Goodbye, Hello & Big News

It's all change at UKSA HQ... let me fill you in!

We are sad to say goodbye to Sarah Roulston.  She is stepping aside to focus more time on growing Lottie Loves Paper.  We will still see her around in For The Love Of Pretty Paper and we'll have her back guesting for us at some point, I'm sure!

We welcome Sarah Costain to our team.  She'll be adding her first project to our YouTube channel mid-month.  By the way, we now have a custom YouTube address - youtube.com/ukscrapaddicts - so we'll always be easy to find!

And, because our National Scrapbook Day celebrations were so successful we have decided to run a monthly challenge.  Starting with June we will trial three months of challenges.  I have lined up some fabulous sponsors and we are starting off with a whopping £50 prize value.  The challenge will be to join in with our monthly theme and link up your layout on our Facebook page - Facebook.com/UKScrapAddicts/

More details on the 1st June - stay tuned...

Hello Beautiful | Sarah (Lottie Loves Paper) | Sewing

Hello, it's Sarah here today!
So, we are continuing with the stitching theme ... I'll let you into a little secret ... before I found out the theme for April, I had only ever sewn on a couple of my layouts!
But, now that has changed - and I can't stop sewing on my pages! I love the texture that it adds.

For this layout I used the current kit from Lottie Loves Paper which has lots of the gorgeous new "Wild At Heart" collection from Cocoa Vanilla Studio.

I used a stitching template to add three stitched hearts to my layout.

It's so easy to pierce the holes through the template into the paper using a Pokey Tool and then using embroidery thread stitch the design onto the paper.

The "Mariposa" sheet of patterned paper from the collection is full of little butterflies which just had to be fussy cut and used as embellishments.

The "Hello Beautiful" from the "Wild At Heart" chipboard made the perfect title.

Here's the finished layout:

I've added a short process video to the UK Scrap Addicts YouTube channel showing how the layout came together so why not grab a cuppa and pop over and watch it....

Thanks for visiting and I'll see you next month.

Sights Of Winchester | Sarah (Lottie Loves Paper) | Multiple Photos

Hello everyone!

It's Sarah here today with my first blog post for UK Scrap Addicts and there's a process video over on YouTube as well. I hope you are enjoying the posts and videos from the UKSA Creative Team.

As I am sure you know by now, our theme this month is "Multiple Photos" so I got busy printing off some photos on my Canon Selphy. I had loads of photos taken on a weekend away in Winchester so a layout with multiple photos was perfect for getting some of them into my album.

I used the new Simple Stories collection, "Say Cheese 3" and picked out a 12 x 12 paper with an arrows design, from an older Simple Stories collection to use for my background.

Using a few papers from the 6" x 8" Say Cheese 3 paper pad I layered up patterned papers to create a mat for my four photos to lay on and added some of the gorgeous camera washi tape to "anchor" the photos. The two middle photos are raised up on foam to give added dimension to my layout.

When I'm scrapping with more than two photos I often slightly overlap the edges as I find it easier on the eye - it's almost as if we see multiple photos as one large photo rather than separate photos.

I kept my embellishments quite simple as the papers are busy patterns, just adding some clear stickers to each of the photos and using a few stickers and buttons to create three areas of embellishment.

The day I made this layout I had just purchased a really cute, little camera die, so I quickly put it to use, and added it to one of the embellishment clusters.

You can see how the whole layout came together in a process video over on YouTube

Thanks for visiting today!

Ask Us & Wet Adhesives

You asked us...

ATGs – are they worth it? - Katie

Lisa-Jane:  My main go-to is my ATG gun which works out really cost effective when you consider that the rolls last for ages!

Susan:  My trusty old pink ATG gun travels everywhere with me, making me a little unpopular at crops as it’s recently begun to complain loudly sounding like a strangled seagull!  I will buy a new one if it gets too much; I couldn’t be without it.  The downside of ATG guns is the cost of the refill tapes.  I have found Viking Tapes www.vikingtapes.co.uk to be good value and they have a speedy service.

Roxy:  I have tried out the ATG gun, but personally found it bulky to hold, and tricky to use.  Safe to say I don't have one now!

