Total Calm - Scraps Of Darkness

Total Calm - Scraps Of Darkness

This is a photo I took of my boys by Lake Ontario in August 2011.  My oldest had just moved back home after being gone for 5 months.  He was thrilled to be home and I was happy to have him back in the nest. 

This was created using the Scraps Of Darkness Victoriana Kit and mixing it with the December kit that featured the Bo Bunny Enchanted line of paper.   

Below I used the Dusty Attic Cogs #1 DA0001.   I inked them with Tim Holtz Stormy Sky distressing ink then covered with Crackle Accents.  I added some shells from the beach as well.

Here is a better close up of the really great colors the Stormy Sky creates on the Dusty Attic. 

I used some white cheese cloth and some dyed black. 

Here is the photo of my boys.  OK - yeah I know they don't look thrilled to be here, but I chalk that up to teen angst.  Inside they just bubble with excitement. 

Thanks for looking and have a great day and consider joining us over at Scraps Of Darkness or the sister kit, Scraps of Elegance. 

Daddy and Friends - Scraps Of Elegance

Hanging Out With Dad - Scraps Of Elegance

This is not particularly elegant, but my intention is to show you that you can adapt the kit to fit your needs. Don't get hung up on the name of the kit.  If you love doing stronger masculine layouts, or have a whole lot of men and boys in your life that you scrap, this kit is easily adaptable!  No worries there.

This is a photo taken from Terra Free Images called Dad, Me, Johnny and Johnny's Friend.   

The flower was made using Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die and some paper bags, the I misted and inked them.  I rubbed a thin layer of gold leaf wax rub over the petals to give them some glitz.



Here is my beloved Dusty Attic Chicken Wire 12x12 DA0457 pictured, inked with Tim Holtz Distress ink in Vintage Photo.

The  thin ribbon can in the kit and tied some vintage book pages together.  I just misted it the color I needed and rubbed the gold leaf wax rub on it to give it a more robust vintage appearance.

The metal star and button were clearance finds at Joann's in the fall.

Thanks for looking. 

Scraps Of Darkness - 2 New Layouts for Dusty Attic and CSI #7

Pretty As A Flower

This is a layout I created that pairs the wonderful  Scraps Of Darkness Feb Victoriana Kit with the amazing Dusty Attic Long Stem Flower DA0462.  I love this pairing.  

The image is from Vic28 Art E Zine,   

I inked the Dusty Attic with Tim Holtz Distress inks in Barn Door and the stem was done in Vintage Photo and Peeled Paint for the green accents.   I made the red pop with Crackle Accents and some gold micro beads. 

The punch shown above is the Martha Stewart Pansy corner punch.

Natural Beauty

This is a photo from Graphic Fairy.  I created this using the Scraps Of Darkness Feb. Victoriana Kit with the Prima Printery papers so that I could play along with the CSI-Color Stories and Inspiration case file #7.  

Here is the case file #7 color palette, evidence and testimony particulars.  The rules state that I must use all 5 palette colors, include 2 pieces of evidence and 1 form of testimony.

I used the Dusty Attic Wrought Iron Trim Set DA0547 and I applied the Shimmerz Enamelz in Molten Metal.  Love this stuff. 

Thanks for looking.  Please consider joining us at Scraps Of Darkness.  The kit is versatile, fun  and totally coordinated to help make scrapping easy. 

Seaside Escape - Scraps Of Elegance, Vintage Elegance Kit

Seaside Escape - Scraps Of Elegance, Vintage Elegance Kit

This was created using the brand new kit club,  Scraps Of Elegance Feb Vintage Elegance Kit. +

This was designed using the sketch by Charlotte Jenkins, (suepup) for the Feb kit.  I have sooooo enjoyed working with the new Scraps Of Elegance Kit. I can really sink myself into the colors of the kit  and peacefully create.  Please consider joining us. 

