Send It Clear Christmas Card

Good morning fellow scrappers! Today I bring you an acrylic card by Clear Scraps.  I finally found the opportunity to play with one of their Send It Clear cards & I have to say that I really enjoyed the versatility these transparent cards provide.

As the base of my card, I used the Deco Send It Clear Card. To add visual interest to the cover of my card I added a variety of elements such as Stickles, tinsel ribbon, acrylic beads, flowers, a doily, paper etc.

The paper doily you see peeking out from behind the large green fabric flower is actually adhered to the inside of the card.  This is where you would write your sentiment.  However, since this is an acrylic card--it peeks through and gives the impression of being tucked behind the large flower.  That's the beauty of acrylic!

This lovely large green fabric flower I bought from an Etsy shop called Funtoolas.  This little shop carries several lovely fabric & silk flowers in addition to coordinated scrapbook kits & other smaller embellishments.

The poinsettia, beaded flower and small white fabric floral spray are from my stash.  The mulberry paper white flat flower is by Manor House Creations.

You can see in this screen shot that I highlighted the edges of the cover with dots of Stickles.  On the right side I used Xmas Red Stickles & on the left side I used Silver Stickles.

I tucked a brad underneath the green & white flowers.  The clear flower gem cabochon I bought from yet another Etsy shop called Oh What Fun.  I found this little shop to be fun indeed with tons of cabochons to pick & choose from!

TIP: I highlighted the border in the inside of my card with a bit of Diamond Dust.  This gives the border a bit of a snow/tinseled look.  I followed the same steps as seen in my Snowy Tinseled Frame Tutorial.  Except here--there was only one simple step.  Just adhere your double sided tape along the edges--peel off the liner & then apply your Diamond Dust & you're done!

Here's the card with only the left side open--can't get enough of those transparent effects!

Here's the card with the right side open only.

Finally, here's the card fully opened.

I hope this inspired some of you to play with acrylic cards--they really do make for very unique & innovative cards.

Have a great rest of the week!

My Toby Layout

Hello again fellow scrappers.  It's time for another reveal over at Once Upon A Sketch (OUAS).

Here's my little fur-baby Toby taking center stage again.  It helps a lot that he's all white--it's easy to match him with any color!  :-)  The page is based on how much our lives has changed since Toby came into our lives.  Pets really are like another member of our families that provide us with unconditional love & loyalty.  My journaling which is stored in the scroll reads as follows:

My Toby--our Toby really...ever since you became a member of our family you've filled a void we didn't even know we had.  You bring sunshine & laughs to our otherwise mundane lives.  Your 'childlike' ways never cease to surprise or amaze us--and we'll never figure out how such a small dog can have such an enormously loud bark!  You're our Toby--but I see you as 'my' Toby.  I was the first one to hold you as a puppy & look into those big brown trusting eyes.  When I look at you today, I see a grown dog with eyes that are still trusting, but are now also filled with unconditional love, devotion & loyalty.  You belong to our family, but to me you'll always be my wet-nosed confidant, my undercover furry friend...my sweet little Toby.

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

I've used doilies, flowers, mushroom birds, nests & lots of ribbons on this page.  In fact, most of my background is made up of ribbon.  All ribbons & twine seen on this page were sponsored by Scrapbook Fantasies.

The gorgeous light blue flower is by Manor House Creations--I'm loving their flowers more and more lately!  I've tucked a bit of aqua & purple tulle underneath my large flower to soften the page a bit.

The butterflies are new designs that will soon be available in my Etsy shop.  So keep an eye out for them!

The honeycomb chippie is by Dusty Attic.  My title was printed on a transparency, cut out & adhered with clear dry glue.

I really liked this one particular metal word band by Tim Holtz that reads: "live the life you've imagined".  That would be my Toby.  Oh he really does live a 'dog's life'.  Eats all he wants, sleeps all he wants--total pampered pooch...even in the photo he's holding a bone that he happily chewed on for hours and hours!

The pearl flourishes are by Prima.  The small glass vial is from my stash--I've filled it with small beads, also from my stash.

Something that has become a trademark with my pages lately is how I store my journaling.  It's stored in the form of a scroll as shown here.  If interested on how I go about making this scroll journaling--you can find a tutorial for it here.

The background is composed of gesso with random smears of Frozen Lake & Blitzen glimmer mists.  The gesso was applied with a small spatula while the glimmer mists were applied with a paint brush.  I didn't spray the mists directly onto the paper this time.  Instead I sprayed them directly onto my Ranger Non-Stick Craft Sheet & then dipped my paint brush into the ink & painted away.

