ScrapbooksPlus DT

Welcome February!

2012-02-01T10:09:00.003-05:00

This month's Design Team papers are from Little Yellow Bicycle's Winter Twig line. The blues, browns and creams in these papers work so well for any layout! As always Little Yellow Bicycle has a great selection of embellishments that go with the papers- from adorable journaling cards to 3 dimensional snowflakes. Make sure to stop by Scrapbooks Plus and check out the Design Team Wall. You're going be inspired!

Enjoy!
Lisa

2012-02-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

Wednesday Make and Take

Today’s Make and Take is perfect for your family pictures. The TPC Studio Memory Lane Papers will look great with pictures of your grandparents or your grandchildren and everything in between. This layout includes several embellishments made with Tim Holtz Hardware Findings and Elegant Flourishes dies. These chipboard embellishments were painted with the Adirondack Copper Dabber and distressed with Tim Holtz Distress Ink. The embellishments also include the title cut with the Circuit using the Pooh Font.

Snow Maggedon!!

2012-01-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

Do you remember Snow-Maggedon?? I know, how could anyone forget??

This is a landscape photo of the trees in my front yard. Its incredible the amount of snow that can fall. We were lucky not to have lost any trees from these storms. Many people lost a good portion of their landscape. Its amazing how much damage can come from such beauty!

Regardless, what an opportunity to scrapbook! You're stuck at home and have nothing but time and hot cocoa to make!

I couldnt resist adding the little jalopy to the layout. Most cars were completely buried under snow but this one came out practically unscathed! Gotta love that!

Bring on the snow!

2012-01-29T21:25:00.001-05:00

1/29/2012 9:08 PM Stop by the store this week and check out some of the new products we received.
· Bazzill- Button Stackers: Snowflake or Hearts.
· Momenta/ATD- “Sassy” stickers for: Travel, Girl, Marriage, Baby, Birthday, Mama, Guy and Friends.
· SEI- Promise Me papers, cardstock stickers and gold foil frames.

Check out some of our new upcoming classes for Valentines Day and sign up today! The Design Team will be changing the wall on Wednesday so stop by and see all of the new pages and projects featuring the Twig 2 line from Little Yellow Bicycle. Have a great week! Debbie

Keeping it simple and scraplift yourself!

2012-01-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

Lately I have been finding my design styles to be shifting back to a more simplified design style. Well maybe simplified isn't the right word- more of a "clean" style. It always amazes me to look back on the albums I have done in the past and the the transformation of my design styles. I have gone from the stickers to the inky to the simplified and everywhere inbetween. I have been doing alot more art journaling (where I'm doing most of my inking, painting and techniques) so my scrapbooking has become "cleaner".

I always love to go back through my albums to get inspiration on layouts that I really love- try it and scraplift from yourself. It is a great way to get your pages done!

Enjoy!
Lisa

Winter Card

2012-01-28T07:33:00.000-05:00

While I'm not sure I agree with this sentiment....

I took the solid side of one of the SEI papers and got out my stamps, creating a snowflake background for my card. I layered a strip of the perforated paper, tied a piece of ribbon, then added the sentiment. This is a quick and easy design to do if you find you need a card - and fast!

Snow

2012-01-26T08:00:00.002-05:00

The SEI Silver Valley line of paper is perfect for all your snow pictures. I used 8 1-inch strips of Stargazing paper and cut trees and snowflakes out of the Silver Valley paper. The background is white glitter paper with torn edges, chalked with Ranger Iced Spruce Distress Ink, on blue cardstock. The journaling was printed on transparency film and the page finished with some embellishments.

Layout for Your Holiday Photos--Today's Make & Take

2012-01-25T00:01:00.001-05:00

Start the year off by getting your pictures in scrapbooks. Today’s Make and Take, which can be made quickly, features October Afternoon’s new Holiday Style line. Using a old fashioned “City Sidewalk” theme, the 2-page layout is perfect for Christmas pictures that don’t include children. In addition to the beautiful papers, the layout uses two sizes of red Bazzill flowers, silver pearls and lots of blue, clear and silver jewels. The free element is a journaling tag. This line includes some really cut papers so you may want to get more while you’re at ScrapbooksPlus. Don’t forget your 40% off coupon so you can get yourself a gift. The coupon is only good on Wednesday so visit the store today.

For the Birds!

2012-01-24T01:00:00.000-05:00

The Sei Silver Valley paper Snowed In inspired this layout- I love the cardinals that were on the paper! At my house I love to feed the birds- but we have a problem with the bears getting to my bird feeders (this only happens in early spring but every year the bears destroy them.) I used plain chipboard letters that I painted/stamped/crackle painted and distressed stained-lots of steps but I love the way it comes out! Here is a closer up photo of what they look like:

It's actually a really easy process- just takes some time- but to me it's so worth it!

Enjoy!
lisa

2012-01-22T19:10:00.001-05:00

1/22/2012 6:42 PM Hope you all had a great weekend. For those of you who were at the Crops Plus crop I hope you got lots of Scrappin done and had a lot of fun! Come by the store this week and check out some of our new products.
Basic Grey- 4 new paper additions to the Kissing Booth line along with wooden buttons, element sticker and Hero Arts Tapestry Script stamp.
Design Originals- Zentangle 6, Zentangle for Kidz! And Zen Mandalas idea books.
EK Success- Jolee’s Jingle Bells and Heart Repeats dimensional stickers. Sticko cars stickers.
Uchida- Ivy Leaf Embossing Punch.

If you would like to crop this weekend please sign up early as we will only be having a Friday night crop. Start checking out some of the sneak peeks from the vendors and see all of the new products coming out at CHA next weekend. See something that you think I should order for the store, email me, Debbie@scrapbooks-plus.com and I will see if I can get it! If you would like to preorder some of Tim Holtz new dies let me know because I am working on the order this week! I will be ordering all of the new items that will start shipping in February and go through April. Enjoy the week! Debbie

2012-01-21T23:14:00.004-05:00

Christmas Memories

SEI Silver Valley paper was ideal for creating this layout of my brother and sisters as kids. I had planned on a B&W theme and reconsidered; the river rock double sided Silver Valley was perfect for these old B&W pictures. I liked the variegated gray and the reverse small checkered pattern; it added a

light soft color to the layout.

I matted my photos and journaling blocks over three and four layers of Silver Valley paper along with cardstock and then adhered them to the river rock paper followed by the black cardstock. I trimmed the black cardstock to just show a 1/8th of an inch. This was then layered over the Silver Valley Stargazing glitter paper to add a little additional splash of red. I finished off the layout with a few flowers, ribbon, and bling.

KaiserCraft, Madame Boutique Collection

2012-01-21T08:00:00.003-05:00

I love the Madame Boutique Collection by Kaiser Craft. There are so many beautiful papers to choose from!! I kept this layout simple by only using ribbon and flowers as embellishments. I cut the flowers out of the Knickers paper and layered them with foam tape for some added dimension. The Knickers paper offers different sizes and colors of flowers, making it easy to cut and stack them for that 3-D effect!

Baby, Its Cold Outside!!!

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

I love the blues in this collection! The patterns really work well together. To make the trees sparkle, I added bling and glitter flakes from Martha Stewart. I love the way it makes the trees pop. Be sure to stop by Scrapbooks Plus to see the texture and dimension this medium offers.

I dont know about you but Im ready for some snow!

Inking Paper

2012-01-19T10:28:00.001-05:00

Did you know that it's easy to change the color of your paper? This background started off as a white-on-white embossed paper. When I took my Distress Inks and stains to the paper, the embossed areas resisted the ink - and gave me a wonderful way to customize the paper to fit my photos!

Wednesday Make & Take

2012-01-18T06:00:00.035-05:00

Happy Wednesday! This week's make and take features Bo Bunny's beautiful Garden Girl line. This amazing line features Art Deco style flowers and flourishes. The colors are vibrant and fun-- and hopefully will cheer up your scrap space in the middle of January! There is matching chipboard, stickers and beautifully designed papers in a rainbow of colors!

I have included a yard of sheer champagne colored ribbon for your layout as your free element. I made a simple triplet of 2 inch loops and stapled to hold in place using my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher. The staple is hidden under the chipboard flower. I then stretched the same ribbon across the rest of the page and part of the matching page with swirl stickers on top.

I had a enough scraps of my Bo Bunny stash left over to create these cards. They use paper, stickers and chipboard. I also added a few sparkle rhinestones to the chipboard pieces for a bling-y touch and my corner rounder to soften the edges of the papers! Feel free to click on the cards for a close up. The card fronts are all 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" (the card base is half of an 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock sheet).

Hurry in today to pick up this fun layout- with 3 bonus card designs. Supplies are limited!

Snowflakes everywhere!

2012-01-17T06:00:00.005-05:00

I had a great time making this card. I layed out my Design Team paper scraps to create my background for my card and used the beautiful trim to come up with this simple card design. What makes it special is the textured elements I added. First, I embossed Tim Holtz Grungboard with a Sizzix snowflake embossing folder, pulled out my mini pinking edging scissors and then inked it to show off the embossing and edge. I love pulling out these old tools I've had since I started scrapbooking many years ago and using them in fun ways, don't you!? I punched the tag and used an old stamp from my stash to stamp 'let it snow...'. The other unique textured element on my card is the chipboard snowflakes. Here's how I gave them a snowy texture...

I simply covered them with slow-drying pigment ink (or you could use Versamark) by directly rubbing them on my ink pad. I then covered them heavily with white embossing powder and heated with my heat gun. I let it cool completely and repeated. This gave it a thick, textured white surface... just like snow! Pull out your scrap and stamping tools and have fun!

2012-01-16T12:14:00.001-05:00

Join us on Thursday for the last of Tim’s tags workshop and demo from 11:30-2:30. We will be completing tags 11 and 12. I’m glad to see you all coming back to crop and fulfill your New Year’s resolutions to get your scrapbooking caught up! If you are planning to attend one of the crops this weekend please call in and sign up early! Have a great week! Debbie

2012-01-16T12:09:00.000-05:00

1/16/2012 11:35 AM For those of you who have the day off, enjoy and do some shopping! Teachers get 10% off today, so why not stop in and see what’s new.
Advantus- Tim Holtz Terminology Tissue Wrap.
Basic Grey- Kissing Booth papers, 6x6 paper pad, diecut flowers, mixed brads, blank cards with envelopes and Canvas Samplers Display Board.
Bo Bunny- Snowfall paper addition, chipboard and Mini Edgy Album. (If you are following the Bo Bunny blog they are featuring a mini album class on Mondays using some of the Snowfall Collection of paper, stickers, chipboard and more! We have all of the supplies in stock to complete the album if you are interested just ask!)
Crafters Workshop- Mini Tie- Dyed 6x6 template. Webbing, Bricks and Branches 12x12 templates.
EK Success- 28 new Jolee’s Dimensional stickers featuring baby, Valentines, Travel, St Patrick’s Day, Sports and more!
Ellison/Sizzix- Tim Holtz new dies: Butterflight, Old Glory, Love Struck, Mini Tattered Florals, Mini Old Glory and Rabbit & Bow. Tim Holtz Texture Fades: Americana Background & Borders Set and Springtime Background & Borders Set.
October Afternoon- Holiday Style Miscellany.

January Layout

2012-01-15T09:44:00.001-05:00

January means one thing around here -- Pinewood Derby time. Last year I took a few photos of our car building extravaganza (well, actually my husband doing the cutting and sanding).

I mixed this month's kit with a couple pieces of the My Mind's Eye kraft Funday collection - one of the papers and a banner. For the title I used some wood grained Thickers that had been sanded.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

2012-01-14T00:01:00.001-05:00

Okay, I admit that the child in the picture is too little to be dreaming of a white Christmas, but the colors were perfect for this picture. With a few simple techniques this picture shimmers like Christmas.

I started with the Silver Valley paper for background and for the main decorations for the pictures.

I triple matted the 5” x 7” picture using two Snowed In and one Silver Valley (plaid side). I rounded the corners of all three mats.

Using the technique we all learned in kindergarten, I cut out all the snowflakes & the small tree from another piece of Silver Valley. After decorating the tree, I affixed the snowflakes and the tree to the background with pop dots so they standout.

I make a scallop tag out of white chipboard. I put the name and year on the tag with silver ink and then used a narrower blue pen to reflect the blues and greys in the paper. It still looked a little plain, so I decided to add a little glimmer so I tried a new technique. I “inked” the edges of the tag with VersaMark and then embossed it using Zing Silver. It gave it a little silver without overdoing it. I affixed it to the page with a snowflake brad.

