A Template and sketch with Chevrons!

Hi Dolores here today to share a fun sketch and template.  I have been seeing chevron shapes everywhere and love the look of pretty borders so I created a sketch and template to share today with chevron and scallop borders.  I used 5 different patterned papers to create my chevrons and then ran a cute double scalloped border alongside.  Here is my sketch.

I decided of a fun summertime look for my page and grabbed two of my favorite puppy pictures of my dog Maggie.  Doesn't she look so sweet and innocent.  Ha!  Like any puppy she had a bit of the mischief maker in her but you wouldn't know it by these pics.  Here is my layout.

I used a beautiful kit by Kristin Cronin-Barrow to create this page called "Sweet Summertime."  These colors are fun and alive without being too bright.  A wonderful color palette.

If you would like the template I created in PhotoShop you can download it from either of the two file sharing sites below.

4Shared:  ds-template-19.psd

MediaFire:  ds-template-19.psd

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great time scrapping!

How to Create Sketches from Advertisements

Hello. This is Anupama Choudary sharing with you a quick and easy way to make sketches. Most of us swear by sketches to create our scrapbook layouts. A well-designed scrapbook page draws in the viewer. Its layout and design are as important as our choice of photographs, colors and embellishments.

It was while designing a print advertisement for my local design business that I realized that the rules  that impact the success of an ad are the same as that of a scrapbook page. Good ads strive for a sense of visual balance wherein design elements complement, rather than compete with, each other. White space is an integral part of a good composition. 

Simply by using the same elements as in an advertisement layout, you can turn it into a sketch/ template for your scrapbook page. Below are a few samples of quick-and-easy page designs adapted from magazine ads -

Example #1  Multi-Photo Layout inspired by the ad

Example #2    Heart-shaped photo sketch created from ad -

Example #3    Frame-in-frame layout adapted from ad -

Hope this post gets you started on sketching your own designs inspired by advertisements in the print media. Happy scrapping and have a great week!

Butterfly Frame

Hello,everyone!!

This is my very first post here and I hope you find it useful.
Am going to show you a butterfly frame which is so easy and cute.The main materials I used were cardboard from a box and corrugate cardboard.Everything else like papers and flowers depends on how do you want to decorate it.

Materials

The frame measure is 17 3/4 " x 9 ". I used a template for the butterfly.

 

The size of the squares are 4 1/2 " each.

The frame is about 1" around.

I used different pattern papers.

 Handmade Flowers

Final Result!!

Gesso How It's Done!

Hi, this is Marlene.  For this page I wanted to make a map looking embellishment showing a river.  I didn't have any paper that made much of a water effect so I started experimenting with materials I had on hand.  I've had a bottle of Gesso for some time and thought this would be a good time to use it.  Using some leftover white muslin I applied Gesso to the fabric with a Cricut scraping tool.  I know I have an artist's palette knife somewhere but the Cricut tool worked just as well.  I wanted texture to look wavy, like water.  

 

To create depth for a natural look,  I used a light beige acrylic paint and a sponge applicator and applied the first coat.  Once that was dry, the next coat was light blue (again using the sponge applicator).   Then a coat of a deeper blue was painted on with a dry, stipple brush in a wavy pattern.   A layer of glossy Mod-Podge was the final coat.  The photo does not do the effect justice because in real life it does look like a picture of water.  

 

 

The blue strip is the anchor for the layers of kraft and greens for my map like embellishment.  To tear the curvy lines for the river,  I painted a line with water, then tore the kraft paper while it was still wet.  My map roughly diagrams the part of the Rio San Juan we traveled.  Since things in nature rarely conform to a set pattern, I did not worry about outlining the river evenly.

I don't know about you, but I have a very difficult time picking photos for vacation layouts so many of them end up as two pagers.  Since I took over 900 pictures on my recent Nicaraguan vacation, compromises need to be made.  We traveled from one end of the country to the other so I am sorting the pictures by location and scrapping accordingly.  The boat trip was a highlight and deserves it's own acknowledgement.

 

 

 

Scrapbooking on the Go

Cindy here! Like many scrappers, I have a hard time finding enough uninterrupted time in the scraproom to create, especially during the summer. Between vacations and school being out, scrapbooking takes a back seat. I've discovered that I can make better use of my limited time by planning my layouts and making sketches outside of the scraproom.

I carry a notebook with me at all times so that I can sketch and plan when inspiration strikes me. During our trip to my inlaws' cabin (where we did the Photo Scavenger Hunt), I brought along a notebook and sketched some layout designs. (You can see them here). Once I got home, it only took a few minutes each to convert those rough pencil sketches into clean digital versions, using Open Office Draw.

