No project of the week....

Sorry there will not be a project of the week due to Scrap Pink.

Techneek of the Week - Fasteners

So I lied earlier...this isn't a terribly exciting Techneek for you...it's more of a tip, a piece of advice, something new to try. It is part inspired by the layouts I'm doing right now for an upcoming kit (shhh...don't tell Juli I posted them!!), part inspired by the fact that I totally ran out of Dot N Roller today, and part inspired by the hat I made to wear to my girlfriend's wedding last weekend which is called a "fastenator." (sp?)


This Techneek is all about using things other than standard adhesive to stick your photos and embellies onto your layout!

OOH AAH!!


#1: Use staples

This is a simple one. I often use a stapler to attach ribbon to my layouts, as it is easier and quicker and less messy than using liquid adhesive or glue dots. But staples also work for attaching felt shapes, fabric, flowers, paper and even your photos.

In this next picture I even did a little line of staples down from my photo to mimic the vertical lines I had created with the ribbons beside. So staples can even be used as a decorative element! I have coloured staples in my stash that fit in my mini-stapler when I'm in the mood to add some more colour!

In this picture you can also get a glimpse of my next Fastener Tip...

#2: Stitch it!!

This is a favourite of my main girls Anam and Juli...but they know how to use a sewing machine and boy do they use it!! Sewing machines and Lisa cannot co-exist, but I do know how to thread a needle! So I hand stitch on my layouts using brightly coloured embroidery floss! It is a simple and inexpensive way to add colour and texture to your layouts without pulling out your old Singer!

#3: Use paper clips

As far as I'm concerned, any office supply is fair game when it comes to scrapbooking, but I have these old school brass-looking paper clips that I love adding to layouts. Here I just used them along the edge to "attach" my Hambly transparency to the background, but they also look amazing with a ribbon tied through them, or holding a label or tag above a photo.

You can even buy fancy paper clips, like the KI Memories one pictured below! See...they are for scrapbooking too!

Raid the drawers in your home office and you'll find so many goodies that will work well on your layouts! I guarantee it!

#4: Use Brads

This may seem like a no-brainer, but sometimes you just need a helpful reminder of all the wonderful things that brads can do for you! The most obvious way to let a brad help you stick something down is by using it in the centre of a flower. But don't forget brads look great at the top of a tag, or at the end of some ribbon.

I don't have a layout handy that shows you this method of fastening, but I'm sure if you take a peek through some of your own albums, you'll find some!

And the full layouts:

I know this wasn't terribly exciting this week, but I hope it gives you some "food for thought" when it comes to thinking about your scrapbooking differently! Maybe you should just "lose" your adhesive next time you are creating and see what other fascinating ways you can discover!!

later,

P.S. For pictures of the rad hat I made, check out my blog!

Techneek of the Week...Coming Right Up!!

I've been working totally weird hours this week...so I was in no state of mind to do up a little Techneek for y'all yesterday. That & I totally forgot about it!! Oops! I have this afternoon off, and am planning something excellent and it's a surprise...to me as well!

Hope everyone's week is going well...and even though I won't be in on Saturday, we hope to see a lot of you at the store for the ScrapPink celebration. Give the store a call if you want more info! And I'll see you back at the store next Saturday...we'll have a lot to catch up on!!

Check ya later...this afternoon!!
Lisa

My Favorite Photos Mini Album!

Cute little mini album made with all the new lovely goodies we have in store. You can find this album in store on display with our Maya Road collection. Have a fantastic weekend, happy scrappin'!

J

Supplies: Maya Road chipboard Album & rub on letters, paint &paint brush, Ribbon, American Crafts: paper, stickers, Thickers, ribbon, rub ons; Doodlebug bling, Journaling Stamp (Autumn Leaves),

1. First step is to paint the mini album. I have choosen to do three different colors - two pages in each color, you can choose to paint it however you like, or leave it raw. I first covered the album in gesso (a thick white medium) it makes it way easier to paint chipboard, because then the chipboard doesn't soak up the paint and you won't need a thousand coats. Now I got a little bit messy and there are white bits of paint everywhere. It didn't bother me I like things messy but you don't have to do that, it was a total accident.

2. Select a theme for your album. I choose to do my favorite photos, I have tons and I thought this would be a great way to display minis of them!

3. To make mini albums work (you may have heard this from Lisa already) but it is easiest to make them work if there is a constant throughout. I have choose to stamp each opposite page with a journaling stamp in black ink. This ties the album together. Some may argue that you would want to use the same three sheets of paper through out, but I personally don't like that rule.