In addition to the embellishments created from the Silver Valley paper, I used two chipboard snowflakes. I painted them with white paint and then added a coat of Chandelier Glimmer Glam to make them shimmer. Another snowflake brad and two stickers saying Winter Wonderland” and “Dreaming of a White Christmas” completed the page.

Winter Survival Kit

2012-01-13T06:00:00.030-05:00

I had fun making this cute little project with our DT kit this month. It is a "Winter Survival Kit". Now that the temperatures are starting to drop, it seems timely! It was really quite simple to put together. I used my Cricut to cut a 'fry box'.

Here's a close up of the front with the layered medallion with vintage book print and a large snowflake (punched with a Martha Stewart punch) and topped off with a button, then accented with burgundy crinkle ribbon. I also used a Martha border punch to create a snowflake border around the box (under the medallion and layered with more crinkle ribbon.

The contents were also decorated with the same punches, vintage book print and ribbon. I measured a small tissue pack and created a box with a flap to cover it. Also included a chap stick lip balm and gourmet hot cocoa mix. This would also be a fun little 'pick me up gift' for a good friend with a cold- it is that time of year! I also plan to use this same method for party favors this year for my kids' birthday parties-- create a few themed goodies (not tissues and lip balm!) and put them in a fry box. Super cute, quick and easy!! I hope this inspires you to create a fun project with your scrapbook supplies!

Let it snow!

2012-01-12T08:25:00.001-05:00

I'm so glad to be back on the Scrapbooks Plus Design Team for 2012! I really love working with all the wonderful papers our designers come up with. This month's papers were just so much fun! This simple layout came together really quickly. I loved using the Caroling perforated paper- it was one of my favorites! This layout has 2 techniques that I was inspired to use from Tim Holtz. The first is using the Shrink Plastic from Ranger. I really love the way it works- and I use my Melting Pot (also from Ranger) to shrink the plastic using UTEE. If you go onto Tim's website he has a whole video from his 12 Tags of Christmas showing how it is done. I also used his On the Edge Snow Flurries die and some clear plastic to make a snowflake border. I put some Rock Candy Distress Stickles on the edge to give it some pop.

Stop by and check out the DT wall. The designers have done a great job- so much inspiration! Also stop by on Thursdays to do the 12 Tags of Christmas with Deborah and learn how to make Tim's tags!

Enjoy!
Lisa

Ready for More Tags?

2012-01-11T10:10:00.000-05:00

This Thursday we're doing tags 9 and 10 from Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas. We'll be doing image transfers with packing tape -- yes, packing tape! -- and a fun stamping technique. Join us from 11:30 - 2:30. It's a make-and-take, not a class, so no sign-ups necessary!

We've got kits at the store with a tag and and any die cuts you'll need. You bring the rest!

Here's what you'll need.

Tag 9 (directions here):
Bring your favorite background stamp. You'll also need distress ink (Tim used the winter seasonal colors, vintage photo, and wild honey), paint dabbers (pitch black and snow cap), ink blending tool, clear embossing powder, heat tool, adhesive, rock candy distress stickles, sanding grip; tulle, any alphas, and any bling.

Tag 10 (directions here):
Facets, brads (2 small), alphas, distress ink (Tim used brushed corduroy and forest moss), black archival ink, perfect pearls mists (heirloom gold), gold paint dabber, glossy accents, clear embossing powder, heat tool, ink blending tool, thin jute or string (I used baker's twine). For the bottom of the tag, you can use a bit of lace or ribbon, large pearls, small Christmas ornaments, or pieces from Christmas picks.

Wednesday Make & Take

2012-01-11T06:00:00.010-05:00

I promise I didn't plan for this to be so timely with the snowflakes falling on Monday afternoon, but what would January be without a snowy layout! This week, hurry in to pick up this fun layout to showcase your fun snow photos! The layout is titled "Snow Much To Do" but the letters are from a sticker sheet that matches the papers used from Echo Park Paper Company's Winter Park collection so you could easily change the title to fit your photos.

The white boxes shown on the layout are not mats- they are to show where the photos will be on your completed layout. As you can see, you can fit a lot of photos on this layout- a total of 6! (3 - 3x3", 2- 4x5" and 1- 4x6"- plus two places for journaling). The free elements this week are the die cut snowflakes- one large and three smaller ones, sprayed with Tattered Angels' Glimmer Mist in "Bell Bottom Jeans". Supplies are limited so hurry in today!

Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! Im really looking forward to a great year and hope you are too!

One of my promises (not resolutions) to myself is to document our precious memories more. To keep it simple and get it done. Add some pretties but in the end, get it done.

To that end, I hope that you are able to scraplift layouts from the Design Team and make them your own. Use them as inspiration to get your layouts done!

This layout uses papers from SEI's Winter Valley. Lots of patterns but they coordinate well. Since this was a winter theme, I had to take the opportunity to use my Sizzix Reindeer die. Tis the season!

2012-01-09T22:46:00.000-05:00

1/9/2012 10:30 PM Hope you all enjoyed the nice weekend and the wonderful snow today! Here’s what came in new last week.
Crafter’s Workshop- 6x6 Templates: Cosmic Bubbles, Wonky Circles, Retro Squares, Basic Circles and Rustic Paint. 12x12 Templates: Summer and Harlequin.
Ellison- Standard and Extended Sizzix Cutting Pads.
October Afternoon- Farmhouse buttons, Tin Pins, shape stickers and Miscellany. (Papers should be in soon!) Holiday Style papers. ( We will have a Wednesday Make and Take using some of these papers on 1/25/12)
Provo Craft- Cuttlebug “C” Adapter.

Don’t forget to reserve you space for the crops this weekend; they are starting to fill up! Join us on Thursday for Tim’s Tags #9 and #10 from 11:30- 2:30. Check out our new classes this month. Have a great week! Debbie

2012-01-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

January’s paper choice is very versatile. It can be used for much more than Christmas and winter layouts! For this layout, I used the Mountain Trail and Lodge papers. Taking a .50” circle punch to the outside edge of the Mountain Trail paper in 1” increments will give you a nice postage stamp edge. To do this, mark your paper every inch starting from the center of each side. Then take your circle punch and punch a half circle centered on each mark. The vintage photo effect is achieved with Ranger Crackle Accents and Tim Holtz Distress Inks. I also used two Tim Holtz dies; Weathered Clock and Key & Lock. To give the lock & key an aged look, I used both chipboard and a page from an old book. I then glued both pieces together, distressed them and finished off with Ranger Glossy Accents. The clock was cut out of Ranger Foil Tape Sheets and colored with Ranger Alcohol Inks. I plan on framing this in a shadow box frame and giving it to my mom for display so she can always remember this special time in her parents’ lives!

A Holiday Thank You Card with Photo for Grandma!

2012-01-07T00:01:00.002-05:00

Although this card could be varied to meet many needs, it was designed to be a thank you note for a child’s Christmas gift. With space for a picture, it can act as a photo frame on a table. It is made with StargazingC, Caroling and Tomato Velvet paper. Buttons and twine make attractive closures for the card. Detailed instructions for making the card follow.

1. Cut a 6”x 12” strip from Stargazing. Score vertically at 3” and 9” to form flaps that meet in the middle when folded.

2. Decorate the inside first as once you do the outside the surface will not be flat and it will be hard for things to stick.

a. Center -- Cut a piece of Tomato velvet paper just slightly larger than your picture as a photo mat. Mine is 4” x 5 ½.” I cut little slashes in each corner to stick the edges of the picture in so it will remain in the card during transit, but remove easily if the recipient wants to put in a frame. Affix photo mat to the card. Cut 3 stockings (front & back) out of Tomato velvet paper. Make three stockings from Tomato Velvet. I used a Cuttlebug die but any stocking will work. I cut three and then cut three reversed and used two for each stocking so that both sides would be the same. I cut a top for each stocking out of white paper and applied white flocking powder. Run twine through a red heart button from Bo Bunny’s Father Christmas Buttons from the back to the front & then back to the back. Affix near top left of center piece of card with Glossy Accents. Hang stockings. (I put knots in between to keep stockings from ending up all on one end.) Put twine through the other button in the same way. Affix to card on right side of center piece and trim remaining twine as desired.

b. Right Inside Flap – I used an ornament (3”) cut from Silver Valley with Joys of the Season Cricut Cartridge. Using Detail White embossing powder, emboss the word “Thanks” on top of the ornament. Tie a strand of red/white twine through hole in ornament.

c. Left Inside Flap -- Cut a 6 x 3 ¼” piece of tomato velvet . Fasten it to the left inside starting at the fold line. It will hang over the edge approximately ¼”. On the inside left apply a 2 ¾” x 5 ¾” piece of Caroling. Add a gift (2 ½”) cut from Silver Valley with the Cricut Joys of the Season Cartridge. Cut the ribbon from Tomato velvet.

3. Left Outside -- Fold in the extra tomato from the inside and fasten firmly. Add a 2 ¾” x 2 ½” piece of Tomato velvet on the top left. Add a just slightly smaller piece of Caroling.

4. Right Outside -- On the right bottom add a 3 ½” x 2 7/8” piece of tomato and a slightly smaller piece of Caroling.

5. Closures -- Use green star buttons from the Bo Bunny’s Father Christmas Buttons set and red & white twine to close; affix to two flat buttons with glossy accents. (1^st run thread for bows through. After dries tie bow & trim. Affix twine to one of the underneath buttons with glossy accents; affix buttons to card with glossy accents; wrap twine to close.

Snow Day

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

When I saw these papers and started to think about what I wanted to scrap with them. I just kept thinking of all the things we like to do on a snow day.

We love to play outside until we are sooo cold and then come in and warm up with hot coco.

We like to make our favorite breakfast casserole and play board games while it bakes.

There are so many warm family memories made on spontaneous snow days.
I decided to make a layout with journaling about all of the different things we do on snow days.

Since I didn't have any pictures of us on a particular snow day sitting around in our PJ's playing Uno I had to find another photo to help tell the story.

I took this photo of our house on one of our many snow days a few years ago. It turned out to be the perfect photo to help me tell my story.

I love the way the different blue papers come together in this layout. The textures, rich colors and patterns work together beautifully. The Snow Day foil title sticker went perfectly with these papers and this layout in particular.

I did my journaling on these little tags. I inked the edges lightly with blue ink. Then I attached different ribbons to each tag adding even more texture and dimension to my layout.

I never would have scrapped about this if I hadn't been inspired by this paper.

I'm happy I captured these memories for my scrapbook.

What inspires you to scrap?

The Final Page Map

2012-01-05T06:00:00.009-05:00

This is my version of the final DT Page Map. The Page Map is being retired and replaced with more layouts around the store by Design Team members. This is a fun change this year that will give you many more layouts to 'scraplift' from around the store with a variety of paper lines each month.

I love the music paper with perforations! It was really fun to work with and I split it up and used on several projects! I also played with die cutting and embossing the red suede paper. It cut like butter with my Cricut and embosses beautifully! Here's a close up of the embossing- it was tough to photograph- but it really looks cool in person!

I also added some Liquid Applique' to my Santa hat cut from the suede paper. This is an old product that I've had in my drawer for years but I pull it out for at least one project at this time of the year. It is made by Marvy and Scrapbooks Plus can easily order this for you if it is out of stock when you need it. You simply squeeze it on your project in a thick layer and then heat with your embossing gun until it puffs. Just be careful not to over-puff as it will burn. Have fun with your own creation using this fun pagemap!

Wednesday Layout!

2012-01-04T16:24:00.004-05:00

This week we've got Fancy Pant's Winterland collection - just in time for this week's chilly weather. I had a hard time choosing which of the cards to use - so I put in three! And Amy Tangerine's Thickers are a perfect match for this paper - as well as cute!

This layout has quite a few options - you can put two 4x6 photos on the left and a smaller 3x4 photo on the right hand side, as I have. Or, if you have more photos leave off some - or all - of the smaller cards and add more 4x6 photos. Still more photos? Move the title to the second page and add another row of 4x6 photos above the stripe.

Join Us Thursday

2012-01-03T10:32:00.000-05:00

for two more of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas! This Thursday we'll be focusing on tags 7 and 8.

