By Kathryn Balint

Just wait ’til you see what our team has done with the Bloomin’ Crazy Freestyle Collection by Velma Balint, available now in the KB and Friends store. This collection of five kits includes bright and colorful stitched embellishments and painted papers. Here are some examples from our creative team of what can be done with this collection.

Live Out Loud by Kelly Sauvage

A Beautiful Bloom by Yolanda Carrasquillo

Miracle Grow by Jennifer Andersen

Blooms by Carol Opalinski

Birthday Blossoms by Lynn Weber

Crazy About U by Kathryn Balint

Sunshine by Ginger Kasanic

Easter Eggs ‘08 by Carol Baumann

Blue-Eyed Girl by Kay Eflin

Every Day… by Edeena Cross

She Dances Like the Flowers by Kathryn Balint

By Kathryn Balint

I’ve had so much fun using my mother’s latest kits in her Bloomin’ Crazy Freestyle Collection that I have begun using it to make an album of Cameron’s time at the fair last summer.

In doing so, I made a couple of more pieces of word art and some wings, and, with my mother’s permission, I am sharing them with you. (Scroll down to the Chatique tutorial on blending backgrounds to see how I used one piece of this word art). Click here or on the preview image to download the set. It is available for a limited time. Enjoy!

By Laura Lou Bashlor

Chatique: a CHAT about technIQUE.

Backgrounds #02: Blending and Overlays

Last week, we cut backgrounds into shapes and blended some. This week, we will use some more of the blending techniques. Blending gives a softer appearance when you combine backgrounds. Just look at this one by Carol Opalinski.

Credits: sky paper (altered) from Anna Aspnes’ Wander kit;
torn mat from the Little Jake Collection: Album (Kathryn Balint);
lined notepaper from Kelly Sauvage from the KB and Friends’ Road Trip USA (now retired);
bird and nest (altered) from Betty Jo Martin’s Birdsong Cottage (E-scape and Scrap).

Carol reduced the opacity of her top two elements to allow the lined paper and the writing on the left paper show through. Reducing opacity is a great way to let texture or design subtly impact your page without overpowering the photo or journaling.
In Photoshop, you can reduce opacity at the top of the layers pallet. Try using different percentages of opacity until you like the look.

Lynn Weber experimented with blending modes on a painted background from the Every Which Way Freestyle Collection by Kathryn Balint.

And in my layout, shown below, I used three layer masks with Velma Balint’s new Bloomin’ Crazy Freestyle Collection for a bright and springy look.

In Photoshop, there are Quick Masks (Q), Clipping Masks (Alt+Ctrl+G), and layer masks (the white circle within a grey square at the bottom of the layers pallet). For this and most blending I use the layer mask. Here’s how:

1. Select the layer that you want to mask.
2. Click on the icon below the layer pallet. This should put a new white square next to the small picture of the correct layer in the pallet.
3. Click on that new square in the layer to select it.
4. Make sure your basic colors are black and white with the black square at the top.
5. Then select a brush and size it. I usually use either a soft basic brush, or one of the calligraphy patterned ones.
6. Then try a stroke on the layer and see if you are getting what you want. If not, go back and check the steps. If it starts “erasing” then go ahead.
7. If you make a mistake or just want to change what you did, go to the basic color squares and change to the white color. That will undo just the part you want.
8. Remember…black to mask, white to unmask.

Finally, here is an example from Kathryn Balint of blending a photo to alter the look of the background. In this layout, Kathryn extract the image of her son. Then, on the rest of the photo, she used the "hue" blending mode, which interacted with the background to create that fun, colorful look.

By Kathryn Balint

You’ve got to check out the newest collection that was added today to our store, Bloomin’ Crazy Freestyle Collection, by my mother, Velma Balint. This collection of five kits is so much fun to look at and to scrap with. The hand-cut, stitched accessories (such as flowers, a ladybug and butterflies) and the gorgeous painted and stamped papers are just perfect for spring and summer layouts.

Now through April 11, if you purchase $5 or more worth of any digital scrapbooking products from our store, you get the Bloomin’ Crazy Freestyle Collection: Accessories II kit for free. I love the word art that comes with this accessories kit. The black accents on the word art really pop off the page!

Here’s a layout I made tonight using the Bloomin’ Crazy Collection. I had so much fun! And the coordinating elements and papers made it so easy to whip up this layout.

Live out loud - spring break 2008 by Kathryn Balint

Now, here are the previews of the five kits in the collection.

