Loves Tea & Paper

Instant Friends with Tutorial

My friend, Laura, a wonderful and prolific scrapbooker and cardmaker, is also the designer for ScrapMuch? where she posts a sketch every Friday. If you visit their blog today, you'll see a new sketch up, and they've been kind enough to post this layout I made, inspired by this sketch from March 16th. Here's the sketch:

And here is my layout:

 
I'm working with My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline papers on this one and I love how versatile the line is. The photos aren't perfect, taken at night in our family room, which is 1/2 below ground, with low lighting. I wanted to pick colours that wouldn't emphasize the low lighting and dark furniture, so I chose the floral as a background to pick up the pinkish skin tones in the photos. Then I layered on more patterns for the pennant elements.

I used foam adhesive on the pennants to build up lots of layers. I splattered gesso on the layout and used a sanding block on the papers and photos to give everything a bit of a worn-in feeling. You can see a simple lollipop flower embellishment there, too. To make the handwritten journaling pop a bit, I lightly brushed a coat of gesso on the patterned paper.

If you've not made this kind of embellishment before it's very simple.

1. Gather a variety of circle punches, a circle cutter, or put your die cut machine to work. OR, if you want a more rugged look, skip the tools and cut the circles by hand. I've done this on my Disney layout about a safari.

2. Choose some coordinating papers and then punch 2-3 (or more) circles in escalating sizes.

3. Crinkle the circles up. Scrunch them in your hand, gently.

4. Fold them flat and then apply ink to the creases and edges to give them additional visual texture.

5. Use a paper piercer to create a hole in the centre of each circle.

6. Layer the circles from largest to smallest, lining up the center holes and secure with a brad. Alternately, you could adhere the circles at the center and top with a button, chipboard, small paper flower etc. I have adorned the centers with a small handmade paper rose, too.

7. Attach to your layout or card with adhesive. I used foam adhesive for more dimension.

I hope this tutorial will remind you how simple it is to make your own embellishments, and how much $$ you can save, too!

I'll be back on Sunday with my first reveal for this term at My Sketch World. We're doing a blog hop. You won't want to miss the fun!

 

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Simply Just Me

Here's a layout I created recently.

The inspiration starts with the sketch up at the Authentique blog :

It's a simple sketch, which is what I like about it, because it leaves adding details up to you!

I used a piece of patterned paper and varied the widths, lengths and "tails" of the pennant pieces that make up the banner element, and layered on some Authentique letter stickers.

There is a lot of white space in the sketch and I like white space, but I also wanted to add a bit more colour to this layout, so I added this little combination of elements near the upper left...

...and to the lower rigth. There's quite a bit of machine stitching on this layout in both straight and zigzag stitching. The zigzags work with the cuts on some of the Authentique stickers that I added in these 2 corners. I also used some fancy edge scissors (when's the last time I used those???) on this element where I added a favourite Scripture verse. Remember I mentioned that I am taking the Scrapbooking Your Faith class at BPC, taught by Courtney Walsh, right? So week one was to scrapbook a favourite verse. What I love about this verse from Ephesians is that it reminds me that I am God's handiwork, his poema to use the Greek word, His work of art. I admit I don't always feel like a work of art, so it is wonderful to be reminded of it. I also love as one who loves to create with my hands, i.e. scrapbooking, it also thrills me to think of Him as Creator of something far more grand than I could ever produce! Do you see the tiny circles on the background paper near this cluster and the one in the upper left. They were pushed out by the border punch I used on the banner and I glued them on for visual interest. It's a little knit-picky but I like the subtle punch they add. Sometimes, it's the little things that make us happy!

Instead of the flower, I placed a tag and pocket that I made near the central focal point, the photo. As soon as I saw the flower, I knew I'd sub in the tag in pocket element so that this layout would be my contribution to a tag feature on Practical Scrappers today.  So, this is another 3 birds - 1 stone scenario: Authentique sketch (for fun), Practical Scrappers tags (for fun and DT work), and BPC class (fun and homework). Neat, eh?

I have just recently heard of a resource called Bloglovin. Simply put, it's another service that will allow you to read all the blogs you follow in one place, but also allow you find other blogs, somewhat in a Pinterest way. If you aren't reading in a reader or through an RSS feed, you might find Bloglovin convenient, and you can click here to Follow my blog with Bloglovin

 

 

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Sweet as Honey

Here's a bright, cheery layout I just finished, using the Country Drive collection, a release last summer from Echo Park.

