Write. Click. Scrapbook.

Mad with Joy

photo by Adam Smith, age 9

(team member Celeste Smith's son)

Fun with Fonts: HANDWRITING!

Before we get to our last day's discussion on fonts, I wanted to point you all to a fantastic link (thanks Elizabeth & Monika!) for some font eye candy: Hyperactivitypography!  Spend some time browsing this fun booklet and you're sure to increase your knowledge of all things fonts, or at the very least, appreciate it for the genius use of all kinds of delicious type!

OK, so onto the topic of the day:  Handwriting!  And before you ask - yes, it counts as a font.  After all, your handwriting is your very own personalized font.  It speaks your voice better than Problem Secretary or Jane Austen ever could.  And I know that some of you have such fabulous handwriting, quite frankly, it should be made into a font (I'm totally speaking to you, Emily) so let's use it! Take a look at some of these page examples that feature the signature scrawls of their creators:

Ah, fresh flowers!  How I love them!  And this page declaring my love needed a scripty title font for the word "love" don't you think?  After perusing my fonts, I couldn't find just the right script, so I opted to use my own cursive sketched on cardstock. After I trimmed it out, I lightly outlined the word with a fine-point black pen.

On this opening page of my All About Me album, I used my own signature as a big, bold title. I could have used a font, yes, but it wouldn't have been as distinct (or as much "me") as my own writing.  I just lightly sketched it out on the hot pink patterned paper and then trimmed it out.  

I adore this handwritten & hand cut title by Emily Pitts.  Her fabulous handwriting, paired with the happy mix of colors and patterns, makes this a completely unique and unexpected title treatment.  And the fact that she stitched around each letter just adds another awesome detail!

The tiny crazy quilt Emily created on this page just begs for an equally crafty title to accompany it, so she used her handwriting as a template for a stitched title.  Isn't it amazing??

 

This page was a message to my son, and I thought the most effective way to communicate it was with my own script.  I used chipboard letters for the word "proud" to make it stand out a bit, but the bulk of the message is straight from my own hand.

Are you beginning to see that I like to combine my own writing + letter stickers for title treatments?  It is one of my favorite techniques!  Here, I wanted a softer, loopier font to mix with the basic serif font of the green letters. I wrote the word "machine" on red cardstock with pencil and then trimmed it out, erasing the pencil lines when I was done.

 
So what if you want a handwritten look, but despise your own handwriting?  Then use a font that looks like the handwriting you wish you had!  There's a great selection of Handwriting fonts at Fonts for Peas and Dafont.  On this page about my slight shoe addiction, I used the font Cursive Standard for my title, printing it in reverse on the backside of my red cardstock and then trimming it out. (This little trick means there are no tell-tale print lines on the front side of your cardstock!)  For my detailed tutorial on how to reverse-print fonts, check out this link.  

So now you have no excuses not to use handwriting on your pages, alright?  Now go try it and let us see what you create!  And hey - thanks for letting me share just a little bit of the font love this week. I've had fun with you all!

Fun with Fonts: DESIGN ELEMENTS!

On Wednesday, I showed you several examples of how to use dingbat fonts as design elements on your pages.  But it's also very easy to turn regular fonts - just letters and words - into a fantastic design statements.  Yep, we're moving beyond mere titles and journaling, people, because fonts can do so much more! These examples demonstrate that it's easy to use typography as an eye-catching graphic component on your pages.

On this simple page, I used the letter H as a bold part of the design.  I typeset the letter in a word processing program using the font Rockwell, printed it on green cardstock and trimmed it out for a colorful addition to my page.  

The letter D takes center stage on this fabulous Christmas card by Aly Dosdall.  She cleverly arranged her family photos within the shape of the letter which takes the simple monogram to a whole new level!

 

Kim Morgan used the fonts Bodoni, Myriad Pro Bold, Goudy Old Style Italic, Kunstler Script and Nueva in Adobe Illustrator to make a collage of pie names (just reading them is making my stomach growl!)  She applied a different color and point size to each text box before printing them on cream cardstock.  It makes an ideal accent to her baking photos.

Rather than use a patterned paper background, Jody Wenke designed her own holiday-theme background using various colored phrases.  It's a striking, yet simple design that lets her fabulous photo shine!

To create a slightly darker background for my stamped title, I set the word "Miracle" using the font Impact in a shade darker than my cardstock.  I decreased the kerning (space between the letters) to a minimum to make an ideal canvas for the white stamped letters.

 

There's lots of cool wall art available on sites like etsy, but why not make your own? Monika Wright used a different font for each line of this House Rules poster.  What a great way incorporate all your favorite fonts in one place! When I saw it, I immediately wanted to make one for my own house. (I'd have to add a line about not blaming the dog for your gas, though!)

Here's another amazing spread from Aly Dosdall that creatively uses the word "ON" as a gorgeous background element (and title,too!).  I love how the rings of circles inside the letter O make a target that draws you right to those sweet ultrasound photos.

And one last page that's an oldie from me (yes, it features vellum & eyelets, it's that old!)  I couldn't find the perfect puppy-themed paper to use on this page (I needed something soft and pale to go with my color scheme).  So I used a variety of different fonts to make my own patterned paper. The words on the lower left and the paw prints on the right edge are all fonts that I printed onto vellum for a completely custom design element.

