Get It Scrapped: Fringe

With the popularity of The Great Gatsby, fringe seems to have made it's way into clothing, home decor and scrapbook layouts. You don't need to cringe. It's easier than you think to use. The nice thing about fringe is that you don't need to go out and buy special supplies. All you need are some scraps, scissors and perhaps, a little patience.

Garden Mess by Christy Strickler |Supplies: Cardstock: Colorbok; Letters: Basic Grey; Flowers: Sassafras;Mist:Pink Paislee; Other: buttons, denim, bamboo skewer, cardboard, twine, DMC floss, dish towel, created for Get It Scrapped

I used scraps of cloth from an old pair of jeans and a dish towel. You could easily substitute paper scraps or cover scraps of cardstock with washi tape. I recommend cutting the fringe before adhering it or sewing on your layout. It's as simple as cutting small slits in a strip of paper or cloth. If you cut the slit too far, it might come apart. Never fear though...just adhere it down, overlapping the next part of the fringed strip if necessary.

The orientation of the fringe can make things interesting. I placed mine so that it resembled grass. You can also use it to make tassels or handmade flowers. I made the little broom here using a fringed border of twine which I covered with cardboard. I have also considered using fringe to make little cat embellishments or to decorate chipboard letters for a pet layout. Need more ideas? Check out my pinterest board.

Fringe might be trendy, however, I think I might opt to use it more often. It's a great way to use up scraps. Have you used fringe lately? 

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Sketch It Out: February Edition for Club CK

This is my first month hosting the Sketch It Out Challenge over at ClubCK with my friend, Ashely Horton. I hope you will check it out. There is a chance to win a small RAK.  You  have until midnight of February 28th to enter.

Fair warning: you are going to see a lot of Sketch It Out posts from me this month. Every time I participate in LOAD aka Layout A Day, I find it very helpful to use sketches. Over time, and several LOAD challenges, I have learned to create layouts in less than an hour with the help of a simple sketch. I use sketch challenge sites or websites, but I also use magazine ads or layouts. Wondering how? It's simply a matter of breaking a magazine article into basic shapes.

from Luxurious magazine 

During my current session of Guided Study Critique with Get It Scrapped, I was introduced to an article (on the left) which I felt was perfect for a layout. In fact, we were directed to consider just how we might use it given some of the design principles we are currently studying.

At first glance, you might think it wouldn't work. It seems to be visually complex. Taken piece by piece though, and you end up with the bare bones of a great scrapbook layout. I see that the large photo in the back is basically a large square. If you had the right photo, you could use it in the same manner. Otherwise, it's perfect for patterned paper. You are then left with a simple title over one photo with journaling underneath. This sits on a  strip of paper. Three photos sit to the right. You could use 4 small horizontal photos instead of the three.

I might have lost you there. This is, essentially, the same layout as the magazine page above. It's broken down into simple shapes such as rectangles and squares. A layout or sketch, in it's simplest form, is just a series of shapes placed in a visually appealing manner. Even blocks of text form shapes.  The title would, for example, fit inside a rectangle. The journaling would as well. What does that mean for you? Well, you can break down any ad or magazine layout into basic shapes. Then you choose to plug in photos, patterned paper or embellishments in place of those shapes.

You can see the bare bones or skeleton of the sketch in my layout. I had to make a few minor adjustments since I am working on a 12x12 canvas and the magazine is a different size layout. I accommodated my pictures by using a wide rectangular strip of vellum. While the article is very simple, I chose to use a few embellishments to support my story.

Quick Tip: I used the manual from the model my husband and son were building. It became the patterned paper. I was also able to cut a few images to be used for the title and embellishments. Many places currently sell book papers or ephemera. Why buy it when you can use the directions you receive with your packaging?


Anyone can learn to break apart magazine spreads and ads to create their own sketches. It's simply a matter of learning how to break apart the basic shapes contained within it. I do warn you though, that it becomes a little addicting. You will begin to see scrapbook layout inspiration everywhere.

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Supply Savvy: Treasure Hunting for Thrift Store Finds

I love searching through thrift stores for hidden treasures. Garage sales can be a ton of fun as well. However, perusing through one man's trash in search of treasure can easily become a droll or frustrating task. How should you approach the hunt? Use focus and keep your eye on the prize. This will keep you from randomly purchasing something that will simply turn into clutter.

