Sunday, August 4, 2013

Graphic 45 August Challenge

I'm so sorry it has been so long since my last post.  I have started a new full time job that is taking up so much of my scrappy time that I don't get much completed these days.  


On today's project I started with Graphic 45's Facebook Challenge for the month of August.  If you'd like to see that sketch please go check out their page on Facebook. Then I picked this beautiful flower spray that my friend Karen got at the Prima Outlet in California.  I just love it and it has to be my favorite spray.  



Because of the colors of the flowers I decided to use Graphic 45's Secret Garden collection.  It has both the yellow and purple that I wanted.  I started out with two sheets of cardstock the dark purple is 12X12, the yellow is 11.5X11.5



I then cut a sheet of Beautiful Blooms down to 11X11.



I then took it over to my sewing machine and stitched around the purple edge to give it more dimension.  Also to hold all three sheets together and save on adhesive.



I took a 5.5X12 sheet of Seed Fairy and distressed the edges.  I then cut strips of Pretty Primrose for the top and bottom and attached them with my sewing machine. I added purple scraps to the front for photo spots and mounted them with my sewing machine thread as well. 



I took apart the Prima spray and kept all the pieces.  At this point I'm not sure what ones I'll be using.  



I then glued down the photo spots below the center of the layout.  I traced a G45 tag onto a Prima Julie Nutting Pad Tag.  You only need to trace the top of the tag since that is all you will see.  It was the perfect color I was looking for and I love the print on it.  I distressed with vintage photo and added eyelets.  I then added the flowers and leaves from the spray as well as some other Prima roses I got from Karen and a Ghost Leaf I got from Audra.



I added some dark purple painted gears that I got in our groups purple swap that matched perfectly.  I then added the purple "thingy" to the other side next to the tag.  I have no idea what metal object it is but it slid over the paper like a paper clip. Another reason Swaps are great, you get things you might have never seen or used before. 



I added some vintage lace that again I got from Karen (she is such a wonderful gal).  I think it is so beautiful and just give it that extra something to soften the page.  I added the banner across the bottom using a triangle banner stamp that I stamped over the images on Seed Fairy paper and then cut them out.  I used pop dots to make them stand away from the paper.




I added a string of Jute across the top and then added smaller banners using smaller triangle stamps and the 8x8 sheet of Seed Fairy.  I added an epoxy sticker with ABC Primer paper behind it for a bit darker-stand out look.  I fussy cut some yellow and white flowers from Beautiful Blooms 12x12 paper and added them over the tag in the corner.  



Here is a close up of the flowers and lace.



Here is a closer up of the fussy cut flowers (I did use pop dots to make them stand out)



Hope you enjoyed this quick layout tutorial.  Super easy and fun to make.  Thanks so much G45 for the great inspiration.  

This layout was a gift for my sister who loves purple.  I gave it to her in the black frame because her and I love black frames.  Also I left it without pictures so that she could add the perfect ones that she wanted to display.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today. Hope to have more blogs and projects in the near future.











Saturday, May 4, 2013

Happy National Scrapbooking Day

I've been working away on my personal album today having lots of fun and wanted to share this layout with you.


I used lots of Graphic 45 and Petaloo and a bit of my stash.  Hope you enjoy this step by step tutorial.


 I used Leading Ladies from Curtain call (12x12 sheet) and cut out a 8x8 square from the middle.  You can skip this step if you want to but I do it to save paper and keep my page from getting too thick.  I then distressed the edges with my scissors.  

I attached it to some shimmery blue cardstock from my stash by sewing in down.


I took a picture of the two papers from G45 that I start out with Key to My Heart is in the photo below.


 I took a cupcake size doily and cut it in half and dug out some burlap from my stash.  I stuck them randomly under the Key to My Heart paper (it is 9x9).  I then inked it with some inks made by Audra.  Then I cut one of the packages form the staples and stitched everything down.


I took an 8x8 sheet of French Country Abundance from the small stack and inked the edges with vintage photo.  I added more half doilies and some lace I got from Karen in random places.  I then stitched that layer down.


I added another strip of lace from Karen in black to accent the polka dot Curtain Call paper.


I added some 8x8 French Country Montage paper around the photo to frame it.



I Glossy Accented the photo down and added paint to add a distressed look.


I started by adding my larger flowers randomly at the base of the photo.  (I also added paint to the edges of these flowers)

I added smaller flowers the Tim Holtz tag and some wood buttons I found at my favorite thrift store.


Here are some of the packages of flowers I used.  Petaloo and Prima.


