52 Card Pick-Up - The Last of My Favorite Techniques

So...here we are...the last of my favorites out of the 52 cards created during this class.

Used a strip of patterned paper to create a pleated border. Finished the look of with a white torn ruffle on the bottom and a strip of coordinating paper on the top. Buttons finished off the look. Yes, that little cool kid belongs to me. Ahhhh.....the baby days.....

Not too long ago, I saw a card that someone did using the following technique and wanted to learn how to do it. So it goes without saying that when Technique #52 arrived and this was it, I was thrilled! A series of "v's" were cut into two-sided patterned paper and then every other "v" was folded back. I decided rather than turn the card into a mini-layout, I would put both attempts on one card with notes about how to make it come out more uniform. This technique is very simple yet it makes a great impact.

Would you believe that the next card began as a piece of white cardstock? I love, love, love how this came out. Another easy peasy, lemon squeezy (in the words of my 7th graders) technique. A makeup sponge was used to sponge a coating of dye ink on the cardstock. Then I used my fingers to flick droplets of water onto the inked cardstock. Like I said, easy! I added the rubber stamp and journaling just so the card wouldn't be naked.

And finally.....placed a photo with high contrast into a Word document, converted it to black and white, and then adjusted the contrast to create this look. When I emailed this to my dear aunty, she loved it so much she asked me to make her 25 note cards using the same picture.

So there you have it. My favorites out of the 52 Card Technique class. If you are intrigued by this class, taught by Tena Sprenger, I encourage you to keep a look out for it at Big Picture Scrapbooking. Because it is one of their longer workshops, it probably won't return until sometime next year, although I hear tell she might be doing a sequel. If she does, I'm in!

If you've made it this far, I thank you so much for following my 52 Card journey. It is my hope that this will not be my last post for a long time. Although work and life sometimes get in the way, it is my goal to continue to carve out time each week to be creative and continue to share the things I learn along the way. TFL!

52 Card Pick Up - Even More Techniques

I'm back with a few more techniques to show you....

If you've been following my blog since I began this class, then you know that one of the earlier techniques called for the use of a Clorox Bleach pen! Well, our teacher had us pull it out again to alter photos. I attempted this technique twice with two different photos. I was too lazy to reprint the first one. The bleach pen was used to write on the darker area of the photo, and then removed with a damp paper towel. On my first attempt, things were going fine but then the pen started bubbling and coming out watery. (I probably should have re-shaken it a few times.) So I pulled out my trusty glaze pen and added the blue writing to the bleached out portion.

Here is my second attempt with the bleach pen. Almost made it again, but then the pen started coming out watery again. I know many would question using bleach on photos, as well as whether its acid-free and will affect the picture in years to come.   While I think it is a cool way to journal on photos, I'm not sure that I'd be brave enough to use this technique on a project that's going into an album.

This textured transparency frame was created by using Staz-on ink and embossing powder. I applied the ink (I used black) directly from the pad to the transparency. It was immediately covered with embossing powder (I decided to be brave and try blue) and then heated with an embossing gun. A window was then cut out so that the frame would fit around the picture.

And lastly...a photo mosaic. I was supposed to cut the photo into five equal vertical strips, and then cut each strip into five equal pieces. My photo was too small (I think it was 3 x 5) and I didn't want the pieces to come out too small. So I cut three horizontally instead of five. I really like this technique and have seen layouts where the results are stunning. I think though that this is best used for landscape or scenery shots. Not too sure how it would look with lots of people in the photo.

Thanks for checking out more cool techniques. Stay tuned...I think I'm going to put together one more techniques post!

52 Card Pick-Up - Want to See More Techniques?

Here is a brief look at some more of the wonderful things we did in this class.

To create this look, alcohol ink was applied randomly to a transparency one color at a time. Then rubbing alcohol was spritzed over the alcohol ink to create the look. 

I was very skeptical about this next techinique (I mean really...deface a photo???), but surprisingly I love the way it came it.  And it was oh so simple!!! Simply sand around the edges of the photo and then use a paper piercer to journal on the photo.

Have you ever used vaseline in crafting? Neither had I until we were challenged with this technique. For this one, my patterned paper was coated with Mod Podge. Then Vaseline was randomly applied. Acrylic paint was applied over everything. Once it had dried, a paper towel was used to wipe away the Vaseline and resisted paint!

Easy peasy....created using a piercing tool and a template.

Thanks for looking! Stay tuned for more!

FINALLY! 52-Card Pick Up is Done!

It has been some time since I've updated my blog. That's one of the perils of being a teacher. When summer ends and school begins, our laid-back life as we know it comes to a screeching halt. Then everything becomes about lesson planning, test scores, NCLB, classroom management all while trying to find some balance in your live so that you can continue to do those things that you love that bring you joy. So...here I am trying to catch up.

Back in June , I posted about a class I was talking over at Big Picture Scrapbooking called 52 Card Pick-Up. You can find the original post here. The class ended August 11th, but I didn't finish until about two weeks later (ahhhh...the joys of online learning).

I wanted to share the before and after pictures of my little card deck. Over the next few days, I will share some more of the cool techniques I learned while taking the class.

Here is the BEFORE picture, my card deck created at the beginning of class (please ignore the "watch cat!"):

And here is the FINISHED product...2 1/2 months and 52 techniques later.

Thanks for looking and stay tuned for more cool techniques!

