THE THOUGHT BEHIND THE PROCESS

Competition time.....

Another year has come around and its almost time to enter into the Scrap N Craft with T Embellish It comp. I hope you are all excited with the challenges that lay ahead of you, I am sure the challenges  will be fantastic and you will create your own little piece of magic.

Today I would like to share with you a card that I created while taking part in a Competition many moons ago. Its amazing what you can come up with when given specific guidelines. Sometimes the task set before you can seem like the largest mountain that you will never reach the top of and then other times its a breeze in the park. The idea with it is to take it in your stride, have a go, enjoy and embrace the task because sometimes the hardest of tasks will be the ones that you reap the most reward from.

From memory the challenge had to have mosaics, a heart and stamping. The stamping was formed using a  block foam stamp repeated as an edge border and then I added a strip of red bazzill and stamped white dots down that. Little mosaic squares were then added in the shape of a heart and I then defined the heart shape by sewing the heart twice on the card. Finally the word love was added. I love the versatility of the large Heidi Swapp clear stamps - I have stamped the word love on a separate piece of cardstock and then cut it out, adhered dimensional tape to give it height.

It looks a little intricate but talking through the steps is so much easier now. This would have to be one of my favourite cards I have created. I never really thought about the whole process too much. I guess you could say I just had a 'crack' at it.

So I hope that you are all getting ready for the competition - make sure you have signed up prior to the 6th of June 2010. The challenges will be amazing, along with some fantastic prizes on offer and I am looking forward to seeing what you all will be creating this year.

Have a fantastic week

tracey

Sunday Gallery Spotlight is.... Liz Weber

How amazing is this card.....

thankyou Liz for placing your amazing work into our gallery. We love seeing  and admiring it. www.scrapncraftwitht.com.au/gallery

 Hope you all have a wonderful weekend
thanks for stopping by
take care
luv tanXx

Saturday Scrapping Stimulus...

How can it possibly be Saturday again? The weeks feel like they're flying by!

I (Kylie) am moving house this weekend. While you're reading this I'm probably carrying a bookshelf or packing a last-minute box! LOL

So this week's quote is slightly related to moving on in your life. I quite like it!

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
~ Dr. Seuss

Hope you have an amazing weekend, and that whatever you do, it's fun!

Kylie

Bo Bunny's Jazmyne

Hmm … how best to describe Bo Bunny’s Jazmyne limited edition glitter collection? Exotic? Definitely. Purple? Yes. Flowery? Without a doubt! Feminine? Absolutely. Versatile? Oh yeah baby!!! Ordinarily I have to confess that purple is not a colour I would first reach for when I scrap. Nor are glittery papers. But when it came to Bo Bunny’s Jazmyne range how could I resist?

Although all of the patterned papers are designed to of course work with each other, when shifting them around on my desk I found little groups of papers constantly ending up together. Somewhat perturbing you might say given the photos I planned to scrap didn’t actually work with these little ‘gatherings’. It was like Jazmyne had a mind of her own and I was under her spell. So I collected my three groups of papers and studied them long and hard, racking my brain for what photos I had which would work. It wasn’t easy. I had a stereotype image in my mind of what these papers would be used for … girly, pretty, ever so feminine pages with lots of flowers and flourishes. Now don’t get me wrong LOL, I’ll be the first person to put up my hand when the question is asked ‘who likes flourishes and flowers?’. But in this instance I wanted to do something different. I’ve been trying to move past my ‘traditional’ flourishes and flowers style and explore different techniques.

As my mind processed the three piles of papers I had collected it occurred to me that a challenge was in order. I wanted to challenge myself to use this range to create three vastly different LOs. One would be girly, one would be a bit funky and distressed, and the third would be done with a photo of men. ‘Men!’ I hear you exclaim. Okay it wasn’t a photo of the boys being blokes, it was a photo of the boys dressed up in their dinner suits for our wedding. But it was boys and the papers were predominantly glittery purples! Below are the three resulting LOs.

If like me, you sometimes find yourself at a loss for inspiration, why not try setting yourself a challenge? If nothing else it gives you a starting point from which to begin creating. Some of your best work can come from stretching your skills and trying something new. How was working with Bo Bunny Jazmyne in the end? For me it was a delightful challenge. So if purple and glitter are up your alley then you definitely must get your hands on some of these divine papers. And if they’re not, then I challenge you to grab some anyway and see what you can come up with. Alz :)

She was so proud

Tips/Techniques

* When cutting out flowers from patterned paper, flip them over on a piece of foam (an old-fashion mouse pad would be perfect) and use a Shaping Tool to mould the flowers and give them some depth and a beautiful 3D effect.

* Try matting a die-cut shape (such as the flourish on this page) to give it more definition against the patterned paper.

* When first starting your die-cutting collection, consider what shapes you are most likely to use most. For me, the Sizzix Circle, Scallop and the Sizzix Circle #3 are essential as they enable me to create perfect, good-sized, journaling spots.

* The Kaiser Pearl Strips are perfect when you want an accent without the ‘heaviness’ of cardstock or patterned paper. Don’t forget that you can then separate the pearls from the strips and use them individually as I have done.

