Top 3 reasons why I carry my phone while biking + free brushes

 

My husband and I have taken a liking to biking, both mountain and road. I call it the 35+ form of exercise. When your joints start to hurt and your body begins to ache, it's time to get back to basics and on a bike! This started happening to me once I hit 35 years old.

We're not professionals. We aren't ultra hard-core bikers. (ok, I am on Strava, and I do tend to get competitive, but it's all in good fun!) I apologize for this "sultry" looking photo, the sun was in my eyes, not trying to look tough! I am merely trying to explain why biking and memory keeping go hand in hand.

We live at the base of one of the most beautiful mountains in Utah. We love to get out and breathe the crisp mountain air while enjoying the quiet sounds of nature (no fighting children)!

We're also so lucky to live in a time where technology allows us to capture everything around us with little pocket sized mobile devices!

Top 3 reasons why I carry my phone while Biking

1. Emergencies. I may need someone to change a flat!
2. Strava. This GPS based iPhone app charts incline, miles, time, and calories. Sure, there are lots of apps that do this, but the fun part- riders can compete via location "segments". Strava lists fast riders in order by gender and overall. Climb to the top and gain a crown, called the King/Queen of the mountain. This app just makes biking fun. Set goals, achieve & conquer with Strava.
3. Photo Opportunities! Bikes can take us places we've never seen before. Singletrack trails are winding throughout the world waiting to show us the hidden majestic beauty that awaits. I love looking through my biking photos reclaiming the exultant feelings and challenges of certain climbs. Some of my most favorite shots have been on bike rides, all with my iPhone.

 So, what do I do with these photos? Lose them in the sea of digital photos on my external hard drives? No! Print them of course!
These 4x4 9-up pocket pages from We R Memory Keepers make it easy.
Many of my photos are posted to Instagram, and are already formatted square. I print them all up and organize them into my 12x12 albums. (sheet protectors on Amazon)

Our unique metallic photographic paper is my favorite. It's just as archival, waterproof, and scratch resistant as our matte or gloss. It is still fuji silver halide, but it pops like no other! Think chrome on the back of your car, or a component on your bike:) Metallic adds contrast and looks best with solid colors.

Lastly, biking endorphins bring out the creative side. As we were climbing the rocks in Southern Utah last month, I thought- "I need some biking themed .abr photoshop brushes to "stamp" on these photos and tell the story".
And then, I thought I should share. [download here]

Enjoy
-Chari

You may also like: How to use brushes in Photoshop

Hello. Chalk Cards

Hello Fans from all over the world! 2012 was a great year for Persnickety Prints, thanks to YOU! 2013 will be even better!
As promised to our facebook fans > a gift for being awesome!

There are over 20 3x4 cards included in this download. 

If you choose to print them with us at Persnickety, you'll only get the best! 

110# heavy card stock with solid colors that print solid! (no ink or laser lines here!) Because my youngest son, Ryder, is in Chinese Immersion, including a Chinese "hello" card was a must! (pron: Nee HaOW)

 Here is what I did with my set of Hello Chalk Cards.

These cards fit perfectly in my ™Project Life Album.
[note: these are not "official" Becky Higgins products]

Design H on the left [6x12]

Design G on the right [10x12]

The yellow adds a nice contrast with the black & white photos from my night out in January with the inspiring Amy Tangerine.

The photos and cards we want to use for ™Project Life don't always fit the horizontal or vertical layout in our pocket pages... don't be afraid to cut them up! I don't have time to "plan" my pocket placement, luckily Becky has helps on the back of the official Project Life editions.

In Design G [on the right], I used the black & white striped Hello chalk card, and cut out the 2013 of another, then slapped on glue dots to keep it together.

I did the same with the yellow 3x4 hello card in the pocket next to it. I cut the card to size and added a strip of our washi tape. This is not time consuming at all + adds a bit of dimension.

I wanted to add an Instagram photo of the sky from that day, but there's not a 4x4 pocket in this new Design G - no problem! Instagram prints fit great in a 4x6 pocket. Back it with a 4x6 card, or add a 3x4 next to it to maximize space! As you can see, I struggle with journaling. I should lose the yellow "good times" camera card and add the story... I'll commit to that.

Hello Fans!

Thanks for being awesome.
[how to order]

Download here


™Project Life is a registered trademark of Becky Higgins, LLC. For more information, a full view of all products, and Project Life inspiration visit beckyhiggins.com.

Made For Each Other - FREE kit + Hybrid Tutorial from The Lilypad

We're excited to bring you a FREE collab kit from The Lilypad!
Made For Each Other is the perfect kit for celebrating those you love. So, as our Valentine's gift to you, head over to TLP [the lily pad] and download! While you're there, you can take 20% off of the February BYOC with coupon code: MFEO, good through February 18th. This entire collection coordinates with the free collab, so you can easily put together an album or hybrid gift.
We also want to inspire you with a great tutorial, so keep reading and see the beautiful project that Cristina made with the kit!

