creativezazz.com

Here’s how to make deluxe bookmarks that look like they came from a upscale bookstore. Personalized bookmarks make a small extravagance perfect for a gift or party favor.

I made these baseball bookmarks to give out to the members of my son’s Little League Team at the end-of-season party.  If you bought these at a bookstore or gift shop they would run $3 to $4 a piece. They take a little time to make, but the cost breaks down to less than 50 cents each in supplies.

Step One:  Make the Art

Using photo imaging software (I use Photoshop) create your artwork to fit a 2″ x 6″ area.

These are printable bookmarks. You can print them yourself if you have a good printer. Or you can have them printed at a photo place. Remember that when you get photos printed, the edges often get trimmed a bit.  So do not include any vital art in the edge border.

Open a new file that is 4 x 6.  Duplicate your artwork and position 2 copies inside the new file so that you print two bookmarks on one 4 x 6 photo.

Have your photo printed on lustre finish (not glossy). Lustre is more durable and does not show fingerprints.

bookmark printed two-up on standard 4 x 6 photo

Step Two: Back and Trim the Bookmark

Once your photo is printed, you will want to back it with acid-free cardstock.  You can buy cardstock in 8.5″ x 11″or  scrapbook paper works as well.  Plain or a pattern will work. You can get paper at craft stores or online.

Back the bookmark with acid-free paper. Use an acid-free gluestick to glue it to the paper.

Carefully glue down the photos. If you do happen to get glue on the front of the photo, use rubbing alcohol to wipe it off. Next use an Exacto knife and straight edge to trim.

Use an Exacto knife and straight edge to trim.

Separate the two bookmarks

Separate using Exacto.

Bookmarks with rounded corners look more professional.  Luckily it is easy to make them with a handy corner punch you can pick up for a few dollars at a craft store or online.

Use a corner punch to round the corners.

Corner rounded.

Step Three: Attach a Tassel

Use a hole punch to make a hole in the top. You can use a standard hole punch, or use a simple shape.  I used a star punch for this bookmark.

To attach a tassel, loop it through the hole as shown in the following photos. You can use store-bought tassels or make your own. 

Put loop through the hole.

Insert end of tassel through the loop.

Pull tassel tight.

Et voila! You now know how to make a bookmark that looks like you got it in a bookstore. My daughter and I make these and sell them at craft fairs.  We also give them as gifts.  I like to add them to a present in place of a gift card.

Now that you know an easy way to make bookmarks, get inspired by checking out some of my other bookmark designs. If you are a scrapbooker, you can probably find lots of paper, stamps, and punches to come up with interesting bookmark designs.

I’d love to hear your ideas about custom bookmark designs. I think they would make a creative party favor for a wedding, Bar Mitzvah or birthday party.

Related post: How to make a Tassel

Cool site with Vintage Ads on It

Ya gotta love vintage ads for cool design and insight into the history of our culture.  A web site that has a bunch of old ads all scanned in and organized by topic, date keyword, etc.  Ads are from 1930 and 1969. Tons of them!

The index is amazing.

Also a random image link.

Get inspired by these ads.  But be aware that many of them may still be under copyright, so don’t use them for commercial purposes.

End-of-Year Party

Mrs. Merrill’s third graders celebrated the end of the school year. Photos are up in a private gallery.  This album requires a user name and password.  Parents, if you need this information, please email me   emailcreativezazz.com.

Related posts:

Information on volleyball this summer near Claremont

Information on ice skating near Claremont

End of School Year

Mrs. Dieken’s fifth graders celebrated the end of the school year along with the other fifth-grade classes.

Photos are up in a private gallery. You will need a user name and password to view the photos. Parents: if you need a password, Contact me at:  emailcreativezazz.com

Related posts:

Information on volleyball this summer near Claremont

Cute Volleyball T-shirts

Information on ice skating near Claremont

Photoshop Magic Adds Missing Player Into Her Team Photo

One of our players left before the award ceremony and was not in the group photo of her team. Her coach called her and she came back to pick up her medal. I took an individual photo of her and told her I would Photoshop her into the group photo.

