Monday, November 30, 2009

ScrapDango 12 Days of Christmas with a Twist!

12 Days of Christmas...with a Twist!

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Join us December 1st through the 12th at ScrapDango for our 2009 12 Days of Christmas...with a Twist!

The design team will be giving a daily project/tutorial for you to do. If you complete the project, you earn one draw for a Scrapdango Kit!

For each project, there will also be a twist...a challenge to incorporate into that day's challenge. If you choose to do the twist, you will earn another draw! So for each project, you can possibly earn 2 draws! Don't like the twist that day? Just complete the project without the twist and you still earn one draw!

Every other day there will also be a game to participate in! And of course, you can earn draws that way as well!

Sign up in the sign up thread and keep track of your draws there! You have until midnight EST on Friday, December 18 to get all your projects done!

International members welcome to play, however...a $6 shipping credit will be given. Any shipping above the $6 will be the members responsibility.

It's going to be a blast!!! Hope to see you there :)
November 2009 SCRaPDANGo ScrapNews Newsletter

Contents

November 2009 Kits
December 2009 Sneak Peeks
November Guest Designers
Tips for November Kits
Thanksgiving Quotes & Titles
Fast & Easy Christmas Tags
Giving things a little dimension
SCRaPDANGo Sketches


November Sugar and Spice Kits

Sugar Kit
Cosmo Cricket - Nutmeg



12x12 Patterned Double-sided Scrapbook Paper
o 1 sheet Maple
o 1 sheet Acorn
o 1 sheet Falling Down
o 1 sheet Clove
o 2 sheets Cinnamon
o 2 sheets Autumn
o 1 sheet Nutmeg Elements
12x12 Cardstock Scrapbook Paper
o 1 sheet Arizona
o 2 sheets Dragonfly
o 1 sheet Lizard
o 2 sheets Burning Ember
Embellishments
o 1 package American Crafts Rocketeer Chipboard Thickers in Chocolate
o 1 package Prima Pearls and Crystals in Olive
o 1 package Prima Mini Stamp Set - Owl
o 3 Prima Fun Felt Venti Daisies
o 1 Prima Embroidered "Family" Canvas Tab
o 3 American Crafts Flair Adhesive Badges in Miss You and Relax


Spice Kit
Bella Blvd - Super Stud



12x12 Patterned Double-sided Scrapbook Paper
o 1 sheet Robot Love
o 1 sheet Eclipse
o 1 sheet Cosmic Energy
o 2 sheets Cyber Kisses
o 2 sheets Planetarium
o 1 sheet Bits A Bella
12x12 Bazzill Cardstock Scrapbook Paper
o 2 sheets Desert Sun
o 2 sheets Spring Breeze
o 2 sheets Atlantic
Embellishments
o 1 package American Crafts Tinsel/Foil Thickers in Cricket
o 1 package Prima Say It in Studs embellishment pieces
o 1/2 package Prima Pebbles in Digitized
o 3 Fancy Pants Rough and Tough Pins
o Approximately 8 American Crafts Glitter Brads in Primary
o Approximately 6 American Crafts Glitter Brads in Earth Tones
o 1 yard Prima Ribbon (styles and colors vary)


December sneak peeks

Take a look at next months Sugar & Spice Kits for December 2009!
You’ll want to add these to your stash. Watch for the Big Reveal…….on December 15th 2009! These kits will begin shipping December 25th!

December Sugar Kit Sneak Peek



November Spice Sneak Peek




November Guest Designers

Kelly aka kcflorida



My name is Kelly and I'm so excited to be chosen as a guest designer for Scrapdango. I'm looking forward to working with everyone. All of the work that is produced on this board is such an inspiration! I spent several years teaching 5th grade,
but am now a SAHM in sunny Florida!!
I have been married to my wonderful husband (Jason) for 6 years now. We have 2 children who keep my very busy; Jacob(3) and Allyson(1).
I began scrapping about 10 years ago by accident for a school ‘how to speech’ project. It took off from there.
But, it wasn't until I had my son that I became a serious scrapper. It now consumes all my free time. I love capturing and preserving every moment in my kids lives. Hopefully, one day they will look back and treasure these pages!
http://www.jandkconner.blogspot.com/


Tips for November Kits


Sugar Ideas

1. The strips on the Falling Down paper is lined just like primary writing paper and makes really fun journaling strips!
2. I love using the American Crafts Flair badges as a fun alternative to buttons or brads for flower centers! They work perfectly with the big Prima Venti Daisies in this kit!
3. When you don't have a sewing machine (or it stops cooperating like mine did mid LO!) use a white pen to connect your holes to create "faux" stitches!
4. If you're looking for something to add to your flower petals, use other shapes you may have on hand. I used a scalloped circle punch and cut slits in it to make another flower to layer.


