FUN WITH THEMED ALBUMS

I wouldn't have known how much fun a "mini" or "themed" album could be until I tried one! My example here uses the extremely fun chipboard TREE album that Maya Road makes and is part of one of the I Am A Scrapaholic May kits. The theme I choose for this is related to how much fun our grandkids have at our home and in our backyard all year round. This album comes with several identical, "naked" chipboard trees. I used one for my cover and then a page for each season, winter, spring, summer and fall. The cover tree for this album comes with a separate trunk making that even more fun to decorate. The letters for the word "home" are clear letters by Maya Road. The backs of these letters are painted and then stamped the top side of each one with a texture design stamp.
Each tree was painted first, all with the same color. Most of the tree pages were then covered with these wonderful patterned papers by Pink Paislee that are part of the May I Am A Scrapaholic kit. The papers were attached with Mod Podge because that is a wonderful glue for papers and I also coated the top side of each tree with the Mod Podge. Then, I simply added photos that were cut in rather slim, tall sizes and added rub-on words or stickers. Pictures were added to the backs of the trees too so that more photos could be included. This will just serve as a fun reminder to the kids of some really fun days.
Materials:
Chipboard tree album - Maya Road
Clear letters, chipboard bird, chipboard house – Maya Road
Patterned papers – Flower Beds, Skipping Stones, Rain Showers, Bird’s Nest, Green Lace/Spring Fling/Pink Paislee
Paint – FolkArt/Plaid
Mod Podge – Plaid
Stickles – Ranger
Texture stamp – Just For Fun
Ancient Page and Fluid Chalk stamp pads – Clearsnap
Various sticker letters and rub-on words – Making Memories, Sticko, Mustard MoonRubber Stamps - “seasons” stamps/Purple Onion

Graphix Rub-on tutorial

Just using more of the Graphix Ru-bon Sheet! This time I stamped my images and rubbed them onto cardstock.


I used some awesome stamps from Kim Hughes....


rub those images right on the cardstock....


used some other elements from the May kit to complete my 'bouquet'...


...and completed my card. :)

TFL!

Using May's kit for boy-themed pages...

is so easy and fun!! The Pink Paislee line looks floral and feminine, however, it CAN be used for boy layouts so very easily!! I was able to create two entirely different looking pages with this kit--here's one of those pages using the May kit--




~~Kary

Fun with Flock : )

Flock is a fun, easy way to add some texture and interest to your project. It's fast, simple, and so very versatile. The example I want to share is how to use Flock to "emboss" an image on chipboard.

For this technique you need 1) flocking 2) the stamp of your choice 3) paint in a complimentary color 4)chipboard 5) essentials glue pad - you may want a small tray or something to put under your chipboard to catch the loose flock as well. A little goes a long way and you'll be able to reuse the excess.



The first step is to paint your chipboard. I like to choose a color that matches the flocking that I'm using, but you can also use a contrasting color for a really eye catching look.

When your chipboard piece is dry, using your stamp and the essentials glue pad, stamp an image onto your chipboard as shown in the images below:





While your image is wet, shake the loose flocking over your chipboard making sure to cover the entire thing.



Using something flat, such as an acrylic stamping blog or a brayer, apply pressure to the flocking so that it adheres to the glued image. Let it sit and dry for about 5 minutes, then shake off the excess flocking. You can use a small dry paintbrush to make sure that it comes completely off.



The end result will be a beautiful, 3 dimensional image with the feel and texture of velvet. This is a wonderful techique to use on your scrapbook layouts or greeting cards. Its use is limited only by your own imagination!

Card with May kit.

Alicia's take on Alicia's sketch...:)

"just the 2 of us"
Alicia Barry

Alicia's 2-page sketch for May

Let Alicia's 2-page sketch for this month inspire you as it has inspired the DT!
Check out what 2 DT members created using the sketch.





perfection defined
Kary Lewis


closeup

I used the graphix rub-on sheet to create my title and journaling.


seaside searching
Holly Pittroff


I left the adhesive piece on my journaling overnight and it created a cloudy vellum looking journlaing piece rather than a rubon. I secured it with other adhesive. I felt that it felt matched more with my lo.



I used the graphix rubon sheet to create a true rubon for my title. Don't forget to print your title and/or journaling in reverse!

