Write. Click. Scrapbook.

Stamping for Project Life

Hello and welcome to the last day of stamping! Today will be all about stamping for Project Life. Stamps are a fun way to add a little extra embellishment to your Project Life pages. My pages are fairly simple, but I do like to add stamped images here and there.

 

This year I'm using the Clementine kit. I usually use the cards that came in the kit or sometimes the cards with the grid design, and I add a few stamped images as I'm putting together a layout like I did in these examples:

Becky Higgins has recently introduced more options for the 3x4 and 4x6 cards. They are still available in the grid pattern, but they are also available in solid white and textured cardstock in colors to match each kit.

So I decided to use all three - white, grid and colors to create some journaling cards to use in my future Project Life layouts (or maybe even some regular layouts). Some of the cards will eventually be the background for an instagram photo and others will be for journaling.

 

These were a lot of fun to make and I love how they turned out... I will definitely be making more! Can't wait to use them in my next Project Life layout!

That's it for our week of stamping. I hope you're inspired to use those stamps you've been collecting! If you're interested in the stamps I've used this week, I've included links to them on my blog here.

and the giveaway goes to...

Please join me in thanking Simon Says Stamp for sponsoring our giveaway this week!! Lauren, please email us at writeclickscrapbook at gmail dot com to claim your number! Don't forget to include your mailing address. 

Deb will be up shortly with one last day of stamping perfection!

give.away.day. featuring SIMON SAYS STAMP!

It's give.away.day. and we figured there was no better way to celebrate our week of stamping than with some stamps!!

We are excited to have Simon Says Stamp! as our sponsor today. They have a huge selection of stamps, inks and other paper crafting products. Including some exclusive Kelly Purkey stamps. Would you like one? How about two?? For our giveaway today one lucky person will receive the Kelly Purkey Rad Stamp set, and the Autumn Stamp set.

These stamps are so versatile and work great for layouts. Look how masterfully Deb used both sets on her layout.

If you would like to be considered for this giveaway, please leave us a comment telling us something you love about stamping, or something you would like to learn. Comments will remain open through this evening. One lucky number will be selected at random and posted tomorrow. Don't forget to check back as it is your responsibility to claim your lucky number by midnight Saturday!

Stamping Word Art and Titles

Hi there! Are you excited about stamping yet? I know I am! I love what stamping adds to a layout and you will find at least a bit of stamping on almost all of my layouts. Today is day three of our week on stamping and I'll be sharing layouts with stamped titles and other words or phrases used as accents on the page.

 

First, I used alpha stamps to create the titles on these layouts. It's fun to combine the stamped words with letter stickers!

 

I stamped the name "Charlie" on this layout.

 

I stamped the word "first" and then cut out each letter on this layout. (It didn't take long!)

 

And here's one more with the stamped word 'enthusiastic" which is a very appropriate description of our dog, Maisy, I might add. I prefer to stamp each letter individually because the letters seem too far apart when I try adding them to the acrylic block all at once. I just try to get them in the right place. It's okay with me if they aren't perfectly straight; they are hand stamped after all.

 

The "enjoy the ride" stamp was the inspiration for this layout and I used it for my title.

 

And now, here are some layouts with words or phrases as accents. I use this type of stamp a lot. I love that I can convey a feeling or emotion in a subtle way.

 

Some words are stamped directly on the page, like "beautiful" and others that are designed with shapes like the "look at this" stamp look nice cut out and adhered with dimensional adhesive.

 

 

 

Stamping Graphic Elements

It's Deb again with day two of our week on stamping. Today I'm going to share about adding embellishments to your layouts with stamped graphic images. There are so many options available - chevrons, hearts, cameras, flowers, banners and I could go on and on with all kinds of fun possibilities!

 

You can either stamp the image directly on your layout like I did on these layouts:

 

 

 

Or you can stamp the image on smooth cardstock and then cut it out. I like the added dimension and it's nice that you can move it around before you decide exactly where it will go on the page. Here are more layouts that include images that were cut out, also called "fussy cutting", along with images stamped directly on the page.

 

I cut out the speech bubble, the triangles and the "memo" tag on this one.

 

I stamped the two leaves with the same color ink. The darker leaf was stamped normally and then without reinking the stamp (a process called stamping off), I stamped again for a lighter color.

 

I cut out the stamped image of the map of the United States for this layout about visiting a new state.

