I Love Lucy

It's the crud time of year, I guess. First my DD was sick, and now DS is home sick. Nothing like cleaning up after sick kids to squash the creative mojo. Ah, the joys of motherhood.

Since I haven't even had the gumption or energy to even unpack my stuff from retreat, let alone USE it, I'll share one of the layouts I got done while I was there. Check it out:

It's dedicated to our border collie (betcha can't guess what her name is!). She's moody and silly and sweet, just like Ms. Ball's character (though minus the red hair, false eyelashes, and lipstick).

Patterned paper is from the Modern Milan slab by Me & My BIG Ideas. I used my Base Camp Cricut cartridge for the letters, hand-cut the heart. Circle, Round Tab, and Scallop Edge punches are from SU! Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, and Whisper White cardstock also from SU!

Thanks for visiting!

The Charm of Wisteria

HOW COOL IS THIS!??! Click on the photo to see a much larger version! This is an idea that's been rolling around in my head for months, since about a week after I made my Blogiversary Bluebonnet. I figured I could easily flip the basic construction, make it out of different colors, and have wisteria. I mean, Bluebonnets and Wisteria are even in the same subfamily, Faboideae. In making them from punches, it's just a difference in the way they grow, right? Right! It's constructed almost exactly the way my bluebonnet is constructed, just upside down, with a flip of the blossoms about 2/3 down.

I started the blooms yesterday afternoon, since I had a good-size scrap of Lovely Lilac out anyway for yesterday's card but didn't use it. So pulled out some Lavender Lace, Pale Plum and Whisper White, and started punching out 5-petal flowers. This morning I sat and assembled the blooms, then worked on the leaves (fold paper in half, cut a half-leaf-ish shape, run the folded shape through a paper crimper, and open--leaves come in all shapes, so you can't really mess it up). I thought I was using scraps of Certainly Celery and Garden Green, but the GG turned out to be Wild Wasabe (retired). The page base is So Saffron sponged with More Mustard.

I got it all assembled... and then I thought, "I need a bug--a really coooool bug." So I pulled out my large and small oval punches and punched four wings from Tempting Turqoise. I punched four large ovals from vellum, and glued them to the TT pieces. Used a sponge dauber to add Green Galore to the tops of the wings, letting the ink get on the vellum, too. Turned it over and used a Taken with Teal and YoYo Yellow markers to add crazy veining and a bit of yellow to the back side of the top wings. The body started out as a Word Window punch in SaharaSand, but I used my paper snips to cut him a narrow tail. The head started out as a 1/2" circle, but it was too big, so I trimmed it down with scissors. Details added with sponge dauber, white gel pen, and turquoise marker. Here's a close-up of the finished dragonfly:
By the way, the title "English Charm" and the date are not actually there. Again, they're added to the photo in Photoshop. The page on my work table has no title yet. All the actual materials are from Stampin' Up!

Thanks for visiting!

Gotta Brag Scrapbook Page

I realized this morning that I'd not shared a scrapbook page and sketch for a while. So here is my creation for my 'Bling, Baby!' January scrapbook challenge at SCS. It uses SU's Urban Garden paper pack, and happens to be one of the layouts we'll be doing on the video included in the February SCIAK kit.

You can't see it very well in the photo, but this page is really sparkly! There's iridescent glitter in the center of every flower along the top, as well as on the two larger flower accents.

Please note that the title and photo size thingies aren't really there. I added them to the photo in photoshop as visual placeholders. (I'll add an actual title with my Cricut when I decide what photos I want to put on it!)

INGREDIENTS (all SU!):
Paper: W.White, B.Breeze, K.Kiss, NQ.Navy, Urban Garden DSP
Ink: O.Olive marker and classic pad (leaf details)
Accessories: Five-Petal Flower punch, Photo Corners punch, Curly Label punch, white Signo gel pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter

And here is the sketch for the page, available only here and in the 'Stampalooza's Scrapbook Challenge' forum at SCS.


Thanks for visiting!

Digital Page: Spring Has Sprung

I'm a graphic designer, so you knew it was only a matter of time before I started seriously dabbling in digital scrapbooking. I actually started this page about six months ago (when it was actually spring!), but re-visited it this morning and decided to share it.

