Adding Ovals to the Grid

This is my cousin and her family … They live in Ohio, so I don’t get to see them often, but she posts lots of pictures on Facebook and I steal them all.

I’ve “adopted” her and her kids (a baby boy is due in April) to serve as my daughter and grandchildren. This way, I can enjoy the benefits of being a “grandmother” now, since my real grandkids are a long way away. It works for her because it gives her another person to rely on and one more person to spoil her kids, in addition to her mom and her incredible aunt. And it works for my kids because these ones keep me busy enough that I don’t hound my own asking them when they will finally give me a baby! lol

Anyhow, these are pictures she took during Thanksgiving. I paired them with the Oval Frame Set, Mist Grid Paper and Page Pattern #257. I used paper and stickers from Simple Stories to complete the look.

Click here to watch the video and see how easy it is!

Perfecting Pocket Pages

Pocket pages have been on trend for a few years now. They may be called Project Life, Simple Stories, Journal Cards or something similar. Basically, you buy a page protector that has different sized pockets in it to hold elements. You can fill the pockets with photos, journal cards, cardstock, patterned paper or whatever else you like.

I have played around with the pages for a while, but this is the first time I tried them in place of a traditional scrapbook page.

The page above is (the photos aren’t the best because they are taken through the page protector and I needed to prevent a glare …) the first time I tried geocaching. I cropped the photos to fit in the pockets and added cards from a couple different companies to complete the page. It took about 10 minutes … most of that time spent deciding which cards to use — there are so many cute ones!

Here’s another I did of our trip to Gaylord. I love the ability to quickly combine random photos and elements and complete pages without thinking about design. On this one, I even added a sticker to the front of the page protector.

And another … this was my favorite meal during our trip. It deserved it’s own page, but I’m not sure I could have done a traditional page with the few photos I had. And I LOVE that card that says eat well!

So, in review, I love the journal cards and the quick and easy approach with pocket pages.

However, it is sometimes difficult to get the pockets to match the photos. And, the back side of the page needs to be filled in, as well, which is much more difficult — at least for me.

Yes, I will continue to do pocket pages and mix them in with my regular pages. On a limited basis, they are great fun!

Simply Stickers

When I was a child, I had a sticker collection. I kept them in one of those spiral-bound, magnetic photo albums and loved the opportunity to trade and add to my collection. It was all the rage in the early 80s and even though times changed and I outgrew my collection, I never seemed to outgrow stickers. In fact, they were one of the things that drew me to scrapbooking in the first place.

These days, my friends rarely use stickers in their scrapbooks. They prefer die cuts or flowers or buttons or just about anything except stickers. I understand where they are coming from. In the early 90s we all sprinkled our pages with tiny Mrs. Grossman’s stickers — a look one of my friends refers to as a sticker sneeze. Like a sneeze where tiny droplets go everywhere, we covered our pages with tiny cartoon butterflies in colors nature never intended. It’s a look that is not only out of style, but never had any basis in art whatsoever. There was no place to rest your eye; no focal point; no triangle — just an odd mix of photos and tiny stickers.

So, I understand why many of my friends cringe at the word sticker.

But, given the right style, the right attention and the right design, stickers can still participate in amazing scrapbook pages.

 

On this page, I used stickers for the title, as a journaling block, and as accents. They, along with the plaid and denim papers, are all made by Simple Stories and are part of their Summer Fresh line. I love this line and have used it on many projects and pages so far. It reminds me of days gone by when life was slower and simpler. And I love the color palate — yellow, red, denim, blue and green.

 

Here, I used a sticker border on the edge of the denim paper for a unique look. I love that they match perfectly — something not all companies can achieve. I also added a few word stickers to fill in a blank space.

Here’s another look at the border … the scallop is the sticker, the plain denim is paper. Simple Stories includes several fonts on their letter sticker sheet. I used two of them for the title.

The flowers and jars are also stickers.

 

And, since I like to alter everything, I used my Cricut to create labels for the jars after my husband made the pickles. Here’s a better photo:

 

I used the Preserves cartridge to make the labels both for the lids and the jars. The word pickles uses the Opposite Attracts font and I used my Gypsy to weld the letters together into a word. I used my Xyron to turn the words into stickers and adhered them to the labels.

Finding an adhesive that would stick to the jars was challenging, since they are not smooth. However, Glue Lines by Glue Dots seemed to do the job just fine.

 

Bunny Water: Updated

UPDATE: I can’t believe I completely forgot the most important part of this project.

Once finished, I coated the all of the paper and stickers with Glue ‘n Seal by Ranger. This product goes on white/semi-clear and dries crystal clear. It comes in either matte or gloss (I used matte). Once dry, it becomes waterproof. I know it is hard to believe, but I did a birdhouse some time ago and coated it in Glue ‘n Seal. It has been sitting outside in the weather ever since and although some of the papers have faded, there is absolutely no deterioration from water. It is amazing.

So, I coated these papers in Glue ‘n Seal, too, since there is no way to continually fill and pour from a pop bottle without dripping a bit of water. Thank you, Ranger, for another great project!

 

Our rabbits are not located near a water source. So, we fill up a container in the kitchen sink, take it out back and then fill each of the bunny’s water bowls.

My husband decided a 2-liter bottle works best (and he’s right). The cap prevents any spillage along the way and it holds more than enough water to wash out and refill the bowls.

But, looking at an empty pop container in my kitchen was not an option, so I altered it …

I used the Summer Fresh line from Simple Stories. It has that country feel that matches perfectly in my kitchen. (click on the photos for a larger view).

