Making a Curtain Frame for Your Picture

An old publication that Scrapbooks Plus was giving away showed a card with a curtain. It seemed that this would make the perfect frame for a picture of my aunt as a homecoming attendant. Here’s how you make a curtain frame. Cut three strips of paper – two equal ones for the sides of your curtain and a shorter one for the valance (top). The size of each will depend on the size of your pictures. Punch a scallop design on the bottom of all three pieces. To make the folds, score the pieces that will be the side of your curtain every 1/4th of an inch. (You can score however you like but I like to use a scoring blade on my Cutterpede trimer. It is easy to keep all your lines straight and you have all the measurements you need.) You do need to score each line on the opposite side of the paper of the previous one because you are going to pleat the paper. Then you simply pleat the paper along the scored lines. This part can be a bit tedious. I made my pleats 1/8” and admit I screamed several times. If you make the pleats ¼” rather than 1/8” it is a lot easier. Apply Glossy Accents to the top of each side when you finish making the pleats to hold the pleats in place at the top. Once both sides are complete, glue the top of the curtain to the sides and fold the side edges of the top down to make a drape valance just like you’d have on your window at home. Gluing a plain paper frame inside the curtain makes it easier to affix to your scrapbook page. The final touch is to tie the sides back with small pieces of ribbons. Your curtain is now ready to glue to the page.

Everything else on this page was super simple. As you can see, I placed a strip of the green side of the Time of My Life to the background made of Sunday Afternoon. Another piece of Time of My Life was used to frame the main picture. By using pieces with the brown dots around the outside as spacers, I was able to quickly add self-adhesive Pebbles Pearl Candy Dots Brown all around the picture, creating emphasis on the main picture. I made a base and a journaling block using Tim Holtz Sizzix ATC & Corners Die. The Ladies & Gents stickers were used for the lettering, with a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink to tone down the turquoise a bit. Other accents include ribbon from the Ladies & Gents line, a crown and some books cut out of the Sunday Afternoon paper, a Tim Holtz hangar and some tags for lettering.

Not only do I have a special page for our family, but my aunt enjoyed the trip down memory lane that it provided her.

Ladies and Gents Cards by Esther

Cards are easy to make with the designs of the cardstocks in Webster's Pages Ladies and Gents line. The feminine card was made using Tea Time with the dominant pattern outside. A biege transparent ribbon was attached around the back and beneath the mounted accent on front. The corners of the rectangle are punched and used for mounting a design cut from the tags on the back of Framed Beauty.

Ribbon and a pearl are at the top. The inside is also decorative because the cardstock has delightful florals on edges leaving room for writing a message.

The masculine card was formed from a 6"x12" piece of solid Bazzill cardstock. It was folded so there is an overlap on the right. Inside is a frame from Framed Beauty and the sentiment typed on ivory paper. The right side of the front is border cut with masculine type design by EK Success. A strip of the blue Groomed Traveler design is adhered on small flap inside to show through the cut out border.

Clocks were used as the theme with the use of a fabric tape and cardstock. A Chipboard Button was threaded with thread and a strip of tan ribbon give accents.

Using Masks & Chalkboard Spray

Although much of this month’s paper screamed family, the Groomed Traveler said travel to me so I had to make my 2-page layout a travel one. I chose to scrapbook an afternoon I spent at the Duomo Museum in Florence. A wonderful museum that is often at the bottom of the list in a city filled with great museums but on my third trip to Florence, I finally made it.

For the right background, I used Groomed Traveler (turquoise side). On the left side, I used a plain piece of cardstock for the base. I cut a piece of Groomed Traveler paper into two pieces. I used the larger piece (12” x 7”) on the left side. The square design made a perfect frame for a picture of a Michelangelo Pieta. (The larger pictures are framed with a tiny frame of the solid side of BoBunny Coffee Dot paper. ) I used the turquoise side of the leftover piece for the other side of the background.

Before applying the turquoise piece to the background, I used Tattered Angels Chalkboard Decadence and the Tattered Angels compass stencil to design and interest to the background. Using the stencil as both a stencil and and a stamp gave different looks. To do this, I placed the stencil on the background and sprayed around it leaving a turquoise compass when I removed the stencil. Instead of wiping the stencil off, I immediately turned it over and used it to stamp the paper at the top and bottom to create brown compasses. I added another compass on the right background but did have to spray the stencil again to have enough ink for the third stamp. I also stamped a globe with Vintage Photo Distress Ink on the right background.

For the title, I used Tim Holtz idea-ology mask of Ransom letters to spell “Duomo” on a piece of Time of My Life paper. I then sprayed it well with Chalkboard Decadence. I love the result. I’ve had these masks forever and just never used them. Stickers from the Ladies & Gent set are used for the remainder of the title.

For a journaling block, I printed the journaling on Time of My Life paper. I cut the box out and used the Tim Holtz Sizzix Bracket Die to make the top and bottom edges more interesting. I inked the block first with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and then with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The journaling block and other accents were made from Time of My Life paper, with some using the cream side and some the green side. For picture titles and other accents, I made the same way except the writing or stickers were added after inking.

Flip Flop Card

I love how easy this card came together using the beautiful Webster's Pages papers from this month's Design Team kit!  I made a 'Flip Flop' or Swing Card using this tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers.  This is the front of the card.  I added very little embellishment because Webster's Pages did a lot of the work for me!  I just added a circle flower (you can find the tutorial on this blog on 6/13) to the upper right and some rhinestone sparkles.  To the center piece I used a 'frame' from the coordinating Webster's Pages paper and a stamped sentiment. 

When you open the card, the center 'flips' over you see the opposite side of the paper which I decorated with coordinating Webster's Pages vellum, fabric ribbon and rhinestone sparkles- with my stamped sentiment.

I hope you'll check out the Design Team's cards this month.  Webster's Pages makes them simple and beautiful with their amazing papers!

Framed Beauty by Esther

This layout was planned around the Webster's Pages Framed Beauty cardstock for the page map. The photo is framed by a double die cut shape of floral pattern. Using the Gypsy, I welded two sizes of the decorative shape together so a frame was cut. It was trimmed on the right to allow space for the decorative left side. A piece of shiny silver cardstock was cut to fit the mirror for a reflection. The 5"x7" sepia photo was chosen because the subject is also reflected in a mirror, which carried through out the theme.

The journaling was printed on a solid ivory paper and the top rolled over a Karen Foster page push pin up with Chomper Cloud shaped corners. The title was mounted on a piece of Sunday Afternoon beneath the photo.

A fabric flower was placed at the top of the photo. Chipboard sticker buttons threaded with yarn, a shiny shell Blumethal button, a piece of a doily, silk flower rose leaves and ribbon were added below the mirror. A fabric sticker message "mother" was placed above the florals.