Christmas Trees!

These are very simple beautiful little trees to make.
Supplies: paper squares cut to 2' x 2', styrofoam cone, stick pins




All you have to do is take the 2 x2 squares and pin them in the bottom left corner to the cone. You want to start at the base of the cone and keep going up. You could also finish these delightful trees with a star or a cheap mini tree star from the dollar store.

Thanks for stopping by!

APOLOGIES

To those ladies who asked for the printable instructions for the Prima Mini Build-A-Book. They were ready and raring to go over a week ago, but gmail wasn't cooperating, so I couldn't send them. And then I got sick and have been avoiding the computer for the last week and consequently FORGOT about the saved email sitting in my drafts folder! When I get home from work today I PROMISE to send this email. And for anyone else who wants to get in on the action, please let me know this afternoon if you want the instructions as well, and I will get them out to you by tonight...barring any further "Server errors".

Thanks again for your patience. I swear, if my head wasn't firmly attached to my body...well, you know!!

Techneek of the Week...Sick Day

So I'm calling in sick. No Techneek this Week. Sorry!

Stop by tomorrow...Juli has another awesome project to show you!!

Techneek of the Week - Flower Cluster

I am just now realizing I never actually finished last week's Techneek...duh. So once I'm done with this guy, I will post instructions for creating your own background. I am a doh-head, fo' sure!!

Anyhoo, on to today's topic: Flower Clusters. Any of you who are familiar with my style know I love a good cluster of embellishments. But you may be wondering, why flowers? I am not known for my use of flowers. In fact all the girls at the store laugh in astonishment when I tell them I'm running low on flowers in my own stash. I know. Very hilarious! Yes, I have a little boy, and most of my scrapbooking is about him, but there is a place for flowers on any layout!

And this week I want to show you how to create a beautiful cluster of flowers, sure to be a hit on any layout. I've done up two "versions" to show how altering a couple of elements can create a whole new look with the same basic idea. Pictured below is my inspiration. Prima sells these fun, pre-made flower clusters...but I am really not keen on the colours. So I figure, why buy these when you can make your own that perfectly fit your project!?



You Will Need:

Flowers. Lots and lots of flowers.

A swirl. I used two different kinds: Riff Raff chipboard and one I made from cardstock. It's up to you which one you choose to try. I will show you both. You will need black paint, embossing powder or some fab Glaze pens if you follow my technique for decorating the chipboard swirl.

Brads, buttons, snaps, etc. to put in the centres of your flowers (if you so choose).

The Basics: glue dots or liquid adhesive for your flowers, scissors, a pencil.

Version One
First things first...pick a whole handful of flowers that fit your colour scheme. I'm using the new Prima collection here. You might not use all of the flowers you pulled, but this gives you some choice with size, shape and colour. And you want a nice variety...don't just grab a handful of small pink daisies . It just won't have the same feel.

For the first layout, I'm using the Riff Raff Designs giant swirl chipboard shape. It is totally awesome, and the perfect size for a 12x12 or 8.5 x 11 layout. Now, decide how you would like to colour this. I am using the Sakura Glaze pens here. They are super easy to use (it's just a pen people!!), and give the effect of a shiny embossed surface without all the powder and ink pads.

Just start at the top, and work your way down, colouring in the entire surface. This was a pain in the butt and I totally got a cramp in my hand, but it was also worth it!
Next, position your swirl on your layout. I had already picked my paper (Prima transparency over black cardstock) and knew where I wanted my picture (it's that white 4x6 piece of cardstock in the centre there...I didn't have my picture at work when I was doing this up!!), so I adjusted my swirl to fit beside the photo. You can go ahead and stick this down, as we are going to layer the flowers over top of the swirl.


I just started placing flowers on top of the swirl, moving them around until I had a good mix of colours and sizes. A good way to start is by grabbing a bunch of flowers then letting them fall on to your layout. And wherever they land is where you stick them down (unless they land right on the photo!). Don't cover all of the chipboard swirl, or else it defeats the purpose of using it! Pull off any flowers that don't make sense where they are, or look out of place because of their size or colour.

I started with the larger flowers near the base of the swirl. Then added some smaller ones in coordinating colours. I put the brads through the flowers BEFORE I started placing them on the layout...this makes it easier once you want to actually adhere them. You don't have to disrupt your entire pattern by trying to poke a hole. Just stick them down with a glue dot or liquid adhesive once you know where you want them.


And the finished product.

Version Two

For this layout I used some new KI Memories paper as my inspiration. Even though the paper didn't make it to the finished layout, it was a good starting point for choosing the flowers from my stash. I wanted it to be bright and funky so I went with a nice lime green, teal blue and hot pink.

Extra Tip: If you can't find the flowers in the colour you want, buy white or ivory ones and give them a coat of Glimmer Mist. Heck, you could even do this if you like the colour. A little shimmer never hurt nobody!!

In this version I am going to put the black swirl ON TOP of my flowers, so my first step was to place my flowers down. Keep in mind where your photo is going to be, and if you are going to want to add a title or other embellishments. I am doing another 8.5x11 layout, so there isn't much room for anything else on the page.

I started with the larger flowers at the base, and layered smaller flowers in and around them, and up the page. Try to make a corner out of flowers...this gives your photo and page a nice frame and keeps the eye on the focal point, which will be the photo that sits just above the flower cluster.

Once you have a nice, full looking cluster, glue your flowers down. I didn't use any brads in the middles for this version, and I used a lot more flowers than on the first layout. Remember, I'm going for a really bold look here!

