My Week in Pictures #4

My daughter, niece, and nephew playing in the iPad

This week it was all about composition for my Capture Your 365 Challenge.   Some of the pictures were challenging, but overall I enjoyed  taking snapshots of my everyday.

I love photographing food...   

As always my baby makes it to the top of my list every week.  

He is so easy to photograph, and is always ready for the shot.

I always have my camera with me,  here a picture of my friend's baby at 3 months  -quick home visit-

Baby Nicholas is so cute,  every visit ends with at least 50 pictures to choose from.

As we enter February, I look forward to seeing what will catch my eye...  

Love, Love,... My Crazy Girls

Scrapbook Layout - Love My Crazy Girls -

This picture is one of my favorites from the Christmas lot,  but i did not want to use it in a December layout.  Last week i got hold of Crate Paper's Hello Love collection, and right away I knew it was perfect for this picture.  

I started by using The Cut Shoppe's Love All Around cut file to create a large frame for the layout (the cardstock is a very light cream color).  Since it looks like many intertwined hearts, a little bit of hand-stitching for just two of the hearts was enough to highlight the cut and add some texture to the layout.

Just added some hand-stitching to the inner and outer hearts using
pink embroidery floss to match the background paper.

Some dimensional glue dots were used to lift the cut-out from the paper.  I used paper from the same collection to back and layer the picture.   I knew that the title needed to be inside the heart to emphasize the connection between the frame and the picture, so i used some Freckled Fawn wood veneer and glitter foam Thickers to complete it.

The wood veneer has been colored using Gold Gelato,
and the golden arrow brings your eye to the picture

Most of the cutouts and ephemera used came from Crate Paper.  The camera  and the mosaic hearts were cut-out from the patterned papers from the collection, and layered using foam dots.  

A close up of the layered ephemera and cutouts.

To create balance on the page, some more ephemera was added to the top corner of the cut-out.   To add some interest, i added some of the embroidery floss -in a bundle- and a matching mosaic heart.  These two were tucked under a Valentine's Day flair (from the Dollar Store).

Just play around with the thread until you reach the effect desired.
I always used removable glue dots to create my bundles, so I can move and secure the thread

 I added a few strips of patterned paper at the bottom of the page (all paper is from Crate Paper's Hello Love collection), and a little label with some journal lines.   A little bit of black and gold colorshine drops, and the layout was complete.  I love this layout, i am sure my sister is gonna ask for it, or at least a copy of the picture...

The Completed Layout

Featured in THE CUT SHOPPE's Instagram feed.

Material Used:

• Patterned paper,  Crate Paper "Hello Love" Collection
• Cardstock,  light beige,  American Crafts
• Cut File, Love all Around,  The Cut Shoppe
• Ephemera, Heidi Swapp MInc Collection.
• Label,  Recollections,  Michaels
• Chipboard stickers,  Crate Paper, Maggie Holmes Flea Market Collection
• Foam Letters, Thickers, Fitzgerald
• Wood veneers,  Freckled Fawn
• Stickers,   Heidi Swapp Memory Planner Collection
• Flair,  Valentine's Day Collection, local Dollar Store
• Gold and Black color shine,  Heidi Swapp

Be Your Own Kind of Awesome

Scrapbook Layout - Be Your Own Kind of Awesome - 

It is hard -for me- to scrap pictures of my teenage son.  I am still trying to figure out why,  but this week I had these pictures of my son that needed to be put in a layout (he is going through the teen phase that hates cameras)..   Here is my creative process...

I used the Geometric Graffiti Cut file from the Cut Shoppe to create a basis for the pictures.   I chose black card stock because i wanted the pictures and title to stand out.  Then I used a Juliana Michaels' cut file exclusive to the Big Picture Classes named Be Your Kind Of Awesome for the title (if you are a subscriber,  check out this class) out of  watercolor paper (use the double cut function to create crisp edges).  I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut both files.  

Bottom part of the layout.

