Category Archives: Art Adventures

Celebrate Winter – Card and Scrapbook Layout

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Winter can seem like a LONG time when you live somewhere cold and snowy.

L in snow

Fun in the snow

Every year seems to take on a personality of its own, and you never know what it will be like. You may have a year with a lot of snow, or maybe not much. There are places in the USA that have had more than their share of snow this winter. Ours hasn’t been too bad, so far. We haven’t had a lot of snow, and it hasn’t been nearly as cold as it was last year, so far. No matter what it’s like, there will still be many days to figure out something to do, and if there’s enough snow, it is so fun to watch kids go sledding! I was reminded of this as I was going through some photos. Once again, I realized there was a story that needed to be told and saved!

When I first started scrapbooking, I wanted to get as many photos on a page as possible! I couldn’t image why anybody would use up a whole page and only put one single photo on it. I guess I felt like it was wasting all that precious scrapbook page real estate! Now days, I often have a story that only has one photo to go with it. Sometimes there is a lot to the story, and other times it is just one sentence or paragraph. In the end, it’s all about the photos stories!

I have really enjoyed the Close to My Heart Snowhaven papers and embellishments, and thought it would be fun to create a winter layout using that set.

When I decided to print out my photo, it just wasn’t coming out right! I finally gave up and decided to use the Snowhaven kit in the Studio J online digital scrapbooking website. All the papers and Complements pieces were right there online, and I was able to still use them all together. In the end, I was able to create my page, and ended up having my physical products to use for something else. I’m not sure what I’ll do with them!

Here is the page:

Snowhaven kit in Studio J used for winter scrapbook layout.

CTMH Snowhaven papers and embellishments are available in both physical or digital!

Why can I not catch the typos until I am already posting my layout here for the world to see? I really do know how to spell “friends.”

I hope you will take time to celebrate each season of your life, and those who are close to you! Capture even the little stories that will be fun to look back on and remember.

I promised a card in this post. The SnowHaven card kit was so fun to use to make some Christmas cards. All the materials were gathered and directions put together so I didn’t even have to plan them out!

There were left overs from the kit, and I thought they would be fun to use in part, for a card.

A few scraps can be pulled together for a quick card.

A few scraps can be pulled together for a quick card.

  • White card stock was the base of the card, and snowflakes from the SnowHaven card kit stamp set were stamped in Glacier.
  • A little strip of red and white design from one of the kit papers made a great accent.
  • Silver Shimmer Trim and the red heart were left over from the kit as well.
  • I stamped the “Have a day filled with…” and “Fun” from one of the stamp sets that accompanies the Cricut Art Philosophy bundle.
  • I used a shimmer mist on the card, and got too close.
  • Then I added some bling by attaching some little sparkles to the center of some of the snowflakes.

I think it still needs something, but I’m not sure what. Moving on…. What do you think you would do it at this point? Comments are welcome!

make it monday-pink logoIf you are following the Make It Monday blog circle, you arrived here from Jen’s site, where she is sharing a template for another one of her 52 week pocket pages.

Next, stop by and see how to Celebrate 2014! Create a layout with your top photos from last year. Alice shows you how!

 

Feel free to shop my Close to My Heart online store!

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures!

KS

 

Art Journaling – Pocket with Hidden New Year’s Goals

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make it monday blog hop logo Welcome to Make It Monday. You may have hopped here from Melissa’s site, where Melissa Shanun helps us start the year off right with a motivational page, and using embellishments in a no-fail design.

Speaking of the new year, I hope you are off to a good start! It seems that everyone starts off the new year with new intentions and goals. We all need a place to keep those written down so we can remember what they are! Why not incorporate your list into an art journal page? If you would rather not have them front and center on a page, you can put them on your page in a hidden journaling sort of way!

How would you do that? There are a number of ways to create hidden journaling. For this project, I decided to create a little pocket on a page so that I could slip goals in, either in on a list, or on separate pieces of paper. After all, who says you can only make goals once during the year?

I covered a two page spread with book text, as well as little 2015 calendar segments I printed out on my printer. I then put on a very thin coat of gesso and let that dry. Next I used watercolors to give a wash of color.

Next I added a variety of marks on the background with stamps and other mark making items in my stash. Then a little bit of acrylic paint was added over the top in a few places.

Layers of paper, paint, and ink.

Layers of paper, paint, and ink create interest.

For the envelope, you can create one from papers you have on hand, or just use an envelope or recycle one! I used some vellum and washi tape.

