Sweet Child of Mine | Pol Prince | Journalling

Hi scrappy friends! Pol here today with a new layout I created with this months theme in mind - journaling. 

I'm a bit hit and miss with journaling usually, I tend to add it after I've taken photos of my page since most of my pages are for design team work and will be viewed by a larger audience. Journaling is usually an afterthought for me, because I scrap more for the process and the art. I would like to try and include more journaling on my pages as a record for my children. With this in mind I've created a layout that not only tells a story, but even the photo itself is 'journaling'.

This page documents the sweet and funny messages my 17 year old son and 14 yr old daughter wrote in their Father's Day card to their step dad. We absolutely fell about laughing when we read it!

This month we were given some stencils to try from Lisa-Jane Johnson, who owns the Pretty My Page shop on Facebook, with an exciting new website coming very soon. 

My border paper is Websters Pages - an older collection that I brought up to date with the addition of some mixed media and colourful flair. 

To start with, after I had matted my white card to the border paper, I used the packaging technique to lightly add some light green Distress Ink to the top of my page. I gently sponged a darker shade of Distress Ink through one of the stencils a few times, then applied white texture paste through one of the stencils, gradually building up my base layers.

I matted my photo onto the same paper as my border, and punched out the ripped tap effect at the top. I then used foam tape to adhere my photo and mat over the inky area at the top of my page. 

I used pink and blue Distress Inks to gently sponge through two different stencils onto white cardstock, and cut them out to use as ephemera around my photo. I added enamel dots to the centres, which were also from Lisa-Jane's Pretty My Page shop.

I used three main clusters around my photo area which I defined using white thread. I added Cocoa Vanilla and Elle's Studio woodgrain shapes, fussy cut butterflies from the Kaisercraft Wildflower collection, Heidi Swapp word stickers, and flair from Cutz2luv.

I used blue Bella Blvd puffy heart stickers around my page, peeking out from behind layers. 

I absolutely love the black Pinkfresh alphas that I used for my title, in fact I love them so much I bought four packets! They last ages too because they come with lots of vowels.

I'm a massive fan of using song lyrics for my page titles, so you'll often come across a song title on my layouts!

Finally, last but not least, I wrote my journaling under my title, and splatted black ink around the page to tie it all together. 

Please do have a go at this months challenge featuring journaling, it's a great way to tell a story you've been meaning to write down, or even create a page without photos. Thanks for reading, see you all soon!

JOURNALLING

Our monthly theme for September is journalling. Over the next month our creative team's layouts and blog posts will all feature journalling in some way.

In today's joint post the team are discussing if we journal on our layouts, and how we incorporate journalling into our scrapping...

Maria: Journalling is a very important part of scrapbooking for me. 99% of the time I include at least a line or two and the date to my page. On some occasions, I even go the extra mile and tell a whole story behind the photo. Personally, the whole process of scrapbooking is divided 50-50 between memory keeping and a form of art that I get to keep. I have created pages that were all about the art and the products and not so much about the story behind the photo, and those layouts tend to be my least favourite. I spend more time looking at the layouts that tell a story. Unfortunately, though, sometimes journalling comes as an afterthought in the scrapbooking process. If I have a long story to tell, I make sure the journalling is designed into the layout from the beginning. Otherwise, I just find a spot somewhere suitable to add my lines and date.

Michelle: When I create my layouts I create them for future generations of our family, I want them to know who we were, what we felt and the small things that made up our daily lives. I hardly knew my grandparents and have nothing that tells me about the kind of people they were, which is why journalling is so important for me. I tend to journal less on my 12x12 layouts but give short explanations on what was going on in the photograph and why it was important to us at the time. I use a traveller’s notebook as a mini album that I really go all out on the journalling in. I find that I’m not as fussy in my TN and often use scraps from other projects to create my layouts and then I add lots of journalling, sometimes it’s big events, other times I might journal about small things my kids have said or done.

