Doing the Work for You!!

Do you ever come across a great piece of patterned paper, that has a fun scene already printed on it?  Most of the time I'm not really sure how to use these paper, because I am so used to cutting my 12x12 sheets into smaller sizes.  Last time I was in the store, Christy gave me some of the Hello Spring Line from Little Yellow Bicycle, which included a 12x12 sheet that had the cutest little tree pre-printed on the page.  I just knew I had to use this piece as my background page and still found a fun way to design my page around it!  And the great thing about this type of background paper, is that it takes a lot of the work out of designing and putting your page together, so you can get it done quickly and easily!!

Of course, I still have those unscrapped holiday photos that are always floating around.  These are from this past Easter and when I saw the great colors in this line, I knew it would go along perfectly with these photos.  I wanted to add my own touch to the background paper, even though I was keeping it in tact, so I used one of the Studio Calico Mistery Huey's Masks and some Mister Huey's Spray Mist to add a little more interest to the background.  The photo strip was a perfect way to add my photos without covering that cute little tree and it also left me with plenty of room on the right had side for my title and journaling.  I love to mix alphas in my titles, so I used some of the fun, textured American Crafts Thickers that Christy has in the store.  You definitely need to pick these up!!  The font is so fun and I love the dark pink to almost purple color of these Thickers.  I also used a fun little scalloped piece off of one of the other papers and thought it made a nice border of "Easter Eggs" across my page!

So even though it's August, if you're like me you probably still have photos from this past Spring to get to...or maybe photos from 10 Springs ago!!  :)  Make sure you stop by ScrapHappy and pick up some papers from the Little Yellow Bicycle Hello Spring collection and grab a pack (or 2) of the great textured Thickers too!!

Be "SPOOKTACULAR"

Be "SPOOKTACULAR" this Halloween with these fun treat ideas using the Lawn Fawn "Happy Haunting" stamp set.

Lawn Fawn's Happy Haunting stamp set, Tim Holtz Distress Marker Set, Tim Holtz Halloween Haunts Kraft Resist paper, Tim Holtz & Ranger Distress collection, My Mind's Eye- Haunted Accessory Street, watercolor tag, ribbon were used to create this Candy/Gift Card holder and Tag. 

*I thought the tag could be used and a place card with their name and the stamps left for them to color.

Bazzill card stock, American Crafts paper line by amy tangerine, Lawn Fawn's Happy Haunting stamp set, Tim Holtz Distress Markers, water brush and ribbon were used to create this treat holder for a bottle

.

*The gator aide bottle with Treat Holder would be great for the kids as a Halloween treat or party gift.

Or even as a Teacher gift! This treat holder has so many possibilities. Stop by Scraphappy to see the other treat holders on display.

Bazzill card stock, American Crafts paper line by amy tangerine, Lawn Fawn's Happy Haunting stamp set, clear tube, ribbon were used to create this Witches Hat treat.

*This is a fun treat holder! Not only will the kids love it, I think the teachers or co-workers will as well.

Bazzill card stock, Tim Holtz - Halloween Haunts Kraft Resist paper, Distress collection card stock, Distress Markers & Distress pads, American Craft's paper line by amy tangerine, Lawn Fawn's Happy Haunting stamp set, Gelly Roll - clearstar pen, Precision Pen - American Craft, Twine were used to create this Halloween Mini Card Album.

 In creating the Halloween Mini Card Album I thought it would be nice as a favor for a child's party by just using the stamps and again left for the children to color. It would also be nice to leave a space for a photo that could be taken with an instant camera.

 Other supplies used:

Tim Holtz - distressing tool, scissors

Glossy accents

Scoreboard

Zots

American Crafts adhesive foam tabs

American Crafts paper trimmer  -I love this trimmer. The scallop cartridge is my favorite.

All the products used to create these Halloween creations are sold at Scraphappy.

 If not in stock they can be ordered.

**Note: Clear Tubes are sold at Scraphappy - 10 for $6.00

I had so much fun creating these Halloween creations, I hope you enjoyed them.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to talk to Christy or Stephanie.