I've also tucked a bit of cheese cloth behind my trio of pictures.

Thanks for stopping by!  Make sure you visit the OUAS blog to see how the other talented DT's interpreted this challenge & sketch.

Enjoy the rest of the week!

My Little Devil Layout Clear Scraps & Quick Quotes

Hello once again fellow scrappers & bloggers!  Today I bring you a page full of both Clear Scraps & Quick Quotes goodies.  I know I'm a little late with the Halloween page--but I couldn't resist using these papers & embellishments by Quick Quotes that screamed 'Halloween'.

This would be my pup Toby dressed up as a little devil for Halloween last year.  I've been saving these pictures to scrap them with just the right supplies--well this was it!

The base of my page is a square Clear Scraps XL Scallops shape. I've done several techniques in order to give my clear acrylic background some texture.

All the papers seen on this page are by Quick Quotes.  They are as follows:  Halloween 100, Halloween 200, Halloween 300 & Halloween 400.   The 'My Scary Little Monster' cut out is also by Quick Quotes.  I hand cut that phrase from the Halloween 500 phrases.

I've used an actual mini frame that I found at my local Michaels for about $1.50 to frame one of my photos.  I've tucked a bit of cheese cloth behind my frame.

The fabric flowers are by Webster's Pages & the black vine is by Prima called Holiday Lights Glitter Spray Black Ivy.

All of the chipboard used on this page is by Dusty Attic.  To give the chipboard that shimmery look I first painted it with black acrylic paint--except for the moon which I painted a deep orange.  Next, I highlighted the bat wings & one side of the haunted house with a white gel pen.  Finally, I inked all of the chippies in embossing ink & heat embossed them with Star Dusty transparent embossing powder by Stampendous.

I punched a thin trim with my Martha Stewart Cherish punch.  I then did a bit of hand stitching to further define my punched trim.  I also dressed up the entire border of my page with dots of Liquid Pearls White Opal & Enamel Accents in Black.

I've distressed the edges to a few of my papers and inked them with Mango Mai Tai Chalk Ink by Quick Quotes.

Half of my page is actually see through--since the base is acrylic.  I've inserted a white card stock behind my page so that the texture I gave my background can be seen better.

These random splatters were made with alcohol inks & a can of compressed gas duster!  To see a quick tutorial on this--feel free to check it out here.

I used the following alcohol inks on this page: Purple Twilight, Sunset Orange & Citrus.

This vellum quote is by Quick Quotes called Be Afraid...

I also did a bit of stamping on my acrylic base.  Those bold black swirls seen in this photo is actually a stamp.  I've used Jet Black Staz On to stamp onto my acrylic.  Always remember to use a permanent solvent ink like Staz On when stamping on acrylic.  Using another kind of ink will cause your image to smear.

Make sure you stop by the Clear Scraps blog & participate in the blog hop in accordance with Quick Quotes! 

Here are today's blogs!

Karan - http://karangerber.blogspot.com

Quick Quotes http://www.blogquickquotes.com/

Today's prize from Clear Scraps is....

Clearly Accent Embellishments!

All you have to do is "LIKE" the Clear Scraps Facebook Page and

comment on the blogs!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Clear-Scraps/70440658130

Thanks to all of you for stopping by!  I hope this page inspired some of you to experiment with acrylic.  Have a great rest of the week.

Alcohol Ink Splatter Tutorial

Hello fellow scrappers!  Just a quick tutorial to showcase how you can get random splatters of alcohol inks onto acrylic backgrounds.

This technique can be seen on 'My Little Devil' page.

It's a very simple technique actually.  All you need are alcohol inks and a can of compressed gas duster.

You Should Know... Layout

Good evening fellow scrappers!  Well, first it was hurricane Sandy--now we're going through a snow-storm.  Hmmm...Mother Nature doesn't seem happy with the East Coast lately.  :-(

Being snowed in though did give me time to play along with the latest challenge going on over at Color...Stories...Inspiration (C.S.I).  I actually finished this page in one sitting.  It was just a burst of inspiration--don't you just love it when you get those!

I'm also entering this in the current 'Go Crazy' challenge for Berry71bleu.  I used bold colors on this page, combined several different elements onto one page & actually did a first which was to spray the entire page with a shimmering mist--more details on this coming up.

