Scrapbook Circle Blog

tip of the day.....

2010-02-08T09:14:00.002-07:00

banners are HOT right now, you see them on layouts, cards, they seem to be everywhere! While at CHA I noticed in the American Crafts booth where the dear Lizzy line was being displayed some WONDERFUL simple banners. I thought it would be fun to do for Valentine's day, I used part of the January & February kit, some scraps, a few buttons, and my cricut. Here is what I came up with:

I believe the whole thing took about 45 minutes to an hour to make. (I broke it up in two sessions. Before and after church....)

1. First I cut my shapes. The larger hearts were cut at 3" (for the backing) and 2"(for the inner part).

2. I then cut my circles, some are cut at 1 1 /2" & some are at 1 1/4".

3. I ran my Kraft colored circles through my crimper.

4. I set up the order in which I wanted my pattern to go.

5. I set my sewing machine to a straight stitch and began to sew. **to make sure there wasn't any bunching I pulled the end straight. ** Also in between each shape I let the needle go up and down 4 times--to give some space.

6. After I had everything together I glued on my buttons and letters.

Easy, peasy!

Now if you don't have a cricut or slice, or other die cutting machine you can easily do this with your punches or even hand cut your shapes. One more thing I wasn't very technical with how many pieces I cut. I just went with the flow and it turned out. I do have a few pieces left over that I will be using for gift tags and other projects.

Thanks for stopping by!

We Have a Winner!

2010-02-08T08:56:00.003-07:00

Thanks to everyone who played along with out kit giveaway this month.

With the help of random.org, we now have a February kit winner!
Comment number 103 was...
Julie! Congrats. Send me an email with your addy and I'll get your kit right out to you.

We do have two February kits left, so you still have a chance to get one for yourself.

extra distressing

2010-02-07T10:04:00.004-07:00

Hi!

In this layout from the February kit, I tried my hand at extra distressing. I like to distress the edges of my paper sometimes. I run along it with my fingernails for an easy -- no tools -- distress look. For this one, however, I went the extra m

ile. I tore out

chunks from the paper every so often -- just randomly. Here you can see it up close.

It just adds a little bit extra to the distress look. Then, I backed the whole sheet in a matching brown paper to bring out all the torn/distressed look. Hope you enjoy!

Material Girl: Not Just for Girls

2010-02-06T11:52:00.003-07:00

Even though many of the product in our February Kit are from the fabulous Cosmo Cricket Material Girl line, that does not mean that this is only a girly kit. All of the paper is double sided, so you really have a lot of design options.

Here's a layout I put together with the February kit. I love the bright colors and I would say that this is not at all girly.While I was designing this layout, I decided that I wanted to use the October Afternoon label stickers and the bottom of the page, but I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to arrange them. I cut around the stickers so that they still had the backing on them so that I could move them around on the page. After doing this, I decided that I didn't like the blue label at the bottom. Since I hadn't stuck it to the page, I wasn't committed to it.
All of the February kits that have been ordered have shipped. We only have 3 kits left, so get one while you can.

Let's Start Cutting!

2010-02-05T22:39:00.002-07:00

Hi All! Jill here. I wanted to stop by and share my first layout that I made with the fabulous and bright February kit so far.

As you can see, I went a little crazy with the cutting! I couldn't resist cutting out a bunch of the flowers and vines from the Cosmo Cricket "Material Girl" paper! This kit is chock full of papers with a ton of fun designs to cut out. The possibilities are practically endless! I know lots of the other girls on the DT had the same cutting idea that I did this month. You can check out the Idea Gallery to see their creative ideas. :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I'll be back soon with more kit layouts and projects to share soon!

A Few Sneaky Peeks for You

2010-02-05T11:06:00.003-07:00

We have so many exciting products planned for kits over the next 6 months. I can barely contain myself. Seriously, this stuff is good. I thought that some of you might be interested in some of the lines we will be featuring in upcoming kits. That way you know what you have to look forward to.