Emma: OK, so in total contrast with the lovely Maria, journalling is really not a priority for me when making a page. It’s the very last thought, and if I do anything it will usually be surface level journalling like; who, where, when, etc. I sometimes feel that I need to make an effort to look a bit deeper and tell more of a story but it doesn't really ever happen. I’ll usually add a couple of lines of journalling, not for the words, but more for the design aspect. For instance, if I feel like the layout needs a bit of balance, I’ll use black pen and write a sentence or two to add weight to certain areas of the page.  I have made more of an effort to journal on pocket page spreads. I have been documenting a trip to Barcelona in a pocket page album and have definitely made more of a conscious effort to record more memories and experiences from the trip. 

Lisa-Jane: I’m guilty of not putting enough journalling on my layouts.  I used to be really good and not consider it finished until I had written a little bit about the event etc.  Now though I do most of my creating at a crop and I find I can’t concentrate enough to write my journalling.  Also I find that I prefer to add my journalling once the layout has been published on-line and then I forget!  I’ve got so many layouts in my albums without their story attached and I really need to go back and sort that out.  Of course, not every layout NEEDS journaling.  Sometimes we take so many pictures and yet we’ve told all the story that there is to tell but we just can’t resist scrapping even more cute photos.   I was scrapping with my little girl the other day and she asked what else she could put on her layout.  I advised her to add some journaling and she said she didn’t really like writing on her layouts because it spoils it and I know what she means.  I know it’s important to have examples of our handwriting etc for future generations but I do find that sometimes the journaling ends up looking untidy.  This is the time to use hidden journaling.  If I’ve wanted to share a particular story but perhaps it is not something I want to share with the world or I don’t want it on the front of the layout for some reason, I have been known to use photos as flaps and then write on the underneath.  Another option is tucking a tag behind one of your layers, and the option I went for in this layout was something called a ‘Scrapalope’.  They probably don’t exist anymore but any envelope will do or you can make a pocket from scrapbooking paper if you are concerned about longevity.  In this layout from quite a few years ago now, I used the Scrapalope to contain a letter to our first baby who we lost a couple of months after this photo was taken.  It’s the only photo of me whilst pregnant with her so I wanted to tuck the journaling away.  It’s still there for me to read  but you have to make an effort to get to it so anyone just browsing my album wouldn’t really bother to read it and would just enjoy the layout as it is.

Jess: For me a page just isn't complete without journalling. The whole reason I scrapbook is to tell my stories. Sometimes that means a whole 6x8 page of text and sometimes it means a few lines on a project life card. I love the creative outlet of scrapbooking but really the words are equally as important as the photo in my eyes. I keep a daily journal that I started for the 100 day project. I use a weekly traveller’s notebook insert from Traveler’s Times on Etsy and each night I fill the 10 lines with a few details of the day. This helps me loads when I'm scrapbooking especially if I get a little behind with project life. I don't always take enough photos so it’s great to look back on what else happened that week that I didn't have photos for. When I'm scrapping one photo at a time I try to think back to how I felt when the photo was taken, what could I hear, what could I smell, what was I feeling, who else was there and what nice or funny moments were there. Doing some of that helps to inform my journalling. Sometimes I will alter the format and write my journalling in the form of a letter, this means I can direct my thoughts to a particular person. I have written letters to my son as well as myself and that makes for much more personal and honest journalling. If all else fails and you just don't know what to write try to imagine you have a friend next to you and they ask, "What is this photo about?" Then write down what you would tell them. 

Pol: I generally add a few lines about the photo, place it was taken etc, to my pages, but because a lot of my layouts are design team work that will be shown to a larger audience, I tend to do my journalling after I've photographed them. Although I scrapbook for the enjoyment of the process, when I do journal I try to include my own handwriting. I never really knew my grandparents and I think how much I'd cherish my Gran's handwriting, or even my mum's when she is no longer here, so I'd like my children and future generations to have a that record of me.

Hidden journaling on the 'Details' tag, a small letter to my daughter tucked away...

Sheena: Journalling on my layouts is a bit hit and miss. Because I also do Project Life I know I’m already telling our stories there so am less concerned what I add to my layouts. If I have something important to record I sometimes write on the back of my layouts.

