Adventures fill your soul | Sam Ball | Recycled Elements

I love nothing better than ‘random’ things on my layouts, so when I saw this months’ theme to use recycled elements, I knew it was right up my street!

Having looked through my stash to find some recycled elements that inspired me, the most random items I could find were a 7” vinyl record and an old Mac keyboard.

 

I desperately wanted to use the record, but I wasn’t feeling it, so I moved on to the keyboard pieces and was fully intending to scrap a photo of a young child with an ABC theme.

I then got distracted by the fabulous Simple Stories Vintage Great Escapes collection, and decided to change the theme and elements completely as I was feeling so inspired!

 

I knew that I had lots of stash that would work with the ‘natural’ feel, so gathered together lots of elements including wooden buttons, hessian fabric, vintage French book paper and an old postcard, a 3D printed frame and even an actual twig, complete with moss!

Using the ‘Wild and Free’ paper from the collection as the base for the layout, it quickly came together. The left hand printed detailing was so pretty that although I toyed with cutting it out and layering it, I ended up clustering and layering on the right hand side, using the recycled elements to balance the busy left hand side.

Fresh off the tree, when I added the twig, my layout suddenly had a tiny spider crawling over it!

 

Even if you haven’t played along this month, why not share what the most random or recycled element you’ve ever used on a layout is? And if you have played along, don’t forget to share your layouts over on our Facebook page, or tag us on Instagram!

Let it snow, Ho Ho Ho | Sam Ball | Embossing Folders

I’ll confess, I was ‘late the party’ when it die-cutting machines! 

Even though I’ve been scrapping since 2007, it’s only in the last three years that I’ve had my first Big Shot, and whilst I do have a fair few metal dies, when it comes to embossing folders, I own a huge collection of just four!

 

Knowing this months’ theme was embossing folders, I fully intended to purchase a new one, but with lockdown and Christmas, time simply slipped away! 

After much deliberation, I decided to do a seasonal layout. Using a photo taken only last weekend when we were choosing our Christmas tree, I also knew that one of my four embossing folders was one that creates a cross section of a tree trunk, so at least there was a common theme!

I cut a few in vellum, then used a metallic mousse to highlight their subtle detailing, and create a frosted effect.

Then I backed a cut file from Peartree with vellum to also add to the wintery feel, further backing three of the trees with patterned paper, but keeping the vellum layer to soften the paper designs.

The scallop detail at the base was cut using a Bramble Fox ruler template, and reminds me of a present or package - again a nod to the festive period.

 

Apart from the Bramble Fox perspective, the layout was created using ‘Snow and Cocoa’, a collection by Crate Paper that was manufactured in 2016. Guiltily, I’d hardly used any of it, but I remember loving it so much, I’d bought loads! In fact, when I looked at my Christmas papers, it looks as though I’ve hardly touched any of the festive collections that I’ve bought from the last four years!

 

Perhaps I should make my New Years’ resolution to scrap more, or stop hoarding!

 

Are you a fan of embossing folders? Have you played along with this months’ theme? If you have, don’t forget to share your layouts over on our Facebook page, or tag us on Instagram!

 

Fresh | Sam Ball | Large Photo

As a scrapbooker who inherently tends to only scrap small photos, rarely even scrapping as big as a 6 x 4” photo, this months’ challenge certainly took me out of my comfort zone!

I did order a print 12 x 8”, but try as I might, I really struggled to scrap it… I can only put it down to the lack of ‘white space’ left on the page. Plus, because the photo itself was quite busy, there was little room to layer any embellishments over it.

 

After what seemed like an inordinate amount of time spent paper shuffling, I decided to look for another photo and settled upon the one I ended up using. It’s a print that I’ve had for years – the image, which must have been taken about 20 years ago, is grainy, but I’ve always loved it, and whilst it isn’t ‘officially big enough’, I was finally feeling inspired…

 

Having cut up the sentiments, I sorted them by colour, then arranged them in a waterfall effect, in the same colour order as the photo.

