March "Scrapbooking Your Faith Class"

Wednesday April 18, 2012

Inside Our Mini’s  Update

Well my creative pickles I am finally back!! What a crazy two weeks it has been. Let me start by saying THANK you so very much for being so patient with my crazy world!! Between my own health issues and trying to help my dad my sweet oldest granddaughter decided to break her foot!! It’s all rather comical and we both laugh at it now but none the less the last couple of weeks have been very trying. I so appreciate your positive feedback and sweet emails of encouragement and prayers. It never ceases to amaze me how God just continues to bless us in the middle of the storm and allows the joy and love to surround us just when we need it the most. He is so good and the soul reason I do what I do!

Speaking of Joy, have you found joy through the midst of a storm and thought “How is it I can smile even though I am hurting? My beloved’s this is what we will be tackling next week. Remember I told you we would be tucking little bits of wonderful creativeness into the pockets of the sweet little mini album you created? Well, get ready for 5 more weeks of awesomeness as we begin to fill our little book with, Love, Joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Gather your basic scrapbooking supplies and prepare yourself for a journey into scrapping your faith.  

Supplies needed will be listed each Wednesday for the following Monday. No creation will be alike so PLEASE do not worry about this. This will be each person’s own take on which ever faith word we begin with. This is meant to be easy and fun as well as challenging. I will be giving you the faith word, the basic supplies list and an image of what I created to help. But the creation will be YOUR OWN!!!  Don’t be afraid just go with it!!! There are no right or wrongs just Joyous Art!!!

Now let’s get started:

I will post the directions for completing the cover first. I know some of you have gone ahead and embellished your book in my absence and YOU GO GIRLZ!!!!! I was hoping you would step out on faith and do that. If you have not, then read the directions below this post to complete.

Next: Here is what you will need to begin what is known as Altered Trading Cards but for our books they will be our “ Faith Trading Cards” If you do not know what an altered trading card is please read the section on my blog about this. It will give you the history of atc’s and the do’s and don’ts as well as dimensions.

Supply List:

1.      Assorted coordinating cardstock pieces at least 4 x 3 inches. (Use the scraps from your book if you have them!!

2.      Basic supplies: adhesives, scissors yatta yatta including ink pads!! We will use the vintage photo and black soot the most!!

3.      Pictures or images that match your Weekly Faith Word and Message.

4.      Embellishments of choice i.e.: brads, ribbons, lace, gems, flowers etc.

5.      Empty cereal box

How to Prepare for Monday: Each week you will be given a different word. This will be your Faith word so before Monday you will need to take your word and research what it means to you and gather your supplies. Then on Monday I will reveal my creation using our faith word as well as a message on the word. Remember my message will be biblical based but your faith is your own. So feel free to use whatever your faith is based on.

So now that I am as clear as mud, LOL here is your Faith Word for Monday April 23, 2012. Can you guess? Yep you guessed it!!  

JOY

So get your thinking caps on friends and let’s get ready for more creative fun!!

Check out the photo sent to me of  the completed mini album by Vicki. 

Didn't she do a WONDERFUL job!! Remember, I want to see your version of the album so please send in your pictures!! 

I will see you Monday and don’t forget to check out what else is happening here on the blog!!

Tah Tah for now

Blessings

Pickles

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Wednesday April 18, 2012

Embellishing Your Mini Album

Once again thank you to everyone for your patience during my crazy, crazy last couple of weeks! I appreciate you so much and so thankful to my Lord for such amazing artists in my life!! I am sure some of you have gone ahead and embellished your book and to those who have YOU GO GIRLZ!! So glad you ran with it and made it your own!! But for those who feel more comfortable with instructions here is what I did on the book I created.

Supplies:

1.      Basic supplies

2.      Vintage photo and Black Soot distress ink

3.      Stickles Glitter glue

4.      Pop Dots

5.      Various embellishments as desired

6.      3 copies of a favorite image for cover ( I used the images off  My Mind’s Eye “Be Happy) paper collection

Let’s get started:

First using your vintage photo, ink all the outside edges of the front cover as well as the back cover. Next lightly ink the out most edge of the covers with Black Soot just enough to give the edges a sort of burnt appearance.

Now for our fussy cutting!!

***Before you begin create 3 copies the images you want to use on your cover. These will be cut to create a 3-D effect.  I made my copies of the flowers.

