Friday, August 26, 2011

Blog Design & Layout

Little did I realize that a week has gone by since my last post. I have been busy with the 'Keep Sake' box referred to in the earlier post and am over joyed to tell you that its 99% complete. Just need to get the fancy knobs in and then i'll be posting the pictures.

This post is dedicated to 'Saba's Craft Land' design. Since this blog is all about sharing creative work, I want to share the making of this blog with you.

I'm not too sure whether you can make it out, but the background is an image which I designed in Photoshop. The recommended image size is 1800 x 1600 pixels, but with a layout like this 1600 x 800 pixels serves the purpose well. I started off with a 1800 x 1600 pixel canvas, and used the following elements to embellish the it.
The theme is of a land inhabited by creative being :P (yes I am very imaginative :P ) 
The map signifies the Land,
The butterfly signifies Creativity & Freedom
The roses signify Beauty
(the posts signify the beings :P)

These three (/four) are, in my view, the essence of this blog. A place to share all creative work. The colors are soft so that they:
i. Don't distract the reader
ii. Don't overshadow the font 
iii. Give the reader a warm welcome :)
I have never really been fond of shades of pink but for some reason, since the past few months, whenever I design something its all either in the shades of pink, or PINK :P weird as that this, while designing the background and doing the roses I made a conscious effort to avoid using 'Pink'... BUT it still creeped in. Left it as is cause its looking nice... :D So the tip here is that neutral colors always give the best results.

Now for the layout. I used the templates provided by blogger.com and edited a few things here and there... just to get the posts in the center, the 'blikies' and other accessories on the left and the details on the right. In deciding what goes where on your blog, stick to the standard, and keep it simple. The last thing you want is a frustrated visitor... and once frustrated, they surely won't stay on your blog long, nor will they consider returning :P

Lastly, why am I using blogger instead of wordpress...simply because as compared to wordpress, blogger gives me many more customization options. I do blog on wordpress too, and google works really well with wordpress, but this time round I have preference to blogger.

Oh! I forgot to mention the most unique feature; sticking to the theme we have 'Neighbors' and 'Family' instead of 'Networked Blogs' and 'Followers' :P

For help on your blogs or queries send us your bottled message at sabascraftland@gmail.com.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Sharing My Favorite Cardstock from DCWV

Today I want to share with you my all time favorite DCWV cardstock, which I have been saving for my upcoming projects, and it is "The Black Currant". It's a 12" x 12" stack with absolutely beautiful acid - and lignin-free prints, accompanied by some brilliant foil paper too. (Acid and lignin free card stock last longer and by longer I mean really really long, that is because both these components damage the paper in the long term and thus their absence gives it longer life)

I am based in Pakistan, and though there is lots of amazing stuff available here; these gorgeous stacks still haven't arrived, so I had to have these shipped in with the help of my utterly sweet friend 'Janiece'. I will keep posting on other designs as I roll out projects using them, for now, its Black Currant.

Here are 3 of the sheets that I REALLY like, and most probably these are the ones I will be using; I'm a bit confused so, most probably these will be the ones. Sharing them here to give you an idea of what to expect :)

This one is foil... isn't is sooooo pretty!


These aren't just stripes, its like these are embossed


Oh! I'm so in love with this one *sigh*


So coming back to "Black Currant," the possibilities with this rich card stock are endless! and I am eagerly looking forward to complete my 'keep sake' box project so that I can share it with you. Most of the projects I've seen using "Black Currant" are either wedding cards, scrapbook pages or wall hangings; so mine will be the first of its kind.

I will be taking pictures as I progress through the project so that it can be converted into a tutorial for future reference.

PS: I love DCWV and I'm sure you guessed that seeing the *blinkie* on my blog.
Anyone in Pakistan/India/UAE interested in this card stock shoot me an email sabascraftland@gmail.com

So after I was done with this post, I realized the above pictures did not do this beautiful stack justice; so here are some more pics :)









These are just a few! don't forget to email sabascraftland@gmail.com if you need some :)

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Hey There!

Hello Fellow Craft-geek!

A very warm welcome to Saba's Craft Land; I'm Saba the first inhabitant of this amazingly creative and inspirational land, and so the proud owner of it too :D

I have tons of stuff to share with you, from my collection of craft tools, paper punches, embossers, card stock, to crafting techniques to finished products to tutorials and lots more. Oh, and you know what, some of the finished products are sold through my business page Favors & More.

So now that you are here, how about you tell me what brings you here? Tutorial search? or looking for some ideas? Scrapbooking? or inking techniques? or the desire to just be part of the craft family!?
Post your thoughts, join the family and start sharing all the love!

**Phew, its not easy doing all the work alone...
Alas! its all done! Saba's Craft Land is on the map.. yay!! keep visiting ...gets lonely without you!

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