Remember 2011 Layout

TGIF fellow scrappers! Today was one of those Fridays that I refer to as 'Fiesty Friday'. Everybody was hyper at the office...not much work got done & we were all for the most part simply happy! Not sure if we're all burnt from the amount of work we've been having lately or we're all anticipating our supposed first 'snow storm' of the season or if there's just something in the air--but it was a great Friday!

I was also able to wrap up this page that I'm submitting for several challenges.

The first is for the Once Upon A Sketch (OUAS) January 15th challenge. The challenge was to journal about New Year's. Either 'Hello 2012' or 'Goodbye 2011'. I decided to journal about the one memory that most stood out in my mind for 2011--so I guess I went with 'Goodbye 2011'. I absolutely love this one photo me & my husband took while vacationing in Puerto Rico. The time, the place & the meaning behind it--just meant a lot to me. I've already scrapped it once before. You can see my first take of it here.

This is also being submitted for Case #2 going on over at C.S.I. I'm really enjoying their Alice in Wonderland theme.

Finally, this page also fit the requirements for the Bird Is The Word (BITW) 'Remember' challenge.

Here's the sketch provided by Nadia over at OUAS. I'm a fan of circular elements--so this sketch got my cogs & gears going as soon as I saw it. :-)

This is Case #2 for C.S.I. The colors for this case took me a little out of my comfort zone. I tend to be more of a 'grungy girl' & lean more towards the brownish/vintage colors & I don't tend to mix too many different colors on one page. However, all these bright colors just seemed to work/blend well together!? Who would've thought!

Ok, let's start with the close ups. The circle frame chippie is by Dusty Attic. I gave it the iridescent paint/embossing texture that I'm quite fond of when it comes to chipboard. I first painted the chipbard with metallic teal/green acrylic paint. With a white Sharpie paint marker I highlighted the edges of the flourishes on the circle frame in order to define them a bit more. Next, I inked the frame with embossing ink & heat embossed it with Kaleidoscope clear embossing powder by Stampendous. This particular embossing powder gives off this shimmery iridescent texture that is so very pretty in person & hard to truly capture with a camera.

The yellow butterflies I cut out from a Hambly overlay that I've had in my stash since before time. I finally found a use for it! :-) I wanted the butterflies to look as if they were flying out from behind the photo.

TIP: Want to try out a dimensional way of matting your photo? Simply rip & tear scraps of paper with your hands & layer them!

I ripped & tore several pieces of two sided paper straight & in angles. NOTE: This works best with two sided paper that has one light side & one dark side. I inked all the torn edges with Tea Dye Distress ink. I then layered all of these torn pieces one on top of the other in different angles & curled the edges on some of them. As I adhered the layers I tried to alternate the sides of the paper I used (dark versus light). This gives the effect of having many pieces of paper matting the photo when in reality it's just bits & scraps that are just layered one on top of the other.

One of the main reasons I love this photo so much is that I find it sweet & romantic. Sweet & romantic = tulle in my book. Tee-hee. There's something about tulle that 'softens' a page. So for the first time, I've incorporated a bit of tulle in my layout. I kept it simple. Just took a piece of tulle, tied it with a knot & then adhered it to my page. Done.

I also made the New Year's resolution to use up the tons of ribbon I have in my stash. So once again I've intertwined a piece of ribbon amongst all of my floral embellies.

The brick wall I traced with a fine point black marker and a Prima brick mask.

The random yellow misting was done with Yellow Daisy Glimmer Mist.

The gate stamp is by Prima. As I tend to do--I stamped my image on a transparency with StazOn Jet Black ink. This way I can place my image anywhere I wish & I don't have to worry about stamping it on crooked. I have total control of how my image will display! Yay!

A close up of the other cluster of embellies. The resin bird is by Prima. You can see my second tulle accent here as well.

I also used two small white doilies on either side of my matted photo. Since they're white like my background they add a soft subtle touch.

