Inkspiration

Inspired by Quilts: 4 Sisters 4 Ever

Practical Scrappers featured an inspired by quilts posting and here's what I created:

 

I'm still playing around with how to best photograph a white layout. I think you can see it, though.

So I was inspired by those rag quilts, where they have a fringe on them between the squares. I also was inspired by a grid-style PageMaps sketch that I saw in January. This turned out to be a little more labour-intensive than I had conceived.

 

 

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 (I believe if you click on the small thumbnails, you can see the steps I describe).

 I cut from Authentique's Splendid 6x6 paper pad, several 1.5" x 1.5" squares in 4 different patterns, and scored them on all 4 sides at .25" . Then, putting wrong sides together, I sewed along the score lines, to patch them all together. Once they were all sewed together, I began the task of fringing them. Since I have no decorative scissors for this job, I did it with my regular set of paper snips, and after cutting into the edges of all those squares on all 4 sides, I can say my wrist was a bit sore! But I did achieve the effect I was after. I dragged those edges through some ink to further emphasize them and then adhered the patchwork pieces to my ivory coloured cardstock that I had splattered with some watercolour paint. The focal picture (gotta love church basements and fluorescent lighting - even after some editing in the software, this was the best I could get it...but I digress) was layered onto the tops of the fringes using several adhesive foam squares piggy backed on top of each other. I added the dressmakers mannequin and rouched ribbons to further play up the textile theme. A small smattering of tiny prima flowers and some journaling finish the layout. I handcut a tag from another sheet from the Splendid pad and painted a thin layer of gesso on it to tone the pattern down enough to journal on top. (I've seen this technique in several places and was most recently reminded on Drew's blog.) Some bling to go with this feminine subject matter is reflected in the glittery title.

 

 

Checking the Mail...

So a few days ago, I worked on this little project. We do not make a huge deal of Valentine's Day in this house - we know we need try to express our love for each other daily, not just on one prescribed day of the year. So cards and perhaps some flowers, not roses, from Brian are the extent of it.

I thought it would be fun to put this on the table and place my cards for Brian and Sarah in it:

Hang on a second, that's a Christmas mailbox!

That's a bit better! When I saw the little tin mailbox in the local dollar store before I Christmas, I snagged it, knowing I could do something with it! I went searching through my papers for something sort of Valentines-ish but not too cute-sy since this was for both Brian & Sarah. (Though I imagine Sarah will abscond with it...)

I used some Best Creation paper I had - that gridded heart pattern was my first choice and I decided to use it for the ends of the mailbox, because that small yet bold print was going to be a bit hard to look at across the whole side of the mailbox. The cherry print worked with it colour-wise, and we all like cherries (thought about the strawberry print but Sarah is not a strawberry person), so that's what I went with. I wrapped taffeta ribbon over the lips of the mailbox ends. Some cute embellishments with hand made flowers and a diecut sticker (I cut off the rolling pin below the sentiment and just went with made with love, which applies both to the mailbox and the cards that will go inside). I used another Epiphany Crafts epoxy - this time as an accent on the flag.

I'll show you the simple card I made for Sarah, too. I kept this one simple and like how it came out.

The hearts are fussy cut from a border paper by Bella Blvd and the sentiment was cut from a sticker page by Bella Blvd. I added Crystal Effects to the heart and sprinkled some diamond glitter in while it was still wet.

Here is the inside sentiment:

More Bella Blvd stickers layered on each other and the same glaze and glitter technique on the cupcake.

I will be back to show you the card I made for Brian, but I think it needs a tutorial, so it gets a post of its own!

If you notice anything looking a little wonky around here, it's because I'm in the midst of a blog makeover. So I'm experimenting with columns and widths. This should all be done in a day or two! Hang in there!

Thanks for popping by!

 

 

 

Music is...

February TEA continues with this layout (this is #6, but I can't show you #5 yet as it turned into some design work).

