Thursday, December 30, 2010

Finding a New Use for Christmas Shopping Bags

Did you happen to notice all of the great shopping bags this holiday season? From Starbucks and Trader Joe's to Whole Foods and Bath & Body Works, it seemed that graphic artists had their mojo on this year when creating these beautiful bags. As I was cleaning up after Christmas I took another look at these bags and decided I couldn't part with any of them. Instead, I decided to create with them. First up, Bath & Body Works. Here's the bag:

Here's the card I made with it:
I die cut that cute little house border using a Spellbinder's Nestabilities. Next, I used Glossy Accents to adhere some Martha Stewart snow glitter to the image. I'm not usually a fan of glitter but the Glossy Accents seems to keep it all in place. I added a little more shine with Perfect Pearls. Here's a closer look:
After mounting the image with pop dots, I set it aside and stamped and embossed the snowflake background. To further the economies of this card, I used ribbon from a 5-pack that I picked up at Target today for 75% off the original price!

I'll have another card to share using the Starbucks bag in a few days. I think I will save the others for next year! In the meantime, I better go shopping to see what bags I can add to my stash!
Happy New Year!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Stampin' UP! (kraft); Papertrey Ink (white); American Crafts (red);
Stamps: Hero Arts (Snowflakes; Merry Christmas Trees):
Ink: Ranger (Jet Black); VersaMark;
Ribbon: Target;
Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities (Classic Rectangles Large; Classic Scalloped Rectangles Large) Fiskars border punch (Scallop Sentiment);
Misc: Zing embossing powder (white); Perfect Pearls (white); Bath & Body Works shopping bag

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Christmas Joy

I have one more Christmas card to share with you before the Christmas decorations come down. I bought the paper for this card about a year ago with my mother in mind. She loves angels so I thought this would make the perfect card for her. Here it is:

This was a very simple card and came together in a matter of minutes. I started by cutting my card base the width of the angel image. I cut three rows of coordinating scallops from two-sided patterned paper, inked the edges with distress ink and added them to the card base. I went around the rectangular frame with Diamond Stickles to add some shine, tied a bow and voila! My card was finished!

As for those Christmas decorations, I won't be ready to take them down until after January 6th!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: Graphic 45 (Christmas Past)
Ribbon: EK Success Adornments (Tonal)
Misc.: Diamond Stickles
Tools: EK Success Slim Profile Border Punch (Double Embossed Dotted Lace)

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Christmas Card 2010 -- A Variation

Another quick post tonight to share the card I sent to my friends who celebrate Hanukkah. The card is a variation of my Christmas card. I apologize ahead of time for the poor picture quality. Sal got me a new camera for Christmas so hopefully the blog pictures will be better! Anyway, here is my card:
Again I used Basic Grey papers and relied more on the blues and browns for less of a Christmas-y feel. On the right side of card, I used a distressed blue paper which I stamped with brown snowflakes. I think I LOVE brown snowflakes! The snowman was paper pieced from a cut I made with Cricut's Winter Woodlands cartridge. You can't tell from the picture, but I added shine to the buttons with Glossy Accents and distressed the edges with ink. The eyes are brown pearls. Here's another open view of the card:
To answer a few questions that were left on the previous post, I made a total of 65 cards -- 60 with Christmas trees and 5 with snowmen. I started early in December and worked in an assembly line fashion. As for how long it took, the answer is way too long. LOL! The cards were all mailed (with the last few going out on Christmas eve) and my dining room table was ready for Christmas Day dinner with only a few hours to spare! All I can say is that it was a labor of love!

I'm already getting ideas for next year's card and have promised myself that I will start earlier! Now all I have to do is get Mark and Melissa to pose for a picture!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream; Pure Poppy);
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey (Jovial; Figgy Pudding);
Stamps: Hero Arts (Merry Christmas Trees; Snowflakes);
Ink: Ranger (Coffee: Tim Holtz Distress (Antique Linen)
Ribbon: Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy);
Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities ( Large Classic Scalloped Rectangles); Cricut Cartridge (Winter Woodlands); EK Success punch (Vertical Slot);
Bling: Recollections

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas!

