Sunday, January 31, 2010

In the Blink of an Eye

This is my second January DT project for Mon Scrapbook, using the beautiful "Vintage Glam" collection by Rose Moka. At first glance these papers seem feminine, but I think they work equally well for "boy pages".


Sometimes I start a page and find that I have no perfect place for the journaling. With this layout, I had lots of space on the photo that turned out to be just right.


I added stitching with jute twine, and orange dew drops as accents. The colours were ideal for a fall-themed layout.


Matériaux / Supplies:
papiers / papers - Rose Moka "Vintage Glam" (Amy, Mya, Eva, Léa)
feutre / felt - Prima Marketing
lettrage / alphas - Rose Moka
encre /ink - Ranger Distress Ink (Walnut Stain)
dew drops - Robin's Nest
stylo /marker - Staedtler Triplus Fineliner
autres / other - ficelle de jute / jute twine

Friday, January 29, 2010

Alcohol Ink Pens - a primer


(This is my first tutorial for my DT at Mon Scrapbook. It can be read en français on their blog.)

Do you love alcohol inks, but wish they were a little easier to use? Maybe you would like to try alcohol inks, but are a little intimidated, and would like an easy place to begin? Let me introduce to you the Alcohol Ink Fillable Pen by Ranger. These pens make working with alcohol inks as easy as grabbing your favorite marker.

The pen comes empty, and you fill it with your favorite colour - there are many from which to choose. Ranger makes 48 colours, plus the blending solution. (And yes - you can also fill these pens with blending solution!)

When filling the markers, you will want to protect your work surface - you wouldn't want to drop the ink on your favorite wood table, for example. I prefer to work on my silicon mat.

Start by removing the tip with a pair of tweezers.


There is a brush tip on one end, and a fine point tip on the opposite end. Remove only one at a time.


Insert the tip of the ink bottle into the pen and squeeze lightly for 3-5 seconds. Be careful to not overfill. Replace the pen tip and cap, and repeat with the opposite end. The directions say to lay the pen flat for 5 minutes to allow the ink to flow into the tips. I found it took a little longer.


Now that you have the pen filled, here are some ideas on how you can use it. One way to use it is for coloring transparencies with more precision than using a paint brush. You can also use these to colour on transparencies you've stamped with StazOn. Just make sure to colour on the opposite side from the stamped image (otherwise, the alcohol ink will disrupt the stamped image).


Of course, you can use the pen on any surface that you would expect to colour with alcohol inks, including glossy paper, metal, glass and ceramic.

I love to use the pens to customize my embellishments, such as these pearls:

It also works great on crystals...


and dew drops!


When I can't decide which colour I want of a new design in crystals or pearls, I choose clear or white, because I know I can customize them with alcohol inks.

It's also a great way to alter plain white buttons!


I hope you will give these pens a try!

Matériel /Supplies:
crayon/pen - Adirondack Alcohol Ink Fillable Pen
encre alcool / alcohol ink - Ranger
transparent/transparency - Prima Marketing
perles /pearls - Kaisercraft
cristaux /crystal flourish - Prima Marketing
dew drops - Robin's Nest
boutons /buttons - Buttons Galore

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Decidely NOT Camera Shy...


*sigh* I wish that title described me, but alas...

If you've seen my layouts for any period of time, you'll know just how far from my regular style this layout truly is. It's pretty much the opposite of what I normally do. But I guess that's what challenges are for, right? I'm participating in a tournament over at Let's Capture Our Memories (aka LCOM), and this was the first week's challenge - create a layout in the "Clean & Simple" style.


I'm very happy with the results, but I was instantly reminded of why I stepped away from this style - it takes me twice as long. :P

Supplies:
CS - Bazzill
PP - Collage Press
foam letters - American Crafts Thickers
twill ribbon - My Mind's Eye
felt - Fancy Pants
pearls - Kaisercraft
ink - Ranger
marker - Staedtler Triplus Fineliner

Sunday, January 17, 2010

At the Parc


I think I love every paper that Rose Moka makes - I couldn't wait to get my hands on these new collections. The Urban Chic collection was ideal for this page about my son at the park, and the Vintage Glam collection coordinates with it perfectly.

A few masculine brads added to this lace stamp make it look more like ironwork.


Even though the papers already have a distressed look, I couldn't resist doing a little tearing, and adding some mists.


Matériel/Supplies:
papiers / papers - Rose Moka Urban Chic (Sam, Téo) & Vintage Glam (Eli, Mya)
cartes de texte / journaling tag - Rose Moka
feutre / felt - Prima Marketing
étamp / stamp - Prima Marketing
lettrage / alphas - Rose Moka, American Crafts
encre /ink - Ranger Distress Ink (Black Soot), StazOn (Jet Black)
mist - Tattered Angels, Tsukineko
attaches parisiennes / brads - Karen Foster
stylo /marker - Staedtler Triplus Fineliner