Stapling Felt

So I was working on a layout today and I thought my little felt heart would be adorable with some ribbon attached. So of course i whipped out my stapler to attach is to a corner of the heart. Well that didn't work. I just smooshed the felt..tried again..another smoosh.

So I thought about it and put a piece of scrap heavyweight paper on the backside of the felt and voila...worked like a charm! So remember when you want to staple felt you need to add card stock behind and then trim around to avoid the "smoosh".

Fun with Felt!

One of the latest trends in scrapbooking is the use of felt on any and all projects. Many companies are releasing felt embellishments, and on these cards I used embellishments by Fancy Pants Designs. I love the texture that felt adds to a layout or card, and it sometimes even lends a "retro" feel to your project. The main obstacle to overcome with felt is attaching it to your project. After trying many of my mainstay adhesives and having no luck, I discovered that KI Gloo is an awesome alternative to regularly used adhesives. If you are planning to use felt on many projects at all, KI Gloo would be a great investment. As an alternative, I used brads to attach my flowers to these cards--no adhesive was necessary at all in those cases. You could easily use brads on other felt shapes as well. And if you're feeling really ambitious, sewing felt embellishements onto your project would make any layout or card look awesome! So have lots of fun with your felt embellishments--they are sure to add lots of texture and dimension to all your projects!

JUST DON'T BURN YOUR FINGERS :)

Like many scrapbookers, I enjoy creating all sorts of crafts. Which means that I have a ton of supplies lying around that I try to incorporate on my lo's.

About a year ago while garage sale-in' with my mom, I bought more glue sticks in more colors than any one person needs....lol. So I decided to come up with a way that I could scrap with them.

That is when I decided to make my own lil embellies with them.

To get started you need just a couple of supplies.



1. A glue gun

2. Glue sticks in any color you want. You can find colored glue sticks at any craft store.

3. An acrylic stamp block


After you have decided what you want to "draw", let your glue stick warm up a lil bit in your glue gun and then go to town.






Once you've gotten as many as you can fit on your acrylic block, just wait a second for them to cool off. Usually by the time you are done with the last one, your first one should be cool.

After they are all cooled, gently peel them off the acrylic block.







Create as many embellies as you want.

Once they are all done, adhere them to your lo's or cards using any type of glue (I used fine line glue and of course it worked like a charm...I love this stuff!!!)


product used: Sassafras Lass Owl Pals Collection Kit,American Crafts "Giggles" Thickers in Brown from the Noel Mignon Debut Kit ,fine line glue, and misc. ric rac.

VOILA!!

A lo using your very own handmade embellies!!!!

Some ideas using this technique would be to:

*Add glitter, seed beads, etc. to it before it dried

*Print a word or a dingbat out, place image underneath acrylic block, and then "trace" it with the glue

Hope ya'll have fun with this technique and remember: DON'T BURN THOSE FINGERS!!!

Transparencies

Two of my favorite transparencies are Hambly Screen Prints and My Minds Eyes 4x6 frames. These transparencies add so much to a layout. And there are many way to used them. Here are some of my favorite:

ADHESIVE-I love mini glue dots and Tombo Mono permanent roller. These are easy to use because you can hide them behind the printed part.

PAINT-I love to use Dabbers by ranger. Dabbed it on the back of the overlay for a fun look.

INK-I love Staz-On to ink the edges or to stamp. Just be careful to not smear and let it dry.

PENS/MARKERS-My favorites are Sakura Souffle pens and Sharpies permanent markers.

You can also used staples and brads to hold them in place.

So have fun using transparencies and discover new way to used them. For there are many more to be discovered by experminting with them. These are just some of my faves!!

Gone Digital?

I made a scary discovery the other day . . . it kinda blew my socks off. I have over 16,000 photos on my computer. You did not read that wrong . . . 16 THOUSAND photos. Sure, many of them are probably trash or probably duplicates. But even if I deleted half of those, I’d still have 8,000 pictures, which is nothing to sneeze at.

What a dilemma going digital has caused! What am I going to do with all these photos?

