Valentine Projects…the easy kind!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Hi all, it’s me again, Casharina, bringing you yet another fairly simple Hybrid Post!  As you know I love simple hybrids, especially when there’s little to NO cutting involved!  So with Valentines JUST around the corner, yah I know…I can’t believe it either, anyway I’ve decided to share two simple projects with you that I plan on doing this year for my kiddos.  First off I’ll share a Valentine Card and then VERY simple treat bag toppers, made from 4×6 prints, easy peasy!

 I’ll start with the most time consuming, the card!  I have the hardest time putting together cards like this because I have sooo many ideas in my head about how it should look and what it should say, etc. that I get carried away and can’t choose just one.  So this year I decided I’d use the Shabby Shoppe’s Gingerbread Card Template Collection to get me started.  I chose to use a 5″ x 5″ template which I then altered to a 3″ x 3″ and added in papers from the Darling Paper Collection as well as some flowers and buttons from Sugarplum Dreams and Twirl Collection.  The word art is found in the Sweetie Pie kit!  I chose to have them printed as 4″ x 6″ prints from Wal-Mart so that I could take advantage of the cheaper cost, rather than using so much of my personal printers ink ~ that stuff gets pricey! ;0)

Tip: After mine were printed, the borders had been cut off on each side; so if you make a border be sure to leave room for the lab bleeds.  I will just go ahead and cut off the remaining white borders and you won’t be able to tell, but for future references it’d be nice to remember!

~*~ 3×3 Valentine Cards ~*~

•  Open the template, adjust the image size to 3 inches x 3 inches and then complete it to your liking with papers and embellishments! 
• Create a rectangle around the full template and choose Image, Crop. This will prevent the extra sides from being transferred to the final layout.
• I chose to sharpen mine a little prior to saving it as a JPEG!
• Save document as a JPEG.
• Now you’ll open new 4 inches x6 inches layout.
• Next, you’ll bring in your SAVED card (the jpeg file). Place one at the top corner of your document and then (CTRL+J) duplicate it to create a second copy to place on the other side of the layout.  
• For myself to know where the cutting line is, I chose a light color to use on the background layer.  This will provide the line for cutting since my layout has a white background.
• Save this as a JPEG and it’s ready for printing!

Tip: I know here at my Wal-Mart, they will even trim the photo for me if I ask before I leave, so keep that in mind when you pick them up!

After they’re printed I had Kaytlynn to sign the backs of them for her classmates and teacher.

 Are you still with me? Hope so…we’re moving on to the second project!

 ~*~ 4×6 Treat Bag Toppers ~*~

• Open new 4 inches x 6 inches document (standard photo size).
• Choose a digital paper that you would like to use.  For mine I mostly used papers from the Sweetie Pie collection, I love the bright colors of the kit and they’re perfect for Valentine’s projects!  As well as a few non-themed papers again from the Twirl Collection.  You’ll simply drag the selected paper over to your document. You may want to resize it to fit the 4×6 a little better.  If you do, be sure to use Shift and or Shift+Alt to keep it all in the right proportions.
• Once you have your paper (background) exactly how you want it you’ll want to add word art or text, or simply leave it as is.  If you choose to leave as is skip a few steps to see how to finish it for printing! ;o) For my toppers I chose to use the Yours Truly Expressions to add a little extra character.  This is a simple addition that can make your toppers really stand out and be personal.  You may also choose to simply use text to place a special note to the receivers of your gifts.  I also left room on each of my toppers for my daughter to sign her name…I thought that would make it a little more personal.  Tip: Be sure to add a horizontal guide to the middle of your document so that you’ll know where the photo will be bent and clipped to your bag so that your text/embellishments fit within either side (unless of course you want it to be that way!)  I chose to add a few with words and some without, taking advantage of the fun hearty papers from the kits.
• Once you’ve added your text you’re almost finished, YAY!  All you need to do now is save this image as a JPEG.  I like to save mine at a high resolution, above 10.  When saving things that I know will be sent to a lab, I like to place them in a folder together so that they’re a little easier to find when I’m uploading them.
• Once you’ve finished your designs you just need to have them printed.

•   I found some pink, clear, and blue party favor bags at Wal-Mart for less than a dollar for 20 so I picked those up for the Valentine’s Day Treats…I figured I could do some pinks for the girls and blues for the boys.  Then, I plan to stuff them with a few cookies and/or candy!
• Attach your printed 4×6 photos onto your filled treat bags using staples or a piece of tape on each end…and then we’re done!

I hope you’ve enjoyed these super simple projects and if you choose to do some too I’d love for you to share them in the gallery!

Have a wonderful weekend and we’ll see you back here on Monday for Layout of the Week!  Until then HAPPY SCRAPPING!!

CasharinaHybrid Projects, Uncategorized 4 Comments