Monday, February 25, 2008

Challenge 13: Use Hand Cutting On Your Layout!

Use Hand Cutting on your Layout! This is one of my very favorite techniques, something that I have done from my earliest scrappy days! I love hand cutting (some people call it fussy cutting) and use it in a lot of my projects, whether it is altered art, mini-albums, cards or layouts. So the challenge is to take a piece of patterned,stamped, rub-ons, or digital printed paper and hand cut an image out and use it in your project. This is a great technique for digital scrapping also, so play along if you are digi-rific!


There will be a few "raks" for this one, Teresa Collins donated some of her papers and I will also be giving away a gift card to PcLayers! So there is something for everyone in this challenge!
In my project, I hand cut around the waves and surfboards from the "Boardwalk" collection that Teresa designed. I liked the waves overlapping, and didn't tack them down so they would add a little visual interest that way!

Alicia hand cut out the flowers and bird from American Craft paper! Such a darling whimsical touch for that stunning picture!


Jen cut out the bird, gorgeous! But what really catches my eye is the detail cuts in the Scenic Route leaves with the same colored paper as the bird behind the cut outs! Clever!
Deb cut out the Heidi Grace flocked paper for that extra pop of green, and it is flocked, adding an extra element of visual and textural interest!

So get out that exacto knife and put in a fresh blade, grab your favorite small scissor or make a new layer in your digital editing program and start masking or erasing! We want to see it all!

Don't forget there are a few things to give away this time around...

Thanks for playing!

Challenge 12 Winner

Thanks to everyone who participated in the No Photo challenge. I loved the diversity of the entries we received. Some used lots of memorabilia, some kept it simple, but all were fun and unique.

The winner this week, however, is GRETA. I not only loved the design of the layout, I loved how she took this photo-less opportunity to tell such a touching story. If you have not read her journaling, do so.

Congrats, Greta. Email us and I will get a little RAK out to you.

Check back later today for the next challenge. It was a fun one to do, and I think you will all enjoy it!

Challenge 12 Slide Show

Monday, February 11, 2008

Challenge 11 Winner!

Although we did not have many entries this week, we had gorgeous layouts to choose from, making this decision a tough one. Thank you to all who played with us this week. We enjoyed seeing what you did with your photos.

But, the winner for Challenge 11 is...

JANETB!
We loved the way Janet used multiple techniques on her layouts (and provided us with TWO beautiful examples). Her photos were engaging, as was the design.

Janet, send us an email with your info, and Alicia will get that gift certificate RAK out to you soon.

Challenge 11 Slideshow

Friday, February 8, 2008

Challenge 12 - No Photos Allowed!

I don't know if you are like me, but photos tend to be the starting part for me when I am making a layout. For the last challenge, we focused on the photos. For this one, I want you to take the focus off the photos.

Perhaps there is a story that needs to be told, but there are simply no pictures. Maybe you have a cool piece of memorabilia that you want to build a layout around. Maybe you just want to play with paper and paint and rub-ons and make something fun.

You are hereby challenged to make a layout without ANY photos. None at all. Other than that, there are no rules. Sky is the limit, folks. Have fun with it.

As always, either link your creations back here or at the threads that will be started at scrapbook.com and twopeasinabucket.com. The deadline is midnight on Sunday, February 25th.

For this challenge, we called in some help from the other '07 HMers. Enjoy!

Amanda Johnston's Layout: Amanda's layout is journaling-focused, telling the story of singing in Madame Butterfly. THe butterflies are the perfect addition to the story she is telling. Here is the journaling:

Music is a huge part of me. Always has been, always will be. In a former life, before my daughter was born, before my husband joined the Army, I sang with the Huntsville Opera Theater. We performed fully staged and produced operas. For a grass-roots company that survived on ticket sales we did pretty well. One of the largest roles I had was playing Mrs. Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly. Now B. F. Pinkerton was a pig. He married Butterfly for his convenience. Never mind that she gave up her religion and her family to be his child bride. She truly loved him. Pinkerton left Butterfly. Every day during his absence she watched for the ship that would bring him back to her and their child. One day that ship arrived. Unfortunately B. F. Pinkerton was accompanied by his real wife, Mrs. Pinkerton. Yes, I played the other woman in Madame Butterfly. I had a really hard time wrapping my mind around that concept. I felt a real sympathy for Butterfly. Her childhood and her innocence were taken away by this odious foreigner. I was having to act in a way I never would have acted in real life. The costume mistress understood what I was going through. She made me a traveling dress from scratch. And she lined it in blue. She told me that no matter what, I was true blue on the inside. No matter the role I am singing or acting, I am still me. Even though I initially had a hard time with the concept of being the other woman I persevered and grew in my acting ability. As a cast we performed to rave reviews. I don’t sing in operas any more, but I’m still true blue on the inside. No matter what happens - I’m still me.



Amy Sullivan's (HOF HM '07) Layout: Amy's layout is also journaling-focused. Her layout is a fun story of her love for a particular series of fiction novels. Minimal embellishing keeps the focus on the story but still gives a striking visual page.

Deb's Layout: Deb chose to journal about some favorite things, keeping the writing in a list format. This gave plenty of room for her to mix and match some gorgeous papers on the left.

Jen's Layout: For my layout, I worked around a tag that I found on a piece of maternity clothing. It gave me a strong reaction and made me want to write some feelings down in a layout. I chose some bold patterned papers from a Studio Calico kit to further the point of my journaling.