Quick N Easy Budget Friendly Scallops

Hi friends!~ I have had several people ask me how I have made some of my scalloped papers & I thought I would share how simple it is to do! The supplies are very basic : paper, spool of thread, circle template ( in this case I used a bowl! ) ,marker & scissors.


First mark the spool for the size scallop you would like & be sure to take the mark up the side of rim a bit. I chose to male this one pretty much down the middle.

I then place the bowl on backside of paper & trace.

Place your spool on the traced circle with the mark touching the tracing on both sides & draw around the spool top.

Next move the spool over to the end of the first scallop again with marks touching traced circle. Draw around & continue this around circle. Adjust the size at end if off a little bit!

Next cut with those awesome CutterBee scissors!

If you have some irregular cutting, you can even it out using a nail file!
I then ink the edges to give it a finished look. You can make the scallops as big or as small as you would like by using different size spools & marking them in various spots.

It's that easy!! You can also use it on straight edges, hearts, background layers etc. Here is couple samples that I have done with this technique. I have used it MANY times!!

Thanks so much for stopping by & taking a peek! I love to share & am happy to hear your ideas too!

Enjoy The Little Things

Hi friends! The inspiration behind this layout is this pic of my son Nick & I at a family get together! The reason I love the photo so much is because of the crooked grin on Nick's face! My father, who passed away 20 years ago when Nick was only 8 years old, had that same crooked smile! Every now & then when Nick gets tickled about something... that grins pops up! When I seen this photo it brought a huge smile to MY face & happy memories of my Dad! It really is a little thing, yet brings me so much joy!
I used Basic Grey's Marrakech papers. I love the rich colors to that collection! I thought they worked really well with the photo. The design is very basic. The background paper was punched with a fiskars scallop punch & the edges were inked with both Distress Spiced Marmalade & Nick Bantock Prussian Blue ink. I have posted about the Nick Bantock inks before.. they are AWESOME. They are made by Ranger ( Distress, Tim Holtz & Adirondack), and are rich rich jewel toned inks.

I made the flower using paper layers & card stock cut from various punches & dies . The edges were inked with the Prussian Blue & the Spiced Marmalade. I added a EK Success Fern punch for foliage.

The letters are Basic Grey "Sweets" that have been inked with Ranger pitch black alcohol ink. I think the double matted pic really helped bring the blue from the pic into the layout.

I hand cut the large scalloped paper layer & inked the edges. I punched some small Retro flowers and adhered them to the dips in the scallops! Orange bling was used as the flower center! This added a much needed detail!

I love the Rusty Pickle flourishes that I inked with the Pitch Black alcohol ink. I then added some blues flowers & a couple bling accents.. and Wahlah done!

This was such a fun layout to do! I am so happy to share my Dad & Nick's grin with my friends! Thanks for taking a peek!

"Let's Do Fishy Face"

This adorable picture of my niece Anna & daughter in law Stephanie was this inspiration for this layout! It was Anna's B-day party & Stephanie brought a huge pink & orange glittery, glittery, glittery fish with huge eyes & lovely long lashes!! It was the hit of the party! Glitter everywhere ... and tons of fun! Anna was "posing "with the fishy & kept saying "Let's do fishy face"!! Ironically both girls had on pink & orange clothes just like the fish!
So when the August 2009 My Creative Scrapbook kit came in the mail, I KNEW it was made for this photo! The kit features My Minds Eye, Adventure Series "Fruit Flavored" line of paper! They scream summer fun!

The flowers were made with both Prima paper flowers & cardstock punched with various dies & punches. I added some cardstock punched branches ( Martha Stewart spooky branch) to the flowers to give a "sea weed' feel to the layout. The edges of the background paper was punched with the Fiskars Effervesance punch & inked with both Distress "worn lipstick" & "spiced marmalade' ink. Kit included buttons were placed in corners with a touch of bling. They are made by Bo Bunny Buttons n Bling.

The "bursts" are from a McGill punch with a touch of bling for the center. The title letters are good old Thickers ( also from the kit). They were originally white, however I inked them with 2 shades of Ranger alcohol ink- watermelon & sunset orange.

