Blooms, tips and techniques!

Hi everyone,   The theme for the Artfull Crafts Design Team  this month is "Birthdays and Blooms" so make sure you check out the blog to see all the wonderful projects, tips and techniques the girls will posting.  As you've probably noticed, I love adding blooms to my projects,  it gives depth and texture, and they are so pretty!

First I have a card I made, based on a sketch by Tanya Leigh.  I used Kaisercraft's English Rose collection.  I love that the reverse of the barcode strip is decorated...very sweet.  I used Kaiser's new Paper Blooms  and Sullivan's mini roses on it too.

My layout was made using Graphic 45 "Once Upon A Springtime" paper.   These papers are seriously gorgeous with lots of flowers and fairies.  And the paper is a really, good quality, fantastic for layering and fussy cutting.

 I used Tim Holtz filmstrip, lots of lovely flowers, and Graphic 45 diecut tags and frames.   I added a little extra glitz with some Stickles. 

  

 I love making my own flowers so will be posting a few tutorials over the next few weeks.   As they say....Stay tuned!

Dimensional Magic is a very versatile product, but many people are unsure how to use it. I use mine all the time, and find it lasts for ages.   For me it's a necessity alongside tape and  ink.  Here are a few of my favourite ways to use it.

1. As a strong glue! It's fantastic for glueing buttons, shells, plastics, acrylic, and metal.   I use it on acrylic albums because I want it to last, and I know it will hold.

2. As a glaze on chipboard or other embellishments to give it a glossy look.

 It was hard to capture this, but the doodled flowers, & yellow icing are glossy.  I also highlighted every second line on the wrapper of the cupcake.

3. To create "dew" on your flowers, add a few little droplets on the petals

4. It's brilliant for attaching glitter or Diamond Dust to your projects. Simply put Dimensional Magic where you want the glitter & sprinkle the glitter on. (N.B.  It works great if you dip flowers into the Diamond Dust, gives a nice and chunky look.)

5. To highlight a pattern on paper. It has a pointed tip which allows very precise application of this product.

The dark part of the bracket was covered in Dimensional Magic, and provides a nice contrast  to the flat background. 

 I highlighted "Sisters"on the title, and parts of the patterned paper.

 I've used Dimensional Magic on the guitar,  faux photo corners, and title .

6. To create texture on acrylic albums. Create your own swirls, grid patterns, etc.

7. To attach small items such as beads, microbeads, & Flowersoft.

8. It can be used in the same manner as Glossy Accents (which is used by Tim Holtz in many of his videos, & books)

9.  Creates a cool 3-D effect when you mix glitter into it on your chipboard.  I use a pinhead or toothpick.

10.  You  can make jewellery by using it in the same manner as resin.

11.  Use it to create a resist, allow to dry.  Distress Ink or Glimmer Mist over your paper, then buff off the excess.   (I will do a quick tutorial on this in my DT post next week.)


Tips for use
Do not shake the bottle.  This will create bubbles (use a pin to pop them while still wet)
Use a needle or pin to unclog the nozzle.
It is a little cloudy when wet, but dries clear.
Turn bottle at angle and squeeze gently to release liquid.
Use the pointed tip for easy and even application.
Outline your work, then fill in.
Allow to dry for 24 hours before handling  (It will dry alot faster in the Queensland summers)
Keep out of extreme temperatures or humidity while drying to prevent cracking.

Please let me know if you found this helpful.

Happy Scrapping!
Tina

A 2 Z Scraplets Challenge (2nd post for today)

Here's my take on Ingrid Lingman's sketch for the December Sketch challenge at A2Z Scraplets. The first page is based on her sketch, but I had lots of photos that I wanted to include so made an 8 x 8 inch book on the next page. The pics were taken of a fun day at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane.

I used A2Z Scraplets owl and inked, embossed it, and then highlighted the embossed areas with darker ink and glitter.

The second page....

Thanks for looking.
Tina

Woot woot !!!!

I told you I had some exciting news........I made the Scrappassion International Design Team!  This was the announcement on their blog 

"We have found our new DT members!

We are very happy to tell you we have found 4 girls who will join us over here to rock this blog as well!

Welcome:

Tina Connolly

Melissa Docking

Elina Strömberg

Michelle Hodges

These are the girls who will be Scrappassion International Challenge girls! They will introduce themselves real soon."

Congrats to Melissa, Elina, and Michelle!    I can't wait to do all the fab challenges.
 If you want to see some seriously gorgeous eye candy check out the original Dutch Scrap Passion blog .

As promised.... here's some pics of the next challenge I completed for the Wicked Wonderland Cybercrop.  The criteria for this challenge was to take your camera outside and photograph something that you do not see everyday.   OR    If you can't find something unusual than think about taking your photo from a different angle as perspective can change the most normal of things.

 

Now for some scary pics.....

This was created for Alicia's "Off with your head" challenge , where dealing the cards tells you what you need to use on your LO.  I had to use stamping, 3 photos, 10 buttons, and 7 ribbons (I counted string as a ribbon and used 5 colours of the web ribbon, plus there is a tiny ribbon threaded through a button).

The cute little spiderweb is by Kutalicious

Thanks for looking,  I hope you enjoyed it.
Have a fab day,
Tina

Can't tell you yet....

Received some super, exciting news tonight....but I can't tell you till tomorrow! Yes, I know,....I'm being a tease! But I do have some pics to show you. And...I forgot to share my other exciting news which was that my layout "Beach" was published in Issue #3 of Australian Scrapbooking Ideas. This was my first layout to be published in print, which was a real buzz.
I've gotten a bit of scrapping done this week thanks to the fun challenges the girls gave us for the Scrapping Outback Wicked Wonderland Cybercrop. This was awesome for me because my youngest daughter has danced in "Alice in Wonderland", "The Addams Family", and "Horror Movies" this year, so I had photos which are just perfect. Plus I'd bought the gorgeous Halloween in Wonderland papers by Graphic 45!

 This is my take on the Mad Hatter challenge,  I had lots of fun putting this together, & creating lots of different textures. 

These were the challenge requirements-
1. Your project must be in the shape of the MAD HATTERS HAT.
2. You need to draw inspiration from the colours of the Mad Hatter and there are quiet a few to choose from Smile .
3. Just like the Mad Hatters Hat Pins you need to have something sticking out of you project.
4. A black & white photo.
5. Must have at least 1 bat.
6. Have fun with it!!

I drew the hat shape freehand, cut it out, and inked all the edges.

I used Distress Stickles, Dimensional Magic, and Tim Holtz embossing folders to give lots of texture.

Hope you like it. I'll have photos of my layouts for Julie's "Nature Challenge" and Alicia's "Off with her head challenge" tomorrow. And I'll tell you my news!
Happy scrapping
Tina