Paper Inklings – school papers and embellishments – part 2

Being a teacher at your children’s school (as I was for nearly 8 years) has a few perks – and I don’t mean the “mum I’ve eaten all my lunch and I’m still hungry – can you get me something from the tuckshop?” ones. It means that sometimes, when other teachers take photos of my kids in the classroom doing things, I can jump up and down and ask for a copy.

Even better for me – the main snapper of all things photographic at their school – is actually a wonderful photographer as well (though he didn’t take the photos in this particular layout). So I have a number of great photos of my kids in the classroom or at sporting events that I would not normally have.

The boys go to a school with an academic focus – and science is treated very seriously, even in the junior school (Primary for those who are not in a P-12 school). Grade 6 is the final year for us in junior school and the highlight of the year in science is doing their very own science experiment – designed and performed themselves. It’s part of a program put out by CSIRO and if they meet the criteria, they get a certificate to say they have successfully completed the project.

Being a science teacher myself, you can imagine I was pretty stoked to get my hands on some photos of DS3 in the middle of conducting his experiment. After seeing the new School papers from Paper Inklings I could not imagine a better range to scrap these photos with. I started out by layering 2 of the papers over each other – using the brighter red one as a frame. Then I cut out one of the ruler strips to use as a base for the “year 6” rubon.

I cut up one of the chipboard titles (I took the word “years” of the bottom) to make part of my title. In keeping with the writing on the patterned paper I inked it black and then grunged over the top of it with white gel pen to get that ‘chalked on’ look. To make it stand out from the brown paper I needed to mat the title on the bright yellow patterned paper. Wow did that make it pop! The last part of the title I inked with some red chalk ink to match the red paper frame.

I also used on the chippy embellishments – a shield – as a base for some journaling. The information was simply printed out on some acetate and stuck to the inked shield. Simple, but very effective. Since most of the ink I used for this layout was chalk ink – it is hard to apply rubons or gel pen over the top of it – acetate is a great compromise.

Like the previous layout, I used some of the rubon titles from the range and the same red patterned paper for the journaling strips.

I love the chippy pencils – like the maths protractor in the previous layout – they are so unusual in design and look great on the layout. I inked these to look like a real pencil and used them to add in the title of DS3’s experiment. Way cool – I want more of these!!

Again – I am really happy with the finished layout. Although I have not been so much a fan of ‘themed’ papers before, I just love the way this range ‘scraps out’. At last I have a range of papers for all those school photos, where normal papers just did not seem to do them justice. I have a few more ideas up my sleeves yet – so when I finally get time to take a breath (school is very busy for me at the moment with year 11 and 12 stuff) – I’ll get back to my box of yummy goodies and finish off a couple more.

Paper Inklings – school papers and embellishments – part 1

So how many times have you wished that you had some appropriate papers to put with all those school photos you get? You know the ones I mean – you pay for the packages every year through the school and they arrive back with all those silly little tiny ones that you almost never use and the rest get farmed out to grandma’s and aunts.

Well Paper Inklings – a local Aussie company – has come to the rescue. Their new School range is just awesome. Lots of lovely colours to suit most schools and some fantastic patterns to the papers make this a great line for using up all those annual school portraits. Besides the great patterned papers, they have a matching range of rubons and chipboard titles and shapes that cover both Primary and Secondary school.

When I checked out their website I noticed they already had some wonderful layouts using school photos – so I thought I would see how well you could use the papers to make a layout that was less a ‘traditional school photo’ layout and more like the ones I normally do. And I have to admit I am pretty pleased with the results to date.

I’ve had this photo of DS1 and one of his favourite year 9 teachers for a long time now. This woman was a godsend. Young and hip and full of enthusiasm – she managed to undo the damage the previous maths teacher had done to his love of and self-confidence in maths. The Paper Inklings range was perfect – it kept the focus on the school/maths and yet let me be artistic and girly in design. DS1 loves the layout – and is old enough to appreciate the meaning behind some of the quotes printed on the patterned paper.

Ignoring the dreadful photo (you try taking one with such a bright sunny day and your subjects are under-cover) I think the layout manages to represent both aspects of the moment it captures. I’ve tried to let as much of the pattern on the paper show up the maths/learning theme and yet the flowers and the threading soften it and make it fun and ‘arty’.

