love is in the air (part 1)

This week I am posting a bunch of layouts inspired by Valentine's Day...they all have different, fun, easy-to-make HEART embellishments on them.

Day One: Lots of Hearts...Lots of Ways

Today we will be creating three different heart embellishments using lots of fun supplies. These techniques can be replicated using whatever shape works for your theme.

You will need:

- scrap paper, preferably cardstock weight

- Spray ink, like Glimmer Mist, Maya Mist, Ranger Colour Wash, etc.
- Alcohol ink, or another kind of liquid ink in the same type of bottle

- ledger or lined paper, preferably cardstock weight (or equivalent)

- pen or pencil

- scissors

Heart#1
Step One: Cut your scrap paper to a square (or rectangle) to a manageable size. This cut out heart is going to be a mask, so you will want to leave some room on either side of the shape so you don't get too much over spray on your layout. I use extra scrap paper to cover the background just to be safe! Fold it in half.

Step Two: Draw or trace half a heart on your paper, with the center of the heart at the fold. Then cut it out. I just cut the heart without first drawing it cause I'm a pro!! HA!

Step Three: Unfold the heart and the cut out. You can save the heart for another project. We only need the negative image for this technique.

Step Four: Place the cut out on your layout and cover the background around it to avoid getting any over spray. I'm only doing one heart, and I want the background to stay "clean". If you want a messier look, don't use any covering!

Step Five: Spray with Glimmer Mist, or Colour Wash, or whatever spray ink you have on hand. i used Tattered Angels Frozen Lake & Green Tea.

Now leave it to dry while we work on the next heart.

Heart #2:
Step One: Grab a piece of lined pattern or legder paper and follow step number two above to cut a heart from it. You want these hearts to be about the same size as your inked heart. Cut as many of them as you need to stretch across the page. If you use the leftover piece from the first technique to trace, you'll be sure to get the correct size.

And if you use a longer piece of paper you can just trace all the hearts at once and cut them out, saving you some time.

Step Two: Cut out the hearts and unfold them.

Step Three: Lay the hearts along your background, running from left to right. Match them up so they are in line with the inked heart we just made. Don't forget to leave room for your picture, which will lie along the same line. You can further embellish these hearts with paper clips, bling, pearls, or use them for your title or journaling.

Heart #3
Step One: Grab some alcohol ink, or some other kind of ink inside a squeeze bottle. I love alcohol inks for this technique because the bottles have a nice narrow tip and the ink doesn't flow too fast so you can work a little easier with it.

Step Two: Draw a heart on the background with your alcohol ink!

It doesn't have to be perfect...my ink stopped flowing mid-drawing so I had to go over my heart a couple of times. But it still looks pretty fabulous!

My finished layout...

Check back here tomorrow for Part Two!!

later...

Fabric Yo Yo Flowers

You will need:

- fabric

- needle and thread (strong thread...I'm using embroidery floss

- circle template and pen

- scissors

Now I am by no means a "seamstress", so don't expect me to use any fancy sewing lingo or terms. That being said, if I can do this technique with little to no sewing background, it should be no problem for you either!

Step One: Trace your circle onto the wrong side of your fabric. I like to use the latest technology in templates...a cream cheese container and roll of masking tape.

Look...there's a circle!
Now, I'm going to let you know right now that the inside of a roll of this particular brand of masking tape is too small. You flower will not turn out. It will look goofy and you will shake your head! Trust me...I'll show you in a moment! Your circle needs to be twice as big as you want your flower to be.
Step Two: Fold down all the edges. The other tutorial I read about this called this by a word I have never heard before, and I will not repeat it here. The fold can be very narrow. It will look bumpy...let me rephrase...mine looked bumpy and it turned out okay, do don't worry if your edge is bumpy.
I ironed my edges because then they kind of stay put when you start to stitch them.
They don't have to be ironed completely flat. Once you start stitching you need to hold the edges down and maybe refold, but it's not a big deal.
Step Three: Now start stitching. This is my example of what not to do. My stitches are too far away from the edge. They need to be much closer. You can space them close together or farther apart. This will change how it gathers (far apart = tighter gathered).
This is a picture of my masking tape flower...see how tiny it is? Please don't ask me why Blogger flipped every single one of my pictures today. It is now only mildly annoying. And I can't fix them in Picasa, so...anyways...
This is my good example! See how circular my circle is? And how close my stitches are to the edge! Do this!!
Step Four: Once you have completed stitching along the edge, you can start pulling on the end of your thread. Make sure your yo yo starts folding back in on itself. You want it to be fairly flat on the back. If it doesn't do it automatically, guide it along before you keep pulling.
The finished yo yos. See the terrible one on the right? Aren't you happy to be able to learn from my mistakes!?
I'm just finishing the layout now...I'll be back later!

