Cathy's Favorite Projects of 2013

Happy Friday!  It's Cathy here. My turn to share my favorite projects from 2013.  As I went back through the year to find my fav's, I could really see that I did far less creating in 2013. I've got to work on that! I'm a much happier person when I get to create!

Wanted: Lost Socks

Wedding Favor Tic-Tac covers for my niece's wedding. (Apparently I never posted this to my blog!)

Spring Bouquet Box

Never a Dull Moment

Sketching with Silhouette

A Little Hello Card

Mixed Media Journal

Silent Night Canvas

They are each linked back to the original blog posts so you scan see the details on how they were made. Except for the wedding favors, which I apparently never shared. Ooops!

Pam shared her favorite pages from 2013 HERE. Over the next week or so many of the other Contributing Artists will also be sharing their favorite pages and projects too.  We hope this gets you inspired to create!

VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S BLOGS/GALLERIES
Cathy Dippolito
Dolores Schaeffer
Cindy deRosier
Lesley Walker
Gael Spence
Sarah Routledge
Sharon Fritchman
Tanya Ham
Sheila Burns
Pam Callaghan

Layout, Sketch, and Die Cut File

Hello all!! Pam here with a page, sketch and a free digital cut file. As you may or may not know, I am now the Project Coordinator for Chickaniddy Crafts. You can read about it here. I just love their new collections! Have you seen them yet? One is called Date Night and the other is Twirly Girly. I linked it to the full collections but giveaways are over. :)  They are fresh colors and designs to inspire you and your pages!!
I created this page with the gorgeous collection Twirly Girly. I was so inspired by all of the soft colors and get patterns it was easy to create!I just love all of the pinks, soft yellow, oranges and greens!

Here is a sketch of the layout in case you want to use it!

I am also giving away this digital JPEG file for you to use in your die cut machine if you like. I am not sure the format in which I should be giving it as I haven't done it before. I know you can change JPEG to a Silhouette file in the program itself.  PLEASE let me know if there is an easier way to give this to you, just click and save. I know there are video on how to change it into the usable format.

Have a great day!!

Pam's favorite pages of 2013

Hey all it's Pam here! I am sharing a few favorite pages from 2013 with you all. I am wondering also what are you favorites from 2013 that you created? I didn't create that many pages, but here a few a few of my favorites!!

They all represent different styles of mine and color schemes. As you know I like to do different shapes and such! Are there any pages you want to see as a sketch? Thanks for looking!

VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S BLOGS/GALLERIES
Cathy Dippolito
Dolores Schaeffer
Cindy deRosier
Lesley Walker
Gael Spence
Sarah Routledge
Sharon Fritchman
Tanya Ham
Sheila Burns
Pam Callaghan

 

Scrapping Simply and Designing with Silhouette

Hi, it's Cathy here.  Happy New Year!!!! Over the past year, I've not had a lot of time for scrapping.  I've stayed creatively active. I'm still making cards and home decor, but I just didn't get much time to scrap.  Which is really disappointing to me.

I love to preserve the many memories, big and small, that my family experiences. Looking back through the scrapbooks is always so comforting and fun.  I decided that I needed to add scrapping back into my life. So I've made it a goal for this year!

But, I tend to get side-tracked from the task because I become overwhelmed. I want to record the memory, but I also want my page to be very appealing.  When I look around for inspiration, I start to turn my page into something more. More artistic. More full. More graphic. More involved..... which makes me feel more pressured! And then, I end up not getting the page made.

I read this article recently, Why I Stopped Scrapbooking by Lisa Moorefield. It made me re-think how I've been scrapping.  I don't need each page to be innovative and worthy of hanging in an art museum!  I just need the page to capture our memories.  So, I'm scaling back, I'm purging supplies, I'm getting more simple, and I'm going to scrap more!

I Got this year off to a good start by already getting a page done!  Using a photo from our New Year's Eve fun, I designed this page in the Silhouette software.  This is another thing that helps keep it simple for me. Simple shapes, easy layout, easy cutting!

We had fun using some props for photos. I made those with the Silhouette too. So I incorporated them right into the page design.

I'm not a fan of my own handwriting, so I typed out the journaling and used the print-and-cut feature to add that to my page.

