From the Daisy Patch

Hi everyone…Anja here again…

Recently, I did a bunch of layouts just for me. And it was refreshing and invigorating. I went through a long spell of not doing any scrapping for just myself. Since I no longer keep actual journals, my personal scrapbook pages are like my journal entries. That’s usually where I play with new ideas, techniques, messes, artsy stuff, etc. So when I don’t do it, my thoughts and feelings don’t get recorded and I don’t expand and grow as a scrapbooker. Does that make sense? So even though sometimes it seems frivolous to me to have entire albums that are just for me, doing it helps me in several ways. Anyhoo, I wanted to share some things I’ve been playing around with lately. These are techniques that are new to me, or techniques I’m revisiting.

machine stitching – I finally got my sewing machine set up in a convenient location and plan to start using it full force! It’s almost impossible for me to do a layout without hand-stitching, so I’m really excited to play with my sewing machine.

On this layout, I used plain stitching and a fancy stitch, which might have actually been a bit too much for the paper, becasue it almost ripped. I had to comletely tape the back. Trial and error, I guess.

messy paint and splatters – Remember when splatter-painted fabric was all the rage in the 80s. I’m pretty sure I had a painters’ cap with fake paint splatters all over it. So hot! I’ve been really inspired lately by Debee Campos. If you’re not familiar with her work, check her out. She uses spray paint a lot, which I haven’t actually tried yet. The sprays on this layout are glimmer mist.

felt and glitter – OK, I’ve used both of these things in the past, but I don’t feel I’ve explored their full potential yet. I mod-podged the paper circles and glitter onto the paper. The journaling and title are from a song by the New Pornographers. I LOVE them!

hidden journaling – Sometimes I want to write stuff that’s kind of personal – stuff I would have put in my journal, back in the days when I used to actually keep one. But since the scrapbooks have replaced the journals, sometimes the journaling must be hidden…

stark minimalism – Sometimes, I just want to see less. Just the picture and a tiny bit of embellishment. I love this picture of my sister-in-law. I just used a fabric circle and a couple circles hand-cut from an old microbiology textbook I salvaged from the garbage. That’s about it.

I guess my main point in this post is to encourage you to play around with some techniques/ideas…either one of these or one of your own. I’d love to see your work!

I’m putting full-sized versions of these in the photo gallery if you want to see them bigger.

peace and love,

Anja

The December kit is just perfect for elegant winter layouts, but I’ve found that the colors are perfect for some of my summertime pictures too. The teals go really well with beachy pictures. I did this layout to highlight my July trip to Long Island…

Long Island July Oh Eight

detail

So don’t be afraid to use the December kit to tackle those summer vacation pics you’ve got stashed away!

Have fun!

Anja

Morning all….I hope you are relaxed & getting the last of your preparations ready for next week? Well if you are and need an extra card idea….here is the last of mine I wanted to share with you.

This is by far my fave of the bunch…& this is how you make it.

Instructions:

1. Cut a 6″ x 6″ card from the metallic card stock in the December kit.
2. Cut a 3rd piece of printed double sided paper 5.9″ x 5.9″ (the reason it is marginally smaller is so that it can fold in easily)
3. Carefully attach it to the one side of the original metallic card. I stitched it because the glue didn’t hold it very well.
4. You now have a ‘gate fold card.
5. 
6. Using a Coluzzel or long handled punch cut a circle 2/3rds of the way up the card. Make sure the hole is the same size or similar to the one in the center of the scalloped glitter frame from the Crate paper die cuts.
7. Stick the scalloped frame over the hole on the front.
8. I used tiny jewels & a ribbon bow to make the frame resemble a tree ornament.
9. Using the Crate Paper alpha stickers, attach a sentiment underneath.
10. Inside the card decorate the middle section with another piece of printed paper, I used a piece of the Heidi Swapp damask paper.
11. 
12. Using a stamp I made a scalloped journal block for my message inside & used more of the Crate paper glitter die cuts to decorate it.
13. The Blue dotted page, I left blank for my family Christmas portrait photo to be attached there.
14. And that’s it guys….all done.

I really hope you have enjoyed the tips ‘n tricks over the last couple of days? I look forward in anticipation to seeing all your creations in the gallery.

Have a super rest of your weekend…& remember to pop in again soon for more cool projects from the Daisy Diva team.

Cheers for now!!

Kim