Read With Me & a Tutorial

Supplies:  Paper (Websters, Pink Paislee), Chipboard Clouds (Riff Raff), Letters (American Crafts, Pink Paislee), Vintage Buttons (Making Memories), Tulle (JoAnn Fabrics), Adhesive (Helmar)

This page is all about whimsy and texture.  The Webster's Lullaby Lane paper gave me the whimsy I was looking for so the texture was up to me.  I added texture in a variety of ways, through the use of tulle, vintage metal buttons, popping chipboard clouds with Zapdots and also by raising a large cut image with craft foam.

Images this large really don't lend themselves well to being mounted with foam squares.  And let's face it, it really isn't cost effective. I'd have to use a whole package or more just to mount this one piece.  So, what do I use??  Inexpensive craft foam and my trusty Quick Fix Adhesive Runner.

 The first thing you need to do is fussy cut the image you want to elevate.

Choose a color of craft foam that coordinates with the piece and using Helmar's Adhesive Runner, stick the paper to the foam.

Cut the piece out again with scissors, angling them as you cut so the foam is not visible from the front.  This time, the cutting takes much less time as you don't have to be as exact.

Adhere your piece to your page using the adhesive runner again.  Just like that you have made a 3D embellishment that really is as sturdy as chipboard on your page.

Use the Zapdots that you saved by using the craft foam for the smaller pieces, like these clouds.  What I like about the Zapdots is that they come in a variety of thicknesses. 

Next time you're at the Dollar Store, dont' forget to pick up some craft foam so you can add some inexpensive texture to your pages.  In fact, I need to do the same as mine is almost gone again.

Have a wonderful weekend of crafting.

Totally Adorable

Supplies: Paper (Websters), Lace Paper (Basic Grey), Stamps (myStamp BOX), Trim (Pink Paislee, GCD Studios), Bling (Zva Creative, Prima), Flowers & Pearls (Prima), Letters (Websters, Jenni Bowlin), Craft Glue (Helmar)

I have an addiction right now to shaped and lace paper.  My pages just don't seem complete without one or the other (or BOTH)!  I just picked up my Lullaby Lane paper package last weekend and the colours in the shaped paper led me to pair it with the bold, red, lace paper you see here.  It's not a combination I would ordinarily use for a baby page, but I love it.

I also love my Floating Leaves stamp set (myStamp BOX).  With a few foam mounting squares, the stamped leaves look as though they came attached to the flower.  This truly is one set I reach for over and over. 

So tell me. What are your favourite products right now??  Are there just some things that you put on every page??

New Baby Girl Canvas

Supplies: Paper (My Little Shoebox), Chipboard (Basic Grey), Flowers (Prima), Bingo Cards (Jenni Bowlin), Transparency (Making Memories), Pearls, Clothes Pin, Metal Flower (Craft Supply Store), Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels), Adhesive (Helmar)

I think what I enjoy the most about altering canvases is that I can allow elements to spill over the sides without being concerned about it fitting into an album.  In this case, the die cut paper by My Little Shoebox was too large for my canvas. I initially cut it to size and then decided to mount the cut pieces to the back of the canvas so the scallop would still be complete.  It also gives alot of depth to the piece.  Because the paper by itself isn't sturdy enough, I mounted it first on chipboard and then cut it out.  I also covered it in modge podge to strengthen it further.

The canvas itself was initially sprayed with a coat of Pearl Glimmer Mist.  I decorated the sides of the canvas with a coordinating My Little Shoebox patterned paper.  All the other pages elements were then added in layers, ending with the flower and pearl detail you see here. I used my Helmar Craft Glue to firmly adhere the scallop piece to the back of the wooden frame. I also used it to secure all the textural elements onto the piece.  I really want these pieces to stick well.  For the more delicate pieces (photo and transparency), I used my Helmar adhesive runner.

The little clothes pin you see is a Dollar Store find left over from Valentine's Day. I am so pleased to finally use it.

