{we are} storytellers

{inspiration} sunday: creativity

I was curious as to what resources for creativity are out there on the great World Wide Web, so I did some googling. Here are some of my fabulous finds:

KIDS

• How to Inspire Creativity in Your Kids - 13 simple wiki tips for parents
• Try This Kids .... Get Wild at Home - 10 Creative Activities to Cultivate the Wildchild
• Creativity Exercises - Ideas for Making Music and Play Pretend from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
• Everyday Art - An article from Greater Good magazine - How to Inspire without Imposing Stress

PHOTOGRAPHY

• 56 Awe Inspiring Must See Photographs
• Top 10 Most Awesome Approaches to Photography

GRAPHIC DESIGN

• Netdiver
• Mojizsu

TIPS AND SACRED RULES

• Ten Tips from Alina Bradford
• Creative Habits and Books To Read
• Personal Reminders - Sacred Rules for Fostering Creativity

I want to share a few super creative layouts and projects found in the {wst} gallery:

My hero by Lexicam
Credits: Daddy Dearest kit
Scribble It
Tiny Typewriter Alpha

angel eyes by gonewiththewind
CREDITS: Accidental Fix by DeCrow Designs; Stamp The Date Vol. 2 by Mira Designs; Template by Tracey Howard; font is Fluoxetine]

{door} decoration by Jennifer Cox
Digital supplies: Doodle tags by DeCrow designs
http://www.wearestorytellers.net/bou...t=0&page=1
Sketching Spring by Valorie Wibbens of Spotted Dog designs.
http://www.wearestorytellers.net/bou...t=0&page=2
Physical supplies were cardstock, watercolour pencils and a Dove blending brush.

Wall art by peachymelnyk
Credits:
Picnic in the Park, a wst collab

and one from my favorites


Free to BE! by Bell24
Credits: Everything from Wild Thing by Emily Powers!

Now go create! I hope you're inspired.

{inspiration} sunday: catching up with stock photos

Catch up on your stories with stock photos!!!

I have yet to find a better source for great stock photos than http://www.sxc.hu. Just register for an account, and have available thousands of quality stock photos, royalty-free, for free. For instance, I wanted to scrap with Angela Woo's Easter kit however due to our unconventional Easter this year, I didn't have the right photos for my story.

• Just do a search for Easter,
• then sort by the preference of your choice,
• log in
• and download!
• As you can tell by my layout below, I also searched for "Easter candy", "Easter bunny", and "Pancakes."

Here are the products used in this layout. Also check out the free video tutorial below.

For the video, click on the green arrow in the upper right corner to view the Easy Steps, and then click on "Show Text" to see the instructions.

{48 hours to save 25% on 20 brand new products}

that's right...if it's Tuesday at {we are} storytellers, it means BIG SAVINGS on FABULOUS NEW goodies to help you tell your stories.

 Don't forget to pick up our free gift in this week's Cover Stories. Like what you see, check out all of Kellie Mize's great products in her shoppe.

take care,

{storyteller} deann

{inspiration} sunday: word art for siblings

There is a lot to be excited about word art - especially in the {wst} boutique. When I saw the sibling word art by beAUDacious Designs/Audrey Neal - I knew of the perfect photo to scrap - my college roommate's twins.

First, I started with this great template from Spotted Dog Designs/Valorie Wibbens:

I used Family Tree and Add It Up Kits:

and voila, the finishing touch: SIBLING WORD ART!!!!

Upload a layout or project into our gallery {stories} on Sunday and you will be entered to win a free kit. Hosted by {storytellers} Lori Potts and Tania (aka lunafaerie}. Go to this forum to learn more.
{Share your link in that forum, links shared on the blog will not count.}

{inspiration} sunday: all about YOU

I want to know more about YOU!!!!

This week I hope to inspire you to create a page about YOU.
Try this challenge:

• scrap a page with at least 4 facts about you. 
• Find and use a symbol that represents one of these facts.
• Use zero photographs.

My layout is titled "He Calls Me... Honeybunny"

I thought these new illustrations from Tiff Brady's brother were just adorable, and a perfect symbol to represent one of the  facts about me. This layout was a lot of fun to make, and so easy with the beautiful products offered by our {wst} artists-in-residence.

I used the following products:

Upload a layout or project into our gallery {stories} on Sunday and you will be entered to win a free kit. Hosted by {storytellers} Lori Potts and Tania (aka lunafaerie}. Go to this forum to learn more.
{Share your link in that forum, links shared on the blog will not count.} I'd love to see your All About Me pages!!!

{inspiration} sunday: flair

This week I am inspired by flair! What does your flair say about you?

What is Flair and How Do I Get It?

If you are on Myspace or Facebook you can add the application called "Pieces of Flair". Flair are buttons that show your interests, designs, and personality. You can browse through the flair or design your own. You can add flair to your virtual corkboard background and/or send flair to your friends.

Our very own Emily Powers, has as her boutique banner, a few pieces of flair that expresses her personality as well.

If you want to get a screenshot of your flair on Facebook, it needs to be set on your profile in the boxes page. See below.

Click the "Print Screen" button on your keyboard.  In Photoshop Elements, go to File --> New --> Image from Clipboard.  Then I changed the resolution to 300 dpi.  I cropped it and added it to my layout.

I challenge you to scrap your flair and tell us what it says about you!

Credits for my layout above:
DESIGN SIMPLE - Alpha Bundle by Emily Powers
Experiment 18 Template by Emily Powers
Classic Cardstock - The Collection by  Emily Powers
Autumn Sky by Emily Powers (retired out of print)
Speedy Birdy Font by beAudacious Designs

Upload a layout or project into our gallery {stories} on Sunday and you will be entered to win a free kit. Hosted by {storytellers} Lori Potts and Tania (aka lunafaerie}. Go to this forum to learn more.
{Share your link in that forum, links shared on the blog will not count.}

{cover stories no. 10}

The cover of this compilation CD has exceptionally cool and graphic circles not to mention the pink and brown color scheme.

