Wonder | Lisa-Jane Johnson | More than one collection

Hi there Scrap Addicts!  It's Lisa-Jane from Pretty My Page here with you today with my take on this month's challenge. 

When I first started scrapbooking I used to use individual papers and put them together from any old manufacturer.  Then I started using collections and packs because I was scrapbooking more away from home so it was easier to have coordinating packs rather than making up my own kit.  More recently though, I've fallen back in love with switching things up because some of the manufacturers I love don't create collection packs or have far too many papers for me to purchase all of them. 

I store my papers by collection when I first buy them but then I sort them into manufacturers if / when I don't have too many left.  I really loved the Paige Evans Truly Grateful collection when it came out and I wanted to scrap lots of pics of us on a dog walk in the New Forest with it but actually there's a lot of pink and purple in it and not much in the way of greens and autumnal colours! 

I went to my stash of other Paige Evans papers to see what I had that would work with Truly Grateful.  Manufacturers tend to use the same colours in the printing process so there is often a good overlap between collections even if the subject matter and style is quite different.  This is great for stashbusting and stretching your stash and making your pages individual.  Some of the leaves in this layout (using a Paige Evans pre-cut cut file) are backed with Truly Grateful but the ones backed with the mustardy colour, dark green and red papers are all from Pick me Up.

I nearly used a backing piece from Horizon because I fell in love with the bright green but it was too strong so I went with the green stripe from Truly grateful instead.  I couldn't leave it border-less though and I keep a stash of sheets for backing fragile layouts so I used the reverse of one of those.  This is a sheet from an old Amy Tangerine collection that I fell out of love with but it works great as a plain sheet of white instead.

  

So that's 3 different collections I used really, which isn't much for how I used to scrap actually but it's more than I tended to use recently.  I've definitely got the bug for it again now though!

Lisa-Jane Johnson | Favourite Photograph | Paper Folding

Hi there Scrap Addicts, it's Lisa-Jane from Pretty My Page here today and I can't believe we are already half way through the first month of a new decade!  I hope that lots of you have been setting scrappy goals for the forthcoming year and that you'll join in with lots of the monthly challenges and visit our Facebook group to keep you inspired.

With this month's challenge being paper folding, of course I used a foldie cut file!  Paper folding of most kinds works great with any shape that has a line of symmetry and you can even create new shapes using symmetry, such as the heart shaped necks that you get between two swans when they face each other. 

I chose to create some stars in a star shape and manipulated the image so that only half of each star cut through but the lines didn't join up so that pieces stayed attached.  Then I created dashed lines straight down the middle of each star so make them easier to fold.

I folded each star and added a tiny glue dot underneath to hold it in place but still give it some dimension - this creates little shadows that give a lovely depth to the layout.  I backed the small stars with dark blue and then laid the whole thing over the aqua to fill in all the rest of the large stars.  I did try and leave it without a border but I couldn't do it so I added a trim of another dark blue paper to make it pop.

I used up lots of my extensive collection of wooden stars around the paper folds and then a sprinkle of Shimmerz paint for extra interest.  I mounted my photo onto grey paper to match the Perspextive and then onto the dark blue again and popped the whole thing onto foam for more height.  The Boys Rule collection from Cocoa Vanilla is perfect for my children's previous primary school uniform.

I hope you've been inspired to try lots of different ways of paper folding and if you need an easy place to start then symmetry is your friend - remember those painted butterflies we used to make as children?!  Don't forget to tag us if you share your paper fold layouts on social media, we'd love to see!

Happy scrapping.

Super Star | Lisa-Jane Johnson | Masculine Layout

Hi everyone, it's Lisa-Jane from Pretty My Page here today with my masculine layout for this month's challenge. I have a 13 year old boy and a fair bit of boy themed stash so it was a perfect challenge for me.

I busted out my Cocoa Vanilla Boys Rule collection and some mixed media for this layout.  I was using up some old cut files and some odd photos that hadn't made it to another layout so it came together really quickly,

I love how the texture paste stars pop on the dark background and give some interest around the cut file.  The colours in this collection are so perfect for any age of the chaps in your lives.

You can also see the addition of some lime green paint smudges on the background cardstock.  I confess this was an accident after I tried some mixed media on the reverse and didn't realise I had swiped it on the back too.  A happy accident though :-)

We look forward to seeing all your masculine layouts over on our Facebook page and on Instagram so don't forget to tag us!

Best wishes

Lisa-Jane Johnson | Black Background | You Say I'm a Witch

Hi everyone, it's Lisa-Jane from Pretty My Page here today with my black ground project. 


When we were given this brief I must admit, I panicked a bit!  Then I thought of various themes where I might have used a lot of black before.  If I had been thinking rationally I could have easily created a layout around my son playing rugby as his kit is black, red and yellow.  But instead I went to another of my great loves - Halloween! 

