Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog

Card Cafe Thursday with Nicky Manel!

Hi, I’m Nicky Manel and I’m so excited to be here on the SCT Blog for Card Café Thursday! I would like to share a card I made using my version of this popular, fun and easy technique called Bokeh (pronounced Boca). This technique is used in photography to make an image appear out of focus, and it now translates well with ink and paper to make fabulous backgrounds for cards.

The supplies you will need are:

• Neena classic white card stock or any smooth card stock, to make sponging blend easier.
• Large and small Tim Holtz blending tool or sponges of choice.
• Broken China and Shabby Shutters Distress inks by Ranger or any die based inks.
• Memories Unicorn white or any white pigment ink.
• Using acetate, window sheet or card stock, punch or die cut different size circles to create a template.
• Double sided tape or adhesive of choice and glue dots.

 Let’s get started. The following describes what each step represents:

1. Sponge Broken China in several places leaving white space.
2. Sponge Shabby Shutters, filling up the white areas.
3. Use the template with different size circles and randomly sponge white pigment ink onto the card stock. Allow to dry, then, re-sponge some of the circles to create bright highlights, as shown below.

4. Once you are happy, allow the white pigment ink to air dry completely or heat set before stamping sentiment. The sentiment I used is by Pointers Crafts. Use Archival black, Stazon black or Versa Fine ink for best results.

To finish the card I then punched Retro flowers in 2 sizes and sponged Broken China on each petal. The glitter strip of paper was used instead of ribbon. I added the rhinestone, layered the sponged card stock on to black card stock and then on to an embossed card.

I hope you give this great and easy technique a try and have as much fun as I did!

~ Nicky Manel

Thank you Nicky for joining us today!  Just a little behind the scenes, I met Nicky at the Creativ Festival back in 2005 when she was doing a make n' take.  I loved her technique so much I wanted to take a card class with her.  A few days later as I was looking at the schedule to see when she would be teaching my husband and I discussed starting a "newsletter" to help stores advertise classes and products better.  That "newsletter" became the first issue of Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine a short 5 months later.  One might say Nicky had a lot to do with that!  ~  Catherine, Publisher, Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine

Are you ready to join us  right here for {inter} National Scrapbook Day this Saturday?  We will have 12 hours of inspiration and giveaways that you won't want to miss!

 

Simple stories I AM Giveaway!!!

Earlier this week designer Jen Gallacher shared a beautiful album she created using the Simple Stories I AM™ collection!  Jen's album was all about an introspective look at herself and telling an important story...hers.  If you didn't catch Jen's great video about the I AM™ collection and how her album came together, you can view it HERE.  

Our sweet friends at Simple Stories loved Jen's video and offered one of the beautiful  I AM™ collection kits to one of YOU, our amazing readers!  

"I AM™…a soft, feminine, introspective collection for telling the most important story you have to tell... yours! Paper is 12x12, double-sided, amazing quality, great design and includes gold foil accents!"

Would you love to tell your story with this collection?  It's by far one of the most important ones.  For an opportunity to win this collection, just leave a comment below by April 30th!  Good luck!  If you have a moment please give a warm "thank you" to Simple Stories on their Facebook page here!  They would love to hear from you.

Last week's winner:

Last week we offered a $25 gift certificate from My Favorite Things Stamps! The winner of that gift certificate is...

I {heart} MFT! Choosing a favorite MFT product is not easy. At the moment I would say the new Pet Accents Die-namics as I love dogs and just recently purchased the die set. Thank you for the generous prize chance. Posted by: lisa808 | April 17, 2015 at 12:55 PM

Congratulations Lisa!  Please send your mailing information to us at [email protected] and put "blog winner" in your reference line!

Part of the team is now off to the Creativ Festival in Toronto!  If you are planning to attend, please be sure to stop by and see us!

Also, have you marked your calendars for Saturday, May 2nd to join us right here for National Scrapbook Day?  Spread the word...it's going to be awesome!  Starting at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 2nd join us for a full day of inspiration from the SCT team and an amazing amount of prizes from our partners! A day to celebrate our wonderful hobby.  We can't wait to share it with you!

Enjoy your weekend!

~  Catherine

Card Cafe Thursday with Stephanie Klauck!