It's not often that I multitask with a layout, and this one did not start out with the intent to "kill 3 birds with one stone", but it's worked out that way. First, I created this layout for an upcoming post at Practical Scrappers to use twine. As I started working with the honey comb paper, cutting it apart to create the sun, I realized it would work for Christa's challenge at the Two Scrapbook Friends forum to use non-conventional (i.e. not circles or squares) shapes on a layout. Thirdly, I've been taking a class at Big Picture Classes with Courtney Walsh, called Scrapooking Your Faith and when I popped by her blog, I realized this layout works for her inspired by 'A Sweethaven Summer' contest as well as a class assignment. The assignment is to scrapbook a prayer, the contest is to choose some inspiration from her sight. 

I wanted you see a closer shot of the twine flowers. I punched circles from an adhesive sheet, peeled back a layer and then coiled the twine. I started a few from the outside and spiraled inward, but most I started at the middle and spiraled outward. I raised a few up on adhesive foam for extra dimension. I love the texture these add to my page!

You can also see in this shot the little flight trails I dotted in behind the bee stickers. I wanted a little glimmer for the bee's wings, so I coloured them with a glitter marker before popping them up on foam adhesive.

 

To create the clouds, I traced some chipboard clouds onto this patterned paper and then cut them out. I used the sewing machine to stitch on them and add texture and colour. One cloud is popped up on foam adhesive, because I love dimension!

 

This is the right side of the layout. Three cut out hexagons form dot dot dots behind the word. You can see the honeycomb sun, and more flight trails, and my prayer, which is a proverb.

 

Adventure

Here is the most recent layout I created with the Paradise collection from Little Yellow Bicycle. It is perfect for outdoorsy, camping layouts too! I cannot believe how versatile this line has been for me!

The photo was taken about 3 or 4 summers ago when we were exploring a walking trail up at Killbear Park while camping. Again, I used pennants as my key shape on the layout because they worked with the title piece that I was using, the clear cut transparent shape.

 

Having distressed the edges of the patterned papers and inked them, I wondered if I could do the same with the clear cut, just to take away some of the slickness or shiny, brand-new look. It worked. The clear cut is thinner than paper, of course, so it takes a little more effort, but not much, and it did distress nicely. I then adhered it to an inked bamboo skewer, to create a flag.

I inked and layered a few pieces from the flower kit.

This last detail shot is to give you an idea of how much dimension there is on this layout. The photo is popped up, and then the flower popped even more.

 

 

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Get on Your Bike and Ride!

It's true, I am a fan of Queen. I could sing along to Freddie Mercury - his range was perfect for my voice. And I've been working so much with Little Yellow Bicycle lately that I have the old Queen song, "Bicycle" in my head a lot! Could be worse. I thought I'd share with you a couple of cards I made with some scraps - I'm just squeezing every drop of goodness from this paper, not wasting a thing!

 

Layered on to a white cardstock base, I loved these flying birds, so they became a background, along with a few narrow strips (I told you I wasn't being wasteful with this paper). I had fun adding a loose large zigzag for a little colourful punch, picking up the magenta pink in the line. The focal point is a punny sentiment, making this a fun thank you card, and accented with coordinating chipboard and clear diecuts. These diecuts come with just a bit of sparkle that I adore. All the edges are inked for a little more visual contrast. This card is standard 5.5 x 4.25" and is somewhat based on a card sketch I saw here, where you can see my friend Carolyn turned the card sketch into a fabulous layout.

The second card I made with the Paradise collection is a sweet little notecard:

The finished card is 2.75 x 4". The base is kraft - I know! If you are a regular follower, you'll know I just about never work with kraft. To my eye, it is a colour, not a neutral, and so it isn't a go-to paper for me, but it does work well with the colours in these patterned papers. Layering scraps on the small card, I then layered on a chipboard banner, perfect for adding my simple message and a darling plaid flower. I was tempted to add more embellishments to the chipboard flower, but this card is going in the mail, and so I didn't want the envelope to get too thick (Yes, you can mail a card this size, if you put it in a standard sized envelope, of course!)

Believe it or not, I have been working on some non-LYB items too, and I will show you them. SOON! But I have one more layout with the Paradise collection, so come on back tomorrow, OK? And if you are not yet following me, I'd love if you'd consider it. I just installed the Network blog following widget earlier this month, to make it easy for you to follow. You can also receive notifications of my postings by email, if you subcribe to the RSS feed.

P.S. If you suspect I have submitted an application for the recent LYB design team call, you would be ight. Wouldn't it be a thrill if I got selected?! I did get some great news on the weekend, which is that My Sketch World has accepted me back for another term with them! I'll have my first layout for this term up on April 1st!

 

 

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5 Things I Love About You: Mini Album

Yes, I am still playing with the Paradise collection from Little Yellow Bicycle. I love the versatility of this range!

