Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog

Getting to know...DIY expert David Tutera!

"I am excited to welcome you to a place of inspiration, imagination, and innovation!" ~ David

Good morning and happy Monday SCT friends! We're glad you've joined us today as we share our recent interview with crafting mastermind David Tutera! Known as the leading DIY wedding and entertainment expert having worked with clients like Jennifer Lopez, Elton John, Prince Charles and so many more, David is also an author, TV star, works with several charitable foundations and impressively, is a crafting expert!  

David recently released a line of products with Sizzix which we had an opportunity to see at our trade show in January. We were mesmerized not only by the details of David's collection but by the ease at which his beautiful DIY projects come together. As we approach wedding season and clearly have a love for DIY, we thought this was a perfect opportunity to share our interview with David!

What would you say was the impetus for your interest in creating fabulous weddings?

I have always had a passion for design. The accomplishment of bringing a couple’s vision to life while providing a moment in time that allows them and their guests to escape into a place of love is the most rewarding feeling and is why I love what I do.  

Where do you find inspiration when creating wedding products?  

When it comes to designing my products and collections, much of my inspiration comes from couples that I’ve worked with throughout my career and their top wants and needs during the wedding planning journey. I also draw inspiration from elements in my everyday life---from global travels and architecture to nature, family  and pop culture. Looking to the runways and staying up on the latest high-fashions is also a source of inspiration for me, as it tends to be ahead of bridal and helps me forecast trends in my own way, and translates into my work. Providing a combination inspiration, aspiration and affordability is the goal.

When it comes to celebrating weddings David Tutera-style, what would you say are the three most important things to consider?

The three most important elements of a wedding are the venue/catering, entertainment and décor.  You always want to make sure you set the tone and have an overall connected look and feel of your event through your décor, while ensuring that your guests are comfortable, fed and having a great time. 

Why do you think Do It Yourself weddings are so popular?

DIY projects allow couples to literally put their stamp on their wedding, giving every detail that much more meaning and significance and truly making it their own through their love, sweat and (happy) tears.

How did you and Sizzix come to this partnership?

Sizzix and I connected immediately, especially knowing that we both share the same belief of creating and producing product that is affordable and unique, allowing consumers to add their own touch of personality to their weddings. 

What is your favorite thing about working with Sizzix?

My favorite thing about working with Sizzix is how easy it is to work together as a team.   It truly does take a village to create something successful and because Sizzix and I work so well together, this allows us to create value, excitement and a product that consumers fall in love with for their weddings. 

I know it’s like picking a favorite child, but which of your new products with Sizzix is your favorite and why?

It would hands down have to be the paper flower bouquets.   

If you were to describe your design style in just three words, what words would you choose?

Unique, Magical, Memorable.

What icons would you say are your favorite for incorporating into wedding décor?

• Princess Grace for elegance
• Jackie Kennedy for glamour 
• Lady Gaga for being bold and daring 

This notable combination is what creates uniqueness!

Your Sizzix Bouquet & Boutonniere Kit is stunning! Do you have plans to create more flowers? If so, what flowers are you envisioning?

Thank you, it’s one of my favorites! The options for future expansion are endless, like paper flowers for napkins rings, table designs, chair backs, cake accent décor, fashion accessories and detailing invites.

Do you and your daughter create together? What is Cielo’s favorite way to be creative?

Cielo and I create together everyday and she allows me to be more artistic, imaginative and live and learn through her eyes.  She has such a wild imagination and loves coloring, creating art on canvas with paints and making sculptures from blocks or clay or magnetic stackables.

.........

David, thank you! Thank you for sharing your thoughts in this interview and thank you for sharing your creative genius with the DIY crafters through your partnership with the amazing Sizzix brand. There is no doubt this debut collection will find its way in to 1,000's of weddings and will help brides and grooms everywhere create a beautiful setting for their most anticipated day. We also want to take a moment to congratulate David on his own recent wedding. No doubt it was the most beautiful one of all!

You can see David's full collection with Sizzix here and not that we are trying to enable you (ok, maybe we are!) be prepared to want it all! You may also want to join us this Friday for a little David Tutera surprise giveaway!

If you have any questions for David or just want to offer some thoughts on his debut collection with Sizzix, please leave a comment below. For more about David we hope you'll take a moment to visit his website https://davidtutera.com/.

~ Catherine Tachdjian

Publisher, Scrapbook & Cards Today

 

Craft it Monday: Valentine Treat Box with Shellye McDaniel!

Hello! Shellye McDaniel along with you today with a darling recycled/upcycled “Elephant Valentine Treat Container”!  It may appear a little complicated, but it actually came together quite quickly…and I even designed the project as I went LOL!

First, let’s take a look at the completed project and then I’ll give you the directions for creating your very own:

This handy Keurig-style coffee box comes in a variety of sizes depending on the count of coffee that you purchase. 