Gold polk-a-dot vellum and washi tape pocket.

Gold polk-a-dot vellum and washi tape pocket.

Add any title work or lettering on your envelope and you are all set to have a special little place to keep your goals and resolutions.

Art Journal page with a pocket to hold goals and resolutions.

Art Journal page with a pocket to hold goals and resolutions.

For those of you with a Cricut, there are all kinds of envelopes available to cut! The newest Close to My Heart cartridge, Artfully Sent, has a variety of envelopes, as it is geared toward the card maker!

Thanks for stopping by today! Next in the Make It Monday blog circle is Alice, showing you how your scrapbooking supplies can help you reach your goals this year. http://scrapbookwonderland.com/scrapbooking-and-goals/

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures,

KS

Wrapping Odd Shaped Gifts

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make it monday blog hop logoWelcome to Make it Monday! You may be starting here today, or you may have come from Alice’s Scrapbook Wonderland, where she shows how Christmas is all about family connections on a holiday layout she shares.

At some point you are going to have an odd shaped gift and need a way to wrap it. There are a variety of ideas, but I came across this one and thought it was just brilliant! Plus, it’s not hard to do.

If you are so inclined, you could even take plain wrapping paper and just write lines of words for the appropriate occasion, or just make lines of designs with markers or paint pens. Whatever you decide, you are going to be happy to have this technique in your bag of gift wrapping techniques! Enjoy!

If you need some quick gift tags to print, you can always do a quick search on Google or Pinterest for “printable gift tags” and come up with all kinds of tags to suit your needs.

The next stop on this week’s Make It Monday blog circle is Karen at Photos Kept Alive. She is showing how she finds images in the digital software program she uses, Historian.

Just a quick shout out to the others in our circle this week, in with some tips that may make your holidays more memorable. Gina is making memories with homemade bread this week. Do you have a family recipe that is a must have at the holiday meal? Do you have a recipe that must be passed down from generation to generation? Gina shares her favorite.

Connie whips up last minute holiday party treats and adds festive handmade gift tags!

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures!
KS

Wednesday Wonder – The Documented Life Project – 2015

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Whether you are new to art journaling or an experienced pro, you’ll want to be sure that The Documented Life Project is on your radar. 2014 is the first year this project took place. It was headed up by a group of the five women who make up the Art to the Fifth Academy; Lorraine Bell, Sandi Keene, Rae Missigman, Barbara Moore, and Roben-Marie Smith.

The project was free and was designed as part planner, part art journal. Most people used Moleskine journals. A prompt was issued each week and these five women shared their take on the prompt. A Facebook group was started and by the end of this year, it had grown to over 7,700 members! People shared photos of their pages and the inspiration and comradery was phenomenal!

The good news is that there will be a new project for 2015!

You can find out about it HERE.

I hope you will join the experience!

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures!

KS

Tool Tip Tuesday – Coffee Filters

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Did you know that inexpensive, disposable coffee filters can provide the perfect quick item to corral small items! I don’t know about you, but a seem to be a messy crafter. Once I get started on a project, it’s like an explosion has gone off around me. I am always looking for ways to contain small items I am using.
Artful-Adventures-Kristie-Sloan-tool-tip-tuesday-coffee-filters

The first time I realized how hand coffee filters could be was when I was working at an office job and had an unruly snack. I decided I would grab a coffee filter to use as a little bowl. Then I decided coffee filters could come in handy in the craft room!  They can also be used in different ways in things you may create, but today we are looking at them today for their versatility as a utility item, not a project component.

Not only can you use them to hold small parts of a project, they are great to use for embossing powder or glitter! Because they are static free, you may even like them better than the little trays which have the spout to pour your powder or glitter back into the container. When you are finished with your powder/glitter, just gather up the filter and make a little spout to pour it back into it’s container.

Beads, sequins, brads, eyelets… you get the idea! In fact, you can even use a filter as a little bowl to hold all the small items you may have ready for a project. They will stay right where you put them until you are ready to use them.

A stack of flat bottomed coffee filters can be handy for so many things, but in the craft area, I’m sure you’ll find them useful. You can even grab one to use instead of a paper towel to wipe your paint brush on, dabbing off a bit of water, or cleaning between changing colors. Just think, if you leave it to dry, it may even be the perfect item to add to a collage, art journal or mixed media piece!

Just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it won’t work!

What small products do you find you are always chasing around after they get loose while you are working?

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures!

KS