Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog

Designer's Challenge: Lisa Kisch

We hope that everyone had a fabulous weekend! This week, we would like to welcome our newest Design Team member, Lisa Kisch, to the blog as our guest designer of the week. Here she is with her challenge:

In my neck of the woods we are going through a garbage strike, and so I am extra careful about what I throw away. Reusing packaging in craft projects is a great habit to get into - strike or not! I bought brie at my grocery store, and it came in a small balsa wood box. I knew there was something I could do to reuse this tiny wooden container. I decided to alter it to hold my daughter’s punched shapes for her art projects. It’s the perfect size for little hands, and it holds plenty of punches.

My challenge to you is to alter something that otherwise would have ended up in the trash bin. Not only will it be a creative challenge, you can also feel good about doing a little something for the planet.

 

“Shapes”
by Lisa Kisch, Toronto, ON

Here are a few close ups;

supplies: patterned paper, American Crafts, Creative Memories; stickers, American Crafts; ribbon, American Crafts; pen, Creative Memories

Freebie Friday - Stamping Bella

Good morning blog readers and welcome to another fabulous freebie Friday!  As many of you know we absolutely adore Emily, the creator of the beautiful "Bellas" and entrepreneur extraordinaire.  The Stamping Bella collections have been a long time favourite of ours and today Emily had graciously provided us with an amazing giveaway which includes the beautiful Ecobella stamp, an Ecobella water bottle and a limited edition (love that!) QuicKutz Bella die.  Didn't I say this was an amazing giveaway!  For a chance to win, please post a comment below.  You have until Thursday, July 16th at 6 pm EST to leave a comment. Good luck!
 
And, for the lucky winner as well as anyone else looking for some inspiration, check out the Stamping Bella blog at www.stampingbella.com/blog.   You will find a nice giveaway there as well...like a subscription to Scrapbook & Cards Today!
 
Have a great weekend!

 

And now on to our last Friday's winner of the American Crafts "Backyard" goodies!

After combining last week's comments, all 274 of them in the correct order, we plugged them into the random number generator and the lucky comment belongs to comment....

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

113

Timestamp: 2009-07-10 02:56:36 UTC

And the 113th comment on the Freebie Friday posts belongs to Sue C and she says:

What a wonderful collection! The colors are really bright and summery. Thank you for the chance at winning.

Happy Canada Day and 4th of July to all!

Posted by: Sue C | July 03, 2009 at 02:48 PM

Congrats Sue C!  Allison will be contacting you in the next 24-48 hours.  Thanks for playing everyone and good luck on the draw for the Bella goodies this week!

Reader's Submission: Ann Costen

Today's fabulously feminine layout was submitted to us by Ann Costen of Kitchener, ON. We have long been fans of Ann's simple style! We loved the way the title plays up the theme of the photos perfectly, the mix of colour and black and white photography, and the super sweet butterfly and flower embellishments.

full of personality
by Ann Costen, Kitchener, ON

supplies: all supplies, Pink Paislee;  stamp, JustCre8;  gems, Me & My Big Ideas

And, speaking of feminine, make sure bellas (hint, hint) that you join us tomorrow for another great giveaway...yes, you won't want to miss it!

Just a reminder, don't forget to comment on this post for your chance to win the American Crafts goodies we're giving away for Freebie Friday!  You have until 6pm EST tonight!  Good luck!

Design Team Project: Linda Harrison

Today, Linda Harrison is back to share a fun (not to mention super organized) idea with us. Here she is:

When at the craft store, I always keep my eye out for items in sections other than the scrapbooking section that I can use with my patterned papers and embellishments. Usually I will find something that I can use my stash decorating like a frame or a plaque. Recently, I found some cute wood shapes that are actually small enough to use ON a layout or a card instead of being something just to alter on its own. For this example, I decorated the crown shape using patterned paper, ribbon, felt flowers, and rhinestones. I haven’t decided on its eventual use yet, but I can see it decorating the front of a frame or as an embellishment on my next card. Whatever its use ends up being, it’s great to know I have a cute, handmade embellishment ready and waiting for just the right project.

 
 

decorated wood crown embellishment

by Linda Harrison

supplies: wood shape, Plaid;  patterned paper, ribbon, flower, and leaves, Jillibean Soup;  rhinestones, Me and My Big Ideas; adhesive, SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L

3t's with Virginia Nebel

It is that time again already! Yeah! Time for Virginia to share another one of her brilliant tutorials with us. Here she is:

I had used a ton of price labels recently for a garage sale. Here are a few fun ways to re-purpose the leftovers from the negatives of the price stickers. The negative grid already has adhesive on the back making it really easy to re-use.

1.Use an ink-blending tool and rub ink over the entire negative grid sticker. Trim and adhere to your card for a subtle lattice background.

 

supplies: patterned paper, Jillibean Soup;  stamp, Hero Arts;  ink, Tsukineko;  chipboard, Maya Road;  die-cut bird, QuicKutz;  sequins, Kaiser Kraft;  label, Staples

2. Adhere the negative grid sticker directly to your paper. Run the patterned paper through a heart die-cut machine or use a punch. The grid adds an extra dimension to your punched out shapes.