I stitched with black floss the cut-out to the paper (I am not that good with the sewing machine).  At the same time I used Gold Coloshine mixed with a bit of water to paint the title  - it gives it a subtler look-.   I used MME's Cut and Paste  collection to back and layer the picture.  The stickers and ephemera were placed strategically not to crowd the pictures or the title.

It was  a bit tricky to stitch around the triangles, as not all ends meet at corners

Finally I attached a tag, label and ephemera using staples to the top left corner of the layout and added my journal lines inside of one of the triangles in the layout.  I added a few drops of gold colorshine to finish the layout.  My son has not had negative comments on it (usually my scrapbook layouts sit on an easel at our sofa table for a day or two before going to the album)..

I hope you like it...

The Final Layout

Featured in the Big Picture Classes blog and  its Instagram account.

Materials Used:

• Cut file,  Geometric Graffiti,  The Cut Shoppe
• Black Cardstock, Recollections, Michaels
• Cut file (title),  Be Your Own Kind of Awesome,  Juliana Michaels -Big Picture Classes -subscription exclusive-
• Water color paper,  Strathmore
• Patterned paper, Amy Tangerine's Stiched collection
• Patterned paper for pictures,  Cut & Paste - Flair,  My Mind's Eye
• Stickers,  Heidi Swapp
• Chipboard Stickers,  Soft Spoken,  Me and My Big Ideas
• Ephemera, Something Gold Collection,  My Mind's Eye
• Tag, label & ephemera,  Heidi Swapp MInc Collection
• Colorshine Gold, Heidi Swapp

Project Life Layout Week 3

PL  Week 3

Still keeping on track with my Project Life for 2016  (YAY!! for now)...  

The complete week at glance

The color inspiration for this week's layout came from the top left card.  I had used the other side for the previous week layout, and since most pictures were black and white and just a few muted colors, it suited them right.

The first page of this week's layout.

The pictures were printed without a white border, since they were being laid out on Project Life cards.  I  used some cards from the Amy Tangerine's Stitched collection.  The chipboard, and stickers are from Me & My Big Ideas.

I found a series of transparent stickers with scripts at my local Dollar Store,
and it is working beautifully on my layouts

The overlay card at the bottom comes from a Heidi Swapp Value Kit Project Life collection,  and the top right card comes from the Amy Tangerine Stitched collection.  I am planning on adding confetti to the overlay card, but i can only do it once i complete the other side of the page, so i can seal the pocket completely.... I will update my page then...  

Hope you like it...

My week in pictures #3

My Ode to dreaming of warmer weather

My Favorites of the week

Once again,  I collected close to a 100 pictures this week  ( I have to start learning to delete)...  Here are some of the ones that stood out:

Snowy Monday in Toronto

My babies always make it to my list of favorites,

He lets me photograph him all the time.
Featured in @momswithcameras IG feed

My baby girl enjoying her day-off school at home

Of course I have to add pictures of my handiwork, too:

Getting details ready for the scrapbook layouts.

Let's see what I capture this upcoming week,  I will be working on composition basics, so there will be another batch of pictures to show...

My Little One

Scrapbook Layout - My Little One -

It seems that  i am coming down with a cold; so i am staying indoors, and using my time scrapbooking and organizing computer files.   I used most of my Saturday  creating this layout about my baby... my doggie.

I chose the Half Heart cut file from The Cut Shoppe to create the background to my picture.  I moved some of the hearts in the file until it formed a large heart (I had to delete the rest of the hearts), and i added the words Little One to the bottom right corner of the heart.  I used white cardstock for the background and cut it using the Silhouette Cameo.

A picture of the final cutfile ( I manipulated the original Half Heart Cutfile from the Cut Shoppe)

I went ahead and backed all the hearts using one of Dear Lizzy's Documentary collection papers.  I used complimentary papers from the same collection to back and layer the picture.   Most of my ephemera comes from Heidy Swapp MInc Collections (I love that machine).

