Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog

Last day for our birthday celebration...and it's good!

Thank you for stopping by on this great Saturday morning!  All week we have been celebrating our 6th birthday so thank you for joining us to celebrate.  SCT parties are always fun aren't they?  Of course we knew that day 6, our final day, would have to be special!  And special it is.

One of the great things about Scrapbook & Cards Today is our ability to share it not only with people in North America in a print version, but also the ability to share it with others around the world with our digital version which is free to view and free to download (spring issue is here!).  On any smart device, any time, any where.  So, we thought what a perfect birthday present from us to one lucky reader...

 

A beautiful, white, shiny iPod Touch!   And that way you can always be in touch with us on our website, here on the blog, on facebook, twitter, pinterest and YouTube!  But wait, that's not all!  Speaking of YouTube, we have another surprise for you...

 

 

Surprise!  A great new video in the "Create Today" series with Nancy Damiano!  Nancy shows you some tips and tricks as she puts together a fabulous layout with the Bazzill Dino-mite line!  See how a hand cut edge has new meaning in her layout.

And because it's day 6 and our final day to celebrate our 6th birthday and because Bazzill is a pretty amazing company, when you watch the video and come back here and tell us what you loved in a comment below, we'll choose a winner to receive the Dino-Mite collection...

 

Just leave us a comment or two below, one for the iPod Touch and one when you watch the video!  Comments should be left by 6:00 p.m. EST on April 5th, 2012.  Winners will be announced on April 6th.

So there you have it friends!  Fabulous prizes, a video and our deepest appreciation that you come each day to share your love of papercrafting with us.  Our deepest appreciation that you leave us some amazing comments, and our deepest appreciation for being the best readers out there...in 122 countries!!!  And if you would like to join us on facebook or thank our week's sponsors, please do!  They love seeing "SCT sent me" on their facebook walls! 

Doodlebug

Bazzill

BasicGrey

PageMaps

Jillibean Soup

 

From us to you, thank you and here's to lucky year 7!!!  Come on by tomorrow for Kelly Goree's April "Old, New, Borrowed, Cool" challenge! 

~  Catherine

Tag...your it! Join the SCT team for its first layout tag!

Have you had some fun this week with our birthday celebration?  Well, we have had so much fun this week celebrating with YOU!  If you just happen to be joining us now, be sure to check back to each post this week as we have had all sorts of inspiration and prizes along the way!

Today we thought we would do something a little fun.  When discussing what we would do this week, Emily Pitts suggested a layout tag!  That Emily is so smart!  Emily choose a layout from our winter issue and then she pulled from it what inspired her to create a new layout...and then passed it on to Vicki Boutin...who passed it on to Kathy Thompson, etc.  Each one tagged the other and in the end we have 6 brand new layouts to share with you!  Although the first layout and the last layout look nothing like each other, you can certainly see a similar theme through them all...

 

Inspiration layout by Paula Gilarde from the SCT winter 2011 issue

 

And tag, you're it Emily! Here we go...

 

Layout by Emily Pitts

"The first thing I noticed about Paula's wonderful layout was her red cardstock foundation and the misted masked circles in white. I loved that it was a major element of her page, but so very subtle. I decided to employ the subtle circles as a major elements on my page as well, punching 2" circles of kraft to create a tone on tone effect. Paula used a column design to hold her photo, journaling and title. I took that same column idea, but tipped it over and made a strip of elements that sat on top of the tone on tone foundation. I traded out her layered punched circles for a banner, kept the two photos, replaced her journaling strips with my title, then added my journaling strips below the photos. It was really easy to use a layout as inspiration, I don't use this process enough I decided!" ~ Emily

 

Layout by Vicki Boutin

"I have never done a layout tag!  Can you believe it?!  So I was super excited to participate in this one for SCT's birthday celebration.  I love the repeated circle so I kept them and layered my new Love Notes background stamp on them.  Awesome design on this page!  I can't wait to see what comes next!  Tag, Kathy's it!!!"  ~ Vicki

 

Layout by Kathy Thompson

"I was inspired by the sheer fact that it came from Vicki!  Vicki's layouts are always fresh, whimsical and original!  I loved the clouds, spring is in the air, so I stayed with that, and of course I loved the best friend theme and the strip journaling." ~ Kathy

