A nautical layout with secret photo storage

If you've been to the beach, on a cruise or a fishing trip lately, you'll have a heap of photos and / or memorabilia to scrap and they might not all be album quality. How can you still include them? A secret pocket is the answer! It holds up to 25 photos of 4x6" size or any memorabilia:

This class will be in a kit format and include everything you need.

It includes 3 sheets of double sided paper, 2 sheets of cardstock, a laser cut frame, flower, wooden anchor, charm and everything else you see:

(cost for class & kit = $30)

From this week I'll be teaching at our new studio, which we'll call

Scrapulous!

Find us on 60 Bryants Rd, Shailer Park, Queensland

Class times are staying the same:

Tuesday 10am

Thursday 6pm

Friday 9:30am

Smile - a butterfly layout with basic supplies

There is so much you can do with some simple supplies. Next week I will show you how to make all of this from scratch (except the flower): 

We'll make the water colour background and all the butterflies...

... and while we're at it, we'll make the title too! 

Feel like joining in? Come along to class, times are:

Tuesday 10am

Thursday 6pm

Friday 9:30am

Geli

Not really another Christmas layout

Do you still have lots of Christmas photos to scrap or are you over it? I still have my tree and decorations up and don't mind Christmas dragging on till the end of January, but if you're over it, then this class layout doesn't have to be a Christmas one!

Greg sorted out an old pair of jeans and we're up-cycling them into some cool denim stars:

There is space for 3 photos and the upside down tulips look cute as a border:

These photos are a bit out of focus, but I decided they needed to be scrapped anyway. I can't believe it's been 11 years since these were taken! Joel is half a head taller than me now and still growing.

Aussie Christmas

If you're dreaming of a white Christmas in the Aussie heat, you will agree that both are very nice. And why not combine them? My layout combines snowflakes, holly, white trees and a beach photo. Because I can! Wanna join me for my first class of 2015? 

We're making some pretty flowers:

Glitter on the trees:

 Embossed snowflakes on vellum:

And resist, stamping and masking on the background. It all starts out with a white piece of cardstock!

We spent Christmas 2014 at the beach again, but I haven't got any photos printed out yet. It doesn't matter if you scrap a hot or cold Christmas photo, this layout suits both!

I based it on this sketch,which I found on Pinterest here. Unfortunately there was no link to the person who created it:

Christmas cards with rhinestone dots

Do you still have a few more Christmas cards to make? 

I always end up making a bunch of last minute cards and look for designs that are quick to make but look fantastic. 

If you're like that too, you need to check out the new rhinestone dots. At only $1.40 for 10 you can really go to town! 

 Simply mat a couple of patterned papers on a white card, round some edges and die cut a hole. Stamp the greeting into the hole (it helps to outline the circle in pencil so you know where to stamp). Tie a ribbon bow and glue a piece of ribbon on the card as string. 

 Now to decorate! I glued rhinestone dots in clear, fuschia, purple and black (they also come in gold) around the hole, added some metal stars in pink and silver and a few rhinestones. 

Done!

If you have a Christmas tree embossing folder, you can make this pretty card. Simply emboss silver cardstock, mat it and glue on rhinestone dots and rhinestones. 

It's so simple, but the chunky rhinestone make it look fancy. What will you create with them?

♥♥♥

Joyous

In the past I've been guilty of dressing the kids in clothes that match the papers I want to use. (Don't pretend like you haven't!) But lately they're getting a bit big for that. 

 It's our last class of the year and we're making a flip-out photo section and that way your photos don't have to colour match! You will have space for 1 regular and 2 half-sized photos. 

 Why not join me? We'll have a Christmas party after class.

Noel

Is it really Christmas time already? I still have lots of photos from Christmas past that I have never scrapped and I came across this photo of little Leah. I wanted to create a whimsical layout, with just a tiny photo and this is what we will do next week in class. 

 There is a pretty gold frame and some very subtle embossing on the background with distress inking. A few stamped baubles, a tiny wooden tree and a candy cane charm and the Christmas look is complete.

