Choosing a Kit Club -- Your Kit Club Should Reflect Your Style!

I finished up (or killed) my first Citrus Twist kit.  And I learned some things.

But first, my most recent Citrus Twist page... made mostly from scraps and embellishments!  See, I am learning to use embellishments to my advantage...still staying true to my own style (of NOT overwhelming my page or my photo with an explosion of embellishments).  More on this later.

Now, I still have a partial pack of Maggie Holmes Gather ephemera, as well as a partial pack of the wood veneer, sequins, chipboard, a couple of the cut-a-parts, and some of the enamel dots.  But only partial packs, less than half packs of each!  And I have one half of one of the patterned paper.  That's it.

As far as a page count; I have one more Citrus Twist page to post...so including that one I made seven pages from my first Citrus Twist kit.  I received six patterned papers and two solid color cardstock sheets, an alphabet, an exclusive chipboard pack, a full pack of ephemera and wood veneer embellishments, exclusive cut-a-parts, and enamel dots.  And I'm sure I am forgetting something, but wowsers, that's a lot of embellishments.  But not so much paper.  And I am very much a paper person.

Now, back to this page. 

Did a little color wash on the white cardstock (first the area was coated with gesso) using several colors and types of spray mist and lots of water (plus paper towels to do a little mopping up!).

In keeping with my mission to become more comfortable using multiple embellishments, I layered an ephemera piece and a wood veneer to create the title; tucked in printed tabs, as well as fussy cut some blank labels, layering those with little chipboard pieces.  

And I used several fussy cut strips for the top and bottom clusters.

I used loads of little strips and scraps to create layering for the photo, and tucked in some wadded up black thread to add both some texture and a bit more black.  

The page actually came together fairly quickly.  I just kept cutting strips and slices of paper to slide under the photo and tucking in tabs, I used loads of little strips and scraps to create layering for the photo and then tucking in  pieces of ephemera.

Once the title was in place on the right, I added a few watered down paint-y drips and what was left of the light aqua enamel dots (and stars). 

A fun page to make and it was very satisfying to see only partial packs of embellishments and only a half sheet of paper left.  Oh yeah, I have some of the Thickers left too, but that's almost always a given that you will have alphabet letters left over.

And what do you know?  I AM learning to make good use of all those delicious embellishments.  I learned (at least thus far) to treat them as I would pieces of paper... layer them up.. they are way less overpowering when they are a part of something else. 

Now we'll see what happens with kit #2!  It should be on its way to me, maybe later this week! 

have a scrappy, happy day!
Cheryl

Learning to Overcome Embellishment Phobia -- a Scrapbook Circle Layout

I said, I am embellishment challenged.  I love them...I just don't tend to use lots of them on a page, at one time, together even.  I think I've been this way ever since I read a post on the old Two Peas board that someone said that pages with lots of embellishments,  "looked like someone had vomited embellishments all over a page". That's just gross.  And it was one of those statements that someone makes who is looking to provoke...but it was such a gross thing to say, it's stuck with me for y.e.a.r.s. 

But I have made it a mission lately to overcome this phobia or weirdness of mine and learn to use all these lovely things that arrive in our kits. 

I used a page from Jennifer McCurtrey on the Scrapbook Blog as my inspiration!

http://www.scrapbookcircle.com/blog

There's really not much to talk about...it was really was such a simple matter to sit and piece these pretty little chipboard pieces together, kind of like a scrapbook puzzle!  So here's some close ups. 

Not quite sure how often I will use this particular technique, but it sure did make a dent in my embellishments! 

The items I used from outside the kit are the scraps I cut the photo corner triangles from and the floral gems (gosh I've been hoarding those for years, glad to see some on a page finally!). 

I will probably always struggle a bit with using lots of embellishment pieces on a page, but I'm working on it!  And enjoying it! 

best,
Cheryl

Want to See How My Page Really Comes Together? or How to Make Good Use of Your Kit

I am using the September Scrapbook Circle kit; still loving these papers!  This is a little out of order as this is actually about the last page I made with the kit...  But I wanted to show you how you can put together those odd cuts that are left sometimes and make yourself a whole page out of the pieces and parts. 