We'll be demoing his glassine paper and playing with alcohol inks. And, for those steampunk fans, tag 8 is right up your alley! We've got kits with a tag and any die cut pieces you'll need for $3.50. You supply the rest.

Tag 7:

Supplies you'll need: adirondack alcohol inks (Tim used bottle, lettuce, oregano, meadow, red pepper, metallic mixative/gold), blending solution, distress stains (Tim used antique linen, pumice stone, and forest moss), distress ink pads (Tim used vintage photo, frayed burlap, and black soot), distress stickles (picket fence), craft sheet, mister bottle, heat tool, gold paint,snow cap white paint daubber, embossing ink, black embossing powder, adhesive; baubles, sanding grip, trimmings; ; paper distresser, scissors, lace

Tag 8:

Supplies you'll need: distress inks (Tim used winter seasonal inks, walnut stain, and frayed burlap), paint - gold, silver, copper, archival ink/jet black, stickles (christmas red), ink blending tool, distress stain (Tim used fired brick and peeled paint), journaling tickets, plaquettes, sprocket gears, game spinners, alpha parts, light bulbs, pen nibs, vial labels, film strip ribbon, tiny attacher, sanding grip.

2012-01-02T18:00:00.000-05:00

1/2/2012 5:31 PM Happy New Year to all of you. Because of the holidays we did not receive any new products last week. I expect a few things to come in this week so watch for a report next Monday. The Craft and Hobby show will be in California at the end of the month, so expect some great new products to start arriving over the next few months. Don’t forget to spend your Scrapbucks this month for some extra savings! The Design Team will be putting up some new layouts and projects this week so be sure to check them out the next time you are in the store. We will be doing tags #7 and #8 in the Tim Holtz 12 tags of Christmas series on Thursday from 11:30-2:30. Have a great week! Debbie

Welcome 2012

2012-01-01T00:01:00.001-05:00

SEI’s Silver Valley is a wonderful wintery collection of scrapbook papers and embellishments.

The pretty pearly accents and shimmery silver hues are perfect for capturing all of your winter memories. The blues are a great choice for creating snowy layouts while the reds and browns come together nicely and are just what you need to get started on the 2011 Christmas album.

And if these lush double sided papers aren’t enough to entice you wait until you see the embellishments. Every embellishment is well designed. From the foil die cuts to the stickers to the dimensional embellishments each little detail makes this Silver Valley a must have in memory keeping this winter.

For some very inspiring examples of how to use these products and to see the projects created by the 2012 Design Team stop by ScrapbooksPlus and take a look at the Design Team Wall. Starting January 3rd the 2012 Design Team projects will be featured throughout the store.

Welcome to the new 2012 Design Team

Lynne Tackett
Angela Nunley
Beth Fraer
Deborah Mahnken
Laura Petruso
Kathy Bryant
Megan Carey
Lisa Hausman

I predict that 2012 will be a very inspiring year!

Two Page Layout

2011-12-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

I typically have a tough time with 2 page layouts since I prefer the ease of 1 page designs. This collection by Simple Stories makes that job a bit easy using the journaling words embedded within the papers. There is just so much in this collection including the small calendar that you will be able to use the embellies from this collection for many layouts to come.

Share Your Sentiments with an Exploding Box

2011-12-30T00:01:00.087-05:00

An exploding box is a small box that when opened has pages and pockets for pictures or messages, giving you a special way to share your sentiments. They are great for special relatives or friends. My box is filled with inspirational messages for a friend, who is going through a tough time. You have a total of 20 sides inside the box on which you can put messages, pictures or embellishments. In addition, you have pockets for 8 tags or special memorabilia. This is one of the projects that looks tough but the basic framework is easy if you follow the pattern. The Simple Stories Life Documented collection works especially well. The double-sided coordinating papers are of just the right weight – they are easy to work but thick enough for a box. The embellishments can be as simple or complicated as you want.

For this project you need four pieces of paper/cardstock – three for the boxes and one for the top. For the outside of the box, I used Live Life 24/7. A 12" x 12" piece forms the outside of the box and one set of inside flaps. For the middle box, you need a 10.5” square. I used Newsprint. And for the inner box, which requires a 9” square, I used Orange/Grid.

Begin with the 12" x 12" paper. Imagine your paper is a grid with 4" squares as in the image below. (My drawing is not to scale; all should be 4" squares.) Score on dotted lines and cut on solid ones. To assure that all my lines were straigiht and corners square, I used my trimmer, changing from a cutting blade to scoring blade as needed. Score a diagonal line from the outside corner of A to the inside corner of A. Repeat with C, G & I.

A	B	C
D	E	F
G	H	I

Inside of Outer Box

Fold along score marks. The four corner squares will become triangles once you complete folding. Use glue to hold the corners in the triangle shape. The flatter they are the better it will be when you fold the box. I inked all the edges with Fired Brick Distress Ink. The four squares that you have on the inside can be decorated. I would recommend that you decorate these with flat objects as the two other sets of “pages” will be on top of these. I stamped messages on coordinating paper and affixed to the squares. If you use, a lighter paper on the inside you could stamp your design directly on the flap. Cut out objects, border trim, etc. would be really great for this.

Middle Box Pocket & Tag

For the middle (10.5" square) and inner (9" square) boxes, score and cut as shown in diagram above. Squares should be 3 1/2" and 3" respectively. (Note: Do not score diagonal lines as you did for the outer box.) For these two boxes, you fold along the scored lines to make four pockets for each. Seal the side edge of the square. I used 1/8” redline tape to hold the pockets in place. You only need to adhere on side since once box is glued in place a bottom will be formed. Remember in selecting colors and folding to consider what color you want the pockets to be. The pockets will be the color of the paper that is facing down.

Inner Box Pocket & Tag

I inked the inner box with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink and the middle box with Weathered Wood Distress Ink. I stamped a variety of positive messages, butterflies and birds using Tim Holtz stamps. (Stampers Anonymous Odds & Ends, Stuff to Say,) I used some hearts cut from the papers, circles and scalloped circles. Life Documented provides lots of circles and messages that could be used. On the inner pockets, you can use items with a little more depth. For example, I used some Bazzill flowers. (Since you are going to decorate the bottom, it is best to put the thicker embellishments at the top.)

I used the Simple Stories journaling cards to create tags to put in the pockets. I trimmed them to fit the size of the pockets. I affixed an eyelet and tied a ribbon to the top. (I used white ribbon and sprayed it with Spiced Marmalade Glimmer Mist. The tags can include a message, a picture or one on each side.

Inner Box

Once you have all boxes decorated, glue the boxes together. You can use your favorite adhesive. I used Glossy Accents because I wanted to make sure it stuck. Once the boxes are together, you can decorate the bottom of the inside of the box. I made one flower with a Gluber and a strip of linen ribbon that is available at ScrapbooksPlus. (If you haven’t used Glubers, you need to try them. They are really easy to use to make a variety of flowers.) You simply roll the ribbon and push down into the massive (and strong) glue dot. Of course, you could use any kind of flower or other embellishment you like. The remainder of my flowers are Bazzill paper flowers. This is where you can make the box fit your theme and use lots of the fun embellishments available at Scrapbooks-Plus. The only limit is the space you have.

Inside of Box When Closed

Fold the box closed and secure with a ribbon. I used the elasticized ribbon from the Tim Holtz Ideo-ology Lavish Trimmings set. After it was sprayed with Spiced Marmalade Glimmer Mist it looked great with the paper. I fastened the ribbon with a Tim Holtz Idea-ology Memo Pin. An Idea-ology Trinket Pin would work the same way – perhaps even better because it wouldn’t have a sharp edge. You can tie it shut with any ribbon, but using this elastic ribbon means you don’t have to re-tie every time you open the box.

Voila!
A Beautiful Box wtih a Special Inside

For the box top, you need a 5 ¾” piece of paper/cardstock. Score 1½” around all four outside edges of the box. In the corner squares, cut a straight line from the out edge to the inside edge of the square. Fold along the scoring lines, gluing the corner edges.

All that is left to do is decorate the top of the box. I made mine match the decorations that I put in the bottom of the inner box so I used another flower made with a Gluber and linen ribbon and the same Bazzill flowers. I added a few Prima leaves.

These are perfect when you want to give a little more than a card, but not a big gift. What grandmother wouldn’t love one of these with pictures of the grandkids? Or it would be a great way to share your feelings or memories with your Valentine? I’m thinking it would also be a great thank you gift for a hostess. And you get the fun of making it. Try it!

Quick and easy album

2011-12-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

I really love how easy it is to use the papers from Simple Stories. I do have to admit that the year-o-graphy papers have been my favorite by far! W?hen I saw the Journaling card element pages I knew I wanted to make a mini book out of them. It was a really quick and easy album to make.

I just cut the journaling cards out and glued them together with some PVA glue and let them dry over night. I added a piece of jute string as a tie and held that down with some fabric tape that I had in my stash.

I plan on using this mini album as a quick snapshot of the year. I'm thinking that I may take a picture of my boys in front of the same place every month so you can see the progression of how they grow over a year.

Enjoy!
Lisa

Building Blocks

2011-12-28T10:18:00.001-05:00

The nice thing about Simple Stories' collections is that they give you building blocks for your layouts. They have several papers in each line that are blocks of 4x6 patterns, perfect for mixing in with photos.

Here I used one of those blocks in a grouping with three vertical 4x6 photos. To the left is a group of horizontal 4x6 photos. I used pieces of two other papers to bookend my large photo block. The piece of calendar paper is great for journaling.

Happy New Year! Wednesday Make & Take

2011-12-28T06:00:00.004-05:00

I had the pleasure of putting together this week's Wednesday Make & Take. It is blingy and sparkly and is perfect for displaying your New Year's evening photos!

The layout features fun Teresa Collins embossed colored core papers as the background, glitter cardstock as the photo mats and fun suede paper! The free element is the glitter clock featured above the vellum journaling tag. It is available black on blue as shown in the photo or blue on black- your choice, while supplies last! The double scallop edge (from Martha Stewart) on the bottom of the blue suede border can be punched at the store this week if you have a few minutes or cut with any other border punch you choose- or left straight. The suede behind the vellum journaling tag is embossed which you can also borrow while at the store if you don't have it (Cuttlebug swirls embossing folder)- or leave it un-embossed for a classic look. This layout has some great papers that give great texture, depth and fun to your layout! It is finished by adding random mulit-sized rhinestones along the border scallops and swirls.

Have more than 3 photos? No problem- you can easily add one in the space above the journaling tag as well as placing two smaller photos in the large black photo mat. Hurry in today to purchase the supplies for this layout! Remember, supplies are limited!!

Farewell!

2011-12-27T09:57:00.008-05:00

Well folks this is my last post for the ScrapbooksPlus design team. It has been a pleasure working with such talented ladies the last 2 years but it is time to move on. I need to focus on teaching & other new ventures! I came away with some fabulous friends that I will cherish & I learned a lot! I will miss all the last minute texts back & forth as we race to get our layouts done on time. Now I will just have to pester & tease you all!

For my final blog post I went through & picked out some of my favs from this years team, it was hard to choose just one they are so talented!

Lisa Hausman: Our fearless leader of the team who put in a lot of extra hours sending emails, designing extra kits & staying on top of those of us who may on occasion forget to post on time! You did a great job.

I had to go with this layout (Aug. 29th) because I love the guinea fowl!!! Lisa's pages always have some extra inky goodness to them & a clean organized look. I love the technique she used here on the bird cages. She also takes great expressive pictures & has a story to her layouts. I laugh every time I think of the guineas pecking on the window while she scrapbooks.

Deborah Mahnken: A member of the team, like forever & every month she consistently turns out great quality layouts. If you only knew how long she works on them! I had a hard time picking one, Deborah is one of my favorite members to scraplift!

Deb is great at layering but her pages always look nice & balanced. She also adds a splash of inky technique without it taking over the layout (unlike me!). She also an eye for incorporating multiple papers in a unique way-love her stuff!!! This layout is a prime example (June3rd).

Nicky Price: This was Nicky's 1st year on the design team & she did a great job. Nicky has a wonderful way with paper, putting multiple patterns together and creating a beautiful result every time. She also takes great photos, with lots of expression. I was torn between a number of layouts because she also makes great mini-books.

I chose this layout because I could never put so many patterned papers together & have it turn out so beautifully! (Sept 10th).

Kathy Bryant: Her first year on the design team yet she did a fantastic job. Every month her layouts & projects were detailed & well thought out. She put a lot of time in her blog with photos & technique explanations.

