Belle Papier {pretty paper}

Grab your coffee! I don’t usually write so much but…this is going to be one of those longggg posts.First of all…I’m super excited that the Scrapblocks release day has finally arrived. Here they are, almost as large as life. Scrapblocks are 6″ x 6″ square unmounted red rubber and are perfect for cards, altered projects and scrapbooking.

Vintage Text Scrapblock

Stitches Scrapblock

You can find these Scrapblocks in the CHF store: Vintage Text, Stitches Scrapblock

The Challenge:

I’m back with another Ways to Use it Challenge today. This week we’re focusing on a look that I think it big in the industry right now…text. It’s amazing how many places it is popping up. What’s it inspired by? I’m not quite sure as it is a great vintage trend as well as looking great on more graphic style designs. Perhaps all the interest in fonts and the computer generation has brought it to light. However you want to use it…it’s a great look. Use text as a background layer, stamp on it, add a definition block, use a vintage book, computer generate your own…use it however you wish and have fun with the challenge! Check out the details here.

 The Project:

I love scrapbooking and altered projects. Frequently though…I’m so short on time, I just stick with cards. The solution? Make a small mini-album. This little album is only 4″ x 4″ square but I’m just bouncing as I had so much fun making it. Ever done that? Create a project that you’re thrilled you finally got a chance to make? This is it for me.

This little album may be small but it’s packed full of love…it’s a mini album of all five of my babies. The really fun element in this project for me was all the clear elements. The covers of this project as Zutter Acrylic Covers. I stamped on them with my Vintage Text in Stazon Ink. I used the Text to tie the project together. Text is a great versatile look and it really doesn’t matter what it says…it’s all about the style.

Quick Tip: Crystal Accents and other dimensional glazes are great adhesives for Clear Card Sheet projects.

Inside my book, I alternated binding pages of stamped Clear Card Sheets cut to 4×4 size and patterned paper. On the paper pages, I adhered a 3×3 picture of each child, keeping it simple because of the mini size. The Clear Sheets are where the fun is. They are each stamped with a different Scrapblock or Backgrounder for a little variety. These pages hold the info and embellishing…an initial and birth date of the child. I love the way they give a peek at the baby underneath.

and so on….

Supply List:

Stamps: Sweet Bee (The Rummage Bin line), Vintage Text Scrapblock, Stitches Scrapblock, Sophisticated Swirl Backgrounder, Spanish Script Backgrounder by Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink: Black Stazon by Tsukineko

Paper: Patterned Paper by MME, Clear Card Sheets by Cornish Heritage Farms

Other: brad by Making Memories, flowers and lace by Prima, bling by Basic Grey, dymo label maker,  chipboard by American Crafts, Zutter Bind-it-all

And finally….

The Winner:

Thanks so much everyone for your wonderful ideas for using the Scrapblocks. They are really so versatile.  I used the random.org integer generator to pick one lucky winner….number  62  .   Tracey Gordon, that’s you!  Congrats! Please e-mail me with your address and I’ll get that rubber in the mail.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for staying with me through a very long post!

Julia

It’s my third day of sneak peeks for the Ornamental Beauty set. To date I’ve shown you two different card designs and so, today I wanted to show you something a little different. While this set is lovely for making cards, I really wanted to make this set very flexible for scrapbooking as well.I love incorporating stamping on scrapbook layouts. One of the hang-up that a lot of scrapbookers have is worrying about not stamping a great image the first time around. The CHF stamps are beautiful deeply cut red rubber and you shouldn’t have to worry about a poor impression, but if you do…you’ll find that a lot of the stamps are great for stamping on layers before adding them to your design.

 Beauty

Now I have to apologize. It seems as though I’ve really gotten into a pink groove over the past few days. I’ll be sure to mix up the colors for tomorrow’s post! To create this layout, I used four of the stamps from my Ornamental Beauty set. One of them, you’ll have a hard time seeing in this picture as I stamped it all over some SEI metallic sheened paper and then covered most of it up with my photo and other goodies. Sometimes that happens when you just go with the flow when creating.

I mentioned the other day that the big ornate medallion image was one of my favorites. This Life is Beautiful is my other one. I simply stamped it onto some grey SEI paper and added small touches of color with my Copic Markers for a quick accent piece.

I admit it…I always struggle with the journaling. This little journaling stamp makes it easy to make the journaling pretty but keep it small and very doable. You may also have noticed my creative spelling of the title, Beauty. I totally ran out of y’s , so why not put an accent over the e for a unique look? Works for me!

Quick Tip: If you love the look of die-cut paper but don’t have a sheet that is what you are looking for in style or color, create your own. For this design I traced a large shaped piece of patterned paper unto the back of this beautiful glittered paper for my own custom look.

Have a beautiful Sunday!

