Be Inspired

This layout has been made using the Kaiser Robots range of papers available from Embellished.  Other than the patterned paper from this range, the only other products used on this layout are brads, letters and string.  The papers have been used to their full benefit to provide the majority of the interest.

I have cut around the pattern in the paper to form the scalloped boarder and then cut around individual cogs for the detailed extras ...

The brads are from the Basic Grey Marrakesh range and the letters are American Crafts - both are also available at Embellished ...

So challenge yourself to use your patterned papers to their full advantage!

Cheers
Kim

Gorgeous Handmade Flowers by Gemma

Okay Gemma (Scrappy) is one of the fantastic girls we have on the embellished Team. Gemma Works in store with me a couple of days a week. She is fantastic and we would be lost without her. Gemma is amazing at finding tutorials on the web. She is not afraid to try anything, and creating gorgeous handmade flowers is one of her many talents. Gemma has shared some of her ideas with us, you can try these at home!

 

HOMEMADE- Lollipop Flowers

 

For the 1^st flower all you will need is:

 

Paper

Double sided tape

Puff paint

1 Large Brad

 

1^st cut out 5 circles of differing sizes. The 1^st circle could be around about the size of a 10 cent coin and then slightly larger for the next and again slightly larger and continue making them slightly larger each time until you have 5 different sizes.

 

Place a very small amount of double sided tape on the back of each one.

 

Next go around the outside of each circle with your puff paint, so that you end up with a very thin line around the outside of your circles. Once you have them all done you need to heat up the puff paint to let it work its magic. So that they don’t blow all over the place while you are using the heat gun, adhere them to the surface with the tape you have attached to the back.

 

Once they have all cooled down you can put them together. From smallest to largest and then place the brad through the centre. (You could also use buttons, snap and eyelet or anything else that you might think of).

 

On this particular sample I have here I have also inked the puff paint edges

 

HOMEMADE- Heart Punch flowers

 

all you will need is:

 

Paper

Lopsided Heart Punch

Circle Punch

Double sided Tape

Felt

Snap and eyelet/button or flower centre

 

1^st Cut out 2 circles and 10 lopsided hearts and scrunch them up.

 

Once you have done this open them up and totally cover one of the circles with double sided tape. This done, find your centre point and start attaching your hearts, slightly overlapping them as you go.

 

Next, cut out a round piece of felt slightly larger than your paper circle and attach it to the centre of your flower, then the paper circle and then the eyelet and snap. (You could also use buttons or brads).

 

 

Distressing

Ali shared a couple of layouts in the last post that I recently did using We R Memory Keepers Heart Attack range.  On one of those layouts I used distressing (a lot of distressing) around the edge of the background paper.

Now in my opinion Ali is pretty well the queen of distressing and when I was up in Rockhampton at Christmas I got to see her in action and this inspired me to give it a go myself.

My tips with distressing is to really get into it - rips and tears just add to the beauty and texture.  A Heidi Swapp edge distresser will certainly help you with the process.  I use to be really gentle on my papers when I distressed - now I just really give them a hard time.  I think this works heaps better.

Another tip is to mount the distressed background piece onto a sheet of cardstock so that it peeps from behind the distressing.  There are two benefits to this - 1. it gives your layout support; and 2. it adds another layer of interest.

Don't just stick it down, use stapes or sewing to give it even more texture and interest.  I have used staples on this layout - lots of fun and dead easy.

I hope this inspires you to try some distressing yourself.  Here are some close up shots of the layout that I have been talking about.

Till next time
Cheers
Kim  :o)

a little love......

Okay we sent out some gorgeous 'Heart Attack' Paper from We'R' memory Keepers to some of our Designers, and just checkout the gorgeous layouts created with it!!

Firstly here are some layouts from Kim

We will feature some more gorgeous layouts and cards over the next couple of days

Crossing Over

I know for a lot of people, Scrapbooking and Cardmaking are two separate crafts.  For those of you who haven't crossed over to the other side of the papercraft street- Kazan and I(Naomi Leigh)  would like to show you one simple Idea to help you make that step.  If you have already taken the plunge, this idea will help you make the most of your resources.