 

Layout by Summer Fullerton

"When I received Kathy’s layout I immediately saw my inspiration. I used her layout almost as if it was a sketch: photo flanking the left side and patterned papers with rounded corners on a cardstock base. I placed my title where Kathy placed her journaling and used a journaling block rather than journaling strips. I even created a circle heart embellishment just like Kathy did, I placed mine as an anchoring point for my journaling." ~ Summer

 

Layout by Davinie Fiero

 

"I was inspired by Summer's use of scraps and the circles in her patterned paper choice.  While I used a smaller photo, I kept it on the left, the title on the lower right, and also placed my journaling inspired by the original layout." ~ Davinie

 

Layout by Lynn Ghahary

"I haven't played layout tag in years so I was so excited to take part in this fun game to celebrate SCT's 6th birthday.  I loved Davinie's use of negative space on her die cut butterflies.  WIth more of a boyish theme, I took the idea of using the negative space and combined it with the circles that appeared on Davinie's layout as well.  I cut circles from my kraft cardstock base and backed them with different patterned papers.  It's a fun departure from laying patterned paper directly on top of my base cardstock.  These Bella Blvd alphabet stickers are among my favorite.  The font is so fun and as you can see they are perfect for spelling out longer titles.  A few additional stickers and brads and my layout is complete!"  ~ Lynn

As you can see, we've come full circle...ok pun intended :)  In this layout tag you can also see how designers are inspired by each other and of course by our readers too!  There is no doubt we are always inspired by you and of course, love to celebrate with you too!  Would you like to know what today's birthday prize is?  Take a peek...

How fresh and fun is this Doodlebug collection?  A perfect collection titled "hello spring"!  Love that!  Today's winner will receive a whole selection from this beautiful collection...and be very happy we're sure!  To win this prize, just leave a comment below letting us know what inspired YOU from today's layout tag by Thursday, April 5th at 6:00 p.m. EST.  Good luck!  (oh and if you continue the layout tag, just be sure to link us!)

Tomorrow is Day 6 and the final day of our 6th birthday celebration.  And it's very, very good.  And you'll want to be here.  Oh yes you will!  When we celebrate, we really celebrate! 

Thanks for joining us today.  Have a great one and we'll see you tomorrow!

~ Catherine

 

If you have not ordered CardMaps Today 2, they're going fast!

 

 

Come say hello to Amy Tan...and a little something extra!

Good morning SCT friends!  Welcome to Day Four of our 6th Birthday Celebration!  If you joined us Monday, we showed a selection of beautiful birthday cards from the SCT team, Tuesday was some fun birthday favours from Aly Dosdall and yesterday was a great sketch challenge from Becky Fleck!  Today we thought we would chat with one of our friends, Amy Tan, and of course offer another great prize!

Now our friend, Amy Tan, does not need much of an introduction.  As a designer by nature, a lover of travel and a great partnership with American Crafts, she is sweet, talented, very funny and adds some great colour to all that she does!  Imagine at CHA when I told her that we have a subscriber who is a huge fan, she immediately signed a "Sketchbook" for her with a lovely little note and asked us to send it to her.  That is Amy Tan.  We were thrilled to catch up with Amy...  

1.       Can you tell us how it all started?  How did Amy Tan become Amy Tangerine?

When I was working as a fashion stylist, I started a little production company and needed a name. At first I tried Tangerine Productions, but then as I did some research, the copyright seemed to be taken. When I started making shirts, Amy Tangerine just seemed like a fun name, especially since I didn't want people thinking the author started a tee shirt line.

2.       What part of your job do you love the most?

I love collaborating with creative people and that every day is different. Seeing people use my products on projects is pretty rad too.

3.       Where do you go for inspiration?

I feel blessed to do a lot of traveling. Going places and experiencing things is probably the most inspiring thing I can think of doing. Although with the internet, blogs and Pinterest can be great sources for finding pieces of inspiration too.

4.       What is your favourite product ever?

Thickers. or maybe washi tape. or maybe tape runners.