I'm back...it has taken me three days to post this, but here is the finished layout...finally!

and some detail shots of the yo yo...which looks pretty slick if I do say so myself!!

and I really like the addition of this button strip...not sure where I picked these up, but this is the way buttons are sold at fabric shops...all on one strip of card. this is a super fun and easy way to add a row of buttons to your layout!

 

later...

Schedule of Events

for the next month...

Today (Feb 5): Fabric Yo You Flowers

February 12: "Love is in the Air" - projects inspired by Valentine's Day

February 19: Digital Kits & Goods from Kitschy Digitals

February 26: Projects using Postcards

March 5: NO POST

March 12: New Blog!!

That's right! I'm going to move this blog, give it a little face lift, change some links, etc. And it might take me more than a week, but I sure hope not! This blog will remain up for one month after, but I will be moving all the old techniques over to the new Blog, so you will still have access to them.

Check back this afternoon for my Technique Post!

Ten Second Studios

I can't believe I forgot to post this last week...I'm so forgetful sometimes!!

I must say, that this stuff was hard for me to work with. I don't know if it was because I didn't seek proper instruction beforehand as to what tools served what purpose, or something else. And while it was a complete failure, it wasn't a complete success either!

You will need:

- coloured metal sheets

- a shape to emboss (or embossing template)

- tools (I'm using the brayer and sanding thingy)

Step One: Lay your metal over top of the image you want to emboss. I'm using a Riff Raff Chipboard shape because I didn't have any of the embossing plates at home.

Step Two: Brayer over the entire image. Make sure you get in all the cracks and seams, so the image is "transfered" to the metal fully. If your image has a lot of small detail, there are other tools that will emboss it better than the brayer.

Step three: Once the shape is there, you can start sanding the surface colour off to show the raw metal underneath.

Like this!

Here you can see the Riff Raff shape next to the finished metal action.

I tried some of the other rolling tools to create texture. Use them on the back of the metal then sand the top for the "best" results.

Note: Alcohol ink will take the colour off your coloured metal. So if you want to use alcohol inks, buy the uncoloured metal sheets.

I recommend: Buying the video! Or going to their helpful website. There are lots of videos there, that I probably should have watched before I attempted anything! They will be more helpful than this post...sorry for wasting your time! (TEE HEE!)

K.C. is running a fabulous class this weekend, using all of this stuff...check it out!

Thanks to my assistance Lucas for holding some tools while I took pictures. He had a lot of fun with this technique!

I promise to have something better for you this week...and I'm going to work on it today so I don't forget again!!

Where have I been?

I know I promised to be back sooner with the second layout...but time snowballed away from me, and all of a sudden the weekend was over and now it's Wednesday!

For this layout I am using the text paper from the Jenni Bowlin embossed paper line. This sheet is black with a beige core.

I first laid out the papers and embellishments I wanted to use on my layout, so I would have an idea where I wanted to sand the paper. I took a picture of this so I could go back and check it out while I was sanding! It doesn't have to be exact, but it will give you a better idea where things will be when you're done.

I started by sanding all of the edges. Then I sanded bits of the rest of the paper. I wanted most of the focus to stay on the right side of the layout, so I left most of the left side untouched.
Here's a close up of how it looks. I really love the text!

The almost-finished layout...I need to print a photo, this one is just a stand in! The black background really allows the photo and embellishments stand out, but without being a boring black...it has some interest as well!
You could also try:

- sanding certain words that accent the theme of your layout (for example, you can see near the bottom I gave extra attention to the phrase "you must remember")

- sand the entire page, but leave some areas lighter than others

- use bits of the paper as an embellishment...this would be especially neat if you covered a chipboard piece with it!