Supply List:

Stamps: Ornamental Beauty (The Rummage Bin line) by Cornish Heritage Farms ..release date Tuesday

Ink: Rich Cocoa Memento Ink by Tsukineko

Paper: white cardstock by Prism, patterned paper by SEI, stapler, sewing machine, ribbon, crocheted flower by Imaginisce, chipboard by American Crafts, flowers by Prima, chipboard letters by Basic Grey, paper to trace outline - Making Memories

The holidays are such an important part of our lives. A time of celebration. A time of family and friends and food and traditions. A time for decorating and a time for giving. These special times deserve a place in your scrapbook and that is what today’s scrapbook challenge is all about. Usually I challenge you everyone week to a layout challenge but today we’re putting a little different spin on it and making the challenge about the holidays. Scrap your favorite holiday tradition or ornaments for this challenge. I know it will be something that you and your family look back at over the years and cherish the memories.

Kim, Carole, & Lesley have created beautiful layouts for this challenge. Check them out!

Holiday Cheer

Now in a household full of so many rambunctious Y chromosomes,  I don’t have too many special decorations for Christmas. Those boys seem to come hard-wired for destruction. I’ve tried, yes I have, but have finally given up and our tree is now decorated with ribbon, lights, bows and UNBREAKABLE ornaments. In short… nothing special! LOL I do have a few things I really love though that I keep on a counter way out of range… this darling little ceramic snowman that holds a tealight inside. My mom gave it to me and I often light it during the holidays on the counter while I bake and get ready for Christmas.

This simple layout uses just a small amount of stamping to add details to the design. The dark brown cardstock actually looks black in the photo but I love the warm cozy look with the blue, white and silver accents.

Quick Tip:  Stamp a Scrapblock™ onto a Clear Card Sheet to make a mat for your photos.

Wishing you some holiday joy!

Supply List:

Stamps: Pin Dot Scrapblock™, Heart Warmers(Kim Hughes line) by Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink: White Stazon by Tsukineko,  Black by Stewart Superior

Paper: Brown and blue cardstock by Bazzill, patterned paper by Basic Grey

Other: silver paint dabber by Ranger, Clear Card Sheet by Cornish Heritage Farms,

Yikes it’s been a while since I last scrapped! I’m so thankful for these challenges that help give me a push. Once I get started I’m always having so much fun and thinking…why HAVEN’T I done this in SO long! This is a layout sketch I designed for this challenge. We’d love you to play along so please…take up the challenge! We have a few more samples for you using this layout so take the time to check them out as well…

Lesley, Kristine

Here’s my layout using the sketch for inspiration. I followed it fairly closely using a love theme for my niece’s wedding photos.If you look closely you can see one of the latest CHF Scrapblocks, Distressed Grid. I’m especially excited about this Scrapblock™ as I designed it. My first CHF stamp! So fun! I thought it would make a great “anchor” for scrapbooking layouts as well as adding texture to cards and altered projects. It’s also stamped on the painted grungeboard heart.

LOVE.

The other stamp set I used to create this layout is the new Wedding Centers stamp set. I just love the beautiful phrases and sentiments and they were perfect for this layout. LOL I just realized that even though I created the project I showed you yesterday and today’s layout almost two weeks apart…they both use the same quote. Sorry about that. I usually like to try and mix things up a bit!

Quick Tip: To improve photos that are less than perfect, do some digital photo editing. Crop close to limit distracting backgrounds. I also used the Dodge tool on these photos to fade out the background elements  that were taking the focus off the special couple. This also works great in eye areas that can be really dark when shot in strong light.

Happy scrappin’!

Supply List:

Stamps: Distressed Grid Scrapblock™ by Cornish Heritage Farms, Wedding Centers (Mona Lisa Moments line) by Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink: Black Palette Ink by Stewart Superior, Rich Cocoa Memento Ink by Tsukineko

Paper: cardstock by Bazzill, French Market paper by MME, Basic Grey

Other: circle punch, rhinestones by Doodlebug Designs, chipboard letters by Chatterbox, pin by Fancy Pants Designs, felt bird by Maya Road, flower and velvet trim by Prima, Worn Lipstick Distress Crackle Paint, grungeboard heart by Tim Holtz for Ranger

My husband came running in the house Monday night telling me to grab my camera. Now this is not an ordinary occurrence…he usually shuns the thing but after a day of rain, there was the most stunning rainbow I have seen in years.Across the road and fields of Fall wheat this rainbow was just radiant and spanned in a complete arch from side to side. There was no way to capture it with my camera as my lens is not wide-angled. Here’s one of the few pics I managed to take right before my camera battery died.

Now image my surprise this morning to wake up to everything well-blanketed with snow! Hmmmm…are those costumes for Friday night going to fit on top of snowsuits?! I totally can’t believe it because I had the boys standing out waiting for the bus for a long time. The delayed the bus by two hours. What a day!

Now as for the layout part of the post…it’s layout challenge day again.

We’d love to have you join us for this layout sketch challenge! Jennifer Roach has also created a sample for this layout…check it out here!

The Story of Us

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful Wednesday!