Cathy Zielske's Blog

Coming too to an online class near you!

Me: the Abridged Version from Cathy Zielske on Vimeo.

A little promo for my next workshop from Big Picture Scrapbooking, called Me: the Abridged Version (you can read a bit if you click the link).

Long story short: it's an album about you, in an A to Z format, inspired by the book Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, and essentially a new twist on a class I once taught at a CKU.

You should tell your story. Even if you think you can't write. Or it won't be interesting. Or any other number of buts... I'm going to help you do it.

You'll make a 30-page album that will combine hybrid techniques using Photoshop Elements (or Microsoft Word) templates. More details and class supplies coming soon. Stay tuned.

And have a great weekend. 

There's no turning back now! (Well, actually, there could be…I'd just have to pull everything off the shelf and go back to the way it was)

I really need to lay off such dramatic statements…

But what I meant to say by There's no turning back now, is that I recently reorganized my patterned paper collection. (Does that sound on the same par as saying, "Oh, I can't go out tonight. I'm going to stay in and wash my hair?") Well be that as it may, THIS is exciting stuff, people. Here's my shelf (also lovingly referred to as my "rack"):

(And yes, feel free to say it. You know you want to... nice rack!)

For a long time now, I've wondered how my productivity, or rather, my inspiration to become productive, would change if I organized my patterned paper by color, rather than how I've always done it, which is by manufacturer.

So a few weeks ago, I pulled everything out and started sorting into piles. I wasn't emotional. I wasn't sentimental. I didn't get hung up on, "But these florals have ALL colors in them!" I just made a gut decision based on each sheet and when things got confusing I asked myself, "What color cardstock would I pair this with?" and that answered my "What color group should this go into?" question.

It took me the whole morning to sort and purge, and when I was done, (which I'm not completely done yet) I had one nice column of paper in a ROYGBIV + brown, grey and black order.

The color group that turned out to be the largest? Pink. I think that's a given considering how girly I am. Or that's the story I'm going with.

My main motivation for doing this was because I'm working on a new class for Big Picture Scrapbooking, and it's called "Me: The Abridged Version," (more info coming soon) and it asks you to pull paper from your stash, based on coordinated colors, not necessarily from a single manufacturer. I wanted all my colors grouped together to ease my paper selection process and I'll be damned if the inspiration for my album project's color scheme didn't hit me right square in between the eyes!

(And then it changed five minutes later to a completely different color scheme, but still…)

Nothing like seeing your stuff in a whole new light.

[edited to add]

There was a dude who made the rack, and now he doesn't make the racks anymore. I'm sorry to say that! Although there was one blog reader who I hooked him up with at least a few years back and he made her a rack. But sadly, no more racks from the man who gave me such a nice rack. And by "gave" i mean, did it for $650 bucks.

The Successful Scrapbooking Hostess' Guide to a Good Old Fashioned Girls' Scrap Night Sleepover Party

First, you need to amass your tools. Two bottles is a great way to start, but you'd best plan on having a few backups once things get going. Don't be the hostess that gets caught having to stumble up to the liquor store at 8:59 p.m.!

Next, you need to plan on how you're going to feed the girls. Good scrap girls aren't picky. They all know we take turns and they trust your judgment. Keep in mind: alcohol has been known to mask plenty a culinary imperfection! Yet another reason to keep an ample supply on hand.

Trying something new is perfectly within the acceptable range of meal options. You may choose to do what I did, and make Pastor Ryan's Bolognese Sauce (which one might want to forgo even serving with noodles and simply eat as a soup) and then go for broke with his hand-rolled and cut homemade pasta.

As long as you don't overdo the wine before dinner, you'll do great!

For a successful Girls' Scrap Night Sleepover Party, you'll also need girls. (Boys will also do, but they need to know their way around a paper trimmer, so to speak. Girls' night is not a place for the traditional style of man-woman relating. That sort of thing is best reserved for birthdays and special occasions, such as 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-year anniversaries.)

You will also want to convert your photos to black and white and even use fancy actions for girls night, because it will make all of your friends, including you, feel up to two years younger!

Eventually, your meal will be ready and it will be time to dig in. As the hostess, NOW is the time to play catch up on the wine drinking as there is no danger in messing up the pasta. Salut!