I matted the pic with pink cardstock & added a blue punched border. I wanted to include a couple fish, so I dug through my old stash & found some old Sticko stickers that I adhered to blue cardstock & then cut leaving a small cardstock edge. This seemed to make them more of an embellie. I inked the edges with Adirondack pool ink & mounted with Glue Dots.

What a fun layout to do!! Such a great memory too! My sister is still finding glitter! Thanks for sharing your time with me friends! I appreciate it very much!

How to - Flower Blooms #1

Hi friends! I have had quite a few requests asking how I made the flowers on my recent layout "first date". They were super easy to do & I thought I would share just how easy with you! Below is pictured the punches I have used. ANY rounded petal flower punch will work! The smallest green punch is a "sun". It does not show up very well in the photo. they are left to right:
Small Retro punch, Mcgill StarBurst punch, mini sun punch, Sizzix Hello Kitty flowers layers die, & Ex Success fern branch.

I used 3 different pattern papers & one solid card stock. The papers I chose were from the K & CO Que Sera Sera paper stack. I also used Adirondack ink in colors a shade darker than the papers & some bling for the flower centers.

This particular flower has only 4 layers. I usually have more layers, but I wanted to get a different look & few layers seemed to work better. Below you can see what I have punched for 4 flowers. The bottom layers was cut in alternate colors, the other layers were all the same. I did this to have a little variety, yet still keep the flow!

I inked the edges of the flowers- putting a touch of the purple ink on both the orange & the green layers.

Now here's the twist... using the small sun punch, turn bottom side up & punch the edge of the petal... do this to the bottom two layers.

I then ink the newly punched edge with a bit of purple ink.

Next glue the bottom 2 layers together. After dry, give the petals a little tug up, so they are not laying real flat!

Next add the best flower punch EVER.. the RETRO punch. Again, pull the layers up after drying.

The last flower layer is the Mcgill Starburst punch. It was done with the black card stock. A touch of bling was adhered to the center!

I then added the fern leaf punch randomly. I often add leaves & foliage to my flowers.. it just has that natural look!

And there ya go!! Easy!! Below they are placed on another printed paper from the Que Sera Sera paper stack. What great papers!!!

I hope I have answered your questions! Please let me know if you have more, or if you would like me to do more on my flowers!! thanks my friends for taking a peek!!

FIRST DATE

The inspiration for this layout is this awesome photo taken of my Mom & Dad on their first date in the Summer of 1945. If you notice in the upper left hand corner of the layout you will see in my Mom's handwriting "Chris & I -first date" . I wanted to include it in the layout, so I scanned & printed it out. After looking at it I thought what a great title! So "First Date" it is! I love the Basic Grey Wisteria line of papers & thought that it worked perfectly with the photo. It is so soft & full of natural elements! The Wisteria papers were featured in the July 2009 Limited Edition Kit at My Creative Scrapbook. The layout design is based on Liz Qualman's Sunday Aug 30 Sketch. Thanks Liz for sharing your great sketches!

The background shield was cut using an older off brand shield I purchased to be used as a template. I then inked the edges with Adirondack Espresso ink. I cut a "ring" of printed paper out of the same paper that I used as my base paper, the ring was also inked with the Espresso ink. The lettering is Basic Grey Wilma raw chip alpha. I blended to colors of Ranger Alcohol ink to achieve the shade I was looking for: Espresso as the first coat & Raisin as the top coat.

The Dragonfly is from the Wisteria chip sticker shape packet & was inked with some Espresso ink. I placed the photo in a Fancy Pants raw chip frame & inked with the same Alcohol inks as the title work. The corner flourish are from Cuttlebug & was cut using my Sizzix Big Shot.

The flowers were made with various punches & dies I used a new technique of punching the petals... I was happy with the way it turned out & will post the technique in a couple days!
I scattered McGill Starburst punched cardstock about the layout. An EK Success leaf punch added some dimension to the flowers. Lastly I highlighted with touches of blue bling!

What a wonderful picture to find! I especially love the writing on back!

Thanks so much my friends for taking a peek! I appreciate you taking the time!