One Card Two Ways - Couture Creations DT

Welcome back! Everyone can use more birthday cards in their stash, so for today's project I have whipped up two very similar birthday cards suitable for a variety of ages.

 

To prepare the background cut some white cardstock to 4" x 5". Mist with a couple of different colours of ink, ensuring you let each colour dry individually to prevent them all blending together and turning brown. Once the whole card is covered and dry, run it through an embossing folder to add texture. I used Velvet Tea Lights from The Marriot range because I think it is so lovely. One card has the design raised and the other has the design recessed, play around to see which you prefer.

 

You want to cut the black card slightly larger than the white piece to create the border effect, keeping in mind the need to create the front and back pages of the card.

 

To create the first card, I cut the Ornate Rectangle die from black cardstock.

Cut a piece of white cardstock to fill the gap left in the middle and stamp with your sentiment, then adhere this to the frame die.

Run some Glitzin Glamour around the edge of the white card and pop some Gemstones in the corners.

While you wait for the Glitzin Glamour adhere some blue twine around the middle of the coloured card and then affix this to the black cardstock.

Mount your frame to the card on an angle, using foam mounting tape to lift it up and add dimension.

 

To create the first card, I cut the Ornate Rectangle die from black cardstock. I then covered this in Versamark ink and embossed it in a metallic silver powder. Pop some Gemstones in the corners and other areas of the frame.

Cut a piece of white cardstock to fill the gap left in the middle. Stamp with your sentiment, ink the edges, apply some Glitzin Glamour to certain elements of the sentiment, then adhere this to the frame die.

While you wait for the Glitzin Glamour adhere some black lace around the middle of the coloured card and then affix this to the black cardstock.

Mount your frame to the card using foam mounting tape to lift it up and add dimension.

 

Couture Creations Materials List:

CO723725 The Van Roe, Ornate Rectangle

CO723679 The Marriot, Velvet Tea Lights

CO721992 Gemstones Blue Iceberg
CO721980 Glitzin Glamour Rainbow

CO721972 Glitzin Glamour Purple
C0721964 Foam Mounting Tape 12mm
CO721985 Double Sided Tape 6mm



 

Little Mischief - Scrapmatts DT

 

Project number two for my June Scrapmatts DT projects is a single page layout of my parent-in-laws' puppy, Josh. He is very cute (aren't all puppies?) but he is also going through all the typical puppy stages of chewing/biting everything, too much energy and problems with toilet training. I will use this entry as my Pets theme submission for the Gold Coast Show this year.

 

The picket fence is such a cute design but I had never found a use for it on any of my layouts previously. The title comes from an assorted set which seems to be more targeted towards little boys but I thought it suited Josh perfectly. You can see in the close up I left the fence raw to tie in with the natural feel I was going for. The title is painted with acrylic paint and then covered with crackle medium. The Scrap Word in the corner just has stamping ink whipped over the top to let the recessed black words still show through.

 

Scrapmatts used: CB1198 Scrap Words 06; CB2026 Picket Fences 09; CB4055 Assorted Words 09.

 

 

I was inspired by the Once Upon A... Sketch June challenge for this layout. The journaling prompt for this month is 'The best things in life aren't things'. I've left my journaling visible on this layout, talking about how Josh's cuteness outweighs his mischief at the moment. 

 

Family Happiness - Scrapmatts DT

It's a double layout, which can only mean one thing - I have started creating for the Gold Coast Show! I was so excited when I found out the Show was relocating this year to a venue which is within walking distance of our house, then I realised it is being held only two weeks after my due date. I figure I'll try to get my projects created nice and early and just see how we go in terms of submitting them/actually visiting the show.

 

 

My first layout for the Scrapmatts DT in June is this double featuring family photos from my wedding back in 2011. Some people asked why I allocated so much of our wedding budget to the photographer, stating 'you'll only look at the photos once and then put them away'. Ha! Shows they have no idea of the longevity a scrapbooker can get from quality wedding photos.