After dinner, your girls will relax in the family room while you might decide to clean up because you suffer from just a smidgen of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and those dishes aren't going to clean themselves now are they? Besides, you can't make dessert until you have a clean place to start. Everyone knows that!

Speaking of dessert, you may find that serving plates are just going to be one more thing to clean. Why not cut to the chase, pass out forks, and go family style?

Clean up is a breeze once the pan is empty! Forks up, ladies.

Next, you may decide to assemble on the deck for a group photo because scrap night is just as scrapworthy as anything else. Remember ladies, all chins melt away when you lean forward and look up! Say cheese!

While you're outside with your laptop, your husband, who is up North sharing a small cabin with 17 people, might decide to ring you up on the webcam to see how it's going. He may be suspicious of the wine-induced merriment, but just assure him with the following words: "Yes honey, I watered the lawn, and no, we are not going to scrapbook topless. See you tomorrow!"

Once you've reached this point, it's time to pull out the scrapbooking supplies and get busy preserving those memories. Yay!

Or, you can also decide to simply open another bottle of wine, pop in Hedwig and the Angry Inch and call it a night around 1:30 a.m. There are no absolutes on Girls' Scrap Night. Let inspiration rule!

Whatever you decide, be sure to take lots of pictures of your special gathering and have plenty of black coffee or Diet Coke available in the morning. Happy scrapbooking!

Have a safe and relaxing Memorial Day Weekend & Cards for Heroes

This weekend, check out Cards for Heroes, a grassroots, non-profit organization whose mission is to "support our nation's armed forced by sending blank greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them."

This Saturday, they're hosting a bloghop to help spread the word about the work they do to crafters and bloggers everywhere. There will be tons of prizes given away this weekend on participating blogs, with winners being chosen from comments left. Be sure to check it out.

Also, all next week, Hero Arts will be doing a card drive to benefit Cards for Heroes. Don't miss that if you want to get involved!

Have a safe and relaxing holiday weekend. I'm planning to not travel to the Northlands of Minnesota, and stay nicely tucked into my home. With air conditioning and internet access. See you next week.

Snapshots

Cherries, in a bowl, on my deck, that I ate.

Kyla girl, visiting dog, whom I adore.

The official Christmas tree burn, long overdue, followed by Smore Night.

A cute girl, with red in her hair.

A small boy, playing his DS in Dan's awesomely organized closet.

 

My kids, being kids.

Just a few random snaps from my everyday life.

I'm sure I'd say something much more witty and clever to accompany these photos but I'm still trying to figure out how the "Glambert Army" i've got tattooed across my you-know-what-ski will wear over the years knowing he was only the second best.

Only time will tell.

I guess you know who I'm voting for

Did I ever mention that I was adopted?

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Registration for my class closes tomorrow. There's still time to jump in. You'll only be a little behind. And who doesn't want a little behind?

Exactly.

Design Do-Overs: The May Edition

Welcome to the May edition of Design Do-Overs. In the last installment, I tackled the always delightful (and some would say much easier) single-photo layout. This month, we step into multi-photo, two-page spread territory, but not just any old multi-photo, two-page layout… this one has 26 photos covering a 24 inch by 12 inch space.

The layout we'll be doing over today was the very first one that arrived in my inbox when I first put out the call for pages. I took a quick glance at it and thought, "Ummm. Okay. Ummm. Maybe I'll start with something simpler." And that was that.

Now keep in mind, it wasn't because the page was awful, but rather, there were just so many photos with so much color that quite honestly? I didn't know what I would do with it.

But like any capable designer, I like a challenge, and I like to think I can work good design into multi-photo pages. You can decide if I've succeeded, or… missed the mark completely.

The "keep in mind" catch-all disclaimer: I'm redoing pages in my style, and my style, while it may not be for everyone, will in fact illustrate some pretty basic principles of design.

(Note: I use Photoshop CS3 and InDesign CS3 for all of my digital processes.)

