Ten Top Tips Thursday

Another 10 tips to help you with creating your scrapbooking layouts and paper craft projects.

1. Create a title by swiping acrylic paint across letter stickers. Carefully remove the letter stickers to reveal the title.
2. Use mini file folders to hide journalling on your layout.
3. Print your photos on textured cardstock to create produce an artistic and creative result.
4. add intrigue to a layout by enclosing messages to min-envelopes on your layout.
5. Add depth to a photo by printing your journalling on vellum then layering it over your photos.
6. When cutting out a stencil font with a craft knife you can also use the frame over patterned paper.
7. A great way to fit many photos onto a layout is to overlap each photo slightly.
8. Print lines of journalling on different pieces of cardstock and affix them to your layout.
9. Scrunch, sand and ink alphabet stickers before adding them to your layouts for an aged look.
10. For a really unique look enlarge a photo and colour copy it onto a piece of clear cardstock.

GCD Studio Little Red Dress Scrapbooking Layout

The following instructions will help you create this very cute layout "Little Red Dress" using products from GCD Studio, all products used are from their Whoop De Doo Collection.
Materials:
2 sheets 12x12 cardstock from Whoop De Doo Collection
2 sheets patterned paper from Whoop De Doo Collection
Whoop De Doo ribbon
Whoop De Doo epoxy
Whoop De Doo chipboard
Blue glitter letter stickers

Instructions:
Use one piece of cardstock as your background. Trim the second piece of cardstock to 10x10 inches and adhere it in the center of the other piece of cardstock.

Trim one piece of patterned paper into a 1x9-inch strip. Adhere the strip to the page. Cut the second piece of patterned paper into one 6-inch circle and one 3.5-inch circle. Adhere both circles to the page. Trim a piece of ribbon to 7.75 inches and angle the ends. Adhere the ribbon to the page. Choose a large chipboard shape for an accent. Embellish with the epoxy and chipboard.

Scrapbooking Sale Still On

This is just a quick post to let everyone know that the scrapbooking sale at Everlasting Scrapbooks as mentioned in this post is still on. All scrapbooking supplies are on sale at 20-50% OFF. I am going to keep this sale going for 2 more weeks, the sale must end on the 6th August 2008, so get in quick to grab a bargain.

Melanie

A Gift Made of Scraps

Perhaps the most rewarding type of scrapbook you can make is one that you intend to give as a gift. Scrapbooks make special gifts for almost every occasion, because there handmade touches show that you care about the person. When someone receives your scrapbook as a gift, he or she may be inspired to create a scrapbook as well, and in this way you can spread the scrapbooking bug to friends and family members.

There are many different types of scrapbooks you can make for the recipient. One of my favorite types of themes makes a good gift for a graduate or someone moving away-use pictures from throughout the years of the person growing up and end with a recent picture and some blank pages so the album an be continued. Pages made as a continuation make good future gifts as well. This is also a good idea for couples celebrating their wedding or anniversary. Instead of just having a traditional wedding album, include pictures of both people from before they met and then create pages of their life together.

Gathering pictures for these albums might call for you to be a bit sneaky. Talk to friends and family members. Remember, never scrapbook using a person's original photographs without asking first. Instead, make high-quality color copies at your local photocopy center. If you use the machine correctly, you shouldn't be able to tell the different between the originals and the copies. By careful to replace the photographs exactly as you found them, not only to prevent the recipient from finding out the surprise, but also as a common courtesy. Even some people who do not do scrapbooking have very precise systems for keeping their photographs in order.

If you don't have access to photographs or want to give a gift to someone who likes to do the scrapbooking on their own, try making a layout album for the person. This is an empty album of sorts-you do all the page designing and let the person crop and add their own photographs. They can use the album as given or remove the pages in groups or singularly to add to an album they are currently creating. Perhaps your best bet for an avid scrapbooker is not an album, however, but a box full of supplies or a gift certificate to a local craft supply store. You can still personalize this gift by choosing papers to coincide with specific events in a person's life-for example, buy beach-themed paper for someone who recently bought a beach house, or buy letter stamps that spell out specific names. With a little creativity, you can use your love of the craft to give a perfect gift to anyone.

