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Maximize your stamps Day 3 Home decor projects

It´s time for some home decor inspiration all made with the digital version of the "Eat more cake" stamp set from Kellie stamps.

For my home, I like to add simple designs that I can make myself. And it doesn´t get any easier than with a digital stamp! For this poster I simply opened a WORD document on my computer and added the "it´s your day" stamp from the set to the document and centered it. For a little more interest I added a border around the actual image (also in WORD) before printing it. I printed on A4 paper, but I am going to also be printing this on a larger paper size later. Here I have just added some washi tape to attach the poster to my wall. Doesn´t it look fresh and fun?!

Here I have added the same poster into a simple easy frame and put it in two different places in my home just to show you how nice it looks in a frame too!

Kim made this lovely banner with the digital version of the stamp set. 

Besides using digital stamps as photo overlays or bases for journal/filler cards, there are bound-less ways to use these modern, amazing tools for memory keeping. I also created this 'Celebrate' banner. After downloading the whole word,  I split each letter into its own file so it would be easier to maneuver them in my online Cricut software. Enlarging each to about 6 inches tall, I electronically cut each letter in pink and also it's shadow in a darker shade to add depth. Attaching to a white square of cardstock, the short pentagons on bottom part of the flag in stripes and dot grid gold, add just the right amount of accent to this all purpose banner. From birthday parties to everyday instances we commemorate,  it's a welcome addition to our house party decorations!

I have one more quick and easy project to share. These cute flags are so cute to add to a bouquet of flowers as a hostess gift or to a houseplant too.

I just printed a few of the sentiments aligned to the left to have room to fold them in half. Then cut them in strips and cut the little banner edge, folded them in half and with double sided tape I attached them to a grill stick.

See? Quick and easy is my middle name! Well maybe not easy :)

 

What would you make?

Maximize your stamps Day 2: Birthdays

Welcome back! Today I am sharing a few ways you can use the stamp set Eat more cake from Kellie stamps to make cards, layouts and party decor for birthdays. Let´s go!

These first projects are made by myself. I´ve made a wrapping paper by using a WORD document, setting the paper to horizontal and then adding in the two digital stamps happy and birthday as you can see. For a little bit more interest I chose to make the middle row a bit bigger and use a bright pink. You can easily change the color of the stamps in a digital editing program such as Photoshop. I have used the free website picmonkey.com for that. 

I also used Picmonkey for the card shown here. I started out with a 4x6" canvas and added the stamps at the top there several times and changing the color/opacity level on a few to create the faded stamp effect. The cake stamp is an older one from Kellie stamps that is not longer available, but you could add any birthday related stamp or embellishment really. 

Here are two fun cards made by the owner her self, Kellie. Here is what she says:

Over the other weekend Diane was sharing her watercolour cards she'd made.  It got a lot of us inspired to start creating and so I grabbed out my forgotten watercolour paint set and tried a few things that weren't working. But then I remembered watching a youtube clip  from Amy Tan, here.  After that is all just came together and I love it. 

Tracey made this cool card! 

My intention was to make it look like a lightbox.  It took way longer than I thought (silhouette dramas) but I am really happy with how it turned out.  I have made the messages on acetate that can be removed to give it more of an authentic look.

Diane is the one who made all the fabulous brush script in this stamp set! 

I created this layout to celebrate my 35th birthday and there is no better way to make a layout special than with a WHOLE LOT of stamping in my favourite colour: rainbow! I threw some stitching in there as well and I have a very special layout for my special day!

My fellow swedish DT member Magdalena made this fun and different birthday layout.

My daughter turned seven in August so this stamp set for perfect to use for my traditional birthday interview project. I also wrote a bit about her day.

Cecily made two fun party pieces! 

To create these coordinating birthday pieces, simply grab some digital stamps and create your sentiment, then attach them to coordinating cardstock or card base and you're ready to roll. I chose the traditional 'Happy Birthday' but there are loads of things you could say!

Make sure the two words are fully attached to each other for easy trimming and then accentuate the black and white words with a pop of color–or confetti like I've done with this card!

 

Tara made this cute pocket page spread. 

I made my own journal cards using the Letterglow app, changing the colors for boys/girls. I am going to be doing an IG giveaway for a pdf of the journal cards.

