Bloom

I did this layout for Sketch This 48 using the Hopscotch Kit. Hurry! Only 5 of these kits are left in stock!

One of a Kind

I'm really loving this fun BOY inspired line from Crate Paper. It's called Static and really was just perfect for the story I wanted to tell in this LO! All about my complicated 4 year old. Everything is included in the kit except the SEI ribbon and the ScrapWorks letters.

The Land of Nod

This layout was done using the Tree House Kit and Janelle Richmond's Sketch #47. I added the orange patterned paper and journal tag, everything else is included in the kit. To create the curled edges on the Hambly transparency, I used a heat gun on them for a few seconds. I love the texture it adds!

The Big Cheese!

I was going through my photos and came across this one I took last month at a local park and I knew at first glance the title I wanted to use, and the Tree house kit papers were just perfect for this shot! I also added some felt thickers, and some other felt embelli's from Creative Imaginations.

More of the Tree House Kit

This kit has definitely been my favorite of Noel's by far! I enjoyed finally getting to sit down and play a bit last night. Here are a couple of layouts:

This second one is a 9x9. All the supplies on these two layouts came with the kit excluding the brads and thread.

My Boys

I did this from Jana's Pencil Lines sketch! I mostly used things from the Tree House kit. And I added the vinyl applique, grungeboard, and the Cosmo chip alphas.

Fabric Challenge!

wow this one was a toughie!! I used different strips of fabric. I also cut out the flowers and the butterfly from my fabric. I used everything from the Tree House kit except of course the fabric and the Large letter M

Bow Down....

Because I am the reigning "Queen of Crap"! LOL!!

And this is my first LO for the challenge of using up those brads you have sitting in your organizer...collecting dust. Hop on over to the SYC blog and enter you brad LO, because I know I'm not the only one who has what seems to be thousands of them sitting around begging to be used up!

I used the Crate Paper Brunch Kit papers for this and a bunch of odds and ends including 32 brads! WOOHOO!!

Tree House Kit

another layout using this months awesome kit. Everything is from the kit other than I used Ranger crackle paint on the small frame. Love this papers.

Journaling Spots

Wanna quick way to add some journaling to your layouts? Try some pre-made journaling spots! Many manufacturers are coming out with journaling cards, tags, stamps, and die-cuts that make journaling on a layout easy.

For this first layout, I combined two Jenni Bowlin journaling cards to create a big enough space for the story I wanted to tell.

For "The Next Generation," I used some fun new tags by Collage Press that help make journaling about the occassion a little more fun.

And if tags are too big, you can always use small rubons or transparencies from Hambly or the little post-it notes from Heidi Swapp.

My New Kit Just Arrived

I had a quick chance to do a fast layout. It is great having a kit to do quick layouts. This new kit is great for all those outside photos you have to get scrapped. Everything is from the kit except the mini letters in my title 'day'

Arrival

The colors of the Tree House kit are so fresh and inviting! All items here are from the kit except for the orange stitching and one sheet of aqua cardstock from my stash. Thanks for looking!

Fun With Templates

Templates, formally known as stencils, are a fun and easy way to embellish your layouts or cards. There are many templates designed just for scrappers. Some of the more popular styles are journaling and doodling templates, but there are many ways to incorporate different template styles into your scrapping and card making.

Templates lend themselves to a variety of mediums such as ink, paint, markers, chalk and pens. Paint, opaque pens and sometimes chalk work best on dark papers. Use your scraps to determine which medium will give you the look you’re after.

You may want to use repositionable tape to keep the template in place while you’re working. I’ve found that this technique is especially helpful when working with paints, chalks and large templates.

Journaling/Doodling Templates

These templates usually have very narrow or small openings. One of my favorite methods for working with these templates is rubbing an inkpad across the template. It gives a nice soft, clean look. A pen or marker can be used for a sharper finish. Pencils can be used if you just want guide lines for journaling. Be sure to use pencils lightly as erasing can fade your papers.

This swirl was done by rubbing an ink pad across the template.

Paints and Templates

The key to working with paints is to keep your brush fairly dry. If you have too much paint on your brush it will leak under the edges of the template. Foam or stiff stenciling brushes work best. Dip the tip of the brush in paint then blot it until it’s fairly dry. Apply the paint with an up and down motion as opposed to a brush stroke.

Chalks and Templates

Chalks give a soft, pretty look. They are easy to blend, even within the boundaries of a template. Another advantage to chalks is they erase easily so if you don’t like the effect you’ve achieved, you can start over.

Same Template-different mediums

More Ideas

Use a pen, marker or pencil with your template, then cover your tracings with glitter glue.

Use embossing ink pads with doodling templates, then emboss.

Use the template as a guide for placing bling, brads or other embellishments.

Get those templates out and start playing!

Working with Vinyl Appliques

So the new Vinyl Appliques that are available are so fun and cool looking, but I'll admit, I was a little overwhelmed by the huge instruction sheet that accompanied them. So I dove in and figured them out so I thought I would share how really easy they are to use!
Step one - Cut out your desired shape

Step 2 - turn you shape upside down on a hard surface and rub it hard like you would a hard to apply rub on.

Step 3 - Peel the backing off the vinyl shape

Step 4 - Place you shape sticky side down where you want your shape applied.

Step 5 - Rub you shape on with moderate force into place like you would a normal rub on.

Step 6 - Check out your cool vinyl applique!! :)

Silly Little Monkey

I did this one with the BRAND NEW Tree House Kit!! I added a few extra products which are the cream and green thickers, small Heidi Swapp brads and Melissa Francis lace. Other than that all products are in the kit!! Come and get it while it's still available! :)

Tree House Kit!

Kit includes the following:
Papers
Pink Paislee Spring Fling Collection
-Green Lace
-Birds Nest
SEI Dill Blossom Collection (double sided)
-Tarragon
-Nigella
-Carraway
-Fennel
ScrapWorks Magpie Collection (double sided)
-Sunshine
-Sprout
-Magpie
-Starburst
7 Gypsies Notting Hill Collection
-Carlton
-Victoria
-Westway
Melissa Francis Papers
-Madison
-Sidney
Hambly Screen Prints
-Cream Woodgrain
Bazzill Basics Cardstock
-Sugar Cookie(2)
-Saltillo
-Fawn
-Parakeet
-Parakeet Mini Scallop

Embellishments
-1 package ScrapWorks Magpie Collection Self-Adhesive Chipboard
-1 sheet ScrapWorks Magpie Vinyl Appliques
-1 package ScrapWorks Brown Flea Market Cardstock Stickers
-1 sheet SEI Dill Blossom Rub-ons
-1 sheet Melissa Frances Cardstock Stickers - Date Prompt
-1 Yard Bazzill Stitched Ribbon in Parakeet
-11 Prima Paper Blossoms (color and style will vary)
-2 7 Gypsies Notting Hill number clips (styles will vary)
-15 Melissa Francis Vintage Buttons (5 silver, 10 white)
-1 roll 7 Gypsies Notting Hill Gaffer Tape (styles will vary)
-1 Jenni Bowlin "Grow" Bingo Card
-1 Pink Paislee "Love Birds" Clear Stamp
-1 7 Gypsies Matchbook Mini Album
-3 7 Gypsies Family Phrases Tags (styles will vary)
-1 Melissa Francis Self Adhesive Mini Frame
-1 bottle Making Memories Acrylic Paint in Sunflower
-2 assorted Shabby Chic Crafts journal spots (styles will vary)
$37.99....click here to order!!

Working with multiple elements....

Hey guys! Today I want to talk about adding different elements to your scrapbook pages.

Here is an oldie for me but I still love it. On this LO, I used several different techniques and that really made this one fun for me.

I printed on a transparency all the different words that described Kayla. I also added her name throughout the words in different fonts, so it wouldn't all look the same. Printing on transparency is REALLY easy and it's a good way to add subtle touches to your pages. I use Hammermill Transparencies and they work REALLY well. I always print on the rough side and depending on the boldness of what I am printing, I will print in draft mode. I have an Epson R1800 printer.
It can be difficult to attach transparency, so here I decided to use eyelets and ribbon. It's anchors it to the page, but still gives me some texture. I also added ribbon to the strips of paper under her photo to tie it all together.

I also incorporated, inking, and sewing. It adds small touches without overpowering the LO. That is one thing you have to be careful of when using lots of different techniques. Not to take away from the photo or your story.
And that is it :-)

Little things (even when working with a few different techinques) can add a lot of wow to a LO!

Brothers

I did this one with papers from the Apple Blossom kit...I just love these! The frame and title are from MME and the velvet ribbon is from Crate paper.

ALTERING PHOTOGRAPHS FROM COLOUR TO BLACK AND WHITE

I know there are many different software programs that you can use to alter photographs from colour to black and white. For the photographs that I have modified I have used Picasa2®.
Something fun to do is to predetermine the specific topic for your layout (a focal point) and emphasize just that explicit item. For instance, in the example below I decided to accentuate the importance of my son’s birthday and his ‘coming of age’. I altered the entire photograph to black and white, except the glass of beer, to make his beverage stand out. Every time I look at the picture my mouth waters for an icy cold brew !!

In another layout I used a larger black and white photograph (5” x 7”) and I then took the exact same photo, but utilized a smaller size (4” x 6”). I like how this layout turned out, using the same shot, and I don’t think it looks like it’s been duplicated.

In this next layout I altered the entire photograph to black and white as I felt colour was dominating the layout. I also think that using black and white made the arrangement appear more formal, which suited the occasion.

Another example of using a black and white photograph is this layout. I altered the photograph to black and white so I could use fun bright colours without losing the intent of the photograph. I put a flower in my subject’s hair which I think stands out much better in a black and white photograph.

A few additional illustrations of using black and white photographs with my subjects left in colour are below ...

For me, a bonus in altering colour photographs has been varying photographs of my Grandson Ben. Ben has encountered bouts of eczema on his face and when I alter the photographs to black and white the rash magically disappears. Take a look ...

Final examples of when I have altered my photographs to black and white is when I have worked with a slightly out of focus photograph.
These next photographs were some of my favourites; but they were out of focus. I wanted to include them in my Scrapbook, and I found when I altered the photographs to black and white the clarity improved and I was able to use the altered photos to produce quality layouts.

In closing, I hope my examples have illustrated the successful outcome of altering colour photographs to black and white. By manipulating your photographs you can open doors to new and exciting layout scenarios. Altering colour photographs helps to emphasize your subject without using embellishments or other additions that take away from the actual purpose of your layout.
Remember - it's not just laundry that should be separated by colour !

Play Ball Challenge

Here's another LO using papers, stickers and alphas from the Sassafrass Lass Robotics paper pack. The rik rak is from the BasicGrey Gypsy ribbon pack. When my dd wore this tee to school her P.E. teacher tried to bribe her with good grades if she would give him her ticket!


Love the patterns, colors and robots in the Sassafrass Lass Robotics paper pack! Although I have a lot of sports photos waiting to be scrapped, this pic of my husband lazily playing the Wii cracked me up, so I went with it for the challenge. The American Crafts blue "giggles" Thickers seemed appropriate too. lol