Ruby Rock-It Blog Hop

Hi everyone!  I'm back as part of a blog hop today!  :)  If you are just stopping in, why not join in and start the hop here?  If you came from Linda Kretz, then you are in the right place.

This month, we are featuring our fun, bright, and adorable for this time of year range:  Bella! Boutique School Days!  And after you hop along, make sure you find out the details on how you can have a chance to win this amazing PRIZE pack!

Leave comments at each blog in the hop to enter to win an awesome Ruby Rock-it prize pack

Here's what I created for today's hop:

I love to use my stickers as masks.  I often do this with paint or spray ink or even a sponge in ink.  But this time I put my ink pad directly on top of my stickers.  Gives it more of a dramatic, messy graphic look.  This is what I am talking about:

I laid out my stickers:

Then I applied my ink directly from pad to paper:

Then I removed the stickers.

Here are some close up's of my layout:

Did you see how I stitched circles around the numbers for the year?  I thought that was fun.  :)


MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE A COMMENT ON EACH DESIGNER’S BLOG AND THEN ON THE RUBY ROCK-IT BLOG ONCE YOU’RE DONE HOPPING ALONG RUBY ROCK-IT  TRAIL!

RUBY ROCK-IT BLOG HOP RULES-LEAVE A COMMENT ON EACH DESIGNER’S BLOG AND THEN ON THE RUBY ROCK-IT'S BLOG TO BE ENTERED TO WIN THE Ruby Rock-it  PRIZE PACK. COMMENTS MUST BE POSTED BY TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH AT 11:59PM PST TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE RANDOM DRAWING.  WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNER ON OUR RUBY ROCK-IT BLOG ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13TH!

Ok, now your next stop on the hop is the fabulous Pattie Beltran!

Thanks for stopping in!
Have a wonderful day!!!

Some Art Journal Pages

Hi everyone!!

Well, awhile ago I mentioned that I use my Brag Books as Art Journals.  I was going to share some new pages with you in a new book and I was looking through my blog and saw that I never posted any of my other art journal.  Not sure why.  I will probably come back and post some of my older pages, but for now I'd love to share some of the new stuff I have done.

I just started a new book.  Here's the cover:

The cover is pretty simple.

It uses a Brag Book from Fancy Pants Designs, as well as their Trendsetter and Artist Edition collections (both the cover and the pages I share today all use these).  I think the Trendsetter is my favorite collection right now...I just can't stop using it even though I have other cute collections waiting to be used. :)

I pretty much do my art journal pages in the same way.

1.  I start with gesso and brush it over the page (doesn't have to cover it entirely).
2.  Add ink and paint...this is the part where you just PLAY.  :)
3.  Embellish with drawings, paper, and journaling.

Here are three pages (spreads) I have done:

This first page actually uses my current sketch, sketch 235!  :)  Which, of course, there is still time to play along with.  ;)

The thing about Art Journals is that they don't have to be perfect.  You generally don't show them off or try to sell them.  They are for YOU.  At least mine are for me.  I love that.

So just remember...I'm just playing here.  :)

Thanks for stopping in!!!
Have a FANTASTIC day!

Fancy Some Fancy Pants?

Well...we had a few days of sun, which was nice, now it is supposed to snow again tomorrow.  And I am so over it.  I am desperately seeking Spring!  I want to plant my garden!  I'm afraid we are going to skip Spring and head right into Summer.  Oh well.

So I have a few projects to share with you that use the fun Down By The Shore collection from Fancy Pants Designs.  First up, a layout:

Things to note about this layout:

*  I used pieces from the wave pattern stencil and laid them on my paper at the bottom to essentially create a mask.  I then sprayed some blue ink around them.
*  I love adding rub-on's directly to my photos, here that large flower on the bottom right of my photo is a rub-on.  The swirls at the top left of the layout as well as the words above the waves are also rub-ons.
*  Go big!  Thinking of adding stitching to your project?  Well why not do some large stitches for a fun, funky look.
*  The journaling and the itinerary for our cruise are tucked inside the anchor envelope behind the photo.  You can see the top of one of the pieces poking out.
*  Journaling cards or 4x6 cards are great for blocking out your page.  I started my layout by placing three cards in a row to create my background.  But instead of layering three separate blocks and keeping a blocked look, I layered on top of all of them together.