First off, I did cut the center out of that blue and white floral paper before I glued a trimmed down piece of white cardstock on top.  I knew I wanted pieces and parts of that blue and white pattern on other pages so I actually did this first, gesso'ed the center of the white card stock and set it aside while I worked on those other pages.

When I came back to this, I had a cut up piece of the larger blue and white floral (I had fussy cut a bunch of the flowers from this) and I had a few of the flowers left that I had cut out, plus a sliced up piece of the geometric lined paper and a strip of that bold navy and white stripe, plus a tear off strip.  I kind of piece-mealed the photo layers, adhering the pieces together as I went and then set the photo with layers on top of the blue and white cut pieces.  Clear as mud, huh?  Well, maybe the photos will help.  This is what it looked like underneath...kind of a hot little mess going on there, huh?

When I laid the photo/layers/strips/parts piece on the white cardstock...  boy did that background need help!  Way too much white!

 So next I went to work on that white, white background.  Out came the watercolors.  My watercolor set is the cheap-o student set that Michaels sells.  It works.  As I painted the cardstock with lavender, and blues and pinks, I just kept holding the photo pieces and parts thing-y over what I was painting to get color where I wanted it and here you go. 

Finally I was ready to glue that pile of scraps,strips, parts and pieces down!  I added some details with a punched heart, a couple of the chipboard hearts included in the kit, a couple of the tab stickers, and got my title in place (the alphas were not included in the kit--I used some old lavender-ish Basic Grey, and the navy puffy alpha is from Pink Paislee).

This page was fun to put together and even more fun to try and describe!  LOL!

I hope this helps you make the most out of whatever kit(s), or pieces and parts, you may be playing with!

later!
Cheryl

Making a Page With Kit Leftovers

How about a page that came together because of an embellishment? 

The little acetate pieces were the impetus for the entire page!  Their shape mimicked the windmill blades in my mind.  The colors of those little acetate pieces dictated the colors to be used for the page.  Pastel, soft and quiet. 

The little pink tabs came in the kit, each printed with a word or two...but none really fit with my travel photos, however I did like the pale pink color. So they just got tucked in such that the words didn't show. 

In this case I used one of the papers in the kit for the background since it was mostly white, with a bit of printing at the left edge.  The branding strips were trimmed into long skinny banners and the one or two larger chunks of printed paper that were left got layered under the photo.  There is nothing hugely striking about the page---it is calming and still, allowing the photo to be center stage. 

The only add from outside the kit was a scrap of green (cut into two short banners) and the chipboard heart. 

Next up is a page using strips of paper at the edge of the page. 

Another page showing the use of watercolor on the white background to help unify the page and tie the colors and photo together rather than the use of printed papers. 

Looking through these page samples, the one common denominator leaving a good amount of white space.  (White space = open space, it could have been a colored background---I just happened to use white.)

This open space could be less, if you were working with more than one photo--but it would be more difficult to have enough papers left for layering.  In that case your leftovers could be used in small strips under your photos or along one edge of your page, depending upon the size and shape of your leftover pieces. 

The point is, a technique for getting the most from my kit(s), before relegating things to my stash, is to gather those little pieces and parts together and see if there is enough to either surround a photo, layer underneath a photo, or line up along the edge of a page.  Now I am not always successful at this.  In fact I have a layout that I am going to take apart, cuz it's    just.  not.  happening.  When I get that one put together again in a happier arrangement, well that can/will be a whole other conversation.   And I'll have that conversation, it's ok to me to shows one of my "yuck" pages ... and compare it to one that I find more pleasing to look at. 

But for today, try and use all those little "schnibblets" left lying about your workspace to make just one more page before you call a kit done.  It can't hurt, you can always take it apart, but if you are successful, you'll have one more page done AND finish off a kit feeling that you have spent your money on that kit wisely! 

best to all,
Cheryl

How to Get the Most Out of a Kit?

Still working with Scrapbook Circle's August offering and as I have said before I was gonzo for this kit.  Most of the pages created were of scenic photos... which are usually problematic for me. 

