Outta This Funk

Don't leave anything alone ;P

2009-07-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

Why leave something alone when you can spend 2 minutes to alter it and make it better?

Natalie here :) I can't leave anything alone when I think I can make it prettier, more organized, more functional, or original for me.

This is short and sweet, and doesn't really need any instruction.

I found a little calender/planner at JoAnn's for .50 cents... (I bought 3 cause I had this idea instantly.) (They also had lots of great buttons on clearance/discontinued... might be worth knowing.)

I removed the puppy planner from it's clear plastic cover (like a check book cover) and I used double sided tape to attach beautiful paper over the puppies. (I have a thing for green)

I then trimmed the paper neatly and slid the new planner back into the plastic cover.

Big difference, and now I want to use it!

Plus... I don't like my stuff to have words on the front telling me what it is. Ya I might need that information when I'm looking to buy it, but from that point after... I know what it is.

Happy Altering :P

Blog Hop #2!

2009-06-06T08:01:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! We're having another inspirational blog hop today! C'mon and join in on the fun! You're sure to come away inspired to create something today!

Okay, here's the hopping order and the links:

1. Dee www.adashofdee.blogspot.com
2. Sheri (Fink) http://www.finkshappenings.blogspot.com
3. Library Bunny http://thumpster73.blogspot.com
4. ICutthescrap http://icutthescrap.blogspot.com/
5. Megan (Stampin’ Meg) http://www.peacockpaperie.blogspot.com/
6. Karen (Kpinsonat) http://www.fishingforscraps.blogspot.com/
7. Natalie http://www.getscatty.blogspot.com
8. Andrea http://imlivinonscraps.blogspot.com/
9. Charlene www.scrappinchar.blogspot.com
10. Tara http://purpleprincesstara.blogspot.com/
11. Teri http://terisplace.wordpress.com
12. Robyn www.herebygrace.typepad.com

*Be sure to leave comments because there's lots of candy involved! Hugs and see you there!

Outta This Funk Blog Hop!

2009-04-25T05:36:00.000-07:00

Hello funkettes, we would like to welcome you to our blog hop! We have lots of people participating, and would love you to "Blop" on over and give us all a visit! Here is a little secret- if you leave a comment on every single person's blog involved in the hop, there will be a drawing for a nice little RAK! And if you are the only one that left a comment on every persons blog-- then there will only be one name in the hat huh? ;D I know some of the other gals are offering their own RAK's, so be sure and visit.
We want to share all the talent we have on our "ning" site, so everyone in the hop has posted a little eye candy to give you some inspiration, and hopefully a few ideas on some things you can incorporate into your own works of art. So without further adu we are sending you to Chris's Blog to start you off. Happy "blopping"! http://www.thoughtswithchris.blogspot.com/

If in your travels you find someone that forgot to post their hop, you can come here and find the next person in line. (just highlight, copy and paste the url in yoru browser) that way you can get to everyone. Have fun!

1. Chris: http://www.thoughtswithchris.blogspot.com/
2. Dee: http://www.adashofdee.blogspot.com/
3. Meg: http://peacockpaperie.blogspot.com/
4. Jen: http://scrappingnichols.blogspot.com
5. Nancy: http://anothermdcrabbie.blogspot.com/
6. Ashjoy: http://1Ashjoyl.blogspot.com
7. Sara (Library Bunny): http://thumpster73.blogspot.com
8. Teri: http://terisplace.wordpress.com
9. Joy: http://www.joyhager.blogspot.com/
10. Suzanne: http://whatsinalousyananut.blogspot.com/
11. Andrea: http://imlivinonscraps.blogspot.com/
12. Charlene: http://scrappinchar.blogspot.com
13. Karen: http://www.fishingforscraps.blogspot.com/
14. Wendy: http://www.paperinkandsmiles.blogspot.com/
15. Shellie: http://shellieh98.blogspot.com
16. icutthescrap: http://icutthescrap.blogspot.com/
17. Brenda: http://www.brendasscrappyblog.blogspot.com/
18. Becki: http://ckmommy.blogspot.com/
19. Sheri: http://www.finkshappenings.blogspot.com/
20. Sally Lynn: http://www.inkyheart.typepad.com
21. Tara: http://purpleprincesstara.blogspot.com/
22. Heather: http://heathercarpenter-organizedchaos.blogspot.com
23. Natalie: http://getscatty.blogspot.com/
24. Regina: http://www.reginaeaster.blogspot.com/
25. Robyn: http://www.herebygrace.typepad.com

Photo Albums Revisited

2009-04-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

Hello, Natalie here. I have a fun idea that gets an event scrapped without all the time and expense... with just as much fun. This is great for those of us that want to accomplish more than we should expect to... I might just be doing this more and more since I find it so enjoyable.

Ever given a photo album by someone who knows you love photography and scrapbooking? I have. I used to get disappointed; thinking, what a shame I won't be using this... but now I see it as a fun project with just enough challenge to excite. Sure opening them you just see 4x6 slots looking very uninspiring, but since so many people print 4x6 photos, and it's easy to have them done quickly, this is a no-brainer for many people, but it felt like a light bulb moment for me :)

I started by deciding what was going into my photo album, and made me a mini title page. This took like 10 minutes! That's a die cut fish I had left over from a fishing page I did at a crop. (not my die)

Then I stuck in some photos, and cut some paper to fit.

I had a few photos I'd printed at home, and one 4x6, stuck in a piece of BG to journal on later, and moved right along.

While a passenger in the car, I wrote up some details about fishing on some 3x5 cards and scrap paper, these I will type up later and print them. If I hadn't been in a moving car I could have just written it to use. When I print it up, I will either matt it on scrapbook paper, or print it to cut out at 4x6.

It's crazy how fast an album builds when you're slotting photos into place, and leaving slots to tell the story. I have 2 events I'm still trying to finish large scrapbooks for... now I'm wishing I'd started them this way... I'd be done by now.

The big plus for me doing it this way -I'm not compelled to find ways to embellish each page.

~That's so liberating!

Maybe try this the next time you want to scrap an event and feel you have no time for it :)

Calendar Gift Bag

2009-03-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

Jen here! I just wanted to share this bag that I made for my girlfriend's birthday. I just loved being able to personalize it with her birthdate...that was the first thing she noticed when I gave it to her! LOL!!!! I filled it up with some small cardmaking supplies. The bag was made with my cricut and I got the calendar stamp from The Cutting Cafe.

Just Frame It!

2009-03-01T15:55:00.000-08:00

Have you ever used a frame on your cards and layouts? If you haven't I strongly suggest you do. It adds such texture and interest to your photos! Shellie issued this challenge to our guest designers. The challenge was to use a frame on a project. Here are some projects our guest designers have done using frames that I'm sure will inspire you!

Megan Peacock

Sara Repinski

Robyn Weatherspoon

Natalie GowardHave a wonderful week!

Quick Valentine Gift Idea

2009-02-12T05:07:00.000-08:00

Just sharing a quick and easy last-minute Valentine's Day gift idea! Create a candle wrap with cardstock and patterned papers... Embellish with stickers, flowers, brads, rub-ons (whatever your little heart desires) and voila...quick and cute gift for your loved ones!

Check out the BoBunny Blog for more ideas!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hugs,

Dee

A little something

2009-02-05T08:29:00.000-08:00

Morning everyone!!

Here's a little paper bag I created and used a stamped saying for the embellishment on the front. It could be filled with a little gift or some baked goodies.

So easy & so fun to make!! A great little valentine's project too.

Have a great day!!!

Cari

Another stamped card

2009-02-04T08:18:00.000-08:00

Hi y'all!
Teri here.
Here's my take on the challenge to make something with a stamp or two.
The images are from HappyLittleStamps.etsy.com. The papers are from Making Memories and Crate Paper.
Have a great day!

Stamping Two Ways

2009-02-04T07:30:00.000-08:00

Jen here...I love this new face stamp I bought recently. I keep trying to find more ways to use it. So here's two uses I've come up with... on an ATC for my background and over patterned paper for this card.

Here's mine

2009-01-31T22:54:00.001-08:00

Wonderful job ladies! so inspiring. :D Here's mine. I used stamping ink to color the butterfly, then I stamped the design on it. Then I covered it in glitter. I also used a thanks alot stamp. The circle sentiment is a rubon. tfl.

Stamping Anyone?

2009-01-31T05:31:00.000-08:00

Since we have such wonderful guest designers we're trying to challenge them in as many ways as possible! This assignment comes from the amazing Teri Anderson! Now, we all know how Teri loves stamping, so show her what you've got!

Here is the assignment: Complete a layout, card, or altered item where you use stamps!

Suzanne Austin

Kristy Cox

Meghan Peacock

Danni Reid

Sara Repinski

Robyn Weatherspoon

Absolutely gorgeous work ladies! I know there are a lot of people who are intimidated my using stamps, but after seeing these beautiful creations you've got to at least give it a try!

I don't know about you, but I'm inspired!

Color Challenge!

2009-01-11T15:30:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Robyn here! I decided to give our guest designers a color challenge to see what amazing projects they could come up with sticking to the same color palette! Well, they definitely rose to the challenge! All I asked for them to do was to create a layout, card, or altered item using this color combination: So check out these fabulous projects!

Danni Reid

Kristy Cox

Sara Repinski

Toni Boucha

Meghan Peacock

Suzanne Austin

Natalie Goward

Robyn Weatherspoon
What did I tell you? Fabulous, right? I loved these colors so much I did it too! How about you? Have you ever done any color challenges? If so, link us up so we can be inspired by you!

Getting Myself out of my own Funk!

2009-01-07T19:05:00.000-08:00

I hadn't scrapped a layout in months...since September to be exact! I've been in a card making mode and couldn't seem to scrap a layout for the life of me. It was definitely a creative block! It took some doing, but after being inspired by a New Year's Cropping Challenge, I managed to pull this layout out of me. This was for a sketch challenge over at Creative Xpress. Sometimes just forcing yourself to do something helps you get past your scrapping block.

Truely Hybrid

2008-12-29T12:56:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! There's really not much I love to do in my spare time more than stamp and scrap on my projects, but I also love to add digital elements as well. We all know that the term "hybrid" means mixing paper scrapbooking with digital scrapping. Well today I created this layout where I used paper, stamps, and digital elements together.

The base of my layout is all paper with a transparency over the photo with flowers and buttons in the corners. I used stamps to stamp the mushrooms and owls onto paper, color with markers and cut them out by hand. The digital part of this layout is in the journaling. I decided I didn't want to use my own handwriting on this layout so I decided to use my computer. The only thing was I wanted to use a color as my background and have the journaling in white. The best way for me to do this was to use my Photoshop Elements to create my white journaling with a brown background. It took me all of 6 minutes to create and print out of my printer.

The fact that I mixed paper scrapping, stamping, and digital journaling together makes this a truely hybrid layout. Try it for yourself! I bet you'll get hooked! Love and blessings to you all!

Robyn

Designer Challenge #1- "Saturated Shine!"

2008-12-18T16:15:00.000-08:00

Hi, Natalie here.
I was given the honor of coming up with the first assignment for the Outta This Funk guest designers. I’m excited about this because I’ve recently been inspired by someone and want to share it.

My inspiration will translate into a scrapbook page. One that requires you to ‘think simple’. I’ve called it “Saturated Shine”

“Shine” is the name of Karen Jensen’s photography business. She has a website that beautifully shows-off her great talent as a photographer in a simple and colorful way!

Go to www.shinephotographybykaren.com
When you arrive click on enter site. (Go to the blog later, since that’s not part of the project.)
Before navigating the website watch the photos change and notice how she uses large blocks of vivid colors to compliment each photo. The colors she chooses enhance the beauty of the photo, not detract from it. Go ahead and click on galleries when you’ve seen all the intro photos. In there you will see 5 more galleries to be inspired by. (Cleverly named I might add!)