 

***

Hi everyone! This is Cristina from the creative team at The Lilypad, and I want to show you how fun and easy it is to put together a hybrid mini album by printing out the awesome digital products from The Lilypad.

For this mini album, I used the gorgeous kit Made for Each Other by The Lilypad designers, in addition to some products from the February BYOC. Each month, the designers at The Lilypad release products with the same color scheme, so that they all match and you can build your own collab (BYOC). :)

I designed my mini album in Photoshop. I decided to make an album with pages of 3"x4" in size, because I wanted something small and simple to put together. I designed 8 filler cards and 4 cards with photos - that gives me a total of 12 sides that result in 6 front and back pages. Here's how everything looked after printing, before I cut everything out. [ordering pre-designed 3x4 journaling cards from Persnickety Prints + archival photographic photos would be excellent as well!]

I did most of my embellishing digitally, but I also printed out a few digital elements and cut them out with my Silhouette.

After trimming all the cards with a pair of scissors, I spread out all the cards and decided in which order I wanted to put my pages together.

I used liquid glue to adhere the backs of the cards together, and adhered the digital cut out elements with a glue pen or with foam dots for added dimension.

The last step was to punch a 3/16" hole in the corner of the pages to bind them together with a ribbon.

It really couldn't be easier to put this album together! Having all the pages of the same size makes it simple to put the album together, but you can still have fun adding the embellishments so that they stick out from the album - I love to see little bits peeking out from the side of an album. And here's what my album looks like (everything is from the Made for Each Other collab except otherwise noted).

Word art from Sunshine, Blue Sky and Happy Days by Little Butterfly Wings

Photo page: 3x4 Photo Templates by Designs by Lili

Left page: 

Crazy for You papers by One Little Bird

Xoxo ephemera by Sahlin Studio

Left page: 

Xoxo ephemera by Sahlin Studio

Right page:

3x4 Photo Templates by Designs by Lili

Dotted: Love Edition by Emily Merritt

Left page: 

Crazy for You papers by One Little Bird

Xoxo ephemera by Sahlin Studio

Right page:

3x4 Photo Templates by Designs by Lili

I used the font included in the Made for Each Other collab to write the text on the arrow. The glitter hearts are added directly on the photo as an embellishment.

Left page: 

Xoxo ephemera by Sahlin Studio

Right page:

3x4 Photo Templates by Designs by Lili

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! I would love to see what you create with this pretty kit, so post your projects in the gallery at The Lilypad!

Insta Life

So many ways to use your Instagram or Smart Phone photos! In fact, we have a whole page dedicated to Instagram Inspiration.

Here is what Kami with Ziggle Scraps and ScrapOrchard does with hers!

Darn, these prints look good!!! Wonder how she does it!? Oh.... Persnickety:)

 

Kami wants to help YOU jump start your 4x4 Project Life Collection. 

Not only is she giving away an entire Project Life Pack (closed), she's got these free 4x4 cards for you too!

She also created some just for us to giveaway! Call it your lucky day!

4x4 InstaLife Pack B was designed by Ziggle Designs for Persnickety Prints. 
Perfect for 4x4 Project Life/ Smashbook Scrapping, Gift Tags, or backing instagram photos!  FREE for a limited time on our Facebook Page

Enjoy!

Gift with Purchase

Thanks to the designers at ScrapOrchard, we're giving away an entirely free digital kit + coordinating add-on's over the next few weeks!
Today, we have a limited amount of exclusive project life styled journal cards available as a gift with purchase. Not a download, the actual product delivered to your door!

 

12 Note Cards

printed on 110# Persnickety Standard Heavy Cardstock 

[10] 3x4  |  [2] 4x4

All $30 print purchases are eligible for one Free Package of 10 3x4 and 2 4x4 Storyteller Note Cards. ($4.80 value)

Add a note in the special instructions for your free set to be included in your next print order! 

*offer valid while supplies last

Storyteller

We all have a story. 
Are you documenting yours?
Let's make 2013 the year to remember!
Presented by:
Persnickety Prints and Scrap Orchard

Designs to help you tell YOUR Story

Inspired by this Storyteller Board, the entire creative team at Scrap Orchard has put together a HUGE free KIT full of papers, elements, alphas, & templates all for YOU!

 

Free 5x7 Card

I live amongst the creative.

Deena Rutter, designer at Design House Digital, was a year older than I in high school. 20 +/- years later, here I am, still in awe of her talents!

I haven't had much time to browse the web lately. Usually, I check in on my designer friends to see what they've been creating.
I miss it!
I've been printing cards, hundreds of them... and then this one came in.
Of course it was one of Deena's fabulous creations, and it printed perfectly on our pearl cardstock.

Not only did I have to share this beauty, I asked Deena if we could give it away:)

If you haven't created your Christmas Card yet--- get started! 

This .png 5x7 front/back card is one of my favorites!

If you're loving this design as much as I am- Deena has an entire coordinating Be Merry collection of papers, elements and goodies!

Download this card HERE