Little Star Sweeper

I'm very excited to post my first Flamingo Scraps Design Team project!

When my warehouse box arrived, these Pink Paislee Portfolio papers and embellishments begged me to use them to scrap this photo I had just received of my cousin's new baby boy.

The soft ivories and blue, with touches of mustard, really worked with this gorgeous black and white photo.

I started out by laying down some texture using light modelling paste and a Heidi Swapp mask. While that dried, I fussy cut some elements from the Portfolio papers. I knew I wanted to go with lots of layers and a few banners, and I really loved the play of zig zags and stripes in the papers. I love how the light modelling paste is only semi-opaque when used in a thin layer. It adds such amazing texture without feeling thick and heavy. I also used some of the new Cosmo Cricket Glitter Sheets in my layering here. They are self-adhesive, very easy to cut, VERY glittery, and there is no fallout from the glitter (yay for not having glitter all over my desk!).

I used one of the Pink Paislee Artisan Elements Borders with a little ink on top of some of my fussy cutting. I layered in a little washi tape from my stash, a Pink Paislee tag from my warehouse box (did I mention that not only can you get a combination box, but also a paper box or embellishment box?) The chipboard and wooden stars came from the box and from my stash.

Last (but not least!), I had to come up with a title. Something about this photo made me think of the lullabye from "Lady and the Tramp." I think it was the stars I was adding left and right. Anyway, "Little Star Sweeper" sounded just right, and I hand-wrote "la la lu" above. My final touch was a piece of twine with a bow around the photo.

Thanks for looking!

Simple Sketches #2!

Good morning!
It's my first official morning on the Simple Sketches blog. I'm part of Design Team B, and the new sketch has gone live!  Use this bare bones sketch to make a layout, like I did, or even a greeting card or canvas.  There's nothing like a Simple Sketch to get your creative juices flowing.  :)

Without further ado...

I took some liberties with this sketch.  Don't worry, that's what you're supposed to do!  I wanted to use these photos of my oldest (her aunt put a colored strip in her hair when she got it cut last June and boy, did she think she was cool!).  They were larger photos so I just tweaked the photo placement.  I really raided my stash for this, too--do you remember those paper lace sheets that KI Memories introduced way back when?  I bet I've had them ten years!  I have a huge stack that I've been hoarding.  The embossed cardstock is (I think!) American Crafts, from the Dear Lizzy line, the letters are old Basic Grey (I still love those and wish BG still made them), the bit of trim is Prima, and the flowers and striped pp strip were from my stash.  I used some Heidi Swapp Color Shine on the background, and added a stitched element with the Bazzill stitching guides.

Enjoy, I can't wait to see what you create!  If you create something from this sketch, post a link in my comments.  I'll randomly draw a winner and send out a small RAK of ancient (but still cool!) things from my stash, like those I've created with here.

Simple Sketches #1

Simple Sketches has revealed the first sketch!  Team A's versions of it are posted, and I would like to share my take on it :)

This uses Basic Grey's Hipster.  I have to admit that I love to use a collection because it makes the process so much faster for me--I spend FOREVER trying to find the papers and embellishments that I want otherwise!  I used some Glitz background/distress stamps and Tim Holtz stamps with Distress Ink on some of the papers and in the corners of the background. 

And yes, my dog *IS* a bad dog.  But we love her anyway.  :)

Hopscotch, and other fun things to do

Hello blog-o-sphere!

I made this for a recent DT call; I didn't make the team, but I think I make some of my best work for those calls!  :)

This is a lift of a layout from the April issue of Scrapbook Trends.  Love that magazine!
This background is the Heidi Swapp color resist papers, spritzed with a little Color Shine.

