Da Bomb!

24 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by Sara in Mixed Media, ScrapBook

Tags

American Crafts, drywall tape, Mixed Media Layout, Studio Calico

Another LO that I did at The Paperie retreat – this one has a fuzzy, but funny, pic from that weekend and a phrase Cathy and I seemed to toss around a lot over those few days:

I used some awesome silver molding paste over a stencil for the background and then layered my photo over silver thread and drywall tape for texture. I love how versatile drywall tape is! I’ve used it for texture on canvases, photo mats, as a stencil, and just as an embellishment:

To finish it off, I heat embossed silver powder over Thickers and added a whole pack of Studio Calico cork stars, as well as a few Freckled Fawn enamel stars – I’m fully embracing the “use it all” mentality!

I’m sure you can probably tell, but it was pretty late at night when we took this picture and there may *cough, cough* have been a little bit of wine involved! what happens at the Wilds….. 🙂

June | YLA2014

22 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by Sara in Classes, ScrapBook, Yearlong Album

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Tags

Studio Calico, The Paperie, YearLong Album class, YLA2014

I’m sorry.

I’ve really been the biggest kind of slacker around here, especially since I promised this post weeks ago! But you’ll all forgive me, right? 🙂

For the June LO we did a patterned paper background, a rarity for me, and added all sorts of bits and pieces from previous classes:

Some cork hearts and gold stars right on the pics:

Chipboard hearts and the always present arrows on the edges of the pages:

And we layered flair with October Afternoon label stickers – I love how they fit right together!

For fun, we played with Black India Ink – the intensity of it when spattered is the best! Also the best? How one spot landed right where I needed a dot for my “j” – score!

The next class is coming up next week and I’m excited for this one; we have fabulous stickers and a great divided page protector to play with!

come on – let’s do this! | YLA2014

06 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by Sara in Classes, Yearlong Album

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Classes, Sketches, Studio Calico, Wanderlust, YLA2014

A couple of weeks ago the new session of my Yearlong Class started up again and so far it seems like we’re going to have a ton of fun!

All the classes are sketch based this year and we’re lucky enough to have had Mary Ann design all the exclusive sketches for us – you can only get them in this class! If you like sketches or want to learn more about how to use them to suit you, this is the last chance to sign up and get in on the good times.

Our paper this year is from the Studio Calico Wanderlust collection and I wanted to show a bunch of colours and patterns to start off the year, which led to this cover page LO:

That big black and white block was meant for a 4×6 photo but I liked how it looked on its own so much that I think I’m going to leave it as is – designer’s perogative! 🙂

The initial kit includes some amazing resist alphas stickers and cork hearts:

And some fabulous gold alphas and flair:

The January LO is fairly simple but I taught how to stretch a sketch and alter it to suit your photo needs:

We used more of those resist alphas with some enamel dots:

and gold letters with October Afternoon labels:

and finished it off with great Project Life arrow stickers:

I think there may be one kit left so if you want to get the amazing core kit and initial instructions and then join us for the rest of the year, now is the time to go for it!

As always, I’ll be posting to twitter, instagram, and Facebook with #YLA2014 so keep an eye out for sneak peeks close to the end of each month.

Things on Thursday…

04 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by Sara in Cards, Mixed Media, Things on Thursday...

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Canvas, Christmas card, marriage equality, Mixed media, Studio Calico, Things on Thursday

Before you start reading this list, I want to say that there is no rhyme nor reason to the order of things. I write this post over the course of the week as things pop up and so sometimes the important things (see #3) end up in the middle rather than at the top. Yes, that goes against everything I ever learned in English and Writing classes but that’s just the way it is around here – my blog, my rules! 🙂 The reason I mention this now is so you all know that the list is not in order of importance or relevance, it’s just the way the week went! So enjoy and read them all – don’t skip the middle parts!

1. I signed up for this class as soon as I heard about it. I missed the first one and kicked myself over it so I’m really looking forward to this new one!

2. I’ve been given a couple of blog awards in the past week or so. I never really know what to do with those (they almost make me uncomfortable, is that weird?) but it’s exciting that people like me – they really like me! More on those next week.

3. I came across this in the WordPress Freshly Pressed blog post. Awesome post. Go read it. Now. I’ll wait! 🙂

(Musak playing, Jeopardy theme song playing…)

Did you read it yet? Good! Moving along…

4. Last November I had a card published in Create: Christmas Cards. But I haven’t submitted anything since. And because all the calls right now are for September/October that means it’s been almost a year since I’ve submitted anything. Time to get back on that horse, I think!

5. One reason I haven’t been trying to get published is that I’m doing very few scrapbook layouts or cards, apart from the ones for Simple Scrapper, and have been concentrating on canvases and mixed media. Here’s a peek of a canvas I did for a blog hop next week and for a class I’m teaching at The Paperie retreat at the end of the month. I like it so much that I might actually make something else for the blog hop and submit this – we’ll have to see.

