Gams

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Two Page Tuesday #3

Hi readers!  Welcome to another installment of Two-page Tuesday.  I'm calling this one version 3.0. 

I just spent the weekend with some of my favorite girlfriends - chatting, eating, laughing and scrapping!  While I wasn't nearly as productive as I've been in year's past, I still have a small pile of pages that I'm excited to share here on the blog in the coming weeks.

This is the first of those pages.  I bought that darling black and white Doodlebug graduation paper because I knew it would be just perfect for documenting my youngest son's preschool commencement.


Supplies used: Doodlebug patterned paper and sequins; Bazzill Cardstock - navy, We R Memory Keepers cardstock - gray; Jillibean Soup polaroid placemat; Love My Tapes black glitter adhesive sheet and black & white polka dot washi tape; Echo Park star die; Simple Stories label sticker; Memories black ink; Other: Silhouette, foam adhesive, computer journaling.

I had seven pictures to include on this two page spread.  In order to fit them all in and still have room for lots of other fun details and important info, I sized the pictures down considerably.  Using Picasa (which you can download for free right here), I put 2 pictures on each 4x6 canvas resulting in a series of 2x3 photos.  With the pictures scaled down, they fit just perfectly within the margins of the Jillibean Soup polaroid placemat paper.


Many of the placemats include cute words and icons that are already diecut into the page.  I simply backed each of those spaces with a coordinating grey cardstock to make them fit in with the rest of the design.


I also reached into my Love My Tapes stash for this page.  In fact, you can view this page on the Love my Tapes blog today. 

I used the black and white mini polka dot tape to give the illusion that several of the polaroids were taped to the page.  I also used LMT's 12x12 glitter adhesive-back sheets to cut a series of diecut stars to accent my page.


Sprinkling the stars by my title and even carrying them to the left page, creates a nice 'frame' on both ends of the layout.  It also draws the readers eye fully across the two pages.

 
Putting together a two page layout doesn't have to be difficult.  Here I've lined everything up very formally and linear.  The addition of cute details, diecut stars, sequins and even a bold title spices up the page and makes it interesting.
 
Thanks for visiting today! 

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Spooky cute neighbor treats

As promised, I'm back today to share with you a recent project I had up on the Love My Tapes blog.

It's no secret that I love to bake (almost as much as I love to papercraft!).  But if I kept and consumed all of the yummy treats I whip up, I most certainly would not be able to fit in the clothes in my closet - ha!  So, to share the wealth with my friends and neighbors, and spare my waistline - I love to package up these treats to gift to some of my favorite people.

The cooler temperatures have had me in the mood for pumpkin EVERYTHING.  As of today, I've officially baked six loaves of pumpkin bread.  I found these sweet kraft and orange polka dot boxes at Hobby Lobby, to put all that yummy bread in. They were rather plain on their own, but a bit of washi tape, glitter paper, and a festive sticker or two made for quite a spooky yet sweet presentation.


Supplies used: Hobby Lobby - kraft boxes; We R Memory Keepers - black cardstock; Love My Tapes - black polka dot washi tape, triangle washi tape, self adhesive black glitter paper; Recollections - 3D stickers; Stampin Up - sentiment stamp; Jillibean Soup - kraft tags; Memories - black ink.
 
I started by cutting a black cardstock band, approximately 2.5" wide, to fit around the width of each box.  The cardstock band is wrapped with a few layers of washi tape and self adhesive glitter paper.  In order to create a coordinating bow, I layed and trimmed out strips of washi tape, onto white cardstock.  Doing this, allowed me to treat the tape as ribbon, and construct a pretty layered and dimensional bow.  A simple tag adorned with a cute 3D sticker, stamped sentiment and another strip of the self adhesive glitter paper finishes off this sweet piece.
 
 
To coordinate with the ghost sticker on this next box, I went with a different washi tape.  I just received this tape in my latest LMT design team box and it is one of my very favorites - love the triangles!  And how cute is that Stampin' Up sentiment - "It's Halloween - enjoy every bite."?!!  It couldn't have been more perfect, huh?!



My ideas for pretty packaging don't stop there.  I featured a similar project on the LMT blog here.  These pillowboxes are perfect for a small little treat or even a gift card.  They can be decorated to suit the occasion and are quick and simple to put together.


I hope I've inspired you to pull out your papercrafting supplies the next time you are gifting some goodies - homemade or store-bought!  Thanks for joining me again today! 

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

It's almost Halloween!

Good afternoon, crafters!  As you all know, we're midway through the month of October, which means that Halloween and all of the associated festivities are near or underway.  I, for once, feel somewhat prepared for the upcoming holiday.  One child's costume is purchased, another I'm in the process of DIYing, and the oldest - well, he'll probably throw something on at the last minute, anyway!?!

In the spirit of not being behind, I thought I'd share a couple of costumed adorned pages with you today!

This first one was fun to put together!  I loved strategically filling the negative circles of the graph lined paper with multiple patterned papers, stamped images, buttons, sequins, stickers, etc.  While there is a lot of color and embellishment on this page - the wide black cardstock border creates a nice frame for the page and resting place for the eye.


Supplies used: Bella Blvd - patterned paper, decorative tape, stickers, buttons; Doodlebug Designs - enamel dots, 3D sticker; American Crafts - cardstock, sequins; Pebbles - letter stickers; Studio Calico - stamp; Stampin Up - ink.
For the next page, you can see that I took inspiration for the placement of my photos and patterned papers, from the many project life style 3x4" designs on the market.  I layed my photos and patterns out in a simple grid design, spacing the two rows apart to leave room for my title.  How cute are they 'eyes' in the word spooky?!  To create them I simply punched 1" circle from white cardstock and adorned each one with a black sequin.  Simple, fun and totally cute!

Supplies used: Bella Blvd - patterned paper, decorative tape, stickers; Doodlebug Designs - enamel dots, gems, buttons; American Crafts - cardstock, sequins; Fiskars - circle punch; Stampin Up - border punch; Other - font, veteran typewriter (journaling), marmalletta & bebas nue (title).

Thanks for joining me today!  I'll be back tomorrow to continue the Halloween fun!  I've got some spooky little gift box ideas to  help you package up festive Halloween treats for friends and neighbors!
 
See you then!