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



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

Our Summer Bucket List

      Hello all! My name is Meghan, and I am thrilled to be a new member of the design team for Scraphappy! I enjoy scrapbooking, crafting, and long walks on the beach...ahem. I am married with three beautiful children who are often the subject of my scrappy projects.

     This has been a crazy month for my family, as we have just finished moving into a new home. I knew that it would be all to easy for me to slip into an OCD state of psychosis that includes all manners of organizing, cleaning, decorating, reorganizing, cleaning, redecorating....you get the drift. So, I decided that in order for us to have a fun summer, I would need to force myself to be intentional about it. Here enters our summer bucket list.

     Once I got the idea to create a summer bucket list (thank you, Pinterest!), it was a fairly simple project. The kids and I came up with a list of about 50 things we wanted to do this summer. The general rule was that the activity would have to be cheap(preferably free) and local. The kids had some great ideas, and I threw in a couple more for good measure. They range from building a fort, watching a sunset, and playing backyard wiffle ball to making glow in the dark bubbles and baking cookies. Some are new experiences; some are old favorites. Many are things that I did as a child that I want my kids to experience.

     After we compiled our list, I got right to work. I started with an 18x24 frame and used some of my stash to create a fun background. For the list, I used a combination of journaling squares and the brand new Heidi Swapp washi tape that I bought from Scraphappy.  I just peeled off a strip, and wrote the bucket list activity directly onto the washi tape with a fine tip sharpie. Add a banner, a star, and some fun summer pics of the kids, and our bucket list was complete.

    I learned something recently that I found to be very useful. You can write on glass with a dry erase marker, and it wipes right off. Shut the front door! I feel like I have been on the outskirts of some best kept secret!!! This is outstanding! We have put this knowledge to use with our bucket list (and a few other projects as well. Stay tuned for more details on those!). When we complete a task, we simply check it off on the outside of the frame with a dry erase marker. We will be able to wipe it all off so that the fun can start all over next summer.

    There are still nearly two months of summer left. Get out there and soak up every second of it! Be intentional about having fun and making memories!

    



Hi everyone!-Christina's intro

 Hi everyone!

I am so excited to have been chosen to be on the Scraphappy Design Team. Today is my day to give you a bit of an introduction about me.

I have been scrapping and stamping officially for about 13 years. Unofficially, I have tons of memory type books from my school days, with paper clippings and other keepsakes.  Like a bunch of others, I started out early on with the Creative Memories way of scrapping.  So my first pages are tons of pictures cut into cute shapes like triangles and circles and embellished with pretty construction paper cut with decorative scissors.  Good thing I found early into my scrapping foray the Creating Keepsakes magazine.  That magazine lead me to a whole different way of scrapping. =)
I am now a stamper and a scrapbooker and I have even moved into the world of digital scrapbooking too.  I really enjoy doing digital, because I don’t have to make such a mess, but I don’t think I will give up the paper scrapping either.  There is just something about all the fun papers and embellishments! Oh and all the stamping stuff, I get to do that with my mother in law who is a die hard Stampin’ Up woman.
I don’t have a particularly favorite designer or company that I favor.  I love bright fun designs that make pretty girly layouts; I think that probably comes from having three very girly daughters.  Lately, I have been looking at the vintage girly (what a description) look, but I have yet to try any of those techniques.


Now a little bit about me.  I was born and raised in Mobile, AL.  In August of 1997 I met my soon to be husband on the internet.  We met in person in October, we were engaged the following June and married in December of 1998.  So this December, we will be married 13 years.  Here’s a layout I did of us.  This shot was taken a couple of years ago when we went to see Tim McGraw at The Wharf.  Aren’t we so cute together =)

We enjoyed being newlyweds for a few years but in December 2001 we had our first daughter Jordan.  We had fun with just the three of us for a while, but then in March 2006, we had another daughter, Emery and then much to our surprise, 18 months later we had another daughter Leah.   They are such sweet girls.
Jordan 10
Emery 5
Leah 4 (in October)
Here’s a layout of my girls all together on Valentines Day of this year:

Let’s see what else can I tell you about me….????
Our family is huge Auburn fans. I am not so much of a football watcher, but I will watch it with my husband.  I usually have no choice anyways, cause during football season, that’s ALL that’s on at my house.

I am an avid reader.  I love The Harry Potter and Twilight series (can’t wait for the next movie).  But I read a lot of Romance novels.

Finally I am a huge huge huge  New Kids on the Block fan (shhhh don’t laugh it’s my guilty pleasure)
Here’s a layout I did for a concert I went to recently:

 And just for fun, here are a couple of cards I've done:

Again I want to let you all know how excited I am to be on the design team.  I look forward to having lots of fun and learning lots of stuff from the rest of this great team.
Scrap Pink is coming…see you there!



-Christina-

PS: excuse my crazy pictures, I need to invest in a scanner.  lol

First Blog Contest!

Okay, here goes the first contest on our new blog!! Sign up to follow this blog, then post a comment under this post. On Tuesday morning we will randomly choose 1 comment/person to win a $10 gift certificate to the store! We will be having weekly contests on the blog where you can win some awesome prizes, and participate in some fun challenges.
Also, there is a Scraphappy blinkie in the right hand column that you can use to add a link to your blog if you want. Thanks a lot guys and good luck!

New Class added to NSD crop!

We are working on the class schedule for our National Scrapbook Day crop weekend! Here are some photos of one of the classes being offered. Dawne Ivey will be the instructor, she lives here in Pensacola, and has been published in many magazines, including some covers!! She is a member of the Duchess group here in town, and is on several design teams for some scrap websites! The techniques learned will be hand-stitching, embossing, some Cricut use, and using border punches. These techniques are great for cards or your layouts, so this class is for everyone!

The class will be offered on Friday night at 7:30pm and again on Saturday at 3pm. The cost is $19.00. All supplies will be included, and there will be an extra goody bag given to one student at each class, chosen by a drawing. As part of the class, you will also receive one clear stamp to keep. *Also, for each class you take, you will receive an extra ticket in the grand prize drawing for the weekend!!* You may take the class even if you are not attending the crop. Call or come by to sign up!! 607-2527.