Monthly Archives: April 2010

Treasure Box: Altered Art Project Idea for April's Vintage Sunshine Kit

This one is a bit self explanatory once you’ve seen the pictures.  But here are some general instructions! Start off by finding yourself a box with a latch. We found this one at a thrift store for fifty cents.

Once you’ve got your box take off the latch and any hinges. Then you paint it black. Get a flat spray paint and go to town. Once it’s dry you start by putting paper on the box. Don’t try to cover the entire box. Just work with big chunks of paper covering most of each side. We covered the entire top (using sandpaper to sand the extra paper off the edges so it matches the top of the lid exactly).

We used Pink Paislee Front Porch, but you can use any of the fabulous papers in the kit. We used the green side of Pink Paislee Front Porch for most of the box, but we switched it around and used the black/white side for a bit just to mix it up!

Treasure Box: Altered Art Project for April's Vintage Sunshine Kit

Start the left side of the box by placing the Fragile Handle With Care sticker. Make sure it goes on crooked and that part of it wraps around to the front of the treasure box. Take your yellow tulle circle and fold it in half over and over until you have a triangle of several layers of tulle. Glue it on the bottom left corner of the left side of your box. Then you will take your favorite button/embellishment and glue it on top with one of your Jenni Bowlin pins sticking out of the right, top side of the embellishment.

Altered Art Treasure Box: Project Idea for April's Vintage Sunshine Kit

On the front of your box you will start by adding a large portion of your Pink Paislee rubon on the bottom left corner. Create a paper flower out of three different papers (varying circle sizes, crinkle the paper and then straighten it back out again). Behind the three paper layers you’ll place teal tulle. On top as your center use your mirror. As your “stem” use a chunk of your GCD Studies chipboard. We inked ours first with a Rangers Dabber (lettuce color).

Altered Art Project Idea for April: Treasure Box, Right side

The right side of your treasure box should have a row of several “borders” on your Pink Paislee rubons at the top of the right side. Make a flower using your sequin strip, Pink Paislee Front Porch black/white side (or another paper if you have opted for a different paper combo), the yellow flower from Prima’s alpha set, and a brad from Making Memories. Make sure to ink your edges. And then create a messed up line of buttons trailing towards the back from your flower.

The Treasure Box: Altered Art Project Idea for Vintage Sunshine Kit, the TOP!

Start the top of your Treasure Box with the graphic novel page on the left side. Stretch your tape measure across diagonally and stretch your red scallop trim across the top of that. Use your Jenni Bowlin Bingo Alpha tiles to spell out “Treasure Box” across the top. Use a piece of your GCD Studios chipboard for your centerpiece. Before you adhere it stamp it with so it’s got some color. We used teal and then a distress stamp in black to make it interesting.

Then create a paper flower out of your dictionary page, your graphic novel page and your Jenni Bowline Bingo Alpha page. Ink your edges. Finish it off with teal tulle and a button (we used a clear one). Tuck a strip of Pink Paislee Front Porch under your centerpiece. Fold it so that you have an accordion effect and then put a Making Memories brad on each end. Glue your brad ends to the top of the lid so that it’s attached and the accordion effect is evident.

Stick another Jenni Bowlin pin into your centerpiece. The most stable place to insert it is straight into the side of your chipboard. Make a couple leaves out of chipboard, ink them green and insert them partway under your flower on the centerpiece. Cut out a section of your vintage dictionary page and glue it on the right hand side of your lid near the top.

Altered Art Project Idea for April: Treasure Box

Vital scrapbook supplies: Corrugated cardboard!

One of the “staples” in the Little Black Dress kit club kits is corrugated cardboard. Do you find yourself wondering…WHAT’S UP with the corrugated cardboard? If you put it aside when it arrives in your kit and never look at it again you are missing SO many opportunities! Here are a few ways in which we’ve used the corrugated cardboard in the last couple months alone:

1. Forget buying pop dots…they get expensive. Cut small-ish pieces of your corrugated cardboard to create the “popped” effect you’re looking for. We used it here in this example:

http://littleblackdresskitclub.com/happy-day-cake-12×12-layout-aprils-vintage-sunshine-kit-project-idea/ : corrugated cardboard is used under both the cake and the flash card.

2. Use them to accent your paper flowers. They make great leaves providing some depth, texture and the possibility for easy inking. Examples here:

http://littleblackdresskitclub.com/sometimes-12×12-layout-aprils-vintage-sunshine-kit-project-idea/

http://littleblackdresskitclub.com/road-trip-12×12-layout-aprils-vintage-sunshine-kit-project-idea/

3. Corrugated cardboard makes an interesting (and easy) journaling spot. It also serves as a good addition to a page that just needs a little something; especially when you don’t have anything that works. Corrugated cardboard can be inked, cut, torn, and stamped until it works on any page. Here’s an example:

http://littleblackdresskitclub.com/baby-blues-12×12-layout-aprils-vintage-sunshine-kit-project-idea/

4. Corrugated cardboard makes a great addition to a mini album. It can create additional pages, dividers, etc. Get creative. There are SO many possibilities.

http://littleblackdresskitclub.com/a-colorful-life-mini-album-march-kit-project-idea/

5. And don’t forget the possibility for one of the easiest paper flowers EVER…and they’re absolutely fun!

http://littleblackdresskitclub.com/im-feeling-boy-12×12-layout-project-idea-for-march-kit/

Have you found some fabulous way to take advantage of the possibilities offered by corrugated cardboard? Please share! Tips are even better if you get to brag about the fact that you discovered them!

