Aussie Scrap Source

weekend inspiration: core’dinations

 

Jill van Iperen wanted to take advantage of the subtle texture of the Coredinations cardstock and used it as a base for an inspirational quote.  The subtle textures combined provide an interesting background without overpowering the page.

 

Jane has lightly sanded the fawn mixed dots cardstock from Core’dinations Neutrals pack for the card base, a strip of labels was cut from Cosmo Cricket elements card and added to the card along with a ready set chipboard. Jane then placed sanded stripes of the black school paper Core’dinations to the card for added interest.

 

Jane loves how the Core’dinations card gives a great distressed look when sanded, whether it’s a light sanding to make the letters noticeable or heavy application as shown around the edges of this card.

 

Create a pretty card using the blue woodgrain card from the Neutrals pack, a light sanded is all that is needed, Jane has used Clementine cardstock stickers to decorate this card.

weekend inspiration: fancy pants

Sue loves the softness of the Winterland Collection from Fancy Pants.  Living in Queensland, Sue has never even seen snow before so she doesn't often have the opportunity to use wintery papers.  However last year she and her family were lucky enough to be in Brisbane while the winter festival was happening.  Sue has created layers of the soft patterns to compliment the somewhat brighter photos, which helps them 'pop' off the page.  Sue also created a little envelope at the top of the layout so that she can hide away her journaling inside.  A few little details like stitching, buttons and sequins finish off the page.

 

Janine found the colours of the Summer Soul range by Fancy Pants so happy and appealing. They were perfect for this photo of her daughter in hot pink! She loved all the swirling elements in the designs, especially the transparency sheet, which became the main element she designed her page around.

 

 

Jess Mutty has created this stunning layout using the Wave Searcher Collection. We love the way Jess has showcased her photo with her stunning design.  Thanks Jess for allowing us to share your page.

 

 

Finally, these gorgeous LO's by Jing-Jing Nickel are a wonderful example of how these Fancy Pants papers can be used so effectively for those Summer and holiday photographs. The bright colours and fabulous designs grab your attention immediately.  Thanks for sharing these fabulous pages with us Jing-Jing.

readers challenge: design principles

Welcome to Week 7 in our Design Principles Readers Challenge.  Each week we’ll be posting information about a different design concept, together with sketches from Becky Fleck at Pagemaps, and our design team, that work to demonstrate the concept.  We’d love you to join in by creating your own layouts, either using any one of Becky’s sketches OR creating your own design that showcases that week’s design principle.  This week we are looking at the Z theory.

Please EMAIL your pages or cards to us by next Tuesday 3rd July to appear in our Readers Challenge blog post.

Please try and use products supplied by Aussie Scrap Source brands (you’re quite spoiled for choice there!).

Our favourite layout each week (as voted for by our design team) will win a prize pack of Aussie Scrap Source goodies!

 

WEEK 7: Flow – the Z Theory 

When we design a page, ultimately we want to be able to control where the viewers eye lands, and where it travels. The premise of the Z theory is a simple one and is based on the theory that western cultures read from left to right.   If you overlay your page with an imaginary Z, placing the important elements along the z and its intersections can create a more dynamic page.  The eye will naturally follow the path of the Z.   You can use this rule on its own or alongside the rule of thirds to create many successful designs.  In advertising or website design, the ‘call to action’ would be at the end of the ‘Z’ as that’s where the eye stops.

Be aware of the way your eye moves over the following layouts from our design team, and the two sketches we have provided by way of inspiration this week.

 

Jill van Iperen has illustrated the Flow design principle from left to right across her page.  Her page features flowers, butterflies,ribbon and journalling cards from the Prima Fairy Belle range.  You will see how she has incorporated the lace in a curved line to help draw your eye across the page.

 

Janine has used the Ambrosia line by Bo Bunny to create this LO on the design principle of Flow.  She has used her title and a trio of floral clusters to draw you eye across the page in a Z like motion. Starting with the sub title and finishing on the final sub title and adding weight to the items in between so they do not go un-noticed either.

