rachel kilpatrick designs

this is why

2009-07-09T13:48:00.003-04:00

I just love my sweet little girl, she is the light of my life :) Design credits: Fantastical Papers, Fantastical Elements, Journal Me Beautiful Brushes, Glitterati Strokes by Sherrie Piegdon, all available at pixelgypsydesigns.com.

angelic

2009-06-22T15:17:00.003-04:00

Just a quick scrap of a pic I found floating around one of my folders, I think it was actually taken last summer.
Design credits: Fantastical Papers, Fantastical Elements, Whit's Sassy Lassie Elements, Cherries Jubilee (mini kit) all by Sherrie Piegdon and available exclusively at pixelgypsydesigns.com. Thanks for looking :)

My Friend

2009-06-21T09:27:00.003-04:00

My husband actually took this pic with his cell phone! I don't think I've ever even attempted to scrap a pic from a phone, they usually come out pretty icky, but I fell in love with this one (great job honey!!) This was Lauren's first time at the beach, and she's with her step sister having a blast....Thanks for looking :)
*All products used available exclusively at pixelgypsydesigns.com.* Design credits: Into the Twilight paper pack, Artisian Frames; Word Artistry - Friends; Whit's Sassy Lassie Element Pack; Fantastical Element Pack by Sherrie Piegdon.

Euphoria

2009-06-05T08:52:00.004-04:00

I already posted this one in a couple of my online galleries, and then decided to make changes to it (so it might look a bit different if you've seen it elsewhere). This is really one of my all time fave pics of my daughter. We were at Disney on a little vacation a couple months ago and she was having a blast at the hotel pool. The sun was setting and there were water fountains spraying everywhere which, as you can guess made for the coolest photo opps! I used a lot of masking techniques in this page, I wanted it to be really different, so instead of keeping my elements & title outside the photo, I put them inside the photo....aren't I tricky, lol!
Thanks for looking!

Design credits: Autumn in Sedona Mini Kit & Negative Space Frames by Sherrie Piegdon, Inspired Element Pack by Ami Collofello, Celebrate Papers & Summertime Mini Kit by Amanda Carlson- all available exclusively at pixelgypsydesigns.com. Title font by: (fonts for peas) kevinandamanda.com.

shine

2009-05-31T07:34:00.004-04:00

Lauren got a Tinkerbell costume for Easter, and now she's obsessed with being a princess. It's really cute because she has never liked to dress up, and she's a total tomboy. I'm so happy that she likes something girly! She runs around in full garb singing "I'm a magical princess!!" at the top of her lungs...it's hysterical :)

*All products used on this page are available exclusively at pixelgyspydesigns.com, (Each product listed has a direct link - be sure to visit the site today!) Celebrate Papers by Amanda Carlson, Negative Space frames by Sherrie Piegdon, (green polka dot paper) by Abish Allen "My Garden" freebie add on.
Thanks for looking :)

sweetness

2009-05-21T15:58:00.005-04:00

So, I'm really excited to tell all of you that I recently joined Pixel Gypsy Designs as a design apprentice! I am absolutely thrilled to be apart of their community, and so grateful for the opportunity. If you've never checked out the site, jump over right now! They have amazingly talented designers, and it's a really friendly community with a wide range of digital products, freebies, fun forums, challenges and lots more :)

Here is a link to the shop where you can find the products used on this page: Pixel Gypsy Designs Shop. Design credits: Serene Papers by Sherrie Piegdon, Journal me Beautiful brushes (frame around photo) and film strips by Sherrie Piegdon, paper strips, stitched flower element and border from Ami Collefello's Inspired collection, button element from Abish Allen's My Garden collection. "Impervious" font by kevinandamanda.com.
Thanks for looking, and I hope you check out the site!

2009-05-17T20:01:00.003-04:00

This is my beautiful sister and her wonderful husband. In case the journaling is too small to read, it's from Corinthians, Ch. 13; "Love is patient, Love is kind, It does not envy, It does not boast". I made this word art a while ago with some other famous & inspirational quotes, and this is the first page I've actually used it on. Thanks for looking :)

it is love...

2009-05-15T11:51:00.005-04:00

Another page I put together using my own goodies :) This picture of her cracks me up, it's pretty rare that she smiles for the camera, so this one definitely earned a page. Thanks for looking!

Cherry Vanilla

2009-05-15T09:29:00.005-04:00

Hi everyone :) I know it seems I've been MIA lately...and it's not because I'm a slacker, hahaha... I've actually been totally engrossed in teaching myself to make digital scrapbooking kits that any time I've spent online has been with PS tutorials. Teaching myself photoshop has been one of the most challenging and rewarding personal experiences of my life. It has definitely had it's ups and downs, and when I started messing around with photoshop back in October, I really had no idea how into it I would get. Everyday is a new challenge, and I still have so much to learn - I feel like I haven't even scratched the surface of what the software is capable of.

