Fall layout

Happy Fall Y'all! 

I decided to follow along with Jennifer Edwardson's layout class this Sunday morning and dug into my Bloom With Grace leftovers now that I've created a 6 Page layout Workshop with this collection!

At my last weekend retreat away, I was busy playing with lots of inky things...but today I want to talk about our inks and watercolour paper. 

To create this look I started with a smaller piece of watercolour paper (4x6 so it's easier to work with), three inks (Cinnamon, Paprika and Sundance) and a spray water bottle. 

You'll need an all-purpose mat for a work surface. 

Start by taking your ink pad and smooshing it onto the all-purpose mat to transfer some ink from your ink pad to the mat. Do this with two or three different colours and then spritz it with water from your spray bottle. Give your (4x6) watercolour paper a light spray with water and then drag/dip your paper through the ink and water on your all-purpose mat! 

Play with your paper until you have a watery/inky result...sometimes I add more water with my spray bottle and sometimes I add more ink to the mat if I want to intensify the colour. I dried the wet watercolour paper with a heat gun or you can let it air dry but heating it with a heat gun will lock in the droplets and dry the paper quickly while preserving the look. I also took one of my water brushes and picked up the ink off the mat to tap and splatter more ink onto the dried watercolour paper once it was dry to add more detail.

As you can see with the image above, some of the papers look more intense than others but once you thin cut the leaf shapes and stamp them, they're going to look fantastic!

I used inks and some rock and roll stamping to layer the different colours of ink before stamping the leaves for some added interest.

Always start with the lightest ink colour when you are layering ink on a stamp before stamping...that way you won't transfer the darker ink colour to your ink pad! I created LOTS of leaves with the three 4x6 watercolour sheets with the intention of using them on several projects in the future...I added them to my Bloom With Grace kit so I had it all together for the next time I was creating.

This is actually the first time I've used this Classic Alphabet Thin Cut set and I'm loving it...perfect way to customize a title for your projects using papers you already have in your kits and stash.

Classic Alphabet Thin Cuts (Z3655)

Burlap Ribbon and wood arrows from my stash were added as well as those rose gold sequins! Some are still available on my website :)

Textured Leaves Stamp and Thin Cuts set (Z3754) Great addition to your stamp and thin cut collection, just sayin' 

Remember with every purchase from the Bloom With Grace collection, I will email you the Bloom With Grace 6 Page Layout Workshop Guide to you for FREE.

October 1st marks the start of our new VIP program...take advantage of this customer loyalty rewards program to earn VIP Credits with every purchase PLUS a FREE Stamp of the Month too!

Thanks for stopping by today and I'm hoping you'll take some time to play with this technique and create some fun embellishments too!

Additional Products Used:

Cinnamon, Sundance, Paprika and Sangria inks

watercolour paper

Bloom With Grace paper pack and sticker sheet

Bloom With Grace wood shapes

Kraft cardstock

Follow

Thursday Tutorial...one day late !

So over at Scrapbook Challenges I've hosted this weeks Thursday Tutorial and wouldn't you have guessed that I forgot to post about it here too!!! oops :)

It's all about Sunbursts...I know that it's not something that I've invented...it's something that I've only played with and if you're interested in this technique so you can do this one yourself...then check this link out!

I added stitching to these bursts to define them a bit more...I really like the added stitching :)

Happy Friday everyone!!!

Check out this video to see how easy it is to use our new Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to amp-up any of your current layout or card projects...

I am still waiting for the Purolator Dude to deliver my order of new CTMH stash from our soon to be 'live' Autumn/Winter 2011 Catalog! stay tuned for some CTMH artwork coming soon!!!

Mayberry Magic

Here's another great video tutorial from CTMH's Corporate Office...they are using our 'Trees & Things' stamp set...a great summer addition to your stamp collection...

I've used mine with our Mayberry paper collection and created a cute little mini-album from our retired Kraft 3X3 mini-album (now available in White Daisy~Z1141)

Here's some pics of my album and supplies:

I've used the Irresistibles Lots of Dots alphabet stickers inked in Honey and Smoothie inks and stamped our canvas button badge with Honey ink using an image in the Token Alphabet set (E1020)  

I used the Trees and Things stamp set(D1467) as well as the Horizon stamp set(C1454)

Thanks for stopping by...enjoy your day!

