Making Your Own Backgrounds

Today I am going to show you two tips for making your very own background patterns. :) Can you spot the two techniques I used on this page?



For the first technique, I pulled out my Sea Monkey Vibez by Shimmerz Paints. We're all familiar with misting our cardstock, . . . this time I will be using a mask to create a pattern on my page.

I used my Silhouette to out a large polka dot pattern to use as a stencil. If you don't own an electronic cutting machine you could also create a polka dot pattern using the grommet punch by Making Memories.



Lightly tape your pattern to your cardstock. Use additional sheets of paper or paper towels to cover up the exposed edges of cardstock sticking out past the edges of your mask. Covering the edges will ensure that you won't get a line of "overspray" while you are misting. Spritz the openings with your Vibez spray ink. If you need to, move and line up your pattern around the page until you reach the desired result.




For my second technique, I decided to use acrylic stamps to create my own patterned paper.

First, I created a document on my computer that looks like a large scale sheet of graph paper. I used the "hairline" line thickness at 20% opacity in a grid across the entire sheet. The lines are spaced 0.5" apart. Print your graph onto white cardstock. You will be stamping directly onto this sheet. The grid marks will help you keep your pattern straight and even.



Next, choose one or more stamps to work with. I chose the spiky flower stamp from this stamp set called "Spunky Nature" by My Cute Stamps . I used an ink pad that contained several coordinating colors by My Mind's Eye. I stamped directly on top of the grid, using the lines to position my image. When the design is complete, the graph underneath will be barely noticeable. Now you are ready to incorporate your custom patterned paper into your next papercrafting project!



And here is my completed page! Everything else on this page is from the NEW Sonoma County Kit . There are just a few left! Pick yours up in the Noel Mignon online store HERE .






Thanks for coming by today!

Using Movies as Jumping Off Points

We watch a lot of kids movies in our home (what a shocker, I know!), and because there are certain ones that have become an ingrained part of our family life, I want to make sure to include phrases and titles from them in my layouts, even if the layout itself isn't about that particular movie. It still will bring back a sense of the time frame in our life when I look back at these layouts in the future.


I used the Maya Road stamp & ink pad to add this little detail strip on the layout.
All made (except for the Pink Paislee alphas from my stash) with the Sonoma County kit!

Thrifty Tips

I wanted to share a couple of Thrifty Tips with you today. The first one involves the page I created for the crop. When you just can't find the right accent to fill that empty spot on your page . . . instead of running to the scrap store, try using some clipart or an image from the internet.

On this page, I used the Ledger Clouds (dowloaded from MelStampz) and a Betsy McCall Paper Doll found on the internet .





Page created with the Noel Mignon Core Curriculum kit. The buttons and My Mind's Eye chipboard letters are from my stash.

My next tip involves letter stickers. Can't find the perfect color to match your page? Try coloring in a light colored alphabet sticker with a marker. Here I colored the letter stickers black . . . but I could've easily colored them any other color to suit my tastes.





Papers, Borderline Stickers, Flipnotes, Letter Stickers and Tape are by Pink Paislee. Crystal Accents by Zva Creative.

Don't forget to shop your stash. Make the supplies you already own work for the project you are creating.

Happy Scrapping!
Jana

Making Your Own Embellishments

Sometimes it's the little things in life that really make our days special, right? Well, I feel the same way about scrapbooking. As I am scrapbooking I get the "fundamentals" down....but often need a little "somethin" "somethin"...if you know what I mean? Usually I reach for those embellishments that are already made for me and add 'em to my page.......But not today. Today, I made my own. I drew my inspiration directly from the photo. I recreated my son's little snowman guy he made.

Circle punch? Check. Red & orange felt? Check. Buttons? Check. Seed beads? Check. Mica Flakes? Check. One adorable snowman??? CHECK!

So the next time you are stuck on what embellishments would add just the right touch.......maybe try making your own!

Packaging Tip

Hey there!  Happy Friday!  I am going to share a qucik tip with you.  In the Seaside Cottage kit there is some Bling by Prima.  I don't know about you but I love the little decorative edges that is on the packaging.  I decided to use them on the layout I did for the latest sketch challenge.

I cut the 2 edges off and tucked them under the photo.  Such a pretty touch I think and a way to be "green" with the packaging.

And here is the entire layout.  Thanks for stopping by!

Michelle

Title Tip

I have totally fell in love with these Pink Paislee chipboard stickers that Noel put in the "Object of my Affection" kit and have used them on everything I can. Well in doing that I have started to run out of certain letters. For this layout I had to be a bit creative with my stickers!

Look closely below and you can see the "C" was originally a D... I just snipped off the edges. And the "E" on the end of 'exchange' is a number 3 that I just turned backwards. If you look closely you can spot these things but I think they just help to keep my title interesting!




So next time you are in a bind and are out of letter stickers, think creatively!!
Thanks for stopping by!

Fun with Foam!

If you're like me you have tons of old Foam Thickers hanging around, today I'm gonna give ya a quick and fun way to revamp those older foam letters!


Gather your supplies
Heat Gun
Foam Letters
and something to impress the foam (I used a fork here)



On my card I used my heat gun to heat up the foam letters and then quickly pressed the fork into the foam while it was still hot. If you aren't happy with the result you can reheat it again and redo it. Once it cools it will leave a cool impression in your foam.




Here is an older layout that I used the same technique for my title letters. This time I used a Fiskars texture plate to press into the heated foam letters.




I'd love to see what you can come up with your self with foam!
Thanks for stopping by!