Insider Tips: Paint Spots

Paint is one of my most favorite accents and a must have item for all of my projects! It is always on everything I create in one form or another. Today I am sharing with you one of my favorite ways to add a pop of paint and color to any layout using paint!

I love to use my actual paint bottle as the tool for applying the "spots" of paint. First shake your bottle of paint with the lid close a few times to loosen up the paint. On the last shake hold it upside down for a second or two. Second, open your bottle of paint right side up, see the paint gathered on the tip of the top that goes into the base of the cap? This spot of paint is the perfect size to add little accents of paint to projects. 

After I've adhered my layout together I add paint where it is appeasing to the eye by dabbing the screwed off top to different areas of the layout. Remember start with a little first, and then add more as desired by putting the cap back on and repeating steps 1-3. 

(Supplies used on Layout: Studio Calico Elementary and Making Memories Paint)

Finding Inspiration Inside a Cereal Box?

Well, maybe not INSIDE the box, but certainly the design on the box itself can be a jumping point for your creativity! I thought I'd share one of my layouts from the Summer Camp gallery to prove my point... inspiration can be found everywhere!

The whole idea for this layout was born one morning while I was feeding Will his baby food. And while this is a fun milestone in your baby's development... you moms know that after a while feeding them little spoonful by little spoonful becomes quite the chore! Anyways, I was sitting there in between spoonfuls and glanced over at the back of the Cheerios box... and it hit me. THAT would be a great design for a layout! The big heart... filled with photos... oh my. Perfect. And fun! Here's the box with my little model....forgive the diaper showing because mama didn't bother snapping his romper shut after the last change. oops!

How fun is that box? Now, how did I take that box design and transform it into what you see below?

Well, I was going to do the photo filled heart idea. And I think I may at some time. But it just didn't work with this layout obviously. However I used the same idea in cutting out different squares/rectangles of patterned paper to fill in the heart shape. (This was a super fast technique b/c I didn't measure my paper scraps or cut with a trimmer... I just randomly cut squares and rectangles placing them in the heart as I went.) I also let my heart wander off the edges of my paper like the heart on the box. Finally, to make the heart shape more dominant among the mish mash paper scraps inside, I did some simple handstitching around it.

So, the moral of the story... be on the lookout for inspiration everywhere. Scrapbooking magazines are an obvious starting point, but don't overlook non scrapping mag ads, tv commercials, website design, product packaging, etsy, stationary/cards, etc. And if you're really organized you could create a little scrappy notebook to store all these great bits of inspiration. :)

(On this layout I used bits of the main kit, Summer Camp as well as bits from Footpath and Adirondack. And they are still available... so grab them quickly if you can! The Real Estate punch is also in the shop!)

Insider Tips: finding sketches.

when I run out of steam while working with a new kit, I turn to my book of sketches.
I keep a moleskin kraft journal for layout ideas and sketches I find in magazines.
It's really simple and a great way to get you out of a creative slump.
pull out some of your favorite magazines and thumb through them until you find an ad or article with a great layout.
visualize that magazine page as a scrapbook layout.
sketch a few examples on a piece of paper or in a journal.
easy peasy.

happy sketching!
Tina

Insider Tips - use stamps for your title

Hello everyone!

I made a special layout for today's insider tips - I couldn't resist using my left over products from my Elk Lake & Adirondack add-ons :) I just LOVED playing with these two add-on kits, not only they match perfectly with my Main Kit, but the colors are exactly what I'm craving for at the moment :)

Here are a layout for my two of my best friends, a special gift for them : Amelie is an excellent cooker and Ben simply ADORES food :)

For this layout I used :

Elk Lake & Adirondack add-ons
Stamps : Tweets, Sewing Machine Set, Months stamps, Noah alphas
Raspberry Maya Mist
Punches : Bubbles border, Double Embossed Dotter Lace border , Photo Labels punch, Royal Butterfly
Foam squares


For my title, I simply combined one of Jenni Bowlin's journaling tags, the Months stamp and Noah alpha stamps to make my title : simply use different fonts, different ink colors, different elements to make a unique and urban background.
Feel free to mount one of the stamps with foam squares in order to add dimension to your layout.



Here I first stamped my label stamps that I got in a previous kit (available soon at the shop) that PERFECTLY matches my Photo Labels punch - could it be even more perfect?! So that means : you need to order that punch and then order the stamp soon available :)


Thank you and I'll share a layout I made inspired by Sasha on Saturday :D
Take care!
c

Insider Tips: "The first few days" layout...

