All good things must come to an end....

This is probably the hardest post for me to write. I am so sad to announce that today's challenge post is the final post for our beloved blog. I have undertaken a career change (photography) that is consuming almost all the time that I formerly devoted to scrapbooking and while this is a great thing for me personally, it does mean that there just isn't the time available for me to give the right attention to the commitment of blogging. So rather than doing a poor job of blogging and of photography, I have had to make a choice... and that means that this blog will end.

My sincerest thanks go out to each and every designer who has ever worked with us, sharing creativity, inspiration, personal stories and their unique art. I only dreamed that this humble project would grow to be something that included so many people around the world and I feel as though we are all close friends. I will miss you all :)

A very special thanks goes out to Tania Lennox who, over the cours of the last couple of years has contributed in a way that I can never adequately thank her for. Tania, your support, love, kindness, generosity and willingness to do what needs to be done is second to none. You are the only reason I've kept this beautiful project going as long as I have. When I lose faith or focus, you are always there to get me back on track. Thank you so much, my dear friend. The success of this creative endeavour is as much yours as it is mine. Take a bow!

All of you are so special to me and I'll treasure you always. Thank you for all your love and support...and above all else, thank you for your creativity.

Love, hugs & paper
Vanessa

challenge 168

Sketch week again! I love how the design team used it in such different ways again!
If you are new and want to learn more on how our challenges work here's all the info for that. Play along and have fun with it! :)

Tania

Vanessa

Carol

Gudrun

Eva

Elly

Jeannie

Tuesday Tutorials - ruffled ribbon

I'm going to show you how to dress up your ribbon for your projects and layouts. Another way to use ribbon...

Supplies:

- ribbon with stitching down the centre of it. You could really add the stitching to any ribbon to make this work.

-thread and needle

-small fabric or paper flowers

-gems

-strong hold glue like diamond glaze

Pull on the middle thread until it's long enough to make a knot. Now push the ribbon towards the knot until you get the amount of ruffles you want. Tie a knot at the other end to hold the ruffles in place. Trim the excess thread off.

Sew your flowers randomly on your ruffled ribbon. Add your gems with your strong hold adhesive to the middle of your flowers. That's it!

Now you have ruffled, decorated ribbon to add to your projects!

Hope you have enjoyed my quick and easy tutorial. If you use this idea on a project I would love to see it, link it up!

Tania

xo

challenge 167

Hello, we are back with another one. This week we want you to pull out your

Glimmer Mist.

This popular technique is being seen everywhere and we want to see how you use it. For all you newbies that want to join in on our fun here's how it all works.

Let`s get started! :)

TaniaVanessa

Carol

GudrunEva

Elly

Jeannie

Tuesday Tutorials - Dictionary/Music Paper Flowers

There are a ton of tutorials out there on how to make paper flowers. I'm going to show you one of my own combining a couple of tutorials I've seen.

Supplies:

music or dictionary paper (you can really use any paper)

scissors

mists, I used lime and olive

adhesive

a button or gem for the centre

To start, hand cut a few circles out of your paper. They don't have to be perfect as it adds to the charm. The more circles you cut the fuller your flower will be.

Next spray your circles with your mist. I started with lime first. Partly dry them with a heat gun (until they are slightly damp). Now wrinkle them into a ball, then open them up again. Finish drying them.

Your flower should start looking like this.

Spray with your second colour on each circle. I sprayed olive (a darker green) on the edges. Your flower should now have more depth to it.

Finally use your adhesive and attach each piece together in the middle. Add your button or gem.
I hope you have enjoyed my tutorial. I would love to see your flowers, link them up! :)

xo

Tania

Challenge 166

Oh yeah! I love sketches :) This week's challenge is a super simple sketch that is just begging to be rocked out in the biggest, baddest way. So all you gotta do is rustle up a photo and a few of your favorite embellishments and you're all set!! Try spinning it 90 degrees or 180 degrees...we wanna see what this sketch does for your creative mojo.

And being the first challenge of a new month, that means we've got our new designer playing along with us! Hooray! Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the post to see what Jeannie did with this sketch.

Do you wanna get in on the creative fun but don't know how it all goes down?? Then visit this link to get the scoop. We're a super laid back crowd 'round here so really, fun's the name of the game.

Vanessa

Tania

Carol

Gudrun
?

Elly
?

Eva
Eva was visiting Chile with her family when the earthquake hit. She has contacted us and tells us that they are all okay but due to delays with flights leaving Chile, she won't be leaving the country until about the middle of March.

