slider

10/31/13

glitz design: raven blog hop

welcome to the october edition of the glitz design blog hop!  today all of the designers are featuring the raven collection.  it's perfect for documenting everything october, fall and halloween!  you are probably hopping over from smitha's blog.  welcome, welcome!!

today, i am sharing two of the layouts i created for summer CHA using the raven collection.  


"merry halloween"
i began this background by stamping the triangle stamp from the raven stamp tin onto my background with gesso.  it's not so obvious from this photo, but you can definitely see the texture and dimension from the gesso in person.  then i misted my background with some black mist just to break up the "whiteness" of the layout.  i layered my photo onto several paper layers, a doily, some journaling cards and a few tags.  the finishing touches were the title in the bottom right hand corner and a few little embellishments here and there.

here's a close up photo...




"boo"
for this layout, i wanted to showcase the beautiful oranges from the raven collection, as well as the giant rhinestones.  i figured what better way than to create a bunch of circles on my background.  i designed the cut file using the silhouette cameo.  then i trimmed down some papers and photos to fill in my circles.  since it's a busier layout, i kept some of the circle cuts open to break up the patterns and colors.  



i layered some of the circle stickers from the raven accent stickers and some giant rhinestones onto a few of the circles.


i just love that little fox rhinestone!!

and that's it from me today!  thanks so much for joining us on the blog hop!  your next stop is the glitz design blog.  be sure to leave comments along the way for a chance to win a raven prize back from glitz.  the more times you comment, the more chances you have to win!  good luck!

here is the complete blog hop list in case you are lost….


Glitz Design blog - http://glitzitnow.com/blog/ 



10/30/13

workspace wednesday...


lots of projects going on right now with lots of beautiful supplies.
these are a few of my favorites right now….



Gossamer Blue: Creative Journaling Ideas for Project Life

I made it a goal this year to add more notes and details about my photos and our life.  It’s usually just a sentence or maybe even a few words, but I love that years from now we will be able to look back at this album and remember all of these little moments.
Here are some creative ways I like to add journaling to my pages:

1. Type or write onto vellum.
I am a big fan of vellum.  I love the transparent nature it adds to the album.  I usually just type out of journaling using my typewriter, trim and then add to my spread.  You can easily print on vellum from your computer, or even write your journaling directly onto the vellum.  Just be sure to give the ink time to dry.

For this pocket, I wanted to use this little frame to hold our weekly events.  Since it’s typed on vellum, you can see through to the next page.  It makes for a fun little “peek-a-boo” effect.

Here, I typed my journaling on a little square of vellum and then added it onto of my photo with a few little tags and stickers.  Again, since the vellum is transparent, it doesn’t take away from my photo.

2. Typing directly onto photo.
Super easy, and super effective!!  I slide my photo into my typewriter, add my journaling and call it done.  I usually have to hold the photo in place in my typewriter towards the bottom edge to make sure my journaling is (somewhat) straight.  And I try to find the “white space” of my photo to help the journaling stand out.

For this photo, I typed my journaling in the bottom right hand corner and then added the “love her” tag over it.

Here’s another example of using white space to add journaling.  I typed my notes onto the bedspread of my photo.  If I would have tried to add my journaling above the photo on the tag, I wouldn’t have had enough space.  I love that I was able to add the details about my son’s new “big boy bed”.

Same thing on this photo.  So easy!

3. Type or write onto patterned paper or tags.

Sizing photos smaller than the photo pockets allows you to add titles and journaling onto the bottom layer.  For the pocket above, I printed my picture at 4×4 inches and adhered my photo to a 4×6 piece of patterned paper.  Doing this gave me room to add some journaling and a title.


I also love to add tags and embellishments to the “empty space” of my photos.  I trimmed down a journaling card, typed my thoughts and then added a few little fun layers on top of the journaling card.


This photo didn’t really require much journaling….just a simple note about the day.  I trimmed down one of the Flea Market tags from the add-on kit, added my journaling and then sewed it into place.

4. Use a white gel pen to add journaling directly onto photos.

This is another great example of using the “white space” of a photo to add notes.  My typewriter would have been too dark on this photo, so I used my Uniball white gel pen to add my journaling.  Simple and easy!!
Same thing here….journaling onto the sidewalk using the same white pen!

