ScrapBuddies Sketch number 1

Well I thought I would start posting some of my own sketches! So here is the ScrapBuddies Sketch Number 1.

It is basically the sketch for the "We three" layout I posted a couple of days ago (pictured here too). As I said in that post it was based on a layout by Cathy Zielske, but I have Tweaked it a bit!

I hope you have fun with this graphic design.

I will be posting more sketches as I finish my pages, so do check back. I would be grateful, if you create a page layout from one of my sketches and publish it anywhere, that you mention this blog... cheers!

Birthday card

This is a birthday card made using Basic Grey "Scarlett's letter" patterned paper (6x6") Couple of stamps used too... See D's "Happy Birthday" and Inkadinkado's ""World Map"... which is under the "Happy Birthday" just in case you were wondering ..."What world map?" LOL.

A few gem style brads in the centre of yet more disassembled fabric flowers and a single dragonfly brad (which I bought from Lakeland).

Can you keep it simple?

Simple Scrapbooking... can you keep it all down to a minimum? Can you stop yourself from over embellishment?

Are you page layouts clutter free?

Well personally I like the touchy feeliness of it all, but it's good to simplify once in a while.

As I mentioned in the last post, I am creating some layouts for my demo to the ScrapBuddies Group in a couple of weeks and they will be based on the book "Clean and Simple Scrapbooking" and "Clean and Simple Scrapbooking - the Sequel" by Cathy Zielske.

Cathy's design style (are there's that style thingy again!) is more often than not, to use black and white photographs on her layouts. Of course, when you use B&W photos, the choice of colours for the rest of the page is entirely up to you... bascially anything goes!

Well I have to say (and sorry Cathy, but...) I think that's a bit of an "easy way out".

I know scrapbooking is supposed to be enjoyable and not a chore, and B&W obviously works well for Cathy, but most of our photos are in colour are they not?

Of course, we can drain the colour from any of our digital photos in a snap (or should I say, a click) but we are stuck with all those taken prior to the age of Digital photography.

So the real challenge is to get the colour ones to look good in a "graphic design".

Is it Inspiration or scraplifting?

Here is my scrapbooking page layout based on one by Cathy Zielske from her book "Clean and Simple Scrapbooking" (see below).

Would you say it was a scraplift… or would you say that Cathy’s layout merely inspired mine?

It is a 12x12 layout and so I did have to cut the white card to print onto it with my printer, Cathy on the other hand prefers to scrap on A4 size as she knows that it will fit through her printer without have to fiddle.

So what do you reckon then? Scraplift or just inspired?

I am planning on making a few "graphic design" style pages at the moment as my next demonstration at the ScrapBuddies crop in May is based on the books by Cathy Zielske.

I thought it would do my group good to cut back on the embellies for a change and get all "graphic"!

Small details

Following on from the posts re my entry in a circle journal (see previous posts), I'm just highlighting a couple of features here.

The top picture shows a close up of the printed words on the right hand page.

The hidden journaling under the flap and the words down the side of the page were arranged in "Word" on my computer and then the 6x6" piece of pink Basic Grey Paper (Phoebe collection) was put through my printer. This was done after putting through a test piece of scrap 6x6 first, of course!

Anyway, it's a fairly well used technique to take advantage of all the different fonts out there (on the internet) to add variety to a layout... but here I have deliberately used a different font for each word, to portray the "mixed up" nature of my "style".

The other photograph here shows a flower (which cost one or two pennies as it was a bloom I "disassembled" - or is that "reverse engineered"? LOL), which I have stamped using a "Two Scoops" stamp with StazOn black ink.

I think the StazOn gives a fine detailing to the stamped image which is not quite so sharp using other, water based, inks.

Circle Journal - "What's Your Style" - my pages continued

Well as promised in yesterday's post... here are the pictures showing the contents of the squares on the left hand page of my circle journal entry.

I thought showing some of my existing work would bring home the point that I like to try "a bit of everything"!

Oh... and the hidden journaling under the flap (see yesterday's post and pictures) reads as follows:

I’m not sure I have one because I like to try all sort of styles –
traditional/modern, busy/simple, bright/soft, angular/swirly.

I like to try new techniques all the time and my pages reflect
that.

