New Aquarium

We had a chance to visit the newly remodeled aquarium at the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo a few weeks ago.  If you haven't seen it yet I would highly recommend going.  It's wonderful!  And since I haven't had any photos on here for a while I thought I'd share a few of my favorites from our zoo visit.  I took all of these photos with my 50mm lens.  I just love what you can do with this lens, especially in the aquarium.  Enjoy and thanks for stopping!



Schooling Fish, 1/125th at f/1.8, ISO 400

Japanese giant spider crab, 1/100th at f/1.8, ISO 400 



Pacific sea nettle, 1/40th at f/1.8, ISO 400



Jellyfish, 1/15th at f/1.8, ISO 400



Tiny jellyfish, 1/320th at f/1.8, ISO 400



Grasshoppers, 1/50th at f/2.8, ISO 200



Tired turtle, 1/40th at f/2.8, ISO 400



Reflection, 1/100th at f/6.3, ISO 200

Snail card

Just a quick card today.  (We are starting a small kitchen project so that has been taking up my time).  I needed a baby card for a shower this weekend and this is what I came up with.  Enjoy!!

Stay tuned next week for some fun borders (I finally got my new American Crafts Knock Out Border Punches and can't wait to try them)!  Also lots of fun bubble pics and some shots of my three year old little man.   Thanks for stopping!

Supplies:

• cardstock and patterned paper: misc scraps, kraft paper
• ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap, Tumbled Glass)
• Cricut cartridges: Mini Monograms (scalloped circles), Create a Critter (snail), Tags, Bags, Boxes and More (banner)
• stamps: Inkadinkado (Circle and Dots), My Sentiments Exactly (Baby Sentiments)
• marker: Zig Memory Systems (Chocolate)
• misc: google eyes, brads, button, pop dots, glue dots, adhesive

It's easy to...

create a page using a collection pack!

I love collection packs!!  What is there not to love about them.  This is one of my new favorite packs, called Oliver by BasicGrey.  It has 18 double sided papers, an alphabet sticker sheet, and a shaped sticker sheet all in one pack.  So how do you turn this into a great page?  Keep on reading. 

First, print out your photos and find a collection pack that goes with the theme of your photos.  Also find some solid colored cardstock that matches your collection pack.  You will also need a paper trimmer, your favorite adhesive, and a pen. 

Lay your photos out on the cardstock in the positions that you would like them in when you are done with your page. This will give you a visual on where you can place your patterned paper. I like to snap a picture of my placement so that I don't forget.

Now comes the fun part.  Use your paper trimmer to cut different rectangles, squares, and strips of the different patterned paper.  Have fun overlapping them on your page in the empty spaces on your layout.  Don't forget they can go under pictures too.  Striped paper works great for a journaling spot and don't forget that you can cut shapes out of any patterned paper too to create your own diecuts.  And since you are using a collection pack everything will match! 

When you have the patterned paper where you want it adhere your photos, add a title and journaling, and any stickers or other embellishments that came with your pack.  Here is my finished project. 

   
So if you are new to scrapbooking and aren't sure how to start this is a great way to get your feet wet.  If you are an avid scrapbooker already, this is a great challenge (it's hard not to use all those fancy tools we collect).  Either way you only need a few items to create a fast and easy page.  Thanks for stopping and have fun creating!! 

Supplies:

• collection pack: BasicGrey (Oliver Collection Pack)
• cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper
• pen: Zig Memory Systems (Pure Black)

A Challenge for You

So today I have a challenge for all of you.  I don't know about you guys but I have quite the collection of scrapbooking items.  Some of which I bought a while ago and just haven't used.  So my challenge to you today is to go into your stash and find something that you haven't ever used or have been holding onto for awhile and use it on your layout. 

Here is my result. 

Before I get into what I used that was old let me share with you one of my favorite paper saving tips I used on this layout.  I only had three full sheets of the red cardstock base and I didn't want to cut into the third one to mat my photo so I used this simple trick.

First adhere your photo to a spot on your cardstock base that you know will be covered up later by patterned paper or another large element.  Then cut out your photo mat.  I always use my Perfect Layers tool (I got this from QVC and don't think it is available currently).  A paper trimmer would work also.  You could just cut out a section of the paper larger than the photo, adhere photo to the paper, and then cut your mat. 

