Bad Photos, No Photos, No Problem!

I am so excited to share my first post with you today, as the Guest Designer for October Afternoon, during the month of January!  I was sent a ton of Farm Girl and Midway goodies and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw everything that was packed into that box!!  My first thought was, "where to start??!!"  But it didn't take long, to get the creative juices flowing.

I decided to start out, by using some of the Farm Girl collection.  It is adorable and I love the mix of images and the different patterned papers included in this line.  When I saw it, I thought of a photo I wanted to use to create a layout, but honestly, the photo was not that great.  So my challenge was using a bad photo, but still wanting to tell the story behind it.  I decided to "go big" with my title, embellishments and mix of products on this layout, to take some of the focus off of the bad photo, but still get my story scrapped.  The photo is dark in some places, over-exposed in others and also has some bad shadows.  But, I think using the "go big" approach gives your eye a chance to focus on all of the fun elements on the page, rather than the photo.

I really love the range of products that October Afternoon includes in each one of their collections...Buttons, Chipboard pieces, Stickers, Brads, Tin Pins, Miscellany Packs, Sprinklers, Washi Tape...and they are all coordinated perfectly.  It takes so much of the guess work out of putting your layouts together.  I mixed together a lot of the different elements on this layout, to create dimension and interest on my page.  I always love to add pop dots under the OA stickers, just to get that pop off the page look.  I also mixed in some of the buttons and brads to create a scattered effect near the journaling, embellishment cluster, and title work.  This fun mix of product use moves your eye around the page, without lingering on the photo for too long.

Now that I've shared an idea for using bad photos, what about when you have no photos?  Say for instance, if you are creating a December Daily, a mini album for an upcoming trip, or creating an album to give someone as a gift.  This can be a lot of fun, but a little intimidating.  I have a solution to this problem...OA's Here & Now Chapter books!  These books are great for creating a pre-made mini album to use for future photos.  The blank chipboard cover and back are perfect for decorating and the included pages are perfect for pre-embellishing. 

We are a Home School family and plan to plant and grow a garden this year.  I thought it would be great to transform the Farm Girl Here & Now Chapter Book into a little journal for our First Grader to document the growth of our Garden.  I have to admit, I had a lot of fun decorating the front cover of the book.  I used my craft knife, to cut out the word "grow" that is included on the front cover and then I backed each letter with a different patterned paper from the 8x8 paper pad.

Then I got started on the inside of my album.  The inside pages will be perfect for documenting the growth of our plants and for adding photos of the garden.  I used my Cameo to make a few negative cut titles, that I added into the album.

I also had a little bit of fun, with the buttons and added them to the folder tabs on each of the divider pages.  I chose to do a color coded look and matched the buttons to the color of the divider tab.

I added in some of the cute journaling cards, for my daughter to take notes and embellished a few of the pages, leaving room for her to add photos.  The Rubber Stamps included with this collection are adorable and they stamp really great images!  I decided to try out the cute little lamb on this page and it turned out perfectly.

The rest of the book was finished out, using a mix of Tin Pins, Stamps, Chipboard pieces, stickers, stitching, and brads.  And the great thing about this album, is that we can add in more pages as we go, if we need them.  I love having the binder hooks with this album, because they offer so much room for multiple pages and adding a lot of the cute embellishments to your pages.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my post for today, and hopefully found some ideas for creating with bad photos or no photos.  Make sure you join me next Friday, as I share some more projects using the Farm Girl and Midway collections.

See you then!

Get It Scrapped! - Triple Threat

***Blog Posts at Get It Scrapped, were put on hold last week, because of some issues that Debbie had to attend to in her community.  Posts have been rescheduled and I am catching up on layouts that have been revealed at Get It Scrapped, but have not been shared on my Blog yet.  I will have 3 layouts in this post today, for Get It Scrapped.***

If you are like me, you probably take a lot of photos of the same thing...annual events, funny things your kids do, movies you've seen, books you've read, pets, food, etc.  It can get a little monotonous doing a layout for each individual photo that relates to another...so how about doing a Round Up layout.  Basically, it gives you the opportunity to create a layout and include those photos all in once place.  One of the things I LOVE to take photos of, is flowers.  They are perfect subjects...they are gorgeous, already posed, don't move, and never make silly faces, cry, or talk back!!  :)  So, needless to say, I have accumulated a ton of flower photos, and I thought this assignment would be a perfect way to showcase them on one layout.

I have to say I was also pretty excited about this layout, because it was the first time I got a chance to use that awesome chevron background on my Cameo.  I took inspiration from my scrappy friend Lynette Jacobs and also from Piradee Talvanna.  They both did beautiful layouts using this same background and it was one of the reasons I just had to have a Cameo!!  :)  And I'm sure it will show up on future layouts!