I do like interactive layouts (such as tags and flaps for
hidden journaling) and I love the “touchy feeliness” of it all. It’s a
tactile hobby!

I’m drawn to the red side of the colour spectrum
from pink through to deep burgundies and rich autumn colours (but I enjoy using
all sorts of colours together).

But I suppose if you look at my
work, it does reflect my personality in a way! It’s mixed up, a bit of
everything!
There is a slight common thread running through a lot of
my pages however, and it is that I enjoy curves much more than angles. I
like organic, round, swirling forms and flourishes.

So I think my
Style would have to be “FreeStyle” – free to do Everything!

Circle Journal - "What's Your Style" - my pages

This is my Double Page Spread in the Circle Journal I was telling you about yesterday.

I have used exclusively Basic Grey "Pheobe" 6x6" papers.

The left hand page, however, was actually the pink card as supplied in the journal, blank, and I used 3 different ink colours to print swirls to create a patterned background directly onto the cardstock. The stamp is from the Basic Grey "Two Scoops" collection.

The right hand side has a flap which opens to reveal the journaling... basically me waffling on about the fact that I don't really have a style LOL!

Tomorrow I will post the other pics showing what is inside each of the 2inch squares on the left hand page. And possibly the transcript of the journaling, as you probably won't be able to read even with clicking on the picture here to get a bigger image!

Oooohh are you excited?! LOL

Circle Journal "What's your Style" my entry

I have finished my double page layout in my UKS Team member's CJ with a theme of "What's your Style".

It has been interesting to attempt to find out what my style is... do I have a style?

Well, my scrapbooking is very much like my personality... I like variety, which is why I have moved house 8 times in 18 years!

My motto is "Variety is the Spice of Life"

But that's not a "style" really is it. I like to be free to choose what I do, I like to try new things all the time... so I have declared my style as "FreeStyle".

I think many of us are similar... to me a style just means that you are very "samey" and although I can be very samey at times, I get bored easily so it wouldn't last! LOL

I hope to post pictures shortly!

Scrapbooking the Ups and Downs of Life

This is a picture of my daughter asleep on the sofa, kept away from nursery due to a cold.

Usually a very healthy girl, she has come down with another illness this week and our plans for a weekend away have been cancelled.

Whilst making hotel cancellations, etc, I was reminded that although we tend to scrapbook all the big events and happy days of our lives, we often do not think to take photos or document the less happy moments, which, I believe are just as important.

Now that is not to dwell on such unhappy things, merely to document them to show them as contrast, or to be able to look back and see that we triumphed over adversity... and therefore could do so again.

So I shall be creating the odd page about out trials and tribulations, along with all the lovely things we get to do and I shall with this photo too.

And I bet you're saying to yourself... "yeah good luck with colour matching that gorgeous blanket!" LOL

Hmmm! I may chicken out and drain the colour to black and white! LOL

Spring is here

Ah... spring is here... the sun is shining (in between the rain clouds, LOL), the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming!

This is a photograph of the fresh iris leaves in our pond with the sun shining through them.

It may well end up being used as another background for you to download for free.

Basic Grey - Boxer Birthday Card

Here's another card I made recently.

It's made using the patterned paper from the Basic Grey "Boxer Collection" - 6x6" pad.

Used the paper tearing technique to build up some layers, then added the glitzy brads and metal tag, which I stamped using Black "Stayzon" Ink.

"Happy" and "Birthday" are stamps from Anna Griffin and the letters making up "Louise" are a recent acquisition via QVC.uk.com (the shopping channel).

From a set called "Antique type stamps" from Dimensions-crafts.com, a US company.

Birthday card using Basic Grey Papers

Well as my mum has received her card... I can show it to the rest of the world now!

I 'went to town' on this one a bit! I found that the Basic grey papers from the "Blush" Collection complimented the brooch which I had found in a charity shop (some time ago!) . So I built up the card from those to elements really.

As you can see from the second photograph, I made sure that the diamond was "backed" so as not to show all the "gubbins" of the ribbon and eyelets and the fact that I did have to "sew" some copper wire around the brooch to make sure it didn't fall off as it is quite heavy. And I had long since clipped off the pin at the back of the brooch.

Inside I used a flower mounted on the same type/colour card as on at the front for some continuity. And it helped tidy the back view of the front diamond.

