Quick Paint Technique

  (click the picture for a larger view)

These days we are all so busy with getting things ready for the holidays.. for me this is the right moment for "quick".

I really love this quick paint technique and wanted to share it with you. I hope you can find a moment in your busy schedules for some special "me-time" and with this technique you don’t need a lot of time.

What I did for this project is determine which colors I want to use. I choose red and pink because these are the main colors in the pictures. I poored them on my paint tray and added a little water so they get "watered up’. I used a special brush to apply the paint to my project


 

After I painted strokes of red and pink I took a regular brush and splashed drops of paint on the project. Then put it down to dry….

When the paint is dry draw little circles around the splashes to give it more depth and ready is your background.

Wishing you all a very merry christmas and a scrappy New Year

Mireille 

 

POSTED BY Administrator ON 12.20.07 @ 7:31 pm | 0 Comments

Christmas Wish List

I don’t know about you but with December just days away, I’m getting really excited for Christmas!!  The town has been busy gettting the last of the lights up.  They always go all out and December here is just gorgeous! 

One of my favourite parts of Christmas is all the fun scrapping goodies that the companies put out.  It just puts me in the mood to scrap and to SHOP!!!  Check out some of my favourite fun stuff that the store has in right now, I’m totally in love with all this festive fun!

https://secure.mycart.net/catalogs/catalog.asp?prodid=4996803&showprevnext=1

http://secure.mycart.net/catalogs/index.asp?category=295530

http://secure.mycart.net/catalogs/index.asp?category=311556

http://secure.mycart.net/catalogs/catalog.asp?prodid=5001833&showprevnext=1

http://secure.mycart.net/catalogs/catalog.asp?prodid=4873856&showprevnext=1

http://secure.mycart.net/catalogs/catalog.asp?prodid=5003907&showprevnext=1

https://secure.mycart.net/catalogs/index.asp?category=311022

http://secure.mycart.net/catalogs/index.asp?category=290490

THIS is my favourite I think:

http://secure.mycart.net/catalogs/catalog.asp?prodid=5005659&showprevnext=1

And don’t forget this exclusive chipboard book, made just for the Nook!!

http://secure.mycart.net/catalogs/catalog.asp?prodid=5004632&showprevnext=1

And just because I can scrap in PINK now, I have to show you this too!

http://secure.mycart.net/catalogs/catalog.asp?prodid=5005869&showprevnext=1

Happy Shopping!!
Cara

POSTED BY Administrator ON 11.27.07 @ 8:20 am | 1 Comment

Gesso

I promised I would tell you something about Gesso and I guess now is the time. Gesso is a primer. It’s used by painters for ages.. mostly to prepare the canvas for painting. Gesso found it’s way into scrapbooking lately and boy the things you can do with it! I really really LOVE playing with Gesso.

I decided to have a few pics taken while I was working with Gesso so you could see what I was doing. Since DH is sick.. my dad had to help me out. So.. here are a few shots of the process. step 1First, before I start I like to cover my working space with newspapers since I am a messy worker. There is Gesso there, cardstock, some acrylic paints and I like to use a small sponge (cut into small pieces) since it’s not too expensive and works just fine. step 2I dipped the sponge into the gesso and apply it on the cardstock. I use a lot of gesso so you get a thick layer to play. I covered the complete cardstock but you can also choose to just cover a part or the center piece like I did on "Tandenleed". Once it’s covered apply ( different colors) acrylic paint. You can just apply one.. or use a few different colors.. just as you like. You should keep in mind that the gesso is white .. so when you mix it while still wet, the colors do tend to get a bit lighter then normal. Then.. what I like to do is just use my fingers to mix it.. draw circles and just create my background like this. You could also use brushes or the piece of sponge if you don’t like to get tons of paint on your hands ;) Using sponges or brushes will however create a different effect. You can apply more colors in layers or use more gesso if you think it’s turning out to dark.
Voilà! Your background is ready. I hope this inspires you to go and try  playing with gesso too =)

I made the background of this doorhanger to Amber’s room with Gesso too. Combined with pictures and patterned paper it looks like this  

Of course there are much more fun ways to play with gesso.. but that’s a different story

Happy Scrappin’

Mireille 

 

POSTED BY Administrator ON 11.20.07 @ 1:39 pm | 3 Comments

Winter starting to get to you?

