Right Side Up: January 2014

Monday, January 27, 2014

Pocket Pages Challenge

Today's Monday Challenge at October Afternoon is all about using pocket pages in unusual ways. I cut a pocket page apart and used a piece with six 2" x 2" squares to make a fun card, using, amongst other products,...wait for it...stamps (yes, I, Vivian Masket, said "stamps") from the generic Daily Flash collection:

Here's a closer look that lets you see the pocket page a bit more clearly:

I stamped the glasses and mustaches/lips on cream colored cardstock and then laid chipboard frames over the cardstock, trimming the cardstock to fit. The three speech bubbles come from the Daily Flash Flash Blurb packs, one each from the Apple Cider, Eggnog, and Milk Money collections. After I had finished the stamping/framing, I slid each component into a pocket and glued it in place. I attached the pocket page to the background patterned paper using white staples and then adhered the whole thing to a 5" x 7" card base made from white cardstock.

Here are the two stamp sets I used:

I love that, in addition the the mini collections that are part of the Daily Flash line, there are generic products that coordinate across lines. I used another one of those fun products here, the Frame Up chipboard set:

Please be sure to check out the October Afternoon blog post today, as you must see Roree Rumph's project for this challenge - my jaw literally dropped when I opened my inbox and saw what she'd created!

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Making Room for the New Stuff

I'm figuring it won't be long now before stores are inundated with new products after the recent CHA trade show. What does that mean? Time to dig into my stash and use some of it up so that's there's room for the new stuff, especially everything on my wish list! :) I have been digging into recent, older, and ancient products lately, and here are some of the fun things I've created. More to come in another post soon...

The Source
Super simple, but I love how those forks worked out! I die cut them from the background cardstock after printing my journaling and then backed them with Lily Bee Design patterned papers. I love the motion that the herringbone and chevron patterns add to the direction of the forks.

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics | Patterned Paper: Lily Bee Design | Twine: May Arts | Die Cutting Machine: Silhouette

Live Colorfully, with Monsters
I started this layout with the Simple Stories Sn@p cards, the photos, and the die-cut title block, and then inspiration struck! I decided to pull the gems off the center of the Pebbles paper flowers and replace them with googly eyes to match my daughter's pom pom monsters. Then, of course, I had to replace the center of the "o" with a googly eye as well. Some Bella Blvd and Pebbles washi tapes balanced the colors and I was done.

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics | 3" X 4" Cards: Simple Stories | Paper Flowers: Pebbles | Washi Tape: Bella Blvd, Pebbles | Die Cutting Machine: Silhouette | Googly Eyes: Sadie's Art Project Stash :)

Grocery List Bomb
I thought this was a very clever title until no one in my family got it. :P My daughter snuck some items (fancy cheese, of course!) and a picture onto my grocery list and I was thinking that this was a "grocery list bomb" kind of like a "photo bomb." Anyway...this was a good opportunity to use some fun Jillibean Soup grocery cart patterned paper and some Kelly Purkey badges along with a few other things.

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics | Patterned Paper: Jillibean Soup, Pink Paislee, Studio Calico | Twine: May Arts | Stickers: Simple Stories, Kelly Purkey | Badges: Kelly Purkey | Chipboard Letters: Studio Calico | Paper Bag: Whisker Graphics | Punches: The Paper Studio, Stampin' Up | Grocery List Art: Sadie Masket

Home Sweet Home
Gotta throw a card into the mix, too! I had fun with this one, creating a cut file in Silhouette Studio, pulling out the sewing machine for the first time in a while, and cutting those cute little Lily Bee Design houses so the doors swing open and pop dotting them (along with some hearts) for a bit of dimension.

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics | Patterned Paper: Lily Bee Design | Die Cutting Machine: Silhouette

What are you using up to make room for the new stuff? What new stuff are you eagerly anticipating? Do tell!

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Layout: Deconstructed (Global Halloween)

Introducing a new feature here at Right Side Up - Layout: Deconstructed. Let's start this off with a layout I made recently, "Global Halloween," and three tips that can be taken away by deconstructing the layout.

Tip #1: Use Repetition
Repetition in design can help to reinforce the theme or mood of your layout. Here I used four map-based products to support the global theme: 1) the large Webster's Pages patterned paper map in the center of the layout, 2) the Chic Tags map journaling card at the top, the Chic Tags globe tag in the bottom right-hand corner, and 4) the Ormolu fabric map tag to the right of the vampire's head.