This particular K-Cup box held twelve pieces, so the box was rather small.  Even if you don’t have a ‘recycled’ box to use, if you have a coffee lover on your Valentine list, simply open the box, remove the contents and then place them back inside once the container has been decorated!

I started by tracing the box shape (in sections) onto a dark grey Doodlebug cardstock.  For the two side panels, I used a grey dot patterned paper from Echo Park Paper’s “Blowing Kisses” Collection.  I found that the easiest way to add adhesive was to run the individual pieces of paper through my Xyron Creative Station; it holds permanent adhesive and gives a complete, even coat.

For the “trunk” of the elephant, I drew on four horizontal lines.  Next, I punched small holes at the end of each line and then stitched grey/white baker’s twine through.

Now for the details and embellishing!  After all of the sides were covered in cardstock or patterned paper, I chose to shade around the edges with Grey Flannel Memento Ink with a sponge applicator.  Next, I added a white pom pom trim around the bottom edge of the box.

For the eyes: Two 1.5” ovals were die-cut from white cardstock.  The ovals were the scored about ¼” from one end to create a tab for gluing down.  Next, two 1” ovals were die cut from a turquoise cardstock and attached to the white ovals.  Two black enamel dots were added to complete the eyes.  The pieces were glued to the top flap of the box.

For the cheeks: A 2” circle die was used to die-cut the shape from a dark pink paper.  The circle was cut in half, inked around the edges with Love Letter Memento Ink and then the pieces were adhered to the sides of the flap as shown.  I further embellished the cheeks with two heart stickers and iridescent gems.

For the ears: Two 4.5” hearts were die-cut from the same grey cardstock.  Next, a 4” scallop die was used to cut two pieces of red/pink dot patterned paper.  The smaller hearts were adhered to the grey pieces and then inked around the edges with the Flannel Grey Memento Ink.  Each of the ears were gently folded in half and then attached to the very back of the flap.  If you don’t have similar heart dies on hand, you can find patterns to trace online or use svg files.

I further embellished with a large pink dot ribbon bow with a red button center. 

Fill the box with K-Cups, candy, cookies or just about whatever your heart desires!

I hope that you enjoyed this sweet Valentine treat that I created just especially for my friends here at Scrapbook & Cards Today!

XOXO
~ Shellye

 

To see more of Shellye's beautiful work, follow her...

on Instagram @shellye819

on her website: http://www.shellyemcdaniel.com/

on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/shellyemc/

 

 

 

Halloween Boo Banner with Aly Dosdall!

Hey there SCT friends! It’s Aly Dosdall, and I’m so happy to be back here again—I love visiting with you and the SCT crew. This is one of my very favourite online places to hangout. =)

Halloween is fast approaching, so I thought it would be fun to share a festive Halloween décor idea with you today using some of my favourite new tools and products from We R Memory Keepers. To create this Boo Banner I used my Fuse tool, some pieces from the new FUSEables collection, as well as some items from the new DIY Party collection. Take a peek at what I made!

I pulled a few banner shapes from the new FUSEables banner kit to make my own creation. The kit includes some banner shapes made from the unique plastic FUSEables paper, and some made from clear plastic sheets for making shaker pockets. It also includes FUSEables paper with letters for the banner, and some embellishments. All of the plastic items can be fused together, as well fused to each other, using the Photo Sleeve Fuse tool. No need for regular adhesive!

To fill my banner shaker pocket, I used some gold sequins that come with the banner kit, and then I included some custom confetti I made using the new DIY Party Confetti Punch, as well as the Bat and Moon Punch Die.

The cardstock I used is part of the DIY Party collection, and coordinates perfectly with the other papers in the collection.

Once I filled my shaker pocket, I sealed the pocket shut with my Fuse tool, and then sealed a FUSEables letter “B” from the banner kit on top. I shifted the letter upward about 3/8” and trimmed off the excess to allow more of the fun shaker confetti at the bottom to show through.

Then I embellished my shaker pocket with a cardstock strip of custom-made ¼” fringe. The Fringe and Score Board is designed to cut fringe spaced at either 1” or ½”, but if you if you line up the tracks on the board in between the ½” fringe after cutting it, you can create ¼” custom fringe. Designer tip: the board works best when you slide the blades away from you rather than towards you.

Next, I fused some plastic fringe accents to the top of the other two FUSEables banner shapes with my Fuse tool to embellish them.

Then I created two rosettes to act as letter “O’s” making the word “BOO” on my banner. I used my Fringe and Score Board to make them. The board includes both a fringe blade and a score blade, each with a switch that allows 1” and ½” measurements. There’s a storage compartment at the top of the board to hold the blade you’re not using, and it’s easy to switch them out. Convenient, right?

If you’ve ever made rosettes before, you know how much time this board will save you! Being able to score (or cut) five lines at a time is nothing short of awesome!

