Wonder Kit Inspiration

It's never too late to explore our previous themes...as you look back upon this season of WONDER, what do you see and what have you learned? Here's some content for you to keep digging deep and learning more about what makes you tick.

December 2010 Design Team Gallery



Journaling Prompts

Magic: In many cultures, this time of year represents a season of magic - a time when people use light as a way to illuminate the darkness. The loss of control and vision represented by the dark can be frightening. What cultural or religious traditions from this time of year are part of your celebrations, or appeal to you if you're not personally familiar with them? Are you frightened of the dark for any reason? What magic would you bring to your own darkness as lit is brought to literal darkness? Would it be a knowledge of something, a belief, a physical presence?



Mystery: Do life's twists and turns feel mysterious to you or can you see trajectories, either before something new happens, or in retrospect? Do you wonder about the meaning of large and small events in your life and in the world? Do you like the excitement of the unknown or do you like to have all your ducks in a row? Have you had a specific life experience that was truly mysterious and remains mysterious to this day?



Amazing: What have you accomplished, learned or discovered in the year that is ending that you pal an to carry with you into 2011? If you were forced to answer, what would you say amazes you most about yourself? If your best friend, spouse or sibling were to answer, what would they tell you amazes them about you?



Children: Kids have an amazing capacity for wonder. Everything is new and exciting to them. Is there any area of your life that has you experiencing wonder in a child-like way? Are there kids in your life who remind you how to see things as fresh?



The Big Questions: What do you wonder about most...the meaning of life, why certain things have happened, what happens after we die? What are the big unanswered questions, or unanswerable questions? How much time do you spend on those questions, alone in your own thoughts, or talking to others?



By Comparison: It's been said that one must experience the lows of life to understand and appreciate the highs. Is that true in your experience? Is life's wonder something you are available to see? Is it because you have experienced lows that you can use as a reference point? What is the most wondrous moment that sticks in your mind?



Music

Quotes


He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it. Douglas Adams



He who wonders discovers that this in itself is wonder. M. C. Escher



The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office. Robert Frost



Too much of a good thing is wonderful. Mae West



I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it. Groucho Marx



It was wonderful to find America, but it would have been more wonderful to miss it. Mark Twain



Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. Voltaire

The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius. Oscar Wilde



Every man serves a useful purpose: A miser, for example, makes a wonderful ancestor. Laurence J. Peter



Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. Lewis Carroll



Humility is the embarrassment you feel when you tell people how wonderful you are. Laurence J. Peter



Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time... The wait is simply too long. Leonard Bernstein



It was no wonder that people were so horrible when they started life as children. Kingsley Amis



Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children. George Bernard Shaw



A man's silence is wonderful to listen to. Thomas Hardy



I maintain there is much more wonder in science than in pseudoscience. And in addition, to whatever measure this term has any meaning, science has the additional virtue, and it is not an inconsiderable one, of being true. Carl Sagan



You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there. George Burns



I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this. Emo Phillips



I have always felt that the moment when first you wake up in the morning is the most wonderful of the twenty-four hours. Monica Baldwin



If people only knew how hard I work to gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all. Michelangelo Buonarroti



It is wonderful how quickly you get used to things, even the most astonishing. Edith Nesbitt



How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. Anne Frank



I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief. Gerry Spence



A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug. Patricia Neal



Determine never to be idle...It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing. Thomas Jefferson



Wonder is what sets us apart from other life forms. No other species wonders about the meaning of existence or the complexity of the universe or themselves. Herbert W. Boyer



Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit. e e cummings



Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience. Victoria Holt



We strain to renew our capacity for wonder, to shock ourselves into astonishment once again. Shana Alexander

I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people who are convinced they are about to change the world. I am more awed by those who struggle to make one small difference after another. Ellen Goodman

By health I mean the power to live a full, adult, living, breathing life in close contact with... the earth and the wonders thereof - the sea - the sun. Katherine Mansfield

I like coincidences. They make me wonder about destiny, and whether free will is an illusion or just a matter of perspective. They let me speculate on the idea of some master plan that, from time to time, we're allowed to see out of the corner of our eye. Chuck Sigars

It's wonderful what we can do if we're always doing. George Washington

Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters. Margaret Peters

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn whatever state I am in, therin to be content. Helen Keller

Anything looked at closely becomes wonderful. A. R. Ammons

If we discover a desire within us that nothing in this world can satisfy, also we should begin to wonder if perhaps we were created for another world. C. S. Lewis

Numberless are the world's wonders, but none More wonderful than man. Sophocles

In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant. My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known -- no wonder, then, that I return the love. Soren Kierkegaard

Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you. Mary Tyler Moore

I'm not interested in money. I just want to be wonderful. Marilyn Monroe

To be matter of fact about the world is to blunder into fantasy -- and dull fantasy at that, as the real world is strange and wonderful. Robert Heinlein

Wonder is the beginning of wisdom. Greek Proverb

There are people who make things happen, those who watch what happens, and those who wonder what happened. Unknown

The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office. Robert Frost

He who wonders discovers that this in itself is wonder. M. C. Escher

From without, no wonderful effect is wrought within ourselves, unless some interior, responding wonder meets it. Herman Melville

The most wonderful of all things in life, I believe, is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a glowing depth, beauty, and joy as the years increase. This inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvelous thing, it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of Divine accident. Sir Hugh Walpole

Man is to himself the most wonderful object in nature; for he cannot conceive what the body is, still less what the mind is, and least of all how a body should be united to a mind. This is the consummation of his difficulties, and yet it is his very being. Blaise Pascal

Never make anything simple and efficient when a way can be found to make it complex and wonderful. Unknown

Do not be awe struck by other people and try to copy them. Nobody can be you as efficiently as you can. Norman Vincent Peale

Nothing is so awesomely unfamiliar as the familiar that discloses itself at the end of a journey. Cynthia Ozick

I stand in awe of my body. Henry David Thoreau

There was something awesome in the thought of the solitary mortal standing by the open window and summoning in from the gloom outside the spirits of the nether world. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Stock Photos

Want A Peek?

January 2011 is on the horizon... and don't you just think that it's the perfect time for a little REFLECTION?  Our new kit is simply delicious.  Check out this sneak peek:

Couldn't you just eat it up? (Please don't.  Items in kit are not edible.  Feel free to rip, tear, ink, sew and stick them together though!)  I'll be back to let you know when the full reveal is yours to drool over (and  purchase)!

Ranger Liquid Pearls, A Student's Perspective

Yesterday, the wonderful Diana showed us her tutorial on liquid pearls and various techniques using them.  They were included in our Wonder kit this month and after learning from Diana, I cannot wait to use mine in the various ways she showed us!  Another one of our design team members was also inspired by Diana's tutorial.  Here's Shaina on what she did after viewing Diana's tips and tricks:

Ranger Liquid Pearls - A Student's Perspective

By Shaina Longstreet

Hi there.  Shaina here.  And let me be the first to tell you that opening my kit and seeing the liquid pearls put me way out of my comfort level.  But this month I thought, “Hey, why not embrace it?”  So that’s exactly what I did.  I turned to our resident ‘technique’ expert, Diana and using her tutorial, I braved the unfamiliar waters. 

Here is what and how I created with Liquid Pearls. 

Now, I love the Mother of Pearl effect that Diana got by combining her Liquid Pearls with a distressing ink.  I unfortunately don’t have any distressing inks.  But I thought that adding the paint directly to the textured cardstock would add a lot of dimension just on its own.  So that’s what I did. 

I applied the Liquid Pearls directly to the textured cardstock.  And I don’t mind getting messy while I’m creating, so I pushed the paint around with my fingers, leaving it heavy is some spots and transparent in others.  Once the paint was dry I built my layout right on top of the cardstock.  Doesn’t that little shimmer really bring out the unique textured cardstock??

Now, on this same layout I decided to try the heavy application on a piece of decorative chipboard.  And it really was just as easy as Diana made it look.  Apply directly from the bottle and use the tip to swirl it around to get full coverage.  Let it dry and voila!  I just love that purple color.

I was really looking forward to seeing what effects I could get by adding water to the Liquid Pearls.  I used a little bowl, about a tablespoon of water and a good blob or two of the pearls and mixed it with a stir-stick.  I gave the chipboard a base pinky color with some colorbox chalk and then using a paintbrush, applied the shimmer right onto the chipboard. 

The little bit of moisture made the top of the chipboard bubble a little bit, but I think it adds a lot of texture and angles for the shimmer paint to bounce off of.  Then on the top of these elements I used the Liquid Pearls in their most basic form to add little drops of dimension.  I like things in threes. 

So there you have it!  A double “teacher/student” tutorial all about the Liquid Pearls that are included in the gorgeous WONDER kit.  We hope that it helps you to try something new, and use your imagination in interpreting the tutorials.  We look forward to seeing what you create! 

I agree with Shaina... show us what you create by joining us over at SFTIO.  You'll find all kinds of inspiration and, once you've created your inspiration, upload your layouts to the gallery.  We'd love to see what you create!  Don't keep us wondering...

The Wonder of Liquid Pearls...

Wow!  I always wonder how Christmas can come and go so fast!  All holidays are like that, aren't they?  The anticipation of the arrival of the special day is always so intense.  You wait and wonder and hope and think about "that day" and all of a sudden it's here and it's wonderful and then it's so quickly gone and you then wonder where it went!

Well, here we are, embarking on our last week of Wonder... the last week of 2010.  I can't let you leave without some more great tips from our design team, so let me share with you the wonder of liquid pearls  with our very own wonderful Diana!

Techniques Using Ranger Liquid Pearls

by Diana Kennedy

Ranger Liquid Pearls are not just for making pearls on your layouts, but can be used in a few different ways.  Here in this technique tutorial I will show you how you can get the most out of your supplies.  Liquid Pearls are acrylic based paint with shimmery goodness!

Creating a Mother of Pearl Texture:

I used the packaging from the Prima stamp and crumpled it up to create a textured “stamp”.

I added some paint to the wrapper and applied it to the cardstock.  You can also use your fingers, or a sponge etc.

The result is an uneven texture on the cardstock.  Let the paint dry fully.

To give the paint some depth, I added some distress ink to the cardstock.  The dried liquid pearls will act as a resist to the ink.

I added in some different colours of ink as well to give the appearance of a mother of pearl look to the paper.

Direct Application:

You can create texture by applying the Liquid Pearls heavily on just about any surface.  Here I used the chipboard snowflake and spread the pearls on thick.  I used the tip to swirl it around and then set it aside to dry.  I enhanced the texture by adding some ink too.

Creating Shimmer:

You can dilute the Liquid Pearls with water and use it as shimmer paint to your paper and embellishments too!  Here I used it on some paper that will eventually become an embellishment on my layout.  I put a drop of paint on it, took a wet paintbrush to it and let dry.

The result is shown here, and of course, I used the Pearls for their more ‘traditional’ purpose on my embellishment.

I used the same shimmer technique on chipboard too.  I inked the chipboard first and then applied the diluted Liquid Pearls to the chipboard.  Let dry.

Embellishment:

Using Liquid pearls as its own embellishment?  Absolutely possible!  I wanted to create a frosty icicle appearance on my layout, so I just applied the pearls directly to my layout to create a dimensional effect to my layout.  I love this look!

So here are a few techniques to get you started in using your Liquid Pearls!  Tomorrow, check out Shaina’s tutorial from a student perspective using my technique tutorial as a springboard to creating with Liquid Pearls on her layouts!

I know that these techniques have me wondering what great things I can do to my layouts and cards.  If you're wondering what other great tutorials and ideas are available over at Scrapbooking from the Inside Out, you have to stop by our Inspiration page.  While you're over there and browsing around, check our our kits and our community... great people with wonderful talent and ideas and sharing!  Join us!  We'll be wondering where you are until you do...

Design Team Highlight: I Wonder

Each month our design team takes our chosen topic and shares of themselves with their interpretation of the emotion.  It never ceases to amaze me the different perspectives in the interpretation of the topic AND how amazingly different and expressive the layouts are! 