Recently when albums were on sale at Hobby Lobby, I picked up five 8x8s. My intent is to make at least three duplicate albums--One for me, one for my mom, and one for DH's mom. I chose 8x8 because I can easily print that from my home printer (after I get the print head replaced) on high-rez paper.

While I do use purchased digital page elements sometimes, I usually prefer to make my own. Everything on the page above is 100% original, either photographed by me, or created by me in Photoshop or Illustrator.

Here's a sketch for you, derived from this page:


Thanks for visiting!

Blogiversary Bluebonnet!

Ooohhh! I am SO proud of this one! This started as a 'small' embellishment for the kids-in-the-bluebonnets photos that nearly everyone who's ever spent a spring in Texas has. So I put this photo (which I took myself, crawling around on my elbows in a field by our library) in front of me, and looked at my punches:

I reached for my Five-Petal Flower punch (same punch used for my chrysanthemum). Each petal group consists of 3/5 of a five-petal flower punch--a two-petal group, then a single petal glued between them. Here's a close-up:
I used Ballet Blue cardstock, and sponged Lovely Lilac in the center before cutting petals apart. For the topmost petals, I used a combination of blue and white punched pieces. I sponged Ballet Blue in the center of white five-petal punches. The very tippytop white piece is just a corner of the new scalloped square punch.

For the grass, I used Mellow Moss and a hobby knife to cut the grass blades. Added center veins with my MM marker, then dragged the pieces across my MM ink pad.
Finally, as I was putting the page together, it occurred to me that I needed a bug. It's a flower and grass... we need a bug. As I was trying to figure out how to accomplish that gracefully (somehow my Bugs & Kisses stamps just wouldn't do), I noticed that the trio of petals on my bluebonnet sorta looked like the back end of a bee. So I got out my trusty Five-Petal punch again. YoYo Yellow butt...er, ABDOMEN, white wings, and a black 1/2" circle for the head. Wish I had a 3/8" circle punch, though. Stripes added with marker.
Finished the page off with some Styled Silver Hodgepodge and some white Taffeta Ribbon, and viola! A HUGE bluebonnet embellishment on an otherwise very simple page.

That Girl! (Demo Scrapbook Challenge)

This month, the Demo Scrapbook challenge is to take any previous challenge sketch and re-run it, but with new stuff! This is my sample, using the April 15 sketch located here. In other words, I took my Tea Party! page and re-worked it. I actually did this on a scrapbook retreat a few weeks ago, and used the owner's Sizzix machine for the title, so I don't remember at all what die set it was.

Be sure to check out my 'DIY' category (menu in right-hand column---->) for tutorials on the Five-Petal Chrysanthemum (flower on left page), Loopy Punch Flower (flower on right page), and faux chipboard technique ('buttons' and flower 'brad' on right page).

INGREDIENTS
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette
Designer Paper: Bella Rose
Stamps: Dreams du Jour
Punches: 5-Petal Flower, Large Oval, Small Oval, Photo Corners, Boho Blossoms, 1-3/4" Circle, 1" Circle
Ink: Cardstock colors, and Basic Black, Bravo Burgundy, Baja Breeze
Other: Aquapainter, Signo Gel pen, Clear embossing powder (for faux chipboard 'brad' in center of loopy flower), Crop-A-Dile, sponge daubers, Sizzix BigShot and alpha dies

By the way! This is one of the layouts (with just a few minor modifications) that will be included in my September Scrapbook Class-in-a-Kit.

Raving about retreat!

I just got back from a FABULOUS weekend at a scrapbook B&B in Bowie, Texas, called Hobby House Hill. I totally can see why she's pretty much booked every weekend through 2012. The food by itself was worth going to stay for a few days!

Anyway. I got quite a bit done, and I thought I'd share two of the layouts I did while I was there:

SU's new Pacific Point (2008-2009 In Colors) was the PERFECT shade of blue for this layout. DSP is from Marcella K. Stamps are Boho Backgrounds and Baroque Motifs.

This one uses a sheet of my hand-stamped DSP (see DIY section). Big pink 'M' is from the dollar bin at Michaels (came in a package of two--silver stickles added to white dots).

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Scrapbook Class-in-a-Kit

Aug. 27: LAST DAY TO ORDER the SEPTEMBER KIT!