Tip #2: Find and use your go-to fonts
For me, these are Pacifico and Dock 11 for use on the Silhouette, and AL Uncle Charles and Typenoksidi for journaling. Here I used ye olde Pacifico and Dock 11 combo for the title and AL Uncle Charles for the journaling. Why do I like these fonts? They are combinations of hard (Dock 11, Typenoksidi) and soft (Pacifico, AL Uncle Charles), and rough (AL Uncle Charles, Typenoksidi) and smooth (Pacifico, Dock 11). Combining them in different ways creates different looks and I have yet to find a layout that doesn't work with one, two, three, or all four of these fonts. You can look at this choice one of two ways: "she always does the same thing," or, as I prefer, "that's her signature look." Maybe you like the same fonts I do, maybe you use other fonts. Whatever you like, use it. By knowing your go-to fonts you can free up time to focus on other design elements. If you haven't yet built a font library, my favorite site for free fonts is dafont.com.

Tip #3: Cutesy can work if done in moderation
I can't use a whole sheet full of cutesy embellishments, but take one super-cute embellishment (here, the little vampire), mix it in with non-cutesy products, and suddenly it's a touch of humor for the eye amidst a sea of more serious stuff. Better yet when it coordinates well with your theme and photos - this little vampire could almost join the crew on the UNICEF box!

Sure, there are lots more tips to be taken from this layout but hopefully one or more of the three I chose will get you thinking about trying something new on your next layout!

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

CHA Armchair Attendee Week, Day #4

If you're just joining me today, be sure to go back and read my other three CHA Armchair Attendee Week posts:

Today, the fourth and final day, is wish list day. Or, in other words, the day I envision my very large credit card bill, lol!

I'm going to limit myself this time around and share two top five lists: a collection list and an embellishment list. Rather than prioritizing within each category, I will list alphabetically by manufacturer.

Collections

Jillibean Soup Spicy Social Soup
I love the bright colors, fun and trendy icons, and mix of trendy and basic patterns.

Check out the collection in the Jilllibean Soup booth at CHA in this video from scrapbook.com:

KI Memories Playlist
Those of you who have known me from the beginning of my life in papercrafting know that KI Memories was my first love. All of those bright colors and basic patterns mixed with fun designs appealed to me. I was so sad when KI Memories disappeared from the scene and then reappeared, but in a small way. I am hoping that this new collection means they are back and back with a vengeance! I love the more muted tone-on-tone patterns mixed with the bright colors and with the music-themed patterns.

Here's another video from scrapbook.com showing the entire Playlist collection in the Hampton Arts booth at CHA:

Lily Bee Bare Necessities
I shared all nine papers in my trends post on Day #1 and am sharing them all again. That's how much I love this line. :) Eagerly awaiting images of any and all accompanying embellishments! :)

My Mind's Eye Record It! Splendid
Beautiful color palette, great basic patterns.

Webster's Pages Adrienne Looman Our Travels
The colors in this line are fabulous!

And...another scrapbook.com video showing this line in the Webster's Pages booth:

Embellishments

Basic Grey Spice Market Metal Shapes
So outside my usual box, but so beautiful!

Chic Tags Cloud 9 Wood Veneer Sequins
I blogged about these earlier this week. So very clever!

My Mind's Eye Record It! Just Splendid Wood Dots
I need multiples of these. Love. Love. Love. The individual product image doesn't do them justice, so look at them in the collage image below it. (And yes, I included this line in my top five collections, but this product is just so unique that I had to call it out separately!)

Simple Stories DIY Design It Yourself Icon Stickers
Something for every project...in every color.

Studio Calico Essentials Chipboard Geotags
Fun and colorful. Plus, we travel a lot. I am also mulling over some other creative uses for these. And yes, I will be buying them in every color.

What's on your list?

Monday, January 13, 2014

CHA Armchair Attendee Week, Day #3

Today I am an imaginary kit club owner. While I have never subscribed to a kit club, all my friends in the industry tell me I should start one. Maybe someday....For now, however, I will pretend.

The Kit

Without further ado, here is my kit! I've created a composite image and have also included each separate product image below (alphabetically, by manufacturer). I included patterned papers and embellishments; you can imagine coordinating cardstock. ;) The title of this kit is "Itinerary."