Try Alicia's sketch and upload it into our gallery.

OFBC- May challenge

Here is the challenge for May, and the best news is that we have a prize pack on offer this month. The prize is from Pink Paislee, and features their other great line "Office Lingo" There are some alphabets in there too. All you need to do, is to post your version of the challenge using the sketch to the gallery for your chance to win.

You have until the end of the month to complete this challenge.

[b]Challenge: Create a layout about you which features hidden journal about something we don't already know about you. It can be more than one thing if you like. You are welcome to use my title if you like: "I bet you didn't know..."[/b]

Here's the sketch:




...and here is my sample:



Can't wait to see your entries.

Card with May kit

Love the Maya Road Trinket beads in this month's kit! I cut the loop off of the tops of these beads and adhered them to my paper to make this card. TFL!


Miss U CARD
Holly Pittroff

"Princess"

May Grafix Rubon Tutorial

WOW! - this "create your own rubon" product gives you endless flexibility when creating your projects. A lot of times I'll be half way through completing a layout and I'll wish I had left room to print a title, design or journaling somewhere on my background paper. Well, I've already started adhering, so running my background paper back through the printer isn't an option. With the graphix rubon, you don't have a problem. Just make that missing part of your layout into a rubon and "rub it right on!!

For this layout, I wanted to create more butterflies to go with the CI felt butterfly in the May kit. I found my butterfly images online and printed them onto the graphix rubon.


Then I used the watercolor pencils from the January kit to color in the butterflies (any colored pencils will work).



where's my baby?
Holly Pittroff

I put the adhesive on both butterflies to complete the process of making them rubons and then decided to make only one (the smaller one) a true rubon.


I put the adhesive on both butterflies to complete the process of making them rubons and then decided to make only one (the smaller one) a true rubon.


I loved using this product! I'm going to do another layout and tutorial using the graphix rubon...so keep your eyes peeled!

**Trying my hand at an 8.5x11 layout**

I wanted to break away from my traditional 12x12 layouts and try something fresh for a change--This months kit is filled with so much that I had a really hard time choosing which embellies and papers to use for my layout! Lynn has really outdone herself with the May kits and I used a little bit of everything from all of the kits this month! My favorite was the felt flower from Creative Imaginations--you can do so much with these flowers just by adding a little bling, or some Stickles, or just adding a simple metal brad in the middle like I did just adds a "WOW" factor to your design! If you have some embellies left over from April's kit, just pop them onto your layout--I discovered that the embellishments from last months kit work wonderfully with May's kit!!
Have fun with your kits, and I can't wait to see what you create!!


by the way, I'd like to introduce my new grandbaby, Rigo---his mommy is my newly adopted daughter and they are both incredible!! I'm sure you will see lots more of them in the next few months!!

{ Happy Birthday Card }

I am still amazed by the gorgeous colors in this months kit! I'm actually having trouble cutting the papers because everything is so beautiful!

Here's an easy peasy card for you to duplicate! Enjoy!

Finished card is 4.5" x 4.5"
1. Cut card to 4.5" x 9". Fold in half.
2. From second patterned paper, cut a block 3.5" x 3.5". Ink edges and adhere to center of card.
3. Adhere sticker flower and attach brad to the center.
4. Use stamps or stickers to apply your sentiment.

Don't forget to upload your projects to the gallery! Mary Jo

Another amazing sketch from Alicia!

Alicia's sketches continue to inspire our DT every month. If you want to have 'inspiration overload', check out Alicia's blog!




Check out what Nicole and Laura made with her 1-page sketch this month with the fabulous May kit.


"I adore them"
Laura Achilles


Close up of the detail


"t-ball"
Nicole Stark

Make your own layout using Alicia's sketch here and post it in our gallery!

Digi Tutorial using Rub-onz by Grafix

In the May addict kit this month Lynn has included a super cool new product called Rub-onz. by Grafix. Basically it’s a new product that lets you create your own rubons. They can be used three different ways: printing a design, using rubber stamps and ink, or drawing freehand right on the surface.

A few things about the product: when you are ready to print make sure you are printing on the right side. The manuf. instructions says to use the rough side . . . well it’s not so much rough as it is more of a matte surface that absorbs the ink. Also these are not like a typical rubon, it’s more like a sticker with a clear backing – if that makes sense.

