Double Take | Letters and Thickers

Hey Sweet readers! Today’s Double Take is going to be a fun, messy, therapeutic crafting session!! I recently watched this video by Celine Navarro (a very inspiring mixed media scrapbooker) and was SO inspired by her use of old thickers that I decided to make that my theme for these projects.

If you’re anything like me, you have packets of old thickers in your stash – you know, the ones where the adhesive is starting to get weak, or where you’ve used all the “good” letters and just have a bunch of Qs and Zs left. Well, we’re going to put them to good use today, so get out your collection!! Here’s a look at the ones I took out:

The first thing I did was to choose letters that would actually work for a title – I spelled out “Happy Days,” using an assortment of styles and fonts, and even cutting up my stickers to make the letters I needed if I didn’t have them. In the end, everything will be covered up, so the differences won’t be very apparent. After my title was laid out, I chose all sorts of random letters to scatter about my page, making sure to leave a space for my photo. It was really SO fun and therapeutic to get these thickers down on a project, because they’d just been sitting in my stash for a while, and it felt good to use them!!

With all the letters down, it was time for the messy (aka really fun) part – painting over ALL of it with gesso/white paint. Make sure to cover your work surface when doing this!! By the way, I knew that my paper would get covered in paint, so I just used an old sheet of cardstock that I didn’t like… in fact, I taped TWO sheets back to back, just to make it sturdier for the gesso. In my head, I’m using up paper that would never get used anyway, so it’s a win-win!

While the paint was still wet, I spritzed different colors of spray ink and blended it into the paint with a foam brush. If you’re interested in this process, you should watch Celine’s video, because she walks you through the whole thing! I can’t even explain how FUN this was!! You really should try it sometime… there’s a sort of freedom in being artsy and messy with things like paint and mist :)

After that’s all done drying, I was able to quickly finish my layout with some strips of washi tape and some random embellishments that were sitting on my desk. I also stamped some sentiments from the new Monogram It set as well as the cute arrow from Made By #2 to add more contrast and interest to the background. The great thing about this technique is that you’ve put so much into the background that you don’t need a lot of embellishments to finish your project!

I loved this technique so much that I decided to do the same thing for my card. Here’s a look at the first step, with random letters stuck down to and old scrap of paper:

And then after some good old gesso and mist:

Then some stamping from Monogram It and Wheely Like You, and it was complete!

These projects are a very different style than I normally do, but it was really fun and inspiring for me to try a new technique. I hope you enjoyed seeing my process with it, and if you’re inspired to try it out for yourself, be sure to leave a link in the comments!! And if you think this technique might be a bit messy for you, you can easily recreate a similar idea with the new Monogram Alpha stamp set - check out these posts by Nicole and Dana for some inspiration!

I’m sad to say that this is my LAST Double Take post for Sweet Stamp Shop… for now at least! Of course, I plan on continuing to be a part of the Sweet family here because it’s been really awesome!!! A big THANKS to Nicole and Danni and all the other wonderful Sweet designers I’ve had the pleasure to work with!!

A quick reminder... the Holiday Extravaganza is only a couple of weeks away!!! I'm so excited to share what I've prepared, and I promise you won't want to miss it!! ;) Here's a little sneak peek, which you might have seen if you follow me on Instagram.

Have a great week!!

*Sweet Stamp Shop* - November Release!

Hello blog readers, and those of you coming from the Sweet blog!! I’m so glad to have you here and to show you the wonderful, amazing November release for Sweet Stamp Shop and what I’ve done with it! I have to say, this was by far my FAVORITE release since I’ve been designing for Sweet Stamp Shop, and I just couldn’t stop playing with all the amazingness!!

First up, I’m going to show you what I’ve done with the Panda Greetings set. Here’s a look at the stamps:

As you can see, there are lots of different faces you can give the panda, and different moods to go along with each one. I thought this would be PERFECT for Project Life journaling cards – a different mood for each one, so I can always have a perfect journaling card for whatever mood I’m in!

Then, I thought I would make a cute card for a friend who loves pandas (but come on, who DOESN’T love a cuddly panda, really??). I made a card that is much more cutesy than my normal style, and I’m loving it!

The little hearts are from the Speedy Greetings set, and part of the sentiment is from the next set I’m going to show you…

Two other sets in this release were actually designed to go together – Monogram Stationery and Monogram Letters. However, some of the projects I made also show how you can use each of them separately.

These sets are just so extremely versatile – and classy. First, I made a really fun card using just the Stationery Set:

Wouldn’t that be so perfect as a Valentine’s Day card?? That beautiful flower wreath is just breathtaking when gold embossed… take a closer look:

  

I absolutely LOVE the letters set because I think it is extremely versatile. It is the perfect size for a subtitle on a 12x12 scrapbooking layout, as a title on a Project Life card, or to stamp out any sentiment you want on a card. I made stamped my own simple sentiment on this fun shaker card:

A bonus of buying products from the same company is that all the sets will go so well together. On my next card, I combined three different stamp sets (Both Monogram sets and Speedy Greetings) as well as a flair button!

