Please note that every challenge in this blog can be entered with any form of art work, not just cards. Themes may have to be slighly altered, but as long as they represent the general idea, feel free to enter.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Today is Sunday - Secret words and stuff!

Have you entered our contest this month?
Card by Pat Martin - Web-Knitter by Sugar Nellie
On May 10 we blogged about our wonderful contest.  Here's the info from that blog of May 10:

There are wonderful ideas for you to incorporate into this month's challenge.  For each card/album page/or altered project made and EITHER posted to our NATIONAL SCRAPBOOK DAY Photo file folder OR leave a comment with a link to your blog and a photo of your project, you will get a chance for a prize; 2 chances if you promise to mail a card to Melissa for the troops,

And there will be a secret color, a secret embellishment, a secret image and also a secret technique that will be posted the last Sunday night of the challenge.  If you  made a card, layout or project using just one of the secret somethings, you get a third chance at the prize. 
Here are your secret items:
SECRET COLOR =Red or white or blue (any of the 3)
SECRET EMBELLIE = Brad
SECRET IMAGE =US Flag
SECRET TECHNIQUE = Distress any way you know how

Now, please leave us a comment via email to the group as to how you qualify or you can also leave a comment here if blogger is working for you - please tell us what you did to earn entries and also tell us where your secret items lie.  And best of luck to everyone!  And remember you still have 2 more days to accomplish it!!!

Friday, May 27, 2011

APRIL SHOWER BROUGHT US MAY FLOWERS!

Welcome to Scrapbook Place's monthly blog hop!  Our theme this month is "April Showers Bring May Flowers" so you will see FLOWERS featured in all of our creations.

If you just happened upon this (the last) blog hop, you will want to go back to the beginning of the hop - Lindsy's blog - and follow through to see all the beautiful creations!  Have fun hopping along with us and now take a gander at a quick pinwheel rosette that YOU can create in minuets (without a die)!

This card was created by one of our members for another blog challenge with a well known company.  This tutorial, however, is solely on the pinwheel rosette you see in the upper corner of the card.
A dear friend (Hi Jinky!) taught me how to do this lovely flower.  She and I have both used our boards from Crafter's Companion.  HOWEVER, you do NOT have to have a board.  Simply take a 1 inch x 12 inch strip of paper you want to form your flower out of (I used patterned paper) and score every 1/4 inch of that flower strip using a ruler and a board or just bend and fold with your fingers.
Now as usual I've varied in my method of constructing the flower.  After scoring every 1/4 inch, I flipped the paper over and scored every 1/2 inch.  When you are working with paper there is a grain.  And if you want your mountain and valley folds to really look great, I found that by flipping it again and doing that 1/2 inch I had great success.
Have yourself a thin piece of double stick tape ready or very tacky glue and fasten the two ends together to form the above pinwheel.  It will want to spring on you, so be prepared to use both hands!  :)  You will have a center opening that you will probably put a button or another delicate flower in.  But for now, just keep it lying flat, and...............
put a square of double stick raised mount tape on the back.  This will help keep it from springing now and when you are ready to adhere to your project, just pull the paper away from the adhesive.
I had these fun flowers in my flower bin from K&Co. so pulled one out and hot glued it to the center of my flower.  Then I attached to the SUMO card.  Now leave us some love, and tell me if you are going to try making this flower!

~*~ DEETS ~*~

Stamp: SUMO - Digi from Hambo Hoedown Stamps
DP:Stash
Ink:Kodak Easy Share printer
Embellishments:various from stash
Copic: E11, E00, E000, 0

Thank you for joining us in more inspiration!
In the group were (just in case you want to try it again!):
Lindsy
Leti
Allie
Annette
Shannon
Linda
Debbie
Teresa
Diane
Donna
Pat M
Anna
Rhonda
Holley
Jinky
Scrapbook Place Group Blog

Remember to leave us some love!  Comment please! And leave us a link to a flower project you have created!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Last minute instrux for the blog hop to begin tomorrow

On Friday, May 27, palease start your blog hop at Lindsy's blogsite: http://scrappygiraffelayouts.blogspot.com/
Instructions will be on each blogsite as to where to click and hop to next.

And enjoy the information and lovely creative work of our members.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Only 4 more days...........

