Monday, August 27, 2012

Ombre-a-Pom-Pom

If you were looking for this post earlier, I apologize.  We had some server problems last night into this morning and it must have delayed my posting.  Thanks for coming back!

 It is inspiration week at Hand Stamped Sentiments, and I'm not going to lie...I was stumped.



My head literally spun.  I thought about doing flowers because the photo looks like puffy flowers, then I thought about doing a Halloween page of my daughter in a cheerleading outfit....I know big time cheating.  Instead I headed to my place of all things inspiration---Pinterest--and found a little tutorial to make your own pom poms.  I was off and running with an idea.  Have you heard how "ombre" is the newest "it" thing in crafting.  It's a gradual change of color and I've seen some really great layouts lately using this term, technique, I'm not sure what you would call it.  Anyways, here is my layout.. I'll explain more on the other side:

When I was looking for a single photo last week, I found this one also.  I just didn't think it was herringbone appropriate.  You can see how I used my circle punch to mimic the pom poms I create and also the ombre of the pink tones. 

Here is a photo of the pom poms in progress:


I wrapped white yarn around my finger about 50 times and then cut a smaller piece and fished it through the hole my finger created and tied a knot.  Then you cut the loop and I separated my yarn with my paper piercer and it will look like the bottom pom pom.  From there you start trimming it down to the size you want.  I then rubbed the two In Color pom poms in the corner of my ink pad.  I don't have the reinkers for those and I wasn't sure I wanted yarn fuzz all over my ink pad.

I popped up some circles with dimensionals, a side view:

I can't wait to see what the other members of the design team came up with...and if they scratched their heads also or if it was just me over thinking...  Head over yourself and find out!

Friday, August 24, 2012

DONE!

Does a scrapper ever say that?  Well, I'm celebrating completion of all the school photos.  I had Linnea's second year of preschool and her second grade photos to scrap and I finished them this morning.  Take a look:

This one is alright.  I again had a 12 X 12 sheet with these cute little cards and proceeded to cut them apart.  It was from Creative Imaginations and I'm not sure how long it's been in my stash.  I added some retired Melon Mambo ribbon and some retired chipboard letters. 

Next up second grade:

I love this picture!  I think back of my second grade photo and I hold a lot of jealousy.  Our neighbor had given us this curling iron after I had complained that their hair never held a curl.  It was super cute!  I strayed away from the "school" look and went for cute.  Hexagons are everywhere in the craft world right now and I found one using my electronic die cutting machine.  I used various patterns of Wisteria Wonder.  I heat embossed the "second" letters from the Letter It set, and added some flags and ribbon loops.  The bow in the corner is made from a piece of the Flirtatious fabric. 

The page has lots of dimension:

I realize that her first grade layout and Kendall's first year of Preschool are in their books, I'll have to share them some day soon to prove I'm really done :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

twelve days...

twelve days until both girls will be in school.  my baby will be a kindergartener.  where has time gone?  with school starting just in a mere twelve days, I put together some school layouts.  These are all of my oldest, but span time....yep, always behind.

Here is her first year of preschool...and in twelve days she'll be a third grader.  The number accents are from a 12 X 12 I found at a scrap store.  I loved it, and I have many extras to use on other pages.  I stapled on a piece of Summer Starfruit and Gumball Green ribbon.  For the letters I used the Typeset Alphabet and some found chipboard material.  I then added some polka dots using a retired stamp, Tangerine Tango craft ink, and clear Embossing Powder.

This is her Kindergarten class photo.  She is so darn photogenic!  The background is a sheet from the Storytime DSP.  The retired chipboard letters were "squished" on my Pretty in Pink ink pad, the color was very muted but worked perfect with her headband.  I wanted them to be shiny so I added some Crystal Effects.  The corner number is also from this DSP and I added a little apple from the Perfectly Preserved stamp set and coordinating framelits.