Hey everyone! Susan here (again) today... :)

Wanted to share a little bit extra about one of my layouts in the August Summer Camp gallery: "The first few days"...


As mentioned in yesterday's post, I have a ton of newborn photos of my newest son - Noah. This page showcases just a few, in a grouping that I created BEFORE I put together my layout.

To print smaller sized photos that all "fit" together on the page, I first started with a blank (white) 8x10 @ 300 dpi image in photoshop. I then opened up each image that I wanted to use, and cropped it, then copied and pasted it onto my blank 8x10 image.

If needed, I used the transform tool to adjust the size of each image slightly (holding down the shift key while you 'transform' will avoid skewing your image too much in one direction).


After adding all of my images, I had an 8x10 print made at costco. The white background that I used lended itself to the white frames around my mini-pics (I simply trimmed the images with a little extra white space around each).


I hope seeing how I easily fit so many photos onto this page helps you try something similar on a future project!

:)

ps - The Summer Camp kit is STILL AVAILABLE... grab one while you can!

insider tips : faux washi tape

Happy Thursday, everyone! This week is flying by for me. Today, I want to share some faux washi tape inspiration with you. I love the look of washi tape, but have never been able to pick just which colors or patterns to get - and buying rolls adds up quickly! I've experimented with making my own with masking tape, mist and stamps, but was never happy with the results. Earlier this week, I came across this tutorial for making it using fabric tape that you find in the first aid aisle. The tutorial uses watercolor paint to color the tape, but I wanted to see if I could make it work with mist - and it did!

I found that the best way to get even color was to brush my tape with water first. I love this brush set - they are priced well and the brushes hold up beautifully over time. You can use the tape full size or cut it to a smaller width - I had no problem using my paper trimmer to cut it.



Next, I sprayed the tape with mist. I used hydrangea on this piece. After I misted, I used my paint brush again to spread the mist evenly. You could also leave it as is, and get a more of a gradient color wash - the point closest to where you sprayed would be the darkest, and it would fade from there. If your color is too dark, blot it with a paper towel and you can remove some of the mist. If you're happy with the color it's time to let it dry. It took about twenty minutes for my tape to dry completely, but if you're in a hurry, I'm sure a heat gun would speed up the process!

Now comes the fun part - adding patterns with stamps. The sky's the limit here - you can go for a tone on tone look, or experiment with something a little more bold. After I stamped, I used my tapes on a quick card - and of course I had to keep with our travel theme for the week. =)



(supply list : vanilla cardstock, jetset pp, window seat pp, girl's paperie pp from the july kit, hydrangea mist, lemon mist, charcoal mist, tumbled glass ink, mustard seed ink, journaling lines stamp, tweets stamps, tiny attacher, bumpy road border punch, foam adhesive, shipping tag, fiskars heart and circle punches, typewriter)

The best part of this? The roll of fabric tape cost me $2.79 - I had everything else on hand. Now I can have tape that matches any project for a fraction of what washi tape would cost. I can't wait to experiment more with this technique.

Insider Tips : Create a White Wash on your papers

Hey there!

Today, I'm going to show you how to make a WHITE WASH on your patterned papers without having to use water.

Simply use GESSO and a plastic card (just like a customer card you get at EVERY STORE).

Take a bit of gesso on your card.


Apply randomly on your patterned paper.


Spread as fast as you can, as gesso dries pretty fast.

Now, hold your card tight and try to get rid of the gesso : the white wash effect is here!

You can also use your plastic card as a stamp : simply put more gesso on your card and draw shapes with it!

Here's one of my layout made with the Continental July kit.

and here, a mini album I taught in France. I used my card to apply both gesso and acrylic paints (I used Yellow, Turquoise and Red for this album).

Have a wonderful day!
:)

insider tips : from inspiration to finished page

On Tuesday, I shared a few inspiration pieces with you. Today, I thought I'd show you how I used those ideas on a page.



I started with this piece as my main inspiration. I loved the way the hexagons were scattered on the background, and wanted to use a similar design on my page. I cut one hexagon from the Studio Calico exlcusive paper in Granny's Cupboard, and then used it as a pattern to cut more from other patterned papers from Anthology and Granny's Cupboard.