 

 

 

 

design: rule of thirds readers layouts

The standard of our reader’s entries just seem to get better and better – thank you to everyone who contributed layouts (and cards!) this week.  We loved them all as great examples of the use of the rule of thirds principle. 

We congratulate Ebony van der Starre for taking out top spot in our design team votes this week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

k&co smash! lou nelson

Louise N believes that Smash albums have been a long time in coming and are a perfect complement to the scrapbookers 'must have' list of products. The convenience of these albums and complementary product lines make them so user friendly; travel journaling and everyday life journaling has never been easier!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

weekend inspiration: hambly

This week’s weekend inspiration is a tribute to Hambly Screen Prints – we have always been huge fans of their innovative designs and products, and it’s with great sadness that we heard they are closing their doors.  We have prepared a bumper weekend inspiration post to celebrate them, and suggest that perhaps you stock up while you still can!

 

The latest releases from Hambly embrace most of Danielle's favourite themes, including maps, clouds, planes and hot air balloons. On this layout, Danielle has scrapped about her love of travel using a Hambly overlay to create the German word 'Fernweh' as her title. The screen printed cloud paper background has been gently misted, and further teal clouds have been transferred to the background using the acetone method.

Rubons, screen printed airplanes and Washi tape from Hambly have also been used to enhance the gentle, whimsical feel of the layout.

 

Hambly always excites Leeann, with its bold colours and designs. There is always something different and unique about Hambly. Leeann loves to mix it up. As you can see on this layout there are layers and layers of papers, transparency film, stickers and rub-ons. What Leeann loves about layering printed transparency films is you can get a visual idea before actually adhering anything in place. So you know if it’s going to work or not!

 

Leeann decided that a second page was in order. This time Leeann used up a heap of overlay and paper scraps. She first started by creating a matt for her photo by layering all the scrappy pieces, love how they add pops of colour at the same time. Finishing of by adding the final details, machine stitching, washi tape border and a few embellishments.

 

 

This fabulous page is by Corrie jones who happens to be a design team member for Hambly. We adore the white space and the embellishment accent that she created. Thanks so much Corrie for letting share on e of your page. You can see more of her work here  

 

This page was created by Felicitas Klink who also happens to be a design team member for Hambly. We love the fussy cutting of the flowers from the Garden Party Overlay contributing to the the whimsical softness of this page. Thanks for letting us share your page Felicitas.

 

 

 

These two beautiful layouts from Maria Schmidt, of Austria, show off layering and fussy cutting gorgeous Hambly overlays to stunning effect!

 

 

Finally these last two pages are created by Janna Werner, also a design team member for Hambly. Janna share a few tips on how to creates her  "fluffy style": splatters, layering and random arrangement of embellishments that hover around the page. She also use staples to help adhere overlays rather than glue and tape.

Thank you so much Janna and everyone for letting us share some of your pages with us!

weekend inspiration: crate paper

 

Kim has used the Crate Paper Story Teller range perfectly in this layout.  The woodgrain and floral papers perfectly capture and enhance the woodland type feel of the photo.  Kim found that the Story Teller range was perfect for a range of different photos as it has a wide variety of papers and embellishments in the range.

 

Using Crate Paper's Pretty Party range to create this quirky layout was a lot of fun for Danielle. The sweet floral design has been embellished with cardstock stickers and patterned paper circles, with the photo highlighted beneath a Pretty Party gilt frame.

 

 

We just love this off the page project by Lilith Eeckels -  using new Crate Paper frames and embellishments!

 

Lilith has also shared this page with us today, which has a gorgeous simple yet arty design with Crate Paper's Pretty Party range.

 

Here Carol Monson has shared with us her sweet page featuring romantic Crate Paper details.

WEEK 6: Rule of Thirds

Welcome to Week 6 in our Design Principles Readers Challenge.  Each week we’ll be posting information about a different design concept, together with sketches from Becky Fleck at Pagemaps, and our design team, that work to demonstrate the concept.  We’d love you to join in by creating your own layouts, either using any one of Becky’s sketches OR creating your own design that showcases that week’s design principle.  This week we are looking at the use of the rule of thirds in design.