Now, grab your black cardstock, and a pencil...we're going to do some drawing! This doesn't have to be a perfect swirl...but you do want it to "match" the shape of your flower cluster that you have already made. I "eyeballed it", and tried to copy the basic shape of my flower corner the best I could.

Once you've got the basic shape of the swirl drawn, hold it up beside your flower cluster and see if it will match okay. It it doesn't, or is too long on one side or a little lopsided, or whatever, erase the offending area and draw it again. That's why we're using a pencil!!

Once you've got a shape you like, draw a second line around the original line so it looks like a ribbon that's been twisted and laid flat (that's the best way I can describe this...essentially it's a second line that doesn't run perfectly beside the first line, but moves towards and away from it, and sort of looks like a ribbon.) Now cut the swirl out.

If you have a circle within your swirl, just punch into the middle of it with your scissors and cut it out from the inside.

Now lay your cut-out swirl on top of the flower cluster. Adjust it's position until it looks like it makes sense, then glue it down. Liquid adhesive works well here, because it is easy to apply to the thin paper swirl, and will stick to the flowers without a problem.



I added a couple of extra black flowers after I adhered the swirl , just to balance things out a little bit, and fill in some of the blank spaces. To finish the layout, I drew a line around the entire layout and around the spot where my photo will eventually go.

Thanks for playing along this week. I have the email instructions ready for the Prima clear mini album, so for those of you who requested them, check your e-mailbox tonight! I will also get to the instructions for last week's Techneek...once my hands warm up. It is SO COLD in my basement it makes typing difficult!

later gator

Project of the Week!

Well we all know it's coming, 2 and a bit month's away - Christmas & New Years. So the next 10 projects will be Holiday themed projects to get you motivated and help you make some beautiful gifts this year! All of the projects will of course be displayed in store, so please stop by to take a peak - oh and don't be afraid to ask questions if you need assistance!

So here, is our first one:

My mom always has jam jars sitting around, and here is simple way to decorate them and make them beautiful!

First take the round screw part of the lid and paint it with white acrylic paint. I used two coats.

Then a tricky part. Mix glossy accents and glitter. Why? Well if you were just to glue the glitter on the screw top, then it would fall off and the glossy accents acts as a sealant. Set aside to dry.

Using Glossy Accents again, glue the thin lid to paper. Cut out and sand edges.

Fill jar with yummy candies.

Decorate jar as desired. I used a new prima flower, doodlebug bling, GCD studios paper, Tulle, and a Prima bling on the lid!

Techneek of the Week - Create a Background

The instructions for this one will have to wait...I'm barely keeping my head up here! But I'll post my finished layout, and you guys can work backwards until I get some beauty sleep!

(I wonder if I can will the photos to upload faster...nope, but here they are anyways!)

See you back here tomorrow for some tips on how to create this bad boy of your very own!!

_______________________________________________

Update: November 1, 2008

So I am officially a wiener, and not the good Oscar Meyer kind. Just a plain old wiener. I totally forgot - again - about posting instructions on creating your very own background. A thousand apologies. I'll post some now, but there won't be any photos, as I am at work and don't have them here.

Step One: Assemble your mess-making materials. For this layout I pulled some Daffodil Glimmer Mist, alcohol ink, various colours of paint, and various implements for applying said paint. Eg.) Popsicle stick, paintbrushes, an old credit card (good for scraping), etc. Plus, there's always your fingers...don't forget about those bad boys!

Step Two: Loosely plan - in your head - how you want your background to look. I was thinking about stripes when I started, and even though my finished background isn't very stripy, it was a good starting point for me.

Step Three: Choose your first colour/material and apply it. I started with red paint and applied it with a popsicle stick, the kind you get in your rub-on packages. It works kind of like a painters knife, and you can really scrape your paint across the surface of your page in interesting ways. And I just kept playing with it until I got something that looked good. You could also use an old credit card or gift card to get the same effect.

Step Four: Pick your next colour/material and apply it. This is where I kind of moved away from my stripe plan with the beige swirl of paint at the top. And I just used a paintbrush and freehanded the swirl. It turned out to be the perfect place to put my title.

Step Five: Next I applied the dark blue paint underneath the red paint...and I totally didn't like how it looked. At all! It was sort of a big blob, with a goofy shaped tail coming out. Remember that if you do "make a mistake" you can always cover it with a photo or embellishment, OR you can fix it with another application of a different medium...like I did. (See Step Seven)

Step Six: I just started spritzing Ranger's Red Pepper Colour Wash in random places on my layout. You can see it up near the top, and around my big swath of red in the middle. I didn't completely cover my background in this, as I still wanted the Kraft cardstock to show through.

Step Seven: Next I sprayed Tattered Angels Daffodil Glimmer Mist over top of the painted lines and swirls. Then I went back in to the dark blue that I didn't like and started spreading it around, as the Glimmer Mist had made it nice and wet and great to play with. I swirled it down below the red and blended it so it wasn't such a strong colour.

I really like making my own backgrounds because #1 it's fun to get messy, and #2 it's nice to create something that will go just right with your photos. I didn't have any paper that had red, blue, orange AND white in it, and all the papers I tried were just too bright for my liking. And once I was done getting messy, I had fun finding embellishments and sticker letters that added to the unique colours of my made-up background!!

Thanks for being patient with me...I hope it was worth the wait!

Update...

Yes, I know I haven't posted the instructions for the project yet...I am a donut-head. I am planning on getting those done along with my Techneek of the Week today/tonight. And I am still taking email requests for a printable version.

Thanks for your patience...