I used clear gesso on the background, then reached for my gelatos to create a watercolour background to match the colour run of the words.

 

It’s not my usual style to place the photo centrally either, but it felt right! After distressing the edges, I stuck each word down, curling one long edge in the process.

 

After that, there wasn’t a lot of room for embellishments, and whilst I initially thought I would be adding them in and around the words, I wasn’t keen so kept them to the right of the layout.

 

Would scrapping a ‘supersized’ photo take you out of your comfort zone? If so, it might be worth giving it a go, as I really like the way this layout has turned out!

 

And if you do play along, don’t forget to share your layouts over on our Facebook page, or tag us on Instagram!

Daydreamer | Sam Ball | Monochrome

When it comes to monochrome, it’s a common belief that it only applies to a colour combination of ‘black and white’! 

In fact, it actually means a single colour and tones of that colour, often made darker or lighter using white or black, and it’s one of my personal favourites!

 

Having looked through my stash, I found some Websters Pages papers that were based on single colour themes – there was one for every month and of course I’d bought them all! August was based around teal and aqua, one of my all-time favourite colourways!

 

The photos were from August 2010, taken on the back of a cruise ship, and ones that I’d never scrapped. I’d paired them with the Websters paper and simply never got round to scrapping them!

 

After pulling together more stash from Crate Paper and Pretty Little Studio, along with some flair and embellishments, the layout came together really quicky!

 

I can’t deny to a little ‘cheat’ in terms of the gold accent, which appears on a couple of the chipboard pieces and more obviously on the background.

It’s one of the fabulous Vicki Boutin pre-done backgrounds, which always seems to help kick start my scrapping, rather than me sitting staring a blank piece of white cardstock!

 

Whilst most of us tend to scrap our most recent photos, it’s always nice to find an older photo or two! Not only does it evoke wonderful memories, but it also reminds us just how much cameras and their photo qualities have evolved.

 

What’s the oldest photo you can remember scrapping? Perhaps, now’s the time to dig some of them out, and maybe even create a monochrome layout using one? Afterall, sepia or black and white photos certainly hide a lesser quality image and will co-ordinate with virtually anything!

 

And if you do take part, don’t forget to share your layouts over on our Facebook page, or tag us on Instagram if you’ve played along this month? It’s a great way to use up old stash whilst enjoying new collections too!

Good Times | Sam Ball | Lisa Fonseca Style Page Element

I can’t deny – I was definitely apprehensive about the theme this month and how I was going to create a layout in the style of Lisa Fonseca.

Whilst she may be best known for oversized characters all cut from paper, a few of her layouts include objects rather than animals, so I decided that this might be the best inspiration for me.

 

My eldest step-daughter Olivia did a years’ travelling in New Zealand with her boyfriend. They toured the country in a red camper van they lovingly called ‘Wilson’, so I decided to scrap one of the many photos she had taken on her travels and make a ‘Wilson’ for the layout.

 

I found a fabric print that included different stylized VW camper vans, then increased in size to suit the layout. This was to be my template. I cut around each template shape, then chose a selection of patterned and plain papers and traced round each, then hand cut them again and ‘put them back together!’ to create a unique Lisa Fonseca inspired camper van.

 

The collection I chose to use was ‘Open Road’ a Crate Paper collection from 2014! The stash I had was actually from a mini-book class that I never finished!

 

After deconstructing the book, I was able to use a folded section, hence the fold down the scenic paper. This was mounted to a strong cardstock, to which I extended the horizon of the paper.

All the embellishments were un-opened, as was the chipboard, so I found plenty of ephemera to co-ordinate, including the vintage ephemera number plates and bottle tops.

 

I had way more fun than I ever imagined I would creating this layout, which took me right out my comfort zone!

 

So, if like me you’re thinking that this months’ challenge isn’t for you, why not give it a go? You might just surprise yourself like I did!