Susan:  I’m afraid I rarely journal on my pages beyond recording who is on the photo and the date. I am not scrapbooking to record for future generations, and, having read the comments of some of my design team colleagues I wonder if I should be thinking more about recording for posterity. To be honest I regard my scrapbooking  as an artistic hobby; I scrap photos I like, in no particular order, and spend a lot of time on elements of the page such as the title. Occasionally I do write a few lines by way of explanation, but only rarely. I am going to make a determined effort to at least record the circumstances of a photo on the back of my future pages. One thing I do do, though, is incorporate journalling as a feature usually in place of a title, which I will show you more of in my post next week.

Gemma:  Like Susan, I would say I scrapbook as an artistic hobby. I don't journal, but I do always add the date of the photo onto the page, with my roller stamp. This was until recently when I actually tried journalling! I was really pleased with the result, and what it added to the page. I think it's something I want to go back and add to a lot of my layouts as over time I will forget places and events. I do keep a traveller’s notebook which holds stories I want to tell with their photos. I see the journalling in this book as being personal to me, so it's a project I keep for myself. Overall I would definitely say my journalling style is something I am still discovering. 

Sarah:   I like to write a line or two of journalling on my layouts. I go more in depth if I feel there is a story to be told, but as so much of my scrapping is just everyday snaps of my 2 year old there is not always much more to say. I prefer to keep my journalling hidden. Not for privacy, more that my handwriting is a bit hit and miss. I think hiding it on little tags, and in pockets adds a fun interactive element, too. 

Jackie:  I sometimes struggle with journalling straight onto my layouts, but I do like to add hidden journalling on tags when I can. Sometimes if I'm doing a series of layouts from an event, then I will add pocket pages and will use that space to add my journalling. 


Sarah T: As a Pocket Page scrapper journalling is a big part of my layouts. I like to include a little story on each of the photos. Occasionally I need to tell a bit more of the story than I can fit on a little journalling tag, so I'll use a fused on pocket on do some extended journalling on the back.

Thank you for sharing with us! I hope we've helped and inspired you to have a go at this months new challenge featuring journalling!

FUSSY CUTTING

Hi lovely Scrappers! Today the team are having a chat about fussy cutting...


Maria: Fussy cutting is awesome! I love love love it, despite not being the best at it. I love how you can get so much out of a 12x12 sheet of pattern paper by just fussy cutting the shapes out of it. Some people use huge scissors, and some others use small scissors. I am in the second group. I normally try to leave a small border around the shape that I am cutting, although it is not always possible.

Emma C: Ahh fussy cutting, labour intensive but oh-so-worth-it! Some papers just cry out to be fussy cut and one particular designer that springs to mind is ... you guessed it! ... Paige Evans. Her designs are perfect for cutting out images and layering them for something spectacular - especially the florals! Here is a prime example, created when I attended a workshop last November. Top Tip: when cutting try to move the paper around rather than the scissors, saves your hand aching a bit! Also, a good pair of small sharp scissors that cut right to the tip are a must. Happy cutting!

Jess Claire: Fussy cutting can be kind of time consuming but I love the look of it. I am a bit of a budget scrapbooker at times and I always feel like fussy cutting gets a lot of value from the paper. My tips are to start by roughly cutting out the shape; that way it's easier to move as you cut it. Depending on the look you want, you can cut leaving a border; I like to do this if the image has a white border behind it, because it then looks a bit like a die cut you might buy. Alternatively, you can cut right up close to the image; I tend to do this more just because its less obvious if you cut something off so you don't have to be as precise. I really like to adhere fussy cut pieces with adhesive foam tape, which pops the piece up and makes it look more like a true embellishment. Finally, don't be scared to use a large fussy cut piece - it can be the focal point of the layout.

Terri-Ann: I absolutely love fussy cutting! My GoGo Getaway nickname is 'scissor ninja' because I love to cut shapes from patterned paper. I find it relaxing to sit in front of the TV with a crazy busy pattern and cut out all the images. If it's super intricate I will leave a slight border but prefer not to. I also like to get my craft knife out to cut out the inner pieces from designs such as between flower stems and leaves.

