hope you are having fun!

Hope you are having fun!

I’ll be back properly soon to show you some stuff.

Take care and be safe.

Happy New Year!!!

Speed scrapping!

hello Arty Craftians!
Yesterday I leaped on my fave scrapbooking site: Fiskateers and found that someone had started an impromptu on-line crop weekend. With prize giveaways! groovy!  so I ended up doing a few Challenges….. Oh by the way its still on today! so leap on over there and you maybe could win a few goodies!

I did 3 layouts in 4 hours! usually it takes me 3hours to do one layout. Heance the speed scrapping!

Challenge: Do a layout following a magazine cover….
  <This is the cover and following is the layout.
The photos are of past paintings I have done myself. I am quite happy with the results of this layout. Notice I used five 6×4 photos on it! Groovy!

Stamped with paint, did the title with paint and a paint brush, Added a Heidi Grace clear quote sticker.

Two other Challenges:Use boarders in someway / Monochromatic (one colour different shades) – I happened to combine 2 challenges here.

I used Heidi Grace pins, Negatives of Heidi Grace sticker sheet, rub-on boarders, rub-on hearts. Whispers – Inque Boutique – Stephanie Barnard heart journalling stamps and letter stamps.
The background paper is cut with the fiskars Ultra Shape Express using the Fiskars Square template outside edge.

Challenge: dig out and use your decorative scissors.

I used Cloud9 stamps in the background with Whispers stamp pads. Heidi Grace sticker surround and stickers/rub-on letters. Heidi Grace pins. Cloud9 vellum flowers.

Fiskars – Cristina Re - boudiour decorative scissors
Provo craft – rough scallop decorative scissors.

 

Changes coming to blog:

• In the new year I’ll have a new banner go up on the blog….. (change on 1st of every month)
• A schedual of blog events: ie certain days when the sketch will go up/ lessons etc
• A best of 2009 page will be added – (My gallery for 2009)
• A frugal scrapper page will be added – (tips on saving money while scrap-booking)
• Removing Weekly Bible Verse Challenge Page (its started up as a yahoo group)

Well this is my last post until the New Year.

So Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you all. Keep safe. See you on the 1st of January 2009!

Tips:
Keep your old calenders! I maybe doing a lesson!
Keep your old chocolate boxes and other boxes. Used Wrapping paper, Chocolate foil, clear packaging, ribbons….. I maybe doing future lessons/showing examples on using these!

3 photo – 12×12 Layout tutorial – beginner/advanced levels

This lesson is using Sketch 1 – found here.

Skills to learn:

• Folding cardstock to make “embellishments” (curtains)
• Hand sewing on a layout.
• Faux matting technique.
• Using double sided cardstock.

Instructions for both beginners and advanced levels.
(example shows finished 12×12 advanced levels layout)

Materials Needed:
1 sheet of each: Heidi Grace Midnight Kisses, Decor stripe and Floral double sided cardstock.
Midnight Kisses: Cardstock alphas, Cardsock Journal mounts, Dimensional word stickers.
Fiskars 12″ trimmer with black scoring blade.
Adhesive

optional (for intermediate/advanced levels) :
Midnight Kisses: Rubon Boarders, clear phases
DMC thread 355
Needle (and maybe a pin to make holes)
old stamping mat which you can make holes into to protect your table.
1 12×12 Blue plain cardstock to match the blue in the patterned cardstock.

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 Step 1: gathering and preparing your supplies.
Choose your photos.

Gather your cardstock and supplies that match the colours in your photos.
Have a copy of the layout you are going to follow printed out and ready to follow.
 
Double sided cardstock is very useful for this layout. We will be using both sides! With minimal waste. The white strip on the cardstock that holds the name/collection and company logo is usable too.  It is printed on the other side with a pattern so there is no waste at all! Cool huh!

- I chose these patterned papers for it matches the skirt I’m wearing in the photos and the greyish works well with the grey of the rocks/concrete.

Trim the photos to the desired sizes.
-all my photos started off as 6×4 photos. As you see above I used the trim offs of the smaller photos to “extend” the large photo.

- Trim off the white “advertising” stip.
- Then place the photos on top of the grey background of the Decor stripe in the above formation. With small gaps in between all. Do NOT stick at this stage. This is just helping you see the layout sketch take form.

