Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog

Confetti tutorial with Sarah Webb!

Hello! I am here today with a tutorial on confetti...without the sewing! I know a lot of people who don’t have a sewing machine or who aren’t particularly comfortable sewing, and then there are the moments when I am just too lazy to pull out my machine. So I thought I would share a way of getting that fun confetti look without the stitching to hold it in place.

Start with a glassine envelope.




Carefully trim the sides away using a paper trimmer and open up the envelope.




Spray the inside of the envelope with vellum adhesive, as it will dry clear.  (Follow the directions provided on the container of the adhesive –I sprayed mine outside).




Sprinkle the confetti over the open envelope.




Fold the envelope closed again (be sure you are happy with coverage of the confetti as you won’t be able to open it up again –trust me, I’ve tried!) Gently press the two sides together. As you can see the confetti won’t travel in the envelope when it is held upright.




Add your confetti-filled envelope to your project!




This technique also works well with pieces of vellum that you might want to add to a page, with some confetti tucked behind it. Easy, right?

Thanks for checking out my tutorial today. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! Enjoy the rest of your week!   -Sarah Webb

A special thank you to Sarah for joining us this week with two great tutorials.  You will also see a little more of Sarah in our summer issue releasing on June 22nd!  Mark your calendars!

Part of the team is off to Vancouver today to start the prep for Crop & Create Burnaby this weekend!  We have opened a few spaces for Saturday only registrations so if you can join us, register here.  Have a great, creative day!

~  Catherine

 

Layering mists with Emily Pitts!

Hello again, I'm back with a tutorial on misting and a little more information to "de-mistify" misting!   A commenter on Monday's post asked for a vieo tutorial on "shadowing," I'm not sure if this is what you meant, but I've done some layering of mists that ends up looking like shadows, so I hope this what you were looking for!

I created this layout using butterflies as masks, moving them for each layer of mist. I also showed this technique in the Spring issue of Scrapbook and Cards Today on page 27. It's a little hard to explain in just a few pictures so I've got a few more, hopefully that will give you a clear idea of how to use this fun technique with mists.

I'll show you how to make the same type of background, only using snowflakes instead of butterflies. The look you get depends on the colors you use and how many different layers you decide to do. I did three layers for both the butterfly and snowflake backgrounds, but there's no reason you have to stop at three. Many mists are  beautiful when you layer them, and masking allows you to get a very subtle effect if you stagger the die cuts/punched images just right. There's no wrong way to do this technique, just play with it until you get the look you want. Here are the products I used: Studio Calico's Mister Huey in Warm Calico, Lunch Tray, and Calico White, Martha Stewart punches in Himalayan and Scandinavian, adhesive, White Orange Peel Cardstock by Bazzill, and a cardboard box.

To keep the snowflakes in place, I used a small strip of the adhesive.

 


Attach the snowflakes randomly to the cardstock, making sure some of the snowflakes overlap the edges.

 
Lightly mist with your first color. I tried this technique a couple of times, first with the Lunch Tray, then with the Warm Calico, just to see if the order I applied the mists mattered in the final product. It doesn't really matter with these three colors. I also adjusted the number of snowflake masks, the first time I used about 20, the second attempt I used 28 masks. It gives you a more complex look the more masks you use.

 Carefully lift and reapply the masks, overlap some of the original snowflakes, so you'll still have bits of the original white cardstock showing through after the second layer of misting.

 
Add your second color of mist. It's really important to LIGHTLY apply the mist. I held the bottle about two feet above the box I was using. The image below shows what it looks like after you start to remove your 2nd round of masks. (I took some of the masks off to photograph.) Remove all your masks, then you'll reapply them as in the last step, making sure to overlap the original images.

 
The final step is to mist your masks with the Mister Huey's Calico White. You can go a bit heavier with how much mist you use with the white. This step may not appear to do much at first, but as the mist dries, the effect is beautiful. Any place that has the original white cardstock showing will almost glow, and the spots you've had masked for this third layer of misting will be subtle. The image below is after I've removed my 3rd round of masking.