There is no way I can paper scrap 8,000 pictures . . . especially considering I already have 5,000 photos printed, which, by the way, are all PRE digital. Quite frankly, I could go broke paper scraping the lot of them . . . and, at heart, I guess I truly am a paper scrapper because that sounds like a really cool way to go broke. But, the children must be fed and clothed, so I had to come up with another idea.

The solution that I, and many before me, came up with was to go digital. I’ve always considered my family website my “digital scrapbook”, but even here I just posted the photos in a row with no embellishment or journaling.

But now there is no need for such a boring presentation, because digital scrapbooking has flourished as graciously as paper scrapbooking. It’s HUGE. And there are some phenomenal talent to inspire those of us who are willing to give it a shot.

I still hear a lot of opposition to digital. Some people are afraid that they can’t master the technique. Luckily there are a lot of software packages s to choose from, some free while other offer free trials. Check out Google Answers to view a list of software options. Another fear is that paper scrapping will go the way of the dinosaur. NOT gonna happen. I know you don’t know me, but take my word for it. There are just too many people in love with using their hands. They love the feel of paper, and feel they can create better when they are able to move the objects they have chosen for a layout around on a page sitting in front of them. The good news is, you don’t HAVE to give up paper scrapping. For myself, and many, it’s just another way to create.

A good place to get started digital scrapbooking is at Scrapbooking Top 50 many of the top 50 scrapbooking sites are devoted to digital scrapbooking. But you will also find that many of the larger communities devoted to paper scrapping are also building their own little digital niches. This is a great place to start because it will link you to many different communities where you can find inspiration, techniques, assistance, and free or for-purchase kits to play with.

I have been playing around with digital scrapbooking for only a very short time, and there is so much I have to learn. But I’m happy with my first pages which I’ll share with you below. Like all things new, it takes some getting used to, but I found it to be a very enjoyable experience and I’m looking forward to creating more pages.

You can click on the photo to view the full version of the layout.









I’d love to see what you create when you decide to take the plunge into digital scrapbooking! Good luck and have fun!

Touching up light stamps

So how many times has this happened to you? You are finishing up a layout and your last step is to place a stamp on a corner or edge. When you lift your stamp part of it has not inked dark enough and now you feel like you LO is not quite perfect. Well, I have found a super quick and easy fix for that problem! It's called Pen Nibs!!


Just dip the tip of your per nib in your matching ink so it is nice and covered.


Then you can use the fine tip of the nib like a pen to carefully fill in the area of your stamped image. Voila...you are fixed up and your stamp looks just how you envisioned! It was a total fluke that I bought these. They sat in my drawer for a good 6 months until I remembered them, and figured out that is what they were for, and now I love these little guys!

Re-positioning stamps

If you have rubber stamps that you have cut and trim and positioned on the blocks and realized it was a little bit off here is a quick tip

PUT IT IN THE MICROWAVE FOR APPX 10 SECONDS. IT WILL PULL OFF LIKE A CHARM AND YOU CAN REPOSITION IT

Distressing

Distressing is a technique that adds alot of character to your layouts. You can achieve this look by sanding or inking. Sanding creates the distressed look of wear. You can use sanding blocks or sandpapaer. You can sand: paper, pictures, chipboard, stickers, metal or cardstock.
Gently sand your paper/picture where you want distressed. Keep sanding until you have achieved the look you want. It is a little messy you will have residue, just wipe away.

My favorite is inking. I inked most of my layouts, there is just something I love about it. Must be that you can tell where one pattern paper ends and begins. Or just that it gives it a very bold look. Well whatever it is, I know I am not going to stop inking.

Inking is so easy to do. Take the ink pad and rub it around the edge of your paper . Use as much or as little as you want.

Just Paint It!

When I discovered paint, I discovered the endless possibilities of my supplies. With paint, it doesn't matter what color alphabet I buy, or what color my chipboard embellishments are in the box. If I need a different color, I simply paint it! For me, it makes more since to invest in a good supply of paint--including lots of colors instead of buying one chipboard alphabet in every color. For instance, when I decided to do this layout about my favorite color, I wanted all the elements to be some shade of purple. Problem was, I didn't have the right letters in that shade. So I took some blue and red chipboard letters and painted them purple. And when I decided I wanted to use the mesh on the page, I knew it would need paint since it was bright red!

