Hurry, Shutterfly $10 off $10 Plus More Incredible Savings! Ends Wed. 8/12

(Affiliate links below with FTC compliance disclosure) I've shared with you all, how much I love Shutterfly.  I've been using their photo and gift services for years.  Not long ago, I had this sweet pillow made for my mom as a gift, from my son.  She loves it!  She has a comfortable, little reminder of her grandson, each and every day.  It's a real conversation piece with her friends, as well.

Of course, I used one of the various coupon codes that Shutterfly offers, from time to time, which really sweetened the deal.

So when Shutterfly emailed me this deal, I had to share.  You'd do the same for me, right?  In fact, my sister is known to grab these deals and not even bother giving me the heads up, haha.

Starting with $10 off $10, $25 off $50 and so on, use code BIGSAVINGS at checkout, by clicking my affiliate link below.  This is the perfect jump start to your Christmas shopping!

Shutterfly: 

All customers enjoy $10 off qualifying merchandise orders of $10-$49.99; $25 off $50-$99.99; $50 off $100-$149.99 and $75 off $150+ or more with promo code BIGSAVINGS at checkout

Are you a new customer?  Grab this sweet deal for 101 free 4x6 prints using code 101TREATS, click below.

All customers enjoy 101 free 4x6 prints with promo code 101TREATS at checkout 

You can also get discounts at Shutterfly's sister sites, below.

Wedding Paper Divas: 
Save 40% off Save the Date orders using the code 0806DEAL at checkout

New customers save $50 off orders of $159 or more using the code WPDSAVE50159 at checkout 

Tiny Prints: 
Save 20% off home décor orders using the code 20DECORAUG at checkout

Save 40% off address label, gift tag and name label orders using the code 0808DEAL at checkout 

Hurry, this offer ends Wednesday, Aug 12, 1015!  

 

Disclaimer: So what do affiliate links mean?  Its means, if you shop through my links, I may receive a small commission from Shutterfly.  Does it affect your purchase price?  No.  It just helps me to keep my content free and offer giveaways from time to time.  I only work with companies that offer products that I love and use.  Thank you for your support!

#shutterfly #promocode #discount #couponcode #photo #pictures #wedding #prints #homedecor

WRMK Photo Fuse - Free-styling it with a Heart Shaped Shaker!

Earlier this week, I blogged about my first test use (here) with the We R Memory Keepers Photo Fuse.    Today's post is a continuation of that.  Today, I will be fusing a pocket as well, but instead of fusing my stamped image and sequins all at once, this time I'm creating a pocket only for the sequins, and free-handing a fused heart shape. 

Scroll down, because it's going to get fun! (As of this writing, this tool is still on back-order and hard to find!)

 The first thing I did, was draw a heart, free-handed, with a marker on a page protector. 

After the fusing process, I left a gap to fill with sequins, which I will finish fusing after

I've filled my pocket.

I used the WRMK Inked Rose cardstock for this project today.  I also used my trimmed, fused pocket as a template for drawing my heart on the polka dot cardstock.  It doesn't have to be perfect, because all the edges won't show once I place my panel later on.

I did a stamp test on the back of my heart so I could get an idea of where the image needed to be placed.  I adhered my pocket to the stamped cardstock by running adhesive on about 3 corners.  The outline of the smaller heart?  That's about the size I'll be cutting from my rose panel, approximately 1/2" smaller than my heart pocket.  I'll be using a craft knife for the smaller heart.

 

Here you can see where I cut the smaller heart, again free-handed.  I have a tendency to eyeball and cut freestyle, but you could use a 3" heart punch or your die-cutting machine to cut out a 3" heart centered on a 6"x6" piece of cardstock.  I did save the smaller cut-out heart from the rose panel, to use on the inside of my card as an embellishment, then added a smaller heart to which I stamped another sentiment and blended with some ink.

 

Alas, the lighting isn't the best on these photos, as I was at an all day crop event when I made them. 

I wish I could say that the WRMK Fuse is mine, but I borrowed it from a friend for testing.  It's definitely on my wishlist!

Here's my final photo, a close up of the heart pocket.  Yes, I was a little overly happy, pouring those sequins in, but isn't it colorful and pretty?  The stamped sentiments are from So Suzy Stamps and the Prima Marketing Flowers have been enhanced with some Frosted Lace Stickles.  That's it for now.  Maybe I should gift myself a Fuse for Easter?

 

Additional supplies: Tombow Mono Aqua Glue, Tombow power bond adhesive runner, sequins from Hobby Lobby, scrap lace, May Arts Ribbon satin white ribbon, Close To My Heart black archival ink 

#wrmk #tombow #mayartsribbon #nationalcraftmonth #CTMH #sosuzystamps #Cre8time

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links so, if you purchase a product using the link I may receive a commission. I only participate in the affiliate programs linked above because they are products that I use and love. Your purchase price is not affected in any way, by using my links.  Thank you for your support and helping me keep my content free!

Shaker cards with the We R Memory Keepers Photo Fuse? Easy!

 I recently hosted an all day local crop, along with a friend.  We had so much fun meeting crafty friends that we only knew online, as well as re-uniting with old friends.  Of course, it was the perfect opportunity for me to work on some new projects.

As luck would have it, my pal Cassie, from Cassie's Craftspot, brought the brand new We R Memory Keepers Photo Fuse, still new in the box and untouched by human hands!  To put the icing on the cake, she let me break it in.  Ah....a girl after my own heart..... (check out her crafty Youtube channel and you might catch her husband goofing off in the background!)

But first, we must have something to create with the WRMK Fuse, so, I started by coloring this image, from the ADORNit Art Play Paintables set "Sweet", with my Tombow dual brush pens. 

