Latest Layouts

I had my monthly workshop over the weekend and managed to mostly finish 3 layouts.  I got them to the point at the workshop where all I needed to finish them was my titles - these I do at home where I can use my Silhouette Cameo.
Well today, I took the time to design, cut and add my titles to my layouts.  I also worked on another cardstock house ready for my Christmas Village at the end of the year.  A couple of weeks ago I made my first building for the village which was the school.  Today was a house.  I might do the church next.

Anyway, here are my three layouts.  Firstly I put together this layout of my daughter taking part in a busking competition at the beginning of the year.  I wanted to do something a bit different with my layout so went for a colour blocking style of layout.  So pretty much the whole layout is covered with different sizes of cardstock and pattern paper cut into rectangles.  The plain Bazzill Calypso cardstock I embosses using a music embossing folder.  I am really pleased with how this page came together.  Sometime working with a landscape photo and a portrait photo can be difficult to find a way to display them creatively on a layout.  I like how these compliment each other without having to be beside each other.

My next layout was when my eldest daughter visited my pen-pal and his wife last year and they visited the Cheesecake Factory.  As big fans of the TV program 'The Big Bang Theory' this was a fun visit.  Apparently their slices were huge and my daughter shared her piece with her best friend that also traveled with her last year.  I am looking forward to maybe making a visit for myself next year - we will see.  For the four small photos in the middle I just cropped two photos and mixed them up together.  I like the use of the two pattern paper circles.  I am also trying to experiment and play a little more with my titles and using more than just one font to give a fun looking title.

My last layout I really stepped out of my comfort zone and created a sun-rays with pattern paper.  This was fun as I just cut some pattern paper and just trimmed  blue each strip then placed those on my cardstock, then measured the gaps between each piece and cut strips accordingly.  I am very pleased with the out come.  I adhered all the strips in place so they hung off the edge of the layout and once happy with there placement I trimmed off the excess.  My daughter really loved this wee little dog.  He was a bundle of energy and morning kisses - what a great way to wake up in the morning LOL!

Well during the rest of this week I am hoping to get some more colouring of stamps done so will do a post on my next colouring project.  Until then ...

Let's get creative!

Title Spacing Trick

I love cutting out my titles using my Silhouette Cameo, but have often found once cut out I can't get the title to look good on my layouts as my letter and word spacing goes out the window.
Just last week, I cut out a title and took it will me to finish the layout at a craft group.  While at the craft group I started using the negative space of my leftover title as a guide as to where to put my letters on my layout.  Wow, it worked and was so easy.  Let me show you how I did.


First take you layout and place the negative space of your title onto your layout and decide where you want your title to be.

Once you are happy with the placement of your title start adding adhesive to the back of your letters and adhere them back into the space where they were cut from.

Carefully remove the negative space cardstock from your layout

Check out your perfect looking title. Here is the finished two page layout.
This has become a favourite way to get my titles looking the way I want them.  It helps to design and cut out your title using your Silhouette, Scan'n'Cut or Cricut so that it cuts the way you want it to look on your finished layout.

Working with Skin Tones with Spectrum Noir and Copic Markers

It was wonderful to get back into blogging last week and I thought it would be fun to share some more things I have learnt lately with my colouring.  As mentioned last week I like to colour with both Spectrum Noir and Copic Markers.  I also mentioned that I have been watching some great You Tube videos by Sandy Allnock about colouring with Copic markers.  I have been able to use what I have learnt and apply them to my Spectrum Noir Markers - as well as purchasing some Copics to have a better variety in skin tones.

Right lets jump right in with two images I have coloured.  The stamped image 1 was coloured solely using Spectrum Noir markers.  I was more interested in the skin tones with these images.  The girls with the brown hair, her skin was done how I always used to colour which was starting with FS2, then adding some shading with TN2 and then blending the two together with FS3, and lastly going over the whole skin areas again with FS2 for a final blend.

Then I tried something different with the blond girl.  I started like I normally would and coloured all the skin with FS2, but then for shadows and depth I add some LV1 (yep a very light purple) sounds crazy, but give this a go. Then I carried on like I normally would with the TN2 next, then blending with the FS3 and lastly blending with the FS2.  It just gives another look for skin that I had not thought of.

The stamped image 2 I used some Copic markers and had a play doing the same thing.  This time I did the blond girl with just E51, E33, E11 and E51 for the final blend.  Then on the girl with the brown hair I used E51, BV00, E33, E11 and back to E51.  Again I really like the extra depth the light purple gives to the shadowed areas. I coloured the rest of the image with my Spectrum Noir markers just the same as in image 1.

Another thing I have learnt is using a white gel pen to add some details.  On stamped image 1 I used a white gel pen to add dots to the blond girls pink dress.  It really adds another great way to add variety to things.  Such as patterned clothes.

Let me know what you think in the comments section below.  I would love to hear from you.

Happy crafting everyone!

Getting Creative

Wow, it has been such a long time since I have even looked at my blog to be totally honest.  Don't think I haven't thought about it, I have.  But my excuse was always, I just don't have time.  But I really wanted to blog, so, if you want to do something, then just DO IT!  So here I am.  The same goes for getting creative and getting out into my studio, JUST DO IT!  So I have been out in my studio a lot lately and loving the time of being creative, but still I wasn't blogging, so tonight I decided to DO IT and hear I am.

I wanted to share with you some things that I have created recently.  I have discovered a wonderful lady who does amazing colouring videos and I have just started checking out her blog as well - Sandy Allnock.  Wow, I have been learning heaps from her videos about colouring with Copics.  I use Spectrum Noir pens at the moment because that is what I have.  But I have been slowing purchasing some Copics, mainly for the skin tones.  Here are the two big things I have picked up from Sandy lately.  1) To use a very light purple when adding shadows to skin and then blending over it with more skin tone colours.  Wow, this looks really awesome.  I will try to do some examples in the next couple of days and share them here on my blog. And 2) To use light greys (browns or greens for ground) to add shadows under my coloured stamped images to 'ground' them.  It makes all the difference.  My images don't look like the are just hanging there any more.

Oh one more thing Sandy has inspired me to do is to colour my stamped images with coloured pencils or water colours.  I need to find some water colours but I am playing round more with coloured pencils.

So here are a few cards I have created recently

One the weekend I had a workshop.  At the workshop I started a few layouts, most of which I could not finish due to not being able to use my Silhouette Cameo or forgetting punches and other items.  Well today I finished one of the layouts and I am really pleased with the end result.  So here is that layout as well.

I love how the layered circles helped to 'ground' my photos.  It also looked like a shield wall that the Norsemen would often practice.  Yes these guys would practice and train in full armor with proper chainmaille, helmets, swords and axes.  Very impressive.  My husband and daughter were very new so all that had to defend themselves with was a large stick (which later would have been made into an axe)  Fun to watch the training's.

I hope you feel a little inspired to raid your scrapbooking or card making supplies and get creative.

See you again soon ...