Faithful Pet

Time for another layout that was in Scrapbook News and Review Magazine. We all love our pets as we do any other family member and I couldn't resist snapping this pic of Brandy when she was lounging in the sun one afternoon.

Can you believe this layout started as a white sheet of cardstock? I used one of my Martha Stewart border punches and punched strips of white paper to entirely cover the cardstock page. Then I used Ranger Color Wash and randomly spritzed color over the page. Once that was dry, I took a smaller piece of white cardstock and painted on a couple different colors using Faber Castell Gelatos.


Lastly, I added the picture, a floral vine, and a piece of shear fabric. This really was a fun page to complete!

Turkey Time!

I hope everyone is enjoying Thanksgiving Day! In honor of Turkey Day, I thought it would be fun to make a couple of cute little table decorations. Can you picture these guys as name cards on the dinner table?


Follow along and we’ll get started making these guys. To start off, you’ll need a set of Basically Bare acrylic gears which have been cut in half. Next, I inked up all the pieces of acrylic with several fall shades of alcohol ink.


Once the alcohol ink is dry (which only takes a few seconds), layer and attach the pieces of acrylic with pop dots. Be sure to only place the pop dots in the middle portion of the gears, otherwise they will be visible on the finished project.


Next up is the body of the turkey. I took a 4 inch circle piece of fabric and inked it brown. Once the ink was dry, I took a needle and thread and slip stitched around the border. Next, add a bit of stuffing and then pull the thread. By pulling the thread it will close up the fabric and you will have a little ball.


Lastly, just adhere the body of the turkey to the acrylic “feathers”, add a couple of googly eyeballs, the waddle, and the beak.


Now, off I go to finish my Thanksgiving Day dinner!

Deer Friend

What a cute card for a special someone! This card was in a previous issue of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine and now I can finally share it here.

The background was heat embossed with clear embossing ink and then I inked over the embossed areas to create a cloud effect.


The grass was made with a die from The Cat's Pajamas and the deer was stamped with a stamp from Sideshow Stamps and then colored with Prismalcolor watercolor pencils. The butterflies are a Martha Stewart punch and lastly a few Prima flowers were added. It all comes together to make one adorable card!

Showing Off The Twins

Both of these layouts were in the September issue of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine and now I can finally share them.

My star of the show for both of these is Sheyla. Someone decided it was time to experiment with make-up but only managed to get a glob of mascara on the side of her nose.


And the second layout shows Sheyla as she is the majority of the time, with a huge smile on her face.


Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Soar!

I was looking at the beautiful display of color Mother Nature has graced us with and used those colors as inspiration for today’s tag.


This tag has a lot going on and I wouldn’t want you to miss any of it. To start, the background was inked using several colors of Distress Inks and a Crafter’s Workshop template then a stamp was added in the bottom corner.


Now on to the embellies. I’ve used two of my Basically Bare gears, the first being the acrylic gear. Acrylic is one of my all time fave mediums to work with. Why? Because there are so many different techniques that can be used! One side of the gear has been inked with alcohol inks and then the other side was stamped with Staz-On ink.


The chipboard gear has been heat embossed with Distress embossing powder in a couple of different shades.

Next up is the key and wings. The wings have been inked with a metallic gold ink and the key was inked with Adirondak Color Wash.


To add a bit of distressing, I pulled up a layer from the chipboard. It just gives a bit more dimension to the gear.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s get those fingers nice and inky! Plus, if everyone is inky, I won’t stand out so much with my orange hands. :)

Cards Galore

It's time once again to share a couple of cards that were in the September issue of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.

First off is a clean and simple card made with a fabric mesh I found at a scrapbook convention a few months ago. I simply cut a small piece of the mesh and then layered it Prima paper and then added a butterfly.


My second card has three layers of Prima paper, each at an angle as they were layered. Then I simply added the felt vine, heart, butterfly, and sentiment.


And as I'm uploading these pictures, I realize both cards have ink on them. I'm starting to realize I use a LOT of pink. :)

More ATC's

It's time to share a couple of ATC's that were in the September issue of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.

This first one I used a lot of Mixed Media techniques. I started with a piece of canvas cut to ATC size and randomly painted the background with a couple different colors. Once that was dry, I used a stencil and some white paint to create the circles. Then I took some red watercolor paint and allowed that to run down the card. Lastly, I took a heart, ran it through a Cuttlebug, then tore it in half and added a game spinner in the middle. Then I coated the entire card with Glimmer Glaze. The spots that been heat embossed resisted the glaze so you can see the original layer of color.


For the second ATC, I used a fun resist technique. Using watercolor paper, I inked the background with yellow and orange ink. Once the ink was dry, I stamped several hearts then heat embossd the hears with clear embossing powder.