This page is actually about me.  Once in a while I'll do a page on just lil' ol' me.  Simply because us scrappers hardly ever do that.  If you think about it though--if there's one bit of legacy you wish to pass down to your future generations; what better legacy than yourself?  So that's exactly what I'm doing here.  Now that I'm actually going to start a new chapter in my life--that of a mom--I keep thinking to myself what would I want my child to know about me?  As parents we spend the majority of our lives trying to understand, guide & just plain figure our kids out.  But our kids don't really figure us out or truly understand us until they become young adults themselves.  At least that's how it was for me.  I didn't really understand my mom & all her hard work until I was in my early 20's.

So the journaling on this page consists of four things that I'd like my future child to know about me.  It's a bit on the private side--meant for his eyes only--but like the title of my page states--it's four things about me that I feel he 'should know'.

Here's the case file my page is based on.

For my evidence I have the following: stripes, flowers, swirls, transparent element, doily pattern & something that rolls up

For my testimony: I journaled 4 things about my subject--which is me

I actually cut one large doily in half & positioned both halves to make it look like one extra large doily in the background.

My title was printed on a transparency & adhered with clear dry glue.

As previously mentioned, I actually did a first on this page too--I spritzed it entirely (except for the photos) with Shimmeringz Bronzed Bombshell.  It actually added this nice soft brown/goldish shimmer to my entire page that I really loved.  You can kind of see that shimmer in this photo.

I combined several elements on this page when it comes to embellishments.  I had this large felt flower in my stash that I had been itching to use & I finally found the chance to do so on this page.  I bought several of these lovely felt flowers from an Etsy shop called KnockKnocking.

The grey & orange flowers are by Prima as are the flourishes, the light bulb & the wooden 'dreams' trinket.

Including something that rolls up on my page was easy enough!  I've been doing that a lot lately on my pages in the form of my journaling which I tend to store as a scroll.  Here's my journaling once again tucked away in a scroll.  You can find a tutorial on how I go about making this scroll journaling on my blog here.

The cute little resin bird is also by Prima.

I tucked a bit of cheese cloth behind my photos.  The transparent black, swirl frame was by Hambly Screen Prints.

Another little embellishment that has become customary on my pages lately are my little glass vials full of beads.  I've adhered one here yet again right next to one of my photos.

I've tucked two organza ribbons underneath my large felt flower.

The grey resin cameo tucked underneath my ribbons is by Webster's Pages.

A closeup of the other half of my doily peeking out from the rolled paper.

Thanks to all of you who stop by for a visit!  Enjoy the rest of the your week...

Then & Now Layout

Hello once again fellow scrappers!  Phew...here in NJ we are starting to slowly recover from hurricane Sandy.  It hit NJ hard especially towards the south of Jersey and our Jersey shores.  Looks like our shores will never be the same again.  :-(  However, my family & I are thankful that we made it through without any major issues.  My small house hung in there--even though at times the gusts of wind were so strong that my entire house would shake & the lights would flicker.  We were also one of the very few lucky ones that didn't lose power (knock on wood)--and when I say 'few' lucky ones--I mean exactly that.

I found some time to scrap this quick page of my husband for the latest challenge going on over at Color...Stories...Inspiration (C.S.I) case file #43.  Who says you can't use flowers for a male page?  I found myself bold enough to do just that with this page & I think it turned out ok.  Even when I showed it to my husband--he didn't think it was too 'girly' at all.  I think it's all about the colors you use and the material of the flowers.  Using anything sheer may have given this page a bit of a feminine appeal which I didn't want.  So I stayed away from organza or sheer flowers.

Both of these photos is my husband.  The one in the background is him at approximately 12 years of age.  The main photo is him today.  My page is about letting my husband know to always keep the 'kid' in him living within his heart.

Here's case file #43 that my page is based on.

I used the following for my evidence: damask, ribbons, frames, something transparent & rub-ons

For my testimony I tied the past to the present.

I found this plate to hold my title.  I adhered some alpha stickers by Glitz Design to a bit of vellum for the title.

My journaling is stored in the scroll.  Something that has become a trademark lately of my pages.  All the pages I've been scrapping lately have a story to tell--& I find that storing my journaling in the form of a scroll is the most convenient way to store it & I love the cute little embellishment it provides my pages.  You can find a tutorial on how I make these scrolls here.