5.       How do you start to design a line?  What is the process?

First I start by collecting inspiration pieces. I have a private tumblr that I keep to bookmark different things I like. I also sketch and write things down in a notebook. Then I collaborate with a couple designers at American Crafts and we choose a color palette, narrow inspiration down and usually get a bit artsy. For Sketchbook, we spent several days drawing and painting - it was a super inspiring process.

6.       Since we are celebrating our 6th birthday at the magazine, how would you spend an ideal birthday?

My birthday is at the beginning of October and my boyfriend's at the end. Ideally I'd love to be in an exotic place (last year we went to Kauai to celebrate both birthdays) or at home eating a really good meal. JC's an excellent cook.

7.       What has been your favourite place to visit in the world?

This is so difficult to narrow down. I can't choose just one. I loved Australia for the people, scenery and laid back attitude (and of course the accents!). Barcelona, Spain and Phuket, Thailand also top the list - for the sights and the food! Lake Como was amazing too. See, this is a tough one for me.

8.       Can you share with us a recent piece of artwork you’ve done and tell us a little about it?

I have been working really hard on putting together a workshop for Two Peas in A Bucket called "Collect & Create" that should be launching soon. I will also be teaching some in-person classes in various locations so I have been developing those projects. Hope you'll settle for some sneaks.

Thank you Scrapbook & Cards Today for having me and happy birthday!  Come say hi to me:

on my blog: www.amytangerine.blogspot.com
on twitter: www.twitter.com/amytangerine
on Instagram: amytangerine
on pinterest:  pinterest.com/amytangerine
and on facebook:  www.facebook.com/pages/Amy-Tangerine/133463540478

Thanks Amy for sharing a little about your story with us and of course, we have another fabulous giveaway today from American Crafts.  Any guesses?  Well of course it has to be a selection of the Sketchbook collection from Amy Tangerine!

You can see the complete collection HERE on the American Crafts blog!  A great place to visit each day!

If you would like to win this collection, just leave a comment, a hello for Amy, a birthday wish, or just a random funny below by Thursday, April 5th at 6:00 p.m.   Good luck!  All winners will be announced on Friday, April 6th.

Join us tomorrow for Day Five of our 6th birthday celebration.  The SCT team have had some fun being inspired by a reader's gallery pick from our winter issue!  You won't want to miss it!

~  Catherine

Join Becky Fleck with a sketch challenge!

Good morning, scrappers, Becky here! Are you enjoying this week’s birthday festivities? It’s hard to believe SCT has been inspiring papercrafters for six years! I’m here with a sketch challenge for you today, and a few really cool prizes. What's a birthday without presents right?  Catherine asked me to choose my favourite sketch and layout from Scrapbook PageMaps 2, and it just so happened that both were on the same page!






So here’s your challenge:

Create a page based on this sketch, or YOUR favourite sketch from either Scrapbook PageMaps 1 or 2, or even a sketch from our brand new spring issue (view here) and post a link to your creation below by Thursday, April 5th at 6:00 p.m. EST! We’ll be giving away a signed copy of Scrapbook PageMaps 2, along with the February, March and April sets of the brand new PageMaps/Spellbinder dies to one lucky winner!

So have at it, scrappers. We are all very exited to see what you create!   And to Catherine and the entire family at the magazine, Happy 6th Birthday and here’s to another year of creativity!

~ Becky Fleck

(pssst...be sure to join us tomorrow as we have a *special guest* right here!)

Join us for Day Two of our birthday celebration!

Thank you for joining us for Day Two of our birthday celebration!  We are celebrating our 6th birthday at Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine and are ready to par-tay all week!  Today we have the ever amazing, and creatively genius Aly Dosdall with some fun birthday ideas...and a prize below!

"Do you remember making fortune tellers in grade school?  I do—my friends and I made them all the time!  Here’s a fun way to use a fortune teller as a party favor or treat container.  Just turn it upside down, and fill up the four sections with your favourite treats.

Supplies: patterned paper (October Afternoon), baker’s twine (We R Memory Keepers), paper doilies and lollipop sticker (Wilton), mini wooden clothespin (Bazic), circle cutter (We R Memory Keepers), square punch (Marvy Uchida), paper trimmer and scoring blade (Creative Memories), decorative scissors (Fiskars)

I added a candy sign to mine, and created a matching invite.  You can make one of these for each party guest to take home, or you can use them as table centerpieces that guests can snack from.
To help keep the twine on the invite from shifting out of place, simply cut a small slit in the crease with a craft knife, and then thread the twine through using the dull edge.

