Blast from the past - Art gives me wings

Today I thougtht I'd share a blast from the past, and an art journal page that I really loved working on.

Putting stencils on paper and spraying vibrant colours sometimes is all I need to get my mojo going and pour out my feelings onto paper. Today I woke up feeling rather down, for no apparent reason, but I decided not to waste my day in negativity.

I put Crafter's Workshop stencils and Dylusion stencils down on watercolour paper. I sprayed with some vibrant Dylusions sprays, and then my muse came out to play. I layered more stencils, sprays, strips of Basic Grey Plumeria papers I had from my Scrap'n with Flair July kit, down on the page. Texture paste ... and of course my trademark canvas and inked paper towels. Add some Prima resist canvas pieces, sprayed lace and I was well on my way. Christy Tomlinson stamp for some texture, dew drops and Prima gems and crystals. I dove in head first into my art journal. Grabbed a coordinating paint swatch and stamped my journalling down.

The complete spread in my Prima mixed media art journal

Left page

Right page

Inked paper towel ribbon and resist canvas stamp

Art gives me wings

Inked lace and gems on Plumeria papers

Inked paper towel flower on Prima resist canvas flower

Inked canvas and texture paste, Basic Grey papers and stamps. Heaven.

Negativity does not live in this mind today, not any more. I cut my paper in half and glued it down into my Prima mixed media art journal. And I am happy once again.

Vacation on the Coast - what a sparkling delight!

This past weekend I finally got around to scrapbooking a family vacation that I took with my husband to Oregon. It was such an amazing trip. I instantly fell in love with the Oregon Coast, with it's rugged coastline, sandy beaches and lighthouses. So when I opened up my Carta Bella Beach Boardwalk collection pack, from Tina's Scrapbooking Creations, I knew that it would be delightful for pictures of the trip.

Of course I had to use some Prima embellishments like flowers, some bark butterflies and sparkling gems.

And let's not forget just how yummy things turn out when you spray them with Lindy Stamp Gang Starburst sprays which give a beautiful two-toned effect. I used it on the title, and also on the butterflies for a little glittery accent.

And I got plenty of use from my Silhouette Cameo as well. So glad that I got it since I can usually find shapes and die cuts I need to go along with things.

I can't wait to share more with you from my vacation album. If you have used any of these products, I'd love to see how you used them. I love learning new techniques and gather new ideas.

Have a great weekend!

Mixed Media Playback

Starting today I'm going to be bringing back some of my favourite projects I've posted on my blog in the past years. Hope you enjoy them...again! You'll find a sneak preview of this post at Party Time Tuesdays blog!



Putting stencils on paper and spraying vibrant colours sometimes is all I need to get my mojo going and pour out my feelings onto paper. Today I woke up feeling rather down, for no apparent reason, but I decided not to waste my day in negativity.

I put Crafter's Workshop stencils and Dylusion stencils down on watercolour paper. I sprayed with some vibrant Dylusions sprays, and then my muse came out to play. I layered more stencils, sprays, strips of Basic Grey Plumeria papers I had from my Scrap'n with Flair July kit, down on the page. Texture paste ... and of course my trademark canvas and inked paper towels. Add some Prima resist canvas pieces, sprayed lace and I was well on my way. Christy Tomlinson stamp for some texture, dew drops and Prima gems and crystals. I dove in head first into my art journal. Grabbed a coordinating paint swatch and stamped my journalling down.

The complete spread in my Prima mixed media art journal

Left page

Right page

Inked paper towel ribbon and resist canvas stamp

Art gives me wings

Inked lace and gems on Plumeria papers

Inked paper towel flower on Prima resist canvas flower

Inked canvas and texture paste, Basic Grey papers and stamps. Heaven.

Negativity does not live in this mind today, not any more. I cut my paper in half and glued it down into my Prima mixed media art journal. And I am happy once again.

Exciting news!

I've been holding off telling you about a new adventure. I'm part of a new design team for the Party Time Tuesdays blog!

Be sure to check it out today to see the challenge and meet the new design team. Can't wait to show you more inspirational ideas here!

My gift to you is my trust in you

What an absolutely stunning kit to work with this month! December's Trust kit is the perfect blend of soft muted tones, feminine prints and symbolism.

When it came time to thinking about trust, and how I gave my trust, how I receive trust, how it impacts my life, I automatically think of my husband. Finding this quote about trust really nailed the concept down for me. It's easy to think externally when it comes to the word trust. We think of people we trust, but what did it say of me?

This quote really said a lot to me about what trust was, particularly when it comes from me. While I often thought externally when I thought of trust, that is, who I trusted, or what I trusted, I decided to think about what it said of me. What existed within me to give that trust? How did that trust impact my life? And the kit really helped me think about that, with its symbolic border sticker/patterned paper, the sentiments on the word art, all of it. Being alone with my husband I can trust myself to be myself, because our commitment to each other runs that deep. After all, that's who we fell in love with - the real him and the real me. Why would I feel a need to be different around him otherwise?