* The Bella Large Alphabet and Number chipboard set rocks! On this LO I used a scallop circle (without a centre) and a letter ‘e’. I used a glue stick to adhere patterned paper to the scallop circle and once dry, sanded the edges. I used the ‘OMG to die for’ Smooch (Cherry Chocolate … yummy!) to paint the letter ‘e’ and once dry applied two coats of Glossy Accents. Seriously, with the versatility of this chipboard set and its fantastic value for money, this chipboard has become my new best friend!!!

Materials
Bo Bunny Jazmyne
* Verdant patterned paper
* Botanical patterned paper

* Symmetry patterned paper
* Mist patterned paper
* Effloresce patterned paper
* Lavender Garden Rub-Ons

* Combo Stickers
* Simply Beautiful Cardstock Stickers
Cardstock
Bella Large Alphabet and Number chipboard set
Kaiser Pearl Strip – Champagne
Fiskars border punch – Threading Water
Sizzix dies – Circle, Scallop and Circle #3
Making Memories tiny alphas – brown ledger
Tim Holtz Distress Ink – Dusty Concord

Smooch – Cherry Chocolate
Inkssentials Glossy Accents
Colop date stamp
Buttons

Embroidery cotton

Be carefree and joyous always

Tips/Techniques

Cut circle and scallop circle die-cut patterned paper to create hills for a landscape style LO.

Colour JEJE Sticker Sheets with Smooch Pearlized Accent Inks. They may take a little time to dry however they will give a soft, subtle effect.

Stamp on raw chipboard with a VersaMagic inkpad and then emboss with Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Powders for a wonderfully rustic look.

Use two or more adhesive 3D Foam Dots when creating a dimensional page.

Peeled back, corrugated cardboard (so the peaks are clear) makes a fabulous, inexpensive and unique stamp to use with paint.

Materials
Bo Bunny Jazmyne
* Symmetry patterned paper
* Mist patterned paper
* Peridot die-cut patterned paper
* Combo Stickers

Cardstock
A2Z Scraplets chipboard Tree #7
Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Powder – Dusty Concord
Big Shot Thick Cuts Circles die
Kaiser paint
* Pistachio

* Mud Puddle
* Antique White
American Crafts Thickers – Rockabye – Foam – Leaf
American Crafts Thickers – Daydream – Foam – Chestnut
Making Memories Tiny Alphas – brown ledger
Smooch Pearlized Accent Inks:
* Taffy
* Grape Soda
* Gold Lame

JEJE Sticker Sheets – small dragonflies – silver on silver
Pigma Micron 01 Archival Ink Pen – black

My best man

Tips/Techniques

I found this Bo Bunny Jazmyne range to be stunning and elegant with white added for a bold contrast. Perfect for wedding pages. Plus with less emphasis on traditionally used flowers and more emphasis on darker colours, this range is ideal for pages featuring men.

Don’t like the colour of the centre of your Green Tara mini flowers? Cut them out and replace them with bling.

The Bazzill Stitch’z Templates don’t necessarily equal embroidery thread or fibres. Why not try Green Tara Paper String for something different? On this LO I didn’t want a stark white stitched flourish so I inked my Paper String (one strand of the two) with the Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Dusty Concord) and the result was a lovely mottled effect.

Use a diverse mixture of blossoms in your clusters for more interest. Here I have used a ChelleBean Romantic Rose, Prima Flower Centres, and Green Tara Vintage Blossoms.

Use a little extra glue (Glossy Accents or Pritt for example) when sticking chipboard alphas on to a surface with glitter for better (and longer lasting!) adhesion.

Materials
Bo Bunny Jazmyne
* Flower Box patterned paper
* Twilight patterned paper
* Amethyst die-cut patterned paper
* Combo Stickers
* Lavender Garden Rub-On
Smooth white cardstock
Green Tara Vintage Blossoms – White
Green Tara Flower Spray – White
Green Tara Organza Flower Glitter Design ribbon
Green Tara Paper String – White
Green Tara Mini Flowers – purple with yellow centre
Smooch – Cherry Chocolate
Tim Holtz Distress Ink – Dusty Concord
Bazzill In Stitch’z Templates – Formal Flourish
American Crafts Thickers – Nutmeg – Glossy Letter chipboard – White
Basic Grey Bling It – purple
Prima Flower Centres – Dynasty Amethyst
Kaiser Pearl Strip – Black
ChelleBean Designs Romantic Roses - Purple
Inkssentials Glossy AccentsMaking Memories Staples – Metallic

Please email us or ask us about all these above products, If we don't have them in stock we are more than happy to get them in for you.

Here is the amazing Bo bunny Jasmyne Range which is glittered and selling extreamly well... Grab your own Today so you don't miss out!.CLICK HERE to go to our shop full of yummy things to create with!..

Thank you for stopping by and hope that Alz's creations inspires you to have a go. If your local pop in to see these amazing layouts in real life! they are incredible!
till next time and have a wonderful day
luv tanXx

Check out the NEW Ruby Rock-it Ranges... YOU WILL LOVE THEM!!!!

We have 2 new collections for you to enjoy! I have played with them and wow are they amazing. With the papers being a wonderful weight to be able to distress and do so much with they are one of my most favourite papers to work with.