 

In respect of the chipboard, the large rose piece is so delicate and beautiful, I fell in love with it at the Expo last November when it was released but was saving it for a special occasion. I have simply painted it with acrylics and let it shine as a feature. I used up the last of my Flags in the title, and squeezed in some flowers which I heat embossed silver to match the colour scheme.

 

Scrapmatts used: CB2023 Roses 01; CB5101 Flags 02; CB1145 Flowers 09

 

 

The left page has a large cluster element created using multiple die-cuts from this range. I wanted to bring in the purple wedding colour too, so have a purple mini-bloom and some gem stones in the cluster too.

 

The right page has the parent's photos and some hidden journaling, along with a smaller embellishment cluster.

 

Its Your Smile That Captures My Heart

Class three was on Monday, the tutor was the fantastic Tina Connolly and this was hosted by Couture Creations. This is the second time I've taken a Couture Creations class at an expo and the kit always comes with some great extra products you can continue to use, in this case a sanding block and embossing folder.

 

Tina creates lovely messy, layered pages which is style I have previously tried my hand at but am not sure I nailed so thought I might see how an expert did it to get some more ideas. I enjoyed creating all the paper strips, adding the lace and builders tape then some punched scraps, gesso and acrylic paint circles. The black border also used a couple of different embossing and distressing techniques. I was very happy to also complete this layout in class and didn't need to add anything to it once I got home.

All the Couture Creations tutors dressed up in a Once Upon A Time theme for their classes, Tina was Aurora/Sleeping Beauty. Doesn't she look amazing in costume?

 



 

Tina had an amazing tutor display filled with so many amazing layouts. I also really loved her journal covers and was so tempted to sneak one into my bag. :)

 

Once Upon a Time

Class two was another Scrapmatts sponsored class, this time run by Sonia Thomason. I have always thought Sonia created beautiful layouts however her shabby chic style with so many flowers and layers is way out of my comfort zone. This year I figured the only way to grow and improve in my own scrapping was to try something new so I signed up and had a great time.

 

 

I didn't have to add a thing to this layout once I got home, it was perfect at the end of the two hours. :) I think the only thing I changed in the design was my placement of the second butterfly. The chipboard frames were perfect for showcasing these photos of my grandparents at Nana's 75th birthday party a few years ago.

Sonia wasn't so keen on posing for a photo with me at the end but I talked her into it. She is another fantastic tutor who is happy to see you customise the layout to suit your own style.

 

If you want some idea of the rest of her amazing work, here is a photo I snapped of her tutor display. There were so many layers and textures to the layouts, I wanted to reach out and touch them.

So Happy Together

So the first class I took at the Scrapbook and Papercraft Expo over the weekend was titled On This Day and the tutor was Angella Peardon. The class was sponsored by Scrapmatts and yes, I still love taking their classes ever after having been on their design team for 1.5 years. You always get to play with new release chipboard, the instructions are very easy to follow and the project is specifically created to be completed during the class.

 

 

One of the features of this LO was the tag we created. It was optional as to whether it was included in the layout or not but I liked the look of it so it's stuck down now. I didn't make too many changes to this layout as I really liked the way it all came together. Only things I added at home was some red ink to the chipboard hearts, the alpha stickers to the tag and glued down the arrow charm which came in the kit anyway.

 

Here you can see Angella and I with the layout as created in class. Angella is only around 145cm tall and I'm 176cm so I've had to lead down quite a way for this photo! :) Unfortunately, Angella has decided to step away from the Scrapmatts team to focus on some other projects she's working on. I'm looking forward to seeing what else she's been cooking up in the background.

 

 

Lastly, this is a quick snap of part of Angella's tutor display at the Expo. There's a reason when she's known as the Off-The-Page queen! :)

 

 

This layout also fulfils the criteria for the current challenge over at Challenge YOUrself, which is to include the men in your life.

Discover - Couture Creations DT

Watercolour is a big trend in scrapbooking right now and I wanted to incorporate that into my latest LO. I've chosen to use an image from The Marriot embossing folder ranger in place of a photo and coloured it with watercolour pencils in my latest layout.

