Make you own modelling paste.

Hi Tracy G here, this month I decided to have a play with one of the new Teresa Collins stencils.
There are actually three stencils in the pack, but I chose to only use this one for my projects this month.

I made two framed home decor items, one to give as a gift, and one for my own home.

I wanted to add a bit of dimension to the images, so I went on the hunt for some modelling paste, (which unfortunately Sarah isn't stocking in the shop). Whilst trawling through the internet, I came across a recipe to make your own paste, so gave it a go. 

Just mix 1/4 cup a baby powder, 1 tbsp of PVA glue, and 1 tbsp of acrylic paint into a nice smooth paste, and apply through the stencil using an old bank card.

As you can see when dried the paste gives a slightly raised image. Also an advantage of making your own paste, is you can add which ever colour paint you want. So I made some paste using brown paint.

Here are my two finished projects. I've added some pearls to the white on white one, and a few punched butterflies and pearls to the brown one.

I also got a pack of American Crafts chalk markers to try, then forgot to use them, duh. So I made this really simple card using the black one. I really love the finish the markers produce, just like black board paint.

Finally I made this new home card for our friends, and used gold ink applied with a small sponge through the stencil, and added a small punched heart.

Pretty Painterly with Amy Tan Plus One and Maggie Holmes Styleboard

Hello people.  How are you ? It is Ifa with you today, sharing a couple of "Painterly" layouts.

I was excited to see the hand drawn Amy Tan titles in the Plus One Range, I ordered the rub ons. I also ordered the cute puffy stickers.  But I preferred the papers from Maggie Holmes Styleboard collection so I ordered those instead. I think the combination of bright splash of Amy Tan colours on sweet Maggie Holmes papers is just so pretty!

I wanted a painted base for my layout so I added some splashes of paint using Tim Holtz distress stain.  I then added a few circles from Maggie Holmes Styleboard Vellum Shapes before applying some rub ons on top. Ensure that the paint is dry before doing this.  Also note that the rub on does not apply as easily on the vellum as it does on paper so take care over this.

Next I arranged some photos and some vellum shapes for the layout.

After putting the background and photos together, I added a few more vellum shapes and some blackboard banner stickers proclaimed the title.

And this is my finish layout about a walking tour we did in Berlin.

My next layout followed the same recipe as you can see from the close-up. I used more circle vellum shapes to accompany photos from our Pool table.

And the finished layout...

What do you think ? Will this combo of products work for you ?

Sketch Challenge

Thanks for all your entries! A winner will be announced soon. Watch this space:)

Scrapping Selfies

Hi all. Jen G here with a really quick post about scrapping selfies. Everyone loves a good selfie these days but they don't always turn out as great photos! These are a few silly snaps of my boys and me taken on my phone in the park a few weeks ago. I recently ordered a packet of the Simple Stories Instasqaures to play with and they worked perfectly with these photos. The packet contains twenty-four 2x2, sixteen 3x3 and twelve 4x4 squares that coordinate with a range - in this case "A Charmed Life".  The Expressions Stickers came in useful to embellish the pages and Sarahscards brand new flair badges might be my new favourite thing in the world E V E R! Seriously, go and check them out here. 

I have ordered some more of the Sarahscards flair badges and I have a feeling a few will sneak into all of my future orders. Don't forget to leave us links to any pages you have made with our amazing new products :) 

Project Life with Jen N

How are you liking all the lovely new products hitting the shop fresh from CHA? Every time I go onto the shop website there's something new and wonderful to admire (and buy) right now!
I had a hard time choosing products for my February project life pages, there were just too many to choose from. But I'll come back to that in a moment.
Firstly, I have to show you the rest of my January pages. If you read last month you'll know that life sort of got in the way a bit for me. Well, that hasn't stopped. Our house has been hit with every conceivable winter nursery school bug and illness you can imagine! It feels like it's been a constant stream of antibiotics, doctor visits and boxes of tissues over the last 5 weeks. I hope we have reached the end of it now - cross your fingers for us! In amongst the piles of laundry, dishes and dust I have managed to catch up on January and complete half of February so I'm considering that a win.

First up is week three. A fairly quiet week at home and mostly consisting of various fun and games in the house!
A quick reminder of my main products for January:
Project Life Dear Lizzy 5th & Frolic
Fancy Pants Be Loved Collection

Here is week four. This week was even quieter than the last as I was in hospital at the beginning of the week! When I can't choose a stand out photo I like to make a little collage of 4 in a square - it's a nice way to show off a few favourites together as a set.

Week five is the changeover week. I've never particularly stuck to one set of supplies per month before, preferring to change weekly, but I like the speed at which my pages are coming together with just one box of goodies to play with! I wasn't sure how to work the changeover week - continue with January supplies or dive into February? I chose to work with my new box of supplies simply because I looked through my January box and felt I was getting a bit low on certain items, and also because I really wanted to play with the new stuff! It was pretty freeing to go through the January leftovers and throw out most of it. Half used sticker sheets with all the non useful letters left, die cut packs with only the sayings/icons I wasn't too keen on left, a few snippets of paper that weren't really big enough to do anything with - they all got binned! It was refreshing! I did keep some things - leftover 3x4 and 6x4 cards, and half a ticket roll from Fancy Pants.

My new set of supplies included:
Project Life Core Kit - Slate
Studio Calico Wanderlust - Labels
Simple Stories Homespun - Instasquares, papers, stickers
Dear Lizzy - Puffy Hearts
Miscellaneous papers from Amy Tangerine Plus One, Studio Calico Lemon Lush & Studio Calico Wanderlust

There was a lot of cuteness this week from the littlies to record - holding hands, looking adorable, playing nicely, taking selfies, enjoying each other. I try to "keep things real" and document a rounded view of our life, but this week the good definitely outshone the negative! I love weeks like that!.

The last week I have to share with you right now is week six. There was so much nuttiness this week. I had so many pictures of my son with pants/trousers on his head I didn't want to include them all but I felt I had to include quite a few for the reader to get an accurate view of how this week was for us! There were also a lot of pictures of my daughter trying new foods as we had just started the weaning process. I guess some weeks you just have a lot of repetition in your life, and that is fine. This week my daughter turned 6 months. We did have a little photoshoot, which I will record on an insert page along with some journalling, but I am waiting to get my photos printed in a big batch. I've used home printing for the rest of my pictures this month. I've stuck a note above my desk to remind me that I need to come back and fill in that gap at some point. I'm okay with that. Previously it might have stopped me from moving onward, I would have felt stuck, but no more!

I'm hopful of catching up the rest of February this week, and then I can get into that box of March goodies - I've chosen bits and pieces from the new My Minds Eye collections, along with assorted other goodies. I can't wait to use them on my pages!
xxx