Guest Blogger: Dream Team Member Cindy Tobey
04/09/2010 at 5:00 am | Posted in fonts, guest blogger, How-Tos, product, technique | 16 CommentsTags: bird nest, Cindy Tobey, CK, Creating Keepsakes, Creating Keepsakes magazine, font, fonts, Free Font Friday, free fonts, guest blogger, How-Tos, Paper flower, product, spring, technique
Hello! It’s Cindy Tobey here, a member of the 2010 Creating Keepsakes Dream Team. Don’t you just love spring? I sure do! There are tiny buds forming and starting to bloom, bunnies are hopping from yard to yard, and my favorite, the chatter of birds outside. I’ve stopped by today to share a layout and spring themed accent that I hope you’ll enjoy!
Handmade paper flowers are all the rage right now, and I’ve used the same technique used to make spiral flowers to create a sweet little bird’s nest for my page below.
Climb by Cindy Tobey. Supplies: Patterned paper: American Crafts, Cosmo Cricket, Crate Paper, Hambly, Jenni Bowlin Studio, Jillibean Soup, and My Mind’s Eye; Stickers and paper border srtip: Doodlebug Design; Journal tag: Jillibean Soup; Ribbon: SEI; Felt: Prima; Leaves: Bazzill Basics Paper; Font: Century Gothic; Adhesive: Beacon and Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L; Other: pom poms.
Step 1: Cut a 4″ circle from patterned paper. With a pencil, sketch a spiral onto the back of the circle. Cut along the sketched line.
Step 2: Roll the paper to form a nest shape, securing with adhesive in just two or three spots as you go.
Step 3: Use liquid glue along the bottom edge of the spiral to secure it to the base. Note: The base is the center of the paper circle that you cut into a spiral.
Step 4: When the glue is dry, take the palm of your hand and push down on the nest gently, to slightly flatten it. Work the edges of the nest with your fingers to get the desired shape.
Step 5: Finally, glue pom poms into the bottom of nest.
Tip: Use whatever you have on hand for the bird eggs. Buttons or beads would work great too! You could even add dots with a marker to buttons or beads for speckled eggs!
I hope you’ve enjoyed learning this technique and will give it a try! Thanks for reading, and happy spring!
Cindy
P.S. Don’t forget to download today’s font as part of Free Font Friday! This weeks’ font is CK Weez. Download it today at Creating Keepsakes.
Special Guest Blogger: Jaime Echt for The Crafter’s Workshop
03/19/2010 at 12:03 am | Posted in guest blogger, How-Tos, product, technique | 108 CommentsTags: CK, Creating Keepsakes, Creating Keepsakes magazine, download, font, free font, Free Font Friday, gel pen, guest blogger, inkpad, Jaime Echt, pink, Scrapbook, scrapbook pages, Scrapbooking, stencil, technique, techniques, template, The Crafter's Workshop
Well, helloooooo! [Visualize a royal wave.] Jaime Echt here, Queen of The Crafter’s Workshop. What a treat it is to be this week’s guest blogger.
I have some really fun projects to share, so let’s just dive right in. We’ve had a lot of snow in New York lately, so my Flurries template (TCW164) has been working double time. Now let me stop you right here and declare that I LOVE templates. No, not because my life revolves around designing the most fan-tabulous templates on earth, but I love them because I can create a piece of paper that has PINK snowflakes on it. Yes, pink! Come on, have you seen the playground lately? It’s a sea of pink! And yes, my little snow angel does indeed have a pink snowsuit (pink hat, pink scarf, and pink gloves), thank you very much. So yes, I do need pink snowflakes for my layout. And by golly, I’m gonna’ get them.
So here’s my “Frost Valley” layout. (Frost Valley, by the way, happens to be a very cool place to bring scouts, school kids, or even your family.)
Neat, huh? Are you ready for another one? The layout below uses my retro Sunburst template (TCW166), chalks, inks, pens, and my sewing machine! (And the remnants of my daughter’s hemmed pants.)
Once again I was faced with the desire to have my layout look exactly the way I wanted it to. And I’m a real stickler for color, so if the color is off, it makes me nuts! Thank goodness I have every gel pen, chalk, and inkpad known to humankind. Okay, not really, but I do love to use them on my layouts, like I did with the techniques that follow.
Here’s a close-up photo of my stitching. See? It’s not perfect.
And last, I journaled around the perimeter of the Sunburst design with a favorite gel pen, of course!
Comment to Win
Fun, right? So now I know you’re saying to yourself, “Self, wouldn’t it be nice if I had my own little Sunburst and Flurries template to play with?” Why yes, that would be lovely, wouldn’t it! So let’s do a little random giveaway to five lucky winners! Each winner will receive our 12×12 Sunburst (TCW166) and our 12×12 Flurries (TCW164). They’re two lovely templates to get us over the springtime piles of snow. To enter, just leave me a comment on this blog post by March 23, 2010. Easy Peasy.
Here’s hoping that the Template Fairy visits your home really soon. And brings you lots of lovely templates to play with!!
–Jaime Echt
P.S. Don’t forget to download a new font as part of Free Font Friday! This week, download the CK Magnificent font here!
Top ’O the Morning to Ye! And Happy St. Paddy’s Day!
03/17/2010 at 2:15 am | Posted in Holidays, Uncategorized | 267 CommentsTags: CK March/April 2010, Club CK, Creating Keepsakes, Creating Keepsakes blog, Creating Keepsakes magazine, font, giveaway, holiday, holiday layouts, holiday traditions, Holidays, Lara Penrod, luck, lucky, page title, Piradee Talvanna, quote of the day, quotes, recipe, scrapbook pages, St. Patrick's Day, Veer
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! As part of the holiday, enjoy some St. Paddy’s Day fun in many areas.
Fun Holiday Fact
Today’s Fun Irish Fact (courtesy of History.com): “Last year, close to one million people took part in Ireland s St. Patrick’s Festival in Dublin, a multi-day celebration featuring parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions, and fireworks.”
Fun Page Title You Can Download for Free
You can get your green on with this page title featured in the March/April issue of Creating Keepsakes.
Or download the P22 Kilkenny Swash font, which was used to make the title block above, from Veer for only $19.95.
Fun Scrapbook Page Topic
Even if green isn’t your thing, you can still celebrate the holiday. St. Patrick’s Day is associated with luck, so why not create a layout on why you feel lucky today. Maybe you feel lucky because you’ve learned a new skill, have a great education, have recently seen your life in a new light, or have great friends by your side. Whatever the reason, make a plan to capture those lucky feelings, just as Piradee Talvanna did with her “Thank You” layout.
“Thank You” by Piradee Talvanna, as seen in the March/April 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes, page 41
Fun Luck-Themed Quotes
Speaking of luck, check out Club CK‘s Quote of the Day blog this week for luck-themed quotes you can use on your layouts.
Fun Giveaway
Then try your luck with our great giveaway. Leave a comment on today’s blog post by March 21, 2010, for the chance to be one of five randomly selected lucky winners to receive all of this great St. Patrick’s Day product.
Fun Websites
If you’re in need of even more St. Patrick’s Day fun, check out this website to find a St. Patrick’s Day celebration in your hometown. And for a little Irish fun for the whole family, check out theholidayspot.com.
Fun Recipe
However you spend the day, don’t forget to eat your greens. Here’s a great recipe to get you started.
Corn Beef & Cabbage
1 small can corned beef 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 large head cabbage 1/8 tsp. pepper
2 Tbs. butter 1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 Tbs. flour 1/4 tsp. celery seeds
1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 1.5-quart casserole dish. Cut cabbage up coarsely, and cook in boiling, salted water until done. Drain. While cabbage is cooking, melt butter in saucepan over low heat, stir in flour until smooth, add milk gradually, and then cool, stirring constantly until sauce is smooth and has thickened. Stir in salt, pepper, and celery seeds. Mix cream sauce and cabbage together, and mix with corned beef. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake 30 minutes.
May your day be touched by a bit of Irish luck, brightened by a song in your heart, and warmed by the smiles of the people you love.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Lara Penrod, managing editor
Special Guest Blogger: Deena Wuest
03/12/2010 at 3:49 pm | Posted in guest blogger, technique | 9 CommentsTags: CK, Creating Keepsakes, Creating Keepsakes magazine, Deena Wuest, fabric, font, free downloads, Free Font Friday, mini albums, recycled, Scrapbook, Scrapbooking, technique, techniques
Hey CKers! Deena Wuest here. Just dropping by today to drop off a quick and fun project for you all.
We all look for ways to help the environment—recycling, taking shorter showers, switching to florescent lightbulbs, etc. And while these are all important steps, they don’t necessarily fall into the category of “fun.” Well, today we’re taking the three Rs (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) and applying them to our home turf. And guess what? They not only reside under “fun,” but they help the environment and keep *your* green in your wallet as well! It’s all about using what you have in fresh and creative ways.
Today, we’re looking at fabric. If you’re one of those multitalented gems who not only scrapbooks but can sew up a storm, then you’ll no doubt have lots of fabric remnants in your craft room. Take a look at them with a fresh set of eyes, and put them to work in your albums or craft projects! If you don’t have fabric scraps lying around, do what I did and ask your local home-design store for expired fabric swatch books. On the day I went, the store had more than my family could carry! And they were 100% free! So we not only rescued the books from the landfill but had a blast flipping through all the fabric and thinking of the fun projects hiding within them.
Swatches come in so many cool designs, and they are the perfect size to make handmade gift bags or treasure bags. For my first project, I created a simple, long, narrow bag to hold old love letters.
Supplies: Bags: Fabric from recycled swatch book; Tag and pink button: Pink Paislee; Metal-rim tag: Making Memories; Ribbon: C.M. Offray & Son; Other: Button.
To create this bag:
- Cut two pieces of fabric in equal sizes, and sandwich the right sides together.
- Press a fold of about 0.5″ to 1″ along the top of each fabric panel.
- Run a straight stitch along the sides and bottom.
- Turn the bag right side out.
- Hem the fold along the top of the bag, if desired.
- Embellish with buttons, ribbon, or other accessories.
I have to be honest here. I can’t sew to save my life. It’s true. But if I can manage to figure out a simple straight stitch, anyone can! Don’t have a sewing machine? These projects work great using fabric-adhesive tape or any stitch-less sewing products.
Here are a few more projects I created from old fabric swatches.
Supplies: Bag: Fabric from recycled swatch book; Cardstock: Katie Pertiet; Scallop: Anna Aspnes; Word art: Ali Edwards; Binding: Zutter Innovative Products.
This little bag was created from an eyelet fabric swatch. To keep the edge detail, simply press the fold to the outside instead of the inside, and then stitch up the sides. Super simple! This bag was created to hold a mini album I carry in my purse. Not only cute, it keeps my album from getting scratched.
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Supplies: Bags: Fabric from recycled swatch book; Paper and brushes: Mindy Terasawa; Font: Avenir.
We made these little bags and loaded them with favors and candy for my son’s birthday party. Photoshop + a fun robot kit = quick and easy bag toppers. Super simple, and the kids all had a fun keepsake from the party.
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Supplies: Denim fabric: Recycled swatch book; Die-cuts: Sizzix; Chipboard accents and ribbon: Little Yellow Bicycle; Font: Avenir.
And don’t limit these fun little fabric swatches to just bags! I ran denim swatches through my die-cutting machine to create this little fabric album. What was once going to be thrown away I now hold as a treasured keepsake. How cool is that!
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Try these other ideas too!
- Use a fabric swatch as photo mat on a layout.
- Create an interactive mini album from old denim pockets. Bind and fill each pocket with a journaling tag or a photo.
- Cut a large monogram from fabric for a unique accent on a layout.
- Create fabric flowers to use on a page.
- Run fabric through a die-cutting machine (or use good-old-fashioned scissors) to create fun fabric tags.
- Create a fabric scrapbook by covering chipboard or cardboard with fabric and stitching around the edges.
- Create a fabric pocket to hold memorabilia on a page.
- Some fabrics can even be run through your printer! Just use a temporary adhesive to adhere fabric to paper first so it won’t jam. (And check your printer capabilities first.) Lots of possibilities here. Print journaling, titles, and photos. Even entire layouts can be printed on fabric.
What other fun and creative ways do you have to use fabric scraps in your projects? I’d love to hear (and see) them! I don’t know about you, but this whole recycling thing just got a lot more fun! Happy Friday everyone!
—Deena Wuest
P.S. Don’t miss Free Font Friday! You can download CK Shadowed Block for free here. Check back next week for another new font.
Getting in the Irish Groove
03/05/2010 at 2:36 pm | Posted in General Inspiration, Holidays | 5 CommentsTags: ApplesLovesOranges, Brittany Beattie, CK, CK Pleasing, crafts, Creating Keepsakes, Creating Keepsakes magazine, Disney Family, download, Etsy, Family Fun, font, free font, Free Font Friday, Martha Stewart, Paper Crafts, projects, Scrapbooking, St. Patrick's Day
Rather than bringing in a special guest blogger this Friday, we thought we’d point you to some other great sites on the web that have some fantastic projects you can create for St. Patrick’s Day, which is fast approaching. Check out these projects below, and then head to the links for more details and how-to information.
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Shamrock Boutonnieres from Martha Stewart
Cut or punch shamrocks from green-patterned papers, and then tie them together for a shamrock bouquet or boutonniere like this one from Martha Stewart.
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Swizzle Sticks from Martha Stewart
Enjoy this idea, also from Martha Stewart, of using a heart stamp to create great swizzle sticks for a St. Patrick’s Day party.
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Leprechaun Catcher from Family Fun
If you have little ones at home, they’ll enjoy creating a Leprechaun Catcher like this one from Family Fun.
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Onesie from ApplesLovesOranges on Etsy
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Shamrock Pin from Disney Family
And although you may not have suckers in your scrapbooking stash, I couldn’t resist sharing this idea from Disney Family. It’s easy to turn three green suckers into a shamrock pin that’s good enough to eat.
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—Brittany Beattie, online senior editor
P.S. Don’t miss the Free Font Friday download this week: CK Pleasing.
October Issue Scavenger Hunt
09/22/2009 at 3:49 am | Posted in Scavenger Hunt | 95 CommentsTags: adhesives, adhesives week, Ali Edwards, best adhesives, Beth Opel, Creating Keepsakes, dingbat font, Elizabeth Kartchner, embellishment storage, fall, font, giveaway, Jackie Stringham, Lori Fairbanks, Megan Hoeppner, Mou Saha, October, organization scrapbooking, products, scrapbooking organization, sewing, stamping, trimmer
Hello, dear friends of CK!
Today officially marks the FIRST DAY of FALL . . . oh yeah. Football games, pumpkins, crisp mornings and nature’s colorful displays are just incredibly energizing, aren’t they?
Since we’re feeling kind of festive here in the CK offices, we’re going to share the giddiness by giving away THREE awesome packages of fall and October-themed goodies!
How to enter the giveaway? Simply grab a copy of our October 2009 issue and search for the answers to the ten questions below.
Leave your response as a blog comment. The winners will be chosen from all correct responses by random drawing on Friday, Sept. 25, and announced here on the blog on Monday, Sept. 28. Happy hunting!
1. When is Adhesives Week on the CK blog?
2. How many photos did Becky Higgins include on her “Our Fall” layout?
3. Where does Mou Saha store her most-used embellishments?
4. Who manufactures the amazing trimmer featured in Lori Fairbanks’ “Latest & Greatest” column?
5. Who is the author of the quote on Elizabeth Kartchner’s “Shine” layout?
6. What product does Megan Hoeppner recommend in “Tips & Tricks” for achieving more evenly stamped images?
7. What dingbat font did Jackie Stringham use to create unique embellishments for her “What a Kid” layout?
8. In what month do we suggest “freshly baked cookies” as one of the month’s “Can’t-Miss Photos to Take“?
9. Ali Edwards uses a sewing machine manufactured in what decade?
10. What do all the photos used in layouts in the “10 Shortcuts for Fast & Beautiful Pages” feature have in common?
Good luck, crafty ones. Now get to guessing!
Beth Opel
Online Senior Editor, Creating Keepsakes
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