Technique Tuesday - White Grid Paper

Back in the day when I used to only sell the grid paper in 6-packs, each pack came with two sheets each of two different colors and then two sheets of white.  So, those of you who were regular shoppers may have ended up with what seemed like a disproportionate number of white pages.  But that's great news!  White is so very versatile.

Here's a Blog Post from the Mosaic Moments Page that is filled with fabulous ideas for getting more mileage out of your white grid papers.

And here are a couple of layouts that I have created on white grid paper.  The first features my scrapbooking room back in the days when it was clean. LOL.

And the second showcases my niece with her pride and joy, a collection of American Girl Dolls.  In order to earn each doll, she had to first read each book of that doll's series of historical fiction books.  In some cases that was 6-12 books.  So she put a lot of work into earning her prized collection.

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Fridays with Friends

Ok, so I'm not a very good friend.  In fact, I royally stink!  I took some photos of some students' mosaics at a crop I attended on March 7, 2015 in Northern Kentucky.   I had several folks bring me their pages and tell me that I had permission to share on my blog, but I have since lost the paper where I took down all the names that go with the pictures.  If these are your mosaics, PLEASE send me a message so I can give you credit (and, as I like to say, make you "famous on the internet" - in a GOOD WAY)!

But for the rest of us, let's just focus on the spectacular job on these pages!  I am absolutely in love with two features on the first layout.  The first is the amazing way the stripes all come together and the second is the way she broke up the picture in the center of the layout, to allow the horizon to show at the top of the page.  

The second one makes me happy because the student used the 4x4" RTC (ready to cut) grids as accents on a traditional 8.5x11 layout.  I love the classic arrangement with the subjects in the upper left corner and lower right corner.  The colors and lines are just all so perfect.  It is both understated and sophisticated.  

There's a Die for That!

Nowadays, we often say "There's an App for that . . "  when we find a way to do things more quickly or efficiently using our phones.  Well in the world of traditional scrapbooking, it would seem that the equivalent to an app is a die.  We love dies because they have eliminated a lot of the need for "fussy cutting" the old fashioned way and they are lighter and easier to store and carry around than the punches we used just a couple years ago.

Here is a prime example of what I'm talking about.    When I first started teaching mosaics, one of the first layouts I designed was this popcorn/movie themed mosaic that I taught as an introductory class.

I was in love with Riley the Moose and thought I just had to do something with these adorable stamps and my newfound love of Copic Markers.  I tracked down this Hot Off the Press Popcorn Paper and lovingly and enthusiastically designed this layout.  Well, that's all well and good for making your own special, one-of-a-kind, layout.  It's a-whole-nother issue when you want to teach this layout as a class!

For this layout, I cut out two strips that were slightly wider than 2 1/8" x 11 1/8" and then painstakingly used a punch along the sides of both of the film strip pieces.  The width of the punched image is about 2 inches - meaning for each film strip piece, I had to punch six times for the left side and then six times for the right side.  There were two such strips per layout, times 10 layouts per class, times two times I taught the class (once in Columbus, once in Cincinnati).  Yes, I punched those pieces out more than 500 times to get my sample and 20 layouts for classes.  That was a lot of cutting and a WHOLE LOT of punching!  (not to mention that the punch I used was actually the EK success punch designed for a notebook effect, so I then I had to go back and adhere the scrap/waste portion of the punched piece to close the holes to give them the film-strip effect!

  

I'm having flashbacks just typing this post!!!  

And now would you get a load of this??  

Yup, that's right, Tami Potter and those wonderful folks over there at Mosaic Moments have designed a die that cuts a Film Strip Die sized to fit the grid - 2.125 x 5.5 inches - so it covers 2 squares x 5 squares.   Whew!  I'm so glad there's a die for that - I wish I had had this years ago!

This die is available right now for pre-sale.  Please use the Snap-N-Crop Link to the right here on my blog to make your purchases!

DIES FOR PRE-SALE

Mosaic Moments is having a Pre-Sale on some new dies.  Like all of the MM dies, these are specifically designed to fit in a designated number of squares on the Mosaic Moments Grid Paper.  As always, I ask that you please shop using the snap-n-crop link to the right on this blog so that I will receive credit as your consultant.  Thank you for your order!