May's Lesson: Multi-photo Design Made Easier

This month's page comes from blog ready Holly. Holly made this page as part of a class she took at a scrapbooking convention. Holly told me, "Every time I look at this layout, I cross my eyes," and I really hate to hear hard-workin' scrapbookers go cross eyed, so I decided it was game on for Holly. Holly's two-page, 12 x 12 spread features 26 photos. Here's the original page:

(click on layout image to see it larger in a new window)

Here are some positive points about this page:

1. Symmetrically balanced design—these two pages are a mirror image of one another, and that's a good thing to do in a multi-photo spread.

2. Lots of shape repetition—all those square photos create a sense of connection across this page.

However, the spread has so many photos, and so much color that it does start leaning into the category of visually overwhelming, which is where we begin.

Step One: Pare Down the Photos

Before we jump into design, we have to talk about a little bit of scrapbooking philosophy and that philosophy involves letting go of the pressure to get a bazillion photos on a page.

I'll be the first to admit, I err on the side of too few most of the time, but I truly believe scrapbookers put too much pressure to use all their photos and scrapbooking should not be about stress and pressure! And I'm sorry, but figuring out what to do with 26 photos is mind boggling to me. That's when photo albums start to look mighty appealing.

The first thing I did was go through Holly's photos and eliminate half of the shots from her page. (Oh no she di'int!) Oh yes, she in fact did. And now, she's gonna tell you why:

If you find that you have a series of shots from any event, try to eliminate the ones that feel like near duplicates. I promise you this: one shot of your adorable baby eating the gift wrap will be enough to capture that adorableness. I also decided to eliminate the studio shots and just focus on the related Christmas gift opening shots. I'm all for mixing photos from different times, but I thought these felt a little out of place with this particular visual story. Once I had the photos narrowed down, it was time to open an Adobe InDesign document, and start designing.

Step Two: Create a Design Concept 

Starting with a two-page, 12 x 12 document (with an equal, 1-inch margin) I wanted to create a similar grid-based approach as was used on the original page. However, with fewer photos, it meant larger squares for the shots. I also decided to select a focal point shot that focused more on cute baby Riley. Keep in mind though, the spaces in this design could easily be swapped based on what photos were most important in the story. I point this out because Dan looked over my shoulder and said, "But what if they wanted the family shot as the biggest shot, like on the original?" To which I replied, "You are very handsome. Please leave now."

 

Here, I placed a focal shot (which required an enlargement beyond a 4 x 6), and several smaller, equal squares. The large red swatch on the left would hold a title. I planned for the red squares on the right to be pieces of holiday-themed patterned paper. The thing I love about digital sketching is that it allows me to quickly see if what I want to do will work, and lets me change my mind easily.

 

The next step was to drop in titles, little words, and a poem that Holly had wanted to include on her original layout. I chose one typeface, Archer, as the font for both all the words. A very quick way to create font harmony on any layout is to take the one font approach, and simply vary the sizes and weights to create a bit of contrast.

Notice too, how I preserved a common margin of space between the elements (made easy by the InDesign columns and margins I set up when I started). This space, combined with the large one-inch margin both connects the two pages, but also lets this layout breathe a bit, something the original page wasn't able to do.

Step Three: Printing out the Pieces

I placed the title and the words (which I turned into small strips) onto one new document in InDesign. Then, I printed it out onto photo paper. Why photo paper and not white cardstock? Photo paper gives you such a different result, with much richer and more accurate color.

Next, I grabbed all of the photos from the digital sketch, placed them into a new document and also printed them on photo paper. I decided to include one shot from the set of studio shots to use as an embellishment, which you'll see shortly.

 

Using the CropMarks command made trimming super quick. (I use a plug-in for InDesign called Cacidi Cropmarks, which adds little marks on all of the objects—photos, journaling blocks, word strips—in my document.) Once the pieces were trimmed out, I chose one sheet of holiday themed patterned paper, and began assembling the layout.

I chose a kraft colored cardstock for my background to help neutralize the brightness of the photos. Here is the newly designed layout:

 
(click on layout image to see it larger in a new window)

Step Four: Why it Works

1. Fewer photos equals less chaos—by making some cuts in content, the layout feels far less chaotic than the original.

2. White Space that invites—by including a full inch margin on each of the pages, a bit of breathing room is introduced making the viewing experience a bit more restful and inviting. There are 13 active spaces on this design including the title bar. I've only chosen to use 7 photos (one of them, on the lower right, takes up two of the squares). But, with white space included, it doesn't feel chaotic, even with all the bright colors of the photos.

