3 To Inspire with Emma

Hi everyone!  Emma here with this weeks 3-To-Inspire challenge!

We offer this challenge each Saturday for those who are looking for a little extra push to get scrapbooking, to keep scrapbooking, or for those of you just looking for a challenge (and the chance to win a little something is an added bonus!).

I hope you'll join in with me this week using the following prompts:

1. Use a black & white photo
2. Use gold accents on your page
3. Try to go monochrome  (i.e. create a page using one colour, this does not include neutrals such as black/white/etc)

 And here's a look at the page I created:

 

I went with mint/green for my colour (although for some crazy reason I stuck a blue checkered chipboard piece...but lets pretends that isn't there OK...ha!).

I love all the pops of gold in the Add-on this month!  I'm still a huge fan of gold on my pages; I hope it never goes out of fashion (although I wish it was easier to photograph...) ;)

 To add some dimension I just used a couple of the die-cuts out of the Main/Add-on behind my photo (with foam-dots behind each layer to give it more oomph!).

Now it's your turn! Use the three prompts to create your own projects and share them with us here in the gallery and/or our Facebook Forum.  I really can't wait to see your pages!

Thanks, Em xo

3 to Inspire with Gina

Happy Saturday everyone and welcome to this week's 3 to Inspire challenge!

Here are your 3 prompts:

1. Scrap a black + white photo
2. Frame your photo
3. Include some stars

Here's my page, created with the gorgeous Jameson main kit

Such pretty die-cuts in this kit, they certainly make a page easy to embellish! They are also great for creating titles and journaling on your page, I've added one of the exclusive Pinkfresh alpha stickers to a die-cut to create a title

Now it's your turn! Use these three prompts to create a project, then share it with us here in the gallery and/or our Facebook Page.  Have fun! :)

Gina x

Chasing Dreams | Elsie Robinson

Hey everyone, it's Elsie here today! I don't know about you, but one of my favourite parts of our kits are the gorgeous 3x4 stamp sets. They're so versatile and add the perfect finishing touches to my layouts, so let me talk you through how I used this month's stamp set on a layout.

I found the design of this layout quite difficult because all of the main elements of the page were on the bottom half of the layout, so the top half looked out of place because it was so bare.

I obviously didn't want the draw attention away from my photo, my journalling and the little vespa I spent far too long paper-piecing (!), so to combat this I grabbed the stamp set that came with this month's Main Kit.

The stamp set had the cutest little circles and an asterisk, and combining them with some pastel inks from my stash, they were the perfect way to add detail around the balloons and clouds.

The stamps overlap each other and I think they kind of look like little bubbles, which just makes this layout all the more whimsical. I even added some tone-on-tone stamping to my modelling paste and inked background.

I carried on that tone-on-tone thing by clustering the Simple Stories enamel dots around the balloons, Vespa and 'Beautiful' title, they matched perfectly with the papers and ephemera in the kit and so I was really happy with that!

Also I love the typewriter font on the stamp sets. Using the 'why stop dreaming?' stamp as a sub-title with black ink adds a really lovely subtle detail and an extra pop of black and white!

Thanks for joining me today, and I hope you're inspired to use those gorgeous stamp sets!

- Elsie x

Tuesday Tutorial with Karen - Using an Art Medium - GESSO TECHNIQUE

Hi everyone! Karen here and today I'm sharing a simple tutorial on how I used GESSO to create a subdued background. I created this layout using the January 2017 Scrapbook "Oh Darling" Add-On Kit & the "Pattern Play" paper add-on kit.

I love creating with 12x12 patterned paper however the photos and embellishments can get lost in the background. And then someone invented GESSO - how lucky! I like to think of this art medium as a blank canvas, because technically its giving you a chance to 'rub' out some of that background. 

Hint: do not use too much GESSO, start off with a small amount & work your way to more. I use make-up sponges to work with GESSO rather than a brush, it gives it leaves a great texture on the paper. Spread it out across the patterned paper & then wait until it dries, which really isn't that long.

Once dried you then can start adding your layers, photo & embellishments. For this layout I used more GESSO to create an area to stamp on to. I think it turned out great. GESSO is really easy to stamp on. 

I also added a smaller amount of GESSO to the bottom of the page where I planned to add embellishments. I loved how it turned out.

Watch the video below to see more details on how this layout and technique came together.

I hope I've inspired you to try something new.

Karen xx

Hello Fun / Oh Darling Add On Kit

Good morning! I hope you are doing well. It's Claudia here and today I'm sharing a layout I made with this month's 'Oh Darling' Add On Kit and the Pattern Paper Play Kit.

For this layout I'm using a somewhat larger photo than usual and didn't trim it down. The reason I didn't do this is because the photo has some open space which I thought would be the perfect place for my title to go.

I knew I wanted to make a somewhat colorful layout and the paper with the watercolor circles from the Pattern Paper Play Kit was the perfect one to get started with. I cut out the circles (about half of them ones that were on the paper) and put them to the right side of my layout.

I then went through the embellishments in the kit and selected some that matched the colors of the circles. I couldn't find enough matching ones, so I thought that it would be nice to add some of the foam number thickers to the ones that didn't have anything on them yet. If you struggle with using numbers this might a great way for you to use them up! :)

For my title I used one of the gold foiled pieces from the ephemera pack (Hello) and for the other part I used those beautiful black foam thickers again. I love mixing titles - it just makes them look a little more interesting to look at.

Thank you for joining me today, I hope you enjoyed seeing this layout and that you feel inspired to start creating! Have a great day!

xo Claudia

SUNDAY SKETCH WITH KAREN

Hello everyone. What does a Sunday mean? A new sketch of course. Below is a sketch you can use to create a layout.

 This is what I created using the sketch. 

