Posts from — April 2010

As soon as I saw the Tea at Elsie’s collection I was immediately draw to the beautiful soft cream and peach tones and the warmth of this colour combination.  I chose some photos that seem (time wise) like a world away and well suited to that old world feeling of this collection.

 Usby Nikki Antonello: Tea at Elsie’s collection, Die cut elements, Wooden flourishes, Pearls, Chipboard alphabet, Alphabet stickers, Mini Alphabet stickers, Foam dots and lace.

 I decided to use some lace and lots of tearing / distressing to enhance the feeling of a time long ago. 

Why not also try using the Kaisercraft mini alphabet stickers to record your journaling?  These tiny little stickers are perfect for recording a sentence and make for a nice change from a typed or handwritten sentence. 

So if you have some photo’s that are from some time ago….Tea at Elsie’s is the perfect collection!

The look of stitching adds a fabulous finishing touch to any layout or project, but what if you don’t have access to a sewing machine? Never fear! You can create the exact same look without having to drag out that bulky machine!

For the layout below, I wanted to create a “faux stitched” scallop border just above my photo. Using a paper piercer and a pre-cut scalloped cardstock piece as my template, I poked tiny holes all along the scallop, taking care to keep the holes equal distance apart. The distance between the holes will be the lenght of the “stitch” when I am finished.

After removing the cardstock template, I am left with lots of tiny holes that will be my guide for my ”stitch”.

Using a black pen, I drew my faux “stitches” onto the paper, connecting the tiny holes to create the look of a sewn scallop.

And there you have it! The fabulous look of stitching without threading a single needle!

“Sisters and Friends” by Nancy Burke. Materials used: Tea At Elsie’s collection papers- Chamomile (P496- front & back), Lemon (P497- back), Ceylon (P499- front); die cuts (DC315); alpha stickers (A221). Other: paper piercer, black pen.

When I get out my camera it’s rare for me to take only one photo of an event or activity. More often than not I take a whole lot of photos that help to tell more of my story. Sometimes it can be challenging to include several of these photos on the one scrapbook page.  Renee and I have both used Kaisercraft’s new Utopia paper collection to demonstrate a few techniques to help you get that series of photos scrapped faster!

“Personality Plus” by Christine Rumley – Utopia paper collection, 6×6 paper pad, avocado alpha stickers, RB801 “Experience” Rub-ons, RB820 “Scratched Alpha” Rub-ons

I chose four portrait oriented photos that depicted my daughter’s vibrant personality and printed them all wallet sized on the one sheet of 4″x6″ paper.  I selected the option of adding white borders to help keep each photo from detracting from the one next to it. I made sure to use four photos where she was looking in the same direction or straight at the camera and I placed my favourite photo in the top right since I knew that would be the focal point for the viewer. As my daughter is looking to the left it was logical to position my photo sheet on the right side of my layout. This helps to give a feeling of space and makes my page feel less cluttered.

 Renee has created this gorgeous page using a series of 3 landscape oriented photos showing her daughter rolling in the grass:

“Rolling good time” by Renee Ludlow - Utopia papers, die-cut elements, black rub-ons, 6×6 paper pad, chipboard alphabet #3, alpha stickers (avocado), ink (sepia)

Here is what Renee had to say about her layout:

“Like Christine I used white borders on my photo edges, so that each photo was still distinct from the others.  I used three 5 x 3.5in photos, and clustered them altogether in the center of the page. I placed embellishments on or around the photos so that the viewer’s eye is drawn towards each photo”.

Here is a quick and fun layout I put together using the Utopia Collection.  I decided to keep most of the design to the top of the page, with the title at the bottom to balance it out.  The flowers on the patterned paper on the background draw your eye around the page leading from the photo to the title.

“Beautiful Day” by Tanya Tahir – Utopia Collection papers, die cut elements, mini alpha stickers (black), alpha stickers (Avocado), chipboard alpha, pearls (Teal).

If you are short on time, why don’t you take a look at the patterns on the papers – they can sometimes help you achieve a well balanced design in the nick of time!

Just a quick card with the gorgeous Utopia range from Kaisercraft. You can use this card for any occasion.

A close up to see how easy it is to make a pretty embellishment with paper and pop-dots!

I cut out 3 flowers. I placed a pop dot under the first one and then stuck the second flower right on top of the first flower. The 3rd flower I cut smaller and was only left with the very centre. I raised the centre on another pop dot. You can use your finger nails to curl the leaves slightly. It is as easy as 1-2-3!

I used a rhinestone border as a finishing touch for the card.

Keep all your off cuts once you have finished a scrapbooking page and utilize these scraps for cards. You will be surprised to see how many cards you can make with your off-cuts.