Next take your first image (in this case like I said I used the flowers) and cut out the entire image you wish to place on your cover. Ink image to your liking and using glue stick adhere to cover of your album.

 Then take your second copy and fussy cut image cutting out part of the image so that when you stack the images you see portions of the  first image. Ink this piece and using pop dots adhere on top of first image. (If you look at my cover you will see I cut out part of the flower leaving the lower flowers and leaves on my second piece). Finally, take third sheet and fussy cut everything out except a small portion, (on mine I cut off all the leaves)    once again ink your image and then adhere to top of second image using pop dots. Now you should have a 3-D image. If you look at my album you will see I added a bird and some text pieces.

 I used some Glossy Accents to add dimension to my bird and then stickles glitter glue to give it a little bling. Next I added a crown charm to my birds head and topped the cover off with a few pretty buttons!!

On the back I added a small image after inking it.

There you have it your very own cute mini faith book. I can’t wait to fill it up with some real amazing things. I hope you enjoyed this portion of the class. I would love to see your finished book and post it here on the blog!! So please send me your pics. Well, until next week……………………………………….

Have a Pickled Pink Blessed day everyone!!!

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Wednesday 3/28/12

Mini Album Day 3

  

Good morning everyone,

Well today is hump day for our little book. Hallelujah, the hardest part is over!!  Over the last 2 days you have cut and sewn signatures together to create what you should now have as a little book without a cover or any embellishments. You should be very proud of yourself and your new little creation!! Can you imagine for a moment the first few days of Gods creative journey and what he must have thought as he stood looking out over what he had created thus far? WOW, today I look about and I find JOY in what I see, the birds singing in my trees, my Lilac in full bloom as well as the little green leaves starting to cover the trees and my little body of a book!!  So, today let’s be joyous and seek ways of finding joy in all that we do and see. Speaking of doing, let’s move forward and check out what you will be doing today!!

Today we begin adding  beauty to our little book! Starting with the Cover!! There are a few things we need to finish first but that won’t take long. You are going to need the following from your supplies so go grab your favorite drink, your supplies and let’s get started!!

Supplies

1.       Your 2 mat boards

2.       Cover paper

3.       Your lace or ribbon for the ties

4.       Basic supplies especially your UHU glue and your brayer

5.       Tim Holtz distress ink: vintage photo, black soot, worn lipstick

6.       Your  other printed cardstock

7.       Your music cardstock

INSTRUCTIONS

Assembling the book:  Notice when you close your book, the two pieces of white cardstock is back to back in six places. Glue these layers together where they meet. Now this is where your brayer comes in handy!! After you glue your pages, try to lay flat and with steady pressure roll your brayer over the pages. This not only helps spread the glue under the page, but it also helps remove air bubbles creating a good solid seal. Air bubbles can cause the glue to crack when it dries and can cause the book pages to pull apart later on.

NOTE: (In my picture you see me using different glue other than UHU. This was new glue I was trying as I was out of my UHU. So please know I advised you on the best I knew so do not pay any attention to the green and white bottle I used!!) Be careful not to get glue anywhere but on these sheets. Place the book under a heavy object and set aside to dry while we create the covers.

Covers: Grab your mat boards, (you should have them cut already to the dimensions given in your instruction sheet) Cut your cover paper 1 inch larger than your mat so that you will have ½ inch extra paper on each side. Now once again using your UHU glue cover the mat board with the glue and cover with your cover paper.  Using your brayer roll your brayer over the cover paper firmly! When done flip your mat over and miter your corners.

To miter corners:  Cut off corner edges of  paper at a 45 degree angle. Trim off almost to the corner of the cardboard mat yet leaving a slight amount of paper.   Place glue on the edges of cover paer and, fold over the cardboard mat using your brayer to smooth out any wrinkles and to once again get a good seal. Do both mats the same way. Let them dry.

 While they are drying grab your 2 feet of ribbon (lace for those who received kit you received a little extra so measure first) and cut in half.  On the short side of the cover, securely tape or glue the ribbon to the inside…. Adhere the covers to the book with your UHU glue making sure that the ribbons are on the open end of the book and NOT the SPINE side!! Align the covers, braying over each cover for a good seal. Replace the weight and allow drying!

Layer 3:  Cut 7 strips of the white cardstock (dimensions are in your instructions) Ink edges heavily with your Ranger distress ink worn lipstick or whatever color you chose that matches your theme. Next using your Ranger distress ink vintage photo swipe your edges just a tad to give it a worn appearance.