 

I thought it would make a fun and modern set of papers. Grab it here -->  (take me to the forum)

 

I love the fun layout Carolee created with it showcasing her son's dance moves:

 

Diane made fun and colorful layout about family:

Don't forget to post your own creations in our gallery.  Have a great week!

{storyteller} kellie mize

{cover stories no. 8}

We are back to CDs with this week's Cover Stories and although you may not recognize the band name I am sure you know their groovy tune You, Me, and the Bourgeoisie which is featured in the current iPhone commercials.

 

Such fun colors and doodles!  Here are a few papers and a photo mask to help you capture this look.  Grab it here -->  (take me to the forum)

 Lori (who is turning into my cover stories rockstar) whipped up this incredible layout:

And I love how Courtney ran with the butterfly theme to create this stunner:

 

Don't forget to post your own creations in our gallery.  Have a great week!

{storyteller} kellie mize

{sunday} inspiration: who is the most....?

I find it a lot of fun to play along with the various tags that are viral in Facebook. The most recent one is based on the following image, and this would make a great journaling prompt!

Among your family and friends, write for fifteen minutes on one or more of  the following:

Who is...............

the good friend/most friendly?

the one that takes their time?

the one that is most connected?

the one that is most spiritual?

the one that needs to break out of their shell and shine?

the most tech-savvy?

the one that never gets caught?

the one that always follows the rules?

the one that could win an Academy Award?

the one that has a bohemian lifestyle?

the one that is street-wise?

the best-dressed?

the one that gives great compliments?

the one that is very small and very fast?

the one who is looked up to?

the one who is most interested in what everyone has to say?

the one that is a ladies' man?

the one who is most trustworthy?

the one that loves attention?

the one that is so cute you could gobble them up?

the one who is the funniest?

the one who is the best cook?

Create a layout about one or more of these characters in your life!

Have fun! And remember,  GO HERE TO upload a story or layout anytime on Sundays (midnight - 11:59:59 pm EST) and have a chance to win a kit of your choice. Make sure you upload in our {wst} gallery - {stories}, then link us up in this thread before 11:59:59 pm EST on Sunday, 3/1/09 to be eligible for the prize. Random winner will be selected.

{inspiration} sunday: going shabby with Jenni Bowlin

Welcome to the {wst} debut of Jenni Bowlin's Digital Boutique.

"Jenni Bowlin will bring the popular Spring Picnic collection to the digital community. If you are a paper scrapper, then you know how fabulous this is. If you haven't had a chance to see Jenni's vintage inspired papers and elements, then hold on, you are in for a real treat! We are honored to be the first site to offer JBS products digita.l"- Deann McDaniel

Here is your inspiration board that might spark your imagination when using Jenni's fabulous Spring Picnic collection. I don't know about you, but here in Rochester, New York we are covered in snow and I'm so looking forward to the happy colors of spring.

1. the most incredible custom collage banner by Kris Hurst!!, 2. Grow, 3. two babushkas with curtain3, 4. my fairy in a jar for Michelle, 5. Rosanna, 6. Vintage Wallpaper Collage, 7. Shabby Roses Altered Box - top, 8. chic and shabby cabinet card, 9. Judys Shabby Rose Garden, 10. "Special Memories" Collage, 11. Collage cube art by iHanna, 12. Vintage Wallpaper Collage, 13. Romantic Shabby Baby Collage

I have some things to share that I created after making the above inspiration board with Flickr photos. The first is a banner that I made for a friend combining Jenni Bowlin's kit with Tiff Brady's template, also available in the wst boutique. Here is a brief 5-minute video demonstrating my use of the kit with Tiff's banner template, without sound.  If you would like to share the video with others, please direct them to this blog post.



If you have ever made a paper banner before, you might have used expensive papers and letter stickers or chipboard letters. The beauty of making a banner from digital products is that you are saving money in that you can use the digital products over and over, and all you have consumed is a bit of paper and ink. Emellish as little or as much as you like.

The next project is a digital heritage layout in the shabby chic style using Jenni's wonderful papers and elements. The layout features a vintage photo of my Great-Great Grandmother and Great-Great Aunt. I have used a digital inking action on the edges, as well as feathered the edges of the photo. I love being able to re-size Jenni's products to fit my design.

One last project from me is inspired again from projects I have seen on Flickr called "Bits and Pieces Collage". You can see this inspiration on our message board thread for Sunday and participate in our challenge as well. This is my result as I combined Jenni Bowlin's goodies with various items from the {wst} boutique.

Credits: Layout by Julie Ann Shahin
(all from wearestorytellers, except as noted): Jenni Bowlin Spring Picnic and Add-On; Pretty Lace Emily Merritt; Wordsnips Emily Powers; Tizzleberry Pop DeCrow Designs and Studio Tangie; Abundance Collab WST; Back To School Collab WST; Love Birds WST; Whimsy Woods Collab Tiff Brady, Rachel Young, and Jaime Young; Addicted to Love by Valorie Wibbens; Everyday Love by Emily Powers; Tutti Frutti Collab by Emily Powers and Paislee Press; Collage Art Baby from Scrapgirls

Thanks for reading {sunday} inspiration!

Check out Sunday's Challenge in this forum for your chance to win a kit of your choice as our birthday weekend winds down.

Please visit our other new products in the boutique, join in on the many threads, challenges and contests in our forums, subscribe to our blog for daily inspiration and please share your work and learn from others in our gallery.

{storyteller} Julie Ann Shahin