My Special Two - a 'vintage' style layout by Sue Smith

This week my layout has a vintage feel with a very special subject matter...my mum and dad who are no longer with me. I struggled quite a bit with this as I wanted to get it 'just right' to pay homage to the memory of my amazing parents. In the end, I altered the papers and embellishments in subtle ways that made it all come together. I am happy with the final outcome...what do you think?.....



Here is the photo that I started off with....



I then attacked it with a fine-grade sandpaper....more than I usually would with a photo....and kept working it until I was happy with the distressed effect...



Next I made a backing mat with Basic Grey Mellow - Sapid paper and decorated with Kaisercraft Rub-ons. The ones I have used are the Gypsy Sisters Collection, which Tanyah doesn't currently have in stock, but I know she would be more than happy to order them for you if wanted these same ones.



To blend with the other elements I had chosen for this layout, and to give an older, more vintage feel to the photo, I decided to ink the background mat and some of the photo with Tim Holtz Distress Inks. Using a sponge as an applicator, I coloured the background mat and the edges of the photo using layers of Crushed Olive, Victorian Velvet, and Pumice Stone. And here is how it turned out.....




For the rest of the layout, I used the following products....

* Chromatics Black Cardstock

* Basic Grey Aged & Confused - Phresh & Funky patterned paper (pink background square)

* Crate Paper - Restoration Collection 'Doilies' (I inked this with Tim Holtz Distress Ink Victorian Velvet)

* Jenni Bowlin Studios - Bingo Cards - Valentine Bliss (red)

* Crate Paper - Restoration Collection Adhesive Backed Chipboard Stickers

* Pink Paislee Expressions - Whimsies Cardstock Alpha Stickers - Chocolate - these are the large and small alphas on the layout.

Hope you like what I've created...I'm happy with it, and I guess that's all that really matters with scrapbooking.

So on that note I leave you with the words...scrap for yourself and no-one else because that's all that really matters...to tell YOUR story YOUR way...your family down the line for generations to come will love what you have created simply because it is their legacy, not because it was artistically 'perfect' at the time you created it.

Until next Monday...happy scrapping everyone and TFL! xxx

Vintage style' - a step-by-step card by Ingeborg Dijkstra

I am still very challenged to do 'vintage style scrapping', but I am determined to give it a go and challenge myself. Tanyah kindly sent me the lovely Ruby Rock It Collection, which works so well with vintage style layouts and cards. So ... after I used a few papers on my layout last week, I decided to create a card with the same collection too!

I first cut a piece of 12" x 12" kraft cardstock in half and folded it to get a 6" x 6" card.

I cut a square out of the 'Mistress' paper. I made the square slightly smaller than the kraft card, because I wanted to still be able to see the kraft border.

I cut a smaller square out of the 'Emily' paper. Using a distresser I distressed all the edges. I also inked all the sides. I punched a scalloped border and inked this border too.

I cut a piece of the Birch Vintage Cotton Lace and put it across the card. I added a bit of brown ink here and there for an 'aged feel'.

I have used a page of the matching journaling pad from the Upstairs/Downstairs Collection. These journaling blocks work so well with the papers!

I borrowed a vintage stamp from a friend. Unfortunately I didn't ask her what the name of this stamp is or which company made it, but this is what it looks like:

I added a little butterfly, which came from the Upstairs/ Downstairs Embellishment Pack. I also punched some swirls out of the 'Emily' paper. I also added a dark blue flower and a vintage frame embellishment.

Finally I stamped the words 'Thank You' on the card. Using clear embossing powder I made it sparkle a bit! This is the finished card:

'Vintage Style' Birthday Calendar by Ingeborg Dijkstra

If you're anything like me, you love the look of all the vintage layouts and projects that you see in magazines and galleries, but you're too scared to make one yourself. Well ... that's me too! But ... due to a challenge at a Dutch site I have tried my very first vintage style layout a few weeks ago and I wanted to have a go at it again.

So ... I used the gorgeous 'Nature's StoryBook' collection from Webster's Pages. The collection also has some beautiful journaling cards. Whilst I haven't used those on my Birthday Calendar, the cards inspired me to make a calendar in the first place. Here is a picture of the cards:

And these are the five doublesided patterned papers I have used:

'Nature's Manuscript':

'Plant & Nurture':

'Soar Blue Skies':
'Violette Wings':

'Wishes Come True':

The images on these papers are just perfect for cutting out, so I started looking on each side of each paper to find images I wanted to use for my calendar. I only cut images from the sides, to keep a lot of the paper for later use.

In Publisher I made a text file to use for my calendar. I converted it to a pdf file, which you can safely download HERE. I printed the document on off white paper to match with the patterned papers I used.

I used 6" x 6" chipboard covers as my base and cut six more pages out of kraft cardstock. I only needed six kraft pages, since I use both sides. I cut 12 (one for each month) slightly smaller squares out of the patterned papers. Some papers are scraps from other lines. I put the patterned paper squares on the kraft paper.

Using my Basic Grey 'Flourish Edges' stamps I stamped flourishes in the corners and at the borders of each page.

I added about two of the cut images to each page. I also stamped a line of Scripture on pieces of Kraft cardstock to have something inspirational on the page each month. The pages look like this:

Using my Bind-It All machine I punched holes and added binding rings at the top. The calendar can stand on its own. The pages are being flipped at the top. I added the words 'birthday calendar' with foam Thickers from American Crafts.

Here are two of the finished pages:

I think a birthday calendar makes a great gift (or you can just keep it for yourself) ... Happy crafting! x

Ingeborg.