So as not to cover-up the patterned paper on the inside of the car I wrote the greeting onto vellum and used brads to hold it in place.

This of course, was all done before sticking the patterned paper to the card itself.

Making a Scrapbook from an Artist's Sketchbook

In our quest for more places to put our scrapbooking endeavours, we come across items which are usuable - with a little adjustment that is.

Here are a couple of Artists sketch books I bought from a local shop.

Now of course, to simply add our pages to these ring bound pads would mean very "fat" books indeed, however... as Baldrick from Black Adder says....

"I have a cunning plan!"

I reduce the pages by cutting out 2 of every three pages. This leaves 12 pages (so 24 sides) in these particular books.

To add dimension to the spine (padding for that end of the pages) I didn't cut out the whole pages, instead I left around 2.75" or 7cm and then folded each in half. This gives some support near the spine for each of the pages... neat huh!

The top picture shows the 7cm strips left after cutting and the folded pieces (above them).

As a tip, fold the pieces in towards each other as there are 2, and you can even adhere the 2 folded pieces together.

Here is another page I made recently for my 4 year old daughter.

This is another 6x6 background paper from the set from Dovecraft (see picture below).

This Page follows on from yesterday's post, and I have used the hole 6x6 paper for the background.

However I will mostly likely mix just pieces/strips of the other papers to plain cardstock as the rest are "even busier"!

But these papers are great for creating fun and (a much used modern word..) funky for kids.

Again the photos have been printed onto ordinary paper and not photo paper, then mounted onto cardstock and some threads wrapped around, plus the title and date written my a Dymo.

Simple, but fun for daughter, as she will be able to keeo the album to play with. The album is one I found in the local "pound" shop... a scrapbook for children... It has nice stiff covers so hopefully will protect the inards!

It has been particularly interesting for me, as it has forced me to keep it simple and scrap "for" a youngster instead of what I would like!

Scrapbooking FOR children

The heading to this pose may infer that this is about getting children to scrapbook!

It's not actually, this is about making scrapbook pages for children that they would appreciate "now", whilst they are still young.

I let my daughter thumb through my scrapbooks as she enjoys looking at all the lovely things... not to mention looking at herself (in the photos)! However, I have to supervise of course, as with all the will in the world, a 4 year old is not the most careful of viewers!

So I have decided to make up some pages for my daughter (about her of course) which she can have all to herself, and maybe take to school to show friends and teachers.

I have kept the pages very simple and have started using 6x6 papers from Dovedraft.

For my liking they are too busy with their own designs, so as you can see here I have "fiddled" with them to simply.

Firstly all the photographs have been printed onto standard paper, as opposed to photographic paper.

Then I have covered some of the graphics with patterened paper, so that the graphics are not competing with the photograph.

Another page coming tomorrow!

Using Ribbons on Scrapbooking pages

I took some photographs of a couple of the ScrapBuddies members' work last Saturday (the workshop was about different ways of using ribbons on layouts).

You can see the examples in the previous couple of posts on this blog of my demonstration, but here is the work of the ladies themselves.

The top picture is of Sheila's page... she has used my hole punch along the bottom of the photograph, but rather than a simple threading of a single ribbon, Sheila has threaded two ribbons.

In the second photo, a layout by Beryl, the twisting and stapling technique was used (the expanse on the right was left for some journaling to be completed at a later date).

Stapling and Twisting Ribbons

This picture is another page from the "In the Mirror" Album.

I will post the whole thing when it is completed, something I hope to achieve in the near future! LOL!

Anyway, these ribbons (again used as part of my demo last Saturday at the ScrapBuddies Crop) have been attached to this page using a stapler.

You can just about see a couple of the staples, however, a little trick to hide them is to staple at an angle to the ribbon and then twist the ribbon back on itself, thereby covering the staple.

Another way of covering the staples is to glue or sew buttons over them.

Threading Ribbons

This is a page from my "In the Mirror" Album which I used as an example at my demo last Saturday.

I used a punch to punch out the holes along the bottom and then ran the ribbon through.

Just for a little bit of interest I twisted the ribbon once in the middle. Both ends are secured with a thin layer of PVA glue, just to hold them down!