So what can you do with your fonts?  Hopefully this has inspired you to put them to work!  (And if you do, by all means, show us!)  Happy Friday!

P.S.  If you missed out on the giveaway yesterday, there's another chance to win a free download of my book - check it out here!

and the giveaway goes to . . .

Thank you, Ella Publishing, for publishing a whole eBook of Lisa. We simply cannot get enough of her sense of humor, sense of style, and sense of design. And thank you, too, for providing FIVE copies for

Rhonda, Erica, Christina, Betsy and Christy! Congratulations on being selected for the Design Workshop free download. Please email us before Saturday at midnight at writeclickscrapbook at gmail dot com so that we might get you the Ella hookup!

Thank you everyone for sharing your design concerns. We hope that some issues will be resolved for you with the help of Lisa's book. The others we hope to address with you though our daily blog posts. We are here for you!

Next up, Lisa is back with more fun font usage! Don't go far!

give.away.day. featuring ELLA PUBLISHING

Lisa Lisa Lisa. Not only is she our blog hostess extraordinaire this week, but she is also the author of a brand new eBook from Ella Publishing. Read on!

Professional Help is On the Way

Take your scrapbook pages to the next level with help from professional graphic artist (and avid scrapbooker) Lisa Dickinson! In her exclusive new eBook,

she'll show you simple ways to create hip and happenin' layouts that will also stand the test of time.

As you've surely noticed by now, what's "in" today is sure to be "out" as soon as you wake up tomorrow. So how can you be sure that you're not flitting from one fad to another, spending precious time on pages that will look dated after just a few years? By relying on solid design principles, of course!

Lisa's 10 timeless tips will show you easy ways to use today's trends to your advantage; the key is to build them upon a solid design foundation. And it's much easier than you think.

You'll enjoy:
10 expert steps for design success
43 additional tips, stress-savers, and product tricks
22 stunning layout examples by Lisa Dickinson

Are you ready to become a design genius? Buy Design Workshop today!

Exclusive for Write. Click. Scrapbook. readers! Since today is May 20, 2010, the first 20 commenters will each get a coupon code for $1 off of Lisa Dickinson's Design Workshop. And we'll also choose five (yes five!) random commenters who will each get a FREE copy of Lisa's new eBook. Your commenting topic: what is your biggest design challenge? (e.g., color, composition, where to start, etc.)

But wait! There's more. Ella didn't want any of you to feel left out! So everyone can still get an eBook for free by downloading the Free Super Sampler.

And if you haven't yet purchased your Write. Click. Scrapbook. eBook, A Year in the Life

today seems like the perfect day to buy that one, too!

Comments will remain open until 8:00 pm PST. The five lucky numbers will be drawn and posted tomorrow! Be sure to check back to see you are one of the lucky ones before midnight Saturday!

Fun with Fonts: DINGBATS!

Today's post is all about dingbats! No, not your nitwit neighbor who retrieves the morning paper in nothing but his neon green boxer shorts...I'm talking about dingbat fonts: type that uses symbols or ornaments instead of letters. Dingbats are perfect for creating a completely custom embellishment for your page because they come in just about every shape and form you can imagine.  From aardvarks to zebras and arrows to zeniths, there's probably a dingbat out there to fit your page theme!

Another bonus with dingbats?  Just like fonts, you can print them at exactly the size and color you need.  So if your scrapbook stash is lacking the ideal accent for your page, turn to dingbats and create your own!

Angie Lucus used an adorable dingbat font called DB Baby Silhouettes to create the cute giraffe on this custom baby announcement:

 

Celeste Smith created a fabulously bold title block using the font Kamera Dings (combined with another favorite go-to font, American Typewriter.)

Celeste also created a clever embellishment strip using the "potty people" icons from Travelcons.  She applied a red fill to her text box and set the font color to white, reversing out the cute little graphics:

The star icon on Marnie Flores' digital page is a perfect touch and was created with the font Charms:
 

The little rainbow on Paula Gilarde's digital page is a dingbat from the font Pea Stacey's New Doodles that she filled with color for the perfect page accent:

And Cheryl Overton added an arrow dingbat to this pet page (though she also claims the dog pictured is a dingbat, as well :P)
 

When creating this page about her daughter's love of dinosaurs, Elizabeth Dillow used the font Ding-A-Saurs to add the little pink T-Rex to her title: 

She also used that same font to create a delightful t-shirt design for the little Gracieosaurus:

(Here's a quick tutorial on creating your own iron-on transfers!)


So are you inspired to try adding a dingbat or two to your next page? Then be sure and check out the free dingbat downloads at Dafont.com and Dingbat Depot.  And don't forget to share your pages with us!

Fun with Fonts: TITLES!