But what I really wanted to talk about a little bit was how to actually work with your monthly kit club offering to get the most out of it.  I was able to make seven pages from this particular kit.  I got nine pages from the one Gossamer Blue kit I experimented with.  How does this happen? 

Gotta slice those papers up.   Just.  Have.  To.  Cut.  Them.  Up.  

And this is what it looks like. 




Often there is a print on BOTH sides of the paper that I particularly like and that I want to use.  So why choose between them?  Slice it up and use a bit of both...on the same page even. 

That wonderful Native American type print on the dark woodgrain background is simply gorgeous, but I also liked the gray hash mark print on the opposite side.  And I felt that as much as I loved the white and dark wood grain native print, it would be just too, too much if used as a full background.  By slicing it and flipping the larger middle piece over I got to use both sides. 

I did the same thing with the small triangle/mixed color stripe paper; loved both sides, so just slicing them into strips and flipping them over allowed me to see and use both sides.  Then I re-assembled the strips and glued them onto a 12x12 background piece that I am not likely to use at all.  That piece came out of a pad of paper and I knew I wouldn't miss it. 

Add photos, title and just a bit of embellishment and here you go. 

The photos are (kind of) a panoramic out over the canyon, so I just trimmed them up and put them side by side.  They really aren't on full layering pieces of paper; it's just little leftover strips and pieces tucked in to appear as if there is a larger piece behind the photo. 

As I said I mostly attacked  photos of a canyon park that we did a little side trip to on our trip along Route 66.  Palo Duro was very pretty, but it wasn't easy for me to scrap.  Not until I got this kit.  I have more photos of the canyon, but I think those will go into a Project Life type photo page and then I will mix that right into the travel album alongside regular 12x12 pages. 

And, as much as I have loved working with this kit, I am (as they say) over it now.  Ready to move on.  Also, I think the sign of a good kit--- that you burn right through it--exhaust it really and then you are ready for something else.  Which is exactly what will be coming in my next kit! 

I will have a couple more pages to post from this particular kit, whilst I await the arrival of the September kit(s).   

later all!
Cheryl

What to do With Kit Club Leftovers? or How Did She Squeeze 9 Pages Out of a Kit?

When you get toward the end of a kit, you are left with weird little scraps of paper that of course you just can't bear to throw away.  OK, maybe some of you can toss 'em, but I tend to feel like I have to squeeze every last little ounce of goodness out of a kit, like a lemon.  I do want my money's worth!

So here's a page using my leftover pieces and parts from the Gossamer Blue kit.

I did end up totally screwing up a perfectly lovely gray wood-grain print paper by thinking I would add a layer of gesso as a base for a photo stack.  Uck.  Major, major ugly resulted from that experiment.  But did I throw it away, um, nope.  I cut off pieces to use elsewhere.  Like here tucked under the photo as an additional layer. 

The flowers were what was left from fussy cutting one corner from a sheet of paper.  The remainder of that sheet was a pale gray polka dot and it got used as a layering piece for another page and the opposite side was used on yet another page under another photo.  I had a bit of the black polka dot (the reverse side is the pink polka dot--tucked a strip of that under the bottom edge of the photo) and punched a scalloped circle, sliced it in half and tucked amongst the flowers. 

Still felt the photo needed a something more layered under it, so I reached for vellum!  I've been using more vellum under my photos lately to add in the feel of more layers and to soften colors or prints.  Also tucked in a stray half of a doily that was lollygagging about on my desk. 

The photo and floral sections were actually assembled off of the page, so that once I could see what I had, I could decide where to place it on the page and what to do with the plain white cardstock base.

Decided to use some watercolors on the white cardstock to pick up the greens and pinks from the flowers and the grid print that is under the photo.

Once the watercolor was dry, I could move the assembled photo block and florals into place and could move onto title construction and placement.  Since I was focusing on the greens and pinks, I used two different sets of Thickers to include both colors.  Added some messy penned borders around the edges of the page; used the last of the included pink enamel dots and finally added one of the last of my old chipboard hearts from Making Memories ( I think I have two left :<). 

And that, is one way to use up every little thing from a kit. 

P.S.  I still have the light blue puffy alpha stickers and some peachy pink enamel dots...  just sayin'

Cheryl