I’ve layered the dark green side of one of the patterned papers over another that is made up of all these ruler measurements strips. Ripping out the centre allows me to have the contrasting ruler paper show through the darker green paper. I then punched some eyelets into two of the rip corners and threaded some string through them. It’s grungy – but then maths is never pretty (lol – it was never my favourite subject). Underneath the threaded string are some paper flowers I cut out of one of the other patterned papers in a gorgeous contrasting red. I’ve inked around the edges in white ink and added a few pearls to the centre of them. Gorgeous!!

Here’s a close-up of the flowers. Love the maths symbols and other educational bits printed on the papers.

I’ve framed 2 corners of the photo with some of the ruler-corner rubons from the range. I also used one of the title rubons and added some inked chippy to complete the title. Finishing the layout couldn’t have been easier – I just added one of the protractor chipboards from the chippy range and printed out the journaling on some of the red patterned paper.

Whallah – a layout that DS1 loves and I am pretty impressed with too. Wilma at 123 sells some of the rubons from this range in-store here – so check them out. She also still has a heap of the papers and rubons from their last range – -Mythical – which is a just-to-die-for girly range of fairies and flourishes.

The last of the Lemonade…

The 3rd and last of the BG Lemonade layouts for the newsletter at the beginning of October. Gosh the month has gone so quickly. “You are my Sunshine” focuses on elements from the Card Kit and Chipboard Sticker Shapes pack. The basic design is a frame of patterned paper around a smaller square of patterned paper. The photo is one from our ski trip – as we were driving through Victoria, Madame saw these bright, sunny yellow flowers along the roadside. She had to hop out and have a little wander through them – and I just ‘had’ to take some photos.

Don’t be afraid to cut up pre-made chipboard pieces. I took one large Sticker Shape that was a little over-powering in size and cut it into two smaller ones, which were much easier to place about the layout.

Here is the rest of the Sticker Shape – with a cardstock flower/leaf from the Card Kit. The pink flowers are another of the Prima vines (from my own stash).

This sweet little title card is from the Card Kit, as is the pink heart – the rest are chipboard stickers. It was too nice to keep for a card – and just perfect for my layout.

The title alphas are just the standard sticker ones that can be bought separately or come with the Collection Pack. You can also see the rubon that matches the flourish on the title card.

With the wide range of colours in this range – pinks, yellows, reds, blues, greens and creams – there is something for everyone. I’ve done 5 layouts using this collection now and not one of them is the same – this is probably the most versatile range BG has put out in a long time. So grab yourself some and have a play too.

More BG Lemonade for TSE

For “Summer Girl” – the second of the BG Lemonade layouts for TSE, I wanted to feature the rubons and Journal Cards. There is very little by way of ‘feature’ patterned paper on this layout – a strip from the multi-patterned Saltwater Taffy is the only one – the rest (the mats and base page) are all ‘background’ patterned papers. The Journal Card makes an effective ‘patterned paper’ in its own right – as well as providing a place for some journalling.

The Prima Flutter Vine, together with the Trellis Rose and folded Green Tara flower provide the main embellishment “feature” of the layout. Again, the Trellis Rose has been altered with Glimmermist and Kindyglitz to suit.

The rest of the page is ‘filled’ with rubons and the title alphas. All of the chipboard has been coloured with Keylime Radiant Rain (my own stash) – a perfect match for the green of the rubons and papers.

Baby Shower CC at TSE

Ok – so after a little hiccup on the Thursday night – it all went wonderfully on the Friday night. Thanks to all the lovely ladies who came and made the chat and games such a blast. There’s still plenty of time to get your entry in the 3 challenges – they don’t close until next weekend. So for a chance at a store voucher – create something to match the challenge criteria and have a go!!

For Challenge 1 – I used the gorgeous Websters Pages Nature’s Storybook range – just wonderful to work with – check out the TSE store to get some for your own stash.

Challenge 1 Criteria

I think that there is nothing better than watching a young baby grow and develop – their fascination with the world around them and the delight they take in exploring.