Hi, it's Stephanie Klauck and I am thrilled to be here on the SCT blog for Card Café Thursday! For today's post, I have a couple of cards to share that feature the diecut inlay technique using pierced dies for added detail.

Diecut inlay is simply diecutting a shape from cardstock and replacing the cut out pieces with the same shape, kind of like a puzzle. Using different colours helps the image stand out and since your using the open space, the card remains completely flat once everything is adhered.

For my cards, I decided to step it up a bit and use dies with a pierced detail around the edge. Since diecut inlay cards are flat, this is a great way to add dimension and detail without any bulk. This first card uses the Pierced Star STAX and the Pierced Circle STAX dies from My Favorite Things. I diecut them from a white cardstock panel in a pattern that I liked and then diecut them a second time from coloured cardstock.

I replaced all of the open spaces with the coloured stars and circles. I also added a smaller star on top of the largest star and added sequins and dots of silver stickles. I love the mix of shapes on the card!

For my second card, I first diecut and stamped a blue cardstock panel and then diecut the largest star form the center. I diecut additional stars and layered them inside of each other to create a single, multi-coloured star. All of the individual stars have the pierced detail, in addition to the rectangle cardstock panel. I love how all of the pierced detail pulls the card together.

Once I had the focal star fully assembled, I stamped a sentiment onto a pierced banner and adhered it over the stars with foam adhesive for a bit of dimension. I also added sequins and stickles to this card for a bit of added detail.

 

Supplies: My Favorite Things Pierced Star STAX Die-namics; Pierced Circle STAX Die-namics; Blueprints 21 Die-namics; Whimsical Wishes Stamp Set; Typewriter Text Background Stamp; My Favorite Things cardstock (Blu Raspberry, Sno Cone, Sour Apple); Neenah Solar White cardstock; My Favorite Things Dye Ink (Sno Cone, Black Licorice); Other: Pretty Pink Posh Sequins, Silver Stickles

I love using my supplies in as many ways as possible, and diecut inlay with pierced (or stitched) edge dies totally changes the final outcome. That simple detail adds so much dimension and really draws the eye in to the overall card design. If you don't have pierced dies, you can make you own by adding little holes with a pin around the edges of your favourite shapes!

Thanks so much for joining me today! I hope I inspired you to get creative with pierced dies and the diecut inlay technique!

 ~  Stephanie Klauck

You can also find Stephanie on Instagram at @sklauck or on her website here!

 

Design Team Wednesday with Laura Vegas!

Hey everyone, it's Laura Vegas here with you today! Now that both of my girls are older (almost 16 and 18), one of the things that I find myself missing the most is the ability to get photos of them easily. If any of you out there have teenagers that love getting their photos taken, and do so willingly and without bribes, I would love to know your secret!

For the last few years, it's gotten harder and harder for me to get photos of them. Which in turn gives me a lot less photos to work with when it come to scrapping. Which then means I'm scrapping less layouts that I used too, and documenting less about their lives. I do think, that in some ways, it's a natural progression. They're not little kids anymore, doing cute and funny things, without a care in the world if mom snaps photos of them doing whatever it is they're doing. But after all these years of photographing them, and telling their stories, it's hard to have less options as they grow up, right?

Supplies: Patterned paper - My Mind's Eye; Sticker - My Mind's Eye; Wood veneer - Studio Calico; Mists - Studio Calico; Die cut machine - Silhouette; Font - Old Remington

While my girls aren't fans of me pointing my camera at them very often these days, I know that they both take tons of photos with their cell phones. I try not to ask very often, as I know they won't want to share all of those photos with me, but every now and then I will ask them to share a few photos with me. When Alyssa was home from college for Thanksgiving break, the girls snapped off a whole bunch of photos on their phones while waiting to head out for our Thanksgiving dinner. At the time, they shared one single photo with me. And I was forever grateful! I've asked a few times since then, if I could get a few more photos to go with that one lonely photo. And finally, months later, I caught Sarah in a good mood, and she sent me about ten photos, no questions asked!

I printed out every photo, because quite honestly, I was just excited to have new photos of them! I finally decided to include just three of them, even though I wanted to use them all. They might all look slightly the same, and yet they're all different at the same time, showing off their goofy looks and funny personalities.

