Susan K Weckesser Inc Design Team Back 2 School Blog Hop

 Welcome to the 2013 Susan K Weckesser Inc Design Team Back 2 School Blog Hop.  Our Design Team and Guest Designers have created a week’s worth of great projects to bring you inspiration and fun - all themed around Back 2 School. We encourage you to visit each member’s blog, leave a comment and maybe find a new blog to follow. After you have visited all participating team member’s blogs, go back to THE STARTING POST at Susan K Weckesser’s My Sweet Earth Blog and leave a comment letting us know which project either inspired you or touched your heart. Don’t worry, you have all week to take your time and go through the blogs. We’ll feature a few each day at Susan K Weckesser Inc, but will draw names from comments left on THE STARTING POST for our grand prize.

And now to share my project.  :)

Susan's whimsical papers have some designs that just beg to be 'fussy-cut', so who am I to say no?

This chipboard window (Want2Scrap) was primed with gesso, then coloured with Chalkboard mist.

I used Dylusions sprays with the Want2Scrap stencil to add a little colour to my cardstock.

A few wooden embellishments finish it off. 

papers - Susan K Weckesser

stencil, chipboard - Want2Scrap

Thanks for visiting!

Here is the list for ALL team members, but again don’t panic, we will highlight a few each day so you can come back and visit a few at a time if you want because we know how busy you Moms – and Dads – are! You have until Saturday night 11:55 PM CST to leave a comment at Susan K Weckesser’s My Sweet Earth.

Susan K Weckesser
Rita Barakat – Design Team Member
Lynne Mizera – Design Team Member
Jeanie Dickinson – Guest Designer
Tracy Easson – Design Team Member
Tatiana Allen  - Guest Designer
Einat Kessler – Design Team Member
Jaine Drake – Guest Designer
Julie Short – Design Team Member
JJ Sobey - Design Team Member
Allie Gower – Guest Designer
Keri Sallee – Guest Designer

"Take my picture?" - scrapbooking with Pink Paislee and Helmar

Hello there!  All this week, Helmar has been partnering with Pink Paislee.  I got to work with the "Portfolio" collection, and I loved it!

The "Portfolio" collection is hip & trendy and it's perfect for 'everyday' pictures.  The 'polaroid' frames are fun, and easy to work with - a little Professional Acid Free glue, and you're good to go.
There are lots of fun die-cut shapes in this collection.  I layered a few with Zap Dots to make 3D embellishments:



Naturally, I glued all the papers, and die-cut tags with Professional Acid Free glue, and 450 Quick Dry works a treat with wood embellishments.



For tiny little embellishments like these wooden stars, I like to grab them with tweezers and dip the back into 450 Quick Dry.  It's easier than trying to apply the bottle tip to the embellishment.



Helmar products:

• Professional Acid Free glue
• 450 Quick Dry
• Zap Dots

Partner products:

• Pink Paislee "Portfolio" collection

Other supplies:
ink - Ranger Distree
wood pieces - Studio Calico
marker - Faber-Castell PITT pen

Easter is coming - Scrapbook 'boy' page, with Authentique

Well, HELLO THERE!  Remember me?  Sorry about the bloggin hiatus - it was necessary.  I'm glad you're still here. :)

I want to share an Easter layout featuring Authentique's "Hope" collection. One of the things I love about this Easter collection is that is it very well suited to 'boy' pages - something that you don't often find in Easter papers.

I fussy cut some egg motifs from one of the papers (and die cut some spring branches) to add as embellishments.  A little foam adhesive (Helmar Zap Dots) makes the eggs stand out.

I folded some May Arts ribbon and tucked it under the edges of some of the paper layers for a little added texture.  Even though the arrow sticker is self-adhesive, I added some foam dots to the back to make it 'pop' - which is a great way to make a simple sticker standout from the background.

These kraft flag pins from Maya Road are the perfect color as-is for this collection.

I've used this trick before (and I'll use it again) because it's so effective with multi-patterned layouts:  I placed my title stickers on a neutral piece of the patterned paper, cut around the whole title, then adhered with foam dots.  This makes it stand out a bit, and makes it easier to read.