So for my layout I have done one that (I hope) captures some of that wonder and sense of delight in the world around her – although Madame was about 1.5 years old and not a new baby.

So for my challenge criteria, design a layout that includes:

1. Green – the colour of spring and young growing things.
2. A frame (of any sort).
3. A tag – use it for the title, journaling or as a decorative feature.

Loving the Prima – the first image shows the gorgeous flower I used and the second my new favourite pear/gemstone flourishes. Yummo

And this one shows a close-up of the 3D glitz I have been loving of late.

Rouge de Garance – Marie Antoinette – at 123

Oh my – how gorgeous is this range from Rouge de Garance? Marie Antoinette is just stunning – white, soft pinks, bright fuchsias and strong teals – lots of flowing lines and funky patterns. It’s a bit of an eclectic mix – but it works.

Bold, fussy patterns with bright and contrasting colours can be daunting to work with. I have to admit that I stood these papers up on my desk for a few days just looking at them and getting a feel for what I might do with them.

In the end I decided to cut out the bits I really liked and wanted to work with and to go from there. And that’s what I did – cut out bits and pieces from several of the papers and one torn out curve of paper. I decided on the base paper being the No 3 (so how imaginative is their paper naming system??) and then just started layering the bits of paper over it and moving them around until I thought it looked good.

Because of the bright nature of most of the papers I thought I would make a frame for my photo out of some of the darker teal patterned paper (No 2) to help contrast it to all that brightness. I used a template I made from an old journaling card to create the frame itself and then painted on a white edge with some white paint. I used paint rather than ink to give it a really “white” look. Over the top of this is some 3D Crystalina Kindyglitz – my newest toy. It’s really cool, because it is ‘whiter’ than the normal Kindyglitz, without the “pink” tinge that one sometimes can have.

The trick to this sort of design is to actually have a purpose or focus for the ‘apparent’ randomness. Although it looks like it was simply thrown together, I actually gave a lot of thought to where I put the different elements. If you look at the layout you can see I used the rule of three for all the floral embellishments, and I’ve made sure the main colours (the dark teal, hot pink and white) are balanced on both sides of the layout.

The frame (and hence the photo) is my focus. The ‘curve’ of patterned paper (No 6) goes underneath the frame to support it. The frame itself is tucked into the curve of paper on one corner. The title, cut-out sections and flowers are all arranged around the frame to draw your attention to it.

The overall design still looks random and flowing – just like the patterns on the papers themselves. This is one case of letting the ‘feel’ or ‘mood’ of the papers dictate how you do the layout.

The flowers were all originally white, but I altered them all in some way. The white ones have a thick layer of the 3D Crystalina Kindyglitz; the hot pink ones have been coloured with Glimmermist and the dark teal ones are inked. I have no idea what the layered ones are – other than they are Prima of some sort.

The alphas were a real find – have no idea how Wilma managed to hide them from me for so long – but now I have found them I intend to use them on everything I can. Just love them – how girly are they?? Just to die for.

They’re the raw Swirly Alphabet from Bella and you better get in and get some quick, before I go back for a re-stock.

So check out the Marie Antoinette range from Rouge de Garance – I promise you that you won’t be disappointed.

Some cards for TSE

I’m not much of a cardmaker – and I find it takes me way longer than it should – so I was delighted to see that Basic Grey started putting out Card Kits to accompany their collections. Lol – there were some Card Kits left when I started working on my Lemonade layouts. Obviously some of you have worked out what good value they are – cause there are none in the store now.

Yummo – talk about hooked. You get instructions and materials for 8 gorgeous cards in each kit. Many of the embellishments are custom made for the kit and not available anywhere else. They take a matter of minutes to make and look stunning. Mine was a little different to the instructions given – but not much.

The best part – you get to keep 8 wonderful card sketches – and can make more cards using other papers and embellishments. Well worth the price of the kit – which is much less than the price of buying 8 Hallmark cards anyway. All you have to do is use the patterned papers together with the card sketches to have an endless supply of gorgeous cards.

And the other card I have to share is one of my own – the card that goes with the blind card challenge we had last week. I used Websters Pages papers from the Postcards from Paris range – just gorgeous.

And here are a couple of close-ups so you can see the details.

