Using LO Sketches for Cards - By Annie Zorzo

Still considering myself a relative new comer to the world of scrapping, I have dabbled very little into the world of card making.  I'm not sure if this is the norm....are scrappers also card makers and card makers also scrappers or does everyone stick to what they know and very rarely do they cross over?

Well today I'm branching out and I thought I would show the scrappers out there that they too can become a card maker by using a LO sketch.  And for the card-makers among you, here's another little tool in your tool box when your grappling for some new inspiration....using a scrappers LO sketch.

Here we go...and you must know that I'm writing this before I've even started.  I've picked this LO sketch from the Scrap N Craft with T Sketch Gallery.  I've choosen it purely because of the tearing along the bottom and the little bits of stitching, two things I love to do.  I have no idea how it will translate onto a card but that's the fun of it isn't it!  Remember, sketches are a starting point, you don't have to add all the elements and you can adjust the orientation and placement of embellishments so it fits you're project.  Also remember that because you're working on a smaller surface, it's a great time to bring out your scraps and use them up.

For my card I used:
some left over scraps from the Fancy Pants About a Girl paper range.
Paper Flowers
Brads
White Gel Pen
Sam & Lucy Teeny Tiny Letter Stickers.

And here is what I came up with:

It's not the prettiest card, but the Fancy Pants About a Girl range lended itself to be quite bold, a bit funky and something that would suit a pre-teen.  To make the card I started with:
1. A strip of green placed along the bottom edge of the card to show through the tear
2. Cut a rectangle from the main paper I wanted to use and made a teared 'V' towards the bottom.
3. Next with a white gel pen, I made stitch lines across the main paper.  The About a Girl paper range has dark lines that I used as a guide rather than use the circle from the sketch.
4. From the About a Girl boarder strips and cards I cut out two phrases to take the place of the photos on the sketch and then cut the star and saying to take the place of the torn lined paper on the sketch.
5. The final touch on the outside of the card, I attached some layered paper flowers with brads and some cross stitch marks with a white gel pen.
6. And lastly for a sentiment on the inside of the card I used the Sam & Lucy Teeny Tiny Letters.

So there you have it, a card made from a LO sketch.  The pinnacle of card making might still be a little out of reach for this self-proclaimed scrapper, but it's a starting point for other like-minded scrappers out there to dabble in card making.....particularly with christmas coming up.  Now that's an idea....I'm going to challenge all of you out there to use this sketch or another LO sketch from the Scrap n Craft with T Sketch Gallery and make some Christmas Cards.  Have a go and show us what you come up with in the Gallery, we'd love to see it.

So off you go, get card making, scrapping or go and enjoy your Sunday with the family.  I hope it's warm and sunny where-ever you are.

Layout sketch featuring the new Ruby Rockit - Rock Chic range.

Yesterday Tanyah introduced us to the wonderful new ROCK CHIC range from Ruby Rockit.
Besides the great papers, there is a great array of co-ordinating embellishments chipboard ornaments, journalling shapes, rubons, stickers etc... most of which have a great foil finish to them.

In using this range I created a layout using a sketch we received from Scrap N Craft With T's recent retreat.
The range is great for those 'Good Times' with friends so I created my layout about my time at the retreat and the great time we all had - would definitely recommend it for anyone thinking of going next year!

Here is the sketch...

Sketches are great for those times when you need a bit of help in getting started or need a bit (or a lot) of inspiration - but they don't necessarily have to be followed exactly.  I have used the above sketch but have altered mine slightly...

The main change I have done is to flip the sketch vertically, putting the photos down the right-hand side instead of the left-hand side.  I have left out the circle shape and played around with the other shapes on the page.  Feel free to change it as much or as little as you want.

Check out the new ROCK CHIC range HERE....very fun to play with!!

Happy scrapping...xxxooo

Sketch by Tanyah Payne & Layout by Annie Zorzo

It's the Scrap n Craft with T Retreat Weekend!  I saw some of the things that everyone was going to get up to on the Retreat and they looked fab!  But, if like me, you weren't able to go, here is a little something that the girls did on the retreat.

Tanyah made up this fantastic sketch for the girls to do...

And I came up with a layout for it.  But not content with doing things just as is, I had to jiggle it around a  little bit.  This is something that I think some people might have trouble with but it need not be.  A sketch is a starting point and you can jump from there in a number of directions.

This is how I interpreted it....
1.  Rotated all the papers clockwise so the long thin strip was going up and down as this suited the landscape photo that I wanted to use as the main photo.
2.  Rotated the two smaller rectangles, and decided one would be a smaller 2x3inch photo.
3.  Moved the journalling strips over to be above the main photo.
4.  Kept the title, string and flowers where they were.

For the actual layout, I used

• the beautiful Brooke Collection by Crate Paper 
• Tag by Cosmo Cricket 
• Green Tara paper string 
• American Craft Thickers 
• Versa Colour Ink 
• Various flowers 

So if your not familiar with using sketches, give it a go.  Use the whole thing or as something to jump-start your layout.  Which ever way you go, we'd love to see your interpretation of the sketch in the gallery!

See you next week!