Hey Crafty Friends...
I am so excited to show you today's project for Xyron. They have partnered up with the an awesome company... Simple Stories, which are known for the way their products come together effortlessly to make beautiful scrapbook pages.
And I am am over the moon, thrilled!! Because I got to play with their new SO RAD Collection
Supplies Used
Simple Stories So Rad Collection Kit
Simple Stories So Rad Simple Basics Kit
Simple Stories So Rad Bits & Pieces
Xyron Creative Station with 9" Permanent Adhesive Refill
Xyron 3" Sticker Maker
Teresa Collins Cut'n'Boss (Craftwell)
Teresa Collins Pocket Dies Memory Collection (Craftwell)
Spellbinders Grand Nestabilities Grand Labels One
EK Success Corner Punch
Tim Holtz Paper Distresser (Tonic Studios)
Diamond Glaze by Judikins
Corrugated Cardboard
VersaMagic Chalk Ink Pads (Tea Leaves, Jumbo Java, Midnight Black)
Ink Sweeper (Tsukineko)
Faber-Castell Artist PITT pen (XS, M, B)
I just love how these papers can be used as is... elements on the page are designed in a way that you can easily just strap on your pictures and be done or you can take them apart and use the separately... um, yeah ... can you guess which option I chose?!!
This page had both 2x2 elements and 6x8 elements. They can be used as page accents and photo mats... awesome!! I love it when products serve a dual purpose. Besides, I just had to use that wood grain in a layout... just had to!
I started off by cutting that corner panel I was just dying to use. I set that aside. This was going to be a "boy" themed layout. And then it hit me... Boy. Dirt. Grunge...
CARDBOARD!!
I love the look of naked corrugated cardboard but didn't have the urge to go out and buy a specialty stack of paper just for it... especially when I have tons of mailing boxes laying around. I just removed the top layer and presto just like the store bought ones without the hefty price tag!! And besides you all know how I love to recycle... I love going green wherever I can! Yay!! Win-win!
And how awesome is this I used my wafer thin dies to cut thick cardboard... I just ran it through a couple times to make sure it cut all the way through. But look how awesome my cardboard looks!!
One of the things I love about these Simple Stories papers is that they are double-sided!! EEkk!! The down side ... the patterns on both sides are so awesome it's hard to choose which side to use.
But in this case I got to use both!! I use one side for a mat and the other side I drew a curvy slope and presto I have an accent piece that compliments my mat but looks like an entirely different piece of paper!
I cut out my slope and inked my edges with some chalk inks... and while I'm at it I inked the edges of some elements from the So Rad Bits & Pieces Collection of die cuts.
I rounded my corners then gave the edges a bit of distressing to make them look tattered and worn. Then inked along the edges to make py paper a bit more grungy... gotta love GRUNGE!!
Then, I ran all my distressed pieces through my Xyron Creative Station. From the start I knew my layout was going to have lots of layers and I needed adhesive that was going to stay put and hold op to all the added weight. So especially on big projects like this I always tend to use my Xyron machines and once they're stuck down I know they're not going anywhere.
I cut out these awesome quotes. I quickly just rounded the corners, and inked the edges. Then did the same to a couple photos and ran everything through my Xyron 3" Sticker Maker.
The pictures I chose were of my boys wrestling on my kitchen floor one morning. I think Sean was 2 going on 3, and Jordan had just turned a year. They were hugging on each other and rolling around. Just boys being boys... and being so adorable at the same time! Why do kids gotta be so darn CUTE at that age?!!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE these Pocket Dies from Teresa Collins and they went perfectly with the entire So Rad Collection!! The pocket dies I used are from Teresa Collins' Memory Collection. The are GORGEOUS!! And my favorite out of all my TC dies! Just gave them a quick run through with more yummy paper.
Now, that all my pieces were prepped and ready, it's time for my favorite part!! Time to peel and stick!!! It is so super fast and easy!! Love seeing everything instantly come together!!
I wanted some of the elements to really stand out... I usually reach for a glitter but thought I'd go for some shine instead. So I added Diamond glaze on top certain elements around the page.
So, I added glaze to all my little aliens.
And on my stars and numbers...
maybe a gear and some arrows...
What a way to add some bling without any of the frou-frou! It is a "boy" layout after all.
And, WOW, what a huge difference!! I like dimension... oops, strike that! I meant to say, I LOVE dimension!! I seriously think I maybe allergic to anything flat!
Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!! LOL
And here is my finished layout.
I hope you enjoyed today's project!! I loved making this so much that I think I'll be doing
more boy layouts really soon!!
I hope you all have a CRAFTASTIC day!!
~ Mitsy