D.I.Y. Transparencies

I can't remember where I first saw this technique, probably on youtube, but I finally got around to trying it, and it works like magic! Grab some LASER printed images or photos and give it a try! It's easy, fun, and have you seen the price of transparencies lately? D.I.Y. is the answer!

So, follow along and have fun:
Here's what you'll need: regular packing tape, scissors, a bowl of water (I added a few drops of dishwashing liquid, which helps the paper peel off but this is not a must), a rub-on tool or popsicle stick, and some images printed with LASER ink. Don't use inkjet, you'll just end up with an inky mess. Also, I put down some waxed paper to protect my work surface. Don't forget a big freakin' diet soda to sip on, this is very important.

Most packaging tapes come in rolls about 2 inches wide. Cut a piece of tape, and stick it directly to the front of your desired image. I used a cute little transportation symbol for this demonstration, just printed on a laser printer on regular paper, and cut out.


Rub over the packing tape with a rub-on tool, ruler, bone folder, etc to make sure there is good, solid contact between the ink of your image and the stickyness of the tape.

Now, just drop your image into the warm water and let it soak. The longer the better, but after about 2 minutes, you can start the next step.

Now, take your image out of the water, put it face down on your work surface, and start rubbing.

You may need to get it started with your fingernail, but once it's going, if you've soaked it long enough, it should not be too tough to get the paper to peel off just using the tip of your finger. Be careful not to scratch off any of the image.


I rinsed mine under the tap after dipping it one final time in the soapy water, and wallah... A cute clear embellishment you can use on your cards, sb layouts, or other projects. Pretty cool, huh? I even used some patterned paper (some worked, some didn't), a dictionary page, and a page from a crossword puzzle book, so feel free to experiment and see what works.

Below is a round card I made with this transparency, for a challenge at tallyscrapper to use only black, white, pink and green/blue. I'd love to see what you do, so feel free to leave a link to your project in the comments section! Enjoy & have a creative week!

Baby, It's Freakin Hot Outside...

...but it's Christmas in July over at Tally. Made some Christmas cards for a couple of the challenges this month:
Happy Midsummer Night's Christmas! Time for bed...

3 Cheers for the Oddball

This video just makes me happy. It's an old song, but it has all of the elements of a great music video, in my humble opinion: cute strange kid, dancing bees, long haired tattoo'd musicians stopping to smell flowers, the works.

I can't help smiling.

So, on a boring, blah Wednesday, here's to all of us that are just a little "not sane." May we all find our soulmates in green fields and wave our freak flags proudly!

Della and the Dealer ATC's

I posted earlier this summer about ATC's - and that my father is really hooked on these little pieces of art. This week, I got a package PaCkED with fun ones, including a series of 8 that he did according to the lyrics of an old song that has nostalgic value to our family...i.e. singing it loudly on road trips when I was little. :) I decided, for full effect and all, to make a little movie out of the ATC's with the song itself. Yep, so let's all give a hand to my DAD and good ol' Hoyt Axton!

Scroll down and turn off my other playlist if it's still going before pushing play or you'll be in for a very strange remix of this song...lol.

Enjoy!
(I apologize in advance for any low-video quality/sound issues....I'm new to this stuff)

Shades of Summer Project

This is my photo/layout for the Shades of Summer project on Liz K's blog. She is sending around these yellow sunglasses throughout the country and we are each taking a photo wearing the glasses, making layouts with the photo, and sending it to the next girl on the list. Fun idea!

This is a 2-page layout totaling 6x12", you can sort of see the break in the photo. Note - the tally July kit just keeps on giving, I used several pieces from the kit on this layout, too! You should pop over there right now and pick one up - before they're sold out!!

Hope you are having a lovely weekend!

i {heart} weekends

It's true! I feel so relaxed this weekend. Last week was pretty busy and stessful, and these 2 days of down-time have been cherished - every moment of them. Kirk and I have had some wonderful talks, two snuggle naps, yummy meals, and lots of creative time. Sold another set of owl buttons on etsy (yay!), which is exciting, and will be doing my photo for the "shades of summer" on Elizabeth Kartchner's blog later tonight.

Speaking of creative time, here are 2 more kit sneak peeks I made for Tallyscrapper's kit of the month, which goes on sale ON THE 15th!!!

A little address book to keep contact info on all of my web friends for swaps, etc:And an 8x8 layout. Dan, Kirk, Dad...this one's for you:Here's hoping your weekend has been lovely, too. :)

July Kit at Tally

LeahC over at TallyScrapper has designed the Sweet Summer Sunshine kit - and let me tell you...it's fabulous! I've been having a blast w/the bright, beautiful patterned papers and yummy embellishments. Here's a few things I've done w/the kit so far, and I've only used a teeny itty bitty little bit of the stash:



(Yes those are some of the clay buttons I made...love them!)

If you're a paper crafter, don't miss this kit! It goes on sale July 15th...and you can get it right..... here!

ScrapBlog

I've been having some fun at ScrapBlog - the site is so much fun!! I have been playing with some digital/hybrid scrapbooking, which means making scrapbook pages on your computer and/or printing some elements from your computer to scrap.

This site is a great resource for folks who are enjoying computer oriented photo management. I am pretty sure my friend Danielle is going to love it, too...she is getting into playing with her photos more on computer versus traditional paper & glue scrapbooking...and has made some beautiful photo books using iPhoto on her Mac. (Dee, you need to go and PLAY at this site!)

So what's all the fuss about? Well...

a) no supplies = scrap anywhere you can get to a computer = eco-friendly, too!
b) free
c) easy
d) looks great!

Here is a layout about my mother and my aunt. I completed it in about 20 minutes just now:Go give it a try. It's free, it's simple, it's a no-brainer. Have fun!

I Made It!!!!!

COLOR ME THRILLED!

Just came from the "midnight chat" over at TallyScrapper where they were "ringing in the new Design Team" when the challenge ended at midnight....and the 6 new team members were revealed...and I'm ONE of them!

I am really excited, shocked...and freaking out a little bit.

I am so happy I took the chance to enter the contest, and am really looking forward to working with the other 5 VERY talented team members, along with the rest of the team at TallyScrapper. If you want to know more about what this means, see my post from earlier this month here.

Also had a GREAT time earlier tonight taking my brother out for his birthday to a local British Pub. Couple of hard ciders, some shots of Yeagermeister, and half a corned beef sandwich later, we were full and happy. The bartender gave Dan a grossly-named drink on the house for his birthday, and all was well. Then we came back to the apartment, Kirk took a nap w/a headache while Dan and I got all sappy as we tipsily reminisced & laughed over old photos.

Wow, we old people really know how to party, huh? :) Well, say what you like about your younger years, but I wouldn't go back even a minute....if you paid me. I'm learning more about who I am and what's important every day, and I wouldn't change a thing.

Now, if I'm not too excited about making the DT to sleep, it's time to put myself to bed. :)