Paradise by Esther

Aloha. The Bo Bunny papers are so colorful and exciting with the stars and red patterns that they were meant for the page map. Some of the motifs reminded me of the hibiscus and Hawaii. For this layout, I chose a solid blue Bazzill as the base with three & 3/4" x 12" of Avocado green from the BoBunny green dots page adhered 1/2" above the bottom. The gray textured paper was added to the right using 3" x 10" under the title. I overlapped a portion of the other side of Picnic at the bottom with a concave circle line. That way the colorful flowers and stars were shown.

The pictures were mounted to show the red stripe and the flowers on the Picnic pattern and corners rounded with the Chomper Corner Rounder. Block Party Picnic was used to obtain the flower that was adhered to chipboard with a white center and copper Stickles. Also two orchids by Prima were attached with the acrylic worded base allowing the colors to show.

Stickers: Mrs. Grossman's (Hawaiian shirt, thongs & lei) and the Block Party letters & Honolulu by Stamping Station. A red and white circle of a star design was added from the sticker sheet. A transparency was printed and cut for the journaling. It is anchored under the other elements at top and the thongs at bottom. This was a fun page that highlighted a fun memory of Honolulu. Aloha until my next entry.

Finding Inspiration by Esther

When I received the November kit with the S.E.I. Moravia scalloped shaped blue print cardstock, I was hesitant to cut it. It was so pretty. But the cardstock was too busy to do anything with my photos. I looked at the sheet for several days, with no ideas coming forth. Then one evening, I noticed a package of napkins bought a year ago. They also had a scalloped edge. Because the napkins were folded in fourths, I got the inspiration to cut the paper into fourths and make a mini-album.

The paper was halved and the half cut in half to get two triangles that became the front and back covers. The shape was traced onto chipboard and cut with the scallop. There are two inside pages along with the front and back covers.

Each of the four chipboard pieces needed to be covered with the cardstock papers. When gluing the paper to cardstock, use a quick-drying glue like Scotch Quick-dry Adhesive and spread it sparingly near the edges. Use a brayer to smooth it outward from the center of the chipboard. Let each side dry thoroughly first.

Biege allowed for a neutral warm coordinate. The sueded paper gave a soft cool blue side.

Some edges were decorated with rubber stamp ink pad and the embossed with the copper color. The Chomper was used to make a large curve at each point. This is the location of the hole made with the Crop-A-Dile that will attach them together with a ring.

It took a few days to figure out how to use the lovely patterned paper. You can also find inspiration in things around the house for your pages. See the results on The Wall at ScrapbooksPlus.

My Fall Journal by Esther

When you have scraps left from creating pages, try making a journal. I used a 6”x11” piece of chipboard for the back. It was covered with the patterns from the Jillibean Soup Staples Collection in the DT October kit. The corners of the back piece were shaped with the Chomper after the glue dried. Each of the other cardstock pages was cut 6” in width with the patterns staggered in length. The green plaid pattern was 9”; orange plaid was about 7”; and the others shorter.


The cover is a transparent sheet that was rubber stamped with Stazon in leaf designs. Leaf shapes were punched and glued to the layers. Two holes (made with the Crop-a-dile) in the top are used to thread a 12” length of ribbon to hold the journal together. This gave me the chance to use the memo sheets to record my memories about reading books and sharing with family and friends. The “Autumn Memories” is a Karen Foster sticker. Now, if I can only find the time to journal the season’s activities, I will have a keepsake. This could be an idea for a journal for each season, too.

I could not get the photos into this blog; please view the Scrapbooks Plus Design Team Wall on the website for the pictures of the journal. WWW.Scrapbooks-plus.com

Memphis Quick Stop by Esther

The My Mind's Eye Ooh La La papers seemed right for this layout with colors of decades from the past—gold and green. I started with a solid green color cardstock and built layers that accommodated the four photos that I had on the subject. In order to lend some pizzazz to the layout, I cut a circle using the outline drawn with a skillet lid. A third of the biege circle was used on the left side in order to balance the lightness of the map on the right side. Journaling with transparent materials is best done by planning the page first, then printing a whole sheet of journaling to fit the spaces. I print a black & white copy on paper to test the size first. After cutting the size to fit, I do the final printing in color on the transparency.

I used Microsoft Publisher (or Word) with Britannic Bold in 18 point being shaped to align with the arc. It was printed on a transparency sheet. When placed over the beige cardstock arc, the green print is clearly readable. The title was also printed on the transparency in size 44 in Bodoni MT. Scrapbooks Plus sells a transparent sheet by Graffix. I would have used that if it had not been midnight when this was being printed. Those sheets are smooth on both sides. The transparencies are to be printed on the textured side. Adhering clear papers and transparencies present a challenge. After planning layers, the clear printing is adhered under other elements or holes were punched with the Crop-A-Dile & Big Bite (center of page) to insert green brads. Some edges are beneath the photos , like the title. In order to place the brads on the gold cardstock mats for the photo captions, I measured & marked placement on the back of the gold cardstock. That way the clear journaling piece is attached to the gold cardstock with brads. Double stick tape was used beneath the brads to adhere to the sheet.

The additional museum information was found on their website. The map was printed on photo paper. This was a fun way to present a memory of a place I plan to see in its entirety in the future. We only made a quick stop to see the building before it was opened that day.

Chomp, Chomp! by Esther

The summer theme and bling appealed to me for this month. But also, I was excited to get my hands on the Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper. It was shown in magazines several months ago. I had to have one. When Scrapbooks got them in, I was there. What a great tool to add to your collection.

I "chomped" corners to my heart's content over into the night. It has a quarter inch & a half inch corners. The bits of paper from the corners are caught in the device. These are easily emptied when you are ready. This tool makes it easy to see that your corner is in place before cutting both lightweight and heavier weight corners. I tried it on cardstock , then chipboard. Next was the acrylic pieces. It is great!

The mini album shown is a product of my excessive use of the Chomper. This mini album is a way to show some of the summer photos, I look forward to taking soon.

You can cut the chipboard pieces to sizes desired at the store. Look under the DT Wall for the cutter. The summer & play themed papers are Flair & Best Creation. Glitter cardstock was easily cornered with the chomper. The paper & cardstock can be adhered to the chipboard and after it is dry, both are cornered for a smooth cut.
Get your hands on this tool & chomp, chomp!