 

I stamped this strip of triangles on textured cardstock and then cut them out individually. I like how the texture of the cardstock created a sort of canvas look. Also, the car and the camera are stamped.

 

You'll find a lot of stamped arrows on my layouts. They pretty much go with anything and they are great for directling the eye. I think the yellow arrows look especially cute cut out with a narrow white border.

 

That's it for today! Come back tomorrow for more examples of stamping. I'll be sharing stamped word art and titles stamped with alpha stamps.

 

Stamping on Layouts

Hello everyone! This is Deb and I'll be hosting the blog all this week. We'll be focusing on my favorite part of scrapbooking - the stamping! It's easy and fun and adds a bit of charm to any layout. I like to keep it simple and I don't worry if my stamped images aren't perfect.

 

I have lots of layouts to share this week, but first lets get started with the basics just in case there are some newbies that want to give stamping a try.

 

There are three main types of stamps and they are all available in many designs that nicely compliment scrapbook layouts.

 

Rubber cling and clear stamps require the use of acrylic blocks. I prefer the clear stamps because it helps to be able to see where I'm stamping and they are easy to store. I haven't had any trouble with my clear stamps, but if you happen to have one that doesn't take on the ink evenly, try using an eraser to rough them up. You can also stamp with Versamark ink before using them. This primes them and helps them to hold the ink better.

 

There are a lot of different types of ink, but these are the main types and the ones I use the most.

 

Any of these inks work fine on paper. For stamping on slick surfaces like a photo, vellum, or transparency, Stazon works great. I only use it when I have to because of the extra cleaning required. Most of these inks will stain your clear stamps, but it doesn't affect their performance. And except for the Stazon ink, the stamps will clean up easily with a little water.

 

I will be sharing a lot of examples of different types of stamps on layouts this week. The type of stamps I find the most useful are the smaller ones, either graphic or words/phrases that can be used as accents around my photos or elsewhere on the layout. I'll share layouts with smaller stamps on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday will be an awesome giveaway and Friday will be all about stamping for Project Life! I blogged my most recent Project Life layout here if you want a bit of a preview.

 

But today, here are some layouts that include background stamps. The larger stamps are a nice way to ground your photo. I stamped a chevron pattern background stamp directly on the page in the first example. The second one includes a background stamp of polka dots. And the last example includes a starburst background stamp that I stamped on cardstock, cut out and added to my page for added dimension.

 

 

I hope you'll come back tomorrow! I'll be sharing more layouts embellished with graphic stamps (like cameras, arrows, chevrons, etc). There are so many possibilities!

Sunday Photo + Words

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A few weeks ago, an old friend of mine came to visit. She moved to North Carolina ten years ago; we’ve kept in touch by email and Facebook and random texts at odd times. When she walked into my office and saw my shelves full of scrapbooks, she said, "Wow. That is a lot of scrapbook layouts."

She wasn’t making fun of me—she’s a scrapbooker, too—but her observation made me stop and think of the sheer numbers of layouts we have the chance to create. Every single one is a chance to use lovely supplies and to make something visually appealing. But each layout is also an opportunity to say something significant.

Every time we write journaling, we probably write about what happened: we went, we saw, we did. And that is good, of course. What happened is important. But what we feel about what happened—sometimes that is the crux.

Of course, some layouts only really need the "what happened" kind of details. But sometimes you want to dig in a little bit more, and that’s what we’re looking at today: journaling that goes deeper than the surface details.

Quantity isn’t the issue here. You can write something significant that’s short. It’s the real, memorable bit of something that you’re trying to get at. Here’s an example.

Consider this journaling:  Today at Grandma’s start-of-summer party, we had an impromptu photo shoot. All the grandkids were there, so it was fun to get everyone in the picture, even if there were a few goofy faces.

Absolutely nothing wrong with that—it gets the who, what, when, and some of the why. But if you look beyond the surface (remember: not what happened, but what you feel about what happened) you might write something like this:

Looking through the lens at 18 grandkids and 2 grandparents, I couldn't help but really see: the similarities, the differences, the gentle happiness on Grandma and Grandpa’s faces. You might not always get along or see things in the same way, but you are all from the same tribe, and having all these people in your life with the same history? Well, it is a hedge against loneliness.