After inking fold your strip in half. Apply your glue to the outside edges of each 3 5/8 side and insert it into the open signatures. Make sure that you glue just the edges of the insert to the edges of the signatures. This forms the star!! * Repeat for the other 6 signatures. Replace under heavy weight until dry.

Layer 4: Using your music sheet paper or whatever you chose, cut to the dimension given in your email instructions. Fold per those instructions. Draw and cut a diagonal following the diagram shown in your instructions.  Using your Vintage Photo ink, ink all edges well front and back. Followed by Black Soot.  Inking edges over the vintage photo to give a kind of vintage burnt look to your edges. Refold to form two pockets. * Apply glue to outside edges of each 3 5/8 side of a folded pocket. Insert into open signature. Make sure that you glue just the edges of the insert to the edges of the signature as you did on layer 3.  NOTE: add just a little touch of glue to the tip of your pocket in the fold so that your pocket does not unfold. This forms the little pockets inside your album for the cute things we will be adding next week! * Repeat for other 6 signatures. Place under heavy weight to finish drying!

 See picture for what your book should look like.

Well there you have it folks you know have your little book all completely except for embellishing which we will do tomorrow!! Don’t you just love it?  I am as excited for tomorrow as we will be doing some cool techniques and embellishing!! We have made it through hump day and tomorrow we will have our very first completed project!! Remember, if you have any questions please email me so That I may help you!!

It’s time to bid farewell for today, I hope you have enjoyed today’s lesson and that you found Joy in your creativity. Finding Joy in all that we do is such a wonderful thing. So with that said, I am going to say

TAH TAH for now

Have a Pickled Pink JOYOUS day!!!

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Tuesday 3/27/12

Mini Album Day 2

Good morning friends,

What a beautiful morning here in the Ozarks. The sun is shining and it is warm and I have had my first cup of java, engine is running and it’s time to get started!! I hope you found your first class day very fulfilling and no one is stressing!  I was amazed by you artsy gals because I only had one question!! Wow, ya’ll are either sooo very good or afraid to ask! LOL. So here is the question and answer to the question that was submitted:

Pickles, what do you use to punch the holes?  OOPS, I am so sorry I forgot to tell you all what you would need for that!! Probably God reminding me HE is the only perfectionist here and how thankful I am for that! That is why I need him so badly!! He is what gives me the ability to be able to do this and I think we all need to be reminded that WE CANNOT be perfect at anything!! That is why I say DON’T STRESS IT!! I wish I could say a hole is a hole but without today’s lesson being given to you yesterday you would have no idea what SIZE hole we may be creating, Thus the reason to know what I used!! So thank you friend for asking that question!! GREAT GREAT QUESTION!!! Now for the answer!!

My Pickled Friend: I used a paper pierce and there is a picture of it on here. 

 But you can use whatever you would like that just makes a small hole large enough for a medium size sewing needle to go through. Because we will be SEWING our signatures together just like they used to do in the old days when binding a book! We want our little books to last so our faith can be passed down. I hope this answers your question and I hope that all of you will feel free to ask me more questions!  Remember if you are thinking it there are probably several others with the same question!!

Well with questions answered lets step into Day 2!! Putting our book together! Now, I emphasize once again NO stressing!! Today may be a little tough but all will be peachy and we WILL survive!!

  So gather those tools ladies and let’s get started!!!

INSTRUCTIONS DAY 2

Sewing: Yesterday we created our spine hole template, prepared and punched holes in our signatures (you should have 7). Today, we are going to sew our little book together! So here is what you will need

1.       Your waxed linen thread

2.       2  Needles

3.       Your 7  signatures

Thread a needle on each end of the waxed thread. Beginning inside the first signature (we will be adding each signature one at a time) push the needles through the two center holes to the outside of the spine so that the midpoint of the thread is between the two center holes. See pictures!

Next, Cross the needles and thread back through the center holes to the inside of the signature. * With each needle, go directly out the nearest end hole to the outside of the signature. 

 ** Add the 2^nd signature next to the first, taking care to match the open ends of layer 2.
Push each needle into the corresponding end hole of the 2^nd signature. Pull the threads snuggly to tighten being careful not to tear your cardstock and making sure your spines are even and aligned. Now, push each needle through the nearest center hole of the 2^nd signature and pull thread to the outside of the spine.

Cross the threads and insert each needle into the center holes and pull thread back through to the inside.

