Hard-to-Use Paper: Stamping, Painting, Misting

Hi, everyone.  Wow, it has been over a month since I posted.  That is very strange for me.  As you may remember, I am taking a university class this semester.  It sure has been keeping me busy!  I've been reading, researching, writing...and not blogging very much.  I haven't had a ton of time for creating, either, but I have been making a few little things.  Today I have three cards to share with you.

Supplies: cardstock from Neenah Paper; patterned paper from Basic Grey; stamps from Unity; stamping ink from Hero Arts; mist from October Afternoon.

My goal with these cards was to incorporate some hard-to-use paper.  Don't get me wrong, I love this paper from Basic Grey's 6x6" "Out of Print" collection.  But the patterns are very busy, and I needed to find a way to tone them down.  For this first card (above) I stamped on the paper with a butterfly stamp three times and then fussy cut around the images.  I love how the butterflies turned out!  They look like stained glass. 

Supplies: cardstock from Neenah Paper; patterned paper from Basic Grey; butterfly stamp & sentiment stamp from Unity; swirl stamp from My Mind's Eye; standard office hole punch; stamping ink from Hero Arts; assorted acrylic paints; pen from Zig.

This card is a little edgier.  I call it "girly grunge."  I stamped the butterfly again, but I also painted over a piece of patterned paper to create an interesting background.

Supplies: cardstock from Neenah Paper; patterned paper from Basic Grey; turtle stamp & stamping ink from Hero Arts; dashed line stamp from My Mind's Eye; assorted acrylic paints; glitter from Ranger; mists from October Afternoon; masks & sentiment sticker from my stash.

For this last card, I went whole hog with stamping, painting, and misting to create an underwater scene.  The patterned paper is only barely visible under all that mixed media, but it's still there, making a statement in the background.

So there you have it--I used stamping, painting, and misting to transform patterned paper.  And I ended up with three completely different looks: stained glass, girly grunge, and undersea.  Which one do you like best?

De-stashing with Punched Shapes

It's been a long time since my latest card share, but I've got a fun one today.  This is a stash-busting card, because I used a punch to make all those little hearts out of leftover bits of paper.  Hooray for using up scraps!
 

Supplies: all paper & stickers from October Afternoon; punch from All Night Media; ink from Clearsnap.

I had to putz around quite a bit to get all the hearts lined up just the way I wanted them.

All the putzing was worth it, though, because I'm so happy with the dimensional look of the card.

I decided to use punched hearts on a layout, too.  It's so fun to mix different colors and patterns.
 

Supplies: cardstock from Bazzill; all paper from Simple Stories; heart punch from All Night Media; thread from DMC; woodgrain letter stickers from Hambly; green letter stickers from Lawn Fawn; word sticker from Bo Bunny; button from Blumenthal Lansing; pen from Foray; spray ink from October Afternoon.

I tried to give this page a shabby, worn, "well loved" feeling, like the title says.

The idea to string the hearts like sequins was inspired by a card I saw on Kirsty Vittetoe's blog, and she in turn was inspired by a post on the Papertrey Ink blog.

Like the card at the top of this post, my layout has a lot of dimension.

However, all the elements "squish down" really easily, in order to fit neatly inside an album page protector.

It was fun to mix and match cute little paper scraps from my stash to create these two projects.  Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

A Breath of Spring

Anyone have spring fever?  Just for fun, I thought I'd share this spring scrapbook page today.  As you see, I am still dabbling in simple mixed media techniques.

Supplies: cardstock from Bazzill; stationery from Paperchase; pen from Zig; canvas fabric (for leaves) from Canvas Corp.; paint from DecoArt; spray must from October Afternoon; masks, washi, flower, & clock face from Natalie May Etsy.

It has certainly been the year of weird weather so far.  Wherever you are, I hope that good weather will come your way soon!

Destashing with Mixed Media

What is the correct plural of the word "yeti?"  I have seen both "yeti" and "yetis" used as the plural form.  For now, let's just say that "yeti" is both the singular and the plural.  I have a very good reason for this.  The reason is...I ran out of "S" stickers in the font that I wanted to use on this scrapbook layout.  :)

Supplies: paper from Lily Bee; stickers from Bo Bunny; paint from Deco Art; colored pencil from Faber-Castell; pen from Zig; upcycled postage stamps & bubble wrap.  Loosely based on the sketch from page 33 of the January 2015 issue of Create magazine.

