Fabulous Friday Scrap Starters!

For those of you, who like me, often find themselves struggling to 'get the ball rolling' on a page.  For those who get stuck trying to lay out your pictures and papers in a way that makes you smile, do I have just the thing for you!

Introducing (insert drum roll here)...

The Mad Scrapper's Fabulous Friday Scrap Starters!

These sensational sketches are sure to speed up your scrapping in a snap, and these punchy pages will please even the most perplexed of people!  (Now how's that for alliteration?!)

I've designed these scrap starters as an easy way to start pages, create layouts, and get those pictures in your albums!  They are designed for 12 x 12 pages, but can be scaled for any size album.   You'll see a lot of 4x6 pictures because that's mostly what I print, so this makes it fast and simple to use them without having to figure out how to crop them to fit, but I will have some with other sizes too, because sometimes you've gotta crop out Aunt Gertrude's backside from the shot, or your dear hubby's blurry finger from an otherwise great pic of your kiddos...

I hope you enjoy this new feature of The Mad Scrapper, and I hope you'll send me some pictures of your finished pages so I can see how you used the sketches and so I can post them for even more inspiration for the rest of us!

As always, Happy Scrapping, and enjoy your new Scrap Starter! 

Sassy Card Idea

I got this precious card from my dear friend Cheryl last night, and thought it was absolutely inspired!  It made me laugh out loud, and definitely made my evening!

It's the perfect girlfriend to girlfriend sentiment, and looking it over, I can think of several adorable variations to this design.

It looks pretty easy to make, too. 

• For the sentiment, you can stamp it on or write it on the card or a tag.
• For the cups of the bra, a flower sticker or punched shape cut in two will do, or even just a circle cut in two.
• For the 'girls', a circle cut from ivory or cream colored cardstock, and cut in two (just slightly smaller than your bra circle).
• For the straps, a couple of strips of matching paper, with the edges hand rounded and completmentary eyelets fastened in,
• A few pop dots in strategic locations for all the right 'lift',
• A scalloped mounting square, with some 'stitching' inked along the edges,
• And, a piece of ribbon, either ruffled using mini dotz (tiny clear adhesive dots), or using a stapler to hold the frills in place, and voila!

Hope you all enjoy this one as much as I did receiving it!  Thanks, Cheryl, for the AMAZING card.  You are always so creative!

Happy scrapping, everyone!

TMS Retreat Update

We still have spaces open for the First Annual Mad Scrappers Retreat, scheduled June 11-13, 2010, in Ellijay, Ga.  The cost is $135, and includes accomodations, meals, goodie bags, drinks, snacks, prizes, your own scrap space, and much, much more!  If you haven't signed up, or know someone else who is interested, please contact me or click here  for more information, or you can sign up automatically by sending in your $75 deposit (see Paypal link to the right).

To all those who have already signed up for the retreat, a few notes.

First of all, welcome! I can't wait for our weekend getaway, and am already busy getting door prizes, goodie bags and contests ready right now!  Speaking of contests, you might want to start thinking about your PJs for Saturday night... I'm just sayin' (hint, hint)!

Also, remember that your deposit of $75 is due by April 15 to reserve your space.  To make getting payments to me easier, I have added Paypal buttons on the right hand column of this blog.  You can pay your deposit, the remaining balance (due by May 31), or pay the entire fee up front.   As always, cash or checks are accepted if you'd rather pay that way.

That's all for now!  Please feel free to comment, email or call with any questions you may have!

Happy scrapping!

Adding Some SHINE to your Titles

I recently did a page about Hayden's love of bath time, and since the topic centers around being in the tub and in the water, I thought it would be neat to have some shiny, epoxy letters for my title, to give it a 'wet' look.   Unfortunately, in all my stash, I didn't have any stickers or chipboard letters that fit the bill, so in typical fashion, I decided to make my own!  Here's a quick walk-through of how I did it, that shows you with a few minutes of your time, and a little creativity, you can get just the look you want!

First, I started by cutting my title, "Bath Time", out on my Cricut.  If you don't have a Cricut, you can also use plan, flat letter stickers, other die-cut letters, or chipboard alphabets to spell out your title.

Next, to ensure the letters stayed put easily while I worked, I zipped them through my Xyron, which also turned them into stickers for easy adhesion later!  After rubbing the letters well, I peeled the front sheet off, leaving the letters adhered to the Xyron backing.  If you're braver than me, you can go ahead and attach them to your layout, then follow the remaining steps, but I always like to have the option of a re-do before I stick everything down to my page!  Call me chicken!

Then, I got out my Liquid Glass.  If you haven't seen this stuff, it's amazing.  It's a CTMH product (which means you can get it from your local consultant...ahem.), and it makes adding some shine and texture to almost anything a quick and easy process!

When using Liquid Glass, I typically outline whatever I'm covering, to create a dam to capture the rest of the LG as I fill in the shape.  These letters were pretty thin, so one thick line of LG covered it just about everywhere. 

Once you cover the object, let it dry flat for about 15 minutes (or a little longer if you covered a large space).  I used that time to finish sticking down all the photos and embellishments on the rest of the pages, and work on my journaling.  Once a multi-tasker, always a multi-tasker! :)  

Test a corner of your object with a fingernail to check to see if it's fully dry before moving, and then you're free to add your title to your finished page!

It creates a nice dimension to your letters, and a great shine that helps bring your pages to life.

I love LG because it is great on so many projects!  One year, for my Christmas cards, I used it to make my stamped candy canes and tree ornaments sparkle, and it's wonderful for covering the tops of buttons or other embellishments to give them an epoxy-ed look. 

