Christmas Layouts

Good Morning! The above layouts and card were the last class of the year at the store. Cathy designed these, using embellishments from K & Co. The blue card stock is Bo Bunny. We are using this line quite a bit. One side is dot to dot design, the other is a shaded solid. Very versatile. The ribbon is also from Bo Bunny. Hope you are all ready for the holidays. I am not quite there yet...but I will be! Have a great day. Linda

New Christmas Cards

Good Afternoon. It is a dark and gloomy day here in central Indiana. Good day to stay in and work on some Christmas cards. Cathy designed the above cards, using some of the new felt embellishments in the store. Let us know what you think. If you have yet to make some cards for friends or family, maybe this will be the inspiration to get started. (I need to start!) Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by. Linda

Christmas Layouts by Cathy

Today we have some new Jillibean paper layouts from Cathy. These Christmas papers are softer in color, but a lot of fun to work with. Have a great weekend. Are you ready for the holidays? Linda

The Birthday Bag

Good Morning! Kathy Belcher is joining us as a class instructor at Allyscraps, and isn't this adorable? This is a birthday gift bag. Once you learn the basic technique, you could make these darling bags for absolutely any occasion. This class will be on Sunday, January 18th, at the store at 1pm. The cost is $12, and as always, all classes must be prepaid. We are trying to line up a variety of projects to chase away those winter doldrums after the holidays. Come in to Allyscraps and see what is available! The list of what you will need for this class will be posted in the store. Thanks for stopping by. Linda

Graphic 45 School Box

Want to start the New Year off on a creative foot? Due to popular demand, I will once again be teaching the class on the Graphic 45 ABC Primer box on Sunday, January 8, 2012 at the store. The cost is $20, and the class must be prepaid. Class starts at 1pm and will last 2 hours. A basic kit is required. Join us and have some fun! Thanks, Linda

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?

Looking for something a little different this year? This project would make a great centerpiece on your holiday table. The best part is you can fill the sleigh with whatever you like to enhance your entertainment plan. This is the sleigh from Kaiser Craft, made of a hard, pressed wood like material. It comes to you in five easy pieces to assemble. I do recommend using a little tacky glue on each piece as you snap it together. I primed the entire sleigh in acrylic white paint (craft paint), intending to do a white and silver sleigh at first. Changed my mind! The gold is Ranger's gold paint dabber. I used a paint brush to apply the gold, and it covered in one coat. Love the burnished look. The Christmas paper is also from Kaiser Craft, except for solid red card stock on the back. The grapevine wreath was purchased at Hobby Lobby. A little greenery from my stash, and baker's twine from the store. To get the shape right on the sides, I used a plain piece of printer paper and ran a finger along the edges to make an imprint. I then cut the paper out, double checking for the size and shape. I traced it in pencil onto the Kaiser paper, and cut it out. For adhering the paper to the sleigh, I used a matte medium gel which can be found in the art section of any hobby type store, but any good quality liquid adhesive will work. The trick is to make sure you have adhesive all the way to the edge of the paper. If you have not tried any of the Kaiser Craft pieces before, you are in for a treat. This material is super easy to work with, takes paint or ink very well, and the paper adheres beautifully. Cathy has a variety available in the store and online. If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I'll reply as soon as possible. Thanks for stopping by! Linda

We're Having a Baby

I just love these layouts! Cathy did this for the mom-to-be, using Karen Foster pagers and embellishments. Black card stock is the base, but she added some white Cat's Eye on the edges. So cute! Thanks for stopping by. Did everyone have a great Thanksgiving? We sure did. Linda

Happy Thanksgiving

We would like to wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy this day. Cathy and Linda

Christmas Box

The new Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium papers are now available at Allyscraps! I was inspired to create this Graphic 45 5x5 box by Jen Lowe Designs on YouTube. Gotta love the internet. There is so much talent out there. I primed the box first with Americana Santa Red paint. I've had this color for a few years, so I'm not sure if it is still available, but it wouldn't be hard to find a red that you like. The box then sat overnight to make sure it was completely dry. The front cover pieces are in a miter cut. Like that little lamp post? It's from Prima, and I used craft paint to color it (comes out of the package white), then when it was dry, added a final coat of Ranger Glossy Accents. I also used Glossy Accents to glue the lamp post to the box and weighted it down with two punches for an hour. Wanted to make sure it was on there and would stay put. For the double sided mini album inside the box, I used Bo Bunny dark green dot card stock, alternating with one of the Graphic 45 designs. There are 2 pockets, and I used the small gift tags from a sheet of Graphic to create my own tags. Red and white baker's twine completes the tags. Hope you like it. I had a great time putting this together. Everyone have a safe and delicious Thanksgiving. Linda

The video on YouTube does not show how she did the box, simply the finished product. Start by painting the box in red, letting it dry overnight. To miter the paper for the covers, cut 2 strips 5 inches long by 1 1/4 inches wide (please check that, my box is at the store!). Hold one piece horizontally, one piece vertically, and line up the edges. You cut from the bottom corner to the top corner, and have a perfect miter every time. I used Ranger's Glossy Accents to make the windows shine in the window shopping picture. Let that dry overnight as well, as it will remain tacky for hours. Other than that, it's simply what you want it to be. Have fun! Linda

