TUTORIAL TUESDAY AT FROSTED DESIGNS

Hello fellow scrappers.

It is my turn to host the Tutorial Tuesday over at Frosted Designs, and how exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I am going to share with you how to us Alcohol Inks!!!!!!!!!!!

So what are Alcohol Inks?  They are a Tim Holtz product by Adirondack and they come in all colours imaginable.  These inks are permanent, fast drying, transparant, acid free, dye inks and can be used on ANY shiny surface from glossy paper, acetate, glass, foil, shrink plastic and any metallic embellishments!!!!!!!!!!!  Colours can be mixed or lighted with alcohol blending solution.  They are wonderful for changing the colour of things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will be showing you today how to use alcohol inks on a glazed piece of chipboard.

You will require the following:

• Alcohol inks;
• Mixatives;
• Alcohol blending solution; and
• Blending tool

   

I decided to espresso and latte alcohol inks, with the pearl mixative for my chipboard piece.  

  

I started with the espresso colour and added a few drops to my blending tool, I then added the latte and finally a few drops of the pearl mixative.  Once I added all the colours to the blending tool, I added the blending solution so that the colours can blend together.  

Once all the colours have been mixed and blended on your blending tool, you can "swipe" or bad it over the piece of chipboard.  

By going over the chipboard a few times, you will in be able to get the colour that you require.  If you would like to make the colour lighter, all you need to do is add some more blending solution.

Here is what the final layout looks like and a close-up of the piece of chipboard once competed.

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial, and will be able to use some alcohol inks or your future layouts, cards and projects!

Happy Scrappin'

FROSTED DESIGNS FABULOUS FRIDAY CHALLENGE - THINGS WITH WINGS + SKETCH

Wow, thank you to everyone who joined us for the Frosted Designs Sketch Blog Hop!  We loved reading all of your kind comments and would like to welcome all the new followers!!!!!  If you didn't get a chance to participate in the blog hop...... no worries!!!!!!!  We are having another one later this month!

We have been on a roll with sketches lately at Frosted Designs and have another one for you this week!

This week we are challenging you to use our sketch to make a card, layout, or off the page project.  But wait!  There is a twist!!!!!!!  We also want you to include something that has wings on your project.  This can be a butterfly, bird, fly, airplane, angels..........  you get the idea.  Here is the sketch.......

Here is my take on the sketch!   And I used some butterflies, for my items with wings.

I am a big fan in using a set of paper and embellishments from the same range.  For this layout, I decided to use a mixture between papers I had from Fancy Pants and SassaFras.  In the end I really loved the way it turned out and how the different papers from the various ranges compliment one another.  The embellishments are all from my stash.  Here are some close-ups.  

  

We would love to see what you can create!  Here is the prize that is up for grabs for playing along with our challenge..........  You would have seen Molossi sponsoring the blog hop that we just had, well they are back with another great prize.  So jump over to their website and have a look at all they have to offer, you can find them HERE!!!!!!! 

$30.00 CHIPBOARD PACK

They are 100% Australian owned and operated, with over eight years' industry experience and access to the much loved paper craft brands and experts.  They have gorgeous chipboard and they have recently branched into producing their own chipboard designs as well as being a scrapbook distributor!  Molossi is situated in the Hawkesbury region of New South Wales, and their warehouse is located in Wilberforce and open by appointment only!

TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE PRIZE, YOU HAVE TO PLAY ALONG!  PLEASE LINK UP YOUR PROJECT TO THE SIDEBAR ON THE FROSTED DESIGNS BLOG, WHICH YOU CAN FIND HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A BLOG OR ONLINE GALLERY, PLEASE SHOW US YOUR PROJECT ON FACEBOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Scrappin'

FROSTED DESIGNS MAY BLOG HOP WINNERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow what a huge success the May Blog Hop was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I cannot wait for the next two!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The only thing left to do is to announce the winners.....................

So without further ado, the second place winner, which wins the Graphic45 12x12 papers in their Renaissance Collection is ...................

Anne from the United States

And the grand prize winner, who wins a $30 Chipboard Pack from Molossi is ...................

Ruth from Papua New Guinea

I also have some Candy to give away.......................................  and this goes to..........................

Ada from South Africa

Congratulations ladies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I know you will enjoy your prizes and looking forward to seeing what you created with them!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anne and Ruth, you have to contact Barb at frosteddesigns@ymail.com to claim your prize.  Ada, please contact me at jeaunesv@gmail.com or through Facebook to claim your candy :-)

Once again, thank you to ALL the ladies who participated and a HUGE thank you to our wonderful blog hosts!!!!!!!!!!  Without you things like this would not be possible!!!!!!!!!!!

Keep an eye out for the June Blog hop, at the end of the month!!!!!!!!!!!!