Lisa-Jane: I'm quite partial to a bit of fussy cutting - like stitching, it can be a lovely way to pass the time while chatting with friends or watching your favourite programmes, etc. Like many others, I like to cut things out of my patterned papers to use in place of die cuts or to layer up on top of each other to add some dimension. Despite having a Silhouette and quite a few sets of Thickers, I do sometimes fussy cut a title, like I've done here. We have a few sets of alphabet templates between our local groups and I used them to trace the letters onto a coordinating design for this layout, then stitched around it to add some texture.

You don't have to stop at titles or flowers though, try things like ticket stubs, etc. I've also been known to cut out images from Project Life style cards such as cameras, hearts, and frames. The layout below is quite an old one now but I wanted to show an example of another different kind of fussy cutting. I've used chipboard shapes as templates to trace onto thick card stock, cut them out, then applied Mod Podge to some old jeans to make it stiff enough to adhere the card stock shape onto and trace and cut out. They make really unique embellishments and are worth the effort I think.

Pol: Fussy cutting is one of my Favourite Things Ever! I used to hate it because I cannot cut a straight line to save my life, but it turns out that makes me ideal for fussy cutting! LOL!
I like to leave a border around whatever I'm cutting out, and I love to make little scenes for my pages. I will purposely choose papers that can be fussy cut, and I enjoy fussy cutting while I'm watching TV in the evening. I'm really rubbish at sitting doing nothing so I'm often doing several things at once! Fussy cutting is a great way to make your papers go further if you're on a budget.

Susan: I too am a fussy cutting fan. I especially like to do it at crops when I can sit and chat and keep my fingers busy at the same time - it helps to keep them out of the chocolate, too! Any papers with large images are fair game; I sometimes wonder if I cut out just for the sake of it as I seem to be sticking the pieces back into the same place as they were originally! LOL! Seriously though, if you put the pieces back with dimensional sticky dots under some of them it gives your page some nice height and texture. I always cut close to the edges of an image not being too keen on white borders. I will even cut off the border from a ready made sticker. Occasionally I will fussy cut a photo if there is too much distracting background. I don’t like the white edge you get when cutting into photographic paper; a good tip is to gently edge the cut image with a dark ink.

Gemma: I agree with the others in that I love fussy cutting! I love doing it to create extra embellishments for a page. My favourite would be a fussy cut floral, and I love to fussy cut a whole 12x12 paper leaving a small border around the shapes. By leaving a border you get some of the background colour come through, in this layout I liked how the green broke up all the pink.

I like to fussy cut my own free-hand shapes as well, like I did in the moodboard challenge layout, where I used coloured raindrops. Also in this layout you can see that, like Susan, I will even fussy cut a photo to help create the scene on my page.

Laura: My tip for fussy cutting is to keep the scissors still, only moving the paper and to experiment with different scissors. Personally I fussy cut best with my largest pair as they are more comfortable to hold.



Michelle: It looks like l might be the only one on the team who doesn't love to fussy cut. I love the end look of it but I’m just not very good at it, although I have been incorporating it into more layouts, especially in my Traveller's Notebook. I now have some super sharp scissors to make the job easier. I may even get round to using some of the many cut-apart sheets that I have collected and stashed over the years. I agree with what others have said in that it is much easier to move the paper and not the scissors.

I do hope we've inspired you to crack out your sharpest scissors and get snipping!

Light It Up | Pol Prince | Clustering

Hello lovelies! Pol here today with a new layout featuring our new monthly theme - clustering. 

Personally I LOVE clustering on my layouts. Usually you'll find that my pages have three clear clusters on them, but I like to challenge myself, so on this new layout I've spread them out a bit more, although you can still see the three main clusters.

I've used our FREE cut file for August, designed by the talented Nikki Rowland. The cut file gave me the idea of three photos and clusters located with the words 'hello', 'hiya', and 'hey'.

