Special Guest Blogger: Mandy Douglass
04/02/2010 at 8:10 am | Posted in fonts, General Inspiration, guest blogger, Holidays, How-Tos, product, technique, Uncategorized | 5 CommentsTags: American Crafts, CK, Creating Keepsakes, Creating Keepsakes magazine, Dear Lizzy, Easter eggs, eggs, Fiskars Americas, free font, Free Font Friday, gift bag, guest blogger, holiday, how-to, Mandy Douglass, photo tips, photography tips, ribbon, ribbon technique, technique
Hey all my favorite CK Readers! It is me, Mandy Douglass! I don’t know about you, but I am so excited for this upcoming Easter holiday weekend. Now that I have two little boys, it just keeps getting more and more fun each year. I love easter egg hunts, easter baskets, easter bunnies, and those little peeks from the tulips that will soon turn into beautiful flowers.
Last year was the first year my son, Bryson, could start to understand the whole easter egg hunt idea. So today, I thought I would share a photo tip and a ribbon tip with you from this fun new page I created about his first hunt!
The Race is On by Mandy Douglass. Supplies: American Crafts.
Photo Tip:
Bryson was just learning to walk, and he really didn’t have enough balance to pick up eggs, so crawling was his only way to get those funny looking round things! I thought this photo was perfect to use on my layout, because it captures his perspective on the easter egg hunt. There weren’t a lot of kids around to “race” him for the eggs, but the faster he got them, the more excited he was. I challenge all you CK readers to get down in the grass this weekend and get some true perspective photographs!
Ribbon Tip:
Next is a fun tip a friend taught me a while back. I often find it hard to punch through a page or get a knotted ribbon to stay in place without gargantuan amounts of glue! So here are a few steps to show you how to get that cute ribbon knot to stay in place and avoid getting sticky.
First cut a piece of ribbon about 3″ long. Then staple it to the area of the page you would like the ribbon to be.
Then simply tie the knot (I usually only tie one knot and it stays in place).
Then cut off the remaining ribbon.
Simple, huh!
Bonus Gift-Bag Topper Tip:
I decided to use the same technique on some cute treat bags for Easter. (Not only did I get a cute bag out of it, but it also gave me a great excuse to open those Cadbury Mini Eggs that have been staring at me for a week!)
To make the bag topper, I made a simple flap using Sizzix’s scallop square die cut, then I folded it in half. I added some darling egg paper from the Dear Lizzy line by American Crafts and stapled the decorated flap to close the bag and keep the ribbon in place.
Last, I made a cute little tag using a Quickutz oval die, some scallop scissors by Fiskars, and Dear Lizzy Dimensional Sticker. Then knotted it all in place!
Such an easy way to do lots of Easter treat bags.
“Hop” that you all have a great holiday weekend!
Mandy Douglass, CK contributing writer
P.S. Don’t forget to download today’s font as part of Free Font Friday! This weeks’ font is CK Day Dream. Download it today at Creating Keepsakes.
CHA-Winter 2010: Designer Interviews
02/02/2010 at 4:00 am | Posted in General Inspiration | 9 CommentsTags: 7gypsies, American Crafts, April Foster, Brittany Beattie, CHA, CHA 2010, CHA-Winter 2010, CK, Creating Keepsakes, Creating Keepsakes magazine, Elizabeth Kartchner, interviews, Paula Cheney, Scrapbook, Scrapbooking, Studio Calico
Each year as I walk the show floor at CHA, I’m always in awe of how the paper and product designers come up with such great looks. I took the chance to interview a few of them and find out more, and I’m happy to share the clips with you today.
Curious how Studio Calico came up with the designs for the Anthology Collection? April Foster shares the story behind it.
It’s always fun to chat with Elizabeth Kartchner, and I couldn’t resist asking her about how she came up with her new Dear Lizzy collection for American Crafts. (A special thanks to Erin Payne for filming the video.)
In this video, Paula Cheney shares her inspiration for creating the new Vintage Recipe Holder by 7gypsies. I love it!
—Brittany Beattie, online senior editor
January 2010 CK: An Insider’s Look
12/10/2009 at 4:00 am | Posted in Insider's Look | 132 CommentsTags: American Crafts, Anna Griffin, behind-the-scenes, Brittany Beattie, Creating Keepsakes, Creating Keepsakes magazine, Die Cuts With A View, giveaway, Hambly Screen Prints, Hot Off The Press, Insider's Look, January, January 2010, Joannie McBride, Megan Hoeppner, MiMi, PDY Systems, Prima, scrapbook organization, scrapbook pages, Scrapbooking, Spellbinders, technique
The January 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes is now hitting mailboxes and newsstands, and we’re excited for you to read it! You see, we’ve made several enhancements for the 2010 year in response to the feedback we’ve received from you to help inspire and energize your scrapbooking. We’re confident you’ll love the updates, and we can’t wait to hear what you think. As a sneak peek in honor of heading into the 2010 decade, here are 10 new favorites introduced in the January issue.
