Tutorials on Tuesdays: Paper Flower Made from Scraps

I was working on an ATC tray and needed to trim the journaling cards down to fit. This left me with a pile of scraps.

Now most people would see this as a pile of trash right? Wait! These little strips are the perfect beginnings of a paper flower!

First, fold all of the strips in half as shown below.

Next, punch out a circle to use as a base. Then, begin gluing the strips around the circle. I've tried doing this a few ways with several different types of glue. You can either glue all of the strips to the same circle, or use a new circle for each layer of "petal" strips. I do find the multiple layers a little easier because it helps keep the strips from popping up if the glue isn't completely dry yet.

After you complete a few layers, you will have a flower that looks similar to this. The more strips you use, the fuller your flower and the better it will work.

You can even use pieces of strips to cover a circle to make a fun coordinating flower center.



Ready for Fall

The crisp air is here. The cold and dreary, rainy days have made an appearance. And I swear, one of the bean fields near my house literally turned a golden yellow in a day! Lots of signs that fall is on the way are making their appearance here in the Midwest. Guess that means it's time to get out the pumpkins and start decorating!

All this fresh weather made me think I should grab some of my new Scrapbooking Studio Design Team supplies to make a seasonal banner. Wouldn't it be cute draped in front of some pumpkins?

Click image to bigify.

Supplies from The Scrapbooking Studio: We R Memory Keepers papers; Tim Holtz Rosettes Dies, Martha Stewart Die Cuts, Colorbox White ink, Sharpie white pen. Maya Road Mist and Chipboard letters

I've been rocking out the rosettes lately. I love the texture and dimension that they add to a project. Plus, the Tim Holtz dies make these waaaaay easier to make now!

Click image to bigify.

And did you know you can get two different styles of rosettes out of one die? It all depends on how you turn the rosettes when you flatten them out. Turned one direction you get a scalloped edge (as shown above). Turned the other way you get a straight pinking sheer style edge. One of the other great things about these dies... you can use them in the Sizzix Sidekick (in case you don't want to invest in a Big Shot).

Drop by The Scrapbooking Studio Blog for some more inspiring projects from The Scrapbooking Studio Design Team. Or, better yet, stop by the store and see the projects in person :)

Tutorials on Tuesdays: Making a distressed background with embossed cardstock

I'm a sucker for texture on my layouts, so I was really excited to find new papers from Bazzill. Their "Two Scoops" line features brightly colored, two-toned hues with fun textures. Use them as is, or distress them down. Either way, these papers are a new essential in my stash.

Check out a fun way to turn it into a distressed background as seen in this layout.

To create this look, lightly distress the background with black soot distress ink, then sand around the edges with the Tim Holtz sanding block.

Summer's End

Labor Day always seems like the end of summer to me. Kids are back in school. That weekend seems to come with the beginning of cooler temperatures. And of course the last big event of the summer, the state fair is several weeks past.

Sadly this year's state fair has come to a close. I'll have to wait another 365 days until I can get a porkchop on a stick, a roast beef sandwich from the cattleman's stand, or an official state fair funnel cake.

This year was my third year entering and the first that I didn't win something in every class. The judging was a little ecentric, but hey, I scrapbook for me, not a panel of judges so I'm okay with that. :)

Here's the page that I entered in the "Fair Theme" scrapbook page category.

Photos by Sabrina Gogerty

Patterned Papers - Simple Stories, October Afternoon; Small Letter Stickers - KaiserKraft; Foam letters - Thickers by American Crafts; Chicken - Ki Memories; Kraft Tag - Martha Stewart Crafts; Button - Making Memories; Plaid ribbon - sewing notions

One of my favorite tools lately is the Tim Holtz/Sizzix Rosette dies. They come in 3 sizes (all shown here). The largest one comes on a single die, while the two smaller ones come on a single die. Even if you don't want to invest in a bigshot, you can run these through a Sidekick (smaller and easier to transport plus less expensive).



Time for a drawing...

Who doesn't love free stuff right?

Okay Followers... I've assigned each of you a number:

1. Angela

2. Megan Klauer

3. Jenifer Hansen

4. Janet

5. Ivolina

6. Donna Mullins

7. Sabrina

8. Jennifer Frere

9. Regina Thompson

*Drum roll please*

... and the random husband generator draws number...

What's the random husband generator you ask? It's kind of like the free internet number generators, but I can just shout to the other sofa instead of having to google for a random number generator. It's kind of like I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 9, but it goes something like this:

me: "Hey, Mr. Mollie"

husband responds: "Yeah."

me: "Pick a number between 1 and 9."

husband: "Why?"

me: "Because I just need you to."

husband: "Why?"

me: " Because I just do."

husband: "What was the question again?"

me: "Pick a number between 1 and 9. You won't even need your toes to count!"

husband: "Okay. Um.... 9."

So, magic #9, Ms. Regina Thompson, YOU WIN!!!!!

Please send an email to mollie7100@live.com with your address and I'll send your stamp out to you!