And finally this is her and her teacher on the last day of school last year.  I loved this report card that can also be found in the Storytime DSP, and knew it was perfect for this photo.  Linnea really became aware of grades this year....and her teacher was very in tune with this.  I found the notebook paper in my (huge) stash and it worked perfect with his shirt.  I added some journalling about the year, and in walked Linnea in my room.  She asked if she could fill out the report card and I jumped at it!--what a great way to see her handwriting in her book.  The A+ is from the "candy wrapper" set, sorry the name escapes me.

Thanks for stopping by and here's to a great upcoming school year!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

So Much to Adore

It's technique week at Hand Stamped Sentiments and sometimes those are the ones that scare me most...but not this one!  I am enamored by this one, and I know I'll use it again.  It's all about the herringbone pattern.



I admit I went looking for some help over at Splitcoast Stampers and found what they call Herringbone.  It's a little different than what I had envisioned, but I went with it and adore my final page.  Take a look:

Can it get any more fun than this!?!?  I knew with this pattern I wanted to use a single photo, so the technique could really shine. ...but I take a ton of photos and I want to scrap it all so finding a one photo moment was tough.  I found this one of my youngest taken in March on what she called "Wacky Wednesday."

Let's talk background shall we.  First, dear Stampin' Up I am in dire need of the new Trimmer, some of my "straight and square" cuts are terrible.  My strips were supposed to be 3/8".  Second, when I started pulling colors out of the photo, the paper patterns were really starting to make me dizzy, so I settled on all polka dot paper.  The Peach and Pink Pirouette are retired papers. 

I then was left with this photo that had tons of white space and really didn't know where I wanted to journal...and it's a good story, so journalling was a must.  Then the lightbulb came on--out came my Sharpie (doesn't smudge) and I journaled on the photo.  ...Then I wasn't balanced, so out came some ribbon in the coordinating colors and I tied some knots onto the photo.  The mustache on the label is from the set A Fitting Occasion, and really a large reason why I bought the set.  I had first put it on a flag to put in the top knot, but didn't like it.  Really the only thing I don't "adore" is that I wish I would have stamped it in orange.  I must be a true scrapper, always thinking about what I would have done different after a page is complete.

So there.  A page and technique that I really, really adore!  Hop on over to see what the rest of the team has created.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Banner, Buttons, Bows, and Boo's

I finally got around to scrapping last year's Halloween photos.  They are basically the same pages for each girl.  Take a look:


I know, a little crazy to have three pages to put in each of their books, but someday I know I won't have nearly as much to scrap.  :(  I love the arrow craze so I used my photo corner punch to recreate the look.  The Kraft Halloween paper is non Stampin' Up, but I loved it. 

Thanks for stopping and looking!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Vintage?...

It's vintage week at Hand Stamped Sentiments....and I'm not going to lie, this is a weakness.



I had this great idea to make my photos look old, you know grainy and yellow.  I'm not a Photoshop expert but my husband has a friend who just so happens to teach Photoshop and Photography.  When I called him to ask if he would play with my photos, I said "Make them look like my mom's old 1970 photos."....then I realized what I had said.  I celebrated my 35th birthday last week, and by no means do I consider myself "vintage."  So here is what I came up with with my altered photos:

The first thing you'll probably notice is I didn't use a lot of Stampin' Up stuff.  I had a couple of gifts sitting on my desk I thought I'd play with.  The letter stickers are pretty cool though...they come in white and you can rub ink on them to make them whatever color you like. 

Second...I did it, I finally used Summer Starfruit.  Over time, I think it will grow on me and it worked perfect for my "old" photos...which by the way my dear husband was confused to why I would make lovely pictures taken with a very nice camera old and worn looking.   I stuck some crochet trim behind the photos, some pearls on for punctuation, and a vintage button on ...because it's 'vintage.'

I can't wait to see if the other designers had better luck.  If vintage is your thing, I'd love for you to play along with us so I can check out your work!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Simple yet Forever

You would never believe how long this layout took, so at the risk of embarrassing myself I won't tell.  Take a look:

Hours. I had other layers planned, but I just didn't like it when I started constructing.  So I ended up with a really simple layout, that in the end I like, and a lot of scraps on my desk.

