Aussie Scrap Source

Weekend Inspiration: Scenic Route Paper

Inspiration for Scenic Route Paper Co. papers and products just goes on and on in this post as we produce some fabulous examples from our own design team as well as sourcing outstanding work from the online scrapping world.

Stars in their Eyes by Caroline McLachlan.  These new papers from the Laurel/Savannah range are perfect to showcase photos from Caz’s recent USA holiday. She organised a tour of Los Angeles and Hollywood in particular so her girls could see the place so often mentioned in American movies and TV shows.

Caz made her own cardstock circle slide frames to highlight the smaller photos on her layout.

Perfection by Nic Howard. Just about everything you see here is made by Scenic Route. From the bright border, to the light papers under the journaling, the bright flower on Kraft cardstock and even the black chipboard letters. Nic has used papers from both Metropolis and Laurel, showing that the different lines of papers are easily mixed and matched. The Berkely letters have quickly become a favourite of Nic's, and she has finished off the detailing in the layout with another current favourite; Queen & Co Beadifuls.

Move the Earth by Susan Doyle.  Suz fell in love with this photo taken by Raylene Wilkinson of Alexander Finlayson.  There was something about his dad's forearm wrapped around him and some quiet confidence in his eyes that draws you in, and an old favourite quote seemed perfect.

Suz has used the new Metropolis papers, die cuts and alpha stickers, as well as some good old Redmond chipboard.

In this layout Mel selected the new range of Scenic Route Laurel papers, scrap strips, arrows and chipboard pieces. By combining products from the same range she has put together a striking page relatively quickly which left time to handstitch the border that she wanted to create around the photo and outside edges.

Growing Beauty by Caro Huot, Quebec, Canada. It was the bright colour and fun texture in this layout that first caught our attention. From the chipboard frame to the Scenic Route chipboard photo corner arrows, to the layered flower, Caro has used the Brighton Range from Scenic Route for the majority of this layout- and it matches her daughter's shirt perfectly!

Silly Boys by Shaunte Wadley of Lehi, UT, USA. We loved this feel-good layout as soon as we saw it. Several papers from the Scenic Route North Shore range, paired with some Pressed Petals Chip Chatter alpha's makes a fun layout -with fun sentiment.

Be by Revlie Schuit of Roelofarendsveen, Netherlands. Scenic Route papers are so versatile, this layout showing just how even the bold papers of the CapeTown range can be used in a feminine way. A little Scenic Route chipboard lettering and a quote finish this layout off nicely.

Fast by Revlie Schuit of Roelofarendsveen, Netherlands. Revlie's layout is a great example of simple being perfect. Several different papers from the Scenic Route Hampton range cut into similar size rectangles, arranged in the middle of the layout, add a photo and some Heidi Swapp lettering and the story is told.

Observe by Gigi Kennedy.  We were enchanted by the charm and movement of this layout.  Gigi has simply used stars from a few different Scenic Route Paper ranges as her only embellishment on this page, enhanced by some quick outlining doodling - and how cool is her handwriting?!

Baby It’s Cold Outside by Jael Calville. Jael has used layered strips of the Brighton range of Scenic Route papers to create this funky photo mat for her picture. She has inked the edges to give the strips more definition. This technique is a great way to use up scraps of patterned paper.

Inspire by Terri Hayes. Terri demonstrates another great use of strips of paper in her tribute layout to a friend’s family. She has used strips of papers from the Capetown range, and also cut out individual flowers from some of the papers to use as accents. The journaling box is created with a thin circle of paper, circles being all the rage at the moment, and her title using the Redmond Chipboard Stencil letters, wraps around it.

Product Focus: Beads

'Inquisitive Bella' is quite a different looking layout...not the usual mix of girlie colours that we are so used to seeing from Donna. Instead Donna opted for a dark and mysterious blend of papers and embellishments along with some cute, yet bold beadifuls by Queen & Co. To create the feel of a darkened garden, Donna covered a few Cherry Arte chipboard branches with the 'Making Waves' beadifuls and a lot of clear drying adhesive. The effect is highly dimensional and slightly quirky at the same time.

