Starbucks Love - Little Yellow Bicycle

Sharing a layout that was published in Scrapbook Magazine UK last July. The photos were taken in New York and the collection is one of my favs from Little Yellow Bicycle "Just Because". I also made a tutorial for the magazine about how to created those faux metal embellishments. Which is quite simple really.

When I started scrapbooking 10 years ago metal embellishments were quite the trend, but then they almost totally disappeared from the scene … only to return again now! I really love adding metal embellishments to my pages, but often I can’t find the right ones. The solution is simple: create your own (faux) metal embellishments using simple kitchen aluminium foil, chipboard shapes and an die-cut machine!

Kitchen foil can be quite fragile to use, but when you adhere it to a piece of chipboard you’ll have a nice sturdy base to work with. There are many chipboard shapes to choose from: small shapes like arrows, flowers, swirls etc. to add subtle embellishments to your scrapbook pages, or one large shape like a monogram to act as the main embellishment on your page. You can also use a large square or rectangle to act as the base for a card. The possibilities are endless! For my page I used star shaped chipboard as my page is about “Star”bucks.

Step by step:

1. Choose a chipboard shape and cut a piece of kitchen tinfoil a little bigger than the size of the chipboard. Carefully flatten your foil (I used a brayer).

2. Apply a thin layer of adhesive on your chipboard and decide which side of the aluminiumfoil you want to show on your page, the shiny side or the duller side. Place the sticky side of the chipboard on the side of the foil you don’t want to show on your page and carefully cut around the shape, leaving small strip of foil which you then fold around the edges.

3. Choose an embossing folder (I used one with a herring bone pattern) and place your chipboard shape inside. Roll through your die cut machine.

4. Now you’ll have created the perfect (faux) metal embellishment!

5. If you want to give your metal shape  a bit of color there’s one more step. Choose a solvent kind of ink that dries on non-pourous surfaces as you don’t want to end up with the color smeared over the rest of your page. I chose a StazOn ink pad as this is an ink that will dry on clear shiny surfaces in no time at all.

Materials: Little Yellow Bicycle (Just Because) patterned paper, cardstock stickers, journaling cards, clear cut shapes; American Crafts kraft cardstock; Maya Road chipboard shapes (Supernova);  Scraptastic Club stamps; Studio Calico wood veneer bubbles; Dymo word sticker; StazOn ink pad; Archival ink pad; K&Company Smash pen; Hema ribbon; V&D staples; Tim Holtz tiny staples; Bien Vu! kitchen foil; 
Tools: Sizzix Big Shot; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Silhouette Cameo; Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher and Brayer; V&D long-arm stapler; Aigger sewing machine. 

And here are a few tips:

Tip 1: To adhere your kitchen foil to the chipboard shape use adhesive not only on the topside of the shape, but also along the edges on the backside so the foil will stay neatly in place when folded to the back.

Tip 2: use a solvent ink to color your metal embellishment as that will dry very quickly and won’t rub off on your page.

Tip 3: instead of using StazOn ink pads to color your metal shapes, Ranger’s alcohol inks will work nicely too! Try using a q-tip to apply the ink.

Tip 4: When using small chipboard shapes choose an embossing folder with a “small” pattern/design like dots or herringbone.

This is it! Maybe you've seen it already in Scrapbook Magazine UK, but if not then I hope you like it!
Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you back soon!

Hugs,

Just another Sunday - tutorial

Today is the first time I have a blogpost up on Amanda Robinson Studio's blog! It's a little tutorial using one of Amanda’s fun cutting files ("Just Another Day"), Silhouette’s double-sided adhesive and glitter on a layout.

Here’s the layout I made and you’ll notice that the word “Sunday” was created using double-sided adhesive and glitter.

For the instructions, please hop over to Amanda Robinson Studio's blog! I would love it if you would leave a comment there telling me what you think!! Thanks in advance!

Here're a few close-ups:

In the background you'll see that I used another of Amanda's fun cut files, the flower stencil:

Supplies: patterned paper, die-cuts, journaling cards, stickers: Bella Blvd (Lucky Starz); cardstock: American Crafts; cork hearts, wood veneer, paperclip, black color mist: Studio Calico; flair button: Lawn Fawn; washi tape: Marianne Design; glimmer mist: Tattered Angels; Pen: K&Company; glitter: Doodlebug Design; Silhouette double-sided adhesive; Cut files “Just Another Day” and “Flower Stencil”: Amanda Robinson Studio.