I removed the label off the pop bottle and wrapped it in the navy floral print. Since the circumference of the bottle is longer than 12″, it left a gap on the back side. I created a tag out of another sheet of paper and attached it so it looks like this …

Then I added a bunny I cut out with my Cricut and a variety of stickers to complete the look.

The word water was printed off of my Cricut using my Gyspy. The letters that make “bunny” are just some left over sticker letters from long ago.

I love how it turned out and I think I might be making another … though probably not for the bunnies. I think this is a great idea to create custom labels so the bottles of soda match the decor at your next party.

My Happy Place

The Summer Fresh line by Simple Stories arrived in the scrapbook store Thursday evening and I fell head-over-heels in love with it.

It is a beautiful line of denim, red, blue and yellow, filled with flowers, jars, a clothesline and other “simple” summer findings. It reminds me of grandmother’s quilt.

I bought enough to do several pages, but here is my first … (I must apologize for the less-than-stellar photography … I made the pages during a crop and wanted to hang them in the store, so I took pictures there rather than in my studio at home. NOT something I will ever do again, but hopefully you get the idea …)

I love the variety and detail put into this paper collection. One sticker sheet (only $4.99) has plenty of options. I used foam adhesive and baby powder (to eliminate the sticky) on the hot-air balloon and wagon.

I layered the title (cut from a piece of paper) and inked the edges in Distress Ink.

Then, I added a few Bazzill flowers from several different collections to round out the pages.

Personally, I was amazed at some of the details in the line. For instance, the little tickets I used as journaling squares are actually part of a 12-inch border sticker. I planned to cut them apart to use them as I did. Imagine my surprise when I realized the stickers are perforated! I tore them apart instead, but I have all sorts of ideas running through my head of how they can be used.

So, I am off to make more beautiful pages using this new line. Thanks, Simple Stories!

A Traveling Tray

In the digital age in which we live, words, books and the entire printing process seem to be going away. For someone who has spent the majority of her life hanging out in bookstores and libraries and working  for a newspaper, the change is sad. While I appreciate the ability to carry dozens of books on my Nook and love the speed of e-mail and the convenience of text messaging, I am still nostalgic for the smell of ink, the feel of the pages in a brand-new book and the excitement that comes from finding a card in the mailbox. Yes, I am that crazy girl who rather look up a book in a digital database, but dreams of owning her own card-catalog cabinet. And, while I would never trade a computer to go back to the old days of setting type, I would give just about anything to own a wooden cabinet that once held the letters.

So, when Tim Holtz came out with a printer’s tray as part of his Configurations line through Ideaology, I knew I had to buy it — even though I had absolutely no idea what I was going to make with it. It sat in my craft room for a few months while I thought of the possibilities.

Then, Matt & I took a vacation in Manistee, along Michigan’s west coast, and had such a wonderful time that I knew it was worthy of recording in the tray. Here’s what I came up with …

You can click on the photo for a larger view.

I used quite a few techniques and wanted to share a few with you …

I started by painting the outside of the tray, along with the insides of the boxes I planned to put photos in, with an Adirondack Paint Dabber. Then, I created some glazes with Perfect Pearls and went over the outside with them. The end result looks kind of like wood and has a soft, silky feel.

Next, I covered the edges of each of the interior boxes with Tissue Tape. It was too light/bright for my project, so I covered it in Walnut Distress Ink to tone it down a bit.

Then I glued each of the boxes into the tray with Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear adhesive and added metal photo corners, also from Tim Holtz. At that point, I was ready to decorate.

I cut photos to size and placed them in many of the boxes. I used paper from Simple Stories to accent a few of the boxes. The brads and embellishments are, for the most part, from Tim Holtz. The metal flower is from Graphic 45 and the decorative brad shown here is from Bo Bunny. I also added a few rocks and the saying in the top photo was cut from a travel magazine.

In this box, I filled one of Tim’s tiny jars with sand taken from the beach. I added a label from 7 Gypsies, fiber from We R Memory Keepers and a tiny lock and key from My Mind’s Eye.

The Frankfort sign was cut from a photo.

I created another jar for this square. The compass was stamped, embossed and cut out. I added a brad and game spinner and attached it to the box. The tag is also from Tim Holtz — I cut the die on my Sizzix Big Shot and then stamped the image, distressed it and added it to the box.

The tiny sign at the bottom was cut out from a travel magazine. I then used Glossy Accents to attach it to a clear fragment charm and glued it on the bottom so it stands out from the photo.

I used the same technique to make the charm in this photo.

The No. 2 is Grungeboard that I colored with Distress Ink and then covered with Diamond Glaze.

The book plate is another of Tim’s brilliant creations. The stamp is from his ticket set and the paper is cut with the tag die. They were designed to work together, but also to fit in the metal book plates! Cool, eh.

I used the same stamps and the ticket die to make the title … then I cut out the letters using a QuicKutz/Lifestyle Crafts die set.

The flowers are from Prima. I so love these!

And, although you can’t see them too well, the word Escape is made from Tim’s letter and blocks Grungeboard set. I colored the letters with Distress Ink and painted the block with Adirondack paint. When dry, I glued the letters to the blocks and then covered them with Diamond Glaze. I love the way they flow together!

When I finished, my husband decided it said Escape 2 West Michigan. It really didn’t … I had separate squares for escape (as in relax), Just the 2 of us, and the destination, but, from a distance, it does say “Escape 2 West Michigan.” Sometimes I think my fingers know more than my brain!