It was Crazy Hair Day, a fundraising event supporting the World's Greatest Shave at Suz's son's school and she didn't have any coloured hair spray.  So she did what any scrapper would do (wouldn't they?) and stuck a load of Scenic Route alpha stickers in his gelled waxed sticking up hair.  That was three minutes before they were due at school so there was no time for photos until assembly, by which time his hair was looking a little sadder, but you do get the general idea.

Suz has outlined her Heidi Ghost title with Beadifuls, as well as adhering lines of them down the middle of her arrows for a cute, cartooney feel.

For this layout Mel selected the Birdie Collection from Crate Paper as it worked beautifully with the aqua tones in her great nephew's bedroom photos. To create the stars, Mel handstitched the outline with embroidery cotton and then filled the inner area with dimensional magic and Queen & Co beadifuls (pinky swear).

Rach has created this fabulously non-traditional Christmas layout but given it some sparkle with Make Waves Beadifuls by literally making wave flourishs withthem.  She's also filled in the 'a' in her Lil Davis framed alpha title.

April Kits

Our April Class Kits start shipping today, and we thought we'd share an overview of each of them here on the blog.

Summer Lovin’

Gather together all those wonderful photos you took over the summer period and get ready to create a terrific double layout. Capture an overview of your summer holidays with these bright and refreshing papers from CherryArte and fun chipboard alphabet from Queen & Co. Designed by Chris Millar.

Mothers Day Trinket Box & Gift Tag

Show your ‘Mum’ you care this Mothers Day with a beautiful, handmade Trinket Box & Gift Tag. This class features a re-usable template and focuses heavily on the creation of the box and the stunning 3-dimensional flower accents. Products featured included BasicGrey and Sassafras Lass patterned papers as well as Strano Ribbon and Crate Paper Alphabet Stickers.  Designed by Donna Wild.

Double Trouble

Create this playful double layout using SEI Paisley & Petals papers, loads of Sassy Sequins from Queen & Co and with a full sheet of Basic Grey Alphabet Stickers, you can adapt your title to suit your photos finishing it off with lots of stitching or faux stitching.  Designed by Cheryl Durey.

Back to School Chipboard Album

Create this delightful album as a special keepsake about your child(ren)’s school year(s) or perhaps even your own! Unique in it’s elongated “landscape orientation”, the completed album measures 20cm x 10cm and has ample room to hold class photos; record sporting events/achievements; excursions; teacher information…even grades! Pockets and tags provide for extra photos and journaling opportunities…ensuring this album can become both a comprehensive and treasured memento. Everything your need to make this album is included in the kit – right down to the hinged rings and ribbon. There are loads of the popular “ledger-style” and school themed papers to provide you with plenty of decorating options. Also included is a sheet of letter stickers, allowing you to truly personalize your album.  Designed by Caroline McLachlan.

Cosmo Cards

Make 12 versatile cards using Cosmo Cricket’s Jitterbug, Storytime and Love Notes papers. Designed by Belinda Sterns, this class shows you how to make the same card using three different paper ranges and with a full sheet of sentiment stickers, you are guaranteed to cover any occasion. This kit also includes envelopes.

Sequins & Swirls

This vibrant and fun double layout can be used to showcase two of your favourite photos. Featuring Heidi Swapp journaling spots, bling and a full pack of Queen & Co Sassy Sequins, this one is sure to take pride of place in your album. So get your gel pen out for a Swirly Good Time. Designed by Mandy Garver.

You at….

Pretty jewels and flowers adorn this card folder album created with gorgeous papers from Basic Grey and Scenic Route. Learn how to construct the album from scratch, decorate the inside, and then using foam stamping to add the final touches. This mini book can be adapted to suit many themes, with a full alphabet sheet to suit your own choice of title and journaling.  Designed by Nic Howard.

3 Freestyle Layouts for Boys

Three fab and funky “freestyle” layouts in one kit. Designed by Suz Doyle, these two single layouts and one double use energetic colours and simple step by step doodling techniques to celebrate a boy (of any age!) in your life. Difficulty: Intermediate.

