Scrap365 Blog Hop

Hi all

At Scrap365 we are getting your scrapping New Year off to a flying start!!!
This month we are teaming up with Finnabair and her amazing DT from Mixed Media Place :D

 
One of the things that we are very conscious of at Scrap365 HQ is that if you are new to scrapping it can be really overwhelming with the choice of products to use and the host of styles to emulate….the same could be said if you’re experienced!!

So we have decided that 2014 is the year to get BACK to BASICS!! It doesn’t matter if you have been scrapping for ten years or ten days...you will be sure to learn something new along the way!

Finn has very kindly donated a marvellous prize to either add to your stash or to get you started.

 
All you need to do to be in with a shot of the prize is follow the Scrap365 and Mixed Media Place blogs. Like both on Facebook and leave a message on the Scrap365 blog telling us which layout principle you are going to try! We would love to see your take on the Principles so be sure to upload them to our Facebook page :)

Our January Blog Hop is all about layout principles. This fabulous prompt was found on Pinterest, courtesy of SuzyQ Scraps. It really sums up the beginnings of every layout.

 

So continue your blog hop journey with us and see how this turns into some glorious pieces of art :)

 

And here is my little offering

 

 

I chose to work with the 6th principle on the sketch ... Texture. I love making my work 'touchy feely' and I like people to have not only a visual experience but also a tactile experience when I share my work.

 

Texture can be added to your work in so many different ways. It can be done with embellishments, material, paint and even the paper itself. I'm going to break down my layout for you to give you a few ideas on how you could add texture to your layouts and hopefully prompt you to explore other ways for yourself. 

 

There are so many gorgeous papers on the market now that already look textured and they are a great place to start from as with my base 12 x 12 from 7 dots studios, I then set to work with some distressing....

 

 

I do this by holding my scissor blade at a 90 degree angle to the edge of my paper and scratching it backwards and forwards. Start gently and add more and more pressure as you get the feel of the paper to create as much or as little distressing as you desire.

 

 

Ripping the edges also gives a different paper texture, rip towards you to reveal the core of the paper.

 

 

I created a 'scrunched' frame for my small photo which added a different paper texture and even more dimension to my layout. Distress the edges of a mat which is cut a bit larger than the photo and then curl up the edges, ripping into the frame as you go.

 

 

Once all my paper and photos were distressed I moved onto some fabric texture with ribbons and lace. All sorts of fabrics make for great textural additions to your work from net to hessian, ric rac braid to felt, velvet to denim.

 



 

I like to attach my lace and ribbon with staples by pleating them roughly as I go to add some movement to the strips I use. Also the metal of the staple plays really nicely against the texture of the lace.

 

And then I raided my embellishment boxes and added even more texture with metal, wood, resin, cork and wire. Pick textures that not only feel different next to each other but also textures that the eyes can see which creates a visually textural feast even if the viewer can't touch your work physically.

The last thing to add was my journaling (which is a quote from Bruce Lee) You can add texture with your alphas too, some are 'touchy feely' with so many great choices on the market and I also find by mixing up the styles of alphas I use I can create visual texture too.

 

The following close ups show the mix of textures I have used in a little more detail.

 

 

Layering up the elements creates texture in itself by adding dimension.

 





 

and doodling some of the title adds my own personal texture to my work

 

 

I hope this will inspire you to add some extra texture to your work and have a play about with different materials and embellishments.

 

That's it from me for this little installment of our blog hop, I hope you've enjoyed your visit and will pop back soon to *see me* Now it's time to hop off to the next lovely in our list, the uber talented Pascale and one of the lovely Mixed Media Place girls, you're in for a treat ... enjoy! (just click on her name to get there)

 

Don't forget to leave your comments on the Scrap365 Blog when you get back to the beginning and follow the instructions to be in for a chance to win that gorgeous prize! And maybe you could leave some blog love on the DT blogs along the way ;)

 

Thanks for your visit and until soon, as ever,

Happy Crafting

Love

MJM x

 

Materials used; Paper = 7 dots studio - Messy Head & Glitz designs - Wild and Free Arrows, Drip. Embellishments = Prima decorative wooden embellishments, Tim Holtz idea-ology cogs, Metal charms from PaperArts, Websters pages - Alison Kreft recorded stickers, Freckled Fawn cork arrows,

Alphas = American Crafts Thickers - Sentiment foil letter stickers, Cosmo Cricket tiny type



 

Sketchy goings on!

Hi all

Well as the title suggests there are sketchy goings on today over at the sketchbook365 blog wanna play? Then why not pop on over to the blog and see the sketch from the lovely Wendy McKee and also see what the other members of the Scrap365 DT have come up with ..... there's loads of inspiration to be had and the best bit? You can add your designs too and be in for the chance to win a prize!

