Gift of a Japanese Miyabi (a Washi paper binder etc.)

Hi, everyone!
 Finally, and just finished this Washi paper binder to join the Hero Arts July challenge Round 2, and I'm going to send it to one of my foreign friends as a gift.
 Used two HA digikit, 'the Hues papers' and 'the Seed and Pod Backgrounds' for the background papers of the binder cover to have a washi paper look.
The center piece was a little different colors from the card that I made on July 19th. Probably the receiver likes the orange color, I guess.

Here is the result. (finished size: 6.5"w x 6"h )

 After looked at a wonderful technique article by Shari Carroll on the Hero Arts web site, I hit upon making a washi paper folder binder for my friend.
 Two kinds of the digi papers were created by a few layers of colors (applied a transparent effect on each Hues papers.), and I put 'the Seed and Pod Backgrounds' on the top layer.
Heat-embossed on the orange paper with Copper powder to use the Dots and Stripes Cling Stamp.
For the beige paper, I applied the Photoshop effect 'embossing filter' on 'the Seed and Pod's data.
* I wrote about the Photoshop embossing filter at the downward of this post with a picture.


 This binder cover image was inspired by my Japanese Urushi dish and fork (the Japanese lacquerware), and the lovely Hero Arts Cling Stamp 'Floral Garden'.
*This lacquerware is for the Japanese sweets. I put the leaves and flowers. :)
I sometimes play like this way... Though I prepared the Japanese sweets to take pic with this dish, I had a several sudden visitors yesterday afternoon and I served all for them.

This is the binder inside. The tag shaped card is in a 1/4 circular shaped pocket.
Put the small size of washi papers into the 1st sheer pocket.

 I used the method the French 'Cartonnage' which is very popular around me as same as in France, the place of origin for making this kind of hard covers or the boxes. - wrapping around the thick paper board with papers or fabrics. I used the digi papers this time and the 7 gypsies Kraft Bookboard, approx. 2mm thick. You can probably easy to find how to make it like this way in books or some resources on the web related on the bookbinding.

And the 2nd pocket. There are bigger size of Washi paper in it.

And 3rd pocket. Wanted to see through the stamp of  'Imagine, Play, Create' at inside of the back cover. So I put into a few paper cords to wind the circular shape.

And this is the inside of back cover. I always love to use this inchie stamp to give some materials to friends.
I added a HA gemstone heart on it. The ♥ is lilac color.

And this is a quite simple look of the binder back.

 This binder has 3 sheer pocket pages. Those were made to cut A4 size document folders of office supplies, and made holes by Zutter Bind It All.
 I didn't stamp on the sheer pages at all. I came to the feeling that I wanted to stamp a bit on those. But it's up to my friend! ;)

 And I applied an embossing effect to use Photoshop on 'the Seed and Pod Backgrounds' on the beige paper.
Here is a comparable data.

To use the embossing filter brings a subtle mixtured different colors on the drawing lines of the pattern. Hope this helps.
*I used the PS CS5 this time. Probably this effect is in the PS-elements or other paint (raster based) application software. Because this is not a high level effect. Sorry, I've been a Photoshop user since PS3, and haven't ever use any raster based softwares. So I don't know the details. Glad that you look at and read your manual of your software, or visit the manufacturer or distributor web site to get the details of your's. Thank you.


Stamp used:
~ for the center piece ~
Hero Arts Old french Writing / H2365
Hero Arts Cling Floral Garden / CG107

~ for the binder base ~
Hero Arts Cling Dots and Stripes / CG150
Hero Arts Digikit Seed and Pod Backgrounds
Hero Arts Digikit Hues Papers

~for inside of the back cover ~
Hero Arts Clear Design Mix & Match Elements / CL266

~ for the tag ~
Hero Arts Sparkle Clear Hello Birdies / CL177
and the same stamps for the center piece