Here are the close up's of my layout:

And then I also made three cards using the same collection.  Here are those;

And finally, I have a new sketch for you all.  It's up on the Fancy Pants blog:

And here's a sneak of my layout for this sketch:

You can find the whole post here.

Well I know I shared a bunch today, can you tell it's the end of the month?  ;)  Thanks for stopping in!!!
Have a marvelous day!

Happy Glasses

Hi everyone!!!  Hope you are having a great December so far.  :)  We've been keeping busy, lots to do and lots on the calendar.   But I do love this time of year.  I am one of those people that LOVES Christmas!  I love the music, the movies, the spirit, the gift-buying and the reason we celebrate.  I'm still hoping to make a few more presents too.  I'll share them if I do.

But for now I have a layout to share with you.

Everything is from Fancy Pants, with a focus on the Artist Edition collection.  I really LOVE those Stencil cards.  To read more about my layout and to find out how I created the background, go here to the December Fancy Pants Newsletter.  If you are not already signed up for it...you should do that while you are there!  ;)

Here are the close up's of my layout:

I think he looks so handsome in his glasses...don't you?

Well thanks for stopping in today!

Have a fantastic day!!

Masking with MLS

Hi everyone! Today I wanted to share a couple masking techniques with you. I did these for the MLS newsletter. In the first technique, we will take our scalloped paper and use it as a bask to create a border around our page.

What you will need:

• 1 piece Scallop Paper
• 1 piece patterned paper
• Ink

That's it...ok, let's get started. You'll want to take your scalloped piece of paper and turn it over. Lay it on top of your other piece of paper.

Then take your ink and put it directly to the paper, creating an inked border.

You'll see that you can now turn over your scalloped paper and still use it! IF the ink shows up, it is just a little and it looks like you inked the edge on purpose. :)

On my final project I ended up drawing around the edge of the inked border too.

Here's another masking technique you can try now that we have our fabulous STAMPS! :)

What you will need:

• Stamps
• Acrylic block for stamps
• Ink
• Scratch paper
• Paper to build your design on (I am using my same paper I used above)

Take one of your images and stamp it on your paper.

Take that same image and stamp it again on scratch paper. Or a post-it note works really well too.

Cut out that second image. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Place your cut out image directly on top of your first stamped image.

Then stamp another image over top of your "mask" that you made.

Do the same thing on the other side.

You can go for as long as you like. :)

Isn't that cool? I hope you try it! Here's what my finished layout looks like:

Hope you have enjoyed my post today.

Have a wonderful day!!!!

Scrap and Stamp Saturday

Hi everyone! I had a long night...my little one was sick all day yesterday...she had a rough day. I expected her to sleep well at night because of it. But I was wrong. She woke up about 1 and wouldn't go back to sleep until about 3am! So of course, I was up too. I am tired this morning...moving slow. I do think she is feeling better though, she seems to be fine this morning and unaffected by the amount of sleep she got.

Well the challenge over at Scrap and Stamp is up! The challenge this week is a sketch challenge. The sketch comes from Paola and looks like this:

Isn't it a fun sketch. So for the Scrap and Stamp challenge this week you need to use this sketch and, of course, include stamping on your layout. :) Here's what I did for the challenge:

And here are some close up's:

All the stamps are from Unity. :)

I used a doily as a mask and sprayed Glimmer Mist over it for my background. After I was done, I crumpled up the doily to look like a flower and added it to my page. :)

Well I hope you have an awesome weekend!!!

Supplies:

Cardstock--Bazzill, Papers--BasicGrey and Prima Marketing, Stamps--Unity Stamp Company, Ink--Stampin' Up!, Fabric--Websters Pages, Stickers--Studio Calico (border) and Sassafras Lass (red letters), Black Foam Letters--American Crafts, Plastic Butterfly and Glimmer Mist--Tattered Angels, Doily--Good Living, Gems--Prima Marketing, Font--American Typewriter.