Happy Day: 12 by 12 Layout

Hello everyone! Today a quick post to show you a layout I created using The Paper Niche's Design kit for the month of July. Super fun summery layout. I love all the bright colors, and hope you enjoy them too.

Thanks for stopping by today, and hope you're enjoying your weekend!

Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Stamper's Big Brush Pens

Hi everyone!
Today I come again with another project for Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft. Mix and Match from Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft makes designing with color simple. All you do is choose a color set that inspires you, then choose a medium. Mix & match as you create, and the color coordinated palettes give you the freedom to design your project knowing the colors will work beautifully together. No stress!

I used the Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Stamper's Big Brush Pens for the project I'm sharing with you today, and even though I used a totally different medium than what I used on my previous project (the self standing canvas you can see on my previous post HERE), I still was able to make it totally coordinate with that project. I meant for both projects to go together, and I think they do look great together ( I have added a picture of the projects side by side, at the end of this post).

For today's project I made the following card:

                       

I had tons of fun creating the colorful accent piece of this card using the Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Stamper's Big Brush Pens. Their tips are so sturdy and nice, and there are so many fun ways to use them. 

I made a detailed video showing you step by step, what some of my favorite techniques are to do with them, and you can watch that below:

As you can see in the following picture, both projects coordinate nicely, yet they were made using completely different mediums and techniques.

For more information, techniques and ideas on these, and other Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft products,  please check out the links below:

Website: http://www.designmemorycraft.com

Blog: http://designmemorycraft.typepad.com/design-memory-craft

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/designmemcraft

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DesignMemoryCraft

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/designmemcraft

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/designmemorycraft

Disclousure: I was compensated for my time to design and share this project, and was provided with the products to use, but all ideas, projects , and opinions are my own and unbiased.

Thanks for stopping by the blog today. More projects coming soon, so stay tuned and have a nice weekend :)

Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Gelatos™ Colors

Hi everyone!
I'm super excited to be sharing a project I made after playing with Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft products. I was honored to be chosen to be part of their Brand Ambassador Team for 2012, and have been having a great time creating. If you're a new visitor, I want o welcome you, and thank you for stopping by my blog. Remember, to not miss any other post, just click on the "Join this site" button on the right side of the page. You'll always be informed on your dashboard once I publish a new post. If you like watching crafty videos, also click on the "subscribe" button right on top of that and don't miss any of my crafty videos :)
Today, I want to focus on Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Gelatos™Colors. They are basically creamy sticks infused with brilliant color. The color slides easily onto papers, and can then be dissolved with water to create watercolor effects, or left to dry for vibrant bursts of color.  You can try stamping with the http://www.fabercastell.com/design-memory-craft/products/categories/gelatos, or apply a field of color, and use a stamp to remove the color. They work wonderfully on flocked papers and embellishments too. They are acid-free and odorless.
The Gelatos™Colors are super fun to work with, and the things you can do with them are really cool. I don't know if you've come across them at your local craft store, but my Michael's has them, and they look so pretty on the display. When you see them you won't be able to resist...they look just like chapstics! Talk about appealing to the eye! They also kind of work like chapsticks, because you just twist the packaging to reveal more product when you need it. Cool, huh? The fact that they blend easily and smoothly with, or without water, is my favorite quality of all.
For today's project, I created a self standing canvas piece, which will be a gift for my mother in law. Her birthday is coming up soon, and I thought she would enjoy having a piece like this somewhere in her home.

I created a step by step video tutorial on how I created this project, and you can watch it below:

For more information, techniques, and ideas on these, and other Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft products,  please check out the links below:
Website: http://www.designmemorycraft.com
Blog: http://designmemorycraft.typepad.com/design-memory-craft
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/designmemcraft
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DesignMemoryCraft
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/designmemcraft
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/designmemorycraft

Disclousure: I was compensated for my time to design and share this project, and was provided with the products to use, but all ideas, projects, and opinions are my own, and unbiased.

Pigtail girl: a hair challenge

I've been wanting to practice my Copic hair coloring, and I thought the pigtails on this image would be a nice place to start practicing. I wish I had more time to practice my coloring, and I know that if I did, I would be so much better at it than I am now, but I can honestly say, I have come a LONG way. If you subscribe to my YouTube Channel, you are probably aware of the bumps in the road I've encountered, and how I've improved over the months of practice. I only wish I could get over these bumps faster, ya know? lol

Anyways, this is one of The Greeting Farm Stamp Images from the Anya Bags Stamp set. I was totally intimidated with her hair, but I'm quite happy how it finally turned out. I used My Mind's Eye Vanity Fair Collection, some mulberry paper flowers, lace from my stash as well as some white satin ribbon. Underneath it all there is a white piece of card stock I punched using one of my Martha Stewart Deep Edge Punches.