The right hand side of the DPS I have used the same technique, but only on the right hand bottom corner of the photo, which justs adds a bit of continuity across the DPS. See bottom picture.

Chicks!

Get ready to say "Ah" !!

This is my daughter with one of the chicks which hatched at her nursery!

They have actually gone back to the farm from whence they came (as of today) but they were really cute!

They grew very quickly from wobbly new borns (or should I say hatches!) to feisty little things with proper feathers sprouting - you can see the adult feathers showing on their wing tips.

It was great for the children to see the eggs as they were developing in an incubator and then to watch them hatch... what a treat, and of course all the mum's and dad's had a good look too! LOL

So..... did you say "ah"???

8x8 Layout using Freebie Simply Visual background paper

As promised here is the quickie layout I created using the freebie I posted yesterday.

The other papers are from my stack of scraps, then there are a couple of ribbons and 2 dragonfly brads... finished.

I could have put on some swirly chipboard, but then I stopped myself, and let the background image "do the talking"... doesn't need any more!

Simply Visual Scrapbooking Freebie - Phormium Background

Here is a link to the download page for my latest, and very quick, creation. It's an 8x8" background paper, so suitable for printing out onto A4 paper.

I have done exactly that and am in the process of making a quick page which I hope to show you tomorrow.

The photograph on the patterened paper is of a Phormium (type of grass like plant) which I purchased from a local garden centre today! It is one of my favourites as I love the strong pink wide stripes down the length of its leaves!

Anyway I have decreased the opacity of the photo so that it didn't overpower any layout and I have "digi-inked" the edges a little.

So enjoy. Download a copy.

The simple page from yesterday

Well Blogger is finally playing ball with the picture uploads so here is the picture that should have gone with the post from yesterday!

Ahhh... it's he sweet?! My husband that is!!!!!!

The page is 7x5" and the left half has a printed vellum over it fixed with ribbon either side.

The colours were chosen as mother-in-law likes yellow and so I made her a yellow 5x7" album, so a lot of the initial pages were oranges and yellows. And although the picture is black and white I know that my hubbies hair, when he was a boy, was ginger - so the orange fits that too!

Simple Pages

Well I always try my utmost to have a picture on each post on this blog, but unfortunately Blogger is having none of it this evening! So no picture for the moment!

I was going to post a very simple page, which is actually 5x7" and for an album I made my mother in law.

The picture is of her darling son as a little boy (who is now my husband of course!).

The reason for the picture was that is was a simple layout, yet still effective and that is the theme for May's ScrapBuddies crop (tomorrow's is about Ribbons). I have bought the "Clean & Simple Scrapbooking" books by Cathy Zielske, and they are soooo simple, that my ladies will be able to make up a page, if not 2, by the end of the session!

RibbonTastic!

My demonstration/workshop at the ScrapBuddies crop this coming Saturday will be all about Ribbons!

Ahhh… Ribbons…! My fave! Such a versatile material to use and so “touchy feely”, and if bought from local sewing shops fairly inexpensive too!

So here are some ideas as to how to use ribbons:

1. Using straight strips across the page. This can be all the way from side to side or just short strips. And you can place the ribbon OVER items too such as across the photos on your page. (TIP – if you struggle to add double sided tape neatly to a ribbon, try putting a strip of adhesive along your page first and then lay the ribbon down onto that). Try also sewing strips either by hand or using a machine. And try also placing a buckle (or similar) or even just tie a knot somewhere along the length for added interest.
2. Tied as bows for stand-alone embellishment, or tie threaded through buttons.
3. Tied through holes in tags or labels, or through eyelets on pages.
4. Stapled onto photos, great for hiding something ugly in the background of the picture. Stapled onto your pages, either small pieces or whole lengths wrapped and twisted for extra interest.
5. Wrapped around the bottom of a photograph or wrapped around a page accent.
6. Chipboard elements can be livened up with a wrapping of ribbon.
7. Threaded through square punched holes along the side of a photo or cardstock.
8. Twisted and secured with brads of a complimentary colour.
9. Intertwined with embellishments such as flowers, buttons and brads.

Black White and Red Scrapbooking Layout

This is an 8x8 page I made of our 2 dogs. We did, for a few years have 4 dogs! But as soon as Toffee (the Jack Russell) arrived on the scene... Harley... the Labrador became "Big Bruv"! and they have slept together ever since!

