Vintage Travel Guestbook

So I'm getting really excited about heading back down south in 2 weeks for my best friend's wedding in New Orleans. It will be a nice break from work, I will be able to enjoy staying in NOLA for 3 days,and then home to Mobile to catch up with friends and fam for 4 days. I can't wait to see everyone!! It will be one of the first times I've traveled by myself, I mean I have flown plenty of times but usually had to keep up with a group (for work trips) or had Jimmy with me. Not that I'm scared or anything, but it will be a new experience for me.

I volunteered to make her a custom guest book for the wedding and I came up with a pretty good idea. I bought a cream-canvas covered Heidi Swapp album about 8x6 and decorated the outside, then made some inside pages that guests can add to. It will be set up next to the photo booth and guests can add pictures and write a message using jars of washi tape and pens! I haven't found the right jars yet but I did finally finish the book and the little sign with 'instructions'. Here are some pics....

And a few closies of the embellshments I used. I used alot of paper from a K&Co travel stack that had these cool stamps. I cut them out individually, inked them with TH Vintage photo, and then heat embossed them. After I had the placement right I added vintage buttons from my stash, flowers, and some cut enamel brads. 

Elephants are a central theme for the wedding too, since it's at the Audobon Zoo and also the wedding logo is elephants. I tried to encorporate that on the front cover as well as using all stamps from places that are part of H &J's story...Mexico, Alabama,  Texas, &  Louisiana.

Here are a few pictures of the inside pages I did for guests to add pictures and write on!

Next is a cute little frame that I found (along with the one used on the front cover). In the dollar$ bin at Michael's...All that's left is to distress it and add the 'instructions' for guests. Also I am letting the Bride-to-Be decide what pic she wants on the front cover!

This is what the mini frame looked like before:

And after! I 'distressed' the detail work with TH ink in vintage photo and some of my Faber Castel Gelatos in gold using a wetted brush, then added the flowers and brad at the bottom.

Here's the 'instruction' part:

And inside the front cover:

Last page of the book,

I had so much fun making this little interactive album that I hope once I bring it down there for the wedding some of my other friends may want one...I could see myself doing any theme. Its basically a scrapbook for the photo booth pics! All that's left to do now is make the jars and buy some washi tape and paint pens in the right colors. I really enjoyed sharing this with you today & love reading your comments...have a great week!

Until Next time~ VV

Stuck?! Sketch Challenge + Ink sponsored by Frosted Designs

Hi everyone! And Happy New Year!! I have been seriously neglecting my blog lately, but it's not been on purpose. I got a major virus on Christmas Day with flu like symptoms and fatigue for 3 days, then right after that my hubby got the virus, only his morphed into stomach issues and he couldn't keep anything down for 4 days, while I am supposed to go back to work instead I'm spending all free waking moments taking care of him. So needless to say, we are almost 100% better but it was not that great of a holiday break for us :( I didn't even do any of the projects I had hoped to start except a few christmas cards that I made to send out to friends and family. I didn't even get to take pictures of them.  But enough of my whining! So sorry friends that you had to listen :(

What  I am here to share today is my reveal for the new challenge over at Frosted Designs! We are sponsoring STUCK?! Sketch of the month this time with a gift certificate to the store! If you haven't checked out all the new products we have in for the new year, you need to go look! We also have an awesome new twist to our monthly kits, a 'messy fun' option for those inky scrappers like myself who prefer mixed media style projects, or a 'clean fun' option for the more clean lined scrappers who like traditional elements on their pages. The best part about this is its all absolutley free! The messy or clean option is included in the price of the kit, or you can pay a little more and get both options!! Go check out the new 'Love is in the Air'  January kit today at www.frosted-designs.us

The sketch we are using this month is courtesy of STUCK?!

And here is my take on the sketch:

A few close ups of my project . I used papers from the Snapshots collection by Bella Blvd as well as Studio Calico Thataway stickers, Studio Calico wood veneer cameras, and Colorwash tags by Pink Paislee. For the tags I spray inked them with several mists and then inked the edges and doodled on some of them with black marker.

