I ♥ Pockets! Don't you?

From envelopes to business card pocket page protectors, I love all kinds of pockets! I especially love to use them in layouts to organize and tuck in bits and pieces of journaling, photos, etc., like this:

Used in this layout: Old business card pocket sheet (similar to this) cut in half; My Little Shoebox bird stamp, pattern papers; Stampin' up roller numbers stamp; Martha Stewart heart all over the page punch; EK Success border and heart punches; Adirondack pigment inks; Stickles; basic letter stamp set (love this one from Staples); 3D Dots; transparency; watercolor

Here's a closer look:

Hand cut pennants from cute My Little Shoebox pattern paper stitched together with embroidery floss and adhered to layout with 3D Dots:

Punched hearts folded in half and secured with embroidery floss; LOVE the Martha Stewart heart all over the page punch! Used it to punch a 'window' backed by a pigment ink stamped transparency:

Hand cut label shape by tracing MLS cardstock label remnant used as template; Stickle glittered embellishment to highlight the date of 5/7:

Hand stitched details to secure page protector to cardstock; watercolored stamped MLS bird image:

Don't you just love pockets too!?

P.S. I'm now on Two Peas in a Bucket, Scrapbook.com, and Flickr!

- KRAFTY pearl

Personalize Your Wood Grain!

I totally love the look of faux bois! And it's often used in card making and scrapbooking. There are lots of papers and cardstocks out there that have really pretty wood grain pattern:

1. My Little Shoebox's Woodsy paper
2. Art Warehouse's Wood Embossed Great Outdoors paper
3. Karen Foster's Wood Pattern paper
4. Creative Imaginations Real Wood Veneer paper
   

But this past Valentine's I really wanted something personalized for my card. So instead, I decided to draw my own tree and wood grain:

Notice anything within the wood grain? Here's a closer look. Do you see it now? Embedded within the pattern, I wrote 'i love you' in script!

I loved the result so much, I decided to doodle another piece... 'i adore you' with 'you' centered in the heart:

I also decided to put it in a shadow box as the main focal point but I could do so much more to it. (I bought a nice and simple Ribba shadow box from Ikea. Absolutely love these shadow boxes.) I could put a picture to the left of the heart. I could decorate it with more embellishments. The possibilities are endless.

What's great about drawing out your own wood grain pattern is that you can actually write camouflaged words or designs within the wood grain, really making the piece of art your own!

Here's a quick how-to:

I found the EK Success Zig Memory System Writer Dual Tip Pen Writer the most useful in drawing out my lines because of the sharp consistent point, though I also love doodling with Bic's Mark-It Permanent Markers Fine Point. But feel free to use whatever fine point pen you're most comfortable with controlling your lines.

First, start with your designs or words.

Second, draw concentric lines around your designs and words leaving a fair amount of space between your lines. The lines doesn't have to be perfect because that's the beauty of wood grain patterns, they're not perfectly spaced.

Third, continue to draw lines around your words or designs and let the imperfections guide you for a perfect faux bois doodle.

And there you have it, a pretty piece of art personalized with your own message and design!

So whaddaya think? Is it a cute personalized keepsake or what?

Until my next post!
- KRAFTY pearl

My Little Shoebox & Two Peas!

I love My Little Shoebox papers so I was happy to learn that Two Peas is running a MLS challenge and I thought, why not give the challenge a try! The Harmony collection reminded me of my small Momiji doll collection and inspired to create this layout, 'my sweet momiji collection'.

Used in this layout: My Little Shoebox papers, cardstock, tag, and alphabet stickers. Martha Stewart punches and glitter. Fiskars trimmer and fingertip detail knife. Offray ribbon from Michael's.

Here's a closer look: I added glitter to the MLS tag to give it a pop of shimmer and dimension.

By cutting down the height of some of the alphabet stickers, I gave it a less contrived and rigid look. I used Martha Stewart punches (love them) to create border strips and took the heart remnants to create a trail of hearts.

By stamping a polka dot background in a light pigment ink, I subtly lightened and added dimension to the paper. I also hand cut clouds and trimmed with light glitter.

So whaddaya think?

P.S. For too long, I have put off posting and sharing my layouts, so one of my goals for 2011 is just to share some of my work and ideas with the friends, family and other craft lovers like me, starting with this blog and my Two Peas gallery.

- KRAFTY pearl