Scrappin' the Details

Photography 101

I am so happy that I have THIS to focus on!  When I received a box, containing my Photography Notebook, I was beyond thrilled!  I have been waiting so long to get into this class.  I was on the waitlist for a year!!!   

When the opportunity presented itself, of course, I wanted to enroll.  However, with the economy I had to think about it twice.  Darn, there is that word again!  LOL

Anyway, with some creativity on my part, I was able to enroll!  

I have wanted to learn more about photography for a very long time.  Now I am not striving to be a professional photographer.  I simply want to be able to shoot and document the special moments in our lives.  I want my photos to tell a story, years from now.  I have a fairly decent camera, but I will let you in on a little secret.  It has never left the Auto Mode!!!  I wanted to know more about white balance, aperture, manual, ISO,etc.!

It is only Week 1!  Last week, Karen Russell began the course!!!  Learn so much in that one week. It was informative, made me start thinking about really capturing the everyday.  I think sometimes I only focus on the events.  You know, cheer, football, Halloween, Christmas, Birthdays,and so forth.  I want to focus on the not so big things, but are the most important ones.

This week is another story.  I am feeling overwhelmed, but in a good way.  We are discussing rule of thirds, framing your photo, composition, etc.  I did not log on for two days, and I feel I am behind!  So much to learn, but glad that I enrolled in this class.

So if you are thinking about a photography class.  Then I encourage you to try this class.  I believe she has a waitlist and more information on her upcoming classes.  If you want more information on a Canon vs. Nikon, visit her blog.  She did an entire review on why she chose the camera she did.

Hopefully, after the class ends, I will have better shots than this:

Okay,  I will admit I love this photo!  It is not technically correct, but I remember how Macie thought she was going to outwit the rooster.  She did not get hurt, but her expression was priceless.  I wish I had been able to capture the moment!  

Hopefully, some of them will look like this:

Again, it may not be technically correct, but I love it!  Of, course shot on Auto Mode!

Okay, I am off to try and get some laundry accomplish, pick up the children and decide what to make for dinner.  It is difficult without Steve, but the only good thing is that dinners can be simple!  Hopefully, you understand what I am saying!  

Tomorrow I will show you the altered notebook I made to house by "In2Scraps" stuff!

Have a great Wednesday!  I am looking forward to the weekend!

Happy Girl

I wanted to share a layout I finally completed!  It is a single 12x12 layout of my daughter Gabi.  I loved this picture of her.  I only had one photo from this day.  We were at Roman's tee ball game, and I snapped this photo of her.  She has become more difficult to sit still for a photograph!

I remember she was so happy that day.  She had worn her hair in braids the night before, so her hair looked so soft the next day.  She is such a great daughter and a loving big sister!

I printed this photo and have had it on my desk.  Waiting for the right paper.  Now remember, I do not have all of my supplies with me.  The perfect paper is sitting in a box 3500 miles away!!  When I saw the paper pack from We R Memory Keepers, I knew it would work!

It is called Happy Girl!  

Supplies used:

We R Memory Keepers Rainbow Scrapbook Pad

Doodlebug Glitter paper

Quickqutz font-Finale

Stamps used:  Ali Edwards and Hero Arts

Stampin Up white ribbon

Kaiser rhinestones

White flowers rhinestones by Dress It up

Sizzix Die Cut flowers

Colorbox Ink Pad-Dark Brown(my fave)

American Crafts Thickers

Technique:  I distress the edges of my circles with sandpaper and Heidi Swapp's distresser.  On the flower diecuts I curled the edges inward to achieve the curled look.  Of course, some stamping!

Here are a few more views:

Here you can see I stamped tree images and embellish the center with flowers that I cut from the patterned paper.

Used a flower rhinestone to embellish the "i."

I love the products on this layout!  They are so much fun to play with!

Well, I have to take Gabi to the doctor.  She came home sick today due to her asthma.  Her P.E. coaches were tough today.  There were two other girls in the office, and they do not have asthma!  We need to get a stronger prescription, because the one she has is not helping!

I hope you have a wonderful rest of the afternoon. I do have a couple more things to share later this week.  One is an altered binder that I am using to keep track of scrappy stuff!

Bye!

Cupcake Topper plus tutorial

Last week, I brought cupcakes to Roman's class.  It was his sixth birthday!

I think Roman's Birthday lasted for three days!  Between family and his classmates,I think Roman had an amazing celebration!  He is my only son, and it makes me sad that he is growing so quickly.  He is slowly losing his baby boy features.  So when he asked for cupcakes, I obliged!

I knew I wanted to decorate the top of them, but did not know what I could do.  I knew I had to keep it boy related!  Well, he asked for Pirate toppers, and I came up with a simple topper.  He loved them.

Now, you could take this same design and changed it to fit your specific theme.  