 

 

Start by running a piece of scrap paper through the selected embossing folder. Watercolour paper would obviously work best, but I've used regular cardstock and it worked fine. Take your watercolour pencils and colour inside the recessed areas from the embossed image. This will give you an image similar to the one below. Then it's a simple matter of wetting your brush and activating the watercolour component of the pencils to transform the image. Trim the paper to the correct size once dry.

 

 

For the red background piece I wanted to add some extra texture so I ran it through the Wire Barbs embossing folder. I then used my sanding tool on it to distress it a bit and finally painted the edges with gesso. Just dry brush some gesso over the top to really accent the barbs.

 

Cut your title using The Van Roe Discover die-cut from the same red paper and swipe with gesso to match. Then just layer all the papers and embellishments as shown in the image. If you're wondering about the fantastic chipboard pieces they are from Scrapmatts, of course. There you have it, a pretty quick and easy LO using two of the great The Marriot embossing folders. 

Couture Creations Materials List:

CO723545 12" x 12" Paper Pads, Sew Jo

C0723722 The Van Roe, Discover Decorative Die

C0723675 The Marriot, Great Lazy Days

C0723676 The Marriot, Wire Barbs
C0721964 Foam Mounting Tape 12mm

CO721985 Double Sided Tape 6mm

CO723060 Sanding Block

The current challenge over at Use Your Stuff is to incorporate circles into your project. I have used the circular ships wheel and compass shaped chipboard, along with a circular flair and some spotty paper. I have had that watercolour background paper for the longest time, I can't even remember when I picked it up.

Scrapbook & Papercraft Expo 2014

I'm exhausted, my feet and back are killing me and yet I had to the absolute best time and it was totally worth it! I've just spent the past three days at the Scrapbook and Papercraft Expo in Brisbane, which some people may consider a crazy idea given I'm 6.5 months pregnant at the moment but I really wanted to squeeze one more of these events in before I give birth.

 

I started the Saturday with some free time so went for a wander to look through all the stores. It seemed smaller to me this year with less exhibitors but that couldn't have just been my perception. It was definitely quieter this year with less people coming through the doors. Sofie had asked me to work on the Scrapmatts stand for a few hours during the middle of the day on Saturday to cover other ladies teaching classes, so I started there just after 11. Scrapmatts are the best design team to be part of. Sofie and Andrew, the owners, are just lovely people (who are very generous with their products: I think I have enough chipboard to last me for another two years and still walked away with some extra products) and the design team is filled with encouraging, creative people. We all went out for dinner after the show on Saturday and had a great time catch up and relaxing together.

 

 

You can see some of the craziness the Scrapmatts DT ladies get up to during the show below. Our DT leader, Angella, was trying to get Sonya back for an earlier occasion she had photo-bombed. It doesn't quite work when you're only 4 foot 9 though. :)

 

 

Couture Creations also asked me to do some demoing, which was a bit of a new thing for me. I always like to help out where I can though so signed up for 2 hours each day and was assigned to The Scrap Cottage's stand. The ladies from that store were lovely and they carry some great products at competitive products, so check them out. You can see the table at their stand advertising my appearance (made me feel like a celebrity!). The challenge was that was also my workbench and the Big Shot took up at least a third of that space. I also only had five dies to work with so had to be a bit creative in terms of my projects. The second photo shows some of the samples I created.

 

The Couture Creations DT girls are also a little bit crazy. The tutors decided to dress in costume for their classes, so here are Kerrie, Tina and Tracey with me just before I started demoing on the Sunday. Another lovely bunch of ladies who I'm looking forward to getting to know better.

 

 

 

I also signed up for four classes over the weekend and managed to pretty much complete three of them, so my plan is to start sharing the details of those from the 11th as I have my first Couture Creations reveal for June tomorrow. Hopefully, I will complete the fourth page by the end of the week too so I can share them all. Otherwise, it may be relegated to the pile of unfinished projects I still have from LAST YEAR's expo! :(