Supplies:
PP, stickers, letters - Authentique "Hope" collection
Maya Road flag pins  
May Arts ribbon
Helmar 450 Quick Dry, Helmar Professional Acid Free glue, Helmar Zap Dots 
wood bird - Prima 

'Tiles' on Cards with Helmar and Clearsnap

Hi Everyone!   Today I wanted to share with you a couple of cards I made using ColorBox Molding Mats by Clearsnap.  (The first card is based on Helmar's February Sketch Challenge) 

To create the 'broken tile' on this card, I started with Crayola Model Magic.  Yup - the same stuff your kids play with!



I rolled it out with a brayer first.  Then I inked up the Molding Mats with ColorBox Chalk ink to act as a mold-release, and smooshed it into the clay.  Peel back carefully!

I trimmed the clay to the shape I wanted, and let it dry.  Then I highlighted the 'tile' with more Colorbox chalk ink.

Now - this clay has a funny texture, so I didn't take any chances - I used Helmar 450 Quick Dry to make sure it stayed put.  (The papers were all adhered with Professional Acid Free Glue)


The tiles on this card were made in the same way. 


I added Zap Dots behind the first layer of paper, to give it a little extra lift:


I can see me using these Molding Mats again - they were a lot of fun to experiment with, and it would make a fun project with my kids.  Of course, Helmar will be there to hold together our experiments!
Helmar products:

• 450 Quick Dry
• Professional Acid Free Glue
• Zap Dots

Preferred Partner Products:

• ColorBox Molding Mats
• ColorBox Chalk ink
• Bazzill patterned paper and cardstock
• Susan K Weckesser patterned paper

Lovely Butterfly - Authentique & Petaloo

Hi everyone!  This week Authentique and Petaloo have teamed up to show how well these products work together, and we're featuring Authentique's "Lovely" collection.  (And there's a prize to be won, too!)  "Lovely" may have a distinct Valentine vibe, but don't feel like you have to use it for only Valentine's Day. I've used it with these photos of my daughter, and one of her little quirks, because the colours were perfect.

Petaloo's Darjeeling flowers work perfectly with Authentique's papers - the textures work so well together.  I've used the Darjeeling Dahlias - Hyacinthe, and the Darjeeling Mini-pearl Daises - Hyacinthe.

I adhered the letter stickers to one of the 'solid' patterns in the collection, then cut it out and pop-dotted it for dimension.  The soft ribbons that are gathered under the edge of paper (and on the stick pin) are from May Arts.

In this detail shot, you can see some of the lovely stick pins from Petaloo - so easy to just tuck in behind other embellishments.  Also, if you look closely, you can see that I've used some of the "Lovely" frame stickers.  They don't always have to 'frame' something - sometimes they are just a nice detail.  :)

Scattering smaller embellishments around your journaling can help draw your attention to it, as well as make it feel more part of the over-all design.

Be sure to check out the Authentique blog all this week, for chances to win a prize-pack from Authentique, Petaloo, and May Arts!

Supplies:
PP, stickers, letters - Authentique "Lovely" collection
flowers, stick pins - Petaloo
ribbon - May Arts
adhesive - Helmar Professional Acid Free Glue, Helmar 450 Quick Dry
ink - Ranger
pen - Marvy

Spring Kleenex Box Cover - Authentique

Have you seen the reveal of Authentique's new Seasons: Spring mini-line?  Beautiful, soft colours:

I used it to decorate this wooden kleenex box cover.  I gave the wood some colour using mists and stencils.

I collaged on some fussy-cuts from the patterned paper

and added some of the stickers as well, sealing with gel medium.

Then I added flowers from Petaloo, and pins from Maya Road, gluing them down with Helmar 450 Quick Dry.

To finish it off, I added several layers of Glimmer Glam, heating with a heat gun to make it bubble.

Thanks for visiting!

