Summer of Color Week 2: Easy-Breezy Card

I am continuing to create with the weekly color palettes from Summer of Color.  I made a card again this week, but my approach was different this time.  For Week One, I splashed around with watercolor paints.  This week, however, I embraced a simpler, much more orderly look. 
 

Supplies: cardstock from Neenah Paper; patterned paper from Jillibean Soup; cut-apart paper from October Afternoon; ribbon from Scrapbook Fantasies; glitter from Ranger; pen from Zig.

The color prompt for this week is 1 pink + 1 pink + 1 orange.  I have a sister-in-law who adores the color pink, so this card is for her.

For the most part, the lines of this card are straight and orderly.  But, to add just a touch of contrast, I swiped on a little bit of pink glitter.  You can see it better in this detail photo than in the main photo.  Hope you like the card!  Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Summer of Color Week 1: Birthday Tag/Bookmark

It's summer, hooray!  And that means it's time for the Summer of Color.  For week one, the color prompt is 1 blue + 1 blue + green.  To get started, I opened a watercolor set and chose three colors: sky blue, indigo blue, and apple green.  I've approximated these three colors in the borders that I've added to my photos.
 

Supplies: patterned paper from DCWV; watercolor paints from Angora; pen from Zig; washi tape (used for masking) from 3M/Scotch; ribbon from Scrapbook Fantasies; puffy sticker & sequin from my stash.

To create the stripes, I simply masked areas with washi tape.  (The grid lines in the background paper made it easy to keep the tape straight.)  As I painted, I let the colors run together.  This always creates such a pretty effect with watercolors.  I love the contrast between the crisply masked lines and the blurred, flowing paint.

This is quite a large tag.  After I took these photos, I wrote a birthday greeting on the white (masked) lines, and then I taped it to my friend's birthday gift.  This particular friend loves to read, so I figure she can use the tag as a bookmark in the future.

As a finishing touch, I added a bit of shine--a sky blue sequin and an indigo puffy heart.  I also doodled around the borders and tied a ribbon through the hole of the tag.  And now...I'm off to see what everyone else has been creating for the Summer of Color.  I'm sure it will be interesting, as it is every year.

Northwoods Summer

Hello!  I was recently looking back at my college photos (from the 1990's), and I decided to scrapbook some of them.  Here is a page dedicated to a northwoods vacation that I took with my family during the summer between my first and second year of college.
 

Supplies: background paper from Sugar Tree; lattice patterned paper & enamel shapes from October Afternoon; kraft notebook paper from Cachet; cardstock from Bazzill; die cut from Elle's Studio; alphabet stickers from Bo Bunny; pen from Foray; household mini stapler & staples.

I'm playing along with T is for Tuesday, so let's have a cup of tea while I walk you through the page.

My tea cup this week has a northwoods vibe, to go along with the layout.  The cup was handmade by a talented artist in Wisconsin.  Even though it looks like a birch trunk, it's ceramic.

Awhile back, I noticed that a trait of some of my favorite scrapbook pages is a mixture of hard and soft textures.  Ever since I came to this realization, I have made an effort to incorporate a variety of textures into my work.  On this particular page, crumpled and distressed layers of paper provide the softness.

Metal staples, placed in a row, provide contrasting texture.

The photos on this page are from before I ever had (or had even heard of) a digital camera, but they are still some of my favorite photos.  This one shows my brother, my mom, and me on a footbridge in Itasca State Park (the source of the Mississippi River).  My dad took the photo, and I love how he captured the reflection in the water.  

Well, that's all for today.  I hope you've enjoyed going "up north" and "down memory lane" with me in this post!  :)

Cute Tape Idea

Hi, all!  This is just a quick post.  It's the end of the school year, so I was writing out teacher thank you notes yesterday.  To decorate the plain white envelopes, I used five kinds of decorative tape.  On some of the envelopes I placed the bits of tape in a straight line.  On other envelopes I offset the tape bits. 

All decorative tape by Scotch/3M.

I'm sure I'm not the first person in the world who has had this idea, but I still thought it turned out cute, and I wanted to share it, because cuteness is worth sharing.  Can you envision a scrapbook layout with page borders made of bits of tape arranged like this?  I think that would look good.  Well, I know what my next project will be.  :)

T is for Tags (+ Life Update)

Hi, tea fans!  It has been a long time since my last post.  I can assure you, though, that I have been drinking lots of tea since last we visited.  In fact, I even attended a tea appreciation event hosted by Minnesota-based retailer Tea Source.  I found out that Tea Source offers flights on Tuesdays, and I couldn't resist trying one (pictured below).  All the tea was yummy, but my goodness, that is a lot of tea for one person to drink.  Next time I plan to bring a friend to help me drink all that tea.

