Monthly Challenges

Yes ladies! It's time to spring clean. Time to go through your scrap stash and rediscover the piles on paper and mounds of embellishments that have been long forgotten. Then, use those treasures to create a stunning layout. It's that simple!

Please make sure to upload your LO in the Monthly Challenge Gallery-May folder at www.transparenttouches.com or linking your LO link via comments on the blog by midnight PST on May 31st. The page needs to be new and created for this challenge. One winner will be drawn to win a TTT prize pack. Anyone can participate and you can use whatever scrap materials you want to. It does not need to be created with a TTT kit.

Monthly Contest Using TTT kit

With spring in the air, flowers blooming, the birth of babies, and cleaning out the clutter to start anew I decided to have a monthly contest focused on "NEW"! So, break out those TTT kits that are still in the package and get creative!

The main requirement is that you need to use a kit from Transparent Touches, any kit. Please refer to the rules post for additional details: http://www.transparenttouches.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8357.

Due date this month will be midnight CST May 31st. One winner will be drawn to win a TTT prize pack. Winner will be determined by drawing.

You can enter as many times as you like. 2 page LOs count as one entry.

You can post your pages two ways: on the TTT website in the gallery under the "May 10 Contest Work Gallery" (www.transparenttouches.com) or linking your LO link via comments on the blog.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment. Thanks so much and have fun!

Cards

With Mother's Day fast approaching you may be thinking about getting cards for the moms in your life. Why not make them a card this year. I created the following two cards for my mom. One is a birthday card and the other is a thank you card for being such a wonderful mom. There is also a sketch to go along with each card.


Happy Birthday:


Thank You:
Making cards is also a great way to use up scraps from your past TTT kits or other scrap supplies from your stash! Each card also includes a transparency from TTT!

Sketch and Layout Sample

Here is a sketch from PageMaps and my example layout. I used the sketch as a general guide but as you can see it varies some from the sketch. The great thing about a sketch is you can use it as much as you want for inspiration. Why don't you try this sketch yourself and see what you come up with.

The sketch:


Jen's Layout:


Thanks for looking!
Jen

Cool Technique

Ever finish your page and take a step back and think it needs something more? This happens to me often and the technique I turn to most is stamping with Versamark ink on the background. This is an easy technique to do after your layout is done since the Versamark ink is only is a watermark ink. If you get a little extra where you don't want it then it's not that big of a deal since it's not as noticeable as pigment inks. I love to stamps circles or swirls on the background. Can you tell?
This layout was done with the TTT March Kit #1.
Or on this page I used a leaf stamp from my flower set to add some leaves to these hand stitched stems. I used the TTT April Kit #3 for this layout and a Pagemaps sketch!

I hope you give this technique a shot next time. Make sure to upload your layouts in the TTT Gallery and check out the great deals on the TTT & Embellish it cruise coming up this October!!!

Tag Ideas: transparent tags!

by Nathalie

This month, I wanted to play a little with my Transparent Touches transparencies* and I came up with the idea of making tags that would fully use their transparent aspect. You will see below what I mean. I framed (on both sides) and decorated each transparency but did not add any paper on the back of them. That way, they have a fun "see through" look (not easy to capture on photos).

Click on any image to enlarge it

They will be of great use on my kids' teacher's gifts and I hope they are giving you some ideas to use your transparencies!

* all the transparencies are available for purchase in the Transparent Touches store.

What a Catch!

by Nathalie

Hi there TTT fans!

We just had our Spring Bling Crop which means that the User gallery is FULL of new pages and is overflowing with inspiration. I highly recommend you checking it out! It was hard to limit myself to only three but here are a few that caught my eye:

"It must be Spring" by scrappin_in_AK

I love the creative work behind this page! My favorite part is the stitched circles framing the photos and how they add pops of colors to a black and white page. The photo is adorable too!