The photo was taken in July 2011 at Lovers Key Park in Florida at Dusk.  Very pretty, peaceful and quiet place for a dusk stroll.  

I used the French Flourish Border  DA0275 and painted it in Adirondack Paint, Sandal just to make it blend into my seaside.  I touched the edges with some stickles in Crystal. 

The metal piece is a piece of jewelry I bought on discount at Michaels.  I love cheap discount stuff. 

That little piece of netting peaking out?  Well that is the nylon netting from a bag of cinnamon sticks I bought at clearance after Christmas.  I actually wanted the bag more than I wanted the cinnamon sticks.  Sheesh,  sometimes I really have to question how my mind is wired - going for the packaging of the product instead of the contents.   

Here I punched some flower shapes from the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die and inked the edges with Tim Holtz Bundled Sage and Tumbled Glass.  I also rolled some paper flowers that I learned from Rachel Sigurdson's rolled paper tutorial at Scraps Of Darkness.  She makes it look easier then I could achieve.  

Below I added a shell picked from the beach in Naples Florida on our annual Seaside Retreat.  

The center of my flower is the McGill Starburst punch.  

The matte behind the photo is an embossing plate with scroll typeset, and gently inked once again with the Bundled Sage and Tumbled Glass.

Thanks for looking.

Scraps of Darkness Reveal Day - Victoriana - Feb 2012

 Victoriana - Scraps Of Darkness Kit for Feb 2012. 

Welcome to our reveal for the Scraps of Darkness Feb Victoriana Kit.  Packed with coordinated papers and  hours of designing fun.  



Baby Bird In a Gilded Cage

This photo was taken from Moonlight Magical Free Studios.  I know this is the Scraps of Darkness, but look how versatile the kit is?  Soft, romantic or edgy and gritty...the kit fits your scrapping style. 

This layout was created using the wonderful design of Charlotte Jenkins,  or suepup.  Thanks Charlotte, for inspiring us monthly. 

I used the Martha Stewart pansy corner punch to create a circle template, then I rubbed Tim Holtz Walnut distress ink over it for a mask effect. 

This layout also features the very new birdcage design of Dusty Attic.  This is a sneak peek since the designs have not been released yet.  I covered this in gold Stickles for my gilded cage.

The flowers are cut from the patterned paper, squished to crinkle them for dimension, then layered.

The leaves are from the Heartfelt Creations/Spellbinders Bella Rose die/stamp set and cut in Tim Holtz Glassine paper. 

Vogue

This is a photo I took of my niece at Christmas 2009.  So long ago already?  I had her wear my grandma's fur coat, that I now own.  The coloring of the coat is such a perfect accent for her strawberry blond hair. 

The papers have a cool dress maker pattern theme and pattern to them so I took out an old paper pattern and torn some, inked it and applied it with modpodge for my background.

I used the Dusty Attic  Ornate Corner #5 2pk  DA0348  for the corners.  I inked them with Tim Holtz Rusty Hinge and then applied stickles in Cinnamon and some jewels.

I made the flower out of dress pattern tissue paper. First I started out using my paper punch.  Super bad idea.  Then I decided to just cut freehand.  The tissue paper is so fragile.  I misted the whole flower with Tattered Angels Glimmermist in Sugar Maple.

The inside punch is the McGill Starburst. 

Grey Goose and Cranberry

At the end of January, I took a road trip to Ohio to meet up with some amazing scrappy gals I met online at scrappy places.   There were six of us so I popped six glasses on this layout.  My clumsy glass is the one spilling the cranberry juice all over and causing the mess. 

I love the way the sun was just lighting up the bottle - like an invitation to celebrate.

Boy was that a super fun time.  Thanks scrappy sisters. 

Disclaimer - This layout is for illustrative purposes only.  To show how things "could" have gone wrong very badly if I had been drinking Grey Goose and Cranberry.  NO patterned paper was harmed by any unfortunate events while scrapping.   Save the papers for heaven sake!  LOL

Rusty Pump

I took this photo of an 'ol water pump when I was on my scrapping road trip to Ohio in January.   Nothing special, just that it was there and so was my camera.  