3. Neutral grounding—the kraft cardstock background provides a nice does of neutral color to offset the bright photos, allowing them to stand out, but not overwhelm.

4. Repetition—repeating the red and white of the title block and the three word strips creates a nice visual link between the two pages. Further, the punched out circle shape of little Riley's cute face, repeats with the kraft cardstock circles behind the word strips. The square photo shape is repeated 9 times and the patterned paper appears three times as well. Finallly, note the rounded corners on the far edges of each page in the spread. All of this repetition serves to unify the design.

I also did a little bit of word repetition in the form of the alliterated "M" words.

Note: Lisa's original page really did have a nice sense of repetition, it simply lacked a bit of much needed breathing room.

5. Linear, grid based design—the overall design can be seen in six column spaces, and all of the content is divided up equally among the spaces. This linear approach creates a much more solid and predictable feel to the design. Predictability in design can be a good thing. It gives the reader something to easily follow and understand.

6. Left-hand focal area—by combining the title with the punched out circle, the larger photo and the journaling block, the overall area has a stronger visual pull. In the original layout, there are two larger photos, but each pulls the same weight. You don't need a focal point for a successful design, but when you choose to create one, it helps to create areas with more visual interest to lead the eye exactly where you want it to start.

Step Five: The Wrap-Up

 

The after page is simpler, and easier to take in. Yes, there are a lot of shots that I left off of the page, but in the end, the essence of a first Christmas is still captured. I am a firm and true believer that your kids will never look at what you've created and say, "Um, Mom… why didn't you include a photo of [insert any number of things here]!"

Now for Holly's after page, she might have gone with different shots on the right side, and the great thing is, when she gets this page in the mail, she totally can.

Feel free to post questions in the comments and I'll do my best to answer.

Step Six: Meet Holly

 

Name: this one is so easy!  Holly A. Moss. (Yes, I do realize my initials make me a HAM, please don't start with the jokes, you'll make me hungry for a sandwich).

The place I call home: Ah well… home is where the heart is, but for mailing purposes, et al, Lynnwood, Washington.

Scrapbooker since: I don't really consider myself a 'Scrapbooker'. I am more of a Scrap-a-holic' and I have been that pretty much since October, 2006.

Favorite all-time scrapbooking tool: Geez! Ask for my first & only born child why don't you? Truly, this changes constantly. Right now, this month, my all-time favorite scrapbooking tool(s) is/are my Fiskar's Border Punches.

Favorite scrapbooking product company: Hands-down Bazzill Basics.

Straight or tilted? Well, since I can't cut a straight line with a ruler or paper trimmer (magnetic or other), I tend to look at things from a bit of an angle, and most of my projects end up slightly tilted no matter what I do or how hard I try to make it straight. That suits me just fine, I like my view of the world from this angle much better, thank you very much!

Embossing or bossing around? Oh, definitely bossing around so I can avoid admitting to myself and the world that I have absolutely no clue what embossing has to do with scrapbooking. It really just boggles my mind.

Twitter or Facebook? Facebook primarily; however, I do have a Twitter account that I use (very infrequently), mainly for Cathy's class. To be honest, I only signed up for Twitter out of spite for Facebook when they changed the format and I couldn't find anything on the website anymore. I stayed with Facebook and I still can't find anything, but Twitter wasn't as interactive as I thought it was or what I was looking for it to be.

Lisa Bearnson or Lisa Marie Presley? Umm, who's Lisa Marie Presley?

If scrapbooking were to disappear from the face of the earth, you’d find me: in a padded room, rocking back and forth, hugging myself while humming inane lullabies I don't know the words to, surrounded by warning signs of "quiet" & "no sudden movements".

I scrapbook because: it makes me happy.

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Holly will be receiving the layout, plus a copy of one of my books for her participation in this edition of Design Do-Overs. If you would like to add your layout to my pool of possible candidates, send me a low res scan and the reasons why you'd like to see it made over to czdesign@comcast.net, and put "DESIGN DO-OVER" in the message line.To read about the original impetus for the blog column, go here.