Spice Ideas

1. You can change the color of the chipboard alphas in the kit by ripping off the top layer and then inking or painting or add stickles or glimmer mist to it.
2. Don't throw away negative images. I used the cricut to cut a star out of cardstock and then used the negative image on a card and backed it with one of the coordinating papers.
3. Use your gel pens to doodle patterns onto your thickers to create a different look.
4. The pins are great elements to add to a ribbon knot.



Thanksgiving Quotes & Titles
By Lisa


Thanksgiving Is Not A Time Of The Year, But An Attitude Of The Heart
~ Unkown
"An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day."
~ Irv Kupcinet
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy
"Forever on Thanksgiving Day, The heart will find the pathway home." ~ Wilbur D. Nesbit
"Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all."
~ William Faulkner
"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others." ~ Cicero
"He who thanks but with the lips, Thanks but in part; The full, the true Thanksgiving, Comes from the heart." ~ J.A. Shedd
"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice." ~ Meister Eckhart
"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving." ~ W.T. Purkiser
"Real abundance is found when we join hands with those we love."~ Anonymous
"Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow." ~ Edward Sandford Martin
"Thanksgiving is possible only for those who take time to remember; no one can give thanks who has a short memory."
~ Anonymous
"To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven." ~ Johannes A. Gaertner
"When asked if my cup is half-full or half-empty my only response is that I am thankful I have a cup."
~ Sam Lefkowitz
A Bountiful Harvest
A Day Of Thanks
A Happy Heart Is A Thankful Heart
A Harvest Of Memories
Carving Memories
Count Each Day As A Blessing
Family Traditions
Feast Your Eyes On This
Friends, Family, Food And FOOTBALL!
Gather Together With Thankful Hearts
Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart
Happy Harvest
Happy Turkey Day
Harvest Delight
In Everything Give Thanks
It's Turkey Time!
Let's Get Stuffed
My Little Turkey
Our Table Runneth Over!
Pies, Pies & more Pies!
Pilgrim's Pride
Pumpkin Pie
Sharing The Harvest
So Much To Be Thankful For
Thankful Hearts, Helpful Hands
Thanksgiving Traditions
The Dressing Of A Turkey
Turkey Day
Turkey, Dressing And Pumpkin Pie
Turkey Time!
What A Feast!
What We Are Thankful For



Fast and Easy Christmas Tag
By Nikki


Want to add a home-made touch to your Christmas gifts this year?
Why not make your own holiday tags!
A hand-made tag can save money and make the recipient feel special by adding a bit of your creative touch to your gift. With a few items from your personal stash, hand-made tags can be made quickly and with little effort.

First, gather your materials needed.

I chose a lot of felt because I love the texture and playful look it gives a project. With a few colored sheets that cost around 15 cents each and a Big Shot Die Cut Machine, I made several Christmas trees and hand-made flowers to adorn my tags. Green pipe cleaners make cute holly leaves when twisted to shape and you can never go wrong with buttons, ribbon and rub-ons to be used for sentiments. Christmas embellishments like jingle bells, candy canes and small die-cuts are also great additives. You really can’t go wrong with anything Christmas related in your current stash.



Using hand-made embellishments and stitching:

My hand-stitched felt flowers were perfect embellishments for these pink tags that can be used on my teen-aged daughter’s gifts. A hand-stitched border also ties in with the stitching used on the flower. Non-traditional colors for the holidays are a big trend right now and these mint green and hot pink colors are perfect for pink, white or green wrapping paper. A Christmas button will also spice up your felt flowers.



Using Ribbon:

Grab your left-over pieces of holiday ribbon and create cute tags like these. A few pieces of different lengths can create an adorable Christmas tree and top it off with a punched star using a glittery patterned paper. Add more bling by randomly placing clear bling circles for the look of lights. A brown ribbon tree base works nice and stitching is optional. Don’t shy away from non-traditional embellishments like bottle caps, staples or mesh. Nothing is wrong when using your scraps or older stash items.



Stickles, Sequins and Bling!

All that glitters is gold and Christmas is the time of the year when everything glitters. Grab your stickles or glitter glue and make your tag sparkle. On my White Christmas tag, I wanted a snowy texture along with the glittery border so I cut up white yarn to resemble snow all along the border of the tag. Red buttons, in various sizes, hand-stitched on made great berries. And with a little red ric-rac, my tag is ready for any gift.