December's Trust kit from Scrapbooking from the Inside Out

Being together makes me truly happy, and maybe that's because I trust him so much. That trust removes any additional weight I may have had to bear at work, or in the public, when I might have to show professionalism, or be more patient than I would have liked. I might have had a hard day just being what I thought I needed to be in particular moments, rather than just being myself. 

Maybe that's why I decided to edge with black this month, because it's a reflection of what's being kept on the outside - the bad day, the bad feelings. And I realized that I don't give my trust easily, but when I do, it can be soft, beautiful and give me so much happiness.

Wisdom and Courage

Hi everyone. I want to tell you about my journey I spent on this layout about Wisdom and Courage.

When I thought about wisdom, as I've said before, I didn't really reflect on my own wisdom or others around me, but what it meant as a whole. So I looked for quotes about wisdom on the internet and found one that spoke to me.

Using Scrapbooking from the Inside Out's Wisdom kit

Wisdom is learning to let go when you want to hang on. Courage is learning to hang on when you want to let go. I found this very profound especially given the time I was going through when I made the layout.

I've recently been soul searching in terms of careers and while I absolutely love teaching and training, I came to the realization that I wasn't finding joy in it anymore, at least not in the position I was in. So I searched for a new training position in the department I am in, and in my area, and there just wasn't anything out there for me in training. I knew that I had to change jobs because I was actually getting physically ill from the stress of it. So I let go of my passion for training, the job that originally gave me pure bliss and looked for something new in a new field I had never worked in before. And it was scary. But according to the quote, it was the wise thing to do.

I love all the muted tones that I worked with too. It reflected my somber decision. The peach lightened the page up though, and I think that really reflects the hope I felt in following my decision.

Do you use colours to reflect your mood when scrapbooking too?

Time flies so you've got to make today your day!

I don't know why but Summer seems to fly these days. Have you noticed that too? And then we get into Fall and our lives become hectic, busy and downright chaotic at times.

All the more reason that I needed to sit back, enjoy a cropping day with friends at a somewhat local scrapbook store, and make some layouts so that I don't forget this Summer and the fun I've had.

Made with the Ambition kit from Scrapbooking from the Inside Out

I really love this quote from Princess Diana because it makes so much sense, and it simplifies decisions you have to make at times. So I had to use it for my pictures from Quebec because it agrees with my heart whenever we visit.

What does your heart tell you to do? Go tell me in the comments please, and have a great week!

Guest Designer at The Rubber Cafe - Undeniable fun

I'm delighted to be a guest designer with The Rubber Cafe this month. I first fell in love with their stamps when I saw the new Don't be Wishy Washi stamps.

I'm bringing you my first project for this month using some wonderful stamps by Candy Rosenburg called Vintage Treasures to create background designs on my art journal page. You'll see that I used the ledger stamp and the wonderful old clock stamp in both jet black and sepia ink by Ranger. I then sprayed my page with some glittery peach spray and then lightly sprayed black spray on top to tone down the brightness and add a bit of vintage flair to the page.

I also used the Script Background stamp as well, in sepia, and stamped on the background and also the green ribbon to add a bit of shabby interest there as well.

These stamps are an easy and fun way to add interest and emotion to your art journal pages. Use them on blocks for a full stamp, or hand stamp them to get some of the stamp, but not the full imprint for a more vintage effect. I find that if feels like it's faded that way somehow. Also be sure to stamp on the edges, slightly off the page so that you get a more balanced background for your layout.

I hope you enjoy this art journal layout and try to create something in your art journals at home with these vintage stamps. If you do, be sure to link us up to your art journal page in the comments.

Products used:

The Rubber Cafe stamps:

Vintage Treasures

Script Background

Canson Mixed media journal 9X12

Prima paper scraps

Prima alphabet stickers

Recollections alphabet stickers

String and Twine

Liquitex Modelling Paste

Helmar Acid Free Glue

Helmar Fabric Glue

Helmar 450 Quick Dry Glue

Ranger Dylusions spray in black

Heidi Swapp Color Shine spray in Georgia Peach

Ranger archival ink pads in jet black and sepia

Prima green ribbon

Old dictionary paper

Drywall tape

This is me today...more confident!

I have to say that I'm definitely on a mini kick lately. I've been having loads of fun playing with upcycled materials like cardboard and old canvas. I wanted to make a mini album using Scrapbooking from the Inside Out's July Confidence kit, one that reflects what I'm more confident now in my, how shall I put it, mid-life years. 

Because I was working with canvas and paper I made sure to use Helmar's Premium Craft Glue to get everything to adhere to the cardboard, and of course I needed to use some Helmar Fabric Glue and Helmar Zapdots for some extra hold and dimension.

I've definitely learned a few lessons over the years, and I wanted to document them. I really love how this turned out. 

Have you learned any important lessons over the years that you want to take stock of as well? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks and have a great week!

Another peek at my altered book

I've gotten back to art journaling and I'm loving it! So much texture, so much play. Especially when you start without knowing what the ending will look like.

