"Use What You Have Challenge"

Hi there,

     You'd think by now I would be comfortable writing  this blog, but I'm still working out of my comfort zone. It is getting a bit easier, but I'm still learning and it still takes hours (or at least it feels like that) to compose each blog.

     So, for  today's blog I decided to try something else out of my comfort zone & take the Sweet Stamp Shop's "Use What You Have Challenge".    I pulled out some papers I 've had for over a year and other supplies as you an see in the picture.   After pulling out the supplies, I grabbed my folder of pictures and found this adorable picture of my nieces having their first ice cream soda. 

     From these supplies, I created my layout. I have to admit it took a bit of time with fussy cutting and numerous arrangements of the layout, before I came up with this fun layout.

First, I misted my Kraft paper with  Vanilla Mist and let it dry.  I then fussy cut the soda glasses from my paper, and using scraps from the same  paper I used to mat the photo, I cut several strips of paper, rounded the ends, used my white gel pen and added dimension at the top and stripes to make them look like straws and added them to the layout.  To achieve the foaming  soda effect, I then added some faded stamped clouds over the top of the picture and straws and added Snow Flower Soft to the clouds to give them a soda effect.  I used the Snow on the Soda Glasses to make them look full, foaming and running over.  I then added the Journaling beneath the picture about their very first Ice Cream Soda. 

This was a fun challenge and a great way to use up old papers that I wasn't sure how to use.  So, now I  think I'll go one step further and actually enter the layout in Sweet Stamp Shop's "Use What You have Challenge".

Of course, now I have to figure out how to link to their blog and back to this one.  So.............

I'll let you know next time if I "did it right" and got my entry in on time.

Happy Crafting till next time!


Aunt Dee

Products used:  Nikki Silvis You are my favorite collection, Colorbox Vanilla Misting, Core Kraft Paper, White Gel Pen, Flower Soft "Snow" and adhesive, unknown scrap paper for matting, Reflection letter stickers, Lawn Fawn Blue Skies Cloud Stamp, Xyron Mega Runner

 

Trying Something New!

       This is my favorite layout so far this year. I received this wonderful picture of my great niece imitating a fisherman on the beach last year. It took me the longest time to scrap this picture as none of the paper worked well with the picture and after several different attempts, I actually tore apart my first layout. It just didn't work and I really disliked how it looked. So the picture (matted on brown) just sat in my pile of pictures to be scrapped.

 

     Then, earlier this year, I had the opportunity to meet Cathy Allen (from Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine) at the Great Canadian Scrapbook Festival in Abbotsford, BC and watch her demo stamping techniques. She also showed us how to create background papers from a plain sheet of white paper with inks and stamps. So I decided to try her technique.

 

      I took a piece of heavy weight plain white 12 X 12 paper. Then taking my blending tool and tips and two colors of distress inks in blue, I started coloring on the paper. I worked a small section of the paper at a time with the light blue (stormy skies). I didn't try to be perfect and left lighter areas on the paper on purpose. After covering the paper with the light blue, I then switched tips and blended in the dark blue (faded jeans) over my previous work. Again, I worked from the corner in towards the center. Knowing that I was going to cover the center of the paper with a picture, I wasn't too worried about covering the very center. 

 

     After I finished all the color work, I dug out my stamps from Sweet Stamp Shop. Using  Tim Holtz's Distressed Faded  Jeans  and Vintage Photo Distressed Ink, I stamped starfish and sand dollars in random patterns all over the paper.

 

      Recycling the netting from a bag of Baby Bell Cheese, I placed it under the matted photo for added texture.    Then I added a sentiment to the picture from a Quick Quotes Rub-on that also included the flip flops and small brown flowers. 

 

     To add more dimension to the layout, I fussy-cut several starfish and sand dollars stamped on water-color paper with Vintage Photo Distressed Ink and layered them using pop-up squares in the upper left corner of the paper and around the lower right corner of the photo. 

 

      All in all, the layout came together so easy using this technique. I can't wait to try it on cards.

Well, that's all for now.   Happy Crafting till next time!

 

Aunt Dee

 

PRODUCTS USED: 12 x 12 plain white heavy stock paper (unknown source), Tim Holtz Distress inks - Vintage Photo, Stormy Skies and Faded Jeans, Sweet Stamp Shop Dream Ocean Stamp Set, Quick Quotes Rub-Ons,  Clear Snap's Stylus and white foam tips and Core'dinations Chocolate Lover Stack., "Canadian Scrapbooker Basics Volume 6: More Stamping   for more details on Cathie Allen's techniques.