Even black cardstock can make a great Christmas tag. Red sequins stitched with tiny knots made adorable ball ornaments on the green felt Christmas tree and a touch of sparkly red fiber made for perfect tinsel. I left this tag blank so I could hand write my own “To: & From:” on the front.



Using your Tags to make Christmas Cards:

Why not take your tags one step further and create Christmas cards with them. A larger tag can be glued on the front of your card and you’re done! Don’t want to hand-stitch or use your sewing machine? Just hand draw your stitched lines like I did in this cute Noel card. It’s much faster but it stills gives you the same great result. You can also glue your tags onto plain colored gift bags. Add a few Christmas ribbons, raffia or curling ribbon and you’ve created a beautiful bag for far less than it would cost you in the store.



Merry Christmas and Happy Tag Scrapping!



Giving things a little Dimension
by Kerryn Fry


Have you ever stood back and looked at what you are working on and felt like it lacked a little something?
Or felt your page was a little flat and needed some life added to it?

Adding dimension to your layouts can give them a whole new perspective and it is so easy to achieve.
I can honestly say there would not be many of my layouts that don’t have some sort of dimension to them.

The simple version of achieving depth in your page is to vary the products that you add to your design.
Thankfully, most companies bring out a variety of pre-made embellishments in their ranges to co-ordinate with the pages you use.
Rub-ons and stickers are thin and are generally added directly to your layout, but you can also apply them to cardstock, cut them out and use some foam to put them on your work.
Chipboard products are a perfect product, they generally vary in their thickness for easy dimension, but a simple piece of mounting foam also sees them in a new light.
You can also use felt and foam for different textures which will give your work life.
And Journal tags and die-cuts are a fabulous item to lift off of the paper.

But of all our products, I think Patterned paper would be the most flexible of all scrapbooking products.
Without any fussy cutting you can instantly create the illusion of depth simply by using a few different techniques.
Scrunching and folding come to mind, they are 2 of the easiest methods, both can achieve fabulous results.




But with a little bit more work and a good pair of scissors,
the next step is capable of taking your page to whole new world, with the ability to tell its own story.
It can be as easy as scissors, papers and some 3D tape, dots or foam sheets.
A bit of fussy cutting from patterned papers, can be all you need to create dimension and it would be one of the cheapest option to decorate your pages!

It is at this point I should add a warning,
Once you start to look at patterned papers only for what you can cut out of them,
sadly it means you have fallen fowl to this addiction.
But you will never regret it!


So where do you start??
I found the easiest patterns to start with are large flowers, circles and stars.
Usually, the paper will contain different sizes of the one shape, allowing you to create a few layers within that element.

Once you become confident when cutting things out, the possibilities are endless.
You will be able to add anything to your work, if it appears in print, then try to cut it out.
It won’t always go to plan, but you will be amazed what parts you can use.




Remember it doesn’t just have to be the shapes that appear on the paper.
The smaller patterns can be used with any punches, stencils or you can draw your own shapes and cut them out.
Stars, arrows, corners and brackets would be my favorite.
But any templates or chipboard shapes you have on hand can be used.

So there you have it, any product on your page can be lifted to create layers.
Mounting foam is the easiest way to add depth, but I also keep scrap cardboard on hand in different thickness as a second option.
I found with the amount of 3D work I do, double sided tape and cardboard is definitely a great cost effective way to mount items.
I like to use it for larger items on my layouts like photos and journal tags, it helps on the recycling front as well.
Multiple photo pages really do come to life when some of the photos are mounted onto cardboard.
So keep any of your clean cardboard packaging in a safe place, it will always come in handy.



Well I hope this article gives you plenty of ideas when starting to create your next page,
a little bit of mounting foam can go such a long way when it comes to creating a masterpiece.
The great thing is, you can achieve it easily without buying all of the fancy embellishments that are released.
Either way, the difference a bit of depth and dimension will make to your layouts, will speak for itself.
So sharpen up your scissors, gather your embellishments, make sure you view your papers in a different light and begin the journey.

Happy Scrapping!



