Ever had one of those moments when you look at a scrapbook page or craft project and you clench your fists, grit your teeth, screw up your nose and growl as you suddenly realise: I shouldn’t have put that there or that would have looked better over here instead of there. Don’t worry, we all have these moments, and I have definitely had a few in my time, but I am happy to say that I have not experienced many moments like this recently. Why? Because I always try to learn from my mistakes!!
So today, a video tip for you. I want to share with you a way in which I have changed a piece of waste material into a usable, functionable, practical craft tool/product that will actually help you improve your design skills.
I hope you enjoy the video and like the layout featured in it. The page is, of course, of my furbaby Miya. In complete contrast to her last layout entitled ‘Silver String’, which focused on embellishments and vibrant bursts of colour, this layout is all about the story. I have kept the lines straight and clean, and added just a little touch of colour to make the journaling pop and to add a little interest to the page.
I think this page must take the record for the least amount of pattern paper used on a layout ever, but the little bit that you can see is from Crate paper. Stamps used are Hero Arts Swirl with flowers stamp and Whoo Loves You clear set, Imaginisce, Artemio, and Studio Calico. Letter stickers are doodlebug Loopy lou alpha stickers and Making Memories Cork Alpha and ink used includes Tim Holtz Distress ink in Shabby Shutters, Chalk ink in Chestnut Roan, and Archival ink in brown.
And if you want to have a little giggle, you can read what the journaling from the layout below.
Thanks for popping by and please feel free to share this video with others, linking back to this website or the YouTube page. And feel free to leave me a comment here
Journaling reads:
Having a house with a garden meant it was only a matter of time before you got outside to roam free, but it was still difficult for me. I would worry about you, about other animals, dangerous equipment, tall buildings, and of course the traffic. We thought it would be a good idea to let you get used to outside life by short spells in the garden: five minutes, then ten minutes, then a little longer. It was summer ’09, and when I returned from work you would look forward to a little outside time. I will never forget one particular day.
I was in the craft room, and every 20 minutes I would pop downstairs and give you a call at the back door and you would come running. After a few times, I realised that I hadn’t checked on you in a while. I was just about to go and check on you when I heard a little ‘trrrrrumm’ noise, and then you scurried up the stairs and into the craft room demanding attention.
You had brought back your first present.
Many a story I have heard about cats bringing presents into the house: birds, mice and more, but not you. You brought a tub of fish food! I took it off you to inspect, but you were so proud of yourself, rubbing around my feet and pawing at me to give it back to you. Feeling rather puzzled, I went out into the back garden to have a look around, but I could not for the life of me figure out where this tub of fish food had come from. Where did you get it? In a garage, or were you in someones house? How far did you carry it? You must have had to jump over fences! You complained until I gave you back your prize, and purring with delight you insisted in carrying the little blue tub around with pride. It wasn’t until weeks later we found out that it belonged to our neighbour Sue who told us of the mysterious disappearance of the fish food she had bought to feed the tadpoles in her pond. We were so proud of your hunting skills that we couldn’t help but share the funny story of your first catch.