52 Card Pick-Up - More Fun Techniques

Well...it's been more than a minute since I've posted new techniques from my 52 Card Pick-Up class over at Big Picture Scrapbooking; the reason for that is, I got behind. I spent Thursday through today catching up with ten or eleven assignments I had missed. Because I was so far behind, it was simply a matter of trying the technique and getting it done (without being particularly "artsy") so that I could move on to the next one. I'm not going to post them all because I don't want to bore you; rather, I'm going to post the ones that were the most fun and that I see myself using on a card or layout in the future.

This first one probably jazzed me the most! I know it is kind of hard to tell from the picture, but the entire photo of my DS is covered with clear glass microbeads. It gives it the coolest kind of texture. Very easy too...you use that Terrifically Tacky tape on the picture, pour the beads on and voila!

This next one ran a close second.... we used a mixture of a really strong glue and a tiny bit of water to add glitter to chipboard accents. Those paisley chipboards are some Maya Road. I bought them a long time ago (I think when Recollections closed) and I had no idea what I was going to do with them other than paint them. I KNEW I wasn't going to cover them with paper...it would have been too much of a bother to trim them. Now I need to find out if some kind of fixative can be applied to glittered pieces to keep the glitter from migrating off.

This next one involved plain old ordinary white tissue paper, Mod Podge, and acrylic paint. We put the tissue down first, then painted with our darker color (mine was black) and then caught the ridges with our lighter color. Unfortunately, when I went over it with the white, I didn't realize there was still some water on that foam brush so the white kind of bled past the ridges. But you know me, I got the general idea, and was too lazy to do it over again...c'est la vie. I see this as a great way to make landscapes on layouts or cards.

Here was a really simple one...paint on the back side of a transparency and then use Glaze pens to journal on the unpainted side. I also used my rubber stamps and some solvent ink to make some flowers from the same transparency. Please ignore the messy handwriting.

Another easy one! Have you ever thought of printing a photo on card stock to use as a background or even as an integral part of the layout? This photo was changed to a watermark, and then some of the brightness and contrast was put back in before printing. Don't know that I'm gonna want to drive over that bridge the next time I travel from Arizona to Vegas!

And finally....using clear embossing ink and powder to make a tone-on-tone design. I really like this technique but so far, with every heat-embossed project I've done, I've gotten stray ink or powder all over the piece. Gonna have to work on that. I took this opportunity to try a small mosaic cut with the picture. That's something I've always wanted to try, but haven't had the guts to do so. I hear this technique is best used with landscape type photos rather than those with people in them.

Thanks for looking at my latest installment of 52 Card Pick-Up.

52 Card Pick-Up = More Cool Techniques

I fell a little behind in class and so took the time during the last two days to finally get caught up. I've done all the assignments so far, except for one. I had trouble with it, became frustrated, and decided to try again at a later date.

I'm not going to post everything; rather just some of my favorites from the last two weeks' worth of assignments. Get this, bleach is involved with one of them! So here we go...!

 A mosaic border using scraps of patterned paper and some twine.

 Embossing ink and chalk....

 Acrylic paint mixed with sparkle glaze. I think had I used a little less paint and a little more glaze, the wash would have appeared more sheer and allowed the patterned paper to show through, as was the intent.

 Image stamped on photo paper using solvent ink, followed by dabbing it with alcohol ink.

 Stamped images on paper using solvent ink, and then colored them in with a wet paintbrush dipped in chalk.

 And finally...This technique involved using embossing ink, a heating tool, and of all things a Clorox bleaching pen. The white portions were created by using the bleaching pen. It was suggested that if you are worried about whether this process is safe from an archival standpoint, use it only with cards or layouts that do not contain photos. There does appear to be a question as to whether the paper will break down [from the bleach] at some point.

Thanks for looking!

52 Card Pick-Up

I am taking this wonderful class over at Big Picture Scrapbooking called 52 Card Pick-Up, taught by Tena Sprenger. Five days of the week, we receive instructions by e-mail that allow us to try out a technique that we may never have tried before (For yours truly, that would probably be most of them!). The idea is, that by the time class is over, we will have a nifty little book of cards that we can turn to when we have a creative block or are searching for an idea to add a little 'oomph' to a project. Each card will contain our sample of the tip or technique, and complete instructions on the back (with a supply list) for implementing the technique.

At first I was a little skeptical about signing up and wondered whether it would be worth the money. But I have to say, with only two weeks under my belt and many more to go, I feel like I have gotten my money's worth and then some. So far, most of the techniques have been very simple but they are things that provide enough detail to add all kinds of punch and pizazz to paper crafting projects. Here are some of my favorites so far:

This is what the book looks like. At this point all of the pages are blank. Pay no attention to the meowing guardian of the book.

This technique involved using a molding paste mixed in with acrylic paint, and using the mixture over a template.

For this technique, we used acrylic paint over clear embossing ink and clear embossing powder to form a resist. Is that the correct way to say that?

Clear buttons all dressed up with lots of places to go!

Flowers cut from patterned paper, curled using a bone folder and then layered on top of each other. I added Stickles to mine.

Scanning (or copying) journaling from the backs of photos to use as the actual journaling on a project. This is my grandmother's handwriting from the backs of the pictures of my mother on her wedding day, and my great-uncle who was my grandfather's twin.

Photo printed on a transparency and layered over patterned paper. Embellishments were added on top.

And finally, what a great way to use up leftover scraps of paper!