Notes from Staci

Crazy Love – 8th Entry in the Master of Scrap Competition

Notes from Staci| 0 comments

Phew, I did it! I finished my last entry for the Master of Scrap competition over at Scrapaneers. I even managed to get it finished early in the day. I must admit that I am glad that I have them all done. That’s a lot of pressure to finish two layouts a week that fit a set of specific criteria.

This layout was challenging in that there were so many requirements. The Eclectic style, which is kind of an “anything goes” kind of style, includes lots of clustering of elements and mixing and matching different patterns. The requirements for this layout were,

  • Must contain at least 2 photos.
  • Must contain 10 different kinds of elements (buttons, ribbons, flowers, etc) and 3 different elements of each kind (so, 3 buttons, 3 flowers, etc). That is a minimum of 30 elements on the page, wow!
  • Include 5 different patterned papers.
  • Must have journalling and a title.
  • Must pull products from 3 different kits by 3 different designers.

It took me a long time to find all the elements that I wanted to use, and then finding 3 variations on that kind of element, it was a challenge. I don’t usually stick to just one kit for any layout. I love to scrap using many kits, so that part was easy. You realize how many supplies you really have when you are searching through them for that perfect element. I even did a major purge of products that I didn’t use recently, and I still have a lot of stuff, but they are products that I love.

Here is my layout.

Eclectic scrapbook layout for the Master of Scrap competition.

Click image for credits.

I love all the bright colours and the stitching accents. It was a lot of fun to make. The ombre paper with the polka dots is one that I am working on for a kit.

I think this may be my favorite layout that I have done for this competition. I am rather partial to the family photo on this page, we never seem to have enough of those.

Thanks for having a look at my layouts.

Poppies – 7th Entry for the Master of Scrap Competition

Notes from Staci| 0 comments

We are closing in on the end of the 4th week of the Master of Scrap competition over at Scrapaneers. Poppies is my 7th entry in the competition (only one more to go) and is inspired by the Abstractionist style. The requirements are that the layout FEATURE brushwork, invoke abstract design, contain at least one photo which is blended, or painted, or highly processed, and must contain a black/white or gray background.

I believe I hit all the requirements. The photos have been edited in photoshop to look like pencil crayon sketches. I used four separate photos of poppies on this layout. I am fortunate to have a beautiful display of poppies in my garden every year. They are a sight to see when they are all in bloom. Other than the background paper, everything else on the page was made with brushes and masks. Since this is not a style that is in my comfort zone I went as abstract as I felt comfortable with. I think it makes a very lovely page.

Here is my layout.

Poppies - Abstractionist Style layout for the Master of Scrap Competition.

Click image for credits.

One more layout to go and then the competition is over. Now I know that it is possible to complete two layouts a week. I think I will need to challenge myself to continue on, but maybe with the goal of 1 layout a week. If I get two done it will be a nice bonus.

Now to brainstorm my last layout.

The Extraction – 5th Entry in the Master of Scrap Competition

Notes from Staci, Uncategorized| 0 comments

Apparently I work well under pressure. Tomorrow is the deadline for the 3rd week of the Master of Scrap competition over at Scrapaneers, and I finished my first entry this morning and haven’t even started the second entry for this week. One step at a time.

This week the category is Traditionalist. Large photos that tell a story with realistic looking papers and embellishments, this one is all about the shadowing. Manipulating shadows can make or break a digital layout that you want to look like it was done with traditional paper scrapbooking supplies.

Some of the elements on my layout have two or three shadow layers applied. I further altered some using the Warp tool in Photoshop to make the elements look like they are raised up off the page. It is definitely about the little details.

Here is my layout, “The Extraction”,

The Extraction - Scrapbook layout for Master of Scrap Competition

Click on image for credits.

It seems like once that first tooth comes out it causes a chain reaction in their wee little mouths. This was the second tooth that Bodhi lost in the span of week. This time he was going to take matters into his own hands (literally) and pull that tooth out with the help of some dental floss. That tooth was so wiggly that it almost popped out when I tied the dental floss on. In the end he was able to give a tug and got the tooth out.