If you are a retailer and wish to purchase any (or all!) of these kits to save yourself the time and trouble of constantly coming up with new class ideas, just look under April Kits under Aussie Scrap Source on the Aussie Scrap Source website.  Check back soon for Kids Classes - to keep the kids occupied during the upcoming school holidays.

Weekend Inspiration: We R Memory Keepers

For this layout Rach cut the sheet of Robin paper down to 8.5x11, then used the left over strip, flipped it over to create the strip of patterned paper. She then just added some stamps and the monograms to the layout for a really effective but quick layout to achieve.

Rach has used some beautiful Urban Window papers here and handcut the flowers from the patterned paper for a stunning look.

For this layout Mel handcut a series of flowers (using boho chick whimsy wild patterned paper) and used the small petals as an edging for the photograph. The boho chick goodie box provided the tags and accents and a splash of hand stitching around the outside edge helped to frame the page.

For this layout Mel combined the We R Memory Keepers Boho Chic ribbons, papers and goodie box to create a boyish feel to the layout. By using the plainer side of the Boho Chic patterned paper this has easily been achieved. The arrows from the goodie box are perfect for journaling too!

We fell in love with the sheer vibrancy of this layout by Wendy Rago. If you look closely you will see that Wendy has added some doodling on the lettering and patterned paper for a very cool effect.

This layout by Mary MacAskill caught our eye instantly. We adored how Mary had placed the photographs around the outside edges of the layout with a large title in the centre. Such an effective use of multiple photos.

Anabelle O'Malley's scrapbooking pages have caught our eye before and this layout is no exception. 'Tell me a story' is fun, funky and we adored the handcut flowers, circle theme and cleverly placed bling on the page.

This beautiful layout was created by one of Australia's home grown talent, Mel Diener. The layout features two of her scrapping friends, Sally and Julie. We loved the earthy tones, title placement and it's always lovely to see a layout featuring friendships.

Introducing the Quickutz Silhouette

and Diane Turner.

Di works for Aussie Scrap Source as the IT Manager and has an Information Technology background which spans almost 20 years. Di jumped at the opportunity to work at Aussie Scrap Source so that she could combine her loves of computing and scrapbooking in a work environment. She has two gorgeous little girls - Jasmin (4) and Eliza (1), whom she loves to create scrapbook layouts about. Di has been scrapbooking for over six years now - in fact it was Di who first introduced Cheryl to scrapbooking 4 years ago. Di loves to scrapbook in her spare time, in addition to having quality family time and being a part owner of three businesses (Civic Video, Gloria Jeans, By the Greens Catering).

When Cheryl asked Di Turner to test out the Quickutz Silhouette machine, she jumped for joy! She has wanted to buy a cutting machine for a while now, and is glad she waited for the Silhouette - "It's fantastic - you don't need to buy font cartridges as you can use the true type fonts installed on your computer, or download them off the web. The Silhouette also comes with 50 shapes, as well as the ability to draw your own, download them from the web, or import files from other sources. The options are limited only by your imagination." Di is creating a series of lessons on how to use and get the most out of your Quickutz Silhouette.

The first amazingly comprehensive one can be found here.   

Product Focus: Beads

This week the focus is on beads.  Beads on a layout can add dimension, lustre and style.  They can be a subtle way of adding sparkle if you're not a glittery type, or they can be used to accentuate patterns or elements of patterned paper or embellishments.

These days beads appear in lots of Nic Howard's layouts. She uses them to add dimension and colour. A popular technique is to place a layer of beads along lines in your patterned paper. Alternatively you can match the colours of beads to the colours in your papers. That extra layer adds dimension.

If you are using plainer papers then beads are a fun way to add swirls and lines. Again, pencil draw out your shape, add a line of dimensional magic and pop those beads on.

Nic has created this incredibly stunning layout and runs us through, in a step by step, a cool and easy way of adhering and arranging Queen & Co's tiny Beadifuls on your layouts.

   

Step 1. Apply a line of dimensional magic or Papier glass finish where you would like the beads to go. 

Step 2. Tip your beads into a tray. Place the tip of a sharp pencil into the hole of the bead.

Step 3. Touch the bead (which is on the end of the pencil) on to your line of dimensional magic. Do not press hard, just touch gently, and the dimensional magic will 'pull' it off.