Please EMAIL your pages or cards to us by next Tuesday 26 June to appear in our Readers Challenge blog post. 

Please try and use products supplied by Aussie Scrap Source brands (you’re quite spoiled for choice there!). 

Our favourite layout each week (as voted for by our design team) will win a prize pack of Aussie Scrap Source goodies!

WEEK 6: Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is a compositional tool used in photography as well as graphic design, and is based on the idea that the most interesting compositions are those in which the primary elements are off-centre.

To achieve this, a photograph or image is divided into nine by two imaginary, equally spaced horizontal and two vertical lines (imagine a noughts & crosses board), and the most important elements of your layout should be placed either along these lines, or at one or two of their intersections. 

 

It is believed that intentionally placing important elements in these positions gives your design more tension, energy and interest than simply centering them.

 

 

 

Janine based her LO on the card sketch for the Rule of Thirds Design Principle. By creating an inverse L shape in her design, Janine has used the top and RH side thirds of the page to cluster all her design elements, allowing a block of white space in the bottom LH area of her page.

Janine set off the design by using the gorgeous Pink Paislee Spring Jubilee range, with lots of fun watercolour techniques for her background paper.

 

 

 

Kim has used My Mind’s Eye Indie Chic Citron range to create this happy layout.  She principally used the two horizontal lines from the rule of thirds grid for this layout, but note that she has included one of the photos at the intersection in the bottom left corner of the grid.

 

 

 

 

As usual we’ve included above a couple of Pagemaps by Becky Fleck for you to use as a guide when designing your layouts.  You may choose to use one of these, base your design on one of our design team’s layouts, or make up your own design.  It’s up to you!

design: white space readers layouts

It seems we have a lot of white space fans out there!  We had a huge response to this week’s challenge, and it’s fascinating to see how every style can incorporate and make use of the negative space design principle. 

Having said that, the design team’s votes were closer this week than they’ve ever been, resulting in a three way tie, of all things. So a big congratulations to Chantelle Huizenga, Lisa Balm AND Ebony van der Starre!!!

To choose a prize pack winner we did a random draw from these three, and Lisa Balm is the lucky winner!   Thank you to everyone who sent in layouts though – they’re all stunning and worthy of note.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

k&co smash! louise williams

 

Louise is using her K&Co Smash book as a visual idea reference album for furniture and finishes she’d like to include in her house and new studio. She started by finding photos on Pinterest and printing them out, before organising them into categories and adding some quick reminders as to what it was she liked along with some fabric samples.

 

Louise wanted a simple, aged and arty cover for her album as it will be getting a lot of use and she didn’t want anything able to be damaged put on. She used an iron paint and dragged it over the cover before activating it to achieve a rust effect. When this was dry she added some simple lettering as a title before sponging over a copper paint and activating it again to achieve a verdigris finish. A few splatters of indian ink finished the look.

 

 

As the whole studio is going to be a modern vintage theme, Louise altered the pages of the album with gesso before spraying liberally with walnut inks and allowing to dry. She then went over this darkened areas with distressing ink to further enhance the aged effect. A Pink Paislee stamp was added as a reference for the kind of artwork she plans on painting on the furniture and some hand-drawn scroll doodles draws the eye to the heading as well as being a reference to the floor pattern. Some punched tabs attached to the page edge helps define areas of the book into rooms.

 

 

 

 

Continuing with the vintage theme, Louise again lightly gessoed the surface of the pages before adding some strips of et Cetera paper and layering with random strips of tissue tape. She then liberally applied distress stain to the whole surface before flicking the surface with a Glimmermist spray. For this spread it was all about colour and décor ideas so she included paint swatches of the proposed wall colour as well as dream rooms and lighting ideas. Again some simple black pen lines highlight favourite pictures and note the ideas she’d like to implement into the room.