Here is the result.

If I had not told you I added her, you would have thought she was there.  If you look closely you will see that she does not have the same shadows from the tree leaves as the other girls. Her individual shot was not in the exact right place to get the correct lighting and shadows to match.  But I think it works pretty well.

Here are the two photos I combined.

How did I do it? To make it look real, the trick is to make a accurate selection around the person you want moved. It helps to feather the selection by one or two pixels. Another tip is to try to adjust both photos so the lighting looks similar. I adjusted the group photo lighting a bit to make it appear less shadowed.

Related posts:

Cute Volleyball T-Shirts

Cool off on the Ice this Summer

In some parts of the country, ice skating is a seasonal sport. Skaters wipe off their blades and put away their gear when spring melts the snow.  But here is So Cal, figure skating and hockey are both year-round.

In my hometown of Claremont, CA, we have two nearby ice rinks. Both are in Ontario. But don’t get them confused. Each has its own feel.  One is more than four decades old, while the other is only a few years old.

When the weather gets hot, call some friends and check out one of these rinks.

Both rinks offer:

public skating

hockey lessons

figure skating lessons

broomball

birthday parties

skate rentals

The older and smaller rink is:

Ontario Ice Skating Center
1225 West Holt Boulevard
Ontario,  CA  91762-3639
(909) 986-0703

The newer and larger rink is:

Center Ice Arena
201 S. Plum Ave.
Ontario
(909) 986-4231

My daughter skates at Center Ice Arena. She likes it because it is bigger than the rink on Holt. But our neighbor’s daughter started at the Ontario Ice before Center Ice opened, and she loves it.  Try them both.

If you want to see a local figure skating competition for free, check out the ISI Open at Center Ice July 18 and 19, 2009.  My daughter competed in this the last 3 years (see pic of her at event above).  We are coming as spectators this year. For two days local figure skaters from all levels compete. A great way to see the thrill of figure skating up close. More details are at the Center Ice site.

Related posts:

How to Buy Used Figure Skates

Figure Skating Gift Ideas

How to Buy a Figure Skating Competition Dress

Volleyball Summer Camps in and around Claremont

Volleyball Pics Up in Gallery

Interest in volleyball spiked this spring in Claremont with a record 11 teams playing for USYVL. We played Tues and Sat. The season included intersite games against La Verne and Duarte.

About 150 photos are up in my creativezazz photo gallery. I tried to get as many players as I could, but I probably did not get them all. The reason I put up so many pics is I wanted to include as many people as possible. Volleyball is a hard sport to photograph!  You will need a password and user name to view the gallery. If you are a parent and need this info, contact me at:  emailcreativezazz.com

If you have good photos you want to share, let me know.

Thank you to parent volunteers who coached and to players for their hard work, team spirit, and sportsmanship.

If you are interested in United States Youth Volleyball League for fall, please visit the usyvl.org.  If you register online before the end of June you get an early discount. So keep that deadline in mind. Tell your friends.  If you played this spring you probably got an email letting you know that for the fall 2009 Season they will also give a $20 discount off the price of your child’s registration if you agree to be a “Head Coach.” So you might check into that.  We had great head coaches this season.  Once again “Thanks!”

FYI:  After the last game I found a couple jackets (one red, one pink) left behind.  If you are missing something, please contact me (emailcreativezazz.com) so I can get it to you.

I sold all 6 of our nets. If you still want a net, then please go to the usyvl.org and use the “contact” to email the office to see if there are any nets left. if so, you can get one at the same $165 price and usyvl will send it to you.

By the way, if you want to see how I added a missing player to her team using the magic of Photoshop, then check out the before and after shots.

