Captain Obvious

For you today I have an obvious realization. I often have these, and I like to share them anyway because I figure if I'm slow enough to take this long to figure it out, surely I'm not the only one (I console myself with this thinking at least).

I'm about 110% sure that most of you do this already, but I'm really quite thrilled with myself and I'm going to write about it anyway. Are you ready?

It seems that if you're working with a particular kit and it's just not full of the 1000 elements you need to choose from in order to get just the right finishing touch, you can look in another kit.

I would prefer not admit to you that I've been struggling with this a bit as a designer. It turns out it's quite hard to make 1000 elements yourself. But, I like to have 1000 options to choose from when making a layout. And so it turns out I must confess that I have been trying to figure out how to solve this problem for a while now. And I've just done it. You're welcome.

▼ Before my epiphany and after.
Before After

In a more useful turn of events, I'd recommend this wonderful tutorial to you to easily recolor elements on the fly. Just do a little adjustment right there in your layout to get the color to match what you're already working with. Now you have 10,000 elements to choose from. You're welcome.

I can now relax and put all my energy into making whatever suits my fancy (felt dragons I'm looking at you), and let you worry about finding those finishing touches. And now that I've written this, I know everyone has been informed of this great breakthrough. I'll sleep easy tonight knowing you have more elements than I thought you did.

marisaL-felt-dragon
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Recent Comments

Tina Baptista
Tina Baptista Wed, 11/15/2023 - 13:02

Aww the link won’t work :-/ says it's private

Callie Douglass
Callie Douglass Thu, 09/25/2014 - 12:01

Such a cute little dragon!

Debra Burroughs
Debra Burroughs Sat, 08/30/2014 - 09:04

Thank you! :D I think your dragon is cute...

Tania Ruiz
Tania Ruiz Thu, 08/28/2014 - 18:50

Thank you - LOL! Love this article - and, by the way, I ADORE this felt dragon.

Kayla Outhouse
Kayla Outhouse Tue, 08/26/2014 - 08:04

I'd have to say I like have tons of elements to go through also! Great tutorial.

Meg Bertapelle
Meg Bertapelle Mon, 08/25/2014 - 11:12

hehehehe you are adorable :)

Lisa Sorensen
Lisa Sorensen Sun, 08/24/2014 - 09:16

Thanks for sharing this info. The tutorial was awesome. Your site is great for beginners with all of the help you offer. Thanks again.

Poodle Dabbert
Poodle Dabbert Sun, 08/24/2014 - 01:17

got the kit.. adorable.. perfect for a princess!

Susan Cantin
Susan Cantin Sat, 08/23/2014 - 12:36

You are not alone Marisa ... just look at the messages below .... for those who don't know how to recolour your own elements check the link that Marisa has included above .... I've been changing colours in my mixed media art long before I got involved with scrapping. Cute little dragon .... I love dragons :)

Maree Mu
Maree Mu Sat, 08/23/2014 - 07:05

lol The only time I have ever used just one kit, is when I was cting. Because you have to.
I tend to use bits from here and there all the time. I buy alot of CU things for that reason, I can make them into whatever colors or styles ect I want to go with something. But I love that all the kits are split up into their individual bits here, and we can pick what we want. The dragon is really lovely.

Lórien Rezende
Lórien Rezende Fri, 08/22/2014 - 17:22

I not only do this all the time, but I have another trick to share with you: The easiest way of doing it is using a white box that is right below your name and your picture on the top of this page. Think on a color, a kind of element that you think would be fine, or both, and hit enter :p. You can do this every time you need a little something and what is the best is: You will download only the little somehing you need and not 70mb of stuff just because you need a yellow flower :) This way I realised that Khaki Scouts and Turkey Time are very, very useful kits :) And this is probably one of the reasons why I fell in love for PS too!

Melanie Colantuno
Melanie Colantuno Fri, 08/22/2014 - 10:39

It's so nice that we get to change the colors and sizes to meet our needs for the layout in the digital scrapbooking world. BTW, We need to name that dragon!!

Bobbie Corlis
Bobbie Corlis Fri, 08/22/2014 - 09:42

A lot of the time I have no idea what kit I am using, and unless I am going to be posting the layout, I don't really check. I just open my scrapbooking file and search for color or elements. And if I find something I like but it's just not the right color, that is what the adjustment feature is for. Since designing is still off in the future somewhere, I have to make due somehow lol :)

The dragon is very cool!