I used Campy Trails pp from American Crafts to create this one. The yellow wood pattern was misted first. The strips under the focal photo, and made into the corner pennants are the bar code strips from the 12 x 12 papers.

The title work is a quote I found online. Those teeny tiny stickers by Kaisercraft - I love them for journaling or little details like the name of the person quoted, but I can see I'm going to have practice with them a bit - the paper is thinner than on other small letter stickers and once they are down, they are down. So this time, the letters are slightly askew and tilting upward. I'll keep working on it. :)

I love the felt letters for the word "poetry"; since poetry is a sort of fuzzy entity for many, or creates or describes fuzzy feelings sometimes, I thought it would work to use them. I chose the slanted scripty font for the word "music" because it flows, just like music (usually). And then those big puffy letters for the word "air" seemed ideal.

I'm just attempting to show you all the dimension on the page - everything is distressed and raised on foam adhesive.

The corner pennants, made from the bar code strips, are distressed and accented with more Epiphany Crafts epoxies - LOVE those things!

I will be back very soon and hope you will join me. Thanks for popping by!

Blessings,

Ann

 

I Love These Funny Faces

Another one for February TEA! Yes, I'm staying on course so far!

As my journaling block says, "Just about every time I point the camera at Brian, I get a goofy face and now Sarah is starting to do it too!!"

It's not that I love the goofy faces - they aren't always so pretty or easy to scrap, but I love the people who make them with all my heart! So I went with a bit of a love theme on the page, with the heart embellishments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This title is a combo of colours and fonts (you know I love to do that!)

Do you see the heart under the epoxy bubble? That's me using the Epiphany Crafts epoxy maker again. This time, I layered a little heart sticker on the yellow paper and punched it. 

The top of the journaling box previously said summer love, so I used alpha stickers to cover the word summer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I played with some Maya Road zipper trim again - this time shaping it into a heart. There are no tutorials for doing that, but it really was pretty simple.

I wrapped some twine around the heart lengthwise and I love how it looks, especially layered on the glittery heart.  

This layout started with another Lucy Chesna sketch. The Sketch-a-thon continues over at My Sketch World and it's not too late to join in the fun! All projects uploaded to the blog or gallery by March 4th are eligible for the draws and we have some great sponsors and prizes!

Thank you for popping by!

Blessings,

Ann

Supplies: cs - AC; pp & stickers - Bella Blvd; epoxy - Epiphany Crafts; twine - The Twinery; chipboard - Kiki Arts, Harmonie; alphas - Bella Blvd, AC, SEI; zipper trim - Maya Road; ink - Stampin' Up; pen - Zig

February TEA: Portrait of an Artist

Did you notice the "Link with Love" blinkie in the sidebar? There has been much chatter on some online forums in the last while about copying/stealing ideas and when does a scraplift stop being a 'lift' and become theft. It's a wide open topic that is not easily summarized in a sentence or two. But what I think it comes down to is, if you knowingly are inspired by something while creating your project, simply give credit where it is due and never submit a project for publication or DT work if you've done a major 'lift' in the piece's creation. Stay tuned to Practical Scrappers as we plan to share some great inspired lifts this month.

When I decided in mid-January to do this TEA endeavour this month, I had decided that I would have a few layouts from scrapbooking stars printed off for inspiration, along with some sketches and challenges, much like Karen Grunberg did back in May 2010. So while the first 3 layouts were inspired by sketches, this layout was inspired by this beautiful layout by Amber Packer for My Mind's Eye. I loved that she layered the punched borders, her gorgeous handcut flowers, and her little tucked in journaling spot. When I was shopping in January, I had selected these papers to go with this photo - they happen to be My Mind's Eye, though not the same collection that Amber used.

