Choo! Choo! Train

Here is a layout that I did using a picture I took, as my background paper. It was a 4x6 and I used a color copier to blow it up to just under 12x12 and then matted it on a piece of black cardstock. I really like the picture that I took of the train as it curves around the track. There are a lot of pictures that we take that would look great on a layout, but what about as the background of the layout? In this age of technology it is really easy and inexpensive to do!

I cut a strip of my train paper by Graphic 45 to put running down the middle. I used a border punch on on side. (This is my very first border punch! and of course there will be many more to come!) I stamped the word "Smile" and colored it with Copics. I added a few other embellishments and another stamp sentiment... & my layout is complete!

Meet Bella

Sorry that I have been M.I.A. the last week. A lot has been going on! All good, I am glad to report! I have been training/learning my new job, we got a kitty! and I had a birthday. I have had little time to play in my studio, but I did finish a couple layouts. The one today was inspired from a sketch from Sketchy Thursdays. I love sketches because they give you such a good starting point and then the layout takes off and becomes it's own. Though, before I get to my layout... I would like you to meet Bella,

 

Of course, she loves playing and exploring in my studio. Here she is with my Stickles. I am sure you will see many layouts to come and probably a few more, ok, a lot more photos! I am a cat person through & through and my husband got me Bella for my Birthday. This seems like a small gift, but in fact, it is quite the sacrifice! He is allergic to cats. But he said he would try. So I vacuum every other day, we got an air purifier, a special spray for the cat, and he said he would take Zyrtec. We have had her for one week and he has not had any allergies!!! YIPPPEEE!!!

O.K. on to scrapbooking! So here is the sketch: 

 ...and here is what I did:

I started with a dark grey cardstock as my foundation. I bought this choo choo train paper by Graphic 45 because it was just perfect for our train ride pictures! I cut out the scallop border with my Cricut. It was originally bright yellow and purple and white polka-dot papers. But they were so bright! I sprayed them with my Black Magic Glimmer Mist to tone them down. I cut the word "friends" out of my Cricut also. It was a light grey and I sprayed Silver Sugar Glimmer Mist to add my shimmer! My railroad tracks are what I am the most happy about on this layout! I cut out my tracks with my Silhouette using black cardstock. I then sprayed Coffee Shop Glimmer Mist to give them a brown tint. I took some of the metal sheet paper from Quickutz and rubbed it with Alcohol Inks and cut out my two strips to create my rails! I am pleased with how this layout came together. I really like these pictures of us and our friends.

Hope you have enjoyed and I have another train layout coming tomorrow... but this one has a twist!

Happy Day!

Christine

Technique Book from @ Home with Claudine Hellmuth!

Here is my completed technique book from the class that I am taking over at Big Picture Scrapbooking, @Home with Claudine Hellmuth. It is loaded with awesome techniques! The cover was a lot of fun to make. I started with some paper from Tim Holtz's Vintage Shabby paper pack. I then made a "pink wash" using Extra Time and water mixed with my acrylic paints. (Which, throughout the whole class we have been using Claudine Hellmuth's Studio paints. I LOVE them! They have such great colors and even when I water them down I don't lose the vibrancy because they are so pigmented.) I painted it over the entire cover. I went back with a layer of Multi-Medium to seal it and glue any edges that were acting up. Now... the embellishments!

My title, "@ Home", was cut out of Grunge Paper using my Cricut and my Stamped font cartridge. I just tore black paper and used a silver pen to write "w/ Claudine Hellmuth". The flowers were fun! The blue & orange flowers are Grunge Paper cut with the Cricut and the pink & green flowers are Sticky Back Canvas and Tim Holtz's Altered Flowers Alterations Die. (I wish that I would of bought this die! I have a template that I trace and hand cut!!! But I love these flowers!) The blue & green flowers were painted with Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam and the pink & orange were sprayed with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. (More of my fave products!) The gold flower is a Prima flower and the green curly ques I cut off of a Prima flower stem.

Lots of fun & color! I made this technique book with my class, but how easy it would be to have a technique book that you can add to as you learn and discover new techniques... and to refer back to for your old favorites. It would be a little bit of inspiration that might just spark an idea that makes you smile ear to ear!

Happy Creating!

Apple Crisp & The Sweet Days of Fall....

I was really inspired by this month's sketch over at Imaginisce! I chose to work with their new paper line, "Apple Crisp". It is a fabulous line with beautiful Fall colors. With the weather here being 100 degrees plus everyday for the last several weeks, it makes me long for the cooler days of Fall. Even as I type this entry I have a cinnamon candle burning, filling the room up with warmth.