Simple Scrapper Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY! | February 2013

05 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by Sara in Giveaway, ScrapBook, Simple Scrapper

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Giveaway, October Afternoon, Simple Scrapper, stickles, Studio Calico, Wood Veneer

It’s time for another Simple Scrapper blog hop with the Design Team and we’re showcasing the new February templates and/or Story Starters – as usual, Jennifer has outdone herself!

I used one of the Story Starters for my first LO. I had this picture of M during the first snowfall this year and it was perfect for this one:

Inspired by a Simple Scrapper Premium Member Story Starter; Template – Simple Scrapper Premium Member Template (April 2011); Patterned Paper – American Crafts, Fancy Pants, Vintage Book Paper; Transparency – Fancy Pants; Vellum, Wood Veneer – Studio Calico; Tag – Elle’s Studio; Metal Word Bands – Ranger; Stamp – American Crafts; Glitter Glue – Ranger; Stain – Ranger; Ink – Staz-on; Adhesive – Ranger, Glue Arts; Sewing Machine – Singer

Instead of writing my own list of things for her to remember as she grows, I used the Tim Holtz Idea.ology Word Bands – the sentiments were perfect for this!

I rubbed a little bit of white paint over the words to make them stand out better and then handstitched them to the LO – they’re so heavy I wanted to make sure they would stay put!

I also used some October Afternoon chipboard to make custom purple glasses just like hers:

I then coated those and the wood veneer words with Glossy Accents to make them pop.

Finally, I really wanted the snow to shine, so out came the Stickles and I added small dots to the flakes falling around her, as well as the wood veneer snowflakes:

Love the extra sparkle it gives the photo!

For my template LO this month, I pulled out a couple of photos of Mr. G that made me laugh. He’s beginning to hate getting his picture taken and his face in these is priceless!

Template – Simple Scrapper Premium Member Template (February 2013, Letter #1); Patterned Paper – Crate Paper, Studio Calico; Card Stock – American Crafts; Fabric Stars, Wood Veneer – Studio Calico; Letter Stickers – American Crafts; Washi Tape – Freckled Fawn, American Crafts; Mist – Studio Calico; Punch – Jenni Bowlin for Fiskars; Stain, Ink – Ranger; Stamp – American Crafts; Adhesive – Glue Arts; Thread – Coats; Sewing Machine – Singer; Kits – Studio Calico (Handmade, Story Hour)

I used one of my all time favourite alpha sets, which I misted and then sewed to the page – they’re not going anywhere!

And I finished it all off with lots of stars – if Studio Calico ever discontinues those wood veneer stars I may cry!

If you want some more great inspiration, I recommend you check out the other Design Team Members, they did some really awesome LO’s this month!

Simple Scrapper (Jennifer Wilson)

Margrethe Aas Johnsen

Van Nguyen

Sara Case Strickland (this is me!)

And now, the giveaway! Use this link to enter a giveaway for a one-month trial subscription to Simple Scrapper. Entries will be pooled and one winner selected at 11:59pm CST on Wednesday, February 6. You may enter from multiple blogs so go check them all out!

The Premium Membership at Simple Scrapper provides skills and shortcuts to help you simplify and find more meaning in your memory keeping. Each month members receive a new collection of sketch templates and Story Starters, story-focused prompts for pages and projects.

Final Yearlong Class 2012 – Part 2 (and some awesome news!)

30 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by Sara in Classes, ScrapBook, Yearlong Album

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

2012 Yearlong Album, Classes, Kelly Purkey, Simple Stories, Studio Calico, The Paperie, Wood Veneer, Year.o.graphy

So, yesterday got away from me and I didn’t post the LO’s I promised – oops! And there was a big exciting announcement made by The Paperie which caused a Twitter frenzy among the local scrapping crowd. I’ll get to that bit later!

First, here’s how I added my own personal twist to the final bonus pages of the Yearlong 2012 album. (You can see the original LO’s here).

The things I use the most lately are wood veneer shapes and stitching and on these two LO’s, I loaded up!

For the first one, I added little birds (for my two chickies!), a bunch of stars (because they are the best wood veneer pieces ever), and a few other random pieces.

I loaded up on the stickles and the Metallic Gold Mister Huey so there’s lots of bling. I also stitched over the sticker letters so they would stay put – I hate letters that end up floating around your LO!

The second LO also has a ton of wood veneer, stickles, and stitching, but I matted it on a 12×12 background too. Normally I place all different sized LO’s in the same album but my wedding album is all 12×12 so I decided to stick with that.

All I did to make the original LO flow into a 12×12 is spray the background with coordinating mist and add stitching to the top left corner. This is my go-to quick and easy way to switch a letter size LO in a larger square – simple add a couple of elements like mist or embellishments that tie the two together and no one will ever know it’s a mashup!

I added the wood veneer doilies to tie in with the stamped doily border:

And of course, since it’s a wedding LO, I had to add the potty people and a heart!

Now, onto the exciting Paperie news….

Kelly Purkey is coming! And Krista and I get to share the teaching stage with her over the weekend! My class, naturally, is technique based so we’ll be making 4 cards with Ranger products and I’m going to try and fit in as many different products as I can – including the new Distress Paints!