I add some metal Graphic 45 Staples the key hole and the key to the layout.


I fussy cut and add some butterflies to the page this helps fill in all those empty spaces and add more interest to the page.  I also added some Tropical Travelogue Aplpha numbers from the sticker sheet.


I add Glossy Accents to the numbers.  


Here is another look at the finished layout.  I'm really happy how this turned out.  I had no idea what I was going to come up with when starting.  I like doing that.  Seeing where I end up.  I picked the photo after I started the page.  This one fit the color theme well.  Both my husband and I hate having our pictures taken and are not photogenic but someday our kids will want to see pictures of us, so we suffer through for their sake.  Plus with such a detailed layout they probably won't notice how we look anyway.

Glad to have one more photo scrapped in the seeming endless box of photos.  Thanks so much for stopping by and seeing what I've been doing.

Just a reminder I still have 2 prizes from this blog not claimed from my giveaway a few weeks ago. Please PM me your addy and I'll get them mailed out to you as soon as possible. -Amy








Sunday, April 21, 2013

And the winner is...

The winner of the Bird Song paper is Rose Ann Deighan. The winner of the Stamps and Stickers is Mari Hop (Blog). The winners of a handmade necklace made by me is Rebecca (Blog) and Mari Garzon. Thank you all so much for taking part and helping me celebrate these milestones.

Please e-mail me at akluchesky@hotmail.com with your address and info so I can get your prizes out to you.  Again thanks so much.  -Amy

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Hello Youtube Subscribers and Facebook Friends

I just wanted to Thank You all for being my Youtube subscribers and my Friends.  I have a total of over 555 subscribers and almost 40,000 views and 123 videos.  I am so excited and wanted to celebrate.

Without your wonderful comments I don't think I'd have as much fun with my scrapbooking.  To show my appreciation for all your comments in both my Youtube and my Facebook page I'm giving away four prizes.  One for commenting here on my blog and one for commenting on Facebook.  If you comment both places you'll have more chances of winning.  Plus will be entered in to win two secondary prizes.  These prizes have not been video taped or photographed.  All prizes will be chosen randomly by randomizer.org.  You have until Midnight Saturday the 20th to comment in both places.  So if I have totally confused you here is what is happening: Two grand prize winners and two second place winners will be announced.  Happy commenting and again thank you so much for being with me over the months.

Oh, and here are the prizes:

Prize #1
Graphic 45 Bird Song 8x8 paper pack and Chipboards #1 and #2.  Handmade by me necklace using Bird Song papers.


Prize #2
Assorted Stamp Sets, Masks, Chipboards, Stickers and brads.  Handmade by me necklace made using Graphic 45 Steampunk papers.


Thank you so much.  Amy

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Zipper Layout Tutorial 

French Country Graphic 45



I decided that I wanted to make a layout using the new French Country papers from Graphic 45.  I didn't have a plan I just knew I also wanted to use a photo from our last family photo shoot.  I began with a sheet of black cardstock.  I think it makes a great back ground or base and goes with this collection really well.


 I used one sheet of Grandeur paper and cut the center out.  I plan on covering up the center so I don't want to waste that paper.  I'll save it for another project.  

 I trimmed the edges so just a little smaller than the black cardstock.  I ruffed up the edges with my scissors.


I used my scissors to cut a strip out of the paper.  I will use this to add my zipper.


I hope you can see how I start the zipper.  As long as your zipper is longer than the slit your zipper will work perfectly if it is longer we will just trim off the extra once it is sewn to the paper.  I start by lining the zipper up at the top and sewing down along the zipper and then go across the zipper and then back up to the top of the paper.


Here is what it looks like with the zipper sewn in.  It is just fine that it looks bumpy it will smooth out just fine once glued in place.


I cut a sheet of Bonjour approx. 8x8 to cover the missing paper.  I distress the edges with my scissors and sew in down with my sewing machine.


I stitch the Grandeur paper to the black cardstock leaving the top portion open.  This is how it looks when you unzip the zipper.


I then choose my photo and frame it with Promenade.  I distress the edges with my scissors and by bending it upward.  I then back that with black cardstock.  


I cut a cupcake size doily and attach it with Glossy Accents to the back of the photo.  I unzip the page part of the way and add a tag from A La Carte with Glossy Accents.  I then attach the photo to the center with my sewing machine.


I have these great flowers that Karen B. sent me from California.  I cut this spray into two parts so that I can use it along both sides of my photo.


I attach the blue flowers with my hot glue gun making sure to tuck the stems just under the photo.  I add a charm (I distressed it with white paint) that Diane S. sent me in a RAK.


I pulled some additional flowers from my stash the blue ones are from Karen B. and the others I picked up at a Tuesday Morning Store in our area.


I added some vintage lace as well as some sticker lace from the sticker sheet to the bottom of the photo for some added layers.  I clustered the flowers along the bottom corners.  The white flower is also from Karen (not sure what brand).  I used the Tropical Travelogue Alpha Sheet to make the Family and year.  I attached them to cardboard and inked the edges with Vintage Photo Ranger.


What is great about the Graphic 45 papers is that the colors stay true from collection to collection and papers or embellishments from one collection often go with others.


I added the Bon Jour sticker to the top and also more of the lace sticker down the side.  I stuck the bee sticker on chipboard and then cut it out and then used my cropidile to punch the holes back into it and added jute.


I hope this is an easy tutorial for you.  It is just proof that you don't always have to have a plan in place to create a great layout.  I always start with the paper collection and then decide from there where to go.  You might be surprised at the adventure you might end up on.  Great music and your favorite drink and you can be lost in scrap heaven for hours.  Thanks for coming by to see my project.  I've got lots more on the way to Youtube this weekend so I can't wait to share those with you.  More French Country (Pictures already posted to my FB Page) and some Secret Garden as well.  Have a great weekend and hope that you get lots of great items created.


















Monday, March 18, 2013

Graphic 45 Design Team 

2013 Audition

It has been a dream of mine to be on the DT of Graphic 45 for over a year now.  I use almost only Graphic 45 papers in my projects because I feel inspired by their collections.  Their quality is outstanding and the colors and patterns are really fun to create with.

As part of my audition I'm submitting some of my favorite projects that I've made over the last year.  Some were pinned on Pinterest by Graphic 45.  If they were good enough to get pinned by Graphic 45 then they must be in my audition.  I have so many projects that I wanted to submit but finally narrowed it down to just these.

The first project is this card I made early last year.  I had just gotten my first shipment of Graphic 45 papers and I was so excited to play with these wonderful papers.  I began using zippers in my projects when two good friends gave me a bag full of them.  I love being able to zip it closed or open, it is just fun.  This card I used Steampunk Debutante and added a simple tag in the front.  It makes for additional journal space.  I make my own flowers when I have the time... and this card was lucky enough to get one.




This next little project was my first altered box.  I never want to toss even the smallest piece of Graphic 45, so this was a great way to use the small scraps.  I  sew on a lot of my projects, and I have sewing notions everywhere.  I used bobbins for the feet of this box.  I love reusing items that aren't being used into something fun and useful.



I love finding items at the thrift store.  Things that someone no longer wants and turning them into something original and special. I found this great cabinet and added some Ladies Diary papers to it.  I has two mini albums one in the bottom drawer and one sitting on the shelf.  I love all the little drawers that you can put keepsakes in.  
  


This card was one of my first ray cards.  I saw a layout that someone posted with sun rays going off behind the photo.  I decided that would be a  great way to use scraps and decided that it would even look better if I stitched the rays down plus I'd save on adhesives.  


Here is an altered canvas I did.  My first one.  I combined Olde Curiosity Shoppe papers and Steampunk Debutante, two of my favorite collections.  The butterflies are my favorite, they are great to fussy cut and add to all my projects.




Here is another recent project.  I used another thrift store find to make this album for my daughter.  I often see those old-fashioned black paper albums like the ones my grandmother used to add photos to.  This one was in excellent condition except for a not so pretty cover.  I altered it with my daughter's favorite Graphic 45 papers and gave it a theme of Paris since she is so in love with it.  I used some of Graphic 45 Staples which my daughter drools over when in my scrapbook room.  I must admit that I'm selfish with the sharing of my Staples....they are just so beautiful.  This was an excellent gift for my daughter's 11th Birthday.



Here is one of my latest cards using ABC Primer and Kraft Reflections papers.  I used paint to distress my edges.  I love to fussy cut images, use sewing notions like the metal zipper, add jewelry and of course the Staples.  I wish I could use more than one per project but with the amounts of projects I try to complete each week and with limited resources this is just the best I can do.  Here is to hoping I make the Design Team and can really go all out on a project.  My husband says that if I make it I can quit my job and scrap full-time which is also a big dream of mine.



 Well I can't believe that I didn't even include a project from Secret Garden or French Country.  Perhaps if I get to the second round I can show those collections off a bit.  It was really hard to choose.  I hope you enjoy these projects and a little flash back over my last year.