Happy Day Cake 12x12 Layout: April's Vintage Sunshine Kit Project Idea

To get the look made on the Happy Day Cake 12×12 layout you start off with Pink Paislee’s Worker Bee paper. It’s going to serve as your backdrop. Next cut a strip of Sassafras Lass Pleasantly Puzzled that measures 12×4.5″. Glue it on your page approximately 1.5 to 2 inches from the top of your page.

We incorporated a bit of solid yellow cardstock into this layout. You’ll notice that we used the Pink Paislee rubon on the yellow cardstock and then glued it on the left hand side of the Sassafras Lass Pleasantly Puzzled paper. It is placed leaving about 1/2 inch on of Sassafras Lass framing it on top and left side.

Back your first 4×6 photo with Graphic 45 High Style Holiday paper and glue it beside the Pink Paislee rubon on the cardstock. They should overlap just a bit. Use one of the borders on your Pink Paislee rubon to line the left edge of the Pleasantly Puzzled paper.

We used an October Afternoon Report Card Wild Card mimicking a flash card on the left hand corner of the page. It happened to be a 5+3 card so it was perfect since the layout is all about this little miss turning 8!

We used one of our favorite staples (Glassy Accents) to line the numbers in the card and make them shimmer like glass. Then we adhered it with a line of buttons/mirrors sticking out the right side of the card. Directly under your October Afternoon card you use your Prima yellow Alphas to spell out “Eight”. Before we placed our alphas we inked the edges teal. The Eight and the card will overlap a bit. Our Alpha letters are under the card, but it can go either way.

We backed our second photo with the same solid color cardstock we used earlier (any coordinating color will do) and placed it with its top right corner overlapping the first photo’s bottom left corner. Line the bottom of the second photo with three trims included in your April kit: yellow/white floral, cream scalloped edge, and teal. Cut them at varying lengths to keep it interesting.

Next you need to make the cake! Cut your first cake layer out of Basic Grey Origins Refresh. Don’t try to make it perfect. A little bit of lopsided never hurt anybody. Ink the edges of your first cake piece and set it aside.

Next cut out your second cake layer of Graphic 45 Celebration (the stripe side). Ink your edges and set it aside.

Next cut your third piece of cake out of the other side of the Graphic 45 Celebration paper. Ink your edges and set it aside.

Glue all the cake pieces together stacked like a three tiered cake onto white cardstock. Trim very closely around the edges so that it is just barely outlined in white. Use several of your Making Memories brads to accent the first layer. We used Glassy Accents on the second and third layers to give it that glassy shimmer that looks so fun in so many layouts. We cut a small piece off one of our GCD Studies chipboard flourishes to act as the cake stand for the fabulous cake. We inked it with black and glassed it up with the Glassy Accents.

Then we glued the whole thing together on the layout. It goes at the bottom just half an inch from the right side of the layout. Once you’ve got your cake on the page you take your yellow Alphas from Prima and spell out “happy day” right under your top picture on the right of the cake. Use your clear rhinestone adhesive strips to line the photo for a couple inches on either side of the the “happy day.” Use your favorite distress stamp on the “happy day” alphas just for fun.

The very last thing you need to add to the layout is journaling. We journaled across the top of our Sassafras Lass paper. And along the left edge of our bottom picture.

Hope you had fun and that today is a….Happy Day!

Road Trip 12x12 Layout: April's Vintage Sunshine Kit Project Idea

This layout has one very amazing feature that has to be mentioned right away…it was made from the Kit scraps. That’s right. Save this layout for last. Then grab all your Vintage Sunshine kit scraps of paper and cut them all into 4″ squares. You’ll need 9 squares.

Create your entire background out of your squares. Make sure they’re all glued on really well. Back your 4×6 photo on a piece of white cardstock. Trim it closely. Then ink the edges with teal. Then back your backed photo with another piece of white cardstock. This time leave a wide border on the top and left sides. The top border should be 1 to 1.5 inches. The left side border should be at least 2 inches. On the right side tuck a strip of Jenni Bowlin Bingo Alpha tiles under your photo between the two layers of white cardstock so that it sticks out just a bit.

Above your picture on the white cardstock you’ll place Yellow alpha stickers spelling out “Sometimes.” But there’s a trick. Before you place them on you need to ink them with teal. They’re canvas textured so they soak it up. The white cardstock to the left of your photo is for journaling. Ink the outer edges of the white cardstock with black.