If there's a new technique you really want to try out, an ATC is the perfect place to start. It's small enough to practice with so you don't waste a lot of product if you just absolutely hate the result. But the small size can also pack a punch if you love the outcome.

Bottlecap Earrings

Jamie Pope back with you again today with a fun set of earrings! By now, I think most of you know I like projects that are quick and simple (it's the whole instant gratification thing for me :) ). With the exception of drying time, this set of earrings can be completed in about 40 minutes.


Start by selecting a patterned paper with a small print and cut out two circles to fit inside the Basically Bare bottlecaps. Glue down the paper and then cover with a thin layer of Ranger's Glossy Accents. Once the Glossy Accents is dry, it's time to add the beads and earring hooks.

Using a piercing tool, add two holes to each bottlecap - one at the top and one at the bottom. Add the earring hooks through the top holes. On the bottom holes, add a jump ring and on the jump ring add three beads which have been attached to head pins.

Here's hoping everyone has a spooktacular Halloween!

Spiderweb Tealight Holder

I'm always looking for unique ways to use my Basically Bare items so when the idea of turning the pennants into a tealight candle holder popped in my head I had to run with it! And the best part of this project is that it took less than 30 minutes to complete (drying time aside). Which means you could make several of these and turn them into a spidery tablescape.


I used four of the Basically Bare large canvas pennants and stamped them with Ranger's Archival Ink in black. Be sure to use a permanent ink for this project, otherwise the stamped image will bleed out in the next step. Once the stamped image is dry, I inked all four pieces with a watered down mixture of Distress ink reinker and Perfect Pearls. Because the canvas pieces hold a lot of moisture from the inking, I sped up the drying time by tossing them into my dryer for a few minutes.

While the canvas pieces are drying, I made the spider. I simply stamped the spider on white cardstock, heat embossed with black embossing powder, then cut out the embossed image.

Once the canvas pieces were dry, I used a hot glue gun to glue all four pieces together. Lastly, I added a piece of black zipper trim and then the embossed spider.

Note: As this piece is made from canvas and thus flammable, only use with a battery operated tealight candle.

Playtime

I fell in love with these pics of the munchkin the minute I saw them. She was lost in her own little world playing with the blocks. So of course I had to scrap them right away.

I've been on a clean and simple kick for a bit and this layout is no exception. I used a scrap piece of cardstock to mask the area in the top left hand corner and then used a mister for the ink splatter in the lower right hand corner. For embellishment, I layered strips of tissue tape and film strip ribbon, added a piece of pom-pom ribbon, and some chipboard letters.


The finishing piece was a Basically Bare acrylic heart inked with two colors of StazOn ink. I now have a secret weapon in my arsenal that allows me to layer StazOn colors without them mixing or bleeding together, a fairly new product called GlazOne. Simple apply the first color of StazOn to the acrylic heart and allow to dry for a few seconds, apply a thin layer of GlazOn and allow to dry, then apply the second color of StazOn right on top. No mixing of colors so you can now clearly see both colors of ink on the acrylic piece!

R.I.P

I created this layout for the second October Challenge at Better Living Through Scrapbooking. Head on over, take a look at the challenge criteria, and get entered for the monthly prize!

This layout has my oldest niece as she was just finishing her makeup. The picture was a bit blurry, but oddly enough, the blur really fits with the Halloween theme.



I found a really fun way to distress this layout: bleach! Who would have thought. I just took a paint brush, dipped it into bleach, and then splattered the bleach onto the layout. Then I took my heat gun and ran it over the spots of bleach to speed up the bleaching process. A very simple technique that adds a lot of visual interest to a layout.

Another thing I really love on this page is the headstones. I simply diecut them using my Cuttlebug and a die. Then I covered them entirely with black Stickles and once the Stickles were dry I inked around the edges with silver and pearl alcohol inks. It really gives an aged look!

Happy Fall

It’s finally starting to feel a bit like fall here in the south, so I figured a fall inspired card was in order.

I took a piece of Tim Holtz patterned paper and inked up the edges really well. Next I tore a strip of Core’dinations cardstock and crumpled it into a ball. Once I was sure it was wrinkled, I flattened out the paper and then inked it up. The ink will highlight the wrinkles add a bit of depth to the card.


Next I added a couple of Basically Bare gears, once that was plain chipboard and the other was corrugated. The largest, I inked with a bright orange ink from Clearsnap and then randomly sprinkled bits of embossing powder. I purposely overheated the embossing powder to a point where it bubbled just a add another bit of texture. Just be careful not to burn the chipboard. Next I inked the corrugated gear with Smooch Spritz, which gave it a nice metallic finish. Lastly I stamped and colored a pumpkin and added it on top of the gears.