I often use paint for acrylic accents as well. By painting the back of these letters, I created the look of ready made blue acrylic letters.

And by painting the heart on this layout, I created the look of a ready made red acrylic heart.

Use paint to modify any of your supplies--the colors we use aren't always what's sold at the store, but you can customize any of your embellishments to fit your layout perfectly!

Heat and Stick Powder

This is some serious mad fun ladies. Break out the following supplies
(latex gloves optional) and let the glittering begin. Heat and Stick is the best thing to keep glitter in place and not rubbing off on everything that it touches, including you.

Supplies you will need:

Heat Gun
Craft ink OR Versamarker
Heat and Stick powder
Glitter, flocking, sand, or colored sand (you choose)
2 powder buddy trays or coffe filters works fine
tweezers
chipboard or cardstock

1. First you stamp your chipboard or image into pigment ink such as Stampin' UP! Carft pad, embossing pad or VersaMark Pad.


2. Then you generously apply heat and stick powder all over your chipboard, shaking off excess

*note* if using versamark you will need to move quicker than you would with the craft pad because it dries pretty fast.


3. Heat your chipboard until you see it melt. If you over heat it looses a lot of the stickiness. When the image turns shiny and clear immediately stop.
*note* if you are using cardstock heat from the underneath. The biggest problem people have with Heat and Stick is over heating, which dries out the adhesive or "tackiness" thereby rendering it useless.


4. Spoon or do like I do and just dump straight from the container your glitter, flocking, colored sand or whatever else you choose over the warm sticky image or chipboard. Tap off excess but DON'T brush off all the flakes yet.


5. You MUST do this next step: Reheat image again. This will set adhesive. There is no precise anount of time and no visble change for the second heating. Basically you are now reheating to dry the adhesive so your glitter or sand or whatever you choose will stick. If using cardstock re heat from the underneath to reduce glitter blowing everywhere. Voice of experience talking here :)


IF you are using crdstock once the adhesive is set then you can brush off the remaining on the cardstock. You can rub your finger right across the image and have to worry about whatever you applied to the heat and stick coming off.

PLEASE NOTE CONFETTI FROM STAMPIN' UP! GLITTER STACKS DOES NOT LIKE HEAT AND STICK AND WILL CURL UP AND POP OFF. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HEAT THE IMAGE A SECOND TIME WHEN USING IT.

Here's a tip:
Use colored pigment ink with colored glitter or colored ink with white glitter.
For that particular image up above I chose white pigment ink with dazzling diamonds glitter (both from stampin up) It's hard to see the shimmer in pictures but believe me it is phenomenal in person.

If anyone has any question please feel free to ask and leave you email in the comments and I will respond to you.

Happy glittering!

Cricut

Okay, I'm the first to admit it, I am a cricut freak! It is my absolute favorite scrapbooking tool! I purchased mine almost a year ago and have never looked back. The fonts available from Provo Craft are so cute and versatile and make creating a title so much easier. Each cartridge has several font options (tags, silhouettes, shadow, etc) and now some, such as Opposites attract, even offer more than one font. Gone are the days of searching through stacks of letter stickers trying to find a perfect match, only to find halfway through applying a word that you're missing a letter! With a few simple button strokes I have my title, the perfect size and color for my current project. The cricut completely takes the frustration out of scrapbooking and has considerably increased my production... and it is just so much fun to use!

***Some tips***
The most common dilemma I have hard from cricut users is how to adhere the cutouts. I have found that what works best for me is to run them through my Xyron machine. Refills are inexpensive and there is no mess! I have discovered that if you simply trace the cutout with a pen before removing the top layer of the Xyron sheet, you are able to avoid any extra adhesive that may be clinging to the edges of your cutout.

For more tips and ideas you can visit www.cricut.com. They have a great message board full of wonderful tips and ideas.

Stuck on Mod Podge

For some, the very words Mod Podge bring psychedelic visions of decoupaged furniture and ‘artwork’ from the 1970’s. But Mod Podge has made quite a comeback in the world of scrapbooking and altered art.