The ephemera has been gold foiled using the Heidi Swapp Minc machine.

Once the picture was all set on the layout,  I added sequin rub-ons  to resemble confetti , and backed the words with gold glitter paper.  

Gold colorshine was splattered within the rub-ons to tie in all the gold elements of the layout.

A few journal lines, and the layout was complete... Since Valentine's Day is coming,  I think this will be a great starting page for my February section in this year's album.  I hope you like it...

The completed layout

Materials Used:

• Half Heart cut file, The Cut Shoppe
• Patterned paper,  Dear Lizzy's Documentary Collection
• Gold Glitter Paper,  POW,  American Crafs
• Ephemera,  Heidi Swapp MInc Collections
• Tag,  Heidi Swapp MInc Collection
• Stickers,  Teresa Collins' Home Stories Collecion
• Chipboard Stickers, Soft Spoken, Me and My Big Ideas
• Rub-ons,  Heidi Swapp
• Gold Colorshine, Heidi Swapp

Hello Lovely

Scrapbook Layout - Hello Lovely-

This is one of my favorite layouts from 2015.  I had just picked up Crate Paper's Craft Market collection, and the colors matched the ones in the picture of my two kids, so I had fun creating this layout...

First I cut 2  2* 12 inch strips of paper  and folded it at half inch intervals,  that was enough to created the pleaded paper strip for the entire layout.  I cut pieces of paper of the same Paper Crate collection to complete the layers.  I usually keep the little strips of paper at the end of the 12*12  sheets...  One of them had inspirational words, so I cut the words and added them to the layered papers as tabs.   After all the tabs were attached, I used the sewing machine to join all the paper layers together.  

The papers were all lined under the pleaded strip before stitching in the sewing machine.

To create movement on the page I used papers from the same collection and fan them out behind the picture.  Since the pleaded paper and the layers make up for almost half of the page,  I used simple ephemera and stickers to frame he picture.

I chose round stickers to match the design in the paper

A few strands of sewing floss add cohesiveness to the layout

Finally I added a title using (my favorite) wood veneers and some sequins to complete the look...  

I really enjoyed working on this layout, and since the paper came from the same collection, it was easy to combine patterns and colors.  

The completed layout...

Materials used:

• Patterned paper, Craft Market from Crate Paper
• Stickers,  Teresa Collins, Family Stories Collection
• Wood veneers, cork arrow, and sticky note,  Freckled Fawn
• Tabs,  Simple Stories, Our Family Collection

Lovely Mail -update-

Scrapbook Layout  - Lovely Mail -

A few days ago i received a beautiful bookmark in the mail,  unfortunately I had to go digital with my books, since we were quickly running out of space in the apartment.  So I had to cherish it the best way i know,  scrapbook it...

The Finished Layout

I really wanted to use the envelope as part of the layout, but it got ruined on the way here (all the digital stamps had stained it), so I chose to find ephemera and stickers that match this color and complement the bookmark.

The front of the envelope is even more ink stained ...

Since, I wanted to safeguard the bookmark,  i created an envelope out of vellum paper using We R Memory Keepers Bow and Envelope punch.  

The envelope before sealing the sides.

I used a patterned paper that resembled old book pages, and some scrap paper left from previous projects.   The papers were muted enough to highlight the ephemera and the envelope.

The bookmark is framed by labels and teal color stickers and ephemera.

To balance the page, I added a few pieces of ephemera to the top of the page, and attached it with a stapler  (I also attached the original envelope to the back of the layout with the same staple).

The staple is covered with enamel dots

I used a wood veneer and a resin envelope (from Freckled Fawn) to complete my title,  added some lines of journaling on a MME tag, and called it done... This is the best way to keepsake my lovely mail.

The envelope contains my bookmark, and can be easily opened  by lifting the removable heart seal.

