Sunday 26 February Card Challenge

Hope you all enjoyed last week's layout challenge. The work uploaded to the link gallery is just amazing! This week we've got our second card challenge in the form of a sketch. We hope you will play along. Here's our sketch:

Feel free to flip, rotate, replace tags with something else, etc....make it yours and then share it with us! To help you get started, here's some inspiring work from the design team:

Valerie

To mimic the background of the sketch, I heat embossed the polka dot background onto kraft cardstock and included the strip of striped paper towards the bottom. I replaced the tags on the sketch with the flower and small bird tag and straightened out the angled lines in the center.

Brenda

Fabi

I love sketches and instead of the tags Ive decided to use little punched butterflies. Also used a paper punched border and an adhesive border as embellishments, making this a cute but 15 min to make card ;)


Here a close up...

Natalie

My starting point was the digital label which can be found here.

When i found this I knew I wanted to incorporate it into the sketch. I simply pasted it into a Word document and edited it.

Rossella
The flowers on Rossella's card are handmade!

We are also lucky enough to be joined by Tessa this week. Here's her fab creation:

Now it's your turn! We'd love to see your projects so please link them up in the sidebar. You'll be in the running to win this month's fantastic prize: a 3 month subscription to Masterful Scrapbook Design! So, what are you waiting for? Get crafting!

Wednesday Extra - Covering Chipboard with Jules

I've had this Maya Road chipboard tag book for ages, but a combination of the gorgeous papers in the Fancy Pants 'Happy Together' collection and loads of snowy photos inspired me to turn it into a record of this Winter. I love using chipboard, and often cover it in patterned paper, but it's taken me ages to find a foolproof method so I thought I'd share it with you today :D

First, take a piece of patterned paper that's slightly bigger than the chipboard shape that you want to cover. Turn the paper over so the pattern that you want to use is face down, and cover the back in adhesive. I've tried all sorts of adhesives over the years, including double sided tape, glue sticks and adhesive sheets, but I haven't found anything better than Claudine Hellmuth's matte multi medium - it stays wet long enough to adjust your chipboard if you need to, but then it dries quickly, stays in place and gives a really neat finish. Put your chipboard shape face down on the adhesive covered paper, and hold in place for a few seconds. Then take a sharp craft knife and trim away the excess paper, including the hole at the top. Don't worry about being neat at this stage, because the next step is to use a file to neaten the edges. I use the Basic Grey precision file set - it's one of my go to tools and I wouldn't be without it! 

As the chipboard shapes I was using are only small (around 4"x 3") I decided to use a photo to cover the entire shape, rather than covering in paper and then adding the photo. On the reverse side of the shape you've just covered, ink the top in a coordinating colour - I used Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. Choose a photo that's slightly bigger than your chipboard shape and cover the back in adhesive. Stick your photo to the chipboard shape, taking care not to cover the hole at the top of the tag.

Use your craft knife to trim the excess and a file to neaten the edges. Then, using the same colour as before, ink the edges of the shape, taking care to apply an even amount on both sides.

And that's it, you're done! I only added photos to five of the six chipboard tags, keeping the first one as the front cover. I added a few embellishments and a title to the cover, and arranged the tags so that the photos were all face up. Some brief journaling printed on the computer and edged in the same distress ink completed the book. 

So there you are, a quick and easy way to cover chipboard. Fancy having a go? Make sure you link us up in the comments so we can come and have a nosy!

Sunday 20th February layout challenge

I hope everyone enjoyed last week's first card challenge, hope to see lots more of you card makers joining in! Anyway on to this week which is another layout challenge for you!

This week Amanda's challenge is..Frames! Use a frame of some kind on your page. Frame your picture or your whole layout, just get a frame or two on there!

The design team have been busy creating some more lovely creations to inspire you.

Anna

I like using frames on my layouts when I fancy something a bit different! There are so many different ways to use them, I framed the whole layout on this one as it's nice to see a bit of patterned paper all around it and I also made another frame for the photos. The photos are of my little nephew having great fun jumping in the hay bales!

Heather

I resisted the urge to add my traditional layered elements with this layout. I really wanted to focus on the frames, photos and sentiments on the page so I kept it "clean", which is not the norm for me but I LOVE how it turned out!

Lisa


I've had this idea in mind for a little while now, so this challenge was just what I needed. I used a piece of Sassafras paper that has all these little mini frames on. I've cute some out and taken out the centres to frame some mini photos that I've printed off.
Nadia

Here is my layout using a Pink love heart which was an overlay that I trimmed,  as a frame around the 2 photos at the top. I have also used a frame one the title in the top left. It was a Websters Pages Sweet Season sticker frame.

Teresa

This is an 8 x 11 inch layout of my son at the beach last summer.  The frames around the photos are chipboard painted with various acrylic paints, and I also stamped a frame around the title at the top. I only had one of the little frames left, so I cut it in half diagonally - you don't see the whole frame anyway as it's tucked in behind the main photo.

