I recieved some exciting news from Cindy at Scrapbook Dimensions Magazine this morning.  The members area at www.scrapbookdimensionsmagazine.com is now available at no charge!  You’ll find so many helpful articles, project ideas and tutorials over there, in addition to free kits and contests.  It’s all about hybrid creations, and you won’t want to miss it.  In the near future look for a few new Bits of Ivory project ideas and product reviews too.

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Barbara Anne Williams
Bits of Ivory
Bramble & Vine @Etsy and @1000Markets

There are a few things that I truly adore about Halloween.  It’s not the sugar hangover on the morning of All Saint’s Day.  Shocking, I know.  I do like candy taxes (the percentage of candy that my husband and I require from the children’s haul in order to pay for the privilege of being part of our family for another year - including such rights and necessities as dinner, pillows and warm showers), but even that doesn’t quite make the cut.

What I really cherish this time of year is picking out pumpkins as a family.  It’s imperative to get just the right shape and size for our grand schemes.  There’s personality in the shape of a pumpkin that just cannot be overestimated.  The children sketch out their designs for the perfect Jack O’lantern, and then trace them onto their pumpkins and carefully cut them out.  The look on their faces is priceless when they watch their creation light up with a candle inside for the first time.

I confess that I don’t love gutting the pumpkins.   It’s messy and goopy and slimy.  But I do love spending that time together in the kitchen as we sort carefully through the pumpkin guts to salvage every last seed.  Because snacking on roasted pumpkin seeds is definitely one of my favorite parts.  It’s the perfect antidote to the candy hangover.

Here’s wishing you all a happy and safe Halloween!

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Barbara Anne Williams
Bits of Ivory
Bramble & Vine @Etsy and @1000Markets

It’s time for true confessions.  I’ve kept it buried deep inside, but the truth is, I’ve never been a glitter girl.  Maybe not never, but definitely since I can remember.  I think sparkly things are pretty, like snowflakes and frosty windowpanes and beautiful mountain brooks shimmering in the sun, but when I’m creating I’m much more drawn to distressing inks and tea-stained papers.  Maybe it says something about me, but while I’m ready for a true confession, I’m not sure I’m ready for that level of soul searching.  I’m quite certain that it’s my nostalgic tendencies and not some sinister affinity for dark things.  Mostly certain.

Lately I’ve heard some lovely things about German glass glitter, and I decided that I had to give it a try.  I purchased some of the pretty silver stuff from SugarPinkBoutique.etsy.com and just admired it in its little baggie for a few weeks before getting the nerve to try it.  It’s so very pretty.  And sparkly.  And it makes this little Commonplace Book look so perfectly wintery!  I love it.  And perhaps best of all (for my dark side), the real silver in this ground glass glitter actually tarnishes to an aged perfection as time goes by.  It’s the best of both worlds.

I’m back to holding it under my work light and admiring its spectacular sparkle in the baggie - but another project is formulating itself on the drawing board of my mind, and it won’t be long before the beautiful stuff is sparkling prettily on another project.  I still reach automatically for my favorite distressing ink - it comes so naturally.  It looks so right.  I’m not really a glitter girl.  But these tiny shards of silvery glass have weedled their way into my heart and I simply can’t resist.

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Speaking of tarnished silver, I love the way the clipper ship buttons look on these little ornament albums for Christmas!  They’re made using the Maze Book instructions from Craft TV Weekly - but a bit smaller and with a few special touches.  They’re small enough to hang easily from a tree, but also look great arranged in a dish, or at each place at a holiday table, or even as very special gift tags.   The inside pages can hold small little photos, little written family memories or best wishes, or even guests’ signatures for a lovely little remembrance of a special holiday celebration.  On the back is a little tag with “I saw three ships come sailing in” from the traditional Christmas carol.  I love them so much that I’m keeping one for myself.  You may feel the same way.  Or you may decide that they’re the perfect gift for a hostess or teacher.  You can certainly make them yourself, but if you’re not so inclined, or you’re just enchanted with this particular design, you can find it in my Etsy shop while supplies last.  And in keeping with today’s theme, here is another album ornament there, with a bit more aging and distressing and just the tiniest hint of a sparkle.  Brown Paper Packages with Snowflakes.  It ties together with brown string and features hand-stamped snowflakes from my own original stamp design.  The little snippets of paper are from a vintage Danish book.  It’s got quite a lot of ink on the edges.  Ah, ink distressing.  Did I mention that I love ink?  True confession.

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As a final note, if you’ve not seen our little review at screamandhug.blogspot.com take a moment to check it out.  There’s a little giveaway of a magnet set there that would make a fantastic gift to yourself or someone else.  And while you’re blog hopping, don’t miss Someday Crafts where we’ve been invited to be a sponsor.  It’s an amazing place to spend an hour or two and load up on all kinds of clever and inspiring ideas.  It’s definitely not to be missed.  And that’s the truth.