If you’re in NL or are looking for a super fun weekend full of classes, cropping, and good times, sign up now and join us! Plus, it’s over St. Patrick’s Day weekend and since we do boast about George Street having the most bars and pubs per square foot in North America, you can bet there will be a party happening!

I do have to curb my excitement about Kelly a little and design and teach a few other classes before then – lots of fun and awesome things are coming your way!

Keep Calm & Love On

05 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by Sara in ScrapBook

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Designer Digitals, Printables, SimpleScrapper, Sketches, Studio Calico, The Crafter's Workshop

I was taking a poke around the Simple Scrapper website (Krista used to be on their Design Team and introduced me to it) and I found a great printable that I just had to use.

As soon as I saw the “Keep Calm and Love On” card I laughed and knew the exact picture for it! I kept poking around, looking at some of their sketches and found the Template Jane sketch. I changed it up a little, of course – that’s the beauty of sketches! – and ended up with this LO:

Keep Calm and Love On

Used my Crafter’s Workshop stencils and Clay Mist, naturally, my faves, and a bunch of washi tape.

I layered on the Glossy Accents – remember my very first Technique post? – and the shine on the wood veneer hearts is awesome!

Glossy Accents and Rock Candy stickles – a girl’s best friends!

Finally, my favourite part, a real stroke of genius I think, my pumpkin!

shiny pumpkin!

That’s a wood veneer apple from the Studio Calico School Icons! Is that the best, or what?!? Patting myself on the back for that one! 🙂

Love how this turned out, easy to do, still looks like me even though it’s from a sketch, and the journaling is actually out in the open for once, thanks to Ali Edwards!

Do you use sketches? What’s your favourite place to find them? And do you love shiny hearts as much as me?

Yearlong Album Class

29 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by Sara in ScrapBook, Yearlong Album

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My Mind's Eye, Simple Stories, Studio Calico, The Crafter's Workshop. Yearlong Album 2012

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!

Family Pictures and a little Project Life

24 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by Sara in Family

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Ali Edwards, Designer Digitals, Family, family portrait, Kiddies, kiddies, Studio Calico, Wood Veneer

The weather, though not at all fall-like, was gorgeous on Saturday so I dragged the family off to the park for a picnic and photos – I needed an undated one for the first page of Project Life! 🙂

Now, you know how Miss M feels about pictures, it’s a horrible, terrible thing I torture her with! So she was told that we need the picture and then we could go feed the ducks and play at the playground – the quicker the pictures, they longer the playing.

It didn’t work.

But I got some awesome out-takes (and one semi reasonable family picture!).

This is limp noodle M and G wondering why he has to behave if she doesn’t.

This might be my favourite one – M couldn’t look more pathetic, G is having the time of his life “drumming,” and D is already pretty PO’d at the whole situation! This one makes me laugh! 🙂

Now we’re getting to the point where G is getting fed up and M is *still* not cooperating.

This is another fave – see that sweet face on my boy? And M is glaring at the camera over her glasses – hilarious!

Now we’re getting somewhere – she’s trying really hard not to smile here! It’s only a matter of time, my friends, before I win!

Yes! One that will work and no one looks grumpy! I win! (insert big fist pump here)

On a side note – don’t you love that Ali Edwards/Designer Digitals overlay? I’m going to have to reprint the picture just like this for my PL album, I have it in there now just plain and it looks so boring!

And notice how there is no “S” on my picture? It’s the only letter I’m missing from my Studio Calico wood veneer letters so I’m trying to decide what to do there…. If anyone has an extra “S” it would save me some debating power! 🙂

Back tomorrow with a washi minibook tutorial – if I can get the paper I need!

Layouts!

21 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by Sara in ScrapBook

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Tags

Kiddies, Layouts, Scrapbooking, Studio Calico

It seems like this summer has been very uncrafty for me – who has the time? Especially since it’s actually been summer-like here this year and I’m taking full advantage!

That being said, I have a couple of LO’s to show you that were made before summer started!

Don’t you love his face? That was his “smile” expression for a while – cracks me up!

And just so she’s not left out:

Love that pic of her, wish I knew what was going through her head!

And don’t you love those flowers? The LO was done with a Studio Calico kit and those were made from the included stamp and Amy Tangerine Border stickers – love them!

Something I’ve noticed lately is that I almost always have hidden journalling. Don’t ask me why it took me this long to figure that out, I’m sure some of my friends are shaking their heads right now and thinking, “Umm, yeah!”

Not the swiftest here sometimes people!

So I guess my “signature design element” would be a toss-up between sanding the heck out of everything and hiding my writing. I don’t do it on purpose, it’s just that I don’t think about it until everything else is done and then I don’t want to add anything else. On the occasion I don’t do hidden journalling, my other trick is to write around the borders of the LO or pictures – it gives them a neat design element and gets the writing in there at the same time!

What are your signature design elements? Take a look back over your most recent LO’s and see if something pops out. I love to hear what you do all the time!