I made some slight changes to my layout from the sketch and that is okay, you can too. Sometimes you have a slightly better idea or it could come down to what products you have to use & then this can differ to what is 'sketched' for you. 

I used a landscape photo, I don't use this size photo very often, so that was the first challenge for me with this sketch. I love to use square photos in my layouts.  The layout is 12x12 in size & I only used one large background layer unlike the sketch. To be honest I'm not use to larger layers so this was challenge number two & even though I gave it shot, I took the layer off & went with just the one background paper. Here are the details of my layout:

To play along this week, create a layout inspired by the sketch and upload it to the CTK gallery with today's date (01/15) in the title and you will be in with a chance to win a $5 gift certificate to spend in the CTK store
Happy Creating.

Karen xox

3 to Inspire

Happy Saturday and welcome to this week's edition of our 3 to Inspire Challenge!  This week I am challenging you to include the following three elements on a project:

1. Use blue.

2. Journal on a label or tag.

3. Make a title with a die cut.

This is what I came up with using the January "Jameson" Scrapbook Kit:

Blue is such a fun color and I was able to include two shades of it on this layout documenting my nephew's happy smile. I recently purchased a used manual typewriter and am loving having the option to do my journaling on labels. (Here's a tip: adhere your tags and labels to a larger sheet of paper with washi tape--this will make it super easy to roll them through the typewriter!).  To make my title I chose the "I Like You" bubble from the package of exclusive diecuts that are included in the kit this month.

Now it's your turn! To play along with this week's 3 to Inspire Challenge and to be entered in a drawing for a chance to win a small prize from the CTK Store, create a project incorporating the three elements and upload it to our gallery. Make sure to include today's date (1/14) in the title of your project!  Good luck :).

Michelle

Embellishment only layout with Veera

Hi, It’s Veera here today to share a layout I created using only embellishments. I love pattern papers but I might love embellishments even more. The January kits are full of embellishments as always and this time I wanted to feature them! For this layout I used the ”Jameson” Scrapbook kit and Sprikles Kit.

Majority of the embellishments in this layout came from the exclusive ephemera pack. I really love the color combination of yellow and mint. The colors work so well with my picture. As I didn’t want to use any pattern papers I tried to create a design that has interest and flows through the layout. The little triangles were a perfect addition to help creating movement to the layout.

My favorite item from the Sprinkles kit was clearly the Nuvo Jewel Drops! I added the drops directly to the layout and left to dry. Such a cool and easy way to make little embellishments!

Have you tried to create layout using only embellishments?

-Veera

Tuesday Tutorial with Leigh- Punches

Hello, and welcome to today's Tuesday Tutorial. Leigh here, with a layout and a full process video using the January 2017 Scrapbook Kit and the Sprinkles Kit. I am so happy to be posting here for the first time!

The  "Jameson" Scrapbook Kit is so inspiring! Have you taken a peek at those wood veneer? The leafy branch wood veneer pieces inspired this page. I realized I could tie in the patterned paper and the wood veneer with a new Fiskars leafy branch punch.


You can stitch three wavy lines down the left side of the page, to have a spot for the punched bits.
I punched out some aqua, pink and golden yellow patterns from the kit, and started by placing the punched pieces down the left side as if they are growing down the page.


Do you have a new punch you are excited to use? Try this page with any punch that tickles your fancy.

 Loving the exclusive pack of die cuts made for Citrus Twist Kits by Pinkfresh Studios!  Pile those babies on underneath your focal point photo.

A close up look at one of the wood veneer in this Scrapbook Kit, tucked under the photo for the title.


Check out the process video below to see the whole layout from start to finish:

Leigh

I Blooming Love You

Good morning!  Do any of you still feel like it can't possibly be 2017?  I know I can't.  It's a new year and hopefully the start of an awesome year.  Not sure how many of you feel this way but I am certainly hoping it is better than last year.

For today I have just one page for you.  Work has been crazy (I work retail, at Michaels actually and there is so much to be stocked for every upcoming holiday) but I needed to make something pretty to start out the New Year.

Ironically enough, this photo was taken the first week of January in 2010.  My middlest little munchkin just a few months before she became a big sister.  I love this moment and remember it like yesterday.  I was telling her jokes to get her to sit still and lucked out on the biggest smile ever.

Thank you all for stopping by to see my first page of 2017.  Here's to so many more happy moments and just as many pretty scrapbook pages to help us remember them forever.

Brenda

Sunday Sketch with Suse

Hey gang, Suse with you today for today's Sunday Sketch Challenge. I hope you're going to enjoy this one... it's truly simple and there is a *lot* of white space for you to play with - or leave completely clean as I have!

So let's start with our sketch: a very simple grid design of layered embellished squares...

My plan for this page was to make a note of my New Year's resolutions and say 'hi' to 2017 officially!

 The fresh yellows, gentle blues and hot pinks in the January kits really helped to contribute to the positive vibe I wanted for my page.

Keeping your photo loosely the same size as the other squares in the grid helps to unify things visually. If your image features colours that don't quite match your scheme, just pop it into black and white for a crisp, fresh look.

My journalling features bullet-points made by stamping cute little star shapes from the stamp set, but you could use enamel dots or small stickers instead. 

Think about playing around with height too: popping foam pads behind certain areas to make them really stand out can look lovely. I couldn't resist using this hot pink telephone from Kim Watson's gorgeous new line. 

And if you're uncomfortable with quite so much white on your page, you could consider adding a loose watercolour wash or lots of splatters to add extra interest. Some white hand-stitching - hearts or stars perhaps - could look fab too.

I really hope you play along with this challenge today! All you need to do is create a layout inspired by my sketch then upload it to the CTK gallery with today's date in the title and you will be in with a chance to win a $5 gift certificate to spend in the CTK store. Have fun, gang!