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Barbara Anne Williams
Bits of Ivory
Bramble & Vine @Etsy and @1000Markets

All artwork printed on different papers on the best photo quality setting.

All of the artwork available at Bits of Ivory is 300 ppi resolution for high print quality.  This helps to preserve the textures and details in the artwork and results in a more professional looking product when you use them on projects either as gifts or on your professional crafts.

Many who are new to paper crafting, or only indulge occasionally are unaware of the importance of the type of paper you choose to print on.

1.  Copier Paper: You can have a fantastic printer, but when you print on copier paper (even if it says it’s appropriate for ink jet printers), you’ll have a dull, flat image without much detail (see the top left graphic in the photo above).  Of course, this paper has it’s place.  It’s very inexpensive, and if you’re simply using the artwork to illustrate a newsletter it may be perfectly appropriate.

2.  Card Stock for Ink Jet Printers: Card stock for ink jet printers has the advantage of being thicker (so that you can’t see through the page), and often is a bit brighter white to enhance colors.  It can also be very inexpensive, but once again you will be sacrificing detail, depth and color in exchange (see the top right graphic in the photo above).  This paper is appropriate for printing artwork that isn’t very detailed, or for projects where the image quality doesn’t have to be the absolute highest.

3.  Matte Photo or Presentation Paper: This paper is a bit more expensive than cardstock, but maintains the heavier weight.  The quality of the image printed is much better (see the bottom left graphic in the photo above).  While the quality and detail are not quite as sharp as on the glossy photo paper, it is still very good.  For projects that will be handled often it is actually preferable to the glossy photo paper because it won’t show fingerprints when touched.  It is also superior for distressing techniques, especially ink which can sometimes discolor photos printed on glossy paper.

4.  Glossy Photo Paper: This is the most expensive option, but the details and color show the best on glossy photo paper (see the bottom right graphic in the photo above).  For photographs and artwork with a very high level of detail, it’s the best option (except on the types of projects noted in the previous section).

The left is printed on Matte Photo Paper, the right on Glossy Photo Paper.

Most printer companies suggest that you use only their brand of paper for best results.  I pay less attention to the brand and more to what papers are economical and still give me excellent results.  With a little bit of trial and error you can find exactly what works for you and your style of crafting and card making!

Happy Printing!
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Barbara Anne Williams
Bits of Ivory
Bramble & Vine @Etsy and @1000Markets

I just added a new set of magnets to my shop at Bramble & Vine featuring photos from Volterra, Italy.  These are perfect for architecture enthusiasts and lovers of all things Tuscan or Italian.  Realistically, though, I realize that their biggest draw is that they’re the literary home of the Volturi from the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer.  They make fantastic gifts for Twilight fans of all ages, for lockers or fridges or desk cubicles.  They’re especially ideal for those who want to celebrate their secret obsession in a more subtle, sophisticated fashion. ;)  Two of the images are of the Palazzo dei Priori (one with the famous clock tower), and the other shows the street sign at the corner of the piazza.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Volterra was one of my very favorite places in our recent trip to Italy.  It’s a charming little village, and the alabaster creations there are amazing.  And, certainly not least importantly, it is the home of my favorite gelato shop, Chic E Shock, which serves the most beautiful and delicious concoctions imaginable.  Take a moment to chat with the master gelato maker/proprietor if you get a chance as well.  He’s amazing. 

Sadly, the New Moon movie due to be released in November was not filmed in the actual village of Volterra.  They chose a nearby village instead, which was easier to film in.  If you’re looking for scenes from the movie - these magnets won’t be your thing, I’m afraid (although the palazzo in the town where they filmed is similar to the one in Volterra).  Still, there’s something rather special here to fans of the books!  Because the photos are originals taken by me, they’re unique and different from anything else you’ll find out there.  They come packaged on a piece of metal covered in Italian text and in a plastic protective sleeve - perfect for gift giving.

On another note, thanks to everyone for your support as we open a new Bits of Ivory shopping cart.  We are slowly adding our sets back, but you can see the shop and the sets that have already been renewed here:  http://www.bitsofivory.com/shop/.  Over the next few weeks we hope to have all the sets back up and ready for purchase!

Very Best Wishes!
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Barbara Anne Williams
Bits of Ivory
Bramble & Vine @Etsy and @1000Markets

This note was sent to Bits of Ivory customers today:

This weekend we found out that our website had been hacked. The hacker redirected customer payments to his own PayPal account rather than our Bits of Ivory account. We are closing down our store at http://www.bitsofivory.net/store and will re-open with a newer, more secure shopping cart in a few days. You will be able to access this new store from our www.bitsofivory.com webpage if you are interested in purchasing artwork in the future. Fortunately we do not store any of your financial information on our site (which is why we process payments through PayPal) - so none of your credit card or PayPal information has been compromised.

