Misting and Inking with Quick Quotes

Hi everyone, Gabriela here and today I'm doing a scrapbook layout using some paper weaving, misting, and inking.  I am scrapping a photo from Wizard World that includes a very brightly colored monster, so I wasn't afraid to mix patterns and colors here.  I did my misting first and then used a heat tool to help it dry, it will curl a little, but once you have this in a page protector for a few days it will flatten itself.  I'm using cut strips of paper and chalking ink that I thought went with the photo, you could use different collections and colors to get a completely different look, check out the video below.

I think you could change just a few elements on the page and use this layout for lots of occasions/themes.  I hope it inspired you to "lift" this page and gave you another idea for how to use your ink pads, thanks for stopping by.

Quick Quotes Products Used:

49 Shades of Grey - 101, 105
Whistlin Dixie - 100, 105
Powder Puff Chalking Inks - Lemon Sorbet, Pixie Pink

Until next time, happy crafting!

A Craft Evolution

When I first started this blog, it was called engiknitting because I'm an engineer, who knits. As I started to expand my craft horizons, I realized I loved a lot of different crafts, and I wanted my site name to cover that. In the past few years I've discovered knitting, crochet, paper crafting, sewing, and quilting. What has been so great about this is that anytime I discover something "new" to me, I can easily find a community either online or in person that has people with wells of experience. More often than not, they are happy to share their knowledge with someone eager to learn, it keeps crafts going and builds new relationships.  I feel a sense of accomplishment when I learn a new skill and that makes me want to get better at whatever it is I'm doing/learning.  I have been extremely lucky that I have encountered so many people that are more knowledgeable than I am and gracious enough to help someone learn. I hope you've experienced that same warmth in your own crafting adventures! My next task is to use my Big Shot with the new strip die and plates I just got, I will definitely post about that experience here soon! Happy crafting!

Meta-crafting? Scrapbooking about Quilting

Hello everyone, Gabriela here with a scrapbook layout using the Anchors Aweigh Collection.  I wanted to make a page today that was personal, but I didn't want to use a photo of myself, instead I used my latest project, a baby quilt. This is my first quilt and I wanted to make a page that expressed believing you can do something and that showcased the project. I started with my background sheet and sewed my borders onto it with a zigzag stitch.

Next I added some fabric to a 5" x 7" rectangle and I did some sewing on that using the same stitch as the background border.

I mounted my photo on a 4.25" x 6.25" rectangle that I chalked with Navy Ink.  The next step was adding some embellishments and journaling.  I also decided to do a different type of photo for this since I wanted to show the progress.  Here's a look at the collage style photo I used to show some of the quilt progress to date.

Today's page allowed me to use a variety of my tools including my Minc, my Big Shot, and my sewing machine, it was nice to blend so many crafts to make one thing. To make the "Dream" and "Believe", I die cut the shapes from toner paper and then from fun foam. I ran the toner paper cuts through my Minc using two colors and then glued them to the fun foam for some dimension. This was a very fun page to make and the colors worked perfectly with the fabric I was using for my quilt. I hope this inspires you to scrap a hobby or interest as well.  Thank you for stopping over.

Quick Quotes Products Used:

Anchors Aweigh - 101, 105, and 104.

Powder Puff Chalking Ink - Navy

Farmhouse Chipboard Die Cuts 

White Mesh 

It's real in these crafting streets...Design Teams or the Hunger Games?

I'm an avid crafter, there, I said it, or typed it. I do projects for people and I also design, draw, and create for myself and companies. However, wrapped up in all of this is the desire to have my own stamp line and my own designs. The issue is how to get your designs in front of the right people. One thing you need is exposure and unfortunately with so many print craft magazines going out of business and LSS (Local Scrapbooking Stores) going under, a lot of visibility opportunities were lost.  This leaves the obvious choice of the Internet, but even that requires the ability to not only choose the correct platform (blogging or social media), but to drive traffic to your profile/site.  I have been pretty fortunate with a few hundred followers on IG and my site, but that was really some luck and a nice shout out on the Quick Quotes blog.  Without that, I'm not sure what my audience would look like.  This brings up the subject of design teams, I currently belong to one and I'm looking to join 1 or 2 more next year, but even that is an uphill battle.  I personally only apply for design teams I genuinely want to belong to and support.  This is great for keeping your skills sharp and keeping you on task as most DTs have a calendar for your projects.  It's also wonderful to keep you in touch with other like minded creators.  If you've applied for a team or a dozen and you were not selected, please don't give up, it can take a while to find your footing and your style.  Take each application as an opportunity to improve your skills and show what you've learned, you'll be surprised at how quickly you improve. The good thing is that many teams have 6 month memberships so that gives you 2 opportunities per year. I would also suggest going for a team you're passionate about, even if it's one of the major companies because they will see through fake enthusiasm if you don't really enjoy the products.  Last bit of advice is to be yourself in your designs, copying the latest trend won't work and it won't help you stand out from everyone else, offer the team leader something unique, you. That's about all I have for now, but I just wanted to offer a quick pick-me-up to anyone that is struggling with their crafting right now.  It's an extremely competitive space with a lot of talented people, don't get discouraged and remember that the whole point of this is to make things and have fun! Until next time, happy crafting!