Supplies:
Bazzil CS, Basic Grey CS, watercolor paper, Printer paper
7 gypsies / Kraft Bookboard 12"x12"
Tsukineko Versa Fine / Onyx Black
Ranger Distree Ink / Victorian Velbet, Broken China, Spiced Marmalade
            Stormy Sky, Antique Linen, Tea Dye
Ranger Perfect Pearls / Rust, Pearl
Ranger Embossing Powder / Copper, Acrylic Dabber / Copper
Embelishments: HA, Cloud9 Design
Braid, Zutter Bind It All etc. Adobe Photoshop CS5

Thanks for stopping by! :)
Have a beautiful week!
Tomo

Happy New Year! 謹 賀 新 年

大変遅くなりましたが、
「初春のお慶びを申し上げます。
本年も皆様にとって、幸多き年となりますよう、心よりお祈り申し上げます。」

新年に入り11日も経過し、今頃・・・という感じですが、相変わらずいろいろなことで忙しく、１日４８時間くらい欲しいかな～という新年の開始となりました。
既に反省点が出てきていて、それは、仕事以外のことも前倒しで・・なのですが、追いかけている状態から、待ち受ける状態まで改善する為には、相当のパワーが必要！　あ～、おそらく難しい・・と新年早々思ったのでありました。

こんな私ですが、本年もどうぞよろしくお願いします。*^^*
tomo

Happy New Year! - Oh my, I'm really slow. :(
Thank you so much everyone for your New Year's greetings to me! :)

How are you doing?
It has been cold days here since the end of last month. Sometimes, the wind howls through the residences or buildings outside and we have a little snow. - we had only a day covered with snow on Jan. 1st. It's true that the cold here is very intense, but it bears no comparison with that in north regions of the North America,  European countries or other regions stand in high latitude though. But I've been catching a bad cold.

  The guests intermittently visited our house from New Year's day to yesterday. - Visitings of New Year is different from the party, there's no staring time. The guests come when they want to do. I don't like this New Year customary practice in Japan. Really happy to see the visitors, but the dishwashing machine keeps working. :(
 I forgot to take pic of the Japanese flower arrangements that I made for New Year. So I took pic of the pine and the senryou (Chloranthus) in our garden this afternoon. This is natural 'the New Year's pine decoration'! The birds brought the seeds of the Chloranthus beside the pine tree. And I made the digital data above to use the photo. Unfortunately, it has been slightly raining since this morning.

May your days in 2010 be filled with happiness!
Love, Tomo

a hybrid card, 'Holiday Cheer'

Hi, everyone!
I just finished this hybrid card and going to join Hero Arts 'photocard' challenge this week. Strictly speaking..., I could solve one of my troubles that I 've been thiking and thinking... by getting imagination from the theme of the challenge.

 My summer holidays will be over and I'll start my work at the 1st or 2nd week of this October. I have many biz trips from next month.
 Under such situations, what annoy me most is how I make 70 or more invitation cards to send whom volunteered for the Universiade that was held in our city in 1995. I worked at the press center and sometimes volunteered at the Athletes' Village then.
 After the Universiade, we, some of volunteers met once here (near the christmas tree in the photo) at the millennium countdown, and promised to meet 10 years later. It'll be 10 yrs in this December.
- Fortunately I got an idea by HA this week's challenge, and started making super easy way to make many cards for both season's greetings and invitation for the reunion from this morning.

This is the card, 'Holiday Cheer and reunion invitation'.

This photo was taken in 1999. I rememberd so well that I took this pic over 11:00 PM. Because there were many peoples near the tree in day time or evening. 'Cos this electric christmas tree were at the passage way of an department store, renewed at the year. The tree was also its first revealing. And our city hall stands near by. So here is always a busy street, one of my favorite places in our city.

This is from another angle.

