Quick & Easy: Pocket Page ideas

When it comes to my scrapbooks in recent years when you look through them you’re going to find a wide mix of things. You’re going to find quick pages, pages of literally just photos, pages that took a long time, and pocket pages. I focus on having fun + telling my stories + documenting my family’s life. I don’t ever consider what is cool, trendy, or whatever. Because I’ve been scrapbooking long enough to know – none of that matters!

Today I am going to share about a pocket page I just wrapped up in my 2017 scrapbook. (real in progress desk shot below!)

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Clean Color markers

I’ve got a quick video post to share with you today – all about Clean Color markers. I’ve got some affiliate links below to them if you are needing some. I’ve got to tell you I am saving up to purchase some more. I’ve liked them since Amazon first said “oh hey you might want…” and the price was right. A while later they became all the rage! While the hype seems to have died down I’ve got to tell you I still love mine.

They’re EASY. I can throw color down, play, blend, keep on going. No cup of water or any kind of mess needed.

They’re LASTING. I’ve yet to have one run dry and I use some of these colors  a TON.

They’re wildly BRIGHT and fun. I love some bright bold color – these deliver.

You saw them earlier this week in two different posts – for one big reason I’ve yet to mention:

They TRAVEL so well. Right now I’m working in a very limited space and having the little box with them all right there easy to go and a wealth of color possibility has been a life saver. I don’t have to drag out boxes or bins of color – just a pen and usually I hold the ones I’m using in one hand while coloring with the other.

Here’s a little video specifically about Clean Color pens.

Looking for some of your own? Ellen Hutson carries them (link) as sets OR individually. You can also find sets on Amazon. As a reminder these are the “real brush” watercolor pens – my favorite pens for quite some time now. What pens are your favorites?

Technique| transfer onto sticky-back canvas

One technique I have never been a fan of is the transfer. You get an image (could be patterned paper maybe, a book page, something printed on laser/photocopy machine…) and instead of just using it, you stick it into something else then WAIT for it to dry. Then you use water to rub away all paper leaving a faded mirror image – aka image transfer.

It takes time. It doesn’t always work. I can never figure out why I’d not just use the direct image.

that is, until I took a class from Claudine Hellmuth! For the first time EVER I had successful transfers and she taught us a way to do it instantly too. This is my favorite of the methods because I don’t have to wait. I can just GO! Here are the steps [adapted from RangerU curriculum]:

Supplies:

 Steps:

1. Cut a piece of sticky-back canvas + paper to same size

2. Remove paper backing from sticky back canvas, take patterned paper and press printed side to sticky side of sticky back canvas (note: if double sided paper use the side you WANT down).

3. Burnish the paper. [rub it in a lot of directions, firmly. You’re sticking the image here!]

4. Spray the paper with water (saturate!) – or use a small tub/bucket and do this in it. Whatever you do: don’t dump paper pulp down a sink!!! It will clog and be a hot mess. Rub until the paper is gone. use pads of your fingers, the paper will ball up and roll away.

5. Use a little gloss multi medium over the surface- rub it in (like you were applying lotion to skin). This will get rid of any remaining bits of paper particles and seal it up.

NOTE: You will see that I used 2 different papers in the photos below. I’m working on a few things here in the studio, and I took some pics of the process with my book paper, some with my scrapbook paper.

Now what? Well you could use it onto a project as you would any bit of paper! Perhaps you would like to die cut it as I have –

I really like that I can have patterned paper on canvas texture. YES, I could also just print a digital paper pattern onto my canvas. Similar result just less faded. Where are my crown accented flowers headed? Well I’m working on that, and I’ll be back to share the results very soon!