Supplies:
PP, stickers - Authentique
flowers - Petaloo
pins - Maya Road
glimmer mist, glimmer glam - Tattered Angels
stencils - The Crafter's Workshop, Artistcellar
adhesive - Helmar 450 Quick Dry
other - wooden kleenex-box cover

'Selfies' - self-portraits with my girl

Hello Susan Weckesser fans! JJ here today, to share a mother & daughter layout with you. Helmar

My daughter and I were having fun taking 'Selfies' (quickie self-portraits), and I knew that the lively Susan K Weckesser papers would be perfect.  I die-cut a few 'polaroid frames' from the papers, and paired them up with some of Susan's stamps (all the stamps on this page are from the "Insta-cute" set.)

I popped up this sentiment stamp using Helmar Zap Dots.  All the embellishments were glued down with Helmar 450 Quick Dry.  (I used Helmar Acid Free for all the photos and papers).

I added one of the phrase stamps right on the 'polaroid frame':

Want a perfectly matched embellishment for your page?  Try stamping on the patterned paper.  Cut it out and pop it up with a Zap Dot, and you're all set. (And how cute is that camera stamp?!)

Thanks for visiting!

Supplies:
Adhesives - Helmar
PP - Susan K Weckesser
Stamps - Susan K Weckesser by Unity Stamps
wood embellishments - Studio Calico
flowers - Prima Marketing
flair - Evalicious
letters - American Crafts
ink - StazOn
marker - Faber-Castell

Art of Living Dangerously - Authentique

Yeah, that's my man touching up a painting that is already hanging on the wall. Where my kids walk by. All. The. Time.   Asking for trouble, if you ask me...  but I bit my tongue and grabbed the camera, ha ha!

Authentique's "Original" collection is perfect for masculine pages - you couldn't ask for better colours.  The Canvas Corp tags pair nicely with it, too.

I added a few rough stitches in heavy twine - I like how it looks with distressed papers.

I placed my title on one of the lighter papers, then cut around it and popped it up with Zap Dots to make it stand out.  Then I tucked a little May Arts ribbon in with it, for some added texture.

The story:

Thank you to May Arts and Canvas Corp for the products they supplied to the Authentique team.

Supplies:
PP, letters, stickers - Authentique
Helmar adhesives - Premium Acid Free, 450 Quick Dry, Zap Dots 
canvas tags - Canvas Corp
twine & ribbon - May Arts
gems - Prima Marketing
marker - Faber-Castell
ink - Ranger Distress Stain

Merci - a thank you card with Lucky 7 Factory

Always a good idea to keep a few Thank you cards on-hand.  I made this one during the spring Lucky 7 Factory on-line crop.  It was one of those things I put together, mostly with bits and pieces lying on my desk.

There are a few re-purposed items in all the layers - book paper, corrugated cardboard from a coffee-sleeve, product packaging.  It's easy to use these things on a card, even if you would be uncomfortable using them in a scrapbook page (because they may or may not be acid free).

The layered flower includes a left-over misted flower from another project and a punched cork flower my friend Erin gave me.

Supplies:
PP - Lucky 7 Factory
rub-on letters - Luxe (yes - these are ooooooooold)
flowers, leaves - Prima
mist - Tattered Angels
ink - Ranger
other - coffee sleeve, cork, book paper, product packaging

Pinspired Monday - Puzzle Pieces with Authentique "Renew"

Well - 2013 is here - let's get this blog back on track, right?

Today's 'pinspiration' comes from this pin:

original pin

The interlocked shapes on this rug immediately made me think of the awesome new puzzle-piece die-cuts in the Renew collection:

The "Rejuvenate" sheet in this collection provides lots of 'fussy-cutting' opportunities:

Layering a couple of die-cuts with Zap Dots adhesive and a few pins can create a fun, custom embellishment:

This collection also has die-cut tabbed files, in the perfect size for journaling:

Authentique Renew Collection:

"Foundation One", "Engergize", "Blossom", "Rejuvenate", "Flourish", Mini-Notes, Frames & Corners, Circles& Scallops, Mini-letters,  Puzzle Pieces

Partner products:

Helmar Acid-Free Glue, Helmar ZapDots, Maya Road Pins