TOTW - Little Pocket

Remember last week's post with the most awesome silver crackle paint? Remember that I promised you that I would show you how I was going to finish the page? Well here it is!!


My sister's wedding photographer gave her a bunch of little teensy picture books as a keepsake. And lucky me, I got one! And the idea to stick it on a scrapbook page came to me right away...but I had a find a creative way to do it.



You will need:

- Clear plastic sheet to use as your pocket. I cut up some scrapbooking packaging to use.

- A needle and thread. I'm using some embroidery floss, cause that's what I have.




Cut your clear plastic piece to the right size for whatever you're putting in it. Position it on the page where you want it. Start at one corner of the sheet with your stitching. I found it was easier to go down through the plastic and not up from the bottom. So just keep that in mind as you go along.
(Sorry about the crooked picture...)

This is the finished layout (well almost...I might add some bling and more ribbon). I didn't sew around the entire plastic piece because I want to be able to take the picture book out and look through it.

And here is a close-up of the little detail I did at the bottom.

This was super easy to do, nothing fancy or complicated here! Try it in as many colours as you can find and if you're not keen on the cross stitch, do a simple line or try something fancier. I am not an expert needleworker, so my stitching is fairly crude, but who cares! It's just fun!!

Next week I hope to show you what I've been doing with the rest of my layouts from Amy's wedding. It's my cleverest work to date!!

later,

TOTW - Metallic Crackle Paint!!

Finally finally finally the metallic crackle paint from Ranger came in! Yippee! So it bought it in both silver and bronze and I played with it right away and I really wanted to do a Techneek for you. So we are going to make a stencil today and paint it and it's going to be lovely!


You will need:
- acetate
- a Sharpie, Slick Writer or other permanent marker to draw your word on the acetate
- Craft blade and cutting board
- Metallic Crackle paint!!!
- Scotch tape (or painters tape) to stick the stencil down while you are painting it


Sorry about the crooked pictures...I'm not too sure why Blogger doesn't like me!!


Step One: Draw your message on the acetate. It doesn't have to be perfect or wonderful. Once you cut it out with the craft blade it will be even less so anyways!

Step Two: Cut out your letters with the craft blade. I can't find my real craft cutting board so I'm using a kitchen cutting board! It was handy!

Step Three: I think it's a good idea to kind of have your page planned out so you know where you want your stenciled word to go. I put down some rub-ons first.

Step Four: I taped my stencil down so it wouldn't move around when I started painting it.

Step Five: Start painting. I just daubed it right on. The thicker it is, the bigger the cracks will be. The best way to apply paint on a stencil like this is to start outside and bring the paint in. That way there is a smaller chance of the paint bleeding underneath the stencil.

Step Six: Here are all the letters all painted up. Leave the stencil in place until the paint starts to dry.

Then you can gently peel it up, and set the page aside to finish drying.


And here is the almost-finished layout.

And a close up of the paint. It stays so shiny and looks amazing once it's dry. You really have to see it in person to get the full effect! It is my new favourite, for sure!!!

Next week I want to show you how I plan on finishing this layout...with a fab little transparency pocket to hold my sister's photo keepsake from her wedding.

Additional Supplies:

- Hambly Rub Ons black frames

- American Crafts chandelier sticker

- Font Werks letter stamps & Distress ink pad (some kind of blue!)

- Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Denim and Moonlight

Featuring...CHERRIES!

Oh my goodness...I am so sorry this is so late! The days kept spiraling away from me, and it's almost time for the next Techneek post and I am so late with this! Please forgive me!


Here are the four layouts I completed with some of the fabulous cherry products around the store. There was so much more to choose from, but I am on a budget you know!!

Layout #1: I used some Graphics 45 vintage-inspired paper with lovely ladies, old cars, and cherries!


Layout #2, and you'll have to turn your head sideways to see this one (stupid Blogger not liking my giant pictures...). I'm using the Jenni Bolwin cherries paper as my background just to show you that cherries can be for cool boys too. I mean men...manly men!

I used a Heidi Swapp alphabet mask and sprayed it with some black alcohol ink in my ranger Mini Mister to give the paper a more edgy feel.

Layout #3 and #4 I used some new stuff from Cosmo Cricket. I love the vintage look to the cherries, but the colours are so bright and the designs are so fun they work on any kind of layout.

Again, sorry for the sideways layout! Argh!

Next time you sit down for a nice scrapping session, think of the themes of some of your product. Do you do a lot of birthday pages? Or maybe summer and sitting at the beach. This might help you the next time you're shopping for new stuff, or trying to combine products from different companies on the same layout!

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And since I left you hanging so long, right after this post I am going to get to work on the next post, just to make sure I have it ready in time for Friday!

this product is so delicious I can't stand it!! But you'll have to wait until Friday for my reveal! Mwa ha ha!

later!

Sweet Cherries!

**We are experiencing Technical Difficulties today, and the post is delayed. Until then, here's a little intro I put together a while back! Enjoy**

Chantel and I were talking the other day about all the companies coming out with lines that have cherries in them. So we wandered around the store, checking things out, and I got a great idea for a post!


Here's a quick shot of a bunch of things we found.

I'll have my layouts posted soon. Check back, say, Sunday. Hopefully by then I will have found a working camera!!

later skater alligator

TOTW - Writing on Photos

I know I know...I am so late with this post!! Where oh where has the time gone! I was painting my dining room on Friday, so this post got totally pushed into nowhere land! But here I am now, with a fairly simple Technique for you to try...


You will need:
- an American Crafts "Slick Write", Sharpie, Sakura Pigma pen, etc. etc. Pretty much any pen that is quick-drying and can write on Slick surfaces (like transparencies, stickers, and photographs!!)
- a photo


Step One: I suggest you write out your possible text on a scrap sheet of paper first. Check for spacing and - most importantly - spelling!!


Step Two: Write your message or title on your photo.

For a little added interest, mix in printed text with your handwriting. I cut up a "dismissal letter" from my personal files and keep the text around for just such an occassion! You could also use stickers or rub ons from your stash to mix up the fonts and change the look.

I will be back this week with some wedding-themed layouts...this is going to be especially fun for those of you who want to try a non-traditional approach to scrapbooking your wedding photos!

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This just in...

I have a bunch of leftover kits to sell from the last Scrapbook Savvy class I taught. $45 gets you all the supplies and paper you need to make SIX SINGLE PAGE LAYOUTS. Plus I've made it super easy for you and included full colour instructions with pictures and everything!

But there are only five kits available, so get yours fast. They are in store now, and ready to go home with you! If you are from out of town and would like a kit please call the store and we would be happy to ship one out to you.

You can check out a photo of the kit here...on the TM Classes site.