See, I really wasn’t kidding when I said I couldn’t stop playing with these sets!! I hope you’ve gotten some good ideas for what you can make from these sets, though the possibilities are really endless!! If you like these sets, you’re going to want to act fast because you can use the coupon code NRN20 to get 20% off at the Sweet Store! And make sure to stop by the post on the Sweet blog, because you’re going to see some amazing inspiration from the rest of the design team :)

I’ll be back in a few days with my VERY LAST Double Take post for Sweet Stamp Shop (insert sad panda face here)! Until then, happy crafting!! ;)

*Sweet Stamp Shop* - Double Take | Monochrome

Today's Double Take is going to be all about monochrome!! I'll be showing you how I made the following projects:

First, let's start with the layout. I picked out a few photos of a recent adventure I went on with some friends where we took some archery lessons!! It was really fun, and a PERFECT opportunity to use that bullseye stamp in the Wheely Like You set (really, could there be a set MORE perfect for this occasion!?) I was so excited that the theme worked so well that I went crazy and stamped it repeatedly, and then punched them out with my 1" circle punch - so glad the images fit perfectly in the punch, so I didn't have to fussy cut all of them, haha!

Before laying them down on my page, I decided I wanted something in the background to make it more interesting and to add texture. I pulled out some acrylic paint and mixed up a grey color with little splashes of blue (which I decided would be my one other color to concentrate on besides black and white). I thickly brushed the paint through a mask.

While the paint was still wet, I pressed some of the bullseye images into it - it saves the step of gluing them down later!

After that was all dry (I left it overnight), I started layering up some papers behind my photos. One thing that is really great about making a monochromatic project is that choosing your supplies is SOO easy - just pull out whatever is black and white, as well as your focus color! Since I didn't really have room to journal on the background, I made a super simple journaling pocket to stick a tag in. *TIP* Instead of trying to cut that indent in the journaling pocket, just use your circle punch!

With just a bit of embellishing later, my layout was done!

For my card, I pulled out my gelatos - I only have one set and it has three shades of blue, so I knew I just had to use them for this monochromatic theme!! They've been feeling a bit neglected anyway. ;):

Here are some pictures of the card, and if you want to see the full step by step pictures, visit my post over on the Sweet blog!

We're making our way into November now, which means that there are only a few weeks left until the Holiday Extravaganza!! I'm working hard on the project I'll be sharing with you, so keep your calendars marked!! I hope you're as excited as I am. :)

Have a great day! :)

DIY embellishments using scraps | Workspace Wednesday

Have you seen Melissa Stinson's most recent Project Life video over at Two Peas?? It was absolutely awesome, and inspired me to make some DIY embellishments with my patterned paper scraps.

I put together this fast layout using one of these embellishments:

I don't have a ton of punches, but I pulled out what I have, and for the shapes I wanted but didn't have a punch for, I cut them out on my Cameo. Definitely not as convenient as a punch or die, but at least I feel like I'm using my investment! If you are fortunate enough to have lots of punches in your stash, I would highly recommend putting them to use this way!!

I followed pretty closely with what Melissa did in her video, making smaller layered embellishments as well as border strips. They were SO fun to put together, and they really are just like the premade layered embellishments that you would pay lots of money for. LOVE this alternative that is basically "free" because I'm using up my scraps!!!

I immediately put some to use on my own Project Life spread, and also included a border strip on my layout:

I also included some gold glitter-tipped feathers that I made a while back - LOVE all that glimmer on the page!!

I hope this inspired you to use up your stash, and maybe you'll try Melissa's idea as well!

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#workspacewednesday

I thought I would play along with Workspace Wednesday again, and show you what I'm up to! 

 
 I've been making LOTS of cards and layouts lately, and in record time!! Here you'll see a bright, yellow layout about my iPhone, as well as some sneaks of cards I made for Sweet Stamp Shop's November release!

Stay tuned for my next Double Take on Saturday! ;D

Thanks for stopping by <3

*Sweet Stamp Shop* Double Take | Using a sketch

Hi! In today's Double Take post, I will be using a sketch to create the following layout and card. :)

If you've never used a sketch before, I highly recommend trying it out. It's great for beginners to give you a place to start, but it's also great for more advanced crafters because it can challenge you to do something you might not have thought of. AND, since we're doing a double take here, there's also the bonus of giving you a general layout for BOTH a layout and card, so you can get two projects done at once!! I made my own sketches for these projects - using one general layout, but changing it up as needed (sentiment for a card, but title for a layout; focal point for a card, but photos for a layout, etc.) Here is what they look like:

You might be able to tell from the sketch that I won't be doing a traditional 12x12 layout today, which is the norm for me. Instead, I thought I'd give an 8x5x11 layout a try, especially since the proportions are so much closer to a standard card size. Although if you wanted to translate the sketch into a 12x12 layout, you can of course!!