The photo is one that Sarah took of herself in the mirror when she was experimenting with her new camera. She made many faces, some very silly, but this one, with its slightly serious, slightly introspective expression captured me - I knew I wanted to scrapbook it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is not unusual for me to devise a long title. This one is an adaptation of a novella by James Joyce, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

She is a young artist - so creative and expressive. She snaps good pictures - I've scrapped several of them. She's a beautiful dancer, and as we have recently found out, she has a very animated narrative style of giving her character a voice when she's writing a short story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using my Bigz Fun Flowers die, I ran several sides of the patterned paper through the Cuttlebug, and then got to work creating these gorgeous multi-layered flowers. I used the distress tool and ink on them before adhering them together.

The flower centres are epoxies I created using a system created by Epiphany Crafts. These remind me of the Build-a-Brad system I used to use with Stampin' Up, but it's even easier! Epiphany has created an all-in-one punch tool, so you simply slide the paper into side of the punch, place the bubble in a hole in the top, slide in the plastic lever, close the top and push down! No more fussy with tiny punch outs and trying to get them lined up with a bubble. Yes, I love this tool! Don't those flower centres look gorgeous? And don't you love the metal setting I then placed the round epoxy in for one of my flowers.

Epiphany Crafts is doing a design team call, and since I love playing with buttons, epoxies and brads, I thought I'd submit for the team. Wish me luck as hundreds of scrapbookers apply for these things!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One more shot to try to show you the depth of layers I was able to accomplish - love that adhesive foam. Wish I had invented it!

For the journaling card, I ran the packaging that the MME pearl flourish came on through the Cuttlebug with the Bigz Top Note die. It already had lines on it, so I just distressed the edges and inked and started writing. I'm trying to get past the "this was taken in December a day after you got your camera" to something more meaningful, so the journaling reads:

"You took this shot a few days after Grandpa gave you a new camera. I hope when you look in the mirror ou see what I see - a beautiful person inside & out! You're so creative, whether it's writing a story, taking a photo or dancing. I really hope you see what God sees - his poema, His work of art, for His purpose. (Eph. 2:10)"

I'll be back with another project soon - so far I'm staying on schedule with my creating, and I'm almost caught up with the blogging about it!

How are you enjoying my February TEA (Treating myself Everyday to my Art) so far?

Blessings,

Ann 

 

 

February TEA #2

Back today with layout #2 in my February TEA (Treating myself Everday to my Art) series.

This layout was inspired by Sharon's sketch over at Two Scrapbook Friends. It also works for a couple of challenges this month at My Sketch World - one challenge is to start with a white background and another is to splatter paint or mist. I used watercolour paint to try to emulate some of the splotching in the Authentique patterned paper (Splendid). This is my first layout using paper from a  6 x 6 but I really enjoyed that - smaller patterns that are easily cut up! Since I am horrible for using my scraps, there is less waste too, when I scrap from a 6 x6  pad. I may have to try more of this in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These photos were taken on the first day of school, so the title is Hello Grade 7.

Sarah and her friend with whom she walks to school humoured me for a couple of first day photos.

The chipboard circle started out as brown naked chipboard. I used gesso as a primer and then inked it with pigment ink to pull the greens from the center and left panels of paper. A few strands of baker's twine are looped on the circle for a touch of whimsy and some coordinating sparkly flowers add a touch of glamour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted to find something more to add to the page than just here are Sarah and her friend on the first day of school. She's in the middle year of middle school and I just wanted to find something to encourage her. A search on the internet yielded a quote I like:

"One can never consent to creep when one feels the compulsion to soar." - Helen Keller

I added the line "I pray you SOAR!" to the page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's my piece de resistance! LOL!

I purchased some Maya Road zipper trim on sale last month at The Scrapping Turtle and really wanted to start to use it. I hunted for some ideas and then started to play. This flower is easy - it's made the same way as the organdy flower in my tutorials list. If you can do a running stitch with a needle and thread, you can make these! I coloured the white brad green with a Copic marker and voila - zipper trim flower. Did you see that I inked my distressed eges with bright pink ink? No brown this time - I wanted to keep things fresh and youthful, so my distressed look is kind of chic not shabby.

I'll be back with February TEA #3 and I hope you'll come back to see it!