This was the project:
Use Karen’s wonderful photography skills to inspire you to use a new angle, how to pose your subject, or the location you choose. If you like, play with the colors of your photo in photoshop to increase the saturation before printing it. Then create a simple layout where the paper color(s) you choose enhances the photo. Avoid patterned paper where possible. It’s a distraction in this case. Title and journal as you wish keeping in mind the simple aspect.

Here are the Guest Designers takes on this project. We hope you like them and feel inspired by us and Karen both!! Have Fun!

Megan Peacock

Kristy Cox

Danni Reid

Sara Repinski

Suzanne Austin

Toni Boucha

Natalie Goward

Guest Designers

2008-11-24T16:15:00.000-08:00

Outta This Funk is proud to introduce you to six incredibly talented designers! These ladies are full of enough passion for paper-crafting and inspiration to pull you out of any funk you might find yourself in! Check them out for yourself!

Toni Boucha

Hi everyone, I am Toni Boucha (aka Toni-SBDreaming) and I am so excited to have been selected. So you all want to know what gets me out of my funk. Well if we are talking about scrapbooking then it is one of two things………going to my room and just letting myself find inspiration either from photos that touch my heart, yummy products that just scream create with me or some kind of random combination of photos and papers/embellishments that get my imagination flowing. I have been known to just throw some of my new/old favorite papers and products on the floor and let my eye run wild with the colors and combinations. Then of course if this should fail me, there is shopping. I am an old-fashion kind of girl who loves to drive to my local scrapbook stores and immerse myself in the atmosphere. I love to admire other people’s creations and see what they have done with new products.
As for myself, I have been scrapbooking for 10 years and have seen it change in so many ways. Like many others, I started with a home party and quickly discovered that I wanted more. And that feeling of more has never left me. Over the years, I have taught classes, designed for different local scrapbook stores and manufacturers; and lastly, lucky enough to have been published in several different magazines. Right now, I am just doing my own thing for my family.
I am looking forward to meeting,learning and creating with others that share the same passion.

Suzanne Austin

Hi! My name is Suzanne Austin. I’m a SAHM living on the Gulf Coast in Mobile, AL. I’ve been married to my wonderful, but sometimes “joyfully unstable” husband for 12 years. We have a soon to be 2yr old son named Kennedy (KJ) and expecting a baby girl due in February of 2009. I started scrapbooking 5 years ago when my husband and I built our home here in Mobile; I wanted to document the process and thought that a scrapbook would be the perfect way to do so. Little did I know it would quickly become an addiction. I stopped for a couple of years, but quickly picked up interest again when I found out I was pregnant with our first kiddo. I’ve been a lost cause ever since! I’m thrilled that OOTF has given me this fun opportunity!
What gets me out of my scrapping funk:
I am so not the planned scrapper, therefore, it’s almost imperative that some form of inspiration is present in order to scrap a page I deem decent. There’s nothing better than a great picture to jump start the scrapping mojo within. Candid photos of my son and family are by far my favorites. Other things that motivate me out of my funk would include using color combinations in everyday life and challenging myself to implement them on a page, lyrics to a favorite song, board crops and challenges.

Sara Repinski

Hi my name is Sara Repinski, but my scrappy friends call me Bunny. I am an Acquisitions Librarian at the University of South Carolina School of Law as well as a scrapbooking and card making addict. I am married to my wonderful husband, going on ten years now, no children other then the furry kind so they are the main subjects of my scrapping. Some other things about me, I love football, all sorts of music and watching forensic type shows.What gets me out of my funk? Challenges!!! I love how they make me step out of my box and try new things.

Danni Reid

I am a sahm to 4 incredible babes, whom I absolutely adore. My children range in age from 14 to 4, so it's never dull :)

While I love ALL aspects of scrapbooking, cards are my passion, and I feel so blessed to share the reason behind that passion with you. I began creating cards 15 years ago, after receiving a gift from my grandmother. A gift for Christmas. A gift from her. It was a set of stamps, markers and embossing items (it's all they had back then), so that I could create the cards to send to her instead of having to buy them. My grandmother. A woman, who lived 2 states away from me and whom, if I was lucky, I was able to see once a year. BUT, she was my soul. I KNEW her, I LOVED her and I MISS her more than I can begin to tell you. I wrote to her, religiously, 2-3 times a week, sharing every big and little thing and she KNEW me. She would write back and I'd feel like a kid on Christmas, I could hardly wait to open the letter, and while turning it over and over in my hands, would finally do so. I would read those letters and "feel" her, "feel" my heritage, "feel" my soul. She's my grandmother and I miss her so much it hurts. I always create my cards with her in-mind, as if when I am finished creating the card, I can seal it and send it back to that place in time, a place of love, laughter and so many happy memories.

I generally find that a day spent looking through magazine ads takes care of any/all "funks", so inspiring.

Kristy Cox

I am currently a SAHM (former Army nurse). I started scrapbooking 4 years ago. I would call my style "real" and still evolving. my true passion has always been photography, so that is a main focus with my layouts. I love making homemade gifts for people and am always up for a good trial of altering something. I live in upstate NY (snow country). I have 2 little girls (abby-6, ella-3) and they are my everything. I married a soldier boy who is currently deployed for the next year. What gets me out of my scrapbooking funk: usually I need time to veg first. A good movie, a good book. Something to step away from the layouts and pictures. Then I look thru my paper. All my paper. Every. Sheet. And that starts the juices flowing. Then I start looking at pictures. I usually start looking at ones that are 6 months or older (because I tend to forget about those unscrapped ones)...and I usually come across many that are calling out to me to tell their story. So, that's how it starts for me. (new pretty stuff can make this process happen quicker many times:)

Megan Peacock

I've been stamping and scrapping for about 10 years now. My main love is stamping. I've been a demo for a couple different stamp company which has been a great learning experience in building up my stamping skills set. I love trying new techniques- bringing fine art supplies into crafty endeavors. I am currently a SAHM to my 17 year old son. My husband travels on business a lot which gives me a lot of time in my stamp cave.

Question- I find the best funk blaster for me is to start blog surfing ("blurffing").
I'll see a cute card or SB LO and think OK- I am just going to try to lift this.
I'll sketch it out, take it into my scrap room/stamp cave and start pulling out supplies. Usually by the time I am done ,it doesn't look much like the original but it gave my that nudge to get me going!

Look for inspiration from these designers in the upcoming month!

Rub it on!

2008-11-17T10:08:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Kristy here...

So I'll let you in on a little secret. I'm perhaps the SLOWEST scrapper in the entire universe. In fact...this simple page here took me upwards of 3.5 hours to make. Why do you ask? Because I was utterly stumped.

This layout is about my oldest boy and the fact that he grew so much last year that when we had our first snow storm last week, that he had no boy gloves to wear. He was dying to play in the snow so we opted to go with sisters gloves.

I really wanted to focus on the fact that he was wearing flowery gloves. I kept trying all sorts of aarows and what not to point to the main focal photo, but it just wasn't working for me.

Then I remembered my rubons. I thought this round, white polka dot rubon was the perfect answer to bring out the fact that he had on girly gloves. It added the emphasis that I wanted without too much distraction.

My sister in law turned to me and said "ohhhh...that scares me too much to do anything like that with my photos".

Don't be scared! Remember, if you do something you like to a photo that you don't love, you can always print it again!

Inspiration: An Old Scrapbook

2008-11-11T16:31:00.000-08:00

Hi y'all!
Teri here.
I was roaming around an antique festival a few weeks back and spied some really cool, old scrapbook pages.
Here's what they looked like:

They made my heart go pitter patter. The base is old ledgers from the early 1900s. The cutouts of the women also from that era.

Anyway, the layered ledger was so inspiring to me that I made this card:

Instead of old paper, I used ledger paper from good old Making Memories as the stamping base. Then, I stamped the poppies (from Technique Tuesday's My Little Poppy Shoppe set) right over the paper's words. The "warm wishes" is from another Technique Tuesday stamp set.

I just love the look!

A last minute Witches Hat!

2008-10-30T17:12:00.000-07:00

Natalie here ;)
Since it's the the night before Halloween, maybe just a few people will be able to use this idea, sorry I'm so last minute. I decided to follow a TV thing I saw and make myself a witches hat to answer the door with.

I have sitting here in this photo, a plant pot, fabric stiffener, a pack of black cheese-cloth, a skein of fuzzy black yarn, funny shaped wood beads, and a black tinsel thing I found in the christmas section of the craft store.
Since the plant pot isn't tapered, and I coulnd't find a styro cone big enough to fit it, I used this floral foam to create a point for my hat.

I cut it into slices to best fit the diameter of the bottom of the pot, and glued the slices together before I used a bread knife to slice it into a kind of a cone shape.

Then the fabric stiffener says to cover your mold with plastic wrap. I did, and it din't want to stick so well, so I used masking tape too.

I placed my cheese-cloth in a bowl, and this is a close up of the fabric stiffener.

Then I got the cheese cloth wet in just enough water to saturate it.

Then I decided I would do as the directions on the fabric stiffener suggested and add some paint.I wondered if I mixed gold in it, if I would have an irredecent black? It didn't really make a difference, but I used it, so I'm including photos.

I also added black paint. And here is the two colors of DD "sugar coating" glitter that I will use at the end.

Onto my wet fabric I poured the fabric stiffener, gold & black paint.

Then with rubber gloves, I mixed it all up and sloshed it around. Being wet from water made this easy.

Then I took the cloth, got it out of the bowl, squeezed the excess out, and found the center of the cloth.

I placed the center of the cloth over the top of the cone and then draped it over my mold. I let the base edges of the cloth ripple around the base.I pinned around the top of the had so that I could keep my point in the fabric.

With the hat in it's shape, I sprinkled glitter over it. This mess takes almost 8 hours to dry.

Within the first 3 hours, remove the hat from the form and give it a slight pinch on two sides so it's not round but oval like a head. Letting it dry on the form will make removing it later very difficult. Also set it on a surface it will not stick to and one that will clean up easily if you added paint to the mix.

I made this yesterday, it's dry and stiff, but I still need to decorate it for tomorrow. Here's what I've done and will do...

If it's too big, I plan on sinching it up by stitching embroidery floss around the base a couple times and tying the ends to the required circumfrence.

I've spray painted some of those funny shaped wooden beads black. I am going to use the skein of fuzzy thread to stitch them to the hat in a type of band around the base. It looks fluffy, but it's actually very thin. I will stitch through the hat to the outside, string a funny shaped black bead, a small black seed bead, and then go back through the funny shaped bead to the inside of the hat. I'll exit again and repeat for another bead.

Then I have that tinsel thingie. It's on wire, so I am going to decide if I want to keep it on the wire and connect it to the hat so that it's a bit of a bobble exiting the point. I haven't yet played with it, so I don't know how I'll make that work. Maybe it should be more of a focal at the front of the hat near the band.

Then to finish it off, I need to trim the base of the hat so it's not square. I figure I will try to keep it rough, and not circular, but definately not square.

I'm also going to give it a coating of hairspray to try and keep the glitter from getting itself all over the house as I walk around :)

TFL!

SNEAK PEEK - PaperCrafts Gourmet

2008-10-27T04:42:00.001-07:00

Hi!
It's Dee!
With a sneak peek at PaperCrafts newest delicious publication, PC Gourmet!
Here is an exclusive PC Gourmet project (complete with recipe, supply list and instructions) perfect for this week (Halloween is coming!!) Enjoy! and Happy Halloween!!!

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of PC Gourmet, you can buy it here at PC's online store! http://mailings.ckmedia.com/em/?s=3&a=3C9CACFB8D2945D1BF01EB2F4F2151D8&b=985C24

Enjoy Halloween Tag
Designer: Alisa Bangerter
SUPPLIES: Cardstock: (ivory) Dye ink: (Black) Stewart Superior Corp.; (Summer Sun) Stampin’ Up! Specialty ink: (Mango Lemonade color wash) Stewart Superior Corp. Color medium: (black chalk) Craf-T Products Accents: (black brads) Making Memories; (chipboard bat, moon) Melissa Frances Fibers: (black striped ribbon) Pebbles Inc. Font: (Black Family) www.dafont.com Adhesive: (foam tape) Finished size: 3" x 4 1/2"
1 Make tag from cardstock. 2 Crumple tag and smooth out. Spray edges with color wash; let dry. Apply chalk. 3 Ink chipboard moon; let dry. Chalk edges and adhere. 4 Ink chipboard bat; let dry. Adhere with foam tape. 5 Print sentiment on cardstock; trim and tear edges. Chalk edges and adhere with foam tape. Attach brads. Attach ribbon with brad.