 Let it dry fully, then use the background in any manner you'd like. I love the subtle layers the different mists create. It looks like a snowstorm, yet if you look carefully, you can see each layer of misting. It's really a fun technique.

 
Try it with other die cuts/ punched images and play with your mist colors. I found that doing the white last gave me the most beautiful surprises, but try it in a different order if you'd like. The possibilities are great.

Someone also commented on Monday about the clumps you can get when you mist. Don't shake the bottle up and down, that will add bubbles to the mist and then they transfer to the tube and you'll get splats because you've got air in the tube. To mix up the mist, swirl it in a circle instead. Another commenter asked if there was a way to not get mist on your hands. I haven't found one yet. I suppose you could wear rubber gloves, but I just prefer to have green hands :) It washes off pretty well with soap and water.

I also did this video for Studio Calico a while back to show you how I made my "Morning Soundtrack" layout using stripes of mist.

Thanks for joining me today. If there are more things you'd like to see addressed concerning mists, please add that to your commets. I'll try and address it in my next blogging adventure come September!

~ Emily Pitts

Mini Envelope Book Tutorial with Courtney Walsh!

I am a huge fan of mini albums—especially when they serve a purpose. For years now, my daughter and I have written letters to each other. We even installed a cute mailbox in her room. The fact is, some kids don’t verbalize well…so writing things down makes communication a lot easier.

Creating a mini envelope album with letters for your child or loved one to open at pivotal moments in their life is a great way to provide them with carefully planned words of wisdom.

Step One: Gather envelopes of several different sizes and stack them together.

Step Two: For the cover, I used a sheet of thin book board. (I got several sheets of this for free from a printer. It’s not as heavy as chipboard, but it makes a nice, sturdy cover and is easy to alter.)

Step Three: Measure your cover based on your largest envelope. I love to create mini albums that have a variety of sizes and lovely embellishments sticking out all over the place, so you don’t have to get too caught up in perfection here. For this book, I simply folded the book board in half and cut right down the middle, which happened to be just about the perfect size.




Step Four: Punch holes in the board board and use that as a template for punching holes in the rest of your envelopes. For the smaller ones, you can punch two holes so it can be secured either at the top or the bottom. Don’t worry, they won’t go anywhere! Be sure to assemble in your book so the pocket faces the back.



Step Five: Choose your “milestones”. Decide which milestones you want to capture in your envelope book.  Here are a few to get you started:

•    When you need to feel like a princess…
•    When you get your feelings hurt…
•    When you’ve lost your courage…
•    When you get your heart broken…
•    When you forget how special you are…
•    When you need to feel loved…
•    When you don’t feel like you fit in…
•    When you hurt someone else’s feelings…
•    When you need to forgive someone…
•    When you don’t know how to say “I’m sorry”…

These could be anything you want. Think about your own life…what do you wish someone had told you? (It’s sort of like giving them a little instruction book!)

Step Six: Gather your supplies. I decided to use Webster’s Pages new Girl Land collection for my album.



Step Seven: Embellish! Use the envelopes as individual pages and decorate the fronts as you would any other mini scrapbook page. Feel free to let the embellishments be the star…



Or to use a photo on each page. Here you can see, I allowed a small white envelope to serve as a “border” and I layered papers, a journaling card and a Mini Message sticker right on the front of it.




Here’s one of the larger envelopes. To create this one, I simply covered the envelope with the same sized patterned paper along with two smaller strips of coordinating patterns. Next, I printed a digital motif from the Girl Land collection (the shoe) and used that as an accent. A bloomer and some Dazzle-Me Gems and this page is done!

You can decorate each page however you’d like…

(*Note: With this kind of album, flexibility is one of the biggest perks. You can see I’ve included journaling cards which aren’t attached to an envelope but which give me the chance to write “side notes” to my daughter. Do this with ephemera, embellishments or measured sheets of patterned paper.)

Step Eight: Print your “titles” on strips of white cardstock and cut them out, adhering them to each page.

