The Art of Scrapbooking™ by Melissa Samuels

Tutorial Thursday: Making a tag using Movers & Shapers Dies

Hey Scrappers!  I bet you thought I had forgotten it was Tutorial Thursday.  Well, here I am ready to give a little lesson.   Last week I did a tutorial on using the Vagabond.  I had a few comments asking me to do a tutorial on using the Movers & Shapers dies.  Ask and ye shall receive.  I'm going to show you a super quick and simple tag.  Let's get started, shall we?!

To start you'll need a die cutting machine & 2 acrylic plates (I'm using my Vagabond), a Movers & Shapers Bigz L Tray, Movers & Shapers die (I'm using Mini Butterflies Set), 2 shipping tags, and tape (optional).   Use a tiny piece of tape to tape your tags together to hold them in place.  Once you cut your shape out of the tag you're going to pull them apart, so only use a small piece.

Now you're going to make a sammy starting with an acrylic plate/pad, then the Base Tray with  the magnetic Movers & Shapers die inside the tray, position the 2 shipping tags over the die where you would like it to cut out the shape, and finish it off with another acrylic plate.  Run your sammy through your diecutting machine.

Now that I have my shape cut out, I'm going to ink the front and the back of the tags using Distress Stain Broken China.  Using the dabber makes it quick and easy, because you can cover a large area in a short amount of time.  You can also play around with shade.  The one on the left is one coat of stain, the one on the right is two coats of stain.

Roughly cut a piece of transparency slightly larger than the cutout, and about the width of the tag.  Stamp a script image onto the transparency using a permanent ink such as Stazon or Archival Ink.  I left the paper backing on the transparency so you could see it better.

Sandwich the stamped transparency between the two tags to create a window.

I inked the butterfly cutouts with Rusty Hinge Distress Ink, and stamped it with the same word stamp.
I added some super cool Webster's Page trim and a wide eyelet...

Done!  This tag took about 15 minutes from conception to finish.  I hope you will try one!  The Movers & Shapers magnetic dies can be used in the tray like I did today, or mixed and matched with other Movers & Shapers dies with magnetic bottoms, such as the tag die.  And, using the same idea you could sandwich pattern paper or Webster's Pages Netting between your tags.  The possibilities are endless!  Happy diecutting!

UStream Recording-Life's Moments Journal

Hey Guys!!  Thanks so much to everyone who joined me last night on UStream.  I had a blast!  You guys are awesome!  If you missed it, not to worry.  Here's the recording:

 

If you liked the show, and want to purchase a kit here's the link http://www.melissasamuels.net/store/Life%27s%20Moments%20Journal%20Workshop%20UStream%20June%2027th,%208pm%20%28EST%29  Of course, the recording is free and open to everyone!

I don't have any UStream shows presently on the calendar, but I'm expecting to have more soon, so stay tuned...

Tutorial Thursday: Vagabond

Okay, it's Thursday, and you know what that means, tutorial time!!!  I'm so excited to give you a little tutorial on my new toy, a Sizzix Vagabond inspired by Tim Holtz!  This may sound crazy, but after I opened my little box of diecutting joy, I realized I had to figure out how the heck to use it.  Yeah, yeah, you're probably thinking how hard could it be, but without consulting the manual (which by the way was easy to read, but I thought I'd give you the abbreviated version) it was kinda like trying to get into Fort Knox.

Step #1- Opening the bad boy

The machine looks like a suitcase, and to use it you must open it up.  I tried, "Open Sesame!!" but that didn't work.  Just under the handle is a slider that you push to one side and....

VIOLA!!!

Step #2-Finding the freakin' power cord

Call it a stroke of genius, or a game of hide 'n seek, but the power cord is tucked safely away in a little secret compartment at the end of the machine.  Push the little metal slide button thingy down, and it opens to reveal the power cord. 