Anyway, here is my first page using only my own designs - it's from the first kit I created called Cherry Vanilla. I really hope to show the kit somewhere soon, and will let everyone know when and where I show it ;)

I really need to get online and make up for lost time in all the galleries and blogs, I really miss seeing everyone's awesome work, and will visit soon :) Thanks for looking!

Oops!

2009-05-01T11:35:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone,

I was just going through my e mail and deleting my spam folder, when i pressed delete I saw a message from someone with the message line "I like your blog" (or something along those lines). Before I could get it back, it was permanently deleted.
So, whoever you are, I apologize! I didn't get to read the message, and I would feel terribly rude if you took the time to e mail me and I didn't get back to you...i lose a lot of e mails that automatically go to my spam folder :(
Please feel free to e mail me again, and hopefully I will get this one. Thank you again for taking the time to write, I always appreciate hearing from people :)

~Rachel

with love....

2009-04-10T12:46:00.002-04:00

I finally decided to do a page today, even though there are about a zillion other things i should be doing (sigh!)...anyway, here's my little angel at the pool, i think this is one of my all time favorite pics; the sun was setting and there were fountains spraying water everywhere, which of course made for awesome picture taking!

Design credits to: Kate Pertiet (paper), Kitty Designs (word art) and brushes from B.Silvia & Seishido biz.

purity...

2009-03-14T07:15:00.003-04:00

I found this page (well, at least part of it) in my files while I was posting my "thank you" page yesterday. I started it a few months ago and never finished, I'm such a scatterbrain! So I made a few changes and think I really like how it turned out - It's funny how much digital is like paper - your style changes/evolves and you look back at something you did and all of the sudden know just how you want to change it. I've never done it with my paper pages, (definitely thought about it!) but with digi it's just so much easier to open it and start throwing stuff in, lol..and I tend to use techniques that I learn and love, like this and my "thank you" page - I open a pic, use a cool paper to clip it, adjust the style/filter and then clip it again onto a mask, and then plop it down on another coordinating paper to begin the page.
This mask is by my favorite Annie Manning collection, called "Paint the Moon" which I got at oscraps.com. I used various brushes, mainly from B. Silvia's BorderLite collection, Word art (collab kit) by Vicki Stegall and Taylor Made, and the background paper is by Danielle Young.

thank you...

2009-03-13T06:33:00.004-04:00

Life has been crazy lately, it was so much fun to actually sit down and finish a page! We moved a couple weeks ago, and I'm still unpacking, it's been nuts! Anyway, here is my little one, she actually wanted me to take her picture which was a rare opportunity for me. I just realized I'm always partial to the shots I get of her profile, maybe because that's all I can get most of the time, haha!
I've been doing a lot of practicing with photoshop, mainly learning how to make my own digital elements/papers and stuff and while it's been really frustrating, it's definitely been beneficial. I really wanted to just get a page done because it's been soooo long, so I just used my stash of stuff from my fave designers to do this one. I promise soon I will show my own goodies (with free downloads too!)
Design credits: Taylor Made, Vicki Stegall, Fei-fei's Stuff, K. Chen, Kate Pertiet, NinaScrap Designs.

2009-01-31T11:59:00.003-04:00

WOW, i finally got to do a page! I definitely lost my mojo for a while. Anyway, this page was inspired by the*amazing* Amanda Taylor's (taylormade designs) work. I could stay in her gallery all day long, just in awe of what she does! while i was browsing her gallery i realized that i had never tried a clipping mask - so here is my first go at it, the photo mask is by Annie Manning (oscraps.com), and you just plop that puppy right down over your photo and voila! (sorry, but i was amazed, haha!) I used a background paper by fei-fei's stuff, some swirly elements by kittydesigns (oscraps.com) and a hodgepodge of brushes, including some of the most incredibly beautiful brushes I've ever come across at amadaun.net. The journaling is obviously from Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes (my all time favorite song, like,*ever*). Thanks for taking a peek :)

2009-01-29T14:58:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone! I have been taking a bit of a rest from my computer lately (haven't been feeling too great b/c of *awful* TMJ headaches). I wanted to post a big thanks to Jill (scrap-pit) and Renee (scrap-o-holic) for leaving me this super sweet blog award, thanks ladies! so for my part, here are my (top) 5 addictions:

Trying to learn Photoshop (of course, hahaha!)
Candles
Sprite with tons of ice & a straw
Brownies, well actually anything chocolate...I gotta have it, everyday.
(and the newest) crocheting.

I know, pretty exciting stuff huh? I suddenly feel the need to go get something pierced or tatooed because I feel lame!