 Would you like to learn how to make your own glitter dots? It's super easy.

 So, come along and scrap those Christmas memories! For those who have lots of photos to scrap, I suggest teaming up this layout with a pocket page, using the scraps.

A French inspired layout

For pure style and elegance, you can't go better than French. Next week's class is featuring an Eiffel Tower and some French rub-ons. 

Don't dismay if you haven't been to France! My grandma (the one in the middle in 1948) wasn't in France either, but the style suits it well. We'll be making a linen flower too. So pretty.

Join me at these times:

Tuesday 10am

Thursday 6pm

Friday 9:30am

♥

Geli

Ripped paper & lace background

I saw this cool technique in the latest Scrapbooking Memories magazine 17.5 and here is my take on it. It turned out very purple!

Grunge Time Charming Frame - the boys' version!

You've seen the pretty, girly version of the Grunge Time Charming Frame kit (see the finished sample here) and here is a version for the boys! 

Same kit, different theme. At $3.50 they're a steal.

☺

I spray painted my clock piece with some stone effect spray paint, but you could use a different medium like Ferro or Distress Embossing Enamel) to get a similar effect:

Next, glue the frame on a piece of acetate with Glossy Accents or Dimensional Magic and adhere a die-cut round photo behind that:

Fill in the spaces between the Roman numerals with Crackle Medium or Distress Crackle Paint to get some cool cracks in your "glass":

Place the acrylic block on some cool paper, trace around it and cut it out. Shade the edges with Distress Ink and glue it to the acrylic block with Glossy Accents or Dimensional Magic:

To give the chipboard cogs a cool grungy look, heat emboss them in several layers of embossing powders and while still hot, sprinkle on some Micro Beads. Then add one more layer of embossing powder on top and heat one more time. You can also try embedding some Mica Fragments:

Now use a hot glue gun to glue your clock frame into the block's slit and glue down the embossed chipboard and metal cogs:

Gather some boyish embellishments to finish the look. I used:

- the "game over" tile from the Boys to Men Charming Button Collection

- a spanner charm

- 2 arrow charms

- all the metal cog charms from the kit

- a few ball chains

 - more micro beads

- a glass cabochon

- some star sequins (to hide any hot glue mess)

 - a bottle cap embellishment from the Grunge Charming Dates set

Did you know you can get rid of those pesky stringy bits from the hot glue by pointing your heat gun at them for a few seconds? They will melt away! Just don't do it long enough to melt anything else.

As you can see, this frame is most versatile. Just compare the 2 versions and create your own favourite look!

 

Ticket to the Lion King

We were lucky enough to win tickets to the Lion King stage show and I took my girls to see it. We all loved it! 

 Did you see a cool show or go on a great trip lately? This layout will be perfect to scrap those photos! Grap some paper and a few flowers and we will create the rest in class.

Can you stamp with an embossing folder? Yes you can! Ink it up and stamp away. Perfect for those times when you don't have the right stamp.

Our champ - pie chart and hidden photo

Over the years working as a scrapbook teacher I have noticed a couple of things:

Problem #1:

 A lot of our older photos feature a lot of background (often messy) and a tiny subject. I'm talking about your toddler doing something adorable, but you can hardly see them. 

Solution:

Using those photos on a pie chart, gives us the chance to zoom right in and you can use more than one photo.

 Problem #2: 

There is this privacy problem. You can't show off photos with other people's kids without permission and it can make scrapbooking a little tricky. 

Or maybe you have a few embarrassing shots of the above mentioned adorable toddler you want to keep for their 21st birthday, but they aren't for all to see?

Solution:

Hide them! It's obvious of course and there are many cool ways to create pockets to open flaps to lift and here is one:

(I have blurred the faces for the above reason) 

So if you have a few cool potty training photos, uncles and aunties from your wedding you'd rather not display or just plain old too many photos to chose from, grab a cardstock, photos and some scraps; join me in class next week and we will create this pretty page! It can be made boyish without trouble.