Hey everyone. Sorry I'm behind on today's posts... my littlest fell on the playground at preschool last month and broke her nose and this morning she had a checkup to see how healing is going. A checkup that I only remembered 30 minutes before it was scheduled...and we live 20minutes away...and we were still in PJs. Whoops!!!! So I didn't have time to get all my posts finalized in the race out of door. On the bright side, however...healing is going BEAUTIFULLY! ♥
Thanks for the patience. The layout below is all My Mind's Eye papers and embellies, with the exception of the buttons which were Studio G and the blue letters that are Thickers. It is my DT project for this week's stamping challenge at Scrap Your Story. I've done this stamping technique a few times and had comments on how I got it done so below I'll share. I also followed along with S.W.A.T. Drill #7 by following the top row of the bingo board stamping, doodling and 3 buttons. My doodling (there are hearts doodled along the top, the right, and the top corner as well as inside of a few hexagons with a white gel pen) goes along with this week's Paper Girls challenge as well.
Now for the promised how-to. You will notice in several of my recent layouts I had a thick white stamped pattern on the background. Such as these:
Well on my layout this week there is a hexagon stamped with the same technique on some of the patterned paper squares. How did I do it? Easy peasy..... Start with these supplies:
acrylic paint
foam brush
embossing folder
I like to add glitter in the paint sometimes. Doesn't show up well in photos, but in person it's a subtle, but awesome touch. I also like to use paper plates to spread the paint out on if I am adding glitter. If I'm not, then you can just put a dab directly on the foam brush. Then you sponge (dab not wipe) the paint onto the embossing folder of your choice. Just one side. Keep in mind that whether you choose the embossed or debossed side will decide if you get the outline of the pattern or the solid shape of the pattern. After dabbing it on, you can turn it over and use it to stamp your pattern on. If you sponge it on thicker in some places and try to be a little sloppy with your edges it will only add to the distressed look...which I totally dig. And no worries...if you wash your folder under the faucet in warm dish-soapy water...it comes perfectly clean. If you leave it for more than half and hour you may need to scrub a little, but if you hop up as soon as you are done..it literally just rinsing right away...even in the little crevices. :)
If you give it a try, shoot me a link in the comments...I'd love to come see!!!! :) :) :)
Dry embossing is usually reserved for the card making section of paper crafters, but it's actually a go to texture adding technique for me when creating layouts. It may seem intimidating when those little folders are often only 4x5 or 5x7 max. So I thought I'd share some of my favorite ways to add it to my layouts!
--For the purpose of this list you will see me use the brand Cuttlebug because that's what I own, but you can use the Sizzix nearly interchangeably with embossing folders and the right plate layers.-- For many of these DYI embossing techniques, I use fun foam. I've also found corrugated cardboard pieces (must be the thick corrugated kind and not plain chipboard) work fantastic.
DIY embossing. Use a stylus and fun foam to create one of a kind textured background paper. Just flip your paper face down with fun foam underneath. Doodle, draw lines, fill the background or just a patch of designs and then when you flip it over...voila. DIY embossing.
Use die cut negatives. After you cut out and use your die cut you are left with the..well with the leftovers. If you use them ass a stencil you can emboss the outline of these shapes onto your page. A bonus is if you use both the die cut and an embossed outline of the shape on the same layout!
Emboss with an embossing. This is for people who don't think they could handle freestyling a pattern *raises hand*. First run a piece of paper through your Cuttlebug with the embossing folder of your choice. Then lay a piece of fun foam down, top with paper of your choice upside down and then place your embossed sheet (debossed side up) on that. You can then use your stylus to follow along the valley's of the debossed side of the paper and will be left with a pretty close copy!
Adding bling? After you use up the last of a pretty bling swirl you can use the leftover acetate piece as a embossing stencil. It's great for when you use the bling in a cluster and then emboss the same swirl nearby in the cluster.
Diecuts. When adding diecuts to your layouts, run them through an embossing folder first for added texture. The possibilities are endless... polka dotted clouds, lines on leaves, swirly fur....
Free form embossed accent marks. This works pretty much the same as #1, but instead of starting before you create your layout, this should be done when you are almost finished. You can add corners next to your photos, or at the edges of the layout, or just outline embellishments. Just a nice little tone on tone touch.
Stenciling. You can use stencils to create your DIY embossing from #1 too. My favorite is using a straight line stencil designed for making journaling marks and making embossed lines instead of a pen ink lines to write on.
Use burlap. Burlap is just one choice, but I bet this would work with any super textured/stiff materials. Layers starting from the bottom up were A plate, C plate, fun foam, burlap, cardstock, B plate. After you run it through your machine the burlap will leave the paper with a great natural texture. Sure you can buy textured cardstock...but sometimes you need to make what you have in JUST the perfect color textured.
Vellum layers. When you emboss vellum you get a transparent layer that still adds texture without distracting too much from the things around it. You can run it through the same as cardstock.
