Sketches on Blog

 

I love reading blog and have many set-up to my google reader so I don’t miss anything they post. There are lots to choose from out there but I love the ones which share sketches to try. Yesterday the Prima Flowers blog posted a sketch for June so I decided to play along.

Now the layout i ended up with  I don’t think I can enter for the competition part as I didn’t use prima products mainly – the ones I had didn’t work with the pictures I chose but I’m still happy with the layout and that is what matters to me with these sketches. I also got some more practice at embellishment clustering from my dimensional details class and used my new Martha punch (got to get my monies worth). It also features my three favorite colors so I was able to upload to the big picture scrapbooking student gallery for Stacey Julian’s competition for doing a layout using your three favorite colors – do you never know I may still win something yet. If you want to try and win for a layout using your three favorite colors here’s the link for that – big picture scrapbooking blog

Digital Layout

I will never totally move to digital layouts (well only if they stop making scrapbook supplies and given the amount of supplies I have stashed it would take a long while for me to run out) but since taking the Cathy Z class Me:The Abridged version I have been dabbling with it and asked for Photoshop Elements for Mothers Day so I could use some functionality I didn’t have in the photoshop version we had. This weekend we finally managed to get round to replacing the disk drive in the computer so we could load the software. (Its rather hard to load software when the disk drive is out of order!). I have lots to learn with digital scrapbooking and especially now I have a new program to play with and I really believe the only way to do this is to work with it and create layouts. So I thought I would do some of the recent everyday pictures I want to record. Digital scrapbooking allows you to change your paper color to match the pictures so the two papers I used in this layout weren’t the color they are now. The cardstock was originally a lighter denim blue or indian cornblue in CTMH colors. Its from http://www.freedigitalscrapbooking.com and I messed around with the color in the blue range until I was happy with it. I say messed around as yet I’m not totally confident in how to do this and which tool does it the best. The patterned paper is from the chocmint digital kit from Louise Williams at www.digitalscrapshop.com and it was also a free download. There is so much available free on the internet in terms of digital scrapbooking supplies. I finally added the frames which I had purchased from Katie Pertiet at www.designerdigitals.com I love this store and have purchased a lot from there – but wait for a sale as they have them regularly! I was able to use the same frame for the main page and the focal picture. It was also easy to make the color of the title match the frame on the focal picture which helps pull it all together. I finally added a digital brad from the chocmint kit. Once I get it printed at Costco I may actually added a real button or something to turn it into a hybrid layout but we’ll see!
Costco print 12 inch scrapbook pages for just under $3 which when you compare to the cost of paper and embellishment isn’t bad. Its archival quality photo paper which is used. I prefer the glossy finish to the matt but that’s a personal choice.
The other fun thing I was able to do was to have the same picture in the two small picture slots but to show a different part of the original picture.
I should also note that the layout uses one of Cathy Z’s templates which is available for sale on www.designerdigitals.com I love her templates as they are so easy to use. This could be due to the fact that I’ve used them doing her big picture scrapbooking classes but I find that the way she sets them up with the layers really makes the creation of the page so easy.

Embellishment Clusters

So this weeks class is all about clustering embellishments. This is one of the difficult things to do as go one step too far and your embellishments take over the layout rather than enhancing it. I mean scrapbooking is really about the pictures and not all the extra stuff we add.

I find building cluster difficult as I want to be able to place everything so I can move it around until I’m happy with it and then glue it down but this doesn’t always work when your using stickers and things like that. You can if you have the energy use corn starch to get rid of the stick but I just don’t seem to get round to doing that so I try and cut them out of the carrier sheet and use this to work out placement. Once I’ve built my cluster I’ve found when I remove it to glue it down I never get it 100% back to where it was so I’ve been taking a quick picture to use as a reference point.

Rules for building clusters are basically start with the flat items first and then add layers on top of this one by one to give vertical dimension. Remember to think about balance and visual triangles when your doing this. Odd numbers of things always work better.

The layout I created I’m really happy with in the end. I created two overlays in photoshop and printed on overheads (the graphics I used were from Katie Pertiet at DesignerDigitals.com and her graphic flower clusters and DreamsWordArt. Always be careful to print on the roughside of overheads when your doing this. The petal border was a Prima pre-made embellishment that I got on clearance, as were the small cream flowers. I made the purple flower using paper from a dictionary and spraying it with glimmer mist. The centers are from Jolee which I found on clearance also. The other flowers are from my stash. I love those strings of pearls they are a great way to add a swirl out of a cluster of flowers. I added the single cream flower at the top right of the layout to draw the eye through the picture. Papers are Basic Grey on a neutral background cardstock.

One thing I’m finding about this clustering is that its essential to make some of your embellishments and to shop the clearance section as otherwise the cost of each layout is getting very high. Since starting this class the average cost of each of my layouts most have jumped considerably. I’m trying to use my stash but as my style is developing and moving in this direction what I had isn’t working for me. I think I need to have a garage sale to sell some stuff I won’t use so I can replace it with new stuff. Or I need to get a job with a company like the Prima Flower people so I can get an unlimited supply!

