Two Sides of the Same Coin

It’s almost May and with the better (warmer!) weather, I’m in the mood to scrap! 

Today, I’m sharing something I don’t think I’ve ever done.  I used two pieces of the same paper – one placed on top of the other – to create my background for my layout.   

The top piece has circle cut-outs to highlight the paper underneath – which is a second sheet showing the reverse side of the piece on top.   

Maybe some pictures will make that a little clearer --- LOL!

Love your life, love your latte by Moanica Caston.  Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper: Prima, Crate Paper; Wood veneer pieces, 3-d sticker, jewels: Prima; Yellow pearl sunburst: My Mind’s Eye; Letter alphas: American Crafts, Studio Calico, PDQ

The 3-D sticker was my inspiration for the title and the jewels placed around the page just make me smile.  And the best part of my over-buying?  I still have a third sheet of this paper left for another project -- I need shopping therapy!

Happy crafting,

Moanica

Light Bulb Moment!

If you see my layouts, you know I’m a pretty linear scrapper.  I like clean lines, orderly titles, a few impactful embellishments and I especially love matted photos. I was thinking about that as I worked with some photos from a cruise last year.  And it suddenly occurred to me – why not “mat” the patterned paper! 

It was a classic – why didn’t I think of that sooner? – moment.  So, I started planning the page.  Of course, the photos would be matted.  But what was the best way to achieve the same effect with patterned paper?  I decided to use three different papers with different widths for almost the full length of my page.  With a little (OK, a lot!) of trial and error, I discovered that I liked just a sliver of the base cardstock to show along the edges and in between the pieces of patterned paper.  Of course, this is a personal preference and you can adjust it to suit your taste.

A few embellishments and a simple title and my layout was done.  I love the result.  It’s still my style, but with a little more interest.  Of course, you could turn this 90 degrees and have the pieces of patterned paper placed horizontally.  That would be especially cute with a single, vertical 5x7 photo and the title placed along the bottom. 

 

A Walk Downtown by Moanica Caston.  Cardstock: Bazzill Basics; Patterned Paper, chipboard, brads: Basic Grey; Wooden veneer arrow: Studio Calico; Alphas: American Craft Thickers.

Happy Crafting!

Moanica

Back To School

August is here and it is already Back To School time! I am still trying to figure out what happened to the summer.  Although I am not in school, nor do I have children in school - I still get excited during this time of year.  Maybe it is the ushering in of Autumn or maybe its the fact that I love school supplies.  When I was young I always enjoyed getting new notebooks, pens, pencils, crayons, etc.  Actually, I enjoyed school supply shopping MUCH more than I enjoyed shopping for new school clothes.  With that in mind, I decided to create a few digital papers that celebrate the Back To School spirit.  Feel free to download (right-click) and use in your personal projects (not for distribution or commercial use in any way).

Back To School Digi-Paper Collection
By: Aysha Livingston

Create a Vacation Mini Album

WOW! I can’t believe it’s June already. It’s so hard to believe that we are midway through 2013. Time sure does fly.

June means graduations, weddings and what we all long for – the beginning of summer.  Barbeques, days at the pool, family reunions and summer vacations, all of which means lots of fun and pictures, lots of pictures.

I must admit that I don’t really go on vacation during the summer, but just about all of my friends do and no matter where they go, they all take lots and lots of pictures. And, like many of us that go on vacation, they are all so eager to come home and show everyone their pictures…one painstaking picture and story at a time.

So, why not make a mini album to put vacation pictures in?  Whether it’s for your own vacation pictures or as a gift for someone you know that’s going on vacation, a mini album will make viewing the photos a much more pleasurable experience.

Here’s a mini album that I made to teach as a class.  I can’t wait to see what it looks like when one of my friends fills it with vacation pictures.

Supplies: Graphic 45 Tropical Travelogue Collection; Basically Bare Funky Findings Album; Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist and Mask; Embellishments: Glossy Accents, Burlap, Ribbon, Pearls.

I even had enough scraps left over to make this little album that can be used for additional photos or as a journal.

Amazing what you can do with scraps! 

Wouldn't you rather view your friends vacation photos, or show off your own, in a fun mini album, rather than in a stack -- on picture at a time?