 

The storage spread was created by roughly gluing over the pages and attaching tissue paper before covering both pages with the distress stain, giving each page a uniform look and leaving space for further photos and information to be added. Some bakers twine adds a pop of colour and fun and the Prima wooden tickets add some cuteness and dimension. Although the album is fairly simple, it invokes the feel of the room Louise is trying to achieve and is a great source for all the ideas and images she wants to be able to refer to.

weekend inspiration: we r memory keepers

 

The delicate patterns and soft colours of this range (Tres Elegance) were so perfect for this picture of Janine's daughter.  She loved working with these papers and knows she will be using the doilies a lot more in the future!!

 

 

 

Suz used the super cute Wer Memory Keepers Cotton Tail range to record this years Easter memories. She couldn’t quite fit all her favourite photographs onto a single page, so decided to make an add-on half page (It’s cool that WeR make dividers to fit all sorts of layout sizes!).

The WeR rubons create a simple but perfect title and she has highlighted it with the gorgeous Sew Easy – Vine design.

 

Larissa Albernaz created this stunning page using We Are Memory Keepers, Love struck Collection. We adore the texture she has created along with all those wonderful layers of goodness! Thanks for sharing Larissa.

 

Finally, these beautiful cards come from the WeR Memory Keepers ‘Anthologie’ range with lots of layers and sewing and detail.

weekend inspiration: cosmo cricket

 

 

When Kim saw the Evangeline range from Cosmo Cricket, she just knew that it would be perfect for scrapping Mother's Day.  The large roses and flowers on one of the patterned papers in this range beg to be fussy cut out and used as a perfect embellishment for a very feminine page.

 

 

Jane has used the Tea for Two collection chipboard pieces and arranged them over the labels on the Tea Tins papers for an interesting effect.

 

The spray of flowers in the chipboard pack are a great quick way to give a card an impressive look, Jane added chipboard alphas to add a sentiment.

 

 

Julie Comstock created this gorgeous layout using Tea for Two patterned papers, and a beautiful flower from dress pattern paper and Cosmo Cricket’s fabulous Glubers.  She shares a tutorial on creating the tissue paper background here.

 

 

Wendy Antenucci has also used the Tea for Two range from Cosmo Cricket perfectly to scrap these lovely heritage photos. We particularly liked how Wendy has captured a vintage feel while still keeping the layout fresh. Thanks for sharing your lovely layout with us Wendy.

 

 

Finally we found this fabulous layout using the Twenty-Three range, by Heidi Sonboul.  We love how she has turned the colour palette into a great masculine page, despite the touches of pink!

readers challenge–design - white space

Welcome to Week 4 in our Design Principles Readers Challenge.  Each week we’ll be posting information about a different design concept, together with sketches from Becky Fleck at Pagemaps, and our design team, that work to demonstrate the concept.  We’d love you to join in by creating your own layouts, either using any one of Becky’s sketches OR creating your own design that showcases that week’s design principle.  This week we are looking at the use of white or negative space in design.

Please EMAIL your pages or cards to us by next Tuesday 19June to appear on our blog.  Please try and use products supplied by Aussie Scrap Source brands (you’re quite spoiled for choice there!).  Our favourite layout each week (as voted for by our design team) will win a prize pack of Aussie Scrap Source goodies!

 

WEEK 5: White Space

White space or negative space, as a balance to positive space, in a composition is considered by many as an integral part of good design.  White space is simply the absence of text, graphics or embellishments in areas of a page. 

Despite its name, white space doesn’t need to be white, it just needs to be empty, neutral or provide a more restful contrast to the other elements.   It provides a kind of visual breathing room for the eye to rest, which increases the appeal of a design.   Often, the busier or more detailed one group of elements or part of your page is, the more necessary the white space around it.

 

 

Louise Nelson is of course, our Queen of White Space!  For Lou this space is a key element of her layout design and her creative style. Whilst not all of Louise's layout background is left blank she has left a large proportion of it unadorned and this balances perfectly with her dribbled gesso effect.

 

With this layout, Danielle shows how white space can be used as breathing room on a layout without necessary being blank. The background is patterned and layered, but as it is consistent with the background of the entire page, it doesn't add any distracting weight to the page. The emphasis is on the cluster in the bottom left corner, which forms the most meaningful part of the page and draws the eye. A couple of small details in the opposite corner balance the design, with the white space in between allowing the eye to dance around the page and take it all in without being overwhelmed.

