Mama Elephant Big Happy Birthday!

Hello everyone! Lorraine here to show you some cards I created using the Carta Bella Baseball line and the Mama Elephant Big Happy Birthday die and Birthday messages stamps.

 

The size and simplicity of this ME die make it so easy to work with! I cut a grey and a red die cut out of cardstock and offset layered them to create a shadow effect. I cut some foam into tiny strips to fit behind the letters on the red letters to bring them off the card. Just adding a bit of embellishment (nuvo drops and a piece of ephemera from the Baseball line) completes the project! Perfect for a masculine card!

I used the 6x6 Carta Bella paper for this card with the baseball park scene. I put some enamel dots on for a bit of dimension, cut the die out a few times and layered it to make it pop.

I used some chipboard from the Baseball line for this one. Two layers of die cuts and some baubles from my stash and this one was done. Using cardstock strips in place of ribbon gives the card a bit more of a masculine feel.

For this one, I used some glitter nuvo drops and wrapped the card with twine. The baseball logo is a  chipboard element from the line.

This one is a little different. I adhered the die with a "bubble" in the middle so that it has some dimension without any bulk. The brad is from the Carta Bella line, and the pearl drops are Nuvo.

This shaker card just has a trio of large sequins on the top. The sparkle and movement from behind the die cut are just enough pizzazz on it's own.  To create the shaker, I cut the die out, then put acetate behind the cut out. Then I put the die cut back down and glued all the bits and pieces for the letters down to the acetate before removing the die. It's an easy way to get the look!

Another shaker card, with a sentiment from the Mama Elephant Birthday Messages stamp set popped up on top. I added baseball gloves that were fussy cut from scraps left over from the Baseball line. I put a bit of glossy accents on the baseballs to make them shiny and rounded.

 

This patterned paper is from the 6x6 pad. The smaller size of the pattern are so well suited to cards!

The baseball bat border is from a 12x12 scrap and the dots are nuvo pearl. This one wasn't popped up, and still is really effective.

This die is from Hero Arts and the popped-up sentiment is from the ME Birthday Messages stamp. I put some Nuvo drop accents on it and it was finished.

Thanks for looking. As you can see, there are so many great ways to use these dies and stamps. I used baseball paper, but you can adapt your cards to any sport you'd like for the men in your life. 😎

Have a great day!

Originally published on the Scrapshotz blog May 1, 2019.

Carta Bella Baseball Hits a Home Run!

Oh.My.Goodness.

Carta Bella hit it out of the park with this collection. With 3 grandsons playing and all of us being big fans of baseball, these papers and embellishments are perfect for me. Let's get going with some layouts created with this line.

 

I love the rich vintage looking colors in the line. They are bright, but don't try to take over the layout. Because the boys' uniform colors are mostly red and grey, I stuck mostly to mats in red and navy blue.  I love the large photo in this layout. I cut a mat for the title panel as I wanted it to be prominent and not get lost in the patterns. The alphas are American Crafts Thickers from a past Scrapshotz kit.

 

The patterns in this paper are busy, but with a large mat to park the photos on, they still take center stage. Baseballs from the ephemera pack are the only embellishments needed.

 

This layout is super simple. A strip of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" patterned paper to rest on, more ephemera and a bit of doodling around the outside complete it. 

I had so many different photos from this one game that it had to be a double pager. The layout is the same on both sides, but I used different patterned papers and colors for each side. I matted the photos on each page with the opposite pages base color, and cut out the letters and numbers from cardstock too.

The letters are dies from Pinkfresh Studios "Adore Alpha Set" and the numbers are from Concord and 9th "Notable Numbers Set." If you are looking for dies, Concord & 9th also has awesome double cut alpha and number sets. These dies can be special ordered through Sandy. Just let her know what you are looking for! I cut out both in red and blue, using just the outline of blue on the red letters and shadowing the numbers for depth.

 

The only embellishments on this layout are stickers from the sheet in the collection pack. I love that they are thick enough to pop up and make a real statement on the page with some foam dots.

 

These little swingers are popped up and perfect for this page! 

 

The photo and the title sticker are really popped up. I stacked 2 layers of foam squares under the photo and under the middle of the title, keeping the edges of the title a little less popped with single foam. This gives it a rounded look that suits the shape of it.

This layout was fun to do. A little tedious cutting out the long title, but it was worth it in the end. I used an old Quickutz alpha set that I have had for forever, called "Blossom."