I chose this layout because another thing Kathy is great at is putting a lot of photos on her layouts. As someone who takes a lot of photos I appreciate this! The details are great in this with using the key die cut in multiple ways-love it!

Megan Carey: This was Megan's 2nd year on the design team & it was a crazy year for her health wise. Despite almost dying & other things (like that wasn't enough) she got her projects in on time & had her blog posted even if she had to do it from a hospital bed. You have to admire that! Her layouts almost always tell a story which I love & Megan brings something special to them. Oftentimes that would be a different technique or special way to add in your journaling.

On this layout it was the cute pinwheels, paired with the crackle paint flag die. The photo is simple but makes a strong statement. Love it!

Esther McCullough: Is a veteran design team member & if I had to choose 1 word to describe her style it would have to be heritage. Esther scraps a lot of her family history & her travels. On one of her layouts the title was the latitude/longitude of the place -genius!

Esther also makes a lot of mini books so I had to go with this one as my favorite. Great use of multiple papers to create this fun mini-book.

Erica Houghton: One word to describe Erica's layouts would be flawless. Her pages are usually stunning, almost always incorporate flowers & bling, with a wonderful way of combining multiple paper patterns.

I was torn between 3 layouts as my favorite, one travel layout because the photo was amazing but in the end went with this layout (Aug.16th) as it showed all of Erica's strengths. Love the layering of both paper & embellishments, so many patterns yet they fit together seamlessly. The bonus was the Tim Holtz stamp!

Laura Petruso: This was Laura's 1st year on the design team but she is also the Copic teacher at the store. Laura just doesn't do a bad layout, they are all good & varied in style. Her blog posts often contain great technique tutorials. One of my favorite things about her is the projects she does, altered frames, boxes also she makes beautiful cards.

Again there were a number of projects I liked but this was my favorite. I tend to suck at cards so I appreciate someone who is great at them. The box is a total bonus especially the index cards. Very elegant and the cards are fun & eclectic but put together beautifully.

Good luck to the incoming design team, have fun. To our wonderful customers keep in mind how hard these ladies work to bring you inspiration. It is not easy to work within the parameters of one kit & bring multiple projects out of it. Encouraging comments are always appreciated!!! Happy scrapping!

2011-12-26T22:00:00.000-05:00

12/26/2011 9:08 PM Hope you had a wonderful Christmas with friends and family. Remember to pick up your Scrap Bucks this week for every $25 that you spend get $5 in Scrap Bucks to use in January. We got in a few new products last week for you to check out.
Advantus- Tim Holtz Vial Labels, Tissue Wrap, Fractured Dolls, Light Bulbs and Pen Nibs.
Elizabeth Crafts- Bronze and Silver Shimmer Sheetz.
Ek Success- Little Mermaid stickers.
Fancy Pants- Winterland papers and 6x6 paper pad.
Petticoat Parlor- Red Cardinals diecut. Happy New Year, Police, Firefighter and 911 Cares diecuts.
Ranger- Glue n Seal matte finish. Picket Fence Distress Stickles. Cut-N-Dry Stamp Pad Felt.
Stampington & Company- Art Journaling magazine.
Don’t forget to join us on Thursday from 11:30-2:30 to work on tags #5 and #6 in the Tim Holtz 12 tags of Christmas series. Remember that we will close at 3:00 on New Year’s Eve and will be closed on January 1st and 2. Have a great week. Debbie

12 Tags this Thursday!

2011-12-26T15:54:00.001-05:00

This Thursday we're back with two more of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas. We'll be focusing on days 5 & 6. The techniques featured in these tags are alcohol ink and acrylic and using Ranger metal foil tape to create a faux enameled look.

If you'd like to join us, just stop by! You can pick up a kit with a tag and all the die cut pieces for $3.50 each. You can check out all twelve of this year's tags with directions at Tim Holtz's blog.

Here's what you'll need to bring:

Day 5 tag: alcohol inks (Tim used cranberry, red pepper, and watermelon), ink applicator tool, archival ink/jet black, green paint (lettuce paint daubber), pumice stone distress ink, ink blending tool, glossy accents, tiny attacher, sanding grip, pearls.

I'll bring my seasonal stamps, but if you have a favorite set you'd like to use, by all means bring it! I created a second tag with different shades of green alcohol ink and a snowflake stamp that I just love - you can see the background below.

Two different backgrounds using the same technique - different colors, different stamps:

Day 6 tag: paint dabbers or acrylic paint (assorted colors), glossy accents, distress ink (walnut stain), ink blending tool, heat gun, clear embossing powder, burnishing block, charm and ribbon.

I decided to use a wooden embellishment from Kaisercraft on my tag, but we got more of Tim's Christmas charms in last week!

2012 journal

2011-12-24T01:00:00.000-05:00

I have to say it. I LOVE the Simple Stories paper line- well actually all their paper lines but who's counting! They are all so versatile and easy to use. That especially goes for the Year-O-Graphy paper line~ it works for all different layouts/themes/holidays, etc.
When I first got the paper I knew I wanted to do some sort of year in review type album- just wasn't sure how I was going to do it. I had taken a class ages ago on repurposing old books- so it got me to thinking about recycling a book and making it into a year in review! I decided that I wanted to go with doing a year in review for 2012- couldn't get my self organized enough to do a 2011! /so this book is all ready for me to start working on in 2012. This book actually was an old Martha Stewart holiday book- just took out the insides and started to create.

I used a variety of different types of paper. I love to art journal so I used mixed media paper, water color paper and some cardstock. I also added in some of the pieces of the year-o-graphy line- just used the scraps that I had laying around. I made three different signatures to the book (you call each of the sections you sew in signatures- not sure why....) Since I used a variety of sizes and papers I decided to actually sew each signature on my sewing machine to make it easier to put together.

I used some buttons on the binding and also used some Tim Holtz Tissue tape to help with the edges. I did used some book tape to cover the binding and to give it some strength. I LOVE the way the book came out and can't wait to get started it in!

Enjoy and have a wonderful holiday season!
Lisa

Using Simple Stories Line to Scrapbook Your Life (Easily)

2011-12-23T00:01:00.003-05:00

My last two pages for December show how easy it is to match the Simple Stories to the pictures you have.

My first page uses the page map to make a Christmas page. I was delighted to use these paper as my family wears a lot of orange and rarely does Christmas paper go with orange. Using a page map makes it easy to make a page. It shows where to put the picture and the title and you fill it in with the paper you like and the embellishments. I used the striped side of Everyday Life for my background. To give it a little shine (I always like shine for the holidays), I sprayed the edges with Spiced Marmalade Glimmer Mist. I used an 11” x 11” square of Green/Notebook for the inner background. I distress the edges of this square before gluing down. Finally, I made photo mat of Orange/Grid from a 10 ½” x 10 ½” square. (I cut it along grid lines so it may not be exactly a 10 ½” square. I distressed the edges and inked the edges with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink. I scalloped a strip of Green/Notebook on both sides and placed it below the bottom pictures to complete the frame. I used the pieces left over after scalloping to separate the pictures. The title was made from two different size and colors of stickers from the set. I added a Christmas tree sticker and a scalloped circle on which I placed another Christmas tree sticker. The final embellishment was a scalloped circle cut from the Grid paper. I inked it with Spiced Marmalade Distress ink and added a circle from the set and a “24” sticker to show that picture was from Christmas Eve.

The other one-page layout truly scraps an everyday event. A relative and I had driven to Georgetown (45 minutes from my house) just to get a cupcake. We had such a great time that I wanted to be reminded of the day. When I saw the pink paper from this line, I thought it was perfect. Georgetown Cupcake colors are pink but the line lent itself to a less girly pink picture that totally fit the bill. I used pictures of a variety of sizes; most I cut to fit the space/look I wanted, but I did use Photoshop to make a 2” x 6” picture of the three types of cookies we tried. I used several items from the line to add to the page. For example, I cut circles in half and then put below the picture to label each type of cupcake. Similarly, I cut out a scalloped circle that said “Celebrate, today” to put beneath a picture of my relative eating a cupcake. I cut out a heart and a strip of paper that said “Life is Sweet,” clearly appropriate for a page about cupcakes. I again stitched to match stitch design on the paper. (I just made holes where you needed them with my needled and then went back and stitched.) I used a sticker to add “May” and “28.” The small title, “Georgetown Cupcake” also came from the line. I put a journaling tag on a piece of red paper. I stitched across the top (as the journaling card showed) and added the year with stickers on the bottom.

This line really offers stickers, journaling tags, etc that allow you to personalize a page just for your event. Even if you don't see exactly how they work for your pictures, just buy paper, stickers and journaling cards. Take them home and look at them. I guarantee by the next morning you will be thinking, "Oh yeah, that message really fits this day."

Dallas Everyday 2010 by Esther

2011-12-22T01:00:00.003-05:00

This layout uses the Simple Stories, Year-o-graphy cardstocks and embellishments. Strips of the stripped ___ were used to accent and tie the two pages together. Banners were on one side and I added cut outs to the other.

Since there was a lot of color in the pictures, I mounted them on a solid tan Bazzill cardstock to help them blend with the background. Journaling was printed in brown on ivory paper and mounted on a brown pattern.

Owl Be There.

2011-12-21T09:00:00.000-05:00

I have been wanting to do this project for months & was waiting for the right paper line to come along & Simple Stories Year.o.graphy could not be more perfect! Using the Tim Holtz Valise die & the cinch to make a mini-book. The obvious thing for this would be a travel book but isn't life travel also? I made a page a month plus book. I made the cover & back using heavy bazzill chipboard that I purchased at ScrapbooksPlus. I cut out the paper -"green" & heat embossed a map design with copper. The straps were cut out using the kits "red". The buckles are glassine that were sanded around the edges to look aged. The nails were made with pearls. Everything was distressed with vintage photo my favorite go to. I added fun metal elements. The base of the book is the monthly journal card elements and an alternated fun element in the middle. Tags, envelopes, or the kits flash cards.

Here I made a bingo card with craft paper, cutting the edges with Alterations. Stamped a script image & ran it through the bingo emboss texture fade. The page was swiped with fired brick to pick up the bingo card image & distressed.

This page I used a glassine envelope & ran it through a texture fade than added perfect pearls & heat set it. To pick up the embossed image I swiped black soot over the top.

This was an insert where I just added a tag. Once all the pages were assembled I put them together using The Cinch. It was super easy & makes my book look very professional. Now all I need is photos, embellishments, journaling...... Have a very Merry Christmas & peace be with you!

Wednesday 12/21 make and take

2011-12-21T08:32:00.002-05:00

This Wednesday's make and take is done with the beautiful Winter Whites paper line from TPC Studios. It is perfect for any winter layout! Stop by Scrapbooks Plus and pick yours up today!

PageMap, PageMap, PageMap!!

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Im so happy that we can employ creative license to layouts/PageMap designs. If not, I would get in trouble a lot! I always start off in the right direction but this photo and the accompanying words within in the circles begged to have the 3 circles in the lower portion of the page.

Its also a bit difficult to see in this photo but the tag "live life 24/7" is treated with glossy accents. I love this product! Its perfect for adding that extra bit of dimension and fun!

Be sure to stop by the store to try the map for yourself on your own layouts!

2011-12-19T10:52:00.001-05:00

12/19/2011 10:31 AM Good Monday morning to all of you. It’s less than a week left until Christmas, my has this month flown by! Be sure to stop by the store this week to pick up your last minute gifts and supplies. We got in several new products last week so be sure and check them out.

Ellison/Sizzix- Tim Holtz Die Pick. Tim Holtz Gingerbread Big Z Die.
Maya Road- Satin Pleat Aqua Ribbon. 3x3 Canvas Coaster Album. Mini Kraft Jotter Tags. Mini Tag Canvas Pieces. Baker’s Dozen 2012 Calendar Kit.
Petticoat Parlor: Laser Title Cuts: Christmas Lights, Decorating the Tree, First Christmas and Merry Christmas.

Just wanted to remind you that crops have been postponed until after the New Year so that we can all spend more time with our friends and families.

Be sure to join us on Thursday from 11:30-2:30 to work on tags #3 and #4 in the Tim Holtz 12 tags of Christmas series. Have a great week! Debbie

2011-12-19T09:36:00.000-05:00

I really liked this collection by Simple Stories. Got photos laying around that you need to scrap? No problem! It has lots of tags, pieces, calendars and designs. I had this photo of Rachel in her first Nutcracker performance that I'd been waiting to scrap.