To start with I used this gorgeous watercolour ombre paper from Fancy Pants Hello Sunshine collection, and I cut the file out of black cardstock to really make it 'pop' from the background. My embellishments are all from the Pink Paislee Summer Lights collection, which I cannot get enough of at the moment! The colours are amazing! I used ephemera, regular stickers, chipboard stickers, and I fussy cut some elements out of the cut-apart sheets. The flair buttons are from Cutz2Luv.

I love these funny photos of me and my niece and nephew playing with the drag queen filter on Snapchat! The colours were perfect for the background paper and embellishments too. I used three frames from the Summer Lights ephemera pack, popped them over my photos, and adhered them next to, above, and below the words on  the cut file. I then chose the embellishments I wanted for a cluster next to each photo by playing around with them a bit and seeing what looked best where.

I then had three clear clusters but there were still more things I wanted to add, so I decided to go for a rough 'circle' of embellishments around the page.

I had originally planned to putting my title, the 'Light It Up' die cut piece, in the centre of my page. However, it didn't look right to me so I ended up putting it in the 'circle' to balance out the other larger elements. I tend to repeat shapes a lot on a page, as you can see, the circles and hearts are repeated, along with little stars to make the circle 'flow'. The flairs from Cutz2Luv were a perfect match, and I have to say, my nephew makes a very handsome drag queen!

I had as much fun making this layout as we did taking the photos! Please do join in this months challenge on clustering, and link your new layouts up on our Facebook page. There's a great prize from our sponsors this month - Thompson's Craft Supplies. 

CLUSTERING

Our monthly theme for August is clustering. Over the next month our creative teams layouts and blog posts will all feature clustering in some way.

In today's joint post the team are discussing how we use clustering on our layouts...

Lisa-Jane: I love creating clusters on my pages - it gives me a ‘home’ for some gorgeous embellishments and lots of texture. I tend to start with a few larger flatter items and then gradually scale things down by size, allowing me to layer up lots of different items to add interest and dimension. I usually place three clusters around the photos to create a visual triangle leading the eye towards the main focus. Sometimes though I'll use a string of smaller clusters across or down the page, often in a diagonal line. I like to keep to an odd number of repeated elements as this is apparently more pleasing to the eye - psychologists and designers will tell you that if you use an even number then the mind's eye subconsciously looks for another item. That's ‘odd’ isn't it?! 

Pol:  I love a good cluster, the more the better! The best thing is, there are no hard and fast rules to clustering, just go with the flow of whatever you like the look of. If you're struggling where to start, odd numbers of clusters tend to look best, as does an accent colour in each cluster that maybe you've picked out from your photo. Clusters lead your eye around the page whilst keeping your photo as the focal point. The photos below show firstly a page with three clear clusters, and then a page with no clusters.

Maria: Clustering is an art that I haven’t mastered yet. I know the theory, but in practice I always second guess myself and I don’t know if I am doing it “properly”. Yes, yes ... I know that there is no right and wrong in scrapbooking, however, clustering can look a bit of a mess sometimes.

Roxy: I love clustering. I find myself using small clusters most often as it looks good to the eye. You first look at the photo then your eye is drawn to these two or three other points that have things to do with the photo! The photo below shows three clusters around the photo. 

If you find clustering hard, maybe pre-make some embellishments. Have a look on our blog or our Pinterest for inspiration! 

Kirsteen: As a self confessed embellishment junkie and firm believer in more is more, I love to cluster. Clustering allows you to add lots of your favourite embellishments to a layout, creating a pretty focal point, or two, or three  ...

Jess: Looking back at some of my recent layouts I don't do a lot of clustering. I tend to go a bit embellishment crazy and fill in all the spaces. However when I do add clusters I go for balance. In this example I have added clusters along a diagonal line. I have small clusters of flowers in the corners and clusters with labels along the corners of the photos. This diagonal line gives your eye something to follow and adding clusters to the corners kind of closes everything in. 