Cheesy Garlic Drop Biscuits
Alisa Bangerter
This is a perfect recipe to pull out if you are short on time because there is no rolling or cutting. The cheese and garlic add extra kick to a plain biscuit, and kids love them. They are the perfect accompaniment to serve with soups or stews, and are great served with a salad.
INGREDIENTS
2 c. flour
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. butter or margarine
1 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 1/4 c. milk
Chives (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Mix together dry ingredients. Cut in butter with pastry cutter until mixture is fine. Add cheese and mix well. Add milk and stir until just moistened. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Sprinkle top with chopped dried or fresh chives if desired. Bake at 400 degrees for approx. 15 minutes.

ATTENTION!!

2008-10-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

ATTENTION! Outta This Funk now has its' own online community! Go HERE and sign up to become a member, and you could become one of 5 guest designers to have your work featured here on this blog! The guest designers will be notified by November 20th, so go join the fun now!

Gift Bag Mania

2008-10-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

Jen here. I am addicted to making these gift bags right now. The big Cricut E helps makes these a fast and easy project. This little bag is one I made for a bridal shower. It's the perfect size to stick a gift card inside.

It's almost Halloween! Time for a funky Halloween project!

2008-10-18T05:56:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

Dee here!

I wanted to share a fun Halloween project I created recently for the BoBunny DT!

Here's a fun (albeit funky) wallhanging that I created on a whim, after playing around with some chipboard shapes. (The face is all chipboard shapes, except for the cardstock lips I cut out)...

I laid out the chipboard circles, and thought they looked like creepy, yet googly fun, skeleton eyes...so...played with a few more chipboard shapes to create the nose and mouth (and the cute little eyelashes)...pulled out my black paint...and created this fun wallhanging.

Check out more Halloween projects and cards on the BoBunny Blog...

http://bobunny.blogspot.com/

Wanna win a set of BoBunny Halloween Rub-Ons??? I would love to see YOUR Halloween projects! Post a comment (right here for this post) including a link to YOUR Halloween project...then check back here after Halloween to see if your name was randomly chosen to win the package of Rub-Ons!

Just a little fast fun

2008-10-11T16:38:00.000-07:00

Hey, I did this layout in about 30 minutes. I like the way it turned out, but hate the pictures-- I was HUGE! lol, oh well, I still like the layout, I am not used to using these colors. That brings me to this post. Lets see what you can scrap using colors you NEVER use! Challenge yourself! Pick out some pp that you may not like, and pair it up with a color you THINK wouldn't go- and give it a try. :D

Hey! Remember me?!

2008-10-09T04:54:00.001-07:00

Hey it's me...Wendy, lol!! Wow, I've been mia for way too long...but I know the other ladies took great care of everyone, just look at all these new postings with beautiful, inspirational projects!! Love it!

I have a little project to share today...I did this a little while back for my aunt who has helped in out a lot lately. I was checking out all the new stuff online and saw a few projects that had some hand stitching on them...one tiny detail that inspired me! Don't feel overwhelmed when you are looking at projects that are just incredibly detailed, take one thing you love and use that to get started. I used to do this a lot when I first started scrapbooking. I remember seeing a Becky Higgins layout and she made these cute little corners on her layout, again one small detail but I used that on my own layout and it really made it shine. So next time you see something you just adore, focus on one detail and go with it! Have fun!
xxoo
Wendy

one more!

2008-10-04T17:54:00.000-07:00

OK, got this cute little frog stamp-I was a little disapointed because if you go to my blog, my header has this same frog set-- only all the frogs don't come in the set, only these 2 did. Then my black ink pad wouldn't ink very well, so I had to go over it-- then I couldn't chalk very well- I think I need pratice, lol. I Didn't want to start over, so oh well, here it is. I get in a hurry and just want to get done. I already scrapped a page too, but havent journaled on it yet-- but it came out awesome! Have a wonderful evening! I think I am going to send my cards to a place that sends them to our boys overseas. :D

Another Card for Today...

2008-10-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

Hi, Natalie here. Some of you may really be enjoying this day and taking advantage of it. I will shortly be headed to a freinds house to make some cards this evening.
(4 I think.)
5 cards in one day may be some kind of record for me :D I consider myself a little card challenged.

Here's my card for the day...

Here's another card!

2008-10-04T13:51:00.000-07:00

This card was made using the cricut for the tree, I stamped the bird on felt, and cut it out. then I used flowers, epoxy embellies, and some rubons to finish it off. TFL!

Happy WCMD!

2008-10-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

Hi y'all!
Teri here, wishing you all many happy hours of making cards today.
Here's a little card I made in celebration of today.

All papers are from My Mind's Eye. The chipboard letters are from American Crafts.

Hope you all are having a wonderful day.

More Cards for WCMD!

2008-10-04T10:43:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful day! As I've said before, this day should be a national holiday! I just love all of the fabulous cards and challenges being posted all over the net today! Here are two more cards done in celebration of this day!

BonVoyage Card-by Jen Nichols

May All Your Dreams Card- by Robyn Weatherspoon

Have a wonderful day!
Robyn

Happy World Cardmaking Day :)

2008-10-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

Hi!!! It's Dee here...wishing you all a Happy World Cardmaking Day! Here are a couple Halloween Cards to get you in a 'spookable' mood for World Cardmaking Day!! Have a fun day and a spooky Halloween! Dee

AND the winner is........................

2008-10-02T17:10:00.000-07:00

SUE!!
Thanks for playing sue, email me your addy, and I will get this out to you, congrats girlfriend!!

Here are some entries we had.

Here is Sue's submission with this lovely birthday card.

This was submitted by Kristin Swain, I just love this! Beautiful work Kristin!

This was submitted by Jan. lovely 2 page layout, those butterflies were/are my favorites. :D

The winner of the cricut challenge

2008-10-02T04:04:00.000-07:00

hasn't been picked yet. :D I am sorry guys, I had a catasthphoe at home, my dog decided my sofa made a good chew toy. (oh i am very mad!) Anyway, then I had to work tonight, so I will do it when I get up this afternoon. (late afternoon). The girls have done a great job! stay tuned. :D

National park Brijuni layout with use of Cricut

2008-10-02T00:56:00.000-07:00

Hi you all, Peggy here.

I did a simple layout with use of 2 Cricut cartridges. I used the street sign font for the title and the fabulous finds cartridge for the tab above one of the pictures. The paper and rub ons are by American Crafts. For this layout I rubbed the butterfly onto a piece of plastic (I used an empty embellishments package for this) Then I cut out the butterfly and created my own cute little embellishment. I added paint to the background and to mimic the pattern of the red paper I also stitched holes in the background of my paper for a fun effect. Hope you will like it. Thanks for looking and have a great day.

A Cricut Painting

2008-09-30T21:50:00.000-07:00

Hello, Natalie here. I've made my Cricut challenge into a painting.
I used the Cricut Expression, Accent Essentials, and contact paper. I cut out concentric circles that I used as stencils.

To make the circles, I set the blade housing at 3, the pressure at med, speed to low, and the result was the blade cut through the sticky side of the contact paper, but not the backing. Now I know that PC makes vinyl, but because I didn’t use it, I can’t say this would be the right settings for their vinyl.

I first pressed shift, and the circle 4th up from the bottom on the left side of the overlay. (accent #11) This gave me a single circle. Then I changed my dial size by ½ inch, moved it back to the starting point, and moved the blade housing into the circle three nudges. (this would be from the right edge of the matt, not the inserted edge. Then I cut out the funky circles button third from left on the bottom row of the overlay. (Accent #43)

I cut them out in multiple sizes and stuck them to my canvas one set of circles at a time before stenciling my paint on.

For a full how to, visit my blog by clicking on my name in the Inspirational Team members list.

TFL and TFVisiting.

Cricut Card

2008-09-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! This is Robyn and I just love what the other girls have created with their Cricuts! I can't wait to see what you all created as well! Well, I've been dying to make a wedding card using the wedding cake that's on the Paper Dolls Cartridge, so here's my card! I used my favorite cartridge, Opposites Attract, to cut the "love" at the bottom of the card.I know the colors are a little non-traditional, but so am I and I really like the pink and black together. Hugs!

Cricut Challenge

2008-09-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

So I challenged some of the irls to use their Cricut this month. Love Jen's example below. I did a couple of layouts- I love the trees-- they have trees on a few different cartridges-- storybook, mickey and friends, stretch your imaginaton, I think wild card, can't remember the others, but there is alot you can do with them. :D
I have 3 layouts here, and I guess I am in a tree mode, cause they all have them. I made a card for world cardmaking day too, and yup-- it has a tree, but I won't post that one yet. :D Love birdies too.
I will draw a winner tomorrow for the mini monograms cartridge-- and hopefully I can post those layouts that were sent in too! I love my cricut. :D

trees, birds, heart, and doilie were made with my cricut, and design studio.

The circle with flowers in the middle, the scrollie thing behind the tree, the tree, and the dandylion things on the bottom right were cut with the cricut.

The trees were cut with the cricut, the circle things on them are epoxy.

The butterflies, large flower, frame around journaling, and title were cut on the cricut.
Come back for some more great ideas later! :D

Cricut Challenge

2008-09-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

Jen here...Shel asked all of us to try her challenge and I wanted to try making something different. When I saw this cute bag by Stacy Armstrong http://www.creativexpress.com/community/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=33794&cat=500&ppuser=359 I was inspired to try it myself. I must admit that this was so much fun to create that I can't wait to try making some more. Here's my version of a Cricut gift bag. I used my new Expression (I've only had it for a week, but I am way beyond impressed) for this along with the Plantin Schoolbook and Cuttin Up cartridges.

Oh yes little mr and mrs. funkettes

2008-09-21T18:16:00.000-07:00

all submissions must be newly created for this challenge. That's why-- it is a challenge! :D so while I won't be a nazi police making sure, you are on your honor, lol. Some of us here will be taking the same challenge, and posting at the end of the month-- so if you want to see some fab ideas for that little/big bug-- stay tuned. :D

Hello Funkettes!!

2008-09-19T23:12:00.000-07:00

So--we have this super spectacular challenge for everyone that reads our blog!!!
How would you like a chance to win a Cricut cartridge? The Cartridge in questions is "mini monograms" and it can do such fun stuff!

So here is the deal. If this is something you want-- then all you have to do is submit us one layout, card, home accent project where you have used your Cricut machine. List supplies used, and which cartridge you used, and how you used it. Email your entries to shellie@scrappinfun.com before Sept. 30th, and you will be entered to win this fabulous cartridge! That is all there is to it. Looking forward to your entries!

Mandarin Pixie

2008-09-12T16:25:00.000-07:00

OK, kind of sad, but great news for all you stampers! http://www.mandarinpixie.com is going out of business. What does that mean for you? Everything is on sale for .50- 4.00! So if you want to pick up some great stamps, really cheap-- head on over there. :D http://www.mandarinpixie.com/
shellie

Fun Halloween Treat Container!

2008-09-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

OK.....Dee here! So...Halloween is just around the corner, so I wanted to share this Treat Container I created using a 'Crystal Light' drink container. It was so easy and REALLY FUN making this! Would be a fun project for you and your kids! Just wrap some fun Halloween patterned papers (I used papers from the KI Memories Haunted line)...add some cardstock stickers...ribbons...and a tag...then pop up a cute (or creepy) die cut (this one is from K&Company) with foam dots. Don't forget to decorate the lid, too! Then..make sure to fill it with LOTS of yummy Halloween candy and treats - (my favorite is Candy Corn).

Unity SHINE

2008-08-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

Hello, Natalie here.
I too had the Shine singles stamp and love how perfect this quote is.

I wanted to create a monochromatic card that felt clean. I used double sided cardstock with solid green on the outside. On the front I used a spray adhesive and added white glitter to it. That isn't so apparent by the photo, but shiny glitter seemed to be the ticket.

Hope you are enjoying us enjoying Unity Stamps!

Unity Stamp Co. - Friendly Flowers

2008-08-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Kristy here! I have had SO much fun working with the Friendly Flowers set from Unity Stamp Company. I have to be honest, I'm not much of a stamper. Not that I don't love the look of stamping, I'm just utterly challenged when it comes to using stamping techniques. HOWEVER, that didn't stop me from creating my very first ever layout using nuttin' but stamps! I'm so excited because I'll even be entering this layout in the Utah State Fair in the stamping category. A first for me!

The Friendly Flower stamp set is absolutely perfect for creating layouts. The large stamps are so much fun for creating backgrounds, and well, that flower stamp.....it's my fave!

You can see how I've used parts of the stamp set to create the background and floral embellishments for this layout.

You can also see how I just had to throw in that flower stamp once again on this layout behind my journaling block. This is quite the busy layout as it is so using a subtle ink for the flower behind my journaling added just the perfect touch!

If you love flowers, I highly recommend checking out this stamp set!

More Unity goodness

2008-08-20T21:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!
Teri here with a few more projects featuring stamps from the super fantastic, extra fab Unity Stamp Co.
Each of these cards were made with Unity's lovely Little Labels 2 set.

See those flowers and the words? Yep. All from that stamp set. :)

See those circles on the brown strips? They are totally from that set. Good stuff.
I love this stamp set for card making. So versatile!
Keep watching here for more projects featuring Unity's fantastic stamps.

More Unity Stamps!

2008-08-19T03:06:00.000-07:00

These stamps are great! I received the Me, Myself, and I set. It was loaded with so many different fun stamps to use so many different ways. I created both a card and a layout with these.

Stamping Anyone?

2008-08-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Robyn here!

I don't know about you, but I'm a true fan of stamping! I absolutely love adding stamped images to my layouts, cards, and any creative project I do! How often do you use stamps on your projects?

Well, this week Out Of This Funk is posting fun projects we've done using the fabulous stamps from Unity Stamp Co. We'll be posting projects all week long, so we hope you'll stay tuned for more stamped goodness! We also hope you enjoy viewing them as much as we loved making them! When you get a chance, go on over to Unity Stamp Co. and check out their stamps. I promise you'll be glad you did!

Love Card-by Melissa Phillips
Melissa created this beautiful card using the Little Labels 2 stamp kit.

Shine Card-by Dee Gallimore-Perry
Dee used the Shine singles stamp to create this lovely card!

Becoming Butterfly Card-by Robyn Weatherspoon
I created this card using the Becoming Butterfly singles stamp and from the August stamp of the month kit. Here is a Layout By Shellie using the Me myself and I stamp set. Love this set!

And yet even another one! This is a great stamp if you need to do those never get done "me" pages. The set comes with journaling stamp, paisleys, parentheses, and lots of other images. Great set.

Stay tuned for more fabulous projects to come this week!

Happy Friday Everyone!!

2008-08-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to thank everyone who shared where they get their inspiration to create from! They were all very cool to read! Well, the winner of the RAK is none other than GINA! Yeaaaaaaaaaaa Gina!! Please email me( scrapwithrobyn@aol.com) your mailing address and I'll get your RAK out to you! Thanks again and have a wonderful weekend!

Robyn

Where Do You Get Your Inspiration To Create?

2008-07-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, it's Robyn!
It's always interesting for me to learn where people get their inspiration to create. I've heard of some being inspired by viewing others art, some are inspired by nature, while others are inspired by advertisements, shapes, and colors. The way I see it is one can be inspired by anything!

I found this past issue of Real Simple magazine and thought it was quite inspiring because it immediately inspired me to create. I shared it with a few of my fabulous friends and here's how they were inspired!

4U Card by Teri Anderson- Teri was inspired by the colors in the photo when creating this beautiful card!

Play by Dee Gallimore-Perry- Here's how Dee says she was inspired,"I was obviously inspired by the orange and green! Those colors just screamed out at me! I loved using this photo as inspiration, even if it was just to pull out the colors. That gave me exactly what I needed to get my mojo flowing to create this layout!"

Time Card by Jen Nichols- Jen says, "I was inspired by the shapes on the pillows. The black center design is one of my Cricut cut files."

Love You by Me, Robyn Weatherspoon- I was immediately inspired by all the rich colors in this photo and by the design shapes on the pillows!

Wave Board-Rip Stick by Natalie Goward- Natalie said, " I was inspired by the lines of the hammock, then the colors. Wavy lines and relaxation go hand and hand, so I wanted to incorporate some waviness. The white of the hammock against the green with a splash of orange, brown, and blue helped dictate how I used the colors."

Smile- by Shellie Hubbartt- Shellie just got back from Vacation, and loved this picture of her and her dh. She pulled the colors from the inspiration photo, but used a more muted version. These are papers and embellishments from Little Yellow Bicycle, cute stuff!

So tell me, where do you get your inspiration? I'll randomly draw a name from the comments to this post to win a cool RAK 7 days from now!

Make Your Own Invitations

2008-07-12T14:31:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend was getting married and needed invitations for her reception quickly. I offered to make them for her as my contribution. These are a layered invitation with the information printed right on the bottom layer. I made the top layer out of velum. I embossed and scalloped the edges and tied it all together with a ribbon. I made multiple flowers with my Cricut machine and then covered them with some white glitter. I finished up 25 of these in one day and she was able to get them out in the mail right away! Thanks for looking! Jen

Working Tidy

2008-06-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

Hello, Natalie here.

In the Feb 08 Issue of Creating Keepsakes, Becky Higgins office is in the ‘how we create’ section, titled “begin with the end”. On page 54 you can see where Becky has a hole in her desk, under which lives her garbage! She just slides her scrappy trimmings to the hole, and –bye bye…scraps land in the bin!

I love the idea of keeping my work surface clean as I work. Heck, anything that helps me be clean I love! I recently built myself a large L shaped desk, and in the corner section that I designed to scrap in, I drilled my garbage hole!

(this photo is poor, taken just now with the sun on this side of the house. You can see I've got a tall bin under there.)

I used a 4” circular bit in my drill to cut a hole in the door. (I used doors for the desk top. Click on my name to go to my blog if you want to read more about the construction of my desk.)

Now, remember these doors are hollow, so I also cut the hole in a piece of mdf that was the same thickness as the hollow space in the door.

Cardboard is the only filler between hollow core dores, so I moved the pieces in my way, dry fit the piece of wood, and took it out again. I put glue in the hollow door and onto the wood, slid it into place, and clamped it down. I also used masking tape to make sure it stuck and stayed right where I wanted it.

When the glue was dry, I removed the clapms and tape and proceded to finish my desk by painting and varnishing it.

On my new desk, where I make jewelry, I don't need a large garbage can because scraps from jewelry making are so small. So my solution here is to just put a cute bowl on my desk top to act as garbage can, and this I just empty on occasion. ;)

(Look at that cute metal bowl on the right of my red bowl. I should have included it better in the photo here. I use it to keep my jewelry tools in, and because of all of the circles, I can hang earrings on it as I make them. he he.)

TFL!

Chipboard Letter Fun

2008-06-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

Hi :)
Dee here!

I just wanted to post a quick idea for putting all those chipboard letters you have hoarded to good (and cute) use.

Just pick up a shadowbox frame at your local craft store...

cut a piece of patterned paper to fit the background...

then...choose a name or word and spell it out with chipboard letters!

Decorate as desired (I added a few flowers here)...and you have a quick and easy gift or decoration for your child's room...etc.

You can make it fancy and 'grown up' and use words like 'love', 'laugh', 'live', 'dream', 'family' etc and have a nice wall plaque for your family room.

Make one for your scrapbooking or craft room that says 'create' or 'art'.

Names are GREAT for this project... use the name of your friend's newest little one for a keepsake gift. Or, use your little boy's name with fun star stickers or rocket ships and make a cute name plaque for his room...

so many ideas...and a great way to use up those chipboard letters!

Inspiration: A Messy Desk

2008-06-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hi y'all!

Teri here today.

I am always on the hunt for interesting color combos. I scour through the magazines, check out the stores and, even, watch TV for color combos that just strike my fancy.

Yesterday, I found an unusual inspiration source - my messy desk.

I had a little pile growing on the desk of scraps and leftovers from other projects. I was cleaning it up when I pulled at a small piece of pink twill tape and a lemon cream felt button.

"Oh la la," I thought.

So, I stopped cleaning up and instead got to work on this card, using the colors of the twill tape and button as my inspiration. Much more fun, you know. ;)

The stamps I used are from Technique Tuesday's new Cute as a Button set. It's part of their Summer 2008 release.

I used pens from Copic to color in the images.

The white letter stickers are from Doodlebug.

Have a great day!

Add dimension!

2008-06-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

Hey there! Kristy here. I don't know why but me and the "pop dots" have been having quite the love affair lately! I can't get enough of adding a little dimension to my projects.

I recently made this layout for my sweet sister in law as a gift. I dug up all sorts of product from my stash, including my Fancy Pants chipboard flourishes that I've had for, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....forever!

I wanted to use more than just the one swoosh, so I decided to bust out my pop dots and stack another flourish on top. I had lots of room to play with dimension, as I actually framed this layout in a shadow box frame from IKEA to give to her.

Oh and the journaling is blurry only because it's a bunch of sappy, schmoopy, "sister" stuff.

So if you haven't busted out your foam pop dots recently, go for it! They can be fun!

Altered Journal

2008-06-10T13:44:00.000-07:00

Jen here! Seeing Robyn's awesome journal got my creative juices flowing today. I just had to create a journal too. I had this wonderful sketch book laying in a drawer just begging to be altered. Would you believe some student just threw it in the trash at the end of the school year? There wasn't even a single page of it used. I grabbed it and knew I could give it a better home! I was also dying to use those metal wings. I'd found those at a flea market. I got 3 of these brass wings (which I painted here for my use) in a bag for 20 cents. Love those kinds of deals.

Beading is FUN!!

2008-06-10T08:51:00.001-07:00

Hi all! Dee here!

I know it's been a while since I posted, so I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about a new love of mine... BEADING!

I really love looking at beads...
looking at jewelry ideas...
shopping for beads...
and, of course, creating earrings, bracelets and necklaces!

Beading has become really popular recently...and I can see why...it's addicting, relaxing and FUN!

There are so many talented jewelry designers and artists...and with the internet, there are so many ideas and so much inspiration, that you quickly realize that there ISN'T ENOUGH TIME IN A DAY!

I love to poke around at Beading Daily and Etsy (the jewelry section, of course) for 'ooohs and aaahs' and loads of great ideas.

A couple of magazines that I have found inspiring and fun are Stringing, Bead Trends and Bead Style.
I know a couple OTF gals (Nat and Teri) have had a few of their pieces published in Bead Trends...and I was pretty excited when they requested a few pieces of mine for their upcoming Sept/Oct and Nov/Dec issues.

I think beading is such a relaxing and fun hobby. Great for gift giving! And it's REALLY REALLY REALLY fun to shop for beads and supplies!

Here are a few places to start:

Lima Beads

Fire Mountain Gems

Jewelry Supply

I hope you enjoyed looking at a few of my pieces...you can see more of my jewelry designs at Rockology3.

Every Day Counts Journal

2008-06-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! This is Robyn with something that's gonna help me reach my weight loss goals. It's my Every Day Counts Journal!

When I'm trying to lose weight I need lots of motivation, a solid plan, and tons of prayer!(LOL!) My family and friends are supplying plenty of motivation and prayer, but I still have to plan well and organize myself for success. This is where my friend Ana comes in. She's helped me understand the importance of keeping track of my meals, exercise, and journaling every day for optimum success. Thanks Ana!

