Thursday, April 23, 2009

Combining words to make a title




Have you ever struggled to come up with a creative title to explain the photos? I did with this layout, until the idea to put two words together. The title of this layout is 'slurfing'. I combined the words sledding and surfing, because that is basically what Skylar was doing in the photos. In addition to making up the title, I added a definition of the word to give the title more meaning. It's a fun and clever way to explain an event or moment, give it a try!

Friday, April 17, 2009

Purrrfect Project Friday

Time is just flying by!

This week's purrfect project challenge is One for the Boys.

I tend to create projects that are quite girly - who can resist all those pretty things on offer? So to create something more masculine is some what of a challenge for me.

Firstly, Rita has created a gorgeous frame for a baby boy.

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I love the idea of including the hand and foot print in the frame. And just take a look at the denim swatch and metal tag.

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I'm obviously along the same wavelength as Rita, creating a frame for my DS. I've gone for a grunge/urban look to reflect his age. He still loves to play although he is definately growing up too fast!

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I've stamped and painted over the patterned paper to give it a bit more grunge. The robots are by Stampendous.

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So why not join in with this week's challenge? Create something for a boy or man. It can be anything such as a card, tag, gift, etc. as long as it's not a traditional scrapbook layout. See here for all the info. You'll get a entry into the monthly prize draw for every project you upload!

I can't wait to see what you do!

Morag x

Saturday, April 11, 2009

TAG! You're it!

Tags - 3 Ways

We all have them in our stash.... tags. It's one of those versatile items that is a must have. You can use them for journaling, framing pictures, making cute ornaments for holiday trees... they even come from the paper companies pre-designed.

Today I'm going to show you how to use up that tag supply - 3 ways.

1.
Here is a super easy way to use a pre-designed tag. This is an old Making Memories tag. I simply tied a bow to the hole on the tag, used some small MM Alpha letters to say Thank You, and attached a photo corner to finish it off. Quick easy card when you are in a hurry.
Tag card

2.
The second way I used tags was on my layout - Epcot, Around the World in a Day. These are just plain office tags. I had 2 different sizes, the smaller was 1-7/8" x 3-3/4" and the larger was 2-5/8" x 5-1/4". I placed the tags on the layout using them as an embellishment. The light off white color of the tag was a nice contrast to the dark color of the Making Memories Dark Blue Varnished Passport paper. They also helped my pictures stand out a bit more. On the bottom tag I used it to document the date, again using the Making Memories tiny alphas in black. (love these letters!) I also used the MM Passport chipboard letters that are in the same color as the tags for my lower title.
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3.
The third way I used tags was to make a tag mini book of quotes about friends. It's a nice quick project using up things from your scrapbook stash and makes a great gift!

I used 5 plain office tags. First I inked the edges. Attached some paper and embellishments, and a quote on each inside page that I printed off of my computer. I attached the mini tag book together with a pretty bow. That's it. Simple easy tag mini.
tag friend min cov
tag friend fan

Inside pages:
tag minibook spreads

And there you have it! Tags 3 Ways. I hope this inspired you to break out those tags and play.

Chris

Friday, April 3, 2009

Need to replenish your supply of cards?

If you're like me, you have a small stash of cards ready to send out for various occasions. This is a great way to use up some leftover scrap supplies, and at the same time, have a great card ready when needed for any occasion - one that will usually be much more cherished and appreciated than a card that is store-bought.


But I don't get into "card-making mode" as often as I would like, and as a result, sometimes my stash starts to run low. Especially of the most often needed ones, like Happy Birthday. So, here is a great way to give yourself a push to beef up your card stash! Sit down and go on a mini-cardmaking binge! Grab some scraps from a favorite line, coordinating cardstock, a few of your favorite tools, and your stamps or stickers (or even use your computer for the sentiments). You'll find that you can whip up a number of gorgeous, coordinated cards in no time at all!

For my own private cardmaking party, I pulled out scraps from three awesome lines that I worked with over the past month: My Mind's Eye Penny Lane - Free Bird, Pebbles Inc. Downtown, and 3 Bugs in a Rug Snips and Snails. I just love all of these lines, and had some great scraps available after making pages with them. I then pulled out one piece of cardstock that coordinated with each line. Of course, depending on how many scraps you have and how many cards you want to make, you could pull multiple sheets of cardstock to match each line. I picked an orange for the Pebbles Inc, and two different shades of green for the other two.



Next, I wanted to work on the cards sort of assembly-line style, so I cut all of my card bases from the cardstock. Since I made all of mine quarter-fold cards, I got 2 cards per 12x12 sheet of cardstock, with some pieces left over that I could use on the cards, if needed. Alternatively, you could get one quarter-fold card plus one 5x6.5 card from a 12x12 piece of cardstock, or two 6x6 cards with no leftover. (Remember though that a 6x6 card requires additional postage if sent via US Mail!).

And now the fun begins! I just went at it, basically doing the cards two at a time - working with each line separately. Cutting, tearing, inking, punching my paper to create a design that I liked on the card base. I added my paper to all six card bases first, and then came back and did all the sentiments at one time. This worked out great and made the process very easy, quick and efficient! I managed to pull out some of those stamps that I just had to have (LOL) but hadn't used yet. After adding the sentiments, I went back and did one last "final touches" pass of all 6 cards. For me, that mostly meant adding brads because I just love 'em! But it could be brads, flowers, buttons - whatever you like!

When I was finished, I had a nice assortment of cards to add to my stash! Here they are.

My Mind's Eye:



3 Bugs:



Pebbles Inc:




This was a great way to spend a couple of hours at my scrap table, replenish my cards supply, take a little diversion from making layouts, and juice up the mojo! I'd love to see what you come up with on your card-making binge, so have at it!

- Debbie