Lita’s Sketch No.6

Here’s this week’s sketch girlies :)

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 :)

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

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 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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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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Wednesday Write-Up: Fiskars Euro Trimmer

For many years I used a 12" trimmer sold by one of the leading direct sales scrapbooking companies. At first I loved it until I realised that it didn't cut straight. Hmph, my money was spent on that?! lol So, I did some research & pricing and finally got myself a Fiskars Euro Trimmer. And I have to say - I love it!

It’s lightweight, has easy to see marking for measurements, and has both a cutting & scoring blade. Brilliant! It gives a neat cut & takes quite awhile for the blade to dull. Simple to use, blade changeover is a breeze & best of all – the price was great! I picked mine up for $25 on sale, and normal retail price is around the $30 mark in $AUD.

Pros: as taken from fiskars.com:
Aluminum surface improves visibility for accurate measurements
TripleTrack™ rail design provides straighter and more precise cuts
Compact and lightweight for easy transportation and storage
12" Cut Length
English and metric measurements
Swing-out ruler measures widths up to 15.5"/40cm

Cons:
Now this is tricky. I seriously LOVE this trimmer so hard to find a bad word about it! If anything, there are only two things that bother me ever so slightly.
The aluminium cutting surface marks easily. Obviously, this doesn’t affect cutting but the OCD like me might be bothered by it lol
The edge of the trimmer is curved, which can play tricks with your eyes, making you think your paper isn’t lined up right. Rest assured though, that if you have your paper resting against the bottom of the trimmer you WILL get a straight cut every time – the wonkiness is merely an illusion… and could in fact be entirely in my own head!

So, final conclusion? Buy it – you won’t be disappointed!

Thank you for the great response to my first tute - you guys rock!! Please be sure and drop me a comment if you stop by - I love hearing from you all!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

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Tuesday Tute: Paper

Well here it is gals, the first ever Tuesday Tute! I can honestly say I'm nervous about this lol Just remember...it's my first time, be gentle! lol

Now, I'm focussing on paper today. Namely, ways to use your paper that may just save some dollars. Let's be honest, we all want to save what we can...so we can spend it on more goodies!! I'm sure some of you may already know of these little cheats, but hopefully I can help some of you out :) So, let's get to it!

~Tip #1~ My first handy hint is one that I use a lot! I often have just one piece of paper that I would like to use for my background, but then decide that a little of that would work well as a highlight piece on my layout too.

* Cut a panel out of the paper that you need, in a place that no-one can see. As you can see in my example, I used a print bg, but also wanted a small piece to highlight the LO. So, before adhering the back piece, I cut a (rather wonky) square from it, in a place that I knew would be covered/ hidden from view..see the cleverly placed arrow, just in case you missed the square lol When the layout is then flipped over and put together, no-one can tell the difference! Great way to both save paper and tie all the elements of your LO together.

~Tip #2~ Another shortcut 'fake it til ya make it' tip. Often, I find that I would like a large strip of paper behind my photo, or matt etc but just don't have enough. That's where this tip comes in.

*Find a small scrap of the paper you wish to use (note the small red piece in my pic. Cut it in half and then slot into place, taking care to align the pieces properly. You now have what looks like a long strip of paper, but is actually a small piece from your scrap drawer. Even if you do have enough to start with, why not be budget smart and try it anyway lol

~Tip #3~ This tip is especially good for those of us that like border strips, but it can be adapted to pretty much all situations. For this example, I am using 12inch border strips.

* Note that the patterned strip is not very wide. Choose the pieces you would like to layer for your border. Now, rather than make your lower layer (patterned in my case) reach all the way to the end of the page, trim it down short, and simply slip it into place. You achieve the same look, while saving paper and $$

~Tip #4~ This is a big money saver!! I love the scalloped paper shapes that are everywhere lately - love them! But, they are so pricey! Here in AUS, they range from $2 & up, some even going for $6 a piece. That's just one piece ladies - ridiculous!! So, if you want the look without the price tag, try this.

