Showing posts with label EI Design Team. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EI Design Team. Show all posts

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Lita’s Sketch No.6

Here’s this week’s sketch girlies :)

Lita's-SKetches-001-Lita2

And as always, our efforts. Karen’s is not yet posted due to my spasmodic camera that does not want to play nice. Grr

Lita – mine is an oldie and what this sketch was based upon :)

adore

Cyn – love that Cyn has turned this into a double – wootwoot!

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Lita’s Sketches will be moving to a new addy soon so be sure to keep checking in so that you’re kept up to date with the happenings!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Tuesday Tute: Lettering Techniques


Hi there - it's Karen here bringing you today's Tuesday Tute: Lettering techniques! This is my first tute, so please, be gentle LOL

As scrappers, we know that journalling and titles can really make a page, so our alpha stash can be huge - there’s so much variety to choose from . A few examples are:
Thickers – these come in variety of colors and ‘textures’ including puffy vinyl, foam & chipboard.
Tim Holtz Grungeboard – love this stuff! Flexible and if you ink in a color and decide it’s not quite right, simply run it under cold water and dry and start again!
Stickers – endless variety, so many different brands and styles. At the moment one of my favourites are ‘Adornit’ by Carolee Creations. Big color variety and the best part is they only cost $2 here in Australia!
Rubons – again an endless variety available. Many different brands that offer abc/123 basic fonts, coloured fonts, prints, words, pictures.
Chipboard – again endless variety, you can get premade words, titles, shapes, almost any type of theme. Some are plain, some are printed, colored, patterned, etc.
Sizzix & Cricut – A huge variety of Sizzix and sizzlit alphas to choose from, also Cricut cartridges provide a great range of choices. They can be quite expensive to purchase but if you already have some, mix and match the fonts in your title for a great effect.

Tip - By using different lettering fonts and styles, in different materials, you can create a unique look on your page. Mix and match different alphas in different fonts, brands, colors to give your layout a wonderful title and focus point.

Use chipboard for one word, thickers for another word and stickers for the rest, so many combinations, you’re going to end up with a different look every time.


Combine thickers and stickers:




Tip - Some abc lettering stickers are quite small, ie. ‘Adornit’ by Carolee Creations range, as mentioned above. Sometimes I do find them rather small when I want them to stand out more. A great tip to make them ‘pop’ on your page is to matt them on plain white cardstock, using a small square punch. You can get these great little punches from spotlight for around $2-$3. Once you matt the sticker on the square it automatically looks ‘bigger’. For an added effect you can outline the white cardstock with a cloured pen!

Tip - With a lot of lettering, if you run out of a particular letter, you can substitute with another similar and either turn it upside down, or make a little snip somewhere and you have what you need. Sometimes it’s not always that affordable or accessible to go out and buy another packet of lettering because your missing one letter!
Tip - Recolor your existing letters using inks to get the right color or change the look. I often use Dew Drop inks, they have a huge color range and are very easy to use. Add some color ink to your Tim Holtz Grungeboard and any chipboard. But you can also take it further and experiment with other alphas like Thickers. There is a huge selection of foam Thickers that are already coloured, but sometimes you may not have the ‘right’ color for your layout, grab your inks and change the color to suit your layout! Chipboard is great for creatign a title that matches your page - cover it in paper or ink it to suit your needs!There are so many endless possibilities and you don’t always need to have a lot of abc’s in your stash.

Recoloured Grungeboard

Inked & glossed chipboard


Tip - use a different type of font within a word, if you’re using thickers in a certain color and you have run out of a letter to use for that word, maybe use a different color or different type of lettering, ie sticker abc! This adds some interest to the page as well as giving you a pretty funky looking title!

Have fun with lettering, use them as another element to your page and really make your titles ‘POP’!!!!

Thanks for joining me for todays tutorial - Karen x

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Saturday, August 8, 2009

Lita's Sketch No.5


It's sketch day!!