Glue your backed photo on your page. Place it about 1″ from the right side of the layout. And about 2.5 inches from the top.

Make a paper flower. You’ll cut three paper circles of varying sizes. The largest is approximately 2 to 2.5 inches and it is cut from the graphic novel page. The next, slightly smaller circle is cut from Pink Paislee Front Porch. Cut the edges into a tiny, scalloped pattern and ink the edges yellow. The next (slightly smaller again) paper circle is cut out of Jenni Bowlin Bingo Alpha tiles. Ink the edges teal.

Crinkle all your papers a bit and then glue your flower together. Use one of your mirrors or buttons to create a flower center. If you use a mirror for your center you can add some extra bling using the clear rhinestone strip included in your Prima yellow Alpha stickers set. Just circle it around the edge of the mirror. Last cut two leaves from corrugated cardboard and insert them under your flower along the right side and bottom of the photo. Your flower should be glued right at the bottom right hand corner of your photo.

Along the right hand side of your photo use your yellow Alphas (yellow this time) to journal the name of the individual in the photo. Throw a couple rhinestone brads (Making Memories) on either side of the word “sometimes” and you’re ready to finish it off with a bit of sanding in the right places. We also made sure to incorporate some of our fun leftover items. You’ll notice that we used our Fragile sticker, an October Afternoon Wild Card Report Card, and authentic work order forms.

And that’s that! What a fabulous layout made of scraps, right? This particular designer came up with 7 layouts out of her April Kit. Isn’t that amazing?

Road Trip 12x12 Layout: April's Vintage Sunshine Kit Project Idea

For the Road Trip layout you start off with a plain color 12×12 cardstock paper. We used Bazzill white, textured cardstock. We keep it stocked (much like glue and staples).

Back your 4×6 inch photo with Graphic 45 High Style Holiday paper (arrange it so that the edges are very nondescript yet colorful). Set it aside.

Grab your Pink Paislee rubons and use the large vine designed block rubon. Place it in the right hand corner of your 12×12 cardstock paper. It should be about 1 inch from the top and 1 inch from the right side of the paper. On the left side of the rubon place your vintage Touring card. Next take your picture (already backed) and glue it on the page aligning on the right hand side with the Pink Paislee rubon.

Use your Prima Marketing yellow Alphas with the awesome canvas texture to spell out “road trip” above your picture. To the left of your picture use your Jenni Bowlin Bingo Alpha tiles to spell out “to Gramma’s house we go”. Use two of the small self adhesive rhinestones included in the Prima Marketing yellow alphas to accent the “we” in To Gramma’s House We Go. Place one clear rhinestone on each side of the “We.”

Now on to the paper flower making! You’ll need the following circles cut:

Circles cut to approximately 2.5″:

-Sassafras Lass Pleasantly Puzzled

-Pink Paislee Front Porch

-Vintage Children’s Dictionary page (aim for an illustration if possible)

Circles cut to approximately 2″:

-Vintage Children’s Dictionary page (aim for text)

Circles cut to approximately 1.5″:

-Graphic 45 Celebration

Crinkle all your circles up so they look beat up and abused. Then flatten them out again. Set aside the vintage dictionary page circles. Take the Celebration circle (not the striped side) and the Pleasantly Puzzled circle (the crossword side) and ink the edges with teal inking tool or stamp pad. Take the Front Porch circle and ink the entire black/white side so the white is all inked in teal.

Glue the Graphic 45 Celebration paper circle on top of the Sassafras Lass Pleasantly Puzzled paper circle. Choose a button from your kit to be the center piece and glue it on. Glue your largest button on the center of the Pink Paislee Front Porch paper circle with one of your Jenni Bowlin pins sticking out from under the button at the top on a diagonal to the right. Glue your smaller vintage children’s dictionary page circle on top of the larger one. Then pull the scalloped circle from the very bottom right hand corner of  your Prima yellow Alphas sheet and place it in the center of your dictionary page circles. Glue a button on top.

Road Trip 12x12 Layout Closeup: April's Vintage Sunshine Kit Project Idea

Your three flowers will go in a cluster under the right bottom corner of your photo on your layout. Make sure they overlap the picture a bit. Cut out two leaves from corrugated cardboard and ink them up a bit to make them look distressed (use your favorite distressing stamp or just rough them up with an ink pad). Tuck them under the Sassafras Lass/Graphic 45 flower with the leaves pointing off to the left.

Right next to the Sassafras Lass/Graphic 45 flower you should place your Pink Paislee Front Porch flower. It will be right at the corner of your photo and overlap the Sassafras Lass/Graphic 45 flower just a bit. Underneath and centered between the two other flowers (and overlapping them a bit, of course) is the vintage dictionary page flower. Cut bits of your tape measure to act as leaves and tuck them under the right hand side of your dictionary page flower pointing off to the right.

Fill the bottom left side of the page with lines (drawn on meticulously with a ruler, of course. Otherwise there’s no way they would be straight!) This is for your journaling! Ink your edges and maybe throw in some extra distressing with a distress stamp or two and you’re all set!