Welcome to my stop on the Craft Squad’s “I Do” Blog Hop. If you’re coming from The Crafty Neighbor you are in the right place. If you want to start at the beginning, go to Roxie’s Stamping Rooms at http://
Ideally wedding pictures should do more than memorialize the event. Photos and scrapbook layouts should tell a story–a story that began long before the ring was offered on bended knee. This scrapbook layout takes advantage of a wonderful photographer who came up with a way to help the bride always remember wedding dreams coming true.
My Project: Remember Wedding Dreams Coming True
This was a great project for me to work on. Last weekend we were in Columbus, Georgia for a family wedding. I was happy to do a project to honor the marriage between these two wonderful people. Since they were high school sweet-hearts, we’ve all enjoyed watching their relationship mature and develop. I also love finding a way to celebrate the kooky way my family likes to express themselves.
The Photograph:
Usually I start with a narrative. In this case, we had a picture that was worth a thousand words. The groom, Jonathon, has always been a fan of Captain America. He has also been recently commissioned in the U.S. Army. He and his high school sweetheart will soon be leaving for Korean.
Photographer Jess of Love Ya Jess in Atlanta did a wonderful job capturing the fact that Jon and his groomsmen all wore superhero t-shirts under their dress clothes. In fact, her staging and focus of the shot really emphasized the juxtaposition of playfulness, seriousness, and commitment behind their prank.
This photo will always help Ciara, the bride, remember wedding dreams coming true. I just dressed it up a little.
My steps:
I used PhotoShop Elements (PSE) to create this digital project. PSE, as well as the open-sourced GIMP, allow you to add consecutive layers. It’s analogous to adding paper layers, but you can change your mind with no glue residue.
I started with a blank 12 x 12” page, with the resolution set to 300. I started with a standard background that came with PSE. To add a patriotic touch I took a photo I had of an American flag and used the Magic Extractor tool to removed the background.
Before and after screenshots using PSE’s magic extractor tool.
It still didn’t have the “Captain America” look I was going for. To add a “dreamy” look, I added a sky-scape photo that I had. I played with the transparency of the layers until I achieved the effect I was looking for–43% for the flag and 66% for the clouds.
I simply dropped the photo into a frame and added the ribbon and airplane embellishments from a “Wanderlust” collection (It’s currently free!). I also added a little glittery moon from “Silvery Moon” from Lutka and Co (also free).
Adding a glitter effect to the title and text was a two step process. I duplicated the text layer and simplified the top layer. I added glitter using Filter -> Add Noise. I then set the transparency level on the glittery level at 85%.
To accent the theme of wedding dreams coming true, I titled my layout “Once Upon a Time.”
To finish the layout, I selected each embellishment layer and added depth using Layer -> Layer style -> Style settings -> Drop Shadow. You can also adjust the color of the drop shadow if you don’t want it to be too dark.
Last Stop on the “I do” Blog Hop
I’m the last stop on this month’s hop. If you want to start from the beginning, visit Roxie’s Stamping Room.
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