I created a cut file based on a quote I had seen on various Pinterest boards and I used this as the main focus of my layout with some orange patterned paper behind.  I also added a border of paper from the Simple Stories Vintage Halloween collection that I was using for this layout.  This breaks up the black a bit more and enabled me to use more pattern on the layout - I do love me some pattern!

Because the quote is quite big, I only had a small amount of room for my photo and embellishments.  I managed to squeeze in some more colour and witchy themed goodies from the collection and of course I had to add some enamel dots for more pops of colour. 

I'll let you in on a secret (if you haven't seen my Instagram post) that this was the second version of this layout - I knocked over a bottle of very runny glue and it went on the black cardstock.  The glue does dry clear and I thought I had cleaned it up well but it turns out that even clear glue shows up on black cardstock and so I had to start again!  Every day is a school day and all that...

With love and colour

Chilly Day: Punches: Elaine King

Good morning everyone! 

I hope today is a little warmer than when this photo was taken! Brrr! 

Anyway, today I am bringing you a layout created using some of my punches. It was nice to dig them out again..It is something I often overlook..how about you? 

To start with I chose this collection of Simple Stories, Winter Wonderland. Sticking with the UK Scrap Addicts January theme of No Cardstock.. (I know, I know, its the Feb prompt I'm supposed to be promoting..lol) I started with a piece of the wood grain paper to use as my background. I bought this collection a while back now from Pretty My Page..the shop run by our very own creative team member Lisa-Jane. Se still has a little left in stock..and they are reduced..woohoo! She is moving over to concentrate on her fantastic cut files now so there are bargains to be had!

Anyway..back to the layout.. I then took some long pieces of patterned paper and punched along the edge of the longest piece. I then layered them along the left hand side adding a piece at right angles along the bottom and adding some punched tags tucked under he top at the far left. 

Next I mounted the photo and used foam tape to lift it off the page for added dimension. 

Once this was placed I punched little bunting flags and added it to some bakers twine along the bottom. 

I then punched several snowflakes and scattered them around the edges of the photo and added several stickers from the collection too. 

Quite a simple layout but I managed to use four different punches..shown here. 

Why not have a go yourself and let me know you've got on? 

Have fun

Lisa-Jane Johnson | Grab 5 | Dream Big, Sleepy Head

Hi there scrappy friends, it's Lisa-Jane from Pretty My Page here today with my take on the Grab 5 challenge.  I grabbed a handful of things that were near to me after I'd created some layouts with the Simple Stories Dream big collection so I have a sticker sheet and some patterned papers as two of my items.  I also added in enamel dots and Distress Oxides plus I already had the very old pink letter stickers on my desk too.  

I'd been really inspired by some of the lovely rainbow layouts that I've been busy pinning from Pinterest including some by our lovely team here at UK Scrap Addicts, so I decided to try and create my own.  However I made a total blunder and for some reason I coloured the background in the order of the rainbow in the song instead of ROYGBIV.  The result is pretty awful.  The colours are all clashy and didn't want to blend because they were so contrasting, even after a spritz with water. 

BUT... I didn't want to waste the piece that I had created.  So, I pinched an idea from Terri Morris on the Pretty My Page blog where she'd used this pre-cut cut file designed by Paige Taylor-Evans.  It pushes the colours into the background a bit to make them less intense and just give a more subtle idea of the rainbow.  

 With a colourful and textured background like this, not much else is needed.  I layered my photo onto a couple of pieces of patterned paper and then added a few stickers from the same collection.

I wanted to embrace all the sleepy and dreamy bits so I combined the letter stickers with a phrase sticker for my title.  Of course I had to add my normal enamel dots too.

As always we'd love to see your Grab 5 challenge entries too!

x

Up & Down | Lisa-Jane Johnson | Tic-Tac-Toe

Hello there lovely crafters!  It's Lisa-Jane from Pretty My Page here today with my layout for the "Tic-Tac-Toe" challenge.  I went with the left hand vertical strip of arrows, home made embellishments and mixed up alphas.  I used to make a lot of my own embellishments and this was a good reminder to do just that.

I started my layout with the intention of making some pinwheels using a cut file from the Pretty My Page shop.  I'm getting down to the dregs of this Simple Stories collection that I've been using for my Lanzarote album so I thought I could use some of the pieces that I didn't like so much in an effort to disguise them.  I cut them into squares and stuck them on my cutting mat and then matched up the design on the screen to cut the pinwheel shapes.

When I made them into the pinwheels by folding the points into the centre, I realised that they didn't quite hide the wrong sides enough for my liking so I turned some over to the back and left others in their flat original design.

Once I'd placed my three square photos in their correct order for the story, I went with a diagonal design for the placement of the pinwheels.  I added some buttons to the centres of the pinwheels, which felt very retro, but then I couldn't stop and added a few more to add to the sense of movement and water splashes from the seal hitting the water.  

The collection I'm using came with 3 different alpha stickers so that bit was easily done although they were from the days when Simple Stories didn't do brilliant cutting so I actually had to fight to get them off the sheet!