Thrift stores and garage sales offer a virtual treasure trove of scrapbooking supplies if you know what you desire. I have a list of items I know I will use and I stick to the list. I also buy it only if I love it. I have a small craft space which is already bursting at the seams. There is no need to add something that will take up valuable storage space if I don't love it.

my last thrift store treasure hunt

So what tops my personal treasure hunt list?
1. Doilies- I wish I could crochet. It's just not something I have time to learn right now. I often find hand crafted doilies for $1 and under. That's far less than the supplies and my time would cost.
2. Records or ephemera- You can also find postcards, vintage stamps, and vintage holiday cards.
3. Costume Jewelry- a cheap way to add bling to your layouts.
4. Buttons and ribbon
5. Scarves or belts- these can be cut apart to use as embellishments
5. Old game boards


I love using the items I find in thrift stores. I know that the items I find are unique and therefore they make my layouts very much one-of-a kind. I don't have to spend a ton of money and the supplies make a huge impact. Since I haven't spent a lot of money on the supplies, it makes it a little less daunting to cut them apart and alter them.

Keeping You Warm by Christy Strickler
 Supplies| Patterned Paper, Alphas, Buttons: Basic Grey; Tape: Recollections; Border Sticker: Webster's Pages; Metal Sign: Pink Paislee; Ink: Ranger; Modeling Paste: Liquitex; Other: jewel, stencil, doily; Sketch: Scraphappy.org, As seen on the Scrapbook News and Review Blog; Submitted for Simon Says Stamp And Show Lace love Challenge

For Keeping You Warm, I cut apart one doily and tucked it underneath the photos. Part of me wonders how the creator of the doily would feel, knowing that I had cut their hard work apart. I think though, they would just be happy to know their beautiful creation will forever be a part of a family keepsake.

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Supply Savvy- Packaging and Scraps

How many times do we save snippets of patterned paper or scraps of ribbon for future use and then never get around to using them?!?! I hate to waste anything and I tend to save every little bit. I even save the packaging from my brads and other embellishments. I always have the bright idea that I will convert them to something useful.

I have a lot of leftovers sitting on my desk from last year's creative good wishes. I just never used any of them. If something sits too long, it becomes junk and clutter. I really hate the way that it all looked. So during the last weeks of 2012 and the first days of 2013, I began converting them to useful tags and embellishments. I have realized that I am far more likely to use something if it's ready made.

I put all of the brads inside a storage bin and the had this little card left. I like the green polka dot grid. I can see myself using it as a journal card.

I found a scrap of patterned paper sitting on my desk. It's just the right size to cover up the manufacturer's label.

I grabbed the closest package of stickers and added this one. The card is somewhat finished but still a little plain. That's ok. It's now ready made. I can grab it to use for a layout but can still customize it a bit more with buttons or stickers to match my story.

I also had some packaging from some JBS mercantile chipboard. I used ribbon scraps to hide the manufacturer's logo and information. I spare button adds a little pizzazz while still leaving the piece neutral enough to customize for a future layout.








Small pieces like these are perfect projects to use up your scraps. You get to recycle and have ready made embellishments or journal cards for future layouts.

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Inspired by Fashion

I love pinterest. I love finding images and pulling inspiration from them. So when I received the assignment from Get It Scrapped to use fashion as my inspiration, I knew I would have an easy time of it. From a single outfit, you can find color options, textures, and ideas for embellishments. I chose an outfit from polyvore.com. 

I had some photos of my son's kitten. She had started to play but then fell asleep right where she was on my scrap desk. The soft tones of this outfit were perfect as a jumping off point for my page.Now that I had a color palette, I had to search through my supplies. I chose to use a floral print paper as my base since the blouse if the foundation for the outfit. I also chose to make an embellishment  with glass beads since the sweater had glass beads on it. I cut apart an old belt. It reminded me of the belt in the outfit. I also slipped in some khaki shorts. You might recall a post from march about a boy's pair of shorts. Well, this makes layout number two. We will have to see how many more projects I can use those shorts on.

Sleep Where You Lie by Christy Strickler | Supplies: patterned paper, alphas, button: Webster’s Pages; flowers: Sassafrass; metal office tab: Making Memories; mist: Tattered Angels;brad: K and Company; tag: Fancy Pants; other: glass beads, quilt pins, old belt, khaki shorts, acrylic paint, stencil.

I love the texture and dimension of this layout. I had a ton of fun finding items in my supplies and around the house to mimic the look of the outfit. It was sort of like a scavenger hunt. 

A Journal Tag

Sometimes, you need a little creative jump start. Sometimes, you want to create, but time is limited. Either way, it can be a blast to play around with a few leftover items. You just need to look around your desk.

Around 11 pm the other night, I wanted to create something, anything, but my time was limited. I really needed to head off to bed. Couple that constraint with the creative block I had been feeling lately...and I ended up with a sort of hopeless feeling of another night without anything accomplished.