For the wood veneer cameras, I tried a new technique, I actually colored them in with black marker, then inked them up good with embossing ink then some UTEE 'Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel' then heated them. It gave them an overall shiny/ metallic kind of look which I really liked then I added some bling for the 'flash' on the cameras.

So I hope you will join in on our challege this month and play along with the sketch + plus use ink or mist on your card, layout, or off the page project. Link it up to our sidebar on at www.frosteddesigns.blogspot.com and you have until January 29th!!

Until next time, peace y'all~ VV

FDFF Challenge Black & White + Another Color

Hi friends! I have so enjoyed catching up on all my blog reading and commenting today. It makes me realize just how much talent and inspiration there is out there..from my friends here and all over the globe. Scrapping and being creative really makes me happy, as I've said before it's my outlet. So that leads me to my latest layout for Frosted Designs. I chose a few pictures that really inspire me from everyday and a pic of myself in the middle as the 'artist at heart'. I am really happy with how this turned out. For the Fabulous Friday Challenge, our rules this time were to use black & white plus one other color for our layout or project. I first thought I would use purple, but then I found these photos and I thought one of my favorite colors, teal, would go perfectly! All you have to do to play along is link up your project or layout to the Frosted Designs blog no later than Wednesday, May 22nd and you will be entered to win our fabulous prize from  SpeigelMom's Scrap Shop ! So get to it! Good luck and don't forget you also could be in the Design Team's pick for Top 3!!

Here is my layout:

I started my layout with basic white cardstock. I used Smooch Spritz in River Mossy and Silver foil to spray my background. I also smudged some of it with my fingers. I originally wanted to do a textured background using gesso or some other medium but this paper wasn't thick enough to take it so I just went with it. I added my main strip of black and white chevron paper and went from there. I knew what photos I wanted to use so I matted them then heat embossed the black picture frame I had from another kit with UTEE to bring out my main photo.  Then I started adding my embellishments and stamping.

Here are some other shots:

  I distressed the edges of all my papers and sanded some of the chipboard embellishments before misting them. For finishing touches, I added some Prima flowers, buttons from BoBunny, some Tim Holtz sentiment stickers and vial labels. Also the large manila tag was leftover from my last experiment with Tim's Tags of 2013, it was a little too blueish for what I was going for on the Patina look so I cut it down and added it to this layout for more texture. I also mixed 2 different packs of Thickers for my title, which I seem to be doing alot these days! LOL! And a few close ups:

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I really enjoy reading all my comments and visiting all your blogs. It's so inspirational! One day I will have all the time in the world to create which is what I would really love to do. Only about 19 or so days until the move then I get to travel with my sis and have 3 weeks off!! 

I can't wait to have some free brain time and not have to worry about doing all this stuff!!! Trust me...there is sOO much to do between now and then, just hoping I can get motivated to get it all done!

Don't forget to link up your project to the Frosted Designs sidebar linky by May 22nd to be entered to win our fabulous prize from SpeigelMom's Scrap Shop!!! We can't wait to see what you create!!

Tim Holtz: 12 tags of 2013: January

Good evenin' blogland! I'm up late tonite to share with you my very first tag for the 12 tags of 2013! So excited that this year my goal is to do all 12. I am so inspired by Tim's work and LOVE all of his products. Maybe one day I can actually go to CHA in California and meet him! That would be such a dream...to take one of his workshops...oh my goodness I guess I should keep on dreaming. But hey, we'll be living in Oregon by the first of May, CA/AZ aren't that far away then! Maybe he'll even have a show or something in Portland if I'm lucky??!!