Finally...my hidden journaling. Ta-da! Turns out that one of those torn edges on top of my photo is actually a pull out tag where I hid a bit of nostalgic journaling. Journaling reads:

This was it. This was the defining moment of 2011 for me. This is the one memory I do not want to forget. One the eve of our 4th wedding anniversary we took a 'classic' photo during our vacation to Puerto Rico. One that I hope our future son or daughter will maybe one day try to reproduce. It's timeless. It's romantic...it's us.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend & a big thanks as always to those who stop by for a visit.

New Years Slumber Layout

Good evening fellow scrappers! Today's page is one that I made for the January 1st challenge going on over at Once Upon A Sketch (OUAS). The challenge is to scrap how you spend New Years.

The journaling is hidden behind the photos. More on this in a few.

This is my husband sleeping on New Year's Eve. :-) This is how we usually spend it due to his demanding job. He's pretty much 24/7 hour production support for his company & it's very common for him to work entire nights, holidays, weekends etc. New Year's is no exception. So it's a joy for me to watch him sleep when he actually gets the chance to get a good night's sleep on a holiday.

I've used the Dreamer collection by 7 Dots Studio, a lot of stamping & many different embellishments for this page.

I'll also be submitting this page to the first Case File going on over at Color...Stories...Inspiration (C.S.I). Couldn't help but play along with their first 'case'. The whole concept behind this new site is just too cool to resist!

This is what the first case file is based on. It's Johnny Depp...enough said! lol

Here's the sketch provided by OUAS the page is based on.

I used ribbon along with a string of pearl beads to really give this page some dimension. The large gold leaves are by Prima. The mulberry flowers are from my stash. I once again used a tiny glass vial on my page. Along with a metal pen nib by Tim Holtz. I filled the vial with small black glass beads & wrapped a bit of hemp cord around it. I tucked a couple of tags from the Dreamer collection behind the vial & the pen nib.

I also used half of a crochet doily...you can see it peeking underneath the cluster of embellies.

A close up of one of the chipboard keys. These keys are by Dusty Attic. I used a Gold Paint Dabber by Ranger on the keys & dried them with a heat gun. To give the keys that 'stone' look just heavily apply the paint dabber on them so that little globs of paint are left behind.

Here's a close up of the waterfall journaling. You can find a tutorial for this technique here.

Being able to journal the story behind my husbands hectic schedule and why it's actually a pleasure to see him sleep on New Year's required some extensive story telling. I needed a way to document all of this & I didn't really want to store it behind the layout & on the layout it would take up too much room. So I leveraged the concept behind the waterfall card for this technique. This is also a great way to display different photos in a condensed matter.

Here's the waterfall journaling half-way out. I printed the journaling on transparency.

In this photo the journaling is completely pulled out.

Finally a closeup of my stamping. The script stamp & the grid stamp are by Tim Holtz. The script stamp is from the Mini Ornates stamp set & the grid is from the Ultimate Grunge set. The splatter stamps are by Recollections. I found this stamp set at my local Michaels. These stamps have almost become a trademark of mine! I've used them in just about all of my pages lately. I'm in love with them! lol

Thanks to all of you who stop by! I appreciate you taking the time to visit.

Waterfall Journaling Tutorial

Here's a brief tutorial on the waterfall journaling seen on my 'New Years Slumber' page.

I usually keep my journaling on the back of my pages. Sometimes--if I have the room--I'll have it in the front as part of my layout. However, for this layout I had an actual 'story' to tell with my page and I didn't necessarily want to put it behind my layout. I also didn't want to put it as part of my page because it would take up too much room. So what to do?

I had heard of the 'waterfall card' and knew of it for several years now actually. However, it wasn't until now that it occurred to me that I can leverage the waterfall card onto a layout and use it for journaling.

You can follow any waterfall card tutorial found on the internet & simply leverage it for your project. Following is how I went about doing the waterfall journaling for this particular page. TIP: This technique also allows you to display multiple photos in a condensed manner. My entire page is based specifically on this one photo--so I used multiples of the same photo for my layout.

