Urban Anthology Challenge 2

Here is challenge 2: Stretch your dollars. Show us how to make your product go far. Make a layout and be creative with the product you use. Show us how you can make your paper stretch, how to make custom embellishments, create your own patterned paper. Pull out all the stops, to make the simple, the old, and all those left-over’s go far and still be stylish. Really, we want you to pull out the OLD stuff and use it. Yeah, that stuff from 2001 that’s collecting dust! The BOX of scraps that we are saving for the “perfect project” That funky card stock we HAD to have or that big paper pad of patterned paper with 10 of each pattern! That stuff… I know you have it! Also, with this challenge include a tutorial with photos in the gallery, showing one of your tips/techniques used on the layout.

HERE IS MINE:

Layouts on the cheap and thrifty have always been fun to create. I love techniques and so I’m able to use them to create new embellishments from my old supplies. It can also be very therapeutic. It justifies the most recent purchase with “but I just used some of that paper from 2002 and very old Making Memories eyeleted letters.” So, thank you for this challenge and helping me clean out my old supplies. I loved it and the results of my thriftiness!

BACKGROUND PAPER TUTORIAL:

To create my background, I used an old sheet of patterned cardstock and my Big Bite by Crop-a-dile. I punched both the 1/8” and 3/16” holes all over the page. The six-inch reach of the Big Bite allowed me to punch holes over the entire sheet of patterned cardstock creating a polka dot effect.

Once they were punched, I went over the entire sheet with sandpaper. This distressed the edges as well as the edges of each circle revealing the white core of the patterned paper and creating a unique background paper. I then mounted it on a lighter color of cardstock which shows through the holes.

HEART EMBELLISHMENT TUTORIAL:

The circular covered hearts were created using the remnants from my background page.

Cover a scrap piece of paper with double sided tape (Terrifically Tacky Tape) and die up or hand cut out a heart. Peel off the backing paper and cover completely with the little circles from the background paper.

OTHER HEART EMBELLISHMENTS:

The fiber covered heart was created by attaching small ½” to 1-inch pieces of fibers, ribbons and twines to a heart shape covered in double sided tape. Once you have pressed the pieces into place, use scissors to trim around the edge of your shape. This is giving it a hair-cut and cleaning up your edges to create a smooth shape. Be careful as this is where I cut my finger!

You can also cover shapes in dimensional glaze to give them a shiny appearance, use leftover seed bead/glassine bead mix into double sided tape, or crinkle your shapes and then ink them. The possibilities are endless. Have fun creating your own embellishments on the cheap!!

I used the eyeleted Making Memories letter tags for my title. I have a zip-lock baggie full of these that I had forgotten about. Although I didn’t have enough letters from one style, I mixed the bold and scrip fonts together to create my title. I used VersaMark ink, a tweezer and embossing powder to color the metal letters red. Each letter needed two dunkings of powder to cover completely and give the saturated color I was after. I like how the color pools in areas to create lighter and darker areas of color. I tied these onto the ribbons surrounding my heart filled envelope. That is one smitten daddy!!

OTHER DETAILS ON THE LAYOUT:

I hope you are able to use one of these techniques on a layout or card soon!

Enjoy your day!

Kristen

Please VOTE!!

The first challenge for the Urban Anthology Got Talent competition is up on their blog and ready to accept your vote. Voting will end on Wednesday at midnight. Please take a second to view all the layouts - keeping in mind that I'm "Hobby Gone Crazy" - and then vote for your favorite! Here is the link: http://urban-anthology.com/blog/?p=1186#comments. And if you voted for mine, THANKS!!

My next challenge is to create a layout "on the cheap" by using items we already own and repurpose them for a more updated feel. We also need to create a pictorial tutorial on the website teaching a technique used in our layout. I'm not sure what I'm going to complete but I'm excited about the possibilities. I'll post it when it's completed.

Tomorrow, I'll post some layouts I completed at a crop today but for now I am going to bed. Sleep well and thanks again for voting.

Blessings!

Welcome to my blog!!

For over two years I’ve receive questions like these: What is the name of your blog? Do you have a website? Where can I see your projects? The wait is over…I finally have a blog! No it is not fancy and I haven’t added any personal touches but it’s a start. I will use this to share my creative pursuits in scrapbooking but will include other things of importance to me from time to time. If you follow me long enough, you will learn all about our crazy and fun family; see plenty of pages and learn some techniques as I hope to have tutorials from time to time. I pray this adventure will be as fun as you all say it will!

About six months ago, I tried out for an on-line Design Team with Urban Anthology and ended up in seventh place. Well, it’s back again and I’m going to toss my pages into the ring and see where they land. I have completed challenge #1 – a layout about my signature scrapbooking style. There are two ways in which to be chosen this time around. The first and most exciting is to be voted a member by fellow scrapbookers. They will post all of the entries with voting buttons and you will choose the winner. They are going to be choosing three other individuals at the end of the on-line voting to be a part of the team as well. So, please check the blog (http://urban-anthology.com/blog/) from Saturday, September 26th to Wednesday, September 30th to cast your vote. I realize some of you aren’t scrapbookers, but I’d love your vote as well. Thanks!

Challenge #1 – Choose a sketch from the Design Teams Gallery and use it for a layout depicting my signature style, a personal photo and a description of my style.

As a scrapbooker, I believe the emphasis revolves around the story. Coordinating paper and bling are great things, but they don’t tell the story – they sell it. So when I scrapbook, the story is my aim in the theatrical performance of my layout and so what better way to tell a story than with a picture?

Pictures tell the story in way words can’t. Time Magazine – National Geographic - they take countless amazing pictures that tell someone’s story – someone’s experience. The facial expression – the wrinkles – the sparkle in their eyes – the joy in their smile – it paints visual imagery that would take chapters to pen. Oh – and I tilt those off center frequently or as I like to call it, catawampus. The unnatural angle draws your eyes very naturally.

My supporting cast member in the play is paper. It’s the canvas for which the story is painted. It’s the foundation the beautiful house sits on. It’s too often picked because it matches – not because it supports from edge to edge.

To wrap up the act and scene, I complete my story with embellishments – it’s the use of color and texture that moves you from one scene to another, telling the story with dimension and style. Think of them as props, costumes and light. Too much causes you to lose focus of the story. I use them appropriately and intentionally. So to answer your question about style, it really depends on the story told. Not all my stories are the same, so my layouts are reflective of each individual, unique tale, down to the last pop dot, brad and bow. My layouts are clean but you with patches of subtle distressing. I use ribbons and threads for texture. All of it works together to present the dramatic play, the Kristen way.

Thanks for checking out my layout and voting for me later this weekend! This concludes my very first post!! I look forward to sharing much more with you as I begin this new adventure. And thanks to those that have encouraged me to blog - I'm glad you did!