Now I am off to brainstorm for the next layout….32 hours and counting.

Bubble Blowing – 4th Entry for the Master of Scrap Competition

Notes from Staci| 0 comments

Success! I finished my 4th layout for the Master Of Scrap competition at Scrapaneers. The category was Geometrist, which is all about working with shapes and keeping things balanced. The requirements were that all photos had to be circular, contain 3 geometric shapes other than circles, must exhibit asymmetrical balance, and demonstrate a strong use of colour palette/colour story. Lots of requirements for this one.

I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but it didn’t really come together until I found the photos I wanted to use and then things started to fall into place.

Here is my layout Bubble Blowing.

Bubble Blowing - Geometrist layout for Master Of Scrap

Click on image for credits.

The majority of the layout uses my Be Awesome kit. I made the bubbles in Photoshop and the wooden tile alpha is something that I have had for ages, but I am not sure where I got it from.

That’s it for this weeks challenges. The next competition starts tomorrow night, but I probably won’t really get into it until Monday.

Thanks for having a look.

Butterfly Dreams – 3rd Entry for Master of Scrap Competition

Notes from Staci| 0 comments

I just finished my third entry for the Master of Scrap competition over at Scrapaneers. This week is the Day Dreamer and Geometrist categories. Here is my layout for Day Dreamer.

Butterfly Dreams scrapbook layout

Click on link for credits.

The requirements for this category were to have at least one photo extraction of a living being, create an imaginative scene, and contain no words. This is another style which I wouldn’t typical do, but I really enjoyed making this page.

The butterflies were extracted from photos I took this summer on our vacation. We visited the Calgary Zoo and one of the highlights was the Butterfly Conservatory. These pictures are from the time we spent there.

Butterflies

Now I am off to work on my next layout, Geometrist. The deadline is looming, I only have until 9PM PST tomorrow to get it done. I better get crackin’.

Hopeful – 2nd Entry for Master of Scrap Competition

Notes from Staci| 0 comments

Well I finished my second entry for the Master of Scrap competition over at Scrapaneers. This one was in the Free Spirit category, which is the complete opposite of Minimalist. Free Spirit style is all about artistically altered photos, textures, paint effects and a grunge look and has no white space at all. I think that I met the challenge.

Hopeful - Master of Scrap 2nd Entry

Click on the image for credits.

There is gesso and concrete textures in the background and a lot of paint brush strokes and splatters. I used a number of different techniques on the photo to come up with the final look. This photo was actually taken by my son, he was 5 at the time, when I let him have a go with my “big girl” camera.

Thanks for having a look.

Pea Happy – Entry for Master of Scrap Competition

Notes from Staci| 0 comments

I decided to enter the Master of Scrap competition at Scrapaneers. There are 8 tournaments in all, 2 a week for four weeks, starting this week. Scrapaneers is a wonderful resource for digital scrapbookers. I have taken a number of courses through them and have learned so much and always come away with new ideas and creative inspiration.

I have submitted my entry for the Minimalist category and I am very pleased with how it came out. It is all about a clean, relaxed scrapbook layout. Not a lot of embellishments, but the ones you add are placed purposefully on the page.

Here is my layout called “Pea Happy”.

Pea Happy minimalist scrapbook page.

Love, love, love this picture with that happy little pea. My little man had spent a serious amount of time searching for the perfect pea pod. He finally found one with 3 peas in it and they were perfect for drawing faces on. So with Sharpie in hand (cause that is how we roll in our house, why give an 8 year old a washable marker when you can live on the edge with a Sharpie) he drew his faces. This one was by far the happiest pea in the bunch.

I only used 2 embellishments, the speech bubble from my Be Awesome kit and the paint splatter from my Possibilities kit. The paper is from my Be Awesome kit as well.

Wish me luck and I will keep you posted on my progress in the tournaments.