Take a look at Melissa Elsner's layout "I wonder"

I love how she's using a photo that has her looking off into the distance.  It very much shows the daydreamy emotion of wondering about life.  The colors she chose support this daydream vision... but in my opinion, one of the best parts of this layout is her circular journaling.  Starting with "I wonder" it runs in a circle around the layout in a never-ending loop:

I wonder about a lot of things. Like what my future holds. The "could haves" and "what ifs". And the "when will it happen to me?" I feel content and even at peace but still...

I'm totally going to scraplift that!

Check out the cool rolled pattern papers and the liquid pearls that Melissa used to give her layout wonderful dimension:

Learn more about Melissa's choices with this layout on her blog!  Or, join us over at our community and check out more Wonder design team layouts in our gallery.  I'll be back to share more of "Wonder" soon! 

December Challenge #1, Eyes of a Child/Playful

Youth is a wonderful thing.

What a crime to waste it on children. 

George Bernard Shaw

Children: Kids have an amazing capacity for wonder. Everything is new and exciting to them. Is there any area of your life that has you experiencing wonder in a child-like way? Are there kids in your life who remind you how to see things as fresh?

If you were to create a layout about either seeing, or wanting to see life with fresh wonder as would a child, what would be different?   As an extra design "twist" challenge, please use a playful, child-friendly image or technique in some way - animals, blocks, maybe finger painting?

Let us know in the comments section, how would you design a layout for this challenge?  Or, better yet, join us in our online community to share your thoughts about this challenge and post your own layout in our challenge boards.  You don't need to be a kit owner to participate in our challenges... all are welcome!

I really can't wait to see your comments and/or layouts on the site! 

Have a great, wonder-filled day today!

~ Kai

The Wonder of...

Have you ever wondered what is so special about Scrapbooking from the Inside Out?  Let me tell you that besides our simply awesome emotion-focused kits, we provide all kinds of inspiration... and the best part is that it's FREE! 

Let's check a few things out with regard to our December emotion: Wonder.

Journaling Prompts.  They are so helpful.  They give you "food for thought" helping your brain to get moving on certain aspects of the month's theme.  Check this prompt out:

The Big Questions: What do you wonder about most...the meaning of life, why certain things have happened, what happens after we die? What are the big unanswered questions, or unanswerable questions? How much time do you spend on those questions, alone in your own thoughts, or talking to others?

Give it a good, long ponder.    Here, I'll ponder it with you...

...

...

To tell you the truth, I spend quite a bit of time wondering about the meaning of life... why I am here, what is my purpose.  I spend a great deal of time wondering about changes I could or should have made and how they would have affected my present life.  I often take 'lessons' I have learned from these and attempt to "change" how I will react in the future based on what I wish I could have done in the past.  

How could I translate some of this into a layout?  Well, I could certainly write about a past moment that I regretted and then list some possible different things I could have done and the potential consequences of those actions.  I could scrap a layout about a very important moment in my life that defines who I am now, and wonder about the circumstances that caused that moment to happen in the first place.

Those really are some big questions.  Lots of scrapbooking ideas...

Now, check out one of the photos that we have to get those creative juices flowing:

I think this picture could certainly link in with the above journaling prompt.  In fact, I could use this very picture to portray my wondering at how things would have been if I had changed a moment in time.... or how murky the future is depending on the choices I make today.  How I wonder what the future holds...

If you haven't already, check out our Inspiration page for more great content and brain "food".  Dig deep and join us with some of your own Wonder inspired layouts... we'd love to see what you'd like to share!

For now, I'll leave you with this quote from our Inspiration page:

Wonder is what sets us apart from other life forms. No other species wonders about the meaning of existence or the complexity of the universe or themselves.
- Herbert W. Boyer -

Please share with us, how does this wonder quote speak to you?

Easy Glamorous Ornaments

Hello friends!  I can't believe how close Christmas is and this weekend, when our attention has not been on our recuperating dog, it has been on getting ready for Christmas. We hit a few bumps in the road, of course, so we didn't make as much progress as we'd wanted.  The house is in quite a bit of disarray but rather than cleaning it, I decided to stop by here and share with you another great tutorial by one of our design team.

And since my focus has been on Christmas, how about a tutorial on easy glamorous ornaments?  Check out what Felecia has to share with you:

Easy Glamorous Ornaments

by Felecia Krech

I just can’t help it – nearly my full attention this time of year is on Christmas.