New Cards

Cathy has been busy making new samples for the store. The cards she created using the flower kit and papers from Little Yellow Bicycle. The bingo cards are from Jenni Bowlen. I apologize for the poor photographs, but we have not had any sunshine in days, and I wanted to get something new on the blog. Anyway, the flowers just pop off the front of the cards. They would be great for a birthday or thinking of you type card, too! Everything is available from Allyscraps. Thanks for stopping by. Linda

Graphic 45 School Box

I love working with the new Graphic 45 chipboard box. And one of my favorite Graphic paper lines is the ABC Primer collection. This was a recent class at the store. We had a great response for this, so hopefully we can do another project along these lines again. You will need 6 sheets of Graphic 45 ABC Primer paper to do this, 2 of the paper with the ruler. I used the "addition/subtraction" sheet for the sides. All of the edges were inked after the paper was placed. Several of the ladies in class added a ribbon tie to theirs, placing the end of the ribbon underneath the paper on the front and back. Have a great, creative day and thanks for stopping by. Linda

Cards

We had a card class a few weeks ago at the store. It was a lot of fun, and everyone was happy with these three ideas. Products used were: Glitz Vintage Blue paper for the two blue cards, Reminisce Santa paper, kraft paper, baker's twine, and bling. The stamps for the holly leaves, post card and Merry Christmas are from Tim Holtz. We used Graphic 45 ABC Primer paper and stamps for the school days card, along with card stock. Have a great day! Linda

We're Back!

It has been awhile, but hopefully we will be publishing on a regular basis. Today we have a mini album done with the Maya Road large tags and Fancy Pants paper. I also added two of the Maya Road mini envelopes. They are such fun to work with. All of the edges were inked with Cat's Eye Chestnut Roan, one of our favorites at the shop. If you're in the area, please stop by Allyscraps at the new location: 1217 E Main St in Plainfield, IN. The store is open Wednesday through Friday, 10am to 6pm, and Saturdays 10am to 5pm. There are samples everywhere! Cathy and I have been very busy. Thanks for stopping by. Linda

so precious.

Beatriz Jennings has one last project to share with us this month, a beautiful card and tag set... so precious! :) I love every little detail, and I'm always so amazed at the beautiful bows she creates for her projects!



Tag Supply list
Pink paislee Sweetness Collection, Love Blooms
Pink paislee, Artisan Elements
Glitz Design Love Nest, Stickers

Step by step instructions
1. Cut a piece of cardstock and adhere paper, paint edges of tag, machine stitch, cut artisan element in half
2. Tie a bow around tag, adhere artisan element and adhere sticker, apply rub ons on the top right corner of tag
3. Adhere buttons and flower.




Card Supply List
Melissa Frances 5th Avenue Collection, Essie and Ebony
Pink paislee Sweetness Collection, Love Blooms
Pink Paislee Artisan Elements
Kaiser Kraft Le chateau, Rubons

Step by step instructions
1. Make card from cardstock and cover with Essie paper, tie ribon around card, cut flowers image and adhere to card.
2. Cut ebony paper and add a piece of lace on one side adhere on the bottom of card and machine stitch
3. Adhere artisan element . Cut a piece of cardstock and apply rub ons adhere to card, finish with flower and buttons.

Thanks so much Bety! I'm sure we'll enjoy much more of your gorgeous work in the future. Have a great week. Dana

Wedding guest book.

We're very happy to have Linda Albrecht back at AllyScraps, it's been too long! Linda created a beautiful wedding guest book for us, just in time for wedding season. She's left room on every page for people to sign their names, so be sure to add a beautiful pen if you make this for a gift. :)



Instructions
1. Prep chipboard album by painting with acrylic paint. Once dry lightly sand the edges to distress.
2. Measure and cut papers to fit the outside & inside of the album cover.
3. Apply alphabet stickers to the outside front cover to say, "Our Wedding guests" then apply Mod Podge or other sealer to protect the outside of the album.
4. Prepare individual pages by adhering papers to each. Place a patterned paper along the side with the punched holes and a solid paper on the opposite side. Lightly sand outside edges of the pages as desired.
5. Distress the edges of 4x6" photos using sandpaper and an exacto knife.
6. Adhere a 4x6" photo to each page on the patterned paper side and near the punched hole edge so that there is room for guests to sign along the outside and around the photos.
7. Use a die-cutting machine to cut flower pieces from papers and layer onto some of the pages near the photos. Distress flowers with sandpaper and add a button to the center.
8. Print miscellaneous words and phrases onto cardstock, cut into word strips, distress edges with sandpaper then adhere to pages as desired.
9. Add laces and trims to pages near the photos and thread button holes with string and adhere along the lace strips as desired.
10. Add a Maya Road Trinket pin to a cluster of flowers, adhere pearls or buttons to trims and add velvet petals to flowers as desired.











Supplies
Maya Road Vintage Crochet Trim- Bubble Dots- White
Maya Road Trinket Pins- Leaf brown & turquoise
Maya Road Organza Roses- cream
Crate Paper Eclectic Buttons- "Emma's Shoppe Collection"
Cosmo Cricket Buttons- Salt Air
Cosmo Cricket - Upcycle Collection- "Re-Found"
October Afternoon- Thrift Shop Collection paper- "Still in Box"
Basic Grey Hello Luscious Collection papers- Blissful, Yumberry, Dazzling, Inviting, Succulent, Scrumptious
Maya Road Chipboard Album
Other: Acrylic paint, alphabet stickers, miscellaneous flowers & stickers, solid color cardstocks, velvet leaves, lace, ribbons, & trims

Thanks so much to Linda, for being one of our favorite guest designers. Have a great week! Dana