be happy **Just Imagine & Birds of a Feather**

I am doing a secret sister gift exchange this month with my mommy group and I wanted to make a special card for her as her last gift and reveal of who I am, so with that in mind I wanted to make something special.

I used tons of layers from the wonderful Birds of a Feather March Kit, along with some great die cuts and the wonderful 4 in 1 Kreaxions punch 311 from Just Imagine.  I really loved the colors of the March kit, especially the mint and grey, so I used only those colors along with the white - and TONS of layers!!

I made a trifold card.  It is pretty easy, I just took the cardstock, cut it down to 6 x 8, and folded over two of the sides, but not perfectly to get the fold over flap idea.

I then lined the inside of the card with two different colors of cardstock, leaving bits of the pattern showing through.

I used the corner punch insert C for the corners of the top fold of the card and backed it with mint colored cardstock so it popped through the grey card I punched through.  I then placed a small silver brad in the center of the punch out space as seen below.

For the center punched cirect I first cut a circle measuring 8 cm by using the stencil and AWESOME circle cutter.  I then used the 8 cm large inserts with same punch 311 to create a doily with the punch - so versatile!!

Supplies Used
Cardstock - Birds of a Feather March Kit - Bazzill
Patterned paper -  Birds of a Feather March Kit - Basic Grey
Flower - Birds of a Feather March Kit - Petaloo
Acrylic - Birds of a Feather March Kit - Basic Grey
Stickers - Birds of a Feather March Kit - Basic Grey
Ribbon -  Birds of a Feather March Kit - American Crafts
Punch - Kreaxions - Just Imagine
Brads - Recollections
Diecut - Heartfelt Creations
Ink - Prima
Cheesecloth

Enjoy!!

my kids ***Just Imagine & Birds of a Feather Kit***

I took this picture right before my we went on our family vacation last summer - turned out to be more of a house hunting trip as 5 months later we had moved to where we vacationed.  I dressed all three kids in the same outfit, a yellow shirt from Canada from Grandma Elaine with orange shorts.  Probably one of the only times I will dress them so alike, so I had to take a picture of it - and low and behold they all smiled and were looking at the camera (Morgan 7, Brandon 3, Catherine 10 months).  A great start to our vacation.

Here I used Kreations punch 923 with insert A to created a border punch from Just Imagine Crafts.  I used it along the top and the bottom of the layout and backed the grey paper behind it so it shows a pop of color under the punch.

I also used the punch along the top side of the brown paper just above the picture for even more texture and dimension.  This punch is so versatile and fits any gender - not to girly or boyish, just a great geometric shape.

Here I played with the stencil from the March kit from Birds of a Feather Kit Co.  I traced the lines of the stencil with a black marker and used it for a journal tag.  I also used the acrylic parts from the kit that I had used alcohol ink on in my technique Tuesday seen below and added cardstock behind it and added a wood piece on top.

I love this little acrylic photo elements from Basic Grey in our March kit, they are just too cute!!  Sometimes I want to change the color or look of items, it just does not "fit" with the page or project I am working on.  Acrylic does not take color like paper or chipboard, so mists and most inks will not work on them, they just rub off, so this is where alcohol inks come into play.

Acrylic and Alcohol Ink Technique

1) Supplies - BG acrylic items, alcohol ink in color of your choice (I choose brown), small piece of felt.

2) Place a couple of drops - do not add to much a little goes a long way- on the acrylic.

3) Use your felt to smear it around, you can dab it, wipe it, just don't over do it or you will wipe it all off.

4) You can repeat steps 2 and 3 with another color for a complex look, or leave it a single color.
 

