With simply paper and creativity anyone can create art


Friday, August 13, 2010

The Scrap That! “Say See ‘Ya Later” to Summer Sale!

If you love online shopping (and who doesn’t?) you are going to LOVE this! Scrap That! is having a sale! Everything in the store has been generously discounted 40-70%. (Prices are already marked down on the site)


Did you know?

Shipping rates are the lowest in Canada?

No Sales Tax?

*FREE shipping on orders over $100?

We offer local pick/ up and delivery options in the Calgary area?


A Message Regarding the Scrap That! Kit Club

All subscription renewals, and all new subscribers received between Friday, August 13th (a very auspicious day) and September 3rd, will be entered into a draw to win a Zutter Distrezz-It-All! This handy little gem is something ALL scrappers should have!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Simple mini flower tutorial

Here is a simple flower tutorial for those in a hurry... no punches or ink required.


All you will need is 4 store bought paper flowers - 2 tiny ones and one small one for the flower, then another small green one for the leaves... plus glue, water to mist and a pen or pencil.

Step 1: glue a tiny flower to the small one and let dry.

Step 2: Lightly water mist the single and double layer flowers then cup and roll around the end of your pencil. Let dry.

Step 3: Pinch the single flower to create your center.

Step 4: Glue the center into the double layer cup and then the "leaves" flower to the bottom.
Seriously, you're done! If you like these flowers, please leave a message and let me know you stopped by.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

My Etsy shop will open soon!

If all of my items arrive on time, I should be ready to open my Etsy shop in a mere two weeks. I will be featuring reasonable priced embellie kits full of archival safe flowers, crochet lace, acid-free paper doilies, chipboard, pearls, brads, wood swirls, leaves, mulberry paper and so much more. This is just to start... I'll be adding so many more cool items in the coming months. Here is a sneak peek at just a few items because there are way too many to show.











Tuesday, August 3, 2010

August Scrap That! kit

The August Scrap That! kit is now available for purchase! It features the Girl's Paperie - Paper Girl collection and sooooo many glorious goodies. Check it out before it is sold out!

The embellie add-on kit, love that Prima!

On top of all the great goodies in the August Scrap That! kit and the embellie add-on kit, check out this SECOND fun add-on featuring cool ribbon, flowers and buttons...

August "Buttons Blooms and Bows" Add-On Kit

Sunny, Breezy, Bright and Cheerful describes the Scrap That! August “Paper Girl” Collection featuring gorgeous double sided patterned papers from The Girls Paperie.

We have created a special add-on for this kit that perfectly compliments these exquisite papers. Included are one full pack of Prima Acapulco mix Pinata Petals, a selection of Fancy Pants Roadshow buttons, and six yards of unique high-quality ribbon, priced at $13.99.

You'll need the paper add-on kit for this kit too, trust me! Look at my last post, I might have only used half of the embellies on 5 layouts!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

August Scrap That! Reveal

I'm leaving for a mini holiday tomorrow so I'm posting this a little early. The August Scrap That! kit is SOOOO packed that when I received it I didn't know where to start. This will be a long post since I did 5 layouts and STILL have loads of embellies from the add-ons to play with... good thing I have the paper add-on to use all of them up later! This kit featured the Girl's Paperie, Paper Girl collection and a TON of fabulous goodies to play with.

This first layout is me as a wedding flower girl at almost 5 years old but I was the size of a three year old... hence the French "Trois" title. The picture is horribly faded but it is the only one I had and really wanted to do this shabby chic layout for my parents.


The flowers are my handmade ruffled and shabby ones and the tutorials can be found in the right sidebar of my blog.

This kit had amazing Prima butterflies and ribbon. Please note the white square doily was from my stash that I bought at Michael's.

Design Tip: Use ribbon to create a frame around a title plaque (which can be cut from patterned paper).

My second layout "Little Darling" is my daughter last summer. I had bought some Dusty Attic gates (bought from www.staytruetogod.com along with a lot of other goodies) and I had to scrap this perfect picture for the gates with the floral paper in the kit. I used the terrific sketch by LG Belarmino included in the kit as inspiration (just flipped it). I loved the clean lines appeal to it.


I made the large shabby rose and small dark pink buds (tutorials to follow soon). The other light pink flowers were not handmade and will be sold through my soon to open Etsy shop in the Fall.

Design Tip: Cluster blooms on floral paper for a beautiful finish.

My third layout "sweet" is me again. As soon as I saw this paper I ran to my mom's and stole this framed picture in her kitchen (scanned and returned the original). The paper matched my dress too well not to do this layout.


Amazing Jenni Bowlin butterflies and Prima pearls included in this kit.


Here are more of the flowers that will be available through my Etsy shop opening in the Fall.

Design tip: cut florals out of a pattern and place flower embellies for a 3-D effect.

For my fourth layout "Sweetheart", yes me again (working on getting some stuff done for my parents)... I went for a homespun look since again the picture was not a great one (but camera's were horrible in the 70's). Again I used some of my flowers. Included in the kit was this great blue ribbon and stunning pins so I just attached the ribbon with the pins instead of glueing. Please note the pink paper is from my stash.


Design tip: try making origami embellishments to add a fun interest to layouts.

And for my final layout "the Pout", this is my son after getting in trouble while camping last year. I wanted to do a cutesy layout and I modified the blue die cut paper to better suit the layout. Included in the kit were adorable buttons and I had saved a portion of the Prima swirl from my "sweet" layout for the umbrella handle. Please note the orange paper is from my stash.

Design tip: Create your own embellies by cutting shapes out of cardstock.

I used some Martha Stewart daisies from my stash... but I plan on making these easy blooms in the future with a flower punch and craft pom poms from now on.