Step Nine: Write your letters. Fill each envelope with a special letter from you or someone else who loves your child. For instance, a grandparent, daddy, special aunt or older sibling could all contribute making this book even more special. Insert the letters inside the envelopes and seal.

Step Ten: Assemble using small jump rings which are found in the office supply section of most stores. (tip:  in order to add to the envelope book later, use larger jump rings.)

Creating a keepsake is easy with just a bit of planning, a bit of emotion and the scrapbooking products that inspire you!  The new Girl Land paper from Webster's Pages (on sale here!) was the perfect collection for this mini book for my daughter!

I'll be stopping by on Friday again, can you guess why? 

~ Courtney Walsh

Spider Rose Tutorial with Becky!

Thanks for joining me today! Get your upcycle t-shirt ready and let’s create the spider rose I showed you in Monday’s post. To begin, you will need some basic supplies:



t-shirt, patterned paper, cardstock, chipboard, circle punch, baker’s twine, button, chipboard sticker, wet and dry adhesive, foam adhesive, tape

Before we create the flower, I wanted to mention a couple of things about the type of fabric you use. The t-shirt that I upcycled happened to be an interlocking weave, so it was quite stretchy in all directions. This technique will work great with 100% cotton, but you may need more thin strips of fabric to finish the rose. I liked the interlocking fabric because when you stretch out the strip, it crinkles and frays:




To start, punch out a circle from a piece of chipboard. For this example, my circle is 1¾”. Punch a small circle in the center. Mark five points around the perimeter of the circle with a pen.




Cut a 12” length of baker’s twine. Slip one end into the center hole and tape it off on the back. Wrap the twine in and out of the center hole, running the “spokes” up to each pen point, until you have five spokes. Tape off the opposite end onto the back of the chipboard circle.

This is what it will look like from the front side, where you will be working:

Cut several thin (1/4”) strips of your fabric. The tension you use while creating the flower will determine how many strips you need. I cut four, but ended up only needing three of them. Slip one end of a fabric strip into the center hole and tape or glue off on the back to secure.

Fold a thin piece of scrap cardstock over the other end and staple it in place. This will act as a sewing needle for your strip:




Begin winding the fabric strip around the spokes, going under one spoke, skipping the next, under the next spoke, and so on. Allow the strip to twist for added dimension. The looser your tension, the fuller the flower will be. Here’s what it will look like at the start:




Continue “sewing” the strip in and out of the spokes. When you reach the end of one strip, tuck it under the previous row with glue, then glue the end of a new strip in the same spot. Staple another piece of cardstock to the other end of the strip and continue on.

After two strips of fabric:




And the completed spider rose:

Top off the flower with a button and add to the front of a card. You’re done!






Super easy and so pretty! And the best part? You’ve upcycled something you might otherwise have thrown in the trash. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and I encourage you to try it with other types of fabrics and textiles. I was thinking burlap would look pretty cool for a boy page, eh? Have a great rest of your week and good luck to everyone who entered the prize drawings from NSD!

~ Becky Fleck

(pssst....be sure to join the PageMaps 6th anniversary party too!  Great challenges, great inspiration and some pretty great prizes too!!!  Click here for more information!)

 

Trend watch with Davinie!

Hello SCT Friends!  It’s Davinie, back to share another fun project following current trends.
Along with the popularity of confetti, yes confetti, on products and projects around the web, triangles are another hot shape.  Isn’t it funny how design trends change?  Triangles are a basic shape known to all of us, yet they are often overlooked in design, except for the occasional photo corner.  That said, the triangle has made a surge in popularity in textile and design as seen in these images pinned to my Pinterest account recently:

Pillow




Quilt:





I wanted to recreate this design on a card and did so with the new Take Note Collection from Studio Calico:

To recreate this card:

1.     Trim card base 4.25 x 5.5
2.    Trim floral patterned paper 4.25 wide by 3.5 inches.
3.    Trim gray cardstock 1 x 4.25
4.    Trim 1” strips from two patterned papers.  I use a 6x6 paper pad.
5.    Trim strips into 1x1” squares.
6.    On the diagonal, trim squares in half, creating two triangles





7.     Layer triangles in a pattern and adhere.  Layer with patterned paper over cardstock.
8.    Tie with twine and stitch.
9.    Add veneer birds. 