Step 4. Complete your creation by repeating the above steps. What looks like a very complex creation is really an easy task! Enjoy your Queen & Co beadifuls, available in 13 different themed colors.

Weekend Inspiration: Carolees Creations

This weekend's inspiration is from Carolee's Creations.  Gorgeous, mostly softly coloured papers which let your photos easily keep the focus on your scrapbook pages, Carolee's Creations papers are light weight, easy to work with and softly inspiring.

We officially welcome Chris Millar to our Aussie Scrap Source Design Team with this stunning layout.

Chris's daughter recently had a trip to the orthodontist during school hours. The blues in her daughters uniform has been complemented beautifully by the Carolee's Creations 'love bug collection'. Chris has also used the Carolee's Creations 'stick em clear' rubber label stamps to house the journalling for this page.

Rach wanted to include all the fun photos that made this party game such fun on the one layout, so that meant careful placement of embellishments and papers to not overwhelm the pictures. The green background grounds the photos as a number of them also have green in them, and she then layered with a touch of blue and the bright birthday sprinkles paper to tone it all together.

Suz Doyle has a pigeon pair and is one of a pigeon pair, so these "Sisters" papers sat about until she took this shot of the stunning daughters of family friends and knew that these papers would be perfect for it, even down to picking up the gorgeous auburn tones in Mia's hair.

She's teamed it with some Queen & Co Hottie, Junkitz Flowerz and Scenic Route Rubons to make a simple but beautiful page.

We have the extraordinarily talented Heather Mickey to thank for the above three layouts.  Apart from the stunning photography, she's blown us away with her use of Carolee's products.  In Girl, Heather has made use of the Flea Market line, using rubons, patterned paper and title all from the Flea Market line.  The monochrome palette combined with just the hint of pink is wonderful.   Great boy colours and colour blocking in "Tough " and Heather describes "Precious" as a super quick layout but we think its super fabulous.

Layout by Celia King - Celia has used the Big Smiles line - the colour palette in these papers is simple and restful, and Celia has cleverly combined it with the subtle but effective detail of the Family rubons and Heidi Bling for a beautiful result.

 

Finally, we thank Danielle Calhoun for this wonderful layout. Danielle has used Carolee's Creations paper from the family collection. She has also used Carolee's ribbons and clear stamps (journaling block & stitching on side of photo).

Weekend Inspiration: Junkitz

It's running late - but it's worth the wait.  We hope you're inspired - I know we were.  Junkitz has such a versatile range of papers - truly something for everyone.

With this layout Rachel Axton wanted to create a centre focal point, so she used a 6x4 photo on a 12x12 layout. She then bordered the photo with strips of paper and the flowers, then finished off with the title and some rub-on corners. This is a great way to highlight detail on a small photo.

Suz has used Laguna Girl papers, transparent alphas and embellishments in this fun layout of her daughter on the beach, as well as having a play with the must have box of rainbow acrylic paints - cute and perfectly portable for crops - and their new foam stamps.

One of our most recent additions to the Aussie Scrap Source design team is Christine Millar.  Her 'official' work won't debut for a few weeks, but we'd already snaffled a few of her layouts for the Junkitz blog entry.  Chris uses Teresa Collin's Love Line papers here for a beautiful tribute to her DH.

The Pop Rock collection by Junkitz is so fun and funky, and we love the way that Chris has interpreted it.  The doodles work so well with these papers and the photo is gorgeous! Love everything about this layout!  We also congratulate Chris here for being invited to join the Junkitz design team.  Interpreting Junkitz papers like this though, it's no surprise!

We love these two layouts which formed part of Jody Dent Pruks' entry into the Junkitz Competition for 2006.  The simple but sophisticated designs maximise the effect of the patterned papers.

We love this layout because it uses the Laguna Guy range so well, it is a grungy paper that is so boy, and I love how Celia King has mixed this with the stunning black & white photos.

We found these three fabulous layouts in Mary Russo's gallery. Boy layouts seem to have to work harder to manage the same level of eye-pleasing-ness as girly ones, but Mary does it with ease.  We totally love what she's done here with Laguna Boy, Extreme Boy and Cousins papers, respectively.