I hope you enjoyed layout #2 in this Technique. This week I want to finally tackle the 10 Second Studios metal...so wish me luck and meet me back here on Friday!

later skater alligator

Jenni Bowlin & Embossed Papers

For the Technique this week, I yoinked a couple of pieces of paper from K.C's new Jenni Bowlin paper pack! It is an excellent little pack of paper, I tell you what!

This is patterned, embossed paper, that has a different colour core than the surface colour. It is so wonderful! And it comes in some of her best patterns. Here is a link for some more pictures: "link".

You will need:

- embossed paper

- sandpaper

I apologize now for all the sideways pictures. It's just not my day!

This is what the (ivory) paper looks to start. You can only sort of see the embossed image on the paper. I'm going to show you this technique on two different sheets of the paper, because the ivory does not photograph well, at all! Check back later for the second layout.

You'll want to take a small piece of sand paper, or a sanding block or file to the embossed areas. Remember that the core of the paper is a different colour (in this case, lighter ivory...sigh) so you will start to see the different colour underneath. Keep sanding until you are satisfied with the colour coming through.

And this is the ivory paper after it has been sanded. Kind of looks the same doesn't it? That's why I'm going to show this on another sheet of paper. Be patient!

And here is my (first) finished layout. I used some other Jenni Bowlin paper and embellishments to finish off this layout about my sister and her hubby.
The ivory/light ivory paper has a very very subtle effect (very...subtle), so you might want to try inking it, if you want the pattern to show through more. You could try a fancy colour to brighten things up. I actually kind of like the subtle edging on this layout now that I'm looking at it!

Check back later tonight, when I hope to have the next layout up for you. After my fingers warm up, and hopefully Blogger stops acting up!

later skater alligator

Miss Me?

I missed you!

I hope everyone had an amazing holiday break and are now ready to get back to work!! HA!

I have been thinking a lot about what I want for myself in this new year, and I have a lot of creative goals...one of them being keeping up with my Techniques Blog! So I have spent the last week brainstorming away all the new and fabulous things I can pass along to you!

I am going to start simple this week. Using something all of us have loads and loads of sitting in our stash. In fact, I may have done this technique before - or something similar - because it is just so darn great.

You will need:

- a pencil

- a whole bunch of brads, any shape or size, all coordinated with your layout

- a paper piercer, hole punch, scissors, etc. to make a hole for your brad

Step One: Draw a line on your page where you want your line of brads to go. You might want to lay out your layout before you do this, so you know where you want the brads to go. And we use the pencil because we can erase it if we don't like our first try! Or our third, or fourth...
Step Two: Choose some brads from your stash that will go well with your layout, and start laying them out on your line so you get an idea of size and colour placement. Again, this isn't the final step, so feel free to play around with placement until you get something you like. You can change your mind right up until you punch the hole!
Step Three: Start on one end of your line, and punch a hole for the first brad. I marked my hole with a pencil before I punched it, so I got it just in the right place. Lay your brad over top of the pencil line, eyeball where the centre is, then mark it with a dot. Now make that hole!!
Step Four: Keep going, one brad at a time until you reach the end. I wouldn't recommend going at it from each sides and then meeting somewhere in the middle. Because then you need to make sure you've got a brad that fits in whatever hole is left! Better you just shorten or lengthen the line based on where you end up.

This is what the back will look like. It helps everything lay flat if you keep the prongs all going the same direction and not crossing over each other.The finished layout...I like how my line of brads acts like an arrow, directing the reader from the photos down to the title. Notice how my final line of brads does not match my original sketch. It turns out that the little "loop" I drew didn't really work, so I just erased it and kept going.

The downside to this technique is that your page will be very heavy and large! If you want the same effect, but like to keep things light and slim, use paper or stickers instead. You can punch circles from pattern paper, or any shape really, and accent them with stickers or rub ons. The effect will be the same, but your page won't be so bulky!

I'm planning a whole bunch of classes in the next couple of months. Keep your eye on the TM Classes Blog for more information. Two of theme will feature Techniques I have done here in the past, so it will give all of you, my loyal readers a chance to try this stuff out in person!!

Until next week...