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Review by Melanie Johnson
If you're like me, at one time in your life you've
been in a position where you've needed a letter that you didn't
have. Maybe you were playing Scrabble and the one vowel you needed
to complete that high-scoring word eluded you. Or maybe you were typing
on an old Selectric and the "s" key wasn't striking
hard enough to produce a mark on the page. Or, more to the point,
you bought a set of chipboard letters only to find out as you were
preparing to use them that you needed one more "G" than
was included.
Welcome to the wonderful world of digital alphas! Where
there is no such thing as a shortage of letters - although perhaps
some of us could use a few pointers on how to use them. And I should
know: as a newcomer to the world of digital scrapbooking, I've
been trying to pick up some hints on creative ways to use alphas,
since they tend to intimidate or confound me when it comes to incorporating
them into my layouts.
Here are a few of the ways I've discovered
that you can breathe new life into your pages using tried-and-true
methods with your alphas. Give one a try!
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ACCENT: This seems to be the
predominant way that people like to use alphas on their layouts.
By using a letter as a monogram for your page's subject,
you can create interest on the page without cluttering it up
with a bunch of letters. In this layout, A stands for my son's
first name (B and J are his other initials).
[Alphas: Utopia,
Bookworm,
Vintage
Nursery] |
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BORDER: Create a fun border
for your page by using the same or different letters around
the edge of your background. Stamped, shaped alphas work particularly
well for a clean, even look.
[Alpha: Nessa] |
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CREATE YOUR OWN: It's
easier than you may think. If your inspiration alpha is circular-shaped
with a letter in the middle, draw a circle and then color it
or add a style to create your canvas. Then choose a font and
type a letter somewhere in your circle. Play around with the
size, color, blend modes, layer masks, etc., until you like
it and then merge all of your layers together. Instant custom
alpha!
To create this alpha, I created a custom style by sampling
a photo of some art posters that I took on a recent visit to
Epcot. Next, I opened up a blank 8.5x11 file and typed in the
alphabet using the entire sheet. I applied the style to the
set of letters, tweaking my style here and there until I achieved
a look I liked. Once you are satisfied with the alphas, save
the file as a PNG and then use the Marquee Tool to select the
letter you want to use, or create individual files by cropping
out each letter and saving to its own file.
[Custom alpha: Melanie Johnson] |
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FAN: Any alpha that is square
or rectangular would be a great candidate for this type of treatment.
Position the letters of your word so that they look like a hand
of cards when fanned out. Here I've used a jump ring to
pull together a set of alphas that I'm planning to use
in a legacy layout documenting a historical grocery store.
[Alpha: Bookworm] |
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FRAME: For a really unique
addition to your layout, create your own frame by using an alpha
around a photo or embellishment. This frame was created using
one of Erica Hite's Bookworm
alphas along with Brandie Valenzula's Reel
Embellishment Template (with styles from Valerie Randall and Mandy Steward).
Note: Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple
Embellishment Templates: Reels, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Collage 2101 Mini and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Acrylic Bubbles 1801 are also available. |
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GROUP SIMILAR COLORS: Forget
whether the initials mean anything: instead, take a group of
alphas that have the same color and group them together for
an interesting emotional effect. Add another embellishment in
the same color for additional interest. Don't worry about
whether the individual items have anything at all in common
aside from their general color scheme.
[Alpha: Vintage
Nursery; Embellishment: Renew] |
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HIDE IT: Take a hint from magazines
and tuck an alpha halfway behind a sheet of paper or another
embellishment, or cover part of a title created with an alpha.
You don't have to see an entire letter or word to read
and understand it.
[Alpha: Friendship] |
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MIRROR IMAGE: Got the perfect
photo of a reflection? Use an alpha and its mirror image (reduced
in opacity) to echo and enhance the reflection.
[Alpha: Altered
State] |
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NUMBERS: Instead of typing
the date on your journaling, why not pick an alpha with numbers
and use those instead? Or mix and match a variety of numbers
for a fun look. I ran across this terrific card in the gallery
posted by Amy (aka TysMommy).
She created it for her husband on the occasion of their wedding
anniversary. Guess how many years they've been married?
[Alphas: Merry
Mine, Friendship,
Janet,
Altered
State, Day
To Day Life, Comfort,
Shining
Star, Commotion] |
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RANSOM NOTE: Use a variety
of alphas at similar sizes to create a collage or ransom note
effect. This is a technique best suited for playful themes and
not a recommendation to mix-and-match alphas willy-nilly just
because you can!
[Alphas: Assemblage,
Tints
& Tatters, Affection] |
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STAMP IT: To get yet another
variation on a theme for any individual alpha, open it up, save
it as a Brush Preset, and then stamp it on your layout. Beware:
multicolored alphas become monochromatic when you save them
as a brush. However, this is an especially fun way to play around
with hand-drawn alphas, like the Dear Diary one pictured here,
which you can then color in any way you'd like using the
Paint Tool.
[Alpha: Dear
Diary] |
As with any other digital page element, don't
forget that you can also experiment with Blend Modes or Filters
for unusual effects and colors. This is particularly helpful if you
have an alpha that you love but the colors just don't quite
match your photo or the scheme of your layout.
[Alphas: A
Collage Unleashed, Commotion,
Dear
Diary]
If that's how often you've used alphas in
your layouts over the past month, take some of these suggestions to
heart and give them a second chance. As with all things digital, the
possibilities are only limited by your imagination!
Layout by Melanie
Johnson
larger
view
Melanie lives in North Carolina with
her husband and three sons. She's been digital scrapping since
December of 2006 and doesn't remember what she did with her
free time before that.
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