August design team kit

The August Design Team kit is ready for ya'll to pick up! I went with the very fun and colorful American Crafts line. I love the bright colors and funky designs. We've got crazy circles, pink lines, dots, butterflies and flowers. Also included is a Sunshine stamp, a variety of chipboard pieces, red eyelets (not pictured), a white clip (not pictured), Thickers, a bit of Hambly (cuz you gotta have the Hambly!) and some ribbon. I can't wait to see what everyone makes!

Another note: The Design Team page has been updated with tons of eye candy from Leah's kit. Head over the main site to check it out!

Gift Card Holder

I am sorry, but I am having trouble getting this to show up the right way!

This gift card holder is so easy! Start with a piece of cardstock 8.5" x 5.5"...I used Lime Dots from The Crafter's Workshop. Score it at 2" and again at 6" (love my Scor-Pal), which leaves you with a 2" flap and a 2.5" flap. Either one can be used to form the pocket which holds the gift card, just seal the side edges - I used red sticky tape, but you could use brads or eyelets or staples. Decorate the upper flap with a focal image and trim, and you are done!

IOD for MCB

I love the IOD Paintables!

They really let you match any paper you have...or any picture...because you get to color in the design! In the tutorial I saw, they used watercolor pencils. Predictably, I used Pearl Ex and my aqua brush filled with Future floor polish! I also used chalk for some of the more subtle shading. The colors were not exactly what I wanted, so I took out my "Dune" Colorbox stamp pad and distressed it all.

Super Simple!

Fairy Princess!

The Crafter's Workshop paper this month was so pretty and whimsical that it lead me to create my own Fairy Princess!

The Berry Swirl paper provided a perfect base for the first page. I used my Cricut to cut most of the letters - Jasmine and Base Camp. I kind of traced and stretched out the large "f" on the first page. I coated the card stock with some of the Tim Holtz paint and watched it crackle! I used my sewing machine to zig-zag the "f" in place, then added the pink fairy patch from the local sewing store...Memory Mount glue holds her in place. I placed a wand (Mrs. Grossman's sticker) in her hand...and I believe all the roll stickers are on sale this month at Scrapbooks Plus!

I had the fairy wings from the Tim Holtz grungeboard set, so I painted them a light lavender. I pulled out my Pearl Ex and the water brush filled with Future floor polish and added the shimmer. I traced the smaller set of Tim Holtz wings onto cardstock, cut them out, and sprayed them with Glimmer Mist for a little sparkle. I used Memory Mount and pop dots to adhere them...the "fairy" was added on pop dots, too!

Next I used a Crafter's Workshop stencil and made marks on the paper with my paper piercer...every other hole...until I had a nice swirl. I adhered the rhinestones individually, but a good short cut for this would be to use some Heidi Swapp "Bling"!

I used a Martha Stewart border punch to create the scalloped purple band behind the title. THe buttons were threaded with the thin ribbons and adhered with Memory Mount. It still needed a little something, and the felt flowers and button combo was just the right touch!

The background for Page 2 is a great green polka dot from My Little Yellow Bicycle. The white paper across the top was really important, because the page felt too heavy without it - the Berry Swirl paper on the first page was just so light and airy. I used the Martha Stewart punch (again) to create the scalloped border across the top..and I loved adding the IOD tape with the crowns to the border...so simple! I ran a few lengths of ribbon through my Xyron X and added them to the upper border, too. The sheer ribbon kept it light and echoed the swirls from the first page.

I used the Tim Holtz paint on the edge of the picture because I wanted it to kind of blend into the page. Here is what I learned. If you want to used it on a picture, spread the paint very thinly..and I found it easiest to do with my fingers. If you make too thick a coat, when the paint cracks it makes very large flakes...and they come right off. I ended up touching this up several times before I was happy with the flakes. Just to be safe, though, I took out my water brush with the Future floor polish and put a clear top coat over the cracked paint on the edge.

More of the Tim Holtz Grungeboard was used for the crowns on this page...just painted with acrylic paint. I added Pearl Ex (love that stuff) and rhinestones to the larger crown.

The Jasmine Cricut cartridge was used to cut the fancy journaling frame. I hand cut one Berry Swirl and added some rhinestones. The Prima flower provided the right amount of weight to the lower right corner...especially with the decorative brad in the center!

The final touch was the IOD crown on the smallest "fairy". I actually taped it to a piece of clear plastic, trimmed it very close to the design, and cut a slit in it so that it would slide over her head...then I adhered it to the back with tape...and she got a little sticker wand of her own!