Well, I hope you enjoyed these layouts and I will be back to check comments at the end of the week when I get into town. Hopefully I will be able to work on some flower tutorials next week too. Thanks for all your support, i really appreciate it!

Friday, July 23, 2010

August SCRAP THAT! sneak peek

Here is a little peek at what will be revealed on Monday from the Scrap That! Design Team:

Monday, July 19, 2010

MME Sketch Challenge

I took a little break from my August Scrap That! DT work to sneak in a layout for the MME "hope" sketch challenge #13.

This is my daughter at 9 months old... the photographer had this huge paper mache easter egg, too cute. I used a few different MME "bella bella" collection papers. A lot were my scraps from a project I am making for the local store I design for. Left over Prima bling from the other project too!


Design tip: Use the Martha Stewart lace punch and cut up the strip and glue sections behind a circle to create a scallop lace border.

OK, so if you're wondering where I got the pink shabby flowers, blue roses and the doily from? Well... they are unique products I will be selling in my very soon to open Etsy shop(at very reasonable prices). These are not your run of the mill dollar store flowers and doilies either... they are archival safe paper-crafting ones. All of my products will be acid free and alterable.


Some of these items will also be featured in an upcoming Scrap That! kit so stay tuned! There is so much more product to be revealed soon.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Shabby Crinkle Flower Tutorial

Here is a smaller, easier flower than my elegant ruffled flowers... for those who like the tattered look (and don't have the patience to do the other ones, LOL). They are more "forgiving" that the ruffled ones, a lot easier to manipulate and so much faster results. My flowers are 2 inches in diameter, using 1 and 2 inch flower punches (but use any die cuts you have). It's a great way to use your scraps since you don't need a lot of paper!


Here is what you need... 3 medium flowers, 3 small flowers and something for leaves (a green pointed petal flower works well), tweezers, water mister and glue. I lightly pre-inked the edges.

Step 1: Lightly mist the 3 medium flowers and crinkle them into a ball.

Step 2: Immediately unravel and use tweezers to gently twist each petal and push towards the center. Before removing tweezers gently pinch in place. Also mist the 3 small flowers and do the same twisting (they are too small to crinkle and there is no need). Let them all dry now.

Step 3: Gently unravel the medium flowers and 2 small ones. For the last small one, squish the petals together and pinch the bottom - this will be your center.

Step 4: Assemble your flower by off setting the petals as you glue. NOTE: you can omit the the pinched center and add a brad or gem instead if desired.

Step 5: Once it is glued, squish the entire flower towards the center to give the crinkle effect and then glue on the "leaves" if you wish.

That's it! Here is a side by side comparison beside my larger layered ruffle flowers.

NOTE: you can also use this type of flower center in my ruffled flowers as pictured below in the larger white one. Experiment and have fun! Add chalk ink, Glimmer mist, Stickles etc. for more sheen and dimension too! All I ask is that you please give credit where due (to ANY artist) because tutorials take a lot of time to produce. Thanks!
NOTE: the smaller white one pictured above is the result if you don't do step 5 and squish the flower towards the center once glued. It looks more like a Prima Camelot flower that way.

Well, although I have a lot more flower tutorials up my sleeve... I need to take a break because my August SCRAP THAT! DT kit just arrived (it's gorgeous!). I have lots of work to do before the project reveals on July 26th.



Monday, July 5, 2010

Elegant ruffled flower tutorial

OK, so I have been researching techniques to manipulate paper to create ruffled flowers for a while now. I actually combined three paper techniques that I found on You Tube and came up with my own ruffled flowers. These take a bit of patience but turn out wonderfully.


I am going to show you how I did the lilac one using heavy cardstock because heavier two-sided cardstock is the easiest to manipulate. The other two I used lightweight cardstock - I like them better but the paper tears easily when dampened. My flowers are 3 inches in diameter but you can make them any size!


Step 1: You need to gather 3 large punched/cut flowers, 1 medium and 5 small. It really doesn't matter what punch or die cut you use as long as there is a bit of separation between the petals. You also need a pen or pencil, tweezers, plain water mister and I forgot to put adhesive in the image - but that's a given right?

Step 2: VERY lightly mist the large and medium flowers, then using your tweezers gently twist and push the petals towards the center. Be careful not to overly wet them or they will rip. Right before you take the tweezers out give it a gently pinch to keep in place.

Step 3: Set aside to dry.

Step 4: Lightly mist the 5 small flowers. Then using your pen end, cup them around and roll then against the pen to get a good cup shape formed. On one of them pinch it to create your flower center.

Step 5: Glue the 4 flower cups into each other and press with pen end. Remember to off-set your petals. Then glue your center in. Set aside to dry. NOTE: This makes a pretty little rose on its own... just add leaves or a green star-like punched flower underneath to simulate a baby Prima rose.

Step 6: Lightly unravel your 3 large and the medium flower and glue them into each other, the medium one on top. Remember to off-set the petals again.

Step 7: Lightly push back the petals of the mini rose and glue it into the middle of the larger flowers. You can add leaves, or attach to a paper vine/flourish. You can also create "leaves" by putting a green pointed petal flower underneath. I just inked white cardstock.

Then you're done! I love the elegance of these flowers. You can also Glimmer Mist, add Stickles or simply ink the edges as I have done. I over inked the centre to show you the definition but I like them better more lightly inked in the center to look more natural.

I really enjoyed creating these. NOTE: I actually used the pointed flower base to create the pink one below. Like I said use whatever punch or die cut you have because once twisted they all look nice. Have fun and don't forget to show me your results! All I ask is that when possible you please give credit where due (to ANY artist) because tutorials do take a lot of effort to produce. Thank you.