Gettin' Sketchy With The Birds Of A Feather April Kit!

So it's my last April Kit reveal for Birds Of A Feather and I have to say, I LOVED this kit! But, no matter how much you may love the product on your desk, you may be stumped as to where to begin your layout. And this was my problem when I went to create these last layouts. I wasn't getting that "spark." So, I found myself surfing through my Sketches Pinterest board for inspiration. And, I found three awesome sketches that I used for creating these layouts. Once I had the sketches, coupled with the gorgeous April kit, these layouts came together quickly and easily. 

The first layout is based on a sketch from Diana Fisher. I love the way the banner title turned out and the cut in  half wood veneer circles. Just so you know, they cut pretty easily so don't be afraid to give it a try. I also had fun mixing both the My Minds Eye and Echo Park papers in the kit. They go together so well!

And here's a closeup...

For my next layout, I turned to a sketch from the fabulous Jana Eubank. I loved the layers on this one and again, mixed the two different collections of paper pretty evenly. I thought the woodgrain Echo Park paper was the perfect background for a park layout and I had to include the little tree sticker. I wanted the tree to have dimension, so I rubbed flour on the back of it to make it "unsticky" and then adhered it with foam adhesive. I also misted two of my three wood veneers with the Chalkboard mist. Love the way they turned out!

And here are a couple closeups...

My last layout is a two-pager based off a sketch from Susan Stringfellow. I am still trying to complete my own Project 12 from 2012 but I am also doing a Project 12-like spread of each month for Liam's first year album. That way, I have a place to put all the cute, miscellaneous photos of him that don't necessarily fit on another page. I pulled some super ancient Basic Grey chipboard alphas out of my stash and misted them with the blue Chalkboard mist to create my title. I also pulled some white Liquid Pearls out of my stash and used them to create my dotted circles. And, for the third time, I mixed and matched the My Minds Eye and Echo Park elements in the kit. Amy just makes it so easy to do that with her well-coordinated kits!

And here are a couple closeups...

I hope these layouts inspired you to break out your April kit (if you haven't used it all up yet already)! And stay tuned...because May is just around the corner! ;)

Masking Your Masks

I saw this technique on Pinterest and when I thought about the masks and mists in the Birds Of A Feather April kit and available as kit extras, I knew right away I wanted to give this technique a try. So here we go!

(1) Gather your supplies: paper/cardstock, mists, mask, a small paint brush and either painter's tape, masking tape or washi tape. I'd also suggest having both some dry and damp paper towels nearby.

2) This step is OPTIONAL. If you want to have some "freehand misting" behind your masked image, now is the time to do it. Allow to dry.

3) Place your mask where you want it on your paper and begin to mask off sections of the mask using your tape of choice. (The gear mask was a little tough at the step because of it's intricate design but it is still very doable.)

4) Spray your mist lightly over your mask. Allow to dry.

5) Blot the mist off your mask.

6) Take the top off another mist and gently dip your paintbrush. Slowly remove the tape from your mask from one area. Color that area by lightly dabbing with your inked paintbrush.

7) Repeat step 6 with all taped-off areas of your mask. Note: a little bit of mist goes a long way - I only dipped my brush into the mist the one time for the whole process.

8) Remove your mask and see what the result is. Allow to dry. I suggest placing the paper under a stack of books for awhile once it's dry to help flatten your page out.

And here's the layout I created!

Thanks so much for visiting today! I hope you have fun trying out this technique!

So much happy in the Birds Of A Feather April kit!

I have to start off by saying that Amy knocked out of the park with the Birds Of A Feather April Kit. I seriously love EVERY. SINGLE. THING. in it. So that means that I should also confess that I got all the kit extras this month. The colors are the first thing that drew me to this kit. And then there's all the fun embellishments like the enamel dots, wood veneers and jumbo ric-rac. Sprinkle in a little boyish fun and you got some scrappy happiness!

So let me start by sharing a two-page spread I created with this kit. I am still playing catchup with last year's Project 12. But, since I have all the photos printed and journaling typed out, it makes it easy to throw a month's spread together when I come across the right products. And, I thought the April kit was perfect for my August spread. So, a few things to point out...first, I printed my journaling on a transparency and then adhered it with Thermoweb vellum adhesive to the top of the journaling card. To create my small green mist drops, I just took the spray top out of the bottle and flicked it a couple times over my page. To create the larger orange mist drops, I used a medicine dropper. By the way, I LOVE this new Tattered Angels formula. I've used lots of mists - Glimmer Mist, Mr Huey's, Color Shine, etc - and this has got to be close to, if not at, the top of the mist list. (Haha - that rhymes!) If you haven't picked up the two extra blue and orange mists, I'm telling you to do it - now. So, when I threaded my banner pieces on the jute, I accidentally mis-threaded the left flag on the banner in the upper right. I was all set to fix it, but then decided I liked having just the one flag different from the rest, so I kept it.

Since Becky Fleck did not create new Project 12 sketches for 2012, I am using the ones she created for 2010. Here's the August sketch I referenced when creating the above layout. You can see I followed it pretty closely but adapting it here and there, like subbing the tree for an additional photo.

And here are a couple close-ups of my layout...

So, March is a crazy birthday month around here and I completely depleted my stash of birthday cards. With my mother-in-law's and brother-in-law's girlfriend's birthdays right around the corner, I needed more birthday cards. I thought the fun, vibrant colors of this kit were perfect for birthday cards. All I needed was my kit, a sentiment stamp from my stash and a little embossing powder.

Here's mother-in-law's card. I used the orange mist and houndstooth template on the lighter side of the orange Echo Park paper to create the tone-on-tone background.

And here's brother-in-law's girlfriend's card. The burst is fussy-cut from one of the My Mind's Eye papers.

And that's it for now! I have four other layouts in the works but you'll just have to wait until later in April for those. Happy Friday everyone!

I have a layout featured in the April 2011 Page Maps newsletter!

Yep! That's right! I finally got the email from Becky Fleck inviting me to create the sample layout for one of her sketches to be featured in the April 2011 Page Maps newsletter. I cannot begin to tell you how super excited I was. So I received this awesome sketch below to work with...

...and created the following layout. I broke into the new Echo Park papers I received for Christmas and dove into the photos from our November trip to Kauai. I had yet to scrap any photos from this vacation and this sketch gave me the perfect reason to start!

If you haven't ever seen Becky's sketches, then be sure to check out her site, Page Maps. She has sketches for layouts of all sizes including double-pagers, round pages and mini-pages. She also features new card sketches once a quarter. Not only does she have awesome sketches on Page Maps, she also has a couple books out with even more sketches and designs the layouts for Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine and their Project 12 yearly challenge. If you are a fan of sketches, then be sure to check these all out!

My most recent Serendipity Scrapbooks review items!

I had a blast working with the Fancy Pants On A Whimsy collection this month for Serendipity Scrapbooks. This line is nothing but fun! The “child artist” feel of each pattern can be used for any page or project where you want to covey a feeling of joy. Use it for projects and layouts about summer fun, babies, friends and vacations. I also had the chance to play with lots of other goodies including puffy Thickers, Petaloo flowers and more! Read my full review here and check out my projects below!