This photo doesn't have high resolution, 'cos this was taken 10 years ago. So I decided to make a little aged look card. So I changed the resolution of Digi data from 300 dpi to 150 dpi. I was so glad to find the HA Digi-Kit - HA Dictionary Page at 2 Peas. It has a brush of definition, 'Communicate' in the kit. :)


I'm going to put these parts together at the hotels where I stay by biz trips and gonna send them till the middle of this November. Really really glad that I could solve my trouble! :)

stamp used:
HA Clear Design Holiday Cheer/ CL359
HA Digi-Kit - HA Dictionary Page
K. Teague Digi-Kit Art F/X Paper Pack

other supplies:
Mat thick photo printer paper, Half mat photo printer paper
Bazzill Basics CS
Tsukineko VersaFine / Onyx Black
Ranger Distress Stickeles / Rock Candy
HA metals and clear gemstone, ribbon and thread

Thanks for looking! :)
Have a beautiful weekend and the next week!

a Digital e-card inspired by the HA sneak peek #5

Hi, there!
This week, the Hero Arts' new products for Autumn - Winter were revealed! It's sneak peek time! And their challenge is to be inspired by the products will soon be released. But I had a lot of things to do in this weekday, and the deadline is Sunday midnight PST.
So tonight, I made a digital e-card inspired by the sneak peek #5 - red and green, soft pink, blue and orange colors and dots.
I decided to use Sunshine Daisy and Friendship Definition of the Hero Arts brandnew DigiKits. These are freebies. I LOVE this Sunshine Daisy! So many lovely kits are sold at the 2Peas! Just take a look!

This is the results, 'You're one of my nicest thoughts'.

The methods or effects I used are brushes, blends (blendmode:Colorblend, Difference, Multiply, Vividlight, Exclusion etc.), dropped shadows, and gradation overlay.
The outlines of daisies are created to use its brush - by changing the selected areas.

supplies:
HA Sunshine Daisy DigiKit
HA Friendship Definition DigiKit
Prima hybrid digital papers (2 patterned papers)
Tia Bennett DigiKit (stitch)

tool: Adobe Photoshop CS4

*The way of expression for this work can be create to use PS7, CS1, 2 and 3, I think, I use CS4 though.

Thanks for looking! :)

Lucky me!

I won last week's digital weekly challenge by drawing at the 2Peas.
Oh, that was my first post among my digital works. (I rarely or never make digital works except offers on my business.)
The work brought me a fortune was this e-card, 'Hero Arts Tulips'.
Thanks mellypea! and the 2Peas!

Thanks for reading! :)

Digital kit デジデータ

「今週の始め頃、HAからデジタルキットが発売されたのです・・・。」と書いても何の事だか、日本の方には解りづらいかと思いますが・・・、スクラップブッキング等用のデジタルデータのキットです。 突然の事だったので、ビックリしましたが、ちょっと遊んで作ってみたのが、以下の2点です。
The Hero Arts released the digital kits through the 2Peas website on July 28th! http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/digital-kits/hero-arts/ I was so surprised to see them, and downloaded one of their freebies and tried to make an e-card and a digital layout.
E-card --- e-カード（HTMLメールへ貼り付けるタイプとして作ってみました）

This e-card is all digital.
A half transparant paper strip, sentiment, and the gradation background were made by myself to use Photoshop. And the tulips image was applied BlendMode.Dissolve.
チューリップ、ボタン、花、パールがデジキットの物で、チューリップはディザ合成、花はグラデーションマップ、その他影の位置を調整しています。

Digital layout --- ページ・レイアウト　（スクラップ・ブッキング）

This layout is also all digital. I did many photo editing and applied effects on this.
こちらは、もともと好きなRhonna Farrerさんのデジタルデータを多用していますが、このレイアウトの元になったPhotoshopのデータがなかなか秀逸だと思い、直ぐに使ってみたものです。 この雛形データ（PSD形式）は、以下のページからDL出来ます。*勿論商用不可です。 2Peas Free DigiKit (Photoshop file, Personal use only) .
普段は、オンデマンドの受注生産なので、全てオリジナル作る・・・これが基本になっていて、ましてや、デジタルで遊ぶという事は殆どないのですが、かなり楽しめました。*^^*
短時間で終了するのも良いですよね～。2点合わせて、2時間程！　これらを手動で行なったら、きっと10時間以上かかる？？？　深夜しか時間が取れない事が多いですので、短時間で終わるのは嬉しい事です。 ※上の2点は、ブルーが多いので、モニターによっては色味が変化して映る事があるかと思います。