 

 

 

Finally, some sketches from Becky Fleck at Pagemaps.  We invite you to use any one of the sketches, or our design teams layouts as guides or inspiration for your own pages.  We look forward to seeing your entries!

design: contrast/visual hierarchy–reader’s layouts

Thanks to our entries this week – we loved each example for this weeks challenge, illustrating contrast and visual hierarchy. 

 

It was a close call, but congratulations to Jodie King for her sweet Butterfly card, perfectly illustrating Becky Fleck’s Pagemaps card design!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

k& co smash! suzanne tonga

Sue has always loved photography but it has been a slow learning journey, possibly one she will always be on!  Last year, Sue participated in Karen Russell's online photography course which she says, was just amazing!  Sue decided that she would use her smash album to create a journal of the learning process.

Although the smash album Sue chose is wedding themed, Sue shows that you can alter the theme to whatever you like! Just cover up the parts you don't like and embellish those you do.  The wedding album is filled with lovely soft prints and colours which is why Sue was attracted to it.  Sue has combined text from her lessons and assignments along with photo examples of the techniques she has been learning. 

What a fun concept Smash is!  Sue says the sky's the limit in terms of what they can be used for.  Practical or fun, the choice is yours.

 

 

 

 

 

weekend inspiration: stamper’s anonymous

 

By now it is probably no secret that Louise N loves using stamps to create unique and individual backgrounds for her layouts. On this particular layout Louise has used the Tim Holtz heart stamp to help create her title as well as embellish her layout background. the stamped images have been coloured in using Tattered Angels Polka Dot Pink chalkboard glimmer mist.

 

 

When Chris got to look through the Stampers Anonymous ranges and pick something to work with she couldn't go past this absolutely adorable set in the Darcies range called 'Talilah'.  She loved the fabulous turtle images and the cute little sentiments that were in the set.

 

What a great little sentiment this one is for the turtle images.  Chris stamped the turtles and sentiment directly onto the white card and then embellished around it with pattern paper and machine stitching.

 

Again Chris has stamped the sentiment with black ink onto white cardstock and then coloured with pencils.  Chris has used the Jillibean Soup 'Blossom Soup' range of papers with each of these cards.

 

Chris stamped the turtle image with black ink onto white cardstock.  She coloured the shell in with coloured pencils and then covered with dimensional magic to make the colours pop even more.

 

 

Here’s one from Tim Holtz using his Stamper’s Anonymous Woodgrain Background and ‘Possibility’ quote.  This is one of his 12 Stamps of 2012 and there’s an amazing tutorial for it here.

 

 

All three of these gorgeous cards using Stampers Anonymous stamps are by the talented Dana Seymour.  For this particular card Dana has used the Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Natures Moments cling mounted set.  We love this gorgeous card, thank you Dana.

 

Don't you love these fabulous winged boys from the Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Winged Things II cling mounted set!

 

And lastly Dana used the Cling mounted set 'The Boys' for this super card.  Many thanks Dana!

weekend inspiration: my mind’s eye

 

Suz loved the gorgeous depth of the colours in the Indie Chic Ginger range but stuck to a fairly monochromatic palette and very subtle patterns for this page.  MME Layered Chipboard gives a pop of colour and she had fun using one of the Martha Stewart ‘Punch all over the Page’ Flower punch to expand the theme of the photo. 

 

 

Sue was really drawn to the On the Bright Side collection from MME. The collection is full of wonderful bright colours that are a little muted which makes them nice and easy to work with. Sue chose papers to co-ordinate with the photos of her daughter Lily, releasing a monarch butterfly that they raised from a caterpillar. The On the Bright Side collection contains a fantastic accessory sheet which is die-cut.  Sue used lots of the die-cuts to embellish her page.  Canvas flowers from Prima, that have been coloured with glimmermist, along with a Hambly overlay and stamped butterflies added the final touches that Sue needed to complete her design.

 

Anabelle O'Malley created this lovely page using the MME Follow Your Heart line. Here's what Anabelle had to say about her page: "My son created himself and my husband out of Lego mini figures. I wanted to do a fun, graphic page using MME's Follow Your Heart range. I love the hexagons and added them to my page, adhering some with foam adhesive to make them pop.  We love the simplicity of Anabelle's design.  Thanks Anabelle for allowing us to share your page.

 

 

We loved this layout by Karen Grunberg using the Indie Chic Saffron and Nutmeg ranges.  She has fussy cut and layered the large flowers and laid it over the more subdued netural pages for a really eye catching page.

 

We love double pages and this one from Jana Eubank is a wonderful example. She has used the Indie Chic Saffron and Ginger lines which pop so beautifully on the grey background.  You can see this page in more detail here on the MME Blog.

readers challenge – design

Welcome to Week 4 in our Design Principles Readers Challenge.  Each week we’ll be posting information about a different design concept, together with sketches from Becky Fleck at Pagemaps, and our design team, that work to demonstrate the concept.  We’d love you to join in by creating your own layouts, either using any one of Becky’s sketches OR creating your own design that showcases that week’s design principle.  This week we are looking at the principles of contrast and visual hierarchy in design.

Please EMAIL your pages or cards to us by next Tuesday 12 June to appear on our blog.  Please try and use products supplied by Aussie Scrap Source brands (you’re quite spoiled for choice there!).  Our favourite layout each week (as voted for by our design team) will win a prize pack of Aussie Scrap Source goodies!

 

WEEK 4: Contrast / Visual Hierarchy

Moving on from the principles of scale and proportion discussed last week, another tool which can succeed in drawing the eye to a focal point is that of contrast. If most of the elements on a page are grouped closely together, a single object by itself will stand out as a focal point. If all your elements are dark, a splash of light will catch the eye. If all of your elements are round, a square will stand out. These (and many more) are ways of using contrast to establish a visual hierarchy so that the viewers eye is first drawn to your intended focal point.

 

 

 

 

 

Jilly has used a combination of stunning Prima Ledger Papers, the Martha Stewart Classic Butterfly punch and the Graphic 45 Old Curiosity Shoppe - Cling Stamps to demonstrate how contrast doesn't have to extreme to make it work.

By repeating the classic vintage feel of the Prima papers and the Butterfly punch, Jill has subtly highlighted her "feature" area contrasting her subject (from classic to comical), the shape (from square to round) and the texture (from 3D to flat). 

 

 

The graphic elements that stand out in this layout are the three odd elements – those that aren’t squares. The two birds balance each other though, and the title in its circle draws the eye because of its unique shape.

 

There are a few ways that you can add contrast to your pages. And the most obvious one to Leeann is using shapes. Leeann cut out circles in the background and embellished with a mixed of papers and stickers from crate paper. Then she used a square photo. You can visual see that the focal point is the photo. Another way of adding contrast is using colour. Dark against light, notice how the background just pops. And lastly in type, by using different fonts and colour. Leeann also used the sketch provided so that you can visual see how she used contrast to make this page pleasing on the eye!

design: proportion/scale – readers’ layouts

Thank you to our readers who participated in this weeks’ design challenge.  We loved seeing both your original designs and interpretations of the Pagemaps sketch.   Stand by for Week 4!

 

In the meantime, a big congratulations this week to the winning layout by Dot Pawlowski for her ‘Mother’s Day’ page below!

 

 

 

 

 

 

k&co smash! danielle quarmby

 

Danielle loves the organic feel of the K&Co Smash Folio Eco Green. She chose to give it a general purpose, but realised that she normally journals and writes about dreams (the sort of waking dreams about the things she'd love to do) as well as lists! Hence the title of 'Dream Journal and Listography', though Danielle doesn't feel that she will be bound by this definition, as once she started playing on the internal pages she found her inspiration wandering from tangent to tangent. She also loves the ideas of adding further pockets and taping pieces of day to day memorabilia inside.