If you have a moment, I would love it if you hopped over to Amanda Robinson Studio's blog! Can't wait to hear what you think! 

Thank you so much for stopping by again! 

Hugs,

I heart Brussels - Jenni Bowlin

I almost forgot to share this last layout made for the Jenni Bowlin online crop. This layout I created for Leah's challenge "make the main shape featured on your layout a circle". So here's what I made, a layout using the JBS papercrafting kit from July 2013:

The photos were taken while we were in Brussels for a couple of days last February. Our very first vacation with just 4 of us, as Manon was skying in Austria with school. 

To accentuate the circles I embroidered and journaled around them and placed some flairs or buttons in them: 

This spotted fabric button is from the Purple Pumpkin shop:

as is this one: 

The other 3 flairs are from Simple Stories-Sn@p. (the flairs and buttons were not included in the kit). 

And a quick pic of the JBS July 2013 papercrafting kit: 

The online crop and the challenges are over now, but then I read on the JBS blog this:  

"We're also excited to announce the winners of our Spring Crop!  We loved the entries so much that we've chosen TWO Grand Prize Winners!  These talented scrappers will be showcasing our kits as guests in the upcoming months! Without further ado, our Grand Prize Winners are . . . Monique Liedtke and Evie at Artful Scrapbooking!  Congratulations, ladies!"

Wohoo!! How awesome is that?!! 

And now I'm off to scrap some more! Have a fab weekend everyone and thank you so much for stopping by!

Hugs,

Purple Pumpkin April challenge!

Every month at Purple Pumpkin we have a fun sketch challenge and the sketch for this month was designed by me! and so I would love it if you would join us this month and tried my sketch (you don't have to use any PP products, but you could win a few!!)!

Here's what I made, a layout about my husband, daughter and son exploring the Vesuvius in 2012. As the summer holidays started a few weeks sooner for Manon and Tim, my husband decided to treat them to a week Naples, Italy. They had a blast!

I used Imaginisce's "Perfect Vacation" for my layout and some Purple Pumpkin goodies of course. 

The tickets, twine and washi tape are from Purple Pumkin.

Supplies: patterned paper, journaling card and diecuts: Imaginisce "Perfect Vacation"; cardstock: American Crafts; washi tape, twine, tickets: Purple Pumpkin; wood veneer: Studio Calico; black words: Dymo writer; color mist: Mister Huey's Studio Calico;

And here's the sketch I designed for this month:

(if you wonder why I added triangles to the right side of my layout too, it's because I tried my hand at some stamping and hated it. So I had to cover it up!).

If you want to see the fabulous projects of the other designers, then hop over to Purple Pumpkin's blog and have a look.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks in advance for all your lovely comments!!
Hugs,

New sketch challenge over at Pretty Little Studio!

On April 1st the new card and layout sketch challenge went up on Pretty Little Studio's blog! We are starting something new as of this month. Instead of having a sketch challenge once a week there will be a sketch challenge once a month with a bigger prize! There will be 2 sketches (one for cards and one for layouts) and one person will be randomly selected to win a $25 Grab Bag!

I created a page with the layout sketch and used the Scaredy Cat collection to make this layout of my youngest son (on the right) with his bff. I love it if they play outside instead of sitting behind the computer the entire day!

I just have a soft spot for Halloween collections and Pretty Little Studio’s “Scaredy Cat” is no exception. I love the color “orange” and I love the combination with white, grey, black, lime green and purple!! Except for the fabulous colors, I also love the fun designs very much. So when I found these photos of my youngest son and his bff playing super hero I knew straight away which collection I wanted to use! Love how this collection can be used for non-Halloween projects!

A few close-ups: 

I hope you'll find the time to join us this month! Can't wait to see what you'll create! and remember, you don't have to use any Pretty Little Studio products to join in! 

Thank you so much for stopping by again today!! {heart} you!

MORE EXCITING NEWS!!

Yes, I've got more exciting news!! Also as of April 1st I'm joining Amanda Robinson Studio's Creative Team!!! 

Amanda is a graphic designer and illustrator and has created lots of fun cut files for your digital die-cutting machine (like the Silhouette Cameo) and printable designs for crafty projects! Some of these are for free and some you'll find in her shop. 

I'm so happy to join Amanda's amazing team!! Hope to see you there sometime too! 

Hugs,