Here's my take on the sketch .....

Lots of Happy doodling as I'm in a happy mood, as the title says We're on the move, come Wednesday we will be all packed up (I hope if the packing fairies answer there invitations LOL) and on our way up to the North East .... I'm going home to my neck of the woods after 25 years of being away and I am soooo excited!

In close up I have layers of scrap paper, distressed of course :) and some doodled borders punched with a crop a dile and a doodled rainbow coloured with pencils (I love my colouring pencils and feel they've been somewhat neglected recently!)

The arrow embellishments are doodled

and the signpost is cut out from a photo of the sign at the crossroads at the end of our village ..... I'm hoping the next sketch will work as the second half to this layout so I can add a destination page to create a complete double layout :)

Why not hop on over to the Sketchbook365 blog, be inspired and play along with us, we'd love to see what YOU come up with and rememeber it can be anything inspired by the sketch, paper, digital and hybrid ..... everything is welcome ..... see you there :)

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you're well and happy and I'll *see you* soon until then as ever
Happy Crafting
Love
M x

Happy Glitzy Christmas!

Hi all
Well it's that time again when I get to share some Glitzy goodness with you all from Glitz Designs and this month I've gone all festive :) 1st up is this layout ....


Santa Baby
A layout of our very cheeky grandaughter on Christmas day. I very rarely get a serious photo from her or her brother, but I love these photos they sum her up exactly. I wanted the layout to look like a present that was being unwrapped and the mix of elements from Beatiful Dreamer and Dance in sunshine with a little vintage blue thrown in for good measure gave me the fun festive look I wanted.
Here's what I used:
Glitz Designs Beautiful Dreamer paper; Floral, Polka, Stripe and Houndstooth
Glitz Designs Beautiful Dreamer embellishments; Giant Rhinestones and Epoxy words
Glitz Designs Dance in Sunshine paper; Polka, Floral, Damask, Stripe and Raindrop
Glitz Designs Dance in Sunshine embellishments; Glitzers, Epoxy words and Trim
Glitz Designs Vintage Blue; Glitzers
Glitz Designs teeny alphas; Mint Grunge
Glitz Designs frosting; red and black


I ripped around the edges of the paper to create a frame and pulled sections back to create the un wrapped present feel and then added Glitzers to some of the patterned paper to create presents for some of my embellishments.


The tree is made up of sevearl layers of different greens from the papers and the Giant Rhinestones make perfect shiny decorations.


And the reindeer and sleigh is an embellishment created with some paper piecing, placed hanging over the page so it looks like rudolph is flying overhead pulling his sleigh with some of the Dance in Sunshine trim:) I think this will make a fun piece of home decor for the festive season!

Next up is this layout...


First Snow
We had a hard winter last year and it was Olivers first winter, after the initial shock of landing in the snow he soon got the swing of it and loved it as much as his brother. The colours in the vintage blue collection were perfect for this layout and here's what I used;
Glitz Designs Vintage Blue paper; Stripe, Polka and Motif
Glitz Designs Vintage Blue embellishments; Titles stickers, Journalling Stickers, Epoxy words and Giant Rhinestones
Glitz Designs Teeny Alphas; Pearl


I kept this layout quite simple to focus on the picture and let the lovely colours of the paper do the work. After ripping strips across the layout, creating a curled photo mat and distressing liberally I added some splodges of acrylic paint with my fingers to create some snowy paw prints across my layout.


The fab stickers from titles and journalling added great accents to my page adding just enough detail and the Giant rhinestones give it an icy, blingy lift.


One little detail I love is the bottom corner that I ripped away to give a puppy chewed effect :)

And that's it for this post and also sadly for my time with the Glitz DT. I have had to do a lot of soul searching with my decision to step down from this amazing team but life has got busier and busier and unfortunately some things have got to give :(

I have been honoured and proud to be able to work along side such amazing designers over the last 2 and half years and of course it has been a complete pleasure to work with the gorgeous Glitz girls and their wonderful product. I may not be here every month but in my heart I will always be a Glitz girl and will continue to love all the gorgeous product they bring us.
Thanks to everyone for having me along for the ride and hopefully I will see you all in cyber space soon.
Much love
MJM x

Anyone for Pimms with some added Glitz?