1. A majority of layouts in the issue are two-page layouts with 4″ x 6″ photos. Let the layouts inspire your pages to come together quickly with photos straight from your printer. You’ll find examples in the “To Crop or Not to Crop” and “Winter Whites” articles and in the new “CK Shows You How,” “Fast Pages with 4″ x 6″ Photos,” and “15-Minute Layout” columns, the latter two of which provide step-by-step instructions for creating the layouts. This beautiful design by Brenda Hurd is a great example.
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Brenda Hurd, as seen in the January 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes, page 31
2. You’ll now be able to download the monthly CK Sketch as a layered PSD file to use as a digital page template or in designing digital layouts. We’ll continue to offer the sketch and its variations for printouts in your binder as well.
3. You’ll see more techniques in the upcoming year. We’ve increased the number of technique photos throughout the magazine as well, and we’ve dedicated two new columns to give you more ideas in addition to our favorite technique columns from 2009. For example, in “CK Shows You How,” you’ll learn a technique in three levels of use—in January, learn three techniques for heat embossing.
4. And speaking of techniques, you’re going to need some tools every now and then. With so many tools available, how can you decide which one is right for you? We make it easy with the new product-comparison reviews at the end of “Latest & Greatest.” We test the options and give you the benefits of several models. Check out these snapshots from when our team tested heat guns for this issue.
Here’s Megan Hoeppner and Joannie McBride stamping their images before heat embossing.
5. Save money and get more from your supplies with the budget-friendly tips you’ll find in columns like “Make the Most of Leftovers,” “Tools & Techniques” (a favorite that’s continuing for 2010), Creative Spaces (with DIY organization ideas) and other articles, such as “Fast, Frugal & Fabulous” that appears this issue.
6. Reader letters are back in the magazine. (They were published online in 2009.) You’ll find them in our “Scrappetizers” section, where you’ll also see how another reader has scraplifted an idea from the magazine in our “CK & Me” finds inspired by the series on our blog.
7. Participate in a giveaway or contest each month. Through January 31, 2010, you can enter to win one of these totes from MiMi, PDY Systems and Spellbinders to help you get organized for the new year.
8. Page makeovers have always been a fun read, and you’ll find one in each issue—just check out the “Scrappetizers” section. If you have an unfinished layout you want help finishing, you can submit a photo of it to editorial@creatingkeepsakes.com with “Page Makeover” in the subject line.
9. When you’re looking for a technique or a layout theme you saw in the issue but can’t remember which page it was on, check out our “Issue Index” near the back of the magazine to find exactly what you’re looking for.
10. We have downloads galore! From “teach sheets” for using your camera to checklists to help you stay organized this year, find several fun downloads like these each month.
It’s easy to see why we’re excited, isn’t it! If you don’t have your own copy of the issue yet but can’t wait to check it out, click here to order your copy today.
As always, we’d love your feedback on what you like or would like to see improved in the magazine. You can e-mail your thoughts to letters@creatingkeepsakes.com at any time. If you share your thoughts about the January issue, you’ll also be entered to win some of these “Winter Whites” and other scrapbooking goodies from companies like American Crafts, Anna Griffin, Die Cuts With a View, Hambly Screen Prints, Hot Off The Press, and Prima. Just leave a comment on this post by Saturday, December 12, and you could be one of three lucky winners.
—Brittany Beattie, online senior editor
Weekly Warm-Up: Fonts for Holiday Pages and Cards
12/07/2009 at 4:00 am | Posted in fonts, Holidays, weekly warm up | 11 CommentsTags: American Crafts, CK, Cosmo Cricket, Creating Keepsakes, Creating Keepsakes magazine, dafont.com, Doodlebug Design, fonts, fontsquirrel.com, FontYukle.com, free downloads, free fonts, Lori Fairbanks, Making Memories, rub-ons, stamps, stickers, weekly warm up
Have you seen the January issue of Creating Keepsakes? Our new “Scrappetizers” column in the printed magazine is so fun! If you’re a font fan, you’re going to love the CK Font Find. Each issue, we’ll show you a cool font that’s inexpensive or—better yet—free. In the January issue, we featured the darling Glengary font by Nick Curtis, available from MyFonts.com for $7.95. Be sure to download this cute accent our design team created for you using the Glengary font!
If you’re looking for more great fonts for your holiday pages and cards, I’ve selected a few of my favorite free finds for you. Just click on the links to download these beauties. I’ve typed out a greeting in each one so you can see how fantastic these fonts will look on your projects.
This Renaissance font is available from FontSquirrel.com.
Here’s Ballpark, also from FontSquirrel.com.
Thaleia is available from Dafont.com.
Quentin Caps is from Dafont.com, too.
You’ll find Kingthings Christmas at Dafont.com as well.
Gloucester MT Extra Condensed might already be on your computer. If not, you can get it from FontYukle.com.
While we’re talking about great holiday fonts, be sure to consider stickers, stamps, and rub-ons—there are many wonderful options! Here are some that will look super on your holiday pages.
Doodlebug Design offers the Crushed Velvet Shin-Dig Alphabet stickers in Ladybug.
Making Memories sets the holiday mood with the Mistletoe Glitter Alphas.
Cosmo Cricket brings joy with the Jolly By Golly Alpha Rub Ons.