 

Isn´t this just a fantastic use of just one stamp set?!

Ok, so we have birthdays down, tune in tomorrow to see some home decor projects!

Decorate the Holidays-Chanukah Edition

 

Hi, welcome back for day two of the Chanukah Edition of Decorate the Holidays. It's Aliza again, and I have another framed project to share today. This time, I was inspired by this old mirror frame that I had in my home. I played around with some paint and mists (not my forte) until I got the look I wanted. That basically means that anytime I added something besides white paint, I quickly decided it looked terrible and painted over it again. 

In each of the open spaces, I used a simple dreidel cut file and filled each cutout with some patterned paper.

I added a tiny bit of embellishment to create this:

Thanks again for stopping by, and Happy Holidays!

Decorate the Holidays- Chanukah Edition

Hi, everyone. It's Aliza here wishing a Happy Chanukah (or Hanukkah, or Hanuka) to all those who are celebrating this week! If you feel like the only kid in town without a Christmas tree, just think about this. After next Monday, while much of the world will still be getting ready for the Holidays, you can sit back, relax, soak in the holiday spirit, without having to do anything. 

But this week, we celebrate.

And, to help us do so, I have a decor project to share. I used my Silhouette for this quick and easy project, but you can easily cut it by hand. This project was inspired by this cut file from the November Clique Kit.

One day I looked at this image and decided that I saw a Menorah in there. Or, at the very least, I thought I could easily make a Menorah out of this file. After some experimenting, I ended up using just a few pieces from the negative space in the image. I added just a few (well, 8) little bits of paper for the flames, and two pieces of washi tape, and voila!

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a good one!

Scrapbook. Use those washi tapes!

Hello! 

In April I packed up my entire house to move to a much smaller apartment. When I realized just how much scrapbooking supplies I was hoarding I downsized quite a bit, but as you might know there is always more! Mainly I downsized on all those supplies I had been holding on to forever, you know if I ever would have the perfect project for them. I had boxes and boxes in my garage that now has a great new home with several charity and second hand stores. It felt great to clean out!

Today I´d like to show you an easy way to use up those rolls of washi tape that I know most of us have all too many of. 

I started out selecting a few rolls in a color palette I liked and then started lining them up on my background paper. For this layout I went about 1/3 down the paper and used the fun washi colors as my upper background. 

Lucky me that the proom dresses had so many peach and pink colors this year! It was so much fun pairing products with the colors. 

I had so much fun that I did one more right away. Or actually I made two of these with the white/aqua/black washi tapes because I loved how they looked together! 

I often scare away from using patterned paper for my backgrounds because I am afraid the layout will look too busy. But I did like these. 

What I learned from having the washis being the background is that you might want to have double or atleast a little bit more of whatever you use to adhere your embellishments with. Atleast a few of my tapes had a more glossy surface that made the things I added on top of them fall of easily. I ended up using my regular double sided tape and two staples just to secure it a little. But don´t let that scare you!

I mentioned making two of those backgrounds above. My second one I used as my background for one of my Pocket Letters I send out. If you are new to Pocket Letters  you can read more if you click on that link, but here is what the lady behind it says:

I created Pocket Letters™ as a new way to send letters to your new or existing penpals. Basically, you fill all the pockets of a 9 Pocket Trading Card Protector and send the whole page to someone who wants to swap with you. This can be a one-time exchange or you can keep exchanging Pocket Letters indefinitely. You fill the pockets with anything you like (stickers, tea bags, a note, washi tape samples, pictures, etc.) A short note or letter is included and tucked into one of the pockets. Then the Pocket Letter is folded up and sent in a standard 10 size envelope. It's the perfect way to send and collect letters from other Pocket Letter Pals (ie people who are sending mail in this format) around the world and a convenient way to store them. They fit perfectly in a binder!

I have been sending these out for a few months and it is so much fun! You can see a few more of mine here! 

So there you have it; a fun way to use up your rolls of washi tape (you know, so you can buy new ones!).

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Lisa

 Ps. Here is one more layout I had previously made using washi tape as background!

Making + Keeping Resolutions ::Day 5::

It's our fifth and final day in our quest to create a successful start to keeping our resolutions. The last idea I had for keeping on top of my goals was to do a weekly check in. (Though I am keeping an open mind and allowing weekly to become monthly if becomes more guilt ridden than success celebrating.) I thought I might take a moment each Sunday night to evaluate the week past and set some specific goals for the week upcoming.

