Chichi Labamba

How to Alter a Crop Bag

You too can have a bag that ends up looking like this

from a bag that started like this!

How to alter a crop bag:

• Brush off bag with a dry, stiff paint brush to remove any dirt.
• If there are any tags on the bag, remove the tags by taking out the stitches with a seam ripper.
• You can paint the canvas portions of the bag if you want a color to show through between the paper cut outs.  NOTE:  some canvases will take the paint better if you apply a coat of gesso first (apply gesso in a thin coat with a sponge brush).  It just depends on the type of material your bag is made out of.  This bag needed a coat of gesso over the entire canvas surface.
• Paint your bag.  Keep in mind that if you are mixing a color, you will have to mix plenty of color so that you don't end up with a two-tone bag.  I used six bottles of Making Memories acrylic paint in assorted blues & grays to achieve this color.

 

I was going for a denim look like a Dooney bag I have.

 

• (Optional)  To give it a shimmer, I sprayed Glimmer Mist on the bag in Twilight, Marshmallow and Silver Bells.

 

• Decide how you're going to decorate your bag.  I wanted a vintage feel, so I grabbed my Graphic 45 papers and started cutting, a lot.  (I usually did this while waiting for my little one to get out of school.)  I cut up around a dozen sheets of paper and kept them in a zip lock back.

 

• Using a matte gel medium and a good brush, I generously applied gel to the area I was applying the paper to.  I then brushed gel on the back of the paper, put it down on the bag and applied more gel on top.

   

• Don't worry about the white gel, it will dry crystal clear.  I had originally wanted to do just a few faux "stickers" on the bag, but I liked the look so much I just kept going.  It took me a couple of days to get all of the paper on the bag.  Let bag dry thoroughly over night.
• To protect the bag, spray a couple of light coats of sealer (Krylon and Zinsser make good ones).  Let dry overnight. 

 
So pretty!  What kind of bag will you make?  

Memorial Boards

Between the New Year's resolutions and watching "Hoarders" on A&E, I've been scared straight determined to make a huge dent in both my stash as well as my photos that need to be scanned and/or scrapped. 

When my sister Cata passed away 18 months ago, I made three memorial boards for her viewing.  Since then they have been stored at my mom & dad's.  We're taking them apart to return photos to their original owners, but I will make copies of the photos first for my parents and anybody else in the family that wants them.  It's taken me 18 months just to get to a place comfortable enough so I can do this without sobbing.

I'm also doing this because this can be a hard process to go through when you lose a loved one all of a sudden. Somehow, you have to come up with a photo collage for a memorial in a few days.  If I help just one person get through this process, it will be a good thing.  And of course Cata was a giver and a scrapper so I think it would make her happy too.

I just looked at it as a really big layout.  Actually, three 20x30 foam core boards needed to be covered.  I was blessed that I had all of my photos, negs and CDs organized, so getting pictures was easy.  I then used each of the three boards to represent who she was.

1. Mom and wife for one board
2. Daughter and sister for another
3. Friend and coworker for the last (she worked at the same place for 27 years and loved it)

This is the mom & wife board.

Here are some close ups.

Below is the the daughter & sister board where we have removed some of the photos already.

The photos were attached with non-permanent adhesive while everything else is firmly attached.  As for the last board I don't have it anymore.  I gave it to her best friend and she was happy to have it.

My heart goes out to each and every one of you that has to go through this.  Sure scrappers can be known to spend a lot of time and/or money on their hobby.  We're the historians for our family and friends.  Don't ever worry that your scrapping isn't as good as others because it will always be so much better than the un-photographed, un-scrapped and un-journaled life story.  And it will always be appreciated by the people who count, even if they're not here to tell you in person.
 

Simple 365 Project

It's time to reveal my Simple 365 Project.  I am wrapping up my December Daily album and am really looking forward to doing a 365 project.  After reviewing the many projects out there and calculating the time and cost to do one, I came up with a plan.  It's called the Simple 365 Project.  Here's the sketch.

 
 
This sketch can be interpreted in many different ways.  It lends itself to either hand journaling or printing with your computer.  You can have titles or embellishments.  And your 6x3 photo can be moved anywhere the other 3x3 photos are.  

Before you decide not to do a 365 project, remember you only have to do one layout a week.  Just one.  If you crop with the girls once a month, take it with you and do your 4-5 pages for the month.  Then reward yourself with some shopping and a Starbucks run!

To prepare you'll need:

• A 12x12 album that holds 27 clear pages (and you don't even need this right away).
• A folder on your computer to keep your photos.
• A calendar to keep track of pictures taken and layouts completed by week.

You'll also need to decide:

• What day to start the weeks (Sunday or Monday).
• What basic paper you're using (raid your stash or buy some new paper).

Just make sure you take a picture everyday.  The rest will fall into place.  I will be posting my pages on Tuesdays.  I decided to use my stash.  That's ok since I have way too much lots of paper to choose from.  I'm really looking forward to starting my Simple 365 Project.  Try it and see how simple it can be!

 

Customizing Prima flowers, a how-to guide

I made this layout with these pretty flowers that I customized.

 

I had this on my schedule to do a flower tutorial in July, and it's already the 10th.  I did not want to leave it until the 31st (and be rushing, stressed and up until 4:00 a.m.)  So with great fan fare, I bring you....

