Tips for Masculine Layouts by Tonya Gibbs

 

 

Well this is my last post of the month, and I issued everyone a challenge to create masculine  projects. The scrapbooking industry is full of products for feminine designs and it is sometimes a challenge to create for the men in your life. All month Peggy and I have been sharing some great projects, that I hope have inspired you. Today I thought I would recap some tips on how I set out to create Masculine layouts.

 

 

 

1)  Dig around in your stash for items that have a neutral theme and color.   I like to select colors that are blue, red, neutrals (grey, tan, brown, black, white) and green.  Not that there is any kind of rule to sticking to a color, I just find that these colors help my focus stay masculine.

 

2)  Look for embellishments in your stash that are not gender specific, like the Dictionary Tissue Tape from Tim Holtz, Star Sequins, and chevron designs, notebook paper, cameras, arrows, tickets, labels, wood veneers and tags. Metal accents are awesome for Masculine projects.

 

 

3) Select papers that lean more on the masculine side.  Like the Heidi Swapp No Limits papers - which were actually travel papers, but you can't tell after it was used and the Echo Park Note to Self (which has a lot of things you can fussy cut to add interest to your layout).

 

   

 

 Here is a process video of me making the layout!

 

 

Here is the finished layout. 

 

 

My son's girlfriend said to me yesterday "I like that this layout is very masculine, but still has a lot of sparkle!"   Don't be afraid to use sparkle elements or even flowers on a masculine layout - just don't over do it!  

 

 

I hope this post has helped you with ideas on creating masculine projects.

 

Thanks for stopping in today,

 

Tonya Gibbs

http://www.psychomoms.com



Resources: 

Heidi Swapp  - No Limits Paper collection
Heidi Swapp - Confetti Stencil 6x6
7 Gypsies Paddington clear stamp
7 Gypsies - Postale Index Cards7 Gypsies - Naked Index Cards

[PDF] 7 Gypsies - Library Drawer - Tabbed Dividers - Naked Tabs

My Mind's Eye - Everyday Funday kraft - Everyday Fun stamps
My Mind's Eye - Find Your Wings & Fly - Stamps

Tim Holtz - Idea-ology - dictionary tissue tape

Tim Holtz - Idea-ology - Tiny Attacher

Sizzix - Tim Holtz - Alterations Frameworks Border Die Chevron

Studio Calico - Wood Veneer Hearts & Arrows

Studio Calico - Wood Veneer School Days Speech Bubbles

Ranger Ink - Archival Ink Vermillion

Cosmo Cricket - Glitter Adhesive Sheets  Red, Blue, Silver

Fiskars Circle Punch - 1.75 Inches

Marvy Circle Punch - 2 Inches

Washi - Red Chevron

Prima Wood Veneer Camera

Black Sharpie

EK-Success-Notebook-Border-Punch
EK Success Zig Writer
Clear Glitter Nail Polish
Star Sequins

Grid Line Index Cards

Labels

Color Box Pigment Stamp Ink Silver

Color Smart Pigment Stamp Ink White

Hampton Art - 7 Gypsies - Clear Acrylic Stamps - Varsity
Hampton Art Rubber Stamp A Day To Remember Numbers
Echo Park  Note to Self



Varsity Layout by Tonya Gibbs - May Challenge

Hi everyone, wow can you believe that school is almost out?  Where did the time go? Seriously It was just fall in my mind.   My son, Brighton, is a Jr. this year and I'm going to spend some time in the next year crying - no seriously - documenting his high school story!   I know it is hard to sometimes create Masculine Layouts so I have a few tips to kick start your creative process.

 

First of all GRUNGE makes masculine layouts come together so easily.  And what better way to get grunge then Mixed Media.  Just like little boys - the messier the better! Texture is my next hint!  I think you can't have too much texture on a boy layout!  

 

 

Second - stick to masculine colors.  Like Blues, Greens, black, browns.  Since my son's high school colors are Blue, White & Red, I decided to use them for my focal color pallet.

 

 

I typically avoid flower clusters and stick to masculine paper elements.  7Gypsies Vintage Varsity line was perfect for this layout - since it offered so many 'sports' themed elements that could be fussy cut and used for layers. 

 

Here is a process video of me making this layout.

 

 

 

 

I challenge you to post some masculine projects this month in the AA Facebook page.  From little boys, to grown me, it is a challenge sometimes to work with their photos, but they deserve to be documented too!    With Father's Day in a few short weeks, this will kick start your brain into thinking masculine!  