Materials Used:

• Patterned paper,  Craft Smith Christmas Collection
• Ephemera,  Amy Tangerine Stitched collection,  Becky Higgins Project Life Value Pack,  Pink Paislee Journey Collection, Heidi Swapp
• Labels, My Minds Eye
• Resin envelope,  Freckled Fawn
• Wood Veneer, tags and enamel dots,  Michaels

Say Cheese!

Scrapbook Layout  - Say Cheese! -

I love looking at different websites and blogs for inspiration.  Last week I found a free printable file in the Paper Issues store, and knew right away that i was gonna use it to create a layout for a picture of my daughter's Christmas selfie.  

This colorful cameras were cut-out of the printable file from Paper Issues.
I printed two copies of the file, as I knew I wanted a lot of cameras for this layout

First I printed two copies  the file from Paper Issues on matte photo paper, and then cut all the cameras out.   I backed and layered the photo with patterned paper from Crate Paper, and one of the printable cards from the file.  Once I started assembling the layout, I realized that i need to create dimension to the cameras, so I used foam dots in different thicknesses, and some got a layer of used tissue paper to add some lift to the cut out (i used the same technique with the picture).

The folded tissue paper was folded and glued to the back of the cut-out.
Glue dots and foam dots were used to add dimension.

Once I set the picture and the cards I added some ephemera and stickers to the top left of the picture, I kept it simple to find some balance to the layout.  I used strips of paper from the Pink Paislee Memorandum collection, and a label from My Mind's Eye for my journaling.

One more cut-out from the print file to bring the layout together..

Finally I used some chipboard letters and one of my stamps to create a title, a few drops of Smooch spritz and the layout was done... My daughter and I love it...

The complete layout

Materials used:

• Cardstock (natural),  Recollections from Michaels
• Patterned paper, Pink Paislee Memorandum Collection & Crate Paper Hello Love collection.\
• Print-file from Paper Issues
• Label from My MInd's Eye
• Stickers and ephemera,  Heidi Swapp, Echo Park, The Happy Planner & Mambi
• Chipboard letters, Heidi Swapp and Thickers (Journal Collection)
• Smooch Spritzer in Coal
• Stamp,  Recollections from Michaels

Lovely Mail

Snail-Mail is back...

When I started the photography challenge last October,  I realized many of the photographers used books as props in their pictures.  Once this year started, the first prompt (of the challenge) brought out beautiful pictures of books of many kinds, so Beth Lind (@bethlind67)  posted the idea of creating a book club to whoever would be interested.  Of course, I signed in...

As the IG Book Club formed, one of the members, Sandee Jones (@sandeejones) began collecting the members names and addresses, so we could communicate outside of IG.  Sandee, obviously went above and beyond creating the list, and sent everyone a beautiful bookmark as a token of her generosity and a representation of herself...

My  IG Book Club 2016 Bookmark (Courtesy of Sandee Jones)

The Back of the Bookmark

In this day and age when mail is becoming a thing of the past,  to receive such LOVELY mail restores the soul, and reaffirms my faith in humanity.  I look forward to the many correspondence we will exchange through the year, and hopefully for a lifetime.  My hope is one day to be able to meet her and Beth in person, and talk about books...  For now all I can say is, "THANK YOU SANDEE for the lovely mail!!".

Now,  what do I do with such lovely mail; I photograph it, safe keep it, and create a scrapbook page to highlight its beauty so I can cherish it forever.  The ideas are already bubbling in my head.

Look Up and Smile

Scrapbook Layout  - Look Up & Smile -

I am trying to update the blog with all my projects.  Today i will show the details of one of my favorite layouts.

For this page, I used a cut file from Paper Issues called, Circle Heart Mask.  I cut it on my Silhouette Cameo, and backed the circles with the hearts with patterned papers from Dear Lizzy, Shimelle and Heidi Swapp collections, then I backed the whole cut-out with Craft Smith's patterned paper from their Gradient Collection, as follows:

Different Patterned papers help highlight the cutfile details.