Once I colored my image, I placed it into a pocket protector, along with my sequins and bling.  Next, I lined up where I wanted to fuse and began working that precision machine like a surgeon with a scalpel! Be sure you use a thick craft mat as this did leave some burn mark. (thanks Meg, for letting me burn your mat!)

Here's my shaker pocket, all finished.  Did I mention the pretty paper?  Also, from ADORNit.  It's their blender paper and I LOVE it!  I'm using the blue chevron and pink.



Next, it was on to the panel card and frame for my "pocket of colorful, blingy goodness".  I used some fun green mesh ribbon from May Arts Ribbon and adhered strips to the backside of my panel with Tombow adhesive.

I free hand just about everything and the square to this panel was cut with my craft knife so that it was about 1/4"-1/2" smaller than my fused pocket.  I ran adhesive on my white cardstock and centered my pocket, then centered my panel on top of that and popped it out with foam squares. 

You see all those pretty, colorful blingy things that I used for shakers?  Most of that came from So Suzy Stamps.  Skittles and Sequins.  I used the "Stream" blue skittles along with pink sequins.   They are gorgeous little chunks of delight!  Of course she has lots of stamps and other fun goodies.  You should check her out.  I'll be featuring one of her stamps later in the week.

Yup.  I'm going to have to get me one of these.  The fuse, that is.  They are on back order EVERYWHERE.  I couldn't even find information about it at the We R Memory Keepers website. But it's definitely on my wish list.  It was super easy to make shaker pockets and anything that makes my crafty life easy is a keeper in my book!

Additional supplies: Stickles Frosted Lace, white gel pen, The Paper Studio square foam dots

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links so, if you purchase a product using the link I may receive a commission. I only participate in the affiliate programs linked above because they are products that I use and love. Your purchase price is not affected in any way, by using my links.  Thank you for your support and helping me keep my content free!

#nationalcraftmonth #tombow #adornit #sosuzystamps #wrmk #cre8time

Shutterfly 40% off everything - ends 1/21/15 (Love my pillow!)

I am so excited about the pillow I just got in the mail.  I had ordered this for my mom for her birthday and presented it to her today.  She was thrilled!  I have to say, I am so pleased with how it turned out.  Just so you know, when I loaded up this photo of my son and went through the checkout process, I got a  "low resolution" symbol on my picture that indicated the quality was not good.  I took a chance and couldn't be happier with how it turned out.  The quality looks pretty darn good to me!

Right now, through 1/21/15, everything is 40% off at Shutterfly!  Use it on a pillow!  Or, photos, or other gift items......Valentine's Day is right around the corner, Easter, Mother's Day...get a jump start with this awesome deal! The pillow size I chose was 12'' x 16" and there is one larger size as well.  

Click the link below to take you to the site.  

Link:  40% off everything at Shutterfly

New to Shutterfly?  Click this link to sign up and get 50 free 4"x 6" prints

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links so, if you purchase a product using the link I may receive a commission. I only participate in the Shutterfly affiliate program because they are products that I use and love. Thank you for your support!

#shutterfly #deal #discount #coupon #code 

Go the extra mile on your photographed projects #PicMonkey

Can I share some words of wisdom?  Are you a crafter, cardmaker, blogger, chef, etc?  Do you post photos for the viewing pleasure of others?  I hope you're using a good photo editing site or software.  I've seen pictures shared online that I couldn't tell what was in the photo, it was so dark, blurred and so on.  If you're going to take the time to share your project with others, particularly in a public forum, take a few minutes to adjust the elements of your picture.   

Sharpen, lighten, crop...these features make all the difference.  Believe it or not, people do judge you based on your pictures.  Sad, but true.  Your photograph can be considered a reflection on you. 

You don't want it say, "hey, I'm sloppy". 

 

I'll admit the editing features on my phone stink.  I have one app that I like but even it is limited.  The absolute best FREE photo editing site I've found, is PicMonkey.  I love it! 

I use it on my desktop computer for almost everything I do.  Almost every picture that I post online has been edited in some fashion.  The features I use the most are contrast, crop and saturation (or color enhancing).  With PicMonkey, I can even take out shadows.  It's awesome!  Use the free version for awhile, and experiment.  But be prepared; you'll most likely want to upgrade for the additional features.  It's very nominal fee and you will not be disappointed.

The photos above?  The first one was edited with PicMonkey.  I sharpened the photo, added some contrast and brightened.  The second photo was taken inside a lit room, and the third photo was taken outdoors in natural lighting.  See what a difference just a few key editing features makes?  It took me under a minute to decide what features I wanted to use and implement.  This is just a basic photo shot of the inside of a card.  Imagine what you can do, and go do it!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links so, if you purchase a product using the link I may receive a commission. I only participate in the PicMonkey affiliate program because they are products that I use and love. Thank you for your support.

#photo #photograph #pic #create #edit #photoediting #lighting

Love this app - Picsart

If you've never heard of Picsart Photo studio,  you need to check it out.  I use this app all the time and I do mean  ALL the time!   I downloaded it free from the Google play store.   You can check out their Facebook page too for more information.  This is just a tiny sample of what you can do,  thanks to my models, my son and my cousin... (Surprise Tracy!)  
There are so many features to this app,  I can't possibly name them all but here's a few: sketch,  special effects,  color adjust,  frames,  stickers,  clip art,  collage,  grids,... and more.

Once you have downloaded the app,  you can access their store from your app and download tons of more free stuff for your photos like seasonal holiday themed frames,  clip art,  fonts... My favorite frames are the scrapbook and retro frames.   Try it out and let me know if you agree that it's an awesome free app.   If you already use this app, comment below and share a tip or your favorite feature.  Thanks!