Technique Tuesday Giveaway!

So you know how Kiwi Lane has been partnering with Technique Tuesday this month?  (You can see how I used their stamps on my DT Doodle HERE)  Well, those awesome peeps over at TT are having a full week of giveaways, tips, inspiration and more!  Here's a peek at some of the goodies they'll be giving away-

I think you should take a second and hop over to their blog to see everything they have in store for the next week.  Even if you don't win anything, you'll surely be inspired to pull out your stamp stash, which is almost as good... almost!

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

Ideas to Inspire for Kiwi Lane

If you're new to Kiwi Lane (and even if you're not) you may not know that they strive to come up with lots of inspiration to help with the creative process and using their designer templates.  Usually this task is well-executed by one of the co-owners, but this week, I was in charge of the Ideas to Inspire segment.... no pressure, right?!  Here's what I came up with for my assignment:

Sometimes when I'm using my templates, I get stuck with the idea that I can only use one of each template, which ends up limiting my design because don't have doubles of very many templates, and I don't have more than two of anything.  And that makes me feel a little limited when designing a page.  But that feeling is what helped inspire today's idea:

Use your templates to cut out more than one of the same shape to create a repetitive pattern!

Can you hear that?  It's the sound of my mind moving out of the box- and I love it!  For this edition of Ideas to Inspire, I used just 4 templates on my page (I guess it's more if you count photo templates, but those are more like an extension of my arm when I'm creating layouts...).  By using one template (Celebrate 6) repeatedly and in a geometric pattern, I've created a whole lot of visual interest that compliments my photos.  So how did I do this?  Here's the simple rundown: I designed my page using the templates as usual, only I left a space for the triangle shape at the bottom of my layout.  Then I cut out a bunch of the triangles and arranged them across the bottom.  I moved them, switched them, and rotated them until I was happy with the look.  Then I finished my pages buy cutting out the remaining pieces, inking and adhering everything.  Last of all, I added some cardstock stickers and journaling.  

I'm sure I'm not the only one that finds themselves limiting their use of the templates to how many they have on hand, but I think we should all take a moment and remember that the templates are here to inspire our creativity- not limit it!  So next time you feel like stepping out of your creative box, give this idea a try!

Templates used:

Celebrate 6

Brackets 2

Chestnut Drive 1A & 1B

Patterned paper and stickers:  Flower Box Essentials Kit by Doodlebug Design

Washi tape: My Mind's Eye

Border punch: Martha Stewart Crafts

DT Doodles for Kiwi Lane Design- Week 20

Happy Monday fellow Kiwi Lane-ers!  I'm excited to share my DT Doodle with you today.  As you may recall, Kiwi Lane has partnered with Technique Tuesday for the Month of May. I'm sure you're tired of hearing us rave about their stamps, but I'm gonna anyway- you need to try these stamps!!  I don't declare myself to be a "stamper," but I do have my fair share of stamps in all shapes, sizes and materials.  Yet, with all those stamps, this was the first time I'd ever used Technique Tuesday stamps.  And they are wonderful!  The designs are great, they hold ink very well and they produce clean, crisp lines- especially for acrylic stamps!  

On to what you stopped by to see- this week's DT Doodle:

                                 

This is what my templates looked like laid out on my paper:  

(I ended up switching the arrows and adding more layers to the flowers as I went, but that is part of the way the templates work- you can still visualize the end product even if you make changes in the process!  And still no wasted paper!)

And this is what my layout looked like after I traced, cut, inked and replaced... 

Supplies: patterned paper (Scenic Route); cardstock (Bazzill, American Crafts); glitter glue (Ranger); pen (Staedtler); journaling cards, stamps (Technique Tuesday); ink (American Crafts, Ranger)

(I ended up switching the arrows and adding more layers to the flowers as I went, but that is part of the way the templates work- you can still visualize the end product even if you make changes in the process!  And still no wasted paper!)