Supplies:  Patterned Paper & Thickers:  American Crafts; Spray Mist:  Studio Calico; Baker's Twine:  The Twinery; Envelope & Washi Tape:  Recollections:  Brads:  The Paper Studio

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Have you ever thought about Scrapbooking your Goals...Scrapbook related (achieved or planned) or just your goals in general?  Get It Scrapped is sharing some great ideas for Scrapbooking your goals, and here is my take on the assignment.

 

I decided to use screen shot photos, to create a layout documenting my Scrapbooking goals.  I recently had a layout as the Featured Project at Two Peas in a Bucket and knew I wanted to use the screen shot from their page to create a layout that documented reaching this goal.  I decided to combine this accomplishment, with the other goals I have acheived along the way.  If you are planning to create a similar page, documenting achieved goals or the goals you want to achieve, you may want to use list journaling, hidden journaling, or pocket/envelope journaling, since the writing could get pretty lengthy.

Supplies:  Patterned Paper:  Amy Tangerine & Pink Paislee; Bits & Envelope:  Amy Tangerine; Spray Mist:  Studio Calcio; Font:  Arial Black; Washi Tape:  Love My Tapes; Stickers:  October Afternoon; Other:  Staples

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It's always fun to look to home decor and fashion for trends to use in your Scrapbooking.  Stripes + punchy florals, are making impacts in the decorating world and today, we are sharing some Creative Team layouts featuring this trend.

We made a visit to the Pumpkin Patch this year and I knew I wanted to use a dark wood grain background with these photos.  The page needed a punch of color and pattern to balance out the heavy wood grain, so I thought the stripe and floral trend would work well with the wood grain and Fall photos.  I love the linear contrast of the stripes mixed with the random pattern of the floral pattern.  I chose to work with a coordinated paper line for this layout, so the colors from the floral and stripe worked well together.

Supplies:  Patterned Paper:  Simple Stories; Wood Veneers & Spray Mist:  Studio Calico; Leaves:  Amy Tangerine; Pearls:  Kaisercraft; DIY Thickers:  American Crafts; Font:  Abadi Condensed MT & Eurostyle; Button:  Stampin Up; Other:  Tag & Embroidery Floss

 

Two-fer Tuesday!

January is turning out to be a busy Blog month and I've had several DT reveals falling on the same day!! So today, I am here to share a layout for Step Class #12 at ScrapFIT and a project for Love My Tapes!!

First up, I will share my layout for the Step Class at ScrapFIT.  This month's class, is to create a Layered Embellishment and you can come over to the Blog and play along with us!!  I ended up creating this layout on December 31, and it was my last one to finish up for 2012.  I used a photo taken earlier that day, from our family lunch outing.  I don't take a lot of self photos, but I thought it would be great to use on a layout to sum up 2012 and look forward to 2013.  I also broke out my November kit from Artful Delight and used some of the remaining product for this page.

  
I really loved the way this layout turned out...even if it is using a photo of myself!!  :)  It kind of embodies what I've come to realize is my overall Scrapbooking style...KITSCHY!  It may not actually be a style category in the Scrapbooking world, but it is what I am deeming my style for 2013.  Along with the layered embellishment (at the bottom of the page), I had more fun creating a Cameo cut title for my page.  With close to 1,000 fonts, I'm never at a loss for something to use, and I thought this song title by the Beatles was kind of perfect to close out 2012 and welcome 2013.

Supplies:  Patterned Paper:  Crate Paper, Pink Paislee & Echo Park; Spray Mist & Wood Veneers:  Studio Calico; Font:  Futura & Pacifico; Date Stamp:  American Crafts; Baker's Twine:  The Twinery; Washi Tape:  Love My Tapes; Chipboard:  Crate Paper

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For my second reveal, I have a fun little project using some Washi Tape from  Love My Tapes!  I know Christmas is over (and I'm sure some of us are glad of that), but I had a fun idea I wanted to share with you, that I used for some of my Christmas gifts.  In the day of "everyone has everything", it can be a little difficult to buy gifts for loved ones, so Gift Cards are always a popular item at our house!  I had several that I bought for family members this year and wanted a cute way to "gift" them.  There was a great cut file I downloaded from the Silhouette store, that would work perfectly with the Gift Cards.  It was an envelope file, with a little card that fit down inside the envelope.  I cut my envelope and card on kraft paper, but I found that when I folded and adhered it, the envelope had a little trouble sticking together because of the thickness of the kraft paper.  I didn't want to staple it or add any kind of Scotch tape...so Washi Tape to the rescue!  I used it and wrapped it around the seam of the bottom of the envelope, to help make it more secure.  I also used some of the tape, on the inside card piece, to back the dollar amount that I cut out on the Cameo.  Here's a look at the Gift Card holders:

The Washi Tape worked perfectly to secure the edges on my envelope and it also added a great decorative touch!  But, you don't have to wait until next Christmas to try this idea...Gift Card holders are always needed for birthdays, Mother's Day, Graduation, and a ton of other occasions.  So give it a try, next time you are in need of a cute Gift Card holder!

13 Going on Always

Happy Monday Folks!  I can't believe that I have finished up posts with my December Kit from Artful Delight, and I'm already moving on to the January Kit.  Leeanne never disappoints when she puts these Kits together.  The January Kit has some great "love" themed papers, that are made up of gorgeous colors...Pinks, Reds, Teals, and Grays!  There are also a lot of fun embellishments with this one...a great sticker sheet, Pearls, chipboard pieces, tulle, buttons, roses, stamp set and some paper punch outs.  Here is what I created for my first layout this month, with the kit:

Everything on this page is from the Kit, other than the Washi Tape.  I used my Cameo with the Red cardstock to cut the pretty heart pattern and the Black Tulle from the Kit to make the large flower.  I just grabbed one of my Glubbers and rolled the tulle in on itself and added one of the rosettes from the Kit to the center.  This page is also based on the Artful Delight sketch for this month, and you can come play along with us.

 

Acorn Pickin'

Just popping in, to share my DT layout for the Fabulous Friday challenge this week at Frosted Designs!  The challenge is a Recipe Challenge and you need to use at list 4 things from the following list on your layout, card, or project:


rubonstransparencybradseyeletsmisting/maskingpunchesstampingstickers

I decided to use Misting/Masking, Punches, Stamping, and Stickers on my layout:

I used some older Studio Calico products on this page and finally got a chance to cut some of those fun leaves on my Cameo.  We don't really have pretty Fall leaves on the ground around here.  They usually go from Green to dead!!  :)  But our little guy was having so much fun exploring in them and digging for acorns.  He would pick out a pile, count all of them, and then turn around and throw them all out into the grass.  This was repeated for about a 30 minute time period!! 

If you would like a chance to win from our sponsor, come link up over at Frosted Designs.

I also wanted to share, that this will be my last reveal with Frosted Designs.  I have served as a Team member for 3 Terms and loved being a part of it!!  The Team Administrators and fellow DT members have been so sweet and such a fun and supportive group of scrappy friends!  

Supplies:  Patterned Paper, Spray Mist & Wood Veneers:  Studio Calico; Washi Tape:  Love My Tapes; Flair: BossyJoscie; Mask:  The Crafter's Workshop; Thickers & Date Stamp:  American Craft; Font:  Futura & Eurostile; Other:  Embroidery Floss, Tag & Twine

My BIG News!!

The day is finally here and I can share my BIG news for January!!  I hinted on Facebook, back at the beginning of December...so for those who were wondering...I am Guest Designing for October Afternoon during the month of January!!  WHAT??!!  That's what I thought too!!  I couldn't think of a better way to start out 2013!  I have been a fan of OA for many years now and it is a dream come true, to join them as a Guest Designer.  Today, my introduction is being shared on the October Afternoon Blog, so I hope you will check it out.  I will be sharing layouts and projects each Friday for the rest of this month, starting on January 11.  

 

K.I.S.S.

**This is my second post for today.  To see my reveal for Artful Delight, please go HERE.**

Keep It Simple Sweetheart, should be our motto during the holidays!!  It can get overwhelming with all of the holiday festivities taking place, and most of the time we sacrifice our crafty time to make it through the month of December.  But there are quick and easy ways to squeeze in some creative time during any busy season in your life.  Here are my two biggest suggestions: grab a Kit or coordinated products and pull out a couple or several rolls of your favorite Washi Tapes.  Then, keep it simple...don't try to over-think what you're doing or worry about if your keeping up with the latest trend or embellishment.  I had fun incorporating two different Love My Tapes Washi Tapes on my layout and got it finished in an hour.

 
I used the Santa Baby Kit from Paper Issues and it gave me quick access to the paper and embellishments I needed, and then I used my favorite LMT Washi Tape as a border at the top and bottom of my layout.  This kit included a few chipboard stars and I thought it would be a good idea to use the Red and Pink Washi to cover the stars, for a different look.  I just placed the strips of tape over two of the stars and then used the craft knife to cut away the excess.  How easy is that...easy peasy, I say!!

So don't let all of the Christmas cheer cut into your craft time!!  Look for fun and quick ways to use your tapes on your next layout.  I'm sure you will be surprised with what you come up with!!

Products Used:  Cardstock:  American Crafts; Patterned Paper:  My Mind's Eye & Pink Paislee; Washi Tape;  Love My Tapes; Spray Mist:  Heidi Swapp; Mask:  The Crafter's Workshop; Enamel Dots:  My Mind's Eye; Wood Veneers:  Studio Calico; Font:  Jolly Elf & Abadi MT Condensed; Snowflake:  Pink Paislee; Title:  Kerri Bradford Studios; Other:  Chipboard Stars, Sequins, Baker's Twine