Blessings,

Ann

February TEA!

Welcome to my February TEA post. Perhaps you weren't aware that I love tea, but I do - it's my favourite hot beverage, hence the blog name, loves tea and paper. What's February TEA, you may be wondering...

TEA stands for:

Treating myself

Everday to my

Art

I realized in January that life was getting busy and that scrapbooking was getting pushed lower on my to-do list and I was getting discontent. I decided that I'd do what I could to make scrapbooking more of a priority, even if it meant getting up earlier! I haven't yet... gotten up extra early, I mean, but I have been working at my art of scrapbooking everyday (except Sundays because I know that won't happen - lots of other family stuff happening on Sundays). It makes me happy! And my timing iw good, because there is just TONS of ways to keep my mojo going during my little personal challenge - My Sketch World has started Sketch-a-thon, so there is a layout sketch going up every other day, Laura at Scrap Much? posts a sketch every Friday, the forums at both My Sketch World and Two Scrapbook Friends post layout challenges, and I've also challenged myself to do a few scraplifts, too. Why everyday, you might be wondering, when I could bearly find time to create at all in January. Well, that's the point. To make time. To better my abilities and hone my skills through practice, to learn more about my process and what makes me scrap happy, and hopefully, truly find my own scrapbooking "voice". I may need some encouragement to keep the momentum, but I trust you'll pipe with comments to keep me at it! So without anymore blah blah blah, here's the first page:

I created this on February 1st, using the sketch posted by Lucy to launch Sketch-a-Thon over at My Sketch World. If you want to get some scrapping done and possibly win some prizes while you're at it, I suggest you join us! The sketch was fairly simple. I have a stack of photos in a folder ready to scrap for this month long journey, so I chose these - all 3 started out as 4 x 6 photos, but as you can see, cropping them was effective to bring the attention to the skier - in the full 4 x 6, she was lost on the background of hill! I have some fabulous BoBunny paper from the Snowfall collection - it's all sparkly and pretty and I love looking at it! Guess what - I had a very hard time scrapping with it. I really wanted to add more layers to this sketch, but I was just losing the effect of the patterns and it was looking crowded and overwhelming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I created a more subtle pattern using sage cardstock, drawing the colour from Sarah's coat and a colour in the patterned paper.

I stamped 2 different snowflakes, staggering them on the lower third of the cardstock using VersaMark ink and then sprinkling on Irridiscent Ice embossing powder (using the heat tool to melt the powder) and creating a permanently affixed glittering background. You can see the stitching in this shot too. The sketch had a flourish on the lowest level, straddling the top and bottom of the middle section. A diecut wasn't working, neither was chipboard or cardstock cut shapes. They just seemed overwhelming to the design. So I traced a diecut shape and stitched over my pencil line using the sewing machine and I really like the subtle interest it adds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For my accents, I used snowflakes, perhaps an obvious choice, given my subject matter (LOL!). The large snowflake is a wooden snowflake that I covered generously with Stickles and added a pearl. That is layered over a snowflake diecut sticker from a coordinating page by Bo Bunny. I added Stickles and ink  to it and adhered it with double sided foam for dimension.

I also pearls to the sticker border as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's another layer of Stickled snowflakes, accenting my title. The alphas were drizzled with Stickles too, to create an icy effect.

The journaling is done with strips but in my handwriting.

I considered various ideas for the journaling - journaling tags/spots, an envelope, sticker. They all seemed too heavy for that place. The strips kept the design light and allows us to see much of the pretty patterned paper below. Can you tell I raised the large photo up on foam dimensionals too? I used a ton of them on this layout, but I really like the layers of dimension I was able to add to this very simple design.

I'll be back with February TEA #2 tomorrow. Since I don't plan to scrap on Sundays, that is catch up day in the blogging.

Thanks for popping by!

Blessings,

Ann

 

Intent: ATC

Last week I popped up a sneak peek of an ATC I had completed for a swap I had joined.