So let's get started!

The Wonder Of You Layout

Good evening fellow scrappers! Today I bring you a pastel Christmas page. Now, pastel colors are not my norm when it comes to scrapbooking--I tend to go more for vintage/grungy colors. However, I really like how this page came out! For some reason these two photos of Toby sitting on Santa's lap alongside Santa's Little Helper said 'pastel' to me. So pastel it was.

Isn't my Toby a little ham? I swear he 'smiles' for most of his photos--these two being no exception. He's such a little character...

I've used papers by Pion Designs from their Santa's Little Helper II line. These papers came with the December kit by Funtoolas--a very cute Etsy shop filled with delicate embellishments & very well coordinated kits for scrapbooking. This will be the third page I've completed with elements from this kit. Needless to say, I've thoroughly enjoyed this kit!

The peach crochet doilies are also from an Etsy shop titled 'Frog Feathers'. This little shop has lots of trims and other goodies that can be used for scrapbooking.

I'm submitting this page to the Bird Is The Word challenge blog. This page is for their 'Wonder' challenge.

The title is a combination of clear labels made with my Dymo Caption maker & letters adhered to a piece of clear acrylic/transparency. I've been using transparencies more & more on my layouts because it offers more dimensional possibilities. If you're a dimensional lover like yours truly--then this is the way to go.

TIP: To position titles over ribbon, beads, pearls, brads or any other bulky embellishment--consider adhering the letters to a piece of transparency. As shown here the word 'wonder' was first adhered to a piece of transparency and then adhered over my string of pearls. You can't even see the transparency which makes it look like the word 'wonder' is perfectly balanced on my string of pearls!

Speaking of pearls...I've had strings of pearls in my stash for the longest time in all sorts of colors. I figured it's about time I started using them. So lately I've been adhering them in a random sorta way onto my pages. I just like the randomness they supply to the page.

I've taken out my splatter stamps once again for this page & have randomly stamped splats & splatters in the background. This stamp set is by Recollections & I found it at my local Michaels. The snowflakes & black flourishes are also stamps--these are by Inkadinkado.

The two large white crochet snowflakes came with the Funtoolas kit.

I once again used a bit of cheese cloth to mat my photos. I am loving the effect cheese cloth gives when tucked behind photos.

The black flourishes were stamped on acrylic. TIP: Stamping your images on acrylic/transparencies gives you much more flexibility on the placement & orientation of your image. For example the flourish is actually the reverse image of the actual stamp. I liked how it looked better reversed. If it wasn't for the transparency--I wouldn't have this option.

I further decorated the black flourish by adding some clear rhinestones & Star Dust Stickles.

A close up of the snowflakes border chipboard. I first painted the snowflakes with metallic blue acrylic ink. I then randomly dabbed a bit of Silver Paint Dabbers on them by Ranger. Finally I randomly spread adhesive & sprinkled a bit of Fairy Dust Glitter by Donna Salazar on them. They're even more shimmery in person!

These dimensional Christmas trees are making their second appearance. I first used these in my 'Magic' layout. I have made a tutorial for these trees & will post it soon. They are actually a stamp that I've altered to give the trees lots of depth/dimension.

Thanks to all of you who stop by for a visit! I'll be back soon.

Enjoy The Journey Canvas

Good morning fellow scrappers & bloggers & happy 2012! New Year, new fresh outlook to life, new resolutions! I hope everybody had a wonderful, happy & safe New Years.

Today's project is one I've had done for some time now & simply haven't posted. It's an 8x8 canvas based on family.

I used a variety of glimmer mists for the background as well as transparencies, corrugated cardboard, metal embellishments, tiles, glass beads mixed media, embossing & of course stamping.