Primas. Flower companies often offer pre-embossed flowers for you to add to layouts, but sometimes we need to work with what we've got. You can see the little added texture you'll find by just embossing a few of them in a cluster.
Got Thickers? Most of your Thickers can be run through the Cuttlebug to add an extra layer of texture before adding them to your scrapbook page.
Score-Pal. You can create awesome lines and basket weave style embossing patterns on your background paper with a stylus and scoreboard or whatever you use to score lines. It would even be awesome to create sun-rays with this idea!
Acetate embellishments. Acetate is another clear layer you can add to embellish your creation without it being too overpowering. I cut my acetate with dies and then before adding the shape to your layout, run it through an embossing folder. You can even accent the embossing by inking with a pigment ink and a sponge.
Layered papers. Many...well actually most...of my scrapbooking layouts have multiple layers of paper down before I start adding pics and embellishments. It adds awesome interest if you choose pieces that are small enough to fit in an embossing folder and run them before layering them. If you are working with a longer piece you can hide the marks that the end of the folder can create by simply covering with an embellishment or tucking it under other elements or prevent them by stopping your rollers before it gets to the end then flipping the paper around and lining up the pattern and repeating.
Cricut embossing*. I did not create a tutorial for this because there are tons on youtube that explain it perfectly. Here is one that I particularly liked because she was just so darn excited about it working..which is pretty much the reaction I had when I saw it working LOL!
Rubbings. If you place your paper on top of an open embossing folder or even an embossing plate you can rub a pencil or crayon over the paper and catch the pattern in the scribbles. This would be great in a really artsy style layout. Dry emboss ribbon*. Another fantastic tutorial that I have personally followed with huge success. I am fresh out of starch so I can't recreate it at the moment, but here is a fab tutorial for embossing ribbon with a Big Shot.
Chipboard elements. Did you know that you can run chipboard through your Cuttlebug? Now you do...you're welcome!! I used pretty thin chipboard and my stack was tight going through the machine, but you may need to adjust your sandwich if you are using thicker chipboard.
Accentuate patterned paper. If you flip your patterned paper over and try the technique in #1 it works great for outlining elements pre-printed on your patterned paper. Follow a few of the preprinted circles or lines to create a textured image. Awesome on mini book pages that won't be behind a page protector.
Crimper. Not sure what I'd do without my Fiskars crimper, but I LOOOVE it! It adds instant embossed texture to most any shape/paper.
I had been eyeballing this tutorial for folded chevrons on my pinterest boards for days and then happened to notice the current challenge at Frosted Designs is...CHEVRONS!!! It was just the push I needed to jump in and give it a go. I followed the tutorial basically with one big difference. I wanted smaller chevrons. Her tutorial shows a 2" thick chevron and I wanted one that was only 1" so I cut all the numbers in half. Not only did I start with a 12"x1" strip instead, but after some trouble shooting figured out I also needed to make my marks/snips at alternating 1/2" marks instead of 1". So keep that in mind if you alter the width of your initial strip, you need to make your alternating marks/cuts smaller/bigger with the same ratio. :)
The paper line is more of my My Mind's Eye My Girl line (with bits of the Boy Crazy line as well). I'm trying to make use of every single sheet of that because I just LOVE it! You'll notice it in the layout I posted just before this one as well as the Thing 1 and Thing 2 layout a few posts before that! :) I still have enough for 2-3 more layouts easy!
Howdy all! I have a fun project to share today. I had been using an empty shoebox as storage for all my writing utensils and got tired of digging to the bottom every time I needed a particular piece. I can't even tell you how many times I've bought a new journaling pen because I was sure that it was gone only to find two of that exact one at the bottom of the pile. So I set out to figure out a way to have them all upright so that I could see the tips of every one of them at a glance and in a way that they all stayed up if I pulled one out.
I started by finding a smaller shoe box. I had been using a Nike box from hubby's gigantic size 13 1/2s just so I had room to dig, but truthfully my youngest's toddler size 6 shoe box was perfect once it was organized. I settled on toilet paper rolls as a way to divide the box into sections then set out to decorate it with my fav new papers!
Here are the supplies I used:
A small shoe box
lots of toilet paper rolls (my shoebox took 12)
Modge Podge
Permanent adhesive of choice
Paper/Embellies
As you can see, step one was to put one of the toilet paper rolls into the box and mark with a pencil just how tall you needed to snip it to. You don't want it the same height as the box because they shouldn't be visible once full. I snipped mine to about 1.5" shorter than the top. Then line the box with them. It doesn't have to be packed edge to edge, but should be a tight fit so that they don't tip over when full.
