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Flair

Hello! Welcome to the final day in embellishment week. Today I'm going to share ideas for using one of the hottest embellishment in the scrapbooking industry right now...flair! 

Flair is fabulous on layouts, but it can be used for so much more. Let's take a look!

 

Flair on Layouts

Besides the obvious of using flair as a decorative element, why not use it for part of the title in your layout. That is exactly what I did on my layout for the January gallery. Take a look at your word flair and see if you can incorporate a piece into your next title.  

How about using word flair as journaling prompts. I had a full set of flair that I used on one layout to record my current thoughts and activities...all 8 of them on one page. I'm going to enjoy taking a look back at this some day to see how I answered all those prompts.

There are many arrow flair designs and they are fun and easy to use. Try using it to direct your eye to a title, a little detail, or a photo. This flair has the words "one little word" and an arrow which directs the eye to my title and my one little word for the year.

You can use flair for the centers of shapes, just like buttons and brads. Celeste used a piece of flair for the center of her snowflake in this layout.

Use them at the bottom of your photos along with a geometric border, like Celeste did here. I like how it anchors the photo and draws your eye across the page.

Flair on Cards

Flair is perfect for cards too. Create a coordinated set using flair. Here is one card of an entire set I made and posted last year. Did you miss it? Visit this post to see the entire collection of cards I made with flair.

 

Flair in Home Decor

I've used flair in my home decor to. It was the perfect finish touch to this piece of framed subway art that I created using my cutting machine.

 

Flair in Jewelry

Did you ever think to use flair in your jewelry? I have always wanted a charm bracelet with all my "one little words" so I decided to make my own and incorporated a few pieces of "one little word" flair in with the charms. Fun, right?!

 

Flair Giveaway

I hope this has given you some ideas for using flair. Would you like to win some flair? Yes! I thought so. The flair I used for all of my projects is from {a flair for buttons} etsy shop.The owner has generously donated three sets of flair from {a flair for buttons}. One lucky winner will receive the following sets:

My Life Words 2 flair set.

My Life Words 5 flair set.

Tell Your Story 3A flair set.

To be entered in the {a flair for buttons} giveaway leave a comment on this post letting us know your favorite way to document your memories. The comments will remain open until 10pm Eastern Standard Time tonight. One lucky number will be selected at random and posted tomorrow. Please remember it is your responsibility to check and see if you were the lucky number. The lucky number will have until midnight on Saturday to claim your prize by sending us an e-mail at writeclickscrapbook at gmail dot com.

I hope you have found some inspiration for using your embellishments this week. Remember to come back tomorrow to see if you are the giveaway lucky number and for our February gallery reveal.

Wood Veneer and Chipboard

Hello everyone! Thanks for coming back and joining me for another day in embellishment week. Today we are going to look at wood veneers, which are wildly popular right now, and the tried and true chipboard. Both come in many shapes and sizes and are a great addition to any layout.

 

Wood Veneer Ideas

The beauty of wood veneers is that they look great all on their own, without any altering. For this layout, I simply accented a couple tags with natural snowflake shapes and also tied twine around one by the title.

Do you see a couple other techniques we talked about earlier this week? Yes! The colored hanging tags accented with snowflakes and the fabric brad used for the center of the "o" in the title. All fun easy ways to add extra touches to your layouts and get all those cute embellishments on a layout to enjoy.

Many of the basic shapes that are available in wood veneers have open centers. Try using the open space to highlight something on your photo, journaling or other important detail on your layout. I used the heart to draw attention to the sun which makes the sky look like it is on fire. It was also the inspiration for the play on words I used in my title.

Wood veneers are easy to alter with spray mist. It is my go-to method for coloring them. For a more intense color, spray lightly, let dry and spray again a second time. On this layout, the brightly colored wood veneer stars frame the photos making them the focal point. The title is also made of wood veneer with a brad used as part of the punctuation!

I took full advantage of the open centers of all the circle wood veneers on this layout. One houses part of the title, one is home to my journaling and the other is backed with patterned paper that coordinates with my theme. A couple veneers were stitched down, which is functional and decorative too.

Finally, look for ways add similar shapes in different mediums for visual interest. Here I mixed stamped asterisk shapes with asterisk wood veneers. I like the way the two work together to lead you through the layout. 

 

Chipboard Ideas

Let's not forget our beloved chipboard. Some manufacturers offer chipboard in colors, patterns and designs that coordinate with their paper collections. Other manufacturers offer natural chipboard giving you the option to paint them, cover them with patterned paper or even leaving them natural.