Well apart from when she kicks everyone out of bed because she is in a bad mood due to being "in season"!!! LOL

Anyway, As the dogs are black and white I thought I could get away with any colour scheme to scrap them in, but then there was the very RED rug!

Circle Journal - theme "What's Your Style"

This is the Circle Journal (CJ) from Sally, the member of my team who it "above" me on the CJ list!

Her CJ's theme is "What's your style" as in scrapbooking... not fashion! LOL I think I might have a bit of trouble with the latter!

The photos show Sally's own DPS and the Rules page and Sign-in cover.

I do like the pink and pale turquoise colour combination.

Now all I have to do is add my pages (DPS) and complete a tag on the sign in page!

"All..." she says! rolling eyes!

The trouble is I don't have a style... I like to try all sorts of things... to me a "style" just means they repeat the same sort of thing which can be a bit boring... So whatever I decide my style is... it is only at this current moment... I have always moved on to new things, so my style may have changed by this time next year!

Tag book cover

This is a cover I made last night for my RRR Team tag book.

"Ok... What's that?", I hear you ask!

Well The RRRs are the Rockin Ribbon Raiders Scrapbooking Team on UKScrappers!

We all decided to make a team members tag book by making up some tags about ourselves and distributing them to each other... so now (apart from the covers) we all have an almost identical set of tags. Well that's the theory anyway!

I was a bit of a "Get to know you" process for us as a new Team.

Anyway, I was the member who offered to be the "sorting office" for the project! And as a little thank you a couple of my fellow members sent some pressies of stash - which was very nice of them!

So I used the purple collection of bits and bobs one of the members sent to make up the cover for my tag book and this is the result!

A Scraps Page Accent

You may well have heard of the TIP that before you tidy away your bits and pieces after finishing a scrapbooking page layout (or any other project for that matter) you should use some of the scraps to make a card or two!

Well, you don't have to make a card! You can, as in the picture, make a page accent! This can be used on a future page or use the page accent as the basis for a card!

The accent in the picture... I will probably use it on a card (or a page) for a man - despite the pink bits!

A quick card made from scraps

Here is a card I have just made using up scraps (pictured below). Took about 40 mins I suppose, which included finding the stash to match the scraps of paper... which is from the 8x8 pack of "Amethyst Floral Prints" from Dovecraft.

Most of the scraps were just put onto the card as they were, ie already cut to the size and shape you see. I added one eyelet, some brads with flowers and some heart brads, and some ribbon.

There is a space left blank for a greeting to be added... or just keep the "white space"...

I know..... are you itching to put something in there too! LOL

Organising your Pages to Be!

I was researching another matter entirely when I came across a website called OrganizedScrapbooks.com and thought this (pictured) was a great idea. If you go to their website there are lots of great ideas for all sorts of things, however this Page planner is a particularly good one.

They are available in printable versions and there are 5 different types... such as this is for a single page, and there is one for a DPS, and so on.

Now... I do keep bits and pieces together and sketch out ideas, but it's all usually on scraps of paper - so this is great... check them out!

Cards for more solemn occasions

I did wonder whether or not to post a picture of these cards!

Why?... well because I have made them for members of distant family in their bereavement. I wondered whether it was in poor taste sharing them with the world.

But I decided to post them here today (I have only just made them) because in our craft - paper craft, card making and scrapbooking - there are many times when we need to express our more solemn and sad moments of life. And the loss of a loved one is one of those times.

There are lots of books and magazines about how to make lots of lovely cards, but I can't remember seeing a "With Sympathy" design... can you?

In these identical cards, for two sisters who have lost their dad... my great uncle, I did not want to include black. It is such a depressing colour on such an occasion. So I have used cool, soft shades which (I hope) convey a sense of peace and a compassionate understanding of their loss having lost my own father 3 years ago.

I have also used a dark blue flower to emphasize the singularity of the one they have lost and the quiet mid grey ribbon folds over and continues across the inside left page.

Circle Journal "Touch" - host pages

This is the final post for my Circle Journal... as it was when I passed it on to the next team member in my UKScrappers group, anyway!



Papers were from the Blush Collection from Basic Grey.
Below are various close ups. Just click on the pictures for a bigger version!