5) Enjoy your new color of acrylic!!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock - Birds of a Feather Kit - Bazzill
Patterned paper - Birds of a Feather Kit- Basic Grey and Bazzill
Wood - Birds of a Feather Kit - Freckled Fawn
Stencil - Birds of a Feather Kit - TCW
Acrylic - Birds of a Feather Kit - Basic Grey
Stickers (grey) - Birds of a Feather Kit - Basic Grey
Punch - Kreations
Ink/paint - Ranger
Pen - Faber Castell
Alpha letters (brown) - Thickers
 

Enjoy!!

right now - ATC **Just Imaginations & Birds of a Feather Kit**

Somethings I like to try a new thing, so doing an ATC is great - an added bonus is I can use it for a pocket page.  I tried out my new supplies from the March kit from Birds of a Feather Kit Co. and also my new Kreations punch from Just Imagine Crafts.

I wanted to try out my new Kreations punch I have and try us it in a variety of ways, as a punch as a border punch, and also as a stencil for molding paste.

I also had fun with my March kit from Birds of a Feather Kit Co.  It is loaded with tons of wonderful items.  I had to try out the awesome TCW stencil/mask "right now".  I used it on top of the layers of papers from the kit with molding paste and distress inks from Ranger and topped it off with the great Perfect Pearls mist from the march kit. 

Supplies Used
Papers - Birds of a Feather Kit - Bazzill
Mask - Birds of a Feather Kit - TCW
Wood - Birds of a Feather Kit - Freckled Fawn
Mist -  Birds of a Feather Kit - Ranger
Punch - Kreations
Ink - Ranger
Molding Paste - Liquitex

Enjoy!!

Love you - Card **Susan K. Weckesser**

I recently took Susan K. Weckesser's class Silent Night Christmas Card Folder from The Art Studio @ SNR (you can keep the file on your computer once bought).  In the class she gave me tons of great ideas two of which I used two on this card  - making my own background and doodling.

 

For this card I used a paper bag and modge podge to create the background, plus a few tips from Susan's class on how to make it pop and make it feel "worn".  I also used her stamp "Motherhood is a Verb"as part of the background in black ink.

Here you can see the full background of the card using her tips of doodling and making it look worn before I added all the embellishments.

A close up of the her wonderful stamp "Motherhood is a verb" image and embellishments I used on the card.  Here you can also see a couple of strips of the great paper that Susan K. Weckesser has designed.  I used the cream with the brown lines on it as vertical and horizontal strips.

I always love to find new fun ideas to create projects - check out the class to and get some great tips from Susan!!

Supplies Used
Paper bag
Patterned Paper - Susan K. Weckesser
Stamp - Susan K. Weckesser
ribbon - other
Ink - Ranger
Mediums/mists - Plaid
Doily - Recollections
Flowers and leaves - Prima
Chipboard diecut - Pink Paislee
Sticker - Prima
Bling - Prima
Pen - Faber Castell

 Enjoy!!

Wedding Box **Paper House** Blog Hop

This weekend, we're hosting a Wedding Blog Hop with our Spring Design Team! We challenged them to come up with their best wedding projects using our new "To Have & To Hold" Collection, and we were simply blown away with what they came up with!

We can't wait to share all their projects with you. To celebrate the hop, we're giving away an extra special "Wedding Mega Collection" that includes a gorgeous Paper Pad, our best Bridal 3D Stickers, Chalkboard Stickers, and even new Canvas Stickers (plus much more! Valued at over $60, you'll definitely want to enter to win this great prize!
 


There's a few ways to enter - the first two are freebies by liking us on Facebook and signing up to receive Facebook notifications from us (we don't want you to miss any of our great project posts!). But the big entry comes from commenting on each of our designers' posts! If you do (and there's only 8 to hop through), you'll get +10 entries into our drawing! That sounds like a deal!

Wedding Blog Hop Designers

Giorgia Rossini

Bev Code

Kim Kendell

Susie Bentz

Christine Meyer

Erin Reed - ME

Larissa Heskett - NEXT

Irit Shalom 

Make sure to hop through each designer down the list to be eligible for the most entries! When you're done, just hop back here and let us know! The hop will be running all weekend, so you have until Sunday at 11:59pm EST to get  your entries in!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here is my take on "To Have and To Hold" collection

Weddings are so special and for a wedding present given to the new couple, as a special gift the bride can give to her groom, parents, wedding party, or as the wedding favor given to guests something handmade and from the heart always is appreciated.  I made this box as a gift that could be given to anyone during a wedding event.  It could hold a gift card, a small present like jewelry, plane tickets, or any other wonderful gifts given to someone during a wedding.

 

I created a box using 12x12 black cardstock and 8x8 white cardstock with the following template and dimensions.  I used my 3M tape runner to hold the box together, but red line sticky tape would work great too.  Make sure you use thick card stock so the box is sturdy, thin paper does not make a good box.

Base of the box: Black Cardstock

Size of paper - 10-1/2" x 10-1/2" 

Score and cut 3-1/4" according to template

Lid of Box: White Cardstock

Size of paper - 6-1/8" x 6-1/8"

Score and cut at 1" according to template.

I used the wonderful paper line "To Have & to Hold" by Paper House Production on my box.  I cut out 3 tags all about 3 inches in width from the tag paper and adhered them to the sides of the base of the box.  I then added one sticker to the 4th side from the sticker sheet.

For the lid of the box I used card stock in shades of grey, black, white and used a edge punch to create the lacy pattern.  I layered the top starting at the bottom with black, grey, white, and then black cardstock.  I finished it with 3 Prima flowers, a sticker from Paper House "To Have & to Hold" sticker sheet, and some black crystal and white crystal stickles.

For the sides of the lid I layered two different tones of grey cardstock punched the the same edge punch and layered on top of some silver washi tape I put on the edge of the lid, same color of stickles added along the sides.  I also used the same silver washi tape along the top edge of the base of the box to give them a clean edge. 

Creating a hand made item for a friend, especially for a wedding is something people treasure and love.  Weddings are moments to remember, and this box is sure to hold many memories for year to come.

Supplies Used

Cardstock: Core'dinations

Patterned Paper: Paper House

Stickers: Paper House

Flowers: Prima

Stickles: Ranger

Punch: Martha Stewart

Enjoy!!

Off the Rails Scrapbooking Blog Hop!!

Hey everyone - Off the Rails is having their first Blog hop - and along the way you can find some wonderful prizes!!  Some prizes come from the main blog and some come from individuals - so make sure you check everyone out!!

The Rules to Qualify for the Prize

1. Blog Hop starts today and ends midnight March 21st, US EST
2. You need to create one (1) layout/card/project using 4 of the DT's favorite embellishments and link it to the Off the Rails blog, 
3. On your post with your project please state what 4 embellishments you are using and who's DT blog you got it from.
4. You must follow both Off The Rails and all of the DT members blogs (13 in total)
5. Leave a comment on the Off the Rails blog to state that you are finished the blog hop letting us know what you like about Off the Rails and what you want to see in the future

My project is a layout I made of  myself and my husband when I was 17 weeks pregnant with our youngest.  We went to a military ball about 5 months before he deployed and had this picture taken of us.  One of the only times we have a dressed up picture of us with my husband in his military uniform.
 

My favorite item I used on this layout are BRADS.  I love to add brads, they are so verisitle and I have so many of the little suckers.  You can use any color, shape, pattern, or size you like.  Mine are located to the right of the journaling.  They are the decorative type to match the MME paper line Lost and Found as seen below.

So now you can follow the blog along to the next person in the line - I have listed the entire hop for your convenience and if you get lost you can always hope back to the beginning to find your way.