Hand Made Cards 101

The art of handwritten cards is not forgotten. The joy shared by sending a short message to someone special is well worth the time it takes. Making your own greeting cards is a great solution to the cost and duplication of store bought cards. It takes only a few starter supplies (although, once the paper & ink fever takes hold, there are an amazing array of great tools available) to create your own one-of-a-kind cards.

 Matching a pretty blue with some light purples can brighten any one’s day.  The bit of color added to the giraffe’s collar is just touch of punch that makes this card great.

I love stamps that pair a cute picture with a great pun. “2 socks paired with - we should hang out more often” or some sewing image paired with “I’ve missed you sew much” never fail to bring a smile. There is something so soothing about taking a little time out of your hectic schedule and seep into the world of color.

For a traditional look, look for some wonderful flower stamps that can be used with a nice saying. Cute animal stamps and every imaginable household item will add some fun and surprise. The variety of stamps and papers is delightfully dizzying.

A few simple steps will provide a handmade card that is sure to delight! A standard 8 ½ x 11 sheet of card stock will produce 2 cards. Choose from hundreds of gorgeous colors of card stock. Dividing the sheet in half either lengthwise or by width provides the perfect size to fit in a standard invitation size envelope. Fold the card stock in half and smooth the crease with a bone folder, a smooth hand held instrument that sharpens the fold. Adding some decorative lighter weight paper will accentuate the color. Stamp an image with ink, color it in and add a bit of ribbon, a button or other embellishment. You will have created an original card that brings smiles to someone special.

Scrapbookers are natural card makers. They already have an excellent eye for color and composition and a wealth of papers and embellishments.  If you have always admired the look of handmade cards but weren’t sure where to start, take a class. The paper, ribbon and image choices will already be selected to get you started.               

                                                                

Heidi Swapp Memory Files and Color Magic

Hello World!

How many of you have seen Heidi Swapp's file folders and thought, "What am I supposed to do with that?" I know I did, so this past spring when Heidi taught a 12 week online Memory File class, I signed up to learn straight from the master. Depending on your mood, you can choose from her patterned paper files that coordinate with her paper lines or her DIY Color Magic Files. For today's project, I used Color Magic. I love that I can make these papers whatever color I want. Each Color Magic item has a trendy resist pattern on a white background. I wanted a bright, happy, yellow and green background to coordinate with the Vacation Bible School (VBS) embellishments and some American Crafts Shoreline papers, so I gathered my yellow, green, and teal spray inks and happily sprayed my blank file (You can use any ink or paint you want. The choice is completely yours). After spraying, I used paper towels to wipe off the excess ink and reveal the chevron resist pattern. Being the ink snob that I am, and given my refusal to waste any of my precious spray ink, I used the excess ink on my paper towel (baby wipes work well for this, too), and rubbed the ink onto the inside of the file to colorize the inside.

Memory Files are designed for those moments and times where you want to scrapbook 20-30 (or more pictures), but you really don't want to make 3 or 4 (or more) layouts all on the same topic.With a Memory File, all those pictures and embellishments can all fit in one 'layout.' If you read Heidi's blog or get to take a class with her, she teaches various methods of incorporating more photos into your file. For this file, I used a baseball card page protector and some orange washi tape to add an extra 'page' to my Memory File. I then added my patterned papers and phots, and then embellished as usual. I plan to add more photos to the page protector, but I have to collect the photos from my friends first ;)

This year's VBS theme was Amazing Wonder's Aviation and focused on flight and the Wonders of the World. I used Studio Calico wood veneers to highlight the travel focus and to tie my layout into the VBS ephemera I want to incorporate into my Memory File.

I hope I've helped you learn how to get more photos into one project. There are sooo many ways to use a Memory File in your scrapbooking life. If you want to learn more, please leave a comment, or tell Christy that you want us to teach a special Memory File class in the store.

- Cori

Supplies:

- Heidi Swapp - Color Magic Memory File

- Studio Calico - Mister Huey's spray inks, wood veneers

- American Crafts - patterned paper, rub-ons

- brads, washi tape, baseball card page protector

- VBS ephemera



~4th Annual~ ScrapPink 2012

4th Annual ScrapPink 

Part 1 - October 25th-28th
Part 2 - November 1st-4th 

 This is going to be our BEST ScrapPink to date!!!