Step 2: preparing the “embellishments”

- take the “floral” cardstock and cut 2 pieces of 4 1/2″ x 10 1/2″
- then store at every 1/2″
- next fold at every inch. The extra score marks help add texture.

- the fold is an accordion fold. Make sure you do the opposite way to the other piece so they look like open curtains. I did angle the last inside fold towards the centre a bit. You can too if you like.

- Place the curtains on the layout. Not sticking them down yet.

- Cut 1/2″ strips from the Floral paper and turn it the other way to reveal the Argyle on the other side. Place the strips on the photos as in the above picture. Not sticking yet.

- cut out the embellishments that you will use on the layout. Letters for title, journalling sticker, dimensional sticker.

Beginnersstop here and stick everything down in place. Add your journalling now.
Advanced people carry on.

Step 3: Doing some fancy bits.

- I used colour 355 DMC thread which matches the floral paper quite well here.

- poke holes in square formation “::” on the folds. At the top of your curtains.
-This will help you to sew on these cardstock curtains.

 
- Sew x’s on on the top of the curtains. Starting with a knot and securing with adhesive at the other end on the back.

Step 4: finishing up

- Stick down the photos. Slightly shifting the layout to the right. Don’t make it dead centre.
- Stick down the strips that separate and faux mat the photos.

It will pay to trim the 1/2″  off the left side and 1/4″ off the bottom of your layout now before sticking the curtains on the layout.

-I attached the curtains to the layout by only applying adhesive across the top and down the outside of the curtains.

- attach the layout to the blue 12×12 cardstock.
- Put on the title, journalling block and dimensional sticker.

 
- choose your clear sticker and place it near the journalling block.
- choose your rubon boarder, trim it off the sheet and rub it on with the provided stick across the top of the layout between the curtains.

All you need to do now is write on an old piece of paper what your journalling is then re-write it onto your journalling block.

You are finished!
This layout is of my daughter at about 2 years old when we fed the ducks together at the park. Slowing catching up on my back-log of photos. Yes I’ll eventually put in my journalling later tonight.

If you do this layout please leave a comment and a link to your layout online. Thank you so much!

Have fun Crafting!

Totally addicted

Yes I’m nuts – totally addicted to creating…. Don’t worry, everything is ready for Christmas here for the kiddos. So here is my latest creations….

My groovy box for my Stamping accessaries. I put a hole in the top for my stamp cleaner bottle.
If you want to do something similar go to Leah Fungs blog…. Video blog 42 video

Here is a close up of the layered flower….. you notice I “cracked” parts of it with the crackle stamp.

I used a Heidi Grace pre-braded flower on top, and blue vellum flower by Cloud 9. The container is an old ice cream container. And yes the hokey pokey ice cream was delicious!

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I wanted to make a fridge magnet – so ended up making a flower one.
I did this by putting the dandylion die through my cuttlebug with a thin advertising sheet magnet. then put it through with vellum and cardstock. I layered the flowers ontop of each other with a lace and felt flower on top with a brad. I love the result.

I also used the same die on this project:
Yes the Donna Salazar Prompts…

This is day 5: At Christmas time I like to make… Crackle stamp, Fiskars elegance boarder punch, cloud 9 vellum flower, felt flower, lace flower brad

Day 6: At Christmas time I like to watch…. same supplies for day 5 but I added some Heidi Grace scrapbook decorative pins to the flower.

OOOPs almost forgot day 4: My fav Christmas recipe is… Heidi grace sticker surround/background and Heidi grace pin, cloud 9 vellum flowers/leaves. I love the soft look of this flower.

Day 7: My fav Christmas song is…. done with felt flowers. denim piece, acrylic paint, wooden block stamp from trade aid shop. I love supporting the Trade Aid shop it supports trade to needy talented people in 3rd world countries.

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Here abit about scrapbooking pin use. I struggle using this product but I am trying to force myself to use them. Not that its hard. Just something I don’t use much but want to…… yea I have conflicting thoughts about them.

Here I used those pins on the flower I put the ends of the pins into the background/corrugated cardboard.

and one pin into the flower here also hiding the sharp end into the cardboard.

Thank you everyone  for reading and I wish you a very merry  and inspirational Christmas.

Fun with new stuff and skills.

I love learning new things and new skills. I also love being introduced to new products.