....and added some glitter glue and journaling:  

I used the "Beautiful by Ali Edwards" stamp set from Technique Tuesday to create a border with word filled arrows.  I thought they went well with the other arrows on the page made with the KLD templates.  I also used the Journaling Cards from Technique Tuesday for my title, a caption and a space for journaling under a few of the photos.  

I used the following templates on this layout:

Aspen 1A & 1B, 2A & 2B

Playtime 3 & 4

Tiny Accents 1T

Tiny Sweetheart 4T

Tiny Nature 6T

Tiny Shapes 3T

Adventure 4 & 5

Strips

Photos

With some of my leftover paper and those amazing TT stamps, I created this "Awesome" card:  

Supplies: cardstock (American Crafts, Bazzill); patterned paper (Scenic Route); ink (American Crafts, Ranger); stamps (Technique Tuesday); letter sticker (Doodlebug Design)

I used these templates for the card:

Sentiments 3A

Adventure 1 & 2

Tiny Strips

I hope you enjoyed this week's DT Doodle- don't forget that you could win a $25 gift code to the Kiwi Lane Shop for playing along!  For all the details, just head on over HERE.

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrapping!

Winner, Winner!! Re-Draw

Two weeks have passed and the winner I drew for the Kiwi Lane Blog hop has not contacted me. So let's try again, shall we?  The new winner of the set of Kiwi Lane Brackets Templates is....

Lynne Blodgett!!

Lynne, please email me at glo_owens@msn.com with your mailing address.  You have 2 weeks from today to claim your prize!  If you don't email me by Monday May 27, 2013 I will draw another winner.

That's all for now.  Happy Scrapping!

Winner, Winner!!

I hope everyone had fun this weekend!  Between the Kiwi Lane Blog Hop and National Scrapbooking Day, how could you not have fun, right? ;)

Now what you've been waiting for- the winner of the Bracket Template Set from Kiwi Lane.

The winner is.....  Chloe Arielle!!

Congratulations Chloe!  You have until Monday, May 13th to email me at glo_owens(at)msn(dot)com with your mailing address so I can get your prize in the mail.

A big THANKS to everyone who played along- and welcome new followers!

That's it for now.  Next time- what I did for National Scrapbooking Day.  Have a great day and Happy Scrapping!

Happy May!!- Kiwi Lane Blog Hop

Hello Kiwi Community!  It's the beginning of a new month, and that means it's time for another fabulous blog hop!!  I hope you've been enjoying your hop so far- you should have come here from Catherine's blog.  If you didn't, hop on over to the Kiwi Lane blog and start from the beginning- I know you don't want to miss any of the fantastic ideas!!  And remember, there is a prize involved- a $25 gift code for the Kiwi Lane Shop- YAY!!  Just make comments at all the blogs along the hop, including the Kiwi Lane blog, to be entered and one random commenter from all of the blogs will WIN!  Easy peasy!  And if you stick around here for a bit, there might just be another little giveaway, too....

Here's the line-up for this weekend's festivities (just in case you get lost along the way):

1. Kiwi Lane 
2. Venetia Holbrook 
3. Heather Conklin 
4. Jana Eubank 
5. Jen McDermott 
6. Jennifer Budge: 
7. Catherine Povec 
8. Gail Owens  (You are HERE!)
9. Erin Schultz 
10. Jenn Nicholes 

Here's my little contribution for this lovely blog hop:

Supplies: patterned paper (DCWV); chipboard letters (Cosmo Cricket); ribbon (My Mind's Eye, craft supply); buttons (October Afternoon, Provo Craft); twine (Lilly Belle's Paperie on Etsy, The Twinery, Pebbles); ink (Ranger); pen (Staedtler)

Kiwi Lane Templates: Scallops, Tiny Nature, Tiny Shapes, Accents, Brackets

Here are some photos of the details:   

I used my templates to "frame" my layout first- I didn't have 3 of the same shape, so I used others as place holders.  It gave me a good idea of what I needed to cut and where things would be.  I also (obviously) ended up changing out the background paper for something a bit lighter.

 I used my Martha Stewart Crafts multi blade scissors to cut one layer of the scallops to add texture and make it look more like grass. (That photo disappeared from my camera.... little fingers "helping," I'm sure)  I also did my handwritten journaling on one of my favorite basic shapes- a bracket.  And I was able to use my Scallops 1A border template to make those scalloped rosettes.  Here's how:

First, trace your template, leaving a little bit of the template hanging off the long edge of the paper (about 1/8") or trim off a bit after you're done cutting the border.

Then use a scoring board to score on the peaks (highest point) of the scallops, in the valleys, and halfway between each one.  Kinda like this:

**Please note- I drew some of my lines to show you where you need to score- DO NOT use a writing utensil for your scoring tool!!

Once you have your lines scored, accordion fold your strip like this:

I used paper that was thin enough that I could have just lined things up as I folded, leaving out the scoring.  If you use a heavy paper, you will want to score your lines before you fold.

Next, tape your ends together.  Don't overlap the paper.  You want a continuance of the scalloped pattern, and you will lose part of a scallop if you overlap.  Just use tape on the back of the paper to make a ring like this:

Now you will need a circle of paper (I used a punch to get a 1 1/2" circle) and a hot glue gun.  I prefer hot glue for rosettes because you need something very strong to keep the rosette from popping up later. Here's what you do now: put your circle on your table, put a good sized glob of hot glue in the middle and flatten out the rosette on the circle.  Try to keep your circle in the middle (hard to do since you can't see it once you flatten out your rosette).  This is what it will look like on the back when it's all together:

Now it's ready for your page.  You can ink at this point, add buttons or other embellishment for the center, add glitter glue... whatever your heart desires!

Whew!  That was kind of a long post... thanks for sticking around!!  Now, didn't I say something about a giveaway?  I believe I did!

Who would like to win a set of their very own Kiwi Lane Designer Templates??!!  I will be giving away a set of these Bracket Templates...

...here on my blog.  To enter, become a follower of my blog and leave me a comment letting me know you did so (if you're already a follower, leave a comment letting me know).  You have until 11:59 pm on Sunday, May 5, 2013 to enter.  That's it!  One follower will be randomly chosen and announced here on my blog on Monday.

Thanks for stopping by.  Don't forget to leave a comment!  Erin's blog is up next.  Have a great weekend!

What Can We See Under the Sea?

I recently became a member of a fabulous group of amazingly talented fellow scrappers on Facebook. I'll admit, I feel quite intimidated by the sheer talent of these women!!  The main purpose of this group is to challenge your scrapping style by participating in, well, challenges.  These challenges are issued by either the Mojo Mama herself, or other members of the group.  And here are the results of my first challenge:

Supplies: cardstock (American Crafts, Bazzill); patterned paper (October Afternoon); letter stickers (American Crafts, My Mind's Eye, Making Memories); edge punches (EK Success, Martha Stewart Crafts); die cut machine (Silhouette, Sizzix); buckle die (Sizzix); spray ink (Studio Calico, October Afternoon); ink (Ranger); paper clip, string (craft supple); deco edge scissors (Provo Craft)

Kiwi Lane Templates: Tiny Wacky, Tiny Tags

Here was my challenge:

• Use something nautical (I used my Silhouette to make the anchor)
• 2 pages
• 9 photos
• blue, yellow, green and white for colors
• use deco edge scissors (I made the yellow zig zag)
• use a ribbon slide (I didn't have one in my stash, but I did have a die for ribbon buckles, so I made one really quick)
• misting (I did yellow and blue on the background- took me 3 days to get enough courage to do it- misting scares me!)
• hand journaling on a cloud shape (enter my trusty Kiwi Lane templates!)

This layout had a few things that were definitely a challenge and pushed me out of my box (misting!!) and a few things to help me remember to use my oldies, but goodies (deco edge scissors, ribbon slide die)- which I'm glad for!  Sometimes I find myself getting in creative ruts, and hopefully this group with help me push myself in new crafting directions!

So what do you think?  Did I meet my challenge?

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Scrapping!