My scrappin' life

Art Journal Every Day December

Hello and welcome to my blog!

Today I want to share with you how I created the cover my December Daily Journal.

First I covered the book cover with an Adhesive Sheet and applied the background paper. If Adhesive Sheets are used between the chipboard and the paper it will keep the paper from curling and wrinkling when working on it with fluids later. So that is very helpful for especially mixed-media crafters. Then I sprayed with spray paint through a stencil, let the spray paint dry and put the stencil back on top of the sprayed image. I added E-Z Dots^®Permanent in the open spaces of the stencil, then removed the stencil and added WOW! Fab Foil to the adhesive.

Keep adding Fab Foil until the cover is not sticky anymore to make sure all the adhesive is covered. I applied all paper pieces using E-Z Runner^® Permanent. I added white splatters of acrylic paint and then sequins using E-Z Dots^® Permanent again. This is a perfect adhesive to add small shapes since the dots will only stick on the surface of the shape and there will be no adhesive in the open spaces.

Finally I created some shiny snowflakes. I created a little stencil by punching a snowflake from a piece of cardstock and used the negative to add modeling paste. While the modeling paste was still wet i sprinkled glitter on top.

I finished the cover with a little tag and sticker letters. If I use sticker letters on an album cover I always add some extra adhesive since the tend to fall of easily. I used the E-Z Runner^® Permanent for that.

Thank you for stopping by! 

Behind the scenes - Meet the manufacturers

Only one more week untill we start with Behind the Scenes - Meet the Manufacturers!!

Every week a manufacturer will share fun and interesting company facts with you. You will get interviews, company background and history, product information, news, projects and more. Each week there will be a give-away for one of you to win made available by the manufacturer of the day.

Be surprised by the awesome brands playing along! Some are small and might be new to you. I'm sure you will be happy you got to know them once you've seen their products. Others are big companies that everybody has heard of but it will be so interesting and fun to get to know them better!

First one up, on January 4th, 2013 is PanPastel!!!

There will be new stories and give-aways every friday. You don't want to miss this!

Cherish your Christmas traditions - Art Journal Every Day December

It's almost Christmas and I guess we all have some kind of personal Christmas traditions.

With a German father and a half German mother living in the Netherlands I grew up with a Christmas tradition none of my friends had. We had presents under the Christmas tree, something that was very uncommon back then. My mom used to put the presents under the tree days before Christmas adding something almost every day. Building the excitement so to speak :)

My sister and I were not allowed to touch them and my mom put them in a way we couldn't read the names on the packages. But of course, if we got the chance we peeked to see a glimpse or even shake them a little, wondering what was inside.

Both of us hoping the biggest present would be for us. We didn't realize it yet that sometimes the smallest gifts are the biggest of all :)

We could hardly wait until Christmas Eve, because that is when the Germans unwrap their gifts.

All this made Christmas even more special than it already was. As I said, none of my friends had presents with Christmas. In the Netherlands we celebrate Sinterklaas. This saint is celebrating his birthday on December 5th bringing gifts to all children, big and little. 

My sister and I were lucky to have 2 special events in one month.

Another tradition was decorating the Christmas tree whilst listening to Peter Alexander, LOL!

Peter Alexander was a German singer. My parents had a LP with his Christmas songs, in German of course!  In my eyes Peter Alexander was already old back then, which he was since he was born in 1926 :) and the LP was recorded in 1966 but every year we listened to it. 

It so much belonged to the decorating part that my father made me a CD with all the songs when I moved out and I still listen to it every year. My kids hate it :) If I go searching for the CD they make sure to get out of the way. But for me, this is the moment that Christmas starts. This CD really gets me in the Christmas mood and I think I will hold on to this tradition until I'm no longer capable of decorating Christmas trees at all.

Hehe, you should see me, sorting out the ornaments singing out loud, having a great time! 

So, I thought this story had to be recorded in my December Daily and these are the 2 pages I created about that special day.

I started with applying an Adhesive Sheet (Scrapbook Adhesives^TM by 3L) to a piece of cardstock and embossed it with a mix of green embossing powders, Glamour Green Glitter, Earthtone Olive Regular, Primary Evergreen Super Fine (WOW! Embossing Powders).

 

Then I tore the embossed paper into pieces, creating the branches of the tree.

I added some turquoise acrylic paint to 2 pieces of patterend paper to create a background and applied the branches to the paper starting from the bottom layering the pieces of embossed paper.

 

I used an E-Z Runner, only covering the middle part of the branches. The edges of the branches being not glued down and curling up a little reinforces the effect of the layers.

 

After I finished the tree I added the journaling using a white sharpie. All the German song titles of Peter Alexanders Christmas songs :)

I added crystals as Christmas ornaments and highlighted some of the words.

I added a tag with some journaling and some embellishments in the upper right corner. The wooden snowflake was embossed with Silver Hologram Sparkle embossing powder for a sparkling effect.

The finished left side:

The finished right side:

Paper, tag, stamps, tab and sharpie are from Cocoa Daisy's Art Journal Every Day December Kit, composed by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer.