Have you gotten that Christmassy feeling yet? If you haven’t and really want to, here’s the medicine for you!

MyScrapbookNook proudly presents:
The DECEMBER kit!

(For better pictures - look at the kit-page!) 

So… What do we have here? Well - in the words of the woman who puts these babies together:

  • 12 sheets of fabulous double sided Basic Grey Figgy Pudding papers
  • 1 sheet of monogram stickers
  • maya road chipboard snowflakes
  • 1 Inque Boutique "wishlist" stamp set
  • 4 sheets of Bazzill cardstock
  • 1 beautiful making memories scalloped lace trim
  • 1 red velvet scalloped trim by Creative CafĂ©
  • a light dusting of buttons
  • 4 pretty red gift tags in a variety of sizes
  • and one totally exclusive chipboard mini album designed specifically for this kit and only available through My Scrapbook Nook

Get yours today - and don’t forget to tell Santa about our awesome kits!
They’re only $28 when you purchase a membership- that’s a savings of over $6!
Remember, our kits sell out very fast, so guarantee yourself a kit by becoming a member today!

(For those who’d like to try first - we’ve still got the offer of trying one month without any obligations.  Imagine the X-mas gifts you could make!)

Have a great December!
/Zarah

 

 

POSTED BY Administrator ON 11.18.07 @ 7:16 pm | 0 Comments

Sweets all around!

You know I love to alter things, right?
Well, now I’ve found this new passion: altering candy bars!

It’s a fun, extremely easy way to turn a regular old piece of candy (mine are the cheap stuff from the grocery store around the corner. Tastes good, but doesn’t have a flashy name or wrapper…) into a thoughtful and fun gift.
All you do is to simply wrap your bar in pretty paper and embellish it. Couldn’t get easier - and you might end up with things like these:

Not too bad, is it? :)
All the papers and embellishments are from the November kit - except the knitted flower & orange ricrac, that’s leftocers from October’s kit. I also added the leaves and a few pieces of a paper doily.

Have fun and don’t forget to save yourself a piece of chocolate!
/Zarah

POSTED BY Administrator ON 11.13.07 @ 10:44 am | 0 Comments

Crate Paper Yumminess . . .

I was able to play with some of the "Crush Collection" this past weekend.  Here’s the LO I created . . .

I love the colors and texture of this paper, honestly I think it was created specifically for my daughter . . . not really, but it does go very well with her hair!  :)   The paper is just so beautiful all by itself that I didn’t want to add too many embellishments, I added the leaves and the crocheted flower and that’s all it needed.  Perfection!!!

You can check out more Crate Paper Collections at the Nook, here . . . http://secure.mycart.net/catalogs/index.asp?category=306395

 Thanks, Gina

POSTED BY Administrator ON 11.07.07 @ 3:18 pm | 0 Comments

21 Day Challenge ONE LITTLE WORD

21 DAY CHALLENGE _ ONE LITTLE WORD_

This challenge came to me one night when I was working on a journal.  I wanted to do a different kind of journal, not just a “year in the life of” album again.  I was reflecting on the holidays and the feelings and memories it always brings out in me. 
Our challenge is to take our pre-created journals and for the next 21 days use a keyword and a creative idea and let the two inspire us to look at ourselves, our world around us, the people we love and our place in the midst of it all. 
Day 1 – I thought it fitting with a new challenge to explore the word “NEW”.  Does this word take you back to the first time you got a new car? brought home a new baby? or does it make you think of reinvention, or creating a new you, of trying new things? Does it bring to mind images of Spring? Dew on new flowers and buds on the trees?  Take one of these images and share what it means to you, why that one image or idea stuck out in your mind.
Our creative idea for our first day..Make old tools new.  Yup, break out the deco scissors, punches, corner rounder’s etc and find a new way to use them. 