It has a section for me to write down my meals, track my exercise, journal my thoughts and feelings, and to write down any notes or important information, like nutritional websites like Dottie's Weight Loss Zone .

I used a tabbed journal by Kaiser Craft that you can purchase HERE, along with patterned paper, felt butterflies and flowers, lots of bling, a white paint pen,4 metal rings, stamps, rub-ons, and Mod Podge. I also added several motivational quotes on each page to help me stay on track. Hey, every little bit helps! Take care and Be Blessed!

The quick way to cover a light switch plate

2008-05-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

Hi girls, Natalie here.

I've covered a few light switch plates in my time, (you may have seen mention and a photo in an earlier post) but there is an even easier way than Mod-Podge. Yep, I'm calling Mod-Podge the hard way because it requires a brush and waiting for layers to dry.

I took my plain white light switch plate off the wall and sprayed the front of it with adhesive.
Then I placed it face down onto patterned paper.

I clipped the paper at the corners and encouraged it to wrap around the plate, sticking to my sprayed edges. This corner is near enough cut in a square, allowing the piece to cover the corner to be separate from the sides.

Then I clipped the excess that stood proud from the edge of the plate on just the corner piece.

Then I used packing tape to attach the folded sides over to the back of the plate. Packing tape is stronger than scotch tape. (although my packing tape is scotch brand :)

Then I used a craft knife to cut an X through the middle.

And I taped the tiny triangles to the back of the plate.

Then I took it outside and gave it a couple layers of acrylic spray finish. Waiting between each layer for the recommended few minutes.

Then I used a retracted ball point pen to lightly push the paper into the screw holes without breaking the paper. And I put it back up!! The whole thing took me about 40 minutes, and that's waiting for the layers of finish to dry. It was sure a lot quicker than trying to get a smooth finish with Mod-Podge. (Which by the way is very handy to have around!!!)

A - Z Album

2008-05-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

Hey y'alls....Kristy here!

I have truly been reunited with my mojo by participating in an A - Z Album contest with some of my friends at KT Crafts. (It's not too late to join in if you want to do something fun! Not to mention that the prize for the winner is awesome - the Pagemaps book by Becky Fleck! And I'm really not out to increase my chances of winning the book. Hee hee.....I honestly just want to invite you to join in on the fun! Plus, I'm not sure I can wait 3 months to possibly get the book. I gotta love me some sketches!)

I decided when I wanted to participate in this challenge that I wanted to do a different format than I usually scrap. That alone, brought me inspiration and the desire to scrap! The 8.5 x 11 landscape format is LOTS of fun if you haven't tried it! Plus, I'll be putting to good use one of my SEI landscape albums that I've had for *cough, cough* years, that has just been collecting dust.

Anyhow, here is a sampling of the pages that I've done so far. If your feeling alpha-betty, join in for some fun!

Cheap Decorating Fix

2008-05-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

Hi all! Jen here again. When we redid my bathroom, I totally changed the color scheme and soon found that I had nothing to decorate my walls. I had little cash left over and needed something to fix those bare walls. I managed to find these fantastic reddish orange picture frames on the sale aisle at one of my local discount stores. I also picked up a couple of off-white mats. I still didn't have anything to place in them. I remembered my paper stash had some 7 Gypsies papers that matched my color scheme perfectly. I cut down that paper, added some simple flowers, brads, and twill tape stickers. I printed a couple of my favorite inspirational quotes on transparencies and mounted my collage inside the frames. I ended up spending under $15 for both of my pictures. I know I couldn't have done any better than that and I love looking at those quotes each morning as I get myself ready for work!

Just a li'l something

2008-05-06T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hi there!

Cari here. Just wanted to share a little project I made a while back. It's great for when you're not too sure what to get that friend for their birthday (especially if they're picky!! LOL!)

I made this little purse using my Cricut (Boxes, Tags and More cartridge). I used papers by Upsy Daisy Designs. I added some flowers and a button on the front, a little bit of ribbon and a rub-on by Basic Grey. Inside the purse you can put in a gift card to their favorite store!! And voila! A perfect birthday card & gift wrapped all in one!

Hope you have a great day!

A Sepia Project

2008-04-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

Hi Girls, Natalie here.
Last summer I decided to do a project where I would photograph my family around the same couple of weeks with the sepia setting on my camera. Kind of a moment-in-time type of project.

I got these cool nested boxes from Provo Craft, stained them walnut and cut brown cardstock to fit inside of each of them.
Then I treated each piece of cardstock as a simple scrapbook page, attaching my sepia photo, and decorating each of them wit a simple ribbon and metal embellishment or two. I used the largest box for 4 photos because I didn't have enough boxes for everyone.

They are essentially frames, but because they are actually boxes, they stack on my shelf. I'm thoroughly pleased with the end result.
TFL!

Use it all UP!

2008-04-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

Jen here. I went to a weekend crop last weekend and had a wonderful time. I accomplished more than I have in ages and ages. I took all of my older scrap paper with me and made a promise to myself to use up as much as I could. I had this fun set from Fancy Pants that I used to first create this layout about my husband. When I was finished, I used the scraps to make these two cards. My girlfriend even used some of my scraps to make a card for herself. I just love being able to use up every last bit of my scraps.

...a touch of Spring Fever

2008-04-07T08:40:00.000-07:00

Hello all! a quick introduction, this is Anna here and I'm joining all my wonderful "funky" friends who I've gotten to know over the years we worked together at CreativeXpress. Please bear with me as I figure things out here on my first blog post as I've had some technical difficulties trying to get to this point :) !

as Spring convincingly arrives in Texas, I wanted to share photos from last year's bluebonnet hunt, which is a Spring tradition for me and my girls. I made this little mini album celebrating our bluebonnet tradition. I used the scallop feature on my Cricut Expression machine to create the scallop pages and then I cut them half and used jump rings for the album. This is fabulous feature and the scallop pages are about 7x 10.5" before cutting in half. I like having the option to add pages down the road with this type of mini album. Also, I love that this album can stand on its own! I knew that I would never get around to creating more than 2-3 layouts of these photos so creating a mini album was a great way for me to share my photos with friends and family! Thank you for stopping by and Have a memorable Spring, Anna :)

Tidy Up the Tiny Things!

2008-04-06T12:37:00.001-07:00

Hello! Dee here again!! :)

If you're like me...then you might happen to have lots of little things laying around your scrap area (desk/table/floor...wherever).... things that you took out to use...but didn't... or little things you have planned on using, but haven't yet...

or...you just haven't cleaned off the top of your work area in a long time...and lots of little tiny things have multiplied and you didn't even notice that they were there.

So...go get a muffin tin...(I used a mini muffin tin) and tidy up the tiny things!

Then, next time you need a brad or a safety pin or a button...just grab one from your tin!

Inspiration: Rainbow

2008-04-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

Hi y'all!

Teri here.

Thought I'd share a little book I put together with notes from my family for my grandmother.

I used the rainbow to inspire me. It guided my design of this book with the color scheme and the happy feel of the book. Cause... like... there just isn't much that is happier than a good, old rainbow. :)

Thanks for looking!

Fun Fun Fun wall art! (and SOOO EASY!!!)

2008-03-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

Hey!!

Dee here, again!

I have been spending lots of time in my scrapbooking room this week, cleaning, purging and SIMPLIFYING when I came up with a great idea.

I was reorganizing all my KI Memories Lace Cardstock...and I immediately knew that I HAD to do something fun with my favorites, Bouquet Cosmo and Bouquet White.

I had 2 watercolor prints framed in here for the last couple of years, and decided it would be fun to change those out...to match my scrapbooking room.

QUICK & EASY (you all know how much I love quick & easy)!

I just placed black cardstock over the watercolor prints, placed the lace cardstock over top of that..then reframed it.
Fun...cute...quick & easy...and a fresh change for my scrapbooking room!

What's your mantra???

2008-03-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

Hi! It's Dee here!

I wanted to share this quick and easy wall hanging I created for my scrap room...and I challenge YOU to create a wall hanging for your home... using words (or a word) that inspires you...or that you live by...or just a little reminder to yourself.

Then, hang it up where you can see it every day...and inspire yourself!

I created this 5" X 7" wall hanging with a canvas panel a friend of mine had sent me in a goody box. At first, I had NO IDEA what the heck I was going to do with this 5" X 7" canvas panel...???

So...I started by painting it PINK! (that's a good start, because I wanted it to match my scrapbooking room decor).

Then, I had always LOVED this cardstock sticker (SIMPLIFY) by KI Memories. I actually had it stuck on the side of my desk for future use... and this wall hanging was perfect!

Because one of my current mantra's is SIMPLIFY, I kept the wall hanging simple as well. I just used a simple rub-on, embellished with a little gem. Then I used a binder clip with a ribbon for the hanger.

Cute! Simple! Quick & easy...and inspiring!

Scrappy Easter Buckets

2008-03-21T21:10:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone....Kristy here.

As I was parousing the craft store the other day, I came across some relatively cute bucktes in the Easter section. I thought to myself, "now those could be really fun to dress up". It was then and there that I decided to make my two sisters in-law a basket for Easter. (FYI they are as good as being blood sisters. I often call them my sisters, but people get confused because they know I have only brothers). Anyhow, I have to say that these little buckets were really addictive to do, and they went from being relatively cute to pretty darn cute! In fact, I just went and got one to alter for myself and for my Mother In Law.

I had no idea how much fun it could be to get busy with rubons and bling! I actually adhered rubons right onto the bucket which made for a cute variation to the dimension of flowers that I have on each bucket. I also got a little crazy with the Sugar Coating Glitter by Doodlebug. Seriously....if you're looking for something new to try, grab yourself a bottle of the stuff. It's a little frightening how all of the sudden you are able to think of all sorts of stuff to coat in bling!

On the bucket in the rear, I actually added a rim of orange glitter around the base of the bucket. I did have a rim of orange glitter around the top, but like the non-smart scrapper that I often am, I did that part first. I guess I was just too excited to play with the glitter. By doing it first I kept knocking it off when decorating the restof the tin. I finally just took it off and I'm trying to decide if I want to put it back or call it good.

On the flowers on the other bucket I added a bit of green glitter. I just love the way it brings some sparkle to a project.

Inside of the eggs, I've included lots of little scrappy surprises.

I hope they like it! (I don't think they even look at this blog, so I'm pretty safe in not ruining the surprise! ;0)

Window Wall

2008-03-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

In my first post on this blog I mentioned that I would share a project I did putting holes in the wall. So, I’m following through with that. (btw, this is Natalie:)

I was always bugged by how dark our stairs were, and with all the doors closed upstairs, it was like walking UP into a dungeon. I’d love to have a window in the side of the house where the stairs are, but that’s a bit big and expensive.

I came up with this idea that if I created windows in the wall to the stairs, I could get some light up there! And it worked!

My photos aren’t too detailed, but I just basically found the studs in the wall, cut the drywall out on both sides, and then framed the studs with new drywall. This was part of a project where I was covering the orange-peel texture of the whole room anyway, so I had myself a huge mudding project.

The descending size is my favorite part. I’m totally pleased with the way it turned out.

Also, see that Walnut hand rail in the first photo? I bought a bundle of wood from a yard sale for $5 and in it was two huge pieces of oak hand rail. I cut them to length, bought new brackets to attach them, gave ‘em a stain, and put them up! The only hard part on that project, was using a hand saw to cut through that thick stuff!! It gave me a bloody nose!

If I had to relate this project to Scrappy stuff, I'd say, you can't be inspired without sunlight! Having light and airy rooms is very important!!! TFL.