 

And if you do take part, don’t forget to share your layouts over on our Facebook page, or tag us on Instagram if you’ve played along this month? It’s a great way to use up old stash whilst enjoying new collections too!

Hello | Sam Ball | Mood Board

 

Has the recent humid heat been affecting your creativity?

 

Are you finding it too much like hard work to even contemplate scrapping?

I usually love a mood board, and especially one as pretty as this is, but no matter how hard I tried – the mojo was melting!

 

I actually had two pieces of this fabulous Pinkfresh paper from their ‘My Favourite Collection’ launched earlier this year, so making the first cut should have been relatively ‘stress free!’ as I obviously had a spare. Even so, I managed to do a fair amount of paper shuffling before committing to cutting into it!

The striped colours were perfect and were made for this mood board, even taking on the colour swatch order!

 

I wanted to include not only the colours but elements from the mood board too!

I’m a great believer that you can never have too many butterflies on a scrapbooking layout, and found that the butterflies from the Cocoa Vanilla Studio ‘Happiness’ paper were a fairly close match.

 

As much as I wanted to make a rainbow embellishment, I felt tht this would throw the distinct bands of colour so decided instead to add embellishments, grouped to reflect the swatches.

I was also inspired by the lattice image and had every intention to hand sew a series of diagonals. After machine stitching in matching threads, I trialed hand sewing some diamond shapes on a scrap piece of paper. Sadly, I wasn’t sure that they were going to work as well as I’d imagined so I abandoned that idea too!

In the end I’m really pleased with how this layout turned out… it might have been slow in the beginning but once I got into the mood, I finished it fairly quickly.

 

Are you a fan of a mood board – if you’ve never tried using one, this one is certainly a super one to start with!

 

And don’t forget, we always love to see your layouts over on our Facebook page, or on Instagram…

Make Believe | Sam Ball | Handmade Embellishments

With so many scrapbooking collections having co-ordinating embellishments, and with so many of us scrapping in and amongst other commitments, taking the time to make handmade embellishments is something we simply don’t have the time to do!

A couple of years ago, I did a fine metalworking class that I really enjoyed. I knew it was perfect for translating onto scrapbooking layouts, as it combined paper and fabric with metal, and incorporated other crafts such as crochet, to ultimately make wall art. 

Like so many of these crafts, I was smitten and bought a whole host of the necessary equipment including different wire gauges and cutters! And like so many of these crafts that we fall for, it occasionally comes out the cupboard!

So, with this months’ theme being handmade embellishments, I decided upon making a few simple shapes to complement a scrapbooking collection. For a novice like me, the shapes themselves are best suited to simpler ones, so I decided to reach for Magical Forest by Crate Paper, as it features a whimsy of cute animals, along with a good dash of make believe!

Having bent the wire into a star, moon and cloud, I bound the join using a very fine wire. Each shape was then backed with a paper, with the cloud having the additional embellishment of a buttonhole stitched edge.

I created three groupings, each incorporating a journaling card, ephemera and the wirework embellishment, raising some bits on foam 3D pads and adding chipboard pieces for extra depth.

Before sticking it all down, I used the new Tim Holtz Speckled Egg oxide spray to create splatters, then once everything was fixed in place, I mixed water with the matching oxide ink pad on my messy mat to add a soft halo effect around each cluster.

I’ve loved how it turned out and have every good intention to include handmade wire embellishments on future layouts!

Have you ever made your own embellishments… people do believe that when your mojo is AWOL, it’s a great way to kick start it!

Don’t forget to share your layouts over on our Facebook page, or tag us on Instagram if you’ve played along this month? It’s a great way to use up old stash whilst enjoying new collections too!

Kindness is always in style | Sam Ball | Combining Old and New Collections

What makes a collection new and not old? Some will class an old collection as anything other than the latest releases, whereas others might decide that an old collection is anything pre dating 2019. This is what I settled on being the bench mark, and soon discovered I have way too many ‘old’ collections!