Creativezazz Volleyball T-shirts

Finding cute volleyball related t-shirts can be hard, so I came up with a few of my own volleyball t-shirt designs and made them available at Printfection.  I can also supply the designs to other vendors if requested. I can do custom designs if you have an idea.

Check out information about a coupon code good June 14-21 to save on creativezazz t-shirts.

Volleyball this Summer in the Inland Valley.

Many parents were talking about volleyball this summer. USYVL does not have a summer league.  I am putting up links to Inland Valley volleyball camps.  If you know more about these or other programs, please let me know and I will post them.

Club West Volleyball in La Verne has summer camps.  My daughter did one last year and loved it. I know several kids in our league did this camp. It is mornings and you get good instruction. Indoors. $150 a week. You will need kneepads.

Junior high camps are for 8th grade or younger. They also have camps for older kids.

El Roble Intermediate School in Claremont has a volleyball class offered through Slice of Summer program.  SLICE runs from June 23 through July 24–you an do all of it or just one week.  From the pdf:

Advanced Volleyball  Michael Fletcher (Grades 6-8)
Rules, strategies and skills of the game will be taught in an enjoyable and
exciting way. Small teams of two and three will be organized to ensure
maximum participation. Participants are advised to wear kneepads.
Weeks 1-5   M-Th  10:00 – 11:00 am
Cost:  $200 or $45 per week

Beginning/Intermediate Volleyball
Kylie Kegans  (Grades 4-8)
Weeks 1-6 Mon.-Thurs.   9-10 am   $150 or $40/week
Course:  ER-239
An introduction to the basic concepts of volleyball while building skills.
Age appropriate adaptations ensure maximum participation and
enjoyment. Participants are advised to wear kneepads.

The Claremont Club has some sand volleyball classes. We have not done these so let us know if you have any more info.

Glendora Youth Volleyball has a program in the fall, but not the summer.  Several of our players have played in Glendora as well. I do not think they have a website, but they have an email  gyvforfun@aol.com. For fall new and walk-in registration will be November 7 & 21, outside the gymnasium at Citrus Community College between the hours of 9:00 – 11:00 am.

Citrus College Volleyball Camp is set for August 3 -7, 2009. The camp is for boys and girls aged 12-18 and will run 9:00 AM -12:00 PM daily. Camp cost is set at $130. I do not know anything about this camp.

Claremont McKenna hosts a Nike Camp that is both for overnight campers and day campers.  It is more intensive I think, and more expensive.

Arsenal Volleyball in Upland.

Just heard about this league through a friend. Summer camps listed above.  See site for more info.

Cal Poly Pomona has a summer camp as well.
Volleyball  (For Boys/Girls)
1) July 6-10 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Ages 8-11
2) July 20-24 (Mon-Thurs) 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.;(Friday) 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Ages 12-18 (No seniors)
3) August 3-7 (Mon-Thurs) 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.;(Friday) 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Ages 12-18 (No seniors)

For more information on Cal Poly Pomona camps and clinics, please call the athletic department office at (909) 869-2810.

If you go to the beach this summer, consider Laguna Beach as it has sand volleyball courts.  Fun to play or just to watch.  Or just call some friends and play on the Claremont city court.

Hot Tip for Summer Art Classes

By the way, if your child wants to take art this summer, one of our volleyball parents owns Studio Claremont.  My daughter took a class there and loved it. Studio Claremont also hosts birthday parties and has interesting gifts. It is is the Claremont Village in the Packing House.

Related posts:

Volleyball T-shirts and More

Volleyball Team Names

Play Ball!

Pics are up in the gallery of Claremont Little League Rays. You can view a slideshow of a couple games from the season. I got some great action shots. Just click on the photo below to go to the gallery.

I love the players in their Major League uniforms!

Thank you to all our dedicated coaches and the family members that helped out this season.  Congratulations to the players for their effort and sportsmanship.

I welcome your comments on the photos.

See how I made the Rays bookmarks I gave out at the end-of-year party.