Sunday, August 30, 2009

Graduation Layout


It's been awhile since I did any actual scrapbooking. In May I started this layout of my daughter's graduation, but I just couldn't figure out what to do to dress it up. I had stamped the graduation background, cut the title and graduation cap, and matted the photos, but it looked incredibly plain. I couldn't find any patterned paper that went well with it to provide variety except this black & white striped paper. I don't know who makes it. I must have thrown away the strip I cut off back in May. On the other side of the paper, it's black with a gray/silvery design. Unfortunately, that side didn't look right. After leaving the layout sitting in a box for 5 months, I pulled it out this morning and decided to try yet again to finish it. I'd pulled it out a few times before and had ended up sticking it back in the box again with no progress made. Today was different, though. I stamped designs on the black & white striped paper, then added some 3D punched flowers, and I was finally happy with it.

The stamps for both background papers were so numerous I couldn't figure out at this point which ones I used. The scrolled/flowered designs on the black & white stripe were mostly by EK Success, but one was by Heidi Grace. I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the larger blossoms used in the punched flowers. The tag was made with Coredinations cardstock, but I just inked the embossed punched flowers to try to make them look sort of the same. The embossed Congrats was another Cuttlebug embossing folder. The title and graduation cap cutting files can be found at Scrap Savvy. They are (or were) free cutting files if you belong to one of their membership programs.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Fall Banner



I know banners have been around for awhile, but this is only the second banner I've ever made. I used the Spellbinder Sunflower dies and scalloped square Nestabilies die, and I used the autumn leaf Cuttlebug die & matching embossing folder, and the autumn words embossing folder, along with the Cuttlebug Harmony alphabet for the letters. I don't know who makes the ribbon. It's a simple design, but the cutting and embossing took quite awhile. The banner was created using good ol' die-cuts, chalks, and inks.

You can click on the full banner photo to see a larger image of the completed project. This is probably obvious, but the leaves spell one word, while the banner flags spell another, so together they say, "happy FALL."

I'm planning to do another banner for Halloween, again using die-cuts, but probably incorporating punches and stamps, too.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Backpack Goodie Bag


In the SplitcoastStampers gallery are a bunch of really cute backpack goodie bags. Although there is a template in the gallery somewhere, I made up my own pattern. Mine is a little different from the ones in the gallery there. If you want to see the ones at SCS, try THIS LINK.

It would make a fun little gift for a teacher or bus driver. If you look closely at the twill ribbon straps on the "backpack" you can see the words "Back to School."

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page measurements

I've been playing around with my new Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page sets. If they came with information, it must have gotten thrown out accidentally with the packaging. Or maybe it was on the package, but I can't read small writing anymore.

It helps to cut your cardstock so that the sides have one of the following measurements (inches): 3.25, 5, 6.75, 8.5, 10.25, and 12 inches all work so that the corner and border match up well. Cutting a piece of cardstock to 5x6.75 inches will result in a photo mat that fits a 4x5.75 inch photo. You have to trim just a tiny bit off your 4x6 photo, but not much. For the card in the post just below, I used a 3.25 inch square, which was very easy to get it just right.

The first of the Punch Around the Page punch sets I bought was the spiderweb corner and border that was used for the Halloween card below. However, I also recently found the much coveted loop border and corner set, too, although I had to go to three different Michaels stores to find them.

Eency Weency Spider(s)



I don't care for the creepy, ghouly side of Halloween, but I love the costumes, candy, and light hearted fun part of the holiday. I never allowed my kids to dress like monsters or witches, nor were they interested in those kinds of costumes. Over the years, our family wore Star Trek, Vikings and other historical costumes, Superman, Spiderman, Wolverine, and Batman, a robot, and even a pig with a curly tail.

My kids are grown, but I still like certain aspects of Halloween. I am rather partial to spiders and bats for some unfathomable reason--weird considering I hate real spiders, and I won't go anywhere near bats if I can help it. You won't catch me spelunking.

Cute spiders seem quite popular among the stamps this year, and bats figure prominently in the new punches. I couldn't resist. I pulled out the coupons and hit the sales at the LSS, Michaels, JoAnn's, and AC Moore.

I've never been much of a fan of the Martha Stewart scrapbook lines, but I love her new punch around the page sets. The spiderweb border is part of her new Fall 2009 seasonal punches. The Halloween word stamp was one of the AC Moore Studio G stamps. The spiders and the eek! came from the Studio G stamps at JoAnn Fabrics.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Notecard with punched dimensional flower



This is the August Make & Take for the scrapbook store near me. You layer the punches and bend the petals upward after the glue dries for a 3D look. If you click on the top photo, you can see a close-up of each of the steps (and what punches were used twice) more easily.

Inside the tri-fold card is a punched window, that the recipient of the card can see the stamped message "Just a note" inside. There is room for the sender of the card to write a note.

The embossing was done with a Cuttlebug embossing folder and then chalked.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Unmounting rubber stamps and storing them




Top photo: 12x12 cardstock covered with stamped images.
Middle photo: back of the same 12x12 cardstock in page protector, with the stamps clinging to the back of the page protector. You can also see the next "page" of stamped images on the right side in another page protector.
Bottom photo: a page protector that came divided into 6 sections, with Purple Daisy stamps clinging to the back. I cut cardstock to fit each pocket first before stamping it.

I have been collecting rubber stamps for a lot of years. It got to the point that I didn't have room for them all, couldn't easily find what I wanted when I wanted it, and even worse, we were thinking about moving to another state. All the weight of those stamps would add to the moving expenses, which we expected to pay ourselves.

So I decided that if I were going to keep my stamp collection, I would have to unmount my stamps. First I stamped the images onto a piece of cardstock that fit into a page protector or pocket of a page protector. I then slipped the cardstock into the pocket. I cleaned the stamp, removed it from the wood block AND from the foam, then painted the back of the rubber stamp with Aleene's Tack-It-Over-and-Over. Once the glue was dry, I stuck the stamp to the back of the protector that had the cardstock with the image of that stamp.

I use Crop In Style Paper Sticker Binders (CIS PSB), which zip closed and have page protectors with pockets of varying sizes. The photos show regular 12x12 page protectors as well as a page protector divided up into 6 pockets.

My stamps take up far less space, are very quick and easy to look through, as well as easy to take to a crop if I want. I'm using my stamps a lot more these days because it's so easy to find what I want.

The CIS PSB shown in these particular photos holds over 400 stamps. Some are larger, some are very tiny, but it holds a lot of stamps! I store the binder on a bookshelf, UPRIGHT like a book on the shelf, so the stamps don't press on each other.

Unfortunately, CIS PSBs were discontinued. However, a regular 8.5x11 zippered binder could also work if this system of storing stamps appeals to you, or perhaps someone is selling them on ebay. I have enough PSBs for all my stamp storage, including room to add to my collection if I want, so I don't need to worry about it.

I'm more likely to buy acrylic stamps now, but they fit nicely in the PSB pockets, too.

Friday, August 14, 2009

3D Watering Can


I found the template for this 3D watering can at Splitcoast Stampers. The link for it is HERE.

I used the new Martha Stewart loop border punch on the bottom of the watering can. I grabbed some flower punches from my stash of tools to make the layered blossoms. Mine isn't nearly as fancy as the one shown in the link, but it was fun to make.

The card was made using a very old Stampin' Up stamp from a special set called Gifted Greetings.

I filled the watering can with Hershey kisses to give to a friend. Despite its small size, the watering can can hold about half a bag of kisses!

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