4. Start working through your pages, adding embellishments and photos. Below is each individual page describing what I used. Enjoy!

Used: AMC Ribbon, Bazzil Tulle, AMC Thickers, Maya Road Rub-ons


Used: AMC paper, Ranger Stickles, Maya Road Rub-ons


Used: AMC Paper, AMC stickers, Doodlebug flocked paper


Used: AMC rub-ons, AMC paper, Doodlbug Bling


Used: AMC stickers, Doodlebug Bling


Used: Kaiser Pears, AMC Paper, Maya rub-ons

Techneek of the Week - Flocking

Here is another super fun technique I like to use in my classes. "Flocking" is new technique sweeping the scrapbooking world, and once you know how it's done, you'll want to put it on everything!! This little powder will make things look like velvet!! Ooh Ahh!!

Supply list:

Chipboard shape: Today I'm using the Riff Raff crown

Flocking powder: We carry every colour that Doodlebug makes, and there are a bunch! Today I'm using "Bubblegum" pink.

ZIG Two Way Glue pen: I've done some "scientific tests" (i.e. trial and error!!) and found that this stuff works the best for flocking. It is a liquid glue that dispenses from a marker-like tip of the pen quite smoothly. Your adhesive needs to go on thin enough so that it won't show through the flocking, but heavy enough that the flocking powder has something to stick to. Make sense??

Step One: Apply your glue to a small section of your chipboard piece. Unless your shape is really small, if you cover the whole thing in glue it will have dried by the time you start to put your flocking powder down. You still need to work quickly before the glue starts to dry.



Step Two: Dump a bunch of flocking powder on the wet area and PRESS IT DOWN with your fingers. Don't rub it, or just leave it and hope it will stick on its own!


Keep pressing all over the flocked area, adding more powder if it didn't cover fully the first time.


Step Three: Gently tap off the excess powder and start applying glue to the next section. Repeat the above steps until you've covered the entire shape.

The finished product!!


What I did with it...
Please excuse the fact that it is sideways...I think I have this problem with Blogger everytime! Arrggh!!



Supplies for "Parade" layout:

American Crafts pattern paper

Dream Street pattern paper (lined 6x6)

KI Memories pattern paper (abc)

Prima yellow flower

KI Memories button

various American Crafts Thickers sticker letters (black)

Project of the Week: Cards

Good Day,

For this week's project I made three see-through cards. I've used the KI die cut paper and some Hambly paper to make these cards transparent. Enjoy your week!









Instructions for these cards here.

Techneek of the Week - Doodle Frames

Here's a fun one for you to try! I make sure this frame is included in all of in my doodle classes! So I guess this is a little sneak preview for the next go around!

This may look complicated, but if you take it one step at a time and don't put too much pressure on yourself, it turns out great every time! I use this technique a lot, as it adds a bit of interest to my layout and never looks the same as the last one I did!

Step One: Draw your inside rectangle (or square). If I know I am going to put a certain size photo inside the frame, I make my rectangle the same size. And totally feel free to TRACE the shape at this stage Once you go over it in pen a couple of times it will look like you doodled it!

Step Two: You can add some interest to the inside shape if you want. I added a second line and some dark stripes.

Step Three: Draw your corners and middle first. This way you can just "connect the dots" with the rest of the outline of your frame. I always do three little bumps, but you can try doing just one bump or leave your corners square.

Step Four: Now, connect your corners and middles with a line. At this point, you can go back over your previous lines. The more lines you add on top of one another, the more "doodly" it looks! This also hides "mistakes" really well. But remember, doodles aren't meant to look perfect! So have fun, and don't worry about making everything symmetrical or the same size. It's supposed to be whimsical...that's the whole point!!

Step Five: Fill in your frame. I usually just do swirls or squiggles, and I really fill it in!! But you can leave it a little emptier if you like. Start with just a few lines, then add more as you go until you get the look you want. You can always add more lines, but you can't take them away! If you're hesitant about jumping in feet first and using a PEN on your first try, don't! You can use a pencil to give yourself a rough idea of your pattern, then go over it in marker after you like what you see! And I always tell my students, that like everything else, practice makes perfect! I keep a little journal to sketch out layout ideas and I also use it to practice my doodles.

And here is a layout I completed using my freshly doodled frame! You could also use it as a journaling spot, or as a place to put your title.

Try adding colour to your next frame: either by colouring or painting inside the frame, or doodling in a colour to match your layout.