The hinges is by Tim Holtz & are made out of grunge board. They were first inked with Vintage Photo Distress ink. Next they were dry embossed with Tim Holtz's Dot Matrix & Gridlock embossing folder. Finally they were randomly heat embossed with gold embossing powder.

For the background I used the following Glimmer Mists: Riptide, Blue Skies, Tuscan Sun, Candy Corn & Sunkissed Peach. The metal clock is by Tim Holtz. The transparent Owl is by Tattered Angels. The corrugated cardboard was first painted with metallic ivory acrylic paint & then spritzed with Pralines & Cream Smooch.

The burlap flower was made with Tim Holtz's Tattered Florals die. I used my burlap flower technique to make this flower. If interested in a tutorial on how to make burlap flowers, please go here. I used the same concept. Only difference is that this flower has just one layer.

The corner flourish chippie is by Dusty Attic.

The glass vial is by Tim Holtz. I've become a big fan of using these cute little glass vials in my projects. I simply fill them with glass beads that I have in my stash & wrap a bit of hemp or twine around them.

The title & the random script is all made with stamps. I stamped the images onto a transparency & then adhered the transparencies where I wanted on the canvas.

Here you can also see the glass beads mixed media I used to make the large flourish on the canvas. I used a template by Crafters Workship for the large flourish. I spread the transparent glass bead mixture along the template making sure I fully covered the pattern I wanted. Once done I removed the template & let the glass beads dry. This media is transparent so in order to make the flourish stand out a bit more, I painted over the flourish with a bit of white acrylic paint.

A big thanks to all of you who stop by for a visit. Your visit and/or comments are very much appreciated!

My Joy Layout

Good morning fellow scrappers! Hope all of you had a fabulous Holiday. Now onto the final countdown of 2011. Um, where DID this year go? Can someone let me know!?

Along with the end of 2011 comes my end with Sketchabilities. This will be my final post with them. I had a great time while on this DT. The sketches were a great challenge for me & pushed those creative juices.

I did a Christmas page for this sketch. Tis the season right? I took this very cute candid shot of my hubby & fur baby Toby while doing our annual Christmas card photo shoot. This photo worked just right for this sketch & my overall Christmas theme.

I used one of the December scrapbook kits by a very cute Etsy shop by the name of Funtoolas. This particular kit contained the lovely papers 'Waiting for Santa II' by Pion Design.

Here's the sketch my page is based on. Karan comes up with some very versatile sketches--they can be interpreted in many ways & they kick your creative skills into high gear. :-)

I used a brick mask by Prima for the background. For my inking, I used Aged Mahogany & Chipped Sapphire distress inks.

The snowflakes are actually Christmas tree ornaments that I found at my local Target for $1.00. They come in packs of three, are light, flat & fit perfectly on scrapbook pages. You can also use snowflake dies--I just don't have any--so I ended up using these ornaments instead.

The Santa tag is a cut out from one of the Pion papers. I distressed & inked the edges.

This very elegant metal embellishment came with the Funtoolas kit.

I used a scrap of glassine paper by Tim Holtz to mat my photo. I just wrinkled the glassine several times & then swiped some Walnut Stain distress ink over the wrinkled glassine. I'm loving this glassine paper! My next newfound love is cheese cloth which I've used to mat my photo as well.

The title 'My Joy' is a combination of a transparent label made with my Dymo label maker & some American Craft Thickers that came with the kit. I wanted my titled to be in a certain position on my page. It didn't quite fit on my photo & there was too much of a gap between the photo & my background where even if I adhered my title with pop dots--half my letters would be distorted. The solution? Transparencies! TIP: Adhere your title onto acrylic or transparency. Then simply cut it out. This way you can place your title anywhere--like one large sticker without distorting it. This works great for pages with lots of dimension--and as you can see from my photo--it's really not noticeable at all. The title almost looks like it's floating on it's own. Magic I say!

I did a few random tears into my page. I then punched out small scraps with my Martha Stewart Wildflowers punch around the page deep edge punch. These scraps I tucked behind my tears. I then added one safety pin to each of my tears.