I was given permission by my hubby to buy some stamping stuff! So off I went to buy some goodies!
I ended up in Montarga Stamps…. a cute little shop with great stamping stuff and awesome scrap supplies!

I bought a black stamp pad, H2O brush, Gold embossing powder (by Ranger) and a crackle stamp. I can now “crack” everything up! lol – ok that was a bad joke!

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I have also been doing another “12 days of Christmas” project from Donna Salazar! She is a PrimaDonna  and a very talented artist. I just love her style.

This is the cover…. corrugated cardboard, old book page, white acrylic paint, snow flake stamp (think its a free one from a stamp mag), lettering printed from my computer, plain cardstock, leaves from a silk flower, Cloud 9 vellum flower, felt flower, Inked lace flower and Fiskars corner boarder punch, Cuttlebug boarder die.

Day1: What I like best about Christmas is….. Corrugated cardboard, white acrylic paint, stamp, chipboard flower, Fiskars elegance boarder punch.

Day2: My favourite Holiday Decoration is…… Corrugated cardboard, white acrylic paint, denuim strip (cut from jeans), cloud 9 vellum flower, lace flower inked with green – Fiskars elegance boarder punch.

Day3: My fav. Christmas tradition is…. Heidi Grace sticker surround, Anitas various stamps, cloud 9 vellum flowers, lace flower.

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I have also done a little more of the Little Mermaid x-stitch.  Working down the side and across the bottom….

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Machine sewing is something that is starting to make a big come back for me at the moment…..

This is a princess dress for my little princess Mishael. And here she is in it.

Well I must go now. My son is doing dangerous climbing!

Happy crafting!

1 photo – Christmas Layout Tutorial – Beginner/Advanced levels

Do you have a Christmas photo from your children (or maybe you!) on Santas knee to Scrap?
Not sure were to start?
Well here is a full step-by-step tutorial for you.

Skills to learn:

• Making custom embellishments – by using patterned paper (poinsetta)
• Fixing boarder punch mistakes
• Using acylic paint with stamps

Instructions for both beginners and advanced levels.
(example shows finished 12×12 advanced levels layout)

Materials needed:
Fiskars 12″ trimmer
Fiskars cutting mat
Fiskars Scissors/ultra shape express
Fiskars Boarder  Punch
Cloud9 -Vellum Flower kit – red
Cloud9 – Christmas Joy Kit
12×12 blue cardstock
Adheasive
pencil

optional (for intermediate/advanced levels) :
Cloud9 – Christmas is – Christmas tree clear stamp
acrylic block or Fiskars stamp press
White Acrylic paint or White stamp pad
Fiskars eyelet setters – for punching holes
Sponge Brush
Fiskars square foam Adheasive
Stamping mat
Fiskars embossing stylus
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1: Choose the colour/pattern scheme to go with your photo.

- here I chose red, green, blue and the christmas themed product pack as well as the red vellum flower kit. Kits make it easy to choose embellishments to go on your page for they match the cardstock.

2: Roughly sketch a layout for your page or you can use a ready made layout from the internet….
see Page Maps or Trina McClunes sketches for referance.

- starting with a sketch layout is a really good habit to get into. It makes life alot easier when you know what you are doing. You are always aloud to change it as you go. Its just a guide.

3: Choose the size of your layout….. 12×12? 8×8? or 6×6?….. etc

- this one is instructions for a 12×12 sized layout.

 

4: Next start prepareing your elements:

- going by my sketch and papers chosen I have cut out a row of raindeer from patterned paper.

-I trimmed the top off my photo – cutting off an ugly part of it.

- Trimmed a piece of paper just 1/2 inch taller than the photo – this helps matt the photo and tie the layout together.

- i don’t stick anything down at this time and just “build” the page close to what i have in my sketch by laying all the pieces on my “base”  – which is my Blue cardstock. This helps me see if everything is “working” right.

- I need a flower so I cut it out of the patterned cardstock with my Ultra shape express. (You can use scissors here if you want).

5: The Journalling:

- I have chosen cardstock I want the Journalling to go on. The cardstock in this Kit is double sided. Which is Fab for just this purpose! (and others) So I type up and print on it my words describing the photos story. Don’t forget the date!
 

- Trim your Journalling to about an inch gutter around the text.
 

- ooops! the journalling block is too big!  DON’T panic!!! This is where a really handy tool come in – a boarder punch.

-here I have only done the corners with this punch. Just so I could get them right. But….