Try adding doodled images to your next frame: In the one on Lucas's playschool page I added some school-related doodles like "ABC 123," a ruler, scissors and a smiley face. Start with flowers or hearts if you're not ready to move on to more complicated "drawings" just yet!


And we do have a Doodle class scheduled for October (or November...I can't remember offhand!!) so keep checking the main TM Blog and the Classes Blog for more information on dates and times! We'll probably be posting that schedule near the end of September.

Project of The Week!

I apologize for the delay. My project sample had an incident, and then I had some technical difficulties. Such an interesting day!

Any ways our project of the week is a beautiful wing keychain. Super simple to make and absolutely stunning!

All we did was take some of the new Maya Road acrylic wings we received and altered them.






This set of wings has an American Craft sticker on, and then was covered with Glossy accents to ensure the sticker did not peal.



This set of wings has American Craft and Hambly rub ons, I decided to add some alcohol ink as well - pictured below.




Finally this set was foiled with Stix 2 adhesive and foil sheets.

These wings can be used on pages as well as for some delightful keychains! Enjoy your week!

Techneek of the Week - Crackle Paint & Glimmer Mist

Something special happens when you use Crackle Paint and Glimmer Mist together. I don't know what it is: the combination of old and new, distressed and sparkly, awesome and awesome-er! I am a huge fan of this Techneek, and use it regularily! I was always a big fan of Crackle Paint, going back to my younger days when I would paint anything and everything I could get my hands on. The stuff that Ranger has put out comes in a whole whack of amazing colours, and each bottle comes with it's own applicator brush! Yay! One step, and you're on your way to distressed heaven! And I can never say enough nice things about Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. Pair them up, and you get a super finish for chipboard that adds life to any project!


Supplies needed for today's Techneek:

• Chipboard shape - your choice
• Ranger Crackle Paint
• Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist (in a coordinating colour)

Step One: Pick your shape. I (always) choose Riff Raff Designs chipboard, but then again, I'm a Riff Raff girl! Any chipboard will work, and you don't need to do anything to it to prep it for the crackle paint.






Step Two: Apply the crackle paint to your chipboard shape using the applicator brush. I'm using "Faded Jeans." The thicker you slap it on, the bigger the cracks will be. Don't worry too much about being "neat" with the application. If you go over the edge, you can brush the paint off once it has dried. Plus, it is meant to give an aged or distressed look, so the messier the better!!




Step Three: Let it DRY! This will take a bit of time, depending on how thick you laid it on! But be patient! Once cracks have started to form, you can speed up the drying process with a heat gun, but don't let it get too hot in the thick spots or the crackle paint will start to bubble and that is not a pretty site!! Also, if you try to spray Glimmer Mist on wet crackle paint, it won't look right. The whole point is for the Glimmer Mist to settle in the cracks left when the paint dries. It just makes a mess if you don't let the paint dry.


Step Four: Once it has dried completely, spray your Glimmer Mist on. I try to use a complementary colour ("Sea Glass" in this case), but if you use Black crackle paint, it looks totally amazing with a bright colour of Glimmer Mist!! Once the Glimmer Mist has dried you can add another coat, if it isn't shimmery enough for you!! I usually spray it at least twice!

You can't really tell in this photo, but this is what your shape will look like after you apply the Glimmer Mist. It creates a beautiful, yet subtle shimmer on the surface and in the cracks of the paint.

And this is the layout I completed with the decorated chipboard.

I also recently completed this page, using the same techneek on Riff Raff Designs camera chipboard shape. I used Black Crackle Paint and Peach Glimmer Mist. The coloured Glimmer Mist shows up great on the black paint.

Supplies Used:


Sample #1:

• KI Memories pattern paper (background)
• Bam Pop pattern paper
• Sassafraslass pattern paper
• Prima tape (bar code)
• Riff Raff Designs chipboard - grocery cart & cutlery
• Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in "Sea Glass"
• Ranger Crackle Paint in "Faded Jeans"
• Prima tape (bar code)
• Making Memories tag
• Jenni Bowlin journaling spot (the star) and red label sticker
• Heidi Swapp ghost star coloured with "Red Pepper" Ranger alcohol ink
• American Crafts Precision Pen and Slick Writer, both in black
  

Sample #2:

• Kaiser Crafts pattern paper (background)
• Making Memories die cut paper (orange)
• Hambly pattern paper (brown & kraft damask)
• Hambly gold rub ons
• American Crafts Precision Marker in black
• Time Holtz journaling tickets
• black mesh ribbon
• American Crafts Thickers sticker letters (three different fonts and textures)
• "Found Items"