You know I love scrapbooking, right? This is a new program that I'm organizing for fall. It is essentially a monthly 'club' wherein you pre-order a class kit for a cost of $16-$20 each month (plus $5 shipping for those out of town). Each kit will contain:
--All materials necessary to complete THREE different two-page 12x12 layouts (for a total of six pages), including cardstock, designer paper, ribbon, brads, buttons, stickers, page candy, etc. You supply only adhesive, paper trimmer, scissors, pencil, and other very basic tools.

--Photos of completed layouts

--CD containing video instructions on how to assemble the pages (so you can scrapbook at your convenience)

--Extra paper

The first kit is $16.00 (US) and will feature Stampin' Up's new Bella Rose paper pack. Deadline for preorder/payment is August 27th, and I will have kits ready on/before September 10th.

Please let me know if this is something you might be interested in by visiting my demo website and emailing me or using the Contact Me form from there.

Sisters

Please click on any image to see a larger version!

Wow! This layout is somewhat of a departure for me. Does this paper look familiar? See here for the tutorial where I made it.

I've got a lot of 'Firsts' in this layout:
1) This is the very first time I have EVER glued a photo directly to the base layer. I'm a matter, no question about it, as you can no doubt tell.
2) I had never before done an entire page with just ONE photo.
3) I 'invented' (to my knowledge) a new punch flower (see tutorial).
4) Prior to this layout, I had never freehanded every bit of title text.
5) This is the first time I've used such elaborately stamped paper as my page base.**

Ingredients: Whisper White (base), Bordering Blue (title), Ballet Blue (flower), and Not Quite Navy (mats) cardstock, Small Oval and Five-Petal Flower punches, Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, 1/4" white grosgrain, SU! paper snips.

Did you notice that the title text is kinda wobbly and uneven? Yep. I picked up scraps of Bordering Blue and my papersnips and just started cutting out letters. So they're a little... UNuniform? Each letter taken by itself looks rather questionable, but put together, they look great, I think!

Now here's a close-up of the Hardware on the right-hand page:

And here's a close-up of my totally groovy flower:


And... here's the sketch (available only to demos with access to the demo challenge forum at SCS, and to visitors to my blog) I did for the July 15 Demo Scrapbook Challenge:


**By the way, a friend asked me about my using dye inks to stamp the background paper. Yes, I did use dye inks, and yes, dye inks are at a greater risk of fading over time. I have had Lavender Lace ink fade after two years in indirect sunlight. However, I have a box full of cards and goodies that I made ten years ago (when I first discovered SU!) that are still as vibrant today as when I stamped them. So I'm thinking (i.e. confidently hoping) that the ink formula hasn't changed much in ten years, and that storing stamped art away from harsh light (as scrapbooks generally are) will preserve the integrity of the ink color.

DIY Designer Paper

Click on any image to see a larger version!

I saw a beautiful designer paper recently that came in a large pack of rather mediocre paper. So instead of buying the entire pack (for $20+), I decided I could replicate the general feel of the paper fairly well with stamps and ink. So I gave it a try and am very pleased with the results. This is nice heavy paper (since it uses SU! cardstock), so it's great for scrapbook page bases. It takes time, but cost me nothing (I already had the supplies), and it was so EASY! So easy, in fact, that I made another design, AND put together a very quick tutorial...

Here's what you'll need four two sheets each of two different designs:
-Four sheets of white (or other light colored) 12x12 cardstock
-At least three ink colors. I'm using Bordering Blue, Old Olive, and Rose Red
-Quarter of a Stampin' Sponge
-Stamps. I'm using Baroque Motifs
-'Sanded' background stamp
-Stampin'Around wheel, handle, and ink cartridge. I'm using Baroque Border with Not Quite Navy
-Wheel guide (optional but REALLY handy)

Paper One:
1. Sponge Bordering Blue around the edges of two sheets of white cardstock.
2. This is about what they should look like when you're finished sponging.
3. Stamp your design in bold colors. Here I've used Old Olive ink. The paper looks nice just like this, but I wanted something a bit more colorful.
4. I've added two more rows, one Rose Red and another Old Olive, and now I'm using my Sanded background stamp to distress the paper. I'm just bouncing the stamp on my Bordering ink pad, not bothering to ink the entire surface, and pressing it into white spots on the paper.
5. I've added Bordering swirls using the same stamp that I used for the Olive and Rose stripes. However, I stamped off once onto my workmat before stamping the image onto my paper (so the color is more subdued).
6. A close-up of a portion of the finished design.

