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!