American Crafts spreads holiday cheer with the Ginger clear acrylics stamp set.
What lettering products and fonts are you using on holiday pages? Leave us a comment so I can check out your favorites, too!
—Lori Fairbanks, product editor
P.S. Check out the Giveaways tab to see if you were one of three lucky winners to receive an autographed copy of 52 More Scrapbooking Challenges by Elizabeth Kartchner.
Announcing Our 2010 Dream Team Members
11/04/2009 at 4:00 am | Posted in Uncategorized | 60 CommentsTags: Adorn It - Carolee's Creations, Advantus, American ArtClay Company, American Crafts, Anna Griffin, BasicGrey, Bazzill Basics Paper, Bella Blvd, Bisiou, Bo-Bunny, Buttons Galore, C.R. Gibson, Cindy Tobey, CK, Clearsnap, Close To My Heart, Colorbok, Core-dinations, Cornish Heritage Farms, Cosmo Cricket, Creating Keepsakes, Creative Memories, Deena Wuest, Die Cuts With A View, Dimension, Doodlebug Design, Dream Team, Duncan, Dyno Merchandise, EK Success, Elmer's, Eyelet Outlet, Fancy Pants, Fiskars Americas, Glue Arts, Glue Dots International, Graphic 45, Hambly Screen Prints, Helmar Adhesives, Hero Arts, iLovetoCreate, Imaginisce, Inkadinkado, It Takes Two, Jen Jockisch, Jenni Bowlin Studio, Jillibean Soup, Karen Foster, Kim Watson, Krylon, Laura Vegas, Little Yellow Bicycle, Maggie Holmes, Maya Road, McGill, Megan Hoeppner, Pebbles Inc., Piggy Tales, Pink Paislee, Prima, QuicKutz, River City Rubber Works, Sakura, Sandylion, Sara Winnick, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L, Scrapbooking, ScrapGirls, Scrapper's Guide, SEI, Singer, Sound Easy, Spellbinder, Stampendous, Stampin' Up!, Susan Weinroth, Suzy Plantamura, Technique Tuesday, The Crafter's Workshop, Therm O Web, Unibind, We R Memory Keepers, Wendy Sue Anderson, Zva Creative
With our December 2009 issue already out and our January 2010 issue right around the corner (can you believe that?), it’s time to announce our 2010 Dream Team. This talented group of 10 women will bring you fresh designs in every 2010 issue of our magazine, as well as act as stellar magazine representatives at various events and activities.
Let’s get to their names and faces (and a few get-to-know-you questions), shall we? Drum roll, please . . .
Congratulations to the following 2010 CK Dream Team members:
Cindy Tobey1. How long have you scrapbooked? 12 or 13 years now.
2. What is your favorite technique? Stitching, either by hand or machine. A close second would be painting.
3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Buttons or decorative brads. It would be so hard for me to choose just one type, though.
4. Where do you look for design inspiration? Junk mail, catalogs, home decor, book covers, clothing tags . . . everywhere, really.
5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? This is always a hard question for me to answer. Organized, quirky and ever-changing.
6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? The creative process. I love that I’m preserving family memories, but it’s the process that keeps me coming back. I LOVE it!
1. How long have you scrapbooked? I started paper scrapbooking in 2000, shortly after my first daughter was born. I was actually one of those people who swore I would never try digital scrapbooking. Ha. Can you imagine? It was five years later when I realized I was drafting every layout on the computer and using it to design and print my text. Piecing everything together manually turned into the last step, as if it were almost an afterthought. Finally, when my toddler ate half a layout and repeatedly date-stamped his shirt, I reluctantly walked through a Photoshop tutorial. I completed my first digital layout in 2005, and I was completely and utterly in love. I still thank my then-destructive two-year-old son for helping me find my passion.
2. What is your favorite technique? I don’t know if it’s officially a “technique,” but I love using bold typography on my layouts. The fact that you can create art using just letters and numbers is so fascinating to me. Honestly, I get excited over the placement of text. (I’m still not sure if I should be alarmed by that or not.) While I love fonts and have over 1,000 of them on my computer, I use the same journaling font on around 90% of my pages. At first, I seriously thought I needed a support group. I’ve since embraced it and actually found that using the same font provides a sense of continuity in my albums. Hmm. Who knew?
3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Interesting question. Since most of my layouts are digital, I am going to claim the “digital brush” to be an embellishment. Brushes add so much to a layout and can range from graphic and bold to soft and subtle. I love the flexibility and freedom they provide. You can adjust the color, size, opacity and blend mode. You can combine them, delete portions . . . the list goes on. It’s complete creative control. I love that!
4. Where do you look for design inspiration? Everywhere. While I love to be inspired by clever design found in advertisements, books, billboards, movie posters and CD covers, I also find myself being inspired by the small things. An unusual color scheme found on a candy wrapper, the texture of a blanket or a spoken phrase heard over the radio have all sparked scrapbook layouts.
5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? Simple. Clean. Graphic.