The Idea is simple.  Any sketch (or LO or Card) can be a template for any format you'd like. 

There are so many  scrapbook sketches out there and any of them could make lovely cards.  The Embellished website http://www.embellished.com.au/forum/voting/index.php is just one great source of sketches and page maps.   Kazan and I have used one of last years "52 Week Sketch Challange" sketches to make cards to illustrate this idea.

This sketch was from week 40.

 

Remember that you have  lots of options when using a sketch.  You can use the whole sketch or just parts of it. You can use the Sketch exactly or as loosely as you want.

These two cards have used the whole sketch  for inspiration.

 

 

 The next two  cards we have use  selected areas or elements of the sketch - just the bits we like.

With the following card I have just used the left hand portion of the sketch - the curved line and circular embellishment, then flipped and rotated the sketch.

 

Kazan has used the horizontal blocks and placement of the embellishments to create her beautiful "bride to be" card.

 

We hope this idea will help you to look at sketches and page maps in new ways, help you to recycle those you've already used and opened up a new range of resources for inspiration.   Most of all we want you to know that you already have the skills and equipment needed to cross over.

Try it - You may even like it.

Naomi Leigh & Kazan

Meet Kim!

I am married to my wonderful husband Gary and we have one son, Benson who is three. We live in the northern beaches of Wollongong in Australia – I think one of the most beautiful places on this earth. I discovered scrapbooking when I was pregnant with Benson and my first project was his birth announcement cards. I was so proud of them then, but now look at them and think of what I could have done!

Scrapbooking to me is a wonderful combination of story telling, beautiful photos and creativity. I am fortunate that both my husband and I have a keen interest in photography so there is never a shortage of photos to scrap. I love to use handwritten journaling and layers of patterned papers. I am a huge fan of new products and have the stash to prove it.

As a way to record my stories for when I have time to scrapbook them, I started blogging. I love this means of sharing stories and ideas with family and friends as well as keeping memories to inspire future layouts. My blog is www.kimarnold.typepad.com.

Favourite Products: My favourite products are patterned paper and thickers.  I also love little bits and pieces like epoxy brads, rubons, chipboard, and at the moment flowers.

Have you been Published? Yes I have been published in For Keeps Creative Paper, Scrapbook Creations, Scrapbooking Memories, Creative Cardmaking and Papercraft, Memory Makers and Scrapbook Trends.  I also have a couple of layouts appearing in a special issue of Creating Keepsakes.

Favourite Current Layout: I love so many that it is very hard to pick ...

I love this photo of my son Benson and I just love the circle chipboard on this layout.  It came together effortlessly and I think that is always a good sign!

Who inspires you? I love the work of Ali Edwards, Jennifer Pebbles, Nichol Magouirk, Jamie Waters, Shannon Tidwell, Lisa McGarvey and so many more!

Life Motto:   "Everything changed the day she figures out there was exactly enough time for the important things in her life." ... and that pretty well sums it up!

Cheers
Kim  :o)

New years goals....

  We asked our Embellished Designers to create a layout about their word for 2009, goals and resolutions for 2009. Here is what they created.

Ali's Layout

Anne-Marie's Layout

 

Kim's Layout

  

Mel's Layout

 

Louise's Layout

 

Jo's Layout

 

Have you created a layout about your goals for 2009? Or what is your word for 2009?

Post us a link and we will draw a random winner for a february card kit valued at over $20

Cuttlebug fun with Mel

I too am a cuttlebug fan. To be honest though, I was a bit scared to touch the machine to begin with! But after having a play, and visiting lots of creative and inspirational blogs (just like this one) I havenever looked back. I hope that I can get you motivated to have a play with your cuttlebug today!

First up is a layout that I made using photos of Ali's gorgeous son Luke.

