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As I told you (a while ago), I am now on Vera Lim’s creative team as a hybrid artist! It is a great gig with super easy requirements. I just have to write one blog post every three months, and I get all of her new releases if I think I can make something with it. Super easy and very low pressure. My kind of CT!!

So, today was my day to post on her blog. This is what I wrote:

Hey everyone! I’m Kelleigh, one of the three new hybrid artists for Vera Lim. We are all super excited to be here and we are having a lot of fun creating with Vera’s gorgeous designs. At least once a month, we will be dedicating a blog post specifically to hybrid, and we hope that you find these posts to be educational and inspiring! And, I get to go first! Wahoo!

When I first started creating hybrid projects, I really didn’t know much. Sure, I knew how to make a pretty page for a mini album, or add some paper to a hybrid printable template, but when it came time to print the thing, I was just clueless. This cluelessness went on for a couple of months and through many hybrid projects, until I read somewhere that I should be printing on matte photo paper. I thought, “Nope. Sounds expensive.” Then, I actually did a bit of research about photo paper, did the math, and figured out that for each sheet of letter size matte photo paper, I was spending about 36¢. I’m frugal, but I’m not cheap! I decided to fork out the money for my first pack of matte photo paper.

Ahhhhh! MUCH better. Let me show you what I mean, and you can decide.

I created these simple little tags using Vera’s A New Beginning paper and A New Beginning Magic.

#1 is printed on regular old copy paper. Please. Don’t do this. You might not be able to tell by the picture, but the tag is obviously super flimsy and the colors are muted and kind of grey. Okay, so I have a good printer, and it doesn’t look THAT bad, but look closely at the leaves on the bottom. See all those pixels? It’s not just my photo. The color is spotty in real life, too!

#2 is printed on letter size cardstock that I bought at Walmart for SUPER cheap. Better, right? I don’t usually print on cardstock unless I am just doing a test run. The paper will suck up your ink, and leave your project with a dull finish. Again, look closely at the leaves. More spots. However, the tag is sturdy, so this is kind of acceptable. Your mother would probably think you are a genius if you presented her with a gift with a little tag that you made yourself.

#3 is printed on Epson Premium Presentation Paper Matte Double-Sided. I’m pretty sure I’m paying more for the double-sided, but I actually print on the back sometimes, so I’m okay with forking out that 36¢ per sheet. Besides, by printing on the automatic mode (I didn’t select “photo paper” when printing) I figure that I am saving some ink. And, look closely again. No spots. Well, in real life, there are no spots. The transition from color to color is nice and smooth, the drop shadows look fantastic, and the glitz and glam that can always be found in Vera’s Magic shines brightly! I gotta be honest here and tell you that I recently discovered that when I print on auto, my colors are truer to what I see on my computer screen, so I typically print my projects just like #3.

And, then there is that last gorgeous little piece of art. Tag #4 was printed on the same Epson paper, but I selected “Photo Paper” as my paper type when I printed. Ahhh, yes. Luscious color!! In real life, it is a little dark, but so very vibrant and detailed! This’ll suck my ink dry super fast, but sometimes it is SO worth it, right?

I hope this little tutorial on selecting the right paper (in my humble opinion, anyway!) has been helpful! I can’t wait to see what hybrid projects you create with Vera’s gorgeous goodies!

—End of post—

And, this is what I created with Vera’s new kit!