Terri-Ann: Clustering is something I do on a regular basis. I generally try to stick to the rule of odd numbers so will often go with 3 or 5 clusters depending on my design. I like to start with larger items and then layer on top smaller items, finishing with enamel dots or something similar. 

Sarah: I love to cluster embellishments along with other crafty bits to add texture. Doilies, gauze/cheesecloth, tissue and ribbon all work well. 

Susan: I can totally understand why some scrapbookers might be apprehensive about clustering - especially if you like a lot of white space on your pages. To cluster successfully you need to find just the right quantity, size and colour of elements to fit in a small space and yet, make sure it does not appear as a jumbled mess.  The secret, I think, is to only add a cluster (or two) if it serves a purpose and enhances your page. I am a fan of clustering as a way of ‘finishing off’ a page that I feel is missing something. This is usually because the page is in need of the eye-pleasing ‘triangle’ shape mentioned by other teamies here. You can see this in my page G’day Joey. There are two reasons why I love a cluster - one they are a great way of using up bits of leftover papers and they also make use of the ‘just-a-few’ little dies I have that go through my beloved Diamond Press machine. I like to repeat elements from the main area of the page in the clusters, like the little yellow die-cut banner in my Too Kool for Skool page here to try to avoid a ‘thrown in as an afterthought’ effect, even though they often are!

Gemma: I like to use clustering on a page and I try to focus on using lots of different sized embellishments and dimensions when I do. I start with the bigger die cuts and then add my favourite bit which is tiny wood veneer, buttons and enamel dots. Although I may not use an odd number of clusters every time I do like to work on the diagonal or work them around my photo. 

Michelle: Until recently I’ve not really been an ‘over embellisher’, preferring  the look of stamps on a page than I do a cluster of embellishments; that was until I started to binge watch YouTube. I always thought that too many embellishments would make my page look cluttered and too busy but its actually a really good way of drawing your eye through the layout, its definitely something that I am going to be trying more of from now on!

Thank you for sharing your ideas and tips guys! I hope we've helped and inspired you to have a go at this months new challenge and cluster away!

Beautiful You | Pol Prince | Large Photo

Hi lovely scrappers! It's Pol on the blog today with a new layout featuring a large photo; July's theme of the month.

I don't scrap very often with large photos, but when I do, I really enjoy it and I vow to use them more often! I love the impact that large photos have on a layout, especially a black and white photo. 

I love the photo I have chosen for this layout, it was taken at my friend's wedding last year, and is a beautiful photo of us girls (and one honorary girl for the day, Shane!). I have been meaning to scrap it ever since. When I got the new Cocoa Vanilla collection, Wild At Heart, I knew the colours were perfect for this photo. Everything on my layout is from this collection.

I normally stick a large photo to one side of my page, but this time I decided I wanted some space at the top for a cluster, to balance the page out. The three clusters I have created around the photo draw your eye down and around the page whilst keeping the large photo as the main focal point. 

We'll be talking more about clustering in our second joint monthly blog post in a few days.

I chose this background paper as I loved the watercolour effect round the edges without being too busy. The navy colour crosses gave me the idea to do a few matching hand stitched crosses of my own, to 'anchor' my photo to the page.

The basis for my 3 clusters came from the small chipboard frames in the collection, and I added some cut up pieces of the paper die cut frames along with a die cut doily cut in half.

There were sooo many of the chipboard words, stickers and die cuts I wanted to use with this photo, so I really had to limit myself to just a few!

The wooden title 'Beautiful You' really was perfect for the gorgeous bride, and I tried to get it as close to her on the photo as possible, whilst trying not to cover up her beautiful dress too much!

I added some of the navy thread I used for the cross stitches underneath the flair buttons and the circular sentiment die cut.

I then chose a few simple small die cut flowers and butterflies for the clusters, in order not to overwhelm the page. The great thing about using a large photo on a layout though, is that you can really go to town on the embellishments if you want, as the photo will never look overwhelmed!

Finally I popped a few glittery enamel dots in and around the clusters to finish them off. Voila, one large photo layout finished, with a renewed resolution to create more! 