- its still too big if I trim off the straight edges so I’ll try again with a ready made template…. (red paper) See even experianced people suff up!

- now I re-punch. The journalling panel is not perfect But no problem that can be covered up.

6: Finishing at the beginner level.

The Layout and the sketch looks the same now so at the beginer level you can now stick everything down and cover up your mistakes with vellum flowers.

For advanced levels: DO NOT STICK THINGS DOWN! – carry on with the below instructions. Beginners are welcome to give this a try.

7: Doing the fancy stuff.

-I love the mountains on Santas chair so I am going to mimic them on the blue cardstock.

- I took out my acrylic paint, (you can use paint dabbers or other paint sold in scrapbook stores)  Cloud9 tree clear stamp. (you are welcome to use white ink – stazon does a good one) And a sponge brush.

- Using the small spong brush I lightly brush on the paint covering my stamp and do a test.
 

I like the result, so I go to my layout, mark lightly were my main layout is and take the elements away.

-Stamping the background paper and paint the edges of the paper with the sponge brush.
 

Leave to dry (takes about 10 min or so)
This is a good time to clean up your paint brush and stamp. I used warm plain water and an old tooth brush to clean up the stamp.

8: Finishing off
-Use a stylus to mark two vellum flowers as shown (the purple thing is a stamp mat – a thick foam mat)

-Punch a whole in the cut out flower and insert the brad – assembling a 3D look flower.

- Stick down the photo, journalling spot and the caption title to the green strip. Punch holes with the Fiskars eyelet setters and insert brads to hide those mistakes made before.

- erase any pencil markings and stick down the green strip on the layout. Stick in place your raindear boarder. And using the Fiskars foam adheasive on the back of the poinsetta stick it to the layout.

   

Congratulations you are now complete!

Give me feed back on this tutorial by leaving a comment. Click Comment. I’d love to know if you like tutorials done this way.

Also if you love this website vote for me by clicking on the Top NZ 50 scrapbooker logo at the top right of this page. Thank you so much.

 Please also leave a link if you do this tutorial. I’d love to see your creation.

Happy crafting!

more holiday crafting

Ok done it again. I went into a shop and saw a Christmas decoration I could make. I zipped home and made it…..

My black stamp pad is starting to go on me so looks like I’ll be getting another soon.
I made this using my Ultra Shape express, star and christmas-1 template and a wooden stamp I found at trade aide shop. Also the Fiskars fingertip craft knife.

And here is my angel box.

made out of Plaster cast angels, box was packaging from a computer part we bought.
Clear window put in.
Cardstock is from Heidi Grace – midnight kisses range
Flowers are – cloud 9 vellum flowers

The angels were painted using acrylic paints. Black first….Then greenish colour – wipe off a bit,  then white -wipe off a bit. Then Gold – wipe off a bit and done! A little Tim Holtz technique utilised for one of my own projects. Groovy!

Thanks so much for looking

 Merry Christmas!

Sketch layout 1

Right, you voted for it – so you got it….. Sketches.

Here is sketch 1
It will feature here for a week. The Blog is below this post.
Layout lesson for is is available….. Here

Here is the sample layout:

Video time!!!

hello all Arty Craftians!

How is your Christmas decorations?
My store bought decorations are all from last year except for the Manger one.

So I decided to re-vamp a few so here is a  3  min 48sec video on how I revamped my alcheapo supermarket decorations for this year…..

And here is the finished bean bag beans decoration….

Painted with Acrylic paint and clear glitter put on it.

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And lucky you!

I have done a   3 min  33 sec video on how I do my “Lino Stamps”
The “lady with no face”

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And look what I found that I haven’t uploaded before….
a 12×12 layout of my boy playing in leaves.
I used the leaf template by Fiskars and the Ultra Shape Express With Cloud 9 cardstock.

Thanks so much for looking. Have an Arty Crafty time!

submission calls for free Oh Scrap online mag

hello all

 

We would love you to submit layouts/off the page projects/How to articles to OhScrap please…

 

The call is out now for……………… 

February Issue – “Love” – due date: 20th January 2009 or sooner

 

March Issue – “Mad as a March Hare” (however you interpret that is your choice ) – due date: 20th Feb 2009 or sooner

 

Please email us at: ohscrap@live.com

 

Thank you so much we appreciate any type of submission.