Jackie:  I used a yellow ATG gun, had it for years and even though others complain about theirs, I love mine.  It does have its problems when re-loading a new roll of tape, sometimes it's straight forward, other times I could gladly through it throw the nearest window, but like I said, I wouldn't be without it.  As mentioned above I buy the tape from Viking and do a bulk order with a few friends, so it brings the cost of the tapes down per roll and also saves us on postage.

Laura:  I have a 3L EZ runner grand, which a similar to the ATG but smaller and more compact.  I like it and have never had any issues with it gunking up, nor have I had a problem putting a new cartridge in.  (And I’ve never wanted to throw it out the window!!)

Fine line bottles – what should I fill it with? - Antonia

Roxy:  For smaller embellishments, I decant "Martha Stewart" glue into small fine line bottles (the ones that come in a 3 pack).  However, for wood veneer, I love "Glossy Accents", it is easy to put on, stays put and dries clear!

Jackie:  For wet glue, I’m currently using Cosmic Shimmer Specialist Acrylic Glue, I buy a large bottle from a local market stall, about £6.99 and decant into a small fine-line tip bottle, that I first saw on a Youtube video; you get two empty bottles in a pack.  They have two sizes of nibs and I use the yellow one.  The lid has a spike in that stops the glue nozzle from clogging, so when I come back to using it, it's straightforward, remove the lid and squeeze the bottle, no more messing around with a needle to get the nozzle un-glued.

Pol:  For intricate or fiddly die cuts I use Cosmic Shimmer Acrylic Glue.  It dries quickly, is very strong once dry, and has a fine tip nozzle.

Sarah R:  For very small embellishments I use either Tombow mono glue or glossy accents as both have a fine point to apply the glue to a small area and you only need a tiny dot of it.

Laura R: The gauge of the fine liner bottles can easily confuse – 18 (yellow) is wider than 20 (blue).  A 20 nib takes more strength to squeeze the glue through.  The key is to replace the lid after each use so the nib doesn’t clog.

Wet Adhesives

Susan:  My tip for fiddly sticking is to use a glue pen.  I’ve tried loads and the best for me by far is the Zig Squeeze and Roll 2-way pen.

Pol:  The adhesive I use most of is clear 3D gel.  I use it on anything and everything, it doesn’t smell, it gives a wonderful dimension, and it’s very strong once dry.  For small intricate things like wood veneer words, I apply it with the end of a cocktail stick for precision.  I’ve started using a lots more foam tape and foam dots recently, although I do find them a pain if I’m covering a larger area as there’s loads of backing to take off.  Not a problem with 3D gel! For intricate or fiddly die cuts I use Cosmic Shimmer Acrylic Glue.  It dries quickly, is very strong once dry, and has a fine tip nozzle.  To stick down vellum I tend to use tiny glue dots in places I know will be covered by embellishments.

Emma C:  For things like sequins or wood veneer or glittery things, I will use a liquid glue.  Again, it’s one I have had for well over a year and it's just a super affordable one from The Range.  It’s called Anita’s Tacky Glue (kind of like the Scotch Quick Dry), it dries quickly, it’s really surprisingly strong and ... wait for it ... only £.179 for 120ml which is what I have and it hasn't run out yet!  I do have a bottle of Glossy Accents too, which I bought when I first started scrapping and thought I needed all the ‘proper’ things.  To be honest, though, I rarely use it and when I do it usually for metal embellishments or I use it for what it’s actually intended - to make things glossy!

Laura Jane:  For chipboard or wooden ephemera and embellishments my all time go-to adhesive is Cosmic Shimmer Specialist Acrylic Glue - I love this as it has a strong bond when dry and also dries clear.  If I am looking to add dimension to a small piece of ephemera or embellishment then I will attach this to my layout using DoCrafts Stick It! silicone glue which I apply through a syringe which gives me more control and finer application.

Laura:  I’m a big fan of Tombow Mono Multi glue. You can use it wet as a regular adhesive or let it dry and use it as a temporary adhesive - similar to the stick on a sticker or Washi tape.  My other go-to is Pinflair glue gel.  It is silicon free and odourless and brilliant for adding dimension.

Lisa-Jane:  I’m a bit clumsy so I tend to get in a sticky mess if I’m not careful.  I try to avoid wet glue where I can but I do use a Stampin-Up syringe tip for my intricate die cuts.

We'll be back tomorrow with a post on 'dry adhesives'