Scrapbooking your other passions?

As you know, February means Valentine’s Day. This page focuses on one of my greatest loves,

but not necessarily romance. Instead of focusing on a sweetheart, it focuses on where we live; one of the most beautiful places on earth. 

When tackling this article assignment for Papercrafts & Scrapbooking magazine, I found choosing only a few photos from the 100's I have on file, a difficult task. 

The thing that jumped out at me was the amount of breath-taking sunset images I had captured since living here in Kommetjie, so finally settled on 3 of my most recent to use on this scrapbook page. It went without saying that I would have to enlarge one of them to maximise its 'wow-factor'. The shot in question was taken using my iPhone, seriously...no lenses or effects. It looks like that IRL :)

I feel so spoilt at the sheer amount of beauty that surrounds us merely a 5 minutes drive from our house. 

Our neighborhood has an enormous feeling of space & freedom, having the mountains behind & in front of us, with the Atlantic in between . It makes me happy to wake up every morning, knowing that a moments walk or drive in any direction, and & I can be surrounded by world-class beauty.

Love This by Kim Watson: Supplies: Cardstock: AmericanCrafts; Patterned paper: Elle's Studio, +Fancy Pants Designs; Chipboard, Tags, Buttons, Envelope, Stickers, Blackboard label: +Fancy Pants Designs ; Decorative Tape: +Freckled Fawn; Hemp: +Close To My Heart ; Stamps: +Technique Tuesday , Elle's Studio, Cocoa Daisy; Ink: +Ranger Ink ; Pen: +Kuretake ZIG ; Adhesive: +TombowUSA, +Thermoweb, +Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L ; Tools: Mini Attacher by +Ranger Ink; Cutting mat, Scissors, Trimmer by +Fiskars

Making the most of a preprinted tag from  Elle's Studio with the addition of a big button, chipboard from Fancy Pants Designs & stamps, creating the cutest accent cluster for the corner of the big photo. 

Adding another accent cluster to the bottom right corner of the large photo, creates movement across the page as well as balance. Don't you LOVE that cute stamp from Technique Tuesday?!

More layering of accents from the Memories Captured collection from Fancy Pants Designs & stamped images from Technique Tuesday.

So I challenge you to try scrapbooking another passion or great love in your life, other than the 2 legged variety :D

Glad you stopped by!

Crafty ways with everyday products!

Yes...it is the week of LOVE!

Yes... it is commercialised......but let's be honest it is fun, and you can be assured, your loved ones on the receiving end of your love gifts & spoils are surely not going to be complaining about commercialism hehe!

The page I am sharing is a scrapbook layout as published in the Feb 2014 issue of Paper Crafts  & Scrapbooking magazine. It is about our cute daughter & one of her (boy) BFF's. Their love & support of each other in an age where life puts so much pressure on one, is refreshing & sweet! Worthy of a scrapbook page.

Love you to the Moon by Kim Watson: Supplies: Cardstock: American Crafts; Patterned paper: +Heidi Swapp, Elle's Studio; Tags & Stamps: Elle's Studio; Buttons: +Fancy Pants Designs; Glitter: Martha Stewart; Mist, Gesso, Ink and Texture Paste: +Ranger Ink; Pen: +Kuretake ZIG ; Adhesive: +Thermoweb, +TombowUSA ; Stencils: The Crafters Workshop; Cutting mat, Scissors, Trimmer by +Fiskars ; Buttons; Other: Black charcoal pencil.

When creating this page....I was challenged to use everyday...ordinary things found at home & in your junk drawer.

These are the obscure things I used: 

• Bamboo coaster mat
• Crossword pages 
• Ticket strips
• Mat & beads
• Dental floss

I gesso'd a bunch of tickets from the strip to knock back the red color, & created paper feathers in different sizes. One I left as is, the other I covered in liquid glue & dredged in fine gold glitter. Gorgeous!!

See the little wooden frame around the sentiment card? I used a bamboo coaster mat, undid it and used the thin bamboo sticks as the supports for my feathers & frame. I took my extra minty dental floss & dyed with lime green mist...it became a super color accent for the layout, which I looped & tied across the page.  

BONUS: my page smells all fresh & minty! :)

Using a kiddies art mat & beads, I created a 'love' inspired accent which when ironed melted & sealed together. Using zig-zag scissors, I cut the ironing sheet into a circles, stitched it & matted the bead accent on top. The discarded bead template came in real handy to add 'comb-like' texture to texture paste onto the background before misting & inking. I tore dictionary pages into quarters & gesso'd them onto my background page for texture & interest. 

Left white, I used the dental floss to stitch buttons & hand stitching areas for added interest.

Ok...let me say....as bizarre as this challenge was...I loved it. It stretched me creatively & I loved every moment of designing it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Little Fox cut file for FREE!

Hello lovely crafters...

I hope you are having a fabulous Friday wherever you might be?

Today I have a cute FREE cut file to share with you. I made it for the Foxy, fall inspired page call & was ecstatic to have it picked up & published in the Papercrafts & Scrapbooking September 2014 issue magazine.

Supplies: +Fancy Pants Designs & +AmericanCrafts

Happy Wild & Free by Kim Watson

(Posted with prior permission from Papercrafts & Scrapbooking magazine. As seen in the September 2014 issue)

If you are wondering why my photos aren't too crisp, it is because I printed them onto canvas paper for a change. I love the rough, more rustic finish!

This is a close up of the little fox. I used russet cardstock, on top of a white background with a dark chocolate background. The title looks best in a mixture of colors. 

Download the cut-file: HERE

Let me know if you use the cutfile. I'd LOVE to see your work!

Have an awesome weekend! 

symbolism through motif + masterful scrapbook design

So how do you add energy to your pages? Is there more than meets the eye? Have you ever thought about why you chose the colors you do or why some motifs better suit a page theme than others? 

This page was an assignment for Papercrafts & Scrapbooking where I had to interpret a digital page into a traditional scrapbook page. To me this page is more about the message & emotion of the moment than the techniques. Yet the design techniques are what bring this page to life.

Let's look at my thoughts behind the page:

• Arrows help create movement. They speak of busy-ness, activity,  action, life according to an 8 year old.
• The zig-zags speak to me of frenetic directional changes & contrast. The unpredictability of a growing boy who is discovering himself and the world.
• The underground map mask, I used as a background, speaks of being a city boy.
• All the different layers I have used speaks, of life here as we know it. A collage of bits that help to mould & shape him. The things that make him happy, like visits to museums, art galleries....yet his innocence allows him to find complete joy in chasing pigeons or flopping down on the grass, arms wide embracing his world. 
• The title speaks loudly about the carefree trusting attitude of a little guy happy in his own skin. A boy who loves his life and is excited by what the future holds. A person untainted by cynicism. 
• Using yellow teamed with yellow as the accent palette,  gives the feeling of warms, happy energy mixed with a hint of cool anticipation. 
• Lastly the x2 arrow shaped journal blocks are part of the grounding elements. By facing them inwards towards the center, they are indicative of how, no matter what our circumstances, our lives are mapped out & will follow the path pre-destined. That each moment is to be treasured, each decision a privilege.

This Life by Kim Watson

 (This page, as seen in the Nov 2013 issue of  Papercrafts and Scrapbooking. Posted with prior permission by the Creative Crafts Group) 

Supplies: Simple Stries, +Crafters Workshop, +Technique Tuesday, +Thermoweb, +Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L, Typewriter. 
So I urge you to delve deeper into your processes behind your pages. You will be surprised at the subliminal crafting going on without you even realising it. 

+Debbie Hodge  says: 'Motif, typeface, and styling are essential to cuing obvious story elements and for enlarging on character, setting and theme and for evoking the mood that will get your viewers to identify with the reason behind your scrapbook page".

Remember to join us at 11am ET for a live interview with myself, Debbie Hodge & the team @MasterfulScrapbookdesign. I look forward to chatting with you later.

Papercrafts August 2014 issue + a new sketch.

August 2014 issue of Papercrafts & Scrapbooking is out. It is filled with inspiring projects & uber creative ideas too. I am privelaged to have a bunch of projects published in it. Many thanks to the +Papercrafts & Scrapbooking team :)

*Papercrafts August 2014 issue*

Every month Papercrafts & Scrapbooking showcases a sketch with sketch support in the form of cards, tags & layouts. This is the one as seen in the August 2014 issue. 

And this is my take on the sketch. A collage of arrows in different sizes, forms, patterns and textures, acting as a asymetrical border. The busy-ness of the collage is balanced by the presence of white space on the left side of the page which allows the eye to focus on the photographs. 

Live Life & Life will Love you back by Kim Watson

 Supplies: Cardstock: +Bazzill Basics Paper; Patterned paper, Stickers: My Minds Eye; Glitter chipboard, glitter brads, glitter bow, pen: +American Crafts; Sewing kit & twine: +Close To My Heart ; Adhesives: +TombowUSA, +Thermoweb, +Adhesives by 3L

 Love that you stopped by.
Thanks for letting me share my love of papercrafting with you.
Happy Thursday!!

Scrapbooking with faux chalkboard techniques

During a recent interview with +Debbie Hodge  over at #MasterfulScrapbooking, we were discussing a faux chalkboard technique on my page Wild Child created for the Process Play article, where I used a white gel to transform plain black alphas.

As promised this is the other page I mentioned featuring a few #fauxchalkboard techniques I used for an assignment for the +Papercrafts&Scrapbooking May 2014 issue seen on page 44.