That's it for today!

Wishing you all a wonderful, magical Christmas. Hopefully surounded by all your loved ones!

Creative Jump Start Summit 2013

Here we go again. After last year's success of Creative JumpStart Nathalie Kalbach decided to organize it again. About 4.500 subscribers joined the Creative JumpStart in 2012. It was so much fun! So here is the scoop about it: January is approaching--a month that is full with promises, resolutions and intentions. A month that for many is following lots of holiday celebrations, family gatherings and other end-of-the-year events. It’s also time to start creating again. But suddenly there it is for some of us: that lost feeling on how to start. Here is the cure :) Nathalie invited a group of wonderful, inspiring and creative ladies and gentlemen from around the globe in the mixed media and scrapbooking world to join together for the Creative Jump Start Summit 2013. We are coming together to show you some ways to get back into the creative groove and how to get your creative juices flowing. We want to share with you "3 Ways to ..." help you jump-start your creativity in 2013. Let me show you who is participating:

Here’s what you get and how it works:

• 1. Throughout January we will share videos showing tutorials to inspire you –
• 2. You sign up for the Creative JumpStart 2013 newsletter HERE and, in January 2013, you will receive a daily link and password to unlock the view of the materials as soon as they go live
• 3. On some days our Sponsors will have a giveaway for you and you will receive two newsletters these days

• 4. You watch the presentations and you will be hopefully inspired to be more creative—all for FREE! If you like it you can donate to the cause - check it out here.

So come on—get inspiration from some of the most creative people in the community What are you waiting for? (Did I mention it’s FREE?)

Don't miss out on this daily inspiration! And please feel free to share this awesome event with all your friends! Have fun!

  

 

Awesome Layers with Adhesive Sheets and Embossing Powders

Today I'm posting the Scrapbook Adhesives^TM by 3L Crafty Power Blog.

I'm giving step-by-step instructions on how to create this little canvas using Scrapbook Adhesives^TM by 3L products and WOW! Embossing Powders.

Check it out on the Crafty Power blog here!

Creative Christmas Calendar - My Window

Hello!

Have you heard about Riikka's amazing Creative Christmas Calender?

You know those traditional Christmas Calenders where you can open 1 window every day untill Christmas and there is a little surprise behind every little door, right?

Well, my sweet friend Riikka from Finland is having a Creative Christmas Calender on her blog this whole month! Every day a window opens and you will find awesome inspiration, give-aways, videos and more from an amazing list of artist! And guess what... it is free! Check it out here!

Today I have the honor to present you my window. It's a little video showing you how to use Tattered Angels Glam or Glaze on transparencies to create this look:

So hop on over to the Paperiliitin Blog and enjoy my little video and all the other creative windows!

Happy weekend!

Studio Tour and some Textured Canvasses on the Tattered Angels blog

Hello! 

Today I posted on the Tattered Angels inspiration blog giving you a little tour through my studio and showing two textured canvasses.

For the studio tour and to see the completed canvasses please click here!

That is it for today but make sure to check back tomorrow!

Window 15 of Riikka's (Paperiliitin) Creative Christmas Calender holds a little video by me showing you how to create Christmas Gift Tags and/or Cards using transparencies and Tattered Angels Glam and Glaze!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

December Daily on the Crafty Power Blog

Hello!

Today I'm sharing on the Crafty Power Blog the cover of my December Daily journal. I'm participating in Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's Art Journal Every Day December Class:

And here is the cover I made for this journal. On the Crafty Power Blog (Scrapbook Adhesives By 3L) I'm showing you step-by-step how I created this cover, so hop on over if you're interested!

Behind the scenes - Meet the manufacturers

I'm super excited to announce a new series I will be running here on my blog called "Behind the scenes - Meet the manufacturers". 

Every week a manufacturer will share fun and interesting company facts with you. You will get interviews, company background and history, product information, news, projects and more. Each week there will be a give-away for one of you to win made available by the manufacturer of the day.

Be surprised by the awesome brands playing along! Some are small and might be new to you. I'm sure you will be happy you got to know them once you've seen their products. Others are big companies that everybody has heard of but it will be so interesting and fun to get to know them better!

Starting January 4. 2013 with new stories every friday. You don't want to miss this!

Please feel free to share by copying and pasting the blinkie in the left sidebar to your blog.

Thank you!

Balzer Designs Adventures in Arting Podcast: Thinking Globally

I had so much fun chatting with some of my favorite people from around the world! Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, Julie's mom Eileen , Nathalie Kalbach, Louise Nelson and I had a great conversation about working in the very U.S.A.-based craft industry when you don't live in the U.S.A.  We discussed economics, cultural differences, personal journeys, shipping costs, and so much more!  And there was a lot of laughter! You won't want to miss this one!

ADVENTURES IN ARTING PODCAST: NATHALIE KALBACH, LOUISE NELSON, BIRGIT KOOPSEN

Here is the player for today's podcast:

If you can't see the player above, click here. 

I hope you enjoy it! Happy weekend!