AWDML Design Team Blog

Friday Inspiration...

Hey there everyone, Stacy here.  TGIF!!!  Today's inspirations is coming from the October 2 challenge Lucky 7.  On my layout I used the fun Teresa Collins Celebrate line for a birthday layout.   The fun fabulous star paper was super easy to do this challenge with.  I simply cut out 7 stars and popped them up on the layout around the little banner on the upper right.

 
This paper line is so fun to work with.  I love the was the banner paper makes the flower look in the upper left.  Add some funky fun doodling around the layout, and the elements sheet works perfect for title work.

Supplies on the project are Craft cardstock, Teresa Collins Celebrate line, American Crafts thickers & foam pop dots.

Grab your Teresa Collins goodies today and scrap your celebration.

Until next time, have a wonderful day.

~~Stacy~~

Thursday's Tip - Transparencies!

 
Hey everyone - Kim here!  October has been all about using transparencies in our art.  For years, I was totally intimidated by them and had no idea how to make them work.  It wasn't until a friend told me to treat them no different than a regular piece of paper, that I finally overcame my fear.  Now, when I see a fun transparency, I just start cutting it up like I would any other piece of paper. 

My tip for you today:

Cut & Layer your transparencies just like you would any other product! 

The only thing to overcome when working with them is the adhesive question.  But, I solve that my using staples.  In fact, I love to make my staples just another design element on my page.  For my example you can see that I cut my transparencies into strips and used them as border pieces.  In addition, I used some 4 x 6 photo transparencies as layering elements UNDER my photos instead of on top.  Colored staples provide a duel purpose!

Make sure you think outside the box when working with them --- and use them in smaller pieces to make them easier to work with!

 
Hambly is my favorite source of transparencies and these Mod circles are so universal:

My Mind's Eye is known for it's over the picture transparencies - perfect for layering and adding frames to all kinds of page elements.

Other Supplies used on my page sample:

Basic Grey Olivia - http://www.awalkdownmemorylane.net/store/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=Olivia

A Quick Card in 4 Steps!

Hey guys, it's Erica!  :)

I've got a great little card for you that would be perfect for a man's birthday.  Well, I hope it is because it's destined for my step-dad!  :) 

First up, create a card base using a moss green cardstock.  It should measure 4 1/4" wide by 5 1/2" tall and the crease should be at the top of the card.  Then, cut a piece of light colored wood grained patterned paper to 3 1/2" by 4 1/4" and adhere it near the top of the card.
 

Next, grab some Studio Calico Fabrips and tear a 4 1/4" piece of the dark wood grained FabRip and adhere it over top.  (My step-dad is in the timber industry so all the wood grain trend going on is just perfect for him!)

That's it for the card base now we'll put the sentiment together.  I chose another wood grain item (the large label sticker from Studio Calico) and used Studio Calico and Cosmo Cricket letter stickers to spell out Happy Birthday. 

 

Then I used foam adhesive and centered it on the patterned paper and it's done! 

 

Products used~Cardstock-Bazzill, Patterned Paper-Studio Calico, Letter Stickers-Studio Calico & Cosmo Cricket, Sticker-Studio Calico

I hope you enjoyed this quick little card and remember, all the Studio Calico products used to make this card are 25% off this month!

Made You Look Monday: Core'dinations Core Impressions Cardstock

Have you seen the Core Impressions Cardstock from Core'dinations?  Core'dinations has teamed up with manufacturers such as Jenni Bowlin, Cosmo Cricket and Jillibean Soup to create collections of embossed 12X12 Cardstock based on the color palletes of the manufacturers!

 
Each paper pack comes with 20 pieces of 12X12 Cardstock- 4 embossed patterns in each of 5 colors!  All you have to do is sand the paper to reveal the color of the paper core!  So fun! 

Check out each of the 5 different Core'dinations Core Impressions packs that are in stock at the AWDML Store!

Have fun!

~Nicole~

Friday Inspiration

Hi, everyone!

We have a fabulous new feature on our message board: Daily Challenges and Sketches!!  Come check them out and see what you can win!  I chose to take on one of Kim's color challenges from earlier in the month.  It's a wonderful fall color scheme:

To me, this color pallette just screamed for me to use my new Apple Cider papers from Imaginisce!  I put these fun papers together with a PageMaps sketch, and I LOVE the layout that I created to remember our trip to the apple orchard this fall.  I even used an overlay!

 
 
I totally loved cutting out the apples from one of the pieces of Apple Cider paper, and the pleating was oh, so easy!  If you haven't been over to check out the message board lately, I invite you to come on over and play with us!  We are having a blast!!

Products Used:  American Crafts Cardstock, Imaginisce "Apple Cider" Patterned Paper, Thickers, Hambly Overlay, Maya Road "Create a Forest" Stamp, Martha Stewart Border punch

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

~~Nicole

Technique Thursday: A Transparent Mini

Hey guys, it's Erica!

I've got a fun little album to share with you today that has a few different ways of using transparencies.

I really love see through elements and so started with acrylic covers from Zutter.  I used these pretty Thickers to create the title of my album. 

 

I cut another piece of the first patterned paper and mounted it behind the frame and then covered that with brown cardstock.

 

This gave me a space to put a little more info on my book.  Turns out, 145 is my goal weight!  ;)

 

On the left, I have four food related tips/reminders to keep me motivated and on track.  I cut up a piece of Hambly transparency to use as a page on it's own. 