I reinforced the spray of flowers fussy cut from another My Little Shoebox patterned paper with chipboard.  I used my Fiskars Craft Knife to cut out all the intricate details.  Zapdots (foam mounting squares) help raise the flower petals for more dimension. 

In creating this canvas, I wanted to add as much textural interest as I could and in turn create a more visually appealling wall hanging.  Now, I just need to find a place to hang it.

Hope you all enjoy a wonderful weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

EDITED TO ADD:

Look for this page in the Creative Spaces special issue by Creating Keepsakes Magazine, May, 2011.

I'm Dreaming in Purple Again

These photos of Daphne were taken when she was 10 days old and they are still my most favourite photos of her to date.  I love the way she is resting on her hands and how peaceful and beautiful she is.

I designed the page to look as though she is lying in bed with the covers pulled up around her.   

Supplies:  Paper (Glitz Designs), Lace Paper (Basic Grey), Transparent Border (My Mind's Eye), Leaves, Flower and Bling (Prima), Chipboard (American Crafts), Shell Stick Pins (Jenni Bowlin), Letters (Websters), Baubles (Stamping Bella), Adhesive (Helmar)

Design Notes:  I used my Helmar Adhesive Runner on this page to adhere the lace paper and the transparent border.  I also used it to reinforce the chipboard on the transparent border as the pre-existing glue wasn't strong enough to fully adhere.  There are certainly no worries now of page elements falling off now.  This product, like all the other Helmar products I've used, sticks for life.

Like you decorate a bed with throw pillows, I decorated my "bed" with beautiful leaves, flowers and gems.  While I am not a frilly and fancy girl myself, I really enjoy creating pages that use all things sparkly and pretty.  Another of the may joys of this craft.

Totally Sweet

Supplies:  Paper (American Crafts), Lace Paper (Basic Grey), Cardstock (Bazzill), Trim (Prima), Cherries (My Little Bit of Whimsy), Letters (Jenni Bowlin), Alpha Stamps (myStamp BOX), Adhesive (Helmar)

I am so excited to finally get my hands on the Dear Lizzy paper by American Crafts.  What a sweet, sweet paper line.  I have no idea what made me pair it with the Basic Grey lace, but I'm glad I did.  I also found a new and unexpected use of my Helmar Craft Glue on this page.  Don't tell anyone, but I'm a hot glue girl.  It's all Amanda's fault, I swear.  I do agree with her, though.  There are just some things that are so bulky and heavy that they need a strong glue.  Well, since I've been using my Helmar Craft Glue, I haven't taken the glue gun out much at all.  I still can't believe that Craft Glue is holding these clay cherries on this page.  I am officially impressed!

Going Bold

Join me on the myStamp BOX blog today for a product showcase of  Bold Blocks. 

"The Facts About Me"

Supplies:  Lace Paper (K&Company), 12x12 Acrylic Sheet (Hambly), Stamps (myStamp BOX), Flower, Butterfly, Bling (Prima), Buttons, Pin (Making Memories), Letters (Jenni Bowlin, American Crafts), Baubles (Stamping Bella), Adhesive (Helmar)

Jean pockets make the perfect scrapbook embellishment. Make sure you save yours next time you throw out an old pair of pants.  In fact, don't throw out the jeans at all.  Save the fabric to make a mini album.  Don't forget to use your Helmar Craft Glue to adhere your embellishments to the jean fabric.

Here's a peek at one of the "facts" you will read about me on this page.

Don't forget to click over to the myStamp BOX blog for more facts about me and information about this fantastic stamp set.

Check out these links for other Bold Blocks projects:

-Do You Hear What I Hear
-My Baby Belly

Rescued from Sewing, AGAIN!!

This is the closest I'll ever come to making a dress.  You might remember it from a post last week.  It's this little, bitty dress I made for a chipboard shape.  What's even better about this dress is that I didn't have to sew it.  The fringe was made effortlessly, and in record time, with Helmar Premium Craft Glue.  Don't get me wrong. I love the look of sewing on my pages, but sometimes it just takes a whole lot more time than I'd like. 

