Copic Suitcase

I was really excited to pick up this Copic suitcase from Scrapshotz last week. While I loved the system I had, it wasn't even a little bit mobile, so was not only impossible to take with me camping, it pretty much never moved from the middle of the table downstairs. I sent an email to Sharon Harnist, (Paperfections) who is on the Copic Design Team to ask her what she suggested for inside cases. She sent me ideas and a link to Michelle Boyer's blog (Papercuts) to see the home made version that she had. Since I have a son in law in the lumber yard business and he had a broken diffuser that he would give me, I decided I had nothing to lose. So after modifying Michelle's design, here's what I came up with. I basically built a box of plastic coreplast to support the diffuser panels, so that I could put extras and perhaps images or stamps, on the side. I think it's going to work!

Thanks to Sharon and Michelle for the inspiration!

Scrapshotz April 2016 Kit - Fancy Pants "Attwell"

Well this kit was awesome! I always have fun with them, but this one was diverse and so easy to work with! Let's get started!

 

I love the watercolor look of this patterned paper! What bright fun it is! To highlight the blooms, I die cut scribble blooms and adhered them to the 3 main flowers that are showing. I used some washi tape to border the strip of yellow diagonal striped paper, and also to tape the photo on. This is one of those "Oh my goodness, this girl is something!" layouts of my granddaughter.

We generally like to include a sketch in our reveal and this was one from the April 2016 Pagemaps release. 

 

Here is my take on it:

 

 I loved the diamond shapes and used a Spellbinders die to cut these and their mats out. Some of the diamonds are popped up to create texture using dimensionals, as well as using the corrugated cardstock for a few of them .  The swirly patterned paper is a great way to add movement and makes this a happy layout.

 

This layout used a couple of different patterned papers and the puffy embellishments from the Fancy Pants "Attwell line." I love the colors, and they were perfect for these photos of the bridge that my grandson and his Grandpa made for his school project. A little bit of gold splatter adds to the diagonal flow.

I love the dramatic look of the black and white diagonal stripes in this pattern! The mat of colorful patterned paper brings the photo of my handsome grandson to the forefront. A perfect embellishment on the corrugated cardstock strip are the lovely brads from Emerald Creek. Some journaling hides on a tag behind the photo, and a puffy sticker word serves as the title.

 

I found another way to get those vibrant, fun colors onto my layout. I cut strips of patterned paper and made them a design element. The tags serve as embellishments as well as a spot for both the title and journaling. 

 

I made a few cards with the scraps of patterned paper left in the kit. I love the bright feathers on this one and die cut some feathers to use as my main element on this card.

 

The same patterned paper offers quite a different look when bordered by black cardstock and embellished with gold and white feathers and a pretty yellow ribbon and bow. 

 A simple "Thank you" card with the red cardstock and die cut tags is effective.

This card is made from scraps and a die cut butterfly. Wink of Stella glitter has been added to the wings of the butterfly, and a Jillibean soup label serves as the sentiment.

Finally, our team was asked to showcase the Prima Art Alchemy acrylic paint. I used the iridescent Opal Magic Pink-Blue to paint an inexpensive frame that I used for a Minc foiled quote. The paint is so pretty and went on so smoothly! I love that it the blue/pink tones change as you look at it from different angles. It took an inexpensive white frame from nice to Wow! in a single coat.

Thanks for looking in on my April reveal. Stayed tuned for the rest of the design team's work this week. You will be amazed with the variety and volume of projects from a single kit. Scrapshotz kits are always impressive!

Card Crew Challenge - April 17, 2016

Today the challenge is a simple one. Thanks to Pinterest, I was playing with an old technique, while I was watching "Vikings" on tv. I looked up and saw a scene where the colors in a misty forest were breathtaking. I tried to recreate that color scheme with my distress ink pads and was pleased with the serene look I achieved. The technique is simply to pull your ink pad across the panel. I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Hickory Smoke, Peeled Paint and Iced Spruce. Then I stamped with the Tim Holtz stamp "A Tree Line" with Jet Black Archival Ink. I used the primary inking of the stamp and then offset as second generation stamping slightly behind the first, then wrapped a length of twine on the bottom.