 

 

Thanks for stopping in today,

 

Tonya Gibbs

http://www.psychomoms.com

 

 

Layout Supplies:  

• Canvas Corp - White smooth Cardstock
• 7Gypsies - Vintage Varsity 8x8 pad
• Stamper's Anonymous & Tim Holtz - The Ultimate Grunge
• Tattered Angels - Silver Glimmer Mist
• Faber Castell - Design Memory Craft   PITT Big Brush Artist Pens in the following Colors:
• Black,
• White,
• Cold Grey I 230,
• Cold Grey IV 233,
• Phthalo Blue 110,
• Dark Sepia 175,
• Deep Scarlet Red 219
• Faber - Castell Design Memory Craft Gelatos in the following colors:
• Dark Blue
• Silver
• Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Glaze
• The Crafter's Workshop 6x6 stencils in the following Patterns:
• Mini Numbers
• Mini Well Rounded (this is the grunge stencil)
• Mini Wonky Circles
• Liquitex - Full Body Gesso
• Prima - Distress Tool
• Pearl Ex -  Interference Red
• Score Tape
• Scotch - ATG
• Scotch - Mounting Foam
• Idea-ology - Tim Holtz - Grunge Board Numbers
• Idea-ology - Tim Holtz - Sanding Block
• Cosmo Cricket  - Silver Glitter Adhesive Sheets
• Studio Calico - Wood Veneer Speech Bubbles
• Studio Calico - Wood Veneer Abroad Cameras
• Clear Glitter Nail Polish
• EK Success - Square Binding Edge Punch
• Stars - Rhinestone buttons
• Index Card

Featured Artist: Athanasia Me and Myself

Hello!

I am very happy to be hosted here, thank you so much for the invitation!

My name is Athanasia, I live in Greece, I have a 5 years old daughter, a 5 months old son and a very supportive and understanding husband. I am a music teacher in elementary school and in my spare time, when I am not playing the piano, I love making handicrafts, felting, altering things and of course scrapbooking.

My love for arts and my cultural worries pushes me constantly into researching and producing new ways of expression and creativeness. My first steps into scrapbooking began with some videos on YouTube. I can't remember exactly what I was looking for, but out of nowhere I run into a 'how-to' video for making a mini album. And that was it! I started searching for more related tutorials (I love watching and learning new techniques) and on the very next day I found myself surrounded by papers and scissors making my first mini album. It has been 3 years since then and although I took a year's brake (due to my pregnancy) now I am back.

I love scrapbooking because it combines such a vast deposit of media types with memories of my life and my family. Inspiration always derives from the photograph I use and the open choice of combination of mixed media techniques. I love to use gesso, mists and stamps and I love tearing papers! Through scraping I think I have found the best way to express myself and exploit my spare time in the best way.

Today I am going to show to you 3 of my favorite techniques that I love doing on my scrapbook pages.

Tearing pages from an old book. I love to create layouts composed by yellowed pages that have been torn from old books. Ι tear them in pieces and place them around my photo in order to create a frame. In my most recent layouts I use pages from an old chemistry book that a good friend of mine found dumped on the street!

http://athanasiameandmyself.blogspot.gr/2013/02/my-best-friend-and-surprise.html

2.Stamping and masking with gesso or modeling paste. After I glue the paper chunks, Ι choose the stamps and masks that best fit to the photo's subject. Firstly,I remove the photo from the working area and I stamp randomly around the photo's space with several stamps, then I mask with gesso on the stamps. Sometimes, when the gesso gets dry, I restamp over it to create a connection between the different media. After the stamping, the photo is placed back in position and I choose the embellishments that fits into the theme.

http://athanasiameandmyself.blogspot.gr/2013/01/beautiful-moments.html

3.Altering embellishments and chipboard pieces. I like altering things, a common practice in my scrapbook projects. I like to cut into pieces all the flowers, stickers and chipboard elements, so as to give them new and unique shape. I then stamp on them, gesso them, or both. In my opinion this gives character and style to my work.

http://athanasiameandmyself.blogspot.gr/2014/02/my-boy.html

Now it's time to show you a bonus tutorial for you. I have created a simple layout with few embellishments following these three steps!

I place the photo, the torn vintage pages chunks ans the big embellishments that are going to be used in my layout.