The topic of this scrapbook page may be yetis...oops, I mean yeti, but what I really want to talk about today is destashing with mixed media.  Now, I have a love/hate relationship with mixed media.  I love all the "playthings" (paints, mediums, tools, etc.) associated with the style.  But I hate waiting for wet media, such as gesso, texture paste, etc., to dry.  Still, I know that using mixed media can be quite green, so I decided to give it a go on this page, and I'm happy with the result.  I think I've found some mixed media techniques that require little to no drying time--hooray!

First off, I modified my patterned paper background by stamping with acrylic paint on bubble wrap.  Can you see it in the photo above?  Acrylic paint dries quickly, especially if you only use a thin layer.

Before putting the paint away, I also used it to make these snowflake embellishments.  Treating the negative pieces of some Bo Bunny snowflake stickers as stencils, I applied acrylic paint to patterned paper.  Again, I kept the layer of paint quite sheer, since I wanted the herringbone pattern to peek through from behind the paint.  After the paint dried, I outlined the snowflakes with colored pencil--a medium that requires zero drying time--and cut out the finished embellishments.

I also added swipes of acrylic paint and red pencil to the borders of a couple photos.

Finally, I used the mixed media trick of embellishing with found objects--postage stamps, in this case.  Even though I used mixed media techniques (stamping, stenciling, colored pencil, found objects), I was able to create this layout in a single sitting.  It was great to get some use out of my mixed media supply stash, so I'll definitely be making more pages like this one in the future.  Who knows, maybe my love/hate relationship with mixed media will someday become just a "love" relationship. 

Party Time!

I have a Christmas page to share today.  I know that Christmas was a while ago, but I thought I might not be the only person who is still scrapping holiday photos.  Plus, even though my subject matter may not be up-to-the-minute, my inspiration is.  I love all the new party-themed scrapbooking supplies that debuted at CHA 2015 last month.  But being me, I decided to go the "green" route and decorate my page with actual party supplies instead of purchased scrapbook embellishments.

Supplies: patterned paper from Little Yellow Bicycle, cardstock from Neenah Paper; ink from Clearsnap; pen from Zig; reused Christmas wrapping supplies.

Side note: yes, my son is wearing shorts in that Christmas photo.  He always wants to wear shorts at home, even in the dead of winter.  I think it's because he's so active, he never seems to get cold.  We do make him dress warmly when we go out of the house, though.  Anyway, back to the scrapbook page.

As much as possible, I try to save and reuse gift wrap. That includes these green paper shreds, which were used as packing material in a gift that I received.  Most of them went into my gift wrap box, to be used again next Christmas.  However, I did set aside a few shreds to use in scrapbooking, and they made their way onto this page.

I also try to save gift bows to use again.  Instead of reusing this one to adorn a gift, though, I placed it on my page.  It makes a fun dimensional embellishment, and it squishes down well to fit in my album (as this photo shows).

Are you excited about the "party trend" in scrapbooking supplies?  I think these supplies are cute, and I'm sure you'll see me using them again sometime soon.

Simple Detashing Idea for January: Mosaic Patterns with Scraps

ETA: I'm also linking up this week with Shopping Our Stash,  where the challenge is to make a love-themed project, and Snippets Plaground #161, the place where scrap (snippet) lovers play.

Supplies: cardstock from Neenah Paper; patterned paper from My Mind's Eye; stamp from Unity; stamping ink from Clearsnap; edging ink from Autumn Leaves/Stampology.

Hi, everyone!  It's time for my first de-stashing post of the year.  In keeping with my plans to simplify things in 2015, I'm bringing you an idea that is simple yet versatile: using scraps to create a mosaic effect.  I used this mosaic technique to make the Valentine card that you see above.

The idea for the Valentine came from this card, which is one of my favorite creations from 2014.  I used boldly patterned scraps for the 2014 card, but I got a totally different look by choosing romantic/shabby chic scraps for the Valentine card.

