Good morning!   Who’s ready to play with stamps??!

In this layout titled “H is for Hanna” I chose to focus on my title using the “Vintage Pop Alpha” letter stamps, the “Doodle Circle” stamp, and the “Cubicle” alphabet stickers. 

My favorite stamp set is by far the ‘vintage pop alpha’ so I really wanted to make that a point!  I stamped each letter and when I got to the ‘h’ I first stamped a circle, then stamped the ‘h’ inside of it.  I then continued down the span of the page until I ran out room. 

I wanted to highlight the ‘h’ since it was part of my main title.  I pulled the dust of my  pencils and colored the little blocks in the circle stamp as well at the ‘h’, pulling all the colors from my layout.  It really added a fun look and also gave the circle stamp more depth. 

 Since part of my title is already bold with all the stamping, I decided to tone it down for the remainder ‘is for Hanna’.  The graph print on the alphabet stickers was perfect to tie in with my school theme.

For me, interesting titles always make me look twice at a layout.  So the next time you sit down to do a layout, try something new.  Have fun mixing stamps and alpha stickers.  There are so many creative ways to make a statement!!!

Tina =)

Hey Scrappers! Mara-May here with Wednesday Words.

 I’m not a big journaler so this assignment got me thinking. This week I decided to focus on the angle of words that we put on our scrapbooking pages. Kinda tried stepping out of my comfort zone this time. My titles are almost ALWAYS horizontal so this week I wanted to do something different and put my “words” vertical. I know this isn’t a new technique, but it is a very fun one. I love the look it gave my page. And you can be sure to see more titles like this on my pages in the near future. )

Remember it doesn’t have to stop at vertical titles. You can even do your journaling vertical too! I hope some of you will be inspired to try this or maybe you’re the opposite of me and always do your “words” vertically, whatever the case may be, please do link us up to your creations so we too, can be inspired! )

Thanks for stopping in at our Pink blog, be sure you come back Friday for a new post from Linda Albrecht, she’s always creating something delicious for us here at Pink Paislee!

~Mara-May*

I wanted to talk about a hot trend today.  A HOT trend.  I’m seeing it more and more in layouts and projects than I ever used to.  I’m talking about stitching. 

I’ve been stitching on my paper crafts for a long time.  A long time.  Since the dark ages I’ve used a sewing machine or a big needle and some floss.  And I’ve gone through a lot of trials and tribulations.  Yes, that first time I used a sewing machine, I back stitched.  Yes I did.  I wanted to make sure the thread woudn’t come out, you know?  I’ve since learned a few tricks of the trade.  First…  DON’T….  back stitch, unless you like the look.  Instead, just sew in a straight line, trim off your ends a little long, turn over your project, and pull the last stitch through.  Then tie it in a knot and trim.  Your thread won’t unravel this way!  Brilliant!  Second….  make sure you are spacing your stitches far enough apart.  I admit that on my first project, or two, my stitches were too close together, and made a bit of a perforation instead of the stitched look I was looking for.  :sigh:

Don’t be afraid of your sewing machine.  Straight stitch, zig zag stitch, use different colors….  stitching adds such a fun element of homespun and design to your projects.  Not a project goes out my door without a hole poked in it somewhere.

Another form of stitching that I just adore is hand stitching.  That’s what I chose to use on the following layout.  Anymore my layouts feel quite nekkid without some form of hand stitching, be it in the button or on the page. 

For this layout I chose the color blue.  At first I was going to go with a pink, but I just liked the pop that the blue color gave to the page.  It also brought the bits of blue that are in the paper and die cuts. 

I use stitching a lot as a border to my projects.  I also often create shapes with it, which is part of that hot trend I’m talking about.  Shaped stitching is everywhere right now! 

I’m going to try and give you a quick tutorial on how to do hand stitching like I did above.  You can then transfer it to your layouts in a straight line, or even a fun shape.

First I must say that I don’t use any sort of marking tool whatsoever, but that’s just me.  It doesn’t bother me if my lines aren’t perfectly straight, and I like the look of uneven stitches.  I basically plan where I want my stitching to be, and then I take my needle, and poke all the holes. 

Normally I use all 6 strands of DMC floss.  But if I were to do an intricate shape, I would use less floss and a thin needle so that I could make tight corners and not tear the paper.

For the purposes of this tutorial and the above design, I’m just going to tell you how to stitch it straight.  6 strands of floss.  Needle.  Poked holes.  Now….  let’s picture your first 3 holes and label them A, B, and C.  What I do is come UP through you first hole, A.  Then I go DOWN the second hole, B.  At this point you will have a little stitch on top.  Then I come UP C and go BACK DOWN hole B again.  This is how I put two stitches right next to each other.  You then do the steps all over again.  Now I am SURE there are probably other ways to do this…  other ways that might not use as much floss.  But this is what works for me when I don’t want a little space between my stitches.

So if you haven’t done so before, I challenge you to use some stitching on your layouts.  Try hand stitching.  Try a shape.  Post here with a link to your creation at the Live Pink site.  I’d love to be inspired by what you come up with!

So that’s my hot trend for this Thursday!  Now go back and read through this long post again, but this time, do it with a nasaly voice.  I’ve had a head cold for almost two weeks, and I STILL don’t have my voice back. 

Davinie :)