Our Readers Rock

If you haven't visited the gallery at Scraptacular.com, then you missed out on some wonderful projects this month. I love to browse through the gallery and see what our forum members are doing creatively, and I picked my 5 favorites (which wasn't easy) to share with you today...

"Annie Sez".....by Arleen (aka Tinyterrors)



























"Baby Blues" by Tina (aka cyberbumz)




























"Happiness" by MaryAnne



















"Sweet Aniticpation" by Julie M



















"Stand by Me" by Val C. (aka twinsmommy)



























Our thanks to those talented ladies for sharing their work with us. We'd love to see what YOU'VE been working on. Come and share your talents in our message board.

Visit our gallery for more inspiration!

Scrap Pink

Local scrapbooking enthusiasts across the country came together for the Scrap Pink weekend during September 25–26, 2009. Scrap Pink is a fundraising event created by Scrapbooks etc. to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Scrap Pink has already donated over $200,000 to breast cancer research. We made a conference call to a group in Kansas who were scrapping for the same great cause. Although many of us have been touched in one way or another by cancer, it still amazes me that so many people get together to help raise money for people they don't know. So many bad things are said about "people today" but I saw a lot of good this weekend. I am very proud to be a scrapper!

Thank you to all the women who came together to raise money for such an extremely important cause. This year we raised over $700! We had a lot of incredible donations from local businesses to individuals who wanted to help in this tremendous day of giving.

Well... how about an October Peek???

well, the sun is not due back until Friday...lol... but i could not wait until then to show you some of what i have been working on with the BEAUTIFUL October Kit.... and i made it in just as a rain drop fell on my layout ;) I will have new pictures with close ups on my blog this Friday, so please stop over and see how fun this "Halloween OR not" kit is :)

here is my first page (i have made 2 more and 1 card and i had so much fun layering these papers up i have NO paper left...lol!!) the ribbon in the kit this month made a perfect ribbon flower to anchor the glitter shaped pumpkin thicker on..... and the new thickers in this kit just ROCK!!!

i even made some paper posies with them... the glitter accents added a special touch!

i hope you will have as much fun playing with this kit as i did... make sure to grab your kit fast as they are sure to sell out fast!!!

Drive by....

Check out these AMAZING papers, transparencies, rub ons, and stickers from Fancy Pants. It's the new Rough and Tough line...






What can YOU do with this wonderful collection of goodies???

Tiffany

Getting to Know the New Design Team!

I thought it would be fun to ask a few questions of the new design team members to help get to know them better. So here goes...

Lisa:
1. Who is your favorite manufacturer?
a toss up between October Afternoon and Sass Lass :)

2. What one embellishment can't you live without?
one???? yikes!! ribbon, if i have to choose

3. What one word describes you best?
busy (and i love it!), dedicated would be a close second

4. If you had $500 to spend on yourself right now, what would you buy?
honestly- something for my new house, but if i were to buy something scrappy it would be a 12x12 printer :)

5. What are some of your guilty pleasures?
iced lattes, devil dogs and reality tv :)

Amy:
1. Who is your favorite manufacturer?
I'm a Tim Holtz/Ranger junkie..

2. What one embellishment can't you live without?
Glimmer Mist!!!

3. What one word describes you best?
My husband tells me "special."

4. If you had $500 to spend on yourself right now, what would you buy?
I honestly would get a couple practical things like an external hard drive to back up my tons of pics and graphic design files. I know, I'm bad. I would look at getting a Wii and Wii Fit. I know, sounds rather boring, but these are things not in our budget right now.

5. What are some of your guilty pleasures?
Deep dark chocolate, sparkly jewelry, flowers, pretty things..

Marci:
1. Who is your favorite manufacturer?
My Little Shoebox

2. What one embellishment can't you live without?
Stickles

3. What one word describes you best?
Loyal

4. If you had $500 to spend on yourself right now, what would you buy?
A day at a really good spa ;)

5. What are some of your guilty pleasures?
Reality TV Shows, Chocolate and Bubble Baths

Rachael:
1. Who is your favorite manufacturer? It changes on a day to day basis! I've been using a lot of October Afternoon lately, though!

