Monthly Archives: October 2012

Project Life – Weeks 1 & 2

31 Wednesday Oct 2012

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I actually did start Project Life the first week of September, like I said I was going to, and have kept up with it since – a big deal for me!

Since I really don’t need to bore you with all 8 weeks I have done all at once, I’m going to be nice and just show a couple of weeks at a time. Of course, it looks pretty similar to any other PL album – I just have my own pictures in it! 🙂

Here’s the title page:

Wood veneer, washi tape, and the Turquoise core kit – pretty simple!

Week 1 was jam packed with the last long weekend of the summer, M starting school, G starting swimming, and all the regular life stuff too so I had an insert:

Here’s the main spread on it’s own:

And this is the flip I made for some of Miss M’s first day of school stuff – this is what’s behind the bears picture!

My favourite pictures this week are the one of M jumping for joy before going to her first day of school and this one:

My kiddies throwing sawdust, aka. fairy dust, at the cabin. I love how the wood veneer stars turned out on the photo.

Week two had some more inserts since our fabulous, best ever in the whole world babysitter was here one night and did some crafts and also, it was 12 on Twelve:

I love how the 12 on Twelve is turning out – numbered photos on the front and descriptions on the back. I did it again for October and still love it so I think that will stay. A nice overview of daily life each month!

Again, here’s the main spread on it’s own:

It was an other busy week – last ice cream truck visit of the summer, swimming starting for M, Poppy learning to ride a motorcycle (never in a million years thought my dad would be a biker dude!), and M had a visit from a friend one afternoon.

Love those 3×4 journal cards with the alphabet, like the one on the far right – colouring in the initials of the girls and being able to customize them so easily is awesome!

I’m attempting to keep this album flat and simple and so far that’s helping me to stay up-to-date without having to stress over it. Adding to a running word document each day (thanks for that idea, Liz!) gets all my journaling out of the way and I try to sit down each Sunday to pick photos. Once they’re printed and in the book, the rest is gravy!

I’m already discovering that I love looking back even though it’s super simple and I’m only a few weeks in – I can only imagine how much I’ll like looking at it 6 months from now!

Next Wednesday, Weeks 3 & 4!

S.

Tuesday Techniques and Tutorials – Twinkling H2O’s

30 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Techniques, Tuesday Techniques, Tuesday Tutorials

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I have a mad love and passion for Twinkling H2O’s.

I admit it – they’re just one of the most beautiful products out there and add so much to a project.

So I had fun today and decided to try them out on a couple of different surfaces using a resist technique. My plan was to see if I could come up with some Christmas Card ideas and I think I have!

All you need (I forgot to take a pic of supplies!) are Twinkling H2O’s, a paintbrush, water, a mister of water, embossing powder and a heat tool, and any surfaces you want to paint on – I used vellum, watercolour paper, and kraft glassine.

First, mist your Twinks with water. These are solid paints and they need to sit a bit to get , well, painty! For this technique I made them really liquidy, like watercolours.

Mist your Twinks…

Next, stamp your image with Versamark ink and heat emboss. I did kraft glassine first:

kraft glassine embossed

As you can see, due to the nature of the coating on the glassine, the image isn’t as crisp as it would have been on paper.

Now, swipe colour over your embossed image, the coating on the glassine will cause the paint to pool a lot on the surface:

painted…

At this point, I pressed my cloth onto the surface and picked up most of the liquid, and so, the colour:

As you can see, it’s very faint but the shimmer sat right on top of the glassine and looked awesome!

glassine shimmer

I tried watercolour paper next, and because of the surface, it took the colour really well but left less shimmer – definitely the easiest surface to work with but not as much final impact:

watercolour paper

It’s still pretty though!

Finally, I tried out vellum. This was the hardest surface, it curled a lot with the water, and the colour didn’t sink in so ran a lot because of the curling, but it had the best combination of colour and shimmer together:

vellum

Also, the translucency of the vellum made a great effect too.