Just a quick post tonight to share my 2010 Christmas card.
This year, I was inspired to make a bi-fold card and I have to admit that the Martha Stewart Scoring Board made the job so much easier.

Here's another view of the card:

To make the trees, I first stamped the image on the cardstock. I then stamped the top of the tree three more times on patterned paper. After cutting out each tree top, I scored each triangle and folded it in half. Then I glued the bottom of the right side of one triangle to the bottom of the left side of another. I repeated this and then glued the resulting 3-D triangle down to the card.

For the ribbon treatment, I used EK Success' Vertical Slot Punch to cut a small slit in the fold of the card before feeding the ribbon through.

Merry Christmas!

P.S. Watch my blog next week for a surprise guest poster!

Supplies:
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink;
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey (Jovial);
Stamps: Hero Arts ( Merriest Christmas Trees);
Ink: Ranger (Coffee);
Ribbon: Papertrey Ink (Pure Poppy);
Tools: Martha Stewart Scoring Board; EK Success Vertical Slot punch; Spellbinders Nestabilities (Large Classic Scallop Rectangles); Fiskars Punch (Apron Lace).

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Cheers!

If you are anything like me, you bring a bottle of wine with you when visiting friends and family during the holidays. And, if you're like me, you forget to ask the liquor store for a cello bag and red woolie to wrap your hostess gift. I can't even begin to count how many times I've had my coat on ready to leave the house and have been scrambling for a bow to put on the wine bottle. So, this year I decided to make gift tags especially designed for a bottle. Here it is:

I cut the main tag using Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 4 and then cut the hole for the neck of the bottle using the circle Nestabilities. The collar was then cut using a die from the circle and scallop circle sets. The rest is Hero Arts stamps, Tim Holtz distress inks and LOTS and LOTS of Perfect Pearls mixed in water to give it a beautiful shine!

I do have one helpful tip to share with you. Score the tag before you start spraying with Perfect Pearls otherwise your paper might be damp and you won't get a crisp score line.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink;
Stamps: Hero Arts (Merriest Wishes; Outline Bold Flourish);
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Fired Brick; Antique Linen; Vintage Photo); Ranger Black;
Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities (Label 4; Classic Circle: Classic Scallop Circle);

Sunday, October 31, 2010

No Tricks Here!

October has been an incredibly busy month so sadly, there was no Halloween crafting this year. In lieu of a Halloween card or layout, I have a three birthday cards to share. All were made with scraps of paper from the Imaginisce B-Day Bash collection plus Imaginisce Snag 'Em stamps. Here's a look at all of the cards:

I bought three 12x12 patterned papers from this line and in addition to making these cards, I also created a layout. I have used up just about every inch of paper. I have a few tiny scraps that I can probably use to make another card but other than that, it's all gone. I don't know if that's a good thing since I don't have to find room for it in my stash or a bad thing since I really love this paper. LOL!



The first card was inspired by Kristina Werner's card which you can see here: http://www.kwernerdesign.com/blog/?p=3865. Here's my take on Kristina's card:




I used Versa Mark ink to stamp my card stock with a Hero Arts background stamp and then used embossing powder. I punched all of the circles from leftover scraps of paper and adhered them to the card front. This is a great way to use up small scraps of paper. The orange stripe at the bottom of the card is a scrap that I had left over from CKC Make and Take. I embossed my sentiment and added bling to the candles for a little sparkle. Since this is a one-layer card, I cut a little slit in the fold of the card and threaded my ribbon through it. This is another tip that I have picked up form Kristina Werner!

Notice the blue circle with to the upper right of the sentiment. That was originally puched from a solid portion of the paper. I added the present using a Snag Em stamp and Versa Mark ink.


