It's almost Halloween and I am just now doing a "1st Day of School" layout! Better late than never!
Anyone who's been around me knows that my life is all about my kids. I am their cheerleader always, but this back-to-school photo reminds me that they are growing up fast (*sniff, sniff, tears*). I love this photo because on this day, I realized that my kids have become each other's cheerleaders. My son went with me to the bus stop because he couldn't wait to hear about his sister's day. They are there for each other, encouraging and listening and caring. They are learning and growing together. It makes my heart happy!
I have not done a page layout in months, so I started by cutting out a few options for my background with my Silhouette Cameo on gold American Crafts POW! glitter paper. AC POW! glitter paper is the best paper for die cut machines because it doesn't shed or clog the blade housing. Most of the products used in this layout are from the SC Double Scoop kit.
Once I picked the background, I started layering papers and embellishments from Chic Tags, My Minds Eye, and Lily Bee.
I used a whole package of MME enamel dots on this layout! I love how it made the page pop!
I also love how the enamel dots add some glossiness to the page.
Here, I layered some Chic Tags to add some depth and interest.
These are some embellishments that I made with the negative of my die cuts. I just could not waste any of that beautiful gold glitter paper!
Finally, this is a close up of the photo, so that my mom and mother-in-law can see how much these kids have grown! Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!
Well, after a much too long break (4 months) from blogging, I am back with my favorite scrappy chic, Adrienne, for another installment of "OMG! How do I use that?". Exhibit #1...
This paper didn't thrill me when I first saw it. In fact, I pretty much knew I wasn't going to use it. So I flipped it to the B side and was happy with the colorful triangle pattern. Problem solved! Then a few weeks ago, Adrienne asked me if I had used this paper yet. We talked about how challenging it was to use this paper. Is it a background? Should it be cut up? Should it be colored or painted or misted or splattered? So the challenge was issued and here we are.
Now, this summer I collected some new products that I hadn't used yet and have been dying to try out. Neon! Neon pens, mists (not shown), and daubers. I love the idea of neon, but I lack the guts to "just do it" because once it is on the page, you can't get rid of it, unless you cover it! So baby steps were in order.
For this challenge, I decided to do a Project Life page. That way if I messed up, I could just throw out the part that wasn't right. I started by cutting apart the words and phrases on the paper. Then I made some PL cards with the neon daubers. Warning: neon daubers are highly addictive! Once I saw them hit the page, I was in LOVE!
This is the first card I made for this layout. This was also my favorite phrase from the paper. My girl is a HAM! She got these goofy glasses in her stocking last Christmas. I love how the neon makes the words jump off the page.
This was simply a photo embellished with a few Heidi Swapp arrows stained with the neon daubers.
On this photo, I used a stamp roller to add a little neon. I also filled the white outline of the arrow from the paper with a neon pink Sakura Moonlight gel pen. I added the "hey" to the corner.
These two cards were fun because I got to use my owl stamp and microbeads (my favorite texture/element). I dyed the wood veneer shapes with the dauber. The card is sprayed with neon Mister Huey's.
This is a close-up of the microbeads I used to fill the hearts of this Pink Paisley mat. I used Glossy Accents to glue the microbeads down because it dries clear.
These are just more filler cards. I love the clouds from the paper!
I love how this title card turned out! Simple and cheerful and bright.
This is the whole layout put together. I like how it turned out. Bright, but not overwelming! I will even admit that I actually like that paper a whole lot more now, than when I first saw it.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Now hop on over to Adrienne's blog to check out how she used this paper. Have a great weekend. TGIF!
Large alpha papers are NOT my favorite type of paper. They are either too busy for my taste, or they are a pain to cut out. This paper was no exception. This paper was in the SC Orion add-on. I took one look and was convinced that this would not go well! Here's the paper...
For this challenge, I cut this paper apart. My plan was to make a title out of the letters, but the real challenge was how large the letters were. I figured that my title needed to be short and sweet. To start the layout, I added a pattern to the background with modeling paste and then misted it in gold.
I then started working on a layered banner that was inspired by a tutorial by Wilna Furstenburg. I love how the banner turned out!
The end result reminds me of those vintage postcards that have the location spread across the top.
Go check out Adrienne's take on this challenge. Hope you all have a great Thursday and happy scrapping!
Have you ever laid your eyes on a sheet of patterned paper and immediately loved it? It happens to me all of the time! Unfortunately, sometimes my infatuation is quickly replaced by a nagging question..."OMG! How do I use that?" Do I cut it, ink it, layer it, use it as a background, use it as my focal point, etc. You get the idea!
Upon opening my April SC kit, I saw a wonderfully bright, chevron patterned paper from Glitz and I knew I had to do something with it. After weeks of looking at it, I still could not commit to how I would use it.
Enter Adrienne. We were chatting on the phone when I brought up this lovely sheet of paper. Come to find out, she hadn't used it yet either! This paper was to become our new challenge. We agreed that we would both use that paper in a layout and post the results on our blogs on May 8.
So here it is...
Because the paper was so colorful, I chose a black and white photo. The fabric strips at the bottom were all white to start, so I used Mr. Huey's (navy and seafoam) to stain the smaller pieces.
I used mostly neutral embellishments and layers to tone down the brightness of the paper and break up the pattern. Below is the whole layout.
I hope you enjoyed this post. I had fun completing this challenge with my friend. Hop on over to Adrienne's blog to see how she used this fabulous paper!
I am so excited to see my feature on Come On Get Crafty. I thought I would share how I made this layout come together.
