Discovered UTEE

Something about funds, or lack thereof, altered my plans to attend the SSD warehouse sale.  It wasn't meant to be.  I did, however, stop by the tiny TM in Rogers and found the Crop-a-Dile Main Squeeze for pennies on the dollar.  Upon further inspection, I'm not sure the investment was a good one.  The concept is great, and if embellishments outside what the company offers work, the story changes.  Otherwise, this will be a very expensive press... for garlic maybe???  What's really needed is the Crop-a-Dile II.

I've owned Glossy Accents for a number of months now, but let it set because it seemed too expensive to use, and embossing powders gave a bit of shine where needed.  In the making of the mini-album, I hauled the bottle out... and WOW!  How did I do this without the glossy bling?  What I didn't realize after this discovery, until seeing it on YouTube, was that the surface had only been scratched, so to speak.  The next step up is the Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE). Playing with it when it comes into the house will probably set the album back a few days, but this is a tool to master.  I'm wondering if this could change the way I look at charms; they are much too expensive for general use right now, and want to change this.

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Speaking of the mini-album (what else these days?) I decided to make the ABC Primer documenting my husband's childhood days photographs before starting the one intended for me.  I found a video with step-by-step instructions on YouTube (where else?) that's perfect for my current skill level.
 

 
   This is a great introduction since the lines run very straight, without all the flourishes and complicated cuts planned for the other book.  I'm learning exponentially at present, and it's all to the good!  I'm lifting the book straight from her design, but can't help but think that anyone who makes 18 videos outlining every step and cut minds being copied.  (Trying to sell the album as my own design would be less than ethical, but that's not a problem.)

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I absolutely adore the two stencil sets bought from Kiwi Lane Designs.  Since discovering the site, they've had only one sale, just before Christmas, nothing since.  This Saturday they're having another.  There would be nothing more pleasing than having everything they make, but that's unreasonable.  I will settle by buying only one more set to add to the collection this go round... darn.

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I'm having a blast decorating containers and house decorations.  One of the latest creations, for the coloured pencils collected over the past 20 years or so:

Quickie Photo

 

Page Theme Issues

I'm still studying differences between good, great, and wow-za pages.  And learned a couple of things today.

When putting together a page I pull out all the possible paper combinations, dies, stickers, stamps, etc I expect to use, or possibly use.  Without exception, one element will capture my fancy and, wrong as it is, I'll walk on hot coals to incorporate it.

I'll use the project currently under construction to demonstrate this point.

The page features a trip to the ocean.  The colour scheme runs to pastels.  I also wanted to blend shabby chic with just a bit of whimsey.  (Probably my first mistake)  The element I fell head over heels in love with was a couple of starfish cut from a die, and stamped with a truly adorable face.

Blurry, but a fair representation for this purpose

Cute as buttons.  So far, no problem with page assembly.  The starfish works well with the photo matting demonstrated in the photo.  There are two photos featured that go on the page, one each for the right and left side.  I set waves consisting of four layers of papers to create a bottom border for the page. (I cut and chalked a few fishes to appear to be jumping in and out of the waves.  Darling!)  The title will go in the upper right hand corner, and I plan to use three separate journaling boxes between the space of the two photos.  So far, all works together very nicely...

But this is where this "hooked on an element" becomes a problem.  I need "something" that binds the two pictures, and creates another layer of depth for the journaling boxes; perhaps a large strip of paper, 12x4 inches.  When I laid the thick mid-line border across the page, I got "blah."  I then began playing with one of the Tim Holtz masks picked up the other day.  Love at first sight.  That was the answer!!  Except it wasn't.  The chalked image creates a very formal setting.  Not at all within the theme, nothing whimsical about it; however, I really, really want to use it.

A much smaller image than the mask I would use, but it's easy to see the formality.

So that's a huge chunk of my problem... choosing two non-complimentary elements to a page.  I usually justify using both and calling it "mixed," but it's not.  It just proves my lack of experience.  Maybe someone with much more experience could pull it off, but I can't with goodly results.

Since I'm more than three-quarters finished with the page, it will have to be the flourish to go.  This will be a first.  It's a start in the right direction, however.

For now on I plan the page theme and keep cute away from formal.  It can't hurt!

Quick Tip

When there's a need of a line of embellishments such as tags, pictures, etc, and absolute perfection is not critical, there's a method  I found that eliminates rulers, pencil marks, or crimped paper.

Using a 12x12 cutting map I use a large rubber band expanded over and around the mat.  Assure the rubber band is resting on a designated mark on both sides, and not twisted. Pull the background between the rubber band and mat, marry the top or bottom of the pulled through paper to a predetermined guide mark on the mat.  Line the objects upon the rubber bands once adhesives are attached and use care to place the bottom or top of the element just over/under the band while carefully not moving the placement of the band.

Works like a charm every time!

Ca-rot Top

I've been wanting to scrap this page for a long time now.  The only problem is the quality of the picture.  The back lighting from the bathroom window probably caused the extreme shading of the photo.  This is really disappointing, but was done before I began working on my photography "skills."  Don't think the same mistake would be made today, or at least would hope not.

The page is about a silly idea we came up with after cutting the top of a carrot that had greenery left in place.  The thought was that if we planted it, we would have a nice carrot at then end.  It got really bushy and healthy looking for about 2 months, but suddenly wilted.  The time was right for my helper to harvest.  After a hefty tug, all that came up was a green bunch of wilted leaves.  No carrot.  No roots.  The whole episode turned into a very fun memory... hence the desire to document the event despite the lousy photo.

Entering contests on CSI.com's site has opened me up to using colours in a way I might not have thought before.  I still lack real courage, but this is a learning process! 

About six months ago I stumbled upon an adorable pet-themed paper pack on sale.  The pages were absolutely adorable, but until this project I had no clue where to use the paper.  Now unleashed, there's many, many projects that come to mind using this paper.  This is how it goes with most all the paper pads bought along the way. As a side note... although the camera doesn't capture it, the rabbit is actually flocked.

I created the flower and carrot sign for embellishments.  The banner in the top right and the title located at the top left are commercial products.  The carrots are the crowning achievement on this page.  I used the Cricut to cut the shape, but the paper I wanted to use wasn't large enough to accommodate the full shape I had to start with, so in the end had to trace and manually cut the actual cutout onto paper originally planned for use; all done with very satisfactory results.  I then generously inked the carrots and leaves, and if I don't say so myself, did an excellent job on shading.

My Carrot Job

The most demanding aspect in presenting scrapped pages into digital images is capturing the true colours.  For that, I'm still experimenting with lighting techniques.  Too much light and the photo turns out washed; too little and all is dimmed (as in this case).  I believe setting up a shoot in diffused sunlight works best.  I may have found the solution for taking perfectly square photos for cropping.  There is an adapter to the tripod that extends an arm that in turn holds the camera directly over the center of the subject.  The centering is most critical for cropping; any deviation in angle distorts captured lines.  These devices run anywhere between $35-60, but Martin thinks he can build one for under $10.  The question at that point is when he'll have time to get to do it.  I'll give him two months after the promise, but if there are no results, it's off to the store for the extension bar.