Once  I had tried them all out, I went back to the vellum and held it down so it wouldn’t curl and the colour wouldn’t run as much. Then I heat set the paint until the surface was dry. I like how it turned out but it’s way too much fussy work for quick cards:

I also used silver embossing here, instead of the white I used on all the other pieces – love the extra shine it gives!

I went back to the glassine and thought that the colour might take to the glassine better if I crumpled up the paper and broke the coating, which I did, and then added another layer of paint. It turned out pretty well!

And this turned out to be my favourite card – I love the soft colours.

My favourite effect though, happened when I embossed the stamp on glassine, then crumpled it all up and painted on the broken surface – the darker paint colours stayed vibrant with a ton of shimmer!

And see the flecks of white on both glassine surfaces (you can see it best on the first card)? That’s the embossing powder. When I crumpled the paper it broke the hardened powder and when I painted, the brush and water caused flecks to flake off and stick in the paint colour. I think it looks cool – love that side effect!

I’ll definitely make some more glassine cards – it’s too much fun not to and it’s the perfect thing to do at the Retreat when it’s 3am and my mind no longer functions properly!

Hope you liked the cards, and I really hope you go buy some Twinks to play with – they really are the bomb!

S.

 

 

 

Yearlong Album Class

29 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in ScrapBook, Yearlong Album

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I was planning to start posting my Project Life LO’s today but it turned out to be Monday in every sense of the word.

That means no pics and since I have no light now, except the fake kind, no blog post about that until Wednesday. Unless tomorrow and Wednesday also turn out to be a Monday in which case I may not survive… 🙂

Moving on…

I do have the pictures taken of the latest Yearlong Album class LO’s so you can take a gander at those!

(Please excuse the terrible pictures – it was early in the morning and I was in a rush! I’ll replace them when I get a chance to take better ones.)

Here’s the double spread for November:

Simple, as always, but we do need to fit a month’s worth of pictures here so I’m kind of limited as to the space I can take up with pretty paper and stickers!

I’m still in love with this stamp set and this mist. And, of course, I had to throw in a stencil. The mini Circle Explosion worked so well here – it reminds me of throwing leaves in air and having them fly everywhere!

A pocket, as always, on the page:

And I always cut the page protector so, in this case, the flap is outside and can be opened and the pocket contents are always easily accessible.

We also did another bonus page:

 

Again, simple, but this one has a great list on it for journaling, plus, I made everyone do some fussy cutting, I’m mean like that! 🙂

I specifically keep the bonus pages generic so they can be added anywhere in the album you need extra space, or they can be used in any other album you might want. For those people who scrap 12×12 exclusively (this album is 8.5 x 11) the bonus pages are able to be mounted on a 12×12 sheet of cardstock and used in a larger album too.

Only one month left for monthly LO’s and then we have one final class. Most people have requested that class be catchup, questions, and a couple more bonus pages for their extra pictures.

And then, come February, it’s new album time! Open registration for that class is coming up soon so keep your eyes on the Paperie blog and newsletter. This one always fills up, and fast, so if you’re interested jump on it right away! I’m excited for the new album too – we’re going back to 12×12, it’s going to be a little less thematic for the months and so could be used for just about anything, and it’s going to be technique heavy. If you like to play with new supplies, or want to learn about different products, this will definitely be the class to take next year!

Back tomorrow, we hope, with a technique tag and PL on Wednesday – wish me luck!

S.

 

Things on Thursday…

25 Thursday Oct 2012

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1. Krista posted a sneak on her blog of a fun new thing the Creative Team will be doing for the Paperie Retreat. As I mentioned yesterday, I’m so excited to get started on mine – I think tonight I’ll actually have the time!

credit: Krista Wells

Check out her blog post for a larger sneak peek!

2. I signed up for this Online Card Class ages ago and am finally getting a minute here and there to watch the videos. As expected, it’s fantastic and I’m getting some great ideas and inspiration for a special card class I’m teaching at The Paperie in the next month or so – before Christmas, anyway!