So one thing that really caught my eye about this month's tag was the stamped quote that he used. It really just hit home for me...thinking about how time really does fly and we can't stop it. It's a new year and there are new goals and plans for the future...yet in all our hustle and bustle we need to take a few moments a day to enjoy where we are in life, to appreciate the little things. I think that's really important and it's part of my new year's resolutions. This is a photo of Tim's tag:

 I didn't of course have the stamp he used or alot of the materials at all, but I did have distress ink, markers, mist, a manila tag, and some TH paper so I started from there! I also had 2 different clock stamps that I used as my background instead of the embossing folder...oh man..here I go dreaming again maybe one day I'll buy myself a vagabond!! So after I made my background I started layering my pieces on. I cut out a calendar and a small clock piece from some TH paper and distressed/ inked it. I am really happy with how it turned out...even though I don't have any cogs or gears on there I kinda went with the 'TIME' theme. Here is how mine turned out:

And here are a few pics I took just now on instagram to tag them!

Ok, well that is all I wanted to share for tonite...hope you enjoy your night and your weekend ahead! I will be working of course crazy retail hours but I will make an effort to stop and 'smell the roses' each day and be thankful for what I have. Another New year's resolution started along with doing these tags. Until next time, Peace Y'all~ VV

Supplies Used:

TH distress inks- vintage photo, tea dye, black soot

Ranger    spray 'melted chocolate'

TH paper distressing tool

TH distress markers- bundled sage, picket fence

medium kraft tag

fussy cut elements from TH 'Lost and Found' paper collection

fussy cut clock from We R Memory Keepers 'antique chic' collection

Colorbox chalk ink by Clearsnap-lipstick and grey whale

brads, ribbon, vintage button and fibers from my stash

Top Boss embossing ink and UTEE

tiny flower and bling- Prima Marketing

2 wedding layouts + why I love UTEE

Good morning friends! I hope you have enjoyed your week so far! I know I've been enjoying this cooler weather we've had, it finally feels like Christmas is around the corner in Alabama! But this time next year I'll be in Portland, Oregon and I'll probably be dying for some warmer sunny days! LOL! I wanted to share a few layouts I did earlier this week for my sister's wedding album. I already gave her the album thinking it was complete, then realized that I had a few more pics and about 5 more pages to do!! So I finished them as soon as I could and shipped everything to her in a big box along with her bday gift, her bday was Dec 11th. I  forgot to take pictures of the other 3 layouts I did of some of her honeymoon pics in Virginia Beach, which makes me sad cause they were so cute!!! Oh well, here are the ones I did take pics of, I did a simpler style of scrapping cause I was in such a time crunch, but I still am really happy with how they turned out:

I also wanted to share a quick 'tute' about heat embossing. This has become my favorite technique lately. I have been using UTEE or 'ultra thick embossing enamel' but of course embossing powder comes in several different colors, even scented! What I like about UTEE is that it's thicker, and it's clear, so you can stamp your image in black or a color, then clean your stamp and cover it with TOP boss or another clear embossing ink, then go over it again with that. Next sprinkle on some UTEE and heat it! You can even double heat it for an even cooler look. I recently bought a clear embossing ink daubber, which is super easy to use if you aren't stamping, but wanting to cover a larger surface. By heat embossing some old chipboard shapes or stickers, it creates a cool new shiny embellishment for your page or project! I have even experimented with coloring my stamps with Tim Holtz distress markers as ink along with other colors to get each part of the stamp in different colors, then heat embossed it! Way cool, right?? Next for Christmas I want some colored embossing powder and more stamps!!!! Here are some step by steps on how I heat embossed some old chipboard shapes and gave them new life:

1. Choose your items, could be a thicker sticker, chipboard, or even cardstock shape.

2. Next, cover it with clear embossing ink, making sure to be very generous with the coverage!

3. Working quickly, cover your object with UTEE or other embossing powder.

4. Next, pull out your heat gun and give it some heat! You can lightly heat it for a more varied look or heat it longer and the little beads will melt together and make an overall enameled look.

Cool right? Well I will definatley be doing more experimenting, especially once I get more embossing powder and stuff for Christmas! So stay tuned for more craftiness!! I love this time of year! Happy weekend, Y'all~ VV