The theme for the ATCs was to make it about your "word". I have never done the whole choose a word for the year thing before. Probably for the same reason I don't go much for New Years resolutions. Because by this time of the year i.e. one month in, the goals and best laid plans are falling to the wayside. The truth is there is only so much I can do on my own strength and will, whether it's a scrappy goal, a lifestyle change or a change in focus, ala word of the year. So... after a few days of pondering and praying, I decided my word would be "intent". My thinking behind this word is that my actions will have more purpose and meaning if they align with God's intent for my life.

Here's my ATC:

The colour choice was pre-determined by the swap organizer so that all 12 ATCs will coordinate in a display. I had a 6x6 pad of wonderful Authentique Splendid papers that suited the teal, cream and brown theme.

I stamped the verse, then applied ink and edge distressing before layering it on another inked layer.

I recently bought an AC glitter marker and gave that a try, tracing over the letter "I".

There are a few tears and paper rolls on the ATC too, to further add to the distressed, shabby feel.

The word 'Intent' was generated on the computer then inked and edge distressed and popped up on foam adhesive.

 

There are 12 participants in this swap, and yes I was crazy enough to make 24 tiny little roly poly flowers.

I used a 1/2" circle punch and then cut a spiral in the circle and used my favourite tool, my bamboo skewer to roll them. There are touches of Stickles on the edges for some sparkle.

Brown embroidery floss tied around the bottom edge adds a finishing touch, along with more stickles on the stamped background.

 

 

As I headed into the store to drop these off, I realized these were my first ATCs. I knew what they were from my Stampin' Up days, but had never made one before.

What do you think? Did I do alright for my first ATC swap?

 

Well, this was a nice surprise!

As well as posting my finished work at the Two Peas gallery and My Sketch World, I try to pop a few things in at the galleries hosted by my local scrapbooking store. The Two Scrapbook Friends store is the store where I've shopped and taken classes the longest, and every couple of months I try to take a bit of time to share a few things in their gallery and leave some gallery lovin' for others while I'm there. They just recently started a Gallery Pick of the Week, i.e. just this week, and one of their designers, Jayne, (and you should check out the TSF gallery to see her work - she colours cards amazingly!) chose the shadow frame I made for Brian at Christmas. Not only did they share this honour in the forum, but also on their blog. I am thrilled, honoured and humbled. Thanks Jayne and Two Scrapbook Friends!

Please do pop by again soon - I am just ramping up for a big period of productivity! Life is busy, but I'm making my passion for scrapbooking a priority in spite of life's busyness. There will be lots to show you in the next few weeks!

Blessings,

Ann

Have you seen Ann lately?

Ha ha! I've not been intentionally neglecting my blog. Work has kept me busy, and a sinus infection has slowed me down. But I have been creating. I just can't show it to you, yet. But I'll give you a sneak peek...

I joined a swap at one of my lss, Two Scrapbook Friends. We are swapping ATC's that are done up with the participants' "word". You may be familiar with Ali Edwards' concept of choosing a work to be your guide for the year.

Each of us chose a word and made an ATC to showcase that word. The swap takes place on the 31st of January and that's when I can reveal the whole card to you. In the meantime, this is my sneak peek. Those are handrolled roly poly flowers. These are teeny weeny - they started with a 1/2" circle. And I made 24 of them, 2 for each of the 12 ATCs. Yes, I am crazy. But crazy is not my word! Come back on the 31st and I'll show you the whole ATC and reveal my word as well as my thinking behind that word.

In addition to creating these 12 ATCs, I've done an overhaul of my office/scrap space and just a few more little things to deal with and then I think I will have a space that is efficient and evokes a happy mood! Maybe I'll even take a few photos of some of the things in here that make me happy. would you like to see? When I'm done...

Meantime, remember that the Sketch-a-thon starts one week from today at My Sketch World, so why not pop over there and become a member if you're not already so you can play along and be eligible for some terrific prizes while getting some scrapping and cardmaking done?