3. I’m seriously debating asking some family member for an early Christmas gift. I asked for this last year and got a giant photo printer instead which is awesome, but not really that portable! 🙂 I’d love to have this in time for the retreat…

4. There’s a super cute and easy gift box tutorial here that is great for baked gifts – just line it with some parchment or waxed paper and you’re good to go! Also, I think it would look really sweet if you punched holes in the top and tied it with ribbon instead of the button closure.

credit: Gloria Stengel

5. Kelly Purkey is throwing her hat in the December Daily kit ring and I couldn’t be more excited! The sneaks she’s shown so far are….. yummy, just really, really, yummy! The colours are gorgeous, the 4×6 stamp set is perfect, and she’s promises it’s going to be a great and reasonable price. Hopefully, preorders will be up today, along with a major sneak/reveal so I’m stalking her blog and twitter feed….. 🙂

credit: Kelly Purkey

Seriously? Could they be any better? I think not.

S.

Right now…

24 Wednesday Oct 2012

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listening… to a lot of Paul Simon’s Graceland, one of my top 3 favourite albums along with Cats: The Musical and Guns ‘n’ Roses Appetite for Destruction. (yeah,yeah, odd mix, whatever!)

counting… to 10. A lot. Like over and over and over…. The joys of a strong-minded and stubborn 5-year-old. Sigh.

finishing… mini Halloween pumpkins with the kiddies. L wanted a regular face with googly eyes, Mr. G wanted lots of googly eyes like a monster, and Miss M opted for markers. They’re pretty cute. 🙂

working… on the next Yearlong Album class and the November LO for it.

itching… to break into this fun project for the Paperie retreat!

thinking… about next year’s Yearlong Album and getting excited for the changes – it’s going to be lots of fun play time!

eager… to get the supplies I need for all the Orlando inspired classes I want to teach. They can’t get here fast enough!

happy… that we finally figured out how to make Mr. G enjoy gymnastics again. One teacher, 5 kids, the gym to themselves – he’s thrilled!

also happy… that Miss M loves swimming so much that she complains her lessons are too short – and she’s moving up to the next level after only 6 lessons!

What’s going on with you right now? And what are your favourite music albums – can they compete with the mish mash of mine? 🙂

S.

Tuesday Techniques and Tutorials – Distress Marker Resist

23 Tuesday Oct 2012

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Finally, I’m back with another technique, and it’s one of my faves – Distress Marker Resist!

For this one you’ll need:

Supplies

Distress Markers, Specialty Stamping Paper, Distress Ink, an Ink Blending Tool with foam, and a stamp (I prefer rubber).

That’s it! Pretty limited and simple supplies but the specific items are a must. I have tried this out with Stampin’ Up! markers and found that it didn’t work as well, plus, the paper it a definite – this won’t work on other surfaces!

First, colour your stamp with your markers:

This is why I like the Distress Markers and a rubber stamp – I find the rubber holds the ink better, and the Distress Markers don’t become muddy or cross contaminated, even if I decide I want to go in with a light colour after already doing the dark colours.

You can mist before stamping, but for this technique I like a crisp impression so this is one of the rare times where I will stamp without misting it first.

Huff (blow hot breath) on your stamp and press your image directly on the Specialty Stamping Paper:

Allow the image to dry. This only takes a minute but you don’t want to smear the image so make sure it is dry, even hit it for a second with your heat tool if you like.

Can you believe how sharp the impression is with markers? Great definition!

Then, take your Ink Blending Tool and ink the entire surface with the Distress Ink of your choice. You could use any colour you like, but my favourites are Pumice Stone and Weathered Wood, though the browns are nice too – I like how the colour of the markers pop against the greys and browns:

Can you believe how the markers resist the ink? Like magic to me every time!

Now, mist water into the palm of your hand to make a puddle and then flick it on the surface:

Blot away the water drops and you instantly have a multilayered background without lots of time and fuss!

Looks pretty cool, hey?

Finish off your tag and stick it to a card and call it done! Mine hasn’t made it to the card yet, but the tag itself is finished:

If you have Distress Markers and want to learn more fun things to do with them, or are on the fence about buying them, check out Wendy’s demo at The Paperie retreat if you’re lucky enough to be going. She’s going to be showing a bunch of tips and techniques with them and she’s always got something fun I never thought about up her sleeve!