Tweet Stuff

2008-03-10T16:36:00.000-07:00

Hello there! Jen here. I love it when I find items at the grocery that are packaged in containers that are alterable. I feel like I'm getting something for free. I had dish-washing soap on my grocery list and as I perused the shelf, I spotted a tin full of soap....and even better.... it was cheaper than all the other soaps! I snatched that tin right away and then I threw a couple more into my grocery cart for good measure. After a little sanding and painting, I added some paper, ribbon, stickers, and other fun embellishments. I changed that soap tin into a cute little container to hold all kinds of things...from recipe cards to hard candies.

Just Add Wood!

2008-03-04T17:37:00.000-08:00

Hey Everybody! Robyn here with a fun little project! Do you ever get burned out, from always creating only paper layouts? If so, boy have I got a fun alternative for you! This is a layout that is actually created on a 6.5 x 6.5 piece of wood! Yes, I said wood! I got this fabulous scalloped square from Say It With Letters! It makes a lovely wall hanging too! All I did was paint the base with acrylic paint, add pattern paper, ribbon, a few embellishments and my photo! Just like that I have a pretty wall hanging the entire family can enjoy everyday! Just think of the possibilities you can make from this scalloped square! Remember, you don't always have to make plain paper and cardstock layouts. Just add wood for a beautifully creative alternative! Be Blessed everyone!

Desk Organization and Pen Storage

2008-02-26T20:41:00.000-08:00

Hi girls, Natalie here.
This project was so easy. I saw the project finished in my head as soon as it caught my eye!
Most of us have more than just a couple pens and markers. Plus we’ve got rulers, files, tweezers, knives, bone folders, and all sorts! Most of you probably have jars or fun containers to keep them nice and tidy in, but some of you might be wondering what you can do to organize and keep them handy at the same time!

Well look no further than an old dishwasher!!! The cutlery holders in dishwashers come in all shapes and sizes, so although maybe one you’re chucking out isn’t suitable, or you aren’t chucking one out, but … you might know someone who is, and theirs would be perfect!

All I did was sand the plastic with some sand paper to remove all the little cuts and lifted groves near the top from the knives, then I spray painted it black to match my décor. I made sure to stand it on every side and spray from every angle so that no white showed through, and bang: Instant storage for the back of my desk that keeps everything nice and tidy, AND right here within reach!! The best part is, the footprint is long and narrow, perfect to keep tucked up at the back against the wall.

Can it be this easy? Yep!!!

Funny side-story…
When we bought our house, the dishwasher was in AWFUL condition, so we didn’t use it. Since we had furniture and appliances to buy, the dishwasher went on hold. Eventually DH decides we should buy a second-hand one, so we make arrangements to buy a guys dishwasher and when we arrive to pick it up, he says, “Ahh, just have it. I’m not 100% sure it works.” So we take it, and sure enough, it spilled water all over the floor when we turned it on.
So,
I was having a yard sale, and just in case, I put both broken dish washers out with my goods, and labeled them up “Free” and “Even Freeer”. (Not before I took out my pen holder!) Needless to say nobody took them. About a month later, they still sat next to the garbage can, and DH said, “I’ll ask if I can throw those in the dumpster at work”. THAT NIGHT when we came home from work, they were GONE! Somebody finally thought Free and Even Freeer was a good deal... and just in time!!!

Inspiration from graph paper

2008-02-20T22:45:00.000-08:00

Hi y'all! Teri here. :)
Anyone who knows me knows I break for the office supply aisle whenever I go to the store. The clips, the papers and everything else make swoon.
So it probably isn't a surprise that I found some inspiration this week from the office supply aisle.
Specifically, what caught my eye was a table of graph paper.
That is the very reason there is the graph-paper looking circle on this little layout of me and a couple of my Funk-ette pals that I tossed together the other night. :)
Here's I achieved the graph paper look:
I began with the ledger circle stamp from Technique Tuesday's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" stamp set.
I inked it up and stamped it once on my circle of cardstock.
I then inked the stamp up again, rotated the stamp 90 degrees and stamped on the circle again.
The result: the look of graph paper.

Layout Scraps to Inspire You

2008-02-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, Wendy here....I know Ms. Melissa touched on this in a previous post *you can see her amazing cards from scraps and sketches HERE* but I thought I would post a little bit on this subject as well because it really, really works and works well. Whenever I finish up a layout (and believe me I'm a very messy scrapper!) I will leave my layout scraps out and then make a card. I always have plenty of product and I usually don't have to add anything else to my card. I just completed an assignment layout and left my scraps out...then I had a thank you card to make, so I just used my scraps and embellishments I already had taken out. I created this little thank you card, and I even used some scraps from an image I cut out using my Cricut Expressions diecut machine. So use up those scraps and make something fun before you put everything away...the stuff matches and it's already out, why put things away twice right?! Have fun!!

Inspiration from a Valentine's Day Card!! :)

2008-02-18T08:28:00.000-08:00

OK...so you all think that Valentine's Day is over...right??
Well...I think not! Go grab the valentine that you gave to your loved one...and read it again...
there was a reason you picked it out from all the other cards on the shelf, right?

Because it was perfect...right?

Well...take those words and sentiments...and use them on a layout!

Each year, I really think that I had found the PERFECT Valentine...they always seem to ring so true...but this year, I really DID find THE PERFECT VALENTINE!

I love everything it says...
it suits us perfectly!

So...why just pack that card away for prosperity..????

use the sayings, verbage, sentiments, poem...whatever...on a layout!

Dee ;)

More Home Decor.

2008-02-13T13:28:00.000-08:00

ok, I need to brush up on my photography skills, and my picture hanging skills! These look so much better in real life. sigh, oh well.
Anyway, I was looking through a magazine, and saw these 6 wall hangings. Price = 279.00. So pretty.

So I think, well, I have some pretty scrappy papers that would look good in a look like that. So I went to hobby lobby and bought 4 canvasas. total cost = 10.00. Then I bought some modpodge- 4.99. I had the paper and stamps, so I went to work.
They took me about 3 1/2 hours to do, then I let them dry overnight, and then stamped the sayings on them.
I then hung them on my wal- I only did 4 because they are 16 x 20 in size each. I like them, what do you think?
Here is my version.

Thanks for looking! :D Shellie

Artist Trading Cards (ATC)

2008-02-10T06:44:00.000-08:00

Jen here...I admit it! I am totally addicted to creating these little 2.5 x 3.5 cards. I had never made one until last spring. It was part of a challenge that I took part in. I'd been admiring these cards for quite a while and the challenge was all I need to jump in and give it a try. Once I made that first card, there was no turning back. I've been involved in a monthly swap ever since. I love creating these and it's so much fun getting cards from the others in my group too. I am always amazed at the different ways that the monthly theme is interpreted. This is one that I created for February and the theme was...can you guess...LOVE!

LOVE MONTH

2008-02-03T14:06:00.000-08:00

Hi, Natalie here.

In light of it being February, I'm going to show you a love project I made.
I saw something similar to this, thought it was lovely, and I've made my own version.

I used a theme of love, and came up with words for each letter that in some way relate to my husband. I used Making Memories chipboard letters, and instead of using the letter, I used the negative. I also used scraps of BasicGrey paper from one of my earlier projects for this blog. Chipboard for the most part is small, so it’s great to use paper scraps on it.

So let me tell you how I did it.
Before I attached any paper, I laid out my letters to decide how many lines of letters I’d have and whether my design would sit symmetrical or not. Once I decided this, I cut rectangles the size of the chipboard from my paper scraps. With all my papers cut and my letters laid out, I arranged the paper atop the chipboard to decide where my colors would live. I didn’t want two of the same paper too close together. I wrote on the back of each paper which letter it belonged to. I punched out the letter centers that I would not need, and I proceeded with a glue stick to attach the paper to the negative rectangles.

When every piece of chipboard was covered, I sanded around the edges with a nail file to show the white core of the paper. Then I straight stitched around each one. (The M & W were large, so I only stitched along the top and bottom of those two.)

Then I used an x-acto knife to cut out the center of the letters face down on a cutting mat. (for the letters that had a piece in the center, like this letter "e" here, I attach that little piece to the back of the paper where it should sit, and cut it out too.) Then I sanded the inside of each letter.

When there were finished, I laid them out again in the arrangement I’d decided on, and spaced them to determine how big I needed to cut my board they would be attached to. I took into account the words I wanted to print and attach beneath the letters. I measured spaces between the letters and determined the perfect size of my board. I cut it and spray painted it black. I sanded the edge of the board like I did on the chipboard letters.

Using foam adhesive, I attached each letter to the board. I printed my words on Glossy photo paper, and tried to find the same font as the chipboard. I printed a couple tests on plain paper to get my sizing just right. And then attached them with liquid adhesive.

It was easy to make, but I won’t lie, all those letters took some time to sand and cut out!! :)
(ps DH was very impressed and pleased. That's an awesome bonus.)

Go Vintage!!!

2008-01-31T07:56:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone...Kristy here!

So the other day I sat down to make my hubby a birthday card. As I sat pondering the choices of papers that I could use, nothing in my "new" stash was really speaking to me. So **gasp** I decided to go digging through the "vintage" papers. And what did I find? I found that I had a GREAT time using up some of my old stash. For whatever reason the pressure of making some of the new lovely papers work had disappeared, and I had a great time working with a little bit of ancient KI paper.

Okay, so now it's time for a little chat. You KNOW you've got those papers that you just can't bare to let go. You've been hanging on to them for....oh.......6 years? Guess what scrappers....my guess is if you haven't used them by now, you're not gonna!

So how's about a challenge for you! Here's the hard part....I know, I know....you're saying to yourself, "but I can't use it! I can't buy it again! What if I NEEEEEEEEEEED it one day! Well, I'm happy to report that TODAY is the day you're going to fill that NEEEEEEEEED! Sit down. Start digging...no...keep digging...deeper, deeper. Get to those papers that have an inch of dust sitting on them. There! Stop! THOSE ARE THE ONES!

Your challenge is to show me something VINTAGE! On Feb. 15th, I'll draw a random winner to receive a RAK. Could be new. Could be vintage. Could be both! You'll just have to wait and see!

HAVE FUN!

Talk about Inspirational!!

2008-01-28T19:08:00.000-08:00

Natalie here with a MoJo booster!

I was shown the COOLEST magazine today! I've never heard of it, but then I am a bit sheltered. Maybe there are some of you out there that haven't heard of it either.
It's called Cloth Paper Scissors. The Jan Feb issue came into my office today, and it is FULL of cool stuff. Maybe not everything you would copy exact, but the ideas in it are AMAZING!!!

If you like the idea of creating custom artwork for the walls in your home, and you're a crafty gal like me, I'd recommend you check it out.

I'm not sure which stores carry it, but I do know Michaels do.

If any of you pick it up, and find inspiration, please post and share when possible!!

Me, I'm wondering how my life is ever going to be long enough to make all the neat things I want.

Free Digital Kit

2008-01-28T12:23:00.000-08:00

Wendy here, just wanted to share a little Valentine's digital scrapbook kit I put together. You can use it for digital scrapbooking or paper scrapbooking (just print out and use). I'd love to see your creations if you do use it. I know I still have some more emails to get to for the free frame I offered and I will get to it...this is easier though, just go to the link below and download (I'd love for you to leave me a comment too!) Happy Scrapping!
Wendy
FREE DIGITAL KIT DOWNLOAD LINK

Cricut Expression!

2008-01-25T19:04:00.000-08:00

ohhhhh, how I love this little (um, ok big) little scrappy machine!! I have made some files, and if you have an expression, and a few cartridges, then you can share in my joy.

Most of these use either George and basic shapes, accents, or basecamp. I hope that's it, but it may need something else. I guess if you like it well enough, then you will have to buy another cartridge huh? lol.

OK, here are the pictures, and the links. All of them are on 12 x 12 mats. (sorry little bug users, maybe you can download them, and use a portion) Anyway, I have cut from all of these, and I think I got the bugs (no pun intended :D) worked out. Hope you enjoy! :D

Scallop Mesh File

Flower Mesh

All Boy Bubbles

Number Mesh

Alphabet Mesh

But, I think my favorite is the Number mesh-- but then again the flower one is pretty cute. Hope you can use them! Love ya! Shellie

Show me the LOVE! :)

2008-01-23T12:39:00.000-08:00

Yes...Valentine's Day is fast approaching, so I wanted to get you all started on your handmade Valentine cards! (Oh...and I see Melissa is thinking along the same lines, here...love her Valentines in the previous post!)