My first encounter with this gooey adhesive was 3 years ago, when I decided to alter an album cover. I had heard of people using Mod Podge to achieve the look I was going for, so I went out and bought a 16oz jar of Matte finish Plaid brand Mod Podge. (I am still using the same jar 3 years later…no one told me just how far this stuff will go!)

Armed with foam brushes, patterned paper, and other various embellishments, I tackled the somewhat daunting task of altering an album. After carefully applying a layer of ‘Podge to my album and adhering my first piece of paper I knew I was hooked. There is something to be said for the ability of altering a production line item to look like your own, and I loved the way the finished sealed project looked.

Since my first foray into altering, I have become a self proclaimed Mod Podge expert. This versatile stuff can be used solely as an adhesive, or can be used as a top coat to seal your finished product. I’ve used it on metal (sand first), wood, canvas, and chipboard. I’ve altered lunch boxes, albums, coasters, boxes, even a watering can! Mod Podge is inexpensive, comes in Glossy and Matte finishes, is water based for easy clean up, and is acid free so it’s safe for use in scrapbooking.

The key to using this adhesive is to keep your layers thin when using under paper, and smoothing out any bubbles. It dries fairly quickly, so you don’t have a long wait time between layers. I’ve found that when using dimensional items such as ribbons, tags, or even textured stickers, a thin top coat works great for sealing them to the project.

If you are thinking of creating any altered artwork, or just making an album one of a kind, then I would recommend investing in a jar of Mod Podge.

Stickles

What are stickles? They are like the greatest invention
ever! No, not really but they are awesome, one of my
favorites. They are a must have for every scrapbooker!

Stickles are a thick glitter gel that comes in many
colors. They are so easy to use. The fine tip let's
you apply as much or as little as you want. All you
do is squeeze the bottle.

Here are some examples on how to used them, but
remember there are many more. I am
sure you can come up with some yourself.

**Used them to highlight circles, stars, squares or any other
form with dots (see ex. 1) see layout.

**Use as a flower center on small flowers like primas or
coat the entire flower for a sparkly look. Also use it

on brads. (see ex. 2)

**Use it to glue down ghost letters, flowers or stars
from Heidi Swapp. (see ex. 3)

**Use on chipboards, decorated them or outline them.
(see ex. 4)

Other ideas, try to highlight/enhance rubber
or clear stamps.

The possibilities
are endless. Remember to let them dry at least two hours or maybe
overnight if you use a lot of it.

So add sparkle and excitement to your layouts and cards. And remember
have fun.

Heat Embossing

I was introduced to heat embossing a few years ago at a Stampin' Up workshop. At first I was really nervous and not sure what I was doing, but after a few tries I realized what a cool technique it was!

Supplies you will need are your stamp of choice (both rubber stamps and acrylic stamps are fine for this), versamark, a versamarker or versaink, embossing powder, a small paintbrush, a heating tool, and I like to have a funnel tray (although a paper towel or waxed paper will do nicely too).


First you want to ink up your stamp with your versamark, make sure you thoroughly cover your stamp but don't flood it or your detail will be ruined. Then ink your paper, if you are using versamark it will leave a watermark. Shake your embossing powder entirely over the stamped image, it should be entirely covered. Hold your image over your tray or waxed paper and tap off all excess powder and return to jar. With your small paintbrush sweep off any extra powder as this will melt when heated and show in your finished product.

Once you are happy with your powdered image get your heating tool out and turn it on for a few seconds to let it heat up. Hold it directly over your image but not to close, you can singe the paper. You're image is embossed when it turns from powdery to glossy (if you are using a distress powder it will not gloss). It usually takes only 2-3 seconds for it to change. Make sure you get the entire image glossy and then let it cool off. It will be a beautiful raised image when you are done.

Create your own Rub On's

If any of you are like me you see some graphics, dingbats or other types of fonts you wished came in rub on's..well now you can have them.

Supplies you will need:

transparency
computer
word processing program
INK jet printer (you cannot use laset jet)
bone folder or craft stick
cardstock

Step one:
Open your word processing program and type the saying or whatever you want. Dingbats..alpahabet..phrases..graphics..clip art
(make sure you don't violate and copyright though!)