On this layout, I created a scene with a tree chipboard. To dress it up I added small punched flowers accented with rhinestones, an owl perched on a branch with a kite tied off next to the owl. It's fun to alter the look of chipboard with paint too, like I did with the alphabet chipboard in the title.

With just a few simple touches you can really dress up chipboard that coordinates with a line. I used several pieces to create an entire scene that coordinates with the theme of my layout. I added a couple small details that make a big difference to dress them up. Take for instance the cute egg chipboard banner...the addition of the tied seam binding on the ends really sets it off. I also used a piece of chipboard as the background for the title and layered a small birdie chipboard on top. These simple little touches make all the difference.

Chipboard can be beautiful left natural too. On this last layout, I left the chipboard unaltered but adhered small pearls to create a choker necklace on the silhouette shape. It was just the right detail for my vintage layout.

Thank you for visiting today. I hope you are inspired to get out your stash of wood veneers and chipboard and add them to a page. I'll see you back here tomorrow for our final day of embellishment inspiration and a giveaway!

Tags and Die Cuts

Hello everyone! Welcome back to another day in my week long embellishment extravaganza. Today I want to share some ideas for using tags and die cuts. Armed wth some ideas and your layering skills you'll be a pro at using these verstile supplies on your layouts. 

Let's get started... 

 

Tag Ideas

Many scrapbook manufacturers offer cute tags that coordinate with their lines which make pulling a layout together really easy, but don't look past the manila tags in your office supply store, they can be easily customized for any layout.

On this layout, I applied tiny letter stickers to the bottom of each tag and then sprayed them with mist. Once they were dry, I removed the stickers and outlined each letter with a black pen to make it stand out. To complete the tags I added a photo and trim to each one. 

Office supply stores also carry a variety of small colored tags. They are a great size for applying a small sticker that coordinates with the theme of your layout. Try hanging them from a brad, using the included string, like I did here for a really fun effect.

Here I used small tags that were part of a paper collection to create a banner. It was easy to dress them up with buttons, twine and punched butterflys.

Use a large office tag as the base for a stitched title. This one was pre-made but you could customize a tag with any word. I like the "homemade" touch the stitching give to my layout.

Tags can also be functional. On this layout, I put my journaling on a tag, tied it off with some trim and tucked it behind my paper layers. You could also tuck a tag into those cute mini envelopes that are popular right now.

Die Cut Ideas

Die cuts are fabulous for adding layers, you can get just the right touch by tucking them behind photos or paper. Many of the scrapbooking manufacturers create die cut packs that coordinate with their collections or you can find a great selection from Etsy shops too.

I had some lefover calendar die cuts and decided to lay them out in a grid. Fo the missing months I put coordinating embellishments in place of the calendar. This was a great way to use up the leftovers and the calendar even inspired the title for my layout.

Speech bubble die cuts are hot right now. I like how Celeste layered a speech bubble and star die cut on one side of a photo and balanced it with small buttons on the other side. I really love how these elements frame the photo making it the focal point.
I had a large number of alphabet die cuts in the shape of a deck of cards and knew I would have these sitting around forever since there were so many of them. I decided to use them in a BIG way by making them the base of a mini album that I tucked into a recycled denim pocket on my layout. The little die cut cards each held a small photo with a caption. 

Go for a monochromatic look with white die cut border strips on white card stock. I cut the borders into varying lengths for visual interest and placed them on white cardstock above and below my photos. This created a beautiful frame that didn't compete with the photo or journaling.

This layout contains several die cuts from a collection pack. These western die cut pieces helped me carry the western theme throughout my layout. Try tucking die cut cards behind your photos in place of patterned paper like I did here. It is also a great way to layer up a banner, like the western themed ticket stub added to my banner.

Celeste, used several die cut pieces to create a grouping around her photo. The hexagons create the perfect backdrop for layering the Halloween themed die cut stickers.

I discovered I had a very large number of die cut flowers and cards in my stash. A mini album is the best way to use those beautiful products that you loved enough to purchase and do a little destashing. Not only did I place the die cut cards and flowers on the pages of my mini album, but I also added a hole to the center of the flowers and placed them on the binder clip holding the mini together between each page. This really gave a fun and playful feeling to the mini, which I really like.

Do you have some die cuts and tags in your stash just waiting to be re-discovered? I bet you do! Try to carve a little time out of your schedule this week day whip up a quick project or two with some forgotten supplies.

