December Guest Designer - Susan Alton!

We are so pleased to have Susan Alton (LadyMissSusan) as a guest designer for the month of December, here at AllyScraps. She prepared this super cool tutorial on how to make stiched ribbon flowers... here's Susan!

If you can thread a needle and do a whip stitch then you can make this ribbon flower!

1. Start with piece of ribbon, thread, needle and scissors.

2. Cut ribbon to 6"-10" depending on width of ribbon and desired size of flower. Thread needle and knot thread on end..(thread doesn't need to match exactly as you won't really see it.)

3. Fold ribbon in a zig-zag or pleating pattern.

4. Push needle thru all layers of the ribbon and pull until you know it hits the end.

5. Turn needle back thru all layers of the ribbon again. (If you would like a looser flower this step is not necessary.)

6. Pull ends around to touch, loosening pleats along the way.

7. Pull thread and needle to the back of flower.

8. Whip stitch the two ends together, knotting at end and cutting off thread

9. Your ribbon flower. You can add a button to the flower or possibly an old piece of jewelry as I did on this layout.

Thanks so much Susan, beautiful layout and cool project!

Gina Johnson - December Guest Design Team Member!!

We are so pleased to have Gina Johnson as one of our special guest designers at AllyScraps for the month of December! And, even more excited to post her really cool altoid tin mini album tutorial for you all to see! Thanks Gina, this is SO cute! Here's Gina project....

Altered Altoid Mini Album
I love making these for gifts for so many different reasons! They’re small and don’t take long, they’re easy to personalize for whoever you’re making it for and they can stand a lot of beating. That last fact is really important if you’re making it for a grandma or someone who is going to throw it in their purse and take it everywhere!
OK, to start off you’re going to need a piece of cardstock 10 5/8" x 3 ½", a Altoid tin, scraps of patterned paper, Modge Podge, and acrylic paint and embellishments (if desired.)
To start off I painted the top of my tin with white acrylic paint. If you don’t want to do this you can also just wrap a ribbon around the exposed edge after you're done with everything else. It’s ok if the top is streaky because you’re going to cover it anyway, I was mainly painting it to get the edge covered since it didn’t match my patterned paper.

To decorate the top of the tin I cut a piece of Imaginisce Fairest of Them All paper to 3 3/4" x 2 3/8" and glued it down. Don’t be too worried about gluing it well as we’re going to be sealing it with Modge Podge.

Next I inked the edges and then adhered the RollerRink Glitter Thickers. I ended up overlapping them because the name I wanted to use was too long otherwise. Because I overlapped the letters I knew I wanted a VERY thick coat of Modge Podge so that the letters would be secure no matter how roughly this was treated.

Now that your tin is done set it aside to dry and we can get started on the album. Once you have your cardstock cut, you’re going to score it at 2 1/8", 4 ¼", 6 3/8", and 8 ½".

After you’ve got it all scored, accordion fold it and use your bone folder or fingernail to make sure the creases are all crisp.

Your next step is to round the corners (that’s one Patti will love! ;)) I find it easiest to hold two pages together and round the corners that way.

That’s it! You’re ready to decorate your album as desired. I used more of the Imaginisce Fairest of Them All line for this little mini. I also used some Fancy Pants stamps from the Daily Grind line. Also, a little tip, to make this easier to remove from the tin, add a little ribbon to the bottom page and always tuck it up so its sticking out on the top when you put it in the tin, then you can just pull on it and the whole album comes out. And here’s my finished album. I made this for the mom of the little girl I babysit occasionally.

Thanks for looking! Gina

Christmas Countdown Offer

Wow, can you believe it is only 20 days until Christmas?!!

Shop online at Ally Scraps and enjoy some great specials, we have several items specially priced, check them out here. These would make great Christmas gifts! All online orders placed tonight and tomorrow will recieve a $10.00 gift certificate good on your next Ally Scraps order!.


I'll leave you with some inspiration using some of the products that we have on special offer.



Have a great weekend

Cathy

P.S.
Remember shipping is still only $4.95 on all order shipped within the U.S.

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November DT reveal!

Our November Design Team reveal is a Manufacturer feature. My Mind's Eye is one of the Design Team's most favorite lines of paper and embellishments! Good for boy pages, girl pages and holiday pages... My Mind's Eye has paper perfect for any layout! We hope you love what we came up with, and are inspired to work with some My Mind's Eye yourself. Thanks for taking a look.

Trish

Trish's page is a true example of girlie FUN! I love the super design, the way she used the die cut and the cool stitching! Trish used the My Mind's Eye Dreamy 2 - Delightful line for her page. Awesome job Trish!

Kary
Kary's 2 page layout is such an awesome BOY page... LOVE the fun color combination with a touch of black, the awesome title and the pictures that really tell a story! Kary used the My Mind's Eye Dreamy 2 - Brilliant line of papers for her layout. Super project Kary!

Dana

I just love these pictures of my two daughters first thing one Christmas morning... really shows the JOY they felt right at that moment! I used the My Mind's Eye Be Merry line of papers for my layout. I love the colors of this paper, the fun patterns and the die cuts too!

Debbie
Speaking of JOY, these pictures of Debbie's son are so happy! Love the look of triumph on his face, and I love the way the simple lines of her layouts really highlight the photos! The circles and the paper layering are awesome too. Debbie used the My Mind's Eye Dreamy 2 - Brilliant papers for her page and the colors are just perfect for her page! Cool 2 page layout Debbie!

Morag

Morag used her My Mind's Eye line of paper to make a Halloween layout, love how her non-themed papers highlight the theme of her pictures. And, love how the simple design of her page really make the pictures stand out. I also really enjoy how Morag mixed up the My Mind's Eye Dreamy 2 paper lines for her page. Beautiful layout Morag!

Thanks so much for taking a look at our November DT reveal, see you next month!

~ Dana

Sweet Gifts on a Shoestring Budget!

The holiday season is approaching!

Time to make those lists and check them twice!

There are lots of people to remember, huh? and given the economy, funds are probably tight.

You might think about scaling back... or you might get inventive!

Looking around my scraproom I found I have lots of things that I could repurpose for making cost friendly gifts! -

That plastic packaging that my favorite embellishments come is the first thing I thought of; I have a ton and I know you do too! These have a variety of repurposing possibilities.

In this project I used the packaging from Bo Bunny Stick em Up embellishments and MME's Be Merry collection (http://www.allyscraps.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=My+Minds+Eye+Be+Merry&Search.x=33&Search.y=19) to make a treat container.



It makes a cute, simple and yet sweet gift to remember coworkers and neighbors! (maybe even your postman/woman or your children's classmates!)

I also used similiar packaging from Chatterbox's Artsy-licious embellishments to make an ornament for the tree. (and I only used scraps on this one!)

These are perfect for Grandparents, or any other member of your family!

The next thing I remembered is that I have a stash of old holiday cards! I cannot bear to throw them away, but do I really need to save them? probably not... These old holiday cards are the perfect source of inspiration and Christmas card embellishments! -

On the card below, I cut the Santa out of an old Christmas card and combined it with some scraps for a cute, cheap Christmas card that I can send to a friend or attach to a gift!

So, while times may be tough this holiday season, there is no reason to cross anyone off your list! You have a wealth of gift possibilities, that some might consider trash, right in your scraproom! With a little imagination you can give simple gifts that are full of thought and love... and not break your budget! (afterall, it is most important to remember it is the thought that really counts during the holidays, not the size of the gift!)...

Have fun creating

xoxo

Trish