This week we were also joined by a couple of the other DT girls, Julie and Tessa for this challenge.
Julie

This challenge happens to go live on my son's 14th Birthday!! ( I know, I know, I am much to young to have a 14 year old! LOL! ) ... and so I thought it would be great to document how I feel about the years flying by! :)  My title/journaling says it all.... "When...did it happen? When did you grow up on me? I blinked and you are now fourteen! WOW! I am proud to be your Mom and I will love you forever! To me, you will forever be my baby. It seems like it was just... yesterday" :):):):):):):):):):):):) The picture of him in this layout is when he was just 8 years old! :)

Tessa

Hope you have fun joining in with this challenge, can't wait to see what you create, please link them up to Mr linky!

Wednesday Extra: Mini in a Box by Irini

Irini has created a gorgeous mini album, complete with an embellished box, to share today. 

First, Irini made a sophisticated little album about herself, entitled "I Am."  The beautiful combination of red, black and white is striking, isn't it? 

After all that work, Irini wanted a safe place to store her album and only had to look as far as the packaging for her embellishments.

This stunning box was once a Pink Paislee container of die-cuts.  Irini put her scraps to use and embellished the box to coordinate with her album.  Irini further worked her altering magic by adding Prima flowers and pretty bling.  You would never guess that the album housing was recycled materials!

If you're giving a mini a go soon, consider making a coordinating box for your album.  When searching for the perfect container, take a look at the packaging your scrapbooking supplies come in.  Inspiration may just strike.

Sunday Card Challenge

It's our first ever card challenge at The Studio today! So without further ado, let's get right to the challenge. It's the 13th today so Amanda challenged us to use 13 of something on our creations. Let's see how the new card team handled this challenge!

Valerie

To make my '13' for the challenge, I cut apart a sheet of rainbow patterned paper so that 13 bands of color remained visible. Then, inspired by this layout , I stitched the lines along the color bands down to the grid patterned base. I wanted to do 13 lines of stitching but that just didn't work out. Here's a close up of the stitching and clouds:

Brenda

It is 14 degrees below zero here today - sooooo cold!  I wanted to use some bright, sunshine-y paper to make it feel just a little bit warmer.  it didn't make it any warmer outside, but those flowers and colors sure remind me of summer time!  Oh, I used 13 squares on my card.

Fabi

This was a real challenge for me. My first card challenge and Amanda came up with such a hard one? I struggled to think about what I'd use 13 times in a card. It seems impossible right? I've then decided to use 13 patterned papers and use them to create everything....the cover, flowers, inside the card and even a "signature" besides. So, challenge accomplished, 13 patterned papers used and a lovely card - well at least I think its lovely! lol Hope you all like it and I'm looking forward to seeing your creations ;)

Natalie

For my card I went with 13 images (digi stamps from Meljen's Stamps). This image is a freebie and can be found here.

Rossella

Rossella used a number 13 plus 13 rhinestones to make a 13th anniversary card for her husband.

We are also joined today by Studio team members Amanda, Anna and Tessa with their takes on this week's card challenge.
Amanda

Anna

Tessa

We'd love to have you join us for our first card challenge. Our sponsor for this month is Masterful Scrapbook Design and a 3-month subscription is up for grabs. We've got a link tool set up on the sidebar for you to share your creations. Can't wait to see what you make!

Wednesday Extra - I Love Mini Album

With Valentine's Day approaching, I wanted to create something that celebrated my love for my boys (including my hubby).  I don't often give mini albums a go because I can't always set aside enough time to complete the project, and I worry it will remain unfinished.  However, I decided to streamline my process and I thought I'd share my "quick mini album tips" with you today.

Tip #1: Choose an easy size to work with.  My album is essentially 6" x 6", so trimming down papers was simple and fast.  I love the look of albums with different size and shape pages, but those fabulous minis will take some extra time.

Tip #2: Make a kit for yourself to work with.  I chose the Enchanted line by Dear Lizzy from American Crafts as my base, then added boyish touches with the Hambly bicycle paper and the Teresa Colins star transparency.  Having coordinated materials at my finger tips made assembling easy.

Tip #3: Create one page design, then repeat that design with variations for the rest of the pages.  My basic design was a 3.5" x 6" piece of patterned paper and a 2.5" x 6" piece of patterned paper with paper tape and ribbon across the seam.  I varied the design by making it vertical, changing out which pattern went where, and using different colors of tape and ribbon.  I kept my photo placement basically the same, as well as the placement of my embellishments.

Tip #4: Keep the journaling short and sweet.  I used my title, I Love You Boys, as my prompt.  Each sentence refers to a specific photo and completes the thought: "I love you boys... because I do."

All in all, a mini album is a scrapbooking effort that does take more time than a layout or card, but it doesn't have to be an impossible task to complete.  Simplify your process, create with love, and the result will be something meaningful that you treasure for years to come.