After you have cut out your photo it looks like this.  You will be covering that hole with other paper later.  You now have a matted photo without cutting into another full size sheet of paper! 

Now on to the main part of the challenge. I made this title piece a year or so ago using my Gypsy and scraps. I never knew what I would use it for so I just put it away without a title on it. I saw it sitting there and decided that I would use it as the theme for this layout.  The yellow tile letters that are part of the title are also something I have had for awhile and just hadn't used.

I have a TON of buttons and never use them!  I decided that a button and twine would be a great addition to this photo.  I wanted the picture to be 4x6 but I didn't like the siding of our house showing so much . The button and twine fill in that otherwise distracting space.

This arrow is acrylic and I've had it for years!!  I used a border stamp and StayzOn ink to add the circles to give it some definition and then I backed it with some patterned paper.  I think it makes a cute embellishment.  

Here are the pages again a little more up close.  

I hope that you've been inspired to go through your stash of supplies and pull out something old and turn it into a beautiful page.  Thanks for stopping!

Supplies:

• title: Boys Will Be Boys Cricut Cartridge, Colorbok (Foil-Stamped Chipboard Metro Black Silver), Doodlebug Design, Inc. (Bumblebee Squares ABC's)
• patterned paper:The Paper Studio (Little Boys and their Toys)
• cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper (Flintstone), Close to My Heart (Holiday Red), misc scraps
• twine: Doodlebug Design, Inc. (Doodle Twine Boy Assortment)
• ink:StazOn (Azure)
• stamp: Close to My Heart (Circle Around)
• tools: Paper Layers, paper piercer
• other: brads, button, vellum, acrylic shape, pop dots, vellum tape, Ranger (Diamond Stickles) 
• journaling font: Calibri

  

How to Line up a Title

I was at a crop a few weeks ago and was showing someone how I lined up my titles when using letters cut out on my Cricut.  I was surprised that a few other people hadn't done this before either so I thought I'd share how I line up my titles.

First, cut out your title on your Cricut or other diecutting machine.  If you are using a Gypsy you will be able to see how the title will look when cut.  If you aren't using a Gypsy make sure that the paper saver mode is off so your low letters (g, j, y, etc) will cut in the right position.     

Next, peel off the paper that the letters were cut from and lay this on your layout where you want your title.  This will allow you to see that your title will fit and let you place it exactly where you want the title to be.  You can even play around with multiple locations for your title without having to stick on your letters. 

After putting adhesive on your letters (my favorite is the Xyron 150) put your letters back in the empty spaces.  

Now your title will look like this.  



 Now peel back the main paper layer and you have your title all lined up straight and exactly where you wanted it!  Just be careful when pulling back the paper because sometimes the adhesive may stick a little to the paper you are pulling off. 

Here is my title all ready to go.  

After getting my title on my page I decided it needed just a little more separation so I outlined all of the letters with a black pen.  This is a great, easy, and fast way to add a little definition to your title.  I also added a star to dot the i.  

This cluster of embellishments covers a stuffed animal in the photo that I thought took away from the picture.  

And here is the final page.  

And there you have it.  A simple way to make sure that your title is straight and in the spot you want.  Thanks for stopping and happy scrapping!

Supplies:

• title: Robotz Cricut Cartridge
• patterned paper: Fancy Pants Design (To the Moon)
• cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper, The Paper Studio
• ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen)
• pen: Creative Memories fine-tip (black)
• twine: Doodlebug Design, Inc (Doodle Twine Boy Assortment)
• embellishments: EKSuccess (Jolee's Dimensional Stickers Green Mini Stars), Fancy Pants Design (To the Moon Glitter Cuts), misc buttons
• other: glue dots, pop dots, ruled index card, corner rounder
• 

Welcome Gavin

I finally had my first newborn photo shoot yesterday with my nephew Gavin.  He is 12 days old and was a great little guy.  He didn't fuss too much which was helpful.  I still have a lot to learn about shooting newborns but here are my favorites from our little session.  Enjoy and thanks for stopping by.