Here's one of the sketches I made and the layout it inspired:

Here's another of the sketches I drew while on vacation:

I used the sketch for the page about our 8th anniversary celebration in Napa.

It's amazing how quickly my pages came together with the sketches done ahead of time!

Baby Shower Diaper Cake

Hi everyone! It's Cathy here to share a little something I made my niece's baby shower. While I wanted to make something for her baby shower, I also wanted to walk through the baby aisle shopping for really cute stuff.  My kids are grown and it's fun to look at all those tiny little outfits for a change!

I also wanted the gift to be useful.  So I got out my craft supplies and made up this diaper cake for her.  Can you guess that she is having a boy?  After visiting her registry list, I saw that she had selected things with monkeys and lions on them. So I made sure to include them in both the items I picked up from the store as well as to create some cute accents for the cake.  I scored the jackpot when I found the ribbon with the monkey face on it!

The useful part to the cake is not just the diapers, bibs, socks, toys etc. The paper crafted items can also be used.  I created the 3D crib and baby carriage to be used as decor in the babies room.

The paper pieced animals can be used in the baby book or scrapbook, or even placed in frames for the walls of the babies room.

I didn't take photos of the step by step construction of the cake. But I used the basic diaper cake construction. I rolled all the diapers and secured each with a small rubber band.  I cut a piece of foam board into a circle as the base and glued lace to the edge.  I then placed a bottle of baby powder in the center and started surrounding it with diapers. The lowest level has three rings of diapers standing up encircling the bottle.  The next layer has 2 and the top layer is just one ring of diapers.


I wrapped the bottom layer with a baby blanket.  Each layer then got wrapped with the two ribbons, a large blue and the monkey face ribbon on top of that.  I tucked the bibs and socks into different layers.  Attached the paper pieced characters.  To secure the stroller and crib, I used sewing straight pins.  I tucked some pacifiers into the crib.

To top off the diaper cake, I tucked a monkey toy in the center of the top layer.  I created a card using the words Sweet Baby. I attached the card to a wooden dowel and careful inserted it behind the monkey toy, down into the center of the cake for added stability.

Designer Showcase: Paper Pleating/Folding

Yep, it's Wednesday again. Cathy here to bring you this week's Designer Showcase. Our topic this week is paper pleating and folding. Now don't get "bent out of shape" over this one. Just had to make you laugh! :-)

Vicky shared this beautiful folded gift bag.  She used a classic color combination of pink and black to make this a really classy package.  The scalloped circles add interest to the edges of the fold-over top and side.  The elegant watch hangs from a beautiful button closure.

Gael shares two layouts with us this week.  Check out the lovely bows that she created using paper pleating. I love the circles that she included at the center of each, they give the look of buttons.

In this layout, Gael created these cute curtains!  By pleating the paper on the sides, she created the panels.  The little ribbon tie backs are darling!  Gael rolled some paper to create the window sill. What a creative way to frame a photo.

I used paper pleating in this iris fold design for this Christmas Cards.  I used a simple circle as my iris. I pleated shimmery papers to help give the look of snow.

This gorgeous page is by Pam.  She pleated the blue paper as an accent strip for her page. I like the way she has the one edge of the paper overlap her photos. This is a great technique to use instead of ribbon on your pages.

Pam has also shared this beautiful card that she made.  This is a great combination of patterns. The pleated rosettes look great set against the darker colored pattern paper mat.  The buttons are a great topper for the rosettes.  This is a great way to make flowers from scrap strips of paper you might have left after a project.

I hope this gives you some fun ideas for pleating and folding paper on your next project.

Layout With Circles + Sketch

Hello everyone, it's Pam here sharing layout and sketch for you. These are photo from my son's 10th birthday! This was so much fun to do. I envisioned large balloons floating around my page and some of them filled with photos of my son. I chose circles because they look almost exactly like balloons and they are easier to work with.  All of my cutting was done with an exacto knife and clear circle cutter not an electronic die cut. The paper I chose were just perfect for my page. There were so bright and fun and really made my black and white photo stand out over the brown background paper. Here is my page.

The papers I used from the GCD Studios collections are: Bonjour, Sweet Tooth, Flower Child and Country charm. My embellishments are from MME and Fancy Pants. I created this sketch to go along with my page. Feel free to use it, alter it, flip it, or gain inspiration from it.  :)

Hope you have fun with the sketch!!