Making Sweet Memories

To me, the We R Memory Keepers, Winter Frost papers has a Spa feel.  Using the other side, I used this paper to create two pockets and two cards. I placed the two pockets on the first page of the Cereal Box Journal. These two cards can also be used to record your Sweet Memories while having fun with your journal.

                                 

  This is a picture of the pocket before it was glued together.

 I glued a piece of paper on the inside of the pocket to cover the snow flurries.

            Bazzill, Tim Holtz- Distress and We R Memory Keepers were used to create these two cards.  Washi tape was used on the first card to add the "You Are Special" tag, so a message can be added behind.

 This page was created on white card stock and then glued into the album with glossy accents. When playing around in your art journal, don't think about, plan, or worry about what you are going to do. Instead, just play and have fun. I like to use material left from one of my previous project, along with some new items.

Definitely stop by Scraphappy to pick up your supplies in order to journal your sweet memories, and see the finished journal pages. Christy and Stephanie are always happy to answer any questions you may have.

Supplies:

We R Memory Keepers - Winter Frost, Snow Flurries & Cards Card Stock

Bazzill - Card Stock

Tim Holtz - Card Stock, Distress Markers, Distress Ink, Distress Stain

Lawn Fawn - Chevron clear stamp

American Crafts - Paper trimmer, Precision pens, Tape

Ranger - Archival Ink -  jet black, Inkssentials - opaque pen

Stickers - from previous projects

Washi tape

Sakura - Gelly Roll - clear star

miscellaneous clear stamps

Bling

Glossy accents

Color mist

 Ribbon

Wood Veneers - What Do I Do With Them?

Happy New Year, World!

I hope you all had a very safe and fun New Year's holiday this year, and that you had time to spend on our beloved Crafty Hobby! This month I decided to talk to you about wood veneers. Have you seen them online or in the store? Do you wonder what you're supposed to do with them? I mean, they're cheap. They're cute. They come in many imaginable shapes. And they're little (usually). So what is their purpose? Why are so many manufacturers making them? Why are they so popular? Well, lucky for you, I have an answer: They're FUN. They're CUSTOMIZABLE. They MAKE A BIG IMPACT on your project. Want to see a few examples?

First up: Use them straight out of the package, just as they are. No altering. No fussing. Just adhere and go (a little tip: glue dots and liquid glues like Glossy Accents work best). 

2. Emboss: Cover the surface of your wood veneer with versamark or other embossing ink, sprinkle on the embossing powder of your choice, heat with a heat gun, and watch the magic occur!

 3. Colorize with your favorite ink or cover with glitter. In this next layout, I altered the veneers with Tim Holtz Distress Stain, let them dry, then covered them with a thin layer of Rock Candy Distress Stickles.

4. Stamp on them.
5. Paint them.
6. And most importantly, come into Scraphappy and find the inks and paints, glitter, and embossing powders you want to play with, pick up some wood veneers, go home, use your imagination, and HAVE FUN!!!

Supplies:
Patterned paper - Basic Grey, Simple Stories, KI Memories, Heidi Swapp
Cardstock
Spray ink - Studio Calico, Heidi Swapp
Mask - Studio Calico
Rhinestone stars - Jenni Bowlin Studios
Wood veneers - Studio Calico
Letter stickers - Heidi Swapp
Stamps - Studio Calico, Technique Tuesday
Embossing powder
Stickles
Distress Stain
Stamping ink - red, green, Versamark
Washi tape

DIY Light Switch/Outlet Plates using Washi Tape!!

So.. I MAY have gone a little washi-tape happy over the weekend! This was such a simple, yet fun, little project to do that makes such a difference in a room!!!

First of all, you'll need your favorite washi tape colors!
As you can see, my favorite are the bright green and pinks.. love love love them!

Scraphappy carries all different colors. Each color comes with 2 different patterned 

rolls, for only $3.99!