"Goofin off in the 40's" by mamadonald

I admire the whole vintage feel of this page (and am a bit jealous because I can't do that!). The old photos, the colors, the misting, the flowers, the swirls of different textures, the interesting design make this page magazine worthy in my opinion! I just love it!

"4th of July" by annaBananna

Totally my kind of design! So much so that I want to scraplift it! I love the four vertical and rounded photos with the journaling in between! The papers and embellishments give this page a great "americana" look that is perfect for the subject!

Great job ladies!!! Thank you for inspiring me and for sharing your talents with us!

I will be back later to share new tags using TTT transparencies.

Step by Step by Chrystal Riddell

For this layout, you will need the following:

*Flowers or other 3-d embellishment
*1 sheet of background patterned paper
*1 6 3/4 x 11 1/4 piece coordinating paper
*various coordinating scraps
*1 journaling card
*1 coordinating frame
*1 cardstock strip or ribbon
*2 4x6 photos (or 1 8x6)
*circle punch (I used and 1 1/2 inch punch)

***Don't forget to ink edges before you adhere your paper (if desired.)

1. Trim bottom of 6 3/4 x 11 1/4 piece coordinating paper with deco scissors. Adhere approximately 1/2 inch from left.
2. Punch 4 circles from scraps, then cut in half to make 8 pieces. You will only need 7 pieces.
3. With a ruler, draw a line where your "scallops" will be, then run a tape runner over it. Adhere the scallops along the line, then adhere the paper strip or ribbon. Pull up or bend the scallops for dimension.
4. Place/adhere photos, leaving room for the frame overlay.
5. Mat your journaling card, trim, and adhere.
6. Layer flowers and adhere in bottom left corner.

TTT MAY MONTHLY KITS!

TTT MAY 2010 kits are up!
Each kit features *NEW* papers from CHA!!

(You do not have to be a TTT kit member to purchase kits and sale items)

If you haven't already emailed me to let me know which kit(s) you'd like for MAY...please do so. If you would like to order an extra kit, just let me know which ones you'd like and I will put you down for those. I try to keep up with the kit emails as they come in so I know when a kit is sold out...but you may not get an email response from me confirming your choice for a few days. It takes me quite a while to go through them individually. Thanks for your patience! If you have a question in your email, I do try to answer those quickly.

~TTT KIT CLUB SPECIAL PROMOTION GOING ON NOW~

Refer a friend to TTT for 6 months and you will BOTH receive a FREE GIFT! (must mention the special to receive the gift)

There are3 great kits offered for the month of MAY...plus some great add ons and extra things available!


CLICK HERE for more information about TTT kit subscriptions.

CLICK HERE to read the FAQ's about TTT's kits.


SAVE THE DATE:
Scrapbook Fun Fest is an all day scrap event (10am-10pm) on May 29th in southern Oregon at 7 Feathers Casino. I will be a vendor at this event! If you want more information and to buy a ticket, just go here for more info: SCRAPBOOK FUN FEST

Have you seen the upcoming paper companies I'm using for upcoming TTT kits???

TAKE A LOOK HERE TO SEE WHAT'S COMING UP THROUGH AUGUST!!!




To see full list of each kit description, click on the kit picture below

MAY #1: Crate Paper: PINK PLUM













MAY #2: Paper Loft: DUDE COLLECTION







MAY #3: October Afternoon: FLY A KITE

You don't have to be a kit member to purchase these items. You can send me an email letting me know what you'd like to order. Thanks!

I have a couple of monthly kits available from past months (prices vary) (Click on the name of the kit to see a picture of it)


August #2: $24

September #3: $24 (I have two left)

November #1 $24

December #2 $24

January #2: $27

February #3: $27

March #1: $27

March #3: $27

PLANNING A VACATION THIS YEAR?? COME ON A CRUISE WITH TTT!
7 night cruise to the Eastern Caribbean
October 10, 2010
prices start at $593 per person+taxes