Article by Tom Ambrozewicz, one of the pioneers in using breakthrough articles audio technology on his web sites. You can read or listen to all scrapbooking tips at http://www.ask-how.info/scrapbooking

Pop Up Letters For Fleurish Box

In my last post I gave you instructions to make a Fleurish Box. My fleurish box has "pop-up" letters in the centre - here are the instructions to make the pop-up letters.


All you need is chipboard letters, I used TLC Monograms Outerwear and mounted them onto TLC Monogram Chips. Now get some small scraps of chipboard (about 1 inch by 1/4 inch wide), for the letter "R" I have used one strip, and for the letter "K" I have used 2 strips.

Score and fold these strips of chipboard at a 1/4 inch in and adhere the 1/4inch fold to the bottom of your chipboard letter so the letters can stand up on their own. Adhere the the 3/4 section of your chipboard strip to the centre of your fleurish box.

Instructions to Make a Fleurish Box

Fleurish boxes (or explosion boxes) are a unique way to display a variety of photos, they can be made for gifts or as a cool coffee table display. They look like they would be hard to make, but really they are quite easy. Here's some instructions to make your own.

Materials:
4 pieces of cardstock (or patterned paper)
Double-sided tape (or glue)

Instructions:
1. Choose 4 pieces of 12x12 Cardstock (you can also use patterned paper). If you want the lid to match the outside of your box, 2 of the pieces need to match.

2. (To Make Lid) Choose the cardstock you will use for your lid. Create your lid following this pattern this pattern.

1. Measure and trace according to pattern dimensions. 2. Score on dottod lines. Cut on solid lines. 3. Fold the centermost scored lines up towards you. 4. Tuck the extra flaps to the adjacent lid edges and secure with glue or double-sided tape. 5. Fold the remaining 3/4 inch down and secure.

3. (Making the box) Choose the cardstock for the outside of box. Do not cut, but score the paper every 4 inches (10.2cm) until 9 quadrants are formed. Turn to the side and score every 4 inches again. You will have 9 - 4 inch sections scored on your paper. Cut the four corners off so that the paper looks like a cross. (see diagram below)

4. Repeat process of step 3 with the two remaining cardstock sheets but in descending sizes - 3 3/4 inch squares (9.5cm) - 3 1/2 inch squares (8.9cm).

5. Layer your papers largest on the bottom to smallest on top. Glue the pieces together at the center square (see image in step 3).

6. Fold all pieces upward toward you to form the box.

7. Embellish each page with photos and other embellishments. Also decorate the outside of box and lid as you wish. The flower I made for the lid was made using the instructions from Aussie Scrap Source - Little Box of Love off the page kit.

To make the "pop-up" letters in the middle see my next post here.

Ten Top Tips Thursday

Here's another dose of tips to keep you going for the week.

1. Use a line from a song to as the title of your layout.
2. Make a pocket using the same paper as the background, then stitch around it in a contrasting colour.
3. Cut patterned paper into strips, place it randomly on the page and sew the edges for definition.
4. Cut flowers from patterned paper and stain and crinkle them, then ink the edges when dry.
5. Swipe acrylic paint against the grain of the cardstock to create a rippled effect.
6. Sketch out your layout first, to make it quicker to put together.
7. Take a photo of the environment your subject is based in, to enlarge and use as printed paper or embellishments.
8. Write journalling in a semi-circle rather than the traditional box.
9. Scrapbooking your child's artwork is a great way to display and preserve it.
10. Mount letter stickers to patterned papers and trim leaving a border to create titles.

New Scrapbooking Products Online

I have just added lots of new products to my online website Everlasting Scrapbooks. The new products that have been added are from Manufacturers SEI, Heidi Swapp, We R Memory Keepers and Cosmo Cricket.

ALL Scrapbooking Products are still 20-50% Off, and that includes all new products.

Some New Products from SEI

Some New Products from Heidi Swapp

Some New Products from We R Memory Keepers

Some New Products from Cosmo Cricket

Decorating Wooden Doorhangers

Materials:
Wooden doorhanger
Patterned Paper (I have used GCD Studios Rose Colored Glasses - Droopy Vines)
2 different coloured ribbon
Wire stem flowers
Letter stickers (I have used GCD Studios Letter Stickers - White Glitter)
Mod Podge
Sandpaper
Varnish (optional)

Instructions:
1. Paint your wooden doorhanger in your chosen colour, the front will be covered with paper so you only need 1 coat, do 2 coats of paint for the sides and back of doorhanger. Leave to dry.

