Best of Cambodia

I just needed to scrap today (stressful week) and since I am out of ink, I just rummaged through my pile of photos and decided to scrap these couple shots from our Cambodia trip last year. Coincidentally, the July Kit of Studio Calico (Continental) happened to be sitting on my work table and it's a travel-themed kit! So I quickly started working and came up with this layout. The photos were desaturated so it worked perfectly with the papers of the kit.

Here's a closer look at the details. I used foam tape to layer the die cuts to create a bigger layered embellishment.

I love the vintage feel of the kit which I thought went well with the desaturated photos.

Got the idea to overlap two colors of chipboard alphas from Cookie's "Simple Joy" layout.

Thanks for looking!

Learning from the Master

I feel blessed to take part in Iris Uy's classes this year. Iris is a very talented artist and known all over the Scrapbooking world. She is the first Philippine-based Memory Makers Master and she designs or has designed for a number of international scrapbooking manufacturers, kit clubs and other groups. Anyway, here are the projects I've created in her classes.

The first few layouts were made in a class earlier this year.

1. Wish - The base is a transparency. I used a photo taken during our trip in Singapore last year.

2. Life is Beautiful - The photo was taken last Christmas 2009.

3. A Day In My Life - Photo was taken in Cambodia last year.

4. A Brand New Day - Photo was also taken in Cambodia last year.

The next set of layouts were done in the series of classes last May - June. There were three classes total. I missed the first class but Iris posted instructions in the private website for class participants. The instructions were very easy to follow so I was able to create my layouts at my own pace. There were three layouts in the first class.

1. Just Us - The photos were taken in Singapore last year.

2. Safari - The photo was taken at the Calauit Reserve. I desaturated it and added journaling on the photo itself.

3.We Are Family - Photos were taken at the Nurture Spa in Tagaytay last January.

For the second class, we created a mini-album. Unfortunately, I haven''t been able to take a photo of that yet so I'll post that one some other time.

For the third class, we created a layout and an altered project. I have yet to take a photo of the altered project but here's the layout. I am still thinking about what the title would be so I will just add that later.

I've learned a lot from Iris' classes and they are lots of fun! I can't wait for the next class!

Not So New Studio Calico Layouts

I made these layouts a few months back but didn't get to take photos. These were created using Studio Calico Kits. I am still trying to make a dent on my stash. I probably have almost a year's worth of unopened kits!

This one is my favorite in this set. I used the Whodunit Kit here. I thought the colors fit my photos perfectly. The photos are some of my favorite shots from our Cambodia trip. I took them while cruising the Tonle Sap. We passed by the floating village and saw the simple life of the locals. I played with color saturation and textures here and I love the outcome. Click on the photos for a bigger view.

No complicated techniques here.

I cut out some patterns from the paper and distressed the card to make it consistent with the "aged" look of the photos.

I desaturated the photos, added textures and boosted the contrast.

The next layout features our youngest doggie - Cain, our miniature poodle. Every family member deserves a layout. For this one, I used the Bibliography Kit of Studio Calico.

The alpha stickers are from October Afternoon.

The blue circles and lines are made from a mixture of clear tar gel and acrylic paint.

The last layout features a photo of my creativity nook. This corner of our house is where I spend hours scrapping on a weekend, and I thought the Playground Kit of Studio Calico fits the photo perfectly.

I love using the Tiny Attacher  to, well, attach ribbons and trims.

No complicated techniques here. Just a bit of layered embellishments to complement the photo.

Thanks for looking!

Crate Paper Goodness + Certified Cutie Photos = Fresh New Layouts!

I'm happy to have scrapped in the past two weekends. Actually, I've been scrapping every now and then but didn't have time to take photos. Anyway, I just thought I'd first share my most recent layouts. I am very excited about these because of three reasons: 1) The color scheme are not my usual. I'm not really very big on pink since I usually scrap about our travels, and pink, lots of it, doesn't figure well into our outdoor photos. So, because I have pink papers, I decided to scrap about other people. So another reason why I'm excited about these layouts is: 2) My subjects are totally adorable - kids! My niece, nephew and a friend's daughter. Lastly, it's been a while since I used this brand of scrapbooking stuff. So I love this set because: 3) I used Crate Paper in all of them.