To our BLOG HOP! Gather a friend, join us on May 27, sign up as a new follower and perhaps something wonderful will happen to you!

Remember May 27 - don't miss the fun!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

SBP News and Featured Card for May 22, 2011

Don't you just admire this beautiful card created by Pat Martin of Scrapbook Place group.  Pat is also a moderator of our group and her talent seems to just be overflowing!  Take a look at all the items on this step card that she used.  Such a gorgeous representation of spring now taking place in the Midwest.

To be featured next week on our group front page and our blog front page, just create something relevant to the weather or a holiday or your family, make a comment on this post AND leave us a direct link to your card or scrapbook layout or project!  We'll be contacting YOU!!!

Leave a comment on this blog post naming at least one item you have seen on the Scrapbook Place boards that was a pif at one time!

NEWS FOR THIS WEEK;  Get ready for our blog hop beginning May 27th thru May 29th.  Start at Lindsy's blog (click!) and hop along the way!  Make a comment on EVERY blog, become a follower of EVERY blog either by way of a blog or Facebook or just let us know you have neither, and a surprise follower will be chosen at the end of the blog!

Best of luck - and have a fairy spring day!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Do It Yourself Crafting Supplies

Sometimes what we want and what we can afford are two very different things. I often reach for an embellishment or basic crafting supply and come up empty! That’s when it pays to know how to make your own materials. Here are eight items that are easy to make and will save you money:

Butterflies – I’ve made my own butterflies for a while now. All you need is some small feathers, black chenille sticks, a bit of wire and a glue gun! Find two sets of 2 feathers the same size. Arrange them like the wings of a butterfly, with the larger two one on each side on the top, and the smaller two one on each side below the. Cut a short piece of chenille stick place in the middle where the feathers touch. Glue the pieces together. Cut a small piece of black wire and bend in half, then shape the ends in a flat spiral. Attach with the glue gun at the top of your butterfly body. You can embellish by using a black marker and make the black “eyes” on the upper wings, if you like.
Buttons – Need a button to match your page? All you need is cardstock, a circle punch, a Crop-a-Dile, some Liquid Glass, a glue stick and your choice of patterned paper. Punch five circles from cardstock and one from your chosen patterned paper. Use a glue stick to adhere them in a stack, gluing the pp on top. Use you Crop-a-Dile to punch two holes in the center. Cover the top and sides with Liquid Glass and let dry on wax paper. You can also paint or ink the top layer of cardstock for a solid colored button. You can also use a shaped punch, like a heart, to make shaped buttons. See the tutorial here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/paperbuttons/

Card Candy-Don’t you just love those dimensional stickers with the glitter and bling? You can make your own using multiple images, stickers, Stickles, jewels, ribbons, etc. Just attach your creations to a leftover piece of clear plastic with REMOVABLE GLUE DOTS and you have handmade, inexpensive, expensive-looking embellishments!
Distressed flowers – These flowers are simple. Just tear (don’t cut) pieces of coordinating papers into three or four circles, each one just a little smaller than the last. Distress the edges by rubbing them to curl them up. Layer largest on the bottom to smallest on top. Attach with a brad.

Patterned Paper – Need a piece of patterned paper in a specific theme or color. Make it yourself! Get out the ink pads in colors you want, and stamps in the theme you need. Starting with the largest stamps, stamp a few images in a random way. Stamp from largest to smallest. Need shine? Use Stickles, metallic gel pens or Liquid Glass to embellish. Need texture? Use embossing powder, microbeads and fun flock. Too much white space? Spritz with Glimmer Mist!

Patterned Text Paper – Have some favorite quotes that you wish you could find on colored or patterned paper? Make it yourself. If you have Microsoft Word, collect your favorite sayings and type them one after another without spaces. Choose your favorite font and size, or mix the font size up. Fill a page with your lines of quotes (thequotegarden.com is a great resource) and then slip a piece of patterned paper in the printer and press PRINT.

Pinwheels – All you need is some colorful double-sided paper, cut into squares, a pair of scissors and a brad. From each corner, cut toward the very center of your square, almost but not quite to the center (otherwise you would have four triangles!). Starting at the top, fold one end of each side of your square toward the center, overlapping the ends. When all four corners are gathered in the center, use a piercing needle to make a hole and hold the pinwheel together with your brad.