A few ideas: use your deco scissors to create great layers for a photo mat, use your corner rounder to round only two corners of your picture and add a round embellishment, use your corner rounder to create scallops, take some of your old punches and put them together to create new shapes or punch out shapes them emboss or stitch them down to add a twist.

To take part in this challenge jusy jump right into this forum  :)

Here are some of the journals people made during our crop to use for these challenges, you didn’t think I would sign off without a little creative inspiration didya?? These were done by Amie, Katie, Johub, Camilla and Janice :)

Amie's JournalKaties JournalJoHubbs JournalCamillas JournalJanice's Journal

C ya later

Erica~~

POSTED BY Administrator ON 11.05.07 @ 5:07 pm | 0 Comments

Trendwatch–clear albums

Clear albums are hot, hot, hot these days! So you can imagine how excited I was to open my November Home Scrap Club kit and find a Maya Road scalloped clear mini-album…be still my heart! I had the perfect photos from my daughter’s 4th birthday to go with it, and while they didn’t match the kit papers, I knew this was what I needed to use this album for.

What can be intimidating to many people about clear albums is what to do with the reverse side. For me, the answer was simple–I cropped my photos to the same size so I wouldn’t have to look at the back of a photo!

Another idea could be to only scrap the front side of the clear pages…or to embrace the ability to see your embellishments through more than one layer. 

Oh yeah, another great thing about this album? I still have 4 pages left! I could make another album with them, but I think I might try to incorporate them into my traditional layouts. Either way, this clear album was good for an afternoon of fun, and preserved a special memory of my little princess.

 

POSTED BY Rosy ON 11.03.07 @ 4:40 am | 2 Comments

Noel boxes!

I made these to put on my mantlepiece at xmas time, i love them so i thought i would show you how to make them. They are really easy!!

Okay first of all you have to use a 12 by 12 piece of card,

as it is the only one that can fit it on. This is the shape that

you want to create.

 

The size for all of the squares are

 

Then cut out. Make sure that you measurments are exact

other wise your box may be a bit of a funny shape.

 

Next cut out and stick together. I use double sided tape

on all the tags and then when it is all stuck together

i secured the edges with sellotape.

I have done a tag on each of the boxes so you dont

squash them when you pick them up,

 

TO do that you need to cut out your square and cut a slit

in the top to push the handle through

 

Insert your handle through ( whatever size you want it to be) 

 

 

And then secure on the back. Stick this to the box.

Then decorate as desired

.

 

 

 

POSTED BY Administrator ON 10.30.07 @ 12:50 pm | 0 Comments

Halloween Photos

With Halloween right around the corner, the little ones (and the not so little ones) are getting all excited to get dressed up and go get some candy!  What is a good scrapper to do?  Take a LOT great photos of course!  It can be really hard, though to get good shots because of time restraints as the kids are excited to get out the door and night time is really not the best time to get pretty photos.  Staging can be a real help…  I like to take costume photos a few days in advance, for example.  The kids are excited to get dressed up an extra time and not anxious to get going (even though they don’t do trick-or-treating here in France we usually at least go to families’ houses).  Here are a few photos of my kids from last year.  They older ones tended to be very cooperative and posed for the camera, but my youngest was barely a year, so I dressed him up and just let him play and I just kept taking pictures until I got the photos I wanted.


 

Other shots to take in advance would be the jack-o-lantern, before it gets all blackened and mushy… use a tripod or set the camera on the table and use the timer.  This is ours from a couple of years ago.  

Set up an arrangement with a friend or neighbour that has a nice Halloween display in front of their house.  One evening, as Halloween gets closer so you can stage your kids trick-or-treating at their house.  They can stand there the time it takes to get a good shot under the porch lights.  A tripod would be a good idea here too.  You can even switch and have their kids pretend to trick-or-treat at your place.

Don’t forget the night of Halloween to get shots of groups of kids in the street and friends and family at the door and one shot for after Halloween is the loot, spread it out on the floor and take a picture in the natural light of the day… and don’t steal too much of it while you’re at it ;)

Cara

POSTED BY Administrator ON 10.26.07 @ 9:03 pm | 0 Comments