I left the 2014 card unembellished, but I added a tidbit of decoration to the 2015 card, with this doily cut-out and stamped heart.  Really, you can get so many different looks from this one mosaic technique, just by varying the size and pattern of the paper scraps and adding (or not adding) a little embellishment.  Plus, this technique is a quick and fun way to use up scraps.  Let me know if you give the technique a try.

Top 14 of 2014

Hello, everyone!  We're only a couple weeks into 2015, but I hope that the new year is treating you well so far.  I've taken some time to reflect on my body of work from 2014, and I've come up with a list of my favorite projects.  Here it is, my "Top 14 of 2014."

Blogged here.

1.) My son left me a sticky note on this scrapbook page after he saw it.  The note says, "Dear Mom, Awesome!  I mean it!"  How could this not be my favorite project of the year???

 

Blogged here.

2.) This page celebrates the other special guy in my life, my husband.  Plus, I feel like I captured the romantic feeling of our anniversary really well in this page.

 

Blogged here.

3.) I also used the romantic style for this tag mini book, a project that turned out to be both beautiful and useful.

Blogged here.

 4.) In contrast to the romantic style of the last two projects, my favorite card of the year has a strong graphic style.  It was a great way to showcase that patterned paper that we all love.

 

Blogged here.

5.) I'm also proud of the strong graphic design of this page.  Plus, I always enjoy documenting my family's obsession with passion for kung fu.

Blogged here.

 6.) I'm happy that I was able to include so much journaling on this page.

Blogged here.

 7.) There is quite a bit of journaling on this one as well, plus I liked being able to include so many photos.

 

Blogged here.

8.) This computer banner made a great surprise for my husband on Valentine's Day.

Blogged here.

 9.) This gift card holder was also a great surprise, this time for a friend's birthday.  (The friend is a physics/astronomy teacher, so the star chart paper was a big hit.)

Blogged here.

 10.) The bold mix of colors and patterns on this page makes it a favorite of mine.

Blogged here.

11.) I also like the colors and pattern play on this one.

Blogged here.

12.  And, in contrast to the previous two projects, I liked using lighter colors and an airier design on this card.

Blogged here.

13.) In 2014 I often made cards in coordinating sets, something I hope to continue doing in 2015.  This set is my favorite from last year.

Blogged here.

14.) Finally, this page was just plain fun--fun to make and fun to look at.  And fun is what it's all about, right?  Right!

Toward a Simpler 2015

Christmas is over, but here is a scrapbook page that gives you a peek at how I decorated for Christmas 2014.

Supplies: border stickers, alphabet stickers, journaling card, die cuts, & flair badge from October Afternoon; doily from Royal; photo mat paper from Provo Craft; striped background paper from Little Yellow Bicycle; check list sticker from Bella Blvd; pens from Zig; upcycled tabletop confetti snowflakes.

Have you put your holiday decorations away?  Some people like to put them away quickly, while others like to leave them out for quite awhile.  I fall somewhere in the middle, usually putting my Christmas decorations away the first weekend after New Year's.  This year, I didn't have much to put away...

As the journaling on this layout indicates, our family didn't put up our big tree for Christmas 2014.  We all had bad colds at the beginning of December, and decorating just seemed like too much of a hassle.  So we put out Santa Bear and a tiny tabletop tree instead.

I kind of feel like this sticker was made for this page.  :)

You know what?  I actually liked the simplicity of not decorating much for Christmas.  I'm not saying that I'll do it this way every Christmas, but it is nice to go easy on yourself every now and then.

Blog-wise, I am also simplifying.  My life is about to get a lot busier, as I'll be taking a graduate course during spring semester.  Some of my normal blogging time is going to turn into study time.  Basically, there will be three changes to my blog: 

1. I'll still be blogging, just not as often.  
2.  I won't be seeking any design team positions at this time.
3. I'll still write monthly destashing posts, but they will no longer be scheduled for the tenth of each month.

Simple can be good, and I'm looking forward to this new year.  I hope you'll stick with me as my blog changes and evolves.  No matter what happens, my love for papercrafts will never change.  :)