This paper is from the Storytime DSP and I love it.  I was upset when Stampin' Up took my school stuff away, but at least they gave me some great paper.  Even the cute little ABC and ruler details are cut from the paper.  I did use retired dies for the title, only because I liked this size better for the page.  They are Early Espresso though they look black. :/

Here's a closer view of the corner.  I embossed the strip of Pool Party with my Chevron folder and added little strip of the new ribbon. 

I can't believe she'll start Kindergarten right after Labor Day.  How can my baby be so old already?!?!  I'm linking up with the Paper Players.  Thanks ladies for the spur to get last years pictures scrapped before this years are taken....always a bonus for me.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Eight in Midnight Muse

It's all about the new In Colors this week at Hand Stamped Sentiments.


Now if you read one of my posts last week, you'll know that this is only the second time I've used these colors.  I'm just not sure about them yet, and knowing me I'll fall in love with them about 4 months before they are gone, dare I mention Poppy Parade.  But anyways, I found some pictures of my Linnea taken this last April when she turned eight and used Midnight Muse combined with Soft Suede.  Take a look at my double layout:

I found a sketch over on Pinterest and made it a double layout, not sure if I like it or not, but it's more pages in her book :)

Here's the right side:

The layer of (what appears to be solid) Soft Suede is a long ago retired piece of DSP.  The remaining patterns are all from Comfort Cafe.  The Eight is cut from the Typeset Alphabet using chipboard and then the tweed looking DSP from this pack. 

Onto the left side:

I also used a strip of the ribbon on each side, just to give it some more texture.  I love a photo corner and added some trinkets to each one.

Here's a closer view of the bottom detail:

I never journal on these pages, however I finally purchased this set called Family Reunion.  Not sure what took me so long, but I made a few flags to describer her.  After stamping, I cut down the new cotton ribbon and attached them to a wooden skewer.

I have to make myself to use these colors, I really love this blue after playing with it.  Now head over and see what colors that crazy-talented design team have used!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Softball Memory Mate

Now if your mom is not a scrapbooker, you have these sitting in your room maybe on a dresser.  My kids just know mom takes them and they get "gussied" up.  Here is L's softball memory mate:

The photo of the bats worked perfectly with (my favorite neutral) Sahara Sand.  I layered that onto Basic Black to make it stand out even more.  I wanted to include the names of the girls on the team, but didn't have much room....that's where a hidden pocket come in.  If you pull the ribbon, out comes the names.  I used the Apothecary Accent Framelits to back the list of names.  I used the new Silver pen to write the group and year on.  LOVE that I remembered I had that, and it worked perfect with the silver accent around the photos. 

Here's how I did the title: I cut chipboard using the Alphabet Typeset dies and then used my Real Red craft ink to color them.  Once dry, I then applied a layer of Crystal Effects on them.  They are super shiny and you'll always have the letter you need.  For the softball I cut out the O and then traced it.  I started with Daffodil Delight card stock and then pierced holes to stitch it.  I dyed my Bakers Twine using my Real Red reinker and Rubbing Alcohol.  After stitching it, I decided to carefully use my Daffodil marker and color it also.

I'm linking this up to Create with Connie and Mary, a challenge site that I haven't played with in quite some time.  I just happened to use this week's colors....love it when that happens.

2012 Create Challenges-028
Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Colour Q Thank You

My all time favorite color challenge blog is Colour Q.  Week after week, they come up with inspiring color challenges.  Some I scratch my head at, others (like this one) drive me straight to the craft room.  I love this week's colors.



I needed a thank you card and saw this sketch on Pinterest, so I combined them and BAM, just like that I had a great card to give in a shorter time than standing at the box store looking for a card.  Take a look:


I used the emboss resist technique.  This is where you heat emboss with clear emboss powder and sponge over the embossing. I added some Lime Bakers Twine just because I think a card is never done without some ribbon, or in this case string.

Thanks for looking.  If you would like to make your own cards and at the same time learn new techniques, contact me about my (soon starting) stamp club!