Flip Books!

Hello all, Jenny here!

Today I have something to show which really took me out of my comfort zone. Sarah recently received the new Teresa Collins Flip Books in stock at S J Crafts and asked the DT if any of us would like to have a go with one. I had already been looking at these and thought they would be fun to play with so I said "Yes!"

 Only then did I realise just how far out of my comfort zone I had taken my self. Now I’m not ashamed to admit that scrapbooking frightens the life out of me - all that space on a 12x12 sheet? No thank you I’d rather stick to my 6x6 cards! 

But these flip books are great - they are all ready for you to decorate, made from thick black card which is a nice and neutral for any colour scheme. They are available in two different sizes and have a clever built in mechanism so that when the tab is pulled the pages "flip over" one by one.

I decided I was going to use mine to record Aimee’s first experience of horse riding. I chose to use the Glitz Wild & Free papers as some of the papers had horses on and the rest had lovely bold patterns which went with my photos. I didn't mount any of my papers as the black pages looked perfect as a background for the papers, plus it helped not to make the book too thick so the flipping action still worked. Embellishment wise I used some washi tape, some Studio Calico wood grain enamel dots, punched flowers and some chipboard shapes which I coloured with my promarkers and ink pads. 

I'll warn you that the rest of this post is quite picture heavy ... I wanted to show you each page ... if you have any questions please ask by leaving a comment! 

Front Cover:

Inside Front Cover:

Page 1:

Page 2:

Page 3: 

Page 4:

Page 5:

Page 6:

Page 7:

Page 8:

Page 9:

Pages 10 & 11:

Pull Out Page:

 For those of you that have seen my blog will know I generally make cards but I hope this demonstrates that anyone can try scrapbooking using these flip books .... they really are a great way to record those precious memories! 

Don’t forget Annie from the Design Team also posted her flip book including a fab video, you can find her post here.

Jenny makes beautiful projects and shares them on her blog Dragonllew's Spot, check it out and be inspired!

Crafting Cards with a Common Theme - Part One!

 Hello! It's Louise here today, and before I share my creations with you I'd like to wish you all a very Happy New Year!

For many of us this is the time of year when we are all considering both our personal and creative goals for the new year. The biggest question I have asked myself is "to do or not to do...project life?"...and while I am still considering taking on such a big project I wanted to start the year making a selection of general greeting cards, so I have a small stock to pick from.

At the end of last year SJ Crafts announced the Six on the 6th Christmas Card Challenge. A challenge that I enjoyed immensely and one that inspired me to want to make general cards. When I made my Christmas cards for the challenge they all had a common theme and it is this idea that I am going to use again today.

I started off by choosing some papers from the Wild and Free Glitz Design 6x6 pad. I don't know about you but I struggle to cut into a sheet of 12x12 patterned paper to use on a greeting card, so these little 6x6 pads work perfectly and you normally get 2 sheets of each pattern, so it's a win win for me. Next I pulled together some rubber stamps that are very rarely (or never used), 2 Studio Calico Mr Huey Mists to complement the papers I chose, a black Memento Ink Pad, and a selection of gems.

I find it easy to work on card pieces, rather than the actual blank greeting cards, so I cut four pieces of white card a little smaller than the actual blank greeting card. I like the effect of the card stuck to the base card - if you wished to, you could add more colour by mounting the card. I chose to keep the fresh feel of the white card:

After I cut the card :-

• I used the Memento ink to stamp a scrolled image to the top half of the card.
• Then I flicked drops of Mr Huey Mist ink onto the card. You can see from the four cards made that when I do this there is no technique or precision. For me the ink goes where it wants to and I work with it.
• Using two stamps I stamped the sentiments onto the card. Two of the cards I left blank so they can be used for any occasion.
• Knowing that I was going to place paper bows across the scrolled image I added some Gems for that sparkle.

While the ink was drying I made the paper bows using a template I found on the internet (or HERE is a paper bow tutorial by another team member, Jennifer) I adapted the size of the template for the card, added some white cotton to the back of the bow for some added interest and then adhered the bow to the card using double sided foam tape.

By keeping a common theme for the cards they came together nicely!

