Is it wishful thinking or is my pile of scraps getting significantly smaller?

Hello friends! Here's a card made from my pile of scraps! Love that the pile is getting significantly smaller...or it could just be wishful thinking on my part? *LOL*

The whole piece came together when I found this already embossed soda can panel in my stash....a leftover from a previous project. Interestingly enough, the moustached monster was also already texturized with crackle paint in rock candy....so I just had to fussy cut and prop him up on 3D dots. He had 2 eyes but I thought a bigger single googly eye would be much cuter. ;)

Gotta love it when a piece comes together from previous "hard" work...*LOL*

I used the sketch at CPS and am entering it for the Moxie Fab World's household items challenge.

Supplies: Making Memories and Sassafras patterned papers, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Ranger Crackle Paint in rock candy, EAD Designs sentiment sticker, ribbon, googly eye, staples, adhesive.


P/s: Come play along with my guest Michelle's neon challenge!

4x4 canvas using paper scraps...and a challenge winner! :)

So I've been making a conscientious effort to use up my paper scraps...in particular, the oddly-shaped pieces - the result of overzealous fussy-cutting. *LOL* Using my fave "old" technique these days...paper tearing. Perfect for this 4x4 canvas featuring my niece Sophie. :)

A remnant piece of corrugated board, tulle, metal charm, ribbon and paper bloom.

I love the texture of wrapping tissue. :)

Playing along with the paper scraps challenge at Moxie FabWorld and the spring fling challenge at City Crafter.

Supplies: Webster's Pages patterned paper, wrapping tissue, 4x4 canvas, ribbon, corrugated cardboard, tulle, paper bloom, metal charm and ribbon.


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A big thank you to those who played along with my guest Emily's multi-loop bow challenge! The randomly picked winner is .... Erin T!

Congrats Erin! Please email me with your mailing details so that I can get your RAK out to you! :)

P/s: You still have time to play along with my guest Michelle's Neon Challenge! :)

When I travel....

When I travel, I like to go for scenic drives, visit museums and art galleries and just fully absorb what the local culture has to offer. :) Travel shopping has taken a backseat since most things these days are "Made in China". I'm sure you know what I mean. It's so hard to find locally made stuff. *LOL* But if shoes and scrapping supplies are involved....then it's a totally different story...*winks*

 

Just a quick layout using My Mind's Eye patterned paper scraps. Lots of SRM stickers. A little stamping on shrink plastic.

Playing along with the challenge at Challenge Me Happy to make your own embellishments.

Supplies: My Mind's Eye patterned papers, SRM stickers, 7 Gypsies sticker, Maya Road stamp, StazOn black ink, American Crafts chipboard, lace, ribbon, brads, googly eye, button, black pen, paper clip.

*Edited* I am the winner at Challenge Me Happy! :)

A 5-minute card! :)

Don't you just love it when you can assemble paper scraps quickly for a 5-minute card? :)

Assemble paper scraps to fit card sketch - 1 minute.
Glue papers together + round edges of corners with corner rounder -  2 minutes.
Trim + adhere ribbon - 1 minute.
Add paper bloom - 1 minute.

Disclaimer: All items on table at time of assembly. *winks*

I used the sketch at Card Patterns and was inspired by the challenge at Runway Inspired. 

Supplies: My Mind's Eye patterned papers, ribbon, trim, corner rounder.

After a visit to my mane man...

My hair only looks good after a visit to my mane man. He has taught me all the ways to give body to my fine hair and I have bought all the tools - the curler, the crimper...etc but I can never re-create the same look. Okay...I'm just too lazy to primp the hair...I love to just wash and go! *LOL*

I had fun working the new American Crafts Dear Lizzy line with some American Crafts and Pebbles scraps and lots of stickers. :) [Pardon the iPhone photos...should have printed in b/w...]

 

A handmade felt bloom, stamping on an ice-cream stick, fussy-cutting mixed with stickers.

I wanted to play along with Punky Scraps recipe challenge [I used a kraft base, photo of me and fabric] and used the sketch at Creative Scrappers. Also tried to incorporate the neon trend aka my guest Michelle's neon challenge. :)

Supplies: Pebbles patterned papers, American Crafts patterned papers and stickers, Maya Road trinket pin and stamp, Fiskars edge punch, gray ink, brown pen, buttons, handmade felt bloom, doiley.

3 ways to tell your story through patterned papers

1. Patterned papers that have stories "built-in" to them. 

I love cute little scenes that allow you to "cheat" because all the main elements are there. All you need to do is find a place for your photo and just embellish away. :)

I love this Alice in Wonderland paper in its entirety but wanted to use it on a scrapbook page. In the end, I cut out the castle in the background, added another patterned paper and a photo of my nephew.

Now it looks like the Queen is berating Alice for putting my littlest nephew J in a dress....[even though it was actually me...*LOL*]

2. Patterned papers that help you create a "scene" that is reflective of your story.


Sometimes the elements on the patterned papers need to be cut out to help you create a "scene" that tells your story.

I cut out the sun and cloud to reflect a sunny day spent with my sister at Universal Studios. Also added the plane to reflect the rides we took and the camera to reflect the 400 photos we took that day.

 3. Patterned papers that contain elements that relate to your story.

The little robots parachuting down seems to reflect a successful rescue mission. Perfect for telling the story of my oldest nephew "negotiating" his way out of  a situation. *winks*

 

I used just one sheet of patterned paper for this. Just cut out some robots and clouds and popped them on 3D dots.

So there you have it...3 ways to tell your story through patterned papers. What do you think?

I love the new Little Darlings line! :)

I love the new Little Darlings line by Graphic 45. Just so pretty! :) Perfect for scrapping photos of my cousin's little bundle of joy - Justin!

A little misting and masking on the background....

And yes, I accidentally printed the same photo twice so the shot of my sister carrying little Justin was mounted on 3D dots for dimension.

Notice the mega boo boo? The baby boy was blond so I coloured his hair with Copics...a little overzealously...*LOL*

I used the sketch at Creative Scrappers and was inspired by the song at Scrapping The Music.

Supplies: Graphic 45 patterned papers, Maya mists, Heidi Swapp chipboard letters, Ranger distress ink, buttons, thread, brown pen, trim, plastic and iron grids as masks.

P/s: Just one more day to play along with my guest Emily's multi-loop bow challenge...it ends on Friday!

6 MORE ways to incorporate packaging materials on your layout.

Hello friends! Glad you enjoyed the 6 ways to incorporate packaging materials on your layout. Today I'm sharing 6 MORE ways to incorporate packaging materials on your layout! :)

1.. Add bubble wrap for a fun and clear texture.
2. Crush a piece of scrap paper and run your ink pads over for your own bit of patterned paper.

 

3. Use a tab pull as an embellishment.
4. Wrap twine around button for a custom embellishment.
5. Staple fibers for an interesting tactile feel .
6. Pleat crepe paper/wrapping tissue for texture.

There you have it. 6 MORE ways of incorporating packaging material on your layout. :) What do you think?

Supplies: Bo Bunny patterned papers, Maya mists, Ranger Distress Inks, punchinella, packaging materials, buttons.

Go NEON with Michelle Hernandez!

My guest today is the awesome Michelle Hernandez of My Analog Life. Michelle's style is funky and eclectic. I love the little details on her creations that make her work quirky and fun. She has an amazing sense of humour and of course, lives in one of my fave cities in the world - New York! Michelle's here to share her latest obsession along with a fabulous challenge with a RAK for a lucky player!

But first let's have a look at Michelle's fave projects...

HI there! This is Michelle from My Analog Life. I met Yvonne when we were teamies over at Gauche Alchemy and let me tell you I LOVE this lady’s scrap style!

I’m constantly amazed by Yvonne’s clean and modern designs and how she incorporates more “messy” mediums like paint in new and always perfectly controlled ways so imagine how EXCITED I was to be asked to host a challenge here and talk about my latest obsession - NEON!

I was a pre teen during the 80’s and my parents had zero love for Madonna so I was not allowed to sport the lace dresses and tube tops or the headbands and large crucifixes. I was SO mortified by my general lack of radness! Neon colored rubber bracelets were okay though so I bought those by the arm full and ran around singing Lucky Star loudly.

Anyway so I’m totally digging latest neon flare-up. Neon embellishments, neon stripes & chevron, neon washi tape, acrylic neon paint, the latest Heidy Swapp line and the new Project Life perfect transparencies by Hambly.