These are in no particular order, but you will be seeing all of this goodness over the next few months in our kits.

Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety
October Afternoon Fly A KiteWe will also be featuring October Afternoon The Thrift Shop!

Of course, we had to pick up some of the new Dear, Lizzy line. Love it!Here's list of other lines you have to look forward to...

My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary
Crate Paper Brook
Glitz Kismet
Pink Paislee 365
The Girls' Paperie Holiday

We have a few other surprises, but we can't reveal everything!

All of these lines have been ordered and we can't wait to share them with you.

Happy weekend everyone.

Up For A Challenge?

2010-02-04T06:00:00.003-07:00

Hey guys! Happy Thursday to ya! Are you feeling scrappy today and not sure what to do? Then, why not join in on this challenge I posted yesterday on the Scrapbook Circle forum? It's easy and a great way to get some work done!

http://scrapbookcircle.ning.com/forum/topics/how-about-a-little-challenge

I decided to give my own challenge a go in order to get a card finished. My card stash is running low and I need to build it back up. So, I spent a little time researching the archives here on the blog and found a tip of the day from May 2009 posted by Diana. She created this adorable card and I wanted to give it a try too.

I don't know if my card can do hers justice, but here is my take on it. I had so much fun curling the paper! I used some leftover scraps that I had from the Feb. kit.

Love the dimension the paper curling gives...

I hope this post will inspire you to join in on the challenge! We'd love to see what you can create!!!

Have a fabulous day and Happy Scrappin'!!!

Kit Giveaway! 7 Ways to Win!

2010-02-02T11:54:00.009-07:00

We are so excited to share our February Kit with you and want to give one away to a lucky winner!

We are going to try something different for this giveaway and give you 7 (yes, SEVEN!) ways to enter.

1. Post a comment here letting us know your favorite product in the February kit.
2. Add our blog to your blog reader. If you already have our blog in your reader, just let us know!
3. Join our community.
4. Become of fan of Scrapbook Circle on Facebook.
5. Follow us on Twitter.
6. Blog, tweet and/or Facebook about this giveaway.
If you tweet about this giveaway, you can just cut and paste the following:
Scrapbook Circle's February Kit Giveaway. 7 Ways to win! @scrapbookcircle http://bit.ly/aeO3zr
7. Tell us one product you'd love to see in an upcoming kit by commenting here.

Each time you do something on the list, just leave a comment here. Each comment is one entry for winning the kit.

***Updated: Leave 1 comment for each item you do. If you do all 7, then you will leave 7 comments. Each comment is an entry to win!***

If you are already doing something that is listed here (your are in the community, on Facebook, Twitter, etc.), just let us know in the comments and it will count as an entry.

***If you win and you are already a subscriber, you can substitute the prize and get the March kit for free!***

Hope you have fun with this!

Last day to post for the giveaway is this Sunday, February 7. Winner will be announced on Monday, the 8th.

find your girly side

2010-02-02T07:27:00.003-07:00

The February kit from Scrapbook Circle is delicious! And if you are a girly girl like I am, you will find plenty to work with in this kit.

I am really happy fussy cutting a great patterned paper. With the Material Girl line from Cosmo Cricket in the February kit, it does not disappoint the fussy cutter!

I cut out the scissors, thread and needles images from the paper. For added dimension, I wrapped some baker's twine around the pieces. Makes it look all the more life-like, don't ya think?!

I hope you get over to Scrapbook Circle's order page in time... I'm sure these February kits are going to sell like hot cakes!

tip of the day.....

2010-02-01T13:36:00.003-07:00

today I want to talk about using up your scraps. These scraps happened to be from past Scrapbook Circle kits. I used my cricut and cut circles in different sizes (this happens to be based on a layout sketch at Sketchy Thursdays.):

It's was SUPER quick and fun! So the next time you have scraps, don't throw them away, use them for your cards!