I had a lot of fun playing in photoshop and creating all kinds of different rubons. I created a whole sheet and then printed them all out. Some of the elements are brushes and others (stitching) are digital elements.

A tip about the brushes: to create the straight even lines of circles and squares you need to 1) set your spacing in the brush menu to either 100% (keeps the circles right next to each other) or about 130% to get the spaces in between the circles. 2) as you click and drag your brush across your document hold down the shift key. This keeps the rows in a straight line.

Here is my layout where I used some of the faux stitching to accent my layout. I love this product and plan on making quite a few more designs to customize my layouts.

and a close-up of a few of therubons:

credits: digital stiching - Jackie Eckles www.designerdigitals .com. Jackie is no longer designing for Designer Digitals so I'm not sure if the same stitches are available but some very similar that she designed are now available at www.littledreamerdesigns under 'quirky stitches'.

FUN FLOCK IS FUN!!!

The May kit from I Am A Scrapaholic contains some FUN stuff! Not to mention the Pink Paislee papers that I have so wanted to play with, the supply that I wanted to feature here is the FUN FLOCK by Stampendous and the double stick stichers by Art Quest.

This sticker sheet is unusual in that it comes with a sticking backing to both the front side and the back side. That means that a variety of products can be used to embellish the stickers. I used the FUN FLOCK that came in the kit.
Simply peel off the top protective coating, pull the sticker off of the sheet it comes on and place it on your cardstock. Now, pour the FUN FLOCK over the sticker and I used my finger to slightly massage the flock over and into the sticky parts. Pour off the excess and you have a fuzzy image.

Another fun detail I discovered when creating these two cards is that after the flocking is on the shape, it can carefully be moved. I used a small tool to start lifting a portion of the image and then I could just peel it off and replace it.
To finish these two cards I used the cardstock and Pink Paislee patterned papers and sticker letters that are part of the May kit. Both cards are then accented with the Cosmo Cricket rub-on words that come in a brown color and the one card has an added, red butterfly trinket by Maya Road.


Materials:
Cardstock – Core’dinations and Bazzill Texture
Patterned paper – Rain Showers/Spring Fling Collection/Pink Paislee
Red sticker letters – Holly Doodle/Pink Paislee
ArtQuest Styl'ines Garden Double Sticks
Stampendous Snow Cone Blue Fun Flock
Maya Road Trinkets
Rub-ons – Honey Pie/Cosmo Cricket
Border Punch- Martha Stewart
Circle punches - McGill
Thanks, Linda

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

From everyone at IAAS - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!

Here's a card I made for my mother using the May kit - the black and blue flock was so fun to use on this! And it made for such a perfect(soft) touch on my mom's card.



Holly Pittroff

Supplies from May Kit:
Pink Paislee Spring Fling/Flower Beds, Tree House
Bazzill Just the Edge Strip
Pink Paislee Red holly Doodle alpha stickers
Creative Imaginations felt flowers
Maya Road trinket bead – butterfly
ArtQuest Styl’ines Garden Double Sticks
Stampendous Snow Cone Blue Flock
Stampendous Plain “ole Black Flock


Have a wonderful day today Moms!

Alicia's Card Sketch for May

Alicia's card sketch this month was so inspiring! Check out what some of the DT members did with it! Let this sketch inspire you and upload your creation(s) into our gallery.





Bliss
Linda Beeson



Congratulations
Mary Jo Johnson



Thanks
Holly Pittroff

My Family Tree

I LOVE this paper! I am an avid genealogist in our family and the first time I saw this paper I just knew I had to do something with my husbands name and some old pictures. The paper already has the rustic look to it. I added some brown cardstock and Bazzill Cream Bling paper. The teal cardstock worked wonderful to bring out the leaves on the tree.

I inked the edges and added some chipboard from American Crafts and Creating Keepsakes. The white dots down the side were done with a white sharpie pen.

Button Flower Vase

What a fun project this was to make. By using some of the buttons in the kit and adding my own that I have had laying around forever...I was able to use a thin piece of wire and some pliers to wrap thru the buttons and make flowers on stems.

For the vase I used an old coke bottle, the pretty blue ribbon from the kit and the cute crystal beads in the kit. The butterfly is a button that was glued on to finish the project off.