Add Signatures one at a time repeating from * until all 7 signatures have been sewn together. When the sewing is finished, tie off the threads with a square not!

Alrighty my friends I am sure unless you heeded my warning of NOT GETTING STRESSED you are probably ready to pull your hair out! I really hope not though seriously it seems crazy at first but once you do it you are going to love creating more!! You now have a little book!! You can create a LOT of these books in different sizes. You just need to add more holes. You can add more signatures etc. I created my first book as a travel journal for our trip to see our son. I used an old book and tore out the pages and created my own and took the cover and altered it and made it my own!  The sky is the limit with knowing how to create signatures!!

Tomorrow we will begin assembling our little book with covers and new pages. So enjoy what you have done today, Brag yourself up about what you have accomplished and don’t forget to give God the glory for his gift of creativity! I will be back tomorrow to answer more questions and to bring you the instructions for Day 3. In the meantime Please take pictures while you are creating and send them to me. I so want to post your beautiful success so others may peek! Also send me a picture of Something that brings you joy!! I will be having a drawing tomorrow for a sweet prize and in order to enter you have until 10pm tonight to send me a picture that will be posted on the blog tomorrow. Please include a small description of why it brings you joy!

Well that’s all for today friends, I hope your day is Filled with God riches and that you will have a Blessed day!

Tah Tah until tomorrow,

Have a PICKLED PINK DAY!!!

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Monday 3/26/12 

Well Happy Monday my pickled followers!

I am so excited to be bringing you the first of what I hope will be many classes in scrapbooking, altered art etc. Today as promised we begin our walk in Scrapbooking Our Faith!  After looking at what I want to teach and planning and creating I realized maybe I should have named this “ Arting your Faith” but anyone who knows me knows I incorporate everything into my scrapbooks so I guess the title can still cover all of our artsy creations!   I hope you will find this first class fun as that it was it is meant to be. Remember this is YOUR creation not mine so if you want to change things up a bit feel free!! I am merely guiding you and hoping to spark that inner creativity to jump out and make its presence known!!  Also remember there are no mistakes just new creations of happy art!  After all how do you think some of these projects came to be? Someone made what they thought was a booboo and BAM a new piece of art was created!  Anyway, I also want you to remember DO NOT push yourself!!  If you don’t feel you are in the mood then put it aside and come back later, or work on something else. It will ALL come together and everyone gets tired and needs a break!! After all even GOD needed a break from ALL of his amazing creations! So grab your art supplies, your computer and a relaxed mind take them to your happy crafty place and let’s get started!!

Ok, now for your first update: I waited until today to really explain how things were going to work because I figured you might be a little stressed and we need to remedy that quick! Like I said before this is meant to be relaxing and calming NOT stressed! So rather than creating all in one day we will be tackling this project a little each day. You should have received in the mail your copy of the supply list as well as the DETAILED instructions. If you do not have them one of two things has happened: 1. you did not sign up for the class and you can still do so by leaving your email and name in the comments section of this page.  2. It got lost in cyber space and all you need to do is email me at pickledpinkdesigns@gmail.com and I will resend them.

Now gather your basic supplies, the book supplies, your detailed instructions  and let’s move forward.

INSTRUCTIONS

Remember the exact measurements are in your directions I will not be listing them.

Hole punching template: If you haven’t create your  spine hole pattern onto stiff cardstock and cut it out. Score on the center line. Place aside for now.

 
Preparing the signatures:  Yes, we are going to create signatures just like in a regular book. This technique works great for those of you who might like to create art journals or faith journals. We will be doing this later in the year so get familiar with this technique because you can make all different sizes of signatures for journals! 

Layer 1:  Grab 4 sheets of your white 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock ( or whatever color you chose) and cut 7 strips (the size is in your directions).  Using bone folder, fold each piece in half.  See picture.

Layer 2:  Now grab your printed 12x12 cardstock and cut 7 strips from them. You choose what you want these strips to look like.(These will be cut and folded and will be the little inside pieces you see in the picture below).  If you received the kit please remember to DO NOT cut strips from the portion of the paper that has the bird or roses on it. Just cut from the colored portion. Next,using bone folder  fold each piece in half (see measurements) and then fold in half again. See your guide for final size. See picture below. 

Note: The long fold will now measure the same height as the first layer!