Writing this kind of journaling sometimes just happens. (Don’t you love those moments?) But sometimes you have to push yourself a little bit. When you want to dig deeper, you have to think about the topic from a different angle or ask yourself different questions. Here are some ideas that will help you shape those deeper thoughts:

• What does this event or experience illustrate about your family, traditions, perspectives, or general way of living?
• How did the experience change you? Did you learn something about the subject, realize a truth about yourself, or see something in a different way?
• Can you draw connections between this current moment and something in the past, or between this person and someone else, between a place and a memory, an activity and a personality?
• What about the experience did you love, or want to always remember? Or, from the opposite perspective, how do you wish it had been different, or what was difficult?
• What inspired you to take this specific photo? Or what sort of picture do you wish you had about this subject?
• What did the event or experience cause you to hope, feel, or remember?
• Is there a color, scent, or flavor of which the experience or event is particularly evocative?
• How does some characteristic of the subject—age, knowledge, skill, history, habits—change the way he or she experienced the event?
• Why is this event or experience important?

With those ideas in mind, here are three journaling challenges to try some time this month:

1.   Write about a sport, but not from the perspective of an individual game.
Celeste focuses on the little details that make up the season:

and here, I focused on what I hope my son learns from basketball:

2.   Write about a day you loved.
Alexandra wrote this journaling about the day her first baby was born, and I think she captures exactly what that moment feels like:

Celeste journaled about a specific day on a trip, one that didn't go as expected but still held some great moments:

In my layout, I tried to explain why I loved this particular wintery day:

3.   Write about a connection between a recent experience and one from your childhood or adolescence.
I bump into this kind of connection quite often now that I have teenagers. Here's one that's a little bit raw, but honest, too:

Make sure to share your layouts with us!

Christine Newman

My name is Christine Newman. I've always loved writing and paper-crafting, ever since I was a little girl. I also love to make lists, which is how I came to be known as "listgirl", and why my website is listgirl.com. I started out as a digital scrapbooker in 2006. In 2011 I felt the paper siren calling and started making paper pages and mini albums. I love scrapbooking and storytelling in all forms, whether it's through my blog, photo books, digital pages, paper pages, or hybrid pages. I love scrapbooking because looking back on my memories with the people I love make me so happy and thankful! It’s also such a great artistic outlet for me, combining my favorite hobbies of photography, scrapbooking, computers, internet, and writing. I've been on various digital creative teams over the years. I'm currently on the creative teams for The Lilypad and One Little Bird. I've been published in Creating Keepsakes Digital Scrapbooking Magazine (now defunct). I've written articles for Digital Artist Magazine and My Scrapbook Art magazine. I've also been on The Digi Show podcast several times, discussing various digital scrapbooking related topics. This year I am honored to contribute to a book called "Everyday Storyteller", a beautiful and fantastic scrapbooking/ storytelling idea book. My husband and I have a cat named Noodle. We live in sunny San Diego, where we enjoy outdoor activities year-round. I love to run and be active, which is a good thing because I love to eat as well! :)

Scrapbooking From The Heart

Scrapbooking speaks to my heart in many different ways. It speaks to my artistic/experimental heart. It speaks to my storytelling heart. It also speaks to my documenting heart. It's no wonder that I've been enjoying this form of expression for so many years. It brings my heart joy in the process, and I love the end result of having a snippet of life documented.

As I mentioned in my bio, I started out as a digital scrapbooker and then found paper scrapbooking. I love this page because it was the very first "hybrid" page that I've ever done. All the papers and elements on the page were printed and cut with my Silhouette machine, using a digital scrapbooking kit called "For The Record" by One Little Bird and Paislee Press.

I loved experimenting with hybrid techniques. After I used the Silhouette to cut out my digital elements, I added stitching and dimensional embellishments, such as wood veneers and baker's twine. This page spoke to my experimental heart. It's okay to just play with new ways of scrapbooking, and not be confined to certain ways and techniques that we're used to.

I made this "Love You" mini album for my husband Todd as an anniversary gift last year. It tells the different reasons why I love him. I did this project in secret for weeks, without him knowing. I would sneak time here and there in my craft studio when he wasn't around. Then when he came home I would shove everything into a drawer.

I typed out journaling and printed it out onto white cardstock. Then I cut them up into strips to adhere to each page. I found this method improved the flow of ideas for me. The many different reasons why I love my husband flowed line after line in my word-processing document.

I also thew in a few pages of handwritten journaling. I'm totally ok with mixing it up!