Lil' Munchkins

It seems like it's been forever since I posted, but I know it's only been a couple of weeks. Life has been uber crazy but hopefully things will be back on track soon. Anyway, I have a couple layouts to share that were in the July issue of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.

The first one up clearly shows the moodiness of a two year old. Laughing one minute, crying the next.


The second layout I have affectionately called the Meme Monster! :) We were playing tickle and she looked so adorable reaching over my sister.


Both of these layout are fairly clean and simple, which seems to my style right now. Who knows what style I'll be in the mood for tomorrow!

Tickles

Have you noticed I seem to have a never ending supply of pictures of the munchkins? I think most of us do. I try to scrap them soon after they are taken so the day and events are still fresh in my mind.

I chose to keep the colors of the layout and embellishments in the same colors as those in the picture (of course using lots of pink :) ).


All three of the hearts are Basically Bare canvas. Love, love, love the canvas! Did I mention I love the canvas embellishments? :) They take color amazingly well. I inked them all using Liquitex acrylic ink that was thinned with a bit of water. Once they were dry, I chose to give each of them a different treatment. One I stamped on, one I added little drops of Ranger's Enamel Accents, and the largest heart I sewed on letter beads. All completely different techniques and yet the canvas is up to the job!

Mixed Media Items

Welcome to my latest post! Today I'm bringing you a couple of items that were in the August issue of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.

If you haven't tried your hand at making inchies or ATC's, I have to ask what's holding you back. They're a fun way to get creative and try out new techniques. And since they are small projects, you won't waste a lot of product if you decide you don't like the technique.

With this set of inchies, I stamped the background with stamps from The Rubber Cafe. Once they were stamped, I ran each of them through my Cuttlebug using different embossing folders. The last step was to add some Grungeboard covered in Perfect Pearls and a bit of Stickles.


For the ATC, I layered on several different stamped images and several different colors of Distress Inks to create the background. Then I cut out a vintage schoolgirl image and then stamped the pen images. Quick and easy.


Thanks for stopping in today!

Cards On Parade

It's time once again to share a couple of cards that were in the August issue of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.

First up is my card title Dream, which uses three fun items - glitter, a border punch, and an acrylic butterfly. All layered together to make a wonderful card.


Next on tap is an adorable circle card. Simply cut a circle using a 5 inch circle cutter, layer on the bird sticker, then lastly add a couple of flowers. Easy.


What fun products have you had a chance to play with lately?

Layers of Paper

It's time once again to share a couple of items that were in the July issue of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.

Fist up is a wonderful card using one of my favorite items - transparencies! They are super versatile and can be layered on top of patterned paper to create a unique look.


Next up is a set of inchies. I simple cut thin strips of patterned paper and adhered then at an angle on a 1 inch piece of cardstock. Add in a bit of ink, twine, and some buttons and you're done.


Now that you've seen a couple of my recent projects, what have you created?

Family Fun

The entire family got together one day in May for a birthday celebration and one of the munchkins grabbed my iPod. Little did I know that it would keep them entertained for hours. Who would have thought that music trivia apps would be so entertaining? Even the two year olds were playing along. Of course, this provided the perfect opportunity for a picture. It’s not too often that everyone is sitting still and in the same spot.


This layout features LOTS of yummy embellishments from Basically Bare! The canvas heart was inked with Distress Inks and then the dots were made with Enamel Accents. The acrylic heart was completely covered with Stickles. And the little bird was made by pealing a layer off the corrugated chipboard and then adding Distress Ink. Lastly, the canvas flowers were added and colored using Distress Inks also.

Forever...With Love

Looking back over the last few items I've created, I've noticed a trend - incorporating black into the finished item. So of course, this card is no exception. I just love the contrast that black has to the pink used on this card! It gives the card that "pop" that it needs.


Better yet, this was a fairly quick card to create. I simply layered some Echo Park patterned paper, added a couple stickers, and then added the floral trim. For the last embellishments, I took a Basically Bare acrylic heart and lightly inked around the edges with StazOn and then layered a felt dress form on top. I chose to leave the dress form bare since the white was a nice contrast against the black.

Have a good day everyone!

School Memories

The first challenge of the month is up at Better Living Through Scrapbooking. Head on over, take a look, and create a layout to get entered for the monthly drawing.This challenge was all about school photos. Well, I didn't have have any of my photos from elementary school (they're all at my Mom's house.) However, I have plenty of pictures from my Senior year. Just looking at these pictures just reminds me of 1) how much hair I had back then, 2) how long it took to get that teased look, and 3) how much hairspray it took to make sure my hair wouldn’t fall. Big hair, those were the days. :)

Since this challenge has me thinking back to my high school days, I have to ask this - What is one of your fondest memories from your Senior year in high school?