Dies On Sale This Week!

PRE-ORDER NEW DIES  25% Off!  NOTE: These dies are NOT in stock.  This is a PRE-ORDER sale. The PRE-ORDER Dies will ship by the end of JULY.

Four NEW Cornerstone Dies!

Pre-Order Sale Price - $5.99 ea. (Reg. $7.99) 

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Lattice & Daisy Die Sets

Pre-Order Sale Price - $8.24  (Reg. $10.99) 

Each die set comes with a CornerStone size (2.125 x 2.125 inch die) and two 1x1 inch dies.  Choose Lattice Set or Daisy Set. 

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Film Strip Die 

Pre-Order Sale Price - $14.99 (Reg. $19.99) 

Film Strip Die is sized to fit the grid - 2.125 x 5.5 inches - covers 2 squares x 5 squares. 

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Two New Strip Dies!  

1"x2.125" Strips Pre-Order Sale Price - $14.99 (Reg. $19.99)

1"x5.5" Strips Pre-Order Sale Price - $26.99 (Reg. $34.99)

PLUS, get the PRE-ORDER DISCOUNT 

on these three dies: 

Heart & Flower - Sale Price $10.49 (Reg. $13.99)

Corner Tiles - Sale Price $8.24 (Reg. $10.99)

Layering Banners - Sale Price $8.24 (Reg. $10.99)

CORNERSTONE DIES - 15% OFF 

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Get French Quarter, Encircle, Southwest, Beijing and 

all  other Cornerstone dies at a discount.

 

On Sale This Week ONLY!

Sale Price $6.79  (Reg. $7.99)

If you are looking for ideas and inspiration to "think outside the box" with cornerstones, check out Andrea Fisher's Mosaic Moments Blog Post about Using the French Quarter Die.   

Fridays with Friends - Thanks Angela!

My friend, Angela, is spending a weekend at Retreat to Complete on Lake Cumberland, Kentucky and she is making the most of her time there!  Look at this awesome mosaic layout she created.  I just love all these bright, beautiful flowers and the way she incorporated the yellow photo mat and the quote to tie everything together.  MAGNIFICENT!!!

UPCOMING MOSAIC MOMENTS CLASS - BASEBALL!!!

In celebration of all the fun All-Star festivities going on this time of year, I'm offering a baseball mosaic class at Stamping Buddies in Deer Park, Ohio.  Details can be found in my facebook group called "Cropportunities." 

Minerva Mosaics is offering a beginning Mosaic Moments class where students learn the basic Mosaic Moments page layout system techniques – including measuring and cutting to fit the grid, photo taking and other tips. The class includes only the grid papers, patterned paper and die cuts to complete two 12” x 12” pages. Further, if you finish your page while at the class I am offering some prize drawings! Students will gain valuable hands-on experience, and will leave the class feeling confident in using the Mosaic Moments system and inspired to create fabulous pages. You will be amazed at how easy the grid system is to use and how creating these great pages takes far less time than you could have ever imagined.

Class cost is $20, payable by June 26th so I can have time to order all of the custom papers/dies.

Supplies Provided to Each Student:
• 2 Sheets Mosaic Moments Grid Papers
• Reds Logo Die Cut
• 1 sheet of Cincinnati Reds Patterned Paper
• Paper Tiles and cardstock
• Lil Chizler tool 
• Mosaic Moments Quick Glance Guide

Student supplies needed: 
• The Mosaic Moments 14” x 14” craft mat (If you do not have one - see me for a discounted combined class fee/mat purchase!!) I'm sorry but other cutting mats are not acceptable for this class. I instruct specifically with the Mosaic Moments mat because it is custom-designed with the 1/8" grid to work in conjunction with the Mosaic Moments grid papers - the mat is part of the technique that you will be learning and is the only way I am authorized to teach this class.  (If you need a mat, I'm offering a combined price of $35 for the mat and the class  - the mat normally retails for $28 so this is a great deal.)
• YOUR OWN BASEBALL PICS SIMILAR TO THOSE IN THE SAMPLE.
• Herma Dotto REMOVABLE adhesive 
• 12” or 15” metal ruler with cork or rubber backing
• A good quality craft knife or rotary cutter with sharp blade. 
Note: Stamping Buddies will have only a limited quantity of each of these items available for sale at the so please notify me in advance if you wish to purchase same.