Everday Moments: Hobbies & Creativity: Week 4

Swimming is one of James' {Mel's son} newest hobbies. In this layout Mel stitched the Strano ribbon into position, creating a wave effect on the ribbon to represent the swirls of the water. The Heidi Swapp endless summer decorative tape was a nice finishing touch to the page combined with a splash of hand stitching.

Rach has a tradition of going to the Australian Open every year, and so wanted to capture that on a layout!  Rach has used circular elements to convey the theme and created these fun green & white striped tennis balls by adhering the Alice Strano Ribbon to circles, trimming them and then adding some pen lines.  Around her ticket case (which contains her tickets) she put the details of the two visits, who she went with and who she saw.

Tamar loves the photo editing process - it's a chance to create and turn the photos into something like they should look - if she was a photographer. Tamar edited these very ordinary shots with some tricks she learnt on a photography blog and she liked they way they turned out.

Tamar kept the layout simple - focusing on the black and white conversion by using lots of black and distressed white. The pink BasicGrey ribbon softens the look as does the painted pink centre heart.

Caz’s two daughters love to dance. Jazz, tap, ballet, hip-hop and ballroom. There isn’t really a dance around that they haven’t tried yet. Jordan is shown pictured with some of her dance shoes, about to go to dance classes. She gave Caz one shot to get a photo of her. Luckily it worked.

As the wall colour was very hard to match, Caz chose a strano ribbon that had quite different colours as a contrast. The heading is made with Heidi Swapp ghost letters and a button with a ‘J’ on it finishes off the simple embellishments.

Marni and her husband love to read, resulting in a bookshelf full of books. They read every night before going to sleep and sometimes even like to curl up with a book on a lazy afternoon after work. Marni particularly loves the way a good book can open your mind and take you to another world.

For this layout she chose to work with mostly Basic Grey product. Marni cut out flowers from the Romani range of papers and layered them on top of each other with foam tape. To add some more interest she also put the flowers down on some strips of co-ordinating Strano Design ribbon. To finish the layout off and create her title Marni used some Basic Grey letters stickers, Blush monograms and Heidi Swapp rub-ons.

Product Focus: Paints

As promised we've returned this Tuesday with a treasure trove of bright, subtle and sparkly layouts from our design team featuring different techniques using the paints in stock at Aussie Scrap Source.

 

For this layout, Mel combined three paints (Heidi Swapp White and Lil Davis Bubble Gum & Sea Glass) and brushed a touch of each onto the Heidi Swapp diamond foam stamp and then stamped directly onto her layout. Once the paints were completely dry, Mel hand-stitched around each diamond with embroidery cotton.

In this layout Mel has used Heidi Swapp cream paint as a background for her journaling. Simply paint directly onto the layout with a foam brush and once dry apply your journaling. Mel has also machine stitched over the paint to create a more uniformed journaling block.

For this challenge Rachel decided to go outside the square and instead of paints she used Hero Arts watercolour pencils. She first stamped my title, then using the coloured pencils, coloured in the letters in three colours, lime green, pink and yellow, then with a fine tipped paint brush dipped the end in water and added to the pencil. The effect is a brighter smoother image, and the colours blend into each other. Rach didn't want this to be too neat so purposefully let the colours blur over the lines to create a melty icey feel to suit her subject matter.

This elegant and simple layout, created by Donna, utilises Li'l Davis Glitter Glaze paints in a fairly unconventional way. Donna has covered a Heidi Swapp Ghost frame with several coats of Li'l Davis' 'clear' Glitter Glaze and a single coat of 'Ice' coloured Glitter Glaze. The resulting effect is definitely subtle, but when the light hits it in just the right way, this layout sparkles like you wouldn't believe.

Although this doesn't look very much like a painted layout, Suz has used them in several different ways.  Firstly she has outlined Heidi Swapp Ghost alphas with the very subtle "Surf" acrylic from the Junkitz pack, and applied Fontwerks acrylic stamp circle with "Coconut". 

