iPod Valentine Cards

I was busy making iPod-like Valentines and finished them yesterday. You ever make something and it just seems as though it's not quite right? Yeah, that was the problem. You see, I try to get as many items on a page that I can to control printing. I used an 8 1/2" x 11" page initially and really should have used landscape to begin with!  I was able to fit 3 on a page instead of just one now in landscape. Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout! (I have watched Despicable Me quite a few times. That and Si.)

Here's the new Valentine I came up with for kids. Once again, I looked through a catalog to get some ideas and then opened MMS to create my own version.  It's truly THAT easy:

I inserted an identical page and then changed the background paper each time. I have a few more sayings like, "U R a Rock Star" and such (although you don't see them all here). Just create some of those funny little Valentiney sayings and you're good to go. On the blue background, I thought it looked a little plain so I added a couple hearts I found in embellishments.  Grabbed one, mirrored it and placed it on the opposite side.

I now have 5 sheets of 3 Valentines each that my daughter feels are acceptable to pass out to girls and boys (nothing terribly "lovey-dovey" for my 10-year-old!). We can print them on cardstock and she can cut them out, address them to her classmates, sign her name and she's done (or get real Martha Stewarty and add headphones made out of yarn)!  I honestly think she'll prefer the owl Valentine because it's a candy holder, and that just has kid appeal and charm. It's really the candy appeal, but I get that.  I was a kid once and am still one at heart. Anyway, the purpose of these is to simply show you how easy it is by starting with a shape, add a few more shapes, add a text box and a few shadows (because, you know, I like shadows!), choose your paper for backgrounds and it's all done. I didn't line everything up perfectly like I usually obsess about just because I know my daughter won't use these, but be sure to throw on your guides, rulers, grid and you can use the tools in MMS to align vertically and horizontally. It's a lovely feature.

If you haven't seen the owl Valentine, check it out here.  In the meantime, get inspired and then get creative!  You can do it and it's easy in MMS to do both (be inspired and creative).  Have fun!

Kid's Owl Valentines

Last year around this time I created an easy Valentine (you can see it here) in MMS for my daughter to hand out at school. They totally rocked! This year? I knew if I just found a little inspiration I could easily re-create a Valentine card. And that's exactly what I did. I grabbed a catalog from a company that sells cards and took a looksy. And then came up with my own version.

How long did it take? Ah, that would have been smart of me to clock it, but being a mom, I just didn't make a Valentine card in one sitting. I baked a turkey, worked a little on the card, fed the dog, medicated the dog, worked a little on the card, did a load of dishes, took the dog out to do her thing, etc. Need I say more? An estimate would be about 30-45 minutes. But it was fun, fun, fun!

Anyway, I saw a cute little owl and thought to myself, "I can make this!" I quickly looked through embellishments and didn't find an owl that I thought would work, so I went with Plan B. Make it from scratch in My Memories Suite V4:

1. I went to the Shapes menu and added a circle, square and triangle. Created the sizes I wanted, duplicated the triangle and used them for the ears rotating them slightly to look like real owl ears, the square for the head and the circle for the bottom of the owl body.
2. In the Shapes menu, I selected the "Paper" option and selected different colors of paper to place in the shapes as the background color. I think I chose nice Valentiney colors! Noticed the ears looked plain so I added two more little white triangles and placed them inside the ears rotating as needed.
3. Went back into Shapes, added 2 circles leaving one larger and white while making the other a little smaller. I chose to fill the smaller circle with a different paper and added a thin matte around this iris. Then I grouped it, copied and pasted for the other eye so I only had to make it once. Then moved them over using the grids to make sure they were in the same line.
4. Used the new Paint function by adding a black circle in the middle of the iris for a pupil. Did that on each eye. Paint option in MMS V4  is FUN. Be sure to play around with that when you have a chance!
5. Needed a nose.  Triangle!  Shapes menu again, added, re-sized, rotated, colored it orange and put by the eyes.
6. I needed to add wings, but believe me, there are no "owl wings" in embellishments! (I really didn't look...that's just something you have to assume.  =) I went into the Shapes menu again and found an acorn which looked like it would work.  Re-shaped, colored orange, doubled, mirror-flipped it and placed them for wings. It looked plain, so I went back into embellishments and found a little scroll. Added one, copied, mirror-flipped and placed it on the other wing.
7. Added a text box and added a cute little "owl" saying.
8. Went back and added shadows under the eyes, nose, ear triangles, wings and text. I like shadows.  =)
9. Grouped, copied and placed one on the right. Re-grouped the two, copied and placed them on the bottom part of the page so I had 4 on one page, lining them up using the grids. Chose different colors from my papers, added a different saying for each owl and inserted a duplicate page. IF I was smart (that's a hugeIF), I would have duplicated the outline first before adding the eyes, wings, and such, but that's hind-sight. All I had to do was take a little time to delete everything off the body of the owl and added a text box with a To: and From: and it was complete!

Now all I have to do is print on card stock (front page of the face, back page with the To/From) and have my daughter cut out! Once she cuts them out, we'll make two small vertical slits at the bottom and slide a Pixie Stix in (or a pencil if you're worried about tooth decay). Not only did we make a Valentine but it's a treat/gift holder, too!

Want to see?

Notice I have the colors on page 2 in different spots? Yeah, that was on purpose. When I print them, it'll match up color for color.

It was easy, fun and quite enjoyable! Who can't have fun playing in MMS V4? I also made an Iphone Valentine, but I'll share that NEXT My Memories Monday. Until then, have fun making your own Valentines! 

Photo Project Ideas for 2013

If you haven't checked out Photojojo yet, you really don't know what you're missing! I absolutely LOVE this company. It's fresh and fun and they offer some of the best photo products! And one of the best parts? I signed up for their emails and I'm lovin' it! They give great advice about photography tips and tricks that you'll want to bank...forever!

Even though it's past January 1st, you can still do a quick makeup and get some photo projects going for 2013. You don't have to have a project a day or anything like that if you don't want to, so don't give up already! I promise - there's still time to get a project going. Need some ideas? Photojojo has some great ideas you can check out here. They say there's seven, but they have so many links to other areas there are many more than just seven.  Enjoy!

Digital Scrapbooking