July RAK Giveaway!

I took one look at the July papers and knew they'd be perfect for this cupcake birthday album. Lots of pink, a little purple and lots of glitter! I even glittered the chipboard flowers. And lots of room for you to add pictures and journaling. We're giving this album away to one lucky person. Just leave a comment to this post and I'll draw a name on August 15th (when our DT displays change) and select a winner! If you're local you can pick it up at the Scrapbooks Plus. If you're not we'll just mail it!

There's two "rules" for this RAK": (1) In your comment, tell us what's your favorite kind of bling to use when you scrapbook and (2) no DT Member or employee or owner (yes, again -- sorry Debbie!) of Scrapbooks Plus will be included in the drawing.

Circles Galore!

We all had a great time playing with the Flourishes, Dots & Circles papers from the Crafter's Workshop. Hopefully you've had a chance to check out the new wall of creations. It's amazing to see how many different looks you can get out of the same line of papers!

My favorite paper in the line was Blueberry Pie... I just love all the circles in blue and purple and green. I used the fabulous blue sparkle paper with it (help me ladies, I can't remember who made it and I can't find a name on the tiny pieces I have left!). One of the reasons that it is fabulous is that it is coated on top... so none of the sparkle rubs off, shifts, or otherwise moves around, which can sometimes be the case, especially when adding sparkle to your own cardstock! :)

I cut a large circle of blue sparkle with my trusty Colluzzle and then cut my photo with the next smallest-sized circle. Then I used my Fiskars finger craft knife to cut out the center of a couple of the circles in the patterned paper. Adding the strip to some lavendar cardstock and framing it with a couple of strips of the sparkle, made for a fast layout. A little jouraling, a few circular embellishments, and a title of vinyl thickers finished it off. Easy-peasy!

On a side note, the little Fiskars finger craft knife is one of those "must have" tools. I find myself using it all the time... to touch up an uneven edge, cut the little fuzzies off of die cuts, and, of course, fussy cut patterns out of patterned paper. I never pulled out my full-size craft knife as it was too much trouble... but this little knife is a breeze to use!

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June RAK Winner!!

Congratulations to Mistress Tess! You are the winner of the Sand Pail album. You can stop by Scrapbooks Plus to pick it up, or leave us an email address so I can coordinate a method to deliver it to you.
I got a sneak peek of next month's RAK , designed by Deborah Mahnken. It's even cuter!
Stay tuned....

New July DT display & last June RAK day

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Hi, y'all, it's really summer here in northern Virginia. The ladies on the Scrapbooks Plus Design Team have created so many outstanding layouts, cards, mini books and even a covered bench with all the yummy summer-themed Scenic Route Grafton papers this past month. We hope you've enjoyed them and been inspired by their variety, maybe learned a few new techniques, and we don't even mind if you scraplift your favorite ideas. We would love to hear from you when you do. Let us know what inspired you and link us to your blog so we can see your work, too!

Today, June 15th, we'll be making our monthly change-up of the Design Team Display Board in the classroom at Scrapbooks Plus.  Each month we have a new Designer of the Month, who selects the papers and embellishments for our kits according to her tastes.  This keeps us all on our toes, since we never know what to expect next.  Starting tomorrow, you'll see a whole new array of layouts, cards, and projects on display as the Design Team show off their creations using Leah Kmetz's July kit. Leah will also have a special Design Team Project kit for sale, featuring a project you can make from all the papers, embellishments and instructions in the kit.  Come in to the store and see the completely new and different sample display!

But WAIT!  There's MORE!  The generous ladies of the Design Team have been offering monthly RAKs and featuring their giveaways on the Design Team blog.  A RAK is a "Random Act of Kindness," which means that YOU could be the lucky winner IF you leave a comment on the Design Team blog.  This month's RAK is the fun and wacky Sand Pail Album created by Sharon Mozer.  You can see the album displayed in the store or here and here on the DT blog.  All you have to do is leave your comment on the RAK blog post by the 15th of each month to be entered in the monthly drawing.  Sharon will be drawing the winner's name tomorrow morning, so you still have time to enter today.





Would you like a tiny sneak peek of the July kit's colors?  Are you thinking delish ice cream flavors and cool summer sherbets? Come in and see!





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June Card

Don't throw that packaging away just yet! You can easily reuse parts of it in your projects. Here's a card I made with the June kit and a few scraps. After cutting my cardstock, I used a square of the Scenic Route paper as my background. The chipboard square in the center -- it's actually part of the packaging around the chipboard tags! To make my sentiment stand out, the stickers are on a scrap piece of transparency that's adhered to the back of the chipboard. I used a little bit of yellow paint on the back of the transparency so it really stands out.