Loving the Material Girl Goods

2010-01-31T15:55:00.003-07:00

I've been having so much fun with the February kit this past week. Seriously, the Cosmo Cricket Material Girl line is fabulous. We included all 6 of the paper designs in this kit because we just couldn't narrow it down.

Here's a look at one project I put together with the kit.Love the big Jenni Bowlin die cut paper? So do we and it's in the kit. The label stickers and jewels are in the kit too!

Hope you are looking forward to getting your kit!

Ribbon Pleating

2010-01-31T07:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I just got the Scrapbook Circle FEBRUARY kit in the mail today! I'm SOOOOO excited to play with it and if I get a chance TODAY, I'll post an entry later on, but I wanted to show you a fun technique I sort of picked up at CHA. One of the big new 'things' is ribbon pleating. You will be seeing some in a kit coming soon to a door near you (hopefully YOURS). But, in the meantime, this is my attempt at ribbon pleating.Now, the ones we'll get in the kits are very orderly and nice and elegant. Elegant just didn't work for this page. I wanted fun, and colorful. So, I just cut a piece of ribbon much longer than what I wanted it to show on the page, and then bunched or pleated it haphazardly as I sewed a straight stitch. It was lots of fun and I love the disorderly look it gave my page.
I also made the title with my Silhouette and black vinyl. It is so easy to combine all sorts of fonts and size it to fit your layout perfectly, then cut, peel, and stick! So fun!

Hopefully I'll make it on later today for a post about February's kit!

Enjoy

February Kit is Up!

2010-01-30T23:22:00.002-07:00

We are very excited to share our February kit with you. We filled it will all of the paper from the new Cosmo Cricket Material Girl line. We loved all of the paper so much that we just couldn't exclude any of them. There are also pieces of Basic Grey Origins, Making Memories Flutter plus brand new goodies from Elle's Studio and much more.We are also happy to let you know that we have some February paper add-ons available for you this month. This kit has 10 patterned papers and you can get an extra set for yourself. We love this paper so much and figured you would love it too!
Here's another little peek at what I've been up to with the kit.
(The paper and tag are from the kit and the alpha is from my stash.)

Hope you are looking forward to this kit!

Are You Ready?

2010-01-30T00:15:00.002-07:00

Who's ready for Valentines Day? It's coming up here, only a little over two weeks away! I don't know about everyone else, but I have already started on Valentines Day cards. There is nothing better than giving your loved ones a gift from the heart like a handmade Valentine!

Here are a couple Valentines that I have created so far, hopefully they will inspire you to get started on yours as well! If you have already started making yours, please share!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

The First February Peek

2010-01-29T23:08:00.002-07:00

The products in our February kit are hot off the press and we are so happy to have them here and we are ready to share them with you.

Here's a little look at what you have to look forward to in next month's kit.Are you ready?

An Exceptionally 'Easel' Card Tutorial

2010-01-28T10:11:00.005-07:00

Hey guys! Happy Thursday! Only one more day until Friday!!! Whoo hoo! So how about a way to pass the day away to get to the weekend quicker?!!! I'm all for that!!! Also, it's so easy and fun!!! Let's make some cards!!!

I have had many people asking me about the recent 'easel' cards I have been making. I found the written instructions for these online, but thought I would do a simple little picture tutorial for you guys. The finished size of this card will be 6x6".

Supplies Needed:
1-solid 12x12 cardstock
bone folder
patterned paper of your choice
embellishments of your choice
rhinestones, pearls, brads, OR buttons

Step One:
Cut solid cardstock to 12" x 6 ". Score at the 3" and 6" line. When I score lines, I like to place my cardstock on my paper trimmer and score along the groove in the trimmer using a embossing stylus.

Step Two:
Valley fold as shown to create a triangle, smoothing out the creases with a bone folder. This will be your card base. At this point, if you want to decorate the card base, go ahead and do so. I waited and did that last, so it's really up to you how you would like to do it. Set aside.