I used some cool metal netting that I bought and pleated it, then used one of my all time favorite Dusty Attic pieces, Chicken Wire 12x12 DA0457.  

Here is the close up of the Dusty Attic chicken wire. I inked it with Tim Holtz Rusty Hinge distressing ink and topped with crackle accents. 

If you would like to see more from the Scraps Of Darkness Design Team, click here. 

Please check out the Scraps Of  Darkness Kit. 

Thanks a bunch for stopping by.  Check out Escape Kitty's blog too.    She is the Mascot Designer for Scraps Of Darkness.  Actually she'd probably strongly suggest that I was downplaying her creative role by saying she is the Mascot.   She'd say she was the Mascot Designer Extraordinaire.  Who's gonna argue with a cat?  That'd be crazy. 

Cherish This Day - Scraps Of Elegance - Dusty Attic Sneak Peek

Cherish This Day - Scraps Of Elegance and Dusty Attic Sneak Peek.

This was created using the newest kit in town - Scraps of Elegance.  This kit is called Vintage Elegance so I decided to take a vintage photo and run with it.  I called my layout "Cherish This Day " because it looks like it was a grand wedding filled with love and family.  I know someone cherishes this photo.  But for now, I'm just borrowing it and I'll cherish it paired with the Scraps Of Elegance and the Dusty Attic.   Let me clarify, it's vintage,  just not of anyone I know.  The photo is from Graphic Fairy. 

This kit is so gorgeous that I saved every little piece of paper to utilize.  Check us out and consider playing along with us.  

I am using a few of the new Dusty Attic designs - the romantic heart shape and the name plate at the top.   These are sneaks right now, but as soon as the new pieces are rolled out, I'll pass along product codes. 

Now on to the design.  This is a design by Michelle Grant for the Dusty Attic February Design Challenge. 

Dusty Attic Feb Sketch Design by Michelle Grant

I painted the Dusty Attic and then applied some rub-ons and stickles.  i also rubbed a bit of gold leaf wax in a few of the edges. 

Thanks a bunch for looking. 

The Cardboard Smackdown Revealed

Barn 'Ol Barn

Love Cardboard But Hate the Frustrating Fingernail Smackdown of Peeling it?

I love love love cardboard in all it's cool corrugatedness.    And I know there are a few others out there that love it also.  But ripping off the top layer used to make me crazy and irritated and cause a total throwdown at my scrappy table.  The cardboard almost mocking me and giving me the stink eye.  Me, staring back down in utter defeat.   NO MORE! 

Holiday Door

I toyed with my cardboard for a long time.....how can I get the top layer off easily without a total frustrating fingernail smackdown?    Little pieces ripping here and there but not making any progress.

So what I do now is quickly run it under water.  Real quick.  Like the kind of speed Escape Kitty uses when she's darting out of the house undetected.  EK kind of quick.  Ya know what I mean?

Depending on how much top layer you want exposed, then that is what you are QUICKLY going to run under water.  If it is the whole top layer, make sure the whole piece gets damp.
Next you need to blot off the cardboard  with paper towel, rag, cloth, towel - whatevah!   so it does not really soak enough to warp the cardboard.  If you let it sit, you'll get a warp.  I hate warp.

I guarantee that top layer will peel off like a ripe banana peel. NOW what I do is save some of that peeled stuff to re-apply here and there if I need to.   I never really know what kind of look I am desiring until I am hot into the project.

A scrap Recap:
1. Determine how much of the cardboard you want to peel
2.  Run that part that will be peeled under water.  Superfly fast.
3. blot with a towel to get all excess water off and prevent warping of the cardboard
4.  Peel away
5. Save your peelings cause you just never know! They are cool.