Now on to the second card:

For this card, I stamped my image twice -- once on white card stock and once on the blue pattered paper so that I could paper piece the package. I added the white faux stitching on the brown circle to ground the image and popped it on foam dimensionals for added impact. I also added brown faux stitching to the outside edge of the card to mimic the faux stitched circles in the patterned paper.


Finally, for my last card, I used a stamp set from Sassafras Lass. When I bought this set of arrow stamps, I knew that I wanted to stamp the entire set as one stamp to create a background so without taking any of the stamps off of the packaging sheet, I inked them up with brown ink and laid my paper on top of it. After pressing down for even coverage, I had an arrow background paper. I added the dots with a Hero Arts stamp and some Versa Mark ink for some added interest. This card was for my nephew's 30th birthday. I really wanted to say something "punny" but when that failed, I popped an arrow on foam dimensions and added a sentiment to the inside. Anyway, here's the card:


Well I hope I have made up for my lack of blogging by sharing three cards today. Stay tuned this week for the B-Day Bash layout featuring a very young Mark!


Supplies:
Cardstock: American Crafts (brown, white); Stampin' UP! (kraft);
Patterned Paper: Imaginisce (B-Day Bash);
Stamps: Imaginisce (B-Day Bash); Hero Arts (Raindrop Background); Sassafras Lass (This Way Arrows);
Ink: Versa Mark; Ranger (Coffee)
Embossing Powder: Stamp N Sstuff (Detail Clear); American Crafts Zing! (white);
Pens: Signo Gel (white): Stampin' Up! (Chocolate Chip);
Ribbon: Michael's (brown); American Crafts (gold);
Embellishments: Recollections rhinestones and pearls

Monday, October 25, 2010

Papertrey Ink October Blog Hop

This month's Papertrey Ink Blog Hop is dedicated to creating a card to celebrate a winter holiday other than Christmas. Since I don't have any PTI winter themed sets nor do I have the Mazel Tov set, this was a challenge for me. However, after giving it some thought, I realized that I could create a Hanukkah cards by using one of the elements in the Vintage Labels Set. Here's my card:

To create the Star of David, I simply took the scroll with the straight line and stamped it to create two overlapping triangles. I love how the scrolled images came together in the middle to create a kaleidoscope effect. I added gems to the star where the lines intersected.
I created the blue mat using the Fleur De Lis Nestabilities. The first time I ran the paper through my Cuttlebug, the mat got stuck in the die and ripped when I removed it. To remedy the situation, I put waxed paper between the die and the paper before running it through my Cuttlebug. The paper came out of the die easily and the waxed paper pealed right off!
If you want to see more projects created for the Blog Hop, head over to http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2010/10/october-2010-blog-hop.html

Supplies:
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink;
Patterned Paper : Basic Grey (Granola)
Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Vintage Labels)
Ink: Stampin' Up! (Night of Navy)
Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities ( Labels One; Fleur De Lis); Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (Swis Dots); EK Success Punch (corner rounder);
Bling: Recollections

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Happiness Is Dance

Recently Two Peas in a Bucket celebrated Pea1's birthday with a challenge to create a layout inspired by one in Kristina's gallery. Here's Kristina's layout:

And here's mine:


I loved how Kristina built her page with strips of patterned paper that stretched two thirds of the way across the page. I tried to duplicate her layout in a 12x12 format with the beautiful papers and stickers from Pink Paislee's Bayberry collection.

I don't know why "c" in dance looks like it has a different pattern but here's a close-up to prove that the letters are all the same!



In addition to the chipboard letters, I layered tags for the title. Then I used a K & Company rub-on to ground it.

I used Jenni Bowlin butterflies and some bling to create a sense of movement along the page.