  I started poking around my desk and I saw the leftover packaging from some Sassafrass flowers. I had been wanting to use it for something. just had no clue as to what. On my computer, I had the SNR color palette for this week, and suddenly the lightbulb came on! The trim in the Sassafrass packaging was the same color as one of the colors in the palette. I set to work gathering a few materials here and there. I chose each one based on the color of the palette. In a short time, I came up with this sweet little journal tag:

         

                 Journal Tag by Christy Strickler Supplies: ribbon: Prima;
      flower: Sassafrass; Alphas: My Little Shoebox;
other: electrical tape, packaging

                                                 

I am not quite sure when I will use it. I will say thought that I am far more likely to do something with it now that it's cute and finished. I did have to come back in later and use glossy accents on the letters. It seems stickers do not like to stay on glossy packaging surfaces. All in all, it's a cute tag that can be used for a spring or summer page.

Recycled Box Top Lids

  Since discovering mists and gesso, I have been watching household items, looking for the chance to re-use them. It occurred to me that box top lids are a wonderful shape to incorporate onto a page. I could have misted with them. Instead, I chose to lay them out onto the page, then use gesso.

I spread the gesso over the box tops. The picture above shows two 12x12 sheets of paper with the box tops on them. While the gesso was still wet, I peeled the box tops away.

I then allowed the pages to dry. At this point, I was a bit unsure of how I would use these pages.The box top lids made wonderful "windows" in the gesso. I contemplated putting patterned paper in the open spaces. perhaps I would even cut the cardstock out and layer paper underneath. I finally decided to put the pages aside until I knew what I wanted to do. Fast forward a few weeks. I was listening to the Doodling webinar at Scraphappy.org. Inspiration struck and I began doodling inside the blank spaces left by the box tops.
   It took me a little while to finish the doodling. I drew on the pages off and on while homeschooling my son. Once done, I had 2 blank pages with black and white designs on them. My next stroke of inspiration were a set of photos I had taken of my son at the arcade. I drew my colour palette from the photos. Using markers, chalks and water colour crayons to accent the doodles. From there, the pages took shape. I ended up with a fun piece which was very me and told my story just as I had hoped.

 

Princess of Purr

   She is very happy here. The evidence is the frequent, almost non-stop purring. Sometimes I swear she purrs for hours on end, just happy to play and share some time cuddling. So, I decided to dub her the Princess of Purr.

Inspiration Challenge #41 from Paula Gilarde
Artsylicious Chipboard Alphas
Maya road stick pins
Prima Stamp in Colorbox Ruby Satin ink
Basic Grey Rub ons, black magic glimmer mist
Making memories button
Crochet flower- found in a thrift store, antique button
leftover packaging- photo matte, chipboard border

   At first glance, one might not notice that there is absolutely no pattern paper on this page. I used the package backing from an embossing folder for the matte. I covered the text using some ribbon scraps and the crochet flower. The chipboard alphas were chosen, in part because they cover the price tag. I noticed the alphas had this awesome border on the bottom, so I cut it off and used it here on the page. A very thrifty page that does not look thrifty at all!

Calvinball update:
1st time player- 1 point
late to the party- 1 point
1st time sub- 1point
layouts-3 points
spreading the word-1 point
daily blogging- 1point

total: 8 points

What's Your Trend?

 I recently realized that I have certain techniques that have become trends. I am not necessarily talking about industry trends. I am talking about the trends you may see in the way that you work. I have tried a lot of new things over the past year. Some of those things have become staples in the making of my scrapbook pages. Misting and paint are one of those. I hardly make a page on which one or both are not present. So much so, that many of my friends now identify a page as truly me when they see the mist and paint. Last year, I really felt the need to hand stitch on quite a lot of the pages I produced. I now find that I am not hand stitching quite so much these days. My latest love is to use pen to outline the letters on my titles. I saw it done during a Masterful Scrapbook Design Seminar. Now I hardly feel a page is complete without it.

Let's Scrap sketch 1-4-12 ribbon-jillibean soup, glimmer mist-fairway,sapphire and tiger lily,SEI ink blue ink, Fancy pants to the moon papers,Amer. Crafts thickers-orange alphas,My little Shoebox tiny type alphas, Sassafrass green alphas, K and co. star chipboard sticker. superhero bands- from our egg dying kit, tags made with toilet paper which was embossed, inked and cut to fit the tag.