1. Off the Rails Scrapbooking http://offtherailsscrapbooking.blogspot.com/
2. Narelle Fasulo  - Flowers   www.enchantedcreationsnf.blogspot.com.au
3. Deena Otway - Buttons - http://deezignerpapercraft.blogspot.com.au/
4. ME - Erin Reed - Brads  http://scraps-of-reflections.blogspot.com
5. NEXT - Diana Rivero Gonzalez - Flowers - http://itsmylifeandimscrappingit.blogspot.com/
6. Carol Theng - Chipboard shape - www.carolpaperie.blogspot.sg
7. Gayle Gordon - Bling - http://www.baggiesplace.blogspot.com.au/
8. Fiona Paltridge - Shrinky Dinks - http://pastichescrapbookstudio.blogspot.com.au
9. Felicity Wislon - http://herhand.blogspot.com.au/
10. Sue Plumb - Doilies  -  http://soupie75.blogspot.com.au/
11. Rose Andrew - Tags -  http://www.cardsforallreason.blogspot.com
12. Jelissa Mei - Chipboard -  http://jelibeanz.blogspot.com.au/
13. Wendy O'Keeffe - washi tape -  http://scrapbookingandmixedmediabywendy.blogspot.com.au/
13. Catie Kennedy - Twine - www.catiescraftcorner.blogspot.com.au/

Enjoy!!

 

simple things **Susan K. Weckesser**

I love to create texture and depth in my layouts.  I don't always want them bulky, but I want the illusion of richness and intrigue.  Here I will explain a few tips on how to add texture and depth using clustering and layering on your projects without added in tons of bulk, plus you might think about your supplies you already have in a different light and sue them in a different way.  

This is a layout of my family, it is a simple day fishing at a lake.  I love the picture because it shows my boys in the back ground fishing with my husband and daughter watching them, of course fishing as well.  I used a filter on the picture through Instagram called Walden, it gave the picture a softer feel, more like nature.  I have found that having a great picture to start with when making a layout, versus a picture you kind of like but "need to scrap" makes a world of difference.  The picture gives me the inspiration I need and the page just comes more naturally instead of fighting with the need to "just get this page done".

 

 

I wanted to have the same feel in my layout, so the first step was to pull items that worked with the color scheme of the picture, the browns, greens, the feel of nature.  I picked out items that had texture to them already like the mesh flowers, the chipboard, the wooden items, cork, and the fibers.  Using items that already have their own texture gives your projects more depth and richness without even having to try.

Here is a list of a few things to the edges of the papers in your projects to add texture and dimension without adding bulk to the layout.

1. Distress the edges of the paper with a distressing tool like your scissors and ink the edges.  I do this technique to tons of projects.  It adds a softness to the look and takes away all the white lines from the papers you just cut.
2. Take an edge punch and randomly punched the edges, not really caring that the punches were aligned or even that the paper looks like like the punch.  I did this the tan paper all around the edge of the layout and also to the darker brown paper placed vertically behind the cluster.  Just a pop of each paper is visible, so it adds just a hint but that little touch add so much.  
3. Add in grainy texture by applying a quick drying glue (like ZipDry) around the edges of the papers and layers and sprinkle on flower soft.  I used a light brown color.
4. Take some phrase stamps like those from Susan K. Weckesser saying "Create your Day" and "Don't go through life, grow through life" and stamp around the edges of the paper and at corners of strips in the foundation of the cluster.

Here I used a wonderful stamp by Susan K. Weckesser that just captures the feelings the day "Celebrate the Simple Things"

Here you can see some other texture applications I used in the cluster to add interest.

1. Paint Splatters
2. Stamps
3. Layers of paper
4. Inked edges of paper
5. Distressed edges of paper
6. Metal bits
7. Crackle paint on chipboard
8. Flower soft
9. Rubons
10. Items with texture already like the flowers and the jute.
11. Mists
12. Paint Splatters

 

Don't be afraid to try out an item in a new way or add things together to create something new.  Layers of papers mixed with other items add such a wonderful depth to your projects.  I have been told before and I fully believe there are no mistakes in scrapbooking just chances to expand your creativity!! 

Supplies Used
Cardstock - Core'dinations
Patterned Paper - Prima
Number Stickers - Glitz
Rubons - BoBunny
Jute - Canvas Corps
Flowers - Petaloo
Wood - Prima
Chipboard - Memory Maze
Metal - Prima
Cork - Fancy Pants
Stamps - Susan K. Weckesser
Ink - Ranger
Punches - EK
Stains and Mediums - Ranger

You can also view this article at Susan K. Weckesser.

Enjoy!!