We are unable to transfer customer information to our new shopping cart, so you will need to re-register at our new shop if you wish to order from us in the future. Most of our artwork will be making the move to the new shop, though several of the clearance items will not. Newsletter information will also not be transferred, so if you want to keep up with what is new at Bits of Ivory we encourage you to subscribe to our blog (www.bitsofivory.com/wordpress).

We will be adding products to our new shop over the next few days, but several of our newer sets are available in the meantime in our Etsy store - bitsofivory.etsy.com.

We’re finally ready to announce our new Christmas art set just a wee bit late for Christmas in July.  We hope it’s still early enough for those preparing for Craft Fairs this fall!  You cand find NATIVITY in our Bits of Ivory shop (along with more detailed views).  This set has been on my drawing board for quite some time, and has been a labor of love.  I hope that you’ll enjoy working with it as much as I have enjoyed creating it!  As always, it is 300dpi for excellent print quality for your crafting, cardmaking, scrapbooking, etc.

Very best wishes!

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Barbara Anne Williams
Bits of Ivory
Bramble & Vine @Etsy and @1000Markets

Our Brown Paper Packages with Snowflakes ornament/album was on the front page of Etsy today, together wtih a treasury of really gorgeous handcrafted things.  Thanks to IlluminatedPerfume for including us in your beautiful treasury!  If you missed it, here’s a little snapshot!

 
These are our first ornaments of the season, but we’ll have several more ornament/albums listed in the shop soon, as well as tags and gift cards to help get you ready for the season. I know that some are annoyed when they see Christmas out so early but in addition to providing a shopping opportunity for people who like to get their shopping done early, I love sharing new ideas early so that our customers who participate in craft fairs have lots of time to be inspired and create their own projects. Don’t despair, we’ll also be adding some fantastic fall items to the shop as well - including Halloween!

I’ll just share a few last thoughts about the Digital Scrapbook Artist software today.

I was impressed at how easy it was to pick a page template and then customize the size of the page.  You can use this software to create pages of any shape or size, which makes it very convenient for many different projects, from framed pieces to paper-bag albums and cards.

While Serif plans to have commercial licenses available for the Daisy Trail sets soon, at this time they can only be used for personal projects.  In the meantime, professional scrapbookers and designers can still use the fantastic features of this software with other digital scrapbooking kits that do allow for commercial use!

As a designer and graphic artist, I use my image editing programs almost on a daily basis.  For quick and easy digital scrapbooking without the fuss, though, I’ll definitely turn to this software.  I know several family members who become frustrated with the more complicated programs when they simply want a beautiful page and the drag-and-drop format of this software is a perfect solution.  You can find the software online for under $50.00 either from Serif or Amazon. 

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Barbara Anne Williams
Bits of Ivory
Bramble & Vine @Etsy and @1000Markets

As promised, here are a few of my very favorite tools in the program.

First, Brushes.  Everyone loves brushes, and different brushes are provided with each theme to compliment the look of your pages perfectly.  From stitches and beads to grungy edges and paint effects, there’s something for just about any look you’re going for.  If you’re feeling particularly creative you can even make your own brushes to use.  Settings such as size and transparency give you flexibility as you use your brushes, and for those who have pen and tablet mouses, it has pressure sensitivity to vary the line width or transparency as you’re drawing.

The cutting and cropping tools in this program are some of my favorites.  You can cut freeform shapes with the scissor tool, choosing from many different scissor shapes for a scalloped, pinking, zig zag or other edge.  Just as with cutting paper, you’re left with both pieces of the beginning shape, now cut into separate objects to be arranged as you wish - or toss one away by deleting it!  This clever little feature also works with the preset shape cutter.

Another favorite feature is shape text.  Simply select a preset shape and place it on the page, or create your own by drawing a closed line, and then select the shape and start typing!  Your text will automatically flow within the shape.  It’s easy to keep journaling right on your journaling tag!  Of course, if you simply want the text to fill a certain shape but don’t want the shape behind it (heart shaped text on your background, for instance), you can detach the text as a new item when you’re finished and delete the original shape.

Drop shadows are fantastically easy to manipulate in Digital Scrapbook Artist.  Simply click and drag it until it gives you the perfect depth!  You can also easily change the skew of the shadow to give the impression that the object isn’t lying flat for just a bit more dimension.  Other effects to add interest to the page include embossing, feathered edges, paper textures, transparency and even some great 3D preset effects for realistic looking metalics, woods, etc.

Watch Friday for a few more of my favorite things about this program!

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Barbara Anne Williams
Bits of Ivory
Bramble & Vine @Etsy and @1000Markets