6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I love the fact that this amazing hobby allows me to combine my passion for my family with my passion for design. I love that it provides a creative outlet where I’m free to try cool, new things, to experiment and to play. But mostly, I love what it allows me to leave for my family. It’s more than documenting what they wore for Halloween or what they received for their birthdays. Granted, that’s important information. But even more so I want them to know how much they are loved. I have always considered each layout to be a “love note” that just happens to contain a sprinkling of life events. To me, that’s what scrapbooking is all about. And that’s why I love it.
1. How long have you scrapbooked? 6 years.
2. What is your favorite technique? Anything using foam adhesive. I love the depth and dimension it adds to pages.
3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? The one thing I can’t do without is patterned paper. I love mixing different colors and patterns and finding funky combinations.
4. Where do you look for design inspiration? Home-design blogs and ads on Nick Jr. (Seriously, there is some great stuff there.)
5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? Layered, fun and a little whimsical.
6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I like that I’m not only doing something I love, but I’m actually being productive by documenting my family’s story.
1. How long have you scrapbooked? Nearly five years. I started when my little boy was six months old. I wanted to journal his life in a creative, meaningful way.
2. What is your favorite technique? Coming from a fashion background, I love stitching and using fabric. Paper crafting and creating my own embellishments also make the list.
3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Alphas, definitely alphas.
4. Where do you look for design inspiration? Fashion, craft world, photography and interior design.
5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? Feminine with a touch of whimsy.
6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I love that it satisfies me on so many levels: my need for a creative outlet, my love of writing and my interest in photography. Above all, the most important reason is to leave a legacy for my children.
1. How long have you scrapbooked? I have scrapbooked for about 14 years now. I started a year before my oldest daughter was born.
2. What is your favorite technique? Collaging is a technique, right? I love to collage my layouts together–whether it’s making photo collages or just arranging my photos and patterned papers into a collaged look to fill up the page. It’s like piecing together a puzzle, and I just love arranging things until they fit together to my liking.
3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? This really isn’t fair to all the other fabulous embellishments out there, but I would have to pick ribbon. The majority of my layouts have ribbon used in one way or another. Since ribbon can be used in so many ways, I never get bored with it.
4. Where do you look for design inspiration? My main inspiration comes from either my photos or product. Great photos can be the starting point for so many layouts. If the photos don’t inspire me, then most likely product will. I’m very product driven, and I will often create layouts just because I want to use certain products or papers, without even knowing what photos I am going to use. So my layouts have been known to start with photos or end with photos. Both ways work for me.
5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? My style is definitely clean and linear, with a lot of straight lines. I gravitate toward bright, fun colors, and I love to use many photos on my layouts. I’m also a big fan of embellishments, and I love to find the perfect amount of fun “stuff” to complete my layouts.
6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I love that I’m recording memories and events. Just by looking at their scrapbook albums, my girls will always know what happened in our lives. But I think what I love most about scrapbooking is the creative release it gives me. I spend most of my days doing mundane, everyday things over and over. So I feel my happiest when I get some creative time every day to play with paper and embellishments and to have something pretty to show for my time at the end.
1. How long have you scrapbooked? I started back in high school and have been hooked ever since!
2. What is your favorite technique? Right now my favorite technique is color misting. I love to use masks, stencils and anything I can get my hands on that will combine with the color mists to make a cool effect!
3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? My first answer would be patterned paper, but I guess that isn’t really an embellishment. Assuming I can’t use patterned paper, I would say chipboard. You can do anything with chipboard and customize it to work with any layout.
4. Where do you look for design inspiration? Everywhere! Seriously, I am always thinking in creative mode, and I see everything around me—nature, fashion, type, ads, magazines, home decor, photography, etc. Somehow it all mixes and combines in my head and eventually translates into what I create.
5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? Eclectic for sure. I love to mix things–different colors, different patterns and different mediums. I hardly ever use items made to match. Instead, I use bits and pieces from different lines and manufacturers. Combining everything together is where the magic happens for me.
6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I love two things about scrapbooking. I love that I’m capturing and recording our family story. Our lives pass by so quickly, and I can’t imagine not having all my albums to look back on. The second thing I love is the creative process and the fulfillment and joy I get from scrapbooking. It just feels great to pull all these beautiful products and mediums together to make something that is so unique and meaningful to my family and me.
Sara Winnick
1. How long have you scrapbooked? I’ve been scrapbooking since my daughter Anna was born in 2002–seven and one-half years!
2. What is your favorite technique? It’s impossible to choose just one! I have a thing for clear embossing, but I also love piecing together various elements to create cool titles.
3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Only one? It’s a toss-up between chipboard hearts from Heidi Swapp for Advantus and Flair from American Crafts.
4. Where do you look for design inspiration? Real Simple magazine never fails me. 🙂
5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? I love bold colors and stripes, so I often use them on my pages.
6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I love creating new pages, but there’s nothing quite like flipping through old layouts remembering. I scrapbook for so many reasons, but to remember is the biggest reason I love this hobby.
Susan Weinroth1. How long have you scrapbooked? Since 2004.
2. What is your favorite technique? I love to machine-stitch and sew little tidbits to my pages.
3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Hmmmmmm. That’s tough! I’d probably have to go with rhinestone brads from American Crafts–they are a current favorite of mine!