 

Punching Holes: Nest layer 2 inside of layer 1 with folded end of layer 2 at bottom. * Nest template inside layers. Punch 4 holes following the template. Repeat for all signatures. We will refer to the two middle holes as “center holes” and the first and last holes as the “end holes”

  Well that’s all for today friends. Like I said earlier we will be working on this all week. I don’t want anyone getting too stressed and giving up so I feel like we should just work on this a little each day. For those of you who signed up and have the detailed instructions feel free to work on your project as you wish but I won’t be posting anymore pictures and hints until tomorrow. I hope you are enjoying so far and I just know you all are doing GREAT!!  Today was actually the easy part tomorrow will be a little more trying so get some rest and just enjoy what you have done so far!! I will see you all tomorrow! 

God Bless and have a Pickled Pink Day!

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Hi everyone!

I hope you are having a beautimous hump day!! Heehee!
   Monday I wrote: In the upcoming weeks I will begin hosting free online classes right here at Pickled Pink Dezigns!  Some of you have asked "Why Free"?  Well, as I stated before, God has blessed me with an amazing talent and what better way to share the gospel than through art! Plus if you have read some of my other posts, art is healing and what a blessing it would be to help someone who may need healing!

With that said, I have been thinking and thinking and thinking what kind of class do I want to start with? What and how is this going to work, what kind of projects are we going to create and how do I narrow the first one down?  Oh, the thinking and planning that has gone into this! To the point my brain hurts!! Now, I don’t know about you but when putting my brain through the trauma it goes into overload and shuts down!! Then you are stuck with just having to wing it!! So here I am, Imma jus gonna WING IT!! LOL (not to worry I really do have notes!!) For the next few weeks we are going to focus on “SCRAPBOOKING OUR FAITH”.We are going to fly into what makes us who we are!

Now for starters, don’t confuse this with a religious class because that is not what this is. Everyone has their OWN set of beliefs and faith which may not be the same as mine and that sweet friend is totally ok. This class is about taking ownership of what YOU believe. About being like the butterfly, spreading your wings and sharing your faith so the ones you love will know. But I will tell you before we start, I will be sharing my faith so beware it might rub off on you! Can I have an Amen! LOL

You see, as scrapbookers aka memory keepers and mixed media artists we document all those major events and milestones every year, we play with those catchy phrases and vintage quotes but when it comes to our faith, what we believe and who we are at the heart of our very soul we have a tendency to leave a lot out. Seems this area is just a hard area to know exactly how to put into words especially when it comes to using it in our art. So that’s where this class comes in and that is what I want to show you how to do!!

My goal over the next few weeks is to inspire you to document your heart, your faith, your belief, the things that really matter to you using mixed media and scrapbooking techniques. Remember, we create scrapbooks to leave a memory for our loved ones and if we aren’t documenting our faith I think we are leaving behind an incomplete picture of who we are and what our life meant! For example: one of my beliefs is that my Lord put me here for a purpose and I want my loved ones to see and remember the work I was called to do work long after I am gone. Have you ever thought about what you want your loved ones to remember about you? What kind of legacy would you want your great grandchildren to know about you? What would your testimony be? She helped the poor? She found joy in the midst of the storm?

We are going to have a great time and create some fantabulous stuff!! I hope that you will join me and be blessed as we go through this amazing journey together.

All of the class project supplies used will be listed or please feel free to use your own. NOTE: Kits WILL be available and there will be a link to where you may purchase it. However, some supplies are basic and will not be supplied. I will be teaching 1 project per week. At this time until I learn to use my video and to post on vimeo all classes will be typed and photographed. They will not be downloadable! All photos and class material are copyrighted and belong to PPD, so please ask if you would like a copy!

While the class is free, I would ask that you SIGN UP so that I have an idea who will be joining me. You may do so by typing in your name and email address in the comments section under this post. You just never know when Picklez may decide to give away some FREEBIES!!!!! One of the things she LOVES to do most!!! Our first class will begin March 26^th and you will be able to view the project on March 13^th. If you desire to order the kit a link will be available at that time as well. I have made a special arrangement with the kit host to mail out kit next day after receiving payment. Please email me if you would like a kit and I will give you the contact info as kit sponsor may differ each month! If you have any questions please email me at : pickledpinkdesigns@gmail.com or facebook me

Well, that’s it my pickled pink friends, Keep checking back in to see what’s new! I can’t wait for our first of many free classes and projects. I just know you will be blessed!!

Tah, Tah for now and have a pickled pink day!