A simple, yet trendy design.  Want more deisgn ideas?  You can follow my Pinboards HERE and be sure to check out SCT pinterest boards HERE. 

Have a great Wednesday!  See you back here for NSD on Saturday, okay?!  It is going to be a great, inspiring day!

~ Davinie

A dimensional banner with Lisa Dickinson!

Here's a super quick way to make your next card extra special.  Punch several small shapes from various patterened papers. (I used about 40 butterflies, punched with the Jenni Bowlin Fiskars punch) Then, using a needle and thread, string up the shapes! Secure the string around the backside of your card, letting it drape slightly to form a dimensional banner.

This technique is a fabulous way to spice up any project (and it would be ideal for Mother's Day cards!) Try it out on your next card!  ~ Lisa Dickinson

Thank you Lisa for joining us this week and sharing some great projects!  And friends, if you want some humour to start the day, check out Lisa's blog.  Witty, funny and some great inspiration too. 

Tomorrow we've got a fun recap on Crop & Create Moncton and some prizes to announce!  We'll also give you a hint as to what we have set up for you on National Scrapbook Day!  Mark your calendar to join us on May 5th...inspiration and prizes, what could be better?

~ Catherine

(psst...check out our facebook page today to win a copy of CardMaps 2!!!)

Glossy Accent Resist technique with Shari Carroll!

Good morning SCT readers!  I’m back today to share a fun Glossy Accents technique.  This is really great when you want to slightly alter an image by leaving a portion white.  The Glossy Accents work as a resist and seal the color beneath protecting it from other inking treatments. 

Instructions to create the butterfly:

Step 1:  Stamp and die cut the butterfly.  Use a brown marker to color body.  Add Glossy Accents to areas that will remain white and over the body. Allow to dry.

Step 2:
Ink the butterfly using a small applicator and Broken China Distress Ink.

Step 3:
Ink the antennae area and around body with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

Step 4:
Stamp the butterfly with a Hero Arts definition image using Walnut Stain Distress ink.

Super easy and very effective!  Thanks for having me here on the blog.  I’m looking forward to a “next” time." ~ Shari

Thank you SO much for joining us this week Shari!  We can't wait to see what you have "next" time!!! Some of the team is off to Moncton today for the next stop on our Crop & Create tour (next stop is Burnaby, BC!)  If you are anywhere near Moncton please stop by and visit us and come shop in our on-site Marketplace!  We have three fabulous stores joining us and if you mention that you saw this on the SCT blog, we'll even waive the $5 entrance fee to the Marketplace.  Oh how we love our blog readers and would love to meet you.

Have a great day everyone!  Tomorrow we have a recap on ScrapFest, news about Creativ Festival and we have a new video to share from Lynn Ghahary!

~  Catherine

 

Ribbon rosette tutorial with Kimber!

 

Since we all love a great tutorial, we thought we would share a beautiful rosette flower tutorial from the brand new CardMaps Today Vol. 2 that just released (order here)!  This card and tutorial was created by designer and author Kimber McGray and we thought you'd love it too!

 

Trim a 12" piece of .75" ribbon.  Run a gathering stitch down one long edge using a thin twine, leaving 4" tails on each end.

Gently pull on the twine tails to gather the ribbon.  The tighter you pull, the smaller the rosette will be.

When you are happy with the shape of the rosette, tie the twine into a knot and trim off the tails.

 

Insert a decorative brad into the centre of the rosette and adhere it to your project! Voila!

 

Thanks Kimber!  Great tutorial and so many uses for this flower embellishment.  Enjoy SCT friends! 

The SCT team is gearing up for ScrapFest in Kitchener, Ontario this weekend!  It is a shopping, cropping and education experience that is beyond fun and exciting!  The SCT team will once again be hosting the Interactive Studio with 10 make n' takes from companies like Maya Road, Doodlebug Designs, Pebbles Inc., Jillibean Soup, Stamping Bella, and more!  Be sure to stop by and visit with us!

Next weekend is....Crop & Create Moncton!  We CANNOT WAIT!  The team is ready, classes are complete and we have a few spots open so join us for this amazing event.  It's a one-of-a-kind education event that is not to be missed.  All the details can be found right here!

Have a great day and we'll see you tomorrow! 

~  Catherine

Rolled flower tutorial with Marla!

Hello again and Happy Wednesday!  I hope you had a chance to make some something “springy” for your home and if you didn’t, hopefully you were able to get some good ideas!  Today I want to share with you how I made my bouquet of rolled flowers. 

 
I found the paper picking process to be most difficult (probably how I ended up with several bouquets)!  First find some double-sided coordinating papers (cardstocks works well too to balance out the color palette).

 
Draw a circle on one side of each page.  I found an 8” circle gives a nice sized flower and happened to have a plate that size too.

 
Draw a spiral pattern trying to keep the spacing fairly even.  The lines do not have to be straight and actually gives the flower a little more depth if they’re wavy.  Cut along the spiral leaving a larger area in the center.  That’ll be the base holding everything together.

 
Starting with the outside edge of the spiral begin rolling the paper in a tight coil.  It’s ok if it unrolls a bit towards the end, that’ll open the blossom a bit.  Now here is the trick, use hot glue to hold it all together.  Put a nice amount on that center piece that is now the bottom of the flower and flatten the coil onto the glue.

 
Cut some simple leaf shapes (I freehanded them) and hot glue them to the bottom of the flower with a wire stem.  Make as many as needed to create a full bouquet and you’re ready to display!

If you haven’t created something yet I hope you’ll try these and let me know what you think!  Have a great Wednesday!

~ Marla Kress

 

Announcing our Facebook winner!  If you follow us on facebook then you will know that we love to have a little fun over there.  Since we were about 100 fans away from 10,500 fans on Monday night I thought it would be fun to challenge our fans to share SCT with their friends to see if we got to 10,500 fans in 24 hours.  The prize was that I would dive into my secret stash of my favourite papers and give one winner 10.5 sheets.  Yes, 10.5 sheets.  I would actually cut one of my favourite sheets.  You see paper is not meant to be hoarded right...repeat after me :)   Of course we did it and our winner is Rose Stannell!  A thank you to all our facebook fans for having some fun with me on a random Monday night at 10:00 p.m.!!!  Rose send your contact information to me at catherine@scrapbookandcards.com.

 

Spring into spring...with Kimber!

Hello fabulous SCT readers!  So glad you are joining us today as Kimber is going to share with you her "spring" card she featured on Monday...

 

To create a card with a bit of 'spring' is easier than you may think!

For this card I was excited to play with the new Sizzix Framelits - Butterflies set along with some of the new Chicken Dumpling Soup by Jillibean Soup.

1. Stamp the butterfly outline and then stamp the wings. I love that they are separate so I can easily 'color' the wings.

2. Lay the die over the stamped image and run it through my Sizzix Big Shot.

3. Take a 6" piece of thin gauge wire.

4. Wrap the wire around a pencil or pen to coil it.

5. Slide the coiled wire off the pencil and add a large glue dot to each end of the spring.

6. Place the die cut butterfly to one end of the spring and then place the entire piece on the front of the card.

How easy is THAT?  Now, go "spring" into action ladies!  Try out this easy technique today.

~  Kimber McGray

 

Thank you Kimber for a great challenge and project this week!  And because we love to share get ready for an enabler alert...Kimber's new book 101 Fresh and Fun Handmade Cards is on sale at Amazon right here! You can also see more of Kimber's work (check out today's post!) on her blog www.kimbermcgray.blogspot.com.