Anniversary Escape

Hi, Deb here with you again today. I thought I'd share a page I did of a little place we went to for our wedding anniversary. We try to organize our holidays around that time of year to celebrate a very special day. 

I have used the Anniversary Escape title and simply colored it, added dimensional paint and sprinkled a little bit of chunky glitter on. 

This gorgeous embellishment was made by our DT member, Lauren. She makes the most gorgeous chipboard embellishments that are just beautiful for special cards or pages. 

A close up of the chipboard showing the glitter. 

Materials used:

A2Z Scraplets Chipboard

Kaisercraft papers

Basic Grey papers

Bella Bling

Doily

Until next time

Happy Scrapping

Deb

Embossing powders .... have you tried them???

Long time no post from me *Deb*

Some time ago we adopted a rescue dog and this was the first face we saw. Alfie had been through quite a lot but was a lovable energetic little fella. We managed to get his health back up, he put on weight and was going really well. Unfortunately it was not meant to be and sadly Alfie only had a short life with us.

The title is a custom cut and I have simply embossed it using an antique embossing powder. Now by antique, I mean both the finish and the age. I have had the powder for well over 10 years and it is still as new! 

Embossing is a very simple technique. Again, both the ink and powder are quite old and no longer available but there are some superb new ones on the market. You will need a piece of chipboard, pigment ink pad and embossing powder of your choice. A pigment ink is a slow drying ink and most suitable for embossing. I have used a similar color to the powder result to get a full color finish. different color inks will give different color results to the end product.

Firstly ink the chipboard directly from the ink pad. By dabbing downwards you can use even the smallest ink pads. Cover well with ink.

Whilst still wet, cover liberally with embossing powder. Place a piece of paper underneath so you can collect the excess. Shake off excess.

On a heat proof surface, gently heat with a heat gun until powder melts. Do not use a hair dryer, this will blow the powder away. When I started embossing I used a toaster but the family got a little sick of glitter and colors on their breakfast toast! Not the mention the color and bling the toaster ended up with.

Once heated, the powders will be set. Please remember to let them cool before touching as they can be very hot and sticky. This is only a couple of minutes. The end result is fabulous. Once you have mastered this technique the options are endless. You can mix and match powders. Emboss with one color and then add highlights with another. Make your own powders from what you have by combining a small amount of a couple, three or four. Experiment!

A close up of the finished chipboard on the page.

Until next time,

Have fun and 

Happy Scrapping

Deb

Memories ...........

Deb here with you today. 

How do you sort your photos out to scrap them? I wander back and forth from the past to the present. I have so many to do that I guess I just choose what inspires me at the time.

The first page is one of a portrait of my youngest daughter. The photo was taken about 15 years ago and is fairly dominated by purple. I decided to run with the color and enhance it rather than try and make it passive.

 I used two new scraplets on this page 'memories' from the Rustic Moments and Memories set and 'Flourish 105'. Memories is simple painted while the flourish has been given a covering of gesso, paint and pearl paint.

The next page is a simple, fun one of a day out with family Go Karting.

The title 'GoKart' has been painted and outlined with black pen.

 Until next time,

Happy Scrapping 

Deb

Love Always

Hello, Deb with you on the blog today. 

I've been looking back at some of my 'older' photos and reminiscing a little. The page I decided to share today is of my last child. Wow, where has that time gone? My eldest is 30 and my youngest 15, no wonder I feel like I've been a mum for a while!

I was really happy with the way this page turned out, especially the Scraplets. I played around with gesso and paint to get some subtle texture and a soft pearly pink finish.

I sponged the gesso on, let it dry then gave it a coat of light pink paint. Once that had dried I then dabbed a pearl paint over that. The finish is so soft and pretty.

I used the Love Always and Fancy Butterfly chipboards on this page. 

Until next time

Happy Scrapping

Deb

Special Releases

Hi, Deb here today. I've been enjoying designing some special requests as well as putting together a huge bundle of New Release designs. 

This page is a really simple one of my grand-daughter having some fun at the park with our little dog.

 The title 'A Girl and her Dog' is just painted in line with the simplicity of the page.

I love how this page turned out and the title, 'A Girl and Her Dogs' is so cute. My little grand-daughter just loves these two and they her.

 To color the scraplet I painted it with a thin coat of gesso before using gel pens and a paint marker. The gesso helps keep the color accurate.

 I added some 'Chicken Mesh' and a 'Dotted Circles' Frame to the page, adding color, texture and definition.

 A bit of bling and a beautiful butterfly added to the 'girly' look of the page.