Fast forward to this week.  I'm into the trims and fringes again.  This time, I decided to top my trim with a string of mini red pearls.  I got out the needle and thread and started painstakingly attaching the pearls to my trim trying to hide the stitches in the fold of ribbon as I went.  Guess how long that lasted?  About 5 minutes and one inch attached of the 18 inches I had to sew.  That was when I decided to just go for it and use the Craft Glue again.  I must admit, I was a little nervous thinking it would look like a puddle of glue with pearls stuck in it.  I'm happy to tell you I was wrong and in less than two minutes, I had the whole string of pearls attached with no ugly puddles of glue.  

 

The page is another of my Scrap Within Reach projects using the new release, Urban Garden.  I really like this paper line because the color combination is so unique.  I can't think of another line that has paired salmon, camel, grey and baby blue together. 

I will be showcasing more of this beautiful line early next month with Scrapbooking Gone Wild and on Friday, I am blogging on the myStamp BOX blog with a page about me.  Be sure to check back then.
Cheers,
Tracey

Check out that Hair!!

I bet you thought I was going to talk about Daphne's hair, didn't you??? 

While this do is certainly worthy of a page by that name, I'm talking about someone, rather something, else's hair.

 

Do you have any guesses??

There's no way you'll guess this one.

I'm talking about a snowman. 

YES, a SNOWMAN. 

Have you ever seen a snowman sporting a cool do?? 

Well neither had I until this winter.

This photo was actually taken the day Daphne was born.  The day before, the girls made a snowman with their father while I was out to dinner with a few friends.  Well, they couldn't wait for me to see their creation the next day.  Let me tell you, I cracked up when I saw this guy.  Not only did he have a full head of "hair", he was enormous. I'm talking 6 feet tall before you factor in the hair.  I quickly took a few photos that afternoon, fully intending to take some more photos later with the girls standing beside him, but that wasn't to be.  I ended up giving birth to a beautiful baby girl with a cool do of her own that night. 

So here's my page.  It's part of my April assignment for Scrap Within Reach. I used a combination of two paper lines:  Paper Boy and Industrial Park.  I really love yellow and navy paired together.

Supplies:  All Supplies by Scrap Within Reach except bling (Kaiser Craft), Stamp (Unity Stamp Company), Chipboard (Maya Roads, Everlasting Keepsakes), Adhesive (Helmar)

I used my trusty Helmar Craft Glue to adhere this trim.  The glue I was using prior to Helmar did a fabulous job of sticking trim and ribbon in place but soaked through the ribbon and made unsightly "water" marks that never went away.  Not Helmar.  YAY!

And a close up of the story behind the page.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Stay tuned for more Scrap Within Reach pages in the near future.  I have a page started using Urban Garden that I simply adore.

Cheers!

Look at That!!

These photos were taken over the Christmas holiday.  We were hiking through the park when we came upon a group of people feeding the chickadees.  They graciously gave the girls some peanuts to hold so they could try it too.  They both sat as still as statues for several minutes just watching and waiting for the birds.  Not once did they say a word or get impatient. None of us could really get over it.  At one point, they put some peanuts on my daughter's hat and sure enough there landed a chickadee.  I am so glad I had my camera with me!  The look on Julia's face says it all as she looks at the bird on Callie's head.  Look at That!  I think we were all thinking the same thing.

Supplies:  Paper (Bo Bunny), Stamps (myStamp BOX), Chipboard (Magistical Memories), Pearls (Prima), Letters (Prima, Scenic Route), Brads (Queen & Co.), Ribbon (Chatterbox), Punch (EK Success), Adhesive (Helmar)

Page Details: 

Each snowflake has several layers to create texture and dimension on the page.  The bottom layer is a snowflake cut from the Bo Bunny paper that is attached with Helmar Zap Dots. The next layer is a stamped snowflake in purple that I cut out and also attached with Zap Dots.  In the center, I added a fancy Prima center.  To create the arrow head, I used a corner stamp from the Snapshot set.  I stamped it on purple cardstock with VersaMark and then topped it with white embossing powder.  There really are so many opportunities to use stamps on layouts.  Just think of them as re-usable rub-ons and keep them close to your scrapbook table.