2009-01-16T14:07:00.003-04:00

This page is for my CT role @ bwscrapbooking.com; Its from their Grateful Bounty Kit, which I really like :) I cropped the pic with my elliptical tool, made a work path, feathered my selection and placed it onto the frame (using the multiply filter). I also distressed the edges of my paper and elements using the burn tool, and embossed the frame to give it a little depth. This kit is really fantastic, definitely go check it out!

sweet baby girl

2009-01-06T06:14:00.003-04:00

Yes, I even though she just turned 3 I still call her my baby girl, haha! When I came across this word art in my stash (that i totally forgot I had!) I just had to use it...Anyway, I got some awesome shots yesterday with my new camera (thanks mom & dad!) when we went outside to play. Thank goodness for this camera, my old one was dying for sure, and it didnt have half the mp's this one has, im totally in heaven! This was fun to do, a little tricky since im so new to photoshop, but really fun. I used the mag. lasso & magic wand tools to crop the background out, and then zoomed in really close to use the eraser and smudge tools to refine the edges, which was a little daunting because her hair, but I just played around with the strengths of each tool and I really ended up liking the result ;) I also adjusted the brightness/contrast of the photo and used color burn for my layer options. The word art is a collab. by Taylor Made & Vicki Stegall (endearment kit i think) @ oscraps.com and the background paper is by ScrapKitten Designs (Shabby Spring Parfait Kit) @ scrapitsassy.com.

sweetheart

2009-01-03T12:01:00.004-04:00

I did this page with the awesome freebie kit (in the Jan/Feb issue of the Scrap N'art Ezine) from oscraps.com. the papers and word art are by Taylor Made Designs, and the "glitzsplat" in the bottom corner is by Vicki Stegall. As i was putting this page together, I was laughing to myself thinking that Angelina Jolie's got nothin' on my kid - her lips have been full and beautiful from the second she was born (she can later thank Dad for that!) Anyway, thank you to Scrap N'art, Oscraps.com and all the designers that put this kit together, i love it!

i do...

2008-12-31T16:48:00.004-04:00

here is another one of my pages for my CT role @ scrapitsassy; it was created using a kit called Spring Parfait by ScrapKitten Designs. (Please click on the kit name to go to the kit.) I really loved working with this kit because (well, its obviously very pretty!) but its large too - there are lots of cool elements to choose from, and the colors are very soft and pretty. I am still trying to get my wedding scrapped, so i thought this kit would be a good choice for some of my photos. Ive tried to scrap this pic soooo many times, with no luck...its really the only photo that is somewhat close-up of me, but i remember my sister taking it and i smiled REALLY big and cheesy, so i have mixed feelings about it, lol! Anyway, this kit was a blast to work with, the only thing i added were drop shadows on all of my elements (im a drop shadow girl i guess) so go check out this kit, you'll be pleased!

best friend

2008-12-28T16:09:00.005-04:00

This is my 2nd page using this kit - (It's all about the Grunge) by (Kari) Relocated Dixie Girl. (Here is a link to the kit @ scrapitsassy, and her blog is in my faves). Im sure everyone will be wondering if I lost my mind scrapping a stuffed animal...but this little animal is my daughters best friend. She literally carries him everywhere, and has been for almost a year now..its kind of funny, we joke that he's our 2nd child.
I used drop shadows, some color burning on the ribbons, and I used the magic wand tool to cut the animal out of another photo and place it on this layout, I absolutely love that tool now that i've gotten the hang of it. At first all it did was frustrate me because it only seemed to select everything i didnt want selected, (but i think i figured it out, so HA! magic wand tool!) Really though, if you dont usually use this tool, give it another try, its pretty amazing - just zoom in on whatever you want it to select and be sure there is a color difference between what you want selected and do not want selected, otherwise it will pick up stuff you dont want it to. With this one i bumped up the contrast of the whole photo considerably before I used the magic wand, and it made the background deeper and that's how it came out the way i wanted...then I switched the contrast back to normal when i was done :)

Im SOOO excited!!

2008-12-28T10:06:00.005-04:00

Well, I am waaaay excited right now because i just found out yesterday that I will have 5 of my traditional pages published in the January/February issue of the Scrap N'Art eZine!! I have never been published before, so it was *very* exciting to read that e mail!

(WARNING... very silly acceptance speech to follow - its my first pub so im feeling a little emotional, lol!)
I really appreciate all the support from my friends & fellow scrappers out there, especially the girls in my circle of friends critique group @ sb.com. they have provided me with amazing inspiration, support and the courage to submit my work for calls. they are an awesome group of women, and im super lucky to have gotten to know each and every one of them. Thanks girls :)

The issue will be available for download @ scrap n'art on January 1st.

fun times

2008-12-23T10:49:00.006-04:00

I'm super excited because I was just accepted as a creative team member for Scrap it Sassy! You absolutely MUST visit their site, they have so many amazing designers and TONS of digi stuff. This is my first page and was done using the "It's All About Grunge" kit by designer (Kari) Relocated Dixie Girl. This is a fantastic kit that has really beautifully done elements and papers that will go with just about anything. I really love the acrylic-look frames she designed for the kit. I used 2 sepia-toned pix, and distressed them to look more "grungy". The large circle in the back is actually a brad (from the kit of course) that I enlarged and placed behind the center point. The photos are of my beautiful sister and adorable nephew, having fun on a summer vacation earlier this year. Please visit SIS to view this kit, and I will have another page coming soon :)