White Flower Soft – I love to give my cards dimension and texture, but I don’t have the money all the time to go out and buy 14 different colors of FlowerSoft. I found that if you rub a couple of Styrofoam balls together, the resulting “dust” can be used just like white Flower Soft, so your winter cards can really POP with texture.
So, did I miss something? Of course I did, I missed stamping or using rub-on words on ribbons, coloring your ribbons to match your pages..and the list goes on! Got a secret DIY project that will save us all money? Tell us what YOU do to make your own supplies!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Recycle for One-of-a Kind Layouts

I admit it---I am the queen of cheap. When I go to a crafting store, the first place I head toward is the clearance table. But FREE is better, so whether I’m actively aware of it or not, I look at the world with a scrapper’s pair of eyes.



If we go out to lunch together, you may see a tasty sandwich on the menu---I see a border for a vacation layout…and don’t forget those paper napkin rings!








When my family went to German Fest, my dear hubby headed for the BierGarten---I headed to the information booth, where I received a bag of freebies which included a German newspaper. I knew it would make a cool frame for our photos.












Got photos that just don’t seem to work on a page? Use a piece of scenic patterned paper and cut the photos out and make your own collage page, or cut people out of a crowd and circle punch them and spread them around a layout as embellishments.









Take a close look at the following pages. Each one uses something recycled or given away free to frame out a photo or journaling. Postcards, coasters, playbills, and so on... The world is full of unique ways to frame photos, journal your memories and make your pages your own!


Now, how about you show us some of the unique ways you use your "souvenirs" and freebies to scrapbook your memories. Add your link to this post, or comment with your link. I'm always on the lookout for more ways to scrap on a budget!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

BRICKS CAN BE COLORFUL!

Yes, bricks can be wonderful - you don't even have to use mortar!  Rhonda Davenport did this lovely card and wants everyone to know how easy it really is!  Here's her note about it:
Stamp your favorite image...then cut it into pieces and layer it back together with spaces in between to give the illusion of bricks. It's like a puzzle...sooo easy and the outcome is sooo special looking...Let me know if you try it..
HUGs
Rhonda
PS  Now let's see you try your hand at laying bricks.  Upload your card at the bottom of this page by using the linky - it's easy.  JLMK if you need help! You may link to the group photo file if you do not have a blog or FACEBOOK.  Enjoy!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

SBP is gettin' Sketchy!

When you have a creative block.....what do you do? My favorite thing to do is find some sketches!
Below you will see TWO sketches ~ one for a card and one for a layout (this way the cardmakers and scrapbookers are happy)
Play along with us and upload your take on one or both sketches....we'd love to see your creation!

Card Sketch:


My creation using the sketch.

Layout Sketch:
(both sketches can be found at PageMaps)
So get busy, get creative ~ have fun! And don't forget to come back and share all your busy, fun, creativity!! =)

Don't forget to sign into our linky and a link to your project!  We all love a little love too - so how about a comment?

Remember that we have a contest going on this month - get involved!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

WHAT ARE THE SECRET WORDS?

Have you entered our contest this month?

There are wonderful ideas for you to incorporate into this month's challenge.  For each card/album page/or altered project made and EITHER posted to our NATIONAL SCRAPBOOK DAY Photo file folder OR leave a comment with a link to your blog and a photo of your project, you will get a chance for a prize; 2 chances if you promise to mail a card to Melissa for the troops,

And there will be a secret color, a secret embellishment, a secret image and also a secret technique that will be posted the last Sunday night of the challenge.  If you  made a card, layout or project using just one of the secret somethings, you get a third chance at the prize.
Don't forget to sign into our linky and a link to your flower!  We all love a little love too - so how about a comment?

Remember - we are going for prizes this month.......get involved; enter your projects into any Linky!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Shannon helps us create a flower.........

Flower Tutorial
Supplies :
Flowers in different sizes {5 per flower}
Ink
Spray bottle with water
Heat gun
Tweezers or small tool to open flowers
Brad
Step 1:
Gather your flowers. You will need at least 5 to have a full looking flower.
Step 2:
Ink your flower in your colors of choice.
Step 3:
Add a brad being sure to stagger your petals so they look full.
Step 4:
Spray your flower with water. If you get it too wet it will rip and if its too dry it wont crinkle good. I spray the top really good then each layer as I pick it up.