Christmas and Thanksgiving are my favorite holidays…but Christmas holds a special place for me. I find nearly everything about it just magical and wonderous. Santa has come to my house every year, even those where there were no children in my home.

One thing I’ve done since childhood is collect special Christmas ornaments. It’s a tradition in my family that ornaments to celebrate something special from the year are given at Christmas. When I take each of these out to decorate my tree, I get the joy or remembering all those special events of my lifetime. It makes trimming the tree a very heart-warming experience.

This kit is so full of amazing details that I felt compelled to make some glamorous Christmas ornaments with some of them to add to my tree – to commemorate that this last year, I was privileged be a part of the SFTIO Deisgn Team!

For this first one, you’ll need:

A length of the fabric rose ribbon

Needle and thread

1 inch paper circle, scallop circle or other shape for the center of the ornament.

2 ½ paper circle or scallop circle for the back of the ornament

Metal button

Quick-dry adhesive such as Zip Dry

Step 1) Using the needle and thread, do a running stitch along one side of the fabric rose ribbon. Slide the fabric along the thread forming a circle

Step 2) Continue gathering until you have a complete circle. You can make the circle as big or small as you wish. When gathered to your liking, sew the ends of the ribbon together.

Step 3)  Punch (or poke) a small hole in the 2 ½ inch paper circle (to lace for hanging later!) and then adhere your rose ribbon circle to the large circle using Zip Dry. (I just ran my zip dry around the circle about ½ an inc from the outside edge.

Step 4)  Cut a small slit in the small circle and push the button shank through the slit.

Step 5) Glue the button and paper circle to the center of the rose ribbon circle.

Now thread with a bit of decorative ribbon or twine and hang.

For the second ornament, you’ll need:

2 strips of paper 12 x 1 ½ inches

2 punch circles, around 1 inch

2 embellishments (for the centers of the ornament)

Jumbo Glue dots (from Zots) or a strong quick dry adhesive such as Zip Dry

Step 1) Starting with one short side, lightly score each paper strip at ½ inch intervals and then accordion fold.

Step 2) Attach the accordion strip folds together, overlapping ends to form one loop.

Step 3) Place adhesive on the back of one of the punched circles, and lay it face up on the work surface. Gather the folds of the accordion folded paper look in the center to form a rosette. Place the rosette on the punched circle. If you are using quick dry adhesive, hold this in place until it is secure.

Step 4) Adhere the other punched circle on the opposite side of the rosette.

Step 5) Adhere flower embellishments to the punched circle on each side of the rosette. I used the Prima flowers, but you could use any of the embellishments, including glittered or painted chipboard pieces.

Poke a hole through the top and hang with ribbon or fishing line.

Happy Scrapping!

Wow! They really are super gorgeous ornaments. I'm so excited to play with the tips Felecia provided in this tutorial. Wouldn't they make great package toppers too? Thanks Felecia! I can't wait to get my hands working on my own glam ornaments!

Wonderful World Layout Inspiration

The lovely and amazing Nancy Doren created this WONDERFUL layout using our amazing December kit, WONDER.



Journaling reads: A kitten’s pink nose. Green eyes. Snow on the Peak. The inside of an orange. Warm breezes. Stars over mountains. Seashells. The world is amazing...and I am in awe of nature. Sometimes the beauty takes my breath away and I am filled with wonder.

There were so many more things I wanted to put on the list... I could go on forever!

Nancy's LO inspired me in a number of ways - the design, of course, and the way she integrated so many photos, but especially her ability to see the WONDER and beauty in small things in life.

Some of you who know me on Facebook (and IRL) know that I lost one of my best friends a month ago yesterday.



Boy, do I need to keep looking at Nancy's LO...it's important to try again to enjoy some of the little joys, the tiny pleasures that are all around me. Here goes:

• My puppy's sweet paws
  
  
• Farmer's Market Veggies

• Where I Live

• Feeding Lorikeets at the Zoo

• BFFs
  
  
• Romance in Napa
  
  
• Making Pooris (Indian Bread)
  
  

• This Man

• And This One ;)
  
  

Thanks for the reminder, N.

What small pleasures could you embrace today?