A Shimelle's True Stories collection patterned paper was used to frame the cutout.  Since my daughter's picture is printed in black and white,  I layered it with the same papers and added  a doily to soften the look of the picture (it made it more femenine, too).   As always, I added labels and ephemera to anchor the picture to the layout...

A few cutouts and stickers were enough for this layout,  the cutfile also serves
as part of the decoration for this picture.

Finally, the title is made up with Heidi Swapp's letters and stickers,  a few rub-ons, an some drops of color shine and the page was finished..

The completed layout

Materials Used:

• White cardstock,  American Crafts
• Cutfile,  Circle Heart Mask, Paper Issues
• Patterned paper,  Dear Lizzy's Daydreamer collection,  Heidi Swapp's Hello Love collection,  Shimelle's True Stories Collection
• Rub-ons,  Heidi Swapp
• Tag and label, Recollections from Michaels
• Stickers from Teresa Collins' Family Collection, Simple Stories' Snap collection, and Bella Blvd.
• Letters from Heidi Swapp 
• Color Shine Gold, Heidi Swapp

My Week in Pictures

01-14-16  The pictures prompt is "A TREASURE"...
My late grandmother's wooden spoon and her reflection..

My Favorite pictures of the week

I take a lot of pictures each week,  not just for my Capture Your 365 (a photo-a-day challenge), but because i enjoy capturing my life... There are days that i don't feel like taking pictures, but i push myself to do it as a part of completing the challenge (one of my to-do list bullets).  Other days, I will take 50 pictures of my kids, my dog, my husband, food, etc... Regardless,  I have promised myself that i will commit to at least one photo a day, so I will start sharing some of my favorites for the week..

01-11-16... The prompt for the picture was Complementary (color).
This is part of my lunch for the day

My doggie loves the camera, and he usually poses when he hears, "Picture", here is an example..

01-17-16... The prompt for the picture was Natural Light .

Not all my pictures are part of my photo a day challenge (it you want to see more of my challenge pictures go to my Instagram account -@tachita55 or look for #nath_CY365project).  My teenage son doesn't like the camera, so I usually have to sneak around him to catch a picture or 2 of him...  Here is my fave of the week:

01-17-16... Joshua checking game scores, while waiting for the next soccer game to come on tv.

I shoot most of my pictures with my Nikon D3200,  and use Adobe Lightroom to process them after, but i also use my phone's camera or my ipad to capture my everyday... I really suggest that you try capturing a little moment of your life 365 days a year, in this case 366..

My Favorite Pair

Scrapbook Layout  - My Favorite Pair -

My weekends are usually a combination of soccer, shopping and craft time...

This time I used Shimelle's True Stories collection to highlight the picture of my daughter and my Starbucks red coffee cup...  I started by creating a shimmery watercolor background  with red, gray and black.   The patterned paper was then cut into strips with a diagonal edge and glued down at the bottom page of the layout.

A quick glance at the background created for the layout.

Next I used the same patterned papers to back and layer the picture.  I used cut-outs from the Pebbles' Happy Day collection, simple tags  (from Michaels), and stickers from the Simple Stories I am collection.  I reserved a Starbucks gift card (Christmas red cup shape) and used it to complete my "pair".

The gift card worked to highlight the cup which is out of focus on the picture

Finally, I used a  tag from Aunthentique paper collection to jot down my journal.  I added the logo from a red Starbucks cup and a chipboard sticker from a Mambi Chalkboard collection to finish.

The journaling details

I am believer in safeguarding  (my husband calls it hoarding)  pieces of  paper or memorabilia that have a significance to me; in this case I asked my barista to give us a couple extra cups and a few gift cards ( we are regular customers), and they were very 
generous with us...   Here is the completed layout:

The finished layout

Materials used:

• Patterned paper.  Shimelle's True Stories collection
• Cut Outs,  Pebbles' Happy Day Collection
• Stickers,  Simple Stories' I Am collection
• Ephemera,  Simple Stories' Snap -Gold pocket cards,  Starbucks
• Labels & Tags, Michaels