 

supplies: patterned paper, Jillibean Soup;  beaded butterfly, Maya Road;  die-cut heart and letters, QuicKutz;  threading water punch, Fiskars;  labels, Staples

 

3.  Apply embossing ink over the entire negative grid.

3a. Sprinkle green embossing powder and heat.

3b. Gently peel off the negative grid from its wax backing. You will notice patches of embossed clumps in the corner of the grid pattern. You can leave these in (which I did) or use tweezers to brush away the clumps.

3c. Adhere to a transparency. Trim and use this as a window in a card. In my example, I repeated the steps with grey embossing powder and used adhesive foam dots between the layers of the transparency for a layered effect.

 

supplies: patterned paper. Jillibean Soup;  stamp, Hero Arts;  ink, Tsukineko;  scallop die-cut, Accucut;  label and transparency, Staples

Wow! Another great tutorial Virginia! What a creative and resourceful tip! Thanks for sharing.

For more of Virginia’s work, check out her blog at http://scrapalicious-creative.blogspot.com/

Designer's Challenge: Linda Harrison

Good Monday morning, everyone! We hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend. It was beautiful and sunny here—couldn’t have been nicer really. This week, designer Linda Harrison is here to share a fun challenge with us. Here she is:

Like a lot of people, I am often drawn to the huge variety of inspiring stationary and wrapping supplies that are on the market today. There have been many times that a sheet of wrapping paper or a pretty gift bag has been the source of inspiration for a layout or card. This time I have made my inspiration piece an actual part of my project! The “Thank You” part of this card was actually a postcard that I came across at my local bookstore. I loved the colourful typography of the sentiment and was immediately inspired. My challenge to you is to incorporate a store-bought postcard or card as part of your next layout or card. It’s fun, easy, and provides an unexpected element to mix in with your usual scrapbooking supplies.

thank you
by Linda Harrison

supplies: cardstock, Bazzill; patterned paper, ric rac, flowers, and leaves, Jillibean Soup; postcard, unknown;  rhinestone, doodlebug designs; brad, SEI; corner rounder, Fiskars; adhesive, SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L

Sketchy Saturday!

Happy 4th of July to all our American readers today!

Here is Allison Cope's inspirational sketch and layout of the month - We love the fact that she has incorporated so many photos of one event on her page.  Making a grid filled with mini photos is a great way to tell your story all on one page.  Love it!

Happy Canada Day
by Allison Cope

supplies:  patterned paper, Jillibean Soup, Jenni Bowlin Studio;  chipboard pieces, Chatterbox;   stamps, myStamp BOX;  alphabet stickers, Doodlebug;  ink, Stampin' Up!, Copic;  pen, Sharpie.

Fabulous Freebie Friday - American Crafts

Please see the post below.  All comments included on this post will be added to the comments below for the prize draw next week.

Sorry for the initial double post!

~ Allison ~

Fabulous Freebie Friday - American Crafts

Our generous friends at American Crafts are the sponsors of this week's FABULOUS giveaway! One lucky winner will be the recipient of a fabulous prize package featuring a selection of products from the beautiful, whimsical, and delightful backyard collection. For a chance to win, post a comment right here.

 

Stay tuned for our winner of last week's Shabby Green Door prize!  Also, don't miss visiting our blog tomorrow for Ally's So Sketchy Saturday!

EDITED:   Sorry gang!  Here's our winner of the Shabby Green Door prize giveaway for last week....

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

153

Timestamp: 2009-07-03 14:44:54 UTC

And lucky comment #153 belongs to Denise Bryant and she says...

Love the color theory article, and that I can download the issue and enjoy it! Shabby Green Door looks terrific too!
DeniseB

Posted by: Denise Bryant | June 28, 2009 at 12:35 AM

Congrats Denise Bryant!  Allison will be contacting you for your mailing details!

Good luck this week everyone!

 

Reader's Submission: Kim Moreno

This beautiful, balanced, double-page layout comes to us from Kim Moreno of Eastland, TX. We loved the striking photos of Kim's two sons, as well as the way she played up the water and wave theme with her use of chipboard, buttons, and hand-cut details. Linear lines from the grid and striped papers balance out both the wavy elements and the circle patterned paper.

leading the way
by Kim Moreno, Eastland, TX

supplies: cardstock, Core'dinations;  patterned paper, Dream Street Papers;  stickers and rub-ons, American Crafts;  buttons, Bazzill, Autumn Leaves;  chipboard, Fancy Pants;  beads and vellum, Craft Supply

And, in case you haven't yet posted a comment for a chance to win our fabulous SHABBY GREEN DOOR giveaway, you may post a comment right here. You have until 6 pm EST today to do so. And, for everyone who has taken the time to post a comment (telling us what you love best about our summer issue, we thank you! Your comments make our day!