Come and check them out in our store TODAY! order yours to be the first to receive them and so you don't miss out! These ranges are at a brillant and afordable prices and yet the quality will amaze you and be in love with them as much as I am...lol!

Here is the SummerHouse Collection, those of you that did my class at SIA would have seen these first hand and how wonderful they are!

And a close up of these beautiful papers....

To purchase this collection... CLICK HERE!....

***********************

Here is the Upstairs Downstairs Collections

Here is a close up of these papers.... yumo!

To purchase this amazing range... CLICK HERE!

We will show you some samples of use of these soon!....
Thanks for looking and stoping by we love your comments
enjoy your day and take care
Luv TanXx

When a photo DOESN'T paint a thousand words

Have you ever wanted to capture ‘something’ on a layout but just not had the photographs to support what you want to capture? Perhaps a distant memory or a funny story for which there are no photographs? Maybe you just have ‘something to say’ and no supporting material. Whatever the case, why not try creating a layout without photographs? If you find journaling a breeze, then you’ll love this idea. If journaling just isn’t your thing or its something you struggle with, then perhaps having a go at this type of layout will be what you need to get your pen going.

A little while ago I was approached by a friend (heh Jen!) to do a layout for an article she was writing for Scrapbook Creations. Jen wanted to know if I would do a layout for her about what it was like living with MS. Those who know me know I have no difficulty scrapping about myself and, in fact, find it to be quite therapeutic; and that I am never lost for a word and so find journaling to generally be a large part of my scrapping projects. As I have always been very open about having MS I didn’t have any concerns about ‘sharing’ my story with others. Who knows, maybe it might help someone else living with MS? So I didn’t hesitate to say yes. This ‘challenge’ was so my thing that I figured I’d have it in the bag. That wasn’t to be the case. The problem? My photos.

Quite some time ago when I received a new camera for my birthday, one of the ‘subjects’ I played around with photographing were my daily syringes with the bright yellow, bio-hazard sharps container in the background. (They happened to still be on the kitchen table when I opened my presents!) I’m delighted to say I got some great pics and some fabulous ‘depth of field type’ shots (my camera/photo lingo is not up to speed) but that trying to scrap them for this article was proving to be a nightmare. What I wanted to ‘say’ had nothing to do with these syringes really. I mean the daily injections were part of it, but they weren’t the whole story. So I figured I’d ditch the photographs and actually figure out what the ‘story’ was. I thought if I could concisely figure out what I wanted to ‘say’ that I could then take photographs to support my journaling. I mean scrapping is about the photos right? Wrong. Well at least not necessarily so. Once I figured out the message I wanted to convey, I realised that for me, scrapping was about more than the photos. It was about the memories, the feelings, the emotions, the journaling. It was a creative way for me to express things I would ordinarily be unable to verbalise. I needed to go down the path of scrapping where there are no photos. I was somewhat terrified one might say.

After a couple of weeks of (hopelessly) trying to ignore my terror (and the looming deadline), an image started to form in my head of how I could best express what I wanted to say. I had tried the story telling style of journaling and it felt to me like I was giving a lecture. I tried to soften it only to find it read like a ‘pity poor me’ diatribe. I didn’t want to invoke pity. I didn’t want to educate anyone. I didn’t want to be clinical. I didn’t want to be emotional. I didn’t want the MS to define me. That’s when it hit me. Photos don’t need to define my scrapping. Journaling doesn’t need to define my scrapping. A certain style doesn’t define my scrapping. I define my scrapping. So with that thought in mind, I started to ‘pull’ words out of my previously scrunched up and thrown out journaling. I started to play with imagery and symbolism. I would go red ... it is the international colour for MS. I pictured my life as a tree ... old leaves falling to the ground to be replaced by new ones. Rolling hills representing (for me) peace and harmony in nature. A cottage representing home, a place where love grows. A bird to symbolise peace and freedom, and the grim possibility of being trapped and caged. I had not done collage style work before. This was so far out of my comfort zone it really wasn’t funny. But when I stopped and thought about it, so was standing up in front of all of Australia’s scrapping community (well at least those who read Scrapbook Creations!) and saying ‘heh, this is what life is like for me living with MS’. From that point on a clear picture formed in my head of how I could best (in my eyes anyways) express what I wanted to say. I sketched my ideas, surprisingly found just the products I needed in my stash and I started creating.


Sadly, my husband doesn’t ‘get’ the resulting layout (well not without a long, drawn out explanation of it LOL). I don’t really know at all if anyone else ‘gets’ it. But I got it. It was clearer than any photo could ever be. It was more powerful than any speech could ever be. It was raw and it was pure. It was honest and it was from the heart. Isn’t that what scrapping is meant to be? Perhaps not for everyone, but definitely for me. My layout “MS & me” was eventually published in Scrapbook Creations No. 76. I am very proud of this LO and the journey it represents in its creation. I am inspired to continuing scrapping without photos (although not all the time) and am relieved that in a life full to overflowing with memories but devoid of photos, that I can still scrap my story. I hope that in some small way my story, helps you to truly express yours. Alz :)

Materials List:

Prismatics cardstock

Scenic Route Paper Co patterned paper:
Cape Town Oswald Road Red
Sumner Cherry Avenue
Sumner Ryan Avenue

Chipboard:
ScrapFX embellishments – Tree large
Scrapware chipboard house
Maya Road fresh chipboard – Birds of a Feather
Collections chipboard hearts
Buzz ‘n Bloom chipboard
Scenic Route chipboard – Everyday Moments chipboard circles

Alphas:
Font – Century Gothic
Carolee’s Creations Adornit Sleek Red Alphas

Li’l Davis Designs Vintage Wood Shapes - Butter
Green buttons
Cuttlebug alpha dies – You’re Not The Boss Of Me
Sizzix die – Cloud #2
Embroidery and machine cotton

Sophie Range of Papers from Bo Bunny!

These are one adorable range of papers from bo bunny.... called 'sophie'

You can check out what we have left in this range HERE!

1. Use a plate or a template on white cardstock. I bought a chipbaord round circle and use it for everything.

2. Spray glimmer mist or smooch spritz over template

3. Handcut flowers and place around sprayed circle

4. Attach title, bling and any extra embellishments

THE THOUGHT BEHIND THE PROCESS

Blocks,Rub-ons, white,red & aqua - what a great combination.

Sometimes its hard to think of something different and edgy when you are wanting to put together a layout that is different from what you have been creating. And sometimes you know whatever is in your mind you really should not venture down that path because it will turn out to be not quite the success you were planning.

The layout today that I have chosen was that - it was a 'safe' for me. I was creating a lot of layouts this particular weekend and my scrapping was feeling a tad stale, I wanted to do something different but knew that I was tired and really should not delve into that portion of my creativity feeling the way that I was.... so .... I played my safe card. This is the layout below "Swimming Diva"

I found some fantastic double sided papers that were my favourite colours, dug through my stash of rub-ons to find the flowers. swirl and 'fun' wording that would suit my picture. I then had my white pen, some blue sticker alphas and some Heidi Swapp chipboard alphas at the ready to create the layout.

I chose four colors for this layout - they all came from the striped patterned paper and complimented the photo well. The background cardstock was brown bazzill which blended well with my daughters hair and with the brown stripe in the patterned paper. I liked having the red patterned paper as it complimented the aqua and really gives the layout a lift... 'a summery feel'.

I blocked out two thirds of the cardstock with printed papers and then set about adding my photo which I mounted on cardstock and used my white uniball pen to frame. I used the word fun at the top of the layout and added white flower rub ons to the right edge of my photo & to each end of the word swimming. When adding the title it was just a case of 'these were the chipboard i had'. I added a hand drawn border using my white uniball pen and a ruler this tied it all together.

In the end I am glad that I did not sway onto a different path with this layout and I am happy with how simple yet striking it has turned out. Red is a favourite colour for me as i know that it draws your eye.... I just hope that my photo can be as captivating as this one every time that I use this color from my stash.

Have a great week
tracey

Sunday Gallery Spotlight is ........GILLY!!!!

Morning everyone!


Hope your sunday is a wonderful one and you all have a fantastic day.

For our sunday gallery spotlight is.... GILLY

I have found this amazing book that was made into a receipe book and looks amazing.

I hope this inspires you to want to have a go and place your fav recepies in a lovely book like this or make one for a special friend.

If you would like to see more of Gillys beautiful work check out her blog HERE!

Thanks for popping in and feel free to comment in our gallery
http://www.scrapncraftwitht.com.au/gallery
we love to hear your comments

If you Need to do some shopping please pop in and check out out SPECIAL SECTION... you may find just what your looking for at a fantastic bargin.

We have uploaded some NEW prima goodies if you want to look in the NEW PRODUCTS section to treat yourself with something special.



enjoy your day
Luv tanXx
http://www.scrapncraftwitht.com.au

My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary

What is there to not love about pretty much anything My Mind’s Eye? The weight of the paper is fabulous. The texture oh so sublime. The double-sided patterned papers are such good value. The co-ordinating die-cuts, stickers and journaling notes are something I can’t do without. Overall the designs are just to die for. Wouldn’t you agree?

Recently I got to play with some of the MME Quite Contrary ranges … Little Boy Blue and Jack & Jill. It’s hard for me to not wax poetic about these ranges when MME is one of my favourite brands. But honestly they were fabulous to work with. Initially when mucking about with the Little Boy Blue Curious range I was thrown by the heavy reliance on the reference to owls. I mean haven’t we been there and done that already? But then I thought ‘why fix something that isn’t broken?’. It seems as though owls are going to be with us for perhaps much longer than anyone expected.

I went on to create two LOs with the Little Boy Curious range. Well actually two and a bit but I’ll come to the ‘a bit’ bit later. The first one is of Tan’s DS clowning around one casual day when I was up that way last September. The title may be a bit ‘old hat’ but was so appropriate what else could I use? The second LO features photos Tan took of her DH and DS that same day. I struggled with a title for this one but in the end spoke from my heart and feel it came together nicely. The ‘a bit’ LO combines both the Little Boy Curious range with the Jack & Jill range. Although one is meant for boys and the other for girls, typically with MME they both compliment each other perfectly. Again, I struggled with a title, but again I spoke from the heart and as a result (as with the LO “What You See”) no journaling was required.
I’d like to share with you the three LOs I created using the MME Quite Contrary range, together with my materials lists and some tips and techniques. I hope they provide you with some inspiration and perhaps even get you using some of the gorgeous My Mind’s Eye papers Tan has in store. Alz :)

Such a Hoot

Tips/Techniques

Use a palette knife to scrape paint onto cardstock to create a unique background.