SIMPLE STORIES LIFE DOCUMENTED WITH POCKET PAGES

JUNE 06, 2013

Life Documented with Pocket Pages

Happy Friday Simple Stories friends! It's Nichol here today and I'm excited to be sharing my first Life Documented Project here on the blog showcasing the Pocket Pages!  

I, like so many of you, am addicted to the idea and concept of recording my life in a weekly format with the ease of use and functionality of Pocket Pages. I find that by recording all those little bits and pieces of daily life I am recording a clearer picture of our family's daily life and it gives me a great deal of satisfaction to flip through and see our memories, our history and our life. Documented.

With the wide range of styles of Pocket Pages available from Simple Stories, there is sure to a design that fits whatever style of page you want to create!

Now, how about a couple of my most recent two-page spreads featuring Pocket Pages?

My page design(s) are always dictated by what photos I'm going to use and when creating these weekly layouts I find it helpful to start with a list of the photos/journaling I want to include first. Then I pick the Pocket Pagesthat will best fit those photos and journaling and from there I pick out the paper, embellishments and extras that really make the pages "pop"! Sometimes my pages are simple, sometimes more detailed. For me, it's really all about  how I'm feeling at that moment. I don't look at it like a chore but more like an art project or art journal. It can be a great place to try out a new technique or to use that stamp set that you've had forever and never got around to inking up. I also tend to mix all my Simple Stories product up and use them all together in my Life Documented page spreads. Okay, I mix all my product up on all my scrapbooking projects but that's just me!

Life Documented | Week Twenty-Two 2013

  

One of the things that helps me the most when beginning a weekly layout spread is to break down the page creation into simple steps. I print my photos first (or most of them) and lay them out on the Pocket Page where I intend for them to go. Then, I pick 1 or 2 colors to work with for that week's spread. By limiting the color choices I am able to focus on choosing coordinating product/colors to design a cohesive page that flows nicely from the left side to the right.

When working with lots of "pre-made" product, I like to add in personal touches to customize my pages to my personal style. I use lots of stamping and die-cutting (my 2 favorite techniques) to make my pages "me".

One of my favorite tips for adding dimension without bulk is to add some Glossy Accents to the Simple Stories stickers (I did this to all the heart stickers on this spread). It gives them that great glossy raised look without the bulk!

My other favorite tip is to "replace" the printed polaroid images on the papers in the Sn@P! Life Collection with your own photos or journaling. It's easy and fun to do!

Life Documented | Week Twenty-One 2013

I did something a little different for this spread in that I used a bit more color and I incorporated more custom embellishments. Those custom embellishments included lots of stamping which I layered and dressed up with Simple Stories stickers and also die cut embellishments that I created with the Silhouette Cameo and Simple Stories Patterned Papers!

I kept each of the pockets pretty monochromatic which is a really fun way to use up supplies that you may not have enough for an entire spread!

I created almost all my own 4x6, 4x4 and 3x4 inserts with Simple Stories patterned papers from the Sn@p! Life Collection, I Heart Summer Collection and 24seven Collection.

I die cut the title above from scraps of 6x6 patterned paper and printed my dates on one of the Sn@p! Life Stickers.

I was able to create my own faux chipboard slide frames by die cutting the frames from Simple Stories patterned paper first, then an additional 4 frames from kraft cardstock and layering them all together. The result is a dimensional perfectly coordinating frame! Adding additional stamping gives it that finished look.

I even used the "notebook paper" from one of the Sn@p! Life 6x6 Paper Pads to print my journaling on and inlcude on some of the inserts. I love combining custom embellishments with pre-made ones. :)

I'm using the Green Sn@p! Leather 12x12 Album for my 2013 Life Documented Layouts. I love the rich, vibrant colors of the Sn@p! Albums , the beautiful stitching, bookplates on the spines and reinforced corners. These are truly gorgeous albums to showcase and protect your precious memories.

I used the Sn@p! 12x12 Pocket Pages Design 3 (4x6 | 3x4) and Design 10 (4x4 | 3x4) for my pages.

That Design 10 Pocket Page with the 4x4 and 3x4 pockets is a new favorite. I am a sucker for smaller pockets. The more the better and that square size just speaks to this 12x12 scrapper's heart! ;)

Additional Life Documented Products Used:

• Sn@p! Snapshots Stamps
• Sn@p! Icons Stickers
• Sn@p! Labels Stickers
• Sn@p! Typeset Stickers
• Sn@p! Cards 3x4 Life
• Sn@p! Cards 3x4 Fill in the Blanks
• Sn@p! Cards 4x6 Fill in the Blanks
• Sn@p! Life Collection Kit
• Sn@p! Life Basics 6x6 Paper Pad
• Sn@p! Color Vive 6x6 Paper Pad
• I Heart Summer Collection Kit
• I Heart Summer 6x6 Paper Pad
• I Heart Summer Sn@p! Cuts
• 24seven Collection Kit
• 24seven 6x6 Paper Pad

I hope that this has inspired you to document your life using the wide array of Simple Stories Pocket Pages!

