Making Gifts for Life

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Timeless...

Timeless -
This is a photo of my daughter that I took recently (last week) at the Sunken Garden in Highland Park. I absolutely love this place! I haven't really taken a bad picture there, the place is just gorgeous. The flowers, leaves and textures of the bricks, are just spectacular. My BFF turned me onto this place and I recently took my son, his friends and my daughter there to do a series of senior pictures, even though my daughter is not a senior, I want to take pictures of her, I love to take pictures of her.

On this layout, I made the butterflies and flowers out of light pink paper, using my Slice die cutting machine and then stamped the pieces with a script stamp after they were cut out. For the flowers, I crinkled the paper into a ball and flattened it back out, inked all the edges and added a pearl brad center.

I inked around the entire layout with brown ink, then once more with a dark shade of brown to get a variation.

I used a hat pin through the lace trim in the lower right corner of the mat.

In order to get the stamped images around the mat, I cut the mat to size, then marked off where I needed to stamp, removed the mat; then I just stamped around in a square using a flourish stamp. Gluing the mat down once I used the border punch on it. Then I cut a dark gray mat and a cream mat to go over the black mat. To pop the picture, so you can see it more and for it to be defined from the layout, I matted that in black also. A black frame would work here too but I couldn't find one I really liked, I tried several. So I just went for the simple solution and matted the picture on black cardstock.

For the two black leaf sprigs, I cut those out of cardstock using the Slice machine also.

The butterflies have depth, because I cut two for each butterfly, then layered them, leaving the wings of the top butterfly free and not glued down. Then I added pearls to make the butterflies bodies, giving them dimension and a hint of elegance.

And as for the title... I came up with this, because once you take a photo, you are that age in that photo and that is timeless. (Title was cut using my Slice die cutting machine also.)

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Match Book Calendar

 Match Book Calendar -
I made this for my desk at work. I wanted to bring some of my crafting to my desk so it's not so dull and boring. I used paper scraps in the Linen Stack by DCWV. I printed the calendars out on two sheets of white cardstock and cut around them. I matted them with dark brown cardstock and then adhered them to tan cardstock that has been stamped with dark brown ink, and various stamps with themes for the season. I then inked around each page with the dark brown ink, stacked them together and then stapled them into the book.
I made the actual book with chipboard and two pieces of cardstock, one for the lining and one for the cover.
I added a title with a piece of scrap paper and stamps.
I like that it is simple and that the stamped theme changes with each month.
They are fairly easy to make, I winged it all, never really measured the chipboard, just trimmed and started covering, then made the pages to fit. It took me less time to make this then a layout. lol

Make one for your desk today!

Tomorrow I go back to my full time job, I hope to add a different layout a couple days a week if I can. But it's also football season, for my son and the NFL, this is my season, I love fall!!!!! I love the food and the smells and the colors of this beautiful season. I can't wait for the temperature to dip a little (like it was last week).

Have a wonderful Monday!

Friday, August 17, 2012

Just being a girl....

Just being a girl layout -
This layout was a pretty fast one due to the embellishments I used being already premade. I use the My Mind's Eye, Lost & Found 2 paper stack. I really just had to trim the papers to the right sizes and on the pink one use an edge punch. The three chipboard pieces are all from the same collection, something that has been in my stash for a long time. The jewel flourishes are made by Recollections. The teal circle tag I cut in half then used zigzag scissors on the edge. The "I remember when" journaling tag is from Making Memories, another thing that I have had for a long time in my stash. I also used daisy fabric trim that had come off a dress I made my daughter when she was younger, I added the bling snaps to it (they are also Making Memories). The three white mats are for pictures of course, and in this case I would either use black and white photos, or photos with muted color, so that they don't compete with the layout itself and over power it. Of course you could also make two of the supporting photos black and white, and one photo color, that would look great too.

Let me know what you think. If you would like to make this layout, post a comment and I would be happy to forward or post the dimensions of all the papers.  You need 4 pieces of coordinating papers, a piece of white cardstock and one accent color, you don't need alot of this one color, make sure it matches two embellishments that you have or that you make by hand.

A trick I learned early on in scrapbooking, and it works well with photography also is the law of thirds or it's called Fibonacci's square sequence. Basically when using the law of thirds, you are leading the viewer through the layout by the placement of the three embellishments or accents.
If you view the rectangle above as only 3 squares, you see the focal point. You can turn and manipulate this anyway you want, but you always want to have a certain focal area.

Use it on your next layout, and see how much it helps the look and feel of it. Post images of your finished layouts for us to see!

Thank you again for visiting my blog. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Enjoy peace and serenity.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

I want to remember...

I want to remember -
This layout was made using My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2 stack.
Here are the steps:
1. Pick a base piece of paper, this one should be solid. Lay a ruler down on the back side of the paper and trace a square about 10 x 10. It doesn't have to be exact, we are just trying not to waste paper, plus we need part of the left over for a strip on the layout.
2. Using a Martha Stewart around the page punch, punch all the way around the page.
3. Cut 7.25 circle in yellow and a 7.75 circle in blue. Using large scallop scissors, cut the blue circle.
4. Cut the strip of your background paper to 3.5 x 8. Use a border punch for one long side.
5. Cut a 2.5 x 8.5 coordinating strip, use a border punch on the left short side.
6. Cut a dark piece of cardstock 1.5 x 9, use a border punch on the bottom edge.
7. Cut a strip .25 x 10.
8. Arrange as shown in the picture. (The white mat is to represent the picture).

Flowers are Prima and Spare Parts. The frame is from my stash of supplies. I made the sun myself, adding watercolor pencils to the rays to give definition.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Feeling a little better, so here is what I have started

Here is what I have to start with. The papers I am using are from the MME Lost & Found Two stack, which is quickly becoming my favorite paper stack.
If I ramble on in this post, it's because I have been taking alot of medicine to fight the virus I have and I think it's making me loopy.
I went shopping at Hobby Lobby the other day, my son was sweet enough to drive me. (This was before I got sick.) And I found some flowers that will match what I what to do with this layout. I also found some decorative brads, that I just love, so I grabbed those also, even though I am not sure I will use them with this. We shall see. The metal frame is from my collection of scrapbook stuff that I am thinning out slowly.
I have been selling my excess paper and supplies on ebay. I sold 7 lots of scrapbook stuff over the weekend. That brought in some extra money. Which is always nice.
My kids pretty much have been staying out of the house, while the doctors figure out what the heck is wrong with me. But today my son surprised me with soup, a snickers bar and a iced coffee (cookies and cream). Isn't that so sweet of him? I couldn't believe it. I raised two amazing kids. And my daughter came home to take care of me, while her brother is at a concert and my hubby is working. I am so blessed.
Well let me get working, and let me stop rambling, and see what I can come up with for this layout.
I hope you are all well. Please have a blessed day and be kind to one another.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Sorry all

Yes! And I want to say I am sorry. It seems when I really get in a good groove with my life, I get sick. And boy am I sick. I am only typing this cause I feel guilty for not posting a page. I will be closing this computer and going to sleep in a second.
I hope you are all well. Have a great day. I will post again when I am feeling better.