June 15th is Nature Photography Day

We all know that nature photographs make GREAT mosaics, right?  Well, June 15th is Nature Photography Day.  I'll share mine if you'll share yours!  Feel free to post your favorite Nature Photography Mosaic on my Facebook page and you will be featured in an upcoming "Fridays with Friends" blog post!

Techniques on Tuesday - PAGE PATTERNS

Do you struggle with how to arrange the photos on your Mosaic Moments layouts?  Are you always on the lookout for some fresh new configuration?  Please be sure to check out the Mosaic Moments Page Patterns Page.

On this website, Tami Potter and her creative team have done something truly fabulous.  She has provided you with page maps that you can use to plan your layouts.  There are two really cool things about this page:

The first is that the layouts are color-coded for those of you who are using the Mosaic Moments dies. The colors on the layouts correspond the the colors on the packaging of your various die sets.  (Please contact me or use the snapncrop link to the right, if you are interested in purchasing any of the die sets.)

The second is that when you hover over the page pattern, it switches to a sample (or two) of actual layouts created using those page patterns.

The page pattern above is an example of the former version.  They were black and white, but still very easy to follow and quite inspirational.  

The page pattern below is one of the FABULOUS new color coded page patterns.  The green, pink, purple and blue squares all represent shapes/sizes that can be cut using the Mosaic Moments dies.

Candy, Candy and More Candy

Here are a couple of layouts I did a couple years from a Creative Memories paper pack called "Candy Shop" - although there are no pictures of candy, the bold colors and arrangements, certainly do give the "suggestion" of candy and would make some really fun candy-themed layouts for kids.

June is Candy Month!

In addition to being Camping Month, Soul Food Month and a whole lot of other reasons, to celebrate, June is also Candy Month - "While we may celebrate candy all year long, June has the privilege of being the official Candy Month. No one seems entirely sure why or how June became Candy Month but, when the title gives you licence to enjoy as much guilt-free candy as you like*, who cares?! That’s not to say June is without relevant history: it was in June 1963 that US confectioner Hershey’s acquired Harry Burnett Reese’s business (yes, the original Reese of Peanut Butter Cup fame) and it was in June 1904 that George Cadbury and his staff invented Dairy Milk.

Some cultures consider chocolate to be a type of candy while others consider candy an exclusive name for hard-boiled sweets. However, it’s quite a generic term and can be used to describe toffees, marshmallows, licorice, jelly sweets, British rock and more. Yum!

* Please enjoy responsibly. Your dentist cares about your teeth and so do we."


Candy is such a fun way to embellish your mosaic layouts.  We associate some sort of candy with nearly every holiday, don't we?   Think about  it:

  

Use those candy close-ups to make some sweet mosaic!

June is for Brides

Do you have wedding pics you think would make great mosaic layouts?  Here are some tips from Mosaic Moments for Wedding Scrapbooks:

June 5th is Hot Air Balloon Day

Up up and away on June 5th.  Come celebrate Hot Air Balloon Day:

"The hot air balloon is the oldest form of flight technology used for carrying humans, following the first manned flight in 1783. The balloon itself consists of an envelope, which is used to contain the hot air, and a gondola, where passengers and a means of creating hot air are typically housed. The heated air inside the envelope has a lower density than that of the cold air outside, and this causes the balloon to rise. Hot Air Balloon Day is an annual celebration that marks the impact hot air balloons have had on travel and leisure.

Although out of the reach of many, the most common means of celebrating Hot Air Balloon Day is to take a hot air balloon ride. Although not ideal for those that are afraid of heights, or flying, there are companies and hot air balloon owners that offer special deals for these celebratory flights."

June is Camping Month

According to Days of the Year, June 2015 is Camping Month.  Do you have any pics of the Great Outdoors that would make great mosaics?

June is for Grads

Time to dust off all of those graduation pics and mementos, or take new ones if you have a loved one who is graduating this year.  From preschool or kindergarten graduations through high school and college, there are always tons of cute layout ideas.  Here is a Mosaic Layout of my nephew's Kindergarten Graduation:

And here is a link to Mosaic Moments Graduation Scrapbook Ideas: