RELEASE #35 'STAR BRIGHT Vol.2' IS NOW LIVE!

Hello everyone! Wow its October already, jeepers that means its only 12 more weeks before Christmas, are you preparing for the festive season yet? We have already taken advantage of all the stores newly stocked shelves and cleared a few! For the first time in my life the Christmas presents are already purchased now just to work out if we are staying up here or going down south to be with the extended family this year, decisions decisions. 

This months Release #35 is Volume 2 of a series called 'Star Bright' which is pretty fitting given the time of the year. With the addition of lots of fabulous stars in each design you can easily add some bling and sparkle to your pages to get you all primed for the festive season ahead of us! Hey you might even want to finish off that 2013 Christmas album and scrap some of last years Christmas shots or simply create a beautiful page using pics of that special someone or something that shine brightly in your life!

This month we also have a guest artist the lovely Rebecca Daly. Bec has been a great supporter of Page Drafts, often creating beautiful pages using our sketches so we thought it would be fun to highlight her and her scrapbooking process, so keep an eye out for Rebecca's feature on the 15th October.

Okay so lets check out our

OCTOBER NIFTY

INCORPORATING, FABRIC, FIBRES & THREAD INTO YOUR PROJECTS

This months tips and tricks are suggested by our fabulous creative team member Marie Johannson.

Adding fibre is a great way to add texture and a softness to your composition. It not only lends itself to creating a more tactile page but it can sometimes add an unexpected visual experience.

By including a scrap from your favourite jeans (that have seen better days) or a shoe lace from your childs first school shoes, you are essentially incorporating little trinkets that hold powerful memories. Sadly, all too often we tend to overlook these somewhat non descript items, not recognising that they are intrinsically bound to us or trigger memories of something we hold dear. So next time you go to throw away that old, torn and stained t-shirt, think about what you might be able to retrieve from it? Don't overlook the tag, the logo or your childs name that you wrote on the label... because they are invaluable little keys to unlocking memory threads.

Here are some fun tips and tricks to get you started. Oooh and the creative team will also be sharing some of their own pearlers so check those out under their pages below.

Tip 1: Iron-On fuseable adhesive sheets can be bought by the roll. Back some on a 12X12 scrap piece of fabric and then adhere to cardboard or cardstock to create a fabric covered 12X12 base.

One brand I recommend is Heat 'n' Bond which you can also get in a ¾" tape which is perfect for creating customised fabric washy tape.

Tip 2: Explore many varied techniques of printing on fabric to create interesting montages for your background. Here is a great ebook 'Artistic Photo Quilts' by Charlotte Ziebarth or alternatively if you want to explore this more you can purchase many books on the topic like this one 'Inkjet Printing on Fabric' by Wendy Cotterill which will be available on the 24th October 2014.

Tip 3: There are endless possiblities for making your own customised and personalised fabric embellishments. Some might include flowers, crochet embellishments, dressed up tags or fabric buntings. Check out Pinterest for a plethora of tutorials and ideas that will have you creating in a frenzy to make them all.

Tip 4: Pull out your sewing machine! Machine stitching is easy, quick and really effective. You can be as controlled with the design as you like by using the machine embroidery option or alternatively be as random as possible and add crazy big looped stitches or jaggies and fun uneven loose borders around your page.

Tip 5: Hand stitching and or embroidering a design directly onto your base is a great way to add a very personalised touch. Stitch a number or a basic shape to create a point of interest.

Now that we have covered the basics on adding fabric snippets lets check out this months sketches!

'...& Action'

by Sanna Lippert

Page Drafts Sketch #35.1 by The Nifty Pixel

Sanna's Fabric & Thread Tip: Adding twine or string to anchor elements is a fun way to create the illusion that an element is hanging on the page. 

 'Swimming Lesson'

by Zeneva Kovic

Page Drafts Sketch #35.1 by The Nifty Pixel

Zeneva's Fabric & Thread Tip: Tie bows in thck thread or string to add an extra focal point.

'Little Star'

by Rebecca Daly

Page Drafts Sketch #35.2 by The Nifty Pixel

'Rock Star'

by Stephanie Brower Czosnek

Page Drafts Template #35.2 by The Nifty Pixel

'You Shine'

by Lizzy Crust

Page Drafts Sketch #35.3 by The Nifty Pixel

Lizzy's Fabric & Thread Tip: Try stitching edging on your embellishments to dress them up before adhering to your page.

'Trouble'

by Natascha Broers

Page Drafts Sketch #35.3 by The Nifty Pixel

Tash's Fabric & Thread Tip: Use stitching to give the illusion you are anchoring down layers of paper.

'Jump'

by Sanna Lippert

Page Drafts Sketch #35.3 by The Nifty Pixel

Tash's Fabric & Thread Tip: Why not give faux stitching a go. Try doodling dashes and dots around borders and elments to create a stylised stitching effect on your pages.

'Piece of my Heart'

by Zeneva Kovic

Page Drafts Sketch #35.3 by The Nifty Pixel

Zeneva's Fabric & Thread Tip: Try machine stitching your title work down its a fun way to anchor the alphas to your page.

'Lazy days'

by Zeneva Kovic

Page Drafts Sketch #35.4 by The Nifty Pixel

Zeneva's Fabric & Thread Tip: Use gauze or muslin under your photos or around the edge of your page to add a soft tactile texture to your project.

'Its The Smile'

by wendy Bennett

Page Drafts Sketch #35.4 by The Nifty Pixel

'Relax'

by Sanna Lippert

Page Drafts Sketch #35.4 by The Nifty Pixel

Sanna's Fabric & Thread Tip: I used twine to add some cross stitching here and there on my page. There is also some very freestyle faux stitching around the edges of the layout.

'Ammarnäs 2014'

by Marie Johansson

Page Drafts Sketch #35.5 by The Nifty Pixel

Marie's Fabric & Thread Tip: Add a length of thread by tucking it under embellishments to create an extra layer of texture and dimension.

'Christmas Joy'

by Allie-Marie

Page Drafts Sketch #35.5 by The Nifty Pixel

Allie's Fabric & Thread Tip: If you haven't got a sewing machine use a marker and draw faux stitching with a good quality white opaque pen. Use up off cuts and scraps of stitched trim/lace this is a great way to be cost effective and we love that! Trims and laces are always a fave of mine and they add another layer of surprise/dimension to your projects.

'Prince of Books'

by Zeneva Kovic

Page Drafts Sketch #35.5 by The Nifty Pixel

Zeneva's Fabric & Thread Tip: Crocheted Doileys are a great way to add some fabric to your projects. Also try using some twine to hang elements from or create a strung bunting across your page.

'Cloud 9'

by Em Stafrace

Page Drafts Sketch #35.5 by The Nifty Pixel

Em's Fabric & Thread Tip: To create a unique picture frame try cutting out several fabric swatches or patterned papers in varying sizes making sure to either hand cut or diecut the centres out and then stack them. Rather than using glue to adhere each layer together try machine stitching them randomly in a contrasting coloured thread.

Hope you like these sketches and the fabulous examples from the team. Don't forget to share your creations with us over at our Facebook Page or here in the comments below. We are always on the look out for your amazing creations to showcase in both the GSO and Customer Creations galleries.

Have fun scrapping with the sketches and remember to

'Let Your Imagination Do the Rest!'

Em & The Nifty Crew.

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