As summer slowly winds down, I love to look back on all the fun things we’ve done during the summer.  One of my most favourite summer activities for me and my family includes camping!  So I thought I share a layout featuring photos from my son’s “birthday” camping trip from July of this year.

The Rules of Camping

Stamp sets used: Tall Outlines, Itty Bittys, Review Time, Rough Copy Alphabet, Repeat After Me

Some of the fun ways I used my stamps includes my title work.  I first stamped my “RULES” title using the “Tall Outlines” alphabets set, making sure to overlap my alphabets (I love this look! Makes it easier to cut out too!) and then I took the “wood grain” stamp from the “Itty Bittys” set and stamped all over my title.  I used the “Rough Copy Alphabets” set for the remainder of my title!  I added some fun shading using some Copics to my title.

I hope you too have having a great last week of August as September is just around the corner!

Happy stamping!

ALMOST 6

For this layout I began by using some patterned papers from the Bo Bunny line, Gabrielle.  This line happens to have an orangy-pink tone used in it but I took some rich orange mists and added them to my papers to make the tone appear more orange – obviously a more manly colour than pink!

To create some of my back ground elements, I used the Timelines stamps and all the fun number stamps I could find (Lots of Numbers, What’s Your Number?, Splash Me a Little).  I stamped all the numbers with Versamark ink and then embossed them using clear embossing powder.  This allowed me to mist and ink right over top of them and have the green background paper show through.  You can see this to the left of my large photo.

I used the Tall Outlines alphabet stamps to create my tall title!

For second layout, I began with a black base and build up a fun background.

MUST BE A BOY THING

For this layout I used a variety of stamps to make a “dirty” back ground.  For that I used; Backgrounds and Repeat After Me.  I used a variety of inks, paint and embossing powders to get a grungy appearance.  I also used the Seal It! set for some of the circular elements on my page.

So the next time you need some inspiration to create that masculine page, just think like a boy… and get dirty!

Just because your alpha set doesn’t have punctuation doesn’t mean you can’t use it. My favourite alpha set from myStampBOX is the Tall Outlines Alpha. I knew I wanted my title to be “Little Monster?” (because how fast my little guy mastered the art of the pout), however the Tall Outlines set doesn’t have any punctuation. No problem! I just used the question mark from the Fleurishing Punctuation set and just like that, I’ve added some visual interest to my title.

myStampBOX stamps used:
Tall Outlines II
Fleurishing Punctuation
Bold Blocks

I started with a white piece of Canadian Scrapbooker super stock card stock, and sprayed it with Tattered Angels glimmer mist in Jack O’ Lantern.  It’s best to use a thick card stock to avoid the paper from warping.  If you have standard weight card stock, I recommend spraying it, letting it dry and then placing it under something heavy to flatten it.  I have a photo here where I used the mist, along with a template from Crafters Workshop as well, but I found that too busy for the layout.  It’s a great technique though! Next I prepared the chipboard embellishment which is a great new item from Maya Road. It comes as a key chain set of the  four seasons.  I inked mine and then sprayed it with the Maya Road Iridescent Maya Mist.  I love this particular “colour” as it adds shimmer without adding any colour.

It’s hard to pick up on a photo, but you’ll have to take my word for it… it’s just too fantastic!  A couple of notes to remember:

1.  Don’t tilt the bottle down towards your paper, but rather hold you paper up and spray it straight – like hairspray.  This will ensure that the nozzle doesn’t get filled with little pieces of mica and get all clogged up.

2.  Don’t hold the bottle too close….. it will  make big blotches instead of a nice fine mist

3.  Do use some kind of drop sheet or splat mat, and then soak up any extra mist onto a white ribbon.. the results will be gorgeous and unique each time.

4.  Do experiment and have fun!

Okay, so now back to the layout. Once the card stock is sprayed and the mist is dry (that happens quickly), add on your patterned paper blocks. I then wanted to use the my TALL OUTLINES myStampBox set to make the title.  Again, I went for subtle, so I selected an ink colour that was fairly close to the card stock colour…  Whenever I am using stamps for a title, I always test the  out for size and placement by laying them directly onto my layout before I start stamping.  I also NEVER stamp onto a piece of paper that is attached… I always do my stamping and then I stick the pieces into place. To many “oopsses” in my past, so I’ve learned the hard way.   Now, I just wanted a few “girlie” touches, I used some dew drops from Robin’s Nest, and Kaiser Kraft flowers. Down in the very bottom corner, of the layout I stamped the “Explore Seal” from the SEAL it set from my Stamp BOX.

It’s not very noticeable, but it adds some balance…. and I thought the explore was appropriate since Joelle was exploring in a pumpkin patch. Hope you enjoyed the layout… go grab yourself some glimmer mists and your favourite stamps and go get MESSY!

I’m working on a totally cute, teachers gift for the upcoming holidays for my December post – it’s gonna be FUN!

I created this “You’re So Sweet” card with my ever faithful Colorful Companions set (I’m wearing these bad boys out!) For the sentiment, I used the awesome new Mention It! set. I adore this set because it has so many mixed greetings in all different fonts. This is a definite MUST HAVE!!!

For the “Happy Birthday” card, I knew I just had to use my new Tall Outlines alpha stamps to stamp out the word “Birthday” so I upped my usual card size to a 5″x7″. The “Happy” is from the Lots of Dots Sentiments set.

I’d love to see what you can do with this colour combo and your favourite myStampBOX stamps! So be sure to post a link in the comments with your creation!

Happy Stamping!