 

Having lived with myself for a very long time now, I have learned that pretty design yields increased participation. To that end, I decided to create a little scrapbook page for the weekly checkin. I think I will leave the color scheme for a month at a time and then change it up a bit with the seasons and the mood. But The basic design will stay, no matter.

In the top I can either add notes or photos documenting success. Something to help me know that I am moving forward. I also like to collect word art, so it might be a great place to store those, too. In tiny format. :)

 

With that I am going to declare myself prepared and ready for success. I have one specific goal, and one desired outcome. I have reminders around my house and my workstation. I have a portable means of keeping up with specific items and reminders. And I have a way to log my progress. With that, I am already feeling more organized. Better write that down on that pretty page up there...

 

All my best to you for success with your year's beginning!

 

Making + Keeping Resolutions ::Day 4::

Welcome back for day four! I was excited to read that you all love mini composition books as much as I do. I have already begun to make lists of things to do. I have about 600 of these lists around my house already, but it will be best to finally have them all in one spot. So much more effective. I think it will also help my morale to see check marks. Often once things get done, I toss that list and make a new one. Which has the unwitting effect of making me feel like I never get anywhere with my todo lists.

 

I also decided that I wanted to keep my eyes on the prize. And I love words. So why not marry the two notions and put together some visual loveliness?

As I went hunting for treats, I found this screensaver.

::source::

Tell me that isn't sooooo perfect for my needs. I work on two screens so if I'm not watching on hulu/netflix/att/or-anything-else-that-provides-movies-and-tv I can have it stare at me from my second monitor while I work. I love it!

The artist, Julie Song, also has en etsy shop, Julie Song Ink. I have the print in my cart and on my Valentine's list. I can't wait to have it in my home. (I think this one will be making an appearance in my girls' room, too!)

 

I made a little print for my nightstand.

I thought seeing this each morning would help me begin with purpose.

 

And then I made a little whimsical fun for the kitchen. A place that certainly needs a call to order.

 

So with my words of resolve here and there and everywhere, I am hoping to keep things moving toward successful completion. How about you? Have you any thoughts for visual placements for your OLW or your main goals for the year? Would love to hear!

Making + Keeping Resolutions ::Day 3::

Hello and sorry for the delay! Snow days means kids home which means life take a little detour around the todo list!

Yesterday we were chatting about making something portable that we can use to help keep up engaged and successful with our resolutions. I knew immediately that my best chance for success lay (lie?) in using a notebook I could keep with me.

 

When it comes to portable notebooks, my hands down favorite are mini composition notebooks.

Reasons I love them.

1. They are cheap. Usually under a dollar.
2. Second, they fit in my purse (which is a tiny little thing. My phone once got lost in the bottom of a big purse for more than a week. Since then, it is little purses only!)
3. The pages are secure.
4. The covers are rigid so I can write in them easily.

 

I thought about breaking out my actual paper products to decorate the covers, but I didn't want embellishments that would get tattered or broken, so I opted for a digi cover. Plus a little washi tape to cover up the black tape spine.

Here are my two books.

I have them divided into section and made lists inside of things to get done. I am planning on having a weekly entry in the "Be Still" book to monitor thoughts and ways that I feel still. At the back of the Organize book I made a division for ideas to help me get organized. I'm not sure if I will use it, or if I will just create a pin board. I'm not so good at keeping to a schedule when I go to Pinterest. I'm like an ADHD Alice who slid down the rabbit hole. Not a very efficient use of my time or energies. But so fun. (I think Pinterest and Target are created by people who have tapped into my specific inabilities to resist. haha!)

I spend a lot of time in the car driving my kids to their activities. I believe that having my notebooks handy will help keep me on task. So excited.

Three things before I go.

First, in case you are a pen lover like me, I have found these pens from Jet Pens

to be my favorites for keeping in my purse. Not only are they are click pens (which keeps from losing the lids), but they also have the tiniest tips, terrific colors, and are perfectly sized for small purses. List making is always more fun with colored ink!

 

Second, I made a printable for you for the organized book. I used elements from a kit for the other, so I can't offer you that one, but I thought you might like a little book of organization as well.