I used lots of gesso, book paper, Prima papers, lace, Helmar Decoupage Craft Paste and more to get the texture I wanted on the page. And then I pull out my Shimmerz....love them! Had to use some lovely greens and pinks. My favourite colour combination lately.

Hope you enjoyed this look into my altered book art journal!

A joyful transformation!

Happy long weekend to my Canadian friends! It's hard to believe that the end of June is right around the corner! Where did it go? I've been spending more time in my craft room thanks to some cooler weather and I got to pull out some photos that were a blast from the past.

Sometimes the quality of your snapshots are professional grade, but you still want to use them. I thought all the pictures of my niece in her toddler years were gone. I managed to find some and decided to scrapbook them since Scrapbooking from the Inside Out's June kit was about transformation, and she's now a teenager.

She's grown into such a special young woman, and I forget sometimes how much time has gone by and how much she's changed since she was a sweet toddler.

Using Scrapbooking from the Inside Out's June Transformation kit

Because these photos are so precious to me, I made sure to use my Helmar's Zapdots and Helmar's Professional Acid-free Glue so that they will stay true for a long time.

Scrapbooking this made me think about how often we don't pull out our cameras for every day shots because they don't seem like special moments. But if you've lost photos of entire years of someone's childhood, due to flood or fire, or worse, lost someone you love, wouldn't you want to have as many pictures of moments spent with them?

Take all the pictures you can of the people you love now, even the every day moments, because they are moments that you'll treasure for always.

Getting mixed up with Gauche Alchemy

This past week, the Helmar Hotties had the opportunity to play with a lovely mixed media kit from Gauche Alchemy. It was a wonderful array of old magazines papers, newspapers, beads, lace, sequin waste and more.

You can do so much with a kit like this with a little imagination. I personally fell in love with the dance pictures that I found on a couple of pages torn from a magazine. They envisaged ballet in different media, from photography, and fine arts. I immediately knew that I wanted them to be the focus of my canvases. Well, canvas, really, since I worked on only one at first. I knew later that I wanted the finished piece to have a sister piece so that they could be hung together on our walls.

I used quite a bit of Helmar adhesive on these two canvases. I used Helmar Decoupage & Craft Paste to adhere the papers onto the canvas. I used Helmar Fabric Glue for most of the fabrics. For some of the beads and buttons, I used Helmar Gemstone Glue and Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive.

The sister piece is the same size, except portrait instead of landscape. Here I used the dash of colour from the watercolour as a highlight...

I had a lot of fun playing with this kit, and I know that Gauche Alchemy is an amazing place for getting your art journaling and mixed media kits and products. I go to them time and again for my sequin waste or punchinella.

I hope you've enjoyed your weekend as much as I have mine!

Transforming You and Me into Us

Hi everyone! I'm just sharing a quick layout that I put together using Scrapbooking from the Inside Out's June Transformation kit. It's juicy and fun with Glitz's Uncharted Waters featured in this kit.

It was lots of fun to play with especially when I saw the gorgeous papers and the fabric flowers! Yummy!

I'm finally getting used to using transparencies, and I love how they add something special to the layout. Of course I used all Helmar Premium Craft Glue for most of the layout, and Helmar Fabric Glue for the flowers.

I also pulled out my die-cutting machine since I hadn't used it in a while to cut out some additional embellishments for the page. Do you use a cutting machine? If so, what's your favourite, go-to die? I'd love to know, so leave me your fave in the comments.

Have a great week!

It's a Blog Hop!!

Welcome to the SFTIO Design Team Blog Hop! We are showcasing layouts by the current design team using the June kit TRANSFORMATION. If you are just arriving at my blog, make sure you go to the beginning at Melissa's blog as you won't want to miss out on all the gorgeous inspiration. This hop is special as we say goodbye to some very wonderful ladies, who have been part of the SFTIO family for over a year and will continue to be forever family. We are also saying HELLO to our new TEEN COLLECTIVE. What is a "Teen Collective"? 

We are combining the Teen Designers from CreateU with our Design Team at SFTIO. This is a wonderful opportunity to have each of these girls give their perspective of the monthly emotion. Each Teen Designer will be joining us for one month as a Guest Designer but, will be a constant and active "voice" on our website and forum. 

Ready to begin?

Here's a layout I recently did using this wonderful Transformation kit! I had a lot of fun layering the papers and making this beautiful whale the highlight of the layout! I really do believe that you need to choose happiness to transform your life into something positive and wonderful!

Created with the Transformation kit, modelling paste, Helmar Professional Acid Free Glue

Without change, there would be no butterflies!

We also have a fabulous prize! Leave a comment below letting me know what change you've made recently to transform your life in some way by Saturday, 9 p.m. pacific time. The winner will be announced by Monday on Facebook and the SFTIO blog. 
 
Life is definitely more fun when you make your own future, and transform it with your own choices, rather than just let life happen to you.

Thanks for swinging by! Make sure to visit Scrapbooking from the Inside Out. We have a FREE Inspiration Page giving you loads of ideas using our current emotion, a welcoming forum and you can grab your own kit here!

Next on your hopping adventure is Heather. Click here to be taken directly to her blog.