I started with the "celebrate life tag" and the photo transparency. Next was finding paper and other items that would complement my photo. I loved the mini calendars - and I'd use them on every layout if I could! For my embellishments, I grabbed a couple of stickers - a snowflake and a "snowflaky" design as accents. Love this page!

Folded Tree Christmas Card

2011-12-17T06:00:00.051-05:00

This card has a few different elements that make it look complicated but it really is very simple! The tree is made from half of a 5 1/2" circle. Simply cut out a circle then cut it in half. The sample below shows approximately where the folds are made on the circle but it doesn't have to be perfect to look great! The first fold is the one on the left in the photo. This becomes the bottom of your tree. Note that the point is at about 2/3 of the straight side of the half circle- not the center. The next fold is folded in the opposite direction and the final is folded the same direction as the first. The tree is completed with Stickles as ornaments and a star brad on top.

The other really fun element on this is Grunge Board by Tim Holtz. I used a Sizzix embossing folder on raw Grunge Board and then rubbed my distressing ink over it. Grunge Board is really fun to work with. It is really strong- much better than chipboard because it doesn't crack and break- but could be used in the very same manner. It is also pliable so you could use it as a hinge. It comes in a pack of sheets where you could use all or just a piece. Such fun stuff!

I completed my card with the beautiful braided trim and a sneak peek at some perforated music paper from next month's Design Team kit! Happy Holidays!!

5 Years Old

2011-12-16T22:30:00.005-05:00

I made this layout using the page map that Lisa included in our kit. Sometimes page maps are just a starting point for me and after moving things around a bit I end up with something that looks very different from the original page map. This was not the case for this layout. I loved the page map and followed it pretty closely. I think the thing I loved so much about the page map is the circles. There are three on the page map; one at the top left, one at the bottom left, and one in the middle of the page on the right side. Together they make what is known in design as a Visual Triangle. This visual triangle is used to pull the whole layout together and to cause the viewer to see the design as a whole.

I used a few circles that I punched out of the Life Snippets paper. This particular paper went a long way in my projects. I used these circles on a few projects. Since I popped them off of the page by using pop dots I was able to create a finished look to the layout with just these circles, no other embellishments were needed.

Year-in-Review Minibook

2011-12-15T09:42:00.000-05:00

I had this Fancy Pants minibook sitting around. I just loved it and grabbed one as soon as Debbie got them in. And I had been saving it for just the right thing. Well.... fast forward a few years and that mini album was still sitting around. I decided to just dive right in and use it for this month's Simple Stories kit. And I'm so glad I did!

I decided to use a photo from each month in 2011. The felt and transparent pages highlight some of my favorite photos or memories from the year.

Here's a look at several of the pages:

We all have product that we just *love* and have to have -- but love it so much it just sits there unused -- like my Fancy Pants book. Take a deep breath, grab some photos and just USE it! Trust me, you'll love it even more when it's part of a finished project. :)

Join Us for Tim Holtz's 12 Tags!

2011-12-14T19:23:00.001-05:00

Are you a Tim Holtz fan, like we are? Have you seen this year's 12 Tags of Christmas? This year Tim really outdid himself - they are stunning!

We're going to help you create your own tags. We've put together kits for Tim's tags which include the tag and any die cut parts you'll need. You supply the rest - bling it up or keep it simple!

Come join us at the store on Thursdays from 11:30 - 2:30 and we'll help you make your tag and give demonstrations on his techniques.

This Thursday we'll be focusing on the tags from days 1 and 2. I'll be giving demonstrations of Tim Holtz's pinecone die and we'll have you rolling them up in no time!

Bring your inks, glitter, and adhesive! You can check out Tim Holtz's directions and supply list for day 1 and day 2. We recommend a set of new seasonal distress inks, Picket Fence Distress Stain, ink blending tool and Ideaology embellishments - all of which you can pick up at ScrapbooksPlus.

The Year In Review

2011-12-13T06:00:00.022-05:00

This month's Design Team paper kit inspired me to scrapbook 'the year in review' for 2011. I scrapped July and May but I hope to finish all of the months over the next month. This paper kit really makes it a snap to scrapbook the months and with all of the coordinating paper, stickers and other embellishments. The paper itself has great 6 x 4 blocks with the months on them such as the one below for May. I also used one for my July layout above. The pages come together in no time so I'll easily be able to complete a quick album for 2011 in review to hit the highlights each month. What a great gift it would make to put together an album like this for that special person this year!

Stop by Scrapbooks-Plus to pick up your kit today!

Using Everday Life to Document Your Life

2011-12-13T00:01:00.001-05:00

As I promised in my last blog, this month I am showing you how to use the Life Simple pages to make scrapbook pages that document your life. Some of the Life Simple pages provide a design. For example, Everyday Life has a blank calendar with some trimming drawn on the page. I thought this would be the perfect way to document the 6 weeks I spent in French school earlier this year. Of course, the simple way would have been to just, fill in the details on the calendar and be done. I, of course, wanted to do a little more.

I really loved the design of the Everyday Life paper and decided I wanted to make my page as much like this as possible. As you can see, it is almost identical except instead of just filling in the information, I actually cut the paper to produce the same effect except that it is dimensional. And I made it into a 2-page layout.

Here’s what I did for the right page. I used Newsprint for the background. I cut a piece of Life Live to go behind the calendar. I scalloped the bottom to match the model. I also added a file tab cut based upon the Everyday Life page. Rather than tan as on the model I used the line’s red paper. I cut my calendar (6 weeks rather than 5 as on the page) from Orange/Grid . I put accents in the same places they did, changing them only slightly. For example, I adjusted the colors of a few items to better match the left page and I added actual stitching in a few places. I added some scallops and circles for accents, using more stickers to share thoughts.

For the left page, I decided to emphasize the calendar theme by using a picture from each of the three months that I was in France. For consistency, I matted each picture with the line’s red paper. I then used the 4 x 6 journaling cards to add a little more emphasis to the pictures. The Expressions stickers provided the months and the main page title. I cut the tabs from tan scraps. I also used Flash Cards. I sewed in a few places to match the design on the pages or cards. I

This would be a great way to document your family’s life this year. Just write your calendar for a month on the grid paper or the calendar on Everyday Life. Scrap the page, add a few pictures on the left page and use the journaling cards, stickers, etc and you are done.

2011-12-12T09:18:00.003-05:00

I love this months paper line! Simple Stories has wonderful eclectic paper that is almost finished for you to just put photos down, add some of the extras boom done. I made my glassine envelope by tearing it & running through an emboss folder. Hit the high points with staz-on, then spritzed with Perfect Pearls mist & Glimmer chalk. I added a brad & one of the many journal cards that come as paper.

I added my matted photo & distressed cut out words. The trees were cut out using card board from a soda box covered with metal foil tape. Recycling! I embossed the trees, & painted them with black acrylic paint, when the paint was sticky-dry, I wiped off the high points. Next up alcohol ink, to give that great multi-color look. I adhered 1 of the trees in 2 layers, using pop dots to give it dimension. I alcohol inked the tissue tape & ran it down the side of the photo. When I do that I always run my ATG glue down first to help it stick. My title was cut out of one of the papers-done. Love it!

Supplies:
Paper- Simple Stories- Year in Review
-Flash Cards for journal
-Title-Capture the Moment.
-Date sticker
Dies -Alterations for Tim Holtz by Sizzix
Glassine & tissue tape-Ideology by Tim Holtz/Advantas
Alcohol ink by Ranger-terra cotta, meadow, pesto, sunset prange, stream
Distress ink by Ranger-aged mahogany
Brad-My Minds Eye
Glimmer Mist-Partridge in a Pear Tree
Perfect Pearls Mist-Mandarin

2011-12-11T22:19:00.000-05:00

12/11/2011 9:27 PM Hope you enjoyed your weekend and got lot’s of shopping done! Come in and check out the new products that arrived last week.
ANW Crestwood- Timeless Christmas papers and chipboard greetings stickers. Memory Lane paper, family portrait die cut and embossed stickers. Let’s Eat papers, chipboard stickers, dimensional stickers, cling stamp set, recipe cards, recipe card dividers and chipboard recipe box.
Graphic 45- Tropical Travelogue Collection pad in 8x8 and 12x12. Chipboard tags, Alpha stickers and image cardstock stickers.
K & Company- Blank Smash Pad. Smash Tabs and Secret Pockets.
Making Memories- Twinkle papers, Poinsettia Blossoms, Baubles and Shimmer diecuts.
Simple Stories- Year-o-graphy 4x6 Journaling Card Elements 1 & 2, 4x4 Quote and 6x8 Photo Mat Elements, 6x12 Page Elements and 2x12 and 4x12 Strip Elements.

Don’t forget to stop in on Thursday from 11:30-2:30 for our first workshop in Tim Holtz 12 Tags of Christmas. Kits will be available for purchase at that time. Check the DT Blog for a list of supplies needed to complete your tags. We plan on doing 2 tags every Thursday through the New Year. Have a great week! Debbie

Oct... its the new December

2011-12-11T09:36:00.005-05:00

My kids are getting older and there social lives are reflecting that. Now that both of them are in school it is twice as tricky to keep the family flowing smoothly through the weekend's activities arriving at each event on time and properly dressed for the occasion. Honestly, sometimes spreadsheets are involved.

This past October the calendar was busier than ever. I think the idea was to get all of the school's big events out of the way before the holidays began, after all December is very busy. Since November has lots of days off, only one full week of school for the month, that left October being the best option to plan events. Between school, family, friends and extracurricular events our calendar was so packed that we had to wait until November to have the kids' birthday party.

That was the inspiration behind this layout and the fun title.

Simple Stories did a great job with this line. I love that their papers have so many visual layers to them.

The visual layers inspired me to create layers in my layout. This CELEBRATE LIFE tag was printed on the corner of the calendar page. It was also on another paper. I cut it out of the other paper and added it on the corner of the calendar page using foam dots to create dimension.

I did the same thing on the opposite page with the banner. I just used a pair of detail scissors that I bought at ScrapbooksPlus and cut the banner out. It was that easy. It is also a fast and inexpensive way to "make" your own embellishments. I especially love this trick when I am making a layout and I can't find the right embellishments for my page. It is fast and affordable since you only need the papers you are already using, detail scissors and foam or pop dots.

One of My Favorites!

2011-12-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

I love this collection by Simple Stories! Their collections always contain just the right mix of color (offering versatility) and journal prompts/diecut journal titles. I cant have enough of this page full of words! You can cut them out individually or use them in sections as I have.

I used several of the papers from the collection on this layout as well as one of the Martha Stewart punches at the bottom of the layout. Be sure to check out the product at Scrapbooks Plus. There is a large selection of punches at the store for your enjoyment!

Year-o-graphy Calendar by Esther

2011-12-09T01:00:00.003-05:00

I used the various papers and embellishments from Simple Stories, Year-o-graphy line to make this calendar. Each section has three months that were printed across the cardstock. They were adhered to other cardstock designs that cascade at different heights.

Copper, yellow, silver, red, Broken China Stickles were added for sparkle. Sunset Orange Alcohol ink by Ranger was used to color the silver rings that were attached for turning or removing the pages. In the picture above, the chipboard is covered in the designs of measurements. This gives the structure stability for hanging. Yarn was added to the chipboard backing for hanging by making holes with the Crop-A-Dile.

Note: the first month is accurate, while the rest are decorative. Were I to hang it, I would paste actual number stickers in the correct positions for February through December.

Documented

2011-12-08T08:43:00.001-05:00

What is fussy cutting (I’m not sure this is the actual scrapbooking term!)? Fussy cutting to me is cutting out a design element from a piece of paper to use on your layout. For example, in my layout below I cut the No. 052, the banner, the title ‘documented’, as well as the bingo board circle and the ‘live every moment’ circle from other sheets of patterned paper within this collection. The great thing about ‘fussy cutting’ is it adds so many neat features to your layout without the expense of embellishments. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE embellishments, but sometimes you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for or you’re trying to keep your layout simple. I can totally relate. This month I wanted to keep my layouts simple. So, to add a bit of pizzazz to my layout I cut several elements from other sheets of paper. I’d encourage you to give fussy cutting a try, especially this month; this collection has so many great elements on each piece of patterned paper. Good luck!!