SCRaPDANGo Sketches


Sketch designed by Lynn


‘A very busy summer’ by Carly



Sketch designed by Kerryn



‘Hold me close’ by Kerryn
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25 Days of Christmas at Scrapbook Dreamer


Please come join the ladies at ScrapbookDreamer.com for their 25 Days of Christmas Challenges and tell them I sent you for a chance to win a fabulous patterned paper prize packet. Just complete one challenge during the event and you and I both will be entered to win the wonderful paper assortment shown in the link above. Don't forget, tell them Nik sent ya ;)

Thanks and here's to us!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Scrapping The Music Challenge #113

Here is my entry for the latest STM Challenge. Love, Me is a terrific country song and I couldn't wait to scrap it. I took this picture of my husband on Thanksgiving Day so I had to print it at home to be able to use it but I just couldn't wait for an order to come in. The die-cut background paper was just recently delivered and is Bo Bunny. I accidentally scrapped it upside down but it's ok ;) Nothing could be finer than Prima flowers in the Carolinas in the mOOOOOOOOOrning so I filled it up with a variety of primas. The small, yellowish, snowflaked balls actually fell off a Christmas swap the other day so I tore them apart and glued them down with glue dots. I added a few snowy white buttons and some snowflake buttons for more texture. I really like this layout because I love using girlie colors and flowers on a manly page. So non-traditional and I think that's what makes it so fun. Be sure to check out the challenge at Scrapping The Music.

Happy Sunday!
Nik

Saturday, November 28, 2009

12 Days of Christmas 2009 at Scrapdango

Hey ladies! Are you ready for a 12 day extravaganza of amazing inspiration, tutorials and games? We've got it coming your way! The fun will all start on December 1st and continue all the way through the 12th! Everyday you will find a new project with all the instructions you need to make it yourself! And every other day there will be a new game to try your luck at! Earn draws for winning games and completing projects! One winner will receive a wonderful Scrapdango treat! Hop on over to the Scrapdango forums and join us for all the fun!!! See you there :)

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

One More Day....

til Thanksgiving. Is everyone ready??? Have you got all your shopping and food preparations done. I just wanted to take a moment and wish all my blog followers a Happy Thanksgiving!!!! I am so thankful for all my online scrappy friends that inspire me everyday with their wonderful and creative creations. Yep, that's you!

Also, I have a Halloween layout that I forgot to share with you:


It's from the Gravedigger's Ball concert that we went to featuring Back Street Boys. We had so much fun!! This was the only picture that I have from that night that has me in it. I just randomly asked another party goer to take our picture. It's blurry :( but it's all I had so I tried to make the best of it ;)

Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless!!!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

New Moon Madness!!!!

I LOOOOOOOOVED New Moon!!!! I mean, who wouldn't love it?? I just couldn't get enough of Edward and Jacob (and yes, even Bella). We arrived at 8:30pm for the 10pm show and we were toward the front of the line. I'm kinda glad I didn't go to the midnight premiere because my niece said the lines were OUTRAGEOUS and people were showing up at 5pm. This year, I am Team Jacob!! I was Team Edward last year for the Twilight premiere but they are both so great, I just couldn't decide so I thought I would spread the love this year ;) Chelsee is still Team Edward and I bought her a new t-shirt for the movie. I went with a Team Jacob hoodie. Yesterday, I bought the New Moon six-pack burger meal from Burger King and now I have the New Moon coupons to buy more clothing from various stores. Gotta feed this addiction!
Now, about the movie. We were so happy that they were so true to the book. Almost all of the dialogue was straight from the pages. And how about those digital wolves???? They were so awesome!!!! My daughter and niece weren't too happy with Kristin's acting but I was pleased because she stayed consistent to Bella's character and personality from the first film and I wouldn't have liked to see a drastic change in just one year. It made sense. But I think she could have broke out the water works in the forest when he kissed her goodbye. Edward leaves you and no tears???? Say what???? Exactly. And how about that ending??????? I loved it. True to the book even to the end. Stephanie really must have put her foot down and made sure they left her baby alone.
Now, we just have to wait until summer for our next fix. {sigh}

Friday, November 20, 2009

Scrapdango November Sugar Kit Reveal

Here are a few of my new creations using this month's Sugar Kit at Scrapdango. I just loved the fall colors and leaf patterened papers. Loads of machine and hand-stitching on this one and you can never go wrong with bling and stickles ;) This is four of my children and my little one just did not want her picture to be taken ;)

I love putting flowers on a manly page. This is my wonderful husband, Victor, or as I always call him, "Husband." I am so thankful that God gave me this man. He is the most hard worker, the most honest person, the most dedicated father that I have ever seen. I am so lucky to be spending my life with him. This picture was taken at our home in Mexico during his mother's Rosario service after her funeral. He rarely smiled during this trip so it was nice to catch a small smile although his heart was hurting so. Prima flowers and Cosmo Cricket papers are my two most favorite things in this month's kit.

