When You Have Lemons....

When I started this layout, I really wanted to mat the photo and the other papers on a large piece of the Ice Cream paper... the one with the Cathedral Windows quilt design... but after carefully cutting out the scalloped design I just didn't like the way it looked. It was okay, but a little bit empty-looking and yet too busy all at the same time. I tried cutting out a smaller section of the design to just mat the photo... but it was still just a bit off. Now I had all of these scallop-shaped scraps laying on my desk. Yikes... it was my favorite paper and I wasted an entire piece cutting it this way and that! I hate when that happens. {{sigh}}

Looking at the pile of scraps gave me a new idea... what if I created my own scalloped border with the individual half-circles? Sure enough - it worked! I got the cool, scalloped border, but with a little more oompf since they could overlap. Placing them peeking out across the bottom of my paper and a few to accent on the top right kept it from looking too busy. I added a few Melissa Frances vintage buttons to finish off the layout.




thanks for stopping by!
erin

Distressing

The Fly a Kite line by October Afternoon is bright and sunny -- but a little distressing makes it work well with older photos.

I used a lot of distress ink on this layout. After inking the edges, I used a Tonic edge distresser all around my background paper. I mixed the in a bit of My Mind's Eye papers and alphas to bring out the red.

Creating Customized Embellishments

Using stamps to create embellishments is a perfect way to customize your layouts.  Here I used a Tattered Angels butterfly stamp and coordinating glimmer screen. 

I stamped the butterfly in Memento Tuxedo Ink (Black) and cut. Memento ink is perfect to use with Copic markers because it doesn't bleed when color is applied. I didn't apply traditional blending techniques when using the markers because I wanted a certain look and feel.  If you are interested in learning how to use Copic markers, take a look at the classes available on the website.  There is an upcoming Copics Club class in July that you will love.  When you sign up for the class, you receive three free pens. 

Thanks for joining me today.

Robin

Cards

This month I decided to try some very simple cards. For the "Wishes" card I used Complete Set paper from the Thrift Shop line by October Afternoon. I used the green side of Ice Cream as a border. The flower was made using Nestabilities. I used a Tim Holtz sentiment on Coordinations cardstock cut with Nestabilities. I used Diamond Glaze on the heart.

For the "Happy" card I used Coordinations cardstock as my background - run through my Cuttlebug. I then used a doiley and different sizes of flowers cut with Nestabilities. I used the "Happy" sticker from October Afternoon's word stickers. I cut a strawberry from paper scraps and covered it with Diamond Glaze.

My Favs Hanger by Esther

Cut chipboard into same size pieces. Mine were cut on the Cricut with holes aligned on the top and bottom. Make sure to line up the vertical holes because the ribbon goes through the holes to hang and attach the pieces when finished. Next, the edges were inked using a brown Copic Marker. Cut contrasting pieces of cardstock to fit both sides of all of the pieces of chipboard. Adhere and trim edges of cardstock when thoroughly dry. If not dry, the cardstock will curl away from the chipboard and tear.

Using the shape with one end smaller, I had to plan which of the ends would stack with others. About 32" of ribbon were strung through the holes with the loop at the bottom of the lower piece & ends adhered on the back top of the top piece. Thread a contrasting ribbon at the top through the two holes to use for a hanger. I knotted red ribbon and glued it to prevent it from pulling back out of the holes.

The embellishments were added last: an apple and cup of tea cut with Cricut, a butterfly that was colored Mustard yellow with Staz-on and copper dust by Arnold Grummer added to the edges before a paper finished was brush on top. A pocket was gluesd to one side of the last piece with a note on the bird tag. The journaling inside the pocket lists some of my favorite foods & things. Coffee filter flower and motifs from the scraps decorate the pieces.

Letters are October Afternoon Schoolroom Alpha and Green & Cream Mini Market Stickers. October Afternoon cardstock patterns used: Dandelions, Strawberry Jam, Front Porch & Picnic Table. The two-sided papers offered a great variety. This could be a chance to use some scraps after completing another layout.

Decorative elements and pictures can be added to the covered surfaces, as desired.

Going - Going - Gone!

As I mentioned before, the October Afternoon paper line was a lot of fun to work with this month. I love the green gingham check paper. I added some of the pink dotted paper and bingo, I have a cute layout. I punched out some pink dot paper flowers and also paper butterflies just to make the page pop. One of the newest products sold at ScrapbookPlus is the beautiful 3-D flower ribbon. They have it in several colors. I used it in green for this layout. I thought it added just a little something to the page. Since the baby is wearing a big white flower with clear bling in it, I also used the same concept for the page. It's just fun!

Jump!

I spent a day being a tourist with family in DC. It was fun & I took a ton of photos. This layout allowed me to get 7 photos scrapped. Using the October Afternoon strips of paper, distress ink, a border punch, & journal card these pages were put together very quickly. This double sided paper is made to match & makes designing layouts easier. There was room to add 2 journal blocks, which was convenient. While I do like this clean look (out of my comfort zone) , now as I look back on them I think something is missing.

What would you add to liven up this layout? Leave me your comment on what you would do! Do these pages need help or are they fine left alone? I can't quite put my finger on it!