I remove the photo and start stamping.

More stamps!

Time for masking with gesso...

I place the painted and stamped chipboard pieces, I do some doodling around the tags and stickers, a little misting at the end and that's it!

I hope you liked my work and my little tips.

For more details and closeups please visit my blog: http://athanasiameandmyself.blogspot.gr/

and don't forget to check on my channel on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/athanasiapap/videos?flow=grid&view=0




Athanasia

7GYPSIES Travel Mini

Last year I  took a trip to Walt Disney's Epcot & Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Fl., and I wanted to create a journal style mini album that could capture not only the pictures of the "aha" inspiring landscape, but my thoughts and notes.  I wanted to make it like a travelogue that had gone along the journey with me - eclectic and worn - gypsy style.

 

7Gypsies Travel line was perfect for my base papers and a bit "non - traditional" for Disney style books. I gathered up several lines of 7Gypsies ephemera, tapes, charms, and stamps, threw in some Canvas Corp tags, recipe cards, and clothes pins. Grabbed some essential Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists and the book was born.  The finished book size is 4.5 x 6 which is great for standard sized photos.

 

 

 

 

 

As an added accent, I also created circle and tab tags in Photoshop to accent the folders. I love how things stick out from the margin, and entice you to turn the page. I also did a lot of hand written journaling in this book. My handwriting may not be perfect to me, but I think it really adds character to the book.

 

 

I often spell Gorgeous "Gorjuss" when I text or type it on Facebook, so I wanted my accent in the upper left to reflect the "Tonya" spelling. This adds a little bit of my character to the details. In the bottom right hand corner of the page above there is a clay piece that says "Air Mail". This was created with air dry clay and a 7Gypsies stamp! 

 

 

 

In the photos above and below, I used scraps from 7Gypsies papers to create interesting flags and banners. I love how these pop, and add a feminine accent to the pages.

 

 

 

Doodling with a white gel pen, adds a even more interest. Some of my doodles are loops and some faux stitching. Love how it helps to soften the dark background.

 

 

 

In this spread above - I use recycled clear plastic packaging to create a signature divider.  I used Tim Holtz's distress paint in Firebrick to create a design on the plastic.  I love how you can see the garden photo below, and it gives a degree of depth to the spread.

 

 

 

When traveling don't forget to take photographs of signs.  They are everywhere, and when printed on card stock, they turn into cute ephemera pieces.  Like the sign that is in the bottom right of the photo above was in a flower garden and says "Epcot Springs into life."  The sign below that says "Thanks for Noticing Me" was on a sidewalk path.  When traveling to national parks, the signs often give historical facts, directions, and wildlife details. A photograph is a great way to remember these details for your journals, mini albums and scrapbook pages.

 

 

Nowhere but Disney could you wake up in America and visit 9 different countries before sundown. I literally traveled the entire world in 2 days!     This was such an inspiring journey!  I love all the elements poking out of the margins, giving a "Gypsy" feel to my finished book.


Thanks for stopping in today,

 

Tonya Gibbs

http://www.psychomomscrapbooks.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

How I Love You - Mini Album by Tonya Gibbs

Hi everyone! My husband and I will be celebrating our 24th wedding anniversary in a few weeks, and I wanted to create an album that shows how much I love him. 

 

 

I love the rich vibrant colors and smooth texture of the Canvas Corp basic papers and wanted to use them for my mini. 

 

 

 

 

On the cover - I dipped a heart shaped cookie cutter in white paint and stamped the heart pattern on clear book cover stock.   I used my Bind it all and a 1/2 inch ring to bind the book together. To camouflage the rings, I tied a loose loop bow and put it on the side of a Canvas Corp red canvas flower.

 

Here is a look at a few of my favorite pages from the mini.

 

 

 

To keep the book consistent with the theme, I printed all pictures in black and white. Most of the photos used in this book were taken from my Instagram library.   They are the perfect size for a mini album.

 

 

 

The Whimsical patterns from the Canvas Corp papers, make this mini fun, and romantic.   I cut a lot of Polaroid frames from solids to help break up the busy patterns from the papers. I encourage you to also use the solids to cut small accent pieces like this Tim Holtz Mini Vintage Camera die.

  

 

 

 

For a complete walk through of the album page by page, please watch this  YouTube video.

