Distressing Techniques: Part 1

People often have misconceptions about distressing techniques, associating them with heritage-style layouts, or aggressive rock layouts.  In reality, distressing can really add a lot of dimension and warmth to any layout, if done in concert with the photos and embellishments.  Distressing itself should not be the dominant feel of the page: it should serve to compliment what is already there.

·          Ink it: Using ink along the edges of photos and cardstock will not only define those edges, but also tone down the stiff and straight feeling of those edges.

·          Chalk it: Chalking the edges will also work on cardstock, but the powdery nature of the chalk (or pastels) does not do so well on photos.

·          Use Dark Tones: One of the easiest ways to distress things is to use brown or black inks and chalk, which is likely what everyone has seen the most, which is likely where the heritage and rock misconceptions stem.  Using these dark tones really makes a statement, but don’t feel limited to the two colours, as you can also…

·          Use Monochromatic Tones: Using red on red, blue on blue, or green on green will give you the distressed look and feel, while still maintaining the colour scheme and theme of your layout.  If you still feel that using the same colour is too heavy, try…

·          White or Vanilla Craft Ink: These colours form the basis of the “French kitchen” feel.  Painted furniture is banged up, and then highlighted using white paint.  Due to the nature of the craft ink (pigment-based), it also gives a smeared look, distressing and softening all in one.

- Tanya

Save Money While Scrapbooking: Flowers

Despite the fact that I am anything but a girly-girl (much to the chagrin of my girly Mother), I love using flowers on my layouts, as they don’t necessarily have to be feminine or have to be used on layouts regarding women or gardens.

For those of you who also love flowers, I imagine that you are also lamenting the cost of some of those nice silk or paper flowers you see in the scrapbooking stores.  Personally, spending almost $1 per bloom is ridiculous, and always gets me riled up. 

Here’s a quick tip: go to a craft or department store and buy a pre-bunched group of flowers.  They are silk and come with leaves as well.  Now, pull the blooms off, as well as the leaves.  Voila!  You just spent around $1-$2 and now have over a dozen flowers…as well as the leaves! 

The great thing about doing this is now you can do layered flower looks, without cringing in pain because you just spent $10 on flowers for one layout.  Plus, those leaves are great for layouts on their own, or for usage during the layering.  Rather than those plastic centers, use brads!  Crystal brads are especially gorgeous, and you can get a bag of 30 coloured brads at Dollarama (as opposed to $7 for 20 at Michael’s).  The savings continue!

- Tanya

Save Money While Scrapbooking: Coloured Ribbon

Ribbon is a great addition to any card or layout that we can make, as it is gender-neutral, adds some pizzazz, and is relatively inexpensive, if you pay attention.

When purchasing ribbon, get more bang for you buck by looking at the following:

• The amount on the spool.  Sometimes the packaging can be very deceiving.  What can look like almost 12 feet, is sometimes only 24 inches. 
• Check out the bins at Michaels or the wrapping paper aisles in Dollar Stores.  They often have really nice ribbon, but at a significantly cheaper price.  Often those ribbon-specific aisles mean significantly higher prices.
• Having a hard time matching to your ink colour?  You can take white ribbon, hold one end with a finger, and then pull the ribbon along the ink pad to colour the ribbon strip the same colour as your ink pad!  Plus, this gives the ribbon a bit of a distressed look, as the ink doesn’t transfer evenly onto the ribbon, especially if it is a grosgrain ribbon.
• What makes this ribbon special?  Is it a design on it?  Sometimes you can mimic the design on plain coloured ribbon with rub-ons or stamps.  When stamping, using a Staz-On ink often works the best.  You can also emboss on ribbon, if you are patient when using the heat gun. 
• Wide ribbons often look really good on pages, but can be pricey.  As a cheaper alternative, try placing several rows of the less expensive thinner ribbon side-by-side.  You get the thickness, as well as the ongoing design or colour.
• Keep in mind: ribbon is ribbon, but there are some differences in quality.  I often get a lot of my “fun” ribbon at Dollarama or from the cheaper places or bins, as I won’t be needing a lot of it, and I am not worried about quality.  Other time, though, I want the quality, as the ribbon will be holding together a mini-album, or I want it to be more versatile.  That is when I purchase the ribbons from StampinUP!, as they are premium quality, and are actually very affordable.  Plus, all of the ribbons coordinate beautifully with the ink and cardstock.

- Tanya

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Photography Tip: Take Extreme Close-ups through Macro Photography

Sometimes, in our scrapbooking adventures, we want to take extreme close-ups, especially of smaller items, plants, flowers, or insects.  Macro photography has an artistic feel to it, and gives your pages that intense focus and visual interest.

So, how to do it?

First, take a look at your camera.  Most higher-end point-and-shoots will have the macro setting, which is indicated by a small flower symbol, similar to this:

If you see this on your camera, you have the macro setting, which enables you to take those extreme close-ups, as it adjusts the lens to take clear images of items only inches away from the lens.  My digital can be an inch away from something, which makes for some interesting shots.  Plus, with digital, you can play around and take as many as you want!

Here is an example of a pic I took of a bee crawling into the centre of a flower:

I was close to the bee, but it wasn’t bothered one bit.  I took over twenty shots, some of which worked well, some of which I wasn’t too happy with, but, again, the magic of digital! 

- Tanya

Save Money While Scrapbooking: Pop-Dots

Hi, my name is Tanya, and I’m a pop-dot-aholic.

I probably use pop-dots on almost every layout, in some form or another.  Which, given the prices and the small sizes of the packages, could get very expensive.  That is, unless you know some tips and tricks for saving money!

Tip #1: Buy in bulk.  When looking at pop-dot packaging, look for the ugliest package, as it usually has more of the product, and less of the fancy pictures and packaging.  You’ll often save up to $2 per package!

Tip #2: Buy in discount stores.  If you’ve read any of my blog so far, you’ll know that I love dollar stores.  Well, once again, they can be great resources for finding pop-dots.  One thing to note, though, is the thickness of these pop-dots, as they can often be very slim, hence the savings in money.

Tip #3: Use rubber stamp cast-off.  If you purchase stamps from StampinUP!, you know that you don’t mount all of the rubber that comes with the set.  After mounting your actual stamps, save the excess rubber and foam.  You can peel the rubber off the foam part to create a pop-dot, since the other side of the foam is adhesive already!  In peeling the rubber, the adhesive often stays on the foam, so no additional work is needed.  Sometimes, though, you will need to add some adhesive to it.  In either case, you have free pop-dots!

- Tanya