Hello Friends.

September 30, 2010 By 20 Comments

 Lots going on over here in the batcave… lots of good things, some not so good. Since I’m a focus on the positive kind of girl (and there IS a lot of that around here) I’ll share some good things going right now:

First off – stay tuned at www.scrapbookupdate.com for a lot of new articles coming from yours truly. I’ve got a bunch in the works + several already turned into the editor… to be posted any day now.

Secondly: I have new prizes. For you. For here. YES! Two to come next week…

Finally: some exciting news here. This girl is officially an Ella friend. Looking forward to all that the future brings – so many fun ideas and projects in my head, and I’m glad you’ll be seeing more of me + Ella publishing.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Halloween Night {glue on canvas project}

September 29, 2010 By 5 Comments

Yesterday I shared a video + idea for another way to use texture fades by Tim Holtz. Today I will share my first project with this technique:

I used the Halloween Night texture fade in this example. I LOVE this one and all the detail it has. Once dry and peeled (the embossed glue sheet, that is) I rubbed a 4×5 canvas with my Spiced Marmalade distress ink. Then I rubbed with liquid adhesive and set my ‘glue faux-fruit roll’ on top. The result? As it dried the ink pooled in a few spots and not in others, creating an uneven orange background behind the translucent glue. LOVE IT!

Then I stickled it to within an inch of it’s life. Ok, not really but you can see I used stickles glitters to accent the cat, number, web, and a few other details.

I also used some Dusty Concord distress crackle paint to accent some edges, and I applied Rock Candy distress crackle paint lightly to some areas – especially the skeleton. Once dry I rubbed over it with black soot to help make the cracks stand out. You might notice I let some edges of the glue sheet stand up. I was TOTALLY ok with that. Really I was just having some fun playing here – and in the process came up with another little home decor piece to add to my spook-i-fied house!!

You can probably tell I’m having a blast with Tim’s products. I really like that I’m finding more uses for them in my craft projects, and truly how easy they are to use and how everything works together.

Filed Under: design team, my craft life Tagged With: ,

The Glue Fruit Roll Ups.

September 28, 2010 By 9 Comments

First off – the texture fades (the folders that work with sizzix machines to create embossed images) by Tim Holtz ROCK. But, of course, being me I had to see if there was anything else I could do with them. I recalled long ago a project where a person used Elmers Glue to do something similar to what I’m doing on a textured surface. Anyhow, I made a video with my iphone to give you a better visual:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCDVTHtmtc4]

I used PPA by USArt Quest (available at some Michael’s craft stores as well as art stores/some scrapbook stores too) – that’s my go-to medium/liquid ‘stick anything’ product that I’ve used for YEARS. I can not suggest enough the greatness of this sealant/adhesive/medium. I used the matte finish, but the glossy could work as well. I wasn’t happy with my kid glue experiments. They just didn’t turn out as good and I figure if I want long lasting then the PPA is really the way to go anyhow.

All you do is coat the surface with glue. You don’t want it THICK… then it takes forever to dry and/or just won’t really dry. Still, you want it thick enough that the raised surfaces won’t tear/break from the thicker indented areas.

Then WALK AWAY for 24hrs. Oh, I pulled a few after 8-12hrs… and they stuck, were tough, took longer than when I waited at least a full day. If you are impatient, I suggest a small craft knife of paper piercer to assist you when the corners and such stick. There was usually some stick on some edges – but with the help of the tool it was no big deal.

If there are some tears, holes, rough spots… IT’S OK! Tim’s stuff is meant to be vintage/distressed, yeah? So it’s OK!!! In the video I show a few that were colored – on those I experimented with ink directly on the texture fade, then glue… it went BADLY. Those suckers were very tough to remove from the texture fades. I’d ink AFTER the glue is dry, not start with it as base.

Alright so once you have the glue faux-fruit roll ups (which is what I have named them since that’s what they feel like) what can you do?

Use ink, stickles, paint, and anything else yuo like with it to make a textured ANYTHING! On a layout, card, canvas (shown above)… so many things! Best part? Now you’ve got another use for those fantastic texture fades.