Here is the sketch:

Here is my take on the sketch:

I enjoyed working on this layout and really had a blast with my "little bag of techniques!" I started by paper rolling a border onto my polka-dot paper, (Fall in Love). I then trimmed a piece of So Grateful to go across the bottom. My large picture is matted on Changing Leaves and my smaller picture is matted with Cinnamon Sticks. Using my Bazzil In Stitches circle template, I stitched around my photo... this was neat because I went around once with a red thread and then instead of looping back with the same thread, I started a blue thread, creating a red blue red blue pattern.

For my title I stamped the Frame Stamp from the Apple Cider collection onto the other side of Cinnamon Sticks and then cut each frame out. I used my new PINK Cricut to cut my title, (Using the Opposite Attracts Cartridge). I cut the word "First" out of Apple Crisp and then went over them with Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze in Icicle. The leaves on each side were stamped and colored with Copics and then an I-Rock Bling to complete the look!

Below is a close up of my grouping that I created on part of my stitched circle. I stamped leaves using the Leaves Stamp from the Apple Cider Collection. I colored them using my Copic Markers, (R22, R27, R29, B93, B95, B97, Y11, Y15, Y17, YG03, & YG06). I also used the Falling Leaves Mosaic Stickers. I made the center flower using a circle cut from Changing Leaves. The two big leave swirls were stamped from a stamp that I had onto the back of Changing Leaves. I fussy cut them out and then painted over it with Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam in Dirty Martini. The blue bling that you see is I-Rock Bling! I love my I-Rock and use it on most projects.

Nuts About Sketches... & My PINK Cricut

Happy Day! And yes it is happy that I can finely post this layout and I have finished it! It started from the sketch below and it started on a creative high! I was so excited and how the idea to rotate the sketch and do some sewing and so much more! and then it all came to a stand still! A COMPLETE STAND STILL! It sat on my desk for well over a week! But I really love the sketch, (it went into my sketch book...) I got it from over at Nuts About Sketches ... and I made it work for my photos. It started rolling again when I decided to make it a two page spread. My title, "Looky at what I got" was given to me from my husband! I asked him for ideas and he said that and I thought how perfect! I did not add journaling, These pictures are from Christmas 2009 and I have other layouts detailing our morning and thought journaling here would be repetitive.... So with out further ado...

Here is the Sketch:

Here is my layout:

I used a Christmas line from S.E.I. and the presents were sketched with my Silhouette and colored with Copic markers. The swirl on the left layout was created with my I-Rock tool. And... my title, one of the first things cut with  my new Cricut!!! My new PINK Cricut!

See???

It was a birthday present from my husband! I was soooo excited...it is just so pretty! and the lights are pink too...

Very Rarely do I so easily volunteer to be in front of the camera... but this was an exception. I was feeling so happy and silly! :)

Week 5 & Week 6: @Home with Claudine Hellmuth

Happy FRIDAY!

Here are the last of the techniques that we learned to put in our little technique book. Some I had a lot of fun with, one, not so much!

Below is a technique with Perfect Pearls. We debossed Sticky Back Canvas and then colored in those areas with a Perfect Medium Pen and used Perfect Pearls... I just did not have the patient for that! (You see I just cut out the 4 circles that I did color!) I then thought, why not do it backwards??? So I embossed Sticky Back Canvas and ran the Perfect Medium Pad over the raised areas and than brushed on my Perfect Pearls... Much Easier! Patient is a Virtue... I just missed out on it here... lol!

Now, this was cool! We did Faux Batik. We used foam stamps... I haven't played with foam stamps in who knows how long! It was fun and I love the look!

This has a lot of potential! Using the back of Sticky Back Canvas and stencils: We Embossed!

I love to color! This is probably one of my favorites! Water coloring with Acrylic Paint! It took a while to color it all in, but it was so relaxing! After everything dried, I went back over some flowers with Glossy Accents, some with Stickles, & some with Glimmer Glaze!

Fear Not: those clear acrylic albums! Claudine showed us how to attach Screen Prints, etc... without using glue, but rather a multi medium! Fabulous!!! I cannot wait to try an acrylic album.... I also put Glimmer Glaze on my flowers...(hmm, I think that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!)

Hope you were inspired and sorry for such a long time since my last post. I was working on a layout that was just not "working" with me!

i was missing you...

