Scrap-Friendzy Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss Month

Scrap-Friendzy is the funnest scrappy place to hang out on the web, and this month we have a special treat in store for you. Our Design Team members will be providing a Dr. Seuss inspired challenge every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in March. So if you're looking for a forum based place to inspire your scrapbooking creativity, be sure to come on over to check out Scrap-Friendzy. At the end of the March we'll select a Girlfriend of the Month to receive a fabulous prize package sponsored by our wonderful owners, Amy and Cheryl. 

(Ahem, you're layouts need not include a Cat in a Hat or a Grinch with a Max, but these fun stories have inspiration galore.)

I hope to see you come join in the fun at Scrap-Friendzy!

Thanks for dropping by!

~ Blessings ~

Journey ~ Bird is the Word using The Stamping Scrapper Sketch

I was so delighted to find this old photo of my husband's father when he was only 15 with his younger sister and a cousin. The guitars and accordion help make this an even more precious photo. This paper by g.c.d. studios couldn't have been more perfect with the vintage design and music borders.

The challenge at Bird is the Word to use "Journey" on a layout was just perfect because in a few short years each of these young men and woman would be taking a journey to live in a different part of the country. Journey is the title, in the quote printed next to the title, and on the Muse Token in my embellishment cluster. 

I was inspired by this creative sketch, by The Scrapping Stamper:

I enjoy doing subtle things on my pages to support the photo(s). It's hard to see here, but the pen nib has the word notes on it. I'm sure it was meant for written notes, but works perfectly to reflect the musical notes that would have been played on the instruments. I created the flowers using my Donna Salazer Spellbinders Rose Creations die set and more of the gorgeous g.c.d. studios paper from the Antiquities line. One of those g.c.d. papers I used for the flowers was sheet music, again to give that subtle music touch.

I cut my gears from a couple different SVG file sets that I converted with Inkscape to files I could cut on my Gazelle. Here are links to the files: Gear set 1; Gear set 2; Gear 3. There are a number of free gear svg files out there, so if you don't like what you see here, you can try doing a Google search.

I cut the gears from a dark brown - nearly black paper, then painted with a brown metalic paint mixed with black. When that was dry I used a nearly dry brush with antique white acrylic to add a little distressing to the gears. Since I didn't have any chipboard gears, I made due with what I had on hand. I also added a couple of the Tim Holtz metal gears ~ treated with black alcohol ink to mix things up a little.

I wanted to embellish with some of the rich yellow color from the gorgeous compass in the border of the background paper. I alcohol inked some clear gem brads for my flower centers and included some yellow trinkets in my bottle cap. 

My friend, Kelly, gave me the mini bottle cap. This is such a fun embellishment to create. Simply take a bottle cap (bought or found), set it with the edges turned up (preferably on some cardboard or a few layers of newspaper so you don't damage your table) and use a rubber mallet to pound the edges down. (Who said scrapbooking is a passive art??) If you want to distress/antique it ~ paint some alcohol ink on the edges. You could also use Copic markers for this as well. I put a pool of E6000 adhesive in the bottom and placed little trinkets into the thick glue. You can adhere it to the page right away, but remember to keep it flat over night so the glue has a chance to dry before you put it in your album. If you want to be on the safe side, just wait until the E6000 is dry before adhering to your page.

Some of my other embellishments include buttons and trinkets from my collection of vintage items, a metal flower that I alcohol inked from Hobby Lobby, and a few Tim Holtz goodies including the "journey" muse token. Most of my metal items were alcohol inked and then sanded to distress and to make certain features more visible like the numbers on the clock.

I cut the letters from some craft aluminum using the Tim Holtz Typeset die strip, then dabbed on a mixture of espresso and black alcohol inks using a felt applicator.

I'm participating in Friendship Friday at Create with Joy - I started using blogger because that seemed to be the platform that most scrapbook artists were using. I has worked well for me so far. 

Be sure to drop by Shannon's sketch blog to see the amazing LO's created by her design team, and if you haven't tried one of the Bird is the Word Challenges, stop over there and give one a try. 

Thanks for dropping by. I treasure your comments!

~ Blessings ~ 

The Kiss ~ ScrapFIT Workout #62 XOXO

It's reveal day at ScrapFIT!

Workout #62 XOXO

February is the month of love, and every love note should be signed with XOXO so on this Workout we want to see some love by putting some 'X's and 'O's on it! They can be big, small, glittery or grungy, any way you want to show us some love!

As I thought about this Workout, I realized this photo from Joseph and Rachel's wedding would be perfect for this challenge. I used XO'S in two places - metal charms on the heart, and stamped underneath the heart.

I hope you've been inspired to join us for Workout #62. When you link up your project at ScrapFIT, you'll be in the running for this fabulous prize package sponsored by KStudio.

For more inspiration go checkout the fabulous work by the FITgirls.

Techniques:

Heart Tag ~ I free hand cut this heart from a chipboard scrap and glued this gorgeous flocked paper by g.c.d. studios to it. For a feminine touch, I gathered some black tulle to place underneath on top placed the metal flower charm and my XO letter charms. 

Stitching ~ The Tonic Studio's design ruler rocks when I want to pierce holes in a straight line for stitching. This gem of a ruler has holes every 1/8 inch. For the stitching here, I used every other hole for 1/4 inch stitches with 2 strands of embroidery floss for a delicate touch. 

Inking ~ I used Ranger Distress Ink to color the resin frame around my photo. I tried something new and actually used a paint brush to apply the ink. This worked great to get the fine details. And if it happens to get in the wrong place, a little water will remove the ink since the Distress Inks are water based. (Ask me how I know - LOL) I also rubbed some pumice stone and weathered wood ink into the background of the frame, then sanded a bit here and there to distress. Inking can add so much dimension. I rubbed three different distress inks into my doilies to add dimension and contrast to the paper beneath them. 

Stamping ~ Stamping can be a great technique to add subtle touches, and I chose to use a lighter ink for a tone on tone look for my XOXO images. I stamped first and then stitched over top. 

Paper

g.c.d. studios ~ Tina Higgins - Paris Nights Collection Pack (used 5 different sheets)

Black Cardstock ~ Scrap from stash

Embellishments

Recollections ~ Charms

Recollections ~ Metal Plaques

Prima ~ Vine

Wilton ~ Doily

Feathers ~ Stash

Rhinestone Necklace ~ from grab bag at Pat Catan's

EK Success Jolee's Boutique ~ Ornate Frames

Fabric Doily ~ Stash

Queen & Co. Pearls ~ Chocolate Delight

K&Co Metal Art ~ Life's Journey Brass Alphabet

Technique Products

Cloud 9 Design Rubber Cling Stamps ~ 8 x 6 Love Phrase

Ranger Distress Inks

DMC Embroidery Thread ~ #842

Black Tulle ~ Stash

Chipboard Sheet - Stash

Tools

Boss Kut ~ Gazelle

Idea-Ology ~ Design Ruler

In Stitch'z ~ Piercing Tool

Tonic Studios ~ Scissors

Scotch ~ ATG Tape Gun

Tonic Studios ~ Paper Distresser

Martha Stewart ~ Large Circle Cutter

I've entered this at:

Hooked on Crafts Challenges ~ Challenge #17 Hearts: Covered and embellished chipboard heart (March 3)

Thanks for stopping by! I treasure your comments.

~ Blessings ~

Love Stories ~ ScrapFIT Step Class

I made this Valentine for my wonderful husband, Gary. We'll be married 30 years this summer!!

I decided to try out a couple new techniques while creating this card. First, I used Shelia's fabulous technique of covering chipboard with fabric. Head on over to ScrapFIT for her wonderful tutorial. If you use this technique on one of your projects and link it at ScrapFIT, you could be selected to be the Featured FITgirl of the Month.

I also used a punch technique by Susie posted over at Scrap-Friendzy in this week's Technique Tuesdayz - something new we started this month - another opportunity to earn Girlfriend of the Month Pointz. Her tutorial can be found over at Scrap-Friendzy in the Technique Tuedsayz section. 

Techniques:

Covered Chipboard ~ Check out Shelia's tutorial at ScrapFIT. I also took this one step further and stamped the heart image onto the fabric with Archival ink before adhering it to the chipboard. Then, I stamped and embossed with glitter embossing powder the same design on my card. When the fabric covered heart was done, I adhered it over the image stamped and embossed on the card. Also I started out with a piece of plain muslin, so I spritzed it with glimmer mist to color it and let it dry before stamping. I took some inspiration from the video in Tim Holtz' February 12 Tags of 2012 to place the heart in the center of the stamped heart image. 

Patterned Strip-Pieced Border Punch ~ First I found scraps of red paper that would coordinate with my heart, and cut them into strips of different widths. Then I adhered them to the edge of a piece of thin printer paper. You want to be sure to abut the strips but NOT overlap them, as this would make them too thick to punch easily. Also be sure not to put your adhesive down where you will be punching, so you don't gum up your punch. For a photo tutorial of this technique, head over to the Technique Tuesdayz section of Scrap-Friendzy.

Inking ~ My card started out a pale cream color. I rubbed multiple colors of distress ink over the front of the card, then spritzed on water with a mini mister (any kind of mister should work). I spritzed a small area at a time and tilted the card so the pooled water would drip in different directions. I then dried it with my heat tool. My paper was a bit warped after all this, so I used an iron set on low to press it flat again. Either use a dedicated craft iron, or place a scrap of old fabric over the card so you don't transfer ink to your favorite clothing. 

Heat Embossing ~ I used two different embossing powders. For the heart image I used a black glitter powder and for the sentiment I used the aged black powder by Stampendous that has a blend of gold and black. It's amazing how these wonderful colors show up in the final image! I stamped the images with Ranger's Archival Ink, which is a slow drying ink, then sprinkled on the embossing powder right away while the ink was still wet, and used my heat tool to melt the embossing enamel. 

Glitter Ribbon ~ With my card having a distressed appearance, my ribbon looked too "pretty" so I grunged it up by squirting on some black glitter glue and rubbed it across the center of the ribbon. I did this on my craft mat and then let it dry before adhering it to the punched border strip. 

Paper

Cardstock ~ Stash

Scraps ~ Stash

Chipboard Scrap ~ Stash

Technique Products

Ribbon ~ Stash

Ranger ~ Glossy Accents

Muslin ~ Stash

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist ~ Starfish

Zing Textile Marker ~ Green Gray

Mod Podge ~ Gloss Lustre

Ranger Distress Ink ~ Vintage Photo, Weathered Wood, Old Paper, Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain, Aged Mahogany, Black Soot, Pumice Stone

American Crafts Zing Embossing Powder ~ Glitter Black

Stampendous Embossing Enamel ~ Aged Black

Ranger Archival Ink ~ Jet Black

Studio G Glitter Glue ~ Black

Ranger Stickles ~ Black Diamond

Tools

Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page Punch ~ Topiary

Cloud 9 Design Rubber Cling Stamps ~ 8 x 6 Love Phrase

Vistual Artistry Stampers Anonymous ~ City Central

Ranger ~ Mini Mister

Martha Stewart ~ Scoring Board

Tonic Studios ~ Red handle scissors

Inkssentials ~ Blending Tool and Foam

Stampers Anonymous ~ Grid Blocks

Fiskars Craft Knife and Self-Healing Mat

ATG Tape Gun

Thanks for stopping by! I treasure your comments.

~ Blessings ~

Remember Grandpa ~ Bird is the Word using The Stamping Scrapper Sketch

When I found this older photo of Joseph and his Grandpa Sabella, I knew I wanted to do a special layout for it. The challenge over at Bird is the Word to use "Remember" gave me the perfect title for this page. Grandpa Sabella was a very special man and we miss him a lot. 

I used this January Sketch by Shannon ~ The Stamping Scrapper:

Be sure to stop by Shannon's blog to see what her talented DT created with this fab sketch and let her know what you think. She'd enjoy hearing from you if you decide to use it. 

Techniques:

Masking ~ I cut letters on my Gazelle for the word remember and backed them with Xyron adhesive. I placed them down the side of the layout and inked over top of them, then carefully removed them with Un-Du, leaving a masked image for my title. 

Postage Stamp Border ~ A 3/4 inch circle punch would have made this task so much easier, but since I didn't have one, I cut a 3/4 inch circle and used it as a template to place my half circles around these two blocks, then fussy cut the circles out of the borders. Since I was going to distress the edges, they didn't have to be perfect.

Tag ~ I cut the tag from chipboard at Scrapbooking By Lisa - our local scrapbooking store on their AccuCut machine. I then ran it through the Tim Holtz snowflake embossing folder so the the snowflakes would be raised. I painted the entire tag with crafter's acrylic paint in several shades of blue - letting portions show through as I layered the coats of paint. I then applied an antique white to the raised snowflakes. Once this was dry I decorated it with the hand written and hand stitched tag, lace, and other embellishments. 

Cutting and Inking ~ I used my Cricut and Gazelle to cut out the mats and corner feature. I inked the edges and to the corner I brushed on some stickles for some shimmer. 

Lacing ~ I placed eyelets on both sides of the postage blocks and then laced between - I was inspired by Gabrielle Pollacco's gorgeous work for the lacing and postage stamp blocks. 

Paint ~ to age the metal embellishments, I dabbed on antique white paint, and rubbed most of it off to leaving paint in the cracks and crevices, which not only gave the metals some age. It also made the lettering easier to read on the key and tags. 

I entered this at:
Scrapbook Sisters Challenge #8 ~ Snow (Feb 29)

Thanks for dropping by. I treasure your comments!

~ Blessings ~

"Get Your Game On" RAK Winner

First I'd like to remind everyone that you have until Midnight CST on Sunday February 12 to create and post your projects to be eligible for the Scrap-Friendzy Blog Hop grand prize. See my "Get Your Game On" update post for details.

Since some of you posted more than once, I created a list of commenters giving you each one chance. I then used the Random Number Generator to pick:

Which makes the lucky winner - MANDY - Congratulations Mandy for winning my crocheted flowers.

~ Blessings ~

Scrap-Friendzy's Get Your Game On Blog Hop

Welcome to Scrap-Friendzy's "Get Your Game On" Blog Hop! Our DT has come up with an exciting game plan that'll get you scrappin' this weekend! Our hop runs from now until February 5 at Midnight CST. (That's 1 am - Feb 6 for my fellow EST scrappers!)

If you're blog hopping along, you should have arrived from Amy's blog. If you just happened by and would like to join in on the fun, go to the Scrap-Frienzy blog to start at the beginning.

But this is not your average Blog Hop! We've got some extra fun with a Touchdown Challenge! At every stop on your hop, you'll find a special "ingredient" from each DT Member. Your challenge is to take any 6 of the "ingredients" and use all 6 to complete a single project. If you're brave and daring, you can make a field goal for the extra point by using 7 of the listed "ingredients" to get your name in the hat a second time for our blog hop grand prize. All you have to do is upload your project in the Gallery and link it back to the "Get Your Game On" blog hop thread in the Scrap-Friendzy forum to be eligible for the Grand Prize and earn 25 bonus Friendz Pointz for February Girlfriend of the Month!!

Don't forget ~ This BLOG HOP is just the beginning and there will be challenges all through the month of February to earn poinz for your chance to be featured as Girlfriend of the Month!

Since this is a Superbowl weekend blog hop, I have a football rivalry layout to share with you. This is a layout of our son, a Cleveland Browns fan bantering with Rachel, now his wife and an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Anyone from this part of the country knows what huge rivals these two teams are.

For details on this LO see my Love is a Battlefield post.

As you can see I used plenty of metal on this layout. So the "ingredient" I have for you to use is metal - anything metal ~ it might be wire, a brad, eyelets, a button or even a key ~ you get the idea. 

Don't forget, once you create your project with 6 or 7 design team "ingredients," link your layout at Scrap-Friendzy in two places - the gallery and in the forum. I can't wait to see what you create.

What's a blog hop without prizes. If you're one of my followers (new or a regular) and leave a comment here on this post by the February 5th deadline, you're name will go in the hat for a set of hand crocheted flowers - created by me. Several each in sparkly black and sequined beige. Sorry I'm away for the day and didn't have a chance to post a photo for you.

You're next hop is our talented Amanda.

Just in case you've gotten lost along the way here's a list of hops by our Scrap-Friendzy design team.

Scrap-Friendzy Blog

Amy

Tracey You're Here now.

Amanda

Tracy R.

Cheryl

Tammy

Chris

Susie

Kathy

Shannon

Sandy

Thanks for hopping by!!

~ Blessings ~

Christmas Pageant ~ ScrapFIT Workout #61 Blank Canvas

This is an old photo of our oldest three children when they were little all dressed up for a home school Christmas Pageant. 

ScrapFIT Workout #61 ~ Blank Canvas

Every good layout starts out as a blank canvas! For this workout we want you to start out with a WHITE background paper and build you layout from there! This leaves your opportunity for creativity wide open!

I was so excited to see this workout challenge! I had a lot I wanted to add to my white background, so I started with a sheet of thin white chipbord so it would hold up to the inking, stamping, and embossing. How much fun to get to design my background around this precious photo. 

The winner of this workout will receive this wonderful kit from K Studio

Be sure to head over to ScrapFIT to see the gorgeous inspiration by our talented DT, then create a layout of your own to link up by February 29 for your chance to win.

Techniques:

Stamping ~ Because I planned to rub Distress Ink over my stamped images, I selected Clearly Better Ink - a permanent ink so that my images would stay crisp later when I rubbed distress ink over top. Because the Clearly Better Ink dries slowly, make sure that it is completely dry before applying the distress ink over top - you can use your heat tool to dry it if you don't want to wait for it to air dry. I'm not normally into wing images, but thought they would be perfect around this photo. I just love the personal touches that can be added when creating my own background paper.

Inking ~ Once my stamped images were dry, I rubbed a light layer of Broken China Distress Ink over the entire page.

Embossing ~ heat embossed images act as a resist, so I tapped decorative corner stamps into an embossing pad and stamped each corder, after sprinkling on clear embossing powder, I heat embossed just until the powder turns clear. If you over heat, the embossing medium will spread out and you will lose your design. I also embossed a flourish design across the bottom between the corners. 

Second Inking ~ Once you have your embossed design in place, now you can rub a darker ink over top - I used a combination of Iced Spruce and Evergreen Bough with a little Walnut Stain just at the edges. As you rub the darker ink over the embossed area, the embossed design becomes apparent as it resists any ink rubbed over top of it, while the stamped image and lighter ink still show through. When I saw the resist paper being sold, I thought it was something I could created myself. 

Embossing with Ink ~ Embossing powder can also be applied to slow drying ink. For the decorative frame around my title, I sprinkled on clear embossing powder while the ink was still wet and heated to melt. The result is a raised image.

Paper

White Chipboard - Stash

Embellishments

Petaloo Floral Embellishments Canterbury Collection - Magnolia Blossoms, Canterberry Spray, CMC Flowering Vine Spray, CMC Berry Spray

Technique Products

Zig Writer - Chocolate

TPC Studios Clearly Better - Chocolate

Ranger Distress Ink - Brushed Corduroy, Broken China, Iced Spruce, Evergreen Bough, Walnut Stain, Tumbled Glass

Ranger Embossing Powder - Clear

Cloud 9 Design Rubber Cling Stamps - 4 x 8 Banners

Bo Bunny Stamp & Store Ornamental

Visual Artistry - Stamper's Anonymous - French Connection, Purely Random, Regal Flourish

7 Gypsies Clear Stamps - Avignon, Venice

Hot Off the Press - Artful Collection

Tools

Fiskars Craft Knife

Fiskars Self-healing Mat

Visual Artistry Grid Blocks

Scotch ATG

Moo Eraser

Thanks for stopping by ~ I treasure your comments!

~ Blessings ~