Supplies:

Card Stock: American Crafts
Patterned Paper, Clear Sticker. and Die Cut Tags: Pink Paislee (Bayberry Cottage)Wood Alphas: Pink Paislee (Blackberry)
Rub-On: K & Company
Embelishments: Prima rhinestones, Jenni Bowlin butterflies
Punch: Martha Stewart (Double Loops)
Pen: Signo Gel (white)








Tuesday, August 31, 2010

6 Things

School starts in less than one week, so I thought I would post a layout I recently created using Melissa's 6th grade school picture. When Melissa started middle school last year, her teacher had each student create a flower using six prompts. Each petal of the flower answered a question. I loved that the answers to these questions encapsulated who she was at that moment in time so I thought I would create a layout based on these six facts about Melissa. Here it is:

Journaling reads: In the future, i would like to ... be a teacher. My favorite possession is ... my iPod. In my spare time, I like to ... dance. I worry about ... dying. My favorite place is ... the beach. My pet peeve is ... when people are sick. I have to admit that I laughed out loud when I read that last little tidbit of information about my daughter.
For this layout, I dug through my stash and used papers from Basic Greys' Lily Kate collection which I've had for over a year. I created lots of texture by fussy cutting and popping some of the flowers as well as adding silver gems to the patterned paper designs. I used my new Martha Stewart Modern Garland punch to create even more texture. I love how the tone-on-tone punching looks.

I used my Cricut to create the title. Because I wanted the title to have the dimension of chipboard, I cut out two sets of letters and stacked them before adhering them to the layout. I popped the "6" on foam dimensionals and outlined it with faux stitching for added emphasis. I carried this faux stitching around the purple block to anchor it to the page. Using a flower from the patterned paper to dot the "i" adds a little touch of whimsy.

Supplies

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey (Lily Kate)

Embellishments: Cosmo Cricket ribbon (Fleuriste); Prima Glazed Brad (Sasha); Recollections Metal stickers

Tools: Cricut cartridge (Calligraphy); Martha Steward Punch (Modern Garland)

Pen: Signo White Gel Pen

Turning the Calendar Page

August has come and gone without one single blog post from me. What can I say? August was a crazy month. In addition to vacation, getting Mark ready for camp and back-to-school shopping, the month started off with great sadness. My father-in-law passed away on August 3rd after a long illness. Although we were preparing ourselves for the worse, I've learned that you are never quite prepared when the time comes. There is great comfort in knowing that he is no longer suffering and is at peace. I'm looking forward to scrapping a page about him real soon.



Friday, July 30, 2010

Vive la France

Anyone who knows me knows that my sister, Diane, is a Francophile. Diane loves all things French and probably has more French stamps on her passport than I have pairs of shoes. That's why when, a week before her birthday, I saw this paper...

...I knew I had to buy it. Here's the card I created:

I used both the A and B side of the paper as well as a dot from another paper for the front of my card. To get the Eiffel Tower perfectly centered in my die, I taped the Spellbinder's Nestability to the paper before running it through the Cuttlebug. I used black embossing powder for an understated sentiment on my focal point image. I really wanted this card to be all about the patterned paper! After putting all of the garnet-colored gems onto the scalloped oval, I used foam dimensionals to adhere it to the card.
Here's a look at the inside of the card:

Happy birthday, Diane. Or should I say, "Joyeux Anniversaire!" Hope this glimpse of Paris holds you over until your next trip!

Supplies:

Cardstock : Papertrey Ink

Patterned Paper: Graphic 45

Stamps: Papertrey Ink (happy birthday sentiment from Delightful Dahlia); Hero Arts (Enjoy the Moments)

Ink: VersaMark

Embossing Powder: Ranger (black)

Tools: Fiskars punch (Scallop Sentiment); EK Success punch (Double Embossed Dotted Lace); Spellbinders Nestabilities (Petite Oval --Small, Petite Classic Oval -- Large)

Ribbon: EK Success Adornments (yellow)

Bling: Recollections




Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Intrepid

Just nine days to go until my annual trip to the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Valley Forge. To make room for all of the new goodies I plan to buy, I've been trying to use my stash more. The layout I am sharing today, uses the Basic Grey's Boxer collection which I bought at my first CKC in 2008. I was actually planning to buy Pink Paislee's new Starlight collection for these pictures but I felt a little guilty about buying a red, white and blue collection when I had this one in my closet. So here's my layout:

The kraft background paper is from Jillibean Soup. (I bought it at Scrapbook Expo in 2009.) JS makes the warmest color kraft papers. I must remember to pick some more up next week. The only piece of new paper on this layout is the white ledger paper from Basic Grey's Basics collection.