This could be adapted for Easter, Halloween(this would be my favorite, think small hanging spiders from the toppers), Christmas, Valentine's Day, Birthdays, Baby Showers etc.  As I am typing this, I thought of the cutest toppers for a baby shower!!

Now I know you could buy your own, but why would you??  If you are a scrapbooker, we both know we have enough supplies to last us a lifetime!  LOL  They are fun, simple and the cost is miniscule.  We have everything on hand!

Here is the Pirate Cupcake Topper:

Now you can see with some paper, string or ribbon, stamp,(you have to use a stamp), and a hot glue gun/ strong adhesive this is simple to create!

Now I wanted to do something a bit different on the topper.  My original design was stamping on the circle diecut and backing on a scallop diecut.  Then I was looking at my Halloween Banner from last year.  I saw the flower that Making Memories included in the kit.  It was an accordian type paper flower.  I thought this would be fun to duplicate on the topper.  Now I had to play with the size, because the ones in the kit were fairly large.  Through trial and error, I had the right dimensions.

Now to help you get started on making your own.  I thought I would  give you a brief tutorial.  I hope through the photos and my instructions, you can begin thinking about cute Easter Cupcake Toppers!

Cupcake Pirate Topper Tutorial:

First, you are going to need the following:

Now you can see the supplies needed are minimum!  Grab some cardstock and a patterned paper, stapler, stamp,tiny hole punch,toothpicks,metal rim tags,brads,bone folder,hot glue gun or strong adhesive, scallop punch circle,circle punch, and string or ribbon!  

First, I cut down a strip of patterned paper to 2" by 6".  Then you are going to score it down the center.  Now if you have a bone folder and a ruler you are set to go! 

I used This.  I love this new tool and it really is a time saver when I make cards.  

I will admit, I have not made many, but when I do, I am ready!!

Next, you are going to score it horizontally in 1 inch increments.  If you have this tool, it is super easy.  All the markings are there.  Tip:  When you use the Scor-Pal, you do not have to use much pressure.  Light pressure is the key, or you can tear your paper.

Now, fold the paper lengthwise against the score and open up again. Begin the accordian fold from the bottom of the strip.

Once you have done this, you will need your stapler.  Staple the center of the accordian diecut. This will keep it in position, and you can begin to fan out your accordian folds.  

You will need your adhesive, and a toothpick.  I used a hot glue gun and place the adhesive along one side of the fan.  I inserted the toothpick, let it have time to adhere.  Then placed adhesive on the opposite side and brought the two ends together, securing the toothpick.

Now the creating process begins.  You are going to begin by adding layers.  I stamped my circle diecut, adhered the brad closed to the edge, so my sentiment would be visible.  I also distressed the edges of the circle diecut to give a more pirate feel.  

Then adhere this to a scallop diecut circle.  I used my hot glue gun to attach all of these layers together.

You can finish, by adhering string around the toothpick.  I used a small dot of adhesive then tied the string.  This was a tip I learned from a friend!  I did embellish my stamp with a small rhinestone. I almost placed a circle of rhinestones all along the edge of the circle.  However, due to time constraints, I decided to use that idea for the next cupcakes!

You now have a completed cupcake topper!

Here are more views:

I hope this tutorial inspires you to create your own fun toppers.  So many ways to make these!  If you have any questions, or have trouble with my wording, please send me an e-mail.  

I am still working on my blog.  I am in the middle of uploading past projects into their appropriate spot.  Hope to have this done by the end of the week.

Come back tomorrow, if you can.  I finished a layout called Happy girl tonight!  I love the colors.  It made me happy, and that is a good thing!

Have a great Monday!

p.s.  Deena, you may now eat chocolate!  LOL  Thanks, Deena for reminding about my blog!!  

One word-Facebook!

Okay, I could blame my newly found addiction, on the reason why my blog has been neglected, but I won't.  I have been spending a lot of time on Facebook! My life is kind of "complicated", so my energy has been focused elsewhere.  I have forgotten about this place.  I have forgotten the reason why I started it in the first place, to share projects and to share bits of my life.

However, I am going to refocus once again and hope to share my projects and to learn from you too!

I have made a few projects lately.  Really trying to focus my energy on doing things that I love.  Paper, glue, buttons and my stamps, make me happy!  Okay, stamps are a must have, so I am starting to pick them up again!

My son Roman, turned 6 on April 1st!  He will have to live with the all the teasing going forward.  My poor little guy!  I took cupcakes to his class and made some cute and simple cupcake toppers.  Cupcakes are all the rage right now, and I thought customizing my own toppers would be cute on top.  You can purchase cupcake toppers everywhere.  However, being a scrapbooker, and being in a recession, I knew I could come up with something.

Again, very simple and fun to make!

I will have photos to share on Monday!  Have a great weekend!