Friday, April 29, 2011

Stylin' - Scrap Attack Scrapbooking


Here's another layout I created for Scrap Attack Scrapbooking this month. More beautiful Prima, with a little Basic Grey paper in the mix.

These new pearl/crystal/fimo flourishes from Prima are stunning. I cut this one apart to place around the page.


Delicious lace from Webster's...


I pop-dotted a few of the stickers for a little more dimension.


Love these flowers from Prima. I added a pebble to the centre.


Supplies (available here from Scrap Attack Scrapbooking):
PP - Prima Marketing, Basic Grey
flowers, stickers, pebbles, jewels - Prima Marketing
letters - American Crafts
lace - Websters's Pages
leaves - Zva Creative

Other Supplies:
ink - Ranger
markers - Sakura, Faber-Castell

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

So You Think You Can Dance?




Did you get a chance to see the April sketch challenge over at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking? Come join us over on the message board, and try your hand at the sketch (or some of the other challenges) - we would love to see your work!

(sketch was here)

Tried out my new Tim Holtz mini-tag die for this layout. I love it already. I dug out some long-neglected rub-ons for this page as well.

(detail photo)

I love the mini-buttons from Kimmieprout - such great colours! Still loving gears for boy pages; these ones are from Maya Road.

(detail photo)

I outlined these tiny letter stickers to give them a little more definition. They are great for longer titles.

(detail photo)

Supplies:
PP, letters - Lily Bee
chipboard - Maya Road
rub-ons - Maya Road, Basic Grey, Kaisercraft
buttons - Kimmieprout
markers - Faber-Castell, Sakura
ink - Ranger
other - acrylic paint

Monday, April 25, 2011

Got Milk? - Scrap Attack Scrapbooking


This is my second April layout for Scrap Attack Scrapbooking. I had a lot of fun using these papers - the colours are great - very happy colours.


Love the flowers that go with this line - full of dimension and detail. The stickers are very usable too - lots of shapes to choose from.


You can see a little more of the punched shapes I used a border here. Love those page pebbles too!


Supplies (available here at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking):
PP - Prima Marketing, Basic Grey
stickers, flowers, pebbles - Prima Marketing
letters - American Crafts
leaf - Zva Creative

Other Supplies:
ink - Ranger
markers - Faber-Castell, Sakura, Staedtler

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Sleepy Heads - Scrap Attack Scrapbooking


Lauri at Scrap Attack Scrapbooking graciously allowed me to take a month off of my duties with her design team (when real life obligations unexpectedly got way out of hand...). Things are not back to 'normal', but I did get back to scrapping this month. And what a yummy kit she sent me! Full of great papers from Prima and Basic Grey, with enticing embellishments to match. Thanks Lauri!

These leaves are from Zva Creative and come pre-wired so you can manipulate their shape a bit.


I cut off some of the extra wire on the leaves and used them to make these little spiral 'stems' around the flower.


I'm not into glittery letters much, but these Thickers get it right - the glitter stays put!


I combined some pattern paper with the die cut stickers for a focal point around the journaling:



Supplies (available here from Scrap Attack Scrapbooking):
PP - Basic Grey, Prima Marketing
flowers, stickers, jewels - Prima Marketing
letters - American Crafts
leaves - Zva Creative

Other Supplies:
ink - Ranger
marker - Sakura
white pen - Uniball Signo

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Easter Egg Plant :) - Glue Dots®


This month for Glue Dots® I made these Easter Topiaries. My son calls these “Egg Plants”, which is probably a cuter name. If you would like to make one (and they are easy to do), here's what you will need:

Supplies:
  • Glue Dots® – Craft
  • Glue Dots® – Mini
  • Glue Dots® – Micro
  • Glue Dots® – Pop-Up

Other Supplies (for both topiaries) :
  • Styrofoam Egg
  • Mini-plant pot
  • acrylic paint and Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels)
  • Floral foam
  • Wooden dowel
  • Patterned paper (Prima, Bo Bunny)
  • Buttons
  • Moss
  • Paper flowers (Prima)
  • Dew drops (Stamping Bella)
  • Lace (Prima)

Paint plant pot as desired


Add Glimmer Mist:


If desired, paint eggs white before starting. Pierce hole in bottom of egg with wooden dowel, to be reinserted later. Adhere buttons (or flowers) to egg using Mini Glue Dots® ;


do not cover hole for dowel


Flowers are beautiful for this, and add a softer look:


Using Craft Dot® s or Memory Dots® , adhere strips of patterned paper to wooden down, in a spiral pattern.


