Mixed Media with Chantal

It's such a nice change when I get to work with different types of mediums. Even though I have the tools to do so, I don't often do mixed media projects but there are so many fun things and techniques that you can do and come up with!

A few days ago, I decided to reorganize all my old pictures. Most of them were given to me over the years by my Grandmother before she passed away, or became mine as part of my mother's estate. I wanted my project to be inspired by my chosen photo; for it to be a representation of my childhood. I was looking for something fun, colorful and nostalgic.

I've become quite the avid vintage item collector lately and I've recently been on the lookout for vintage 1970's - 1980's Disney's Wonderful World of Reading books as they were a huge part of my childhood. I've been lucky enough to thrift some and I went ahead and incorporated a page from one of them (which was in terrible shape), in my layout.

After taking apart the vintage book, I used a page and adhered it to a white background. I then used the Cypress Scrapbook Kit stamp sentiment "these are the days" and haphazardly stamped it on my page in a few different spots. 

I then decided to stamp out a few stars onto my layout using some paint. In order to do this, I dug out an Asian pear from my refrigerator (a potato is a very good option as well) and carefully cut out the shape of a star, using a knife. I then dipped my pear into some yellow paint and stamped the shape, a few times, onto my page.

Once dry, I adhered two strips of paper (one with a fussy cut scalloped edge) on top on my story book page and sewed them down. I then added my photo, typed out some text with my vintage typewriter onto a page of printer paper and adhered with my Tim Holtz mini attacher.

With the help of my Silhouette Cameo, I cut out a circle with a star and used both pieces on my project. The circle was glued with foam tape for some added dimension and the star piece was stapled beneath the strip of text.

I then used a pencil and drew onto my white background and added a few embellishments from the Cypress Scrapbook kit (e.g: My Mind's Eye Wander enamel dots, Elle Studio Noteworthy epoxy stickers & bits and pieces).

I hope that you're inspired to try something new. Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday Sketch with Chantal

This week, our sketch is a 8.5x11 layout with an abundance of layers. Fellow creative team member Kelly Barron, is also joining me this week and sharing her take on our scrapbook sketch.

For my project, I opted for some neutral tones for my papers and added a pop of colour to it all, with the elements.

The elements used, are various items from the Scrapbook and Embellishment kits. I've always been a fan of mixing and matching various shades of green and yellow together.

I printed the speech bubble and whipped out my vintage typewriter to add a bit of text. I then adhered it to my page with some foam tape.

My favourite thing about this layout, is the globe. I really wanted to incorporate the rub-ons in the foreground instead of adding it somewhere behind everything else. To do that, I simply rubbed the globe onto a piece of scrap photo paper and fussy cut it out.

To complete it all, I added a little sewing to the arrows, stamped and dated my page.

Here is Kelly's take on today's scrapbook sketch;

I adapted this sketch to make it a full 12x12 layout. To create this page I used primarily the Happy Heart Add-On kit and bits and pieces from the Main and Pocket Life kits.

I fell in love with the colors in these papers and arranged them in rainbow order for a fun look. The stitching in black helps to bring the title and the black accents of the sticker together for a cohesive look on the layout.

I added a doily from my stash to add some softness to the photo. The texture and interest that doilies bring to a layout make them one of my favorite embellishments to use.

Now it's your turn! To play along with this weeks sketch and be eligible to win a $5 gift certificate to the Citrus Twist Kits store, create a project inspired by this week's sketch and upload it to the CTK gallery with today's date (06/17) in the title.

Happy creating!!!

3-to-Inspire with Chantal

Hey guys!

It's time for another installment of 3-to-Inspire. The Savannah kits have been an absolutely pleasure to create with and contain some of my favourite items to date (aka vellum and Pink Paislee puffy stickers). My project was inspired by an Instagram post by fellow scrapbooker, Anke Kramer. I fell in love with all the beautiful water-colour butterflies in her project and I decided to create my own.

Your take on this challenge can be in the form of a layout, a traveller's notebook or a pocket page spread. Don't forget to include all three of the listed items in your project, in order to be entered to win a little something towards your next purchase, in the Citrus Twist Kits store.

1- Include hand-cut items/shapes on your layout
2- Create a cluster (or multiple clusters)
3- Use at least one patterned paper on your project

Here is the project that I came up with, using the above prompts;

I rarely use water-colour in my projects and so this one definitely took me out of my comfort zone. A few splashes here and there is what I've typically done, but I was a woman on a mission!

I first cut out some butterflies of different shapes and sizes, out of water-colour paper, with my Silhouette Cameo. I then proceeded to add some color, starting at the edges of the shape, working my way slowly towards the inside of each one, in a dabbing motion. Once the bodies were painted-in with some black water-colour and were done drying as well, I used a pencil to outline the wings and draw in some details. 

My background is simply a repetition of the Alpha Stamp, stamped straight across the page. 

I then added a few splashes and drops of black ink and let that dry for a while, before I randomly added some Thickers onto my project. I was now able to glue down my painted butterflies and my photo to the page and I then went ahead and sewed on some hand cut details (the X's) to complete my cluster of elements.

Now it's your turn to show us what you've been inspired to put together. Don't forget to upload your project to the CTK Facebook Fan Page using hashtag #3toInspire, for a chance to win a $5.00 discount to the store!

Mexico Mini Album | Part One with Chantal

Hey guys!

I decided to switch things around a bit this month and started working on my Mexico mini album. This project is near and dear to my heart for various reasons and I'm looking forward in sharing my process and pages with you.

Here's a list of the items that were used to achieve the below spreads;

Items:

- Precision scissors
- White printer paper
- Pencil
- Acrylic paint
- Old plastic card (e.g. gift or rewards card)
- Stapler
- Lemon Drop Main Scrapbook and Embellishment kits

I've always been a fan of the 4x4 format for my mini albums and for someone who's not big on journaling, being able to fill up my pages with a quick blurb or paragraph, is perfect!

I recently purchased a vintage Brother De Luxe typewriter at a local Flea Market and this project was a great opportunity to take advantage of my new toy. As you can see, a few errors were made (slowing down when I type, would probably help) but I decided to just go with the flow and chose not to start over, whenever mistakes happened. 

I decided to use bullet points for my storytelling. First, I created my titles in Photoshop using the Smith-Corona Galaxie Typewriter font, printed them on matte photo paper and then typed in my text using my typewriter.

The above 4x4 page was inspired by the wonderful Beshka Kueser. I drew a wonky scallop border with my pencil, at the bottom of a plain piece of printer paper and cut it out with my precision scissors. Having placed my now handmade "stencil" near the bottom of my patterned paper, I then used an old discarded rewards card to spread a dollop of bright pink acrylic paint, from top to bottom, until it covered the exposed pattern paper area. After the paint had dried, I stapled on a label which contains a few details of our pre-trip whereabouts. I absolutely LOVE how translucent the paint turned out on my background paper!

For the time being, my pages are simply held together by a book ring closure (in page protectors of course) and will be put in a 4x4 album, once my project is completed.

Hope you enjoyed and happy creating!

Sunday Sketch with Chantal

This week, our layout sketch is a 12x12 layout with pretty patterns, pops of colour and loads of layers. Fellow creative team member Anna Uhras, is joining me this week and sharing her take on our scrapbook sketch.

For my project, I converted the original sketch to a 8.5 x 11 and stuck to a fairly neutral colour palette using five different patterned papers & the vintage music book page, from the Main Scrapbook kit.

I first used the word "loving" from the Main Scrapbook kit stamp set, to make a pattern at the bottom of my page and once everything was dry, I proceeded to glue on all of my layers including my photo.