Who knows which techniques will become a regular part of your design style or which ones may become your scrapbook trends. The important thing is to observe your process. As you do so, you will learn more about who you are and the things that work for you. This will be a big help in developing your confidence and in making your scrapbook budget go farther. You will know which supplies to buy, because you will know the supplies you use most. So now, take a look at your work and ask yourself what your scrapbook trends are.

Metal Enamel embellies

  In December, I participated in Tim Holtz' twelve tags of Christmas.While I did make many of the projects, I really never got around to sharing all of them. One of my favourite projects were these little metal tags he made using sheets of craft metal. I don't have any craft metal. What I did have were some soda cans. So, since march is about green things over at Scrap Our Stash, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to finally share how I recycled the cans to make some very cool metal embellishments. How do soda cans relate to green things? Well, I am being green by recycling.See how one can twist a challenge around!!!
 Anyway...you are going to need an old pair of kitchen shears. I keep a pair around just for the purpose of cutting thick cardboard and metal. Soda cans are your next item. Be sure to wash them out. I recommend letting them dry a bit too, or you may spill water all over your work space. Take a dry can and carefully cut a slit into it.

Now for the next part, you need to be VERY careful. The edge is a bit jagged you don't want to cut yourself. Also, as you cut, try to make slow, even cuts. This way, you reduce the chance of having metal shavings fall off.  Insert your scissors into the slit and carefully cut the top off the can. You can use one hand to depress part of the can as you go, allowing the scissors to fit in the slit and cut more evenly.

Now that the top is off, cut a slit down one side toward the bottom. This will allow you to more easily cut and remove the bottom of the can.

You will then have a somewhat curled sheet of metal.If one side it jagged, you may wish to trim the ends to leave a nice even cut. If it's damp, dry it a bit with a cloth.  You can now die cut it or emboss it as desired. I chose to use my scissors and I hand cut a few tag shapes.

Once your metal piece has been embossed, you can begin to paint it. I used acrylic craft paint. Some paints cover better than others. Experiment with different types to find the look you wish to achieve. I did find that some of the paint began to peel. This is ok. It will add to the grunge look you are going for. You also need not worry if your paint job is perfect. As you can see, mine is not totally even.

Your next step is to sand down the tag. This will reveal some of the metal beneath it while leaving other areas covered. I used a nail file.

Now, carefully wipe any dust off, then stamp over the metal tag with a distress ink pad. Then cover with clear embossing powder and heat. The result is a wonderful metal enamel embellishment. The clear embossing powder seals the paint in and prevents it from any further peeling.

You can then choose to add additional embellishments to the tag.

Don't forget...if you have something green to share, pop over to Scrap Our Stash.

A pair of Boy's Shorts, part 1

  The shorts were ripped. Worn thin from frequent use, they were, at this point, beyond repair. Maybe some moms would be sad, but I saw an opportunity. Here in my hand was some of the coveted fabric appearing on scrapbook pages everywhere. Now, despite being on a limited budget, I had some fabric to use on my own pages. It might not be brightly patterned...but perhaps, I could change that with a little creativity. Perhaps, I thought, this one pair of boys shorts could go a long way. So here they are in their wrinkled glory, ready to use:

one very wrinkled, beat up pair of my son's shorts

I felt kind of lucky that they were khakis. I think it will make them easier to find uses for. I can envision myself cutting away the pockets, stamping on some of the spaces with paints, or using strips to make masculine looking flowers. There are a ton of possibilities.  Possibility number one was a simple one indeed. I noticed the drawstrings on the shorts were the right colour to be used as trim on a page that I was working on.

         Cathy Z sketch and journal spot, October Afternoon papers,
                              salvaged trim, Jillibean soup flowers-red with BG brads and misc. buttons,
            Maya road flowers- check, October afternoon checked alphas,
Cosmo cricket tiny type alphas

This was not an easy page for me to make. First of all, I had challenged myself to use up more of the patterened paper in my stash. I also endeavored to use up some cardstock scraps. That was not the hard part though. This is a page from the Cathy Zielske design your life series at BPC. The idea being to step into Cathy's simple style so that you learn more about page composition and design. Once upon a time, I was a more simple scrapper. Now I find myself reaching for paint, and though I do like how this page turned out, I am still thinking I should have splattered it up somewhere or somehow.
  Regardless of how hard page one might have been for me to complete, I still had page two to work with. I also had just one piece left of the drawstring trim. So I sort of replicated page one's design. The  drawstring

  

made for the perfect trim for both pages. Now, I still have quite a lot left of the shorts to use up. I can not promise you that will happen right away. I scrap where creativity takes me. I do promise to share the pages I do when I do use up those shorts...so stay tuned.