Introducing Simple Sketches

I'm very excited to be part of this awesome new sketch blog--Simple Sketches!
Melissa's sketches are designed to give you the basics without all the frills; so you have a blueprint for your page without having your hand held.
Not only am I excited about the blog, but also to be part of the Design Team!  There's nothing better than being able to work with friends on a new, exciting endeavor!
This is the layout I made with the sketch released for the Design Team call:

I combined some Heidi Swapp color resist chevron paper with some of her zig zag paper and used some Color Shine mists to put a pretty, subtle pop of color behind my photo.  I finished off with a fussy cut banner from a sheet of patterned paper and a few pieces of American Crafts chipboard.  There are also a few scraps of tulle (from the underskirt of the dress my daughter is wearing).  The larger photo is my favorite of this little one so far; I don't think it gets much better than this pout mixed with that posture and those cowgirl boots.  :)
Thanks for looking, and stay tuned for further adventures with me and Simple Sketches!

Christmas in July with Flamingo Scraps--Layouts!!

I chose to make a couple of scrapbook layouts with Christmas photos. I don't know about you guys, but I never seem to get my Christmas photos scrapped. I think the quantity is just overwhelming! So I thought I'd use this opportunity to scrap a few photos that I've had printed for ages! For both layouts, I used the Traditional Christmas kit from the Big Pink Bargain Bin, only adding a little Stickles and some Thickers. :)

We bake a lot of cookies every year, and the ones we make with the cookie press are always my daughter's favorites (although she prefers to eat the other kinds!).

 

I love to use a sheet of paper for a border, but hate the waste. My secret is that I cut out the center of the piece being used as a border. Here, I've added it back in as a kind of photo mat. Here's my other dirty little secret--I am a TERRIBLE journaler! I will add some in on the middle strip once I figure out how old these photos are. I added a border sticker, some of the cute chippies, a row of brads, and a title. This one was pretty simple and came together quickly once I'd decided what I wanted to do.

A few years ago (it was five, if you'd really like to know how long I've procrastinated for), my mom gave me an old photo to restore. I did the restoration artwork and printed out copies for mom and my aunt, uncle, and grandmother, but never did anything with my copy. I decided that this beautiful traditional kit was a perfect opportunity to scrap my vintage photo. I love this photo of my mom as a child! (and how about that wallpaper, with matching valance??)

 

 

I used a different border trick this time; I had about half a sheet of the red and white polka dot paper left from my canvas, but I really wanted this for a border. I cut 2" strips and glued them together to form a square, and then put my border punched sheet on top. I doodled around the page (I used a ruler on the straight sections). Simple embellishments, and a little Stickles, and I'm very happy to be able to add this to an album. :)

Thanks for reading, and many thanks to Flamingo Scraps for asking me to Guest Design for them this month.  :)

Christmas in July with Flamingo Scraps

Good morning!

 

I am honored to be part of  Flamingo Scraps' GDT for the month of July, and I look forward to sharing my Christmas projects with you and also seeing what the other designers will do next!

For my first project, I made a mixed media canvas. This project was inspired by Christy Tomlinson, and uses a 12x24 canvas.

 

For this project, I used the Traditional holiday kit from the Big Pink Bargain Bin, Color Shine mist in Teal, Mustard, and Sweet Cherry, Pink Paislee/Christy Tomlinson vintage doily mask, a little bit of white paint, some We R Memory Keepers baker's twine, Prima wooden accents, modelling paste, and lots of Mod Podge. There are also a couple of inexpensive paper doilies in there.

I don't really have a method to my madness, although I do like to start a canvas by laying down a few layers of paper (in this case, the Pink Paislee Collage sheets and the paper doilies). I used some Color Shine to tint my white paint and then used bubble wrap to apply it. I used modelling paste with the doily mask to create some fun texture, and then layered on A LOT of Color Shine.

 

Once I was happy with my background, I cut a few pieces of various green patterned papers in half (so I had 6x12" pieces) and started tearing my strips. I used various widths and didn't try to control my ripping very much. For each paper layer, I used Mod Podge to affix it, and then more on top to keep it down. I didn't wait for my background to dry, and I love how the paint and mists mixed into the Mod Podge on top of my tree layers.

 

Finally, it was time to embellish. I used Color Shine on the wooden embellishments and Mod Podge to hold down the twine. I waited until morning, when the canvas was dry, to attach the brads.

I hope you are inspired to make some Christmas decor of your own. There's nothing more fun than getting your fingers covered in paint and Mod Podge while your canvas comes to life!