Step Three:

Cut solid cardstock to 6x6". Embellish as desired. I used the January SBC kit for mine. This will be your card front. When you are finished embellishing as desired, you will want to attach this card front to the card base. Apply adhesive to the front flap of the triangle and adhere the bottom half of the card front.

Step Four:

To create easel, you will need to place some sort of dimensional embellishment (such as a button, rhinestone(s), pearl(s), or brad(s). I chose to use the rhinestones from the kit.

Your finished product should looks something like this....

This really is so easy and so fun! There are so many ways to make your card unique! So be sure to give this a go and upload your creations in the gallery here at SBC!!! We'd love to see what you can do!

Happy Scrappin'!!!

Our Fun Finds at CHA

2010-01-26T14:11:00.004-07:00

Jennie, Diana and I returned late last night from two full days at CHA in Anaheim. Wow, we had so much fun finding product for our upcoming kits. It's a hard job, but somebody had to do it!

Here's a look at what we found and what we were up to while we were away.

We loved all of the new Jenni Bowlin goodies. The butterflies and banner alphas were definite favorites.The new Dear, Lizzy line by Elizabeth Kartchner & American Crafts was really playful and fun. We met Liz and talked to her for quite a while. She was very sweet. We're excited to be bringing you a bunch of her product in an upcoming kit! (Hopefully the April kit.)The two new lines from October Afternoon very fabulous (as usual.) We ordered pieces from both the Fly a Kite line and the Vintage line. Here's a look at some of the Fly a Kite paper and some sample projects they had up in the booth.We branched out a bit an ordered some really fun fiber products with both burlap and canvas. We can't wait to play with them and see what you do with them too.The Prima booth was full of yummy goodness.
The Brrok Collection from Crate Paper was antoher one of our favorites. Here's a layout created with this line.While we were walking around (most likely near the American Crafts booth because they has the best chocolate!) we ran into Stacy Julian, Rhonna Farrer and Janet Hopkins. We talked to them for a while. They were all very nice and full and energy.Another great kit find was the two new lines by Margie Romney-Aslett. We loved both of her lines and you will be seeing some of each of them in our upcoming kits. Thickers? Need I say more? Racks of thickers. Ahhhh.
We put our Cosmo Cricket order in before the show so that we could be sure to bring you the newest product right away. Out Cosmo Cricket goodies have already shipped and they are on their way to us!We are so excited about what we found and put together into kits for you! Can't wait to share more peeks with you.

If you want to see even more of what we were up to at CHA, you can check out Diana's blog and my blog.

what about all of that punctuation?

2010-01-26T06:14:00.001-07:00

If you're like me, and you love every set of chipboard letters you have, you will find a way to use every single piece. And the punctuation marks are no exception!

Here I used one end of the parentheses to simulate a smile to go with my "grin" title. And above that, I used periods to frame the edge of the journal spot and the edging of the paper. Had my journaling been a list, they easily could have been bullets at the front of each sentence.

So, look through those Thickers and letters that you love... you're hanging onto each last letter aren't you?! Is there any potential there with your punctuation marks?!

Have a nice Tuesday!
-Diana F.

tip of the day.....

2010-01-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

Fussy cutting? What is it? Curious? Simply put it's cutting out a shape or object from a design pattern paper for example. here is my example:

I really wanted to accentuate the cupcakes from the paper because this was a layout of my girl's birthday party. The results are fun! FYI I used a different color of perfect pearls for the edges...Here is a look at the final layout:

CHA Updates

2010-01-24T08:59:00.002-07:00

Want to see what we are up to at CHA? We are posting updates to our Twitter account. You do not need to have a twitter account to see our feed.

Scrapbook Circle Twitter Feed

Use Those Scraps!