Using a sketch pen, I added some simple details like the date and drawn circles.. I really like the diversity of the Silhouette Cameo tool.

After I had everything printed or cut out, I added adhesive to put it all together.  Ta-Da!  One page completed!!  May not sound like much, but, that is an accomplishment for me!

All of us at Ideas For Scrapbookers wish you a very Happy, Healthy, Fun and Creative New Year!

Photo Memorial Ornament

This is by far the most precious gift that I gave this Christmas. I created this for my mother-in-law.  My father-in-law passed away several years ago. He is greatly missed by all who knew him.  When the gift is this special, it really is a treat to create. The more work involved, the more time I got to spend reflecting on what made this man such a special part of the lives he touched.

You may be wondering how I got his photo on the ornament. I have a beautiful portrait of my in-laws. I scanned it into Photoshop. Next I created a black and white, high contrast image.  I then worked to get just him isolated.

I brought that photo into my Silhouette Design Studio software and traced the image. I then worked to smooth out all the little dots and such to create a usable image. I cut the image from black vinyl and applied it to a glass ornament. I had already glittered the inside of the glass ornament before applying the vinyl pieces.

On the other side of the ornament I placed the "Little bit of Heaven" phrase that I also cut from vinyl. Applying the itty-bitty-tiny letters was a bit tricky. Even using transfer paper, many still needed to be placed individually.  To be sure that this will last a while, I sprayed it with a coat of decoupage sealing spray.

Ribbons helped to finish off the cap and dress up the ornament a bit.

To present this gift, I made a special box. I used a box shape available in the Silhouette online store by Samantha Walker. I modified it to make it large enough to fit the ornament with the bows attached.  I used an acetate sheet for the window, some Christmas paper cut with a lace border punch and more ribbons on top to dress up the box.

This was the one gift I was really excited to give this year. I think she liked it!

What I Have Been Up to & Chickaniddy Sneaks!

Hey all. A long time no talk! :)
You know what what I love about this blog? When I set up about a few years ago, I did in a way that would give scrapbookers a break when they needed it. I guess I needed a break from scrapbooking for a bit. The thing is my mind is always racing! I found cross stitching helped that so I jumped right into a project and was working on it from one to five hours a day. Yes, crazy huh? So, scrapbooking temporarily went to the side. I didn't quit, but merely took a break. I thought I would share with you my latest cross stitch creation!

So my question to you is, how do you incorporate cross stitch into scrapbooking? I have done backstitching many times. I am not sure how to do the X's onto to paper without ripping it?

The next great thing is there is a brand new company in town named Chickaniddy Crafts created by Heidi Sonboul. I have seen some of the great designs coming up and, wow, you are going to love them. To see ALL of the new sneaks coming up, please follow Chickaniddy Crafts on facebook here. Just like the page to follow it! Today I am posting two photos of the collection banners and a reveal date banner.

Are you excited? I am! I can't wait for the two collections to be revealed!

Anyways, I hope everyone is having a great day!!

Silent Night Canvas from a Digital Stamp

Would you believe this canvas was created using a digital stamp? It was!  Seriously!  The digital stamp that inspired me is Silent Night Digital Stamp from Arty Pants Digital Stamps and is available at The DigiChick. It just released today!!! So it's on sale right now!  Hurry to grab it for yourself!

The wonderful designer created these stamps in several sizes so they can easily be used for cards, scrapbooking or even to create wall art. She also provides layered versions of each stamp, so you can easily clip digital papers to them!

The canvas I used is a 9x12, it was already stretched on the wood base.  I mixed a few paints to get a blue color that I was happy with, then painted a few layers on the canvas.  While that was drying, I used the 8x10 version of the stamp. I brought it into Silhouette Studio and traced it to create cut lines.  I cut it from matte white Oracal vinyl (outdoor).  The stars are from 2 different Silhouette shapes available from Silhouette. Nativity (shape 52103) and Wise men still seek him (shape 35315). I cut the stars from gold vinyl.

I wanted the canvas to have a slight aged/primitive look to it. So I took some white ink and dabbed it around the edges to give it an aged effect.  I then layered the vinyl, the gold stars first then the white letters on top.

Now I've got a beautiful holiday wall art to help us stay focused on the true meaning of Christmas!