Buttons and Brads

I don't know what it is about January but I always have a desire to clean and purge items in my home. I enjoy purging my craft room and its purpose is two-fold; (1) it reacquaints me with things that I have forgotten I have but love (2) clears me of things I no longer find inspiring. With that in mind I thought it would be a good opportunity to share some ideas this week on using all those little treasures in your scrapbook space...embellishments!

Today we are going to look at ways to use buttons, brads and all those other small round doodads in your stash!

Let's get started! 

 

Ideas for Buttons

Buttons come in all sorts of colors, shapes, sizes, textures and are made in a variety of materials, like wood. I love them and use them often.

This first layout I used floral shaped button in my title as the dot on the letter "i". A simple but easy technique for using buttons in an interesting way.

I put my buttons to good use on this next layout. I used one as the center of my letter "o" which really dressed it up. I also used a couple buttons to finish the ends of my banner. For the perfect finishing touch, I threaded twine through the buttons holes and tied the twine into a bow.

I love how Celeste strung buttons on twine to make garland. I'm definitely going to try this technique.

On this layout I wanted to make a big impact with my buttons so I lined them all up in a row. If you have a large stash of buttons, this is a wonderful way to use them up. This would be great to try with shapes too, like hearts, stars, circles, etc.

Try filling a shape with buttons that are all the same color. On this layout I filled the sun with yellow buttons in varying sizes and one epoxy button. I like the texture and dimension that it adds to the layout.

Celeste used buttons mixed with circles in a variety of sizes to make a beautiful design that leads your eye from the photo down to the title and journaling.

I think we all agree that buttons are decorative, but they can be functional too. I adhered one to the front of a mini album and used it to wrap twine around for the closure. 

Ideas for Brads

Let's not forget about the ever versatile brad. They come in many colors, sizes, and patterns. They can even be covered in fabric.

Try using brads for the center of tiny flowers cut from patterned paper, like I did here.

Tip: I keep a pair of wire cutters at my craft table and cut the prongs off so I don't have to punch holes in my layout. I use glue dots to adhere the brads down on my layout.

Try opening the prongs of brads flat and adhering it to your layout with them showing, like I did in this layout. Doing this adds a lot of visual interest to the design. There isn't any need to punch a hole in your layout or cut prongs off with this method.

For the final layout I'm sharing today, I placed a fabric brad in the center of one of my letters. The fabric brads and smaller patterned brads are a great way to embellish a page. They add a variety of sizes, color/patterns and dimension.

I hope these ideas have you inspired and anxious to get your supplies out and get scrapbooking.

I'll see you back here tomorrow with some more ideas for other scrapbooking embellishments.

Sunday Photo + Words

 

 

In Review

Hard to believe, but it is the fourth Saturday already. Which means we get to look back at the month and all that we have seen. 

Erin began the month with an honest assessment of Project Life and some terrific suggestions for how to make our 2013 efforts more successful. Amy wrote our journaling column this month, listing three resolutions that she made to improve her journaling this year. (And if Amy needs to improve, the rest of use are in trouble!! heehee!)

Sarah's week kept us all in stitches and helped remind us to let our funny bones show in our albums. Lisa finished the week with her photography article, and several good ideas for improving our self portraits--hopefully inspiring us to get out from behind the lens to be in our own photos.

Next, Diane offered us ideas for getting the men in our lives into our photos and onto our photos. Diane also provided the sketch from our gallery this month, with Marnie adding in a color scheme and a trendalert.

Lastly, Valerie built upon Lisa's suggestions for taking more self portraits by inspiring us to create self-pages. (That's a good term, no? Self pages? I suppose it doesn't matter what we call them as long as we make them, right?)

 

Before the calender turns its page, let's look one more time back at our gallery. The sneaks for next month's gallery are on the Facebook page, which means we are close to a new theme! Speaking of Facebook, if you haven't added us as an interest, please remember to do so. Without it, you won't see all our lovely posts! As a reminder, click open the "like button" so that it opens the drop down menu. From there, you have to choose "add to interests list." If you haven't a particular interest group yet defined, you can do so now (we might suggest "awesome scrapbooking sites"). Remember, once you do this, our posts will show up on your wall. Otherwise, the powers that be at Facebook want us to pay for you to receive our content. And well, that's just silly now.

 

As we walk together through the gallery, let's look for successful and inspirational elements. Things we can use to help make our pages better.

Look how Francine combines a font oft used in sports for a layout filled with soft hues and flowery elements. The juxtaposition is fantastic!

The little elephant in Aliza's title is the perfect example of how her pages are layered with details that need to be discovered by looking at them again and again.

Celeste is the master of shading. No one would ever believe this layout was digital. Never.

Marnie's layout celebrates the happiness of the moment with color, and cheerful elements. All working together to tell the story.

Francine's layout talks about making making the most of the mundane moments, which is brought to life by her use of the bright yellow. Such a little thing to help tell her story so well.

Did you notice all the little bits tucked under the middle of Celeste's layout? Helping to tell the story of her needing notes? Again, using tiny elements to help tell the story.

The new small size of Lisa's layout is awesome! The grey is the perfect backdrop for the red of the flowers, too, helping them pop off the page.

How many of you took photos on 10.10.10 or 11.11.11 or 12.12.12? Let Katie's layout inspire you to get them scrapbooked! And perhaps string up a few sequins like she did. They are so pretty. Clever embellishment idea.

Jenny's layout is a splendid journaling example. Such a tremendous idea! Emily's has a similar theme, listing advice for a former self. Christa focused hers on her 18 year old self. All of them are equally amazing. These are the kind of layouts that you will treasure for years to come. 

Kathy's layout has such a fantastic pairing of stark black and vellum elements. Each makes the other stand out more.

Do you see the same date stamp on Deb's layout as Katie's? While you are looking, notice all the arrows. They are so subtle, yet so effective en masse.

Valerie's layout is so tender. Perhaps made all the moreso by her not having used a photo. It just goes to show that you really don't have to have a photo to create a heartfelt, meaningful layout.

Did you read that Jennie used a photo that sits on her dresser? What terrific inspiration for us to do the same.

All the little wooden elements on Amy's pages help provide a warm coziness to her otherwise bright layout. It brings in the perfect bit of homeyness, especially when paired with the little houses. (And did you see that cute little face on her baby? Mmm!)

The bits of cloud, sky, and butterflies are so perfect for Diane's photo. Have you ever had a photo that so helped to guide your layout??

Christine's layout is filled with loveliness. The airmail edge helps give it the feel of a letter. The backwards staple and the hand drawn arrows give it a personal sense. Which goes well with the personal journaling! Unified layouts have such peaceful balance.

Paula's layout has a funny funny story. If you haven't read it yet, go now. We'll wait... Sweet, no? Have you had something old pop into your head lately? Perhaps the next time you do, you can hurry and make a page like Paula did.

Erin's layout is a reminder to take a moment and write about motherhood. Or something else equally important to you right now. Written with real heartfelt journaling. The kind Amy would be proud of.

Speaking of Amy, her layout begins as a letter to her daughter, but really is a chance for her to express herself. A nice way to let your feelings show.

Kelly's layout is a simple acknowledgment of a lovely characteristic of her daughter. Sometimes pages really can just be so sweet and simple.

Marnie's layout uses a font that is reminiscent of a Sharpie. What a perfect thing for a note one leaves one's self. Sometimes there really is a perfect font for a layout.

Lisa repurposed some old jewelry for her flower embellishment. What a terrific way to maintain a budget and be good to Mother Earth!

Thank you to the collective for some wonderful inspiration this month! And thank you, dear readers, for your loyal visits!

Those Were the Days

Let's dust off that shoebox you have stored somewhere in your home that is full of old photos. Today I challenge you to take a walk down memory lane and scrapbook a photo or two from your childhood. I LOVE looking at photos from my childhood, and despite the color cast and poor image quality, they still deserve a spot in my scrapbooks. I often don't have the exact year or much of any journaling to go with the earliest ones, but look at that little girl! That's me! It's part of my story.

So I end the week with some inspiring layouts from the collective. Let's ooh and ahh over all these cute photos of our much younger selves. Thanks for spending the week with me!

Here's me on my first birthday. I love the all the white space and the simplicity of this layout. 

 

Nice saddle shoes! Maybe those will be the next big fashion trend? Another layout by me, Valerie.

 

Deb is such a pro at using numerous patterned papers on one page. 

 

And here's another Birthday celebration. Layout by Deb Duty.

 

Don't forget about Halloween! Isn't Katie the cutest as the Wonder Woman! Love how she did the title on this layout.

 

Less is more on this layout by Kelly Jeppson about how her mom used to make most of her clothes.

 

Christine shares a memorable story about fourth grade. Don't let not having a photo stop you from telling a story.

 

A great multiple photo layout by Jennifer.

 

Don't forget about those sometimes awkward teenage years. Love how Diane worked the strips of paper.