I added moon and bat dies to my finished rosettes to embellish them, and then used adhesive dots to attach them to my two remaining banner shapes.

Finally, I threaded some festive ribbon through the premade holes in the banner shapes for hanging. I love how this project turned out!

Thanks for letting me join you today. I hope you’ve been inspired to do some seasonal crafting—this is such a fun time of year for creating and celebrating! And, I hope you get a chance to check out some of the fab new products from We R Memory Keepers. Be sure to stop by and say hi on my blog or Facebook page. Happy fall crafting friends!

~Aly

Craft It Monday with Marla Kress!

Happy Craft It Monday SCT readers! To all our Canadian readers, Happy Thanksgiving! Today I want to share a very simple tag that I created for a Halloween get-together we are going to this weekend (talk about starting Halloween early this year).  

I don’t know about you but I have many packs of die-cuts lying around.  I also have lots of cutting files.  So when I was putting together these goodie bags to hand out to the kids this weekend I thought that I would make a Halloween tag to dress them up.  I decided to go with the pumpkin wearing a hat but you’ll notice it’s not your average pumpkin.  

I happen to know that some of the kiddos this weekend have food allergies so I made the bags non-food related and made them a custom tag to offer support and make it fun (the teal pumpkin supports those kiddos with food allergies).  The beauty of die-cuts and cutting files is that you can customize your pieces.  Many of the Halloween stickers and kits out there keep to the standard orange color.  It doesn’t have to be fancy (I have to remind myself of that often). You can use scraps and stick to cardstock to make a perfectly cut customized tag that will bring smiles to lots of kiddos and their parents. 

Thank you for checking in today. I hope you’re inspired to dust off those die-cuts or cutting files and start making some tags. I hate to say this but the holidays will be here before we know it!

~  Marla Kress 

Craft It Monday - Hostess gifts with Marla Kress!

Hello SCT friends!  As you may know, I love using my scrapbooking supplies for more than creating layouts and cards.  Décor pieces, party favors/decorations, gift-wrap – all come from the supplies in my studio. 

Last week I needed a hostess gift…fast.  I knew that she liked to cook and garden so herb plants seemed logical to me.  The problem was that they didn’t look very nice in their natural pots and I didn’t have time to hunt down other containers and replant.  My solution?  Scrapbooking supplies.

So today I’m going to show you a really EASY way to dress up some herb plants.

 

Start with your plants and two pieces of 12X12 scrapbooking paper.  You’ll also need some twine, glue dots, and a gift tag.

Place your plant in the center of the paper.  Stick two glue dots along the edge of the pot along two sides and fold the paper up like a taco so that the edges stick.

One at a time, fold the point up toward the pot edge while tucking in the excess paper.  This will create a fold (or pleats) on either side.  Adhere the fold to the container with more glue dots. 

Wrap twine around the paper to secure the folds and attach a tag. 

Your plants are ready for giving!  This would also work to create a seasonal or themed centerpiece.  Simply change out the type of plant and/or scrapbooking paper!

Thank you for checking in today. I hope you try this idea and please share your work!

~  Marla Kress

Father's Day project by Shellye McDaniel!

Good morning SCT friends!  We are excited to have our sweet friend and designer Shellye McDaniel joining us today for a beautiful Father's Day project you can recreate for the special guy in your life!

"Give dad a memorable keepsake this Father’s Day with an embellished shadow-box frame!

 

Supplies: Shadow-box Frame (Sierra Pacific Crafts); black spray paint (Krylon); burlap (DCWV); striped paper (Authentique); marble paper (Authentique); banner die cut (Authentique); sticker letters (October Afternoon); brads (My Mind’s Eye); cork hearts (Little Yellow Bicycle)

I started with an unpainted 6.5”W X 5.5”H X 1.5”D wooden shadow-box from Sierra Pacific Crafts.  The box came with a removable glass top for a nice finishing touch.  For the trim of the box and the photo mats, I used paper from Authenitque’s “Durable” Collection. 

Because the box has so many dimensions with the six divided areas inside, I chose to spray paint the entire piece black.  Next, I cut paper mats and burlap pieces to fit into the divided areas and glued them in place. 

With the glass removed you can see all of the clean-and-simple details.  The banner strip that was originally 5.25” wide was cut in half and then each piece fan folded to create a fun 3-D banner on each side of the center photo.  I used foam adhesive to attach the photos into place.

Small cork hearts, dimensional brads and sticker letters complete a simple sentiment in the bottom center. 

The finished shadow-box fits comfortably on an easel or stand alone.  Such a perfect addition for dad’s desk with his favorite people inside!" ~ Shellye

To see more of Shellye's beautiful work, be sure to visit her blog here!  You can also find Shellye's beautiful work on Instagram at shellye819!

Thank you Shellye for sharing this sweet Father's Day project!