We'd love you to have a go at our challenge this month, to use a large photo to create a new layout. We're defining 'large' as a 6x8 size photo as a minimum, so even larger if you'd like. Don't forget there's a great monthly challenge prize to be won, so add your layouts to our UK Scrap Addicts facebook page.

SOLID MEDIA

Hello scraptastic friends! Today the team are having a chat about solid media...

Jess: I started out scrapbooking using Project Life and my loyalties still lie with pocket pages. I liked the simplicity of slipping in cards and photos and not having to do anything too artsy. I've always believed I am no good at art but I am learning lots as I go. Saying that, I refuse to use chalk, that stuff goes through me, especially when used on paper. I am actually tense just writing that. Does anyone else feel that way about certain textures? Anyway my chalk hating aside I do sometimes use solid mediums to add colour. I have used wax crayons but mostly I like pencils. There's just something kind of comforting about colouring in with coloured pencils. So much so that I own about 3 different packs of Crayola pencils even though they rarely get used. My favourite way to use them is to stamp images on to white card using black ink and then colour in with pencils or crayons. I can then cut the shapes out to use as die cuts. I've done this a few times, especially with floral stamps. I love it when creativity can be money saving.

Sue: I’m not really one for experimenting with media in my scrapping but I have always had a weakness for pens. I own way more than I will ever need! I use them on my pages for journaling, doodling, frames. My handwriting is large and bold so I almost always write with a Berol fine nib Italic pen - they are available in Ryman’s or, if you go through them as often as I do, buy in bulk from Cult Pens (a VERY DANGEROUS website for pen addicts!) My number one favourite for journaling on dark cardstock is the white pen made by Signo - the broad Uni-ball - try one from Paperchase then hop over to Amazon and buy in bulk from omghowcheap  or Cult Pens have them, too. Oh and a final tip - never leave your Sharpies in reach of a toddler!!

Emma C: Oooh OK, solid media is a bit of a tricky one and, honestly, it’s not everybody’s cup of tea. The one that I use most often is texture paste, which is also often called modelling paste or holding paste depending on the manufacturer. A lot of scrapbookers use the Ranger Texture Paste and have great things to say about it, it’s thick and holds its shape well. I currently have some Pebeo Modelling Paste which is great but a little runnier than I would like sometimes. Texture paste is great for putting through stencils and giving a subtle pattern or element of interest to the background of your page. If you want to have a play with mixed media, texture paste is a fun one to try! Another solid medium commonly used is Faber Castell Gelatos, a kind of soft pigment stick that is creamy and smooth and reacts with water. They can be purchased online or Hobbycraft carry some too. I must say, I have only played with Gelatos once, at a retreat where I borrowed a friends, and I think they must take a bit of practice to achieve your desired effect. They tend to work better on a surface that has been primed, or Gessoed, and when applied direct to paper I found they take bit of work to get them to blend. However, many crafters really like Gelatos and love the effects they can create - check out Missy Whidden on YouTube as she has many videos using them to great effect!

Lisa-Jane: I'm experimenting a lot more with mixed media of various sorts but as usual I'm pretty late to the party. When masks etc came out a few years ago I bought a nice selection that could double as embossing folders in the Cuttlebug and I purchased a small pot of expensive texture paste. I'm always keen to try cheaper alternatives and I came across several blogs and YouTube videos showing DIY versions by mixing pva glue, acrylic paint and talcum powder. I tried it out myself and was pleasantly surprised! Much much cheaper, keeps for ages and you can make it as thick or as runny as you want depending on your needs. You can see how I've used it here through a Happy Scatter stencil to start building up a background. The great thing about the home made version is that you can add coloured acrylic paint to give you different shades of paste without making it too runny. My children have really gotten on board with getting different effects in pastes and paints and I'll often go into my studio to find a random bottle top or toy car tyre on my desk!

Roxy: Ah solid media. One of my favourites. Since I was little I have had a love for pencils, pens, paint pens. Basically anything in a stick form that I could create with. It took me a while to put two and two together and realise I could actually use all my arty products in my scrapbook layouts! I haven't looked back since. To this day my favourite solid media are Gelatos and texture paste. I find Gelatos the easiest to work with, just draw on some scribbles and blend out with my finger or a little water and voila, it looks pretty! I also have various other solid media such as Derwent Artbars and Derwent Inktense blocks, however, I mostly don't use these in stick form. If like me you find them a little overwhelming, I found the best way is to use them like watercolour paints! They blend well and are very pigmented. They create wonderful backgrounds or project life cards.

Pol: I really don't get on with Gelatos. It's probably lack of use but I just don't seem to know what to do with them! I used to use a lot of chalks in my early scrapping but I haven't used them for years now. I do like texture pastes used sparingly, they really give interest to a plain background. My favourite solid media though is my Pilot V5 black pen! I use it on nearly every single layout for journaling or adding hand drawn borders. It's also wonderful for creating zentangle backgrounds. However, I have also been known to steal my youngest son's crayons to use on a layout!

Laura: When I think of solid media I think of my lack of success with oil pastels (one big muddy mess) chalks (coloured dust everywhere including up my nose) and Gelatos (I just can't get the hang of them!) Then my eyes start twinkling as I think about my Inktense pencils. I love them. I even have a custom made roll so I can take the whole set away on holidays with me. Here is why I love them: their versatility is second to none.
I use them as regular colouring pencils in colouring books and fussy cut out the designs. They blend nicely as dry pencils. Then you can use them as watercolour pencils, the only difference being that they are permanent when dry. With lots of water you can get that soft watercolour effect but use them stronger for amazing intense colours. I also use them as I would inks/mists. Pop a little water on some packaging and scribble the pencil in. You then have colour that can be smoothed on to the page or picked up with a brush and flicked.
I have them all and the colour range is great, every colour is catered for BUT should you need another shade they mix beautifully.  Have I convinced you?!

Unconventional Artist | Pol Prince | Mood boards

Hello again friends! Pol here today to share with you a layout I created based on this beautiful rainbow mood board, which is one of two for this months challenge. If you'd like to enter you could be in with a chance of winning a £50 voucher for allthingssticky.

Well, I had lots of messy fun with my Dylusions ink sprays on this one! I tried a few ideas until I settled on this one that I was the most happy with. I also created a drippy runny rainbow background but the inks mixed a little too much and started to go yucky colours. 

The best thing about this process was my 7 year old son and stepson playing out in the back garden one day, when they came running in to excitedly tell me that they had found the magic place where rainbows start from, and it was right in our garden!!! Hope they don't notice it's now washed away in the rain!

Back to my layout - the full page of pretty rainbowiness was way too full on to use on its own, so I decided I would use it as a border around a black and white paper, and this striped paper was perfect. It also put me in mind of one of those stereotypical artist pictures, where they are wearing a striped top and a beret!

I kept the photos fairly simple too - one black and white and one colour. They are photos of the most amazing eye my 14 year old daughter drew on her plate in BBQ sauce!

I fussy cut some flowers out of one the papers in the Crate Paper Oasis collection and tucked them behind my photos. I also fussy cut the birds and butterflies from the Maggie Holmes Chasing Dreams collection, and tucked strands of thread in and around them, to embellish my page. 

I made my own 'flair' to match my page, using wooden buttons and punched out circles of paper. I bought a pack of 50 varnished wooden buttons off eBay, and a small circle punch. I punched out circles of matching paper and stuck them into the centre of the buttons with a tiny bit of Glossy Accents. I then covered the centres with Glossy Accents and left them to dry. Voila - customised 'flair' buttons to match any project!

You could also use Crackle Accents or similar, and the circle punch is the perfect size for using on the barcode strips on patterned paper.

Because I'd chosen the title 'Unconventional Artist', I decided to use lots of different types of alphas for the title, to emphasise the unconventionality. I really love the look this gives to the finished layout, and it helped to use some spare alphas up!

Please do have a go at our very first monthly challenge, and post your projects on the thread on our Facebook page.