Paper Two:
1. Assemble your Stampin' Around wheel in the handle with the ink cartridge and roll out rows of designs. The wheel guide is super handy for this.
2. Again, I distressed with my Sanded background stamp, using Bordering Blue and the same willy-nilly technique.
3. Again, I added muted swirl designs in Bordering, stamping off to tone down the color.
4. A close-up of a portion of the finished design.

Give it a try!

Say What? (June 15 Challenge)

I've been in a beach-minded mood this month (preparing for a vacation in Florida this summer), so that's what inspired this page--the colors anyway. I don't have a stamp set that I thought really fit with the photos I intend to put on the page, but "Life's a Breeze" is going on my next order. I thought about making it a Father's Day theme with Loads of Love, but decided against that idea. TITLE ADDED DIGITALLY in Photoshop. Font is 'Bud Easy'. I also didn't have any SU DSP that fit with my color scheme, so I made my own (WW paper, markers, and an acrylic grid). Probably will fade over time, I know.

Ingredients: Sahara Sand base, Brocade Blue, Ballet Blue, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, and Kraft cardstock, SU Markers, 1" Circle punch, 1¼" Circle Punch, Photo Corners Punch, Small Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Five-Petal Flower Punch, brads, circle scissor, Celery and retired Bluebird quarter-inch grosgrain ribbon.
Techniques: Faux chipboard, DIY designer paper

Some detail shots below. Click to see larger version.

Loopy Flower

Chunky 'Button'

Blurry (sorry!) corner detail

Proof (kinda) that I striped the paper myself. If you look closely, you can see the green smudges.

Last, but not least, is the sketch I did for this challenge!

Thanks for looking!

Quick Change

I dunno. The original layout just didn't seem to mesh with my artistic verve, so I pulled up the photo mats and started fresh. This one still seems a bit plain, but I'm chewing on it (Sheesh, not literally!).

Play It, Sistah!

Didn't I say that my brain is more in scrapbook mode than card mode lately? And isn't this page fun?! This is the first single-page layout I've done in a very long time. Uses scraps of Bali Breeze paper, SAB rubons, assorted punches, cuttlebug dies, chipboard, bling, and a prima flower. Title was printed from Photoshop at the same time that I printed the photos (font is Badonk-a-donk). I had some creative fun assembling the various flowers.

Particularly Challenging

This month's challenge was quite a challenge for me, too. I'll explain. I'm part of a group of ladies who do a monthly scrapbook class. My friend Carole (who is my downline) generally puts together two 2-page layouts using one package of designer paper per person. My job is to make the cutting guides for those pages, and I have also been teaching card-making with various stamping techniques. Lately my brain has been more in scrapbook mode than card mode, so this month we're trying something different. Instead of cards, I plan to do two additional layouts. Now the challenge is that the only DSP I can use is whatever's leftover from Carole's layouts, and the cost of the non-DSP supplies for both additional layouts can't be more $5.00 or take too much time to assemble.

Add in a boatload of end-of-year school activities, PTA meetings, and a class to teach at UTA, and play-time to come up with wonderful cheap ideas has been non-existent.

DSP: Bali Breeze
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Vellum, Purely Pomegranate, Old Olive
Ink: Creamy Caramel (for distressing), Old Olive
Stamp: Sanded
Punches: Horizontal Slot, Boho Blossoms, Five-Petal Flower
Misc: On Board Blossoms & Basics, Purely Pomegranate Satin Ribbon (from the winter mini), pewter brads

This is a close-up of the chipboard flower (in honor of the chipboard sale!). I cut a square of Old Olive, and stamped it with the Sanded BG in Olive. Traced the chipboard piece on the back of the square.

Quick tips for covering chipboard with paper: Put your paper face down on your workspace, then your chipboard piece face down on the paper. Trace around with a pencil, and say if it's a flower, put a dot on the back of one petal of your chipboard flower, and a matching dot on that traced petal on your paper--to help you line it up correctly later. Cut out your shape, glue to chipboard, trim, sand edges.

I've been eyeing my vellum for a while, so I thought this might be a good use for it. Elegant and subdued, but still fun.


