The Mad Hatter

Hello there!

I had a layout published in Scrapbooking Memories magazine, Volume 18, No 3. This one had an interesting technique which you might find useful.

Do you have any old tubes of photo glue in your stash? I used to use these all the time and I sometimes still pull them out as they have some unique properties.

To make the pattern in the red paint, I first rubbed photo glue through a stencil with my finger. I removed the stencil and cleaned it straight away. I then swiped red paint over the stencilled area. When the glue was completely dry, I rubbed it off with my finger which left the white paper showing through underneath. It's pretty cool I think!

I also used a stamp through a diamond stencil to create another interesting feature. I then traced around the diamonds with a pen.

Happy scrappin'!


Heather

Arty Backgrounds

Hi,

Today I'd like to share some layouts that I had published in Issue 27 of Australian Scrapbook Ideas magazine.

I wrote an article about creating arty backgrounds and this layout is full of backgrounds techniques! I have a step by step guide on how I made it in the magazine.

Here are some close ups:

The second layout in the article made the front page of the magazine! Woot!

I used some interesting layering techniques on this background. Again, full instructions are in the magazine. I hope you got to have a look!

I also have an article in the current edition of the magazine using the amazing Tinby Designs Metallic Melts. There are heaps of other interesting articles in there too. All projects have full instructions. You can't ask for more than that!

Happy Scrappin'!

Heather

Graphic 45 in Living Colour

Hi everyone.

I've just managed to squeeze in one extra Graphic 45 layout for my July Guest DT position for The Scrapbook Store. Again, I'm using the stunning Bohemian Bazaar range. I thought I'd try something different this time though and show how those knock-your-socks-off bright colours can also be used for a softer layout.

To soften the bright yellow background paper I brushed it lightly with gesso and gave it a few sprays of white Dylusions ink spray. I used gesso through a stencil to give the background a bit more interest and fussy-cut the leaves and flowers from the Bohemian Bazaar papers

Don't you just love the shutters? They're made with a die I got from The Scrapbook Store. You can buy it here. The "Wish List" tag is from the Bohemian Bazaar Chipboard Tags set.

I wanted a bit more happening a the top of the page so I hand painted a few little seagulls. Here's a close up:

I'm no budding Rembrandt but I think it works!

A big thanks to Suzanne, Marelize and the team at The Scrapbook Store for having me on board for the month of July. It's been fabulous!

Til next time...

Heather

All Frocked Up

Hi there.

Gosh, I've had the biggest scrapping month ever and I'm managing to get a lot of blogging done as well! I must be slipping behind on something - I suspect it's work!

I have a new layout to show you using those amazing Bohemian Bazaar papers from The Scrapbook Store. I had a lot of fun and a lot of frustration with this one! I knew exactly the sort of photo I wanted for this layout and finally found it. It's a couple of years old and it's been patiently sitting on my computer waiting for the right occasion.

First the fun - aren't those fussy-cut flowers amazing! The papers are so rich and detailed that even smaller pieces like these make such a big impact. I finished off the cluster with a stunning Manor House Creations peacock feather, available here. and a Zva Creative bling flourish, available here. Here's a close up:

I used a label from the sticker sheet as the background for my title - all very easy really. ( I removed the friend's name from the journaling as she's not a relative of mine.)

Now the background was where I had all the frustration. I spent quite a while making a gorgeous textured background then was too heavy-handed with the Dylusions ink spray and ruined it. I was spraying red Dylsuions with a splash of yellow through a The Crafters Workshop honeycomb stencil. I contemplated starting again but had an idea how I could fix it so I gave it a go. I brushed gesso over the Dylusions really thickly. I made the brushstrokes go all different directions, adding to the textured look. I laid the gesso on thinker at the edges then thinner as I approached the photo so more of the Dylusions and stencilled pattern showed through. I then gave a very small spray or two of black Dylusions through a The Crafters Workshop Burst stencil behind the pic. You can't see a lot of it but it helps to ground the photo. I really love the final effect.

Here's a section of it:

I added a few splashes of red and black paint and scattered a few flowers from the sticker sheet to help balance the page.

You might have noticed the border. It was really easy to make. Here's how:

Step 1
Lay a piece of film strip washi tape on a craft mat.

 Step 2
Run a piece of double sided tape along the centre of the washi and adhere a strip of patterned paper that has been cut to fit between the edges of the film strip.

Step 3
Tear the whole thing down the middle.

Step 4
Adhere it around the edge of the page with the black side to the edge.

Easy peasy!

Bye for now.

Heather

More Graphic 45

Hi to all,

If your kids have gone back to school I hope you're soaking up the peace and quiet. If not, I hope you're enjoying the family time.

My kids have gone back and I've had a chance to get into the scrap room. I've had a ball playing with the Graphic 45 papers from The Scrapbook Store. Here's what I made this week.

This is one of those pages that looks better in real life but there's not much I can do about that! The Graphic 45 papers work so well with white cardstock. This is the Bohemian Bazaar range and it's available here.

I gave the background a very light spray with Dylusions (available here) and used texture paste through a Kaisercraft Bubbles stencil (available here) to create the background. I dragged out my Cricut machine to make the retro title. I was inspired to do this when I googled Michelin Man and found a lot of the advertising was done in the 50's and had this font style.

Here's a close up:

I gave the title and the outside edges of the paper section a light black edging to help anchor them. To create the bubble look below the title I punched different sized circles from the G45 paper. I did a few things to tie in with the bubbly spa theme.

I LOVE the Memory Box Loopy Rings die I used to cut these bubbly circles. Aren't they adorable? They're so fine and delicate. They're available here.

And here's a final closie of the same die used at the bottom. I also used part of a strip of paper left over from punching the circles for the top section.

I made this entire page using the Bohemian Bazaar range and I love it! It creates such an impact on a layout.

Hope your scrapping is bright and cheery this week!

Heather

Packing a Punch with Graphic 45

Hi there.

I've just returned from 5 days in gorgeous Port Douglas. I've never been there before and I was pleasantly surprised at how laid back it was. We walked, snorkeled, explored and of course, ate and drank far too much! It was a fabulous place and I can't wait to return one day.

Of course, now I have heaps more photos to scrap - 370 to be exact! Luckily it's my guest DT month for The Scrapbook Store and I have the most amazing Graphic 45 papers to scrap with! The range I have is called Bohemian Bazaar and you can find it here.

Graphic 45 can have incredibly bold, bright papers, and this range is the boldest and brightest I have ever seen! I remember someone saying once that Graphic 45 papers scare them. I can understand this but I hope to show you over the next few weeks how you can make the most of these amazing papers. They can make truly incredible pages and off the page projects.

I have started with a very straightforward page. I wanted to make the entire layout from G45 papers so I kept the design very simple as a busy design would have clashed and detracted from the photos.

Here's my layout:

Don't the bright colours just knock your socks off? I chose papers that matched the clothing on my (very silly) family. Although the background paper is bright and busy, I chose it as it contains only one colour. This allowed me to get away with using a whole sheet of it.

I nearly always back G45 papers with black or white cardstock. This helps to define the space and clearly separates the layers. To show you what I mean, look at the papers around the photos. If I hadn't used white cardstsock between the layers, the papers would have all just merged into one another and the photos would have got lost among the papers. Here's a close up.

Note that I left the strips behind the photo unmounted as I didn't particularly want them to stand out. They're just the support team, not the feature!

To help create a border around the layout, I backed the page with white cardstock too. I used a Martha Stewart border punch to soften the straight edges on the top and bottom and to add a bit of interest.

I only used about 1 1/4 sheets of paper to make this layout, plus cardstock. The joy of good double-sided paper is that it looks like I've used more. The reverse of the blue paper is the red and yellow one and the reverse of the green and blue paper is the blue diamond one. I cut the paper away from underneath the photos, cut it into strips and flipped some of it to show the other side.

The Bohemian Bazaar range also has chipboard buttons, tags and shapes, some of which I've used here, as well as a sticker sheet with letters, border strips and other designs.

I hope to show you more of these over the next few weeks.

Hope this has "brightened" your day!

Heather

Workshop Secrets

Hi there,

I'm so sorry I've been a but quiet on the blogging front lately. I've just been busy! I've had a busy time with work, kids and scrapping and something else had to give! Anyway, I am here to make amends.

I thought It's high time I gave an update on my Workshop Secrets articles in Scrapbooking Memories magazine.

Vol 15, No 6
This subject was about using old papers as I felt this is an issue we all have to deal with. Since I wrote that article I haven't thrown out any old papers as I keep using them for backgrounds and in the ways I discussed in my article. Here's my favourite layout from that article.

I used mists over chipboard shapes to create the background and layered strips of old paper along with a painted chipboard border to form the vertical piece. The black ribbon is exactly how it was cut off a present a long time ago and I topped it all with that gorgeous Manor House flower.

Vol 15, No 7
This was hopefully the only time I ever have something published that I'm not happy with! When the magazine offered me this regular article there was so little time to get the first couple of articles done. Neither of the layouts in this edition turned out the way I wanted but I had no time to re-do them. This will be a long post if I put all the layouts up so I'll just leave these ones out!

Vol 15 , No 8 and No 9
These were my articles about photographing your work for blogs and submissions and how to get published in magazines. I hope you got a few ideas from them! In a bit of a twist, the magazine chose some of my layouts that they had already accepted as the ones to publish with the second article. Here's one they chose.

I had fun creating this one. I randomly stuck chipboard letters all over the background but deliberately stuck the x and o where I did. I used Dylusions to spray over the centre of the layout and built the page up over that.

Vol 15, No 10
I chose a somewhat different subject for this one - I discovered that it can be pretty cool to create shadowbox layouts by raising the edges and other parts of a page. Adding 3D elements around the edges can really give the page that extra pop.

For this layout I cut the border from the Graphic 45 paper and added this over another piece of the same paper. To help you pick the detail on a flat photo, the border includes (clockwise from centre top) the trapeze girl, the ringmaster, the running clown, the curtain and the title. The pages are quite stunning in real life but don't show the detail on photos.

I hope you're enjoying the articles. If you have any comments or suggestions, by all means let me know!

Heather