Todays is a double page sketch, with lots of room for journalling. Take the sketch and spin it your way - show me what you can do with it!




As always, here are our samples -


Lita:


Karen:


Cyn:


Have fun with it ladies! Be sure to pop on over to our FACEBOOK GROUP and share you creations in our album - look forward to seeing them!

Thanks for stopping by!
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Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Wednesday WriteUp - Curvy Cutter


Today's Write Up is bought to us by the lovely Cyn. If anyone can recommend a good product it is Cyn - this gal can shop!!
Do you ever wonder how to get those 12 inch circles for your 12x12 layout? Well, have I got a tool for you! The Curvy Cutter!

Here is the information from the EKSuccess Website for you to learn more about this really cool tool:
Features and Benefits:-
Crop photos and paper with 1/8" mats into circles and rounded squares in seconds!
Circles create 22 shapes ranging from 2 1/4" to 7 1/2. Cut outside the track too, for additional sizes!
Curvy Cutter™ Cutting Tool sold separately.
For best results use a glass mat for smooth cuts, self-healing mat may provide uneven results.
When cutting multiple sizes from one piece of paper, cut smallest shape first and continue progressively cutting larger sizes.
Includes 2 templates with positioning guides
For photos and paper
Easy alignment guide
Gripper feet ensures template will not slide
Clear template for accurate cutting
Cuts clean edges from start to finish
Creates 1/8" mats
Dimensions: 12" x 12"

The Curvy Cutter is a Cutter Bee product made by EKSuccess. I have both the circle cutter templates and the Segments Templates and have the 12x12 glass mat. I figured to save money, I would get the circle template to start and see if I used it. Boy did I ever use it! So, then, I kept my eye open for the segments and when they arrived at our Hobby Lobby, I bought them with a 40% off coupon. It was better for me to be able to “build” my shapes than purchase all the different shapes. I bought every piece of my curvy cutter system with my 40% off coupons at Michaels and Hobby Lobby and then bought my 12x12 Glass Cutting Mat at Archivers with a 30% of coupon.

In order to use the Curvy Cutter, you will need:
The EKSuccess Cutting Tool
A Template of your choice – circles, ovals, rounded square or segments.
**It is recommended that you have a glass cutting mat to make smooth cuts (self healing mats tend to make an uneven cut).


Cyn’s Pros:
*Circles, Ovals, Rounded Squares and even Racetrack Sized Cuts to go across a layout are EASY
*Cutting Blades are Cheap to replace (have had mine for a year and have not had to replace the blade yet)
*Segments allow you to make whatever shape you want to cut
*Learning curve is null and void – VERY EASY TO USE!!!
*Cutting Blade for the cutting tool can be stored in the cutting tool knob – the clear part screws off and you can store your blades in there so that they do not get dull from sitting out.

Cyn’s Cons:
*If you don’t hold down the template properly, you can slide across the glass mat – this only happened the first time I used it...
*All the pieces for the segments are small and need to be kept together – I use a Jet Maxx Cube drawer to keep mine handy and safe from little hands, but when I go to a retreat, they go in a Ziploc baggie in my AMM Tote-ally Cool Tote.
*Keep the segments out of reach of small children!
Here are 2 PDF Documents that will tell you how to use these awesome templates!
PDF Document for the Curvy Cutter Segments - http://www.eksuccess.com/pdfs/product_9241.pdf
PDF Document for the Curvy Cutter Circle Template - http://www.eksuccess.com/pdfs/product_7685.pdf

Youtube video on how to use the Curvy Cutter Circle Templates
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k6_SeVTTRQ

A big thank you to Cyn for this wonderful review!

Thanks for stopping by!
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Saturday, August 1, 2009

Lita's Sketch No.4


Another sketch for you today ladies!! Thisa is a very basic sketch as I would LOVE to see you gals jazz it up and put your own spin it! Use it as a starting point and let your creativity run wild!!