My journaling reads as follows:

I absolutely love this childhood photo of you.  At that point of your life --you were no longer a boy--but you were not quite yet a man.  You were approximately 12 years old here & it amazes me sometimes how I still see that young 'teen' within you at your current age of 42.  Yes, time has taken its toll & physically you are no longer 12--but I still see that kid in your eyes.  That's where he lives.  He also makes guest appearances once in a while within your playful personality.  You stress with the demands that adulthood brings--but once in a while you take the time to touch base with that 12 year old pre-teen.  He's a part of your past--but he still lives within you--don't ever forget to take that kid within your heart always.

I recently bought myself a splatter stamp by Vilda Stamps.  I instantly put it to good use!  Love the paint splatter effect it gave me.  I used Jasmine Mix'd Media Inx by Donna Salazar to stamp my image--then with a white gel pen I colored in some of the splatters to make them pop off the page a bit more.

The background is composed of some hand stitching & ribbons as shown here.

A close up of my cluster of flowers.  The flowers here are composed of Manor House Creations, Wild Orchid Crafts, I Am Roses & resin flowers from my stash.

This gorgeous large flower is by Manor House Creations.  You can see one of my rub-on frames tucked underneath the large flower here.  I applied the rub-on frames to vellum and then cut them out.

The flourish chippies are by Dusty Attic.  I kept the texture of these flourishes simple.  I first painted them with gesso, then inked them with embossing ink & finally heat embossed them with Star Dust transparent embossing powder by Stampendous.  In person, these flourishes give off a fabulous shimmer.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!  Enjoy the rest of your week.

Fall Memories Layout

Good morning fellow scrappers! Today I bring you yet another Autumn themed page.  I can't say this enough--but Autumn is my absolute fave season!  The beautiful & colorful foliage, the pumpkin lattes, the pumpkin everything!  Pies, scones, muffins you name them--they're all good!   That wonderful crisp morning air!  Just love it all...

Fall also holds a very special place in both the hearts of my husband & I.  We were married in the Fall 5 years ago in October.  So here we are, celebrating our 5th year wedding anniversary.  We decided to go back to where we celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary--a quaint & quiet bed & breakfast in Pocono Pines, PA.  The foliage during this time of year in Pennsylvania is absolutely gorgeous.  We took this picture in the same exact spot that we took a photo 5 years ago.  We're even wearing the same clothes!  :-)  Here's a page I did based on our 1st wedding anniversary--you'll notice that both our outfits and the background scenery are pretty much the same.

This is also a DT page for Clear Scraps & I'm entering this page in the most current challenge going on over at Bird Is The Word (BITW).  The theme is Seasons--Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall.

I've used one of Nadia's sketches from an older OUAS challenge for my page.

Something that has become very routine with me lately is to store my journaling in the form of a scroll.  I have a brief tutorial on how I go about making my scroll journaling right here on my blog.  You can find the tutorial here.  I had a good amount of story telling for this page & storing the journaling in the form of a scroll doesn't take up too much space on my page & makes for a unique embellishment!

The number '5' represents the number of years we've been married.  I added simple texture to my number--I inked up the number with embossing ink & heat embossed it with Star Dust embossing powder by Stampendous.  In person, this number gives off a lovely shimmer.

Here you can also see a small glass vial that I filled up with colorful beads from my stash.  I tied a bit of twine around the neck of the bottle.  The twine is from Riddersholm Designs.

A long strip of dark orange burlap ribbon is in the foremost background of my page.

I used a couple of ivory colored rosette flowers, mini pinecones & other random Fall themed embellishments from my stash.  The fabric dark brown leaves are by Prima.

This large fabric orange flower is by Prima.  I tucked a bit of yellow & green tulle underneath this large flower to soften the page a bit.

This is the acrylic Pennant Banner by Clear Scraps.  I altered this banner in several ways.

First I colored them with several alcohol inks.  I used Lake Mist, Copper, Meadow & Sunset Orange alcohol inks.  On some of the banners I randomly applied drops of alcohol ink directly from the bottle.  This creates more dramatic designs on the acrylic.  Next with my crop-a-dile I punched 2 holes into each banner, ran green ribbon through them & finally a string of dark brown burlap twine to hold my banner together.  Last step was to add dots of Gold Stickles all along the edges of each pennant in order to define them more.

This flower was handmade.  I used a piece of a 12x12 Acrylic Sheet by Clear Scraps to create it.  I shared a tutorial on how I created this flower over on the Clear Scraps blog.  So if interested, feel free to check it out.

Thanks to all of you who stop by for a visit.  Enjoy the rest of the week!