Photo Friday- Get Down and Move Around!

Just a quick tip to get some fun photos of your kids or grand kids.  Get down and move around!  You can get some amazing pictures if you just get down on their level.  Sometimes that means laying on the floor, kneeling, or even squatting but the results are wonderful.  I never would have gotten these shots of my son if I didn't get down and lay on the floor.  It's so fun to see things from their perspective too.  And once you are down on their level make sure you move around.  Get different viewpoints by moving to different sides of your subject.  So the next time you are taking pictures of a little one get down, move around, and see things from their point of view.  I bet you'll be glad you did!  Have a great weekend!  Thanks for stopping!!

 

 Gear: Nikon D7000 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G AF-S

Use a Corner Punch to Make a Border

Did you know that you can use a corner punch to create a border?  That's exactly what I did to create the bubble looking border on this page.   Let me show you how I did it!  

 Start off with a punch like this and remove the plastic around the base.  It should just pull off.  Be careful not to break the plastic though if you want to use the punch again as a corner punch. 

Now your punch will look like this.  If this punch looks familiar it's because I used it on this card last month.  I thought it looked like bubbles and would be the perfect addition to my page. 

Insert your paper and make your first punch.  It is easiest to hold your punch upside down so you can see where you are punching.  Be sure to line up the ends before you make your next punch.  Do a couple of test punches before you work with the cardstock you plan on using.  I found that if I punched too hard with this punch I would break the chain of bubbles. 

Once you have punched the length of your paper you will have something that looks like this border!  So fun and a great way to use supplies in a different way.  I love that!  It's not perfect but it adds just a little extra touch to my layout.  I also used another supply in a different way than it was intended.  The navy blue paper strip is a piece of quilling paper!!  It adds to the layout and I didn't have to cut it from a larger piece of paper! 

I cut my title out on my Cricut and adhered it to a giant vellum 'bubble' (the 'bubbles' were also cut out on my Cricut).  My font had circles in the open spaces to add to my 'bubble' theme. 

Putting my title 'bubble' on dimensional adhesive gives a little depth and really makes that 'bubble' 'pop' (no pun intended).  Just be sure to put the dimensional adhesive under the letters in your title so it doesn't show through the vellum.  

I used two different kinds of vellum and three different sized circles to make my 'bubbles'.  I love that they look transparent like real bubbles and the little shimmer adds to the effect.  I also traced around all of my 'bubbles' with a sparkle pen to define them just a little more.  Another fun thing about this layout is that one of my sons helped me choose my supplies!  I have a jar with different supplies written on strips of paper (stickers, chip board, ink, decorative scissors, etc) and when I'm stumped or just want a challenge I let one of the boys pick out 3-5 supplies for me to use on my layout.  For this layout he picked punches, glitter (sparkle pen), and eyelets!  I challenge you to try this the next time you need some inspiration.

I hope you enjoyed this punch technique and will give it a try on your next layout!  Don't be afraid to look at your supplies and use them in a different way.  Also write down your supplies on strips of paper and randomly pick 3-5.  This will really get you thinking of your supplies in new ways.  Thanks for stopping! 

Supplies:

• cardstock- The Paper Studio (Textured Cardstock Brights), misc
• patterned paper- ?
• stamp- Autumn Leaves (Journaling)
• ink- Tsukineko (StazOn-Jet Black)
• tools- EK Success (corner punch), Perfect Layers, We R Memory Keepers (Crop-a-Dile)
• adhesive- Scotch (Quick-Dry Adhesive, ATG), Tombo (Mono Adhesive Vellum), pop dots, Xyron
• pen- Gelly Roll (Clear Star), Zig (Writer- Pure Black)
• Cricut cartridge- Cuttin' Up, George and Basic Shapes
• misc- vellum, quilling paper, We R Memory Keepers (wide eyelets- Buttercream)

Emboss Resist Rainbow Birthday Card

We are having a snow day today!  My boys are pretty excited and I'm glad I don't have to go anywhere today.  But if we are having a snow day that means there is snow outside.  Snow means it's not spring yet.  Oh, well.  I thought I'd brighten up the day with a fun card I made over the weekend!  This is something I've been wanting to try and it turned out super fun!  It's another one layer card that uses an emboss resist technique. 