Thanks for stopping by,

Until next time, 

Happy Scrapping

Deb

Guest Designer on today

Today we have a guest on the blog - Debbie Ellis. Debbie is an avid scrapbooker and enjoys creating pages of her family, in particular her grandchildren. 

On the first page, Debbie has used 'You're a Star' and cut it apart to suit the page. Cutting your scraplets is a great way of making them even more versatile.

 I love the way Debbie has used chipboard to add texture and dimension to her pages. She has used the Scraplet 'Dad Dad Dad' as the title for this page.

I'd like to thank Debbie for sharing these pages with us and you'll see a few more over the coming months. 

Until next time,

Happy Scrapping

Deb

Guest Designer Yvette .....

.... is with us again today. 

This time Yvette has used the title Could you be any cuter? and created a stunning page featuring a rather gorgeous little person.

There are so many elements on this page to take your eye but the photo pops out with the title enhancing it. 

Until next time

Happy Scrapping

Deb

Hello again ...............

Hello again, I am just loving doing my holiday photos so bear with me as I travel through Thailand again. This page is of an unusual and very unique market area where the train passes through the stalls. 

I have used an older scraplet - the train set - as a border and simply added some ink and outlined some windows on the carriages.

I didn't use distressing techniques as such but used a punch to cut pieces out here and there.

I just love the bright little face on my grand-daughter in this photo and have scrapped the colored and black and white version of it on one page.

I framed the photos in the double Polaroid frames and used the words from the 'love this life' set. The frames have been painted with crackle paint while the word has been painted and then finished with Rock Candy crackle paint.

I love these hummingbirds and have used them to add dimension and embellishment to the page. They've been simply spritzed with a chalkboard mist to give some character and a little color to them

Our chipboards can be found in your local scrapbooking store or online store. If they don't stock them, ask if they'll get them in. Or check out our website A2Z Scraplets for more stockists. 

Until next time, happy scrapping

*Deb*

Using the old and new Scraplets

Hi Deb here today with a few pages I've done lately.

This first one is a photo I love and the Scraplet suits the thoughts at the time. My son desperately wanted to be a farmer from the day he understood having a job. I've let the photo be the central focus and tied the color of the Scraplet in by simply painting it with a dabber paint. I find these the easiest, quickest and best finish on chipboard.

The next page is from  our recent holiday. Most of the family were keen to have a go at pretty much anything. We'd seen the cooked bugs and were interested to try them out. Our son, aged 9 being the most keen! Actually they aren't too bad. Sort of like eating nuts or chips - no great flavor apart from the lime and salt - all texture and texture it was. 

The title "Bugs" was painted with a mix of colors tying in with the color palette of the page and then finished off with my very favorite finish - Rock Candy Crackle Paint. 

Whilst I've been designing the new Scraplets I'm coming up with some new products and over the coming months you'll see texture pieces coming. Pieces of finer chipboard that can be pulled apart and added as extra dimension. Below I've used a piece of chicken wire that is malleable enough to age or distress it. It was finished off with the same palette of paints, randomly dabbed over it. 

The Scraplet word awesome and moments were inked with metallic copper and added to the page.

My last share for the day uses a new Scraplet - Circle of Stars Frame. We've created quite a range of new frames similar to this - fairies, butterflies, hearts .............. something for any occasion. I love the excitement of the first catch in this photo.

All these and many more Scraplets are available from retailers around the country.  Check out our facebook page and website for more information http://www.a2zscraplets.com.au/retailers.php

Thanks for popping in and remember, A2Z Scraplets run a monthly challenge on the blog. We will be giving away a parcel of Scraplets and a Guest designer position. 

Happy Scrapping *Deb*

Ink, paint, mist, embossing powders, dimensional magic .....

Chipboard would have to be my favorite scrapbooking embellishment. There are so many mediums that can be used to give them a brilliant finish. 

My first page share is one where I've used the 'waste' piece from the "Shabby Circles" set (included in the pack) and one of our new wordlets "Love this life". Simply finished with a black paint for a matte frame and title on the page.

 The next one is using an older title which suits the photo quite well. I've painted this one out to highlight the flame part of the title. The cogs from one of the cog sets have been inked and heat embossed using a couple of metallic and rustic powders.

 Paints and mists were used to create the marbling finish on the star frame Scraplet. Sprayed while the paint is still damp allowed the mists to swirl and blend for individual look.

 "It's the little things" title depicts my grandchildren were out 'looking' for the Smurfs at Easter. Thinking they were going to be rather small they were quite surprised when the finally found them and they were HUGE.

Until next time, happy scrapping *Deb*