Some of these ‘old’ collections were bought but I couldn’t bear to use them, whilst others have been so well used there are only scraps left to play with.

When deciding on which collections to combine, I used my photo as the starting point. I noticed that Snapchat had a couple of new filters, one of which was B&W but with a pink illuminated heart, in a cool portrait orientation.

I pulled out some collections that appeared to have similar pinks to the heart on the photo including ‘Girl Squad’ by Pebbles in 2017, ‘Dream Big’ by Pretty Little Studio and also made in 2017, ‘Happiness’ by Cocoa Vanilla Studio, launched in 2019 and ‘Bohemian Dreams’ also by Pretty Little Studio in 2019.

I was especially drawn to a cut-apart paper that had a beautiful black lady on it along with the sentiment of ‘kindness is always in style’ and particularly apt in light of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. As this 3 x 4” journaling card also had pale teal in it, the layout became a mixture of both pink and soft aqua.

I introduced a zip detail as a nod to the fact that we need to ‘undo’ the wrong doings of the past, along with a heart cut file to represent that I care and butterflies to illustrate new beginnings and a better future ahead.

Have you played along this month? It’s a great way to use up old stash whilst enjoying new collections too!

And don’t forget to share your layouts over on our Facebook page, or tag us on Instagram if you’ve played along this month...

Love this | Sam Ball | Inspired by Another Craft

During lockdown, many of us crafty people are either trying a new hobby or re-visiting one that we’d perhaps lost the love of for whatever reason.

Having studied Textile Design, I’d always had a love of fabric, frequently making my own clothes, soft furnishings and window treatments.

Like so many crafty hobbies, once I’d discovered scrapbooking, nothing really compared to my love of making layouts and so textiles took a back seat. 

I recently volunteered to make scrubs for the NHS, which meant reaching for my beloved Bernina sewing machine. In more recent years, it’s been used to stitch on many, many layouts, so it was quite a novelty stitching onto actual fabric, both for me and my sewing machine too! In fact, it made me realise just how much I missed sewing, and I’ve already ordered a dressmaking pattern. 

Recent events have also changed the way I scrap, not in terms of style, but I’ve always liked complete silence and never been one for background music. I’ve been listening to so much more music these last few weeks, so although it’s not a craft, I wanted to document this change in my scrapping habits too!

I’ve always loved music ledger paper, so I reached into my stash and found an aptly titled piece to go with the photo of my middle step-daughter and her best friend at their prom.

I backed each of the washing line dresses, but rather than use paper, I backed them with a cream fabric lining, which I then painted in an ombré effect to co-ordinate with the rest of the layout.

Machine stitching to the background paper was a further nod to my love of sewing, as was the lace detailed edge.

If you’re not aware, ever month at UK Scrap Addicts we have a different theme, great for kick starting your mojo, especially at times like these when some people are really struggling to be creative…

Be sure to share your layouts over on our Facebook page, or tag us on Instagram, and if you’re not feeling creative, perhaps it would help to share how this unprecedented situation has impacted on your creative vibe?

After all they do say that 'a problem shared is a problem halved!'

A piece of our history | Sam Ball | Stamping Techniques

Stamping is definitely not my forte… In fact, I could go as far as to say it’s been my nemesis in the past!

I think I’ve had that many unsuccessful attempts at stamping in the past that whilst I really like the principle, I simply avoid it like the plague. So many times I’ve stamped an image, only to discover the central area is missing, or the detail isn’t sharp, but never understood what I was doing wrong.

They say you’re never too old to learn and this is certainly true when it comes to stamping! I recently attended a workshop that made me realise that I’ve fundamentally not been doing it right.

The key to successful stamping isn’t the ink pad you use, the size of your acrylic block, the pressure you apply, or even the paper that you’re stamping on but ensuring that the worksurface you’re working on is absolutely rigid and flat.

In light of the unusual world that we are currently living in, I decided to use a selfie that I took of myself in my hairdressers a couple of years ago. Having short hair, I tend to get it cut every 6 or 7 weeks, and I can’t deny it’s something I’m selfishly missing!