Here's another quick idea -

Do you love the look of glitter letters or embellishments, but hate the mess they leave on your albums and pages (and hands, and face, and hair, and carpet, and...)  Next time you glue some glitter to your pages, cover the object with a top coat of Liquid Glass.  You'll get all the razzle-dazzle without any of the frizzle-frazzle (yes, I made that up.  Don't laugh).

Another thing I love about LG is that it's so fast and easy to use!   And of course, it's a money saver!  For only a few dollars, you get a whole bottle of LG, and you can cut your own letters for a fraction of the price of designer stickers.

I'm sure you all have great ideas on where you can add a little 'pop' to your pages!  Please comment and let us know your thoughts - I'm sure we'd all love to add some more tricks to our scrappin' games too!

Topstitch

Have you gals seen Topstitch yet? This is, hands down, my favorite new CTMH paper set.  I absolutely adore the colors, textures and patterns in this kit!  The little suede flower embellishments that coordinate are just pure eye candy, too!

If you haven't seen this kit yet, jump on CTMH's site and check out the SpiringIdeaBook on pages 14-15 to see the Level 1 and 2 kits, the My Stickease packs, and the gorgeous Stamp Sets that tie in to this design - "Charmed", which has some beautiful flower designs, and "Togetherness", which I love for the scroll-y, stictched accents.

Oh, and you can check out those suede flowers on page 91!

If you're interested in getting your own Topstitch products, contact me for more information!

March Stamp of the Month - "A Little Everything"

This month's Stamp of the Month from CTMH is something I've been wanting for a long time.  It's a little bit of everything, as the name says!  Perfect for you card-makers like me, it has all sorts of mix-and-match sentiments, in a variety of sizes, as well as a beautiful scalloped border and some great brackets (I just love brackets! Not sure why, but I do!).

This 26 piece set sells regularly for $22.95, and is only available this month, but remember there are some AMAZING savings to be had!

A $25 purchase or more earns 25% off the SOM- get it for only $17.21!
A $50 purchase or more earns 50% off, and your SOM is only $11.48!
A $75 purchase or more earns 75% off,  and the SOM is only $5.74!
A $100 purchase or more, and you get the SOM for FREE!

Crafty Cards on the Cheap

Since crafting on a budget is such an important topic these days, I thought I'd stick with the theme on this post too, and show you how I get the most out of my supplies.

First, I started with some clearance rack cards. These were great - they were in beautiful, bold colors - pink, green and purple, and came with matching envelopes, and the best part was, they were marked down less than $2 for a pack of 12 (and these are standard size, too!).  The key to these is that I didn't find them at a scrapbook store - I found them at my local Target in the card aisle when I was doing some last minute Hallmark shopping.  I scooped up a bunch of them, even though emblazoned across the front of each was a big "THANK YOU", knowing I could put those to good use for a variety of occasions.

Fast forward to today.  I wanted to make a card for my sister's birthday, and I wanted it to be something special and personal.  I only had a short amount of time to do it in, so I started with the basics.  I grabbed:

• A pack of the Thank You cards
• My scrap paper folder (don't have one? You need one... read below to find out more!)
• My 'occasions' caddy of stamps (I keep my stamps organized by theme, so they're easy to grab when I need them)
• My new paper flowers, also made from scraps
• and, finally, My mixed alphabet bag (read below for more on this, too).

I made the card quickly, using a scrap of paper to cover the card's printed message, using my stamps to mark the sentiment, most of her name, and to add the 'stitched' detail across the bottom.  I used a left over cardstock letter to accent her initial, and put some pop dots on the paper flower, and voila!  I was done in just a few minutes.  And, the best part - no new products were used!

Next time you start a card project, look around you for the items you've been wanting to use in your scrapping or cardmaking, and just can't seem to find a home for.  Try sorting items by like colors or patterns, and you may find a whole new life for those product misfits!

Now, back to a few of my notes above:

Scraps Folder
For all pieces of paper that are at least 12" long, OR 6" wide, I store them in a paper sorter (can find at your local scrapbook store, much like an expanding photo keeper, only larger.  Or, you could use a standard office expanding folder).  I use the dividers to sort the papers by style and color, so that they're easy to find and use for my next project.   This is the folder I looked to when making my paper flowers last week, and it's where I go for cards, scrapbook pages, tags, and other accents and embellishment uses.  I find I'm more likely to use them when they are neat and sorted than when I have them tucked here and there amongst my piles of paper, virtually lost among the stacks.

Mixed Alphabet Bag
I keep a freezer size ziploc bag full of my misfit, leftover and partial alphabet collections.  When an alphabet reaches a point that it's no longer complete enough to be useful, I tuck the leftover in here.  I keep my chipboard letters, stickers, rub-ons, die cuts and more in here.  They are great for accents like what I used on this card, to start titles in scrapbooks, or for a whimsical page, they're great for the entire title or journal, to give it a hodge-podge feel.  Just another way to stretch every last dollar out of those scrapping supplies!

Have a good week, and Happy Scrappin'!

Oh, and PS - Completely off the subject, but I got a new scrapping desk at auction this weekend (again, another bargain buy!) and I'm in love! It's cozy, and girly, and holds all my basics, and because it's a rolltop, it fits in well enough with our living room decor, I can work right there while my daughter Hayden plays!  This is going to help me get so much more accomplished!  I am having almost as much fun arranging it as I will scrapping at it!