Like Father Like Son Layout

Good evening fellow scrappers!  Today I'm sharing a page that recently went up on the Authentique blog.  I've used papers from their fabulous 'Strong' collection.  The patterns, designs & colors of this collection are absolutely perfect for masculine themed pages.

Lately I've been taken several photos of my husband & son together & this one is my most recent favorite.  Here they are on Superbowl Sunday posing in matching NY Giants jerseys.  Eli Manning jerseys to be exact!  My husband is making sure that my son is a die hard NY Giants fan from very early on.

From a scrapper's point of view I noticed that the bright blue colors of the jerseys went along perfectly with the colors in the 'Strong' collection.  :-)  That's how I see most of my photos...what's the predominant color in the photo and which papers fit that photo best.

I'm sure many of you are used to seeing my journaling stored in the form of a scroll.  I just can't get enough of this way of storing journaling.  I love it!!  Can you tell? I only seem to use it in just about every other layout I do.  For me it's been a life saver since I tend to tell a story with all of my pages.  I had to always adhere my story to the back and I didn't really want to do that--being able to store my story as part of my page, keeping it private & being able to add a unique type of embellishment to my page satisfies all my needs!  So I think you'll be seeing these little scrolls for a bit longer!

If anyone is interested, I did make a tutorial on how I go about making these scrolls.  You can find that tutorial here.

I framed my photo with elements & die cuts that come with the 'Strong' collection.  I just inked the edges a bit and highlighted the polka dots on the patterned paper by adding a bit of Star Dust Stickles to them.

The splatters were made with a stamp by Vilda Stamps conveniently called 'Splatter'.  I also added dots of dark blue acrylic paint to the splatters.  I randomly adhered a bit of pearls & rhinestones onto my background.

I decided to do a bit of fancy stitching on this page.  I combined both bakers twine & embroidery floss to create these very long stitches.

With a paper piercer I've pierced holes along the border.  I used the 12" Design Ruler by Tim Holtz to pierce the holes.  This ruler has holes in it just for this purpose.  I pierced every other hole in order to space out my twine/floss.  I then strung the twine through a needle and this is how I thread my twine/floss through the pierced hole & the mini note that is holding my title as well.

With a 3/16" circle hand punch, I've punched a hole in the middle of the mini note (elements that also come with the 'Strong' collection) and converted the mini note into a tag.  Instead of stringing ribbon through the hole--I instead reinforced the punched hole with an eyelet & strung the baker's twine & embroidery floss through it.  I then covered all that strung twine & floss with a brown mulberry paper daisy.

Thanks for stopping by--your visits are always truly appreciated.  Enjoy the rest of the week!

Authentique & Taylored Expressions Blog Hop

Good morning fellow crafters & welcome to Day 2 of the Authentique & Taylored Expressions Blog Hop! If you came here from Stephanie Kraft's blog then you're on the right track.  Make sure you began today's hop with the Taylored Expressions blog & that if you see something you like along the way, please feel free to leave comments!  Comments are always more than welcome.

If you hopped along yesterday then hang in there & keep on hoppin'.  Be sure to stop by ALL the blogs today & leave unique comments as you go for a chance to win an Authentique/Taylored Expressions Prize Pack.  Don't forget that Taylored Expressions is currently offering 10% off all their dies.  Just use code: TENOFFDIES when checking out.  Please note, this code is case sensitive & not available to wholesalers. This offer is good from April 11, 2013 until 11:59pm CST on April 19, 2013

For my project, I decided to combine Taylored Expressions 'Keeping Tabs Die' & 'Layering Doily Die - Medium' with Authentique's Renew collection.

This would be my little guy Toby giving me one of his over the shoulder looks!  I was finally able to capture this infamous move of his with my camera & this was the perfect project to showcase it.  The fabulous soft turquoise, yellow & black color scheme of the Renew collection made for a 'playful' page which is the feeling I wanted this page to convey.

Here you can see both dies by Taylored Expressions layered.  I first ran through the doily die--cut the die in half and simply flipped one half of the circle die over.  I then offset the two layers just slightly so that the black would peek through from behind the white side.  Next I layered the 'Keeping Tabs Die' which I accentuated by applying a large brad through it.

