Adding Some SHINE to your Titles

I recently did a page about Hayden's love of bath time, and since the topic centers around being in the tub and in the water, I thought it would be neat to have some shiny, epoxy letters for my title, to give it a 'wet' look.   Unfortunately, in all my stash, I didn't have any stickers or chipboard letters that fit the bill, so in typical fashion, I decided to make my own!  Here's a quick walk-through of how I did it, that shows you with a few minutes of your time, and a little creativity, you can get just the look you want!

First, I started by cutting my title, "Bath Time", out on my Cricut.  If you don't have a Cricut, you can also use plan, flat letter stickers, other die-cut letters, or chipboard alphabets to spell out your title.

Next, to ensure the letters stayed put easily while I worked, I zipped them through my Xyron, which also turned them into stickers for easy adhesion later!  After rubbing the letters well, I peeled the front sheet off, leaving the letters adhered to the Xyron backing.  If you're braver than me, you can go ahead and attach them to your layout, then follow the remaining steps, but I always like to have the option of a re-do before I stick everything down to my page!  Call me chicken!

Then, I got out my Liquid Glass.  If you haven't seen this stuff, it's amazing.  It's a CTMH product (which means you can get it from your local consultant...ahem.), and it makes adding some shine and texture to almost anything a quick and easy process!

When using Liquid Glass, I typically outline whatever I'm covering, to create a dam to capture the rest of the LG as I fill in the shape.  These letters were pretty thin, so one thick line of LG covered it just about everywhere. 

Once you cover the object, let it dry flat for about 15 minutes (or a little longer if you covered a large space).  I used that time to finish sticking down all the photos and embellishments on the rest of the pages, and work on my journaling.  Once a multi-tasker, always a multi-tasker! :)  

Test a corner of your object with a fingernail to check to see if it's fully dry before moving, and then you're free to add your title to your finished page!

It creates a nice dimension to your letters, and a great shine that helps bring your pages to life.

I love LG because it is great on so many projects!  One year, for my Christmas cards, I used it to make my stamped candy canes and tree ornaments sparkle, and it's wonderful for covering the tops of buttons or other embellishments to give them an epoxy-ed look. 

Here's another quick idea -

Do you love the look of glitter letters or embellishments, but hate the mess they leave on your albums and pages (and hands, and face, and hair, and carpet, and...)  Next time you glue some glitter to your pages, cover the object with a top coat of Liquid Glass.  You'll get all the razzle-dazzle without any of the frizzle-frazzle (yes, I made that up.  Don't laugh).

Another thing I love about LG is that it's so fast and easy to use!   And of course, it's a money saver!  For only a few dollars, you get a whole bottle of LG, and you can cut your own letters for a fraction of the price of designer stickers.

I'm sure you all have great ideas on where you can add a little 'pop' to your pages!  Please comment and let us know your thoughts - I'm sure we'd all love to add some more tricks to our scrappin' games too!

Topstitch

Have you gals seen Topstitch yet? This is, hands down, my favorite new CTMH paper set.  I absolutely adore the colors, textures and patterns in this kit!  The little suede flower embellishments that coordinate are just pure eye candy, too!

If you haven't seen this kit yet, jump on CTMH's site and check out the SpiringIdeaBook on pages 14-15 to see the Level 1 and 2 kits, the My Stickease packs, and the gorgeous Stamp Sets that tie in to this design - "Charmed", which has some beautiful flower designs, and "Togetherness", which I love for the scroll-y, stictched accents.

Oh, and you can check out those suede flowers on page 91!

If you're interested in getting your own Topstitch products, contact me for more information!

Homemade Embellishments

As much as I love and drool over the beautiful embellishments that you can find in the stores these days, there is something about the homemade variety that I will always adore.  Perhaps it's because it goes right to the heart of scrapping, for me, cataloging the times and essence of our lives. 

My latest addiction is clothing tags.  With a baby girl around, you can imagine the gorgeous styles, names and prints that accompany her beautiful little clothes.  They make wonderful embellishments, tags, fodder for titles, and more.  Even cuter are the woven tags in the back of her little outfits.  I lucked up on a lot of yard-sale clothes, which I try to keep intact, but every once in a while, a particularly rowdy dinner or overfull diaper renders the outfit unwearable for future users.   From those, I love snagging the beautiful tags for page embellishments.  Just look at the colors and patterns! 

Beach towels are another great place to steal tags from and not worry about losing the size information, FYI!

Anothe hobby I've started is collecting bottle caps.  My hubs loves Stewart's Orange Soda, and we occasionally buy Jones Soda, and I love saving the caps from all those drinks for my scrapping endeavors. After cleaning them thoroughly, I like to paint them, or cover the tops with chipboard or paper, and put a Pop-Dot behind them for a chunky embellishment on my page.  Sometimes, If I don't need that much height, I will take my crafting hammer and flatten the outer flanges, which creates a new look and still brings dimension to my pages.

These are great for adding the date to a page, to stamp or mount the first letter of a title, to use as bubbles or balloons, wheels or balls, depending on the theme of your page.  They're a wonderful place to mount flowers, or to use as the center of a large flower.  The possibilities are endless!

Share with us your favorite homemade embellishments, and we'll all have a new idea for our next crop!

Til then, happy scrapping!