Then you must decide what pattern you want to lay your washi tape.
Luckily, washi tape lifts up sooo easily without tearing! I must have pulled these pieces of tape up 15 times. I couldn't decide if I wanted this light switch as a chevron, or diagonal pattern.. Finally I just went with a horizontal. I used black in between just to give it a little extra "UMPH"! :)

Last, I used an exact-o knife to cut out a little hole for the switch. I found that by making a little "X" cut inside the opening was the easiest.. All you have to do is fold over the extra pieces and VOILA!



I told ya that I went a little washi-tape crazy..

I may or may not have done every switch in our store. :P

Enjoy!!! What are some of your favorite washi tape projects??

A Sunshine Christmas Mini

Using the Lawn Fawn "Sweet Christmas"- clear stamp set on Miss Caroline paper gave this cottage a weathered beach look.  I then drew a palm tree on white card stock and used Tim Holtz distress markers with a water color brush to create the palm tree. To give the palm tree the look of lights wrapped around it a Gelly Roll Clear Star pen was used.

For the cover I used a 12 x 12 thin acrylic sheet. 

This page was added to the front of the album using washi tape.

 We R Memory Keepers - "Waves", was used to create the pocket for tags or keepsakes.

On three side of this Polaroid tape was place to create a pocket.  A tag was made using Lawn Fawns "Sweet Christmas" clear stamp set and then colored with Tim Holtz distress markers.

In this photo a white Polaroid was used then stamped with Lawn Fawns" Sweet Christmas". It was then colored with Tim Holtz distress markers. A few touches were added with the Gelly Roll pen. Bakers Twine was added around the Polaroid.  *Using the washi tape was fun! 

Supplies:

-We R Memory Keeper - DOWN THE BOARDWALK - Coastlines - Waves 

-12 x 12 - Thin acrylic sheet - *These sheets can be embossed 

-6 x 6 My Minds Eye - miss caroline

-6 x 6 Authentique - Festive

-Fundamentals - tags

-white cardstock

-Lawn Fawn - Sweet Christmas

-We R Memory Keepers - clear stamps - Seashells

-Rangers - Archival Ink - black

-bakers twine

-Tom Holtz - Distress Markers

-Gelly Roll - clear star

-American Crafts - Paper trimmer - tape

Stop by Scraphappy to see the finished mini and pick up your scrapping supplies.

And as always, Christy or Stephanie are happy to help you with any scrapping questions.

Merry Christmas!

Happy December Daily!

                                   
How many of you have heard of December Daily? If you haven't, it's an album concept created by Ali Edwards (www.aliedwards.com) to document your Christmas season. Over the last few years, her idea has spread, and people all over the world are now recording their memories in December. The best part of December Daily? It can be WHATEVER you want it to be. You can make it a journal. You can make a layout (or several layouts). You can make a minibook. You can make a special Christmas album. You can just take a picture. Or write a blog post. Whatever YOU want. It's all up to you.

I decided this year to use a Simple Stories Sn@p album as my base. Christy has ordered some for the store, but if they're not in yet, that's OK! Pick another album you like. 6x6 albums are great for taking a 6x6 paperpad and just slipping the papers into the page protectors. Or cut a 12x12 paper into 4 squares and slip them in. Embellish as desired, and you've got your album prepped pretty quickly! Or choose one of the awesome acrylic albums ScrapHappy has in stock! Play with inks. Play with paint. Learn a new technique. Or keep it simple. Whatever YOU want!

Over Thanksgiving, I prepped my album. I used an 8x8 patterned paper pad from October Afternoon and cut all the papers apart to set up my base pages. I also precut and inked some white cardstock cards in the various pocket sizes to use for my journalling. Now all I have to do during December is to take pictures, print them, stick them in my album, and write some quick journalling (if I feel like it). I can embellish each day if I want to, but if I don't, then it's still All Good. My Christmas is being recorded.

I know it's already December 4, but it's not too late to start a December Daily project of your own. Drop by the store. Pick out an album and some special Christmas paper (And YES! The Christmas paper has arrived at ScrapHappy! Echo Park! Fancy Pants! And More!) . Turn on 25 Days of Christmas, and cut and prep your way to making your holiday even more special. And if you want to see the rest of my December Daily pages as the month progresses, follow me on Instagram: cdpeck. I'll be uploading my pages on an almost-daily basis (I'm aiming for daily, but Life does get in the way sometimes...).

And now, without further ado, my December Daily: First up, my completed pages for December 1-3:

 And here's a sample of the pages still to come, with my prep work complete:

Using Up Your Leftovers

When you scrapbook, what do you do with your leftovers? Do you put them away? Do you slide them to the side of your desk to think about later? Do you add them to a pile? Or even better, do you actually use those little bits and pieces? If you were to see my desk, you would know that I am an infrequent scrap cleaner. I tend to push my leftovers into a pile and stack them up until I can't stand it anymore and decide to do something with them. Often, this means that I will compile these pieces into layouts and combinations I never would have planned for if I had thought ahead. So what do I do? I go to Scraphappy, pick up 2 or 3 pieces of patterned paper, some letter stickers (especially Thickers...I am on a serious Thickers kick lately), and combine that with what's on my desk to make some layouts. And the Bonus? My desk gets cleaned off without any effort!

For my first layout, I used Studio Calico and Lilly Bee papers that I already had, combined with the teal thickers and butterflies that I got at Scraphappy. The leftovers? The Amy Tangerine stickers and teal woodgrain washi tape.

This next layout uses some new Shoreline papers as a background, combined with leftover Amy Tangerine stickers, an Amy Tangerine pocket, Shoreline sunburst scraps, and Heidi Swapp banner pieces cut off from a previous project. The hexagons are from a Studio Calico stamp set and are attached with some brads I found in my drawer.

The only new item on this final layout is the background paper and the teal letter 'P.' Everything else on this page was leftover. The light blue strip of Shoreline with the hot pink splatters? Leftover from the Baby Turtles layout. The My Mind's Eye transparency? Scavenged from my Valentine's Day memo board. The Heidi Swapp disco heart? The last of a package from this past spring.

So what have we learned today? Use your stash! Use those bits and pieces of scraps. Use pieces from different manufacturers and product lines to make your own combos. Need some patterned papers, letters, or cardstock to pull it all together? Head on in to Scraphappy and buy what you need! It's all there!

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!

    



DIY Smashbooks

Hello, Scraphappy Fans!

How many of you know what a 'Smashbook' is? It's this really cool premade album filled with patterned papers that you can take your pictures and everyday-bits-of-life (aka ephemera) and just 'smash' them (or glue them) into. You can make it as organized or random as you want. You can fill it from beginning-to-end. Or you can open to a random page and stick stuff in wherever it makes you happy. The only problem with a premade book like this is that you have no control over what the actual papers are. What you buy is what you get, so I'm going to show you how to make your own. Now you can pick the papers and patterns YOU want inside your book.

First step: Pick your papers. I chose the new summery, tropical-themed papers from Graphic45. Now I don't know about you, but I always think these papers are beautiful to look at, but when it comes to actually USING them, my mind goes blank. Fortunately for me (and now you, since I'm going to share), at CHA the Graphic45 people demo'd how to use their papers in a DIY Smashbook!

In the center of the previous photo, you can see some blue rectangles. Those are clear acrylic sheets that I decided to use for my covers. There's several sizes available at the store, and they are all quite inexpensive. To use the acrylic, just peal off the blue protective film and decorate however you choose. I wanted the edges of my cover to stand out, so I mixed some spray mist with white acrylic paint and painted the edges.

Next, I trimmed my papers to fit in my book. I used several sizes, including some pieces that I die-cut into scallops to add some fun variety.

There are many ways you can bind your book - jump rings, ribbon, etc. I wanted to play with a toy I received for Christmas: a book-binding machine. There's a similar machine in the store that you can use whenever you want. Just buy the binding, itself, and have fun playing!

Follow the directions on the machine to bind your book, then add pictures, embellishments, and journalling to truly make the book 'yours.' Here's a look at my finished book and some of the interior pages:

Supplies:
- patterned paper - Graphic45
- clear acrylic
- white acrylic paint
- letter stickers - October Afternoon
- black washi tape
- Cinch binding machine and spiral binding
- Smooch spray mist
- Instax photos
- die-cutter - Big Shot
- scallop die - Spellbinders