I love them ALL.

But I am not a trend jumper. I like to bide my time and see if I like a trend before I go in and buy expensive products that just sit on my desk looking particularly clutter-licious.

I also wanted to stick to Yvonne’s very pertinent use-what-you-have, less-is-more scrap philosophy so I made a page and a card with stuff from my stash. I also stuck to products still in stores (at a discount! cha CHING!)

First project:

Basic Grey’s Out of Print line has beautiful pops of neon and wonderfully white washed newsprint collage elements. I used Hambly washi tape and Tattered Angels Mermaid Glimmer Glam on the borders. Letter stamps from EK Success, KI Memories New York Puffies, K & Co Smash polka dot washi and turquoise mulberry leaf cardstock make the rest of the page.

Second Project:

I used Bazzill grey card stock because grey is another big trend and really makes neon colors pop. The Cocoa Daisy Instamatic stamp uses papers from Cosmo Cricket’s DeLovely and Upcycle lines, both of which use neon liberally. I also used a Crafter’s Workshop stencil, Studio Calico Mister Huey in white and chipboard embellishments from Crate Paper’s Random line which is perfect for those who want the look without the eye stabbing DRAMA of pure neon. My favorite touches are the Sakura Gelly Roll pen outlines in fluorescent yellow and the neon pink twine.

So raid your stash and use neon on your pages. I find it matches fantastically well with white, grey and naturally, black cardstock. I would LOVE to see if someone can swing a neon and kraft project- that would be mind blowing. You can also raid your local dime store for office or pricing labels or check out the teen jewelry aisle and take apart some of those faux silver necklaces with all the enameled charms- they look great on a page!

Once you’re situated, I would like you to pretty please swing back here and join my challenge: using Neon on a scrapbook page or card.

The current “trend” is to use neon in small doses here and there but whatever- go Full Monty- be HAPPY. And link up your good works. The winner will get THIS prize package direct from my over flowing scrap desk! Woo hoo!

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Woohoo indeed! Are you ready to play along? Please link your newly-created projects featuring the neon trend via Inlinkz [located at the end of the post] by Friday April 6.

As always, please leave a little love for my guest Michelle.

I am insanely jealous of photogenic people.

I am insanely jealous of photogenic people. Insanely jealous. Seriously. Those who can strike a pose and look so effortlessly chic. Blow kisses at the camera and look super sexy. Believe me, I've tried. And just end up looking like I've tried...maybe a little too hard? *LOL*

Just wanted to play along with Scrapbookers Anonymous "H" challenge - I went with hats! :)

Supplies: Echo Park Papers and stickers, Ranger Distress Ink, brown pen, trim.

P/s: Come play along with my guest Emily's multi-loop bow challenge...it ends on Friday!

Happy birthday to me! :)

Happy birthday to me!!! :)

Just a quick card for the challenge at CAS-ual Fridays. Love that I got to use up some scraps! :) Hope you are having a great Sunday!

Supplies: My Mind's Eye patterned papers, Ranger Distress Ink, SRM stickers, cardstock. 

How to make your photo the focal point on a busy layout.

Patterns and colours can be busy and distracting on a layout...totally taking the focus off the main subject - the photo. Today I want to share some tips on how to make your photo the focal point on a busy layout.

I started off with this...a masked and misted cardstock background in colours inspired by the patterned papers, bits and pieces of patterned papers including a fussy-cut jar and balloons, ribbon, twine and a paper clip. Pretty busy I would say.

1. Embellish around the photo with a grounding colour.

I chose black. Rub-ons around the photo, on the cut-out jar, just off the photo [the bird], a black brad and some journaling with a black pen.

2. Add some texture in solid colours.

As I did with my title work.

3. Add some fun dimensional elements. 

I added a wooden tag, a charm and some heart bling with some distress stickles in rock candy for a little sparkle.

There you have it, 3 ways to make your photo the focal point on a busy layout. What do you think?

Supplies: American Crafts patterned papers, rub-ons, stickers and thickers, Maya Mists, The Twinery twine, Ranger distress stickles in rock candy, ribbon, brad, button, black pen, charm and thread.