2. Mark the outline of your doorhanger onto your patterned paper, then cut out your doorhanger shape. It doesn’t have to be really neat as we will sandpaper the paper later.

3. Using your Mod Podge adhere your cutout doorhanger shape to the front of wood doorhanger.

4. Once mod podge is completely dry, sand the edges to get rid off the overhanging paper, this is really easy to do and gives your end result a professional finish.

5. Varish or use your mod podge to seal the doorhanger. Wait to dry.

6. Once dry it is time to embellish your doorhanger. Get two lengths of different coloured ribbon and wrap it around the top of the hanger and tie a knot, twist two wire stem flowers around the ribbon at the knot. Do the same at the bottom of the doorhanger, if you tie the knots tight enough you shouldn't need to glue ribbon down, if the ribbon is a bit lose just add a little glue to the ribbon at the back of the hanger.

7. Use alphabet stickers to add your child's name to the center of the doorhanger.

Finished! You can decorate your doorhangers using a variety of different embellishments, here's a couple of examples using stickers, chipboard, ribbon and a photo.

Give Your Album Some Flow - Scrapbook Themes

Scrapbooking starts when someone has a lot of pictures that he or she wants to organize in an eye-pleasing way. To do this, you can start creating pages on a whim and produce a random collection of photographs mounted on paper, or you can take the more effective approach and plan out a theme to your album. There are many album themes to consider when choosing the option that will best fit your needs.

The most often used theme for your album really isn't much of a theme at all-chronological order. Most beginning scrapbookers use this method of organization because it is convenient to use if you are trying to get all of your photographs out of boxes and into acid free albums. Chronological scrapbooks also make it easy to keep up with the album as you get new pictures developed. However, this is not the only type of album that can be created, and you should weigh all options before starting to scrapbook.

Consider creating a birthday or holiday album, which work especially well for scrapbookers with children. Rather than including pages with all your pictures throughout the year, choose one holiday and start an album with one layout for each year. The result will be a book that shows the progression of a child from year to year, and these make excellent graduation gifts or can become keepsakes as your children move out of the house. These are on-going projects, so you will need to devote many years to an album before it is complete.

Another theme that makes a beautiful album is people. This works nicely with the random pictures you may have that were not used in your chronological album. To make this kind of album, create one layout for each person, and show them throughout the years. Alternatively, if you take many pictures, you can create a single album all for one person. An album themed by people makes a good gift for someone with many grandchildren or for someone moving away from a group of friends.

However you chose to theme your album, think of its function before you start. Who will be looking at the album? Are you giving this album as a gift? What kind of pictures do you have available? Scrapbooking according to theme creates well-organized albums, and by choosing a theme before you start creating pages you can make an album that works well in your collection or as a gift.

Article By: Tom Ambrozewicz is one of the pioneers in using breakthrough audio technology on his web sites. You can read, listen to professional narrator reading to you or having MP3 file ready to download if you hate printed files. Check spectrum of scrapbooking tips on http://www.ask-how.info/scrapbooking

Massive Sale 20% - 50% OFF All Scrapbooking Products

Everyone loves a bargain, so for a short time only I am having a massive sale on all scrapbooking supplies in my online website Everlasting Scrapbooks. All products have been heavily discounted with at least a 20% discount, with many products at 50% Off.

All Rub-ons now 20% OFF


Scrapbooking Kits and Off The Page Kits up to 50% OFF


Embellishments up to 30% OFF

These bargains and heaps more are now available online at Everlasting Scrapbooks, but remember this sale will only be on for a short time!

Melanie

Kids Chore Charts

Do your kids need some encouragement to do their chores or their everyday tasks? Then these Co-Ed Chore Chart Kits are the perfect solution to help your children get the job done.

I use one of these charts for my 5 year old son, just getting him to dress himself or brush his teeth is always a drama so I made his chore chart to get him to do these simple tasks with no drama - and its worked, I just have to remind him about the chore chart and he gets up straight away to go brush his teeth, eat his breakfast etc. Of course at the end of the week he gets a "reward" for his good work.

Each kit includes (2) 12x12 die-cut sheets, one blank chore chart outline, letter patterns, Poppin pieces, cardstock, embellishments and step-by-step instructions to complete your customized chore chart. Finished size is 10 3/8 x 12. Currently these chore charts are on special for $16.95.