4. Where do you look for design inspiration? Home decorating magazines, various favorite websites and storefront displays.
5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? Clean and colorful with a few fun twists thrown in!
6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I love that scrapbooking has become my “job” and that it allows me to stay at home with my toddler-aged son, while at the same time allowing me to preserve my family’s photos and memories.
Suzy Plantamura1. How long have you scrapbooked? I’ve been scrapping forever. I made scrapbooks in high school with memorabilia, cards, schoolwork, etc. The only difference was they didn’t have any pictures! Once I had Sophie (who is now ten), I started scrapping the way I do now, with lots of photos and journaling.
2. What is your favorite technique? Anything that includes markers–I love hand journaling, doodling, adding borders or coloring in stamped images. Markers are so much fun!
3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Probably ribbon—I can’t seem to make a layout without it.
4. Where do you look for design inspiration? I don’t spend a lot of time getting inspired. As soon as I see pictures and products, I feel ready to go! When I make the time, I find inspiration everywhere! Catalogs, magazines, books, posters, nature, fashion, home decor–it all speaks to me! If I really wanted to get inspired, I would blog hop more often. Again, time prohibits my ability to do this, but there are so many online resources available to inspire us scrappers!
5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? I’d like to say whimsical, but I don’t always feel that from my pages. But I try! My mathematical mind wants things neat, tidy and aligned, but my creative side wants things messy and artistic. I struggle to balance the two. I wish I could scrap more freely without any constraints!
6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? There is nothing I don’t like about scrapbooking. I like every little bit of it–from starting with buying products to taking the photos to designing the pages. It’s all soooooo fun! There’s nothing more fun to me than getting a new box of products (especially if they’re free!) and sorting them all and organizing them. It’s pure heaven for this girl!
Wendy Sue Anderson1. How long have you scrapbooked? Forever! I remember helpling my mom when I was a little girl. We used rubber cement (yikes!!) to glue school papers, birthday cards, etc. into a big, green scrapbook. I made my own high-school scrapbook in a magnetic photo album (yikes again!). After I married, I discovered Pebbles in My Pocket on my lunch break one day. I’ve been scrapbooking (safely) almost every day since then!
2. What is your favorite technique? I love machine-stitching on my projects. My parents bought me a sewing machine as a college graduation gift. It’s my favorite scrapbooking tool!
3. If you were allowed only one scrapbooking embellishment to use on a layout, what type of embellishment would you choose? Hmmm, I would use buttons. Or ribbon.
4. Where do you look for design inspiration? Everywhere: catalogs, magazines, websites, blogs, picture books, shampoo bottles, junk mail, the grocery store . . .
5. How would you define your scrapbooking style? Clean, simple, cute, consistent.
6. What do you like most about scrapbooking? I really enjoy being creative, but I think my favorite part is seeing my kids enjoy the pages in their scrapbooks. I’m glad they’ll always have a record of the cute things, fun events and interesting family stories from their childhoods.
***
We’re thrilled to have each of these talented gals on our CK Dream Team for the coming year. They have already brought so much to our magazine and are sure to inspire you in the year to come.
Thanks to Our Dream Team Sponsors
To get their CK year off to an awesome start, we sent each of these gals a lovely welcome gift provided by our 2010 Dream Team sponsors. A great big thank-you goes out to the following incredible companies:
Adornit – Carolee’s Creations, Advantus, American Art Clay Company, American Crafts, Anna Griffin, BasicGrey, Bazzill Basics Paper, Bella Blvd, Bisous, Bo-Bunny Press, Buttons Galore, C.R. Gibson, Clearsnap, Close To My Heart, Colorbök, Core’dinations, Cornish Heritage Farms, Cosmo Cricket, The Crafter’s Workshop, Creative Memories, Die Cuts With a View, Dimensions, Doodlebug Design, Dyno Merchandise, EK Success, Elmer’s, Eyelet Outlet, Fancy Pants Designs, Fiskars Americas, GlueArts, Glue Dots International, Graphic 45, Hambly Screen Prints, Helmar Adhesives, Hero Arts, iLoveToCreate, a Duncan Enterprises Company, Imaginisce, Inkadinkado , It Takes Two, Jenni Bowlin Studio, Jillibean Soup, K&Company, Karen Foster Design, Krylon, Little Yellow Bicycle, Maya Road, McGill, Mimi Collections, Pebbles Inc., Piggy Tales, Pink Paislee, Prima, QuicKutz, River City Rubber Works, Sakura, Sandylion, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L, ScrapGirls, Scrapper’s Guide, SEI, Singer, Sounds Easy, Spellbinders, Stampendous!, Stampin’ Up!, Technique Tuesday, Therm O Web, Unibind, We R Memory Keepers, Zva Creative
A New Contributing Writer
In addition to announcing our Dream Team, we have a talented new contributing writer to announce. Mou Saha, a wonderful member of our 2009 Dream Team, has joined our writer roster. We’re delighted to have her working with us in this capacity next year! Congrats, Mou!
A Note from You
Now, please join us in welcoming our newest creative crew by leaving a comment. You’re welcome to suggest ideas you’d like to see them cover in the year ahead, or you can simply give them a happy e-hello. Either way, we know they’ll love hearing from you!