5. Add hidden journaling using tags and pockets

And that’s about it!!  Thanks so much for stopping by today!!  I hope these examples have inspired you to add more journaling and thoughts to your Life Pages album!!  







10/28/13

glitz design & prima marketing part 2


there's more glitz design and prima marketing goodness on the glitz design blog today!!  it's so fun to do product swaps and i had so much fun playing around with the raven collection from glitz and some new goodies from prima marketing!!

i created two different projects this week!!

first up is a halloween mini from halloween last year!!  yep…another mini album!  they are definitely one of my favorite things to make!!



i also decided to create a headband for my daughter using the beautiful tulle flowers from prima!!  she loves it and i think she looks adorable with it on!!  it was so simple to make too.  



my mind's eye: hello fall mini album



you know i love mini albums!!  today i have one of my favorite albums to share with you!!

happy monday!

10/26/13

write.click.scrapbook: vellum week in review


i blogged all week last week on the write.click.scrapbook blog.  it was so wonderful reading all of your comments and i hope that i inspired you to use vellum on your projects!  it's such a fun edition to layouts, mini books and project life spreads.

here's a recap of the week in case you missed any...



















10/24/13

happy little moments



i participated in the happy little moments class at studio calico a few months ago.  it was amazing.  i have made my fair share of mini albums over the years, but i had never altered an older book.  i loved every bit of it.  and it's one of my favorite books to date.  it's just so pretty.

i finished the book during the class, but i struggled with the cover.  i think i always struggle with the covers for some reason.  it's just so "permanent" if that makes any sense???  finally i took the plunge and decided simpler is better.  i covered it with some of my favorite dear lizzy paper, a doily and a title.  i used some canvas along the spine to make it look more "book" like.












have you ever altered a book?  my favorite part is all of the little bits and pieces sticking out of the sides!!  

fingers crossed that studio calico will have another happy little moments class in the future!!  :)



10/22/13

elle's studio: the boys


when i sit down to create a layout, i often find myself drawn to some sort of "design element".  sure, sometimes i have a color in mind, or a "softness" in mind, but frequently i want to achieve some sort of "design" on my page.

 i started this page with the photos, title and journaling in the center of the white cardstock.  it looked nice and loved the grid of photos and words, but it needed something else to me.  i liked the way the woodgrain paper from the elle's studio saltwater collection looked with my photos and tags and i played around with different ways to layer it onto my paper.  when i laid the paper diagonally across my background i was in love!!  it made the center grid pop from the background and that was awesome!!

here's a look at my finished layout...




what about you? 
what draws you into your page?  do you look for a "design element" when putting your layouts together?  i'd love to hear how your pages come together!!

happy tuesday!
xoxo


10/21/13

glitz design & prima marketing swap


glitz design and prima marketing are teaming up this week to bring you tons of inspiration!  glitz design team members used the lovely raven collection and some of the new halloween products from prima to create fun projects for you!!

here are two of my projects...  


hello october.
for this layout, i really wanted to focus on the contrast of colors.  the black and white striped paper from the raven collection was perfect for my background.  i matted my photo onto a few paper layers and tags and then finished my layout with the beautiful cork stars from prima and a large prima flower.

here are a few detail shots...




for my second layout, i wanted to try to keep a white color scheme and use a contrast black and white photo as the center of my page.


i started by using a prima mask and some gesso to create a "polka dot" background on my white cardstock.  then i layered my photo onto some tissue paper and a few pieces of paper from the glitz raven collection.

to finish my layout, i painted a few of the cork stars white and then used them as embellishments along side my photo.  i added a few feathers...one beautiful resin feather from prima, and one embossed feather that i made using the wild & free rubber stamps.

here are a few close ups...



a few other glitz gals participated as well!  be sure to stop by the glitz design blog to see more projects and to be entered to win a raven prize pack from glitz!!

thanks so much for stopping by!!



vellum week at write.click.scrapbook


hi and happy monday!!  

this week i will posting all week long on the write.click.scrapbook blog.  i'm venturing into vellum and showing you fun ways to incorporate vellum on your layouts and projects!!