I played around with the placement of the hexagons and drew in where I wanted to add stitching, stamped journaling lines and some border punched paper. I use this trick a lot - once you stitch and stamp, there's no going back! This gives me a better way to visualize how it will look once I've added those elements. Once I'm happy with the basic design, I usually snap a quick photo. Because if I'm going to add stitching to the background I've got to go back to the beginning.



Yep. Everything came off the kraft cardstock. I added the strips of red at the top and bottom and stitched around my border, then added the graph patterned fabrip and the blue punched paper and did some zigzag stitching. I also stamped the journaling lines in pumice stone down in the bottom corner.



Then I need that photo that I snapped so I remember how to put it all back together! I added a few more hexagons and another fabrip to the page, and the stitched them all in place. The American Crafts glitter brads from Linens and Lace were the perfect accent to my small punched circles. At this point, if at all possible, I walk away from the page for a while. It's almost done, but I know it needs some finishing touches.



The next morning, I added the tab at the top of the photo (it's a sticker from the Anthology Labels - I punched a few hearts in it and backed it with the grey Aperture paper), the layered accent at the bottom right of the photo (that space just felt empty to me - I layered a piece of October Afternoon Thrift Shop paper punched with my Fiskars L Seal of Approval punch with a stickers from October Afternoon and Anthology, and then topped it with chipboard hearts). I also added a couple more small chipboard hearts tucked in with the other elements on the page. I added my journaling and did some stapling with my tiny attacher to finish the page.



I used some of the other ideas from the original inspiration post - the circles within the hexagons and planning my cuts around an element in the patterned paper. These ideas helped make my groupings more interesting than if it had all just been patterned paper.

So that's a little peek into my creative process - let me know if you have any questions! =)

Insider Tips - dye your tags using Maya Mists!

Hey everyone! :)

You know how much my Maya Mists? Well, I wanted to show you a new way to dye paper tags : I think you might like it! :)

We're going to make a layout and this is what I used for my layout :

• Anthology collection papers (including Aperture, Bouquet, Periodical)
• Anthology stickers
• Anthology Alpha stickers
• Maya Mist (Amethyst mist & Blue Raspberry mist)
• Kraft sheet
• EK Success label punch

Simply choose a cardstock that is the same color as one of your favorite alphas and glue all the letters, words, sentences you want onto your cardstock (you probably want to cut the cardstock first before adhering all the chipboards, otherwise might be a pain to cut afterwards).


Grab your kraft sheet, 2 tags and 2 small zip lock bags.


Spray Maya Mist in each plastic bag (one color per bag).


Open and put one of the tags inside a plastic bag. Use your finger to make the ink move onto the tag.


Use your heat gun to dry each tag.

Once your tag is dry and ready to use, you can also fold it and put it back into the same color bag.

All the wrinkles will get bolder and darker because of the ink. Use your heat gun to dry again.

You can use your tags the way you want. I like to use them as a new way to focuse on the photos.






Extra item I can't live without and that I used for this layout :

• Martha Stewart craft knife
• my favorite journaling pen
  

Enjoy!
Céline

Insider Tips!

hi Everyone! Susan here today, and I wanted to take a minute to explain a little bit about one of my favorite layouts from this month's Joyland kit...

The layout was entitled "Your First Year"...


And it was about my son Evan's first year. ;)

I used the K&Co photo frames in the main Joyland kit, to display a range of photos that spanned the course of his first year - this was a great way to include lots of favorites on a single page!

Since these were "faux" photo-strips, I needed to re-size all of these favorite photos to fit into the backside of the frame strips. I measured the opening of the frame and then set the crop parameters in my Photoshop program to slightly larger than the opening and cropped each photo to fit the frame. Since these were small image sizes, I was able to arrange a few of each onto a blank 4x6 document in Photoshop, and then economically print 4x6's from Costco (my local "everyday" printer of choice). I trimmed the photo from the 4x6 and adhered to the backside of each strip. LOOOOOVE the look & effect of these "faux" photo-strips!

Three large circles cut from coordinating patterned papers and arranged around the page, help to "anchor" each of my three photo-strips.


They are accented by smaller punched circles and butterflies... Two of my favorite punch shapes to add to my layouts!

I used the Corner & Edge Crown Punch to create a horizontal border and dividing point along the bottom portion of my page. It also provided a place for me to stash part of my title.

A quick journaling strip at the bottom of the page helps to explain what the page is about - but really the photos are the stars of the page that tell the story (when combined with the title!).

Hope you've enjoyed hearing a bit more about my process...

:) -Susan