I did a bit of paper rolling as seen here to give the page a bit of dimension.  Here's the 'Layering Doily Die' once again by it's own.  I just added a bit of pastel yellow acrylic paint dots to the hearts in order to dress it up a bit.

I felt that one of these rolls made for a perfect nest for this little guy!  So I adhered him right onto one of the largest rolls.

I added a large brad to the center of each one of the 'Keeping Tabs Die'.  This formed a kind of symetrical design on my page that happened purely by accident! :-)  When I finished & looked at the page from afar I noticed it.

Here are a few more close ups...

These clear Fleur-d-Lis embellishments are by Clear Scraps.  I highlighted the border with a yellow Sharpie paint pen and added a few dots of yellow acrylic paint to them.

These bright turquoise organza star flowers are from my stash.  I have many of these in several colors which I currently have up for grabs in my small Etsy shop.

The background was made with one of Clear Scraps most recent releases--a 6" Damask Mascil.  I used Mustard Seed Distress Ink and heavily applied it to my mask because I wanted the image of the mask to display brightly.  I then further decorated the background with random dots of turquoise Stickles.

Something that has become customary with my pages is storing my journaling in the form of a scroll.  So once again, here's my story in the form of a scroll.  If interested in how I make these scrolls--I have a tutorial on my blog here.



Just in case, here's todays blog hop order--your next stop is Sankari's blog.

Taylored Expressions- http://tayloredexpressions.blogspot.com/

Shannon White- http://enchantedladybugcreations.blogspot.com/

Shellye McDaniel- http://paperedcottage.blogspot.com/

Wanda Guess- http://www.ablogcalledwanda.com/

Stephanie Kraft- http://handkraftedbystephanie.blogspot.com/

Kay Fatula- http://www.kayskreativekorner.blogspot.com/

Sankari Wegman- http://sunnysankari.blogspot.com/

Authentique Paper- http://blog.authentiquepaper.com

Thanks for stopping by & enjoy the rest of the hop!

Dance In The Rain Layout

Good evening fellow scrappers!  Today's post consists of a page I made for Clear Scraps a couple of months ago when we did a cross promotion with SEI, but never got around to posting.

All the papers seen here are by SEI and I've used an XL Dazed Shape & an acrylic Fleur-d-Lis by Clear Scraps.

This is my little Toby as a puppy back in 2008.  He had just finished running around or 'dancing' as I like to think of it as--in a summer rainstorm with me.  It's one of my fondest memories of him as a puppy.

Dancing in at least one summer rainstorm is kind of a tradition of mine.  This was the first time I actually had someone join me!  He ran all around the backyard in his yellow slicker--chasing me around & just enjoying life & the fabulous rain.  Needless to say, I looked just as drenched as he did after it was all over.  :-)  We had a lot of fun that day...

I'm also happy to say that this was the layout that was printed in the PaperHaus Spring Issue 2013!  I was quite honored & happy to be selected along with other such wonderful talent.

The SEI papers are from their Vanilla Sunshine collection.  It's such a bright and happy collection--I really enjoyed working with it!

The lovely ruffled light blue flower seen here I bought from an Etsy shop called More Paper Than Shoes.  Anna the owner, has many absolutely gorgeous handmade paper flowers for all sorts of occasions in this shop--she does lovely work.

The vellum flowers were handmade by me & the light blue organza star flower seen in the bottom right hand corner are flowers from my stash.   I have many of these flowers in all different colors currently available in my own Etsy shop if anyone is interested.

Yellow tulle was tucked underneath my large yellow flower--right next to it is a cute little mushroom bird. 

I feel that adding a bit of tulle to your pages softens it a bit--at least this is the impression tulle gives me.

A combination of Prima & handmade flowers.  The buttons seen here are by an Etsy shop called Zeus & Zoe.  The owner Marivic has these & many other fabulous items for crafting in her shop!

This acrylic Fleur-d-Lis is one of Clear Scraps Clearly Accent Embellishments.  I've applied drops of blue & yellow alcohol inks directly onto the acrylic in order to give it a bolder effect.  I highlighted the edges with a black Sharpie Oil Based Paint Pen.

I've stamped an image by Stampers Anonymous directly onto my acrylic background with jet black Staz On ink.  As always, do remember to use solvent ink whenever stamping onto your acrylic.  Using any other kind of ink will cause your image to smear.

I've used two punches by Martha Stewart to create this border--the deep edge Scroll Heart & the Deco Fan.  I've inked the edges & dressed up the designs of the punch with dots of Stickles & Liquid Pearls.

I applied the same technique to the edge of the acrylic XL Dazed Shape in the background--I accentuated the border with a yellow Sharpie Oil Based Paint Pen & dots of blue Liquid Pearls.

As usual, I've decided to store my journaling in the form of a scroll.  I wanted to document exactly how Toby decided to 'dance' with me in the rain that one stormy summer afternoon.

If interested in how I make these journaling scrolls--you can find a tutorial here.

As you can see, I sometimes even keep the fortunes from my fortune cookies & use them as embellishments!  I was in the process of creating this layout when we decided to get Chinese one lazy afternoon.  When I got this fortune I felt it was just right for my layout--I just inked the edges & adhered it.

Thanks for stopping by & enjoy the rest of the week!

Complete Love Layout

Good afternoon fellow scrappers!  It's time for another challenge over at OUAS & as usual Nadia has picked a fabulous theme.  April's theme is: The Best Day of Your Life

This can be any day that is of significance importance to you.  Anything from a child's birth, wedding, buying your first home, to getting that much deserved promotion or landing your dream job there really is no right or wrong.

From my perspective, I've picked the recent birth of my first son.  As the title implies, having him come into our lives felt as if our family was finally 'complete'.  It's been my husband, my fur pup Toby & myself for 5 years now.  Having my son was like finding that missing piece to a puzzle.  Our family now feels complete as well as our circle of love.

The very large 'Love' is one of Clear Scraps acrylic expressions.  This would be their Large 'Love' Expressions.  I've also used a 6"x6" mascil by Clear Scraps titled Quarterfoil to add a bit of texture to my background.

Here's the sketch provided by Nadia that my page is based on.

I've cut the acrylic 'Love' in half in order to fit it onto my page.  I traced the letters onto patterned paper, cut them out and adhered the paper to my letters.  I wanted to accentuate the edges of my letters a bit more--so I went around all the edges with a white gel pen and then added a bit of shimmer by going along the edges with Star Dust Stickles.

The chipboard hearts & banner are by Imaginarium Designs.  To give the chippies thier texture, I've inked them in embossing ink & heat embossed them with gray embossing powder.  I tend to give my chippies a bit of glimmer.  So I decided to heat emboss my chippies again but this time with clear Star Dust Embossing Powder by Stampendous.  In person, these chippies have a fabulous shimmer!

The two center hearts shown in this screen shot I inked with Pumice Stone Distress Ink and then added a thick layer of Pewter Distress Stickles.

Aren't these little mushroom birds the cutest?  Wherever I find them, I tend to buy a few.  I love adding them as little embellies here n' there to my projects.

The light blue flowers are part of a Prima vine that I cut in half in order to place the flowers on both sides of my photos.

The pink organza star flower are items from my stash.  I have many of these in all colors & have recently decided to add them to my Etsy shop--so they're up for grabs if interested!

My journaling is stored in the tag shown here.  I added a bit of gray tulle to the tag.

I found these silver foil doilies that really add a nice 'silvery' touch to any projects that have a grayish tone in their color scheme.  This is the first time I had the chance to work with these silver foil doilies & I loved the effect they gave my page!

Here's a close up of the masking made with Clear Scraps Quarterfoil mascil.  I used Weathered Wood Distress ink & added a dot of Silver Stickles in between each design.

As always a big thanks to all of you who stop by for a visit.  Make sure you all stop by the OUAS blog to check out the other talented DT's take on this challenge.  Do play along if you can!  There are several fabulous prizes for some lucky winners.  Enjoy the rest of the week!

Thinking of You Criss Cross Card Tutorial

 Good morning fellow scrappers!  Hmmmm, seems like almost a whole month has flown by & I've been a bit quiet.  Well, you can blame work for that.  I've been a bit swamped since I went back.  I've made it a point to keep my sanity by taking the time to scrap here n' there--I just haven't had the chance to post any of it!  So, to start myself off here's a DT card I've made for Authentique.  I've used their lovely papers from the 'Remembrance' collection. I've decided to go with a non-traditional card & opted for what is called a 'criss cross' card. 