This layout also has lots going on, so a tag from the ephemera pack and some chipboard pieces were the only embellishments.

This final layout is one of my favorites. The single photo with a little bit of bling from the brads scattered down the page with a some ephemera is just what it needed. I cut the journaling block with a spellbinder die and added some Maya Road stars. 

Thanks for sticking with me on this double-header of baseball layouts. I love this collection, and still have a few sheets of patterned paper that may still make it onto another spread or two. 😊

Have a great weekend!

Originally published on the Scrapshotz blog April 26, 2019.

Scrapshotz March 2019 Kit - SS Vintage Traveler layouts

Hello friends! I'm here today to show a few layouts created with the March kit featuring the Simple Stories Vintage Traveler line. This kit has so much to offer!

With this first layout, I sprayed dylusions "melted chocolate" ink spray just where I decided that I wanted to put my photo. This ink is wonderfully vibrant and I love the way it covers and drips. Once it dried, I wanted to put a bit of contrasting glam on top, so I dripped some gold Irresisible spray sparingly, then set it aside to dry thoroughly. I cut a panel of patterned paper from the kit, inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and adhered it to the top of the page. After I put my photo on the page, I inked the edges of the chipboard photo frame, then used glue dots to stick it on top. I added some sticker embellishments, always inking the edges, and used foam pop dots under some, giving the page more dimension. The title was cut out of a (probably vintage, lol) Quickutz die set called "Stardust." I used Gina K Connect glue, and I can tell you that you don't want to change your mind after you've given that glue a moment. It's really super stuck! I did my journaling with a Pentel Liquid Gel Ink.

While we're traveling, I often pick up postcards from the souvenir shops or where ever they can be found. I love that I can use them immediately, they often have some fun information on the back and this one actually has an aerial photo of the resort that we stay in. I mounted the patterned paper on Bazzill cardstock. I cut the side banner off of the patterned paper, and backed it with Bazzill in the same brown as the base. I used some heart and you are here word and icon stickers to embellish the page. A bit of glossy accents on the stickers customizes and highlights them nicely. I did a line of journaling on the border strip and added a chipboard arrow. This one was really fast!

I love to do double pages! My first step is to tape together the base pages. This way I can always see the flow between them.  For this spread I found posters online of the Broadway shows that we've seen and printed them on photo paper. I used 6" panels of patterned paper then used 3" strips of another pattern as borders. I mounted the photo and journaling spots on gold mat paper that matches the Thicker alphas in the kit. I also cut the stars out of the same gold. and spread them around. To give my title a little bit of movement, I used the curvy ruler in the American Crafts Alphabet Alignment Guide available from Scrapshotz here. I keep these guides handy and use them for almost every layout. They're perfect for titles.

 

My title uses a lot of A's. I actually ran out, but used an upside down V on the last word, and most people won't notice. I used pop dots all over the page, under some of the posters, stars and journaling blocks.

While I think it's important that the 2 page spread is balanced, I like to make sure that each of the single pages is also balanced and pleasing to look at. Here you will notice that my star grouping goes over both pages. I left the tape on the back for display purposes in my family room. To put it away, I will use an exacto knife to cut the pages apart.

This month the Design Team was tasked to use the Creative Scrapbooker Magazine's monthly sketch to create a layout. Here is the sketch.

 

 Here is my take on it.

I used a patterned paper from the Vintage Traveller line that already had some of the elements that would compliment my photos, and used the large block on the bottom to showcase a panoramic photo. The two smaller photos are just slightly overlapping, giving the page a pretty good balance. The title is from the sticker sheet, but it got sort of lost on the paper, so I outlined it with my journaling pen and that gave it just enough pop.

This "Haven't Been Everywhere" layout was fun to create! I layered some Snap cards from the kit with a quote page from the 6x8 add on pad, and adhered them in the center, so that they could curl up on the edges, looking like they were tossed in the pile. I matted the photo on black, then gave it something to sit on with a border sticker. I put a few pop dots under the bottom of the sticker to help it stay raised up, as well as the photo.  The sticker dots and compass got a layer of glossy accents to liven them up. Journaling was done on the Post Card with a gel pen.

This last layout I'm sharing with you today is very simple. My friends seemingly coordinated their outfits for it - thanks, girls!! The yellow block journaling pattern was perfect and to give it interest, I used a collage patterned paper behind the photos. I printed the photos with the white border (one layer done!) and matted all the elements except the title on black Bazzill cardstock. The title was quickly done with the Thickers in the kit. (Thankfully, I didn't need any A's!) Simple, but I was really happy with the result.