The giveaway winners are…

I meant to do this earlier, but I just returned from seeing the new Star Trek movie with Aidan and a friend. The verdict: Live Long and Prosper, You Hot New James T. Kirk! That said, we have two winners.

The first number will receive the lovely necklace from Bird on a Whim, and the second, the cool shawl, in a color of your choice from 9 Months & Beyond. And here are the numbers:

 

32: Can you frame a sweatshirt? I'm sitting here in water soaked Illinois on a gray overcast morning, so anything orange or silver would brighten my day quite a bit. Thanks for the opportunity. Cindy Posted by: Cindy McDannold

356. The shawl is beautiful! Posted by: Lisa A.

Ladies, email me at czdesign@comcast.net to claim your prize!

Lovely giveaways for a lovely Thursday

Bird on a Whim, one of my newest advertisers, would like to give away this lovely, hand-stamped necklace to one of my lovely blog readers. If you like cool, customized hand-stamped jewelry, check out show owner and jewelry artist Robin's designs today.

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Nine Months & Beyond is giving away a "Simone Layne Classic Shawl". One size fits all, winner gets to choose from the colors listed on our site: black, slate, sand, olive, wine, sienna, pale pink, sky blue, seaspray, and white.

Learn more about Nine Months & Beyond on their blog. Owner Stacey thinks this shawl would be a great replacement for my infamous orange sweatshirt. I'm thinking, "YES!"

Leave a comment for me today, and I will choose winners tonight at 8 p.m. C.S.T. (edited to add—or actually closer to 10 p.m. C.S.T. I got me a date tonight with Capt. James T. Kirk and his new hotness.)

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Today is also the first day of class for my Everyone Can Write a Little Workshop. Hello to any students who are new to the blog! Registration is remaining open until May 20th, for those who are still interested!

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And other words that were along that good-word basis.

(Aidan, sporting my fabulous and oh-so-dated wedding dress, which she wore as a costume to her 13th birthday extravaganza.)

We don't play up the Mother's Day and Father's Day holidays super big in our house. A few handmade cards and a day of not having to do anything but avoid all housework (or yardwork) is all that is really required for the Best Day Ever.

This year however, Aidan took the handmade card in a different direction, and wrote me a letter, a letter which she said I could post here.

I only wanted to share because A) I love that my daughter uses her words to express her emotions, B) I think she's a friggin' genius, and C) There are days when you Moms out there, especially those Moms to young kids—oh hell, to ALL ages of kids—who are working your tushkas off just to keep those kids happy, clean, loved and fed, who can feel overwhelmed at the whole motherhood task because let's be real here: some days, it's not as pleasant as others. And then there are those moments within those days when those kids you work so hard to care for simply take your breath away; they surprise you with their compassion; they give you a glimpse into where they are really going and who they are really becoming and you put your hand over your heart because you realize the place they are headed is a place filled with love and goodness and hope.

This was the best Mother's Day gift I can ever recall. The gift of words rocks.

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Dear Mom,

I tried to make you a card but was too far from perfection and messed up with markers each time.
I tried to write a poem but I couldn't find the words; I lost them up a the cabin.
I tried to draw a picture, but markers are much too thick for detail.
So, I am writing you a letter.

Today is Mother's Day, the 13th time you've experienced this day with me. (The 9th time with Cole, I think?)
I wrote a few different poems all entitled "Mother."
Words entangled within versus like
Stupendous!
Tremendous!
Amazing!
And other words that were along that good-word basis.

More poem attempts followed with cute, cheesy lines like
I love you like the fish loves the seas
I love you like the bird loves the sky
Like the flowers need the bees

I love you this much, as far as the sun stretches
or
I'll love you 'till forever is over
From the plains to the hills through deserts and mountains.

All of these words still can't express the love a daughter has for her mother.

You are…
A key component to my life
A friendly figure in my life
A movie pal, a doctor holder hander.
A Mother.

Happy Mother's Day Mom.
I love you.

Sincerely,
Aidan (Your Daughter)

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I pretty much kicked out the ugly cry all over on that one. And you know what? She didn't even act like that was an uncool thing to do.

Aidan, I think you are something very, very, very special.
Sincerely,
Cathy (Your Mom)