Father's Day album using Stardust Paper Pack

I wanted to share this album I made.  I am so in love with it! I kinda don't want to give it to it's intended recipient now.

Okay details on making the album:

I used about half of the CTMH Stardust Level 2 paper pack.  The album itself is chipboard that I cut using a local scrapbooking store's Accucut die cutting machine.  We sell a similar album from CTMH (I just didn't have time to order one from CTMH). 

I used alot of chipboard letters, most of them are for Tim Holtz's grungeboard collection.  I had them just sitting around so I decided to use them as they were the right size.

All the pages and paper edges were distressed using the sanding block in the CTMH Sanding kit.  The distressing looks really good on the album .  It also helps to hide where my cutting skills weren't the best on the album edges.

Pages 2, 3 and 9 use 6" card patterns from the Wishes How To program book with a little bit of fiddling to make the dimensions work with a 6" x 7" album.  The patterns are Satchel, Designer Tab, and Pieced Together respectively.  This album took me about 4 -5 hours altogether.  Much of it was spent trying to figure out to design the pages.  If I were to recreate the album, it would only take me about 2 hours to actually put it together now that I know what I am doing.

I hope you like it!  I can't wait to make another one using a different paper pack.  Look for it in the future.

Supplies Used:

• Paper:  CTMH Stardust Level 2 paper pack
• Stampset:  A Little Everything, Star Power
• Ribbon:  Unknown manufacturer
• Chipboard:  Tim Holtz Grungeboard Mixed Minis and unknown chipboard manufacturer (PLAY)
• Embellishments:  CTMH Bitty Sparkles, CTMH Basic Buttons, CTMH Dimensional Elements: Stars, Making Memories Paperie Buttons, DMC Ecru Embroidery Thread, CTMH Clear Detail Embossing Powder
• Tools:  Paper Hole Punch, CTMH Sanding Kit, CTMH Paper Piercing Kit, TomBow Adhesive, Elmer's Glue spray adhesive, Heat Gun

5-in-1 Workshop

Sorry for not posting so long.  Have no fear though as I have still been papercrafting, scrapbooking even. 
Today I would like to share a 2 page layout I have made.  This is the first in a series of five 2 page layouts using a workshop template designed by another CTMH consultant, Lara Main.  All the layouts are from the Cherish and Imagine How-To program books and are made from one paper pack with the addition of 6 pieces of cardstock for bases.

I can't say how much I absolutely love this workshop.  With the cutting instructions, you get the most out of your paper pack and have these lovely layouts that just need photos and embellishments. 

The pattern is from the Imagine book and is called Subtitles.  It can be found on page 94.  I used the Animal Cookies paper pack and StickEase with the addition of some Autumn Harvest brads.  The layout that you are seeing is not my completed layout.  I took pictures before I added the journaling in order to protect my son's privacy. 

In the large white space at the bottom, I used my CriCut to cut out his name in Clover Green cardstock and hand-wrote his birth stats around the first letter in each word.  I also put his birthday in white ink on the little heart paper in the top right corner.  The finished layout looks superb. 

I chose not to use any distressing techniques on this layout because I wanted it clean and fresh.  I love to sponge the edges of paper but it didn't fit with the subject.  I used pop dots to elevate the Stickease and some of the photos to give them a little more pop.

I didn't use any stamping techniques or even any ink in this layout so this is perfect for beginning scrappers.  You can do this layout with a minimum of supplies all you need is the paper pack, StickEase and some brads.  That is why I love Stickease!  You can use it for all your embellishing need and not worry about getting inky fingers (even though I love my inky fingers every time I papercraft). 

I can't tell you how much CTMH has improved my scrapbooking.  I took a few minutes to look at my old layouts from when I first got serious about scrapbooking.  It is a huge difference in skill and just general design aesthetic.  Don't believe me?  Check this old 1 page layout.

Supplies Used:

• Paper:  Animal Cookies Level 2 paperpack
• How To Book: Imagine
• Embellishments:  Animal Cookies Stickease, Autumn Harvest brads
• Adhesive:  TomBow, 3D Popdots (non-CTMH)

Fail Card

My best friend, Lee, has a birthday tomorrow.  I, being the cardmaker, decided to make a card for him.  I spent several days thinking about what I wanted to do.  I recently got a beautiful stampset called Shining Star and wanted to use it.  The central image is a Star with swirls and patterns on it.  I was inspired by another card I saw on the CTMH Consultants Bulletin Board using the image.

How can you go wrong with a such a beautiful main image?  Apparently many ways.  My first attempts at stamping the image used a technique called Rock and Roll.  What you do is ink your stamp first with a light color and then roll additional darker colors around the edge of your stamp to give a gradual color change.  FAIL!!!  I had chosen colors that didn't blend that well and there was a very distinct transistion between colors.  Did I go back and re-evaluate my color choices?  Nah!  Try a different technique.

My next attempt at the star was to try paper piercing.  If you don't know paper piecing is where you stamp an image several times in different colors and then cut out the parts of the image in each color you would like to use.  You then "piece" the image back together.  After doing so, I thought it was kinda boring and not very dynamic.  Did I go back and re-evaluate my color choices?  Nah! 

My solution was to add bling in the form of Stickles!  I added the stickles on each of the colored pieces and set them aside.

My next part of the design phase was to attempt to figure out what to do for the background of the card.  When I originally chose the colors for the card, I wanted something masculine so I looked through my paper packs and chose Stardust because it is very manly/boyish.  The blue color is Moonstruck which is in Stardust.  The other two CTMH colors, Sunny Yellow and Clover Meadow, are not.  Looking through the six B&T paper options in Stardust, none of them really fit my fancy so I set the paperpack aside and went looking elsewhere. 

Next stop was my non-CTMH cardstock.  I have been hanging on to some Color Coredinations cardstock for quite a while.  It is only 6x6" but it is colored cardstock with a core that is usually a lighter coordinating color.  I looked through that and chose two colors that I thought matched my card.  Mind you it was about 2am now.  With such lovely colored cores, I needed to distress these sheets.  The first one I crumpled up and then sanded.  The second, a nice dark blue, I scored in a star pattern and also sanded.  After that I was done for the night and put everything away.

A day later I grabbed my materials and went to assemble the card.  The blue distressed cardstock didn't really match so that went into the scrap bin for use later on.  Because I have just recently purchased a heat gun and embossing powder I wanted to use it.  My next attempts at greatness included using the smaller stars from the stampset, randomly stamping with them and then embossing with an awesome iridescent silver powder. 

I think I just ran out of steam after that.  I had problems embossing with the embossing ink I had purchased for Michael's.  It was dry straight out of the package and wouldn't work.  I ended up using White Daisy pigment ink instead.  I have never embossed before and I am unsure if I applied enough heat too.  I quickly slapped the card together using the Celebrate sentiment from the stampset and then asked my husband's opinion.  His comment?  It would look better on colored cardstock.  How right he is.  All in all, I am very disappointed in this card.  The colors aren't gelling together.  The different techniques used do not give it a cohesive look and there is just too much white space.  Back to the drawing board for me. 

Have you ever had this happen to you?