Cheers!
Megan Hoeppner, Creative Editor
Weekly Warm-Up: Send a Photo DVD
11/02/2009 at 4:00 am | Posted in weekly warm up | 2 CommentsTags: American Crafts, Creating Keepsakes, creative editor, Making Memories, Megan Hoeppner, My Mind's Eye, November issue, photo card, photo cd, photo dvd, ribbon, sewing, SmileShow, Tips and Tricks, YesDVD
Photo cards are so fun to send during the holidays, but as any scrapbooker will tell you, narrowing down a year’s worth of amazing photos to a single image can be challenging. This is exactly why we included the idea of sending a photo CD or DVD in my “Tips & Tricks” column for our November issue. With that tip, I created an easy-to-make card that will hold a CD or DVD, and some of you have since asked how I put that little card together. Since the holidays are right around the corner, I thought I’d share that information with you here, so you can get to work creating those amazing photo-holder cards to send to your friends and family. I can assure you, this idea will be remembered and treasured when the recipient pops the disk in the player and views the happy memories.
Since holiday cards are created in bulk, I purposefully kept this one very basic. This not only keeps the time down, but also the cost.
Step 1: Fold a 6″ x 12″ piece of cardstock into thirds—a 1″ flap and two 5″halves.
Step 2: Punch a half-circle shape in the center of the bottom third using a circle punch. This will be used to remove the disk from the pocket.
Step 3: Sew the card together along the two sides and the bottom to create a pocket. Note: I used my sewing machine, which is much faster than hand-stitching.
Step 4: Cut two equal lengths of ribbon (about 18″ long) in two varying sizes. Stitch the smaller ribbon down the center of the larger one, with the center of the ribbon positioned over the card flap so the ribbon will also adhere here to it as you run it through your sewing machine. When you’re done, you should have the ribbon stitched to the card flap with about 6″ of loose tail on either side.
Step 5: Insert your disk, fold the flap down over the pocket, wrap the ribbon around the front of the card and tie a knot. The ribbon will not only add a decorative touch to your card, it will also keep it securely closed so the disk will stay put.
Step 6: Dress your card pocket up with embellishments. I used die-cut shapes from My Mind’s Eye and stickers from American Crafts and Making Memories.
Tip: If you’re making a bunch of cards, you may want to opt for stamped embellishments or elements you print on your pocket using your computer. These are both money-saving options that are good to consider when making bulk cards.
Make a Photo Flick
Now that you know how to contain your photo DVD, why not make your movies. SmileShow, a company featured in my “Tips & Tricks” article, has generously set up a special coupon code just for CK readers. Between now and November 29, get $3 off YesDVD Smileshow orders. Click here for more information on this product and this special.
Cheers!
Megan Hoeppner, Creative Editor
Weekly Warm-Up: Create & Celebrate
09/28/2009 at 3:11 am | Posted in Holidays, weekly warm up | 8 CommentsTags: American Crafts, Cath Edvalson, Creating Keepsakes, creative editor, Doodlebug, heat embossing, holiday cards, Lifelong Learning, Making Memories, Maren Benedict, Megan Hoeppner, Moxie Fab World, Paper Crafts, ribbon, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L, Scrapbooking, Stampin' Up!, stamping, University of Utah, WCMD, World Card Making Day
Hello, crafty memory keepers!
Mark your creative calendars—this coming Saturday, October 3rd is the fourth annual World Card Making Day (WCMD). This day, celebrating all things cards, kicks off the holiday card-making season.
After all, it’s never too early to begin working on those festive greetings. And our friends over at Paper Crafts are hosting an entire week of ideas and prizes to get you in the spirit.
PARTY TIME
Let’s start the WCMD party early, shall we? Here’s a holiday greeting to get you in that celebratory mood.
Frosted Flakes card by Megan Hoeppner. Supplies Cardstock, stamps and ink: Stampin’ Up!; Embossing powder: American Crafts; Ribbon: American Crafts, Making Memories and Stampin’ Up!; Gems: Doodlebug; Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L.
This card only requires a few strips of ribbon, some simple stamping, a little embossing, a few gems and a bit of cardstock for the base, making it a great card choice when it comes to designing in bulk.
Money-Saving Tip: When creating cards in bulk, it’s a good idea to use supplies that stretch, such as stamps and dies.
Here’s the same card in a different color palette.
Money-Saving Tip: Scraps are perfect for creating cards in bulk. If you run out of one color, as was the case with my ribbon bits, don’t be afraid to switch to another happy hue from your stash.
Design Tip: Adhere the stamped images with dimensional adhesive for added interest.
JOIN THE FUN
Now, it’s time to turn on your favorite holiday music, pour yourself a cup of cheer, and get ready to celebrate WCMD 2009! Here are a few ways you can join the celebration:
- Visit the WCMD website. It’s brimming with card ideas from your favorite scrapbooking manufacturers, a list of stores around the world participating in WCMD events and ideas for hosting your own WCMD parties.