Alright, if you did your homework, then your font library is now filled with some fun new font families just waiting to be used!  And one of the easiest ways to incorporate those fonts into your page design is by using them in a title. No more searching for that perfect color of chipboard alpha without any missing letters - your fonts are always fully stocked and ready to make a dazzling title!  Here are a few tips and ideas to help you do just that:

1.  Mix different style fonts to create a bold title.

This sweet page from Jody Wenke uses the bold, blocky font Impact and the softer, handwritten CK Cursive to create a simple but stunning title.  Applying a tan color to the word "Smile" makes it coordinate perfectly with the cute photo.

To create an interesting title block (that also serves as my page journaling!) I mixed up lots to different fonts in various sizes and printed them on a lined patterned paper.  Some of the fonts I used include Chrispy, Vaguely Repulsive, Traveling Typewriter, Stencil Case, and Century Gothic.

2.  Apply an outline to your font for variety.

To reinforce her main title of "I Scrapbook" (using the font Franklin Gothic), Beth Proudfoot used the same font in outline form on her subtitles, adding the small script words in the font Amelie.  This type trick works great to keep the main focus on the title, but allows the subtitles to coordinate fabulously!

I used the same outline trick here with the font Clarendon, filling the letters with white and applying a black stroke before printing it on aqua cardstock and trimming it out.  The title has a lighter, airier feel which fits with the theme of the page.

3.  Mix fonts with scrapbook supplies for a one-of-a-kind title.

I wanted to use white stickers for my title-on-photo here.  But I didn't have the perfect letter stickers.  The solution?  Create the white part of the title with fonts!  After opening my photo in Photoshop, I created a new text layer and typed the word "girl" using the font Jailbird Jenna in white. I then printed the photo and used letter stickers to complete the title.

Jody created a perfectly spectacular title by combining a simple san-serif font with acrylic letters applied over the top.  I love the subtle effect and how it cleverly references a window with the glass-like transparency!

4.  Vary the font sizes to make a longer title pack a punch.

Your page title can also serve as your journaling, especially if you vary the point size of the letters on each line, like Beth did on this page.  Use the "force justify" option when setting your text to evenly space the lines of journaling across the entire width of the text block.

5.  Use a font as a template for a handwritten title.

For this vacation page, I wanted a scripty, handwritten title to spell out the word "Akumal."  But I wasn't confident in my ability to hand-letter it myself.  So I found a font I liked (Loki-Cola) and printed it on my cardstock in a very light gray.  I traced over the gray outline with a black pen.  The result looks like a hand-sketched title, but without the stress!

Hopefully these tips will inspire you to play with your arsenal of fonts - the possibilities for titles are truly endless!  If you do create a page, please post it to our Flickr Gallery and leave me comment here so I can check it out.  And hey - have fun!

For the Love of Fonts

Happy Monday fellow scrappers!  I have a task for you right now.  Head straight on over to The Font Game and take this quick quiz.  And then report back to me.  Are you back already with a score?  If you're a big font geek like me, you probably scored in the 30s and you can easily spot the difference between Times New Roman and Georgia.  I admit it, I'm a bit of a font junkie...a total sucker for a beautifully designed typeface that perfectly communicates my message. Even if you're not a total letter-geek like me, you can surely appreciate the simple beauty to be found in typography:

Source:  The Haiti Poster Project

Source:  Minted

Source:  Jeanie & Jewell

Source:  Katie Daisy

Fonts are one of my favorite ways to get creative in scrapbooking, and I'll be focusing on the many ways you can use them on your pages this week.  Is your font library ready for a work out?  If not, I've compiled this handy list of some fabulous sites offering free font downloads:

The League of Moveable Type

Dafont

Abstract Fonts

Font River

Web Expedition

Font Stock

Kevin & Amanda

Scrapvillage

Font Shop

Font Diner

Creamundo

Font Head

Smashing Magazine

So go pick out some new fonts to spice up your library, and get ready to create some amazing pages this week! Here's a page I did to kick things off, using the near-and-dear-to-my-heart font, Clarendon:

 

ETA:  For help downloading and installing fonts, try this article for PCs and this article for Macs!

Sunshine

photo by Moon Ko

the pot of gold...

Ah, it’s almost time for me to say goodbye, but before I do I want to share some of the rainbow challenge layouts that the write.click.scrapbook collective created as well as some loveliness from the Flickr gallery this week!

Thanks to everyone who played! I drew a name out of a hat and the lucky RAK winner is...

BRENDA JOHNSTON!!! And here is her lovely layout...

 I love how she used this line from We R Memory Keepers. it's such a well designed two pager and all that color! Love it!
Send your name and address to me at celestefsmith AT gmail DOT com

Here are some rainbow layouts from the Collective...

by Celeste Smith

by Cheryl Overton

by Candice Palmer - All Digital Supplies from Michelle Underwood

by Jody Denk-Pruks

And some layouts from the Flickr gallery...

This one from icecheeks...absolutely love the use of color here and the paint chips are so retro cool!

 
And this lovely from simplyautumn...how fun is that photo!

  
Thanks so much for playing along ladies!

Next time you find yourself in a rut, pick a color - any color - and think about what the color means to you, how it makes you feel. A few minutes of brainstorming may be all you need to get out of that rut!

Thanks for all your comments and participation this week! I’ve had a great time and I hope you have too. Come back on Monday for a new host and loads more inspiration!