Lastly I added some very fragile cork arrows, again to show the movement of the seal climbing up the slope and then diving into the pool.  It may not be the most "on-trend" of layouts but my Lanzarote album is lovely and colourful and this happy layout will fit right in.  I'm definitely going to have another go at making some of my own embellishments again.  It's so easy to get caught up in new things and forget some of the old techniques we've learned.

What embellishments do you like to make?  Why not hop over to our Facebook group and show us?

Bye for now

Carpe Diem / Jackie Ashton / 6x6 Pads

Hi UK Scrappers,

I don’t know about you, but I love getting 6x6 pads with the collections, I tend to use them to layer behind my photographs or to die cut, but then I do end up with either bits cut out of a sheet, or an irregular piece that I don’t know what to do with it. As this months theme is to use 6x6 pads, I decided that not to do my usual thing with them, but to make a ‘messy’ jumble of papers as a background to my photograph.

Carpe Diem ...

I used the Crate Paper - Good Vibes collection, and randomly choose several sheets of patterned paper, distressed the edges and added to my cardstock - which I had previously added some distressed ink using the packaging technique to the background and stamped a few word phases over the ink.

I mounted my photograph on to some patterned paper, and placed this over the top of the messy pile of papers.

I finished the layouts with chipboard pieces, stickers and die-cuts from the collection.   As the photographs was taken in Disney I punched some ‘mickey heads’ in patterned paper, and added three clusters to my page.  

I also added some cute ‘mickey head’ wood veneer.

For the title I used two perspextives from Bramble Fox.

How do you use your 6x6 pads? please share with us what you do, we would love to see them on our Facebook group.

Till next time ...

Adventure | Lisa-Jane Johnson | 6x6 Paper Pads

Hey there lovely scrappers!  It's Lisa-Jane from Pretty My Page here today with my layout using a small paper pad.  I say small paper pad because some brands have started making their pads in 6x8 inch instead of 6x6, such as Cocoa Vanilla Studios that I used here.   

For this project I was inspired by a layout that I did as part of a class at a recent Gogo Getaway retreat that was taught by Kirei, who also happens to be on the UKSA DT.  I never thought I I would enjoy iris folding because I thought it was a technique for card makers and I assumed it was something to do with iris flowers.  Actually though it refers to the iris lens of the shutter of camera and when you look at the patterns that it makes you can see why.  In Kirei's class we made stars but I wanted something simpler that would suit a masculine page so I went with the triangles and created this month's cut file with this in mind.  

I wasn't confident about making my own template so I searched about on the internet and found a lovely lady called Judy from Handcrafted Greetings who creates all sorts of iris fold patterns that are free to download.  She very kindly gave me permission to use her triangle template for this project.  I resized it to fit the triangles on the cut file and then printed it off and cut around them leaving a alight border.

For triangles you need to choose 3 colours for your paper strips and the awesome thing about this technique is that yu only need quite small pieces so it's a great way to use scraps.  You just need to make sure that your scraps / pieces are big enough to cover each of the sections on the template. 

Once you've got your cut out triangles and your strips and your cut file, you are ready to go!  You need to stick the template on the front of your layout (using very low tack washi) but face down so that when you turn your layout over to the back you can see the template through the hole.  I found it helpful to hold my cardstock up to the light so I could line up the triangles properly.  Then you lay your first strip on number one and stick it down on the back of your cardstock.  Then you change to the second colour to lay on number 2, and so on.

Eventually you will get to the middle and it will look something like this!  You can then choose a coordinating scrap to cover the middle hole and you are ready to do your first reveal!  I've used some un-loved washi to stick my pieces down with but you can use whatever works for you.  I found that wet glue seeped a bit and using the washi meant I could go to down with it and stick all the edges down so that they didn't flap up and get caught.

When you are done, turn the cardstock back over to the front and gently remove the template to reveal your twisty iris pattern!  I've seen some lovely ombre effects and rainbows and you can ink the edges or scuff them up for more definition and the templates are endless.  Sure it might take a bit of time and concentration but I think the effects are worth it.

So with the main part of my layout done, I trimmed the edges and placed it on a piece of contrasting cardstock from the Boys Rule range.   Then I mounted my photo on a couple of other pieces from the 6x8 pad (which I couldn't do with a standard photo on a 6x6 pad so I LOVE this additional 2 inches) and added a few bits from the sticker sheet, ephemera packs and chipboard pack.

 Finally I added some of the new matt finish enamel dots from my shop and called it done!

It's a really unusual placement for me but I love how the triangles echo the mountains in the die-cut piece at the bottom and that even thought it is all spread out, which isn't like me at all, it still stays cohesive.  I definitely think I will be using this technique again soon. 

If you've created anything with iris folding, or perhaps used our cut files or been inspired by our 6x6 series then please do tag us and share in our group. 

Happy scrapping!