I started off this card by stamping my sentiment with some white pigment ink and then embossing with clear embossing powder.  I made a mask to cover my sentiment and then stamped random stars all over my card front using Versamark ink.  I then heat embossed the stars with clear embossing powder.  (Sorry that I didn't take pictures of this process.  What was I thinking?!)  At this point I had a white sheet of cardstock (cut to fit the front of my card) with the embossed sentiment and stars that couldn't really be seen (they will be shiny but will blend into the cardstock).  I will be doing this technique again and I'll be sure to take pictures next time.  

I then got out my craft mat and pressed some Distress ink onto the mat in reverse rainbow order.  If you put the colors down on the mat in rainbow order the colors will be backwards on your card (I learned this the hard way).  Once all the colors were on my mat I spritzed it with a little water and laid my embossed cardstock in the ink embossed side down.  I then picked up my image and voila!  The ink covers the paper but not the embossed images!     

I used my embossing gun to help speed up the drying process (or you could let the paper air dry).  You have to be careful not to go too crazy if using an embossing gun or you might burn your embossed images.  Once the image was dry I used my ink and sponges to go over each color to add more shading.  This doesn't cover up the drips and drops of ink, which was what I wanted to show, it just helps brighten the colors (and cover any spots that might not have gotten ink on them).  Then you can wipe off any excess ink that might be on your embossed images.  It's so fun to see the images show through all that color!  

I love the way this card turned out!  If I do a card like this again I might do the sentiment in black or another dark color to help set it apart from the rest of the background.  I was hoping the white ink would look different from the Versamark stars but it didn't work out that way.  I love the splotches of ink here and there and the fun rainbow colors!  I hope this card brightens your day and you'll give this technique a try.  Thanks for stopping!

Supplies:

• cardstock- misc
• stamps- Advantus Corp. (Heidi Swapp Happy Birthday), Gel-a-tins (Super Star)
• ink- Close to My Heart (White Daisy), Versamark (Watermark), Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Crushed Olive, Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord)
• embossing powder- Ranger (Superfine Clear)
• tools- We R Memory Keepers (Corner Chomper 1/8"

Photo Friday- Ready for Spring

I don't know about you but I'm ready for spring!  I'm ready for the weather to stay warm.  I'm ready for flip flops and capris.  Enough of this nice for a few days and then back to the cold.  Bring on spring!

It was a brisk 50ish degrees here today and we made the most of it by going to the zoo.  That's the main reason why this is getting up so late.  The other reason is that I had no clue what I was going to put up today!  I haven't taken many pictures in the last week.  Sad, but true.  I knew that I was going to the zoo today but I couldn't do another week of zoo pictures.  Or could I?  As I was walking through the Desert Dome it hit me.  I always take pictures of the animals, what about all of the vegetation?  So that's where today's post comes from.  After seeing all of the beautiful vegetation at the zoo I'm ready for spring and I hope you are too. 

I hope this gets you ready for spring to arrive too. Thanks for stopping!

Paper Saving Technique

I was hoping to get this page up in February but that just didn't happen.  I shared this layout on my Facebook Page in January and today I'm going to show you how I used my favorite paper saving technique on it.  I shared this technique back in April but since there are some new people following my blog I thought I'd share it again.   

I only had one sheet of this blue paper and wanted to use it as a photo mat and as the background page of my layout.  To use this paper for both of those purposes I first had to figure out where my three photos were going to go.  Once I did that I adhered them to the paper (left image) and cut out the photo mat using my Perfect Layers ruler (you could also just use your paper trimmer for this).  Be careful not to cut all the way to the edge as you still need this blue paper to build your page on.  Once you cut out your matted photos you will have a hole in your cardstock (right image).    