The cord plugs into the opposite end of the machine.  FYI, this is the US version, and apparently if you try to use it in a European outlet it will almost instantly implode and your head will simultaneously fall off...okay, that was a little dramatic, but you really can't use it in an European outlet or it will destroy it.

Step #3-Make a sammy, and get ready

The machine comes with a nice plateform and 2 acrylic plates/mats.  Follow the directions printed on the platform for determining the correct combination for your particular die.

I'm using the new Tim Holtz Alterations Bigz Tiny Tabs & Tags die.  I'm going to make a sandwich using the 2 acrylic mats, a piece of chipboard, and the die.  The order is: acrylic mat, die cutting side up, chipboard, and acyrlic mat.

Insert your sammy into the machine (that's the "get ready" part).

Step #4-Which way?  And, go!

On the top of the machine, set the arrow to the direction the die is going, and press & hold down the "on" button beside the arrow button.  Then, like magic, it smoothly glides through one side and out the other.

Look at these perfect little chipboard pieces perfect for painting, misting, or inking!!!

I can't wait to play with it more!!  I've got some glitter and foil sheets I'm dying to send through.

If you'd like your own, you can visit  my online store.  I'm having a promo until the end of the month for flat rate $5 shipping, and the Vagabond qualifies.

Eye Candy

Today I thought I would do a quickie blog post to show you a card set I created a couple weeks ago using  Pink Paislee's Soiree collection. I absolutely love this collection because it's so adorbable and festive!  I hope you enjoy.

  I'll be teaching this card set at my Scrapbooking Retreat in July.  Looking forward to it, and can hardly wait!!

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Come with me on my family weekend vacation...

Last weekend the family and I really needed to get out of the house, so we threw caution to the wind, and drove up to Shenandoah.  We love going there because it's so beautiful,  it's a place everyone can agree on, and in the past it was a nice getaway that we could include George.  I thought I'd share with you some of our family fun.

We love to hike, and unfortunately we don't do it nearly as often as we would like.  Dark Hollow was probably the best hike I've been on to date.  The hike starts in a shaded forest of ferns, which is a sight to behold.  The path snakes along a stream that pours into a waterfall.  The waterfall is absolutely breath-taking.

This was the payoff after making the downhill hike.  The water was ice cold, which felt so good in the 90 degree weather. 

Snack break!  Isn't she adorable all curled up on her Daddy?  Love this pic.

Once we were almost back to the car, we sighted a bear.  I thought my heart was going to jump right out of my chest.  Bob, being the Boyscout, told us to all walk slowly and make lots of noise.  Fortunately the bear looked at us, probably thought those poor folks are way too crazy to eat, and waddled on his merry way.  Chris thought it was the coolest thing ever to be maybe 20 yards from a real live bear.  I was glad to make it out with my life.

We spent the weekend at the cabin.  Bob, again being the Boyscout, made us dinner.  I would like to say on the open fire, but our cabin has a fully equipped kitchen, lol! 

You're probably wishing you were there, right?!  YUMMM  LOL:)

After our gourmet meal in the middle of the woods, we gathered around the campfire and Chris played some after dinner music.

Once it was dark it was glow stick time!   Aren't my children talented?!  LOL:)

On the way home we stopped at Dinosaur Land, a neat little roadside attraction.  They have life-size replicas of dinosaurs, and a description of each...I thought it was cool and educational.   Lil and I thought it was the best thing ever.  The others were only mildly impressed. 

This is the funnest pic ever.  It looks like they are running for their lives. 

I have to admit, some of the fight reenactments were a little creepy.  But otherwise it was fantastic.

We also hit the mirror maze at the Skyline Caverns.  My expectations were really low for this, but it turned out to be great fun.  You walk into a dark maze of mirrors that look like a forest, and you have to find your way out.  It didn't last long, but it was a lot of fun.  Because it was dark, this was the best pic I could get.