This time I created this:

 

 

This is a mini album. It's fairly thick, and each "page" measures about 3" x 2". When I saw the packet of 5 mini envelopes along with a large word title, I knew it was intended for a scrapbook page, but I also knew it could be used in other ways. I bought it, and by the time I drove home, I knew what I wanted to do with it. I had some formica counter samples stacked up at home, and those little envelopes fit perfectly on the formica chips. For the title page above, I covered a chip with patterned paper, and then used some of the transparent packaging to create a layer over top. Then the large border title was cut down. I fussy cut the number 5 out and layered it over the word "things".

 

The back of the first page is also covered with patterned paper. The 2nd chip is covered with the rest of the title block, which I trimmed down to fit. The original word "paradise" was covered with patterned paper and I added the word "you!". The little corrugated strip at the top is left over from a strip that I used on a layout and comes from the flower making kit.

 

 

This wallet sized photo is the subject of the mini album. I layered some packaging under the photo to give it a little more sturdiness and added some text lingo: <3 u , along with a little paper circle from the flower kit as a tab at the bottom of the photo. You can see the back of a bare formica chip. I left it bare because I think altering these is cool and I wanted her to know what I had made the album from, and because I didn't want to add a lot of pattern or ornamentation to take away from the photo.

 

 

A flower from the kit, topped with a center that is covered with an epoxy circle for a little shine. A sweet little felt bird adorns envelope 1.

 

For envelope 2, I added a little patterned paper to the back flap of the envelope for visual interest and placed it on the formica chip on a slight tilt.

 

The back of this formica chip has a strong woodgrain, so I just played on that by adding the strip of leaf paper. For the next "page", I added half an accordion flower, some patterned paper, and some lined strips that had been trimmed from the title piece.

 

Then I put envelopes 3 and 4 together. That bright pink flower is from the chipboard set that accompanies this collection.

 

I love the whimsy of these pages with the transparent cloud and chipboard bird on the top piece flying high above the leaves.

 

I took one more piece of packaging and added a chipboard flower to it and layered another piece of clear packaging on top adorned with more corrugated strips created from the flower kit.

 

The back of the packaging is covered with patterned paper to finish it off.

I think Sarah will treasure this little mini album for years. I loved making it for her and enjoyed how easily all the different embellishments and patterned papers came together on this.

I think I'm going to need to walk through the hardware and DIY stores again soon and see what else can inspire me!

 

 

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Practical Scrappers Feature: Escape

Back in December, each Practical Scrapper was asked to post a special feature or article. It was a lot of fun and very popular with our readers, so we've brought it back. I am thrilled to be first up!

You might remember ago, Practical Scrappers did a blog hop and we were all using a sketch or layout by the fabulously talented Liz Qualman. Well, I recently went back to Liz's blog and saw this sketch, and just knew I wanted to use it:

 

I've been all over the pennant/flag trend recently so this sketch really appealed to me, and I liked that this layout was multi-photo. I went searching through my Cuba photos and realized I had a few 4 x 6 photos that would trim down nicely for the horizontal band of photos. Here is what I created:

 

The colours in the Paradise line were perfect for these photos of things Brian and I saw while strolling through Varadero. I love distressing and inking my edges, especially on masculine or outdoor layouts and with this being both, I had to include those techniques and a little tearing.

 

I loved the sentiment on this acrylic diecut for a title/subtitle for my layout. Sometimes adhering clear or acrylic pieces can be a challenge, but this was easily handled here - I used clear liquid glue (love my Beacon's!) to adhere one end to the photo. Because I raised the photo on foam adhesives, the other end of the diecut needed to be raised up. I could use foam for this, because I had layered that sweet chipboard bird on the diecut, hiding any evidence of foam squares!

 

A journaling spot or tag just wouldn't have worked on this layout without cluttering it up, so I elected to journal write on the page. To make it stand out from the patterned paper background, I lightly brushed some gesso on the spot where I planned to write. First I stamped some lines on the dry white primer, and then I wrote my journaling, choosing pink since there were little smatterings of pink elsewhere on the layout.

 

My favourite element on this layout is my banner. I love that I mixed in some non-banner elements, like the leaf and cloud in with the more traditional banner shapes. I fussy cut the letters from a patterned paper and adhered them on the inked banner shapes and then adhered them with foam squares. I then adhered baker's twine that I whimsically looped from shape to shape. Something about this banner just makes me happy!

I hope you have a chance to make something that makes you happy!

 

 

Pin It P.S. For those of you who celebrate, Happy St. Patrick's Day!

You Are Growing Up

When Little Yellow Bicycle revealed pre-CHA sneak peeks of their new lines, I knew that I would want to get my hands on the Paradise collection and the Saturdays collection. When I fall for a LYB collection, I seem to fall hard. Remember the Azalea line, anyone? I worked with it at a layout class and then had to bring a lot of it home with me. Since then, there have probably been 5 layouts made with it! So, yes, I bought every piece of paper the store had in the Paradise collection, along with several great accessory packs. Here's the first thing I made with it:

 

The trend to a vertical rather than horizontal placement is starting to grow on me, so I thought I'd experiment with that. I drew out a very rudimentary sketch for myself and then got to work/play!