Escape Kitty Episode #7 - Escape Kitty Goes Postal

Come Travel With Me

Happy scrapping

Barn 'Ol Barn - Scraps Of Elegance and Dusty Attic

Barn 'Ol Barn - Scraps Of Elegance and Dusty Attic

 This is a photo I took of a barn  down the road from my house.  Taken in the wee hours of the morning as the sun is just coming up. The morning sunlight makes the 'ol barn wood just come alive for a brief time with dazzling rusts and browns, some white streaks.  Then by mid-morning, the 'ol barn appears to fall back into a dull sleepy haze for the rest of the day.  

 My fav time of the day.    Camera and coffee.....ahhhh heaven.

This was created using the Newest Kit in town. Scraps Of Elegance.  Ohhhhh la la.  But you don't necessarily need to keep it all girly and frilly, though that's certainly an option.  This grunges up quite nicely too! Versatile.

Please check us out. 

I used an interesting and really fun piece of Dusty Attic "Crooked Fence"  DA0620.   Man I love this piece.  My newest "Must Have". 

I painted with Adirondack Paint -Snow Cap, the dabbed with stickles in Paprika and Lagoon. When dried, I dabbed with Crackle Accents. 

Thanks for looking.

Time Fades Our Memory - Scraps Of Darkness

Time Fades Our Memories - created with the Scraps of Darkness Feb. Jan kit, Escape. 

It was created for the Dr. Darkness Interpretation Challenge at the Scraps Of Darkness.

Requirements were straight forward and easy.  Interpret the word "FADE" and use paint, inks, mists, whatnot.

Time Fades Our Memories.  Sad but true.  My sweet father-in-law used to tell a fine tale,  some silly tales, some fish tales and even some tall tales.   Those tales exist no more.  They have faded with time like a cruel joke. He suffers from Alzheimer's.  

I have bound my clock with chains at the top, as if it is a prisoner.  I have taken the "H" out of the inside of the pocket watch at the bottom because my father-in-law, Harold,  now exists outside of time.  He is an island in his own mind yet he remains tethered to the clock (representing the world) by the string.   

And finally the string....did you ever hear someone say they needed to tie string  to their finger to help them remember something?  never really understood why, but
I remember that from my childhood - something silly my granny used to do to help her remember.

I am thankful I still remember and my memory has not faded yet. 


This is a photo I took while visiting my Father-in-law in Sept. 2011 at the Memory Care Center where he lives.  The visits are not for him as much as they are for us.  He does not know who we are and cannot communicate with us, but we just need to savor a few more moments with him before his time fades forever.    

Thanks for looking.  Bless all those suffering form memory loss issues and diseases.

Sisters - More Delicious Dusty Attic Sneak Peeks

Sisters:  Once again I feel so blessed to be the Dusty Attic Guest Designer for the Month of February.   Thanks sweet Dusty Gals for thinking of me and knowing in your heart of hearts that I am such a Dusty Attic Addict. 

I used Pion papers that I got my hands on. Those papers are soft, elegant and just a joy to work with.  I paired it with the feminine delicate Dusty Attic birdcage soon-to-be-released.  Can't wait! 

This is a photo I took of my nieces in October 2011 when they stopped over for a brief visit.  I think the visit was really brief, like to drop off a piece of mail they received in my name or something odd like that taking all of 5 mins - "Hi and Bye" in the same sentence.  

yeahhhhhhhhh but no.  Not at Aunt Jen's house.  If you stop and you're darling, then you're likely to get roped into a photo.  Before you know it, I've got the camera out and I'm ushering you to the back yard - well, maybe to my neighbors garden in the back.   shhhhhhh. Let's not tell her that her garden is my favorite backdrop.  Our little internet secret.  You can keep a secret, right?  

I simply painted my Dusty Attic birdcage with Adirondack paint in Sandal and added some feathers.  I wanted the cage to blend in nicely with the rest of my cluster.

Thanks for looking.