"let's bounce dude!" is a more simple design that was made in less than 30 minutes!!! The circular design of the patterned paper and the basketball in the picture inspired me to punch the circles out and bounce them down the page at an angle (just as if they were dribbling down the page). A few metal wheels/gears added a nice boy touch and a rub-on title and doodled border were all I thought it needed to complete the design.

I will upload more later but I need to sleep and I've got to get rested up for NEW MOON tonight!!!!!!!!! I have waited over a year for this movie and I am SOOOOOO READY!!!!!!!!

TGIF!!! and TGF New Moon!!!!!!
Nik

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Gabrielle's Kanzashi Bloom Tutorial



I saw this tutorial on my dear friend's blog and I LOVED it and wanted to share it with my followers as well. Gabrielle Pollacco is a scrapper that I met on scrapbook.com and I often buy her handmade items on her etsy store. Please be sure to stop buy and visit her sometime. She's so talented and too sweet. Here is her tutorial straight from her blog:

Kanzashi blooms are an ancient technique used by the Geisha girls in Japan. They would use left over scraps from their beautiful outfits to make these pretty fabric flowers for their hair and clothing. Above are some samples of blooms I made up using scraps of fabric and some cut ribbon pieces.


ROUND PETAL TECHNIQUE (See White bloom above)

Step 1 ~ Cut a square of fabric in the size you need for your project. I like to use pieces in sizes of 1" square up to 3" square for scrapbook pages.


Step 2 ~ Fold your square in half diagonally leaving the 'good' side of the fabric on the outside (bad side inside the fold)


Step 3 ~ With fold at the top of the triangle bring down point 'A' to point 'B'


Step 4 ~ Now do the same for the right side, bring down right side to meet in the middle, then flip the project over, you will have the folded edge at the top of the project


Step 5 ~ Keeping the folded edges at the top and raw edges at the bottom, fold in the right and left points to meet in the middle


Step 6 ~ Now bring both edges together again, essentially folding your project in half. Your finished petal will be the back edge of this fold (you will see 3 folded edge, this is the front of the petal)


Step 7 ~ As mentioned above the front of the petal is the edge with the 3 folds, you will round out the top of the petal to give it it's shape. Secure each petal with a pin or with a couple of small stitches (I prefer to use a couple of small stitches as it's easier to put the bloom together later if you're not fiddling with the extra pins)


Step 8 ~ Trim away extra fabric (below your stitch or pin)


Finishing your Bloom (Step 9)

With a need and thread string together all of the petals and tie off creating a ring (the less petals you use for your blooms the more fiddling it may take to create your circle of petals) I used 7 petals to make up the white bloom with the pearl centers. Add pearl or crystal beeds, metal pieces, crystal stickers, flower stamens, buttons.....whatever you like for centers to your blooms.


Here is a finished picture of a rounded petal bloom


Basic Pointed tip Kanzashi Bloom Tutorial



Step 1 ~ Cut out several square pieces of fabric or ribbon (I used 6 pieces of 2" fabric for the above bloom.


Step 2 ~ Fold fabric in half diagonally ...good side of fabric on the outside....


Step 3 ~ With fold at the top of the triangle, fold in half again, bringing left side point to right side point.


Step 4 ~ You will now have 2 folds at the top. Bring down the right point to the bottom. Do the same with the other point except in the opposite direction.


Step 5 ~ You will now have 2 folded edges on the right side again. Bring this edge to the main middle fold (basically folding the flap in half)....do the same for the opposite side.


Step 6 ~ This is your completed pointed petal. It will look like the photo below on one side. It can be used like this for pointed petals (this also works very well for leaves). Finish off by securing with a couple stitched or a pin. Trim as shown in the diagrams for the rounded petal technique)


Step 7 ~ If you flip this petal over you will get a ruffled looking petal as show in the photo below......


Step 8 ~ Put petals together using the instructions above in the rounded petals technique. The example you see at the top of this tutorial shows a flower made using the backside of the pointed leaf. Below is a sample of a flower I made using the front side of the pointed petal technique (the orange petals)......I layered a smaller bloom made with the rounded petal design on top of it.


So if you have some pretty fabric scraps you've been saving or some wonderful ribbon, give this technique a go! The above bloom was made using sheer organza ribbons.

Is that not an awesome tutorial or what??? Thanks so much to Gabrielle for sharing that with us and for her permission for me to share it with you :)

Happy Tuesday!
Nik