**STTG #1 Challenge** Thankful 4 ur Girly Girl Smile

This is my first DT project for STTG. As I posted earlier, Tracy is hosting a monthly challenge with a $25 gift card up for grabs. Her first challenge was to create a LO, card or altered project using the word "Thankful" or "Thank You". Growing up I was a little bit of a tomboy so I never got to appreciate all the fun girly girl things. When I had my daighter I was a little worried that she may be the same because she had an older brother she idolised. But much to my relief she turned out to be the best of both worlds. She loves fashion and dressing up and being a girly girl but is just as capable to playing rough and tough with her 2 brothers.

For my flower clusters I really wanted the misted look but didn't want to necessarily mist my bg papers so I decided to experiment and built my clusters on some scrap chipboard, misted them with several different colour mists and then added the misted clusters to the LO. I really like how it turned out and I'll be putting a tutorial together shortly for the technique.

I finished my chipboard pieces off by dabbing some textured molding paste onto the entire surface area to create a rough textured finish. Once the paste had completely dried I painted over it with some Creative Inspiration Paints. I tucked the Dusty Attic dress form (available from the STTG store) behind the flower cluster and added some more mini roses to the waste.

To finish the LO off I added some lacing down the right using two colours of silk ribbon. This is a simple but eye catching lacing technique and a great way to fill empty space on a LO.

All the Dusty Attic pieces and Glitz papers in this LO are available at the STTG store so pop over there, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Stamping on Layouts

As a scrapbooker one of the challenges I faced was trying to figure out how I could incorporate stamping into my layouts. To most of you that may come naturally but for some reason this seemed to pose a serious challenge for me. It was only once I started stepping out of my comfort zone of only using patterned papers and started creating my own background papers that I finally found a use for my small stash of stamps I had slowly accumulated. Before that I assumed stamps were exclusive to the card makers of the world.....LOL!

I'd like to share ways I've used stamps on layouts in three of my projects to maybe inspire any other scrapbookers out there who may have the same reservations I had about stamping and scrapbooking. For the above LO I used a flourish stamp from Rubbernecker stamps on some pale pink cardstock. I first stamped and embossed the image with clear embossing powder. I then inked over the entire piece of cardstock with a combination of worn lipstick and aged mahogany distress ink. The embossed stamped images acted as a resist to the distress ink thus creating a pattern on the cardstock. I also stamped the same image on some transparency with StazOn ink which I then cut out and used as flourishes for my flower clusters.

For my second project I first stamped some random Rubbernecker stamp images onto some coloured tissue paper which I then tore up into smaller pieces and layered onto some cardstock using gel medium. Once that dried I added some black soot distress ink to the borders. This technique adds great texture to a LO and depending of the stamps you use can be used for various styles and themes.

For my final project I used some tiny Technique Tuesday floral stems to stamp a border around the edge of my carstock. I applied two colours of ink to the stamp to create the multi-coloured border. The butterflies are also a Technique Tuesday stamp which I stamped on some transparency with StazOn ink. I then added stickles to the reverse side of the image and once the stickles dried, I cut the images out and shaped the wings before sticking them on the LO.

These are just three simple ways of using stamps on a LO. I'm always looking for new techniques so please feel free to leave me a link if you know of any other tricks.

LO - True Love (Rework of an old LO)

Hi there, I thought I'd share a small project I worked on this week. While visiting my in-laws I happened to walk past a framed LO I had given them 2 years ago around the time of their 50th wedding anniversary. It looked so "not me" if I think of the way my style has changed these last 2 years so I decided I needed to update the LO for them.

The picture is one of my favourites from their wedding album and in my original LO I had it scanned and printed in sepia. This time I decided to use a black and white picture instead which I knew would work well with the Bo Bunny Enchanted collection I planned on using.

I wanted to stay true to the original LO by keeping some of the design elements like the circle and floral cluster so I used a sketch by Beggahuna as inspiration for the updated LO. I love using a lot of distressing and all sorts of paints and pastes but decided to simply things and not go all out for this LO because my in-laws are elderly and my current grungy style may not appeal to their tastes. I did however distress the paper edges with my Zutter Diistrezz-It-All (I just LOVE that machine!!!)