 

I adore the sentiment on this piece of chipboard and knew it had to go on this layout about my daughter. I layered an adorable plaid chipboard bird on the circle and layered a soft fuzzy felt banner under it, for some texture and to connect it to the rest of the layout.

 

I do love my long titles, and this layout gave me lots of room for one. Drawing from the colours of the photo and patterned papers, I chose greenish teals, magenta pinks, cream and brown for my alphas. Because she's got that phone in her hand, I chose a texting short form for the word "before", translating it into b4. A felt flower accents the key word and also points the eye to the photo.

Below the photo, I layered a lot of papers and embellishments. The rippled paper actually comes from a coordinating flower making kit. I love to make flowers and handmade embellishments, but if a manufacturer is going to make it this easy and timesaving, well why not? This time, I just folded the paper on the pre-scored lines and left it as a paper accent.

I created the staggered pennants and layered them above the journaling tag. The tag is from the transparent diecut package and I stroked out the word "travel" and changed it to "mono". The journaling is my silent monologue about how much she's growing up and how proud I am of her.

 

Supplies: everything is Little Yellow Bicycle except pin (unknown), The Twinery twine, Lily Bee, SEI and AC Thickers alphas, and Stampin' Up cardstock.
 

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Sharing some Love

I love that you visited over the blog hop and that you were so generous with your comments and kind encouragement! Thank you to my new followers for jumping onboard with me - I hope I can inspire you, teach you something new and that you'll enjoy spending some time with me. I made this card for my sweet hubby for Valentines Day and I've been holding it back because I want to create a tutorial to show you how I did the heart. I will get that tutorial done, but I did want to get it posted before we're on top of another big occasion like Easter or Mother's Day. And I hoped that today, that big heart would express my appreciation of YOU too!

I will be back tomorrow to post the winner of the RAK from the bloghop. Til then, thanks again for taking the time to visit me!

 

 

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Practical Scappers Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Welcome to the Practical Scrappers "Linking with Love" Blog Hop!  We believe it is important to always give credit when it is due to another crafter.  For this unique hop all of our design team members used the same inspiration piece to create their project.  Each of them will make an example of themselves as to how to properly "Link with Love" and credit the inspiration.  We'll be running the hop thru Noon EST on Sunday - so you have plenty of time to get thru it!

 

Liz Qualman created this beautiful layout and we have all used it for inspiration.  Each of us will tell what part we took our inspiration from.  The whole hop will culminate at Liz's blog where she'll provide us with a new sketch for inspiration!

Many of the designers are providing prizes at their stop and Practical Scrappers is providing a prize for one person who becomes a follower at each stop (for all the details head over to Practical Scrappers). 

Blog Hop List

Practical Scrappers

Christine Meyer

Kerri Yarus

Erin Morehouse

Christa Uttley

Audrey Yeager

Ann Jobes (YOU are HERE -- and I'm so glad you are!)

Jenny Evans

Cathy Harper

Caz Hancock

Michelle Roycroft

Carolina Garrido

Brettaney Quinton

Jayma Malme

Amber Goble

Sarah Nancarrow

Donna Bryant

Krissy Clark Liz Chidester

Liz Qualman

Isn't that layout just bright and fun and sunshiny? There are plenty of things about it that inspired me as I created this:

I flipped the layout 90 degrees to accomodate the orientation of my photo.

To keep the airy, light feeling Liz created in her layout, I fussy cut a cosy tree from the Bo Bunny Alora paper to move across the page.

The doodled paper replaces Liz's punched circle base as a border frame.

Of course, I had to add a line of journaling, under the photo, or it wouldn't have felt complete.

I liked Liz's corner tag work and so I made my own corner detail, layering a sticker with some twirled twine (a little bird's nest-like) with some tags and a fussy cut birdhouse. I used an Epiphany Crafts epoxy on the birdhouse and layered one in a charm for a second accent.

Here's a detail shot of the fussy cut tree all raised up on adhesive foam. My layouts always use a lot of foam, it seems.  I layered it over a sticker and added a twine bow to a branch for just a little more detail - it makes me happy!

Words from an Authentique diction were perfect to describe the subject of my photo, my wonderful daughter. A tag from the paper is fussy cut from the Alora paper and layered under to just reveal a bracket. The stitching is quirky and imprecise to capture the theme of these papers.

Thank you so much for popping by today. I do have a little RAK for someone, all you have to do is leave a comment and become a follower of my blog! Leave your comment by noon on Sunday and I'll post here on Tuesday the name of the winner.

Now off you go to see what the fabulous Jenny Evans created!

 

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