Thursday, July 31, 2008

Celebrity Chat - Kim Kwan August 6th!!!

Hi ladies!
Mark your calendars for Wednesday, August 6th. At 4:00 pm PST, Homegrown will be hosting a chat with the lovely and hilarious Kimberly Kwan. We can't wait to chat with her! It's sure to be a fast-paced, exciting chat and one you won't want to miss.

If you haven't had a chance to visit her blog, I recommend visiting. It's a blast to follow along with her antics and it's full of eye-candy photography. And, if you enjoy what you've read, leave her a comment and let her know it. Her blog is definitely worth subscribing to.
Kim Kwan Blog

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Altering Chipboard Tutorial by Marie Pilgrim

Holy Guacamole! Marie Pilgrim has created an incredible tutorial for altering chipboard!

Technique Spotlight: Altering Raw Chipboard
If you’re like me, you’ve collected tons of raw chipboard in all different shapes and sizes. You’ve got alphabets, shapes, flourishes, mini albums, etc. Question is, what can you do with it? Well, I’ve got a few suggestions….

Foiled Chipboard
You will need a package of foils—mine are from Pinecone Press. You will also need an adhesive dot runner (I use the Herma Dotto by EK Success). Here’s the process:
1. Roll adhesive dots all over your chipboard piece. Don’t worry if they don’t adhere perfectly on every bit of your chipboard; this will give your finished piece a textured, distressed feeling.
2. Select a colored foil and place it shiny/colored side UP over the adhesive dots.
3. Rub over the foil to transfer the color to the chipboard (I use a bone folder but you could use a popsicle stick) .
4. Carefully peel the foil off the chipboard and there you have it! A foiled chipboard piece!
5. If you want to define the edges of your piece, outline it with a marker. I used a blue Opaque Stix pigment marker by Marvy Uchida. It worked great, and the marker went over the foil without any problem.Chipboard: Maya Road Chipboard Wings

Sparkly Chipboard
Sure, you could use glitter but it’s so messy! Instead, I used a light brown chalk inkpad from Colorbox, “Tiger Lily” Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels, and “Cinnamon” Stickles from Ranger.1. Ink the entire chipboard piece with a chalk ink pad and let dry.
2. Spray the entire chipboard piece with Glimmer Mist and let dry.
3. Apply a second coat of Glimmer Mist and let dry.
4. Use the Stickles to outline or define details on your chipboard piece and set aside to dry for a really long time.
Chipboard: Maya Road Chipboard Wings

Tip: I was trying to squeeze some Stickles out of the bottle onto a scrap of paper just to get the bottle started, when a giant blob of Stickles came bursting out! So I put the lid back on the bottle and grabbed a needle. I dabbed the needle in the Stickles blob and used it to outline my wings and to draw in the feathers. I liked this because I could control the application more easily than if I’d been squeezing the Stickles directly from the bottle.

Patterned Paper-Covered Chipboard
This is my favorite technique! It’s a little labor-intensive but I love the result. The process is easy; it just takes a little more time.1. Trace your chipboard piece on the patterned paper. I always lay the reverse of my chipboard piece on top of the reverse of the patterned paper and then trace. That way, any stray pencil marks will be on the back of my project, not the front.
2. Cut out the shape from the patterned paper.
3. Glue the patterned paper to the chipboard piece.
4. Optional (but it looks so cool!):Sand the edges of the patterned paper-covered chipboard piece. I use the Basic Grey file set because it works really well. If you don’t want to sand the edges try inking or painting the edges. Or, just leave them alone!Chipboard: from the Maya Road Chipboard Tree Album (add-on)
Patterned paper:Scrapworks Magpie Pears and Starburst

Crackle-Painted Chipboard
You could use regular paint, of course, but crackle paint is way more fun! I used Tim Holtz’s Distress Crackle Paint. This is the easiest technique of all!
1. Shake the paint bottle.
2. Apply a heavy coat of crackle paint.
3. Leave it alone; it will crackle as it dries.
4. If you like, you can rub the finished piece with pigment powders, chalk, or ink to emphasize the cracks. Then leave as is, or cover with a rub-on as I’ve done here.

Chipboard: label tag from the Maya Road Chipboard Wings keychain

Monday, July 28, 2008

We have a winner!

Melaniestan is the winner for the first FREE Fall add-on from the Sneak Peek Blog Challenge! WTG Melanie!!!
I'm posting the pic of Rachel choosing the official winner ;)

Summer Survival Spotlight: Kim Kwan!!

Summer Survival started Thursday. The first lesson was just loaded with incredible inspiration.

I wanted to share our Scrap Superstar Kim Kwan's stunning work!


The stitching detail ties the design together. Just lovely.

I can't wait to see this week's collection of work from the entire talented Summer Survival Design Team!

Please note: All Kimberly Kwan designs and content provided for the Homegrown Scrapbooks Summer Survival Program are copyrighted by Kimberly Kwan.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Sunday Sketch Challenge by Audrey!

Check out this awesome sketch that Audrey created for today's challenge!



Here is her wonderful layout based on the sketch.



Be sure to upload your creation on the Homegrown Message Board!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Technique Tuesday with Kathleen Taylor

I will be honest. I have never tried Tim Holtz's Distressed Crackle Paint. Just thought it was not something I would have fun playing with.

What was I thinking!!!?????

If you have never played with it, you really should. Or maybe you shouldn't! It is really addicting.