This is a close-up of one of the ribbons at the top of the Sahara Sand pieces. I used the Horizontal Slot punch, then threaded 5" pieces of Pomegranate satin ribbon through each. Stapled in place (I used a long-arm stapler to come up from the bottom and staple). Then I put a strip of DSP over the staple.


And here's the sketch I did (and largely ignored!) in the making of this layout:

THANKS FOR VISITING MY BLOG!

It's a Tea Party!

Click on any of these pics to see a bigger version!

I'm about to post the April 15 DSBC, but wanted to post pics and details here, first. This is a 'cutesy' page, and I guess I was sorta channeling the creative juice of Mary Engelbreit. You can't see it very well, but the squares at the bottom of the left-hand page are watermarked with the cherry stamp. I used faux chipboard for the center of the big loopy flower (I was going for the jumbo-brad look?) and the black paper buttons--except I used all colored cardstock instead of kraft. Title added in photoshop because I don't have pics in mind yet for this layout.

Materials used: Certainly Celery base; Summer Picnic DSP; Real Red, Basic Black and Whisper White cardstock; Celery and Red markers; Versamark ink pad, Signo white gel pen; Photo Corners, Large Oval, Small Oval, 1" circle, 3/4" circle, and 1/16" handheld punches; Crop-A-Dile; Hemp twine; pretties kit brad


Scroll down to the next post to see the sketch.

DETAIL PICS:

Below, a detail of the big loopy flower. I stacked three 1" red circles and glued them together. Then I punched a hole in the center of the stack using the larger punch of the CAD. I then glued one more red circle on top. The hole is for the head of the brad that's holding the loops of the flower together. Plaid stripes and faux stitching added by hand with gel pen. Red circle is attached to the black loops with glue dots.


Below, a detail of the other flower. These are the small ovals left over from making the loopy flower above. I initially punched the 1/16" holes thinking I'd actually put the petals on the post of the brad. But I didn't like how that looked, so I glued them to a 3/4" red circle. Swirlies added by hand with gel pen.


Below are the paper buttons. Love how these turned out. Punched eight 3/4" black circles, glued two stacks of four, marked my holes with a pencil, then punched them with the small punch on the CAD. Sanded the edges just a bit, added hemp twine and frayed it.


Thanks for looking!

New Demo Scrapbook Challenge --sketch

It's my turn to do the April 15 Demo Scrapbook Challenge! It's gonna be a day late, though. This has been a crazy week, with a science fair AND a PTA meeting already (not to mention last-minute tax filing). So my sample layout is only about half finished. But here's the sketch anyway! (Stay tuned for pics of finished layout!)


Off to work on this.........

She's Got Talent!

This is my creation for the Demo Scrapbook Challenge for April 1st. It was Susan's turn to do the sketch and she did a fabulous job! The inspiration from the page grew out of the flower on the bottom right. I had made it a few weeks ago when my new small oval punch arrived to go with my large one. On Thursday when I sat down to do the challenge, I had scraps of the two shades of gray laying on my work surface from a previous project. I thought "Hey, that flower would really 'pop' against the gray. What color would be a good background if I did that?" And I went from there. In the pic above, the title and 'journaling' were added in Photoshop (my tentative plan is to use the pages for pics of my daughter in next Friday's talent show).

I had some fun coming up with different-looking flowers using just punches (more economical for classes than the pretties kit). Later today I'll post more detailed photos and instructions for those flowers.

Here's Susan's sketch:

Santa Elena Canyon layout

This is my sample for the March 15th Demo Scrapbook Challenge at SCS!

I used Spring Break DSP again (versatile stuff!), and for the first time ever ran a scrapbook page through my sewing machine. I started out using hardware store jute twine on the big flower, but decided against it when I put my photos in. The twine is sheddy and stinky, and ended up being too bulky. The only stamps used are the retired Letterpress alphabet.

I think the hardest part of this layout was cutting out the letters for the title! Easy stuff.

Stamps: Letterpress alphabet (retired)
Paper: River Rock, Blue Bayou, Old Olive, Spring Break
Ink: Classic Olive & Bayou, Craft Olive
Accessories: Felt Flowers, 5-Petal Flower punch, Photo Corners punch

Oh, and here's the sketch I did for the challenge: