Practical Scrappers DT Challenge: Use Rub-ons

This week's challenge at Practical Scrappers is to use rub-ons - something that I, admittedly, am NOT a fan of. I bought some to use for the challenge and didn't end up having time to create a layout around the rub-ons - which is what I would have to do in this case. I had been working on scrapbook layouts with non-scrapping friends last week. We started on Monday and needed an entire book done before Friday - it was a moving away gift for a family that are dear friends of mine and Will (the husband) was leaving on Tuesday morning, so his surprise going away party was on Friday night.

On Friday while working on a "Friends" page and cooking up a huge batch of gumbo for the party, I decided to use some old rub-ons that I've had for a while on the layout, which I was able to submit as my project. Talk about getting it done on the 11th hour!

Here is my 2-page layout "You've got a friend in me".

Left page:

here's the right page:


The left page has an oversized tag cut from tags, bags, boxes and more. I printed the lyrics to the Randy Newman song "You've got a friend in me" (we all know it from Toy Story) and used that as the journaling tag. I knew this going away party was going to be emotional and our friend Will needed something to remind him of his friends here in Florida. I didn't want the journaling to be too personal - he's a tough guy, so I opted for this song. The photos on the layout were from various times we all spent together at a bar where Will's wife (and one of my best friends) Krissy works. My boyfriend plays guitar and sings there on Sundays so the music theme seemed appropriate. It went over well - and there were a lot of tears.

On the lower right corner of the left page, there is a mini album, which is held closed by sheer yellow/gold ribbon tied in a bow. It's folded accordian style and houses 7 photos between the 2 sides of the pages. Here's a close-up of it opened:


The right page also holds a bunch of photos, but this time I used a tag holder that I find quite handy, unique and fun! I've used both of these multiple photo LO techniques on a previous layout (Emily the Destroyer) but both LOs look so different - it's just a great way to get a lot of photos on a 2-page spread.

The tag holder was made from a #10 business size envelope that was folded, inked, & covered with coordinating paper. It holds 4 tags and each has a photo on both sides. I discovered this technique by visiting Following the PaperTrail. Laura has a lot of very cool things on her blog... check her out when you get a chance. You won't be disappointed! Here's a link for a YouTube video with directions on how to make the tag holder.

Here's a close-up of horizontal tags that slide into the tag holder:


and here is a close-up of the vertical tags that slide into the top of the tag holder:

Keep in mind, more tags can be added, I just chose to have 4 double-sided photo-tags for this layout. The final photo count on this 2-page layout: 18! Had I chosen to make the journaling tag a lot smaller I certainly would have been able to include at least 1 more photo on that page. In fact this layout had the potential to hold well over 20 photos without crowding them all in - gotta love that! I used Great Big Brads from Hot off the Press with quirky little HotP rub-ons on 2 of the photo tags and 1 on the journaling tag. The tags were all distressesd with Tim Holtz distress inks (spiced marmalade & dried marigold).

The striped paper was from Reminisce. It's double sided - the quilt-pattern you see under the vertical tags is on the reverse side.

Title letters were cut from Alphalicious, the music notes were from Hannah Montana and the tags were all TBB&M.

That's it for this week. I'll be celebrating my birthday this weekend so hopefully I'll have a few funny pictures to scrap in the coming weeks. My mom is doing her annual Easter Egg hunt on Sunday for the kids so there's another photo-op!

Thanks for visiting my blog and be sure to check out Practical Scrappers to see the great rub-on projects my DT sisters have created this week.

Til next Wednesday...

Happy crafting,
Barb

SOUS 2/12 Sketch - my first submission

So, I think I'm getting a little more confident with my work. I mean I LOVE my layouts and other people seem to like them too. I just have been hesitant in submitting anything other than my design team work... until today.

I recently saw this sketch on Stuck On U Sketches:


This is a direct quote from SOUS:
"This week we have chosen one created by Liz Qualman. You can visit Liz and see more of her work at http://lizqualman.blogpsot.com/. We hope you will come back next week for a VERY special treat from Liz to us for you! You won't want to miss it! But this week we have a little TWIST on the challenge. You must use the sketch AND you must use RED or PINK on your layout! It doesn't have to be valentine-ish... just use one of those colors somewhere on your project..."

As soon as I saw it I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it! I had this amazing photo of my youngest daughter and it was perfect for this sketch challenge!

Here is my take on Liz Qualman's sketch:


The patterned papers were from HotP (striped and polka dot), Doodlebug Design (checked) and the speckled is unknown :(

I used my favorite Cricut font cartridge Alphalicious for the title letters - it just adds to the playfulness of the layout, don't you think?

Practical Scrapper's challenge for this week is flowers so I thought I would keep the theme going by using some homemade sunflowers for the embellishment.

After cutting the flower centers and stacking them, I used "pine needles" and "walnut stain" distress ink applied to a Fantastix to tap ink on the jagged edges, softening them a bit and giving them a more realistic look. Here's a close-up of the flowers:


I'm really thrilled to finally have this photo in my scrapbook where it belongs instead of in a box full of photos where nobody can see it.

Let me know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by and...

Happy crafting,
Barb!

What a Hoot!

Reminisce Papers make me happy! I don't know what it is about them, but they never disappoint me. I love their colors, textures and designs. In this 2-page spread starring my boy Zac, I used 3 different patterned papers and a bunch of coordinating stickers (owls, branch, leaves), tore some core'dination cardstock to give the tags a rustic outdoorsy look, and used a lot of 3D-Dots behind the little leave stickers to give the impression that they are falling.

As usual, I cut my title letters with my Cricut using my oh-so-favorite font cartridge "Alphalicious" - it's just SO playful and fun!


Because we don't have a REAL Autumn here in southwest Florida using these papers (which I knew I HAD to have!) created a small challenge. While they begged to have photos of piles of fallen leaves and vivid New England fall landscapes, I couldn't find any photos from back "home" that would work. The pictures I chose to use were taken at a local restaurant during a visit with family from New Hampshire (Love you Meghan and Rhonda!). We all went to see my boyfriend Tequila Tom perform that night and Zac was just being a goofball all night and making everyone laugh. Looking through my pile of unscrapped photos these just seemed perfect!

Thanks for looking and...

Happy crafting,
Barb!

11/09 Scrapbooking Goodies' DT Challenge: create an "About Me" layout

This was such a fun challenge and something that I have wanted to do for a very long time!

I chose to do a spinner page for the left page and tags tucked in to a pocket for the right page. I am a HUGE fan of hidden journaling, so these 2 techniques had to be included in an "all about me" layout :)

I created the spinner element in Cricut Design Studio (CDS) using George and Basic Shapes and Accent Essentials cartridges, but I hand cut the pie shaped spinner opening. The title letters were welded in CDS using Alphalicious and shadow feature, then layering the base letters after they were cut. I used my CuttleBug and the Swiss Dots folder to emboss the center circle. The paper flowers were ones that I had in my stash that I just had to use!

The pocket page was also created in CDS using Alphalicious for the letters, Everyday Paper Dolls for the pocket (it's actually a road on the cart!) and Tags, Bags, Boxes and more for the tags and flowers on the top of each, but then more paper flowers from my stash were attached to the top using brads. I handstitched the edge of the pocket and in between the tag sections using embroidery floss (more stash that I need to use up!).

I love these Doodlebug Design Inc. papers and use them (in all of the color combinations) in a lot of my layouts and projects! I also used a lot of Core'dinations cs in this layout.

Next month's SG Design Team Challenge: create a layout using a Fairytale Creations Chalking Template.

Happy crafting,
Barb!

10/09 Scrapbooking Goodies' DT Challenge: Using Core'dinations Cardstock

This was my Scrapbooking Goodies (SG) Design Team submission for October 2009.

The challenge was to use a non-scrapbooking tool to distress or alter Core'dinations Cardstock. I used one of my son Zac's lego blocks under the cardstock and sanded the surface, leaving a very cool checkered design.

I welded the title words in Design Studio using the Alphalicious cartridge and shadow feature, then layered the base letters on the welded shadow. I love that cartridge... it's just so fun and playful! The circles and triangle in the corners were the negative pieces left after cutting the "o"s and "4" - I love to use my scraps!

Next month's SG Design Team Challenge: an "About Me" layout.

Thanks for stopping by and...

Happy crafting,
Barb!