For some colour, I choose a Maggie Holmes navy ephemera bit, added some text and used the exclusive stamp set to stamp a grey circle onto the polka dotted piece. I then glued on a gold sticker from the Flourish sticker set, finished it off with a Thicker and glued it onto my page. 

The title and flag (at the top of my page) were created in Photoshop and cut with my Silhouette Cameo. Next, I added a little paint splatter and some buttons and the flag + title pieces were finally sewed down to my project. As a last minute add on, one of the heart paper clips was slipped onto the ephemera piece as well...it was too cute not to include!

Sketches are a Godsend when you have no idea what to do and they are an excellent starting point for any project (layout, project life spread, mini album or card). Creating a sketch in Photoshop has always been my starting point, when putting together a layout. It saves me heaps of time!

And here is Anna's take on our Scrapbook sketch;

I'm so happy to pair up with the super talented and lovely Chantal today, with this edition of CTK Sunday Sketch. My interpretation is pretty close to the original design though, with a little twist.

I've used the Main Scrapbook kit, Embellishment kit and The February Pattern Paper Play to create this page. I'm totally IN LOVE with the Maggie Holmes Flourish Poppy patterned paper! Just saying...

Now it's your turn! To play along with this weeks sketch and be eligible to win a $5 gift certificate to the Citrus Twist Kits store, create a project inspired by this week's sketch and upload it to the CTK gallery with today's date (02/25) in the title.

Happy creating!!!

Make Your Own Printables with Chantal

Colour is my jam and like many, I have a load of things pinned on my Pinterest board (colour combos and wonderful graphics). Once in a while, I'll get inspired and I'll create something of my own in Photoshop, for my projects. Digital printables are a quick and easy way to add a little "oomph" to any layout and keeping it simple is best. If you have a cutting machine like me, you can create custom flags and tags but if you prefer to stick to your manual punches, circle printables in 1in, 2.5in and 3in, are THE best!

First off;

1- choose a great font (e.g., something that can still be clearly read when sized at 15 pt)
2- pick out a colour palette
3- find a few simple words and/or sayings

Font Guideline Tips

Remember, if you're mix and matching your fonts; opposites attract. Like serif & sans serif, fat & skinny and uppercase & lowercase. An example of great font combinations are Lora & Source Sans Pro and Futura & Georgia Italic.

The below project was created with some of this month's Sugarland goodies and a few basic printables that I designed in Photoshop, especially for this layout.

As a special thank you, here's a link to a few Sugarland coordinating printables. Enjoy!

Happy creating!

Inspiration with Chantal

Hi everyone!

It feels like it's been forever but I am so happy to be back amongst the CTK ladies and today, I'll be sharing the inspiration behind my "In the name of fun" project.

Like many of you, I am an avid "pinner". My Pinterest account is filled with the many things that inspire me and the photo/project below caught my attention last year. I decided to translate it into a layout for one of my projects this month.

Donna Watson Art on Tumblr

I first started off by printing my photo directly onto my background but reduced the opacity a bit in Photoshop prior to the printing stage. I then did the same with my photo but kept the opacity at 100%.

I then hand cut my photo to make sure it wasn't exactly a perfect circle, glued it onto my background and stitched it down with some red thread for contrast.

I also cut out some strips of patterned paper, glued them to the bottom and kept the remainder of my project pretty simple. The tag was added for some text space since my background photo is pretty dark and the remainder of the items were adhered to the bottom of my page including a snippet of text I cut out from a piece of paper from the December Patterned Play #1 Add-on.

Mixed Media with Chantal Philippe

Good morning everyone!

October is nearing it's end and I'm simply not ready to let it go; still perfectly content scrapping using bold and bright colours, especially yellow.

I've been experimenting a lot lately with mixed media and I have fallen in love with Gesso and how wonderful watercolours turn out when painted on top of it. Prepping a page with Gesso is a must when doing mixed media.

For the page below, I first glued on my pieces of patterned paper and spread the Gesso on top of it all (here and there) using an old gift card. Once dry, I went ahead and did my watercolour and let that dry completely as well. The elements and the 3x4 card are a mix of items from the October "Hello Darling" Add-on Kit and the October Pattern Paper Play #1.

