Let's get in gear!

For this month's card sketch at Scrapping Everyday Miracles, I indulged in my love of steampunk and gears (lots and lots of gears, lol). Here is the sketch I made:

 

And here is the card I made from it:

This is a birthday card for a friend. I'm glad I don't have to mail it - this thing is heavy!! For the background I layered strips of metal foil tape on a sheet of paper and then applied various layers of Distress Paint over the top. Once it was dry I lightly sanded it to distress it. Then I had lots of fun layering gear parts.

I also want to mention this month's challenge over at Inspiration Journal, Falling for Faux. Be sure to go check it out and you can link up your project there by the end of the month for a chance to win $50 to spend at Inspiration Emporium!

Most of the supplies I've used on my card can be found at Inspiration Emporium. Follow the links below and use my code JUICE to save 10% if you go shopping.

September Sketch Challenge!

This month at Scrapping Everyday Miracles we have some great sketches to inspire you! As always you can choose from a layout or card sketch (or do both!) and incorporate the scrap twist. This month the sketch is from Scrapbook etc. and the twist is to use some kind of twine or fiber in your project.

 

Here is my take on the sketch. I kept it pretty close but did flip the sketch.

I always take a zillion photos on vacations and it's nice to fit a bunch of them all on one layout! I'm going to do a layout using the same sketch for the photos I took of the Star Wars Miniland section. Head on over to SEM and see the card sketch and inspiring work of the Design Team. Link up your projects there by the end of the month and you'll be in the running for winning the prize from our monthly sponsor. Have a great week!

Happy Birthday Melissa!

Today is my friend Melissa's birthday and she gets a sneak peek at her card since the birthday bash will be next week or so. Hi Melissa!! =) For her card I wanted to take advantage of the September Inspiration Journal challenge which is Falling for Faux. I went to my Pintrest boards (I love Pintrest!!) and found a tutorial I had pinned for creating a faux rust background with Distress Paint. Perfect! Check out the link above for the great video Contadina K created to show you how to do it. (I added some Vintage Photo Distress embossing powder also for more texture.) Here is the card:

 

To embellish the front, I used several different techniques. First and easiest was to paint the metal parts with Distress Paint to colorize them. The label holder was silver and completely the wrong color for the card but a little Tarnished Brass and Peeled Paint took care of that! The metal Foliage flowers I painted with Wild Honey and Seedless Preserves. I've found that the paint tends to bead up on the flowers so I'll wipe them off with some rubbing alcohol first and that removes the residue. You can paint the brad tops too so they match. Distress Paint works great on metal!

The leaves were created with a oldie but goodie Tim Holtz technique that he shared here. It involves using glassine paper and alcohol ink and gives you a wonderful look.

The flowers I cut out of coffee filters and colored with Ripe Persimmon Distress Stain. I didn't have any Dusty Concord stain so I swiped my Dusty Concord ink pad across my craft sheet, misted it with water and then squinched (technical term) the flowers around in it. 

There are some fun techniques here to be explored. I hope you check out the Inspiration Journal challenge and link up your own project there. You have until the end of the month and participants have a chance at winning $50 in Emporium Dollars to spend at Inspiration Emporium.

Most of the supplies I've used on my card can be found at Inspiration Emporium. Follow the links below and use my code JUICE to save 10% if you go shopping.

To everything there is a season…

and the subject of September's challenge at Scrapping Everyday Miracles is to share which season is your favorite! I'm pretty happy with all the seasons here in California (although it would be nice to have AC in the summer) but I especially love fall. The leaves turn, the evenings get a bit crisper, Starbuck's starts selling pumpkin lattes… and around here we usually have a nice stretch of Indian summer where it is still warm and beautiful. For the past three years or so, every October we've been going camping at New Brighton Beach in Santa Cruz with a big group of friends. The weather has always been gorgeous and we've had a great time on the beach.  For you see, the Santa Cruz beaches are often fogged in during the summer and the better weather is in the fall! This layout is documenting our trip from last year:

The twist for the challenge is to include at least three leaves on your page. My leaves are kelp leaves! I used Distress Stains, inks and mists on a vellum sheet to get that mottled seaweed coloration (so much inky messy fun!) Then I cut the kelp shape out of the page to layer behind the photos.

Be sure to go to SEM to check out the layouts done by the other DT members. There is a lot of inspiring work to be seen. Link up your project by the end of the month and you'll have a chance to win our monthly sponsor's prize! Don't forget the twist…

Most of the supplies I've used on my layout can be found at Inspiration Emporium. Follow the links below and use my code JUICE to save 10% if you go shopping.