When using this technique you will need to cover up the hole you made.  You can do this by covering it with other paper or matting those same photos again using another color of cardstock and then covering the hole.  That is exactly what I did here.  I matted the same photos with a white color of cardstock (left image).  I then put my double matted photos over the hole (right image) and now you can't even tell that I put a hole in this paper!  So simple and a great way to conserve those supplies.

Here is my finished layout!  I love that I only had to use one sheet of the blue paper.  I also saved paper on my other patterned paper pieces.  It looks as if the patterned paper goes all the way under my photos when in fact I just cut a little piece off to tuck under the left side of my matted photos!  I also did the same thing with the polka dot circle piece of paper.  Now I have some of this paper left to use on other projects!! 

I inked all the edges of the patterned paper for a more finished look and added a little twine on my journaling spot for a little extra fun.  I also put my journaling spot on pop dots for some dimension. 

For some more fun I put my title along the curved edge of the patterned paper.  This gives just a little interest to my title and is also a great way to ground it to the layout. 

I hope you enjoyed this layout and paper saving technique.  Come back next week where I will use this same technique to mat 9 photos with one piece of 12x12 paper!!  Yes, you read that right, 9 photos!!  I'll see you tomorrow for Photo Friday thanks for stopping!

Supplies:

• patterned paper: The Paper Loft (Morning Rain Collection)
• ink: Quick Quotes (Powder Puff Chalking Ink- Blue Moon)
• pen: Creative Memories (Fine-Tip Black)
• alphabet stickers: The Paper Loft (Morning Rain Collection)
• tools: We R Memory Keepers (Corner Chomper 3/8"), Creative Memories (circle cutter), Perfect Layers
• misc: Doodlebug Designs (Doodle Twine- Baby Boy Assortment), pop dots

One Layer Card

I have a super fun but simple card for you today.  I love using pop dots, eyelets, gems, and other items to add dimension to my cards, but sometimes I want something simple and easy to mail.  A one layer card is just the ticket!  I'm hoping to try more one layer cards in the future using some other techniques but here is the card for today. 

I started by stamping the large stamp in the middle of my card.  (This stamp has no markings on it and it was given to me so I don't know the manufacturer.  Sorry.)  After I stamped it I used clear embossing powder to give it some shine.  I then stamped the sentiment and embossed that with white embossing powder.  Now came the fun part.  I got out some colored pencils and started coloring in the image.  This did take a little time but I love the look it gives to the card!  Adding Diamond Stickles in the flower centers gives a little extra sparkle.  The white faux stitching really finishes this card off.  I just love how it turned out! 

So there you have it.  A really simple one layer card that is not only easy to make but also easy to send in the mail.  I hope you give making a one layer card a try.  Thanks for stopping!

Supplies:

• cardstock: Paper Reflections (Burgundy Greeting Card)
• stamp: Advantus Corp. (Heidi Swapp Thank-You), misc
• ink: Versamark (Watermark)
• embossing powder: Ranger (Super Fine Clear), American Crafts (Zing White)
• pen: Uniball (Signo Broad White)
• misc: Ranger (Diamond Stickles), EK Success (Memory Pencils Primary Colors)

Photo Friday- Winter Zoo Trip

It's Photo Friday again!  Today I've got some zoo love to share.  I just love going to the zoo in the winter!  The crowds are nonexistent, you don't get hot, and you can really take your time and look at things.  Unfortunately due to illness and my grandmother's funeral we haven't been to the zoo in awhile.  I haven't even had a chance to take my new camera to the zoo!  We decided to correct that a couple weeks ago on one of those nice winter days.  I really wanted to see the new lion cubs but they were all asleep and hiding from my camera.  Maybe next time.  Here are the highlights of our little afternoon trip.    


 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed my little winter trip to the zoo.  Thanks for stopping!