ICapture with Chantal Philippe

It was only a few years ago that I starting paying more attention to photo composition and lighting. I remember quickly snapping those pictures like it was going out of style and getting only a handful of good shots (the ones I considered worth printing).

I've seen and read so many tutorials and blog posts on iPhonography. I felt so limited with the fact that I wasn't a "big camera" owner. I quickly realized how much fun and diverse photography with an iPhone or any other camera phone can actually become. Here are a few of my favourite techniques.

Angle Is Everything

This is by far my favourite way to take a picture. I love to drop to the ground to get a great shot. Don't let a little dirt deter you from discovering creative perspectives.

From Above

This is my go-to angle for those workspace or project-in-the-making shots. It's also a great way to capture your child doing his/her homework or playing with their favourite toy or item.

Chase The Light

I absolutely love this photo and not because of the subject (ignore the feet) but because of the lighting. It was an early morning spur of the moment shot snapped in my bathroom. The sun was rising and was filtering through the window in such a perfect way.

Create Blur On Purpose

As some of you may know, creating a blur with a phone camera requires a little bit more work then with a regular camera. There are however a few different ways to achieve it. The photo effect below was created with an old flower vase. I simply slipped my iPhone in it and snapped the picture. My fingers were a little hard to maneuver in the cramped space but this problem is easily solved with a remote or any timer cam app, both of which I didn't have at the time. I love how I not only obtained a little blur but some great distortion too!

Reflection

I had just finished some blog work and desperately needed a break. I went ahead and put my computer in sleep mode and noticed myself clearly being reflected on the black screen. I decided to prop up my phone on a few boxes and took the photo with the TimerCam App. It took a few tries but I finally ended up with something I was happy with.

Tuesday Tutorial with Chantal Philippe

Happy Tuesday!

It's time for another tutorial and I'll be sharing a project I put together just this weekend. I've been hoarding these mini embroidery hoops I purchased a while back. The one I used for my project was only 3 inches…very tiny but perfect for what I had in mind. I am also partial to the wood ones and any size would do.

I first started by making the pompoms using some yarn I had leftover from some last Christmas crafts. I created a pompom making template in Photoshop and cut them with my Silhouette. The piece of 12x12 cardboard used it the one Trina throws in with our monthly kits to make them sturdier.

Once the pompoms were done and all tied up, I snipped off one of the excess pieces and kept the other as is in order to have it hang below my hoop (one lower than the other). I then grabbed an old summer tank top, draped it over the hoop insert, tightened the hoop up and cut some of the fabric off. The cut doesn't need to be perfect since the excess will be chopped off completely latter on.

I choose a few small pieces from this month's main scrapbooking, sprinkles kit, a brown button from my personal stash (which I had already sewed onto the fabric rosette) and then printed a small polaroid sized picture.

I glued on my photo first to the left of the hoop and added all the other little items to the right around it. I used my usual glue tape but I am sure hot glue would work as well.

I then snipped off all the excess fabric, wool pieces hanging out the back and trimmed the pompoms a little to even them out.

Sunday Sketch with Chantal Philippe

Hi everyone!

it's me again for another edition of Sunday Sketch.


Meshing my ideas with Michelle's sketches is always loads of fun and this month is no exception. I have never been a "two photo" scrapbooker…it's definitely outside of my comfort zone. I decided to stick to my usual and switched out the second photo option with a 3x4 cutout from Crate Paper's Wonder "Dream" paper including in this month's Main Scrapbooking Kit.

My favourite part of this layout is the stamped "160" which overlaps the hello paper, 3x4 cutout and my background. I used the cork numbers from the Sprinkles kit, smeared each number with some Gesso and stamped it on. it's a small and barely noticable detail, but it filled up the space perfectly!

Now it's your turn!

Enjoy!