Having looked through my stamp stash, I found a stylistic face stamp that I’d been given as a gift which had yet to be used, so I decided to stamp this onto tracing paper and use bookplate behind it, fussy cutting the left hand side of the stamp.

After fussy cutting some decorative frames, to reflect the elaborate mirror in the photo, I added embellishments such as tape measure ribbon and wood veneer scissors to ‘nod’ to cutting, trimming and measuring, all things that a hairdresser does!

Do you have a scrapbooking nemesis and if so what is? And don’t forget to share your stamping layouts too on our Facebook page, or tag us on Instagram

Beautiful | Sam Ball | Use More Than One Collection

Just before Christmas I was lucky enough to treat my youngest step-daughter Nina to a short break in Paris!

It was somewhere that Nina had always wanted to visit and when the chance came up to go and see our favourite pop idol in concert, I decided to make her wish come true!

When we visited, the Paris transport system was on strike, which made getting around a little bit trickier than I’m used to as there was only one Metro line running! Taxis were charging way more than they normally would and everywhere was gridlocked, so our car journeys were twice as long as so expensive!

Nina and I decided to take to walking everywhere, and whilst I’s still prefer the Metro, I saw so much of Paris that I wouldn’t normally get to see! And, because most trees had lost their leaves, you saw iconic landmarks from places you didn’t realise that you could!

Nina had a wish list of sights to see and one place was to see the enormous Christmas tree underneath the famous domed Galerie Lafayette ceiling. Whilst there, we took the escalator to the roof top floor where the views of Paris are amazing and they have an outdoor skating rink!

I decided to scrap the photo of Nina on the roof top, by the skating rink, and although we couldn’t see the Seine, the aerial view reminded me of a postcard that I had, which co-ordinated perfectly.

I stuck to blues, greens, neutrals and white as my colour theme, and even found a scrapbooking range from a French manufacturer, that I bought a couple of years before whilst at a craft fair in Paris, co-ordinated beautifully.

I created a mixed media background on white cardstock, then simply used elements from both ranges along with the postcard, backing the layout with a piece of woodgrian patterned paper from the French supplier.

These days, and more so for speed, I tend to stick to only one collection, but creating this layout made me realise how much I enjoy mixing things up a bit too!

Don't forget to share your layouts with us over on our Facebook page, or tag us on Instagram

Warm Hearts | Sam Ball | Hidden Journalling

I can’t deny, journaling ‘freaks’ me out!

It’s not that I don’t like my own scrapbooking writing, as I actually really do! I think it stems back to a few years ago when I was thrilled with a LO then decided to add some journaling, which totally spoilt it! There was either a spelling mistake or I rambled on and ran out of room – either way, I literally removed as much of the from the cardstock and re-did it!

So whilst ‘hidden journalling’ wouldn’t be my first choice for a layout them, I’m actually really pleased with how this LO turned out and especially the concept bit!

This was made using a die-cut, borrowed from Jackie Ashton. It’s actually meant to be used as a page divider in a December Daily or similar, as the spine cuts six hole punches, but it was too cute not to adapt, and as such I cut a couple and tied them together with ribbon to create a hidden opening, perfect for the journalling.

Apart from the ribbon ties, all other textural elements are bright red, which is not usual for me, but I have to say that I love how the LO turned out! 

Ironically the photo was taken in the middle of Summer on the Amalfi coast, but is was a relatively cloudy day, and as such could have been taken anywhere at any time of the year! The only bit that made me think it lended itself to a Christmas styled layout was the spring of evergreen just poking into the frame in the top left of the photo.

At the moment the hidden journalling only uses elements from the collection to create a trailing banner, each end held by a cute bird! However I may decide to be brave and add a handwritten sentiment!

That’s the beauty of ‘hidden journalling’ – no-one will ever know if I did or didn’t!

Remember to share your layouts with us over on our Facebook page, or tag us on Instagram?