Be safe Eva. Take care of yourself and your family. Please let us know how things are going and when you arrive home! Love and hugs! XOXO

Jeannie

Tuesday Tutorials - Masking

Oh this was so much fun to make! We've all seen masks in our LSS and many of us have them in our stash but do they get much play? I find the biggest limitation with masks is that they are so overtly theme-y that if they appear too often in my pages they begin to be like that amazing dress you bought for New Year's Eve and every time you wear it afterwards everyone says "Didn't you wear that at New Years?". They are obvious and hard to forget. With this tutorial, we're going to make our own masks and use 'em up so they can't be duplicated 100% ever again. Forcing ourselves to be creative, right from the ground, up!


Let's get started. Sketch out a simple shape on scrap cardstock. Cut it out with an Xacto knife and trace it onto another piece of cardstock as many times as you want, planning ahead for however many duplicates you want of this shape on your finished layout.


Next, gather up all the glimmer mists you want to use on your layout. Put a teeny spot of adhesive on all the parts of your shapes. In this case, that was on each leaf. Stick 'em down and get sprayin'. Carefully peel them away and place in new spots around your page wherever you want them. I only used 2 leaf shapes and moved them around the page.
Your leaf shapes will curl like crazy. Don't freak out. This is why we have so many kinds of adhesive, people! Gently peel off your shapes, taking great care to not tear your page. If any glue bits stay behind, grab a white eraser or use your fingertip to carefully remove the stickiness. Patiently wait for it to dry. Or if you're like me, grab your heat gun and git 'er done!


Now that you have negatives of where your leaves were, go ahead and get messy if that's your thing. I busted out some magic mesh, some molding paste & paint, a little Distress Ink and mucked up the edges like crazy. I adhered my photo, cut out some wonky photo corners and stuck my leaves down in the bottom corner of the photo. I rocked a little machine stitching on the leaves which really helped keep their curly selves as flat as I could get 'em and also stitched my journaling lines. A little Dymo label subtitle for good measure and that was about it. Simple, doable and extremely addictive.

~ layout inspired by the magnificent Dina Wakley.

Introducing Jeannie

Boy, what a crazy month February was! Sasha has packed all her worldly possessions and is embarking on a big move overseas. I'm so happy that we were able to get her to Guest with us before starting on her journey. Sasha, have a safe and enjoyable move and let us know when you get there!!

This month we have Jeannie Lutz joining us. I spotted Jeannie and her gorgeous layouts on SisTV where she's one of the fashionistas...Just take a look at her layouts and you'll understand why! I love how her approach to her art is so fresh and youthful...a bit of a rule-breaker, methinks! LOL Check out her fave layouts below her interview...let's welcome the lovely Miss Jeannie to the team!!!

A- I am a 20 year old student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I have a fabulous family, a great boyfriend, and the cutest kitten you will ever see in your life. Her name is Moo.

Q-Why do you scrapbook?

A- I scrapbook for a creative outlet. I love the process even more than the result sometimes.

Q-What is on your playlist right now?

A- Currently I’m listening to Christmas music. I do realize it is March. Unfortunately my itunes is on shuffle. Normally I listen to Dave Barnes, Jason Mraz, Erick Baker, Joshua Radin, Josh Kelley, Charles Kelley, Avett Brothers, Metric, Motion City Soundtrack, Bright Eyes, the Killers, and Queen.

Q-Where fuels your creative mojo?

A- I read a ton of blogs and peruse the gallery at Scrap in Style TV to get inspired. I also have all of my scrapbooking stuff out right in front of me at all times. So many times I get inspired just looking at it! I read creative books, magazines and look at other people’s scrapbooks, too.

Q-What projects are on your scrap table today?

A- I’m working on a cool little mini album. I just need to print some pictures out for it! I’ve also got an ATC or two hanging out on my table today.

Q-Which products are currently getting the most action in your layouts?

A- Thickers, as always. I freaking love those little guys.

Q-Tell us about one of your personality quirks (weird habits/rituals)

A- I hate brushing my hair and grooming in general. I would rather just look like crap then endure that.

Q-When you finish working on a layout, do you tidy up or walk away and leave the mess?

A- I usually leave a mess, and then tidy up a day or two later when I’m ready to work again.
Q-Have you ever had a scrapbooking disaster? (spilled paint, burnt w/ heat gun?) and if so, were you able to rescue the destroyed layout?