Here's one to hopefully inspire you ...(and if you peek down to the next post, Melissa's cards will make you oooh and aaaah like crazy)...I can't wait to see your Valentine's Day creations! Please post a link here, so we can all share the love!

HUGS AND KISSES,

Dee ;)

Love affair with colors and shapes...

2008-01-22T12:31:00.000-08:00

Let yourself be inspired by your favorite color and a favorite shape or symbol. Since Valentine's Day is fast approaching, it's a great reason to let your creativity flow using hearts, and the color red. Since this is one of my most favorite colors to design with, I've found myself adding in a couple of other colors and creating fun color combinations---and then of course I'm enjoying using hearts galore. Nothing new and earth shattering I know, but it makes this time of year even more fun!

The first card emphasizes the sweet Heidi Swapp chipboard heart and the color red. I wanted to bring in a vintage touches by aging the paper, adding some glitter, and also tea-dyed trim from Melissa Frances. I also used watercolor pencils to soften the rubon from Melissa Frances as well.

I love the brightness that turquoise adds in this color combination. This was a card I created using a sketch from Sketch This Cards blog.

The second card has some fun foam stacked hearts from American Crafts. I love the rich pinks coupled with the turquoise. It creates a playful color combination.

The third card uses a sketch from another one of my favorite sketch blogs: Card Positioning Systems. I added cream, chocolate, and a bit of turquoise to create this color combination. I used paper and die cuts from My Mind's Eye which makes it so easy to whip up a quick card for someone special.

I would love to hear what your favorite color combinations are and to find out your favorite shape or symbol. There are so many kits, papers, and embellishments available that center around holidays, that it just makes paper-crafting that much more fun!

Happy Heart Day!

Melissa Phillips

Digital Freebie!

2008-01-22T11:37:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, Wendy here....I felt so guilty that I wasn't able to post so I did up a very quick, (but cute) digital 4x6 frame for Valentine's Day. You can use this for scrapbooking, cardmaking, etc. It's a psd file and I will be more than happy to email it to anyone who would like to use it. Just leave a post with your email address or just email me at Lamram4@yahoo.com and I'll get it right out to you. If you do use it I would love to see your creation. I'll even send out a prize pack to one "lucky" winner from all the posts/creations that I see. This frame is usable with any Photoshop software. I hope this little frame inspires you and helps get you "outta that funk"! Have fun and happy scrapping!

And The Winner Is...

2008-01-20T15:06:00.000-08:00

Jana!! I want to say thank you to everyone who participated in my Easy Peasy Mini-album challenge! Jana, please send your mailing information to scrapwithrobyn@aol.com ! Thanks again!

{ Sticker-Gripper }

2008-01-16T19:05:00.000-08:00

Hi Girls, Natalie again.
You’ve probably heard of the “Clip it Up”.
What if your Clip it Up didn’t spin or take up desk space? What if it just hung under a shelf?

I’ve seen online where people have constructed their own Clip it Up to save money, and I’ve made one too! I’ve done it so cheaply, you won’t believe it, AND I’ve made it fit MY space. (I can even slide things under it like my paper trimmer, my pink tidy tray, or the current layout I’m building.)

History:
I put up some shelves on the wall in front of my scrappy desk last summer to keep more things in front of me and not put away in my closet. (I have to walk to the closet, 4 whole steps!!) When I decided I wasn’t getting enough on the shelves, I went to the dollar store and bought some containers I could stack in 2’s. They were $1 for three!!!

I built the 1st shelf shorter than my 2nd shelf because I had something sitting on my desk. This turned out to be the best thing I could have done because I’ve moved it and have a perfect spot for my own Clip it up, which I’m calling my Sticker-Gripper.

Here’s what I bought, and where:
$0.60 Two rubber grommets (hardware store)
$0.75 Three screw hooks (hardware store)

$1.00 One pack of 200 paperclips (Kmart)

$1.15 Half a pound of spring washers (hardware store)

$3.98 Two packs {50 count} tiny clothespins (JoAnn’s)

$2.00 One ¼” dowel (this is approximate cost, I already had it, but they’re cheap and tend to be 3 ft. lengths.)

When I include tax, my total is: $10.09!

I’d better give you some instructions.

GRIPPERS:
Side note: The clips on the Clip it Up come off, mine don’t, but I will show you how to make ones that will if you prefer them removable. I think the washers are just a little more hard core. Nothing is going to become tangled this way.

*Push a paperclip onto a washer. (If you are wondering why I didn’t use flat washers… the hardware store I went to didn’t have flat washers with a hole big enough for a dowel. They had all sizes of spring washers though, so I bought them.

*Encourage the slight bending of the paperclip back into paperclip shape.

*Straddle a clothespin on the paper clip on the side where the paperclip has an end.

*Thread the paperclip through the spring on the clothespin and slide the pin to the first bend.

*That’s all.

Now for the removeable one. This would be even cheaper, cause 1 pack of large paper clips, qty 75, cost me $1.29 (w/o tax). Add that to the pieces you would still use, clothes pins, dowel, hooks, grommets, and tax… you get $7.80. Just remember, these are not so hard core, and don’t slide as well, but they lift on and off.

*Open a paperclip completely and the smaller section will snap off. If it doesn’t immediately, you could just cut it off with pliers.
*Disregard the small piece.
*Using pliers, cut off ½” from the straight side, and curl the already bent end even further.
*Slide the clothes pin on the straight side and down to the bend.

*Hang it up. This one is perfectly perpendicular to the wall. Because the others weren't they were forced to sit on an angle once stacked next to one another. I'm happy with the angle.

ROD:
*Cut a length of dowel to size and spray paint it to coordinate with the shelf it will hang on.

*Drill pilot holes for the screw hooks under the shelf and near the front. Ensure they are the same distance from the front edge of the shelf.

*Screw in the hooks.

*Slide the painted dowel through the left and middle hook. Thread on ½ of the Grippers you made, slide it through the right hook and place a rubber grommet on the end.

*Slide the painted dowel further right, releasing it from the left hook, and thread the other ½ of the Grippers.

*Slide it back into the left hook and place a rubber grommet at the left end.
These rubber grommets will stop the dowel from moving anywhere. Push them right up against the outside edges of the hooks.

Yes, it’s that easy!

If you don’t have a shelf to hang a Sticker-Gripper from, make one! I made mine by screwing blocks of 2 x 3 to the wall and then screwing a 2 x 5 into the tops of the blocks. (the 2” measurement on wood is really 1 ½”. Must be a guy thing) I spray painted my wood black before putting everything up. (My favorite shortcut… spray paint!!) Notice how I screwed to my wall on one side of the block, this made it easy to screw the shelf down into the other side of the block. Nothing heavy is going to live on mine. Maybe if you had heavy stuff, you’d want more than one block at each end of the shelf.

Just a short recap. The Sticker-Gripper I made was $10.09 including tax. The Clip it Up, costs $59.95 for the bottom tier, $34.95 for the top tier, and the clips are $6.95 for a bag of 25. That is not including any tax if it’s applicable.

I say, when there’s a great idea out there, and you have the ability to make your own and save money, DO IT!!

Have fun Girls!!!

Oh My Fabric!!!

2008-01-11T07:22:00.000-08:00

Natalie here.
I went to JoAnn’s yesterday to buy some fabric for a tablecloth, and I found this lovely Gem! It was on a sale rack for $5 a yard, and there was only 2 yds. Not enough for my table cloth (need 3 yds), but can’t you just imagine how awesome a table setting you could have with a decorative base like this???? This color combination is so IN for me right now, and the sequins!!!! It makes me smile to look at it! (The second one I took with a flash, so you could see the sheen in it.)

Maybe I need to do what Teri did and make some cards using this as my inspiration. Oh, and obviously I did buy it, but I don’t yet know what I’m going to make with it. I don’t have a room in my house with orange and turquoise. Plenty of brown…. but I don’t think I could incorporate this. If I could, wouldn’t it make a cute curtain for a small window, or a few throw pillows for a bed???

Maybe a skirt???? I’m going to hang onto it until I’m positive I have the right idea. I’ll keep any scraps to stitch onto some cards. The colors are a bit Fall, so maybe by then I’ll have scraps for cards.

Ooooooooh Fun!!

The fabric I settled on for the tablecloth…. Well, I had to buy two because I couldn’t decide and it was on sale for $3 a yard. They are both brown, one is kind of an olive brown, and one is a warm caramel brown, they are both a fun-to-touch type of faux suede. Strange for a table cloth I know, but it has this sheen to it, and it will be beautiful.
Since the room with the table has lots of olive tones, I think I’ll use that one and use the other for some pillows.

Altered Art Journal

2008-01-08T17:10:00.000-08:00

Hi All!!!
Jen here...

Sometimes I get caught up in creating things because I have to and this takes some of the joy out of it. I decided to start my art journal for a release of my fun side. In my journal I will only create things for fun…no assignments…no rules to follow…just whatever my little old mind can dream up.

I made my journal out of a deck of playing cards. Who could ask for anything cheaper than that? I don’t feel guilty when one of my ideas doesn’t work and I have to throw it away! I punched holes in the cards and bound them together using a simple ring clip. This is great because I can easily remove the pages to work on.

I love the size of these cards. They’re small enough to finish quickly, while my idea is still fresh in my head. I don’t have to worry about needing a lot of product to finish them. In fact, I’m finding uses for all those little left-over bits and pieces that I’ve saved for ages.

Right now, my creative muse is playing with different color combinations and vintage photos. Who knows where I’ll go from there? All I know is that I’m having so much fun creating these pages, I don’t want to stop.

I love my cell phone. :D

2008-01-06T16:02:00.000-08:00

ok, I just wish I were a better picture taker. This mind you is a proto type. I have not mastered the mod podge on the plastic yet, but I have ideas! I think I am going to get a clear case, and do it on the inside instead of the outside. This picture shows flaws that are not noticeable in real life, lol. Anyway, just an idea.

I love all the cute cases they have available for cell phones, but I wanted an orginal! I love the basic grey phoebe line, so viola- I just coverd a case that was used and worn, and I got a whole new look. The gems actually stay, which I was surprised since i stick it in the side pocket of my purse. :D thanks for looking.

Shell

Easy Peasy Mini-Album

2008-01-04T10:32:00.000-08:00

Hey, everybody! This is Robyn here to share something that's super-easy, fast, and fun to make! I'm always eager to start fresh at the beginning of a new year, but I wanted to make something to help me remember some of the wonderful times I had in 2007! I wasn't in the mood for a long drawn-out project that would take me hours to do. I wanted something that was gonna be quick, easy, and cheap to make, without using a ton of product. I also wanted to focus on my feelings about each event, so I did something I never do when I'm scrapping...I journaled in my own handwriting! So, here's what I came up with: A five page mini-album using cardstock, 2 rings, eyelets, stickers, a pen, ribbon, rub-ons (which were created by our own Dee Gallimore-Perry!), a button, and a flower! The only thing I did that actually took a little time was to stitch a border around each page. Even with the sewing, it still only took me about 1.5 hours to complete the entire album. Now for a mini-album that's great timing!

Now for the fun part!
CHALLENGE!!!!
I'm challenging you to make an easy peasy mini-album of your own using a minimum amount of items! Don't buy anything! Only use things you already have in your stash of scrap materials! Your album subject can be whatever you like! Post a link to it here and you can win one of these two Sheer Mini-Albums by Maya Road and my new favorite stickers from Basic Grey's Two Scoops Collection! I'll select a winner on January 20, 2008 from the entries! I'm looking forward to seeing what fabulous creations you come up with! Have fun and Be Blessed!!

Sketch it in 2008!

2008-01-01T21:04:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Wow! Another year has zipped right by and we're on to the next one already. Are you ready? I think I am. I'm ready to be more organzied, more daring, more energetic, and more creative!!!!