I kept the design of this page pretty simple, letting the photos take center stage. I went with my go-to, favorite supplies: lots of patterned paper, a large die cut title, machine stitching, and a few simple embellishments. Clean, linear, and simple.

So, if you're like me, and are struggling to get photos of your kids/teens these days, see if they'll be willing to share some of their own photos with you. I use the "mom needs some new photos to scrap with" line, and occasionally it does work ;)

~  Laura Vegas

To see more of Laura's work, be sure to follow her:

• Instagram: @lauravegas
• Blog
  
• Facebook

Jen Gallacher + Simple Stories = awesome video!

In today's "Create Today" video, designer Jen Gallacher highlights the "I Am" collection from Simple Stories. She then walks you through the pages she created for her "I Am" mini album. Learn more about this pocket-page album that also includes full-size pages; as well as special interactive elements!

 

Here's a peek at the album Jen created:

   

Want a look inside at the album pages? Here are a few close-up photos:

Watch today's video for a look at all of the pages in this album! Then take a moment to subscribe to the Scrapbook & Cards Today Magazine Youtube channel HERE so you are notified of when we upload new videos. Look for new videos each month and with each Crop & Create: Delivered seasonal kit!

Now go grab a cup of something, sit back, relax and enjoy today's inspiring video!

My Favorite Things Stamps giveaway!

Thank you for joining us on this fabulous Friday! Today we have a wonderful giveaway from a company we adore, My Favorite Things!  Fresh, fun, and completely distinctive crafting products – from cute and cutting edge stamps and Die-namics dies to a colorful array of card stock and inks for every creative pursuit! Their talented design team always wows us and if you joined us yesterday for Card Cafe Thursday, you'll see why.  It was shaker week for the MFT team and man o' man did they shake it!  Our friends at My Favorite Things would also like you to shake it with an opportunity to win a $25 gift certificate for one lucky SCT reader!

For an opportunity to win a $25 gift certificate from My Favorite Things, let's have a little fun!  (insert enabler alert!) Take a moment to visit their website HERE and tell us what your absolute, hands-down, favourite MFT product is. Be forewarned, it may be a very tough choice.  Please leave your comment by Thursday, April 23rd!  We can't wait to see what you love.  Good luck!

We would love for you to take a moment to thank My Favorite Things for this giveaway, so please send them a "hello" on their facebook page HERE, or follow them on Instagram or Twitter: @mftstamps.  You are also sure to love all the inspiration on their blog HERE.  That team never stops sharing their very best!

Last week our friends at Echo Park shared not one but two fabulous birthday collections with us! And you cannot believe how much you made us smile with all your birthday memories. We enjoyed reading those so thank you SO MUCH for sharing!  The winners of these collections are...

   

My favorite birthday memory was when I was turning 10. We were on vacation for the summer and my mom bought a cake at a store in Colorado and we sang and ate it at a picnic table on the side of the road!!  Posted by: Bonnie | April 14, 2015 at 04:56 PM

One of my favorite birthday memories is the year I had my birthday at a friends house. Her mom made a special cake that was a doll. The dress was a cake and it was decorated up beautifully! Thanks for helping to remind me of this good time, and for a chance to win this fun prize!  Posted by: Jeannean M | April 10, 2015 at 02:34 PM

Congratulations Bonnie and Jeannean!  Please send your mailing information and telephone number to [email protected] and put "Echo Park Winner" in your reference line!

Once again some of the team and good friend Layle from Simple Stories are off to Crop & Create Winnipeg for the last of our spring Crop & Create events. We can't wait to catch up with all our friends in Winnipeg and meet some new friends too!  In case you haven't heard, we announced on the Crop & Create facebook page some fun events coming up in 2016.  We will be in Abbotsford, BC with Ali Edwards, Cynthea and Tonya from Doodlebug, and our designer's Vicki Boutin and Virginia Nebel (April 16 & 17, 2016) and just announced, we are heading to Calgary, AB on March 19 & 20, 2016!  More details on these events to come!

Have a great weekend and be sure to follow us on Instagram @SCTmagazine as we post live from Winnipeg!

~ Catherine