A- Every single time I scrapbook I have a disaster. Every card or layout I make is just a series of fixing mistakes. It’s probably a very interesting process to watch. I don’t own any Undu or any adhesive removing product, so it really is a challenge sometimes.

Q-If time stood still for just one day, what would you do with the time?

A- Spend time with the people I love, just like everyday!

Q- Please share three of your favorite layouts.

Challenge 165

Well hello again, Friday! Imagine seeing you again so very soon...hard to belive it's been a week already! Boy oh boy, much has been happening behind this computer screen around my place! I've got a brand new photography business...check it out! Vanessa Falle Photography. It has been so stinkin' busy I can barely catch my breath. But that's a good thing, right!?!

So this is Sasha's last week with us...actually, she's moving to England and all her scrap stuff is in boxes...she will be enduring an extended separation from her scrap stuff :( Hopefully she can make it!! Sasha, you are so inspiring and funny as hell!! Hope you come 'round lots once the dust settles! Have a safe move and be sure to give the blogosphere a shout-out when you get there...so we know you arrived alive!

And I know there are some new readers with us. Check out this link to get the lowdown if you are wanting to play along. This week our challenge is::

USE UP YOUR MISMATCHED ALPHA STICKERS

Our ever-fabulous team has once again knocked this one outta the park. I loved using up all those crazy leftover letters :) Let's see what you do with this one.

Vanessa

Tania

Gudrun

Eva

Carol

Ellie

Sasha

Tuesday Tutorial - Coloring lace w/ Glimmer Mist

Good morning! Today’s tutorial is all about using glimmer mist to colour lace. Here in Singapore, coloured lace is not easy to find, and usually quite expensive. Often, colours are limited. Plus, who has the time or inclination to run out to the store when you’re in the middle of a layout? White or off-white lace, in contrast, can be bought in 25 yard rolls from some of our textile shops, and this is what I use regularly in my layouts.

This tip I’m sharing today will help you use your scrap supplies to effortlessly colour your lace the exact shade you need for your layout. I’m going to use a layout of mine to illustrate. The regular readers may recognise this layout as one that was posted some weeks back. When I first started putting it together, I realized that the white lace just simply did not go with the coloured patterned paper I had chosen.


The lace needed to be a stronger colour to stand out. So I rummaged through my stash of glimmer mist, and found a colour that would achieve the effect I had in mind.


Next, lay the strip of lace on some old newspaper. One sheet of newspaper will not be enough. Use at least several layers as the glimmer mist is going to soak through the first few layers.


Start spraying the glimmer mist on the lace.
Make sure every part of the lace is covered. Some types of lace are more resistant to water (for some reason) so what I normally do is turn the lace over and press it down into the excess glimmer mist that has been sprayed on the newspaper. Dig in and get your hands dirty (glimmer mist dye washes off after one shampoo/bath) and pat along the entire length of the lace. The more dye soaks in, the more saturated and ‘glimmery’ your finished strip of lace is going to be.


When you’re done, turn it back over and leave it on the newspaper to dry.
You may wish to put it on a clean part of the newspaper to aid drying. Alternatively, you can use a heat gun – that is what I normally do as I really want to finish the layout once I start it; in Singapore’s humid climate it will take at least 24 hours to dry fully if left to itself. Using the heat gun, though, tends to shrink the lace a little, so you may then wish to start off with a strip slightly longer that what you actually need, you can always trim off the excess when putting together the layout.
And there you have it, a nice deep brown and ‘glimmery’ strip of lace which you can use on your layout in place of what would have been a while and insipid strip.

This little trick can save you some moolah as you’re basically using items in your stash and you can even bulk buy white lace to save further.
And if you don’t have enough glimmer mist colours, not to worry. Just use the chalk or pigment inks that you use for stamping. The same rules apply, place the lace on several layers of newspaper, and turn the ink pad over and pounce or tap it along the entire length, paying attention to any uneven patches. If the lace appears to be resistant to the colour, just tap harder. As is the case with using glimmer mist, you will end up with a very damp strip which you then dry using either of the 2 methods above. And voila! Lace of the exact shade and colour you need. And it doesn’t end there. You can use several colours of ink to get a variegated effect, or even adjust the saturation along the strip to achieve colour gradation. The possibilities are endless!
So get cracking with your glimmer mist and inks and post the result in our gallery! Thanks for joining us today, and we look forward to seeing you back this Friday when we post our next challenge!