My mother-in-law's favourite colour is blue so I used pops of a dusty shade of  blue as a contrast against all the B&W.It's difficult to see in the picture but I added some glitter to the black circle which complimented the glittery finish of the Bo Bunny pp's. I also painted my white Gardenia with some Creative Inspiration paints which gave it a beautiful shimmer. The lace trim below the photo is actually silver and not grey as it appears in the photo. The pretty B&W butterflies are from Angelics's etsy shop.

Here's a quick peek at the original LO

Now I only hope that my in-laws will like the updated LO too.

TFL!!!

Hugs

Wendy

STTG #1 Challenge is up - $25 Gift Card up for grabs!!!!

Now there isn't a scrapper alive I know that wouldn't appreciate a $25 gift card to have fun shopping with especially when the store in question is filled to the brim with delicious Dusty Attic peices.

That's right, Tracy from STTG is hosting her first challenge over at the brand new STTG Ning Site and the winner get a $25 gift card to spend in the STTG store. Beside the Dusty Attic, Tracy has a great selection of Glitz papers, silk ribbon, Viva Pearl Pens, Zva roses and so much more.

Pop on over and sign up. Feel free to add as many as your LO's to the gallery to share with your fellow scrappers, we all enjoy a little inspiration.....

Here's the details for the STTG #1 challenge provided on the front page of the new ning site.

 For our very first challenge... it's going to be super simple...Create a "Thankful" project!! :)

• It can be a simple "Thank You" card.
• A layout describing what you're thankful for.
• Even an altered art piece with photos of your family.

Rules...

• You must include "Thankful" or "Thank You" on your project.
• When uploading your image to the gallery... please include #1 in your title. When uploading on other sites... please include STTG #1.
• The Design Team is encouraged to play along but are not eligible to win.
• You have 2 weeks to complete your project.
• The winner will be chosen by a random draw on February 29th and announced on March 1st.
• The winner will receive a $25 gift card to our STTG store.

What are YOU thankful for???

Have FUN creating!!! :)

..

CSI #4 - Sweet Slumber

This is my entry for the CSI #4 Challenge. I'm delighted that I finally managed to get a LO done in time before the dreaded deadline, even if it was at 11:30pm my time the day of the deadline...LOL!. It's a great new ning site and I must say that Debbie and her team have put together some interesting challenges.

Above is a summary of what this weeks challenge was. You have to use at least two items from the "Evidence" list. I used a frame and my wet mediums were mists and gesso. I also added several metal pieces as my reflective surface item. "Testimony" is the guideline provided for your page journaling. This alone is a challenge for me because I usually don't add journaling to my LO's. My journaling is a childhood prayer I used to say every night at bedtime.

I am a huge fan of Finnabair's and have been dying to try her misting technique. Unfortunately I have not had the privledge of ever attending one of her classes but I have studied her work and tried to pick up bits and pieces along the way. I have no idea how she puts her LO's together but based on what I THINK she does, I did my own version of her misting technique.

To start I first masked some brick wall detail onto my Prima Mistable canvas base using gesso which I knew would act as a resist when I added the mist later.

I then glued down my photo...what a crazy feeling to glue your photo down first before altering your embellies. I then added some strips of lace here and there which I used as a base for my floral clusters

The great part about this technique is you don't have to colour co-ordinate your flowers because you're going to mist them anyway. It's a perfect opportunity to use up the last of some floral collections gathering dust in your stash. I also added some metal pieces to my clusters. To finish off I placed various sized pearls around each floral cluster.

I wrote my journaling on some cs and framed it with a small metal frame. I then also added some lace and made a mini floral cluster alongside the frame. A helpful tip is to use a hot glue gun when creating clusters so that your items stick instantly and don't move around when adding to it.

Once everything was stuck down I covered my picture and journaling frame with some plastic wrap to protect them from the mist. I then used mists the colours of the colour pallett provided for the challenge and had an ink party for one!!!!! This was so much fun and even though my LO isn't even close to the brilliance of finnabair, I'm delighted with the results for my first attempt and will defintely use this technique again.