DT Special Assignment Day!

This week's tutorial is brought to you by Julie!

Let's get messy!!!

Working with inks can be intimidating to some scrappers. I'm going to go through some easy steps to hopefully help alleviate some of that intimidation.

Basic edge inking

Whatever style you use for your layouts, inking your edges can add depth to your papers. Lay your paper flat on either a craft mat or kraft paper. Use a sponge applicator (the ones with the wood handles are great and easy to use, but you can also use makeup application sponges as a less expensive option to start with.

Dab your sponge onto your ink pad to pick up colour. Starting on your mat use a circular motion moving onto your paper. Use a light touch to start. You can go over the area again for a deeper colour as desired. (I've gone quite dark in this image.)

Distress Basic Ink Edging

Follow the steps above using Distress Ink, then lightly mist the edges with water. The ink will bleed slightly. You can also "scrunch" the paper slightly to increase the distressed look.

Ink and Water Technique 1

Stamp an image on glossy paper. Let dry. Stamp Distress Ink onto your craft mat using 2-3 colours (try not to let them touch / mix). Lightly spray the ink with water (it will bead up). you can then do one of two things. Either lay the paper face down over the ink and use a rubber roller to spread the ink across the paper. (I couldn't find my rubber roller so I used a small tin can ). Or, roll the roller into the ink and roll over your paper. Dry the paper with your heat gun. Most papers will curl/roll up, but if you use the heat gun to dry them they will flatten back down. Using the sponge, ink the edges as noted above in the "Basic" instructions. You can add additional stamps or even repeat the wet ink process to achieve the desired effect.

Ink and Water Technique 2

Stamp Distress Ink onto your craft mat using 2-3 colours (try not to let them touch / mix). Lightly spray the ink with water (it will bead up). Drag your paper or tag through the ink to cover. You can do this multiple times, but be careful not to "muddy" your colours. Dry the paper with your heat gun. Using the sponge, ink the edges as noted above in the "Basic" instructions. You can add stamps or even repeat the wet ink process to achieve the desired effect.

 

There are a lot of "happy accidents" using inks. The colours and markings are never the same twice and you can produce some beautiful pieces to use on your layouts.

For this one, I thought the colours and pattern looked like a forest. I really didn't have a good tree stamp so I just used the one I had to illustrate stamping on top of the inked colours.

For this one, I scrunched up the tag first, then inked over the raised ridges. I lightly misted the tag with water and the ink ran into some of the crevices. When dry, I inked the edges. This look can be distressed even more to look like leather.

Have fun...get messy...and let's see how things turn out for you. (I love doing these techniques on tags as it is an inexpensive way to experiment and make some embellishments at the same time.)

Design Team Monday!

We have a new challenge from our fantastic Design Team.  This week they are once again working from an inspiration picture.   I love seeing all of the different interpretations on this.

And here is what the team did from it........

Michele

Here is my layout. It's strange how people see things in a different way... With this inspiration picture, I saw a subject on the bottom right hand corner and it seemed to burst out towards the top left. DH and I were discussing this and he said he saw the opposite: A subject flying in from the sky and landing on the bottom right corner!!

The black and red really hit me with a Steampunk style, actually, that's the first thing I saw. So this is what came out of it.

The journaling: (I was inspired by Jenn's article on journaling!!)

Everyone adored her,

She was a young widower;

Aurore, my grand-mother.

She was a lady like no other.

She was patient, generous & kind;

A Saint in my mind.

Her kitchen was never too small

And she always stood tall.

Her heart was so big,

She was as sweet as a fig.

She's the one who raised me,

Part of my soul, she'll always be.

(And the part in white around the corner says: Here is my grand-mother when she was 20 years old, in 1923.)

Paper: Bo Bunny Timepiece collection, beige and brown cardstock.

Inks: Rangers Vintage Photo Distress ink, Cat's Eye chestnut roan chalk and pigment inks, Smooch and

Glimmer Mist alcohol inks. Brown pigment ink pen and white gel pen.

Ornaments: Bo Bunny Timepiece collection chipboard and trinket, Prima flower, beige and brown ribbons

and Harmony measuring tape ribbon, Tim Holtz metal sprockets and key, leaf pins, Maya Road kraft

envelope, brads and shrink plastic keyhole ornament.

Other: Stickles and Glossy Accents

Tools: I used a «Sprightly Sprocket» Spellbinder and a Tim Holtz «Timeworks» clock mask and a paper distresser.

____________________________________

Julie

Bo Bunny Gabrielle paper

Bo Bunny Chipboard accents

Misc letter stickers, gems and twine

This L/O is actually surprisingly simple....3 full circles layered, then one circle with the centre cut out to allow the base paper to show through giving the illusion of another circle. Then I just added the gems, the butterflies and the twine.

___________________________________

Cherie

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics

Patterned Paper: Bo Bunny Ad Lib

Letters: American Crafts & Doodlebug

DieCut: Jillibean Soup

Border Die Cut: Quickutz 

____________________________

Virginia

This image kind of reminded me of space which was perfect for the papers that I had this month but then for some reason the dots on the paper reminded me of a type of mask so I got this idea to use the negative sheet from a sheet of cardstock stickers as part of my background.

Supply list:

Paper - Bo Bunny Blast Off

Bazzill metallic cardstock

Sticker sheet - Sassafrass Lass

Chipboard Embellishments - Bo Bunny Blast Off

Letter stickers - Basic Grey, American Crafts

Printing on a journaling tag tutorial!

I came across this fabulous tutorial on the Scrapbook & Cards Today blog and with their permission I thought it would be great to also share here. 

Credit goes to Paula Gilarde for this.

I usually use the computer to add my journaling - often strips, or journaling blocks but I also like to use journaling spots or tags. It can be a little trickier to add journaling using a computer to them but it's not impossible! Here's a few tips that I use:

First I measure the size of my journaling space -- in my example on this Jillibean Soup tag, the journal block is about 2 inches wide x 3 inches high.

I create a standard document in Photoshop (or Elements) - 8.5x11in, 300 dpi, and turn Grid on (View, Grid). Then I draw a text box of 2x3 inches using the Horizontal Type Tool (T) - this is where having the grid turned on is useful.

Next I see how many lines my journaling will have -- this is determined by the journaling tag. In this case there are 11 lines. I type 11 lines of text into my text box. Initially the text probably isn't going to fill your text box but we can fix that, just make sure you are setting you text size to the one you want (usually around 10/11). Play around with the leading to get the text to fill the box - that's the option that looks like an A on top of another A. Remember, you can type a number into the box, you are not limited to the numbers in the drop down list.

I like to do a test run on a regular sheet of printer paper then to make sure that I've got my size and spacing correct. Hold the journaling tag over the printed journaling to check -- I do this at window so the light shines though, you can also use a light box.

Next adhere your journaling tag on top of your test journaling using re-positionable adhesive and send it through your printer again.

Viola! Perfectly aligned journaling on a pre-printed tag!

DT Special Assignment Day!

Hi everyone.  Virginia here. 

I don't know about you but I love using ribbon on my layouts - I'm always on the lookout for new ways to incorporate it.

I have lots of ribbon from scrappy stores in my stash but also throw in ribbon from presents, packages etc and that's where I got my idea for today's layout which is "wrapping" a layout like a present.

Here's how to achieve this look on your next layout....

1. Cut two even size pieces just larger than your cardstock - attach with glue, staples etc so that the ribbons make a cross across your layout

2. Cut a third piece of ribbon to the shape of either a bow or knot whichever you prefer and tie it tight to secure it in place - you can go under the folds and secure with glue dots or a small foam tab.

That's it! Easy peasy and a great way to add some flair to your next "celebration" themed layout. 

Look what's here.....

The summer issue of Scrapbook & Cards Today is here!!!!

Get yours today (while quantities last)!

Kit of the Week!

A new week means a new kit from the fabulous ladies of Fruit & Nut.  This week's "Quic-Kit" is perfect for pictures of the girls (both big and small) in your life!!

Design Team Monday

This week brings a technique challenge from the team. 

 Distressing 

The following is a definition I found online....

In scrapbooking and other paper crafts, you often hear the term distressing. If you’re not sure what distressing is, here’s a simple definition. Distressing is a technique used to add an aged look to paper.

Distressing can be done several ways, here are a few techniques:

• Gently rub a distressing ink pad with a sponge (cosmetic sponges work well or use an Antiquing Tool) and rub ink around the edges of paper.

• Brush ink with a direct-to-paper technique (brush ink pad directly onto surface of paper with gentle strokes).

• Set distress embossing powders onto paper.

• Crumple paper, flatten, and rub distress inks on paper. Paper can be sprayed with water and dried with an iron or a heat tool to set.

Any of these techniques will give you an antique or vintage look which can vary with the color and kind of ink you use and how much you apply to the paper. Distressing is a great way to quickly change any layout, altered book, or other paper craft from plain to unique. 

Alright, now let's check out what the ladies did.....

Julie

Bo Bunny papers - Gabrielle

Bo Bunny brads and butterfly embellishments

Bo Bunny chipboard accents

QuicKutz scalloped border

Misc: wire mesh and distressed foil

______________________________________

Michele

Paper: Bo Bunny Timepiece collection, corrugated cardboard

Inks: Pumice Stone and Victorian Velvet Distress inks

Ornaments: Bo Bunny chipboard and trinket, metal key, brads, eyelets and twine, alphabets

____________________________________

Virginia

Supply list:

Patterned paper - Bo Bunny Blast Off

Letter stickers - Basic Grey

Journalling block - Maya Road

Paper embellies - Sassafrass Lass, Glitz Designs

Die cut paper - KI Memories

Border Die - QuicKutz

Lace Ribbon - Spare Parts

__________________________________

Cherie

Paper: Bo Bunny Ad Lib

Stickers: Bo Bunny Ad Lib

Die Cut: Jillibean Soup

Letter Stickers: My Mind's Eye

One for the Dads......

Wishing all of the Dads out there a very happy day!!!

Kit of the Week!

So, I know the week is almost done but I need to share this week's "Quic-Kit" from the fabulously talented ladies of Fruit & Nut.  Father's Day is Sunday so snap some pictures of the men in your life and you are good to go!



DT Special Assignment Day!

Thursday is here and that means another fabulous tutorial.  We have Michele again offering us some tips & tricks.

Versamarker Technique

By Michele (Mimita) Harris

Versamark comes in the form of a stamp pad and it also comes in the form of a pen: the Versamarker. And today I will show you a very simple technique using the pen... because it’s so nifty.

First, what is Versamark? Versamark is a watermark ink. Watermark inks are a specially formulated clear ink composition which leaves a subtle tone on tone effect on the surface you apply it to. Versamark is versatile because it’s a slow-drying ink and you can therefore also emboss with it. But it is primarily designed to leave that "watermark" effect on your projects. There are other techniques with Versamark inks combining chalk inks but we will focus mainly on the embossing part with this tutorial.

You will need:

A heat gun

A Versamarker watermark pen

Embossing powder

A stencil

The paper you plan on working on

LEAVING A WATERMARK

Step 1 (Well.... there is only one step to this...) - Just trace a line with your pen in the area where you want to create depth, it’s that easy! 

The effect is more or less subtle, depending on the colour of paper you choose. If your paper is white, you will hardly see it but it leaves a nice effect on pretty much every other colours.

EMBOSSING WITH A WATERMARKER

Step 1 - Again, this is very easy; it’s the same as embossing with pigment ink except that you have full control on where you are applying your medium. The Bo Bunny Timepiece paper collection is fantastic for this technique because it has swirls in the print. Simply trace the swirls lines with the Versamarker.

Step 2 - Cover with embossing powder.

Step 3 - Remove the excess powder and put it back in the jar. 

Step 4 - Heat to melt the embossing powder with the heat gun. 

You get the idea? It’s that simple!! You can repeat these steps with different colours of embossing powders to suit your project. Although be careful to not touch your colours (or don’t overheat in these areas) because your colours may otherwise mix together.

Now, let’s apply this technique to a larger project: a 12x12 paper. Keep in mind that the paper absorbs the Versamark ink and it will dry if you cover the entire project in one application... It’s best that you work on a small portion at a time or the powder will not stick everywhere. Therefore, in the case below, I started applying the same technique shown above on the corners one by one and then I went on to adding butterflies:

Step 5 - You can also use a stencil with both the Versamark pad or the Versamarker.

 

And here is the final product:

I apologize, the embossing is impossible to show on a straight-on photo, nevertheless; here is the finished layout:

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that it inspires you to try this technique.

Design Team Monday (on a Tuesday)

Sorry, I am a little late with this one this week.  My Monday was a little busier than usual.  Here now, though, is the challenge for this week.  The ladies are working with a sketch this week chosen by Cherie and found on the Scrapbooks Etc website.

___________________________________

Julie

Bo Bunny Gabrielle papers

Bo Bunny brads (centre of twine flower and knot on twine)

Bo Bunny stickers

QuicKutz borders

Misc: ribbon

________________________________________

Virginia

Patterned Paper - Bo Bunny Blast Off

Embellishments - 7 Gypsy's Journaling Cards

Letter Stickers - American Crafts

Stickers - Bo Bunny

Glitter Chipboard - Pebbles

Buttons - Pebbles

Paper Filter - Fancy Pants

____________________________________

Michele

The diamond shapes around the edges of the page are made with a stencil and a pigment ink pen.

Paper: Bo Bunny Timepiece collection, beige and brown card stock

Inks: Chocolate Cherry Glimmer Mist, Chestnut Chalk ink and Brown pigment ink

Ornaments: Bo Bunny Timepiece collection chipboards

Prima flower and skeleton leaves

Corrugated cardboard , white altered lace

BasicGrey letters 

___________________________________________

Cherie

Bo Bunny Ad Lib Paper

American Crafts Stickers & Letters

Jillibean Soup Sprout

Quickutz 12" Border Die