2010-01-23T01:32:00.003-07:00

Hi Everyone! TGIF! :) Who has already gotten their hands on one of the Scrapbook Circle January kits? I don't know about you, but I have already made a bunch of layouts with mine and I still have a ton of scraps and supplies left over! When I see a pile of pretty patterned paper scraps I feel like they are practically calling out to me to create cards with them. I can't resist! Here are a couple that I have made with my January kit scraps so far:

Now we want to see your cards, especially the ones that you have made using your scraps!! Make sure to link them to the blog or upload them to the Scrapbook Circle Gallery so we can all admire and praise them.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lifting from the BLOG

2010-01-22T17:05:00.002-07:00

Hey fellow Scrapbook Circle scrappers! I just wanted to share with you my latest project. I was so impressed with Aymee's tutorial on the blog last week that I wanted to try my own hand at paper pleating. Also, a long time ago, Diana gave us a tutorial on making her fabulous flowers. So, I combined the two, and using scraps from past kits and other sundries from my own stash, I made a few of these cards.

Paper pleating on the side is courtesy of Aymee's post. It was lots of work, but I like how they turned out! I had to sew it to get it to stay down.
Then, the flowers were lots of fun. I used my Silhouette and a fabulous font that is basically flowers. I cut out about 80 different sizes and colors of flowers (I made 10 of these cards for my group). It took all of 3 minutes to cut that many flowers. I just put all the cut flowers in a bowl and crumpled them up to my heart's content! Then, I settled down in my chair with my TIVO on to watch the new season of "24" and distressed the flowers and assembled them per Diana's instructions! I put them all together with a brown brad.

Hope you like these. They were a bit time-consuming, but I was watching Jack Bauer, so time just flew by! :)

Need Some Inspiration?

2010-01-21T11:28:00.002-07:00

Hey guys! Happy Thursday! My blog post is a tad late today. I have my days mixed up and was thinking today was Wednesday! LOL!!!

I don't know about you, but I have been needing some serious scrappy inspiration lately. I'm not sure if it's the weather or what, but I just need a boost. I know we all get like that from time to time, so I decided to hit the gallery at Scrapbook Circle to check out some of the projects. This always does the trick for me. Check out these super cute projects!!!

I adore this card from Stacy. That owl is too adorable and the stitching is awesome! It really is so 'tweet'!!!

Next up, look at this gorgeous page from JennE. I love how she has turned the pictures and alpha's. It adds so much visual interest. I definitely want to give this a try!! Also, how could you not love the goodies that she used from the January Kit? Yummy!!! Beautifully done JennE!!!

Here is another card that I just found too cute for words from Diana. Valentine's Day is just around the corner and this has definitely gotten me in the mood to create some Valentine's projects. Awesome job Diana!

Last, check out this page from Claude! She used some goodies from the January kit as well and totally rocked it! I love the whole design to this one. Fabulous job Claude!

I hope these projects will give you some inspiration if ya need it. I know they sure did the trick for me! I'm off to scrap!

cute card from the January kit

2010-01-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

Betcha didn't think I had any scraps left after my last post, huh?! Well, I do! So, I made this cute card good for celebrating almost any moment.

Except for the ribbon and the gem hat pin, this card was made using the January kit from Scrapbook Circle.

I also followed the lead of the other DT members here that were altering their Thickers. It worked out well for this card. Tinting the 'H' and 'I' by stamping them with ink and then rubbing the access off, worked out well to highlight the word separate from the brackets.

Thanks for looking! I hope everyone is enjoying their January kits. Don't forget to show off your work in Scrapbook Circle forum! We'd love to leave you some love for your gallery!

tip of the day.....

2010-01-18T06:04:00.001-07:00

Last week I talked about the letters included in the January kit, I wanted to continue and share another idea that I tried. Here's a closeup:

I lightly sanded the letters for better grip, then distressed them with ink, really well (vintage photo), I let that dry. Then I painted with crackle paint. What's neat about this combination is that the distress ink seeped through the paint giving it more of an aged look. Here is the final result on the layout: