gift idea

i created this little shadowbox for a friend. then taught her friends how to make one just like it.




it was the first time in a long time where i taught a class to ladies who were not scrapbookers.

one of them shared a cute story with me: she told her young daughter that this frame was what they were going to give to her Grandma. in response, the young girl was not too thrilled and said to her mom, "will she like it? we don't even know those people, do we?!" 


much to their relief, they all finished the project and were happy with the results. i was relieved that they enjoyed themselves and didn't spend money to get stressed!



i wanted to create something where they could copy the techniques to create a simple card.



a bit of edge distressing to hide any imperfect trimming job works awesome!



they got a quick ink lesson as well. then they got to get their hands dirty and colour their own ribbon. i pulled out other colours and they were able to customize this frame even more.

the ladies were very skeptical...but i also taught them how to tie a double bow and also "cheat" to add more loops. it is amazing what a well-placed glue dot can do!

simply take out the ink pad colour of your choice - or perhaps 2 or 3. my favourite ink of choice is the Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger. they are a water based dye ink. they react with water in a few different ways and i love them! i even use them like i would watercolour paints....if i need to add detail to a stamped image or paper.

you will need some ribbon that will hold the ink...old fashioned seam binding works perfectly.

scrunch the entire ribbon in your fingers and rub it into the ink pad. you will need to re-scrunch several times to get ink into the ribbon. the more ink on the ribbon, the darker the finished ink will become. then mist it with water and scrunch it into a tight ball. i like to ink my ribbons at the start of my projects and let them dry naturally as i work. the ribbon keeps the wrinkles and it is always a mystery how the ink will bleed and dry!

if you want a super intense and solid colour, rub the ribbon into the ink pad so that it is entirely inked. you can still add some water to ensure there are no un-inked areas.

another option is to use Distress Stain. think of it like liquid ink. rub it across the ribbon then scrunch to create wrinkles as it dries.

you can also use any kind of spray mist. Tattered Angels creates a multitude of colours, plus you will get some sparkle. Ranger has some Colour Wash colours that match a few of their popular inks. several of the paper companies are also selling their versions. you can get just the plain colour, or colour with some sparkle.

in fact you can make your own home-made dies. tea. coffee. kool-aid. there are so many herbal teas on the market now that you could use those to create some with pink or orange hues. we were joking in one of my classes that red wine also works well. yup! think of any clothing with a horrible stain that could actually look pretty if you did it on purpose. mustard is one colour that seems to maintain it's yellow hue rather well after repeated washings! home-made works too. i like to use my inks, stains and mists since i know their colour is guaranteed. but it is fun to play and experiment too.


well...lots to prepare for. more scrapbooking projects. cards. gift wrapping. cookie baking. all the fun stuff that needs time and lots of Christmas spirit!

last minute details

one item on my scrapbooking agenda last week was to create a tag for our 'tag challenge group'. i think i mentioned it earlier that Jan wanted us to create something that was inspired by the song, "Believe" in the movie The Polar Express.

i loved the 'perfect Christmas snowfall' that was illustrated in the movie. as well as the other inspiring pictures throughout. like the massive Christmas tree.



i had one idea for this tag, but changed my mind. imagine that?! in the end i used a Kraft tag and added some Distress Stain inks for colour. Picket Fence, Broken China, Weathered Wood and a bit of Vintage Photo. i made pools of the colour on my non-stick mat and swooshed the tag through the inks.

then i used the heat embossing/dry embossing technique that Tim Holtz shared on tag #1 this year. i put embossing ink on the non-raised edge side of the embossing folder and ran the inked tag through my Vagabond. sprinkled Enchanted Gold embossing powder over the tag. i found that the powder stuck to the snowflakes as well, so i needed to tap off the excess with my finger. then i heat embossed it.

next i added more Picket Fence distress stain to the snowflakes.

for the tree, i die cut it using one of the Memory Box dies (Winterland Tree). i also double embossed it with  some twinkling pewter embossing powder i have had forever. i also added some gorgeous Zva crystals to the tree...they have an iridescent look to them.

the holly leaves were first sheets of Kraft Glassine that i inked with alcohol inks (lettuce, citrus, caramel and picket fence). when the alcohol inks were dry i crumbled the paper several times and rubbed my Vintage Photo distress ink pad over the entire thing. to finish off the colour i sealed the inks in by heating it with my heat tool.  this was another technique that Tim Holtz shared on tag #7 this year.



i coloured some silver jingle bells to bright red and strung beads on some wire. added a star on to the vintage trinket pin. my final touch was this postal stamp from a Pink Paislee collection a few years ago. i wanted to stamp the word "believe" but discovered that i do not own a single die cut or stamp that contains that word. this worked well in the end....seeing that it has 'north pole' on the stamp too. it just goes to show that sometimes it works better when you have to make a substitution!

it is definitely a head scratcher coming up with an idea to fit the challenge. some months more than others. however it is fun to have a small area to test new techniques. so far i cannot bring myself to give away any of the tags from the challenge. they are perfect for wine bottles, when you bing a hostess gift. or on gifts. i think when i run out of space to store the lovely tags, then i will start using them. i'll be known as the "tag-lady"!!

Friday Fun Day

some of my readers will have read THIS post on the URBAN SCRAPBOOK blog.

                                                                    i stole the following 2 photos from the blog to share here too...... Thank you!

a small group of us were armed with packs of white cardstock and asked to make flowers. usually when i cut paper to create a lot of flowers it goes straight into a ziploc bag for a class kit. so this was a treat to cut out petals and flowers and then get to use all of them myself! my fingers were sore. and dirty! who knew clear glue and white paper could make your finger tips so black?!

we met with our flowers and then made more.

then we added glitter. and more glitter. which made our finger tips look like some kind of scary halloween costume. we will be finding glitter all year i think! when i left the store last night, i noticed a trail of it leading from the door to the garbage disposal area. it glittered in the light from the street lights.

i can't wait to see it amongst all the other beautiful trees at the festival.

i wish i had had the time to count the variety of flowers we made. there were so many different styles.

i have to toot a horn for Jan. she made this bird from scratch. it is incredible.

anyways, it was a lot of fun to be a part of this project.


this is a very simple tag that i created for our Make and Take last night.



Spellbinders has some amazing dies available. they are well known for 2 types of products:

1. simple and elaborate shapes that nest into one another. easy to cut a decorative mat for a photo or greeting and have the photo or greeting have the same shape.

2. embossed edges. you do need a special rubber spacer for this, but the effect is amazing.

for my tag i just used the dies to cut. however, during the demonstration i also used the embossing mat to emboss. for a third usage of the dies, i also demonstrated how you can use the die as a mask for inking. of course i don't have pictures of that result.


to cut: 
place the die against the paper you want to cut. most of these dies are open in the inside, so it is easy to get the exact cut from a desired part of your cardstock. use a bit of tape or one of the Spellbinder Magnetic spacers to hold the die in place. because these dies are thin, you will need an adapter plate or a few thick layers of cardstock or chipboard.


to emboss:
immediately after cutting, DO NOT remove your paper from the die. lay the Embossing Mat against the paper side and run it through your machine again. you will need to remove the adapter plate. for the Cuttlebug, we needed to add one layer of chipboard when we ran it through our machine. i have not tried this step with my Vagabond or a Big Shot, but i suspect it will be similar.

to ink:
for this step you don't have to emboss your shape, although the embossed image with the ink looks stunning. again, don't remove the paper from the die just yet. lay the die down so that you are facing the metal die side. keep in mind that your RIGHT SIDE of the paper is INSIDE the die. take a look at the die (use the pictures on the die package to help if needed) and ink the areas that have a decorative shape. then you can remove the paper! a few of the customers suggested that spray ink would work as well. i think that would be a neat effect! not all of their dies are meant to be inked...just check the image on the package to see if it is possible. the areas meant to be inked will appear a slightly darker tone than the rest of the image.

i hope that helps! i am definitely not a Spellbinders expert. the Spellbinders website is very helpful. they have videos, instructions and a huge idea gallery for more help. they also have a comparison chart of all the machines and exactly what layers you need for each step. i love that inside their die packaging they have a simple set of instructions for the major die cutting machines.



i layered all the images from the Holly Motifs set with foam pop dots. a few crystal stickles added some sparkle and a clear rhinestone in the centre completed it.

the stamp is from Stampendous. i used Festive Berries from Tim Holtz' Limited Edition Christmas colours. then i embossed it with clear embossing powder. although it is a dye ink, it stays "wet" for a long enough time to emboss it easily.



a final tip. the intricate scrolls on this set of dies was crazy tough to get out of the die. i have never had this kind of difficulty with any of their other dies, and neither had the other girls. we learned the most amazing trick to get around this problem....maybe it was just the set i had, or perhaps it involves any intricate die? we used a few layers of WAX PAPER and ran it through the Cuttlebug with the die. so simple, and the following shapes came out without any difficulty. the wax paper die cut image actually looked really neat too!

in fact, wax paper works with paper punches too. if they are sticky. aluminum foil helps sharpen your paper punches. the key is to use several layers when you punch.

perfect

perfect pearls.

it is not a brand new product. but it has become more popular in the past few months. i love Jennifer McGuire's use of the product. she has shared a number of techniques with perfect pearls that have inspired me to break them out of the drawer once in a while.

the LIQUID PEARLS were very popular when they were introduced a few years ago. you could get them in a variety of colours with the pearl finish....writing with them. making small (or big) pearls. spreading them over the paper or flowers with your finger.