Melanie

Pretty Boxes to Decorate

Simple and sweet, decorate paper-mache or wooden mini boxes with patterned paper and embellishments to create a cute little box to store mementos and bits and pieces, or you could even make a "mini-album" to place inside the box.

Materials:
Mini Box (I used a paper-mache box from Spotlight)
Paint
Patterned Paper (I used GCD Studios Zen Garden 12x12 Designer Paper - Cherry Blossom)
Ribbon (I used GCD Studios Zen Garden Self Adhesive Ribbon)
Flower Embellishments (I used Carolees Creations Foam Stickers - Together Flowers)
Flower Rub-ons (I used Flowers, Hearts, Sayings Rub-ons)
Mod Podge
Varnish

Instructions:
Paint the box and the lid, one coat on outside, outside will mainly be covered with paper, 2 coats on inside of box and lid.

Trace the lid of box onto your paper and cut out the circle, using mod podge adhere to top lid. Measure how high the side of your box is, then cut a strip to wrap around the base, my box was 14” in diameter so I cut a 12” strip plus another 2” strip to cover the gap made in the back. Adhere to base of box using mod podge.

Once mod podge is completely dry, gently sandpaper any excessive paper off the box. Use GCD Studios self adhesive ribbon on the outside of lid. Add flower rub-ons randomly to lid of box and then place Carolee's Creations Fowers on top of the rub-ons, use the title "Together" or you can create your own.

Gently spray a light mist of varnish to the lid and base of box (including the inside of box). Wait until it is completely dry before putting your lid on!

Ten Top Tips Thursday

The Top Ten Tips this week was sent in by Joanne Summers of Rockhampton QLD.

1. Use vertical and horizontal lines to draw attention to the main photo on your layout.
2. Moisten and curl back torn edges of double sided patterned paper to reveal the design underneath.
3. Apply metallic rub-ons to rolled cardstock borders and photo mates to add interest.
4. Attach a photo to your page with hinges to open up and reveal your journalling.
5. Use letter stickers as a template to create your own lettering out of patterned paper.
6. When scrapbooking with black and white photos, use bold paper colours to really make your photos stand out.
7. When creating a distressed look on layouts, don't just sandpaper paper, you can sandpaper, photos, stickers, chipboard and other embellishments to create the distressed look.
8. Stitch around alphabet stickers to give them definition.
9. When using papers with bold patterns and colour's, use plain papers to balance the page.
10. For double page layouts, spread the title across both pages to unify them.

$15 Gift Voucher Giveaway

Hi everyone, I just wanted to write this quick post to remind you all about the Free $15 Gift Voucher, as mentioned in this post. Just join up to the mailing list at my scrapbooking supplies store Everlasting Scrapbooks and I will send you a $15 gift voucher!

There is only 1 more week left for this giveaway, it will end on the 8th July 2008, so go to my website www.everlastingscrapbooks.com and sign up to the mailing list using the form at the top right corner of the website to receive your free $15 voucher to spend online at Everlasting Scrapbooks.

For more information please go to the Competitions and Giveaways page on my website.

Melanie

Embellishing Your Candles

Candles - everyones loves candles and they make a beautiful idea for gift giving, so why not make your gift giving that bit more personal by adding scrapbooking embellishments to plain candles.

In my candle example I have used flowers and ribbons, but you can use a variety of embellishments to decorate candles like rub-ons, charms, chipboard shapes or stickers. And you can also experiment with different candle sizes.


Materials:
Candle (any kind, I have used a scented candle).
2 lengths of coordinating self-adhesive ribbon (length depends on the size of your candle for the ribbon to wrap around). I have used GCD Studio Zen Garden Ribbon.
2 Flowers (the flowers I used had wire stems on them)

Instructions:
1. Get one piece of ribbon and measure how much ribbon you need by wrapping it around your candle. Once you have your desired length find the centre and twist 1 wire flower around the ribbon, now twist the second wire flower around the ribbon near the first flower, arrange flowers so they "sit" nicely.
2. Take the self-adhesive backing of the ribbon with flowers and wrap the ribbon around the centre of your candle, then wrap the second piece of ribbon around the candle directly under the first ribbon.

As simple as that!

Here is another candle I embellished using ribbons and stickers.