Step 5:
Slowly using your fingers gather each layer and smash together.


Step 6:
When you have all the layers done it will look like this.

Step 7:
Using your heat gun, dry the flower bud for a few minutes so that it barely feels damp.

Step 8:
Slowly using your tool start to gently open each layer.

This is what it looks like with the first layer open.
Step 9:
This is what you will have when you open all the layers. Now take your heat gun and dry the flower for a few minutes so that it starts to harden.



Step 10:
When the top is starting to stiffen flip over and dry the back. This will help the flower be less flat.

Ta-Da here is your finished flower!!!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY


This lovely card was created by our one and only Shannon L. - her talent is just out of this world!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone - and just have yourself a faboo Sunday!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Shabby Chic flower tutorial and challenge

Soo..how many of you have drooled over the new Prima flowers coming out on the market..all the layers upon layers of beautiful fabrics??  I know I have!  But why pay all that money for just a couple flowers when you can make them yourself with your choice of fabric to match your projects!  With just a few supplies that most of us have on hand, you'll be own your way to designing your own little beauties!

Supplies needed:
Sizzix flower die with at least two sizes of flowers ( I use the Large Daisies die..or the Hello Kitty flower die)
Sizzix, cuttlebug or equal cutting machine
3 different colors of synthetic fabric ..think sheers in different textures
heatgun
brads or needle and thread to secure layers
pearls or beads for flower centers
scissors


After you have assembled all your supplies you will need to cut 2 layers each of the 3 fabrics in both sizes to equal 12 layers total.
Next comes the layering. Keep your duplicate colors together and layer the 9 largest ones on the bottom and the 9 smallest ones on top.  Secure all your layers using either a needle and thread or a brad. If you will be embellishing your flower with beads then you should choose the thread option.  I used a brad for mine.
Now its time to heat distress the petals!  Yay!  Using your heat gun turn the flower upside down and start curling the petals towards the front of the flower by passing your heat gun over it a few times in close range to the petals.  The heat will shrink and curl the petals..this is a good thing!  Do the bottom layer first then start working your way to the top layer. While you are doing this you should start pulling the layers apart during the heating process. If you have a pair of tweezers or pliers it would be wise to use them because your fingers can get really hot!

Your flower then should look something like this:
 I have added an adhesive backed large pearl to my center. You have many options here to further embellish your flower. You can use beads, deco brads, flower stamens, pearls, rhinestones..etc.   Now you are ready to use your flower on your project! 

Now its your turn to design your flower. If you don't have synthetic fabric on hand you can use tissue paper instead. You can find packs of colored and decorative tissue paper at your local Walmart or craft store for $1.   When using tissue paper, you will need to cut and layer your flower the same as with the fabric.

Once your flower is layered, start with the top layer and start scrunching up the tissue to crinkle it and give it dimension. Scrunch all your layers working to the bottom layer until your flower looks like a ball of tissue, lol..this is a good thing!  Now start pulling your layers apart and laying them back down. Work your way back to the top layer.

  These look great spritzed with a little glimmer mist..or with glitter added to the edges of the petals. 
.
Don't forget to sign into our linky and a link to your flower!  We all love a little love too - so how about a comment?

A lucky participant will be randomly chosen to receive a pack of these flowers to use for your projects!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

NATIONAL SCRAPBOOK MONTH CHALLENGE

This Saturday, May 7th is National Scrapbook Day. Started in 1994 by Creative Memories, it is celebrated on the first Saturday in May. It's a day for all of us scrappers to celebrate our love of scrapbooking and card making. What a great idea!
Awesome card by Donna Clark
So what should you do on National Scrapbook Day? Well, scrapbook and make cards and get into altering a project or two of course! Get out your albums, punches and brads and get to work. Set aside an hour or two or four to devote to working on your album. Invite a friend over or join a local crop. If you prefer to scrap alone or just can't find a friend to join you, then go online and join a virtual crop. That's right, there are virtual crops all over the online community.

So we are going to have our own Scrapbook/Card Making challenge - from May 6 until June 4........stretching it a bit to give you hard working ladies plenty of time to get involved.  And involvement is simple with lots of prizes!  Oh you will love 'em for sure - guaranteed!