 

I love the pattern on it and so didn't do anything additional to it.  On the right page, I've got my daily excercise goals.

 

On this left page, I used a transparency as a pocket.  There are 14 strips in this pocket.  Two for each day of the week that have my excercise goals written on them.

The pocket was super easy to make.  With the pattern on the edge, I didn't need to use a specialty adhesive.  I just ran my American Crafts dot runner around the sides and the bottom edge and left the top open.  Easy, peasy!

 

Another full transparency page and tranparency pocket.  This pocket is where I'll put each tag as I accomplish my daily goals. 

 

And, the back cover.  I'm still not sure what to put on the back of this.  I'd like a cool quote or phrase relating to weight loss or motivation.  Any suggestions?  :D 

Products used~Acrylic Covers-Zutter, Binding Machine-Zutter, Coils-Zutter, Paper-We R Memory Keepers & Pink Paislee, Chipboard Numbers-American Crafts, Chipboard Frame-American Crafts, Letter Stickers-Cosmo Cricket & My Little Shoebox, Cardstock-Bazzill, Transparencies-My Mind's Eye & Hambly, Pens-Tombow

So, there's my little transparent mini album and I hope you picked up some useful tips. 

5 Easy Steps to Custom Overlays

Hey there!  Today I am going to show you how to create custom overalys for embellishing your pages and cards in 5 easy steps.

Step 1:

Gather your supplies.  What you will need for this project is: transparency sheet or clear packaging, StazOn ink, and some stamps.  I am using some of the brand new Lost and Found (My Mind's Eye) stamp sets available in the store.

Step 2:

Arrange your stamps on am acrylic block and ink up with StazOn.

Step 3:

Stamp your image.

Step 4: 

Continue stamping on the transparency, if you would like, until the entire page is full.  Tip: Since I already have the supplies out, I often do more than one image to fill up the sheet. This way I can always have some overlays on hand.

Step 5:

Carefully cut around the edge of the image you would like to use.

And there you have it, a sheet of overlays ready for you to use.

Have a super Tuesday! ~ Scarlett

Made You Look Monday

Hey there everyone, Stacy here with made you look Monday.  Who is in the mood for a little Christmas???  Well I know I love to get things made for the holidays.  I have never done a December Daily book....but this year that is what i'm going to do.  How fun to keep track of that festive time of year.

Now there are so many fabulous Christmas collections out there to pick from.  Which one to use???  Lets take a look at some Echo Park Everybody Loves Christmas.  My favorite part of this line is the non-traditional holiday colors.  I simply love the funky colors.  I mean come on....check out these papers.

 
What about these fun sticker sheets to go with the paper.

 
 
Of course you'll need the fabulous little journaling cards to write on.

 

Well now that you are in the mood for Christmas....grab your Echo Park and start scrapping.  Why not do a December daily this year also.  You still have plenty of time to get yours done. 

Here is a peak at my December Daily using the Echo Park Collection.

 
Well until next time everyone...have a fabulous day!

 

~~Stacy~~

 

Woodware USA- Featured Manufacturer

  

Here is what the designers did with the some of the products that are sold at AWDML Store

Thursday's Technique - Using Alcohol Inks

Hey there!  It's Scarlett and I am here to share with you how to use your alcohol inks to create an embellishment.

The supplies you will need for this are: Alcohol Ink, Alcohol Ink Applicator, Alcohol Ink Applicator Felt, StazOn, Tim Holtz fragments, and some stamps of your choice (these can be either clear or rubber, I find it easier to use clear so you can see the placement of your stamp).

Let's get started!

Step 1:

Choose your alcohol ink colors and fragment piece.  Apply the alcohol ink to the fragment piece in a pouncing type motion.  This allows the colors to blend and givesthat cool alcohol ink look.  Once you are satisfied with your results, you can heat set the piece if you would like.

Step 2:

Grab your StazOn ink and the stamp of your choice.  ink up your stamp and apply to the fragment.  You want to be sure to apply the stamped image to the side you did NOT apply the alcohol ink to.  The end effect will be better.

Here is the result:

Step 5:

Add some book print paper to the alcohol inked side using a tiny dab of Diamond Glaze.  I think this gives the piece a bit more visual interest.

Step 6:

Attach the piece to your project.  What? No picture of a finished project you say...well, I hope you receive the bi-monthly newsletter because that is where you will see this pretty little embellishment in action! 

This is such a quick and easy way to use up those fragment pieces and create beautiful one of kind embellishments at the same time.

Happy Scrappin'!

Winner of Graphic 45

Sorry for the delay on announcing the winner for the Graphic 45 winner

Congrats to Kristin Perez

Please send a email to Lucy at [email protected]

so she can get your package mailed to you by Graphic 45

Thanks eveyone for your enteries...they were wonderful!

Tubular TV Crop

 

 
A Walk Down Memory Lane - Totally Tubular TV Crop
Oct 15th to Oct 18th
COme to the FORUM HERE
We will be posting challenges on Friday and games on Saturday and Sunday.
It will be alot of fun and you are going to love what the design team have in store for you
We will be starting on October 15th at 6pm EST (5pm CST, 4pm MST, 3pm PST)
Deadline is 9pm EST on October 18th (8pm CST, 7pm MST, 6pm PST)

We will have RAK's and prizes to give away