I loved making these cards so much that I repeated the common theme by creating four more cards. Making all these cards means that I now have a nice stash of cards waiting to be used!

Stop by tomorrow to see the next set of four cards!

Louise x

Louise is a mum of three boys and she blogs her life and crafting at Boys, Bugs, and Beautiful Buttons!

More Dapper Dan And vellum!

Hello! 
Louise back today with more Dapper Dan and vellum!
If you missed the other post, you can catch up on that here!

3. Vellum pockets. 

The boy's looked very smart after their back to school haircuts, so I took a quick photo outside the barbers, with their lollipops (They are still young enough to be offered a lollipop after having their haircut...and once upon a time the only way I could get them to the hairdressers.)

Initially I made the vellum pocket to hold my journalling in. As the page progressed I ended up filling the vellum pockets with tiny white hearts (you might just be able to make them out) and adding my journalling to a tag that I slipped behind the pocket.

Because my son is wearing a red t-shirt I used red as an accent colour. Did you notice the "Instagrammed" stamp...how cool is that!?

The pocket was machine stitched to the layout, filled and sealed with alpha stickers to make the title.

 4. Using vellum on cards.

Using a few scraps of left over vellum, I added it to a couple of cards made with the Dapper Dan papers.

As with my layouts I used the vellum as a background, layered it and punched the edge.

Like many scrapbooking techniques and tools, vellum seems to have come full circle.  I've spent the past hour working back through my albums to pinpoint the first time I used vellum on my layouts. I think it was around 11-12 years ago now. It looks as if, then red vellum was a firm favourite of mine.

I hope these layouts have inspired you to think about using the Dapper Dan collection to scrap your favourite boy(s) back to school or sports photos.

Dapper Dan truly is a wonderful collection designed especially with boys/men in mind. Thank you Sarah for letting me have the pleasure of working with it and capturing more memories.

Thanks for visiting the blog today - we'd love to hear your comments on vellum!!

Louise x

Supplies used in these projects can be found here: Dapper Dan

See more of Louise's crafting on her blog: Boys, bugs and beautiful buttons

Dapper Dan And Vellum!!

Hello everyone!

Louise here today to share with you the new Dapper Dan collection from the wonderful Glitz Designs. When I received my DT pack from Sarah, it struck me that this is a very masculine collection full of bold colours and patterns - perfect for my boys. I pulled together some stamps, embellishments and vellum that I thought would work well with it.

Recently I've joined Instagram and I love collecting everyday photos. I knew that some of photos I'd Instagramed would work perfectly with Dapper Dan. I used my home printer to print the photos I'm sharing today, complete with the instagram effects.

Vellum seems to be coming back into crafting lately so I also want to show you a few ways to incorporate vellum into your scrapbooking.

1. Using vellum to layer and soften

I wanted lots of layers for this photo. It was the start of the rugby season at the beginning of September. Kitted out in his new boots, I wanted to record how long my little man has been playing.

I've used six different patterns from the Dapper Dan pad (some were small pieces of pattern rather than whole 6x6 sheets) with two layers of vellum to soften some of the bold colours and patterns. With one sheet of vellum I punched circles into it to allow the strong colour and pattern to show through.

I used stamps to fill in the background gaps. I love this technique, it gives me a chance too, to hook out stamps that I don't use often....or have forgotten I have.

The little woodgrain tiny alphas were perfect for adding the year.

Using all of these layers allowed me to hide my journalling underneath.

2. Using vellum to embellish.

Having to wear a shirt and tie is all part of starting secondary school. The day before my gorgeous man started school he realised he didn't know how to tie a tie, so a quick demonstration with dad and he had it down to a fine art.  Another moment I captured on my phone and instagramed.

The Dapper Dan collection is predominately blue, green and browns. Again I used many patterns on this layout, using shapes cut from scraps.

With this layout I used vellum between the layers of patterned paper and on its own to create an embellished section.

Using a border punch on the edges adds an extra embellished detail.

I journalled onto a tag made from the Dapper Dan patterned paper and tucked it under the layers and photo.

I have another layout and a couple of cards to show you so I hope you'll come back to see that in a day or two!

Have you used vellum lately or does this post make you want to try adding it to a layout?

Louise x

You can see more of Louise's crafting at Boys, Bugs and Beautiful Buttons where she regularly blogs about scrapbooking, card making and life with her boys!!

Supplies used:

Dapper Dan 6 x 6 pad

 

Dapper Dan Alpha & Words Stickers

     

October's Six Cards on the 6th!

Hello and welcome to October's Six Card's on the 6th! Do you know it's only 80 days until Christmas?! Sorry to scare you, but it's time to get crafting for the festive season!

This series is all about inspiring you to get those Christmas cards made in time. You can link up your own cards at any time throughout the month, and at the end of the series one link-up from all the posts will win a pizza box stuffed full with scrapbook stash!

If you join in with the series we'd love you to copy this button into your post or sidebar! Just select all the text in the box below the image, and copy that either into a html gadget (or text widget) in your sidebar, or into the html on a blog post. Then the button will appear and will be linked back to the series - your button won't have a box underneath!

<a href="http://www.sjpapercrafts.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/six%20on%20the%206th"><img src="http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab280/Jennifergrace_photos/Sixon6thbutton180pix_zps321d7a53.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Sixon6thbutton200pix_zps673fb713.jpg" /></a><br>

Today we have cards by Lisa-Jane and Sarah to make you feel festive!

First up is Lisa-Jane:

I was working with some supplies from the fun new Simple Stories "December Documented" collection:

  This pack included some transparent overlays, which gave me the idea to make some shaker cards! I used the cut apart sheets and stickers to make different backgrounds and foregrounds for my glittery creations. For some finishing touches I added sparkly ribbons and trims and a few snowflake brads from my stash:

Next up is Sarah:

I opted for a red and grey colour scheme this month, using Echo Park's "Reflections Christmas" and Glitz "Hello December" papers. I also added a paper doily to four of the cards - they all have a nice vintage feel: 

Didn't Lisa-Jane and Sarah make some gorgeous cards? It's really not hard to make six cards if you use a common idea for the set. If you are struggling to come up with a 'kit' to make six cards you can always think of a theme like 'vintage' or 'sparkly' to work out what items to pull together!

Now it's your turn! Link up your cards below for a chance to win the pizza box full of stash (prize will go out in early January). We can't wait to see what you create!

Jennifer x

Chalk Studio Part Two - Timeless Chalkboard!

Hello, Jennifer here with more projects using My Mind's Eye's Chalk Studio collection! Today I want to show you how timeless these chalkboard embellishments are. You can use them for any season, just by changing the papers and other embellishments you put with them! 

The below projects are all cards, but the same techniques can be applied to layouts and other projects.

First up is a card for Halloween. I've been taking my daughter Trick-or-Treating for the last couple of years with a group of mums and kids. One of the other mums (who loves Halloween), is due to have a baby that week, so she won't be coming this year. I'm going to send her this card to make her feel part of it!

Admit One To Spooky Town:

I don't have any Halloween supplies, so I used some orange patterned paper, black and white cardstock, a twirly corner stamp, and the awesome Chalk Studio embellishments to create the spooky feel - the lines surrounding 'Admit One' look almost like bones! 

The word 'spooky' is heat embossed with white embossing powder to give it a ghostly sheen, which is a great texture difference to the chalky label. I finished the card off with a few black pearls and doodled lines around them so they became spiders!

Next is a traditional-looking Christmas card...

Be Good:

The 'Be Good' sentiment on here really stands out with a Chalk Studio Label Sticker backing it. I love the Chipboard Elements banner along the bottom like a ribbon, it looks like the reindeer is jumping across some snowy ground at night-time! I also added a couple of pieces at the top left to resemble icicles. The black chalkboard elements really help the traditional reds and greens to pop from the page!

Finally, here's a card for Valentines Day, though you could use it to send a little love at any time of year...

True Love 4 EVA:

For this card I teamed the Chalk Studio items up with the Glitz Wild & Free 6x6 Pad and Giant Rhinestones. All the hearts were perfect! I amped up the chalkboard on here by layering a Decorative Frame on top of a Label Sticker. The glittery number 4 and the yellow dots made with a pearl pen stop it looking too dark. The 'Well Hello' sentiment adds a cheeky touch that makes me smile!

I'm really loving the chalkboard trend and I know I'm going to be using the embellishments up completely! 

Don't forget these ideas from my two Chalk Studio posts for how to use the embellishments:

• Frame small photos (you could adhere one with foam dots)
• Journal onto the Labels using a white gel pen
• Push some chalkboard items right up to the edge
• Add colour to the chalkboard
• Layer a sentiment piece onto another embellishment
• Heat emboss onto a Label
• Use a chipboard border like a ribbon
• Put chalkboard on top of chalkboard!

And if these cards have given you some ideas, you can still join in with our Six Cards on the 6th series to be in with a chance of winning a pizza box filled with stash! There's a couple of days left on the current linky, and a new one will be here on the 6th of October!

Jennifer x

Check out more of Jennifer's layouts and cards at her blog Jennifer Grace Creates.

Lisa-Jane - Inspired By Winter

Thanks for joining us for the next post in our "Inspired By Winter" series.

If you missed the previous ones you can catch up on those here and here. This week I'd like you to "meet" Design Team member Lisa-Jane.

***    ***    ***

Hello, I'm Lisa-Jane and I'm really pleased to be spending another term on the S J Crafts Design Team!  I have a wonderful husband and I'm a full time Mum to Bella and Louis.  As well as being a total paper-craft addict, I'm also studying Creative Writing part time with the Open University.   

I've always loved cutting and sticking and collecting and telling stories so scrapbooking is the perfect creative outlet for me.  My sister-in-law first introduced me to scrapbooking about 6 years ago but after seeing magazine layouts and the price of basic cardstock, I was too intimated to do any thing more than collect bits and pieces.  A couple of years later, I met someone by chance who was an avid scrapbooker and she tipped my husband off about a local retreat as a Christmas present.  I was exhausted after some rather intensive classes but absolutely hooked!  In the last 3 years I have taken over the house with my papers and embellishments and adhesives!  I think my husband rues the day he surprised me with that ticket!

• What was your last crafty purchase?  Back last week I bought the new Echo Park Photo Freedom kit for a friend who was wanting to start scrapping.  I'm trying to get lots more friends into it so we can get together more often!  I also treated myself to this gorgeous Glitz washi tape - washi tape is my new love!

• Who is your favourite Craft Manufacturer?  - and why? My top three are definitely October Afternoon, My Mind's Eye and Echo Park.  October Afternoon have such great interesting designs in really funky colours which are great for children.  I love the versatility of My Mind's Eye with their classic designs and the ability to mix their collections together and they have such beautiful coordinating embellishments.  The winner for me though has to be Echo Park.  Their collections in the last couple of years have been fabulous with stunning papers at a cost effective price in some gorgeous colourways - what's not to love!

• What is your favourite technique? At the moment I'm really working on my layering technique.  I always ink my edges and sometimes I distress them a bit too.  I love the look of heavily laden pages with lots of little bits and pieces peeking out.  I'll let you into a secret though... using lots of stash on my pages means I can shop for more, right?!

For my "Inspired by Winter" project I created this layout with lots of layers and little sneaks just peeking out.

When I think of Winter I think of cold mornings with pretty patterns of sparkly frosts.  I used doilies to recreate the delicate patterns that the frost leaves on the windows and I used winter colours of white, grey and ice blue, with a hint of sunny yellow.  I sprayed through a doiley with Mister Huey mist and added more Winter sparkle with some white gems and some snowflake patterned vellum to make a little envelope to hide my journalling.
  
My supplies also included: MME Lost and Found 2 6" x 6" pad, stickers from Lost and Found 3 (these two MME collections work so well together), Studio Calico wonderland stickers and Glitz Cashmere Dame washi tape.   

 The Open University year traditionally runs from October to April so the Winter months for me are often spent studying.  Although this photo was taken at my graduation many summers ago, it represents years of being tucked up in the warm with a text book and a highlighter pen. 

With that in mind, I'd better get back to some studying.  

Bye for now

Lisa-Jane xx

Don't forget to stop by Lisa-Jane's blog at Inside My Head