For instance, check out this beautiful flower that Teresa R. is holding:

Teresa's handmade gorgeous synthetic flowers
Oh my goodness.....isn't this flower just gorgeous!  Handmade also!  All of our members are very artistic in our group, and this beauty was made by Teresa, who states:

"I found this yellow synthetic fabric with tiny pearls and rhinestones embedded in it. I paired it with the salmon colors and used the heat gun to melt and distress them."

There are wonderful ideas for you to incorporate into this challenge.  For each card/album page/or altered project made and EITHER posted to our NATIONAL SCRAPBOOK DAY Photo file folder OR leave a comment with a link to your blog and a photo of your project, you will get a chance for a prize; 2 chances if you promise to mail a card to Melissa for the troops,

And there will be a secret color, a secret embellishment, a secret image and also a secret technique that will be posted the last Sunday night of the challenge.  If you  made a card, layout or project using just one of the secret somethings, you get a third chance at the prize. 

And if you need more inspiration, check out this link to make your own vintage paper flowers!





Now get that card/project done, and upload it here!  Do one, 10 or 50!  Let's have some fun this month.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

May CARDS FOR A CAUSE - Presents.....

A SCHOOL BACKPACK GIVE AWAY PROGRAM
The wonderful array of backpacks given away last year.
Each month we allow members to present a program for us to contribute cards to help that program out.  May cards for a cause will go to helping children obtain school supplies this fall in a BACKPACK PROGRAM at Baraboo, Wisconsin.    Here's Becky's plea for help from us (btw, I asked her for a 'short' blurb):
Becky helping setup the tables
Back when I worked at the junior high in Baraboo, the last day of school was very exciting for me and for some of the special education teachers.  Big barrels were put in the hallways and the kids cleaned
out their lockers and things they didn't want to take home went in the barrels.  Then the SPED teachers and I would run out before the janitors came up and we would empty the barrels of anything that was usable for kids next year.  One year, I found 3 new multifunction calculators - so I didn't need to buy one for my daughter the next year - I kept one for the office and the third one went to a kid the following fall.  Brand new notebooks, loose leaf paper, pencils, pens, you name it - it was in the barrels and most of it was brand new never used.  It said a lot about the kids throwing it out but it was so very helpful to us.  Every year, many kids would register and come to school with nothing, throughout the year.  We were able to supply these kids out of the barrel pickings.  I almost fell in the barrel more than once!
What wonderful items - all for the children!
For a number of years, I have had the idea to have a BACKPACK GIVEAWAY but didn't have an organization interested until Pastor Jesse came back to pastor our church and he gave me the go ahead without hesitation.  He likes to do "missions in our backyard" like this.  I had wanted to go on a missions trip but my husband asked what I would do about any health problems I would most likely experience away from home -- so I began my missions in my own town. 

We started with no budget - just collection barrels at church and Walgreen's, then at the police station.  My partner Cindy and I spoke at organizations like Kiwanis and Optimists.  And I went to the food pantry and other organizations and started signing people up.  I interview each family to make sure they fit our requirements - financial status, living situation, etc.  These are the kids who absolutely have no hope of even having new shoes much less school supplies.  Then the donations started coming in.

Through the generosity of many, many people, we were able to provide backpacks full of school supplies and personal items to 68 children last August.  Each backpack contains about $40-50 worth of supplies that are requested by the schools.

We reached out to these children in love and the only thing we asked for was their very best effort in school.  All money and supplies that were donated went directly to the children who needed our help the most.  Every single child stopped and thanked me when they picked out their backpacks.  It was absolutely thrilling to see them smile.  And they made thank you notes and enjoyed a cookie and juice, parents got to talk to each other, and pastor passed out postcards with information about our kids programs.  when we started the Kids Klub on Wednesday a couple weeks after that, we had 22 children in it, just from those postcards.

This year, Cost Cutters has pledged to help me get haircuts for each of the kids too.  And I have several people interested in having a program like this in their communities. The cards made in this month and presented to us will be sold during the week and at Bazaars thruout the year; the funds will be given to the Backpack budget to help defray all costs.  Ladies have been donating handmade cards from this group - we hope everyone can donate at least 5 cards - any occasion.

Please email me for an address to send your cards to (they do not need to have envelopes).

Nothing is ever short is it?  They cut me off the other night when I was speaking about the project at another organization!  Anyway, hoping you can find time to help us get ready for the school year this fall!

Becky Hovde