME (if I do say so myself) tutorial I put together for The Hybrid Chick!

A little tutorial about choosing the right paper

As I told you (a while ago), I am now on Vera Lim's creative team as a hybrid artist! It is a great gig with super easy requirements. I just have to write one blog post every three months, and I get all of her new releases if I think I can make something with it. Super easy and very low pressure. My kind of CT!!

So, today was my day to post on her blog. This is what I wrote:

Hey everyone! I’m Kelleigh, one of the three new hybrid artists for Vera Lim. We are all super excited to be here and we are having a lot of fun creating with Vera’s gorgeous designs. At least once a month, we will be dedicating a blog post specifically to hybrid, and we hope that you find these posts to be educational and inspiring! And, I get to go first! Wahoo!

When I first started creating hybrid projects, I really didn’t know much. Sure, I knew how to make a pretty page for a mini album, or add some paper to a hybrid printable template, but when it came time to print the thing, I was just clueless. This cluelessness went on for a couple of months and through many hybrid projects, until I read somewhere that I should be printing on matte photo paper. I thought, “Nope. Sounds expensive.” Then, I actually did a bit of research about photo paper, did the math, and figured out that for each sheet of letter size matte photo paper, I was spending about 36¢. I’m frugal, but I’m not cheap! I decided to fork out the money for my first pack of matte photo paper.

Ahhhhh! MUCH better. Let me show you what I mean, and you can decide.

I created these simple little tags using Vera’s A New Beginning paper and A New Beginning Magic.



#1 is printed on regular old copy paper. Please. Don’t do this. You might not be able to tell by the picture, but the tag is obviously super flimsy and the colors are muted and kind of grey. Okay, so I have a good printer, and it doesn’t look THAT bad, but look closely at the leaves on the bottom. See all those pixels? It’s not just my photo. The color is spotty in real life, too!

#2 is printed on letter size cardstock that I bought at Walmart for SUPER cheap. Better, right? I don’t usually print on cardstock unless I am just doing a test run. The paper will suck up your ink, and leave your project with a dull finish. Again, look closely at the leaves. More spots. However, the tag is sturdy, so this is kind of acceptable. Your mother would probably think you are a genius if you presented her with a gift with a little tag that you made yourself.

#3 is printed on Epson Premium Presentation Paper Matte Double-Sided. I’m pretty sure I’m paying more for the double-sided, but I actually print on the back sometimes, so I’m okay with forking out that 36¢ per sheet. Besides, by printing on the automatic mode (I didn’t select “photo paper” when printing) I figure that I am saving some ink. And, look closely again. No spots. Well, in real life, there are no spots. The transition from color to color is nice and smooth, the drop shadows look fantastic, and the glitz and glam that can always be found in Vera’s Magic shines brightly! I gotta be honest here and tell you that I recently discovered that when I print on auto, my colors are truer to what I see on my computer screen, so I typically print my projects just like #3.

And, then there is that last gorgeous little piece of art. Tag #4 was printed on the same Epson paper, but I selected “Photo Paper” as my paper type when I printed. Ahhh, yes. Luscious color!! In real life, it is a little dark, but so very vibrant and detailed! This’ll suck my ink dry super fast, but sometimes it is SO worth it, right?

I hope this little tutorial on selecting the right paper (in my humble opinion, anyway!) has been helpful! I can’t wait to see what hybrid projects you create with Vera’s gorgeous goodies!

---End of post---

And, this is what I created with Vera's new kit!

Hybrid Pop-Top Can Tutorial

I'm serious, people. If you were to look into my hall closet, you would be appalled. Empty cans, empty juice mix containers, and empty boxes are on the verge of spilling out into the hallway. Well, okay, I guess it is not THAT bad. But still, I do tend to collect "useful items". What's worse (or perhaps, better?) is that my husband will look at an empty container at his office and think, "Hmm. I wonder if Kelleigh can do something with this?"

You see, I have this problem with being obsessed with creating pretty things with my digital supplies. Even better is when those pretty things are also useful. Which brings me to today's project.

Time to open up a can. Not just any can, though. I want you to look through your kitchen pantry and try to find a can of food with a pop top.



Yeah, I couldn't find one either, the first time I tried this project, so I went to the store and bought a couple of cans of fruit. While you are shopping, you need to pay attention to the BOTTOM of the can, too.



The reason the bottom is important is because you will be using a can opener that is designed to open the can from the sides and create clean edges that are NOT sharp. If you do not have one of these cool can openers, just ask a friend if you can borrow hers. They are pretty popular, so someone you know should have one!



Make SURE you open the can from the bottom and NOT the top! You will be filling the can and closing it up again, so if you pop the top . . . no good.

Now, feed your family, wash out the can, and tear off the label. This is what you should end up with.



At this point, you'll want to measure the surface area of the outside of your can. Mine was roughly 9.25in x 4.25in. Open Photoshop, and create a new document with these dimensions. Now it is time to design!

I used a great kit from one of The Digichick's newest designers, Nicole Seitler, who will be debuting tomorrow, so this is a little sneaky peaky at one of her products called A Little Birdie. So cute!

I went ahead and designed the outside to my liking.



Then I flattened my project and dragged it onto a new, blank, 8.5 x 11 in document, since my printer is a standard size. I added the little tag from Nicole's kit that I had fallen in love with to the right of my page. Then, to add a little dimension to my finished product, I used my rectangular marquis tool to select the flowers from the front of the can. I copied and pasted them onto a new layer, then dragged them to the side of my document. My plan was to cut these out, apply pop dots (dimensional foam stickers) and put them right back where I got them.



Next, I measured the diameter of the top of my can. To do this, just find the middle of your lid and measure across. Mine was roughly 2.75 inches. Now, just select your circular marquis tool and type in a fixed size of 2.75in x 2.75in. Design the top as you would like, flatten and drag onto your "page to print". You'll notice that I selected the flowers from the top of my can before I flattened and duplicated them so I could cut them out as I mentioned above.



And, since I am not one to waste valuable, quality paper, this is what my "page to print" looked like.



(Go check out the hybrid gallery on Thursday morning to see the other project I created with Nicole's goodies! Her stuff ROCKS!)



Now, print your page and begin cutting. I used my trusty micro-tip scissors to carefully cut around each flower that I planned to "pop".



Apply your favorite dry adhesive (tape runner, tabs, etc.) paying special attention to the "seams", or the area where the two sides will meet.



Line your paper up on your can so your main image is directly across from the pop top tab. Stick it to the can!



Now, cut out your top and position it. I cut out a notch in my paper using a 1" circle punch, but you could use your scissors, too.



Apply foam pop dots to the flower pieces you cut out, and reposition them on your can, right on top of the original flowers like so:



Add your tag and a ribbon to the pop top tab, if desired. This is my finished project!


Fill the can from the bottom with candy, tiny bath items, a gift card, etc. and seal up with a liquid adhesive that is appropriate for metal (or just push the bottom on until it is nice and tight!).

What a fun "wrapping" for a present, huh? And, after the recipient opens it (by pulling the tab!), the can could be used as a pencil holder!

Now, it is time to try this project for yourself. You have until midnight, Pacific time, Friday, August 8th to make your own hybrid can for a chance to win $5 to Nicole Seitler's new store at The Digichick! Just post your creation to the hybrid gallery and link us up in the hybrid forum.

Have fun!