When I showed the layouts to my hubby, he asked me if I will give them to the kids' parents. Hmmm...maybe...or maybe not. I love the layouts and I love these kids. I took the photos myself and they were taken during out of town trips. They are part of my life. So maybe I will hold on to these pages for a while. :D

FACES

Materials:
Paper – Crate Paper Pink Plum (Pink Cherry), Paper Doll Collection (Katie Addi), Brook Collection (Sunshine); Ink – Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Mustard); Embellishments – Basic Grey Sugar Rush Fabric Flowers, Chatterbox Chipboard Stickers, Crate Paper Sparkle Chip Pink Plum Collection; Alphas – Basic Grey Sugar Rush Mini Mono Stickers; Others – Ribbon and lace

Instructions:
Punch one side of the Pink Cherry paper with an edge puncher. That side will be the top. Apply a thin coat of gesso on the upper portion of the base paper and let dry. This will tone down the color and pattern of the paper. Once dry, sand using fine sand paper to smoothen the painted surface. Using a distress foam, distress around the edges using Mustard Seed Distress Ink. Set aside.

Cut along the wavy line pattern of the Katie paper to make a strip approximately 1.5 inches x 12 inches.

Cut out paper doll patterns from Addi paper.

Matte photos using the Sunshine paper. Apply Mustard Seed distress ink along the edges of the photo matte.

To assemble, adhere the strip of Katie paper on the base, just slightly above the center. Stick ribbons on the strip of paper. Adhere the photos. Adhere the title. Embellish the page with chipboards, pattern cut outs and fabric flowers. To finish, apply distress stickles on the alpha stickers to add sparkle.

What I love about this layout:
Where do I begin? The photos are just adorable! I think these are some of my favorite portrait shots ever. I also love the techniques used here - the gesso on the base paper, the distressing.

I also love the trim!!! Let me tell you a secret. Do you see the pleated ribbon? It's very easy to make. My secret weapon? The TINY ATTACHER. The staples are so small you can easily hide them under a layer of trim. So I stapled the pleats and adhered a strip of lace on the ribbon so the staples don't show.

Clever huh! Oh, and before I forget, I LOVE the EK SWIRL BORDER PUNCH! I'm all about tools!

BLESSED

Materials:
Paper – Bazzil Glazed Cardstock, Crate Paper Brook Collection (Pebbles, Sunshine), Crate Paper Paper Doll Collection (Olivia Grace); Ink – Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Worn Lipstick, Antique Linen, Tea Dye); Chipboard – Crate Paper Brook Collection Chipboard Accents, Pink Plum Collection Sparkle Chip; Brads – Crate Paper Brook Collection Art Brads, Crate Paper Pink Plum Collection Art Brads; Stickers – Crate Paper Brook Collection Title Stickers, AdornIt Mini Alphas; Ribbon – Basic Grey; Bling – Basic Grey

Instructions:
Distress edges of Pebbles Paper using Tea Dye Distress Ink.

Cut Glazed cardstock to 11 inch square. Distress around the edges with Tea Dye, Worn Lipstick and Antique Linen inks.

Matte main photo using the reverse side of the Sunshine paper.

Cut Sunshine paper to 3 inches by 12 inches, tearing one long side by hand. Ink the edges with Tea Dye Distress Ink.

Cut patterns from Olivia Grace paper.

To assemble, adhere glazed cardstock on Pebbles paper. Stick Olivia Grace cut outs on the bottom portion of the page. Adhere the 12-inch sticker on top of the cut outs. Adhere the strip of Sunshine Paper partially covering the sticker strip. Stick the photos on the Sunshine Paper. Attach brads on a ribbon and adhere along the bottom of the photo. Adhere the title/journaling and embellish with chipboards and bling. Add clear glaze on the flower centers for added dimension and texture.

What I love about this layout:
Aside from the photos that I absolutely adore, I also LOVE the Glazed cardstock from Bazzil. It's the first time I've seen one! At first, I didn't know what to do with it. But then, I realized I can distress it and the glazed area will resist the distress ink. Voila! Instant patterned paper!

I also love the flower shapes at the bottom of the page from the Katie paper, and the distressed cardstock provided a very nice background for those lovely blooms. Did you notice the glaze on the flower centers? It mimics the epoxy brads I used as accents. At least that was my intent. :)

PUPPY AND ME

Materials:
Paper – Crate Paper Pink Plum Collection (Very Berry, Tangerine), Crate Paper Paper Doll Collection (Katie, Olivia Grace, Addi, Ashley); Ink – Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Tea Dye); Chipboard – Crate Paper Brook Collection Chipboard Accents and Sparkle Chip, Pink Plum Collection Sparkle Chip; Brads –Crate Paper Pink Plum Collection Art Brads; Stickers – Crate Paper Brook Collection Title Stickers, AdornIt Mini Alphas; Others – Thickers, Stickles

Instructions:
Distress edges of Tangerine paper with Tea Dye distress ink.

Cut Very Berry paper to 8.5 x 11 inches. Then, from the remaining scraps, cut out some branches and flowers.

Cut Olivia Grace paper to 8 x 5.5 inches.

Cut Katie paper to 8 x 1.5 inches. Punch the edge with a fancy pattern. Distress edges with Fired Brick ink.

