my little problem

i seem to fall in love with paper far too easily.

i have decided to just finish some projects that have been on the go for awhile. well...finish....ummm.....

Friday, i bought all the papers and die-cuts for both present lines of October Afternoon. why? because i love them. those die cuts have patterned paper on one side and cool journaling space on the other side. this company reminds me of a crisp and trendy version of Cosmo Cricket.

you see...i know that after the next CHA show, more good stuff is going to come to the store. i know that. i've seen proof of this. but i also know that good stuff doesn't last long. in my opinion this recent October Afternoon stuff is not going to last for more than two weeks. and i have been known to be correct. on occasion. maybe it isn't an addiction. perhaps it is fear. fear that i will never get another piece of the paper i want. like after it sells at the store, they stop making it....

yeah. maybe i need to work on conquering this fear?

in the meantime, i wanted to try some new stuff i had. and use up some older stuff i also had.

the photos are new. yahoo!

my little problem (considering unfinished projects being a big one! haha) is that my photos are on my computer. stuck. like glue. i need to make a goal to actually print some of them off. and then use up my paper and other stuff. for now i'll be satisfied that at least some of them are escaping to my scrapbook papers.

anyways....here is one for Kiara's album.

american crafts paper, foam die-cuts and letters. heidi swapp rhinestone bling. and extra ribbon. and remember those lil' davis letters i talked about before? used up two more!

one technique i've seen is using bubble wrap to paint/stamp a background. so i gave it a try. very fun and easy.

i used my american crafts slickwriter to put the edge on the large letters.

then i added felt from doodlebug to the word "sweetness".

here's a tip! don't put the glue on too thick. i ended up doing a second coat using my glue pen. and it worked much better. so save yourself some frustration and learn from my mistake. that felt is very fun. i love the look of felt...but their sugar coated glitter is still my fave.

this one was tough. i wanted to use some of pink paislee. but it just didn't suit. i found this basic grey obscure paper. got it in the box of goodies from Kim.

and it still didn't look quite right. so i tried my best to grunge it up. using some new techniques. of course.

i used versamark and some of Judikins chocolate tinsel embossing powder on the cosmo cricket blackboard. i took this idea from a photo on Heather's blog. (you have to scroll to the bottom of the post.)

and here is another tip! i learned one thing about embossing powders while on a trip to Western Educational Activities. the "tinsel" powders are more glittery and not very smooth. think of the tinsel we used to put on our Christmas trees.

and then i used my scratching tool from Tonic Studios to distress the photo. i loved the overall effect it had for this layout.

then i doodled a border around the top photo with my black zig marker. added some black brads in no particular place.

one technique i tried. it wasn't awesome. but i did learn something. and i'd do it again. i used my versamark and embossing powder on some foam thickers from american crafts. i had to use my heat gun. on foam. which wasn't too bad. if i hadn't been a clutz and dropped the letters upside down after adhering the powder. i ended up doing two coats. which would have looked fine (i think) if i hadn't been so clumsy. we'll just say that mine look good from a distance.

here is that great glue pen. so great for small areas. i use it if i'm adding glitter...or felt! on top of it.

here is the chocolate tinsel embossing powder by JudiKins. (is that not a fabulous name?!)

and my scratching tool from tonic studios. i don't use it often, but it is a fun tool to have.

i thought i'd share my "how-to's" and my "how-to-nots".


and i also had to share my latest confirmation of my paper addiction.