Scrapbooking our memories not only paints a picture of our lives for future generations but it also allows us to go back and remember the special events, the day to day, and our loved ones. Here is a layout that I created quite a while ago... the pictures are from Christmas 2005. This was the last time that I was able to really visit with my big brother. He lives across the country and I don't see him or get to talk to him very much, though I think of him often. I pulled this layout out today to look at because he has been on my mine. I think that it is time for one of our phone conversations... (they don't happen often, but when they do, we talk forever!) I love going back and being able to look at my scrapbooks. It evokes so many emotions, happiness from all the good times, sadness from loved ones loss, embarrassment at the time's fashion....

So, remember, as we "blog hop", read magazines & books, and look at all the new, fun products on the market, that yes, even though scrapbooking is an art, we do it to record our history, our memories.

Oh Happy Day!

Oh HAPPY DAY! It has been a great day. I have gotten some great news and then I found out my husband got great news as well! ...and I am very excited to show you the project that I just completed! If you have been reading, you know that I am taking a class over at Big Picture Scrapbooking, @ Home with Claudine Hellmuth. Well, below is my Week Four Project. I did change it up a bit from our handout, but that is what is so great about this class, it is so full of techniques and it is amazing seeing every one's take on the different techniques and projects! So...without further ado....

This is what my project looked like halfway through:

 We used the back of Sticky Back Canvas and did a neat paper transfer technique. HERE is a video from the Ranger website of Claudine showing the technique. I have tried this technique before and then when doing my page for my technique book. So, for this project I went through my scraps and punched a bunch of squares from different pieces and made this fabulous patchwork piece of canvas! Every time I do this transfer it amazes me! I don't think it will ever get old! (Kind of like Heat Embossing!)

 I used an 8" embroidery hoop as my frame. Before I put the canvas in, I tied ribbon pieces around the top and adhered my bead trim at the bottom. It made it a little difficult to get the canvas between the two hoops, but it was well worth it! And then I added a little bit of this and a little bit of that to get...

You know every now and again you get a finished project that just makes you smile from the inside out? And you just can't help to feel proud of yourself and excited? This is one of those projects! I love the way it turned out and I am on the hunt for that perfect display spot! The picture is one that we took on our honeymoon. (Chris was holding the camera and posing too!) It is one of our favorites!

Above, is a close up of the bottom right of the canvas. I stamped the word forever and then went back over it with a Gelly Roll Glaze Pen. The hearts that you see is another piece of sticky back canvas that I ran through the texture boutique and then used acrylic paint to highlight the embossed areas.

For my flower grouping, I used Prima flowers and to add a little bit more I took ribbon and folded over to make little tabs and they became my "leaves". I was drinking my coffee yesterday morning while working on my project and saw the Bible verse on my cup and was instantly inspired! I feel that it describes the picture perfectly... and how I feel about my husband. The butterfly you see below was also made by Prima.

I hope that you are leaving here happy and inspired. I chose to have my text in purple today because I am just so happy and it seemed very fit! I am going to go create now! I have been so inspired the last few days that I have been working in my studio until 3 in the morning!

Happy Evening!

What's Your "Mini"?

Happy Tuesday! Here are some mini-cards that I have made. They are little 3" x 3" cards that were made using cardstock and paper from the "Lost & Found" stack from Tim Holtz. I had so much fun making these little cards. They are great to give as little "happies"!

Look what you can do with just a 1" square punch and scraps!

This card is one of my favorites! I love these little animals! The monkey is on little pop dots and I just doodled the lines & dots. I stamped the "Hello" on the same color cardstock and then cut it out and inked the edges. This is a way to add a little subtle dimension.

I used Distress Embossing Powder on my background, above. This embossing powder has little beads in it that you brush away after the powder has been heated and cooled. It creates a very rustic, distressed look. I stamped the heart onto pattern paper and then cut it out and adhered with pop dots. Both stamps are from Hero Arts.

This paper is one of my favorites from the stack. I love music. I have a stereo in my studio and love to listen to music as I create. For my sentiment: I stamped it twice on the same colored paper. I cut out one whole stamp and inked the edges and then from the other stamped image I cut just the "Dance" out and then adhered with pop dots on top of the other.

My husband has been saving his bottle caps for me. I have several ideas for these, but that will come later. Here I took one and cut a circle using my nesting circles from Quickutz. I cut a smaller one and wrote "hi" and put it on a pop dot in the center.

I stamped this image with brown ink. I didn't like how muted it was, so I took my glaze gel pen and drew over the stamped image. This is a fun little trick! You can use pens, markers, paint, stickles, etc! on top of your stamped images...

I love this stamp! It is from the July "Stamp Set of the Month" from Unity Stamps.

I hope you have been inspired BIG by my little mini's. Until next time... Happy Day!