Let me know if you try this one out – you know I love to see what you make so leave me a comment and a link!

See you tomorrow!

S.

A new kit and a LO update…

22 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in Classes, ScrapBook

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I took another class at The Paperie this past weekend – this one was all about how to make your own kit and Krista did an awesome job of showing us how to pull one together from both new products and from your stash.

Mine is a bit of a combo – I found the large patterned paper, the one on the top right, at the shop and loved it, so that was my starting point. I added 3 more papers, plus the washi tape and letter stickers I got in class, and came home to finish it off. Love all the bits and bobs that were forgotten in my scrap cave – a kit is the perfect way to get them in sight and use them up!

What I really loved about this class was being able to customize the kit to my preferences. All the colours are ones I want to use and since I owned most of the stuff anyway, I know I like (or used to like!) all of it.

I’m calling this one Carnivale!

Carnivale! a kit by sarathings

The name seemed to fit with the colours, the banners, and the fun patterns, especially the large one.

There’s lots in here but I’ve had some of the chipboard and stick pins for longer than I care to say! If I can get on the ball and pull together another kit or two before the retreat, I’ll be able to pack a lot lighter than I usually do!

Now, an update from last week. I finished the second LO from Rae Lynn’s Book of Me class and I love how it turned out! I had to hide the “s” on the end of “simple pleasures” and extend the title and it all worked out really well.

An Unexpected Simple Pleasure

Plus, I really like the dimension of the banners and the shine of the glossy accents in the camera.

And yes, Rae Lynn, the journaling is done but I forgot to take a pic!

If any of you have a better name for my kit, throw it out there – I was a bit stumped, titles are not my strong point! 🙂 Also, I am planning a technique post tomorrow, fingers crossed I get it done in time!

S.

Going waaay back!

19 Friday Oct 2012

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Krista blogged her regular 5 for Friday today and one of her 5 was about how a particular card would look great “on a layout-opening up and unfolding like an accordion. It would be a nice way to hide some journaling and supporting photos.”

And I immediately remembered a certain LO I did many years ago.

The Paperie used to have an inhouse design team of which I was a member. I remember applying, then making it as a finalist. The last step I had to go through was to pick up a sample pack, a small kit really, and do a LO – all the finalists got the same kit. I walked into the store to get mine and saw Chris and Janna, the owners, sitting on the sofa that used to be in the old location. And they were watching me intently. Weird. Then I got the kit and they burst out laughing. Apparently they had been doing that all day, just watching the finalists faces as we saw what we had to work with – big, black floral BG paper from the Black Tie collection and super wide black ribbon, among other things. We were all horrified and terrified at the same time. What the heck to make with that?!?!?

Well, here’s what I did (click on any pictures to view them larger):

It was almost a year after our wedding and I had never scrapped this particular picture, taken on the deck of my family cabin. I figured flowers must go with a wedding picture, right? There were more pictures that I wanted to use as well but then, as now, I veered towards single photo LO’s and hidden journalling – so I made an accordion album behind the flower to showcase the other pictures.

 

And I hid another piece of that floral paper behind the main photo and added my journalling to it.

I called it done and was more than happy to be finished thinking about what to do with that paper! Obviously, it wasn’t a terrible LO since I made the design team and loved every minute of it – though I grumbled a lot under my breath since everything I did those days was full of fussy cutting….. But that’s a post for another day!

Have a great weekend everyone! I’m taking Krista’s kit making class tomorrow and heading out with the kiddies for Pumpkinfest at Lester’s Farm Market – there should (crossing my fingers) be some good pics to show next week!

S.

Things on Thursday

18 Thursday Oct 2012

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1. I’m still keeping up with Project Life. Although I’m only in Week 7 right now, that’s huge for me! I barely made it through Week in the Life and two years in a row I quit a few days into December Daily. I’m planning to actually blog my PL spreads, it just hasn’t happened yet. 🙂

2. I love Lego and thankfully, my kiddies love Lego too! Whenever I buy them a new minifig or building set, D asks me if it’s for them or me….. It’s theirs, but only because no one will buy me my own set!

