Let the Paper take the Lead

I am lucky enough to have a girl and a boy, so when it comes to scrapping, everything goes! I tend to be drawn to the pretty papers for girls and sometimes find it difficult to find cool boy stuff. Well not this year, there seems to be loads of cool stuff for boys.

Fancy Pants who can do no wrong in my eyes, have come up with Rough and Tumble which is just fabulous for the lil' man in your life. I love the doodled artwork on the papers and rub-ons.

I would normally load up a page with papers and embellishments, but the Oh Boy paper had done all the hard work for me. As I couldn't just put a photo on top of the paper (where would the designer in me be?) I added some depth to the background with Glimmer mist and Distress Ink. A small strip of Magic Mesh which had been cut higgledy-piggledy frames one of my photos. I added rub-ons to black card stock before cutting them out and layering over the mesh.

To finish off I added another rub-on for the title.

So why not let the paper do all the design work for your next layout?

Be sure to pop back next week when there will be more projects and we'll also be participating in the Adornit Blog hop on Thursday!

Thanks for stopping by.

Morag x

"joy" frame

It's never too early to get a jump start on Christmas gifts or home decor. Handmade picture frames are a wonderful gift from the heart that will be treasured for years to come. They also add a great personal feel to your home decor.

This week I am going to share how I made this frame. It doesn't take a lot of time (I am thinking aobut 90 minutes, but it's probably less. It took me days to get everything done since I only had a few minutes here and there.), nor does it take a lot of paper.




supplies:
picture frame
several sheets of patterned paper
glue
ribbon
embellishments
chipboard letters



step 1: select several sheets of the oh-so-cute Eskimo Kisses line from Basic Grey. (I just love the colors and mix of prints in this line!) The best part is they are double-sided so you can mix it up.


step 2: cut 1- 1"x12" strip from each sheet of paper. Cut more than one of you want to use a lot of a particular piece. (I tried to keep an even mix of pink, blue and green colors using the others to fill in for a dramatic effect.)

step 3: cut each of these 1" strips to 2.75" lengths. Set aside. (I didn't measure ahead, I just randomly picked this length and width. Thankfully it worked out well for the frame I was using. You can always adjust if you need to.) I ended up needing 53 strips. But don't worry if you don't cut enough the first time, you can always add more as needed.

step 4: Fold each section and glue the inside ends together to form a loop. DO NOT FOLD. I actually rolled mine around a fat pen and then glued the ends and this helped to give a more loopy appearance. Let them dry. I highly recommend a quick-dry glue like Zip Dry for this step. It saves a lot of time.


step 5: Lay the rolled pieces onto your frame and arrange until you get your desired look. I have my loops facing upward for the top portion of my frame, and then facing downward for the rest. Once satisfied I then placed the pieces beside my frame so I would have everything all laid out to glue them onto the frame.

step 6: Glue the pieces down. I found it easiest to do this by putting glue over a section of the frame so I would glue and lay out each row separately. Leave a small area/row of the frame showing. This is where the pieces meet and the ribbon will be placed. ( I had about 1/4"). Let dry.


step 7: Glue ribbon over open space. Overlap ribbon along sides and glue onto back to make more secure.

step 8: tie ribbon bow, and finish with desired embellishments.

Here are a few more detail shots:






I hope I havve inspired you to try to make your own frame! If you do so, please share with us by linking your finished project onto this post. Be sure to stop by the Ally Scraps store and check out all the fabulous new and "old" goodies! You will be sure to find plenty of product to inspire you.
Happy creating!
Rae

soooooo SPOILED!

When I got this brand new Crate Paper line, BLISS at home this week, I was in love! It's one of my new favorite scrapbook lines... and I was so excited to get right to work using it. I made this layout of my "spoiled" daughter and her new cell phone, that I swore she wasn't getting for Christmas :).



I really like how this two-sided paper has a patterned side and a plain colored side too. I used FIVE different papers on my layout from the bliss line. And guess what?? I used 13!!! pieces of the coordinating chipboard, that must be a record.

Check out all of the new Crate Paper lines in the store, and while you're there, take a peek at everything new... there are TONS of new products, plenty to get you in a scrappy mood.

Hey, it's November, and a new month means new guest designers. We have Morag and Raechelle with us this month, members of the last AllyScraps DT. Can't wait to see what they have in store for us. Check out their stuff later this week. Enjoy!

~ Dana

Happy Birthday Dear Cathy!!!

It's Cathy's birthday here at AllyScraps... and we're sending her big HUGS and Happy Birthday wishes to her for an awesome BIRTHDAY! :)





Hope you have a great day Cathy!

~ Dana and Morag

Wow, Jana Eubank!!!

Jana! You're the best. :) Love this layout, it has so many wonderful features. That big block of photos is an amazing part of the design, and all of the circles draw your eyes directly to the focal point. Love the letter stickers right on the photo too, super cool. Jana mixed papers from Jillibean Soup and Scrap Within Reach for her page. She also used Jenni Bowlin letter stickers and flowers from Jillibean Soup as a fun addition! Here's Jana's layout, Guppy Island.



This is Jana's last project with AllyScraps this month, but we know you'll want to keep an eye on her amazing work... so be sure to check out her blog! Thanks so much Jana, we've SO enjoyed having you at AllyScraps and you're always invited back.

~ Dana