Want to know more? You’re in luck. I’m going to share the project you have a hint of above tomorrow…

Filed Under: my craft life, video

Nov. 6th class:A very vintage {paper} Gingerbread house

September 27, 2010 By 10 Comments

Saturday November 6th at Scrapbook Territory in Berkeley, CA { www.scrapbookterritory.com }
11am – 1pm
cost: $24

This class is packed full of cheer and sweet detail to get you in the mood for the upcoming holiday season. From glitter to buttons to paper and more I will provide everything you need to make your own little custom house to display and treasure for years to come. Yes- we’ll have plenty of goodies to play with and lots of options for customizing your house. Just imagine… all the fun of making a gingerbread house… but with scrapbook supplies!

This project features the brand new Tinsel & Twig line by the Girls’ Paperie, and you’ll love how festive and fun it is. In addition to the class project I will be sharing several never before seen project ideas (complete with photos in the class handout) as a special bonus, and there will be cupcakes and sweet treats (how could we have a gingerbread house class without them?!). To sign up contact Scrapbook Territory (Berkeley, CA) at 510-559-9929. Space is limited.

Supplies needed: scissors, black pen, inexpensive paint brush (to be used with adhesives), paper trimmer optional. Adhesives and all other materials will be provided

Note: if you’re not local and/or unable to attend I will have a few kits available for sale. You can e-mail me (mflaum @ comcast . net) if you’re interested in that option.

Filed Under: my craft life

Snakes. It had to be snakes.

September 25, 2010 By 14 Comments

We have a lot of snakes in our home. It’s not a problem. They’re friendly and they guard. These two are watching out for little sisters, so I’m told.

Also strangers, big spiders, and monsters. The guy on the left (rattle snake) is from the San Diego Zoo. “You can have ANY one item in the whole gift shop Elizabeth…” and that’s what she picked. On right is a snake from a street fair – her 2and year going + choosing a snake there. I shouldn’t be surprised. This has been about 18 months now that she’s really into snakes.

Rubber, cloth, wood, plastic – fine… just no real snakes. Mama’s gotta draw the line somewhere folks. Right now I have two “growing” toy snakes in the bathtub. In a few days time they are supposed to grow to four feet long. I asked Elizabeth what we should do if they come to life. Her answer:

{eyeroll} We will just chop off their heads with a knife so they can’t bite us mommy. Or, iffin they get away from us or hide we’ll just call Billy the Exterminator. But maybe you should just buy a snake cage and get me a real one. If I had a real one then I could train him to keep other real snakes away.

Nice try kid. I don’t think so. I like that her first instinct was decapitation (what? where did that idea come from?!) and/or calling a Louisiana pest control company (aka Vexcon).

I think Princess has us covered.

Ps – if you’re wondering, why yes I HAVE scrapbooked the snake obsession. I may need to re-visit it as it’s been over a year… but it has been recorded.

Filed Under: girls, life of flaum

HSN #2

September 24, 2010 By 4 Comments

I’m back with another Girls’ Paperie page (as seen on HSN). The kit I used can be found here, as well as a video of the segment if you want to check it out.

You might notice I don’t do a lot of journaling on these ‘made for TV’ pages. It’s not my normal style, you’re right. Reason for it? Well if I’m on deadline and have assignment to work with specific products/make them shine I’m focusing on that, not my stories… if that makes sense. It’s more about the pretties and the fun, not about meaningful journaling. That’s just how I work – and sometimes something has got to give!!

Oh but I love them all the same. It’s not a better/worse thing – just different. This one is lots of die cut layers and creative thinking on my part. See, doing layouts WITHOUT the assistance of letter stickers, for me, is a huge challenge! I rely heavily on them in my normal scrapbooking. So what’s a girl to do? Well this girl likes to print out words in cute fonts (backwards on back of patterned paper) and cut them out! I wanted more “oomph” with the girl word so I outlined with stickles, and I edged most everything on this sucker too.

Have I mentioned that the stamps were really fun to work with? I REALLY need to do more with stamps. I enjoy it, I just seem to forget about them. Mental note made! Until next time – happy crafting!

Filed Under: my craft life
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