However, I'm sure that for some of you the start of a new year (or the start of anything) can be difficult to just get going. I often find that cleaning up my studio helps get me into a creative mood because I have a clean desk to work on once again. Sometimes purging some of my supplies (because we all know that we have waaaaay too much! ;)) is another great way to get that mojo back ... because we now have room for some new products to give us inspiration!

I know for me the best way to get my creative juices flowing is to sit down and make sketches in my notebook. Maybe it's because I'm such a visual kind of person. Now, I admit that I'm not the type who can just sit & make up any kind of sketch. I usually have my photos picked out and then start from there. I may end up sketching several designs before something really clicks. But when it does ... IT DOES! And then I can't wait to get started!

It has been a few weeks since I have worked on a layout because I have busy working on class projects for the month of December (which included NO layouts) so this past week I had to sit down with my sketch book. I needed to work on a layout for my LSS. We were given a kit of paper, buttons, die-cuts and a journaling topic to work with. So that was what I had to work with plus the photo that I was going to use. After a few designs this is the one that I finally went with.

And here is my layout that I created for my LSS using this sketch.

As you can see from my sketch I didn't follow it exactly. That's the beauty of a sketch. It's just that. You have complete freedom to do whatever your heart desires! Instead of having a circle with journaling behind the photo I just put the journaling on a rectangular piece of patterned paper.

I would like to encourage you to try sketching your layouts & projects - especially if you've never done it before. In fact, start tomorrow. Go out and buy yourself a little sketch book & a fun pencil (with eraser! ;)) and start drawing away! Then have fun creating your pages!

Wishing you a Blessed & Happy New Year!

~ Cari

Inspiration from a pillow

2007-12-27T15:28:00.000-08:00

Hi y'all!

Teri here.

Been in a little bit of a funk lately so I found a little card making inspiration over the weekend, thanks to a pillow rescued from a 90 percent off clearance rack! ;)

Both of the two cards you see here are a result of the pillow behind the cards.

I pulled color inspiration for both cards from the pillow. I was totally drawn to the pillow's lovely combo of white, green and blue combo.

I was also a bit inspired by the overall clean feel of the design of the pillow so I tried to incorporate a little of that feel into my cards.

I think my cards turned alright. I think I definitely spend a little more time checking out clearance racks for card making inspiration!

-teri

Love the look of stamped images...but hate the mess!?!!? LOL

2007-12-27T06:51:00.000-08:00

I, myself, LOVE the look of stamped images... I love stamps themselves...I just don't like having to pull out the stamps and stamp pads or paints...and I definitely don't like having to clean up when I'm done! HA HA!

I know... I'll admit I'm a bit lazy when it comes to my papercrafting... I like to keep things somewhat simple...easy...and quick. :)

That's why I LOVE some of the wonderful rub-on images that are available out there these days. They look just like stamped images!

I created this birthday card using new BoBunny papers and rub-ons!

I simply transferred the rub-on flower image and the sentiment to white cardstock.

Then, just as if it were a stamped image, I "dressed it up" a bit by adding some jewels and some ribbon.

QUICK....EASY... AND NO MESS!

CHALLENGE!!! Post here and share a link to a project YOU create using Rub-ons in the place of a stamped image! I'll randomly pick one name and post the name here on January 4th. Check back to see if you won and I'll send you a couple sheets of BoBunny rub-ons for your very own!

Dee ;)

Making ART with patterned papers!!

2007-12-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

Hey there, Natalie here.

If you’re anything like me, you can't get enough of BasicGrey papers. I love their style, I love their color combinations, and I love the ability to mix papers from different lines and still have combinations that look great.

One thing I like best about BG is they have a sophisticated style that I relate to. Even their Pheobe line, which is playful has a sophistication I love. I’ve been thinking for quite some time about how I’d like to have some BG style home décor. I slightly satisfied this urge by covering some light switch plates with paper. I Mod-Podged the paper on and gave it three top coats of Mod-Podge for good coverage. (sanding the plastic cover first gave it a key to adhere to).

Light switch projects aside, I’ve been wanting some more things to hang on the walls. I’m really into retro designs and graphic shapes, and I’ve been thinking of making something from BG paper for a nice piece of art. So….

I started with this picture and frame I bought at a yard sale for a dollar. I bought it thinking I could give the frame a nice make-over, and maybe do a painting over this old one. Which I think is actually a textured print. (old crap, whatever I call it) The photo was taken with a flash, hence the slight shine, but ya, it was already this strange color of washed-out yuk.

I started by removing the canvas from the frame and painting the canvas white.

I then got 5 coordinating BG papers (from different lines) and I cut out a bunch of circles and rings with kitchen bowls and the Coluzzle large nested circle template. As you probably already know, the Coluzzle large nested circles aren’t very big, so I had to use bowls too. I got out the small circle template, but didn’t end up using any small circles.

I used Color Box Fluid Chalk ink by Clearsnap, and inked around the edges of each circle. I used Creamy Brown, Chestnut Roan, and Amber Clay. I must add right here, that part of why I think this was so successful is the inking of the edges. It helps the eye see a finished edge on each paper, and it removes the white core of the paper, which isn’t attractive.

I sat and arranged and re-arranged my circles and rings until I had a design I liked. A big part in liking the design was making sure the gaps between the circles were even. I didn’t want a large gap in one area, and a tiny gap in another. With the arrangement of circles satisfactory and covering the perimeter of the canvas, I started in one corner and used my squeeze and roll glue pen to attach each circle together where they overlapped. Once every circle was connected to its overlapping neighbor, I turned the whole piece over.

On the back side, I attached scraps of black cardstock over each gap. Once all holes were covered, I turned it back over to the front, trimmed off any overhanging edges of circles so that my creation fit the edges of my canvas exactly.

I then glued down my paper creation to the canvas. I would not recommend using a liquid adhesive like Mod-Podge. It’s too wet, dries too fast, and there’s too much chance of it getting on the front with my talents of having a brush flip out of my fingers and land where I don’t want it to. So I used my squeeze and roll glue pen. I wasn’t expecting it to adhere, but I thought I’d try it before I used a spray adhesive. And it worked, so I didn’t have to use a stinky spray adhesive.

I didn’t want a sheen on my finish, and even matte Mod-Podge has a slight sheen, so I didn’t put a coating of anything on the finished side. I suppose, if I was concerned with people touching it (i.e. children) then I would use a matte spray finish to protect it. Those are invisible and are great!

Since the room I was hanging it in is used by my husband, I asked him if I should paint the frame black and make it look nice. He said he liked the old frame, gap in the corner and all, so I left it as it was and hung it up!

This project was so fun, I made another one to match my bedroom, about 4 times the size of the first one. Although I’m pleased with the finished result, my advice for a big one is: --Stick to large circles. I struggled to get spacing I liked with the small circles, but I’d already cut them out, so I had to use them.I attached this one over a piece of interior door that I had. (long story)
I covered it with green fabric and then attached my paper creation.

And just for the record, DH has been happy for me to put accents of pink and green in our brown, tan, and white bedroom. I was really unsure what he'd say with this much pink and green, but he liked it. So yea for me!!

One of a kind!! (for now)

Dimension. I just love it- don't you?

2007-12-23T11:05:00.000-08:00

So this layout has alot of it, but I never was the great photographer of layouts. I tried. Anyway. I just love page frames, because you can add lots of bulk, then put it in a frame, and add some more! The problem with most of the 12 x 12 frames I have run across is they do not hold anything bulky. But these babys do! You could probably put a baby t shirt in it on a page, and it would work well. :D

This is my Great Neice, just after she was born. The Heart at the bottom right is a page frame also, and it holds her date of birth. Then the whole layout is slipped into the 12 x 12 page frame, and I added rubons and another page frame -- the star. Ribbon thread through the top for hanging, or you can just hang it on a nail.

I have some frames in Christmas tree shapes, I am not sure if I wan't to do an acrylic album with them, or use them on a regular layout. Just love this stuff!

Anyway, just wanted you to see how much dimension you can add using these, I just heart them!!

Gotta go wrap some presents-- Have a wonderful Christmas Everyone!! ~~Shellie

Outta This Funk with your SCRAPS and SKETCHES!

2007-12-20T11:55:00.000-08:00

It's me---Miss Melissa posting today! SO happy to be here with my friends and mentors.

I wanted to share 2 of my most favorite---in-a-funk cures.

The first is my SCRAPS---I save them all---and sometimes all it takes, is noticing how they have fallen together, mismatched, shaped, trimmed, torn, and used. It's so much easier for me to be inspired by small bits of paper, than by the whole sheet. Plus, I feel a bit more daring with my paper and patterns when they are in bits, versus cutting away at a new sheet.

The next place I turn when I'm not feeling too creative is to a sketch. I'm always amazed at how these help me try new things and inspire me to a whole new level. Here are a couple of my favorite card sketch sites:
http://www.cardpositioningsystems.blogspot.com/

http://janellerichmond.typepad.com/sketchthiscards

I'd love to know what your favorite sketch sites are too---I'll be sure to bookmark them!

And, above just a couple of cards I made using a sketch and my beloved scraps!

Melissa

Photos That Inspire!

2007-12-17T21:05:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! When I'm in a funk I usually turn to my photos (which happen to be on my computer). I love to just go through them all because I know I'll take a lovely stroll down memory lane and I usually end up laughing or crying and I always walk away with some photos that I just have to scrap. After I find my photos I will then think about the journaling and either type it out in MS Word, or just hold off a bit and start my layout. However, sometimes my favorite photos are really not that great. Unfortunately bad photos are something we all have but that certainly doesn't mean we can't scrap them! Photoshop is so awesome for fixing up bad photos and when you have a photo that is just so terrible you can't fix it, you can alter it completely, making it blurry purposely, or making it black and white with some texture, printing on cardstock, and so on. When you do come across a photo that is not that bad, but not all that great either, there is help. A conversion referred to as the Orton Technique is becoming very popular. Some photos tend to be very harsh. For example, I love my mom and dad dearly but when I take up close shots of them their aging shows a bit too much sometimes (especially when the flash is used!) This technique helps with that by creating a softer look to the overall image. If your photo is a little blurry, this technique works great. It also works well on images that have a lot of white in them, wedding photos for example work very well. The Orton technique was developed by a man named Michael Orton. Basically he merged two images together, one sharp and one out of focus (same image) to create a beautiful, soft looking image. Here are some samples so you can see the difference;

Orton Technique Instructions for Photoshop (all versions)

1. Open your photo and make any adjustments to it so that is looks it’s best (levels, unsharp mask, etc.)

2. Now you will need to duplicate your image by creating a new layer. You can do so by using the short cut keys “Control J” or by putting your cursor on the background layer and right clicking and then click on “duplicate layer”. Name this layer “Sharp”.

3. Now just repeat those steps once again, making another layer by either right clicking and selecting “duplicate layer” or by just using the short cut keys “control J”, this will give you a new layer named “Sharp copy”.

4. Click on the “Sharp copy” layer and change the blending mode to “screen”. (The blending mode is usually on normal and it has a pull down menu.)

5. With the “Sharp copy” layer selected right click and select the “merge down” option.
Now click on the “Sharp” layer and duplicate it. Name this layer “out of focus”.

6. With the “out of focus” layer selected, use the filter menu and click on “blur” then click on “Gaussian blur”. The amount of blur depends on your photo resolution, basically you want the detail gone but the shapes in the photo to remain. A number between 15-20 usually works well. If you have six megapixel camera go with 15, if you have an eight mp camera try 17, if you have anything higher use 20.

7. Now change the blending mode of the “out of focus” layer to “multiply”.

That’s it, now just flatten your image (click on the top pull down menu “layer” and then click “flatten image”.

So next time you are in a funk, check out your photos, I'm sure there are a few (even if they are not perfect!) that you are just dying to scrap! If you have any questions please post them and I will answer and try to help out if I can! Happy Designing!

Wendy