Until next time,

Tracey

Congratulations, Agata!

Welcome to the myStampBOX Blog Hop!

Today, we are happy to introduce to you our newest additions to the myStampBOX team but we would first like to thank all the wonderful and talented designers that are leaving our team. A BIG thank you goes out:

Elisa Kammerdiener
Kim Sonksen
Lara Brooks
Liz Jacob
Marci Knecht
Natalie Kalbach
Trace Geworsky

Thank you for all your hard work over the last 6 months. You’ll always be a part of the myStampBOX family. Best wishes from all of us in your next endeavors!

Now… let’s find out who will be joining the myStampBOX design team. Follow the blog hop and visit each of our returning designer blogs. Each team member will be introducing a new member of our team. At each stop, please leave a comment and when the blog is complete, return to the myStampBOX blog and leave one final comment to have a chance to win a myStampBOX stamp set of your very own!

Jolene Johnston (http://jolenejohnston.blogspot.com/)
Virginie Delbecq (http://lescrapdenovalen.canalblog.com/)
Gudrun Loennecken (http://papirbloggen.blogspot.com/)
Ellen Sosnoski (http://www.closeyourears.blogspot.com/)
Tina McDonald (http://tinamcd-mysanity.blogspot.com/)
Cherie Nymeyer (http://cherie-inked.blogspot.com/)
Tracey Taylor <--- You are HERE.
Allison Cope (http://yourmemoriescanada.blogspot.com/)
mSB Blog (http://mystampbox.com/blog/)

We hope you enjoy our little welcoming blog hop! Don’t forget to leave a comment on each one of the design team blogs and the mSB blog for your chance to win! Good luck and happy hopping!

It is with pleasure that I introduce to you Agata Pfister to the myStamp BOX team.

"Hi!  My name is Agata. I’m Polish but I live in Switzerland with my wonderful husband and our two kids. The boy is 3 years and the girl 14 months old. I started scrapbooking in 2006, soon after I discovered Clean & Simple and fall in love! Last year I discovered stamping and that became a real passion! I love inking, embossing distressing and everything that goes with it! I am easily inspired by the world around me and love trying new things and techniques!"

Supplies:  Paper (Autumn Leaves), Journaling Sprout (Jillibean Soup), Stamp (myStamp BOX), Cardstock (Bazzill), Adhesive (Helmar)

Here is a little card I made to celebrate this occasion.  I used the Mention It! set for the sentiment. This set is simply fantastic with a great variety of phrases and fonts.

WELCOME to the team, AGATA!!

 Now…. Check out our next new design team member and a fun card at Ally's blog!

Wife, Mother, Friend

I don't know what it is with fuschia, but it seems to be THE color of the season.  Or at least it is in my world.  I just bought an Old Navy hoodie in fuschia and an outfit for my oldest daughter in the same color.  Then my sister showed up with an outfit for the baby, also in fuschia.  Now I am making cards in the same color. I guess it's safe to say I have finally embraced pink and it only took 35 years and three daughters to get there! 

Supplies:  Paper (Scrap Within Reach), Alphabet Stamps (myStamp BOX), Lace (Rusty Pickle), Ribbon (Scrap Within Reach), Chipboard (Maya Roads), Cardstock (Bazzill), Adhesive (Helmar)

This card was inspired by a challenge at Caardvarks - to use lace on a card.  I decided to make a dress out of lace.  I used Helmar's Craft Glue to attach the lace.  I simply put a line of glue at the top where I gathered the lace and pleated it as I went.  It sure beats sewing!  Next I topped the gathers with a piece of ribbon and then the chipboard heart.  I really like how it turned out and I cannot say enough about how wonderful this glue is.

Thanks for stopping by.