these moments

2008-12-20T07:22:00.004-04:00

I did this page with inspiration from one of my favorite artists and fellow CT members at bwscrapbooking, Jill (Peenut_23 @ sb.com) her beautiful blog is on my fave bloggers list, so definitely go check out her work! I love this pic of my daughter & husband, I scrapped a similar pic a while ago and then found this one tucked away in a folder in my computer (dont ya love it when that happens, lol?) Anyway, I used paper and elements by Lisa Sisneros @ littledreamerdesigns.com, circle frame & edge flourish by Kate Pertiet, a purple splash by Fei-Fei's Stuff (i think at oscraps.com), brads & stitching by Amy Teets, Jewel brads by Michelle Coleman, and my own title work using Jayne Print font. I used the feather selection tool at 55 pixels to move the photo behind the frame, and the color burn option on the background paper. I also used drop shadow on the title work, brads and side flourish. Thanks for the inspiration Jill!

forever

2008-12-18T17:53:00.006-04:00

This page is another from the Red Romance Kit @ bwscrapbooking.com. {there is a link to the kit in my previous post.} I sprayed the flowers red (my flowers were actually hot pink, hehehe) and used photo corners for the corner work on the main paper. the title work is font galeforceBTN, and I embossed it slightly for some depth. The little hearts are actually by me, and they are just a shape tool in PS that I added some embossing and drop shadow to. Thanks for looking!

this is love

2008-12-17T08:12:00.007-04:00

This page is for my awesome creative team role at bwscrapbooking.com, im just so happy to be apart of that wonderful team, and i really love using the products. This page is from their Red Romance Kit, which has the most beautiful collection of reds/maroons/rose papers and elements. I love working with reds, and this kit has some really rich, jewel-toned colors. I used 2 background papers, and feathered the selection (at max 250 pixels) of the 2nd layer of paper to blend with the 1st layer. I placed a ribbon over each piece of the frame, and used the drop shadow layer effect on all of my elementes to create more depth. The font is freestyle591, and the title work is from the kit's alpha collection. I increased the size of the side flourish and then reduced the opacity just slightly to tone it down.

my heart

2008-12-16T13:43:00.004-04:00

I had so much trouble scrapping this pic, im not sure why, but it took me forever to decide what to do with it. I used the spotlight effect (filter/render/lighting effects around her face, and lit it with a cream color. paper by: lisa sinseros @ littledreamerdesigns.com (these little moments kit); photo mats/elements by Vicki Stegal, heart-shaped word art by Leiko Beck Designs, my own title work with freehand591 font & drop shadow effect. other elements from Sweet Genevieve Designs and A.Teets, bottom flourish by Katie Pertiet (on the edge flourish collections).

perfect harmony

2008-12-14T12:55:00.004-04:00

I love scrapping pics of babies, i think they're my favorite subject because they're so sweet and perfect...this is my baby cousin and his gorgeous mama. I used papers & elements by bwscrapbooking.com (Red Romance Kit), word art by TaylorMade Designs @ Oscraps.com, elements from Kitty InspirationDesigns (Red TheLeader Kit) and a scalloped mat by Michelle Coleman. I used a drop shadow on the word art, and the outer glow option on the brads that I placed in the center of the flowers and the tips of the glitter flourish, just to jazz it up a bit.

my reason

2008-12-11T09:32:00.004-04:00

I already scrapped this pic in a traditional page about a month ago, and love the pic so much I had to translate it into digi :) I used a lot of different supplies in this one, and a lot of embossing and color burning to give it a distressed look. supplies: word art by K.Pertiet; papers & elements by Nina (Shabby Chic Vol.1); elements from Kitty Insipiration Designs (Red TheLeader Kit); stitching by Michelle Coleman, journaling arrow by A.Teets (sunporch kit).

heart & soul

2008-12-09T13:11:00.004-04:00

okay, so i could not resist scrapping this pic again...I got some new kits and word art from Oscraps.com and thought it fit this pic perfectly. the embellies are from a kit called "Red TheLeader" by kitty inspiration designs @ Oscraps, and the word art is by leiko beck and is from the "Endearment" word art kit.

precious jewel

2008-12-06T15:19:00.004-04:00

My precious little jewel looking out the car window. I used the background eraser & the airbrush to white-out the photo, and increased the luminosity curve and contrast. Supplies: red flower by Alessandra Designs ("my work sampler") @ digitalscrapbookpages.com, word art and brushes/stamps by K.Periet @ designerdigitals.com, jewel brads and ribbons by Michelle Coleman (Wild Sorbet Kit), and brads by A.Teets also at designerdigitals.com.

2008-12-03T17:23:00.004-04:00

a christmas card i did using an awesome kit from ninascrapsdesigns @ littledreamerdesigns.com. this was the first time i used my airbrush tool, i turned the pic sepia, and then used a little bit of the lilac color from the kit to color her sweater, and also added a little pink to her cheeks and lips. i used a couple different brushes to add more sparkle to the tree.

winter bliss

2008-12-01T15:26:00.005-04:00

This is my very first page as a creative team member at BWScrapbooking.com. I am super excited to be apart of their team, they have some really awesome kits and tons of other digital/hybrid products. This was done using the Frost Festival kit, which has a really great palette of icy blues, whites and silvers. I used a tag embellie for the photo frame, and I used the embossing option and the linear/color burn options {in PS 7} to give a deep, icy feel to the page. the title work is Edwardian Script & Segoe Script, which i embossed and reduced the opacity.
Here is the link to the kit @ BWScrapbooking: Frost Festival Kit.
Thanks for looking!