I had all sorts of goals and plans for how I would use my free time once my university course ended.  Life interfered, in the form of illness (a sore throat for me, ear infections for the rest of the family).  So, I have not been up to much lately.  However, I did accomplish one of my goals: I completed my 2014 family scrapbook!  It's always exciting to finish a big project.  I looked through the album to see if there were any pages I could share for tea day, and I came upon this Valentine's Day page.
 

Supplies: cardstock from Neenah Paper; flair badge & bokeh paper from Lawn Fawn; title sticker from Bo Bunny: hippo paper from Imaginisce; border sticker, labels, tabs, & enamel shapes from October Afternoon; pen from Zig; ribbon & calendar sheet from my stash; household stapler.

I have been obsessed with tags lately, and I used a tea tag as an embellishment on this page.  I also cut the side panel from the Valentine chocolate box that my husband gave me and upcycled that into a tag as well.

So that's what I have been up to lately.  Now I am off to see what is new with everyone else.  See you soon!

Keeping in Touch :)

Hi, everyone!  My continuing ed university class is over.  I got an "A"--yay!  And now I'm ready to return to the real world.  Blogging is the real world, right?  :)
 

Supplies: patterned paper from Basic Grey; die cuts from October Afternoon; heart stickers from Creative Memories; label from Avery; ink & snail stamp from Hero Arts; pencil from Faber-Castell; pens from Zig; origami paper from Sanrio; washi tape from Scotch 3M; assorted stationery scraps from my stash.

While I was busy with my class, my free time was somewhat limited, but I did do little projects here and there.  One mini project that I got into was the sending of "pocket letters."  I am an avid letter writer anyway, and when I heard about pocket letters, my mind was blown.  This was a way to combine two of my favorite hobbies--scrapbooking and letter writing!

Supplies: woodgrain patterned paper from Paper House; urban patterned paper from Basic Grey; decorative tape from Scotch 3M; pen from Foray; assorted clippings & scraps--be sure to check out Minnesota poet Ed Bok Lee's web site.

I have written three pocket letters so far, and I created a theme for each one.  The one that you see above went to a friend who loves poetry and quotes.  The one below is for a sci fi-loving friend.

Supplies: spacey patterned paper from Bo Bunny; fussy cut star cirlces from Authentique Paper; fussy cut word bubble from Lily Bee; word & label stickers from October Afternoon; pen from Zig; decorative tape from Love My Tapes; mini envelope & Angry Birds stickers from my stash; Dr. Who printables from <http://www.atypicalenglishhome.com>.

You see the pockets, but where is the letter?  Some pocket letter writers enclose the actual letter in a tiny envelope, which fits inside one of the pockets.  However, I just wrote my letters on the backs of the cards.  That way each recipient can read her letter without the bother of having to remove anything from the page protector.  (I used baseball card holders for my page protectors.  They trifold to fit into a standard #10 envelope, which makes them perfect for pocket letters.)

The tiny envelope in the sci fi letter contains a DIY paper Tardis model.  Any Doctor Who fans in the audience can download their own here.

Some pocket letter writers think up clever gifts--such as sticker strips, tiny bobbins of ribbon, and shaped paper clips--to enclose in each pocket.  So far, I have not been that great about coming up with enclosures, but I am certainly having fun using my scraps to decorate each pocket.  Hope you enjoyed seeing my pocket letters; I am certainly enjoying making them.

Frosted Four and a Freebie

Hi!  Sorry that I haven't made it around to check out everyone's blogs lately.  As I mentioned in my last post, I've been very busy with my university class and only finding time to make small things here and there.  Speaking of small things, here is one that I made recently.
 

Supplies: carstock from Neenah Paper; paint from DecoArt; ink from Tsukineko; glue from Elmer's; beads from my stash.

Why would I make a "frosted" paper four?  Because this happened...

Yes, I turned forty.  I can't wait to scrapbook my birthday photos.  I still have the paper four, and I hope to incorporate it into my page design as an embellishment.

My class ends in early May, so things will be back to normal soon on my blog.  In the meantime, I wanted to share this free printable from Shimelle.  It's perfect for birthdays, or for any time really.  You'll find a link to the full-sized printable at the bottom of this post.  Cheers!

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?