A technique using Technique Tuesday!

There comes a time in every scrapbooker's life where she realizes...she actually doesn't have it all. You know, you're looking for that perfect embellishment, the final doo-dad, the background paper to beat all background papers...and it's simply not there. We might spend a moment cursing our stash, or perhaps the manufacturers for not making something so "obviously" needed, but our time would probably be better spent making what we need! After all, we're crafty, right? Craft it then! For today's project, I did just that. I stamped my own patterned paper. First, a look at the completed layout:

This was a page I did showing two of the cutest people I know (tee-hee!) all dressed up for their friends' son's wedding. I had the perfect shade of turquoise blue cardstock, (Bazzill's Yosemite for those of you wondering...) but all my patterned papers were too busy, too yellowy, too colorful, or just plain wrong! I decided to take out my all-time favorite Technique Tuesday stamp set, Fanfare, and stamp my own patterned paper!

I had four strips, (approx 2x8) that I wanted to make up the background. I used Quick Quotes' Blue Hawaiian ink, which also matched perfectly, and stamped each strip using a different fanfare swirl.

When they were all laid out side by side, they looked fluid, as though they were meant to go together! I thought it was a great way to add a little pattern and a touch of color.

The extra-nice thing about Technique Tuesday's stamps is that they are very well made, and therefore ridiculously easy to get a great stamped image. You'll notice no smudges, shadows, background blotches, or missed images. It's not because I'm a professional grade stamper, it's just that the stamps are that good. If you look at your clear (or rubber) stamps, you can quickly tell if it's quality or not. If the stamp is cut deeply, you have less of a chance of accidentally inking the area around the image you wish to stamp. If the image is cut close to the edge, you are also less likely to get ink where you don't want it.

So, the next time you are lamenting that you don't have what you need, take a look at your stamp collection and see if there isn't something that they could do for you! Don't be afraid to mix stamping with scrapbooking. They make the perfect pair.

Quick Quotes Private Reserve

In October of last year, my friend Laura and I embarked on a CRAZY road trip to Dallas, TX for a Quick Quotes Private Reserve weekend. Quick Quotes is one of 11 scrapbook companies I rep, and I was so excited to attend this event. The Private Reserve weekend is jam packed with classes. I think we took 7 classes in 3 days, AND we had time for cropping in the evenings.

The first class I'm posting is a two page layout class with a tropical escape theme. (I chose this one first as it made me think of warmer places right now...)

Page 1: We used laser cut chipboard for the "escape" title, and stamped it with any stamp we wanted, using Quick Quote's Blue Hawaiian inks. (I LOVE their inks. They are chalk inks, designed to dry quickly and add a bit of distressing or color. They also happen to perfectly match their papers!) I added Stickles to the stamped image to give it a little sparkle. The paper line is called Summertime Blues. With a little sanding along the edge of the photo mat, I exposed the white core of the paper. I thought it gave it a nice pop!

Page 2: This also used a laser cut chipboard for the compass rose. The phrases are cut from a 12x12 sheet of paper with several quotes that are appropriate for all areas of life, not just tropical destinations! My other favorite part of this layout is the giant flowers with the giant brads in the middle. Supersize me!

There's the whole layout together! Isn't it cute?

But wait, there's MORE! With the scraps left over from the layout, we were able to put together this adorable mini-album. The album itself is made from 4x6 pieces of canvas. We punched the holes using a Crop-o-Dile, and it went through like butter.