2008-11-29T08:48:00.004-04:00

How handsome does my dad look in this pic?! This was another one where I was just tinkering with PS and ended up really liking it. The background was done using a paper pack from {littledreamerdesigns.com} by Lori Barnhurst called A Groovy Kind of Love. I added some brush work to the background using bright pink colors, and the circle stitching is also from {shabbyprincess.com} from the Urban Kiwi collection. Word art by K. Pertiet and A.Edwards.

2008-11-26T09:26:00.003-04:00

Just a little quick digi i did this morning. i was really just playing around with some new stuff, but i ended up {actually} liking it, lol! i used a kit from Michelle Coleman @ littledreamerdesigns.com called Bohemian Summer, and was playing with the layer blending options. i used the drop shadow and inner glow effects for the ribbons and chain embellies to make them a little more 3D, and also used the linear burn/color burn effects on most of the layers to make it a little more funky. other supplies from: k.pertiet (wordart), and PS brushes from graphics-illustrations.com.

2008-11-22T15:39:00.003-04:00

A digi page that I used all neutral colors on...I actually edited the pic in photoscape, I still use that program for quick and easy editing, it's really a fantastic (and free!) program, I love it.
digi scrap products from: word art by A.Edwards (at designerdigitals.com); brushes from graphics-illustrations.com; crazy-beautiful kit by fei-fei's stuff; journaling arrow from A.Teets(sunporch kit @designerdigitals.com)
done in PS 7.0 - TFL :)

2008-11-21T07:41:00.003-04:00

a digi layout i did yesterday...
here is what i used: PS 7.0, white background, free brushes (swirls and borders) downloaded from graphics-illustrations.com, girl word art by K. Pertiet @ littledreamerdesigns.com. i did a lot of adjusting with the opacity of the layers to get the washed out blue effect on the stamps.

2008-11-18T10:40:00.003-04:00

This page is my first-ever digital page! I still have A LOT to learn, but I'm really having such a great time playing so far. This was done in PS 7.0, and I used a freebie download kit (from Shabby Princess) called Spontaneous Delight by Carrie Stephens. Shabby Princess is a wonderful site with tons of amazing downloads and tips.

2008-11-18T07:55:00.003-04:00

Well, I've been totally consumed lately by trying to teach myself digital scrapbooking in Photoshop, and I must say I'm pretty darn impressed with many aspects of it. It's so much faster and easier than traditional scrapbooking, not to mention the supplies are much cheaper! This one is a 12x12 done in PS 7.0, I used all downloaded supplies from: Prima Hybrid, Little Dreamer Designs, and Designer Digitals. I never thought I would be venturing into the digital world, but I think I will be doing a lot more of these!

Wee Bit of Heaven

2008-11-07T07:10:00.006-04:00

im particularly happy with this layout because of all the "leftovers" i used up while doing it! Im a total pack rat, and never throw anything away, so when i started this one i challenged myself to use up some of that stuff. the background paper is DCWV The Luxury Stack, and the papers layered behind the photo are actually the backings from some K & Co. chipboard sets that i thought were too pretty to throw away. I trimmed them with Fiskar's decorative edged scissors, and distressed the edges with a Tim Holtz ink pad called Antique Linen. I used Hambly Transparencies for the white cornering pieces, and rub ons for the stitching and the small bouquet of flowers on the middle right side of the photo. The caption on the pic is a clear epoxy sticker, and the rest of the accents are from a black and white chipboard set that i got at Target. the left side of the photo is a border sticker by Colorbok, and the flowers are from the Build a Blossom Kit. I edited the pic in photoshop to grayscale and used the lumienense curves to wash out the background color and create the really bright feel to the photo.
*NEW EDIT* thanks to everyone who left such sweet comments on this page - i really appreciate each and every one of you!
littleonekb - i dont see a blog for you or an e mail, and i wanted to answer your questions, so please feel free to e mail me at kilpatrick.rachel@yahoo.com so i can give you further details about the Photoshop I use, thanks very much!