So let's get started on the layout... First, I took a white piece of cardstock and started cutting some triangles out with my craft knife. I wanted to create a confetti-like effect, kind of like the triangles were falling from the top of the page. I backed each cut triangle with little scraps of patterned paper. After that was done, I wanted just a bit more dimension, so I stamped some Triangle Style stamps onto vellum, cut them out, and sprinkled those around as well.

Then I started creating the diagonal stripe across the page. I took a few pieces of patterned paper strips (scraps, branding strips, and washi tape are perfect for this - use up that stash!!) You can see that I also stamped a really fun border using another stamp from Triangle Style. After that, I placed my photos down and layered a bunch of embellishments and stickers from my stash. You can see in the picture below that I used yet another DIY die cut embellishment that I premade. I think my absolute favorite way to use them at the moment is spraying them with Gold Color Shine. LOVE that little bit of shimmer it adds!!

The next step was to add my title. I decided to do some fun calligraphy (I admit I might have been procrastinating at work...) for my title, and then I made it into a cut file for my Cameo. If you want to download it, you can do so here!

Finally, I added my journaling (which there was a lot of this time) and some splashes of gold mist, and my layout was complete!

For my card, I decided I wanted to do the same triangle border as my layout, because it came out so beautifully. Again, I took some paper strips from my desk and made that diagonal line. Super simple and easy. I also embossed a sentiment from Super Mom onto one of the strips.

Since I had that stamp set out, I decided to make my focal point using it, too. I stamped the "Mom" stamp, and then that great explosion stamp (using another "Mom" stamp that I cut out and used as a mask)

I decided not to use little triangle confetti pieces for this card, but some circular elements instead. That's another great thing about sketches - they're open for interpretation, and you can change whatever you want as you go along!! I used some enamel dots and sequins, but some other great ideas are gems or stamping the sequin stamps from Easily Distracted. That was all that was needed as the final touch to my card!

Here are the stamp sets I used in my projects:

I hope these projects have inspired you to use a sketch (maybe even the ones I made!) on your next project... or maybe you're inspired to do TWO projects at once using the same supplies. Either way, I would LOVE to see what you make, so leave a comment with a link to it in this post.

Just in case you missed the October release, make sure to check out the post here where there is tons of inspiration from the fabulous design team showing you just a few ways to use the new, versatile, AMAZING sets!! And if you haven't checked out the new flair in the shop, you really MUST - they are so cute. Here's a little peek at one of my favorite sets, which I think it super trendy:

:) Michelle

*Sweet Stamp Shop* - October release!!

It's that very exciting time of the month again.... a new RELEASE from Sweet Stamp Shop!! There are some awesome new sets this month, and I had the great pleasure of working with two of them that I really loved.

First up, the Speedy Greetings set. This set is SO adorable. It's perfect for so many different cards, but especially for holiday cards - which is great, because it's coming up soon, and it's time to start working on some of those, right?? The card I made with this set is actually a birthday card:

That was the only project I've made so far with this set, but you can be sure there will be plenty more to come in the future!!! The reason I only made one with this set is because I was so totally in love with the other set I received... What's For Dinner.

This set was EXACTLY what I was looking for - some super versatile, food-themed stamps that I can include in Project Life and scrapbooking (for those of you who don't know, I am a huge food lover and also love cooking. Just check my Instagram feed out - it's mostly food, haha!). So the first thing I did when I got this set was to make some journaling cards that I knew I would use in the future:

I made one of them in particular with a specific layout in mind - a steak night I had recently with friends to celebrate two birthdays - my boyfriend's and a good friend's. It was a manly, meaty meal, so the "Beef" stamp was so appropriate, I used it three times, haha! Here's the final layout I came up with, just having fun layering some strips from my scrap stash.

Also, if you notice in the bottom right journaling card, the straight banner around "What's for dinner?" is quite long - longer than the actual stamp! How did I do that?? Well, here's a little trick I learned a while back that you might find useful that can help you extend that cute banner across as long a sentiment as you want!

Step 1: Stamp your sentiment first, so you can make sure it is centered where you want it.
Step 2: Stamp the banner stamp, using a post it note to mask off the very edge.
Step 3: Take off the post it note and line it up with the lines on the other side.
Step 4: Stamp the banner again, making sure to line up all the lines (it should be easy with an acrylic block!)
And there you have it - a finished, LONG, seamless banner that can contain any sentiment you want! You can even experiment with sentiment stamps from other sets - talk about versatility!!

When playing with this stamp set, I also realized that the little leaf cluster was really cute as an accent, but even BETTER when you repeat it in different colors to make sort of your own patterned paper. Sort of like so:

Doesn't that look so fun and easy?

Well, that was quite a number of projects packed into one post, but I hope this gave you some ideas of how you could use these new sets! And if you wanted even MORE inspiration using these great stamp sets, hop on over to the blog post up at Sweet Stamp Shop to see what all the other designers came up with! You'll even see some projects with the third stamp set, Happy Hour (doesn't that name just scream fun to you??).

As always, there will be a coupon code for a LIMITED TIME for this new release - OR25 - so hop on over to Sweet Stamp Shop to snatch these up before it's over!!