Cheap Scrapbooking Supplies from the Kitchen 1

Awhile back I wrote a two part article on finding cheap scrapbooking supplies in the bathroom. I got a lot of mail from that article from scrapbookers who thought it was cool to find things like that in the bathroom. I promise to add to my findings, as they came along so here is a new location in your home to find cheap scrapbooking supplies – the kitchen. Bread Tab Ties – These little tabs are awesome for embellishing your pages. You can paint them, ink them, distress them, emboss them, stamp on them, alter them with patterned paper and … Continue reading

3D Pictures

One thing I’ve learned with collage and altered books is that drawings don’t have to be flat. Even kids who are a little bored with regular coloring and painting will get interested in three dimensional pictures. There are so many things you use. Think about buttons, ribbon scraps, leftover caps from bottles, Popsicle sticks, different nuts, peanut shells, raisins, cheerios, dried beans, fruit loops, sticks from the yard, pine straw, and dried pasta of all different shapes – elbows, wheels, shells. Buttons can be eyes, pasta swirls can be hair, and pine straw can be fur or hair. Sticks can … Continue reading

Cloth Paper Scissors – Magazine Review

Cloth Paper Scissors is a unique and creative magazine that makes me drool. Published six times a year by Interweave Press, it is a magazine devoted to collage, mixed media, and artistic discovery. The magazine covers many types of fiber arts and collage including altered books, art dolls, visual art journal, rubber stamping, and assemblage. The featured crafts are truly works of art. Even though are beyond anything I am doing, I still learn a great deal from this publication. They cover a lot of basic techniques like glazing, how to sew on paper, and how to use rubber stamps … Continue reading

Designing With Stamps On Your Scrapbook Layouts

Have you ever found that you don’t have the right embellishment for a page, or perhaps your background isn’t to your liking? Maybe you have an idea in your head, but you cannot seem to find what you are looking for at the stores or online. Or maybe you just want to be really creative and make your own designs. Well, you can. Using rubber stamps is certainly not a new trend. In fact, stamping has been around just as long as scrapbooking, but many think they aren’t creative or talented enough to try it. I promise that with some … Continue reading

How To Get Faux Burnt Edging For Your Scrapbook Layouts and Embellishments

Learning new techniques is one of my favorite things to do. When that new technique is something that is as versatile as creating a burnt edge look, I go a bit crazy. I have used the technique on dozens of layouts lately. I’d like to show you how to create your own faux burnt edge look. To get started you will need the piece that you plan to add the burnt edge to. I used a tag in my example, but you could use a mat or a other type of embellishment. The look will even work on photographs. You … Continue reading

How To Create Your Own Metal Tags (2)

We have been learning how to create your own coordinating metal rimmed tags to use on your layouts. At this point in the previous steps, you should have at least one empty tag and your supplies gathered together to create your new tag. Step #4 – Creating The New Look – As you removed the original paper that was inserted in the metal tag, you probably noticed that it was originally slipped in between the rims of the metal tag. This is not important anymore. At this time, you are going to adhere the paper or other item you are … Continue reading

How To Create Your Own Metal Tags (1)

Most scrapbookers are looking for elements or embellishments that coordinate with their layouts. Either the paper that is used or the embellishment is the same color, or theme. Finding metal tags that coordinate with different layouts is difficult. Not all paper manufacturers or companies make metal tags that coordinate with their different scrapbooking lines. So it is up to us to figure out how to customize these fun embellishments to work with our own scrapbook layouts. It is not a very difficult process, but it does take some time and effort to accomplish. Step #1 – Select Your Tags – … Continue reading

Vintage Pop-Up Cards – Taylor Hagerty

I love vintage greeting cards. For some reason I think they are particularly charming for the Valentine’s season. Vintage Pop-Up Cards: Making Your Own Timeless Treasures by Taylor Hagerty gives color reproducible patterns and instructions for making your own vintage looking cards. The book begins with an interesting history of pop-up cards. I had never considered how origami influenced pop-up books and greeting cards. Movable picture books have been around since 1860. In Vintage Pop-Up Cards, full patterns and instructions are provided for twenty-four Victorian looking cards. The images copy nicely. Instructions for reproducing the images, aging your paper, cutting … Continue reading

Scrapbooking Week in Review for January 14-20, 2008

With all of the cold weather that is hitting all over the US, hopefully you are able to get some scrapbooking done. Basically its a great time to stay inside, keep warm and work on getting caught up. Here’s what has been happening in the scrapbooking blog this week. File Formats For Digital Scrapbooking Layouts (2) We have been discussing file formats for digital scrapbooking layouts and here are a few more to understand and become familiar with. .TIFF or .TIF A .TIF file is a non-lossy file format for saving graphic files. File Formats For Digital Scrapbooking Layouts (1) … Continue reading

Finding Items to Alter With Your Scrapbooking Supplies

The best part of altered art is that it is an unending creative outlet. Altering something just means changing it from its original state or purpose. This makes unlimited possibilities with what you decide to alter. In my frugal living lifestyle, I am always reusing items for new purposes. But now the same can be said for my scrapbooking. Recently I altered an AOL CD cover and turned it into a case to hold a mini-scrapbook I created of my five children. However, the possibilities for what it could hold are simply endless. The scrapbooking industry is on top of … Continue reading