Acrylic Album Class Update

Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap} Beach!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am going to be starting an acrylic album series during the Thursday, July 1st Euro Chat on my UStream Channel. The show is live from 2:00 p.m. EDT {GMT/UTC-4} to 4:00 p.m. EDT, and will be recorded for those of you who can't make it. I will continue the series during all regularly scheduled Euro Chats and Scrap Chats until it is complete. All the shows will be recorded, so if you can't make one, you can always catch up later.

In a recent UStream, I experimented with some different acrylic techniques {such a die cutting and embossing} to see what does and does not work. I also gave some ideas of things you could do at home to start prepping before the class series starts. To view the recording of that UStream show, click here: Acrylic Album Tips & Tricks. I have also posted below my recommendations for things to have on hand, if you want to follow along. Remember that I will be creating as I go ~ not preparing it completely ahead of time as in an online class ~ so this supply list is just suggestions of things that might be useful to have. I may or may not use all of the supplies listed & I urge you not too buy too much stuff for this album ~ you probably have most of what you need at home already.

I uploaded a video over on my YouTube channel with all the details {and I wrote the out again below the vid}: UStream Class Video.



Supplies:
1. Pre-made acrylic album, roughly 6"x6" OR sheets of thick overlays like the Hambly Clearly Heavy Overlays {which is what I'll be using}. Grafix and Clear Scraps make comparable products to the Hambly Overlays. I just happen to already have four 12"x12" sheets of the Hambly on hand, so that's what I am going to use. Please see the above UStream recording for ideas on how to die cut acrylic.




2. Staz-On or other solvent ink. Since everything in this album is clear, you'll need some kind of ink that can stamp on slick or non-porous surfaces & eventually actually dry. I own three colors of Staz-On, so I'll probably be using a combination of them: jet Black, Timber Brown and Cotton White.

3. American Crafts Slick Writer or other solvent marker/pen, such as a Sharpie. this is for journaling directly onto transparencies. You'll want a pen or marker designed to write on non-porous surfaces so you don't have to wait forever for it to dry. I have the Slick Writers in black in both fine & medium tips. I love them & use them often in my scrapping.




4. Transparencies, both blank and printed, the thicker the better. Again, I am just using what I have in my scraproom> I am going to be pulling a lot of my printed transparencies into this project. Most of them are from Hambly, the King of Clear in my opinion. I am also going to be stamping with Staz-On on blank transparencies.

5. Pictures. You're going to want to gather together some pictures from an event or person or fitting the theme of your album somehow. I would recommend a couple 4"x4" pictures, a couple 3"x3" pictures and a few each of 3"x4" and 2"x3". Try to print an even number of each size if you can ~ that will make life a little easier. If you don't have a photo printer that allows you to print in those sizes, you can use Photosheet to arrange them on 4"x6" prints and have them printed by your local developer ~ then just trim!

6. Coordinating double-sided patterned paper. Once you've chosen your photos, gather your papers together. You won't need huge sheets of this paper since we are not covering chipboard, so you can just go through your paper scraps and collect a bunch of larger pieces. Or you can use a collection to make things a little easier. Something with smaller prints is better than papers with large motifs, since you are often using smaller pieces in acrylic albums. I will probably be using the 6"x6" mini deck of the Basic Grey "Lemonade" collection, but I'm not 100% sure about that yet. I definitely think I want to do something bright & summery ~ I'm in the mood for that now that it's so hot here again.




That's pretty much it! You'll also need stuff to decorate your pages like stamps, journaling spots, bling, flowers, ribbons, paint, etc. You know, all the usual stuff you normally gather together to put into a mini album. Again, you probably already have all of that in your art rooms, so no need to break the bank on this project. To me, it's fun to make clear albums very eclectic & so it's a great way to use up a lot of odds and ends you have hanging around & just have fun playing around!

In today's UStream, I am going to be working on a mini album with Graphic 45's "On the Boardwalk" papers ~ I've been having a ton of fun with this mini!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.