'Remembrance' is one of Authentique's petite collections full of beautiful papers in shades of deep purple & olive greens with elegant patterns and sentiments of sympathy, thoughtfulness, and good memories.  These papers can be used for sympathy cards, to honor memories of loved ones who has since left us or to pay tribute to a dear family member or friend.

There are several tutorials and how to's on the internet on how you can make your own criss cross card.  I simply decided to add to this collection of tutorials with my own version.  What I like about the criss cross card is that it's essentially one large pocket that you can embellish as desired with a sentiment that easily slides in & out of the card.  It's not a complex card to make if you wish to go with a slightly different sort of card.

Here is what the inside sentiment of the card looks like.

Following are a couple of close ups.

Now onto the tutorial...

You Color My World Layout & Challenge

Good morning fellow scrappers! It's actually my turn to host my very first challenge over at Berry71Bleu!  This is the first time I host any kind of challenge--so I'm quite excited & a bit nervous...

After a bit of deliberation, I decided to go with a 'You Color My World' theme.  The concept is to create a project based on a person(s) that adds 'color' to your world--that just brightens your day.  That one person(s) that just gives your life meaning.  It can be more than one person & it can even be a pet!  I have my own fur baby--so I'm very much aware of how much joy a pet can bring into someone's life.  So pets are included in this theme.  The challenge is to use paint in your project.  You can use paint in any shape or form...splash it onto your background, use it to color your embellishments such as chipboard or flowers--the possibilities are many, just let your creativity be your guide.

I provided this photo collage as inspiration for the challenge.  The projects don't necessarily have to have many colors or bright colors--the photos are more for inspiration since they're lively, happy & joyful.

At first I was going to scrap my newborn son--what can add more happiness & joy to someone's life than their first child right?  Then I thought...hmmm, can't leave Toby my fur baby out--he taught me the meaning of unconditional love!  Then after more thought I realized that I wouldn't have Toby or my son if it weren't for my husband.  So I based the page on him--the beginning of it all & the reason as to why I have the family that I'm part of today.

I'm a cautious person & take my time to make any life changing decisions.  If it weren't for my husband giving me those much needed nudges neither Toby or my newborn son would be here today.  How grateful I am today that he gave me those nudges--my two boys complete my world & are my two little rays of sunshine.  So this project is dedicated to my husband...with much love!

 The title was printed on a transparency, cut out & adhered with clear dry glue.  The light orange polka dots were made with a stencil provided by this month's challenge sponsor DecoArt.

The border seen here was made with a punch by Martha Stewart.  The large light brown flower is by Manor House Creations & the mulberry orange & yellow flowers are from I Am Roses & Wild Orchid Crafts.

In the upper corner of this screen shot you'll notice my usual scroll which holds my journaling.  Here I provided my husband with a heartfelt message.  You can find a tutorial on how I make these journaling scrolls here if interested.

All of the chipboard cogs seen here are by Dusty Attic.  To give them texture, they were all first primed with gesso.  Once dry, I colored them with blue frosted paint also sponsored by DecoArt.  After this layer dried I finished it off by using a bit of DecoArt purple & blue twinkle paint.   I especially liked working with the twinkle paint--as you can see, this paint gave my chipboard cogs a nice shimmery & glittery final touch.

The splatters seen in the background were made with the 'Splats' stamp set by Recollections.

The film strip is by Tim Holtz & all these really cute wooden tags & the wooden window shutter seen underneath the Manor House flower is by a shop found in Zibbet called SaCrafters.

Love my bright blue cogs!  :-)

I included these two paint brushes to be symbolic of having my husband 'color' my world.  These were actually the brushes I used to paint my chipboard cogs.  I just cleaned them a bit & adhered them to my page.

Make sure you head on over to the Berry71Bleu blog & play along!  You have until the end of March to play & this month's sponsor DecoArt has provided us with some of their fabulous products as the prize to the lucky winners!  Looking forward to seeing all of your lovely works of art.