Cut Ashley to 5.5 x 4 inches. From the scraps, cut a few bag patterns.

To assemble, adhere 8.5 x 11 sheet of Very Berry paper. Then adhere the Olivia Grace 8 x 5.5 sheet and the strip of Katie paper. Stick the photo at the center of the 8.5 x 11 sheet. Add the trims and embellishments – stickers, chipboards, paper cut outs. Add the title. Apply Stickles on the foam alphas for additional sparkle.

What I love about this layout:
I asked my hubby if he likes it and he said YES. He said he likes the glittery title. And I have to agree with him. I'm glad I decided to add the Stickles. 

I also love the layered trims on the side of the page - again, I used the Tiny Attacher to pleat the ribbon. I also like the gathering of embellishments below the photo.

AND the branches! It took a while for me to cut them out and at first I didn't know what to do with them. I am just happy that it all came together.

That's it! Special thanks to MY LITTLE ATTIC for providing the materials. CRATE PAPER products are available at the store so feel free to drop by and get some of these yummy goodies.

Sweet As Sugar

I instantly fell in love with Basic Grey's Sugar Rush Line. I love the range of colors that are not too bright but still evoke a very happy and warm feeling. I think I am getting better at using BG products. I was able to complete the following projects in one sitting. Yay!

I have this photo of Ariel which I took using my lensbaby. I loved it and wanted to scrap it so badly. And then I have this paper, Cinnamon Bear, which I fell in love with and wanted to use the moment I saw it. Both are a bit busy so I had to find a way to make it work. I decided to mat the photo with Jelly Beans paper (I used the back) to make it stand out against the busy background. I distressed the edges of the paper with chalk ink to define it against the busy backdrop. And because the base paper has such gorgeous colors that I want to show, I opted for a simple layout with a lot of white space.

To avoid cluttering the page, I opted for hidden journaling which I inserted behind the photo.

I used the matching Sticker Elements to embellish the page. I used the tree branch horizontally as a perch for the bird instead of vertically, which I thought was very clever. LOL! I used foam adhesive on the bird and some parts of the branch for dimension. The title was from the Mini Monograms of the same line.

I added a few more elements on the upper left portion of the page to balance the grouping of elements on the lower right portion. Here, I used foam adhesive on one heart to add dimension. The red pearls add touch of elegance and texture.

For this next layout, I used Candy Hearts as base. I thought it brings out the greens in the photo. I brought out my cardstock (Bazzil) stash and found one that I can use for this layout. I then cut out a strip from the Jelly Beans paper, and some patterns from Peanut Brittle paper. I arranged the cut out patterns on the cardstock, right side down, and sprayed the cardstock with Shimmerz - Bamboo Leaf.

I also decided on a hidden journaling since the page is already very busy. I added a bit of Diamond Glaze on the heart at the center of the flower for a bit of dimension. It's not that visible in the photo but it's there.

I also added Diamond Glaze on the circle with heart to make it look like an epoxy sticker (again, not that visible in this photo). The bird was adhered using foam tape. I thought the die cut sticker that says "today is: absolutely perfect" just captures how I felt at the time the photo was taken.

I also cut out a pattern from Bottle Caps paper. After starting on one pattern, I realized it's too hard! It's that plant at the lower left side of the photo. But since I've already started cutting, I decided to just finish one. So there it is! The butterfly was cut using Slice.

The sparkly stuff are mica flakes. My favorite element here is THE TURTLE! Isn't it the cutest?
I used white Thickers for the title which I painted a bit with Antique Lace Shimmerz which I absolutely love (photo is horrible though), and topped with a bit of mica flakes.

After the layouts, I decided to use the leftover scraps for cards. I made two 5x7 cards from the scraps. The paper here is Bottle Caps - I used both sides! I cut one piece which is slightly smaller than the base card, and another one that is even smaller. I just layered the papers on the card and embellished with Rub Ons and a stamped butterfly which I colored with a marker. I used red pearls to embellish the card.

I used foam adhesive on the butterfly wings to add dimension.

This one has the same basic design, using both sides of Peanut Brittle paper. I stamped the sentiment on a strip of paper and perched the owl on it. I used googly eyes (is that what they are called?) on the stamped image to make it more fun. I gave this card to a colleague who recently lost her sister in a tragic fire and my note was a bit serious so the cute and fun owl sort of lightens the mood of the card.

I also adhered the owl using foam adhesive to make it three-dimensional.

I really enjoyed making the layouts and cards! I was so inspired by the papers and I found it easy to use them on my projects.

Basic Grey Sugar Rush line and Shimmerz are now available at My Little Attic. I was told only a few items are left so better hurry and get some before they are gone.

Thanks for looking!