Brooke Gazarek
Brooke Gazarek Fri, 08/22/2014 - 08:03

This made me laugh out loud! This is my favorite blog to follow. I love the variety of posts. I too - use other kits to finish pages if I feel I need to. And super cute dragon!! Keep, keeping things real, Marisa. So many of us can relate!

Courtney Milleson
Courtney Milleson Fri, 08/22/2014 - 06:02

I need that dragon in my life.

Shannon Maguire
Shannon Maguire Fri, 08/22/2014 - 05:36

I do it all the time! I find it hard to stick to stick to just one kit. Like Judy, I thought I was weird!

jose van bussel
jose van bussel Fri, 08/22/2014 - 05:33

You're so sweet! Thanks for sharing your story, made me smile. Sweet dreams to you from now on and relax about it ;>

Patricia Hardin
Patricia Hardin Fri, 08/22/2014 - 04:43

I've always done this - I wish you had asked me Marisa, then you wouldn't have lost sleep over it! I LOVE the dragon!! He will find his way into a layout, I'm sure.

Annu Salman
Annu Salman Fri, 08/22/2014 - 00:44

thanks you for the felt dragon its beautiful, and yup I was and still am a one kit person but I did get this idea a little while ago and I was so proud that I am the only one who's doing it :) but now you have burst my bubble LOL!

Lilian Jansen
Lilian Jansen Fri, 08/22/2014 - 00:05

LOL, i would never have thought that you stuck to one kit per LO! I'm not a kit person, have never bought one. I love to browse the PS archive for png.files that take my fancy and store them in my picasa album. when I'm working on a layout I open my picasa album and look for something that fits my mood.

Judy Daino
Judy Daino Thu, 08/21/2014 - 21:04

Wow, I am glad I'm not the only one who does this. I thought I was very weird doing this but I guess it's ok and now I can sleep well tonight too. :D This particular layout here is such a mish mosh that the description is huge. lol https://www.digitalscrapbook.com/judy-daino/gallery/danielle-prom-all-dolled-up-layout-family-flowers-paint-string-swirl...

I do it all the time especially if I can't find the right elements I want to use. Color, recolor, layer adjustments, it's crazy but it gets it done.

Thanks for the laugh Marisa, I needed it. BTW, that dragon is ADORABLE!! :))

Robyn Denton
Robyn Denton Thu, 08/21/2014 - 19:56

Oh, Marisa, you are just brilliant! I LOVE the way that you can laugh at yourself! You have all this experience, but you're so NORMAL! I do this all the time in real life - puzzle and puzzle over something when the answer is staring me in the face - I'm sending you big smiles and hugs as I write this! ;)

Julie Cowan
Julie Cowan Thu, 08/21/2014 - 19:54

You are funny. So glad you can sleep well tonight, Marisa. Oh, and anything made of felt is okay by me!

Olesya Berlo
Olesya Berlo Thu, 08/21/2014 - 19:10

Oh wow, I thought I was the only one who did that. I don't think Ive finished a page yet with only one kit but when i look at the credits in most galleries they all seem to be just one. Im glad to find out I'm not the only one.
Also that dragon is sooo cute! I really love the new Slovenia theme too.

Ghislaine de Lessines
Ghislaine de Lessines Thu, 08/21/2014 - 18:59

Oops, I forgot to mention that I love the felt dragon!

Ghislaine de Lessines
Ghislaine de Lessines Thu, 08/21/2014 - 18:58

Unless I am doing a page for a CT or a challenge, I regularly mix kits up. I usually only think to do it if I get frustrated as I'm working on a layout though.

Brenda Hollingsworth
Brenda Hollingsworth Thu, 08/21/2014 - 18:06

It's a tough realization but a good one. Unless you're doing a "use it all" challenge or designing something to specifically meet an unmet need, kit-hopping is the way to go. When I'm stuck and know I want a star/flower/hedgehog/what have you, I just search my hard drive for what I need and don't get too bogged down.

I NEEDED a felt dragon and you delivered. :D Now relax and make more cute things that make you happy. :)