2. What one embellishment can't you live without? raw chipboard, it works with everything and you can customize it however you like!

3. What one word describes you best? Quirky! I have a ton of them, many of them being pretty silly!

4. If you had $500 to spend on yourself right now, what would you buy? I'd go to Macy's and have a personal shopper help me pick out a perfect wardrobe that fits me perfectly!

5. What are some of your guilty pleasures? I love reality tv! Any kind will do for me, whether it's cooking, fashion or trashy!!

Layout breakdown

I just hung up a few layouts at work and I have been staring at one of my favorites. I thought I would recreate it and break it down.

original:

recreation:

my picture is 5x7 (vertical)

i used a solid background

the next layer is an 11x11 pp

the strips are 1x5, 0.5x5, 2.5x5

the small pieces at the top left are 1.5x1.5, 2x2.5

I fell in love with this Pink Paislee Amber Road collection! It's so easy to use!

Thanks for letting me share some of my favorite layouts with you!

Wow'em Wednesday

Here's some layouts created with supplies from It's Scraptacular to make you say "Wow!"...don't forget about some of those not-so-new lines that are just as yummy as some of the new stuff that's coming out!

Like Fancy Pants? Here's a layout using their "Delight" line:



How about their older "About a Boy" papers (LOVE them):



Like My Mind's Eye? Check out their "Breaking Free" papers:



Okay...Okay...so you're totally into the "new" stuff???? Nikki Sivvils stuff (which was in September's kit) was SO great, I couldn't resist:



'Til next time,
Tiffany

Theme Kits????

Hello All... Lisa here and I am SO excited to be making my first post here on the Scraptacular blog :) I wanted to share a bit about theme kits today and show you a page I made with the Semptember Monthly Kit. You see, the monthly kit may seem like a kit that may not fit your life right now. Theme kits can sometimes be intimidating... Holidays, School, even seasonal kits may seem like they only serve one purpose, but I love finding different uses for those kits and "mixing it up". As I first looked at the September kit, my first impression was that it was the perfect "back to school" kit (and it is...heehee), but what if you do not have a little one going back to school or you don't have little ones at all?? Well, I certainly do not fit the mold, as we are a large home schooling family, but I love the fun bright colors and cute designs of the kit, so I knew it was for me. I planned on using the kit for some pages that fit my family... what ever that may be... here is the first page I have made...

I remember hearing this quote at some point in my life, but it really fits our school experience.... whether we are around the table or out enjoying nature we are always learning... maybe this is you. Maybe you can make a page about all you are learning or how you have changed over the years. This kit is so inspiring to me and I plan to create more "unique" pages this week as I have more time to play with this kit, so please stop by my blog later in the week to see more and if you like this kit hurry over to Scraptacular and grab your own soon!

Making the most of your chipboard!

I know we all have TONS of chipboard, whether it be raw or coated in some fashion.

It can be used as is, covered in paper or painted.

I'm a technique-y kind of girl. I love to experiment. I will try anything at least once! My blog posts will probably center around techniques.

Here are a few more ways to jazz up your chipboard stash!!

The cooler weather has had me wanting to scrap more fall pictures!


I used two chipboard techniques on this layout. Do you really love the font and size of a particular chipboard alphabet but the color of it is totally wrong for your layout? Or, you don't want it to be raw?

I LOVE these Pink Paislee chipboard alphas but wanted a color other than the brown that they were. So, I dabbed them lightly with a foam brush with some Mod Podge and sprinkled some metal leafing on them. Let it dry and clean up the mess! You can also use flocking, glitter, beads, sand or any other loose material to add more depth and charm to them.


The Maya Road chipboard trees are SO neat! I like them in their raw form but wanted to add some texture. Did you know that you can use your embossing folders with chipboard? I used a Cuttlebug distressed lines folder on the trunk and swiss dots on the tree. To enhance the leaf piece, I drug a green ink pad over top of it. For the trunk, I spritzed it with brown Maya Mist. You could also use chalks or metallic rub ons.


