Monday, September 25, 2017

Making a Galaxy with my Fingers - video

I recently acquired some pots of Nuvo Embellishment Mousse. I wanted them to make a shiny galaxy. My issue with using ink pads is that the ink will run when they get wet. Yes, some inks, like distress inks and distress oxide inks, have a really neat effect when activated with water, but they are never made permanent. (I suppose you could use a sealant afterward.)

Nuvo Embellishment Mousse is permanent once dry. It will never run and blur if it gets wet. So, I really wanted to try them out. Also, they are opaque and can layer over each other, so its harder to "make mud" out of the colours.

I experimented many different ways and filmed them to share. Here's the first: Making a galaxy using my fingers as the applicator.

To show you something what it looks like, from a different experiment (mousse and baby wipes) I made this card.
The mousse cleans off my fingers easily with a baby wipe (or water and a cloth) when wet. Your finger gives a strong colour, but I found the mousse dried really quickly, so I had trouble spreading it nicely. (Luckily, that matters less when making a galaxy since most of it gets covered up at the end.)
One thing I like about the black is that it's not a solid black. It's more like a very dark, smokey grey. (It's called black ash, so that makes sense!) If you spread it thin or water it down a bit, it allows the colours below to shine through.

I made this card with a Tonic Studios moon die. I plan to give it to my sister-in-law for her son. They often say this phrase to each other. I found the "I love you" and the "To the moon & back" stamps as separate stamps in the same sale bin at Michaels craft store. I knew I had to buy them as a set, specifically to make something like this for my sister-in-law.
I also tried a (yet another) new way of splattering the stars onto the galaxy. I have finally found a way I like - minimal mess, maximum effect, acceptable control. I saw other crafters doing it this way so I tried it and am so happy!

Use this link to go to my Vimeo channel to see how I made this galaxy background and my new favourite way to splatter stars/snow!

Stay tuned for future galaxy background experiments and other ways of using the mousses!

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Photo Sizing for Mini Albums

Ever wonder what size is best for a mini? Some mini albums are really mini (even pocket mini), but some mini albums are not very mini. I think the expression of "mini album" originally meant anything smaller than a 12 x 12 inch album (or perhaps an 8.5 x 11-\ inch album). Lots of brands carry 6 x 6 inch and 8 x 8 inch albums.

Then, Project Life took hold and pocket scrapbooking became popular. 4 x 3 photos are all the rage because of it. Then Instax took off and now there are super mini albums.

Me, I like to work with the standard photo size that the average Joe would get from a photo printing place: 4 x 6. If I have a really nice picture, I might get it in a 5 x 7. So, those are my two basic sizes. From there, you can cut them in half or in quarters.

I show in this video what those sizes look like on an 8.5 x 11 inch piece of paper. Many of us have home photo printers, so we can collage several photos in different sizes and print them together on one piece of 8.5 x 11 inch photo paper. My printer also allows me to put 4 x 6 inch paper or 5 x 7 inch paper in it too.

I also cover how to protect your photos in mini albums. One of the biggest deterrents to making mini albums (other than pocket page albums) is the lack of a photo sleeve to protect your pages. Well, I have a solution that will protect the most important part of your page: the photo. They are called Crystal Clear Photo Mounts and they are sold online by Clearbags.ca. (I am not affiliated with them. I just really like their stuff.)

Head on over to my PHOTO SIZES video on my Vimeo Channel to get the full scoop!

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Honeymoon Scrapbook Mini Album

Last Scrapfest, in Kitchener, I attended a mini album class where we assembled an album from a kit made from mostly Heartfelt Creations supplies. The base album, page assemblies, paper collection and stamps were from Heartfelt.

I only finished about 50% of the album in class. Since I finished the rest at home, I was able to swap out some papers for ones in my stash that I liked better. I also changed or added some embellishments.

You can see a full walk-through of this scrapbook mini album on my YouTube Channel. I also give my personal review of the album base (starting at the 8 minute mark).

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Flower Fairy in a Box Card

While I've been working with Shadow Box Card sizing lately, I still think the Card in a Box is my favourite type of 3D card. So, I returned to that style to make a birthday card for a friend.

The darling fairy is from A Day for Daisies. I just love the artist's line art, storybook style.

The other flowers are from a Kraftin Kimmie (a Canadian company) set and the sentiment is from C.C. Designs.

I coloured everything with my Copic and Letraset alcohol markers and used my Spectrum Noire sparkle brush on her wings.

I really like how it turned out, so I'd like to make some more in this style with a bunch of different colours.