I have been wanting to create a banner for a scrapbook page for a while now and I thought that this layout finally gave me the perfect opportunity since the banner would mimic the flags on the ship. I cut the triangles for my banner using the George and Basic Shapes Cricut cartridge. At first, I made all eight triangles using a one-inch cut but some of my letters (notably the "n" and the "d") wouldn't fit. To remedy the situation, I cut four more triangles using a 1.25-inch cut and alternated big and small triangles on my banner.

For added interest, I popped a star on the sticker embellishment. I also used the scraps from my star-punched border to decorate the page.

I didn't journal on this page because I don't remember all of the details of this day in August 2001. What I do remember is how we had planned to go to the World Trade Center later in the day but by the time we finished up at the Intrepid, everyone was tired so we decided to wait for another day. Sadly that day never came. I'm not sure whether or not I should journal this. (If I do, it will be handwritten journaling on the white ledge strip.) What do you think?

Supplies:
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey (Boxer, Basics); Jillibean Soup (Cup of Yak)
Stickers: Basic Grey (Boxer)
Tools: Fiskars Border Punch (Scallop); Martha Stewart Border Punch (Stars); Cricut Cartridge (George and Basic Shapes)
Stamps: Papertrey Ink (numbers from For the Graduate)
Ink: Stampin' Up! (Night of Navy)

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Adventure in the Everglades

Today, I have a hybrid layout to share. I made it using a digital collage that I created on Riteaid.com. While I found the site a little more difficult to navigate than Shutterfly or Snapfish, I thought the collage mode was great since it allowed me move pictures around once the original collage was made. It was printed on Fuji paper and the quality is good. The cost was $2.99 which I thought was reasonable. I got it for free with a coupon which is even better! Anyway, here's my layout:

Since the photos were all together on one 8x10-inch collage, the rest of the page came together pretty quickly. I tore the edges of my patterned paper strips to make them look more natural and fit in with the theme of the page. After adhering those to the background paper, I affixed my collage. Photo corners in the upper and lower right-hand corners keep the collage mat grounded. Because there was a lot of white -- or in this case blue -- space in the lower corner, I stamped some greenery and dragonflies using Hero Arts stamps.

For added emphasis, I cut out two dragonflies and popped them on the page. I ran my title across the bottom photos for added interest. I've always wanted to do this but never had the right photos.

Journaling reads: The thrilling fan boat tour of the Florida Everglades was a highlight of our trip to Marco Island. Skimming the surface of the water as we raced through mangrove creeks was just like a scene out of CSI Miami!

Supplies:
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee (Captivating); Basic Grey (Mellow); My Mind's Eye (Quite Contrary); Making Memories (Passport)
Stamps: Hero Arts (Real Flowers; Antique Engraving; Trees, Birds & Messages)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Shabby Shutters, Walnut Stain)
Letters: American Crafts Thickers (Rocketeer/Leaf)
Canvas Embellishment: Making Memories (Passport)

A Passion for Purple

I am not much of a purple person. Plum, maybe. Eggplant, definitely yes. But lilac, lavender and plain old purple have never been my thing. However, like most girls her age, Melissa has a passion for purple. So when it came to making a birthday card, I reluctantly pulled out my purple inks and began stamping. Here's my card:


Using Papertrey Ink's Dot Spot stamp, I inked the stamp with the lighter purple. Then, I "kissed" the edges of the stamp with the darker purple and stamped. I love how the two colors mixed where they met on the stamp and created a third purple. Here's a close-up:

I stamped my sentiment using Papertrey Ink's Fillable Frames. I just love this concept. To finish off the card, I added a little bling to the center of the spots and the corners of the sentiment.
So as I'm seeing some sneak peaks of products from the upcoming CHA, I'm noticing a LOT of purple. Who knew I'd be ahead of the trend. I only hope there's some plum and eggplant in the new lines!