Here's a fun technique that I taught myself last year. As you can see, I like texture. For this, I dug out my foam stamps. It's very simple. Paint a thin layer of paint over the chipboard. You just need to make sure that you have a thick enough layer of paint so there is something to stamp into. I like to use Gesso because it's a little thicker. Any type or color of acrylic paint will do though. Next, take a foam stamp and stamp into the wet paint. Carefully take the stamp off and let the chipboard dry. When it's dry, it adds a perfect texture. You can leave it like this, or spritz with a color or shimmer mist, drag a stamp pad or metallic rub ons across it. You can wipe the extra color off with a paper towel. The slickness of the paint makes it very forgiving.


Another fun thing I like to do is use rub ons on the chipboard. I know we all have a ton of those too!! What I do is put the rub on on the raw chipboard and then paint over it. Then take a paper towel and wipe it off. The paint adheres to the chipboard but wipes right off of the rub ons slick surface. I prefer to put the rub on first and the paint second, I think that makes it look smoother and more like it was made that way! For this example, I used green Clearsnap Smooches over the rub on.


Lastly, is spritzing chipboard with water. I embossed these flowers with swiss dots, then spritzed them with water. Using my fingers, I separated the edges of the petals to give them a distressed look. Let them completely dry and then use ink or paint to enhance the edges. I've never done it myself, but I've heard some people say that they spritz their thicker chipboard and separate the layers in half, giving them two pieces for the price of one.


I hope you enjoyed these tutorials! If you have any questions, please let me know!

~Rachael~

Back to School Photo Tips

It's that time of year again! The kids are headed back to school! Some are just going back today and others have been back for a few weeks. My daughter went back last week. She is in fourth grade and I can't believe it!

If you are like me, you take tons of pics this time of year. There is just something about kids in their cute little back to school outfits that makes me want to pull out my camera! To help make the most of your time and energy, I put together a few tips to keep in mind.


1. Take your pics outside! Make the most of the beautiful or not so beautiful weather and shoot outside. Use a tree or flowers as your background and you're all set! And remember, cloudy days have the best lighting. So even if it's not so gorgeous where you live, you can still get great pics.

2. Get close-ups! I know you always remember to get close for face shots {wink, wink!} but don't forget to zoom in on those all important fashion accessories!

3. Use props! I got some great ideas for props from my Creating Keepsakes magazine this month! I loved how they used letter stickers on an apple to show the childs grade. I used Thickers on my shiny red apple.

4. Make your subject laugh! I always get fake smiles with my girl so we tell each other jokes.

5. Use the Prtrait mode on your camera (mine has a head silhoutte) so you will have a smaller depth of field which will result in a slightly blurred background.

6. Make your own portrait studio! Cover a chair or bench with a white sheet and set it up against a wall with no distractions. Also, look for a room with lots of natural light.

7. Have your child hold up a photo of herself/ himself from last year! This is a very fun way to show how much they have grown!

8. Finally, have fun with it! If you are tense and worried about getting the perfect pic, your subject will be too. Nobody wants to smile when they are tense!

Already taken your back to school photos but love these ideas?? Do what I did! There just wasn't enough time the first day of school with all the rushing around, so I made my own little impromptu photo shoot yesterday!

Have fun!

Congrats to the new Design Team!!!

All I can say is WOW! I am so amazed by all of the talent I received in my inbox this month. In case you didn't know, Scraptacular held an open Design Team call for the month of August. Well, I had a terrible time picking so I enlisted the help of the current DT. They helped me make some tough decisions and we came out with some finalists. Only problem was, I couldn't pick just two. So I chose 4!

Congrats to these four ladies:

Lisa Wilkinson:

Marci Knecht:

Amy Bender:

Rachael Chamberlain:

I am so excited for our new additions to our great team! Look over to the left >>>>
to check out their awesome blogs!