daddy & me

2008-10-30T07:20:00.004-04:00

I chose to leave this one without a title, but I'm calling it "daddy & me". I started with white cardstock, and then placed the black strip on the right side, and used die-cut black paper for the center border strip. The flourish paper was trimmed from DCWV Alphabet Stack, and was very pale, so I used charcoal colored chalk by Pebbles Inc. to deepen the outer/inner portions of the flourishes and did some outlining and shading with a Zig Photo Signature Black Pen. The journaling was done in MS Word with a downloaded font and printed on Grafix InkJet Adhesive-Backed Paper. The I placed a lot of embellishments on the right side of the photo...I used chip board shapes, flowers, rub ons, stickers and some of my own doodling with my Signo pen. I use a lot of rub-ons from Basic Grey, these are called Urban Calligraphy, and sometimes the size/shape isnt exactly right for the space I need, I trim them very carefully to the exact size i need, ( I do this mainly with the larger or odd shaped flourishes.) and then I use my Signo to lightly add anything that may have been trimmed off. I started with "naked" chipboard (on most of the pieces) and colored the pieces black & white just using a marker, Deco Color markers are fantastic for this because they are so opaque, dry shiny, and is a quicker solution than using acrylic paints.

snow angel

2008-10-22T12:34:00.008-04:00

I got to play with a few new things in this layout, YAY! The paper is by DCWV, called The Luxury Stack, and has the most beautiful pearly/metallic papers in it. I used blue/teal/green chalks on the outer corners and edges, and after it dried i applied ink (Holtz distressing ink in Antique Linen) to the corners only using my fingers. I also used an ink pad called Brilliance, Platinum Planet and kind of just smudged that color all over the page, I really love how that one works over chalks, it makes them super shimmery and soft looking. the title is chipboard, and the flousihes were cut from another sheet of paper from the DCWV stack, i just inked and chalked them to match the rest of the colors, and then outlined them with my Signo White Uni Ball Pen. the left border, and the border around the photo are stickers, and the flowers are actually from Joann's, they have their own brand of some items, including these flowers which i must say i was pleasantly surprised at how lovely they were, plus they were quite inexpensive compared with other brands. I used rub ons from Bo Bunny for the snowflakes, some rub on doodles/leaves/accents, and bling from Martha Stewart and Heidi Swapp. The sparkes you see on the flowers and flourishes are Stickles, in Icicle & Crystal. The photo is a 5x7 that i altered to sepia tones.

precious butterfly

2008-10-15T16:38:00.006-04:00

well, i have a lot going on here, so i'll do my best, lol... the paper is basic grey, and the title thickers by american crafts. i used a hambly transparency over the photo that had the white edging on it already, but added a ton of basic grey rub on flourishes around it, as well as a black border rub on. the journaling here is from the song Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlisle, and was printed on transparency inkjet-film. the large butterfly at the bottom is a mosaic, done by cutting tiny squares of glittered paper and applied with tweezers, as well as beads, rhinestones and chipboard flourishes. i chalked and inked the butterfly and most of the background paper, adding the blue-grey tone to it. i used an opaque gold marker to accent the flowers and some of the doodles (some doodles are hand drawn, some are rub ons) and added little doodled polka dots to the butterfly and flourishes. the right border strip was cut from a DCWV paper. there is gold print vellum paper that i crinkled and adhered with GLOO around some of the edges, and the rest of the embellies around the photo are chipboard and beads. i cut the wing and added it to the photo, decorating it with a gold marker and some mosaic tiles, and finished it with the GLOO to make it shiny and adhere everything.

smiley girl

2008-10-12T13:45:00.006-04:00

i started this one with plain white cardstock, and then glued down the white floral die cut paper after i trimmed it to my liking. there are 2 separate scallop edge borders under the photo, which were also white to begin with. i chalked them a deep blue on the edges, and then green and very pale blue toward the center. i used blue and green colored pencils to color in the small areas of the floral cardstock, and then used blue/green chalks over them. i extended the chalking to the outer area of the flowers, applying it in a sweeping motion, keeping the lightest color to the outer areas. after the chalk had set overnight, i used a pearescent platinum colored ink and applied it all over the outer chalked areas with my fingers in the same motion as the chalks. Inks work very well with chalks, and there are multiple ways you can use them together, this method creates a luminous effect on the paper. the embellishments are sparkly foam butterflies, rhinestones (indvid. and flourishes) chipboard,flowers, brads, rub ons, also flourishes that i created using a doodle genie template and chalk.

pumpkin princess

2008-10-06T06:45:00.010-04:00

i started this one with black cardstock for the base, and then layerd an orange trimmed paper across the middle, which i chalked and inked to alter the color tone slightly.the chalking was done using a bright orange, a pale orange and bright yellow chalk. i applied darker to the outside, and blended toward the center, adding the lighter colors as i went, using my fingers to blend them together.the border trim around the center is from DCWV's Alphabet Stack with Glitter, one of my absolute favorite new purchases. I trimmed some 2 inch strips and laid them horizontally across the page. The torn paper on the bottom of the center is from Me & My Big Ideas, a Black and White metallic paper, which i tore by hand.All the white strips along the borders were done with a Deco-Color Opaque white Marker (Broad Tipped).the embellishments along the left side of the photo are flowers, which i inked and chalked, felt fusion (a very cool ream of felt swirls that you can trim to your liking), ribbon, stickles glitter glue gel in Gun Metal, Hambly Screen Prints journaling bits, and Glitz Design Icing Dots.The large orange flower was folded in half, and i applied some metallic gold ink to it using my fingers, and secured it with a black and white brad. i also applied distressing ink and chalk to it. I peeled some little pieces of metallic paper and wrapped them around a q-tip to create a ribbon curl, and used a dot of glue to secure them around the large orange flower.finally, i downloaded a font to create the title using MS Word, and printed it on a self-adhesive ink jet transparency film, available at any office supply or craft store.