Copic coloring is definitely a little time consuming (if you are super anal like me lol), and is also a little on the pricey side, but I just LOVE the results you can active with these markers. The blending, the shades, the look is just so cool. What can I say? I love my Copics, and definitely want more time to work with them. Hopefully one day that will happen! lol

On the inside, really simple like always. I usually like to use my scraps on the inside of cards. I don't like to throw anything away, hahaha. I'm I the only on that's this way?

Thanks for stopping by today and have a great weekend!

Red White and Blue

Hi everyone!

Hope you're all having a nice summer time. Today I wanted to share another "patriotic" layout. I used The Paper Niche's July Design Kit to put this together, but I added one type of embellishment from my stash. You see, I wanted to create the "look" of fireworks at the top of the layout, since this was my daughter's first 4th of July part, and we saw the fireworks that night.

I used beaded sprays from my stash at the top of the page to simulate the fireworks. They were the perfect colors for the layout, and I really liked the way the light reflected on the beads, so I went ahead and added them.

All the papers you see here are from Authentique's Brave Collection. Love the Webster's pages fabric lollie flowers, as well as the Prima roses used on the bottom of the layout.

I layered some lace and added a banner across the top of the layout, which I cut myself with some detail scissors, and hung on a twine line. I used the two kinds of alphas included in the kit for both the title and small journaling lines. I distressed the big white alpha letters with my Distress Inks in the colors Weathered Wood and Antique Linen.
Simple, sweet ,and right to the point. I've been wanting to scrap these pictures for a long time, and   these were the perfect papers to use. Hope you liked it!

SNSC July Creative Challenge Time!

Good Morning Crafters!  I am so excited for you to be joining Sweet Nothings Stamp Co.  and it’s very talented Design Team for our July Creative Challenge. From now on, the 2nd Tuesday of every other month we are going to run a Creative Challenge.  Some months the challenge may be a color palette to work with, other months it may be a theme or a layout. Every other month it will be something new and creative for you to challenge yourself with and there will be a sweet little prize to be won as well. 

For the month of July, we will be challenging you to create a project with a card sketch.  This super cute sketch is great for any type of card and you can use any sentiment.

Here is what I have created to inspire you to challenge your creative side to play along with this contest:

I used my color pencils which I hadn't used in a while. Super fun summery card. Here's the inside of it:

Contest Rules:

• Contest runs from Tuesday July 10th-Tuesday July 24th (12 pm EST)
• Challenge: To use the sketch above. You may tweek it as you wish and add any other elements you'd like. Be as creative as you wish :D
• Project must include any Sweet Nothings Stamp Co. digi image.
• Only one project submission per creative mind please :)
• One winner will be chosen by voting by the SNSC DT and announced on SNSC Blog as well as on the Facebook Fan Page
• Must be a subscriber to the SNSC Blog/Facebook Fan Page
• Must submit project by Linky Tool by clicking the “Click Here to Enter” below

Prize to be won this month:

Prize this month is a $20 gift certificate to Bluemoon Scrapbooking.com. With all the supplies available over there, you'll be able to treat yourself to a little something on us!

I do hope you love my project.  Be sure to check out the other amazing Sweet Nothings Stamp Co. Design Team member's blogs for other great ideas.

Lina

Sharon (YOU ARE HERE)

Katie

Damaris

Maria

Patricia

Sandi

Yvonne

Leslie 

American Girl: a 12 by 12 layout

Hi everyone! Hope all of you in the United Stated had a great 4th of July day yesterday. It was fun spending time with family and watching the fireworks, but even better to have my husband home from work all day together with us. I just love having him home!

Today, still in the spirit of Independence Day, I wanted to share a layout I created using The Paper Niche's July Design kit, which had some great pattern paper, perfect for patriotic projects.

Banners are very trendy at the moment and I can't seem to get enough of them. These papers were just perfect to scrap this picture, where my Emily is holding the American flag...my little American girl, proudly made in the U.S.A. lol!
I hope you enjoyed today's layout. Smile! The weekend is almost here!!!!