Love the Holiday Gift Shop and all the fun stocking stuffers and exclusives. And I especially love the 2012 holiday house – very fun!

Winter Village Cottage

3. I love this Lawn Fawn video – the pumpkins are the cutest and I have idea for Christmas now too! Plus, Chari has a couple of super smart tips she shares.

credit: Chari Moss

4. I’m seeing more and more bloggers and tweeters showing and using their Dylusions Journal and I”m sad, sad, sad that I have yet to hold one in my hands. Please tell they’ll be here soon, Paperie!

5. I was featured on the Crafter’s Workshop blog last week – very exciting for me since I love, love, love their stencils. After trying some other stencils, I love them even more – the designs and quality are, by far, the best out there. And, as a bonus, the owner Jamie is fabulous!

The Crafter’s Workshop class with Jamie Echt

I was lucky enough to meet and take a class from her in Orlando and she really is one of the easiest people to talk to and super friendly. Plus, you can tell she really believes in the product she’s putting out there on the market. And to put a cherry on top, she shared a little tidbit of exciting news with me during our chat at the Make and Takes on who may be a new stencil designer for them! 🙂

Looking forward to finishing up Project Life spreads this weekends, hopefully with some friends, and we have a 40th Birthday Party to attend – fun weekend ahead!

S.

An update, brownies, and a class I took…

17 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Baking, Mini Album, Mixed Media, ScrapBook, Uncategorized

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Sorry for the little blog break here – I’ve been crazy busy since returning from Orlando and there just aren’t enough hours in the day…

I’ve been completing the few unfinished projects from the show – I made 7 mini albums plus other items so there was a lot of little odds and ends that needed a final touch or two!

Bazzill – Christmas Lickety Slip Album

Creative Imaginations – Beautiful You Mixed Media Album

Basically Bare and Graphic 45 – Nutcracker Suite Easel Album

7 Gypsies and Canvas Corp – Epicurean Library Drawer

Creative Imaginations – Holly Jolly Altered Album

I’m only showing you the sneaks here of a few things but if you want the full reveal, all the details, and to hear about the fun we had then you need to sign up for the Show and Tell at The Paperie on Tuesday, October 23! I think there may be some giveaways too…. 🙂

I’m heading over to have wine and chit chat with a friend tonight so I thought I’d bring some goodies with me – brownies!

Brownie Batter!

I took two of my favourite recipes, made a change or two and combined them to make gluten free mascarpone brownies with ricotta topping. They look and smell yummy and I’ll post an update later with how they taste! I already know the batter was good….

And they really should be good because if there’s one thing I know how to bake well, it’s brownies! That’s not ego my friends, it’s just the simple truth! 🙂 But I can’t roast a chicken to save my life…. UPDATE: They are the bomb…. 🙂

yummy, yummy in my tummy!

Finally, I carved out a little time on Saturday morning to take a class from my friend Rae Lynn, the queen of clean and simple LO’s – her work is always gorgeous! She has started a new class series to do a Book of Me and the two LO’s we did are awesome!

I only took one picture with me for the class but the sweater I was wearing was the perfect colour for the papers and since Miss Smarty Pants Rae Lynn brought her camera and Canon Selphy printer, we took a snap, printed it and I was in business! It always feels good to go home with a completed LO!

i am…

I changed this second one a little – the background paper was a light tan/brown and I had a piece of Bo Bunny Vintage Double Dot paper that was the exact shade of my shirt so I used that instead. Also, I think I’m going to change the title to “An unexpected pleasure” and do my journalling on one thing rather than do a list of several “simple pleasures.” I could have had this one done but I was really uncertain about the journalling and decided that focusing on one unexpected pleasure – my camera – would work better for me for this LO. So now that I’ve settled on that, it will be done tonight, RLOK, I promise!

an unexpected pleasure

I love how the bright background paired with the black title, splatters, and stars make my camera pop!

And that’s been my life this week, crazy and full – how have you all been?

S.