We have lots of goodies planned!!

There will be many silent auctions, raffles, etc. planned to help raise money for our local American Cancer Society's Breast Cancer Research Fund.

We appreciate your support!

• Thursday 2pm-midnight $15
• Friday 8am-midnight $30
• Saturday 8am-midnight $30
• Sunday 8am-4pm $25
  
  Click here for More Info and to REGISTER NOW for PART ONE!
  
  Click here for More Info and to REGISTER NOW for PART TWO!
  

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, brunch, snacks, and drinks will be provided!! Dinner is on your own.

Goody bags for all attendees!

If you sign up for BOTH weekends, you can leave your table set up during the week between! :)

      *Please note: Your seat is not reserved until you have paid. Thank you for understanding!!

How Do I Use Holiday Supplies When It's Not That Holiday?

Hello World!

Another month, another blog post from me! Or 2 or 3, as the case may be this month, since I found myself with an abundance of layouts I have made this summer for Christy that I have not yet shared with you ;) Today we are going to talk about using those cute themey supplies for uses that have NOTHING to do with the theme. Sacriledge, right? I know. I know. We buy the cute themed supplies BECAUSE they fit the theme we want to work with. But what do we do with the leftovers after we have scrapped the theme??? We use them anyway!

How many of you have actually scrapped your July 4 pictures from this year? And how many of you have leftover 'July 4'-specific supplies left? Or you just love the red, white, and blue combo and want to use it over and over again? Today's layouts feature some Pebbles July 4 papers that I found at ScrapHappy but decided to use for several non-holiday pages. Honestly, I haven't even printed my July 4 pictures yet, but I knew I wanted to use the papers NOW, so I used photos I already had printed.

The first layout actually doesn't even have pictures at all. Many of you know my family went on a Great American Road Trip last summer. One entire month of seeing our beautiful country. Since then, I've been scrapbooking our trip. I have already filled an entire album (I file all my pages chronologically. I scrap whatever inspires me on any given day, but then I put them in albums by date), so I decided I needed an official Title Page to separate this section of layouts from the rest of my pages. I've been pondering a Title Page for months, and when I saw this United States map paper, I knew I had found the perfect background. Since this is a 'busy' paper, with lots of graphics that I wanted to use, I opted to focus on the map and not use photos at all. Instead, I put brads and star stickers on the locations we focused our trip around and connected them with string. Next to each brad, I wrote the location and sight seen there (ex. Mt. Rushmore in Rapid City, South Dakota).  I inked and glued the bar code strips from the collection as my accent papers, and used Studio Calico wood veneers to indicate our family and method of travel.

This next layout features the entire Pledge of Allegiance. I didn't want to obscure the words, but I still wanted to use the paper for a traditional layout. I used a small Instax photo I took of my Niecelets together in Tennessee and added small embellishments on the diagonal. I wanted to emphasize certain words in the Pledge, so I highlighted them with Stickles. I'm not sure I'm thrilled with the results, but I wanted you to know why part of the layout sparkles and why part of it doesn't. Lol.



My final layout for today uses some of my favorite Disney pictures from this past Spring Break. We were fortunate to be there when the 'new' Dumbo in the Fantasyland expansion had just opened. My Girls rode late at night (no lines then) while I took pictures. When I saw the photos on my desk next to these Pebbles papers, I knew they were made for each other.

I hope I've given you some ideas on how to use your holiday papers for non-holiday layouts. From photoless pages, to tiny pictures, to Disney, I hope these inspire you to pull out some of your leftover supplies (or go buy more supplies!)  and make pages to be proud of.

- Cori

Supplies:
- patterned paper - Pebbles
- cardstock - Bazzill
- letter stickers - October Afternoon, Jenni Bowlin Studios
- wood veneers - Studio Calico
- transparency - Hambly
- Disco Stars and Instaframe - Heidi Swapp
- shaped paper clips - Amy Tangerine
- Distress Ink
- number stencil, brads, thread, white Uniball journalling pen