Only six days until the June RAK Drawing!

In less than a week, I will be drawing for the winner of the Sand Pail album. Currently in my "hat" there are only five eligible names. It's still not too late to enter. Just leave your comment under this post and way to contact you. I look forward to hearing from you!

Awesome news!

The Design Team page is up at the main site! Get to know the members and check out their galleries. We'll rotate the images every two months, giving you plenty of time to check out your favorite pages and projects. Enjoy!

Beach fun

Hi all,

This month's paper had that wonderful beachy feel, and when I found the Bo Bunny Beach word book, well, I knew exactly what I'd be doing for my project. Last year, my husband and I went beach camping with my BFF, her husband and her two awesome boys. You couldn't ask for better content for a summer mini!



I started by covering each letter with Liquitex Matte Medium, adding my paper and then rolling my brayer over it to get out extra air. I set each letter under a heavy object to dry for a bit. (The heavy object helps keep the chipboard letter from bowing.) Using a gel medium rather than a tape runner ensures that my paper won't be going anywhere soon (or later for that matter). Once dry, I cut out the letters using an X-acto knife, using the chipboard as my guide. I sanded the edges using Basic Grey's sanding tools and then inked each page with a complementary color using a sponge dauber. (Those things always remind me of the game Trouble because I'd stick the game pieces on my fingers.)

Now my pages were ready for photos and embellishments. Once I decided how to organize my album (I went with a handy-dandy list format), I selected my photos. Here, I was going with what you need for good beach camping. Naturally, you need a good site. Well, the "B" wasn't all that wide, certainly not wide enough for a 6x4 photo that showed our site. Rather than making my photo itty-bitty, I cut down a 6x4 to fit across the "B" and "E." That solved my problem.



Another way to get in photos is to paste two photos back to back and use that as a page. I love doing this because the different size adds that something special to the project, and because it's super easy. :) Another way is to create li'l folders on one a page. Open each folder to reveal more of the story and more photos.



Using some of my scraps, I made folder tags and created hinges using my tabs punch. (I recommend using the longer tab punch rather than the circle one. If you use the circle one, be sure to reinforce it. Otherwise, it'll tear off, leaving you tabless and full of woe. Yes, I was full of woe until I fixed it.)



Another favorite "trick" is to create a ribbon accordion album and add that to your page. It folds up nicely, revealing one photo, but untuck it from the paperclip to reveal a sequence of photos.





The back side includes more photos and some journaling. And you can make these as long and complicated as you like. All it takes is matting your 6x4 photos onto card stock and adding a long strip of ribbon to back side of the card stock pieces. Leave a little bit of ribbon on one of the ends as a pull. Then fold them accordion-style. Viola! You're done. This is another great way to get in those panorama-style photos we all love to take.

Before I knew it, I had reached my last letter, which was No. 7 on my list. This page was large enough that I could add a bunch of photos directly to the page. Overall, I was happy with the amount of photos I was able to get into the album. Everything was there that I wanted to be there, down to the big slab of butter that was thrown into the pot for some homemade apple pie. The rings on this album also make it easy to go back and add more photos or other items if I so desire.

Hmmm, maybe another piece of Hambly ...

June Project Kit

There are just a few of the June project kits left, so I wanted to post some more sneaks for you to see all the goodies inside. The kits are only available at ScrapbooksPlus while supplies last, so make sure to get yours before they sell out forever!

What's Inside the Bag?


The bag includes a full-color instruction book that will guide you step by step in creating this bright and fun summer mini album featuring papers, chipboard accents and journaling spots from Scenic Route's Grafton Line.

The base of the mini book is a 6" x 8" album from the fabulous Cosmo Cricket Blackboard collection.

These gorgeous papers from Scenic Route are alive with fabulous bright colors to complement all your magical summer memories!


The mini book also includes plenty of space for both photos AND journaling, and features lined and grid paper so you can capture your thoughts in your own handwriting and make this book truly personal.

Luscious American Crafts Thickers are included for you to use as page titles and accents.


I had so much fun making these mini album project kits for you! The bags are loaded with all my favorite goodies, and the instructions make this a fun and enjoyable way to spend an afternoon! I hope you get a chance to pick up a kit from ScrapbooksPlus before they are gone & enjoy putting yours together as much as I enjoyed designing it for you.