- Join the “Countdown to WCMD” blog bonanza, where you’ll find a huge assortment of holiday cards on various designers’ blogs. The fun starts today and runs through Oct. 2. Find participating blogs here.
- Save some money. In honor of this big day, we’re offering 25% off of any one item in our online store. For the coupon code, visit any of the participating “Countdown to WCMD” blogs.
- Go on a worldwide creative tour with Paper Crafts creative editor, Cath Edvalson. She is featuring scrapbooking manufacturers from all over the globe on her Moxie Fab World blog. And, we’re willing to bet you’ll find an awesome giveaway or two while you’re there.
- Get inspired by this week’s guest blogger. Maren Benedict, Paper Crafts Go-To Gal, will be visiting our blog to share her cool card ideas this Friday.
- Feeling lucky? Excellent! Enter your favorite holiday card in the WCMD card contest. You could be one of 20 winners to receive an amazing card-making prize package (below) valued at more than $185! Visit the WCMD website to participate in the contest.
CREATE WITH ME
Speaking of holiday card-making, I’d love to have you join me in the card classes I’m teaching for the University of Utah this fall.
Creative Holiday Update Letters: Turn that basic form letter into a memorable annual update your friends and family will adore.
Handmade Cards & Gift Wrap: Learn new techniques and walk away with tons of card and gift-wrap ideas to share this season. Plus, you’ll receive a grand assortment of products from scrapbooking manufacturers you know and love.
YOUR PLANS
Feeling festive? We’d love to hear how you plan on celebrating WCMD ’09. Leave us a comment and let us know what you’re up to. Whatever it is, we hope your day is merry and bright!
Cheers!
Megan Hoeppner, Creative Editor
P.S. Be sure to check the Giveaways tab at the top of the page to discover the winners of last week’s blog contests!
Guest Blogger: Nichole Heady of Papertrey Ink
09/11/2009 at 4:18 am | Posted in guest blogger | 576 CommentsTags: American Crafts, giveaway, guest blogger, how-to, Nichole Heady, Papertrey Ink, Spellbinders, stamping, stamps
Hello and happy Friday! My name is Nichole Heady, and I am one of the co-owners of Papertrey Ink. We specialize in clear stamps along with our own line of exclusive paper crafting embellishments and accessories, all of which are created specifically for stampers, by a stamper.
We release new product each month on the 15th, with a special countdown on my blog, featuring sneak peeks, beginning on the 10th. I was just thrilled to be asked to participate here as a guest blogger to debut a brand new product that will not be available until September 15! How’s that for exciting? Let’s get started!
Sweet Tooth Smile by Nichole Heady. Supplies Cardstock, ink, ribbon and vintage buttons: Papertrey Ink; Die-cut machine: Cuttlebug, ProvoCraft; Dies: Spellbinders; Border punch: EK Success; Letter stickers: American Crafts (foam) and Making Memories (mini); Rub-ons: American Crafts; Embossing powder: Stewart Superior; Pen: Uni-ball Signo, Newell Rubbermaid; Adhesive: Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L.
The project I prepared for you today uses one of the ever-popular vintage label shaped journaling blocks. Our new stamp set, Vintage Labels (available on September 15 for purchase), allows you to create four different sizes in any color you desire. All you need is a little cardstock and some ink. Let me show you how!
Step 1: Stamp the label outline with one of the largest images from the stamp set onto Melon Berry cardstock using our Berry Sorbet ink. The stamp set includes a total of eight label images in a variety of sizes so there is something for nearly any project!
Step 2: To make it quick and easy to cut our Vintage Label images out, they were designed to coordinate with Spellbinders Labels One die collection. Center the die directly over your stamped image, using a bit of tape to hold the die in place along the outside perimeter.
These dies are compatible with almost any die-cutting machine. Once you have run the die and stamped image through the machine, you’ll be left with this--a perfect match.
Step 3: Stamp the same label image onto computer paper and use a craft knife to cut out the center to create a journaling mask. (You can easily create a mask like this for each image in the set and save them in the stamp case for future use.)
Step 4: Place the mask over your die-cut label. Use our stamp set Journaling Lines right on top of the cardstock and mask.
After removing the mask, you’ll be left with this. (I decided to only stamp the lines on ¾ of my label to allow room at the bottom for some embellishing.)
Step 5: To customize alphabet stickers, try stamping a pattern on them. Here I’ve used our Polka Dot Basics II stamp set along with Ripe Avocado ink to add some character to these American Crafts Thickers.
With just a little ink and some basic background building stamp sets such as this, you can really customize nearly anything in your stash.
Step 6: For added detail, hand-cut leaves and stamp with Text Style using Ripe Avocado ink. Finish by stitching down the center.
I hope you enjoyed some of the things I shared with you today, including the showcase of our new stamp set, Vintage Labels. Since this versatile set isn’t available for purchase until September 15, I thought I would give you all the opportunity to win it along with a few other complimentary goodies! Here’s what’s up for grabs:
- Vintage Labels stamp set
- Spellbinders Labels One die set
- Journaling Lines stamp set
- Polka Dot Basics II stamp set
This prize package has a retail value of nearly $90, so it’s totally worth sharing a comment with us today! Just drop a line below and let us know what you think of the ability to customize your own journaling blocks with this new product line.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with you here today and look forward to hearing what all of you think of this exciting *yet to be released* product! And don’t forget, even if you don’t win, this stamp set, along with all of its complimentary accessories, will be available on our website beginning September 15.