Use the pattern in patterned paper to cut an interesting border.

Use Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink to highlight sections in die-cuts.

Adhere die-cuts to JAC paper, cut out and then adhere to chipboard. Once cut out of the chipboard you have a dimensional accent.

Inkssentials Glossy Accents are perfect for highlighting ‘eyes’ on accents/papers.

Materials

MME Quite Contrary Little Boy Blue
* “That’s My Boy” Tree patterned paper
* “When I Grow Up” Owl be There patterned paper
* “Curious” Owl die-cut
* “Little Man” journaling card

* “Curious” journaling card

Bazzill Basics Dotted Swiss cardstock
Paper Raffia – Cocoa
Magic Mesh
Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink - Molasses
Kaiser paint – antique
Inkssentials Glossy Accents

VersaMagic chalk inkpad – Jumbo Java
AC Thickers – Rockabye – Foam – Leaf
AC Thickers – Daydream – Foam – Chestnut

MLS mini alphabet stickers – turquoise
Chocolate Zig Writer
Making Memories staples

Colop date stamp
Chipboard and JAC paper

What You See

Tips/Techniques

Torn patterned paper or cardstock creates both a rustic and relaxed feel.

Alter the colour of fabric by stamping with Tim Holtz Distress Inks and then spraying the fabric with water to help blend the inks.

Using one photo twice can add more emphasis to the central photo.

Using handmade papers as your background instantly adds texture and interest.

Add dimension to die-cuts by (in this instance) scoring the leaves and folding them.

Materials

MME Quite Contrary Little Boy Blue
* “When I Grow Up” Owl be There patterned paper

* “Curious” Who Loves You patterned paper
* “Curious” Accessory Sheets
Green Tara handmade mulberry paper – embossed black (reverse)
Tim Holtz Distress Inks
* Crushed Olive
* Tumbled Glass
* Pumice Stone
Kaiser paints – Seabreeze and Mud Puddle

VersaMagic chalk inkpad – Jumbo Java

AC Thickers – Rockabye – Foam – Leaf
MLS mini alphabet stickers – Turquoise
Sewn fabric strip by Nicole Amber (thanks Nic!)
Owl buttons by Kitty Robot
Chocolate Zig Writer
Making Memories staples
Colop date stamp

You

Tips/Techniques

Twice the photo equals twice the fun!

Die-cut small scraps of materials into shapes and set aside for future use … in this instance the red suede dots (leftovers from another project) were the perfect finishing touch.

Take advantage of small tears in handmade, textured paper to create larger tears to have accents ‘peep’ out from.

Incorporating your journaling into your title makes for a clean LO.

‘White space’ (or black as the case may be LOL) draws attention to your photos.

Materials
MME Quite Contrary Little Boy Blue
* “Curious” Who Loves You patterned paper
MME Quite Contrary Jack & Jill
* “Be Happy” Blissful patterned paper
* “Life is Good” Serene Spots patterned paper
Green Tara handmade mulberry paper – embossed black
Sizzix Boss-O alphabet dies
MLS mini alphabet stickers - Gumball
Basic Grey decorative paper clips – Sugar Rush
Jillibean Soup Canvas Flowers – Red Polkas
Prima Embroidered Tabs – Play
Chatterbox Ribbon & Trim – Ruban
Sewn fabric strip by Nicole Amber (thanks Nic!)
Penguin and other polymer clay buttons by Kitty Robot
Various buttons
Felt
Suede
Ink
Colop date stamp
Chipboard and JAC paper

Saturday Scrapping Stimulus...

Welcome to another weekend, hopefully full of creating! If no creating is actually done, at least you can THINK about creating!

I'm feeling a bit cheeky today...

"If you can't say anything good about someone, sit right here by me..."
~Alice Roosevelt Longworth

I want to invite Alice Roosevelt Longworth to dinner. She sounds like fun!!!!

Have a great weekend...

Kylie

3rd Thursday Tips & Techniques - Buttons Glorious Buttons ...

Alison Calcott...
Since I was a little girl I’ve had a fascination with buttons. My Grandmother used to have this very old tin full of buttons she had collected over the years. Today my Mum has beautiful, big jars full of buttons. I guess with four sons and one daughter she had a lot of reasons to have a lot of buttons! My Mum also used to be a dressmaker so you can imagine the unique, delicious buttons she has that I’d love to get my hands on! As sad as it may seem (LOL) I often find myself checking buttons on garments prior to purchasing them just to ensure I will be able to recycle the buttons at some point further down the track.

I don’t know about too many others but something I do a little differently (?) with my buttons is to store them individually by colour groups. Not for me one big jar full of mixed colour buttons. I have containers (albeit much smaller ones than the old tin my Grandmother had and the big jars my Mum has) for each colour. I do this for three reasons. One, I inherited my Grandmother’s and Mum’s button fetish genes. Two, I find it so much easier if I want a yellow button to just grab the yellow container as opposed to hunting through a gazillion other buttons for that ‘just perfect’ yellow button. Third, the containers look so pretty all in a row.

Regrettably (?) that’s not where my dreams of buttons end. A long time ago when I bought a Big Shot (remember when that was first released?!) and a few basic shaped dies, I started making my own buttons ‘to order’ with raw chipboard combined with double-sided adhesive JAC paper and then pretty much whatever I had in my stash that I could lay my hands on. Here are a few I have ‘whipped up’ to share.

The above round buttons were made by adhering patterned paper (I had some Basic Grey Blush Collection scraps) to chipboard with JAC paper and then die-cutting some circles with my favourite die … Big Shot Thick Cuts Circles. In the top row you can see that the first button is simply the patterned paper with some sanding. The second button has also had Inkssentials Glossy Accents applied. On the bottom row the first button had Kaiser Pearls added before the Glossy Accents was applied. I added Kindy Glitz to the third button before the Glossy Accents (once the Kindy Glitz was dry). The third button is a combination of the Kaiser Pearls with Kindy Glitz and Glossy Accents.

The above harlequin shaped buttons are a shape I haven’t made before. I think they’re kind of cute. The one with the eyelets I want to make into a stick figure!!! Anyway, when making these buttons I didn’t use any JAC paper. The first button is raw chipboard with two eyelets set in the holes. For the second button I lightly inked the raw chipboard with a Tim Holtz Distress Ink and then used a Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Visual Artistry stamp and (of course!) another Tim Holtz Distress Ink to stamp text onto the button. The third button was painted and once completely dry, distressed with a sanding tool, whilst the fourth button was painted and had Glossy Accents applied. These buttons were made with a Cuttlebug die … Harlequin.


Finally, the above funky shaped buttons were made with chipboard, JAC paper, and a variety of textural elements. I enjoyed making these ones the most. Once I had die-cut the shapes with my Big Shot Thick Cuts Boxes, Funky die it was simply a matter of removing the top layer of the JAC paper to reveal the adhesive layer beneath. Then all I had to do was to stick them sticky side down into a variety of products, well kind of. For the first button I used a Pinkerrific We R Memory Keepers Foil Sheet as a rub-on (foil side down on the adhesive JAC paper) and ended up with this terrific metallic effect which shows the lines from when I did the rubbing. Pretty cool. Next up I used glitter to cover my button. I used a German Glitter made from real glass so needed to handle this one with care. For the third small button I used a Magenta We R Memory Keepers Flock Sheet exactly the same way I used the Foil Sheet, as a rub-on. This time though I didn’t get the rubbing lines.

Moving onto the three larger buttons. The one on the left I put in a plastic bag in which I store my loose Hot Pink Flocking and then ‘squished’ away. By putting the button into the bag with the flocking I didn’t have to worry about cleaning up any loose flocking afterwards. Plus I was able to get a fabulous application. The middle button was even more fun to create! I used the Bright Pink Flower Soft. Now anyone who has used Flower Soft knows that once you release the filaments from their original packaging that you need to then store them in a larger zip lock bag. Yes?

Well setting aside the buttons for just a moment … up until now I have been storing the empty Flower Soft containers in the bag so I knew what colours I was using. I discovered whilst making these buttons that in fact the labeling on the Flower Soft containers is actually an easily removable disc on the inside of the lid. So I removed the disc to pop into the bag and as a result ended up being able to store my Flower Soft in a smaller space plus I ended up with a really cool container for later use. For any storage junkies you’ll love this tip! So where were we? Oh that’s right … buttons.

I applied the Flower Soft to the large, middle button exactly the same way as I applied the loose Flocking. I put my sticky chipboard button in the bag and ‘squished’ away. You can see the result for yourself … one very funky, textural button that looks fabulous. Finally, as the German Glass Glitter I used on the small button needs to be handled with care, I decided to see how one would look if I applied Glossy Accents over the top of the glitter. Whilst it certainly alters the colour of the glitter, the end result is an ever so very cool, textured, plastic-like tile. I was so thrilled with the result (don’t we all hate glitter spreading all over our projects) that I’ve decided to do the same with my Flower Soft button and am currently awaiting the result. I will be sure to let you know!

As you can see, if you’d rather custom make your own buttons, the possibilities are endless. They are quick and easy to make, a great way of using up any scraps you have left over from your latest project, they look fabulous, and most importantly, they were made by YOU.

Alz :)

PS: Here is a photo of the Flower Soft button once the Glossy Accents had dried. Oh boy LOL, I think I’ve died and gone to Button Heaven!!! :)

PPS: I think next time I'll paint the button pink for a more polished effect! :)
---------------------------------------------------

Melinda Spinks... 
Buttons, Buttons, Buttons... come in all shapes, sizes and colours yet I will be the first to admit that I haven't really endeavoured to use them to their full potential. I have a tray of bits/bobs/buttons/bling beside me when I scrap and although it looks seriously amazing it is extremely underused and overstocked. So I took it upon myself to find new and interesting ways start using buttons in my work and I was amazed at how versatile a simple little button can be.

A button doesn't necessarily have to be for keeping your shirt from gaping or your pants from falling down, it can be used to embellish, enhance, add colour, add dimension... you are only limited by your imagination.
Try adding multiple buttons in the one colour scheme and overlapping them to create great dimension and an interesting statement on your project...

One of the latest trends seems to be that of adding just a simple bow to your button which looks really cute and is an alternative method in attaching a button to your layouts or cards...

Ever thought of grabbing a paint pen and adding some extra pizzaz to your button collection...

So I think it is time to have a little wander through your supplies and you may be pleasantly surprised at the collection you have built up over the years. Why not re-evaluate the way your buttons are stored, try separating them into individual colour schemes. I find buttons look so vibrant when they are individually sorted into their own colours and it makes life a whole lot easier to find a match for your project.
Next time you are looking for that perfect embellishment... try a button!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Tanyah Payne...
 Buttons can be of all shapes and sizes, hand made as you can see above posts.
At scrap in craft with T. we stock....
Chellebean Buttons which are adorable... check more of them out HERE: 

We also stock packs of small buttons which are fantastic value...

 

We also have glittered buttons which look fantastic for placing in a garden pages and so much more.

Thankyou girls for your ideas with this one, i really apprecate it and I am sure our readers love your ideas...

thanks for reading
enjoy your day
luv tanXx

Using up your stash with tips & Techniques - By Alison Callcott

Tips/Techniques
*   When using bold sections of patterned papers, using papers from the same range will help them blend and contrast more effectively.
*   Paint and sand your embellishments to help them stand out against the bold patterned paper.
*   Keeping your paint and embellishment palette confined to just a few co-ordinating colours will prevent the LO from appearing over done.
*   Twill is a great alternative to ribbon when creating a heavily distressed looking LO.
*   Create your own ‘dictionary definitions’ for the words you want.  Printing them on acetate enables them to be layered over other elements, in this instance the photo.


Friends
*   Crate Paper Samantha Collection
*   Cardstock – red and teal
*   Maya Road chipboard alphas
*   Fancy Pants chipboard
*   FolkArt acrylic paints
*   Acetate
*   Making Memories staples – dark
*   Brads - red
*   Twill
*   Decorative edge scissors

One of our Design Team members  Lisa kamphuis  has been published 3 times in the last Scrapbooking Creations Magazine.... we are very proud of you lisa, they are amazing layouts and I can see why they have been published Lisa


Here they are for you to have a peek...

This one is a full page and on page 99

On page 48  you will find this adorable little girl of lisa's.....

and her amazing boys are on page  64.

Congrats Lisa and well done! amazing layouts and love everything about them.!


till next time
luv tanXx

THE THOUGHT BEHIND THE PROCESS

We gather information everywhere and store it in our head space for use later down the track. We call on it each time we set about to create a layout, Off the page item or mixed media project. Inspiration comes from looking at each others work, through magazines, movies & tv, a color scheme that you have seen on a paint chip, a department store display - there are so many.

"One Cool Dude" is a layout that I created after seeing something similar from an American artist online a few years ago. I wanted to create a type of retro color scheme so i found inspiration from the early seventies for this part of the layout.

The layout that I admired used round circles of the same size. I decided to use squares in varying sizes instead. The photo they had used was a lot smaller and this was such a cute photo I really wanted to accentuate that so I had it enlarged.

My background paper was a brown tone so that it would tie in with the color of the skin and to keep the focus on all the little squares of patterned paper & their beautiful hues. I chose around 6 printed papers and two plain papers, some prints were double sided. I then cut them into varying strips in readiness to be cut into different sized squares.

The photo was prepped by cutting the excess background away... this gave it a kind of 'three' dimensional look on the page. I chose three different chipboard fonts and prepared them by giving them an undercoat and then two coats of paint. once they were dry I used my black pen to outline the outer edges to help give definition to their shape.

So all the prep work had been done - now to start adhering the elements to the page. I started with my photograph. I then placed different shaped squares across the page, slowly going up the page and around the face. I did not stick them down until i was happy with their color placement. I tried to use some small solid colour blocks to balance out all the prints. Once I was happy i then adhered them to the layout. I then accented all the boxes with a black outline.

I added the title by staggering it across the page and added some small tags from the Heidi Swapp range and the Making Memories range. The outer edge was painted with black paint to help give the layout a border.

This is a great layout for you to use up all your scraps. I tend to have lots of left over strips - organising them in color groups is great if you are looking to put together a quick and simple, stand out layout with a large photo that you can cut out.

I hope you have fun creating this layout - I can see myself making a few more of these maybe even with some other shapes.

Have a great week
tracey

Step by Step single layout by Lisa Kamphuis

 Lisa has created a very quick layout for you all to have a go at!....

1.  Using a white cardstock  background and a strip of  bright  coloured paper

2.  I have  glimmer misted mine for some additional  colour and sparkle

3.Trim a series of photos  to fit across the  page.  Its a  great look if they  tell a story too

4.  Add some  simple embellishments and a title.  I have heat  embossed a  chipboard title for this one

5.  Add any  journalling or   final  touches you may like..

Isn't this adorable!.... looks fantastic and thanks for sharing lisa
luv tanXx

Saturday Scrapping Stimulus...

Wow, is it really mid-May already? Where on earth did this year go? We'll be talking about Christmas and New Year before we know it...

The quote I have chosen today is one I have chosen because I'm planning on using it for a page about my younger brother. He's homeschooled by my mum and would prefer to spend his time "inventing" than actually doing his Maths or English...

********
An inventor is simply a fellow who doesn’t take his education too seriously.

—Charles F. Kettering

********
It's particularly relevant to Ryan, but I can just see it being used on a page about any young inventor, or even any older inventors out there!

Have a wonderfully happy scrappy weekend!

Kylie

I'll show you mine ... if you show me yours

Let's face it. All of us who scrap had to start somewhere. Often you can find our first ever LOs hidden away in the back of albums. Where's yours stored? Mine? It's the first page (I didn't know it at the time but its actually a 'title page') in my dog Hayley's album. Hayley's unexpected passing was the impetus for me to start scrapping. What got you started?

I quite like my first ever page. I still to this day think its rather good LOL! Perhaps because I had been involved in paper crafts and other art based crafts for several years I felt comfortable working with various mediums? Maybe because I had been doing stamping based cards for many years I was more aware of some of the different products on the market (at the time) and how to use them? Sentiment maybe? Because it was ‘my first’ … sort of how we remember our many other ‘firsts’? Could it be that it represents a complete change in my life path and subsequent lifestyle and dreams? It could be all of these and more. I just think I like it. How do you feel about your first ever LO?

The truth is that the next several LOs after that first one kind of make me cringe LOL! Each of them looks as if they were created by a different personality (oh and I promise you I only have the one!)!! I plan to re-organise my albums one of these days (LOL where have I heard that one before??) and you can bet on it that some of those earlier pages won’t be featured as prominently as they perhaps are at the moment. But then maybe I should leave them in the order in which I created them? Scrapping is about telling a story yes? Well then, doesn’t each of our pages tell a story about our scrapping journey and us? The times we tried different styles or products and found that really they weren’t for us? Or the LO that shows when we first started heading in a different direction? In fact they could be considered examples of the trends and fashions of the time they were created. Five years ago I’m not sure there were too many ‘mainstream’ scrappers using recycled materials from their recycling bins on their LOs. Today? Well it’s almost the norm. Heh maybe one day those earlier pages will come back into fashion?

Okay so hmm … if I show you mine will you show me yours? I hope so. Here’s mine …

I don’t have a record of the products I used but from memory I can tell you that the foam alpha stamps (Li’l Davis maybe??) for the title were intended (in those days) for use with paint but that being a stamper, I used ink. I remember how hard it was to find nice (well any really) pet themed paper and so I created my own background with Bazzill cardstock and a piece of black milliner's sinamay. I didn’t know to matt my photo as I didn’t actually do any scrapbooking classes, so I went to great lengths to make a frame for my photo. Being so used to using ‘phrases’ and ‘sentiments’ for my cards I made up a ‘little poem’ for my journaling; but heh at least I included journaling!! I used my favourite paw print stamp to make my own patterned paper. My ribbon wouldn’t stick to the cardstock through the milliner's sinamay despite using double-sided tape so I secured it with brads. All in all not a bad effort for September 2005 I’d say LOL!

Now that I’ve shown you mine, I’d love for you to share some of your first time creations with us in the gallery. For those of us insecure about those first pages, let’s stand tall and proud and celebrate their true meaning … our first steps into the world of scrapbooking. Alz :)

Making your own background Paper - Chromatography Technique

Here is a Technique That Di Hasthorpe shared with us last friday night for our technque fun nite... it is so cool....

The technique of water soaking through the soluble colours is called chromatography. This is the technique of finding out what colours or pigments are in a particular shade of colour.eg, in purple, you would expect red and blue colours to appear when the water soaks through. 

Here is a layout created by Di Hasthorpe using the finished pattern paper!....

Step 1

First we started with White mulbery paper... 

Step 2

We then placed water coloured/die based inks on the Mulbery paper. We have used Distressed inks.

Step 3

We folded it into a cone shape and placed in a tall cup of water. We only had a small amount of water at the bottom 

Step 4

We then watched the colours move towards the edge of the mulbery paper

Step 5

Then we pulled it out and had a look

Step 6

we wanted it to go to the edge so we placed it on a mat and socked it some more

We decided it needed more colour in the middle so we placed some distressed inks in the centre. 

step 7 

Then its the waiting game and wait for it to dry. This will take a while depending on how wet your paper is...

Step 8
Here is the finished paper... you will find one side is brighter than the other.

I hope to make a layout using this paper so you can see a layout can be made out of just about anything....

Here is a Di's layout  she created using my photo of my daughter and niece Beth. Di has used the above altered mulbery paper to create this stunning layout.

 Other products used are....

• 
  

  Cardstock

• 
  

  fancy pants paper

• 
  

  funamentals alphas

• 
  

  Green tara flowers

• 
  

  pearls

• 
  

  bella flocked accetate

• 
  

  a2z scraplets

• 
  

  clear swirl stickers

• 
  

  Yo yo heart made by Nic Amber

• 
  

  paper string

• 
  

  Mesh ribbon

• 
  

  1cm roses 

  Thanks so much for doing this di, this is unreal! xx

Our Friday Nights are so much fun but this week the 14th of May we are CLOSED due to me going to a retreat at Ashmore!

Next week if your able to make it I am sure you will have fun learning new things and having lots of fun!

till next time

luv tanXx