Thanks for hanging out with me today. We'll catch you next time!

SIMPLE STORIES LIFE DOCUMENTED WITH I {HEART} SUMMER

JUNE 05, 2013

Life Documented with I {Heart} Summer

Hello all you Simple Stories fans!!

It's Kelly here today to share with you my very first Life Documented project using the new SN@P! Pocket Pages and gorgeous I {Heart} Summer line!

First, thank you so much for having me! I'm so thrilled to be a new part of the Simple Stories team and am beyond excited to be working with these stunning products. When Layle first approached me about working on the Life Documented team, I only had one concern - would I be able to incorporate the Life Documented approach and philosophy into MY personal scrapbooking style.

And very quickly I arrived at the one word answer: YES!!

I already knew I'd loved the Simple Stories concept and the products! That was a no-brainer! Then I saw the new designs for the Pocket Pages and I was sold! I loved the idea that I could incorporate some of these new divided pages with my traditional scrapbooking pages for a whole new look that was still "me" but gave me so much more versatility! I've always been a fan of all scrapbooking sizes so now I just have tons more to play with!

Now before I share with you what I created, I have to first put out a disclaimer and tell you that for Mother's Day I got a brand new iPhone5. Can you see where this is going? I have been wanting an iPhone for forever, mainly because of the quality of pictures it took...not to mention ease of Instagram-ming! (It's the little things, people!) To say I went on a photo taking spree with my new phone would be an understatement! I loved being able to take photos of things I might normally miss if I didn't have my big camera around. 

And guess what? Simple Stories had just what I needed to share my Instagram photos with ease! 

Check out my right side using the SN@P! 12x12 Pocket Pages Design 10 #4057! Oh yeah! Those 4"x4" slots were perfect! All I had to do is print my photos, slide them in and my page was almost done for me! Using the I {Heart} Summer line made me completely happy! I adore the colors and um, hello - the CAMERAS and HEARTS on all the embellishments? I die!

One of my favorite product elements I used for the above pages (and yes, I know I used MANY!) were these awesome SN@P! Pages!! They are traditionally designed for the SN@P! Binders, but I couldn't help myself! The cutout pages were screaming to get on my page! I simply trimmed the edges of the punched holes, added patterned paper behind the cut-outs and instantly I had a new layered element that really made my photos stand out. Whats more is you can even draw attention to specific details simply by changing the color of paper that you choose just like I did with the hearts and clouds above. It's so fun using product in non-conventional ways and I really encourage you to try it! You'll be thrilled with the results!

Additional I {Heart} Summer Products Used:

• Expressions Cardstock Stickers
• Chipboard Stickers
• SN@P! Cards
• 6x6 Paper Pad
• Flair Badges
• SN@P! Cuts
• 12x12 Collection Kit

I hope this post and these pages encourages and inspires those of you that also were unsure if Life Documented was for you! I can assure you it most certainly is! It's your life, you just need to document it! 

SIMPLE STORIES LIFE DOCUMENTED - BEHIND THE SCENES PART 1

JUNE 05, 2013

Life Documented - Behind the Scenes Part 1

Howdy friends - Layle here with you again today! 

Before I jump in, I have to ask - are you a winner?!  There's still time to participate in our album giveaway, but you can't win if you don't enter :)  If you haven't entered, head over to this post and leave a comment telling us what you like the most about our new albums to be entered to win!

All righty!  With that out of the way, we thought it would be fun to share some behind the scenes photos with you today about how our new albums are produced.

The first step of the process is to cut the front and back covers and the spine.  The leather is then adhered to the covers.  After this step, the inside lining is cut, glued and attached. 

Incidentally, if you didn't know, rather than lined with paper or some other non-sturdy material, the inside of our albums are lined with the same faux leather material as the outsides, as you can see here in one of the photos from Melissa's post earlier this week.

Once the album is covered inside and out, the next step is attaching the fun metal label on the spine.  By the way, we've heard from quite a few of you that this fun little label is one of your favorite things about our new albums!

Long metal strips are run through a machine where they're embossed and then die cut

Then the label is attached to the spine

Once the metal label is attached, it's time for stitching.  One of my favorite things about our albums is the contrasting white stitching - 

After stitching, the album is run through a machine that debosses the Simple Stories logo to the back cover

The metal corners are attached and finally, the 2 D ring insert is attached to the spine for the 6x8 albums or the 3 D ring insert for the 12x12 albums -

So, there you have it - a behind the scenes review of how our albums are produced.  Later this month I'll be back with a behind the scenes review of how our Pocket Pages are produced - stay tuned!