Wednesday's Layout "Merry Christmas"

2011-12-07T01:00:00.000-05:00

"Merry Christmas" is the title of this two page layout using "Twinkle Bright" papers and designs. This is just in time for those Christmas pictures. You can use this red, green and cream layout for the pictures from your celebration.

Supplies:

Two - Glitter and holly on cream paper, Anna Griffin, Twinkle Bright

One - green holly pattern, Anna Griffin, Twinkle Bright

One - red star pattern, Anna Griffin, Twinkle Bright

Anna Griffin, Twinkle Bright Embellishments: package of 25 die-cuts and a title sticker (cut apart)

Stickles: Golden Rod, red & green

Gold star trim

The Make and Take element is a pre-cut rosette that is double in color (cream & red) shown in second image. You get to pleat and glue the rosette.

Holiday Card

2011-12-07T00:01:00.001-05:00

This month’s Year-o-graphy papers are so easy to use. They provide you the opportunity to scrap life’s events with only a little effort. Because they have designs to celebrate your life pre-printed on the paper, you can make cards and scrapbook pages by just cutting them out or you can do what I did and use their designs but add some of your own scrapping ideas.

For example, the paper includes a set of 6" x 4" rectangles, one of which has a Christmas tree and a little tab that says Happy Holidays. You could simply cut out the rectangle and affix it to cardstock and you have a Chrismas card.

I used their ideas and basic shapes but added some of my own pizzazz.

I cut out the tree, star and tab from the Christmas rectangle. (You can cut straight through the ornaments as they will be covered by eyelets.) Affix the tree to a 6”x 4” rectangle of the Red Mine Calendar paper. Distress edges and ink with Forest Moss Distress Ink. For the ornaments, I used American Craft Elements medium gold eyelets. If you are more of a bling person you can use jewels for the ornaments. Tiny buttons would be really cute as well. The tree could also be used as an embellishment on scrapbook page and you could add bling, eyelets or brads to match the colors in your pictures.

Once the tree is decorated (and this might be the only tree I decorate this year), affix the rectangle to the card. I made my card out of Green/Notebook. To make it a little more unique, I stamped the front of the card using stamps from two different Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Christmas sets and Fired Brick Distress Ink. I used a the Christmas carol from the Holiday Wishes set and the writing from the Letter to Santa set. I affixed the star and the tab I cut out to the card. Inside I stamped “Happy Holidays” using message from the Holiday Wishes set.

With just a little work, you have a handcrafted holiday card.

The set includes a wide variety of designs, holiday messages, everyday messages and stickers that allow you to use this same approach to make cards for every season or scrapbook pages. This is the approach that I used for all my scrapbook pages this month. I made a 2-page layout the documents my schedule while I was in France, a Christmas page and an everyday page about a visit to Georgetown Cupcake. In my subsequent blogs, I’ll share the tips for these pages. If you want to get caught up on your scrapbooking, I’d suggest you get to Scrapbooks Plus and get your Simple Stories Year-o-graphy products.

2011

2011-12-06T09:58:00.002-05:00

When I first started to work on my projects for this month I was sort of on over load. The papers were so bold and busy that I had a hard time getting started. And then there was the whole "Year in Review" thing. After going through the worst year of your life you don't really want to revisit the whole thing. At least I know I didn't. Then I saw the Life Snippets paper with all of the different circles I knew what I wanted to do. I decided to cut the circles out and make a layout with 3 rows across, 3 rows down of circles and layered deep. This is what I came up with:

I love all of the layers in this layout, especially the torn book pages Lisa included in our kit. To add to the dimension in the layers I inked the type print paper and the green paper as well as the journaling tag. I also added border layers under the photos, a circle I cut slightly bigger than the photos. There are 8 layers in all and I am thrilled with the result. I can't wait to get this layout back and slip it in my scrapbook to be done with 2011.

Goodbye 2011!!!

Don't come back;)

Birthday Reminder Mini Book

2011-12-05T06:00:00.010-05:00

I have really enjoyed being a member of the Scrapbooks Plus Design Team this year. It has really helped me stay on top of the new paper lines and encouraged me to step outside my creative box a bit. I love seeing all the awesome art work my fellow team members create. They are all so talented!! Thanks, Scrapbooks-Plus, for letting me be a part of this great team!!

This month's kit was really fun to work with! I was expecting to scrapbook my pictures from last Christmas with holiday themed papers but Lisa surprised me with this cool kit! It inspired me to look back at the different months of 2011 and also think ahead about one of my goals for 2012. I confess that I am terrible about remembering birthdays. Not my immediate families' birthdays thankfully, but others that I really care about that I am also close to. I really want to get organized in 2012 to help me overcome this fault and put together a perpetual calendar where I can jot down all the important birthdays. This paper was perfect for this! The kit has some pages that you can easily cut into 4 x 6" pieces for the pages.

I alternated my colored pages and used the super cute coordinating stickers to embellish my pages. On the unlined pages, I used a 'journaling' stamp for my lines but you could easily draw the lines in with a ruler or go with the freehand method without lines! I used a punch for my month tabs and the letter stickers that came with the kit for the month titles on each. Below is a photo of the tabs and the page for June.

Stop by the store and take a look at this super quick book. I used my Bind it All to put it all together and tied ribbons on the outside for added cuteness! These would also make super cute gifts for friends and family. Enjoy!

2011-12-04T22:53:00.001-05:00

12/4/2011 9:57 PM Come by the store this week and check out all of the new products we got in last week.
Bo Bunny- 4 new paper additions to the Snowfall Collection. Snowfall Trinkets and Buttons. Enchanted combo stickers.
Echo Park- Alpha Winter Park stickers.
Embossed Felt in Red, Brown and Navy.
Fab Scraps- Pearl brads and bling buckles. House, Satchel and Twirls chipboard albums. Chipboard Diecut Words: Our Home, 2 Peas in a Pod, Best Friends, Home Sweet Home, Explore, Friends, Family, Journey and Escape. Chipboard Diecut Shapes: garden bench, lamppost, picket fence, boat, plane, compass, suitcases and clock.
Kaiser Craft- Papers from 3 new lines: Bonjour, Madam Boutique and Cockadoodle. Matching cardstock stickers for all 3 lines.
Northridge Media- Scrapbook Trends Create: Mini Albums idea magazine.
Reminisce- 14 new papers and stickers in the Signature Series line.

Thanks to all of you who came by to see Santa on Saturday. We had a great time with all families and puppies too! We plan on doing our version of Tim Holtz new Christmas tags about once a week through the New Year so watch the calendar and website for updates. Have a great week. Debbie

Tim's Tags Day 1!

2011-12-04T11:38:00.003-05:00

As with Deborah's post yesterday I continue the trend. Here is my Tim Holtz tag for day 1. I decided to go a different route with this tag. I love Tim's version, & will most likely duplicate it but this was my mood tonight. I used paper from the Dteam kit Simple Stories as my tag & used the same emboss technique Tim did but in red. Next I cut the chipboard "wish", using the movers & shapers inserted in the styled labels. I added glitter-love the technique Tim did putting paper over the glitter. While I love to be covered in ink-I don't like having glue/glitter on my fingers either. I added a Prima poinsettia. The ribbon was colored with fired brick distress stain & a bauble was added. I used the clear ones up already-time to get some more! Finally for my holly, I used core'dinations & die cut from the lamppost Alterations. I sanded the paper to pop up the emboss image & hit the high points with peeled paint distress ink. After assembling I gave a hearty spritz using perfect pearls mist in copper. I had a blast making this tag-so much fun to join in Tim's creativity.

Keep an eye on the blog we will be announcing how you can participate in all the tag fun!

12 Tags of Christmas at ScrapbooksPlus!

2011-12-03T16:42:00.001-05:00

Are you a Tim Holtz fan like us? Are you following Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas? We sure are!

Stop by the store to see our tags made from Tim's directions -- and pick up supplies or a kit to make your own. We have an entire wall (or two) filled with all things Tim and Ranger.

Still need help? We'll have times set up to help you make your tag at the store with our DT members. Keep an eye on this blog for information on kit availability and make-and-take times.

Need a little inspiration? Here's my tags from the first two days....

Design Team 2012

2011-12-02T09:26:00.001-05:00

We would like to thank everyone who tried out for the Scrapbooks Plus 2012 Design Team.We were blown away by the amazing projects that everyone submitted. Thank you to everyone who submitted!

The 2012 Scrapbooks Plus Design Team members are:

Lynne Tackett
Angela Nunley
Beth Fraer
Deborah Mahnken
Laura Petruso
Kathy Bryant
Megan Carey
Lisa Hausman

Congratulations to the new DT members!

December's Kit

2011-12-01T09:23:00.001-05:00

2011 is almost in the history books~ the time has flown by! This month's DT kit is all about celebrating the year. It is from Simple Stories' Year-O-Graphy paper line. The Year-O-Graphy paper is so versatile~it covers all the holidays,seasons and everyday life. It is perfect for ANY layout! Stop by Scrapbooks Plus and check out the Design Team Wall and see what our fabulous designers have come up with!!

Enjoy!
Lisa

Fall Layouts with Hello Fall Papers

2011-11-30T00:01:00.012-05:00

I used the fall themed paper to create a showcase for the photos of a day I spent at Giverny. The background is Red Splendor.

I used half of the left page to creat the title. Using the Cricut, I cut “Fall” from Burnt Orange Knit and sprayed them with Spiced Marmelade Glimmer Mist. I cut “at” out of a circle using the Word Party Cricut Cartridge and placed it on a scalloped circle. Giverny is made with Daily Junque wooden letters. To make them cooridinate with the colors of the papers of stamped the letters repeatedly until I got the color I wanted. I used Tea Dye, Frayed Burlap, Scattered Straw, Spiced Marmelade & Fired Brick Distress Inks.

Burnt Orange Knit rectangles sprayed with Spiced Marmelade Glimmer Mist fill the space between pictures.

Using many of the items available in the Hello Fall collection I was able to create a showcase for the pictures, quite simply. A canvas strip ties the title to the pictures. Crepe lace stickers, a quote from the Cardstock Die Cuts and the journaling cards embellish the page. Prima leaves and unique buttons from Scrapbooks Plus finish the page.

Another completely different layout was made using the same papers. This one uses Little Leaf Pile for the background giving it a much more fun them. All that is added is a few cutouts made using Tim Holtz dies and a strip of Tim Holtz film strip. A Tim Holtz samp was used to add a quote about my experience was added to the photo mat.

This demonstrates two different looks with the same basic colors.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas Layout

2011-11-29T19:30:00.001-05:00

Deck the Hall is just one of the fun Christmas papers used in this week’s Make & Take.

How many of us still have pictures from last Christmas that we haven’t scrapped yet? I know I do. So whether you want to use this layout for last year’s Christmas pictures or to get a head start on this year’s, come into the store and get the supplies and instructions to make this layout. 4

Knowing we all have a lot to do this holiday season, I made a simple layout that you can create in no time. I used a ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas theme, but the pack of dimensional stickers has other stickers that can change the theme to Home for the Holidays or the generic Merry Christmas.

As always, print the coupon from the web site and you get 40% off on Wednesdays.

Documenting my hectic life

2011-11-29T10:03:00.001-05:00

This layout is all about our hectic fall schedule. I wanted to document the weekly schedule that we had this fall. I used a Smash calendar pocket with a weekly theme to remember our schedule. This layout was a really quick and simple layout. I love the greens and oranges of the paper. I cut a Tim Holtz birdcage out of the CI Real Wood thin birch paper and then stained it with some Walnut Distress Stain~ it came out perfectly!

The DT 2012 selections will be announced on December 2nd.

Enjoy!
Lisa

Layering Paper

2011-11-28T11:20:00.001-05:00

Love lots of pattern but don't want to overwhelm your photo? Try layering your papers. Here I used several rectangles of paper - some of which have lots of colorful patterns - but by showing only a small portion of them the layout isn't overwhelmed.

This is a great way to use those leftover scraps, too! You don't need to use solid rectangles either - that blue piece? it's actually two smaller scraps that I arranged to look like a whole sheet. And all those smaller pieces poking out to the left of the photo? They look like they must be larger, like a photo mat, but they're really only about as big as what's showing.

