More Projects

I've just been puttering around with the March kit this weekend. Trying some new things, scrapping an old photo. Pretty much just playing.
This photo is my brother and I from back in the day. I want to say 1981, but I may be wrong.
Lots of Cosmo Cricket Joyride on this.

The chipboard letters and circles are from the 1st add-on kit.

And a wee yo-yo made from the chenile fabric in the main kit.

For this little card, I used one of the card bases from the 1st add-on. The cream coloured paper is actually from the rub-ons packaging. I cut one of the rub-ons in 3 pieces to get the most out of it. The little frame was cut from one of the Studio Calico stickers in the 1st add-on.

I don't know how many of you follow Kristina Werner's blog, but she always has great tips of new things to try on cards. Recently, she cut a window in the front of her card and stamped a sentiment on vellum, which she then placed in the window.

I decided to just stamp right on the inside of the card using a stamp from the Hero Arts Essential Messages set. I don't heat emboss overly much, so I could have been a lot neater with the embossing powder. Oh well ... next time :)

Another thing I've been wanting to try lately is making a fabric cuff. I love this chenile so much. It's just so fuzzy and nice to touch that I thought it would make a pretty cuff.

Please disregard my dry, white arm and hand. Mama needs some moisturizer and a bit of sun!

Rather than using a button and having to make a button-hole, I used a hook and eye and sewed on one of the gorgeous Prima flowers from the store.

A Few Cards ...

... to share.
I love how Jennifer used the u-turn symbol as a "u" or in this case, a "you". That Cosmo Cricket paper just begs to be cut up into the little shapes. Jennifer's second card makes use of her embossing machine to add texture to her front. The thin border of patterned paper behind the embossed paper ties into the green doily rub-on.

The adhesive backed Studio Calico rip strip makes quick work of duplicating a pleated ribbon.

My cards aren't as elaborate as Jennifer's.

A strip of patterned paper, a rub-on along the bottom, a thin piece of rip strip between and a chipboard piece are all I added.

And just a quick trim around the edge of the rub-on.

I love the wide trim but it can be overpowering on a small project. I punched old book paper and misted it with Shimmerz.

Sea Monkey on the lower layer, Before Dawn on the middle.

Remember to breathe

You really can't even tell how pretty the fabric from the Every Which Way kit is from a photo. I wanted to do something different with it ... something I've never done on a layout. As the swatch that comes in the kit measures 9x12, it's large enough to completely cover an 8.5x11 piece of cardstock or thin cardboard. I used double-sided tape and found that it worked quite well. I had a piece from a vintage doily hanging around that I hand-sewed around the edges ... just enough to hold it in place. The Studio Calico paper is spritzed with the Before Dawn Vibez (add-on #2) to provide a backdrop for the title and main embellishment. The Studio Calico journaling card is matted on white cardstock and attached with foam adhesive. I also covered the flower and leaves with a layer of Rock Candy Distress Stickles.

I wondered whether my embellishments would stick directly to the fabric because it is so textured, but the Prima Pebble stuck right on and the buttons held nicely with liquid glue.

Oh ... and the title is something I have to tell myself when I find myself getting upset or anxious about something. For whatever reason, I start holding my breath which only aggitates me further. I know. Kinda silly :)

I also used a Studio Calico rip strip and sticker from the 1st add-on.

Pretty Doggone Content

Molly loves to go for card rides. What dog doesn't? She likes to sit inthe front, lean back against the back of the seat and fall asleep. She's a little strange.I ended up using bits from both add-ons for this layout. I misted my background patterned paper with the Before Dawn Vibez and it makes the white cardstock look so crisp.
The Cosmo Cricket dog-riding-in-the-car chipboard was perfect. But my favorite part is the "C" in "content". It has a little dog on it. How perfect is that?

Having a Ball

Another bright, sunny day here. March Break is just flying along.
I wanted to thank everyone who has already contacted me about being a guest designer. There are just so many talented scrappers out there and I'm loving the mix of styles I'm seeing. My "short list" is quickly becoming a "long list". I don't know how I'm ever going to choose just a few of you.
On to this month's guest designer ....
This is another of Jennifer's layouts. I just love how the colour pops on the black background. What does it say about me that at first i thought they were photos of bowls of candy. Hmmm.
Jennifer used the main kit and the chipboard from the 1st add-on.

Supplies not included in the kits are the cardstock and chipboard letters.

Happy Campers

I've scrapped these photos before, but the layout I did is now hanging in my mom's kitchen so I needed to do them again for me. I love the Cosmo Cricket woodgrain patterned papers. This teal is one of my favorite colours ever.I folded over a strip of the fabric included in the kit and just quickly did a running stitch along the raw edges. I gathered it until it was the length I wanted and used double-sided tape to adhere it to my page. I also threw a staple at either end to make sure it wouldn't go anywhere. After I added the Rip Strip (from add-on #1), I roughly hand stitched with embroidery floss along the length of it.

I also ran a file across the tops of the chipboard letters to distress them. I use a Basic Grey file and almost always sand the edges of my photos. It's a little more subtle than constantly matting them but still gives a nice effect. The most time consuming part of this layout was the stitching around the edges of the yellow patterned paper. I don't use this technique very often (because it takes so much time) but I always love the end result.

One of my favorite surprises from this kit, was the Studio Calico patterned paper. I had never really planned to cut it up to use as individual letters because I also love the pattern on the back, but I have gotten so many letters out of that one sheet. They are such a neutral colour that they would seem to go with just about anything. I've been popping them up on adhesive foam pieces so that they weren't so "flat". If I had one complaint about the Cosmo Cricket chipboard letters, it would be that you only get two of each letter. I tend to do longer titles so this helps to stretch out the chipboard letters by using them for one word while using the cut paper letters for another. The little tree is cut from one of the Studio Calico journaling cards. It looked a bit heavy with the whole card behind the title and I thought it would be more of a subtle effect to have the just the tree peeking out.

I typically like to have lots of dimension on my layout. Adhesive foam, distressing and fabric all add that little "something" that I enjoy. It's difficult to see from the photos, but another way I achieved a little more depth on this layout is by curving up the edges of the photos slightly and only applying adhesive to the centres before adding to my background. By angling them, they look as if they're only tucked in there temporarily. Many people might think this looks messy or unfinished. Fortunately, I don't :)

Everything used on this layout was from the main kit, with the exception of the Rip Strip from the 1st add-on and some embroidery floss from my stash.

5 Weeks

I'm so glad that Jennifer Roach agreed to design with the March kit.
With such a beautiful photo from Julie Johnson Vine Images Inc. to start with, I don't think she could have gone wrong.
For the scalloped fabric strip: draw or trace scalloped shaped onto strip of cardstock, adhere to fabric and cut out ... leaving paper backing on strip for stability.
Jennifer also pulled apart layers of flowers to give flowers of different sizes. The leftover layers can be used on another project with a button center or a Prima pebble.

The scalloped rub-on was applied directly to the photo.

Jennifer used simple crepe paper streamers (found in the dollar store) pleated and tucked behind pattern paper to provide a visual break between different patterns and to soften the feel of the layout.

In addition to the main kit supplies, Jennifer used Studio Calico label stickers from the 1st add-on, Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type letter stickers from the 2nd add-on and Making Memories mini number stickers from her own supplies.

A few projects to share ...

I finally took some time yesterday to play with the Trillium Trail kit.
This first card also uses the Sycamore Circle add-on kit. It measures 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 and is quite thick, so I probably wouldn't send this through the mail ... just include it with a gift. With the more masculine colour palette and Father's Day coming up, I have a feeling that Opa might be getting this one :)
The flower was stamped on Grunge Paper (included in the Sycamore Circle add-on) with one of the new Hero Arts cling stamps using black ink and black embossing powder. I cut it out before adding any colour to it and cut right into the design so that the petals would lift. Olive Branch Shimmerz Spritz (also in the Sycamore Circle add-on) was sprayed onto a base of Peeled Paint Ranger Distress Ink. The inks just bead up off of the embossed portion. Once dry, I smeared a layer of Scattered Straw Ranger Distress Stickles (included in main kit) all over the flower.
I love how the petals have curled to give so much dimension to the stamped image.
The fabric was cut just slightly smaller than the card base and frayed around the edges. I attached it to the card base with strips of double-sided tape.

My second card is completely covered in fabric. I covered the outside of the open card base with strips of double-sided tape and laid it down on the fabric (keeping in mind the pattern so that it would be somewhat straight once cut) and then just trimmed around the edges of the cardstock. The patterned paper is fussy cut and applied with liquid glue. The punched butterflies (Martha Stewart punch) are also applied with glue but it runs just down the centre of each butterfly layer so that the wings can be curled up after the glue has dried.

Just a smidge of the Scattered Straw Ranger Distress Stickles in the centre of each butterfly finishes them off.

I love the cozy, tactile feeling these cards have by using the brushed cotton. Really unique.

And a quick little layout using limited supplies. I used some Prima packaging as a mask in the centre of my layout and spritzed Mudpie Shimmerz Spritz as a border. I then drew faux stitching to further accentuate the sprayed design.

A bit of twine stapled on, a journaling ticket, a title, a flower and we're good. So unusual for me to leave so much white space. Super quick to do though. It took longer for the spritz to dry than it took to complete the layout ;)

One other thing ... if you're new to spritzing, your paper will curl up slightly. I suppose you could iron it flat before you add the rest of the items to your layout, but I kind of like the wonky effect it gives. In any case, your page tends to flatten out once you add it to your album.

Thanks for stopping by!