How to customize your Prima flowers

I needed wanted flowers that looked like this

 

but the flowers I had looked like this:

 

To transform your flowers into the color/shine/look you want you will need:

• Prima flowers (actually any paper or fabric flower will do)
• Color Box Chalk Ink
• Acrylic Paint & paint brush
• Glimmer Mist in assorted colors (remember to swirl, not shake the bottle before spraying)
• Adhesive to put the flowers together
• Gems for the center of the flower

Paint a layer of acrylic paint (I'm using Cornflower by Making Memories) all over the top and bottom of the flower.  This is the only time you will decorate the underside of the flower.

 

After you paint your flowers, allow them to dry.  The surface will look very flat, but that's ok for now.

 

Take your ink (I used Prussian Blue) and ink the top of your flowers.  For some reason that I cannot explain, they will take on a nice sheen.

  

Next, on a protective work surface (i.e. butcher paper, craft mat, etc.) spray your flowers with the first layer of Glimmer Mist.  I used Cherry Limeade as my base coat.

 

 

 I then sprayed the following coats of Glimmer Mist on the flowers: Moonlight, Silver Bells, Riptide and Iridescent Gold.  (Alternate which colors you use if you want the layers to be a little different.)If you have puddles on your flowers, and don't want to wait for them to evaporate, use a Qtip to absorb the excess.  Allow to dry.

 

Now layer your flowers as you like and add gem centers.  Isn't that cool?

How to customize your Bind-it-All

Since I customized my Bind-it-All bag by Zutter a few weeks ago, I decided I needed to customize my actual Bind-it-All as well.  Here's how it turned out:

 

 

 

I think it turned out well and I will NEVER misplace it at a crop!

How to Customize your Zutter Bind-it-All

Supplies

• Tape
• Gesso
• Foam brush
• Gloss medium
• Small, flat paint brush
• Embossing stylus
• Acrylic paint
• Assorted papers & stickers (I wouldn't recommend raised embellishments)
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Tape off the areas of your Bind-it-All that you do not want covered.  These areas are your hole guides, the little door on the side & any area that moves when binding or hole punching.  I also kept the guide visible near the setting adjuster (ABCD).
2. With your foam brush apply gesso to your binder and let it dry.
3. Remove tape from taped areas.
4. Figure out how you want to decorate your Bind-it-All and cut out all paper and flat embellishments before you adhere your first one.  Trust me on this one!  To work around the curves you can bend the paper over the edges and cut to shape.
5. My Bind-it-All lost it's label from the front.  I cut a piece of paper and used the embossing stylus to work it into the indentation where the label used to be.  It now has a sticker that says "encourage imagination".
6. If you want to paint part of your Bind-it-All, apply now with a paint brush.  Let dry.
7. Now, only after you have cut every single piece of paper that your are going to use AND figured out where it will go are you ready for the next step.
8. Apply gloss to the entire surface that has gesso on it with your flat brush.
9. Apply gloss to the back of one of your precut papersand put it on the Bind-it-All.  Repeat until all areas that had gesso are covered.  (This is why you want to precut your papers and have them organized before you apply gloss.  It's almost impossible to measure your paper size if it's placed against the glossed surface.)
10. Apply a coat of gloss to all of the papered areas.  Let dry. 

If Carrie Bradshaw was a scrapbooker....

She would carry her Zutter Bind-it-All in this:

 

I rescued this bag from the clearance bin at Cool Scrapbooking Stuff.  It had a giant coral acrylic  paint stain.  However, since my Bind it All is blue, and I can't find anymore blue bags, I bought it. 

How I did it:  I cleaned the pink paint as best I could with rubbing alcohol.  I then washed it in the washing machine, dried it in the dryer and painted the front as best I could to match with acrylics.  I put the stone in the flower,and the flower on the bagwith Fabri-Tac by Beacon.  I drew the design of the stems with a pencil, traced them with Stickles by Ranger, and added the stones with Stickles as well.  I then put dots with Stickles to fill out the rest of the bag.  So pretty.

If Samantha Jones was a scrapbooker....

Also at the Pink Pineapple Scrapbook Club Meeting we received Glue Glider Pros that we were to alter to make our own.  So apart from being a very cool tool (1/4 inch perfect, thin, permanent adhesive at your command), it can be sparkle-rific too!

 

To make your Glue Glider Pro as colorful as a Samantha Jones outfit, you'll need rhinestones and Stickles by Ranger.  I used light blue, pinke and purple rhinestones and silver, lavender, turquoise, magenta and lime green Stickles. 

To decorate: apply a drop of stickles as big as your rhinesone.  Plop your stone right on top of the drop and press down firmly.  This will form a perfect ring around your stone.  After adding all of your stones, apply small drops of Stickles randomly to the rest of the glider.  Avoid the refillable cartridge, the handle and any moving parts.  Do one side at a time and allow sufficient drying time before starting the second side.  I'd give it at least 12 hours.

Author and Glue Glider Pro rep Lorene Yost was at our meeting as well.  She's a hoot!  I was lucky enough to win a signed copy of her book Ï'm torn art."  Like I said, it was an awesome meeting.