To decorate I measured the shoe box length, height and width. I cut one piece of paper to the correct length (long side) and then added 2" to the height. Then I cut another piece (making sure the patterns match up) to the correct width (short side) and then added 2" to the height cut again. My box was 5" tall, 4" wide, and 8" long. So I cut two pieces of patterned paper. One is 7"x4" and one is 7"x8". The extra 2" allows you to wrap 1" inside the box and 1" on the underside of the box to have clean edges. I applied the Modge Podge one side at a time and was sure to smooth out air bubbles as I went. I also chose to ink edges of my papers. I used two complimentary patterns cut into strips to wrap around the center of the box for added interest. I didn't bother cutting enough to wrap around the entire thing. Just centered it at the part that would be showing on my desk, but that's entirely up to you. Add the word 'pens' with foam Thickers and voila!
I have a different tube for each type of pen. One for gel pens, one for thin Sharpies, thick Sharpies, colored pens, black/blue pens, colored pencils, pencils, most used tools, misc markers, etc. So now I can grab a brown thin Sharpie to do a little journaling lickity split without digging because it's upright in eyesight. :)
How have you guys personalized your storage with scrappy supplies???
Hey everyone...back again with another mini album! I am having so much fun playing with all my chipboard and embellies. This one has one very special feature that I'm so super duper excited about...a two part cover. What's a two part cover you ask??? Well I designed how I wanted the cover to be and then I split up the embellishments between a piece of acetate and the main chipboard cover. They are two separate layers decorated all their own, but yet they still blend well when placed together. I'm definitely going to have to make that a go-to technique. Here is a close up of what I'm talking about:
Here is the finished mini bound with my new toy 'The Cinch' by We R Memory Keepers and finished off with a twine bow and butterfly charm. Below is a collage of all the inside pages. Eventually this bad boy will go into my etsy shop once I work up the nerve to get me one LOL.
I'm also entering this into the challenge posted over at Divas by Design: Make It Girly. Everything about this mini is girly. BFFs, bling, glitter letters, flowers, butterflies, charms, more bling, and just for good measure...an extra few bling. LOL
One of my favorite scrappy blogs for inspiration has a series of classes to teach you all kinds of things you can incorporate into your projects. On top that, ScrapFIT has several themed and technique workouts throughout the month to keep your scrappin' in shape! This months class was all about layering embellishments. I picked the following pieces that coordinated with my scrapbook page:
Chipboard borders
Doily
Rhinestone
Handmade hat pin
Glittered flower
Pattern paper from the set I'm working with
Then I got to the business of assembling it. I cut a striped strip from the Echo Park 'Victoria Gardens' paper line I was working with. Fussy cut a circle from the doily and layered it behind. Add a strip of the chipboard border, pop up a flower for dimension and top with a rhinestone center and a hat pin I made tucked behind.....voila! Layered embellishment. I really like the look of the layers, it gives something interesting to wow you.
Boy, I think I have found the most fun part of scrapbooking/cardmaking for sure... Punch Art!!!!!!! For those of you who are immune to the call of Pinterest, you may not have ever seen how cute some of these creations are, but let me tell you... It doesn't just result in an uber adorable finished product, the process is soooo fun and relaxing. Here are two punch art creations I have been working on. One was an attempt to copy one that came on a card I received and one was following a template I found on Pinterest.
First up: These awesome little penguins. You can find the original tutorial HERE, but my exact measurements for each penguin were as follows:
1" white oval for face with eyehole punched out then glued onto black sheet.
Lined up carefully, I punched out the 1" black circle so that the white had the same curve, though you could also cut the black circle first and then layer the white oval on top, then flip over and trim along the black edge carefully.
Cut two 2" black ovals. One will be the body, one will be cut in half for the wing.
Cut a 2" white oval. I layered it on the black page then punched out the black oval, but you could do the same as I described in #2 especially if you are using a die rather than a punch.
The beak is cut from a yellow-orange 5 petal flower. Definitely get one with the rounded point edges vs the completely round edges. Another option would be a leaf punch.
The feet are made of a 1" oval cut in half length-wise which is slightly different than the original tutorial, but made the most of my punching muscles. :)
For the turtles, you basically just need a varying selection of circle punches and various shades of green from the same tone. The holes for the eyes and the spots were just punched out with my crop-o-dile tool and then I put a black ink circle in the center of each eye. For my turtle, I was sure to ink all the edges of my circles before layering to give it a little depth. The tail is the only part that isn't just a basic circle punch. For that I started with a 1" circle and cut a small crescent out of it. I was able to get 3 tails from each circle. :)
I know punch art is nothing new and has been circulating through the Stampin' Up community for years, but I had never seen any examples because I don't follow the card making world very closely since I enjoy scrapbooking more. Have you tried punch art? I'd love it if you left me a link to some you have created in the comments or even just to some favorites you have saved to try! :)
This month at Frosted Designs they decided to break from their normal set of challenges to try a 12 days of Christmas fun! Each day they gave us a different supply that we had to use in that quantity on our layout. I worked my way down to the last day and now I'm ready to share.
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