Step two:
Before printing, set your printer at the photo quality or “best” quality print so you can get a lot of ink transfered. Remember to reverse or mirror your text - it must print out backwards! Then print.

Step three:
Set your printed transparency aside for about 15 minutes for the ink to dry a bit. (If you use it too soon, it will smear.

Step four:
Flip the transparency over (ink-side down) and gently place over your cardstock exactly where you want the image. Using a craft stick or a bonefolder, rub over the entire printed image to transfer the ink to the cardstock. (This is the same process as using a store-bought rub-on's.) There may be some ink left over on the transparency; this can be cleaned off with alcohol and used again.

Step five:
Use your image or text to decorate a scrapbook page, a card, or even an altered gift item...the possibilities are endless!


Some tips-
*You can not use a laser printer for this...#1 - the transparency will melt (unless it is a special kind) and ruin your printer...#2 - the image/text is not printed with a wet ink...nothing will transfer from the transparency.

*I don’t know if it matters what side of the transparency you use. Some say you must use the shiny side and some say you must use the rough side. My transparency was shiny on both sides...

*Someone gave the tip of spraying the transparency with Krylon Preserve It before printing for easier removal of the rub-on...I didn’t try this and mine worked fine. If your image is not rubbing off smoothly, you may want to check it out.

*the only difference in making your own and store bought is when you rub off your own that you made only the image is rubbed off there is no "haze" around the image or letter like there is with store bought!

Happy Creating! It's addicting :)

NOTE: I did not come up with this I saw this somewhere a while back and don't remember where*

Greta...a side note from me (Noel)....I love this idea especially since you can make your rub ons any color you want (provided you have a color ink jet) and any size! Great tips!

Sew Simple

When I first noticed stitching on layouts, I thought to myself, “I’ll never be able to try that—I can’t sew!” But you know what? Even the worst seamstress (which I would probably qualify for) can sew on layouts! Stitching on your layouts adds another dimension to your project and helps to “anchor” your elements to the page.

**The first thing I do before sewing on any layout is practice on an extra sheet of paper. I like to make sure my stitching will look right and it helps to check the overall threading of the machine.

**When you are comfortable with the look of the stitch, sew directly on the paper BEFORE adhering it to the layout. If you adhere it first, you are likely to have bubbles in your page. Only after you stitch do you adhere to the layout.

**If you find that you have trouble sewing a straight line, keep your layout in the “freestyle” form so that a crooked stitch fits right in with the design.

**Get the look of sewn on buttons by running thread through buttons with a needle as your guide. Simply attach them with a glue dot once they are threaded.

**If you don’t have a sewing machine, you can still get the sewn look by handstitching. Use a needle and thick thread directly on your paper—it usually helps to punch the holes beforehand so that you can just run the stitch quickly through with the needle.

**Remember that sewing on paper usually wears out a needle faster than sewing on material. Change your needle often and have fun trying this new technique!

The QuicKutz Silhoutte

by Apryl Herrell

Best thing since sliced bread? Almost! It’s the best thing since die cut machines anyway. The Silhoutte by QuicKutz is a very versatile crafting tool.

The software that comes with the Silhoutte is easy to use. There are preloaded shapes in the software, and you can use any font installed on your computer. Additional shapes are available to download, and can be purchased directly from the Silhoutte software.

The best part is; you aren’t limited to the QuicKutz shapes! There is an option in the software to capture the outline of any image you choose! For example: I needed a coffee cup for this layout.

I just found a coffee cup image online, and saved it to my computer. I then went into the Silhoutte software and clicked on the green square at the end of the toolbar. From there you can load your image and make a cutting outline. Obviously some shapes will work better than others, but imagine the possibilities!!

You can use this same technique to create welded (connected letter) words. I use Photoshop (or your favorite photo/graphic editing software) to type out a word. If the letters aren’t already connected, I move them around until they are. I then save it as a JPEG file. Then you can go into the Silhoutte software and capture an outline just like I did with the coffee cup.

All in all, the Silhoutte is a very versatile tool. You have complete control over the size and shape of your ‘die’ cutting. Let your imagination go wild!