you shine

2008-10-03T11:16:00.007-04:00

here is a layout that i used a few different distressing techniques. First, i used a background cardstock of plain cream color, then mounted 3 small photos overlapping each other in the center of the page. the paper on the left side with the blue snowflakes is by Basic Grey, a collection called Figgy Pudding. the other borders are from DCWV.i trimmed the papers with a Fiskars mini trimmer, and tore the edges by hand. when doing this, it works best (for me) to tear toward you, in a slight upward motion very slowly so you keep it somewhat straight.the title is chipboard, which i coated in crystal Stickles to make it pop a bit more, and the flourishes are stamped/hand drawn and outlined with my white Signo pen, and also a very fine tipped brown marker.i distressed the papers by using a Holtz ink pad called Tea Dye, and another called Weathered Wood, which is a deep blue. I used deeper tones on the outer parts, and blended inwards with my fingers. After it dried, i chalked all over with gold and white shimmery chalks by Pebbles, Inc. I also chalked the flowers, and used just a bit of ink on some of them to deepen the colors. finally, i used the crystal stickles to trace the snowflakes on the paper, which i think really made a huge difference in making them stand out more against the distressing.

sneak preview

2008-09-28T13:11:00.006-04:00

i tried to get creative with an ultrasound pic, and was pretty pleased with how this one came out. the background is cream colored cardstock, and i hand cut the scalloped blue paper and punched small holes in the 4 corners. I used a circle template/cutter to cut the circles in various sizes. The photo was also cropped into a circle and matted on brown card stock. the edges of the scalloped paper were distressed using a Holtz Distressing Ink Pad called Tea Stain. I also applied it to the background paper to deepen the effect. I used the same brand of distressing ink to deepen the inside of the blue cardstock, except in a different color called Weathered Wood, which is more blueish. the flourishes in the corners are stamps and deep brown ink, and the title is white chipboard that i coated with a very fine glimmer powder. I also glued individual bling to accent the flourishes and bring some balance to the darker areas. the heart is a chipboard piece that i distressed with the same inks and put the baby's name on. i tied it to the page with a baby blue organza ribbon.

cherish

2008-09-28T12:51:00.008-04:00

i started with a piece of light pastel green cardstock as the background paper. I then cut a strip of black cardstock and placed it horizontally in the center, and placed a white cardstock scalloped border on top of that.
the right side is all paper from DCWV Alphabet Stack, which i cropped a 12x12 piece to place on that side only.
i placed the 5x7 altered pic in the center at a tilt, and took my large circle template to draw a white line all the way around it, i then took the next size down circle and drew a white line around the inside as well.
the white dots around the picture are stamps, and the "cherish" was from a sticker kit that i actually had used all the stickers from, so i used the "ghost shape" left overs to create a template for my title. I outlined the "template" in pencil, and then removed it to paint the title with a black marker and fill it with my Signo Uni-Ball white pen. finally, the flower in the center is from a felt-covered paper, which i cut with scissors and secured with a crystal brad. I put a felt swirl in the center of the flower, and secured it half on top, and half on the bottom of the flower.

my girl

2008-09-25T16:25:00.008-04:00

i used a plain purple cardstock for the background, and cut a strip of the orange paisley print paper (by DCWV) to dress the center. then i matted the 5x7 photo on the same purple cardstock and set it at a slant a bit more off center (to the left).the white flourishes are stamps and my own doodles, which i used Staz-On {cotton white} opaque ink pad and my Signo Uni-Ball opaque white pen. the title is self adhesive chipboard, which i placed at the bottom of the photo, with the felt butterfly behind it and flowers to the left.I used chalk on the flowers to create depth on the petals, its very simple, just use a color a few shades darker than the flower, and start either in the center of the flower, or the outer tips of the petals, and blend out (or in) with your fingers. Dont worry about the chalk rubbing off, scrapbooking chalks are permanent once applied and given time to set...usually over night is plenty of time.

happiness

2008-09-25T16:24:00.009-04:00

i used a pic i altered in adobe lightroom; i turned it b&w, and altered the color/saturation curves to create extreme highlights/shadows.the backing is plain black cardstock with an overlay white scallop-edged cardstock. the remaining paper i used is from DCVW (Die Cuts with a View) The Alphabet Stack with Glitter. i cut a center strip from one of the pages and placed it on the white scalloped paper, then placed red cardstock on it to frame the photo. the photo itself was left un-matted, but i cut small strips from the DCWV paper to border the top/right sides of it.the shadow behind the center is chalking, i used a deep charcoal color and swept it in a circular motion around the center point. I also used a black marker to outline the center strip of paper, to create some depth.The black flower next to the photo was hand-cut from a piece of leftover scrap paper, and painted with Stickes (glitter glue-gel) on the outer petals and center. the red hummingbird is a rub on, and the "happiness" sticker is from Heidi Swapp. i used stamps with black ink to create the dots/flourishes around the photo, and the flowers were plain white, but i coated them with a metallic/platinum colored ink pad, using my fingers to apply. the polka dots were added to the left flower using a fine-point black marker. at the top and right side i used cut-out flourishes from a Hambly silk screen print (clear) sheet of journaling bits

