In The Meantime

So I told you yesterday that I am on "creative lockdown" until I get my studio cleaned, sorted and purged! But that doesn't mean that I can't share some creative ideas...right? So for the next few days, I am going to pull some of my favorite layouts - either for the story they tell, the technique I used, or just because! *smile*

This one I called Heaven's Canvas....and I still love it! Let me point out a couple of things about it. First, the picture at the top - that looks like a "canvas" was actually a picture that I printed onto a transparency and then transfered to the cloth with gel medium. It is a great distressing technique because the full image rarely transfers completely. This layout was created after Royce and I took a trip to New Mexico. It was my first trip there and I was absolutely overwhelmed with the beauty I saw. I loved all the rich warm colors....and took TONS of pictures. I did eventually create a mini to hold them all - but I wanted to have a layout for my scrapbook that captured the feeling of the culture, the scenery - the beauty.

I created the weathered edge with a piece of torn paper, a stipple brush and distress ink. Since I shared a project with you yesterday where I used distress ink and a stipple brush, I better put that on my list of technique videos to share with you since it is one of my "go to" techniques.

Two other quick things that I did that you might want to try....I printed out four wallet size pictures and then punched out part of each picture with a 2" square punch. I crimped a piece of kraft cardstock and placed all four pictures together in a group to make them function more as one element. I like the effect and have used it in several other layouts. Put that one in your bag of tricks next time you need to get a LOT of pictures on a page...here is another way I used pictures punched out with a 2 " square.

This layout was called "Favorite Things" and I used the 2" punch to get lots of pictures on the page...by lining them up they also form a block. It was a quick page - but still one of my favorites. I even doodled a bit around the edge...something that used to intimidate me! No telling what I might do when I get back to creating in my studio! Looking through these layouts has reminded me that I really need to do more pages to share with you all...so I will add that to my list as well.

Hope you all are ready for a great week...I am determined to put some time in every night after I get home from work on the studio. I have been finding some really yummy things - so the scrappy surprise boxes are getting filled with lots of goodness. I even am putting some kit club projects in - since I figured I have too much to get done and will not get back to working with them - that I will share them with you all....so let me know if you are interested. (see my previous blog to learn more about the scrappy surprise boxes!)