I also added a wooden mini clothespin (found mine at Michael’s) at the top of the card.  I love the look of baker’s twine and wooden clothespins!

When folding your fortune teller (click HERE for a refresher course on how to fold one) your paper is less likely to tear at the creases if you score it first.

 

If you’d like to add a sign, turn your finished fortune teller upside down and use a brad setter or paper piercer to punch a hole in the center.  You may need to work the tool around a bit to create a hole large enough to fit your lollipop stick.

 

Add two doilies taped together at the top of the lollipop stick with the stick in between them, and embellish with patterned paper and baker’s twine.

 

This project works great for birthdays, summer barbecues, baby or bridal showers, or your child’s school party as well.  I hope this project inspires you to make something fun for your next party.  Happy birthday to fabulous Scrapbook and Cards Today, and happy crafting!" ~ Aly Dosdall

And of course, what's a birthday without a present right?  Today we have the beautiful Jillibean Soup Southern Chicken Dumpling Soup collection as featured in our Top 10 Most Wanted in the spring issue! 

Leave us a comment below by Thursday, April 5th at 6:00 p.m. EST and one lucky birthday winner will have this fun collection, and a few extras, to enjoy!!  Good luck!

Tomorrow we have sketch challenge by the queen of sketches herself, Becky Fleck!  Be sure to join us!  And make sure you checked out yesterday's post too ;)

~ Catherine

Join us for our 6th birthday celebration...TODAY!

Well hello there and welcome to our 6th birthday party!  For the next 6 days we will have inspiration, tips, tricks, techniques and of course presents!  And for six days we also want to celebrate YOU, our wonderful readers.  Thank you for visiting us each day, thank you for picking up Scrapbook & Cards Today at your local store or getting it to your mailbox in 28 countries and thank you for all you love and support over these six years.  I've said it many times, you are the reason we do what we do!  And on the heels of an amazing Crop & Create education event in Winnipeg with 150 women, we are more inspired then ever before...so let's party!

Today we have six beautiful birthday cards and a few tips to share with you from a very talented group of our favourite designers... 

Card by Kimber McGray

Kimber's Tip:  When your in a rush to make a birthday card for a friend or family member, start with a sentiment sticker and a few pre-made embellishments that will make your card pop. I love the Pebbles 3D circles. They add a ton of interest with no effort. 

Kraft ticket strips from Maya Road layered over vivid teal and yellow Jillibean Soup pattern paper add a neutral base for the embellishments.  Finish the card by adding a sentiment sticker to the card and tucking small sticker flags with birthday icons along the sides of the kraft tickets.

Happy Birthday SCT!

 

Card by Lisa Kisch

Happy Birthday SCT! Save on those letter stickers by using the words on Birthday themed papers-- like this one from American Crafts. A black pen line draws your eye to where it needs to be! ~ Lisa

 

Card by Sheri Reguly

When using punches or die cuts, I love to layer my pieces using adhesive foam to add dimension. Combining a variety of different colors and materials adds additional interest, as well as a unique personalized  touch!  Congrats on 6 great years!

 

Hello, it’s Virginia here, wishing a very Happy 6^th Birthday to SCT!  You are amazing, may you keep inspiring all of us for many years to come!  I love using my sewing machine on my paper crafts projects.  Here is quick tip I’d like to share to keep those loose sewing threads clean:

 

Here is a beautiful card from Kelly Goree from our latest special issue, CardMaps Today 2!  Note the beautiful faux stitching - just a pen and a ruler!

 

And from Leica Forrest...happy birthday SCT! 6 years is an AWESOME milestone! I have enjoyed following you on my iPad daily as I take the kids to their sports.  Being free and accessible on all mobile devices for free ROCKS my world.

 

Of course, what is a birthday without a present right?  Sooooo, we have a present for YOU!  One lucky winner will receive this...

 

Just leave a comment below by Friday, March 30th at 6:00 p.m.!  Good luck!  Be sure  to join us tomorrow for Day Two of our birthday celebration!

~ Catherine