Newsprint Alphabet Rub-Ons

Happy Rainy Friday...well if you live in Beautiful British Columbia...that's what you've got today...well in my town we do! I love the rain, one of the reasons I couldn't think of living anywhere else...four distinct seasons, lasting around 3-4 months each...well, maybe a little light on the winter months, no igloos here...but those rainy days that I love so much always get me into the Workshop for some guilt free scrapbooking time...after the laundry and the chauffeuring around is done of course!

Today, Close To My Heart is showing how great and easy the new Newsprint Rub-Ons are...they are super easy to remove from the packaging as they are in letter rows...with multiples of each letter and more of our frequently used letters to boot!

They are so smooth to apply and the perfect size for scrapbooking or cardmaking...whatever your pleasure, a pleasure they are to use and enjoy. Get yours and discover how great they are for yourself! Check out some of the ideas below by clicking on the play button!

Art Attack from CTMH Corporate

My Acrylix^® Dreams Come True Stamp Set

Categories: ART ATTACK, NEW & NOW

Featuring the My Acrylix^® Dreams Come True stamp set, this video is packed with inspiring artwork and creative techniques. Discover how to create a beautiful banner using the My Creations^® Mix & Mingle album, learn how to use the embossed resist technique for gorgeous lettering, clip away part of a stamped sentence for a whole new meaning, build a card sentiment like a puzzle, and more!

Remember that the Emboss Resist Technique can be used anywhere! Do you have some plain chipboard bits and pieces at home in your scrap storage? Next time you are creating, pull some product out and alter is with this great technique...or try tracing out some chipboard letters like they did in this project and create your own unique Emboss Resist designed title using ink, paper and scissors. If you don't have any embossing ink like Versmark or clear embossing powder...I can hook you up, just send me some mail

Studio J ~ Focus on the Photos

Studio J has just published a fantastic tutorial where they are focussing on the photos. They are showing you some of the FAQ's you might have after playing with the online software. I found it very helpful for myself as I am new to playing in Studio J...remember that Studio J is available online FREE...purchase only those layouts that YOU want...otherwise, maybe think of using this online software when you are sharing the couch with your family...at the same time creating some scrapbooking layouts...

Maybe you don't like the look digital scrapbooking? 

If that's the case with you, I encourage you to play with the software and use it like a 'dry-run' before you go and play with paper and scissors...create some layouts, save them and then the next time you are ready to sit down and play with paper...pull up your pre-done designs on the computer and copy them using your actual product...this way you have some fast and easy layouts to produce...you've only printed out the photos you need for the layout and  you've just saved yourself money and TIME.

Time Saving Scrapbooking

Well there are many different styles of Scrapbooking and I am definately a Classic scrapbooker...I love the look and feel of paper, cardstock, chatchki's (AKA. Embellishments) but sometimes I don't actually feel like making a mess and I lack the creative juices or TIME to dream up my own 'original' design...sound like any of you?

Digital scrapbooking has always been 'interesting' to me, but honestly, I don't want to sit infront of a computer for hours on end creating a layout, especially as I'd be re-learning scrapbooking through Photoshop or having to purchase software...

Studio J online scrapbooking has been the answer for me lately...I have been busy working on photos of my daughter's Spring Break trip to PARIS! Playing in the pre-designed layout patterns and choosing my paper...dragging and dropping pictures into the photo wells...easy peasy lemon squeezy!

So needless to say, I am starting to cross over for some projects, I have created some layouts on my account in Studio J, I'm waiting to send in my order as I want them to come together...and I'm tweeking them a little here and there. I have also created 'Classic' layouts with scissors and paper :) I plan to mix them together in her travel Paris album.

Here's a YouTube video created from CTMH's Corporate office, showing you how you can honestly create a fantastic layout for yourself in 5 minutes...I know this as I did one myself with my son...