I started this layout by sewing on the green grass. I used shredding scissors to make the grass. Once the grass was in place, I began to shuffle and layer the tags and papers until I was happy with their placement. I distressed a few of the element edges with a distressing tool.
I then embellished the layers with tabs, enamel dots, sticker labels and shapes, twine, and wood veneers.
I then layered and stitched washi tape to the top and bottom borders of the page. I felt like the borders were a little plain and too matchy-matchy, so I layered some more labels and banners at the top of the page.
Here is the finished product! All of the products that you see here can be purchased at "Come On Get Crafty" online shop.
My goal for my week 8 layout was simple. I had to use those awesome BasicGrey "Hey Boy" chipboard sticker letters! I love them! I wanted the stickers to steal the show, so I used a muted color scheme of sherbet, mint, and chocolate. All of the papers used on this layout came from the Studio Calico February kits. I also used some wood veneers. I really love my homemade heart embellishment. I made this by making a sticker (with the Xyron) out of a SC printable image (rainbow heart). I then placed the sticker in a flattened bottle cap and then covered the heart sticker with a clear epoxy sticker, which makes the embellishment look finished and shiny. My favorite part of this layout are the drawings that my kids did. Please excuse the photos of this layout, it rained all day, so I had to take them inside under the fluorescent lights.
This week has been so crazy at our house! Everybody has something going on. Busy is good, but the laundry pile is getting bigger and bigger and... you get the idea!
A very cool thing happened to me a few weeks ago. I was asked to be the featured guest on a scrapbooking blog! I accepted the challenge and was sent a package of beautiful products from their online shop to complete my layout with. My feature will be on the Come On Get Crafty blog tomorrow! I am grateful to Nicole for the opportunity to be part of her blog. Thank you so much Nicole!
I have to give a shout out to my sweet friend Jessica for taking my headshot for the feature. She takes such beautiful pictures.
Last, but certainly not least, thanks to my dear friend Adrienne. We live so many miles apart, but talk and text each other nearly everyday. We brainstorm scrapbooking ideas and talk about new products and classes, but more than that, we talk about life.
Check out my feature on Come On Get Crafty tomorrow and then check back here for a little how-to segment of that layout!
My craft room was becoming a place that I did not enjoy being because it was crowded and confining. My husband and son have their own hobby of painting models, so space was at a premium in our basement. I forgot to take a before picture, but believe me when I say that it was a mess. This is a picture of my renovated space!
All of the cabinets/counters that are against the wall were an island prior to this renovation. There was also a huge 8 foot table against the left wall that is now gone. This new configuration was accomplished by splitting up the island and spreading it out against the walls. The new island is made up of two Ikea Micke desks placed back to back. There is plenty of room to breathe now and our family of four can work on crafts at the same time without touching each other! I love the open feeling of our new space! I predict that I will be busy making layouts this week! Have a wonderful week and Happy April!
By nature, I am a neat and tidy scrapbooker. Everything has a place on the page, and if it isn't perfect it has to go! Since joining the SC website last May, my scrapbooking OCD has diminished and I have tried some techniques that I might not have in the past. I still always proceed with caution when trying new things, like today when I tried out modeling paste on "test paper."
When I saw Adrienne Alvis' tutorial for using modeling paste on layouts, I knew I had to try it... cautiously.
I noticed that she painted over the dry modeling paste with Mister Huey's and it got me wondering how it would look if I mixed in the color prior to spreading it on the paper. I put a small amount of paste on a palette and sprayed some Color Shine mist on the paste and mixed it together. Remember that color you choose is getting mixed with white, so it will be significantly lighter (red will be pink).
For my first try I used a Project Life grid card, but was greatly warped by the wet paste. I used a piece chipboard next, but the same thing happened, to a lesser degree. Perhaps using a coated or treated paper would lessen the warping. Despite the wavy paper, the overall effect is so cool! Here is my second attempt.
I loved all of these! One suggestion I will make is to remove the mask as soon as you finish spreading the paste. I did all 4 before I removed the masks and found that the first one was harder to remove!
Here's week 7! I used the SC Block Party kit and some Becky Higgins freebies in this layout.
This week was my 18th anniversary! The SC Block Party and Front Row kits were used on this layout.
This week I used the SC Front Row kits. The title page side was made with the Project Life cards. I also used some SC printables. The tiny aqua letters were my favorite part of the PL kit. They are the perfect size.
For my week 4 layout I used an 2012 SC kit. I also used some SC cut files.
My week 3 layout was made with an older SC kit. I used screenshots of my husband texting me the play-by-play of my daughter's basketball game. I was so bummed about missing her game because I have never missed any of her sporting events. It is a sweet memory of my husband's thoughtfulness.
I used PSE to do the journaling and titles on the photos.
Well, I did it again! I went M.I.A. (missing in action)! My life took over in February and March. Thanks to lots of poking from my awesome girlfriend Adrienne, I am back on the wagon!
Spring has not sprung here in Maryland! We woke up to 26 degrees and now, at 3:45pm, it is 36 degrees! I am ready for more outdoor activities and green grass. Two weeks ago, we had a lovely taste of Spring. I decided to take it in by tuning up the kids' bikes so they could ride them to the lake. Turned out that my daughter had grown so much that she could no longer comfortably ride her bike! So I gave her my bike and I drove to the lake with the dog and my camera! I guess I'll be needing a new bike!
For my week 2 spread I used Studio Calico's Elmwood Park kit + add-ons. I recently purchased a white Gelly Roll gel pen and I used it like crazy on this week's spread. I wrote all of my journaling on the photos with the white gel pen. I also used the die cuts and printables from the Day By Day class at SC.