I will be back next week to show you what else I've done with this kit. Until then, enjoy our spring weather, where ever you are!

Scrapshotz March 2019 KIt - Cards and a Mini

Hello! I am here today to show you a few more things that I made with the March 2019 Scrapshotz kit, featuring Simple Stories Vintage Traveler. I loved that the 6x8 paper pad had panels that could so easily be made into cards. These 4 cards were made with a bunch of scraps from the kit and a single sheet from the paper pad. No stamping at all!

For the first I die cut the panel and then die cut a couple more tags for the layers. For the second card, I took the backpack from the sticker sheet and popped it up over the backpack printed on the panel. I put a few Nuvo drops on each. Those drops are so easy to use and so beautiful.

These cards were super simple! They are also panels from the same sheet of 6x8. I just added a few layers, some sequins and a bit of ribbon and done.

 These cards used die cuts, chipboard elements and stickers. The only stamping was the sentiment on the Congratulations card, that will be good for a Graduate.

These last two are blank, meaning no sentiment. These are always handy to have on hand as they can be used for anything. I keep a ziplock bag of blank cards like this in my rv. It is really surprising how often I go to that bag for a card. I used Nuvo drops on the first and my Tim Holtz - 3 D Texture Fades Botanical Embossing Folder on the second. These folders have amazing detail and give cards an elegant texture. 

My last project with this kit was a mini book inspired by a Maggie Holmes YouTube video that I watched. I've linked it here so you can pick up her pro tips as well. The base of the mini is a bound book, and since I didn't have any that I was willing to cut up, I went to the second hand store in town and picked up this one for $.50. The first step is to cut out the pages. I used an exacto knife and a self healing mat to do the cutting, as per Maggie's instructions.

 

Then it was just go straight into making the pages. I had a number of photos that I had printed of a vacation to Mexico in 2015 that hadn't yet made it to a scrapbook, so while these are all from that trip, I didn't worry about putting them in any kind of order. It made for a no pressure kind of process that was fun. Here's a couple of the pages.

 

Rather than make this a super long blog post, I took a video showing you through the mini. If you're inclined to view it all, here's the link. YouTube Mini Album Walk Through

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure to check out the rest of the Design teams projects on the blog. Amazing work!

Originally published on the Scrapshotz Blog

More Gerda Steiner!

Hello!

I've been busy with these adorable stamps from Gerda Steiner. This Go Wild! set has the cutest little images of animals.

I die cut leaves with the MFT Leafy Greenery dies in shades of green and adhered them to a green frame mounted on a white card base. I colored the giraffes with Copics in some fun colors and had them sticking their heads out of the jungle with foam squares. The sentiment is cut out with a Hero Arts Antique Frame die.

The second card today is created using the Gerda Steiner Owl Rather Be With You set, also available at the Scrapshotz store. I love this little owl and his expressions! I wanted to change his moods, so gave him some different accessories for these next cards. The first is a Graduation Card.

I cut out an oval from kraft cardstock that I had put through the Big Shot in a Tim Holtz Sizzix 3D Texture Fades - Lumber embossing folder that I got at Scrapshotz. I cut out the owl with his co-ordinating die (available here!) and added a graduation cap embellishment from my stash. The sentiment is cut with a SU die from gold foil cardstock.

The next owl is all set for a birthday. I gave him a party hat from the Tim Holtz Crazy things stamp set and die cut it with the Sizzix die. The background is an older stamp, SU Happy Birthday Greetings.

I mounted him on foam squares and gave his party hat some dimension with spots of Ranger Glossy Accents. I also accented the owl's eyes in all my images with tiny dots of Nuvo Crystal Drops - Ebony Black, available in 2 handy sizes at Scrapshotz. I love the way that small detail brings his face to life.

 

My last card for today is created with another owl and a stamp/die from the Crazy things set. I used the embossed Lumber panel left over from my earlier card, and stamped the sentiment from the Hero Arts Clear Poly stamp set - To Seize or Not to Seize, available at Scrapshotz. Cheeky and fun!

The ribbon bow was created using the Bow Easy, that can be purchased through Scrapshotz. Like almost anything, just ask and Sandy will order it in for you.

So those are my cards for this week. Thanks for stopping by and I hope that your day is good.

Lorraine

Originally published on the Scrapshotz Snap Shotz blog February 28, 2019