Insert one end of dowel in bottom of egg


Cut piece of floral foam to fit plant pot snuggly. Insert in plant pot.


Insert wooden dowel in floral foam.


Using Craft Dots® , adhere lace or ribbon to edge of pot, if desired


For a more realistic look, add moss to the top of the floral foam. I partially melted Pop-Up Glue Dots® with a heat tool, and used these to adhere the moss, since the moss adheres better with a more liquid-y method.


Alternatively, you can adhere several paper flowers (with Craft Dots® ) for a more floral cover-up for the foam. I added Dew Drops to the flower centers using Mini-Glue Dots® .


Hand-cut or punch leaf shapes from the patterned paper, distress if desired, and adhere to the dowel using Craft Dots®


Punch out leaf, or other greenery shapes from the patterned paper to adhere to base of egg ‘flower’.


The finer shapes pictured here were adhered with Micro Glue Dots® , as they fit the stems perfectly without showing.


Now your topiary is complete – Happy Easter!



Link me up if you make one - I would love to see it!

I wrote this blog post while participating on the Glue Dots® Design Team.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

'Studio' Tour (aka - my scrap kitchen)

This month for Tattered Angels the design team are giving little tours of their studios. Here is where I create:

I have my printer, tool caddy and basket of stamps and odds & ends within easy reach. A cutting mat is always under my work. I pull out my misting mat when I’m getting ready to make a mess.

Who am I kidding? This is how it usually looks. I tend to clean it up when I discover I’m trying to work on a 12×12 project in an 8×8 space.

I don’t have an art studio, or room of my own to create in – I work in my kitchen. The downside is that I don’t have a door I can close on my mess. The upside is that I have a sink handy, because I do get messy. I would love to have a beautiful studio, but it would probably look like a hurricane hit it anyway – I have a hard time keeping a creative space neat & tidy. (A perfectly kept house is the sign of a misspent life).

Fortunately, our kitchen is the largest room in the house, and there is a counter/cupboard that is apart from the main cooking area (which was never practical, and was wasted space). I took it over for my scrapbooking when I realized I could get away with it. :) Working in the kitchen allows me to be right in the centre of all the household happenings, and I can keep an eye on dinner at the same time, ha ha!

My storage solutions are not beautiful, but they are practical, and work well for the way I work. Baskets and trays from Ikea are inexpensive, and fit my cupboard well. I love these trays for my Tattered Angels mists and paints (I often have stamps and glimmer screens sitting on top of the tray):

To make it a little quicker when I’m looking for a perfect match, I keep colour swatches of all my mists. Just 2×2 pieces of cardstock; I add a new one every time I get a new mist. So much faster to pull out swatches than to start hauling out a dozen bottles. :)

I have another tray for ink pads, gesso & texture mediums, alcohol inks, etc.:

I also use a tray like this for all my adhesives and whatever tools don’t fit in my tool caddy. I have an additional tray for my son’s craft supplies – that way he knows where all his stuff is, and can use them without rummaging through mommy’s things.

The basket holds my punches – it’s strong and can handle the weight better than a plastic tray:

Much of my things are stored in portable containers (such as embellishments, alphabets, rub-ons), as I like to crop with friends on a regular basis. Many of these are permanently stored in my rolling tote – it just makes sense for me. Some of the larger embellishments, favorite papers, kits, and computer peripherals are in the second side of the cupboard:

We bought a second table for the kitchen for when I need extra workspace. The sides fold down so that the whole unit is less than a foot wide when I’m not using it. I slide it to wherever I need it at the time. (It’s also handy when doing art with the kids, or when friends come over to crop).

Each end has drawers, which are the perfect place to store items like my work rags. I use these a lot when misting, then throw them in the wash with any dark clothes like jeans or my concert tees. Saves me a ton on paper towels. :)

Thanks for visiting! Where do you create?