Thanks for coming along on my little family excursion.  Until next time....XOXO

Introducing Tutorial Thursday

Hey ya'll!  I know, you're probably wondering where the heck I've been.  Well, work has kept me EXTREMELY busy.  My business is growing beyond my wildest expectations, and I've been preparing for my super awesome Scrapbooking Retreat that's coming up in July (only 2 seats left!!!).  I'm so excited about it & can't wait, but it's kept me hopping! :)  I must admit, I'm loving every second of it!!!!

One of my favorite thing to do is blog posting (I know, hard to believe considering I've been MIA, but it's true).  I miss doing it regularly.  It makes me happy, and helps me keep my sanity.  I particularly love doing posts about new techniques that hopefully inspire you guys and motivates you to try something new.  So, I've made the decision to introduce Tutorial Thursday.  Every Thursday I'm going to do my very, very best to do a technique or tutorial driven post.  I'm hoping to do posts other times of the week, but I want you to be able to count on Thursdays.

Let's kick this thing off with one of my favorite topics, art journaling!  For those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, you know that last week we had to have our beloved doggy of 15 1/2 years put down.  It's been such a painful experience.  (I'm planning a blog post soon, but I'm still gathering pictures as a lot of the photos are on film-that's how long we've had our boy.)  I believe the best therapy for any hardship, upheaval, or tragic event in your life is art journaling.  It's so very therapeutic, and sort of cleanses the soul.  There's something healing about putting all of your concentration and thoughts into creating a thing of beauty with your own two hands.  Hopefully, that didn't sound too corny, because it's so very true.  Art journaling has gotten me through some very tough times in my life.  If you are new to art journaling you maybe thinking, "That's great, but where the heck do I start??"  Well, my favorite technique for starting a page is collaging the background.  What is this collaging you say?  Do you remember being in Elementary school, and making collages out of magazine pages and a glue stick?  Well, this is the same thing, only for adults.  You will need:

-scraps of paper (Thin paper works best such as 7 Gypsies.  Can't wait to try the new Mykonos collection for this) and/or tissue paper

-gel medium (I prefer Golden, but Mod Podge will do)

-art journal (you can start with Bristol paper, or any thick paper that will stand up to painting)

Start by ripping up pieces of scrapbook paper and/or tissue paper.  Here I've used paper and gold tissue paper.  I've simply glued down the scraps of paper with gel medium.  You want to completely coat the back of each scrap with a thin layer of gel medium to avoid bubbling. With a large area like shown you can apply the gel medium directly to the page, and add your pieces.  Brush a thin coat of gel medium over the top of the scraps to seal the edges.  This is such an easy technique to start a page.  It gives great texture, and the layers add dimension.  Let it dry, or hit it with a hair dryer or heat gun.  Now you have the base for an art journal page.

Still wondering where to go next with it??  Okay, okay...  Since gel medium is paintable, let's put a coat of acrylic paint over the page for some color.

On a non-stick craft mat I've added a line of blue and green paint.  This was probably WAY more than I needed, but I wanted you to be able to see it.  Next, pull out your brayer from the bottom of your scrap drawer, and dust it off.  I know we all have one, and haven't used it in the last 5 years (or more like 10)!  Run the brayer through the paint.  If you pick up globs of paint, just run it down your craft mat to remove the excess, but try not to mix the colors.  You only want a thin layer of paint because we want our images to show through the paint.

Roll the brayer over your page.  Try not to go over the same place several times because it will mix the paint.  In just a few seconds your page is covered, and you have a lovely painted,  textured background.  Let it dry, and you're ready to embellish with flowers, buttons, brads, borders, keys, metal hardware...sky is the limit!  Journal your thoughts, and done!

I hope you enjoyed this technique for Tutorial Thursday!  Be sure to come back soon!

P.S.

Be sure to check out the clearance sale going on now in the online store!  Also, enjoy $5 FLAT RATE shipping on all Continental US orders from now until June 30th, 2011.

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