Glimpster Video Podcasts

Today's free Quick Tip features a journaling idea that I used on a digital product by Ali Edwards. In the next Paperclipping episode, I'll actually show you how to use and adjust that product, so make sure you come back soon.

Have you been waiting to hear about Ali Edwards newest book, due to release any day now?

Listen to this week's podcast (audio only) as I interview Ali and she shares all the secrets…

Do you have a lot of felt? If so, I think you'll love this episode, especially if you also like Tim Holtz.

(Ahem) Yes, I just said, "Tim Holtz." Did that get your attention? Great, because whether you're a Premium Subscriber or not, today's episode is free to everyone and I'll bet you haven't seen a demonstration of a Tim Holtz product quite like this.

Have you ever noticed how how bright felt products often are? I love the texture of felt and that it gives dimension to a layout. But the colors don't always work for color combinations I'm using. Plus, if you buy a lot of it, you may just need to do something different with it for a new look. Today's episode is a tip on how you can adjust the color of your felt, and even make it multi-colored.

1. Here is a piece of my felt in a color that hasn't been attractive to me. And here are two shades of Tim Holtz's Distress Embossing Powder. If you've never seen this before, this powder comes in colors that coordinate with Tim Holtz's Distress Inks. And it gives a very gritty, textured look instead of the shinier smooth texture of regular embossing powders. But instead of using it on paper like it was intended, we're using it on felt.

You've probably seen embossing before and we're going to follow th same steps. You just rub on your versamark or watermark ink, and sprinkle some embossing powder.

3. I want the original color to show through, so I'm only sprinkling a small amount. And I want to add a third color around the edges, so I've kept most of my edges empty and now I'm dipping the edges into the third color.

4. The tricky part is putting your embossing gun at the right distance to the felt. Your felt will get a little more crispy. The original color might darken a bit. But if you get too close with the heat tool, it'll ruin the felt, so watch out for that.

5. The distress powder does an interesting thing to the felt that regular embossing powder doesn't do. It raises some of the fibers so it has a lot more texture this way than when it is plain.

7. Show Gizmo layout. One tone Distress emboss to totally change the bright green felt and make it work with my color scheme. Also did it on the butterflies for multi-hued insects.

8. Show Geocaching album color for three-toned flower felt embellishment. You can do this technique with regular embossing powder but it won't give as much texture as the Distress powder does.

Close: I hope this gives you ideas and options of what you can do with products you've been holding onto.

One final gift from National Scrapbook Day…a second free episode in a row. Next week will be a Member's Only one.

1. Dedra Long's book: Diamond stickles on doilies to highlight the patterns and texture. 2. Stickles outlining an acrylic shape. 3. Stickles mixed with Diamond Glaze an acrylic shape. Apply Diamond Glaze first and add Stickles immediately while glaze is wet. This will spread the glitter out so it's less dens. 4. Stickles directly on acrylic. Glitter is much more dense. Added a second color. 5. Fill in the negative space of a rub-on.

You're going to love all the new ideas for Stickles in today's free episode. Dedra Long contributed many of them and I am so proud to show you more of her work alongside my own in this video. Huge thanks to Dedra.

Intro: Dedra Long and I put our heads together for some unique ways to use Stickles. I'll be sharing just a few of those ideas using both Dedra's and my own projects.

1. Diamond Stickles on patterned paper–Choose one color and cover all instances of that color with Diamond: can still see the color through the diamond but with a shimmer to it. Adds a raised texture to paper. (Dedra Long's idea and minibook cover).

2. Add multiple colors to one design to give it more interest. Then use an Exacto Knife to cut a portion of the design and insert a photo: brings the glitter to the photo as well as the paper.

3. Stamp an image and fill the negative space with Diamond Stickles. Another variation is to color the negative space of a stamp with colored pencil before adding the Diamond, and now you can get as many shades of glitter as you have colored pencils. (Dedra's idea and mini-book).

4. Demonstrate using stickles with a foam stamp and gesso. Squeeze stickles onto a practice sheet or scratch paper to get a feel for flow. The clear nozzle allows you to see when the glitter is coming through. Outline image first and then fill it in by pushing it around as you squeeze. Let it dry overnight. If you're not satisfied with the coverage, fill in any gaps or add a second layer.

Using the same color of paper as your stickles really makes the color vibrant.

5. Fill the center of a button with Stickles using the same color (Dedra's idea, my project). My variations on this idea are to use a different color of Stickles than the button, or to add beads to the Stickles in the button. The Stickles act as a glue for the beads, but you can also see the glitter shine through, as well.

6. Put the different pieces together. Add aqua pinwheel stamp to the patterned paper with multiple colors of glitter. Add button with beads in the center.

Close: We're out of time but Dedra and I have more ideas than we can fit in one episode. We will be back with another episode on other ways to use Stickles!

You'll love this tour of Dedra Long's scrapbook room. I just wish you could see all the details in person. It's an inspiring place to sit down and scrap.

In this episode I review a fabulous product that I've been testing all week. I can't wait to introduce it to you.

1) This is my new friend, FRED That's what it's called…F.R.E.D., which is a name chosen through a contest of scrapbookers and it's an acronym for "For Really Easy Designing."

It's a table top. It's like a drafting table but cooler because it sits on top of your flat table or desk, which means you can still have lots of other things like tools and papers, lying flat on your table while your scrapbook layout is at an angle in front of you. So if you've ever gotten a stiff neck from looking down at your layout, I recommend you pay attention to this.

2) Show benefits: a. The portability of the F.R.E.D., how the stand opens and closes, how you can take it to a crop and have more table space. b. It is magnetic so you can hold your pieces up with magnets before you start adhering. c. You can take the entire metal mat off the stand (show the bent up corner for lifting) and lay it down on your desk if you prefer adhering or doing certain other things on a flat table. d. And you can get extra mats, which means you can safely store an in-progress layout while starting a new one on Fred.

3) Talk about the high quality of the product: wood, not plastic. Neutral color to match any scraproom, but more importantly, product testers chose this color so it won't contrast colors you're using on your layouts.

4) Demonstrate F.R.E.D. by "pinning" up the different parts of a layout. Show how it even holds heavy embellishments like chipboard and buttons. You can also put some of the items you hope to add to the layout on the side or at the top in the extra space.

5) I know a bunch of you are thinking this looks really fabulous, but it won't work for you because you do 2-page layouts. Well guess what? You can join multiple F.R.E.D.'s together for a two-page layout. (Demonstrate putting the two tables together and attach a layout to it).

6) The basic package is one mat, and one bag of 8 magnets, it's $44.99. For two tables, two mats, and two bags of magnets it's $84.99.

Close: I've been using my F.R.E.D. for a week and I love it. They gave it to me for free, but if they hadn't, I'd buy it. To get more information, go to www.myscrappingbuddy.com