Sassy Sophie

Good morning crafters! Today I'm sharing a super colorful project for Sweet Nothings Stamp Co.

On my card, I'm using Sassy Sophie, and look how cute she looks standing in her yard, waiting for her wet clothes to dry!

I used the Summer Fresh Paper Collection by Simple stories and did a lot of fuzzy cutting. I love cutting all the embellishments from Simple Stories' designer paper! They are always so fun, and with them you are able to add tons of layers and dimension to your projects without having to add bulkiness. I love that, specially for cards that are going in the mail.

On the inside, simple like always, with just a bit of space for me to write on, and some more details of the designer paper line I used.

Totally loving Sophie's sassy attitude, and hope you stop by the shop and pick up some images for you to play with. A new challenge on the Sweet Nothings' blog will be up soon with a super prize for the winner, so stay tuned so you can join in for the chance to win. Have a nice day!

Masculine Layout: Handsome

Happy Friday everyone!

Today is the day I'll share the last  layout I created using The Paper Niche's June Design Kit. This was definitely one of my favorites to make and I really love how it came out. Unlike what you read on my last post, I ams really loving this one! (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, you might have missed my last post. Just scroll down and read the whole story for yourself, and enjoy as I make fun of myself! lol).

Everything on this layout was included in the kit, and I used a white paint pen (Shapie is my favorite!),  after being inspired by someone on the MME blog who brought out the accents on their craft colored paper this way. With my pen, I added a lot of details on both the paper, and the embellishments on this layout. 

I did a ton of layering, and my white pen also came in handy to change the colors of the Thicker letters I used for the title .

The white all over the page just makes everything pop and I love it!

To get more detail on this and all the other layouts I made with the June kit, you can watch the video below. TAKE NOTE: On the video, the first layout's title is unfortunately misspelled....I did not notice it until it was too late (glossy accents had dried! ugh!) and after fixing, it I did not have time to redo the video. However, the video still gives all details you need to know, and gives close ups of everything. I hope you enjoy anyways. The correctly spelled layout is the one I just shared on this post. Thanks for understanding, and  have a great weekend!

Three Generations- Embracing imperfection!

It's Wednesday today, and I wanted to share another one of the layouts I created with The Paper Niche's June Design kit. For this one, I tried something totally different from what I'm usually used to doing, and I have to confess, I'm not sure I like it, nor love it, like I do most of the things I create.... As I'm typing here, I'm trying to convince myself it's ok, and it's not too messy hahaha.... I was going for an "old, vintage, distressed" layout....like the kind of page you find in one of your super old albums from back in the day when you had no clue about a "acid free" and "specialty" cardstock....I thought adding the FabScrap distressed paper in the back would definitely evoke that feeling...the picture I used was the reasoning for all this as it looked faded and old...... I did however want to bring out some of the color in the picture, which is the reason of all the red on this layout...and that's where I went all WRONG! lol

As I'm looking at the picture of the layout right now as I type, I think I might have done without the middle red border...it kind of stands out way too much and just adds anther pattern repetition (circles) that competes way too much for my taste with my chicken wire sponged background.......it's just not vintage looking.....I might just rip it off completely....I'm not sure just yet....hahaha the things you realize after you take some pictures, huh? 

I want to post it as is, because like Tim Holtz says, it's good to embrace imperfection sometimes...and also, it's good to share that not everything ends up turning out as perfect as you want it to on your first try.  

I get a lot of emails from people asking for advice, for ideas, and recommendations, and also explaining how frustrated they get when their projects don't turn out the way they hoped for. This post is my way of sharing how it happens to me too sometimes, and is my way of saying: YOU are NOT alone :)

I used several of my Lindy's Stamp Gang products to alter the chipboard flourishes that I included on the layout. I love spraying Starburst Stains and adding shimmery embossing powders to change the look of the chipboard elements I use on my layouts. Love all the texture.

There is tons of distressing, layering, and color, as well as detail I did using my white paint pen on this layout. For the white chicken wire sponged background I used a stencil included in the kit.

I hope you enjoyed today's post...It might not be my favorite layout, but I'm so happy I got to share my experience, and thought process behind it. Just like Tim, I'm embracing my imperfections!
Before the end of the week I'll have another masculine (and totally cool layout I must say---I really LOVE how that one came out, and can't wait to show you!). Until then!