Supplies:
Card Stock: Papertrey Ink (White)
Stamps: Papertrey Ink (Dot Spot; Fillable Frames #1)
Inks: Stampin' UP! (Orchid Opulence; Lovely Lilac)
Bling: Recollections
Tools: EK Success (Corner Rounder)
Fibers: DMC Floss

Monday, July 12, 2010

Lucy's Cards: Button Challenge

If you are like me, sometimes you need a little challenge to jump start your creativity. So, while I had the basic idea for this card in my head, when I saw this...

I knew just what I had to do to jazz up this masculine card: add a few buttons. Here's my card:


I started with a 4.75" square card. Using my square punch, I punched out squares from a Mini Deck of Cosmo Crickets' The Boyfriend collection. (I love these papers for teen or masculine cards. ) I also cut out a square of scrap paper and, using removable adhesive, I adhered it to the exact spot where I wanted to place my window. Then, all I had to do to cut my window was align the punch with the pre-cut square. Easy Peasy! Next, i affixed my four patterned paper squares - three to the outside and one to the inside of the card. To attach the ribbon, I knotted the ribbon on the left-hand side and attached a button on top of the knot. For the small piece on the right, I used Glossy Accents to hold down the ends on the inside of the card. I also used Glossy Accents to glue down my buttons. Here's a a better look at the window and ribbon:

Finally, I stamped my two sentiments -- the one you can see through the window as well as the one on the inside of the card. Give or take a few minutes, this was easily a ten minute card -- if you don't count the time I spent designing it in my head. LOL!

To see other cards created for this challenge, visit Lucy's Cards at http://hedgehogsandladybirds.blogspot.com/2010/07/lucys-cards-challenge-12-and-challenge.html

Supplies:
Card Stock: Stampin' Up! (Naturals Ivory)
Patterned Paper: Cosmo Cricket (The Boyfriend)
Stamps: Hero Arts (Trees, Birds & Messages; Happiness Messages)
Ink: Ranger (Jet Black)
Ribbon: American Crafts
Tools: Marvy Uchida punch (Giga Square)
Buttons: from my stash

Thursday, July 8, 2010

A Scraplift

In case you haven't noticed by now, I'm a big fan of Kelly Goree. I love her clean, layered style. I love the way she enhances her layouts with the snip of her scissor or the stroke of her pen. I guess you can say that she is one of my scrapbooking idols. LOL! Anyway, whenever I look through her on-line galleries, I never see a layout that I don't want to copy. Naturally, when I came across a layout she did in 2008 using Basic Grey's Granola line I though, "I can scrap lift that!" Although I have already used papers from this pad, I still had a lot left collecting dust in my scrap closet. So it made sense to "scraplift" Kelly since she uses five or six pieces of patterned paper in a single layout. So drum roll please.....here is Kelly's layout:


Here is my scrap lift:



As you can see, I only made several minor changes. First, I changed the page size to a 12 x2. Next, I made my title two lines to accommodate the over sized Pink Paislee letters I wanted to use. I did not have all of the same stickers that Kelly had so I incorporated brown rub-ons in the lower corner and next to the brown letters.


Finally, I moved my journaling from the cream strip to a journaling spot that I created using a Unity I won on the Paper Crafts magazine blog.


Journaling reads: Melissa, you always complained about being the youngest in the family. Then Thomas came along and you became the big cousin!