As always, here are the sample from myself, Karen & Cyn:

Lita: I've kept farily true to the sketch this week, simply adding a little hidden journalling tag, & also keeping my photos straight. Love these picvs of my DD and her nanna.



Karen: Karen has flipped the sketch & angled her papers a little - love it! She has also replaced the two smaller photos with a large, stunning pic of her gorgeous DD.



Cyn: Cyn has kept true to the sketch & used it for an 'interview' she has done with her cute DS.



Be sure to share your creations - thanks for stopping by!


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Saturday, July 25, 2009

Lita's Sketch No. 3

Well here it is - sketch number 3!!


Now, I know alot of you are perhaps thinking "Not another circle!" but please keep in mind, these sketches are merely a starting point, a guideline. As you'll see in this weeks sample, I haven't used a circle at all, and have arranged elements etc my way, not sticking strictly to the sketch. That's the beauty of it - take it and make it your own!

Cyn: Traditional. Uses another great Basic Grey range

Lita: Digi. My samples are digi based this week, but I am also currently working on a paper version, that I hope to share with you in a couple of days




~*~PLEASE NOTE: The blog candy comp is now CLOSED! A winner will be chosen at random and announced on Monday. Good luck gals!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Saturday, July 18, 2009

Lita's Sketch No.2

Here it is!! The much anticipated 2nd sketch lol I had a ball playing with this one and so did 'my girls'.


So check out the samples, snag the sketch for your self and have fun with it!! Just keep in mind - you dont have to stick to the sketch completely! As you'll see, I haven't used the hidden journal tag, neither has Karen, but Cyn has. Karen has streamlined her embellies whereas I've gone all out. The choices are limitless! Take the sketch and interpret it your way - then share the results!

Cyn: Love this clean simple layout - really keeps the focus on the pics!


Karen: Again, a simple non-fussy boy layout, just awaiting journalling about little Jack's first steps


Lita: I had so much fun with this! A layout about my favourite obsessions...uh, I mean favourite things lol I may still add the journal tag...think I need to explain the obsessions lol



Don't forget:


Tuesday Tutes starts next week - with tips on making the most of your paper!


Blog Candy - one week left to get in the draw!


Have fun with it ladies & thanks for stopping by!
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Friday, July 17, 2009

my new DT member!

Introducing Cyn!

I met Cyn through an online scrapping forum and have always loved her pages...and her addiction to Basic Grey made me love her even more! The best bit...she is well and truly Robsessed - love it! She is truly a superwoman - pregnant with her second little angel and still scrapping like mad, raising her gorgeous son, teaching aerobics, among many other things! Who has the energy for all of that?! I am happy to say that she is now a part of my little team here and will be producing samples of my sketches and maybe even sharing reviews of her fave products, stores etc. So, welcome Cyn! Happy to have you with us!
You can check out her blog HERE, and her Use Your Stash Challenge blog HERE.

Here is Cyn's take on the first Lita sketch - I love it! The BG mellow is the perfect fit for her photos and I am loving those dew drops!



Also have another fabulous layout to share!! This was created by the amazingly talented Chris aka Whisperpink. I met her through a digi forum and her talent (and amazing kindness) just blows me away. Look at the shadowing, the composition - just stunning! Thanks for bestowing your talent upon my humble sketch LOL


That's all for now ladies, be sure to check in tomorrow for the next sketch - you'll love it!!

Thanks for stopping by :)

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Saturday, July 11, 2009

Lita's Sketch No.1




Here it is - the first ever Lita Sketch!! Yay!



I have three samples to show you from myself, and a great layout by Miss Karen too.

Lita:
Lita Digi:
Lita (an oldie):
Karen:


Don't forget to join in for your chance at a great blog candy! Become a 'follower' of Embracing Imperfection, post a link to us on your blog, or use the sketch and email a pic or link to to your online gallery/blog. The more you do, the more entries into the draw! How easy is that?! Deadline for the draw is July 25th which is also whent the next sketch will be available :)

Thanks for stopping by!


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