The crackle paint will work on anything that is porous. if you are going to apply it to plastic or wood, paint it first with an acrylic paint. Then, coat the Tim Holtz's Distressed Crackle Paint on top of it.

So, let's pull that Tim Holtz's Distressed Crackle Paint out of the SSK and get to work!

First, pick out what you would like to distress.

I picked a chipboard title to alter with the crackle paint.



The crackle paint has an applicator attached to the lids of the paint, so it is really easy to apply. Coat the entire chipboard liberally. The thicker the paint, the heavier the cracks.

Tip: you can apply different color crackle paints on top of each other to create the exact color you want.



Once you completely cover the chipboard, wait for it to dry. Yeah right! Well, that is what the directions say ladies! But if you are like me, I just cannot watch paint dry.

So, pull out your heat embossing gun, run it over the chipboard and watch the paint begin to crack.

Tip: if you have rough edges after you are done cracking the paint, just sand it off.



When you are done, you can ink the chipboard with ink. It makes the cracks in the chipboard stand out more.

Here is close up of the finished chipboard:



Tip: You can also put crystal lacquer on top of it to magnify the cracks even more.

Here is another sample using Tim Holtz's Distressed Crackle Paint. It was sent to me as a baby gift from my dear friend Dawn Tavela.


She used the crackle paint on the "q", "QUINN", and the red heart.

Isn't it gorgeous??? I absolutely love it!

Now, I used the chipboard title "pals" on a layout, but I can't show you it yet. It will be in the SSK. And you know if I posted it here, Stephanie would have my head. LOL

The crackle paint is so easy to use. Just give it a try.

And make sure you you show me what you have done with it.

Maybe, I will do a giveaway for the people who play with the crackle paint during the SSK!

Watch the SSK boards for my post on the details of the giveaway.

Link me up to your crackle paint creations and I promise I will make it worth your while.

So, get cracking!! LOL

Sorry I could not resist.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

A few more sneaks for the scavenger hunt :)

Here are a few more... I'm posting them all at once, but the rules are a bit different.
When you post your comments, please guess according to the photo's number. You may list three guesses for each number, in the order that you would have guessed them. Does that make sense? For example, if you wanted to guess Pink Paislee Vintage Moon, but thought just maybe it might be Basic Grey Euphoria, list Paper #1: Pink Paislee Vintage Moon, Basic Grey Euphoria, etc.
I hope that makes sense... I'm tired :)
So here goes... Some more Fall Sneak Peeks!

Number One.... Number Two...
Number Three:
Number Four:
Number Five:

Happy Guessing!!!






October Afternoon Paper

Here's the full picture of the paper

Fall Sneak Peek number 12!

Isn't this fab!

Kaiser Superhero Paper

Rachel didn't get a proper picture of this paper, so I've 'borowed' this from the Kaiser site (and fired Rachel)!

Fall Sneak Peek number 11!

Gidday guys, here's number 11 - didya get the little clue there?

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Sassafrass Paper

Here's the proper picture of the lush Sassafrass paper Serendipity- Happy Place Apple Delight!

Fall Survival Scavenger Peek #10

Here's sneak number 10, see what you think it is :)

So sorry for being late guys!
My Internet keeps going down!

Chatterbox Felt Embellishments

Here's the whole pack, how stinkin' cute is this!

Fall Survival Scavenger Peek #8

Oh my! You will definitely *heart* this bit!!!



BoBunny Paper

This is the best picture Rachel could get because the papers were all displayed layered over each other.

Fall Survival Scavenger Hunt Peek #7

Lines & dots + green, just great!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Prima Owl Stamp

This is reowly cute!

Fall Survival Scavenger Peek #5

So whooooo do you think this could be?




Prima Flowers

Here's the whole pack shot to look at :)


Fall Survival Scavenger Peek #6

Who needs some flowers????



Mr Campy Paper

Had to borrow this from the Cosmo Cricket site as well, as Rach didn't get a good picture of the whole page - and this pic shows the double-sided deliciousness as well!


Fall Survival Scavenger Peek #9

Now this one should be hard...... NOT!



Basic Grey Paper

Here's the full picture of one of the lovely new Ambrosia papers from Basic Grey that will be in the kit!


Fall Survival Scavenger Peek #4

What could this swirly deliciousness be?



7 Gypsies Flocked Paper

Here's the proper picture of the 7 Gypsies flocked paper, it's so lush IRL! It is only a swatch in the photo, but it's a 12x12 sheet in the kit! :)


Fall Sneak Peek Number 3

You know the drill by now! One more after this one and then I'm done for tonight. Who knows what's pictured here?????

Scheduled outage at 8:30

I have a note on blogger than says scheduled outage at 5:30 pm PDT, which is in 3 minutes. We'll post the next sneak at 9 pm EST or when the outage is over if it's still out then (which I doubt). Just an FYI :)

WRMK Felt Lace



Here are some pics of the lace so you can see it better - we got the blue one!

Fall Scavenger Hunt #2!

What product is this and which manufacturer? Post a comment with your answer (as many times as you like) and be entered in the drawing for a free Fall add-on! :) Make sure that you take note of the bird - although his little head was cut off in the picture to protect the manufacturer :)

Fall Survival Scavenger Peek #1


What's the product and who makes it? Post a comment and be entered in the drawing for a free Fall add-on! :)

Did someone say Thickers?

Thought you guys might want to see some pictures of the Thickers we've picked for the Fall Add-on. They are OH SO YUMMY! Vinyl, chipboard, puffy, fabric and foil, OH MY!