Step by Step Layout Video by Carla Marchee

We have even more beautiful Limited Edition kit inspiration and techniques for you today, this time from My Creative Scrapbook design team member Carla Marchee.

Carla has put together a wonderful slideshow video to share her step by step process for designing a layout with the kit. Enjoy!

Here's Carla:

Carla Marchee

My Creative Scrapbook Design Team Member

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Here's our July Limited Edition kit:

and here are more of Carla's beautiful designs using the kit:

We will be back a bit later today with a fab flower tutorial from Carla, so check back!

We invite you to join us and experience the possibilities that our coordinated monthly kits offer.  Click here for information about purchasing our kits.

How to Add Texture Using Joint Tape by Christin Gronnslett

We have some beautiful Limited Edition kit inspiration and techniques for you today from My Creative Scrapbook design team member Christin Gronnslett.

Here's Christin:

Sometimes it’s fun to go hunting at home for exciting new stuff to add texture to your layouts. We are renovating at home and I found a joint tape – that looks like mesh – in the basement and I thought it would be cool to use it. Have seen others use it previously but I never knew we had some in the house.

I started spreading a thick layer for gesso on my page and put it aside to dry. Then I cut pieces of the joint tape here and there.

I didn’t want my whole page to stay sticky so I added clear gesso on top of the tape.

Then I stamped and added some drops of mist.

Final layout – a layered layout.

Christin Gronnslett

My Creative Scrapbook Design Team Member

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Here's our July Limited Edition kit:

and here are more of Christin's beautiful layouts using the kit:

Be sure to see Christin's blog for even more inspiration.

We invite you to join us and experience the possibilities that our coordinated monthly kits offer.

Background Techniques plus Handmade Swirly Bling by Nicole Doiron

My Creative Scrapbook design team member Nicole Doiron is up today with some July Main kit inspiration and techniques for you.

Here's Nicole:

Remember this whimsical Summer page I created with the July Main Kit?  Since i'm very shabby chic in style lately, it is my favorite layout of my DT reveal this month.  It was also inspired by the July sketch at My Creative Sketches.

Today, I will share with you how i made the background and the handmade swirly bling seen on my  layout.

First. let's talk background!

The July Main kit comes with this fabulous Prima Chevron Grunge Art Stencil.

Using an art spatula, i put a generous coat of molding paste onto the stencil on different corners of my background paper.  After drying it with a heatgun, i then added some glimmer mist.

Next, i decided to try a technique i had seen a few times on other crafty blogs.  I took a piece of plastic bubblewrap and covered it with white acrylic paint as if it was a big stamp.

I have to admit that it didn't turn out exactly as i expected, but that is my fault.  First, my bubbles were pretty much all popped (yes! I have a bubblewrap fanatic and i just can't resist popping when i have a piece of wrap in my hands!!!) so they didn't absorb the paint as evenly as i would have wanted.  Second, i think that instead of pressing the bubblewrap onto the paint, i should have brushed the paint on the bubblewrap.  As they say, practice makes perfect!  I will definitely be playing around with it again soon!  Here is the result of my first attempt:

I then layered my patterned papers and using 3D foam tape, i stuck the title that i had cut out of my pattern paper.

I added the rest of my title with Thickers.

Next, i whitewashed everything with a light coat of white gesso here and there.

Finally i was ready to add the rest of my elements like the picture and flowers which brings me to my 2nd tutorial for the day...  handmade swirly bling!

I used leftover plastic sheets from bling i had used before on other projects.
(Sorry about the glare in my pictures... my camera and shiny plastic do not go well together!  You can make out the swirly patterns.)

With my very handy styrofoam block underneath, i then placed a sheet of plastic over my layout and proceeded to piece a hole following the bling pattern, using the bling imprints on the plastic as a guide.

I didn't pierce all the way through, just enough to make a mark on my paper.  I didn't want the holes to be too big.

Here are the outlines of some of the pierced swirls.  I kinda love the way the pierced designs looked (as seen below) so i almost decided to leave them be and forget about the bling.

But i stuck to the initial plan and took out my Liquid Pearls.  I will definitely be trying out the paper piercing technique on another project though!

Following the pattern, i covered each hole with a drop of liquid pearl.

 I wanted the drops to be more round and delicate like pearls, but my hand was cramping from all the piercing so the end result is a bit more shabby, but again... practice makes perfect! :)

Let me know if you decide to try these techniques on your projects and if you do, please share in the comments on here and on my blog (http://scrap-utopia.blogspot.com) so i can see! :)

Nicole Doiron

My Creative Scrapbook Design Team Member

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Here's our July Main kit
featuring the I Heart Summer collection by Simple Stories:

and here are more of Nicole's beautiful layouts and cards using the kit:

Be sure to see Nicole's blog for even more inspiration.

We invite you to join us and experience the possibilities that our coordinated monthly kits offer.

Ribbon Shaping and More by Joan Bronson

We have some July Creative kit inspiration and techniques for you today from My Creative Scrapbook design team member Joan Bronson.

Here's Joan:

Use Glossy Accents to Shape Ribbon

A great way to help your ribbon keep its shape is by adding Glossy Accents.  For my Sweet Times layout I generously applied the clear product to one side of my ribbon. 

Then I wrapped my ribbon around a pencil to dry.  I added a little washi tape to the ends of the ribbon to hold it on the pencil so I wouldn’t have to hold it.  It takes a bit to dry but don’t skimp on the product or your ribbon won’t hold its shape well.  You can use a heat gun to speed up the drying process. 

Here is the finished product.

Sunshine and Happiness Two Page Layout

I wanted to share a couple tips on how I created my two page layout.  First, I loved the plaid paper in the Creative kit and wanted to use it on my two page layout but I only had one sheet.  To make it stretch I cut the paper apart into four pieces.  The bottom two pieces measure 3 ½ inches vertically and the top two pieces measure 2 ½ inches vertically. 

To make the waves for my layout I reached for an old tool in my stash, my Creative Memories wavy cutter.  Other options to aid you in creating a wavy line if you don’t have a die cut machine: a wavy ruler, a piece of wavy paper, a wavy sticker, or just sketching and cutting your own design. 

Here is the finished product:

 Smile layout

I like to make the most of my kit so when I was left with about three quarters of the floral  edged paper I couldn’t resist finding something to do with it.  I cut about a half inch off the bottom of paper then measured the paper to 7 inches vertically.  I mounted my paper on a piece of yellow cardstock then added the paper I cut off the bottom of the page along the seam where the floral paper meets the yellow cardstock.  I was also able to cut out the butterfly from the top of the floral paper to use as an embellishment. 

Joan Bronson

My Creative Scrapbook Design Team Member

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Here's our July Creative kit
featuring Little Yellow Bicycle's "Poppy":

and here are more of Joan's beautiful layouts using the kit:

Be sure to see Joan's blog for even more inspiration.

We invite you to join us and experience the possibilities that our coordinated monthly kits offer.