Hello, Amazing Digiscrapping Racers. Welcome to KB and Friends for challenge #11. The theme for our challenge is "Take Wing." We want you to spread your wings - literally - by making a layout with wings in it. The wings can be on a bird, butterfly or insect. Or, the wings can be used separately. There is no restriction on the theme of the layout. It just has to have wings in it somewhere.

You may use any wings you happen to have in your stash, or you can make your own. If you need some wings to use in your layout, here is a small, free kit with wings and crowns that match Kathryn Balint’s new Every Which Way Freestyle Collection. You can download the free accessories kit from Kathryn here. We’ll keep the link up until the challenge ends in a week.

If you are looking for even more wings for your layout, we’d like to point out that we have several products with wings in our store (but, of course, there is no obligation to use wings made by us).

You must post your challenge #11 layout in your gallery at Natural Designs in Scrapbooking by midnight ET Sunday, April 6. Each racer on the team must create a layout for this challenge. Those who complete the challenge will receive Kathryn Balint’s A Little Birdie Told Me mini kit, shown below. Have fun! We can’t wait to see your layouts.

By Laura Lou Bashlor

Chatique: a CHAT about technIQUE.

Backgrounds #01

In the past, our Chatique challenges and chats were not so much about topics as about ways to do things to put a little more punch in your layouts, no matter what the subject of your project. 

For our first sets of techniques, we are looking at backgrounds.  The kits at KB and Friends are full of wonderful backgrounds — so many that it is hard to choose which to use.  So don’t choose!  Instead, stack them and play with some of these techniques and use them all.

One of the easiest to do this is to digitally cut the backgrounds into pieces.  As with most techniques, there are several ways to go about this.  I use Photoshop CS2, but the methods are not that different when using other programs.

First, are the rectangular and round marquee tools.  Draw out the shape and delete.  It is that simple.  If you Select>Inverse the outside of the shape will be deleted instead.  Vary the technique by running the circle off the edge so only part of a circle is in your layout.  Another variation is to use four or more backgrounds and “cutting” with several shapes (first example).  Add shadows if you will use the shapes as photo mats (second example).  Blend with a soft eraser if you will use the shapes as an integrated background (third example) or add a colored “stroke” around some or all of the shapes.

***In the above examples I used the Painted Papers from the Every Which Way Freestyle Collection by Kathryn Balint.

Below is a layout that demonstrates the use of this technique combining background papers.

Hand-in-Hand by Kathryn Balint

Another technique is to, again, stack several backgrounds and use the lasso or polygonal lasso tools.  “Draw” out a freeform shape going from point to point being careful to close the shape.  When you close it, the dots and lines will change to moving dotted lines and you can delete the shape from the background you have chosen.  Don’t forget to Select>Inverse when you want to delete everything EXCEPT the shape you have made.  With care the shapes can take on a curved appearance.  Be careful of the options in the options bar at the top: new shape, add to, subtract from, and intersect.

***In the above examples I used the Washed Papers from the Little Jake Collection by Kathryn Balint.

The last way I am going to present this week is using the custom shape tool.  There is a nice set of basic shapes that come with the program, but you can pick up others on the Internet and even make your own.  Create a new layer, choose an interesting shape, and draw it out.  Either delete that shape from a background layer, or choose Select>Inverse to keep the shape and eliminate the outside. 

Look at adding shadows, stitching, or torn edges to add interest.

***In the above examples I used the Artisan Papers 1 from the Ultimate Altered Art Collection from Kathryn Balint.

Post your layouts using these techniques in our Chatique Technique gallery. Next up in Chatique…another set of background techniques.

By Kathryn Balint

Our creative team and I have been busy making some really fun and funky layouts using my latest collection, the Every Which Way Freestyle Collection, a set of six kits with doodles, shapes, word art and painted papers. The possibilities are endless with this collection. I hope these layouts inspire you when using this bright and colorful collection of kits for your own layouts. Click on the layouts for a larger view in the KB and Friends gallery. There, you’ll also find more layouts by our creative team using the Every Which Way Freestyle Collection, so make sure you peruse the gallery. Leave comments if you like what you see.

Sweet Prince by Yolanda Carrisquillo

You Remember by Jen Andersen

Purrcilla by Jen Ulasiewicz

Samantha’s Top 10 by Ginger Kasanic

A Boy’s Dream Come True by Laurie Anderson

We Have a Winner by Kathryn Balint

Sister Memories by Kay Eflin

Imagine by Carol Baumann

Aloha by Juliana Gordon

Airplane by Katherine Lent

Jerry’s Plane by Carol Opalinski

Always Friends by Yolanda Carrisquillo

Imagination by Yolanda Carrisquillo

The Wiz by Yolanda Carrisquillo