 

This evolution of Diane's hairstyles layout is so inspiring! I wonder if I could find enough photos to try this concept?

Advice for Layouts About Your Childhood

• Don't get hung up on the details. Don't stress if you don't know how old you are or the location of the photo. Don't let anything stop you from scrapping those photos.
• Don't get hung up on picture quality. You can always try scanning the photo and making adjustments with your photo editing software.
• Do try an evolution/comparison type layout like Diane's Mane Event layout above.
• Do try telling a memorable moment without any photos.
• Do have fun creating layouts with your old photos!

Proud Moments

 There are little moments every day when I am proud of my son and make a mental note to document it in some way or just celebrate with a high five. Our own accomplishments might not be worthy of the Nobel Prize, but they are deserving enough to be scrapbooked. When's the last time you gave yourself a pat on the back for a job well done? Yep, my challenge to you today is to document one of your own proud moments. It could be a recent moment, or a non-recent moment.

Here's mine:

 

Lisa shares a simple accomplishment—how she succesfully folded a paper crane. Origami is so much fun. This is totally off topic, but sometimes it is a lot of fun to fold origami and use it as an embellishment on your page.

 

We've got a few runners here in the collective. Erin writes about how she never thought she'd be a runner. I love the clean lines on this—and look at all that journaling. Way to go Erin!

 

And Christine ran a marathon. A whole marathon. Twenty-six point two miles. Oh my, that is a lot of running. Isn't it amazing what our bodies can do!?

A Few More Journaling Prompts for Today

• Scrap a proud moment you remember from high school.
• Scrap a proud moment you remember from college.
• Scrap a proud moment you remember as a friend, sister, daughter, or wife.
• Scrap a proud moment in parenting.

Digging Deeper

I've been taking it easy on you, but now it's time to explore ways to dig deeper on those layouts about us. I challenge you to really try and stretch yourself with your journaling. It's so easy to write a sentence and call it good. I know because I do it all. the. time. But it's something I'm trying to get better at, especially when the topic calls for it. When digging deeper, also think about how your color palette may affect and enhance the mood of your page. 

Today I have a series of journaling prompts and layout ideas to hopefully get those journaling juices flowing. 

1. What's going on in your life right now, this very moment?

Take a minute to jot down what's going on in your life right now. When you think you're done journaling, push yourself to write a little more. You might be surprised with you have in front of you...in a good way.

Here's my version of "Right Now..."

 

2. Finish this phrase: "I am..."

Jennie describes herself with some basic adjectives.

 

3. Discuss a character trait that makes you who you are.

Christa shares about being optimistic. I love that great smile and girly, sophisticated color palette.

 

4. What are some things life has taught you?

Diane shares her "two cents" in this gorgeous layout.

 

5. Room for Improvement

In what area of your life can you improve on something? Lisa shares a layout about how she used to say she had low self-confidence, but then realized she really didn't

 

6. Talk about the tough stuff

Life isn't always unicorns and rainbows, so your scrapbooking does not have to be either. Celebrate some of life's struggles or maybe even some silly little wrinkles like Christine.

A Few More Prompts

• What do you like best about yourself?
• What matters most?
• What makes you sad?
• What's your 5-year plan? or your 10-year plan?
• What are you thankful for?
• Write a letter to your younger self.

 

Playing Favorites

Favorites! We all have them: favorite activities, favorite foods, favorite music, favorite books, favorite movies, favorite places, favorite people—the list is nearly never-ending. Favorites are totally painless and so easy to scrap. They are even easy to sing about. Cue music..... Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Brown paper packages tied up with strings. These are a few of my favorite things.

(You can thank me later if you find yourself randomly singing that song from The Sound of Music later today.) And without further adieu, here's some inspiration from the collective for scrapping your favorites:

Make A List

I challenge you to sit down right now, get a piece of paper and a pen, and write down five to ten of your very favorite things. Take a cute self portrait and make a fun layout. I did just that exact thing yesterday. Here's my result:

And one from Diane

Another from Jennie. I love all the little bits and pieces on this one.

I'm always impressed and inspired by Jennifer's talent in fitting so many photos on a page.

One Favorite Per Page

Lisa shares a favorite place.

And Amy has one too.
 

Celeste shares her love for coffee.

Jennifer made a layout about her favorite television show.

And Christine shares a favorite activity.

 

I realized today, in challenging all you lovely blog readers to scrap more of yourself, that you're going get to know the collective over here a lot better this week.