POWDERS. these are loose mica powders that look a lot like make-up! they have a built in resin making them quite simple to use. you can buy them separately, or in sets of 4. when you use them in this form you need to have a Perfect Medium ink pad...it is like a VersaMark ink pad....just more sticky. however, VersaMark also works fine if that is what you have on hand. you need 2 brushes: one fluffy and one that will give you good detail for painting. if you aren't into stamping, you can use the powders for painting. use them like paint. combine them with water and then paint like you would with watercolour paint.  if you want colour, you can add colour with your ink pad. the sets of 4 are a great bargain because they include both brushes and the ink pad. 

here is one of my favourite videos from 2Peas in a Bucket:



a great video.

you can make your own mist with water and perfect pearl powders. you will get a shimmer...but not a background colour. you could combine powders to get a unique pearl. if you want  background colour, you can add some re-inker to the mist. now, there is another option on the market. PERFECT PEARL MIST. these don't have colour, just the pearl finish. if you love to ink with Distress Inks you will know that they are water based and will react when you add water. the bonus to the pre-mixed version is that they have something in the mist that will not react with the distress inks. which is great if you want a shimmer but don't want to get the water effect you would with the homemade mist. (so far, i have not had any issues with this product clogging.

last week i hosted a make and take tag at Urban Scrapbook where we looked at 5 techniques at using Perfect Pearls. i had a simple tag version, and a more detailed version. i also typed up the techniques so that  our customers could also add that to the back of the tag. this way it was a quick reference that reviewed what techniques they learned.

here are the tags:







tough to photograph the shimmer!

the scalloped circle was punched out of a dark brown cardstock. we inked the entire die cut into versa mark ink. then we used a fluffy brush to BRUSH the loose powders onto it. next we inked an owl stamp with the same ink and stamped onto the pearls. when we lifted up the stamp, it removed the pearl powder with it!

the pumpkins and pointy leaves were done in a similar way. we stamped the images onto plain cardstock using the same ink. then we brushed the loose pearl powders over it. the powders only stuck to the inked portion.

in both instances, we misted the papers with plain tap water to bind the pearls to the paper.

we also did some painting with the pearls and inks. rub an ink pad over your non-stick mat then spritz with water. sprinkle some perfect pearl powder and mix with your paintbrush.

the background was inked with distress inks and a blender tool with foam. also rubbing an ink pad over the non-stick mat, adding water and perfect pearls. take a background stamp and ink it up in the mixture, then stamp over the tag. the water will react with the ink background and kind of remove some colour. the pearls will rise to the top and kind of create an embossed look. this technique is very impressive in real life...but the photograph does not do it justice!

you could do something similar with cardstock, but the new Kraft Glassine Papers make this next technique amazing! crumple the glassine in your hands. brush dry perfect pearl powders over top. to finish it, heat with your heat tool for a few seconds. the waxy coating will warm and the powders will "sink" to the paper and become embedded within the wax.

not that it needed more shimmer...but i also spritzed it with the Perfect Pearl Mist in Copper.

i stamped "Thank You" with my black archival ink pad. the cool part is that the background is not completely hidden behind it.

Aidan was feeling left out one day. Kiara got to do science experiments with her dad, and he needed to find something else to do. yes, we are doing our best to raise little nerds!!! they love to do "research" and "experiments" with Daddy. i had to refine the tag, so i asked Aidan if he wanted to join me and make one of his own. following my instructions on technique and using the supplies i had on my desk, this is what he came up with.....



we had a lot of fun!


supplies like ink pads and unique embellishments - like perfect pearls - are pricier than paper. i used to avoid buying them. however i find i get more of an investment from these items. they work with many different brands and types of paper. i wish i could buy ALL the colours. however, slow is good too. ha!

a good start is some basic colours....any red, yellow, blue...start with those and you can create almost any colour! i was so surprised to get my supply list for a watercolour class i took many years ago. she asked for 2 of each primary colour....one warm and one cool. i think a white and black was also added. it really is amazing the variety of colours you can create with just a few as a base. and if you discover you use them a lot and want some specific colours....well, then you can budget for the ones you want. i think it is important to buy tools and supplies that we will actually use and use frequently! the only supply that makes me groan when i run out of it is adhesive!! the good thing about inks and pearls....a little goes a long way. it will be years before you will have to replace any of them. if you are using them in normal use, for yourself.

getting ready for back to school

already?!

it feels like summer just started.

it has been a good summer for all of us. we would all agree that it definitely improved once the summer weather kicked in. wearing jeans, socks and warm shirts was not our definition of summer. Aidan commented that the rain and cold was "not in the spirit of summer"! he cracks me up!!


a few weeks ago i was in the mood to try something new. of course i had just returned from Urban Scrapbook and was very inspired to try out the new products flying in and off the shelves. Jan had done a stunning layout (overnight!) with the new Pink Paislee Mistables.

i had Kiara's preschool photo from last year that had not been scrapbooked...so i thought it would be a great starting point. the purple in her shirt was the part that prevented me from putting it on a layout previously. purples are tough! i don't usually buy that colour paper to begin with. i love the natural colours more.

i grabbed a sheet of the new Tim Holtz Kraft Resist. thinking i would play off the browns. my safe zone. well. it did not work out well. i may chuck the sheet. for now i'm holding on to it....thinking i could use if for BEHIND other nice paper. sigh. it happens.

my confidence slightly shattered....i glanced at the beautiful Pink Paislee...and questioned if it was a good idea for me to try it today. i decided i had nothing to lose except the paper. again i started with brown inks. talk about blah! a little search through my mists....found a good purple from Shimmerz. then i had my "aha!" moment. i grabbed my LuminArt shimmering paint pots. once i had some purple paints it just fell into place. between those latter 2 products, the colours and design started to work for me.

i then created a "purple" layout. i was even able to make the purple match her shirt perfectly.



and that is the advantage to those plain boring sheets. you can customize them to whatever colour your inks and paints can dream up!

inks can be blended to create a new colour. a bit tricky, but it can be done. water helps.

paints can also be blended to create a new colour. or add more water to lighten the tone.

treat Glimmer Mists, Shimmerz, LuminArtes, etc like paint. shake and pour a small puddle on your non-stick mat or into a paint pallet. add water to lighten.

then grab a few cheap paintbrushes and play around. keep a paper towel handy too. even a scrap sheet of paper to test your colours. sometimes the colours will lighten or darken as they dry.....so get out your heat tool to speed it up.



i took a risk and was curious. i embossed a corner of the paper with my Texture Fades and vagabond. it really creases because it is so heavy. but....afterwards i added more ink. the embossing cracked some of the thick glossy areas....and allowed the ink to seep in. something different.



the mislabels chipboard letters are amazing!! see the sparkle? thank you LuminArte!! i used water and dabbed with the paper towel to keep the ink from being a solid colour on each letter. then i inked with dry ink to get the brown.


school is not in and this papermama learned a few lessons. i hope they will inspire you to try adding custom colours to your pages. it is amazing what a nice colour combination or great paper can do to take a difficult photo into something you enjoy looking at. when you just play around with inks and colours you learn more than you expected. sometimes you make mistakes. sometimes you surprise yourself. don't give up.

tag challenge #4

this was another great challenge:

    create a tag using only white paper.

here is my version of that challenge...



i used ink, embossing powder and perfect pearls to change the paper.

i stamped the background three times with embossing ink, then heat embossed it with clear powder.

then i used distress ink pads to colour the tag background. i kept them brown...antique linen, tea dye, vintage photo and then a bit of walnut stain.

i wanted it to be darker...so i got my water spritzer and distress stain (vintage photo) to darken the one corner and part of the edge.

since distress inks and stains react with water...i wanted to make it appear more aged. sprayed water into my palm with the mister...and dropped the water on my tag. none of the backgrounds looked alike! same techniques for each of them, same colours...but with the products i was using, you can't control or force them to behave the exact same way each time. i love that! it is one thing you just can't recreate digitally. (well, you could...it would just take longer!) once the inks were dry, i did wipe the embossed portion with a very slightly damp paper towel. i wanted the contrast of the white.

since the theme was sewing...i HAD to add stitching! i love the threads hanging off the ends.

for the dress form and ruler and flower....i used distress inks, keeping some of the white showing.

for the butterflies, i added some bundled sage ink to my non-stick mat. sprinkled a dab of perfect pearls in white beside it. then misted with water. i used my paintbrush to mix them together and painted it onto the butterflies.

i also used a popsicle stick to take some perfect pearls and add them to water in a mini mister. shook it up, then misted it over the entire tag. but you can't really see it that well in the photo.



the flower was a bit different. for starters i followed a tutorial by Natasha. she has excellent tutorials and amazing flower designs. i inked each petal first, then misted with perfect pearls in white. when they were dry, i formed my flower. i used spun sugar. it is a very subtle pink. for the inside of it, i also used barn door on the wrong side of the petals. when it was done i felt it needed more contrast, so i lightly edged the entire flower in the barn door colour.

i had actually coloured white lace to match the tag. then i saw an unused part of paper sitting on my desk...and had an idea. i rolled up the remainder of the measurement stamped section, inked and adhered it to the top of the tag. the lace was pretty, but i think this fit the challenge better.


one of the many lessons i have learned lately is to stamp more than just one image. whether it is the same stamp, or a different one. and don't be centred and neat about it! layer them. stamp off the page. don't worry about "missing" any part of it. i have found that i enjoyed the results of doing so.


since ink is one of the themes on this post....Tim Holtz posted a great video on his blog last week explaining the difference between REINKERS, DISTRESS INK PADS and DISTRESS STAINS. it may have just been a teaching video...but being Tim, he still managed to inspire creativity. after it was done i found myself looking forward to winter and his Christmas Tags. then i pinched myself and told me to appreciate today....and the lack of snow and hints of winter!! ha! although i am tempted to take a photo of the still-melting-pile-of-snow from the snow storage facility that is STILL melting and send it off to Tim and Mario. they will not believe it. yes, i am certain it will not melt until next summer. only in Canada. i am debating though. i want him to come back to Edmonton....what if i mess up our opportunity to get him here by scaring him?!! i simply cannot have that hanging over my head...

one more thing...

i totally forgot to mention that there was a little interview with me on the Urban Scrapbook blog yesterday. you can click here to read all about it! ha! maybe you will learn something new about me?

i guess i could write all about me here too. since it is MY blog... but! i think you will have enough of ME if you read the interview. sooo how about something other than me?! i'll make it good, don't worry.


i think i may have just crawled out from under a rock. i have been introduced (impersonally) to Wendy Vecchi of Studio 490 for the first time this year. she has had some amazing stamp sets for sale for awhile now. if you love inks, stamps and multi-media.....you will most definitely want to check out her blog.

in January my class focused on a technique using alcohol inks.

in March it focused on Color Wash.

in April it focused on Distress Stains.

those that have been reading for awhile, or have taken my classes are up to speed on what I know. which is a drop in the bucket compared to all the possibilities.

which is why i am always excited to see posts or learn other uses for some of my favourite inking products.

like now!



i love that Wendy Vecchi has some more samples and tutorials on her blog using these products. i thought i'd post the links here. one tip i learned was to NOT put alcohol ink into a mini mister. which i have done. uh oh. not sure if i'm relieved to know that i am not the only one who has tried it. i figured mixing it with water would be okay....and i made sure i pointed it to the paper....not good enough?

 {sample by Wendy Vecchi}

here is a fabulous post on alcohol inks and using them on different style papers. as well as other uses. for instance swiping the ranger snow cap pigment ink pad across a paper then applying the alcohol inks. i think i need this ink pad. it can do this?! wow.

 {sample by Wendy Vecchi}

i thought this was cool to see another step added to using distress stains. so simple that it makes us ask, "ok. why did i not ever try that?" thank goodness for talented people who are willing to share!

those are her recent posts. i am working on going back into her archived posts. she is now marketing a new product called Clearly for Art. {since January}

as well as some Art Parts. we have them at Urban now. they look so cool! you could use some of them separately on layouts and projects. or use a set to create your own unique art. if you hate how chipboard bends then you will love this alternative. i think they would be really amazing paired with some of those trinkets and such from Tim Holtz, 7Gypsies, Graphic 45 or Melissa Frances to name a few.


to end this post. i did manage to start and finish a project today. in an afternoon! it is a teacher gift 1 of a 100 {so it seems!}. i'll take photos tomorrow and share. back to see if i still have some crafting mojo left in me for today.....

catch this train!

the first time i learned about scrapbooking, i learned about decorative edged scissors. yes. my favourite to this day is the 'deckle edge'. looks just like the edge on the vintage photographs. it was so long ago that they had scissors designed to cut corners. i haven't seen them on store shelves for years. my guess is that they have been replaced by punches. my set of scissors were finicky. the corner punches definitely are a better quality product. those one of a kind scissors are in storage somewhere. you can see how often i use them!

when i first started to make scrapbook pages i added the small corner punch to my tool box. it really is time to replace it because i've used it so much! i do remember seeing the decorative corner edgers on the shelves but the designs were so far from my taste. i liked simple.

my love affair with border punches began almost as soon as i knew what they were. my first one was Threading Water by Fiskars. i still love it! i got super lucky one day and found an embossing/edge punch in a clearance bin at Superstore for $3. i don't use it as much, but i couldn't pass up that deal! it is more intricate and flowery....not simple. i love the punches by EKSuccess. they also take up very little space in the drawer in my desk. my most recent purchase was the Upper Crust punch by Fiskars. very simple. very trendy right now. it gets used a lot. i also could not live without my notebook edge punch. mine was purchased many years ago from Stampin'Up. it is the size of a regular punch, but can go along an edge to create a decorative border. it was one of those orders from a season catalogue. they sell a new version of it, and it resembles the ones you can find on store shelves. EKSuccess and Fiskars have a few now that are awesome.

but my love affair with punch-around-the-page began last Christmas. they drive me crazy. they are addicting. when they are on sale, or if i have a coupon....they are kryptonite! i can't pick my favourite. however, i seem to have a lot that have some sort of loop or scallop. if you see me with another punch in my hands....could you just ask me if i really need to have it...help! one drawback is that your paper needs to be a specific size in order for them to work properly. i use them to make photo frames, so the measurements 5 x 6 3/4 inches work well. they also work well on your standard greeting card. as well as a border on a 12x12 layout. sometimes i think i have the right measurement....then realize i don't. thus i have saved time and know exactly where to place that flower or sticker! ha!!

and now there are punches that can give you a lovely decorative strip. at first they made me look, but i walked right by. until i saw an adorable layout by Christine Middlecamp. sigh. yes, i bought it.

i would hate to be on the same train all by myself.

here are some great videos i've come across this week. as well as some new ideas on using punches.


using 3 different edge/border punches:



using the Punch Around the Page (you can find this on the Martha Stewart website too):


this idea has been around for awhile...using your simple corner rounder to make scalloped edges:


how about using the same punch to make flowers?



how about a new use for your corner punches? using your corner punches on a CIRCLE shape:


and another method to use your corner punches on a circle: click here (no video, pictures only)


i have tried this. not that i have measured or anything, but i have not had the ends meet up accurately. again, a good spot for a flower or button?!


how about using your edge punches to go all around the page? it can be done!


i do remember watching another video tutorial. but now i can't find it!

in honor of American Thanksgiving....here is a cute tutorial using shape punches to make a turkey. great inspiration!



i sure wouldn't recommend to most people getting started in scrapbooking to buy all the tools at once. if only all of our bank accounts could handle that!

when i started i bought:
-- a craft knife (with replacement blades)
-- a good ruler (LOVE the B-1M by C-Thru Ruler and this one by Tim Holtz)
-- a craft mat (self healing)....so many companies sell this and in various colours too! it does not have to be 12x12, as long as you have one width that is 12 inches you will be good.
-- glue sticks are what we all used in the beginning. they are great! as i started to create more projects i found double-sided adhesive tape runners were more practical for me. at this point i have a favourite glue for adding extra embellishments to a page! (i'll share that list another day. but depending who you ask, we all have our own favourites. mine is the best for me, but not for everyone.)
-- good paper scissors. something to help you cut small flowers or branches, etc. and ribbon
-- black journaling marker. i still have my ZIG marker from 1996. and it still works as great as the day i bought it. i use the American Crafts slick writers for writing on slippery surfaces, like photos.
-- paper for the project you are working on. however i buy a huge pack of 200+ sheets of 81/2 x 11 white cardstock at Staples. great for card backgrounds. printing.

the other thing i would recommend is buying a new tool for the project you are working on. this way you know you will use it. it also helps to add to your inventory without breaking the bank. for example i bought a snowflake punch the year i used it on our christmas cards. it is also the tool that gets lent out the most too!

one year i borrowed a friends' straight edge punch. when you make 40 cards, and have about 3 layers of mats...well it sure saved time. the next time i saw one on sale, i bought it. get one that will cut a 12 inch sheet of cardstock. you will not regret it, even if all you make are cards.

many of us trade and share our supplies with each other. it provides a great opportunity to try new tools and see what we like. or what likes us!

i also took classes. i did learn how to use markers and blending pens to lighten colours. learned what ink pad should be used for what purpose. experience is a great teacher, but sometimes it is just more fun to learn from someone who knows what they are talking about!! the first time i used alcohol inks was in a class. at the time i thought it was a lot of money...probably a $45 mini album. however i got to play with the products after having the instructor give us her tips. in the end i knew what colours of inks i wanted to start with (bought 3 colours....now 4 years later i have almost a dozen colours....far cry from how many are available!). i also learned some tips on where i could save some money. today, that album is still one of my favourites. i could have googled and searched for videos (that works too) but sometimes it is just more valuable to learn from the instructor and the students around you. did i mention that classes are fun and enjoyable?

above all....ask questions! i think most people who are passionate about scrapbooking or cardmaking will be ready to share all kinds of tips and advice. if you see a technique or design that you can't get out of your mind, ask how the designer did it. we all love having our work admired! doesn't matter if it is the 5th project you created, or if you are a design team member of Pink Paislee (who wouldn't want to be on that team...yum!).

at some point i bought that first border punch and used it all the time. slowly i added to my collection. whether it was points or a gift card or birthday money or coupon. at some point we all have tools we rather regret. like my Big Bite. yes, i have used it. i've been able to share it. but, really, it has not received the use my crop-a-dile or paper punches have. it doesn't mean it is not a great tool. just not something that is useful for me and what i create. sometimes you just don't know until you try it.

i was just reading this week that Christine Middlecamp does not yet own a die-cutting machine. would you believe that surprised me? she does amazing work and is one of those "most-wanted" by companies. (in my opinion! i'm sure Christine loves to hear people say that about her!!) anyways it just goes to prove that you don't have to own every tool in order to be good.

you know i just realized i could have saved me and you some time. all i really needed to say was:
don't buy it all at once. start with the basics. then buy what you like/admire to create what you like/admire!

amen!

have a super weekend....yay! no more -100C temperatures!!

vacation memory

i decided that the next monthly layout class will be centred around something summery. as i strolled along the aisles i looked for the paper that would "grab" me. be wary of shopping in scrapbook stores. the paper and all the other goodies don't have boundaries!! ha!

as i searched i came up with a lovely blue. then it all came together. beach and travel was the theme that the paper spoke of.

Pat suggested that sand dollars and seashells would be a nice touch. or did the seashell suggestion come from me? i love brainstorming with her!

when i went to my files to look for photos that would work i made a very sad discovery. i had NO beach photos. in fact i had not taken the kids to a beach for 2 years. when i think of the last 2 years and all the busy-ness that was going on, it makes complete sense. however....SO SAD!!




this is not my class layout. but pretty similar. just testing out stuff on my own stash before i started on the REAL layout!

journaling reads (i know i even added journaling! how novel of me): "...the closest we came to a beach that summer....Bow Falls and Lake Minnewanka....we will be sure to change that in 2010!"

the patterned papers are from October Afternoon. i think the Thrift Shop collection has been my favourite one of the year. little bits of it are showing up on lots of my layouts these days!



the sand dollar is a die cut from Urban Scrapbook.

the mustard yellow flower is Prima. it is sold flat looking. it has been in my stash for a few years now. i added some glimmer mist, scrunched it up and then set it with my heat gun. i definitely prefer it all fluffy!

the little brown flower began as a white "innoscence" Prima flower. glimmer mist and alcohol ink changed it in a major way.

the butterflies. well. they just belonged. i really love butterflies on summery layouts. they are so hot right now. i used some liquid pearls for their bodies. doubled them up....gluing the bottom butterfly on the paper completely. then gluing only the centre of the top butterfly. i've seen that effect on several layout right now. love it, which is why i did it here!



thank goodness for foam pop dots!



and the microbeads came back again. this time i pre-tinted them. it was a mixture of sprayed with glimmer mist and some were inked with alcohol inks. then i mixed them together. lay them on some paper towel...then mist. or drop with the inks. as they dry, they stick together. once they are all dry they will separate again. i picked up some little plastic containers that hold them securely. i shake the container and that separates them all completely. it is a time consuming process, but worth the effect you can achieve. you can see the variance in colour intensities  of the beads. love that!



i am pretty sure i saw a layout or project that included a pearl inside a shell. could have been an advertisement too. diamond glaze kept the pearl in place without making the glue majorly visible.

origami flower

so the secret is out. i love flowers. i am drawn and captivated by flower making tutorials. i'm excited when i am using the "right" paper or materials to include one of my new faves on a layout!

a few Christmas' ago i came across a really cool flower globe on the blog 'a daily inspiration'. {i am very sad that it is no longer updated....there were so many cool ideas and techniques here} i made my version that same Christmas and it looks even better with the colours in our new home.

it's funny because the same flower folding has shown up in a few areas recently. Godrun Lennecken shared a bouquet she made using them. {i had forgotten that she shared her own tutorial and even linked back to the tutorial she used....found both just now. never mind the time i spent doing my own photos! oops!!}

then i saw the same flowers on a card or layout. for the life of me i can't remember what paper or who it was who made it. anyways, i simply had not thought of using them on a layout. i was inspired.




this is what i came up with!

my only problem was that the flowers were just a bit too high for the page.

so i changed up the design slightly.



this is the side view of a finished flower.

each petal is made individually. each flower is made of 5 petals.

if you were to make the globe, you would need 12 flowers. yes, that is 72 petals. a lot of work, but totally worth the effort.


here is my version of the instructions!



start with a perfect square.

{tip: the first time i made these i used a 4 inch square. i would totally recommend starting with a larger size. the smaller the square, the more tricky it can be. the larger the square, the larger the finished flower.}



fold your square in half, on the diagonal.



fold one outside corner up to the middle corner.



do the same with the other outside corner. now you are back to the square shape, just smaller.



fold back the fold in half. the edges should line up evenly. it is hard to see that in the photo because the paper springs back! the edges will match, but you will have the corner sticking out.



do this with both sides. to me it almost looks like a frog at this stage.



Godrun (step5) has a great photo of this. you are going to reverse one of the fold lines on those corner folds. the inside fold stays the same, the middle fold will be flattened, and the outside fold is reversed. this is what it looks like AFTER you redid your folding.



at this point, you are going to fold back the tips. here is the view from one angle....



....and the other angle. can you see through my blur? must work on that focus!!



at this point you will refold that section of paper one last time. fold along that middle line. in my photo, it looks like i unfolded it, but it just sprang apart when i let go to take the photo. the next step involves glue, so those folds won't come apart!



if i were to continue to make it like the globe flower, or for a bouquet then i would add my glue at this point. you can see the large fold line on the right side? that centre fold is the place where the petal is glued together.

here is where i changed it up a bit.



the first flower i made i cut the tip off after it was folded and glued. what a pain! it had to be re-glued. and it was tough to get my scissors and craft knife blade through all that thick paper. although it would have been fun for someone to watch me struggle!

my tip is to cut off the bottom tip BEFORE you glue. and don't cut a straight line. give it a slight curve. the curve will go away from the tip, and towards the middle.



i also found those little binder clips very handy! you'll see. just a dab of quick drying glue. this is the same spot you would put the glue if you weren't cutting off the tip.

{yes, hot glue would work. but i am not so skilled at keeping myself from getting burnt! so cold glue it is for me.}



use the binder clip to squeeze the edges together. you could hold this with your fingers too. it takes my glue about 3 minutes to set nicely, so the clips allow me to move to the next flower. i find 2 clips is about all i need. by the time the 3rd petal is needing the clip, the 1st has dried.



once it is set, this is how it looks. this is one of the five petals you will need. use the same size square for all 5 of the petals.



just add some glue in between the petals. glue two of them together at a time. then add the 3rd petal to one of the pairs. when that glue has set, glue all 5 of them together.



to keep the bulk down, i also curled the petal tips downwards slightly. a bamboo skewer works really nicely for that.

for this flower, i added some ink to the edges.



here is the side view.

you can see the slightly curled tips better.

when you adhere them to your layout, a few glue dots should hold them. again, the glue gun would also work nicely.


on the above layout, i used a square punch to get all the squares cut to 1 1/2 inch.


the patterned paper had some flowers that looked very similar to the ones i made. they also had stamens in the centre. i decided to add my own!



i had these pearl strands in my stash from an old shopping trip at WalMart. i think they were meant for bouquets or cakes. there were 4 of the strands in a bunch.



i cut them so that they kind of looked like pearl lollipops.




if i want to change the colour of anything, i use some alcohol inks. i've also been doing some experimenting with ink mists too. this was the SilverFoil SMOOCHspritz. some ink pads work well too.

and i just realized that i forgot to take photos of the fully completed flowers with their stamens! i set the flower down on my splat mat. it is like the silicon baking sheets. EVERYTHING comes off of it. i squeezed a good portion of my quick drying glue in the centre of the flower, and poked the stamens (6 in each flower) right into the middle. my glue dries clear. due to the large portion of glue, it does take about an hour to dry. do all your flowers at once and set them aside to dry. again, hot glue could work. like i mentioned earlier, hot glue and small areas and me do not do well. old fashioned is the way for me!





here is that view again. for these flowers i used a green ink to colour them.


while i waited for my glue to dry, i thought of a new flower.

if my glue had fumes i would blame it on that. can't go with that excuse. can't use boredom either. normally i don't care much about using scraps. honestly, the scraps go to my kids. i have enough paper that once i use some of it on a layout or project them i'm ready to move on to the next sheet!

i noticed that the little tips that i cut off my flowers sort of formed their own little flowers. maybe it was the pile of them on the corner of my mat.



i glued the edges to each other like this.



and this was the finished flower.

not breathtaking. but different. and simple.


now, go create!!