Well I hope you enjoyed the Unofficial Kelly Goree Week here on my blog as much as I did. I have some other class layouts to finish (just need pictures) as well as a few scrap lifts I'm itching to do so I'm sure you'll be seeing more layouts inspired by Kelly. In the meantime, you can check out her blog at: http://kellygoree.blogspot.com/.

Supplies:
Patterned Papers/Sticker Elements: Basic Grey (Granola)
Chipboard Letters: Pink Paislee (Weathered Wood - Cotton)
Rub-Ons: Pink Paislee (Enchanting); Fancy Pants (Bright Alphas)
Stamp: Unity
Ink: Ranger (coffee)
Pen: Stampin' Up (Chocolate Chip)

Sugar Rush

Welcome back to Day Three of the Unofficial Kelly Goree Week on my blog. In May, I was lucky enough to take Kelly's Three for Three class at Scrapbook Expo which featured Basic Grey's Sugar Rush collection. Unlike last year's class, this one featured all single-page layouts. Here's the layout from Kelly's gallery which has a few minor changes from the class sample:



I loved this design as is but when I got home, I realized that I wanted to use it for a layout about Melissa performing in the school play when she was in 4th grade school and I would need to use more than one photo to tell the story. To make the original into a two page layout, I extended the light green block of patterned paper across the spread so that my pictures would have a block to rest on. After that I pretty much mirrored the first page. Here's my layout:


We created these flowers in class. After crumpling (yes CRUMPLING!) up punched circles, we distressed the edges with a file from Basic Grey's Precision File set, layered them and Voila! We had an economical embellishment that perfectly matched the layout. I have to admit that I did have trouble with the "Crumpling" step. It just goes against my grain to take a beautiful piece of paper and ball it up! LOL! Here's a close-up of the flowers:



The pearl bling was part of the class kit and made a pretty addition to the flower. I did some fussy cutting for the leaves using the grey patterned paper you see above. You can also see Kelly's signature doodling around the outer edge of the page. I really have to remember to do that more often!


Once I completed the second page, I did have concerns about the amount of green paper that was showing above my pictures. It just looked so empty. To fill it up, I went through my stash of rub-ons and found the quote, "You put a song in my heart." It seemed to fit perfectly with the theme of this layout. The rub-on sheet also had the cute birds and flowers so using my Basic Grey Rub-On Roller, I created a little scene and finished it off by embellishing a few of the flowers with green pearls.

Come back tomorrow when I have a scraplift to share with you.

Supplies:

Patterned Paper, Stickers, Brads: Basic Grey (Sugar Rush)

Rub-ons: Little Yellow Bicycle (Cardmaking Sentiments)

Pens: Stampin' Up! (Old Olive); Signo Gel (White)

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Another June Bug Layout

Okay so it's officially Day Two of the Unofficial Kelly Goree Week on my blog. Today, I have another layout from the June Bug Triple Double class that I took last year. The June Bug collection is predominantly primary colors.

Leave it to Kelly to create a pastel layout by using the B side of this very busy floral paper.

Here's the layout:

Doesn't this layout have such a different look from the one I posted yesterday? You would never even know it was from the same collection. I just heart two-sided papers for that reason!
Another thing that Kelly did to give this layout a unique look is to use the chipboard elements from Basic Grey's Offbeat collection. I love mixing and matching manufacturers and collections in my own designs since I seldom buy an entire collection. :(

In the original design, Kelly used four 3.25 x 4.75 pictures. However, since I was using old prints from film, I had three vertical and one horizontal picture. I tried scanning the one picture but the integrity of the colors were lost. After pondering many solutions, I decided to move the word "sublime" onto the yellow mat. To fill up the space on top of the photos I drew in a trail for the butterfly with my white Signo pen.

Come back tomorrow for a look at how I took Kelly's design for a one page layout and made it a double page layout.
Supplies:
Patterned Paper/Stickers: Basic Grey (June Bug)
Chipboard: Basic Grey (Offbeat)
Pen: Signo Gel Pen (White)