As you can see, the colors are much more vibrant than my picture made them seem. Happy colors for a happy life. You can download it here.

 

Lastly, please let me know if have have finished any of the "assignments." I would love to see your projects!

Take care in this cold and I'll be back with more ideas for keeping your resolutions visible!

Using Punches to Stretch Your Scraps

 

Hi, Sue here today, with my favorite way to use up leftover patterned papers. I’m pulling out my punches! Metal dies or a die cutting machine would work just as well, but nothing beats the speed and convenience of a basic punch. Let’s start today's tour with organic shapes. These are the shapes you find in nature.

Stars are such a fun shape with a variety of meanings. I have star punches in several sizes, as you can see on this layout. The larger stars were perfect for creating a quilted effect using scraps of patterned paper.

 

Cloud punches are another favorite. I dug into my blue scraps to create this collage that takes up one-third of the page. It might be hard to see, but a few of the clouds are mounted with pop dots while others are outlined in black marker. The small red butterflies (another punch!) add a touch of contrast.

 

Ah, heart punches. Can you have too many of those? (the correct answer is "no") On this layout, the hearts are placed atop geometric shapes. Yay for circles and squares! Yes, more punches, and some of my most-used.

 

I have some basic square punches that I consider essential scrapping tools. How else could you take leftover patterned paper from a Christmas collection and make a page about petting a camel at the Fall Fiber Festival? Punches are a great way to disguise themed papers and stretch their versatility.

 

The triangle pattern in the top and bottom borders of this page are repeated in the middle of the layout. I used my square punch and cut the shape across diagonally. A little stitching adds texture to the contrasting colors. Shape, color and texture: what endless possibilities!

 

Do you have a collection of punches? Do you still use them or are they gathering dust while you reach for that fancy die-cutting machine? (I’m guilty of that) I challenge you (and me) to take the quick and easy way next time you want to stretch your patterned paper scraps!

 

There's Still Time...

...to make an holiday card!

Hi! It's Marnie and I hope to inspire you to consider making your own photo Christmas card. 

Why would you do that when there are so many lovely cards to choose from at the printers' sites you wonder? Seriously a great question, and one for which I have no answer, except to say that it seems too easy? or maybe because I have a fear of arriving at a party in the same outfit as someone else? (No, I don't sew my own clothes, instead I stay home. The same could be said of my Christmas card sending (see exhibit A). Perhaps that is my equivalent of staying home!!)

But really, I think I really just love the idea of having something sort of original and homemade. It's the scrapbooker in me.

 

So let's get started. First, pick your size. Costco is the best price in town, and theirs don't need extra postage, but are an unique size of 6 x 7.5 so don't be caught unawares. Many places have 5x5s, 5x7s, 6x4, and 6x8, though some sizes will require extra postage, so you may want to ask at the post office so you don't have to pay more than the 47 cents to send. It can add up for those of you with lots of fans!!

Next, decide how many photos you want to use. I love the big photo so everyone can what you really look like. (Or my kids, really, as the self timer didn't work out so well this year.) But sometimes a lot of photos can be fun, too. And if you have two sides, then you can do both!

Then, pick a color scheme and style. Here are a few I made this year.

You can tell from the last two that you can totally change the feeling of a card with different colors, and fonts.

 

This year, I am going with a two-sided card, a new offering from Costco. So excited! I used my favorite Bondoluo font and some woodgrain and polkadots! Perfect! Might I tell you how excited I am for rounded corners? Woohoo!

And for those of you paying remarkable attention, you will notice that this is not the card that I had put together for our Christmas cards this year. (See, again, exhibit A.) I did make that one for us to use, but then discovered the two sided rounded corners at Costco and well...

 

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind as you put your card together. First and foremost, the printers sometimes lose as much as 1/4 inch on each side. Be careful with the writing and important photo details. Next, most printers seem to print dark. Lift the curves or lighten the levels just before you send it. It will look wonky on your screen but be better when it prints. Lastly, don't oversharpen your photos. Even if they are printing on cardstock and you are worried that some detail will be lost. Better that than eery eyes.

 

I hope these inspire you to put something together! I took the leap this year as I realized that I love love love getting photocards, and so it seemed selfish to want them without being wiling to send them. :) Join me, won't you?