Scrapbooks & Stuff Blog

Tutorial Tuesday

In the past I have had many of you approach me by asking the following question: "How do I get that torn paper effect on my pages?"  I have been able to show some of you this technique, but thought it would be appropriate to have it posted here so that those of you that are beginning would feel a bit more comfortable with this technique. 

I came across this video and though it was pretty good and easy to follow.  Enjoy!

Lots of Love,

Nana & Vanessa

Penwork tip

Thanks to LaVerne, I'm obsessed with outlining my mats again!  It's a technique I used in a class recently too, and there is an easy way to make your lines smoother.  First of all, back up on the pen barrel, you want to hold the pen in it's midsection.  Next, you want to plant your forearm on the table and pivot as you draw your line.  Turn the paper as you go, and you will see smooth fluid lines!  Check out the visual aids below.  And check out one of our newest page kits, Build a Bear, using the outline technique of course!  ~Lisa

     

Scrapbook Gift Idea

Here's an idea for a gift that truly keeps on giving...

Need a really special gift for grandma, hubby, best friend?  Why not start an album off with a gorgeous first page and a couple of layouts, and then ADD to it with gifts of more pages over time?!  Future pages will make perfect birthday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, or thank you gifts.  The recipient will get to enjoy current photos on pages you crafted for them.  ~Lisa

Paper Dolls are BACK!

Here's a little sneak peak of a class project I'm working on for the next calendar, a school portrait layout.  I used our die cut center to make a paper doll that looks like my 4th grader Caitlin in her school uniform complete with her hot pink Converse sneakers!  Back in the day some 8 years ago, when we opened the store, Paperkins were super hot.  Who remembers those little paper doll kits from EK?  There were about 80 styles, and they sold like hotcakes.  My own scrapbooks are full of them! 

If you are in the mood to "go there" with a paper doll layout, come check out our die cut center.  We have the all the dies to make clothes, shoes, hair, etc.  They really are pretty darn cute, especially when they look like the people in the photos!

~Lisa

Ornament Idea

Esther B. was cropping yesterday at the store, when I happened to spy these adorable Christmas ornaments she was making!  She die cut the shape using our Accucut system, then added photos of her 7 adorable grandchildren, various ribbons, embellishments, and stickers.  So cute, right?!  The second photo is a shot of the basic cut, so you can see just how creative she got! 

Glossy Accents, ooh ahh!

So yesterday I started working on a layout class for the next calendar, Jan Feb 2009.  This layout is going to be sort of anniversary, wedding, love themed.  I finally took home a bottle of Glossy Accents to work with - and I LOVE it!  Can you see how the word "Husband" is shiny?  That is just a part of the pattern paper that I covered with Glossy Accents!  You just sort of squeeze it out and swoosh it around on any area or image that you want to look glossy.  It takes about an hour to dry, and it was really pretty darn easy to use!  Want some?  We have about 4-5 bottles in stock right now. 

More Scrapbook Rooms to See!

By the way, we just added Ady's photos of her scrap space, such a pretty room!  Click on the photo album over to the left to check out all the rooms and ideas! 

Got a Scrapbook Room?

Earlier today at the store I was speaking with Pam, a really sweet longtime customer, and she was telling me all about her fabulous scrapbook room.  She was telling me about her built in cabinets and how all her supplies are just perfectly stashed.  It got me to thinking, how cool would it be to have a special photo album here on the blog with photos of all our scraprooms?!  Viewers around the world could use this resource to get ideas for creating their own scrappy spaces.  Do you have a scraproom?  Would you like to share with the class?  Send me a photo or two of your scraproom/scrap area and I'll getcha right on!  You betcha I'll go first, right after I it tidy up...  OK, check it out, over there to the left! 

~Lisa

Email me at scrapbooksnstuff@bellsouth.net with your photos.

Inspiration Journal

   

So today I am working on the November December calendar that will come out in about 5 weeks, and I have been flipping through my Inspiration Journal for teachable ideas.  I thought I would share the journal with you all, because I think it is a great way to keep your favorite magazine ideas without having to keep stacks and stacks of old mags.  Lets face it, in any one magazine, there might be 5-6 really good ideas that you want to try.  The rest of it is ads or stuff that isn't your style. 

I go through my older mags every few months, after I am done pouring over them to start ripping out the best ideas for my journal.  I just glue them in with glue stick, and sometimes I'll make a few notes in the margin. 

The journal itself is a simple composition book that I covered with papers, embellishments, and ribbon.  I created sections by glueing 2 pages together every 20 sheets or so, and then stapling a labeled cardstock tab in place.  I have sections for layouts, cool techniques, embellishments, borders, words, cards, home decor, and misc.  I've been keeping this journal for a couple of years, and I still have plenty of room to keep adding more ideas. 

School Projects are FUN.

Who's knee deep in school projects yet?!  Last Thursday Caity and I pulled off our first masterpiece for Mr Puett, her awesome new math teacher.  Look closely, can you see the scrapbook supplies?  Metal rim tags adorned with brads and Doodlebug sticker letters!  We had to find words, definitions, and examples for each letter in the word Mathematics.  Remember Scrapbooks & Stuff whenever you find yourself in school project hell.  We've got all the papers, stickers, and die cuts YOU need to get the A YOU deserve :)

Another Mom tip, take photos of your (child's) large oversized projects BEFORE you (your child) turns them in.  That way you can save and scrapbook the memory of the project without having to save a giant posterboard or some other crazy 3-D objet d'arte.  You Pre-K moms are gasping, but the elementary/HS moms are all like ooh, great idea.  You can only save so many things before you find yourself needing to rent storage space to keep it all.