The Saturday Special 3.20.10
Saturday, March 20th, 2010
Happy Spring for those in the Northern Hemisphere!
Emilee here for your next Saturday Special. I thought we could build on what we learned last week with Heidi (scrappurple) and talk more about stitches and shadowing our stitches. I think stitches are a fun way to make a digital LO look ‘real’ and they add a lot of character to a LO. That being said, stitches can be tricky to shadow. Here are a few tips to remember when shadowing stitches:
**ZOOM IN…Stitches are small and you really need to zoom in close to the stitch to see exactly what you shadow looks like
**LESS IS MORE…think about what stitches look like IRL–they are very close to the paper and therefore have a subtle shadow. Decrease the opacity to lighten the shadow and increase the subtlety.
**SOFTEN the shadow a bit (using ‘Size’ in PSE). Stitches are made from a fiber and won’t cast a ‘hard’ shadow like a piece of paper, but rather a softer shadow. Of course a thicker stitch will require a different shadow than a thinner stitch.
The key is to zoom in and play around with your settings until you have a realistic shadow for your stitching. Or if you don’t want to worry about it at all, you can purchase Jenn Barrette’s Realistic Drop Shadow Styles.
When you are adding stitches to a LO pay attention to what you are ‘stitching’–two pieces of paper, pic to paper, ribbon to paper, etc. Adjust your stitches so that they look like you used your sewing machine. Get creative and duplicate stitches on top of each other to create a messy-look, create grids, use different types of stitches and HAVE FUN!
Here is an example from me, an Easter card using Man in the Moon and Stolen Moments new collab Easter Morning:
and some more examples from our talented Creative Team…
from Courtney using 5 a day by Erica Zane and Circle Stitches, Love Life, Wire Rimmed Alpha, and Film Clipping Masks by Sahlin Studio:
from Becca using Sweetest days by Erica Zane:
from Cyndi using All About Photos Template Pack 2 by Purple Tulip Designs, Stitch Me Up by Chelle’s Creations and the Everyday Grab Bag SM Designer Collab:
You only have 11 days to participate in this Saturday Special so you better get started. You’ll need to upload your LO using stitches to the Saturday Special Gallery and to this forum. You can receive ONE point for participating in the challenge and another point for using a new product from the SM store–please indicate here if you used a new product. At the end of March I’ll choose a LO to receive an additional point towards your April total. Remember, no double-dipping and this challenge closes March 31.
Emilee (emileem)