Hi all
Today it’s my turn to share some Glitz Design goodness with you so I thought I would create a couple of projects using up some of my scraps to make way for all the new Glitz goodies coming! My first project is


Anyone for Pimms?
A couple of weekends ago my husband took me to the Rewind 80’s festival in the beautiful Henley on Thames and we had the best time! I was transported back to my teenage years and had a ball singing my head off and dancing my wellies off to some great bands with 40,000 other people. We had a perfect British Sunday afternoon, the sun shone, the music was chilled out and the Pimms was fabulous. These pictures sum up my perfect weekend! As I said I used up lots of scraps all from the Afternoon Muse line;
Glitz Designs Afternoon Muse papers; Carte Postal, Polka, Block and Stripe
Glitz Designs Afternoon Muse embellishments; Peek-a-boos, Whatnots, Glitzers and Cardstock stickers titles and journaling
Glitz Designs Afternoon Muse clear stamps
Glitz Designs Teeny Alphas; Yellow block and Bubble gum pink


I built up lots of strips of papers across my base


Even cheating and using very thin scrappy bits as the bottom layer.


The Glitz Designs clear stamps are perfect for creating embellishments with scrap paper, and I did just that with the hot air balloon.


The Ferris wheel is cut from a Whatnot.


I layered up some of the cardstock stickers and Whatnots to add my journaling to and added the balloon on foam pads for dimension.


I attached the bunting peek-a-boo with a Glitzer at one end and the best day ever sticker at the other. My photos are on foam pads for dimension and the teeny alphas are perfect to finish of the title and journaling. Oh it really was a perfect day!

Talking of perfect the next layout is a picture of our grand daughter


Sophie Elizabeth
I love this photo of Sophie, it sums her up with that cheeky grin and makes us realise how quick she is growing up! I only used Laced with Grace for this layout and I think it’s a fun way to use up all my left over embellishments.
Glitz Designs Laced with Grace Paper; Rose, Floral and Butterflies
Glitz Designs Laced with Grace Embellishments; Paper layers, Whatnots, Glitzers, Peek-a-boos and Cardstock stickers Titles and Journalling.


I positioned the photo where I wanted it on the base paper, and then drew a rough circle around it, cutting it out of the paper with a craft knife.


I ripped around the circle and then tore back away from the edge, curling and folding the paper back. I then backed the hole with some of the floral paper and with a craft knife cut around some of the roses so I could slip my photo underneath them, kind of melding it into the paper.


I then gathered a whole host of embellishments with flowers on and set about cutting them up.


I arranged them around the frame, mixing up all the different textures and adding some on foam pads and Silicon gel for dimension. I cut a few butterflies from the paper, folding them up and curling the wings so they ‘settle’ on the flowers and added the bird Whatnot and a journaling sticker with a Glitzer to finish the piece off. I think this is a layout for an easel to put on display, so much more interesting than just a photo in a frame don’t you think?

I hope you have as much fun using up your scraps! Thanks for stopping by, I hope you’re well and happy and until soon as ever Happy Crafting
Love
MJM x

{happy birthday} froggity blog hop

Hi all
Well that's another month gone and time for another Banana Frog blog hop, can you believe we're nearly half way through the year!! Anyway this months blog hop is a special one .... it's the little green guys birthday and what's a birthday without some cake?


And better still this one is calorie free :) and doubles up as a great gift box! I have used a veritable feast of Frog stamps for this project Charming prince, Tropical garden, Build a daisy, Simple greetings, That takes the cake and It's all about elegance (psssst all these stamps are on sale, go on treat yourself ;))


1st up I cut a strip of white card for the lid and stamped along the bottom edge with the lace trim from It's all about elegance and trimmed to the pattern. Then added the greeting from simple greetings along some ribbon with permanent ink sticking it along the strip above the stamped lace trim.


Next thing was, what else but, the cute little frog from Charming prince, again stamped with permanent ink so I could colour them in with my pro markers.


I cut a wider strip of white card for the base of the box and added a purple trim to the bottom of it and along the top of the top strip of card using a stapler to pleat it as I went to give a look of piped icing.


I then added some bling to the crowns with glitter glue.


Cutting a circle with dragons teeth for the top and bottom of the box I added pretty sprinkles to the top from the stamp in that takes the cake and inked the edges.


Using the totally tropical stamp set I stamped some leaves and flowers mixing the ink on the stamps to create shaded colouring. I used one of the petals from build a daisy to create the candle and one of the leaves stamped in yellow for the flame.


To make the candle stand up on the cake I cut it with some tabs on the bottom of the petal that were stuck to the underside of the top when it was in position.


The flowers and leaves were added with silicon glue and curled before sticking in place to add dimension.


And that's it a unique froggy birthday gift box :)

Thanks for hopping by today, your next stop on the hop is the fabulous Francine (I love her style) and don't forget to comment as you go there may be birthday prizes!! Enjoy the rest of the hop and I'll see you soon. Until then Happy Crafting
Love
M x