What's New at ScrapbooksPlus

2011-11-27T22:02:00.001-05:00

11/27/2011 8:51 PM Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with friends and family! Be sure to stop by the store this week and check out the new products.
ANW Crestwood- Winter Whites Dome Epoxy Stickers and Snowflake Metal Accents.
Crate Paper-Peppermint Collection Alpha Labels Cardstock Stickers.
EK Success- Princess Tiana large stickers. Jolee’s Dimensional Stickers: Stockings w/ Wood Toys, Poinsettias, Costa Rica, Glitter Angels, Flourishes & Christmas Trees, and Baby’s Room, Christmas Lights, Gingerbread Men & Holly Repeats, Baby Girl, Pizza Party and It’s a Boy.
Me and My Big Ideas- Soft Spoken Survivor 3D stickers.
Melissa Frances- Deck the Halls papers, cardstock banners, cardstock stickers, 6x6 paper pad, 6x6 Holiday Mini Album and 12x12 diecuts.
Stampers Anonymous- Tim Holtz Christmas Words red rubber wood stamp.

Don’t forget to bring the kids in on Saturday to visit Santa from 11-3pm. A page kit will be available for purchase to scrap the event. We will have cookies, coffee and tea to share with all!

We have started our ScrapBucks for the Holiday’s special again this year. For every $25 purchased you will receive $5 in Scrapbucks to spend in the New Year. Check out our classes this month and think about giving a one of a kind special gift this holiday season. Have a great week. Debbie

Freedman's Cemetery by Esther

2011-11-26T01:00:00.000-05:00

A high school class reunion in Dallas, Texas offered a tour for the sake of history which gave a chance to take pictures. Two sheets of Hello Fall "Green Splendor" by Little Yellow Bicycle were used for the base. Torn pieces of Ivory Text" were used on both sides of the two page layout. They were trimmed slightly shorter than the green sheets. A strip of "Harvest Rings" lines the bottom.

Pictures were mounted on a tan cardstock with rounded corners. Two smaller pictures were left unmounted. Edges were inked with brown to tone down the colors. A yellow print canvas is above the computer generated title. It was printed on ivory paper. The journaling is in green for contrast. Since the pictures had a lot of contrast, softer and smaller patterns were used.

Wednesday Layout

2011-11-23T11:07:00.001-05:00

This week's layout uses another beautiful set of papers from My Mind's Eye. Given that tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I used papers with golden tones and a bit of sparkle - perfect for your holiday photos.

Forgot your camera? These papers can work with many kinds of layouts - wedding, baby, love, springtime. The paper line is very versatile!

I've got three 4x6 photos aligned next to each other, with a short journaling box on the left. But if you've got more photos, or landscape photos you can easily put four 4x6 photos in a block on this page.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Sharing Simple Pleasures

2011-11-23T00:01:00.001-05:00

Since I spent from August to October in Paris, when I got the Little Yellow Bicycle Hello Fall paper I thought of how my French pictures could be used. I loved the colors and they reminded me of the French market in my small town where I got vegetables each week. I picked four pictures of the produce and put them on a 7 ¼” x 10 ¼” piece of Green Splendor. I used Ivory Text paper for the background.

I was really excited that I had the opportunity to use the Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Autumn Gatherings die to cut out small leaves and branches. I cut a few out of each Walnut Knit/ Green Splendor, Golden Flourish, Red Splendor, & Burnt Orange Knit. A new trick I learned was using the Xyron X so that all the little pieces were stickers. This made them much easier to affix to the page.

The title was cut using another of my favorite Tim Holtz Alterations dies – Vintage Market Alphabet. These letters are decorative and I find them to be just the right size for titles.

To create space for journaling, I used three journaling cards from the Hello Fall set. You only see two because I cut the bottom off a green journaling tag to create the top of the simple pleasures journaling tag. Simple pleasures described my Saturday morning trips to the market and the tag had little boxes that reminded me of a grocery list. I simply listed the items in the pictures using the French word for each item.. In the circle journaling tag, I briefly described my experience.

Happy Fall Card by Esther

2011-11-22T01:00:00.002-05:00

The card I made with the November DT kit is a tribute to fall. Happy Fall is a fitting title found on a tag in the Hello Fall line by LittleYellow Bicycle. Half of the cardstock was used as the base. Folds were made on the left at 5 and a quarter inches and on the right, 10 and three fourths inches from left crease to leave a small section to fold inside the card with another toward the front (orange). The strip with the sentiment was wrapped and adhered after being scored in the same manner.

Adornments include die cut shapes, a lacy sticker strip in a contrasting lavender and My Mind's Eye Rhinestones.

A Walk In the Woods

2011-11-21T08:30:00.000-05:00

One Sunday we took the family for a nice hike in the woods/park. These are the photos I took, the big photo of my boys trying to see if Mac had caught up height wise on his brother. Of course Trinny had to hop in the photo. Its a fairly simple page using Dylusions stamps along the sides, painted in with distress stains. Make a puddle of ink on your craft mat & use that to paint in the leaves. Some of the MLYB words are embossed so I ran an ink pad over them to pick up the embossed images. Enjoy fall!

Simply Blessed

2011-11-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

So easy is the best way to describe this design. Its perfect for those photos where you want to showcase that special moment! Its not too busy but creates a work of art capturing a special moment.

This collection from Little Yellow Bicycle comes with lots of diecuts and phrases that will make your job much easier.

I added the flower from the great selection at Scrapbooks Plus. You will be sure to find what you're looking for!

If I Could.....

2011-11-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

... have a few more of these journaling cards..... :)

It was the journaling card that was the inspiration for this layout. "If I could go anywhere....."

I chose a few photos from a quaint village we visited this summer in England. And took a few liberties with the page map, using squares and rectangle instead of circles. I loved the lush flowers, the old stone buildings with wooden roofs & tudor-style design.

To build my layout I chose the Golden Flourish as my background. Next I added the Bundled Up Blue behind my photos and a scrap of wood-grained paper from my stash. Behind the journaling card came a piece of the Little Leaf Pile, stamped with a Hero Arts flower. I tucked in a Ranger tag stamped with trees and some flowers cut from Sticky-back canvas.

Jack-O-Lantern

2011-11-17T11:40:00.001-05:00

Here is a fun layout I made using the Little Yellow Bicycle~ Hello Fall collection.
I really enjoyed coming up with cute embellishments for this layout.

To make this Jack-O-Lantern I used my Silhouette cutting machine. I cut the little guy out of the Burnt Orange Knit paper. I love the color on color texture in this paper... I also think Burnt Orange Knit is the perfect name for this paper. I loved these Corrugated Shapes so much and really, really, really wanted to use one on this layout. The only problem was that none of the shapes I had went with my layout. So I improvised. If you look closely at the stem on the pumpkin you will see that I cut it out of one of the Corrugated Shapes... I love the results:)

I love these little spiders that I stitched on my layout. It was so quick and easy to do with my In Stitch'z piercing mat and tool. I simply laid my layout on the mat and used the piercing tool to make holes where I wanted to stitch. I stitched along the pattern I had made and in under 2 minutes I had added a fun embellishment. The best part is... it only costs pennies. The embroidery thread is very inexpensive. Once you have the mat and tool you can add these super cute embellishments to your pages for practically nothing, just the cost of a little embroidery thread. If making your own pattern isn't your thing there are several fun patterns and borders you can try out first. Once you get the hang of it you'll be stitching your own patterns in no time.

Hope I've inspired you!!

I love FALL most of ALL

2011-11-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Oh I just love these colors in this fall line by My Little Yellow Bicycle (MLYB). These three cards took less than 15 minutes each to create. The bold color palette and various patterns are perfect for any fall card. Literally, I cut three pieces of paper (5¼Lx4w) added a bit of machine stitching and finished each card off with a fall embellishment. While these cards are simple, they are perfect for any fall festivity. Stop by Scrapbooks Plus today to pick up this beautiful line by MLYB…you’ll have plenty of gorgeous fall cards made up in time for Thanksgiving next week.

Thanks for looking,
Erica

Wednesday Make & Take – November 16, 2011 – by Erica Houghton

2011-11-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

Patterned Paper
 2 My Mind’s Eye, Lost and Found 2 Rosy “Best of Friends” Celebrate Paper, 12Lx12W, 12Lx2W, 6Lx4W (x2)
 2 My Mind’s Eye, Lost and Found 2 Rosy “Remember” Lovely Paper, 11½Lx11½W, 10Lx7½W, 4Lx4W
 1 My Mind’s Eye, Lost and Found 2 Rosy “Remember” Dots Paper, 5Lx5W
 1 My Mind’s Eye, Lost and Found 2 Rosy “Ordinary” Dream Paper, 12Lx12W, 8Lx4½W, 4Lx½W, 1½Lx½W, cut around ‘dream’ tag
 1 My Mind’s Eye, Lost and Found 2 Rosy “Best of Fiends” Dotted Paper, 8Lx10W, 4Lx4W

Embellishments
 1 My Mind’s Eye, Lost and Found 2 Rosy “Remember” Trim
 1 My Mind’s Eye, Lost and Found 2 Rosy “Love” Layered Chipboard Stickers
 1 My Mind’s Eye, Lost and Found 2 Rosy “Love” Title
 1 Package Petaloo, velvet hydrangeas, cream (flowers)
 2 Packages Prima (flowers)
 1 KaiserCraft Pearl Flourishes, Classic Latte
 1 yard black and white trim

Additional Guidance
 Stitching: use sewing machine to add stitching. If you do not have a sewing machine, use a white pen or stamp to add stitching detail.
 Flourishes: cut package in half and layout according to picture.
 Chalk/Distress Ink: add chalking or distress ink to edges of paper for additional coloring (brand: Tim Holtz).
 Scallop/Rounded detail: use scissors, Cricut, corner rounder or another cutting tool to obtain a scalloped and/or rounded edge.
 Free Element: white doily

Easy Multiple Photo Layouts

2011-11-15T10:08:00.001-05:00

I really liked the fall colors in this month's kit. I paired it with some photos of our Halloween decorations this year (and a pile of candy!) for a quick and easy layout.

I like using this design for multiple photos. I usually center the four 4x6 photos on the page and embellish around them. It's really a great way to get a lot of mileage from your scraps by using them as border strips.

Add a few border strips and accents and let your photos just shine! For accents, in addition to the cardstock phrases, I added a bit of Tim Holtz tissue tape, a scrap of his Halloween kraft paper and a piece of filmstrip ribbon. Also, a leaf cut from scraps from our Echo Park kit back in August.

A Thank You Card

2011-11-14T00:01:00.001-05:00

I used our paper to make a card that is perfect for a thank you to your Thanksgiving hostess. It is so easy to make.

Cut a piece of Ivory Text paper 5 1/2” x 12” and score at 3” and 9” and fold along score lines. You will have a card that is 6” on the back and have two 3” flaps. One flap will be on the top and the other on the bottom. This paper is great for cards because it has text and colors but is still light enough that you can write your message over it. I used the Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations On the Edge Brackets die to give the flaps a decorative edge.

Stamp “thanks” with Walnut Distress Ink on the bottom flap and emboss with Clear Embossing Powder. Repeat inside the card where the message would go.

Cut two pieces of Golden Flourish 4 ½ ” 6 1/2.” Cut the edges using the other edge of the die. (The on the edge dies have two possible designs you can cut.) Glue these two pieces inside the flaps so that the Golden Flourish shows on the outside. You will need to cut the straight edge of these pieces to make the card so that the top edge doesn’t cover the outside message.

To embellish top flap, I used a corrugated chipboard circle from the Little Yellow Bicycle Hello Fall set of corrugated shapes. I filed and inked the circle. I punched an owl out of a circle of Golden Flourish and put inside the chipboard circle. Both were sprayed with Glimmer Mist marmalade. I added jewel eyes and two jewels outside the word “Thanks.” You could easily embellish the card with any of the corrugated shapes you like. The Little Yellow Bicycle Hello Fall Jewels add a little glamour and offers several color options.

Hello Fall with a touch of Tim Holtz

2011-11-13T06:00:00.040-05:00

Today I want to share with you my card project for this month with the Hello Fall line from LYB. I combined the papers with Tim Holtz Alterations embossing folders for the Fall- sold in a 4 pack with a full sized one with words that I used on one of my layouts this month and 3 different borders-- I'm using 2 of the 3 in this project. You can pick these up at Scrapbooks Plus along with the Limited Edition highly sought after 3 pack of Distress Inks which I'm also using on this project.