Thanks for stopping in today,

Tonya Gibbs
http://www.psychomomscrapbooks.blogspot.com

Supply List:

Canvas Corp Papers: Black & White Damask
Red & White Mini Dots Reversed
Count Down to Kisses
Red & White Big Stripes
Red & White Swirls
Lips & Stash

Canvas Corp Misc.
Chalk Stock Tags & Ties
Red Medium Clothes Pin
Red Canvas Flower
Mixed Media Glue

Tattered AngelsValentine Chips

Die Cuts with A View:
Black & White Rose

Sizzix - Tim Holtz Alterations
Movers and Shapers Vintage Camera Die
Movers and Shapers Mini Butterflies Die
Bigs Die Tiny Tags and Tabs

My Favorite Things StampsMini Doilee Dies

EK Succes
Scallop Punch
Zig Zag Chain Punch
Slim Edger Dotted Wave Punch

Martha Stewart
Butterfly Punch
Swirling Lace Around The Page Punch

Provo CraftCuttlebug Embossing Folder - Flourished Frame

We Are Memory KeepersEnvelope Punch Board
Rounded Corner Chomper

Spellbinders
Grand Calibur Labels 4 die

Silhouette AmericaCameo
3 bracket File Folders by Lori Whitlock

Bind - It - All
Bind - It - All 1/2 Inch Rings      

Other:
Crocheted Red Flower
Heart Paper Clip
Button
Rhinestones 16mm
Black Lace
White Lace
Grosgrain Black and White Stitch Ribbon
Black Seam Binding
Red/White Bakers Twine
White Acrylic Paint
Heart Shaped Cookie Cutter
Black Cardstock
Red Cardstock
White Cardstock
White Gel Pen
Black Gel Pen

December Daily Days 6-9 by Tonya Gibbs

Our December Daily journey continues today with Days 6 - 9. (I was on vacation and didn't have time to create the pages for days 10 -12, so I will post them during the weekend!)  I'm using 25th and Pine from Basic Grey as my paper collection.

Each week I plan to share with you my progress. Hopefully this will encourage you to work along with me, and give you some ideas for your own journals.  I'm documenting my journey, here, and on YouTube.  For your convenience I've created a Play list on YouTube with tutorials and project shares  that may help kick start your own Daily Journals. 

I'm also including a few prompts below that will help you on days that stump you.

Day 6
I had several stories to tell on Day 6, from picking out my tree, to decorating, and  then the finished tree.   I decided this day needed to expand several pages. 

Prompt 1. Use photo sleeves.   Use photo sleeves to add extra pages to your book. Photo sleeves are also a perfect way to tell that day's story without a lot of  overwhelming decorating so keep them in mind if you want to expand on the day, or keep the day simple. 

 

I started with the library pocket that we created in the December Ustream.   My journaling for all of the pages are on the tag that is inserted into the pocket.   On the back is the photo of  Kelly the Garden center manager at Ace Hardware where I buy my tree.  For the past 25 years Kelly has helped me find the perfect tree.  

 

 

This year I took Brighton with me to help us get the perfect one.   Then later that evening Brittany stuck around to help me decorate.   We were being super silly and I really enjoyed the time we spent together! These two photos were simply put into a photo sleeve.  No fuss!  

And here is the last page for day 6.  The decorated tree!

 

 

  

Day 7

Prompt 2. Collage print several photos on 1 4x6.
Day 7 we went to the Christmas Parade, and I took a lot of photos. I took these photos with my little point and shoot camera. The lighting was low and lots of fast moving objects, the pictures were not the best quality.  So I decided to collage print them onto 1 4x6.  You can use photo apps on your phone to make this simple.  Also online print services have a great options for this too.

 

Day 8
Prompt 3:  Look for interesting decorations when shopping.   My Mom and Dad and I went shopping today, and we found the Snowman Christmas tree in a restaurant.  I thought it was so clever that I wanted to document it as my day 8.  I included one of the small library pockets that we made in a YouTube video and tucked a small tag inside.  I added a clothespin with a snowflake on it for a pull element.

 

Day 9

 

Just started following us on this journey?  You can catch up with the other days by clicking the links below:  

• First Post
• Days 1 - 5
• YouTube Play List with tutorials and project shares can be found here.  

 

Don't forget to share your December Journey with me on Facebook.  Please make sure you tag me in the post.

 

 

Thanks for stopping in today.

 

Tonya Gibbs

http://www.psychomomscrapbooks.blogspot.com