* An easy way is to simply grab a scallop piece that you already have, place it on the back side of the paper you want to use, and trace around it, then trim the piece. Easy right! But my new method involves a template. While shopping, a friend of mine came across chipboard scalloped shapes at the LSS. Well, I immediately grabbed them to use as templates. They had a large variety but I simply bought two different sized scallops, which were under $2 each. As you can see in the pics, I used them exactly as described above. Flip your paper, trace & trim.

And if you'd like to save even more - make your own template by tracing around a scalloped paper onto a sturdy piece of card. Too too easy!

~Tip #5~ I love doing this, it's become my new 'thing' lol. Whilst I love all the coordinating embellishments that you can purchase, the cost is quite off-putting. So this is my little cheat, to be sure that my bellies match my paper.

*Choose a patterned paper that coordinates with your plain, or that you are already using on your LO. Cut out shapes from the pattern (your paper might have flowers, apples, paisley's etc), ink edges, pop dot etc and add to your LO. It helps tie all the pieces of your LO together and is a very cost-effective way of adding embellies to your page. Also a great way to add a little extra to an altered project, such as my calendar and altered owl frame.

~Tip #6~ Another fave of mine, that you can make simple, or really detailed depending on your style.

*Use your paper to make embellies. Cut out a flower/star/heart etc shape from your page. Jazz it up with ink/bling/rub-ons etc and voila - a new, affordable embellishment. And by using coordinating papers, you can be sure your flowers etc will match your layout. In the pic below I went for the detailed approach & have made some cute little flowers using a fantastic tute that can be found HERE on Sugar Jen's blog.

So there you go! Hopefully I've been able to give you a few lightbulb moments and have gotten you thinking outside the square! If you use any of these little tricks I'd love to see the results!

That's all from me today, but pop back in tomorrow for my Wednesday Write-Up!

Thanks for stopping by :)

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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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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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Tips and tricks on their way!

Hello again ladies! An update from my paper world!

The next sketch will be up by midday Saturday, July 18th (AEST) & believe me, you won't want to miss this one! A little hint...double page spread with lots of pics!! Ok, well, that was a big hint lol

Also - check in this Tuesday for what will (time permitting lol) become a regular feature around here - Tuesday Tutes! My first tute is one that I'm sure we can all benefit from - tips on making the most of your paper stash. As scrappers we're all only too aware that paper is what eats the most of our budget. I'm going to show you tips to make the most of every sheet. Hope you can put some of them to use...after all...every dollar saved on paper can buy a handful of primas right...or some brads..or how bout some sparkly rhinestones...Oh, sorry - got distracted!!

Anyway! lol Here's the schedule of what to expect here. I will post this list in the sidebar at some point for easy reference.

Saturday Sketch (uh..sketches..duh)

Tuesday Tutes (money saving tips, diff ways to use your products etc)
Wedneday Write-Ups (news & reviews on products, sites etc)

Got a particular technique you'd like to see? Any products you just have to know more about? Leave me a comment or email & I'll do my best!

~REMINDER~

Don't miss the chance for a great blog candy!! To enter the draw simply 'follow' my blog, link my blog on yours, or use the sketch and email it to me, or send me a link where you have posted it. the more you do, the better your chances! Ooh, would you like to know what just one part of the candy is..? What's that? You would? Ok, you bent my arm. I will be including a brand new twin pack of Prima Lollipops Flowers in Aqua Frost - divine!

Be sure to get in quick for your chance - just one week left!

Ok, well that's enough from me, am off to bedfordshire! Thanks for stopping by!

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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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Adore

Well here it is! Another gloomy day so this is the best pic I could get lol I'm loving the jumbo flower - need to get my hands on some more of those!

Materials: Papers by My Minds Eye, Crate rubons, Tim Holtz Adage ticket, Kaisercraft wooden swirl, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Walnut Stain, Prima flower, random crochet strip from my stash.

Thanks for stopping by :)

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Sneaky peek

I scrapped! I locked myself away and actually paper scrapped again today. Only got one layout done before the kids invaded but that's ok...they have to sleep at some point right?

Tried to take a pic to share with you guys but it's so dark and grey at the moment that it just wasn't working. So instead, I have a little sneaky peek for you. Just a little looksee til tomorrow morning when I get a decent pic - fingers crossed!



Come back tomorrow if you'd like to see the finished product!

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