Finally a close up of some of my stamping. I can't have a page without at least one stamp in it! The splatters is a stamp by Recollections and I believe it's called just that 'Splatters'. I bought it at my local Michaels. The script stamp is by Donna Salazar & is called 'All My Love'.

Thanks to all of you who stop by for a visit. I'm always grateful to you. Feel free to hop on over to the Sketchabilities blog to see the other DT's take on this sketch & to play along if you can!

May you all have a wonderful, happy & safe New Year!

I'll be back in 2012...

Magic Layout

Good evening fellow scrappers! So Christmas is just days away...another year almost over. Can the time go by any faster!? Sigh...one of the best things though about this time of year are the pictures we get to take. Here's one of my latest Christmas faves. It's a completely candid shot of my husband, Toby & myself. This was taken on our annual amateur photo shoot for our Christmas cards. None of us were ready, we weren't looking at the camera--we were simply being ourselves. I loved it! So very much that I ended up using this as part of our Christmas cards. :-) Of course I also had to scrap it.

I used the lovely papers Waiting For Santa II by Pion Design for this page. I was able to finally get my hands on them via a wonderful Etsy shop I discovered by the name of Funtoolas. Even the name is catchy! Cindy the owner of Funtoolas puts together lovely kits. She had two December kits this month--I was lucky enough to snag the Pion kit. I had heard much about this Swedish company & the papers were perfect for my photo.

I'm submitting this page for the Once Upon A Sketch (OUAS) December 15th challenge. Here's the sketch my layout is based on. I flipped the sketch on it's side for my page. The theme for this challenge was how you spend Christmas Day. For me Christmas Day is spent quietly. It's quality time with family. We celebrate on Christmas Eve which is tradition for Latin American countries. So on Christmas Eve my family has Christmas dinner & on midnight we open up our gifts around the Christmas tree. We go to bed late--and then spend Christmas Day talking, laughing & sharing memories.

A close up of the flourish chippie & my snowy trees. The chippie is part of the Holly Flourish by Dusty Attic. All of the trees is actually a large stamp by Magnolia called Winter Forest. I stamped the image on dark green patterned paper. Cut them out and randomly colored them with a VersaMarker pen. I then heat embossed them with Peeled Paint distress embossing powder. Next I cut each layer of the tree out--added my 'snow' on the layers & then put the trees back together again with foam dots. This gave my trees a 3D effect. I hope to do these trees again in my next Christmas page--I really liked them a lot! I'll capture a couple of screen shots as I make them. This technique can work for any kind of tree stamp or image that has layers that can be cut out.

The silk flowers came with the kit. Aren't they pretty?

The doe is a die cut by Tim Holtz called Reindeer Flight. He die cut a doe from sticky back canvas for one of his 12 tags of Christmas and this is where the inspiration for my doe came from. The doe is die cut from sticky back canvas, then randomly inked with Frayed Burlap distress ink. I then adhered a bit of mini garland I had in my stash & tied a bell on her neck with a bit of twine.

For the corner I adhered four different kinds of coordinating scraps and then curled them upwards. This gives the illusion of having several pages clustered together. I tucked some hollies & flowers in this corner.

I used a bit of cheese cloth & a crumbled piece of glassine paper by Tim Holtz to mat my picture. The glassine was wrinkled several times & then inked with Walnut Stain distress ink. The metal flower embellishment came with the Funtoolas kit.

The large multi-colored snowflake in the corner was done with a Tattered Angels stencil. I spritzed the stencil with a variety of different mists & smooch. Then I 'kissed' the paper to my misted stencil. This created a washed out multi-colored imprint of the snowflake on my paper. I then heat set it before it smeared.

The random script seen throughout my page is a stamp by Donna Salazar titled 'All My Love'.

A close up of my other smaller tree. Did I mention how much I loved these little trees? :-)

Thanks to all of you who stop by for a visit.