First I embossed the black cardstock (the one layered behind the photo) with my Swiss Dots folder and sanded the top off the dots so that it now looks like polka dot paper. To do this you need to start with cardstock with a white core or alternatively use plain patterned paper. Here I used the reverse side of an American Crafts paper.

Secondly I used a die to cut the circles from old dictionary paper called "Funky Circle Frame". I love this die and it cuts cool circle shapes that you can use as embellishment on your pages and card. Here I tucked them in behind the smaller photos and in amongst the flowers. i just attached them using liquid glue.

My second layout shows how you can use a die as a focal point of a layout.

 I have repeated the butterfly throughout the page, similar to a butterfly museum piece. This layout is one of my Elite Team entries this year. I thought it was a good example, to demonstrate how you can use both dies and embossing on the same pieces.

 

You can see here the dots that have been embossed on the butterfly. This was done using the Cuttlebug Combo Die (Butterflies). With this die you first cut a butterfly and then fit the cut piece into the butterfly shaped embossing folder. This can also be achieved by using any other die shape. First cut the shape, and then place in the embossing folder you like and run it  through.

I've seen similar layouts as this one, using circles and squares, and they look fantastic. This is a great way to use up a stash of scrap patterned papers that you have been hoarding. Similarly you could use the combo die "Hearts" which I have had my eye on for some time.

I hope that we have inspired you to dust off your Cuttlebug today. I would love to see some of your creations if you do... Put a link on this post and i will certainly have a peek!

Have a great Tuesday!

 

Cuttlebug Card

I have a few gadgets that I love to use on my projects and one of them is my adorable little Cuttlebug.  It is compactly cute, a trendy funky lime green color and oh so super easy to use.  Even though there are a variety of folders for the Cuttlebug, including Die-Cut folders,  I prefer to use the Embossing Folders.

I Love embossing textured card stock.  It creates a neat clean image that is perfectly complimented with elaborate or richly printed patterend paper.

For this particular project I used a larger embossing folder with flowers, stems and leaves on it.  You can use the embossed paper for your entire card or choose to make it an accent like I did on my card.

It is such a simple & effective way of adding texture and dimension to any paper project..the only difficult part is deciding which folder to use :)

 

 
Thanks for stopping by.  I hope  you enjoy your Cuttlebug as much as I do.
:) Kazan

More digi fun...

Before I start I just wanted to point out that I am certainly NO expert when it comes to digital / hybrid scrapping... but that is just the point.   Anyone can do this, go on give it a try!  There are so many and varied ways of incorporating digital elements into your hybrid LOs.  Generally, I do basic alterations to my photos with a free photo editing and organising program called Picasa.

For this first LO I downloaded a freebie frame from eidou.  I simply cut a piece of 12x12 Kraft cardstock to size to fit through my printer, opened the file in Serif PhotoPlus (another free download... it has fairly limited applications but it is not a bad start for those of you who are newbies to all this like me!), then hit print.  Simple as that.  I carefully added some red ink around the frames then cut the inside out and added my (pixie!) photos behind the LO then added some embellies, scrap corrugated cardboard, rubons, alphas and staples.  I especially liked the string and masking tape elements of the digi frame so I also added "real" ones of these to give my LO a bit more texture and definition.  I wasn't too worried about my join showing when I reattached the cut off piece of cardstock, so I made a bit of a feature of it with staples {I think this is another Louise technique that I have stolen and love here! ;)}.  I actually really liked how this one turned out, even with the pixie photos! LOL ;)

 

For my second LO I visited Wordle and created my own word cloud.  You just type in a bunch of words and it arranges them for you.  You do need the Java download to open your picture, then you can print it out straight from your browser.  Again, I cut my background cardstock to fit then reattached with tape at the back.  I also added a few extra words to my LO with rubons then went berserk with the embellies.

 

As I said there are heaps of ways to incorporate digi elements into your traditional scrapbooking.  I hope these couple of simple examples will be enough to get you interested in giving it a go... trust me, you don't have to be an expert!