One Little Word Title Page

A few weeks back I talked about trying to do One Little Word for the first time.  I chose "focus" as my word - focus on the positive and things you can impact and let go of things you cannot change.  But ultimately the class wasn't in my budget.  As a result, I've had a hard time getting started. 

But this weekend My Scraps and More had a One Little Word crop on their forum boards (the challenges are still open this week) and it gave me a little kick in the butt.  I put together my title page for my album/journal for one of the challenges.

My album is an old 8x8 ditto album my daughter has discarded and the size presents a challenge all its own.  I've never done anything that size before.  But I have to admit, I was pleased with how this came out.  It isn't quite like anything I've done before, but it still feels true to my style.

Here's a bit about the elements of my page:

• The background is from the Bo Bunny double dot line - I love all the great colors the ledger paper comes in.  It is one of my go to products and I try to keep a range of colors in my stash at all times.
• I broke out the Mister Huey's (in silver again) to create the large "My Life" element and the spatter effect.  I also used it to color a white paper doily.
• I used a Fancy Pants stencil card with the Mr. Hueys and love the impact of those large words.  I then layered a vellum scrap over the top to soften the look.
• The sequins and vellum arrow are from Studio Calico kits and have been hanging out in my stash as things I love but wasn't sure where to use.  Their sequins are the yummiest colors!
• The small alphas and the flair are from Basic Grey.  The sparkly jewel is from a Websters Pages warehouse box.
• The polaroid frame is from KI Memories (yuoget a whole 12x12 sheet of them to break apart - all with different words and patterns.
• The last piece is a Dear Lizzy die cut.

Are you working on your OLW effort?  Any pointers/ideas to start really working on the issue would be much appreciated.  Enjoy your Monday.

Boys Sparkle Too!

I have two sons and one daughter - and none of them like sparkly, glittery things.  (I have to say it seems totally unfair that my daughter doesn't like sparkly things.)  But I get the urge to make sparkly layouts once in  while.  The American Crafts POW paper fascinates me.  It has such a great look and texture - and glitter doesn't get everywhere when you touch it.  So I decided to make a sparkly layout for my oldest son.

I used POW denim paper, a scrap of the Dear Lizzy gold dot vellum and assorted sparkly embellishments.  I added super sparkly Dear Lizzy thickers  and one of those big sequins from SC kits to finish it off.

In order to keep it "manly,"  here are some things I considered.

• Chose your colors carefully - black, blue and gold combine for a masculine feel.  Pink and lavender would have sent my son over the edge.
• Use a simple design.  A clean look is much more likely to have a masculine feel.
• Play with texture for interest.  I used this great black embossed paper from Creative Memories and used the Texture Boutique on the POW paper to add interest.  The vellum and large sequin also added textural variety.

Boys can be sparkly - they just don't want to admit it.  Try making the men in your life sparkle today.

Have a great Sunday!

What's On Your Desk?

I try to be a neat scrapper.  I clean up my workspace after every layout.  But lots of paper and bits seem to accumulate anyway.  And when I'm on a roll, I become way less diligent about cleaning up.  Then I just set things to the side to put away later. Last weekend was one of those weekends.  I was inspired by all the CHA layouts and just wanted to keep scrapping.  And a box of goodies came from My Scraps and More.

One of the challenges was to make a layout from things on your desk.  Here's what I did.

And here's what I found on my desk (don't look at the mess).

1. The background paper was in the box from MSM and the neutral pattern was a great starting point.  The vellum was out because I'd ripped the corner when I pulled it out of the package earlier in the day.I didn't have any alphas out so I printed an oversize title on the vellum in a bright color.  (I will definitely be using that idea again!)
2. The patterned paper was sitting in my scraps.
3. The scrap of gold POW paper was sitting on my desk from my December Daily project - I wasn't sure where to put it so I had just left it out.
4. I always have rolls of washi tape sitting around.
5. The picture was sitting in a pile of pictures to be put away.
6. I keep a basket of shipping tags on my desk.
7. The binder clip had come in a Studio Calico ki and I had no idea how to use it so it was sitting in a bowl of misc,. pieces on my desk.
8. The little die cut was from a package of Fact or Fiction flags that have never been put away.
9. And, of course, my trusty tape runner is always on mydesk to put it all together.

Try putting a layout together from the things on your desk.  You never know what you'll end up with.  Have a great Friday!

Giveaways

I love giveaways.  Who doesn't like free stuff.   Check out these.


Bella Blvd is giving away new goodies to three people!  Just click the link to get there.


http://iamstephanie.typepad.com/myweblog/2013/01/cha-photos-a-giveaway.html


There are 5 giveaways at Expressing From My Heart and Soul.
 http://kerentamir.blogspot.ca/2013/01/a-new-giveaway-and-its-big.html