Bliss

2008-09-15T08:19:00.008-04:00

"Bliss" is a layout which i used a 5x7 picture that was altered digitally to turn it black and white, except for keeping the flowers on her diaper the original colors. The pink "joy" you see on the photo is actually a rub-on, with the definition of the word below.
i set the photo at an angle, and outlined all the way around with a opaque white marker pen, as well as some white ink from an ink pad called Staz-On (a color called "cotton white").
i then stamped and doodles the white flourishes with the same white inks. I love to use clear acrylic stamps, but always find myself creating extra doodles around the stamps with my white pen, its just too much fun to resist!
the flowers are all from a kit, called Imaginisce Build-a-Blossom, which contains about 325 blossoms and brads to secure the flowers. The felt butterfly you see actually came from my daughter's barbie doll. I "borrowed" that embellishment from her, ssshhh!
I used green chalks all around the flourishes, and blended the green with some medium blue colored chalks, to match the background paper. And finally, i used a product called "Stickles" which might be the greatest thing to come along (besides chalk of course) in a long time...Stickles are little bottles of glittery glue gel that come in about 50 colors. I used a color called Icicle, and outlined my white flourishes with it. I also used the Stickles around the photo border and on the blooms to make it really sparkle.

Angel

2008-09-15T08:18:00.004-04:00

in my "Angel" layout, i started with a pattern cardstock base and used a cream colored scalloped die cut in the center. the photo is matted on cardstock and vellum, with a smaller cardstock circle peeking out on the right side of the picture.
to create the edge effect on the scallops i used an ink pad from Tim Holtz, called Tea Stain, which is a distressing ink. I applied the ink with my fingers and blended it toward the center. after that i used a peach colored chalk in the center of the circle, and a white chalk to blend the 2 colors together.
the title is actually glittered stickers, and the fine flourishes around the title and photo matting are rub ons from Basic Grey, called Euro Edge.
the flowers were also inked and chalked to create some depth in their color, and i used brads and beads for the flower centers. there are also some acrylic stars and a Heidi Swapp clear flower, from her Ghost Shapes line. I sprinkled some very fine glitter on the clear flower and mixed some glue (clear drying of course) on my fingertips to apply.
the rest of the embellisments you see are chipboard, and the white doodles were created with rubber stamps, and some are my own doodles as well. For that i used a white Signo Uni-ball pen.

10 little toes

2008-09-15T06:35:00.004-04:00

in this layout i used a 5x7 picture, cropped into 4th's. the background paper provided the flourishes you see in the upper right corner, and i dressed them up a bit with gold ink from a stamp pad, my white Signo Uni-Ball pen and another deeper green marker.
framing the photo on the left side are rub ons from Basic Grey, as well as some acrylic stars, paper flowers and chipboard. i added polka dots to a few of the paper flowers using a fine tipped marker. the title is chip board, which i also added polka dots to using an apaque white marker. the goldish flowers you see are clear acrylic flowers from Heidi Swapp, and i colored with the same gold ink as the flourishes, and punched holes in the centers to place brads into. the Shakespeare quote at the bottom left is a rub on, and the silver letters in the same corner are actually metal, and are held in place by matching brads. I filled the center of the tiny acrylic star with green glitter glue, and placed some rhinestones and bling around the top of the border work.

forever young

2008-09-14T20:32:00.008-04:00

I started this with inspiration from one of my very favorite scrapbook artists, GabrielleP (a link to her AMAZING blog is under my fave bloggers, go check her out!) the layout by Gabrielle that particularly inspired this one was her "you're beautiful" layout, the #1 favorite layout of all time on sb.com!
the base is a piece of plain white 12x12 cardstock and hand journaled the lyrics to Rod Stewart's "Forever Young" throughout the entire page. To get this effect, i used a white Zig Chalk marker, and then took a cotton ball and swept a pale pink chalk all over the background, making it deeper around the edges. the photo is matted on green sparkle cardstock, with a backing of vellum, which is hand-torn. i used the same green cardstock and foam stamps to create the little green flowers. i hand cut them and placed some rhinestones in the centers. i also used an olive colored chalk around the edges to add depth.the middle striped border is surrounded by hand placed rhinestones on the top, glass beads in the middle, and a border rub-on decal on the bottom. the white flower is paper, and i used the same glass beads in the center of the flower. the 4 corners are all stamped flourishes, that i used a brown ink pad with. The title is made from stickers, which are alterable, so i inked them a deep gold and placed them under the circle. the rest of the embellishments are just hand cut from scrap papers, which i find is a fun way to use up patterned papers that you're not sure what to do with.