She then hit the layout with Heidi Swapp's Crimson in several places with different applications - the second half of the title with Li'l Davis foam alphas, edging the layout and the patterned paper, and also swiping the ghost alphas with a watered down version so that it dries with a subtle texture.

Weekend Inspiration: Fontwerks

Mel loves the Fontwerks Hey Fellas range of patterned papers, they are so boyish and fun to work with.

For this layout Mel machine stitched her papers into position and added a splash of Heidi Swapp decorative tape over a chipboard star as a feature on the layout. SEI brads were added down the side, one in each centre of the circles (Hey Adam patterned paper).

Summer photos are taking over Nic's desk right now, so when she saw the Tokyo range of papers by Fontwerks, she knew they'd be perfect.

The bold colours and fun shapes create an energetic feel to any layout, as shown in this layout about the beach.

Suz used a mixture of Hey Fellas and Hello Ladies papers in this cute layout celebrating the nightly story reading to her children.  She has outlined which square with white pen to give it a visual margin and made a flourish of beads to draw the eye to the photo.

With this layout Rach wanted to add all the pretty spring colours to the layout without making the layout busy or distracting to the photo.

To do this she used her quickutz and a large square die cut to punch squares from the different patterns then arranged them around the clustered photos. Giving gaps around the photos she has avoided creating a boxed in look. And to finish she added some fun little Basic Grey rub-ons and some journaling.

Turning a New Leaf by Katja Kromann

When we were browsing galleries for Fontwerks layouts, this one jumped out. Fontwerks 'simply decorative' paper was used as a base with various other 'Simply Neat' papers completing the look.

Precious by Waleska Neris , San Diego, USA

The perfect simplicty of this layout was what attracted us to this layout at first. A closer look reveals a perfect pairing of Fontwerks papers with Fontwerks stamps.

K, Okay? By Leana Lucas of MA, U.S.A.

Who could resist a face like this?! This layout spoke volumes to us as soon as we saw it. We were drawn to the simple yet fun energy in this layout and loved the use of the Fontwerks alphas.

Everyday Moments: Creativity/Hobbies Week 3

Rach totally adores this ribbon released for the EDM competition as she had a hand in designing it and naming it after her daughter.

Jennifer from Strano also sent her all the offcuts of the ribbons used for the magazine onsert so with so many short pieces Rach set to work on making this layout. It uses a simple design that lets the beautiful colour of the ribbon show, and matched it with a series of photos of her taking photos.

When Marni found out she was moving to Mackay her only condition was that she had her own scrapping space. Well it turned out that there was not enough rooms in the house but she did get part of the garage and after some hard work it has become the envy of all her friends.

For this layout Marni used Strano Designs ribbon to create a photo mat. The ribbon is nice and wide so it did not take much effort. As the ribbon was so bright and colourful Marni did not want to add much colour to the rest of her layout so she used black to tone it down a little. Black Heidi Swapp letter stickers, stitching, Lil Davis chipboard letters, Junkitz flowers and Basic Grey rub ons all help to ground the layout.

This layout is about Caz’s husband and the group of mates that he goes fishing with. Every couple of years they plan a week away to a different destination and fish to their hearts content. No nagging wives, no annoying kids, and sometimes no fish...!

To keep it manly embellishments were kept to a minimum. 2 different sized Strano ribbons echo the beautiful blues in the sky and ocean. The heading is made from Heidi Grace Individual Monogram Letters and the junkitz button says Friends-Buddies-Pals.

One of the things Tamar loves most about being creative is the chance to share that with others - she loves making gifts for Christmas and now that she is a scrapbooker she just does photo style gifts as well. These photos are a few of the gifts Tamar made this year and before she wrapped them she snapped theses shots - one way to remember what Tamar made in 2006.

Tamar chose a neutral background with the Lil Davis papers and added plenty of chipboard for good measure - she loves the heidi swapp letters - and the chance to put that great big title onto one layout.

Mel's son James enjoys building and painting model tanks in his spare time, so this was a perfect layout opportunity for Mel.

The Basic Grey fruitcake (vintage ornaments/pine) patterned paper she chose gave a good boyish feel to the page and using some Strano ribbon to create a large photo corner helped to balance the layout well.