Nichole
P.S. It’s Friday! It’s free! It’s a font! Click here to get your font for Free Font Friday!
Weekly Warmup: CHA Wrap-Up Week
08/10/2009 at 11:52 am | Posted in weekly warm up | 127 CommentsTags: American Crafts, CHA, CK, Craft and Hobby Association, Creating Keepsakes, Hambly Screen Prints, Megan Hoeppner, Pink Paislee, Sassafras, Scrapbooking, Tattered Angels, weekly warm up
Hello there, blog buddies! Do you know what today is? Today kicks off a full week of doing the CHA-CHA, right here on this blog. Okay, so that’s not entirely accurate; dancing shoes are not a prerequisite. Instead, we’re celebrating the latest Craft & Hobby Association Show (CHA) that recently wrapped up in Orlando with a week of CHA-themed posts.
Here’s some of what you’ll find this week:
VIDEOS
Back by popular demand, I’ll be sharing some video I took on the CHA show floor. (Okay, so nobody really demanded that these amateur films make another appearance after the last round, but I like to pretend they’re that good.) Some of the flicks you’ll find are:
- Our CHA Cute Booth Tour
- Product Demos
- Meet a the CK Contributors
- Trend Talk with Sassy Lori Fairbanks and Yours Truly
- And more!
PROJECTS
A look at amazing CHA projects that made their debut at this show. We’ll show you everything from the classy and elegant, like this sample from Tattered Angels…
And the fun and cute, like this project from Hambly Screen Prints…
To projects beyond the page, like these adorable Christmas jars by Pink Paislee.
PRODUCTS
CHA is about new products, and we’ve got a look at some of the latest and greatest to make their debut. Check out the new Monstrosity line from Sassafras. Who knew scary monsters could be so cute?
![CHA-Sassafras_-_Monstrosity[1]](https://creatingkeepsakes.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/cha-sassafras_-_monstrosity1.jpg?w=550 "CHA-Sassafras_-_Monstrosity[1]")
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
No, this popular boy band wasn’t in attendance—I guess they’re leaving the CHA celebrity appearances up to Paris. But, I do have the low-down on the newest companies to rock the scrap scene, and you won’t have to put up with the paparazzi mob to take an up-close look. Bonus!
FRIENDS
Besides projects and products, CHA is about connecting with industry friends.
Here’s cute CK Dream Team Member, Kelly Purkey, visiting the Die Cuts With a View photo booth. Yes, they had a photo booth. Isn’t that fun?
And here I am with my new BFF (yes, my love is easily purchased), Grant Madsen of American Crafts. He had a Red Bull on reserve just for me. What a pal!
GIVEAWAYS
A post-CHA wrap-up wouldn’t be complete without giveaways. You can bet we’ll have some awesome new products to send out this week. Make sure you visit and enter to win.
Are you excited? I know I am. I can’t wait to be your blog host, strap on my dancing shoes and share CHA-CHA goodness with you this week. To get things started, I want to know what you look forward to seeing the most. Is there a particular thing about CHA that intrigues you more than anything else? If so, leave me a comment here. Yes, we will pull a comment at random to win a CHA prize pack. Winner will be announced next week.
Cheers!
Megan Hoeppner, Creative Editor
Special Guest Blogger: Kelly Purkey
05/15/2009 at 1:42 pm | Posted in guest blogger | 5 CommentsTags: American Crafts, CK, CK Dream Team, Cosmo Cricket, Creating Keepsakes, guest blogger, heat embossing, Kelly Purkey, Ranger
Hello! I’m Kelly Purkey, a member of CK’s 2008 & 2009 Dream Team. I was thrilled to be asked to be the guest blogger here this week. I wanted to share one of my favorite techniques with you today—heat embossing with an embossing pen. I love embossing since it was one of the first techniques I learned when I started scrapbooking and card making. Using a pen with clear powder is a great way to add some gloss and shine your scrapbook pages.
For this layout I used a Ranger embossing pen and clear embossing powder from American Crafts. I used it combined with my new favorite Cosmo Cricket patterned paper.
1.) Pull out your embossing pen and color over elements of the pattern paper you want to make shiny. Pour embossing powder over top and shake excess off of the paper.
2.) Heat with an embossing gun. The clear powder will melt onto the paper and make the part that you covered look wet.
3.) Add fun details with embossing powder to spice up pre-made embellishments. I took the little birdie and added some polka dots with my pen, then covered those with powder and heated them up. So easy to create your own touches!
Supplies: Cardstock: (American Crafts); patterned papers (Cosmo Cricket); letter stickers (American Crafts – chipboard, Close to My Heart); chipboard (Cosmo Cricket); punches (Fiskars); adhesive (Fiskars)
I hope you’ll give heat embossing with a pen a try. I think you’ll be really pleased with the pretty results! It’s a great way to make products really shine.
Have fun!
Kelly
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