Live Life by Kim Watson

Supplies: Cardstock: +Bazzill Basics Paper ; Patterned paper, Decorative Bag, Buttons, Stickers, Die Cuts: (Memories Captured) +Fancy Pants Designs; Metal Flair: Evalicious; Clear stamps: Autumn Leaves (live Life- old), My Minds Eye (and), +MFT Stamps (enjoy the awesome journey, stars, triangle border), +Hero Art Stamps (speech bubbles), +Technique Tuesday (arrows), Cocoa Daisy Designs (arrows, chevron); Date stamp: American Crafts; Ink: Close to my Heart, +Close To My Heart; Stampin’Up; Embossing Powder: Stampin’Up; Color media: (pencils) Tombow, (white gel pen) Sakura; Adhesive: Tombow, Thermo web; Twine: +Close To My Heart; Tools: (mat, trimmer, scissors, punch) Fiskars American, (acrylic blocks, paper piercer, sewing kit) Close to My Heart, (heat gun) American Crafts, Sewing Machine

Idea #1:

Draw a double line border around your page & hand-write your journalinhg using a white gel pen. For an authentic chlakboard feel, shave actual chalk dust onto the page & gently rub it in in areas around the page, giving a chalky smudged effect. 

Idea #2:

Stamp speech bubble images onto black cardstock then emboss with white embossing powder for crisp white images. 

Idea #3: 

Create a chalkboard style conversational title using a mixture of fonts & sentiment stamps. Emboss with white embossing powder for crisper images. Using soft colored pencil crayons like the ones I used from +TombowUSA, work into your design using a crosshatching & rubbing technique for an authentic chalkboard vibe. 

I hope you feel inspired to try some techniques of your own....it is a fun creative technique to try!

Happy crafty Tuesday friends!

Layered paper flowers + FREE cutfiles

With spring in the air...I thought it might be fun to share this page I created for my article written about Paper flowers for the May/June 2013 issue of +Creating Keepsakes magazine. Paper flowers like these are so easy & fun to make, adding super dimension & a crafty edge to any project.

Dream @14 by +Kim Watson 

Supplies: Patterned paper, Chipboard, Stickers: @cartabellapaper, Tags, Cardstock: +AmericanCrafts; Stencil: +Crafters Workshop, Mist: +Maya Road 

Held together by x3 cross stitches, tell they aren't the cutest thing??

 Instructions:

1. Using the FREE cutfile I provided below...cut x6 different sizes flower shapes in a variety of colors.
2. Grab some co-ordinating embroidery threads & a good sized needle. (I used the sewing set from +Close to My Heart)
3. Layer x2 flowers, the smaller size on top.
4. Hold securely & stitch together.

 FREE 5 petal stacking flower #cutfile by +Kim Watson (for personal use only!)

<<link>>

These are x2 cute FREE flower cut files from Jennifer Stricker, check out her crafty blog. 

<<link & link>>

Thanks for stopping by friends.

HAPPY TUESDAY!

FREE cut file + published layout.

Being Thursday, means the house is tidied after last nights Wednesday night Believers get-together...I can finally get down to some much needed crafty-catch up & writing. 

I am so grateful to have had a bunch pages published this year in Paper crafts & Scrapbooking magazine. I thought it might be fun to post a couple of them here too. This one, a double page from the January 2014 issue of Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking (page 100), using supplies from  Fancy Pants Designs,  Elle's Studio & journal card by Technique Tuesday.  

Sweet Surprise by Kim Watson

TIP: I didn't have the perfect color cardstock for my title, so cut it in white cardstock & spritzed it with October Afternoon sprinkers to perfectly match the green in the striped patterned paper.

For those of you with electronic die-cutting machines, I have made this cut file available for download in a couple of file types. See below for links.

Sweet Surprise cutfile set by Kim Watson 

Download link>>

These cute printables also available online at January 2014 issue of Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking.

Download link>>

Download link>>

Download link>>

Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking March 2014 issue

Have you seen the NEW Papercrafts & Scrapbooking March 2014 issue yet? 

It is so much fun with great tips, techniques & perfect-for-Spring color palettes. I am fortunate to have had a page published, with my sweet girl featured, using the FERN collection from Little Yellow Bicycle. 

So inspired was I by the Mint & Melon article on page 14, that I cracked out my Fancy Pants (Be Loved Collection) & some ink & made this baby! I have to say I LOVE it as much as I love this photo of my girl & her cute BFF. It was taken at the Cape Town Colour Run, held in Seapoint last October to raise money for charity.

Supplies: Paper, Flair, Buttons, Stickers, Resin flowers, Chipboard: Fancy Pants Designs (Be Loved Collection), Ink: Sprinklers from October Afternoon, Washi Tape: Queen & Company, Cut files made to resemble Amy Tan's Plus One Phrases. Die cutting machine: Silhouette Cameo. 

So if you are still sitting on the fence about whether or not to grab a subscription, I hope this has helped your make your decision. I have some GREAT news to sweeten your decision...PaperCrafts & Scrapbooking has a great deal running at the moment. You can get a whole years subscription for a mere $9.99 if you sign up ASAP. See HERE for more details! 

Happy Monday crafty friends...thanks for stopping by!