This project spoke to my storytelling heart. Within these pages, my husband can see the evolution of our relationship. How some things have changed, but many things have stayed the same. I love him for so many different reasons, and one of them is certainly appreciating this book that I gave him as a gift! He takes it out to look at it from time to time, and it speaks volumes to my tender heart.

 

In 2011 I started documenting everyday life with Becky Higgins' Project Life system. I loved this kind of daily life documentation and everyday storytelling. However, it was very difficult to "keep up" with it. I know we're not supposed to worry about keeping up, and just do the best we can. But scrapbooking Project Life in a weekly manner was stressful to me and taking a lot of my creative time each week. So I decided to make Month In Review pages to add to my Project Life album. It really made me stress less about getting weekly pages done!

I print out a photo collage with my favorite photos of that month. I do some journaling in Photoshop, using an Ali Edwards month brush as the title, and print it out onto white cardstock. Then I cut up my photo collage and adhere it to the front and back of the cardstock. Then I put it into a page protector and add it into my Project Life album.

I love how much I'm able to remember from each month, just looking at the one page of photos and journaling! This really speaks to my documenting heart.

 

Thank you so much for letting me share my scrapbooking heart with you! You can find me blogging at www.listgirl.com. Please come visit anytime!

Janice Daquila-Pardo

Hi there! I am Janice Daquila-Pardo, or The Constant Scrapper in the blogging world. I have lived in hip, happening Austin, Texas, since 2001. My husband, Matt, and I are celebrating our 15th anniversary this month, and I’m quite aware of how lucky I am to have landed the husband/bestie combo deal. We work together in our IT business, volunteer in animal rescue (one of the layouts I’m sharing today is about this) and at our church, and encourage each other in our hobbies/obsessions (Matt’s is obstacle racing, also the topic of a number of my layouts). I started playing with scrapbook supplies in 2004, but I have become an earnest scrapbook artist in the last four years. My style continues to evolve, but what I know about my designs is that:
• I like to scrap vintage photos just as much as current-day images.
• The story’s the thing. If there isn’t a story to tell, there isn’t much point in making the page.
• I love patterned paper (too much).
• On most of my pages I use files cut on my Silhouette (I use purchased cut files as well as design my own).
• I am a scrapbook sketch addict. They provide a wonderful way of organizing my thoughts for the page I want to create and allow me to focus on photo and product choices. I love to use others’ sketches as well as design my own.

There are just two things that I always use on my scrapbook layouts, no matter what the photos and stories are: 1) a sketch and 2) patterned paper. Beyond the photos and stories, they are what inspire me. Sketches help me “see” the possibilities in my supplies, and patterned paper is just…so…yummy.

The Lord God Made Them All

This is one of those layouts that took a little extra work to create, but it was so fun and worth it! I love the result because the story shines through the somewhat intricate design, the patterns are bold and beautiful together and the folding technique I used really catches the eye. My layout is based on a sketch I designed, and while crafting the page I also created a tutorial so that it would be easy for others to do. You can find both the sketch and the tutorial on my blog. I hope you try it!

materials patterned papers (BasicGrey, Lily Bee)

Did We Ever Love That Swing

This layout includes a lot of what I love about scrapbooking: telling a story about an important moment or event, marrying new products with old photos and then adding a few special details to keep the eye moving and enhance the overall meaning. This page features a darling photo of my brother and me on the swing in our back yard in 1971, and I used a great sketch from the PageMaps blog.

materials patterned papers (My Mind's Eye) + stamps (Hero Arts) + stickers (Basic Grey, Lily Bee, My Mind's Eye) + markers (Copic)

Would You Like Fries With That?

This page features a photo from my past that’s meaningful to me and also employs key elements that repeat often in my designs: vibrantly colored patterned papers, a title I designed and cut with my Silhouette, punch work, and my own handwriting. The sketch I used is from the Creative Scrappers blog.

materials patterned papers (Simple Stories)

 That’s me and my brother in 1987, dressed in our restaurant uniforms and heading to our summer jobs (Bob Evans and Burger King!). I just love that my mom snapped pictures like this of moments that at the time seemed unremarkable but now make me laugh at the memories.

 

Thank you so much for letting me hang with you today. This site and its community really inspire me in my scrapbooking —a hobby I love more each day for the storytelling, creativity and good people that it brings to my life.