@ T Time

  Another layout for week 8. Trying out what I’ve learned over the last 7 weeks and seeing if I can design my own page from scratch. I also wanted to have more than one picture on my layout. Lots of the layouts are single layouts to highlight the techniques but I have been struggling with this as I have so many picture I need to get scrapped! Anyway this is another layout playing on the title – It reads At Tea time – do you get it? I hope so. The pictures are mounted on a piece of chipboard and then I sanded the edges to make a border. The clocks to represent the time were done using glimmer mist and a mask from Tim Holtz. I love how your able to add these masked images to some pattern paper and change it totally to work with the layout your creating. Just remember when your using these mist to do it in a box or something similar or it goes everywhere (note I’m speaking from experience here). I’m now using one of those 12inch plastic boxes for painting and spraying in – its becoming a piece of art work in its own right!

In the end the layout isn’t one of my total favorite but its another one completed and added to the album.

All papers CTMH. Chipboard letters Tim Holtz grungeboard and the time is Making Memories foam glitter letters.

Dance Celebration

So today is the start of week 8 of my 13 week course and I’m dreading the end of it all. Last night I decided I wanted to make a layout myself using some of what I’d learned over the last 7 weeks. So I got to work on a layout from one of Eleanor’s dance shows. This morning I laughed when I read the handouts for this week to find that this week is basically a challenge week to use your five favorite products on a layout. I’m not really sure what my favorite five products are. They change all the time especially when I’m doing a class like this. But here goes :-
My Gazelle – I love to be able to cut out letters of any size
Cardstock – can never have enough colors of cardstock especially textured with a white core.
Ink – such a versatile product. A swipe of ink here and there can make the difference to a layout
Chipboard – any type color or shape. Love all the things I can do with this from inking to painting.
Sewing Machine – my sewing machine is featuring more and more on my layouts especially as I’ve found a place in my room where I can leave it set-up and ready to go. The texture and dimension it can add so quickly makes it really versatile.

So the layout I made. Purple – not a color I use that often but the dancer were all required to wear purple so I had to go with purple. The patterned paper is one of my favorite patterns from CTMH but one I struggle to use as its such a bold pattern. The half circle I think is just enough not to overtake the picture. I had fun playing with the title to make it using a mix of plain white chipboard (I did nothing to it – tempted but didn’t) and then the black MM foam glitter letters. I added a border of sewing around the whole page, sewed around the picture down the plain edge and added zig zag sewing around the circle. The edge of the circle was also inked and paper curled to add more dimension. The light purple strip is using my new Martha Stewart punch – way cool - thanks to May Flaum to putting me on that one. It looks like lace ribbon when its done, although I covered one edge with the white flowers. Those white flowers I got at the The Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington Texas about three years ago. That’s coming up again soon and I need to decide if I’m going to have a look see. Last time I was disappointed but I’ve heard that Tim Holtz is going to be in attendance this year which may make the drive to Arlington worth it.
The other secret about this layout is the program for the show which was on bright orange copy paper is in a pocket I made especially for it on the back. Then Eleanor can refer to it in the future but we don’t need to worry about incorporating it into the layout – especially with that yucky color!

Man At Work

Sewing on Scrapbook pages to many is a little strange but I’ve been doing it for a while now. I got my sewing machine as a 21st Birthday present from my parents and in reality I think I’ve used it more for sewing scrapbook pages than anything else. Since I got it overhauled at the Sewing Machine Repair shop here in Fort Worth its worked like a dream and I keep it set-up and ready to go. So this weekend when the topic for class was sewing on pages I knew I would have no problem.

The build-it page which Nic Howard does each week gives you all the directions to make a page down to the paper sizes and everything. Her page though this week was all floral and only had one picture. I have so many pictures to scrapbook that I really don’t want to do one picture layouts and I’ve done so many pages in recent weeks for Eleanor that it was time to do one for Philip and so no floral for me.

The pictures are from the Homestead Thanksgiving Fair we went to last Thanksgiving near Waco Texas. If you’ve never been to this fair you need to go in November. We had a great day arriving as they opened and staying late into the afternoon. The kids got to try their hands at many traditional skills from butter making to wood crafting. I love these pictures are they show how Philip was so engrossed in what he was doing. He worked on that spatula for over an hour.

To make the layout you cut the square center out of one piece of patterned paper and insert a neutral piece back in. Then I distressed all the edges of the papers. I sewed a border around the center square to add some dimension. Check out the heart on the picture to the right where I added a heart which I sewed using my machine (go me!). The title is made from a mix of different letters from my collection – a great way to use up some different letters when you don’t have enough for a full title. The Man was plain chipboard which I painted red and added some black ink around the edge. If you look closely behind here you will see a grey cardstock gear cutout – I got this recently – its made by little yellow bicycle. Love it for using on a boy page and as I only used about half of one piece I will be using this again in another layout soon I’m sure.

Homemade Flowers for layouts

The cost of the beautiful flowers made by Prima Marketing can be really high if you don’t use a coupon or find them on sale.  So I have been looking at ways to make my own so I can add them without worrying about the cost of my layout! I thought I share a couple of cool tutorials I’d find on the web with everyone. I haven’t tried these yet but there on my list of things to do.

Crepe Paper flowers

Flowers from Patterned paper - paper folding

Rolled Cardstock Flowers

Dimensional Flowers

Remember I also shared how to make flowers previously but here’s the link again :-

Paper Flowers using punches