BG Lemonade at TSE

There is something a little ironic in taking a summery-themed collection like the new Basic Grey Lemonade to work on during a skiing holiday. I must admit, it made for interesting scrapping whilst tucked up warmly with hot cocoa and choci cake in a cute little chalet – but it did take a little more of a work out on behalf of the old mojo.

For “Wave Watching”, my first layout, I wanted something that would feature an oversize photo, as well as a collection of smaller associated photos – obviously I needed a double layout. I kept the paper layers simple – only a little distressing and a punched edge using the Fiskars Boundary Waters punch.

The photos take up the majority of the page – so the embellishments are located along the edges of the layout. I’ve used a collection of Prima flowers for the larger embellishments – the Ivory Trellis Roses, a Cherry Blossom Petit Fleur Vine and some Festive Mix (which I altered with Glimmermist). I broke up the vine and mixed it with the other flowers to make flower clusters here and there. Some pink Prima pearl flourishes were also cut up and tucked in around the flower clusters.

The gorgeous shimmery finish to the altered flowers comes from the new (to the store) Kindyglitz Crystalina 3D – a touch of the heat gun to dry and you get this white, glittery, frosted appearance. The pink fabric you can see in the middle of the larger flowers is made from a petal off one of the Princess Posies Flowers (by Imaginisce) – I’ve gently heated it with my heat gun until it shrivelled up a little and then I glued it to the flower with a Kaiser Green Pea Rhinestone as a flower centre.

More of the Kindyglitz for the title alphas – the chipboard (by Bella) was inked a dark plum with an overlay of gold alcohol ink mixative (Tim Holtz) and then coated with the Kindyglitz. This mix was heated until it bubbled with a heat gun. The inks all run together with the Kindyglitz to make a stunning finish.

To finish it off I added some strip journalling, buttons and a couple of the rubons from the Lemonade Collection Olio rubon book.

Creating a successful double layout sometimes takes a little more thought than a single layout – so my forum tip this week will deal with designing double layouts, as well as explaining how I altered the (originally) white flowers for the layout. I’ll post up another of the layouts from the newsletter tomorrow.

October sketch for TSE

Ahhh – October, my favourite time of year. Beautiful weather, the last term of school before Xmas – and of course my birthday.

What better month for me to do the sketch at TSE?

I’ve done a “shapes” based sketch for this month – but you can interpret it however you want.

Create a layout and/or card using the sketch and upload to the gallery for your chance to win a gift voucher prize.

Here is my layout – using the gorgeous Websters Pages “Postcards from Paris” papers and some Prima goodies.

And here is the card.

Just love this range – so soft and sweet. And all the little details you get with the patterns. The bird cage and clock I cut out of the paper and then added a clock wax seal to the centre of it.

The large flower is one of the gorgeous new ones from Prima - just yummy. The roses are some paper ones I discovered – a little Glimmermist and Kindyglitz and they are simply stunning.

The open rose was an Ivory Trellis Rose from Prima - but I coloured it with the same Glimmermist and Kindyglitz combination.

And I have had these Melissa Francis embellishments for simply forever – always wanted them to be coloured and with the new alcohol ink pastels from Tim Holtz I can finally get them the way I want them. A little gold mixative and some pink and whallah – perfection.

I love the detail on the Green Tara flower on the card – it’s meant for a friend – so I hope she likes it. Lol – just need to remember to post it.

So check out the new Websters Pages “Postcards from Paris” papers at TSE and make sure you get in before I head in for a re-stock.

Don’t foget to pop in tomorrow night (hmmmm – or is that later tonight?) for the blind card challenge.

Blind Card Challenge (pre cc class)

Hey Guys – some join me Friday night at 8pm for a blind card challenge. The girls and I had a blast last time we did this, so we have planned another to keep us all busy before the Baby shower cc next week.

And speaking of cc’s – click on the gorgeous little cc ad (in the sidebar) that Jaimee designed and come register for the “Baby Shower” cc. We are all celebrating the upcoming arrival of Tanya’s baby with forum games, the card challenge and the cc challenges themselves. So come join in the fun with us at TSE and hopefully you might be the lucky winner of a prize pack or store voucher.