My card this month is a pocket card that I made using this tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers. I used the embossing folders on my two tag inserts. The first is above. I cut my tag to size and ran it and the embossing folder through my Cuttlebug. Then I sanded the raised edges. I then got to work with my Distress Inks. Lightly swirling my limited edition Distress Inks over the raised image.

I repeated with a different paper from the kit and another embossing folder from the set, with more sanding and ink. I then added cardstock sentiments from the Hello Fall kit to my tags and embellished with ribbon and buttons.

Here is my completed card... hope you check out all the fun embellishments available this Fall!!

Sweet Treasure

2011-11-12T08:30:00.000-05:00

This is a photo I took of my Grand Niece (not sure that it right but...). My niece had a baby therefore... This photo of Kylee on her soft blanket had the perfect color combination for this months MLYB paper. I kept the page very simple because I wanted the photo to be the main focus. One of the great things about working with distress stains & glimmer mists is you can create the colors you need. For example the leaf ribbon is white, I colored the leaves using distress stains to match my layout. The flower was created with book text & again colored. Voila, custom made embellishments that match my layout. I left the journal tag blank, I want my niece to tell me a story about being a new Mom, or how her baby loves being on a blanket... What makes this page is the photos. I lay on the floor with the baby so I could get the picture just a bit above her. I spread the blanket out so there was no carpet or furniture to be distracting. I made the shot very close up. Do not be afraid to do super close pictures. that way you can capture the mood or feeling instead of non-emotional background. It can take 20 shots to get 2 or 3 really good ones. Plus the subject, especially a baby will start to relax & ignore you, that's when you get the best photo. Hope that helps!

Supplies:
Paper, bird, tag & word-My Little Yellow Bicycle
Die- Tim Holtz for Sizzix
Distress Stains by Ranger
Brad- My Minds Eye

A Time for Togetherness

2011-11-11T05:32:00.000-05:00

These photos were taken last year on our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. The kids wondered through all of the pumpkins to find the very best ones.

I chose the green as my background because I love the way the orange from the pumpkins pops against it.

For my title I used a tag and I inked the edges using orange marmalade Distress Ink around the edge.
I used 3 different types of type lettering and some words from the Cardstock Diecuts- Fresh Verse to create my title.

These Cardstock Diecuts- Fresh Verse embellishments from the Hello Fall collection are great for a title, subtitle or just some inspiration. I love this subtitle in the photo above. I ran Antique Linen Distress Ink over the top of each piece to highlight the embossed pattern. And I love the word togetherness!

Happy Veteran's Day!!!

Thankful PageMap

2011-11-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

This was a fairly straightforward pagemap this month and Im glad. Sometimes you want a quick and easy design for when you are working on quantity! This pagemap is perfect for those occasions.

Little Yellow Bicycle's diecut sheet is great for those memories you want to cherish and remember those things you are grateful for.

For this layout, I used one of the accu-cut dies from Scrapbooks Plus to make the tag and added my journaling there.

Little Leaf Calendar by Esther

2011-11-09T01:00:00.000-05:00

This standing calendar is for a table top or computer area. The inspiration for this was the Hello Fall "Little Leaf Pile" cardstock by Little Yellow Bicycle. A piece of recycled cardboard was used to form the standing base. It was covered with patterned cardstocks. A strip of "Sweater Weather" is across the bottom.

I added a tag and a cardstock verse with a metal charm leaf. The charm was attached with a Bazzill brad and secured in the back with tape. The calendar portion was computer generated with color blocking to give the fall colors.

Thanksgiving Place Cards

2011-11-07T00:01:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to use some scrapbooking techniques to decorate your table. Using paper and corrugated chipboard shapes from the Little Yellow Bicycle Hello Fall line, I made Thanksgiving place cards. I made a set of four using different approaches so you could see different options. You can easily make these to match your style your color scheme. Make a matching set or make coordinated ones.

You need two tags of the same size from brown Bazzill paper for each place card. I used the large tag on the Sizzix Tag, Traditional die. Score a line across one of the tags so that the place card will stand up.

The fun part is decorating the place card. You use one of the corrugated chipboard shapes. Eighteen different shapes come in the set. I used two flowers, a bird and a squirrel. I used a nail file to scrape off a little of the brown finish and then inked with some distress ink. I used colors to coordinate with the embellishments I would be using. I then sprayed the shape with Marmalade Glimmer Mist.

I embellished the place card with paper, a few leaves from Prima’s Splendor Fall Mix and jewels from Little Yellow Bicycle Hello Fall Jewel stickers.

To put the place card together, glue the top of the back to the top of the front. I then affixed a metal eyelet to hold in place.

I added a Tim Holtz Memo Pen to hold the name tag in place. I cut the name tags From cream Bazzill paper using the Cricut Celebrations die. I inked then with Spiced Marmelade Distress Ink.

Write the name on it and you are all set.

We are Simply Blessed

2011-11-06T08:21:00.004-05:00

When I am designing a layout I start by deciding on photos, title and journaling. That way I don't run out of space to add what is most important to me. For these particular photos the journaling was the most important element. These photos mean a lot to me so I knew I wanted to take my time to journal.

I used my Silhouette to cut out the artisan shape for my journaling card. Then I printed my journaling onto the card using my printer.

I took one of the Decorative Edge Cardstock pieces to coordinates with these papers and placed it in the upper right corner of my layout behind my title. The title is one of the Cardstock Die Cuts pieces. I also added a little birdy from the Corrugated Shapes.

I added the strip across the bottom with a quote from Emily Bronte. To create a visual triangle I punched three circles out of the same yellow paper as the journaling block and the title block and added them to the layout peaking from behind the quote.

Although I love to work with inks and mists and all different mediums sometimes I do like to keep my designs simple. Keeping things simple here allowed me to concentrate on my journaling. I know in years to come I will be grateful that I took the time to write these words. I will always look back on that day and be so grateful.

Hello Fall and Accordian Flower tutorial

2011-11-05T06:00:00.054-04:00

I was so excited to be able to choose this month's Design Team kit! This is such fun paper and the colors are amazing. While the line is 'Hello Fall' from LYB, it is easy to use for so much more than Fall layouts and projects! I scrapped a photo of my daughter from this Summer. The paper matched her her shirt almost perfectly and the yellow matches her sunny personality making it the perfect choice.

I used two of the canvas borders and layered them to help balance the large photo. The brown and white flower is from the chipboard pack that is available from LYB that matches this kit. It came out of the package as a rich dark brown and I used a white gellato from Faber Castell (also available at Scrapbooks-Plus) to enhance it and give it some shine.

The yellow print flower I made with a strip of yellow flowered paper from the kit. The directions for making the accordion flower are below. They are really simple and can be plain like this one with a simple scalloped edge or you can cut with a fancy edge using a border punch-- think of the fun possibilities!

Decide how large you want your flower and cut the strip at 1/2 the size of the completed flower by 12". Use your scoring board-- if you don't have one, stop by the store and pick one up! They are awesome for all kinds of techniques! The Martha Stewart version- which the store sells-comes with its own scoring tool and an envelope template-- all stored in the board itself!!). Place at the top of your scoring board and score every 1/4". If you don't have a scoring board, you can still do this but it will take much longer!

Once you have scored all the way across the 12" strip, accordion fold the strip. Then trim off the very last fold. Use a super sticky tape to adhere one end of the strip to the other.

You will then have a 'cupcake liner' (hmm... another project!?!) which you'll need to adhere to something to get it to lie flat-- it doesn't stay easily!! I used Quick Dry Adhesive from Helmar-- great stuff that you can get at S-Plus and use for just about anything you need to glue! (In retrospect, I should have punched a larger circle given the size of my rather large accordian flower to give it more support. I would recommend using a circle that is about 1/2 the size of your completed flower or larger. It is hidden so it doesn't matter if it is exactly a circle- I just grabbed the closest circle punch!)

Here's the completed flower on my layout! I edged the outside and top with a teal colored Copic marker for contrast. I love using Copics for this type of thing because they 'bleed' some if you touch them in one spot for more than a second and give a fuzzy look... great for flowers!

Embrace the Chaos!

2011-11-04T09:06:00.007-04:00

I admit it I had a hard time with this months papers! I don't do well with small patterns & multiple colored prints. I was also creating & teaching my art journal class & just couldn't bring my brain back to scrapbooking. So I had a little help from some friends on this layout. I had printed out these Hipstamatic photos from my ipod & that was about it. Suzie Bentz worked on putting some papers, tags & a general layout together, then Deborah Mahnken took that & added the Bo Bunny paper, tweaked the layout & gave me some ideas. They are not responsible for the mayhem that ensued. The general plan was to add some stencil work on the edges of the layout. I had a photo of the layout but once I started going, I couldn't stop!! I had so much fun just completely junking this up!

I cut 2 pieces of the MLYB (My Little Yellow Bicycle) Harvest Rings, distressed the edges & inked them with Vintage Photo. Using the stencils I glimmer misted branches with True Blood & stamped the spider webs.This is one of my favorite techniques to give my stamped image a glimmer &/or multiple colors. I inked the stamp with Spiced Marmalade distress ink then spritzed the stamp with Tiger Lily Glimmer Mist. The stamped image is all glittery when dry. Next I started layering using the tags & pocket from MLYB. Once my photos were down I started stamping & embossing with wild abandon. I stamped/heat embossed like a crazy person. So great to just go for it! I cut the fences using a border punch & 2 of the papers-Burnt Orange Knit, & Walnut Knit. I used the brown underneath - gluing it a little up & to the side making my fence dimensional.

My cat & raven were die cut using corrugated cardboard. I peeled off the top layer for the raven & painted it with black soot crackle paint, adding silver paint when it was dry & a copic marker colored bling for his eye. The cat was spritzed with True Blood GMist- one of the new fall colors from Tattered Angels. Once dry I covered it with GGlam Hammered Copper which is this rich copper glitter that doesn't change the color of the bottom layer just adds tons of glitter without the mess of glue. A charm & bling were added to my scaredy cat. So much fun! Also Macs zombie shirt was made by tearing the holes in the shirt, adding aged mahogany distress ink, true blood & black magic glimmer mist in places-looks so realistic!

I added flowers that had been spritzed with True Blood &/or hit in parts with the Hammered Copper, giving them a beautiful glittery look. The skeleton was stamped on black card stock with white craft ink. The lock & key charms are new from Fabscraps & can be purchased at the check out desk of ScrapbooksPlus. Some of the tag labels are from last months Fancy Pants kit. Again this layout was so much fun to do after being completely paralyzed. Being forced to get it done and forcing the paper to work with my style not the other way around facilitated this fun, fun artsy time. Of course with a little help from my friends! So go grab that impossible layout & let loose!!!

Supplies to follow

It's Simple!

2011-11-03T09:22:00.001-04:00

Simple in design, that is. I've been a fan of Cathy Zielske's simple style for years. This year on her blog she offered a free download for Halloween - the dotted lines dividing an 8.5 x 11 page and some Halloween phrases. I loved the clean & simple look of it.

So I decided to give it a try. I grabbed a two inch square punch and my November Little Yellow Bicycle kit. I had a lot of fun patterns to choose from, and ended up using six different squares of paper, one of the cute corregated leaves and one of the phrases from the cardstock phrases. I printed out the lines on a piece of kraft paper and just played with the layout until I was happy.

Want the download? You can find it on Cathy's blog here.

Mr Owl

2011-11-02T08:37:00.000-04:00

I really loved working with the Happy Fall line from Little Yellow Bicycle. It was a great combination of colors and it was so easy to work with!

This layout came together quickly~ I love the whimsical owls on the bottom of the page. To add some texture to the page I decided to stitch the strip on with some brown thread. I also used some of the white lace sticker that came with the kit- it is very subtle- which I put on the edge of the mat under the picture. For the title I used some of the Daily Junque wooden letters from Pink Paisley. I painted them an off white color and them stamped some text on it with Ranger's Archival Black ink. I love the way they came out. Here is a photo of the letters close up: I apologize for the wrong orientation of the picture- for some reason it will not let me change it!

Stop by Scrapbooks Plus and check out the DT wall.
Enjoy!
Lisa

Are you ready for some football??

2011-11-02T06:00:00.002-04:00

Come in to the store today to claim your football layout! The Wednesday make and take this week features Little Yellow Bicycle's Game On football papers. We have this same design in baseball and soccer so you could easily replace the paper on the layout for another sport!! The free element included with the kit this week is the library card pocket which could be used with any of the sports' papers!
There are a limited quantity of kits available so hurry in today to claim yours!