"Koolest Kids" with Alison Callcott

Morning peeps!

I'm Alz (aka Alison Callcott) and I'm thrilled to have been invited to do a guest DT stint with Scrap Matrix (thanks Vicki!). I was even more thrilled when I found out I would be playing with PaperArtsy products .. be still, my beating heart!

Koolest Kids

 

 

I have used the following PaperArtsy stamp sets when creating this layout ..

I knew from the moment I lay eyes on the JOFY09 stamp set that I didn't want to use the two large flowers as flowers. I wanted the circles, and the stems would only get in the way. What to do la? Simples. Chop up my stamp set. Gasp! Horror! lol!

It's not so bad. I can always reposition the stems on my stamp block with the circles down the track if I want to.

My background was a fairly quick couple of spritzes of Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst and Glitz sprays followed by just a bit of Colour Blast Colour Paste spread through a stencil. Quick and easy. I didn't want to use patterned paper on this layout so grabbed some recycled tissue paper, scrunched it up and stuck it down quite randomly. I sprayed a gorgeous piece of Embossed Paper Lace with Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst spray and once dry, stuck it down horizontally across the page.

Next up I wanted to create a border of sorts with the circles; something I could cut out from the same cardstock as my background. But I didn't want the circles stamped all on top of each other. So I was going to have to do some masking. This requires .. 

stamping your circles on scrap paper to create 'masks'

(and fussy cutting them s close to the stamped lines as possible)

stamping a few of the circles with space left in between

(for more stamping)

and using the masks to 'protect' the image beneath

when stamping over the top

see the difference between the two borders?

(masked stamping on the left vs. messy stamping on the right)

Then there was more fussy cutting involved as I tediously cut out the border making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies. This was a slow process for me because (a) I failed cutting and pasting in school and (b) I happened to choose a particularly thick piece of kraft cardstock from my stash (d'oh!). Oh heh but before I forget, don't throw out your masks. Store them with the original stamp set and you can use them over, and over again. Voila!

(Isn't that Embossed Paper Lace just the prettiest?!)

Anyways, whilst I was doing all that stamping, I stamped and fussy cut some blossom stems and a butterfly. I tucked the blossom stems in the cluster on the left of my page, along with a Crystal Stem, behind a Kinder Kreations chipboard feather.

This butterfly is my absolutely favourite butterfly at the moment, but for someone who failed cutting and pasting, those stamens were a chore! More a labour of love perhaps? I cut the wings so I could raise them and to stop them from flattening out once the layout is in an album, I used Scrap Dots to hold them in place. Finally, I added some accents to my butterfly, blossoms stems and border, with Distress Stickles.

Meanwhile, one thing I really love to do when scrapping is to create clusters on my projects. On this layout I've used Um Wow Studio flairs. They are to die for. Honestly. They're a little larger than your average flair (which I like), have a flat back, and are really flat. Perfect for keeping down the bulk if, like me, that's what you're trying to do (ha ha). I've used one to help support my butterfly and another in the cluster to the bottom left of my photo. I've also used Petaloo flowers from the Botanica collection to tuck in here and there around my page and Kinder Creations chipboard feathers which I inked with an Archival Ink Pad.

Finally, to my title and journaling. I used my trusty, old Dymo labeller for the title, and a font called '1942 report' (I found it online one day when searching for free typewriter fonts), for my journaling. Because Dymo labels are notorious for not staying stuck down, I secured them with my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher. And that's that.

I hope you've enjoyed this project as much as I have. I can't wait to come back with another reveal, possibly using oh I don't know, PaperArtsy products again, maybe, perhaps.  ;)

Til next time, be cool!

Cheers .. Alz  :)

Scrap Matrix products used ..

PaperArtsy JOFY09 stamp set

PaperArtsy EDY02 stamp set

Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Spray - Tea Pot Purple

Colour Blast Colour Paste - Snow White

Petal Botanica - Mini Teal

Um Wow Studios - Teal Blooms

Crystal Stems - Lilac

Archival Ink Pad - Jet Black

Kinder Kreations chipboard - Birds Of A Feather

Embossed Paper Lace - Nottinghill White