Technique Tuesday {05.24.11}

The gift of MEMORIES is one of the greatest gifts we can give to the ones we love. While scrapbooking an entire album for someone may not always be possible, we can share our beautiful memories through an altered wooden canvas!

In the store, we offer Kaiser Beyond The Page: Wooden Canvases in the following sizes: 4x4, 6x6, 8x8 and 12x12.

Using basic scrapbooking supplies, you can create a beautiful art that anyone would treasure for years to come!
To create an altered wooden canvas, you simply build a scrapbook page straight onto the wood. I begin by adhering my background page onto my wooden canvas using a foam brush and ModPodge.

Simply apply a smooth, semi-thick coat of ModPodge, lay down your background paper and smooth out all the wrinkles. Be especially careful to make sure the edges are glued down. Don't worry if your paper is too big for your board- once dry completely, simply take a sander like the Tim Holtz Sanding Grip and sand any overlapping paper off of the wood.

Now the fun begins! Get creative and build your page! Add paper and photos and embellishments to get your desired look! Once your page is complete, it's a good idea to seal you creation using a thin coat of ModPodge or even a spray sealer so that everything is secured well and will last forever.

Here are some of the wooden canvases that I have made and given to special people in my life:

These canvas projects are so much fun to create! I hope this inspires you to try out altering wooden canvases for yourself! It's easy as pie and tons of fun!

This week, take advantage of 20% off all wooden canvases in the store!

Let's Talk COLOR & PATTERNS!!

What I love most about Spring and Summer are the bright fun colors and patterns that you see everywhere! As scrappers, we can find inspiration to use colors and patterns in all sorts of places! From fashion magazines to home decor, everywhere you look right now people are mixing bold colors and patterns to create eye-popping results! We can do the same thing with our pages! Who says everything has to match perfectly? Who says you can't mix zebra print with polka-dots? There are no rules in this craft, it's all about having fun and being creative as you preserve your family's memories!

Take a look at these bedding designs from Pottery Barn:

I love how they mixed random colors and patterns to create a fun and whimsical look!
In the first one, they used bright colored flowers, but then added the black and white polka-dot trim to anchor the design, but yet also give a fun "pop" against the crazy colors!
In the second set, I love how every color and pattern are totally random, but yet together create a cohesive look. From the florals, to stripes, to dots- it all works together!

Now let's look at some fashion inspiration! These photos are from Heart & Home right here in Buffalo!

In the first dress, not only are they mixing various patterns and neutral colors, but they added the fushia stripes which grab your attention and add fun flair!
In the adorable baby outfit, they took 2 patterns that most people would not think to mix together- floral & animal print, but as you can see, it totally works! It creates a fun, yet feminine touch that is full of "sass"!
I hope these photos have inspired you to take risks in your scrapping when it comes to color and patterns! Don't be afraid to mix and match and try something new!
In the store right now, we have the perfect line for you to practice with! Our Canvas Corp collection is amazing and FULL of fun colors and patterns! From zebra print to polka-dots to random words, these papers take "mix & match" to a whole new level!

Check out this cute page by Cheryl Lane:

Using the Canvas Corp Red & Kraft Zebra Print and "Live Laugh Love" papers, along with a bright floral print by Fancy Pants, she created a fun page full of bright colors and interesting patterns, but keeps the photo as the main focus.

Stop by the store this week and check out all of our new Canvas Corp papers!! And to top it off- they are 20% off this week!

Technique Tuesday {05.10.11}

For today's Technique Tuesday, I wanted to share with you a really fun product we carry in the store- BURLAP!

There are so many fun products that you can use on your scrapbook pages and products that you would not normally think to use and BURLAP is one of my favorites!

Burlap is a very versatile material. You can use it in strips across your page like this:

The page above is a "country" type page, so naturally, burlap works perfectly!
But don't think you have to be bound to only using burlap on rustic-type pages, it's also a beautiful addition to an elegant page:

I mixed elegant paper & embellishments with the burlap to give my page a "natural" look!
I added burlap behind my title:

I also added tiny squares of burlap behind circle butterfly stickers:

For my burlap flower, I simply cut the burlap into strips forming loops and "tails" and then placed my silk and crochet flower on top:
There are tons of fun ways that you can use burlap on your pages!
Cut it into circles of various sizes, stack and add a button in the middle to make a lollipop flower!
Cut small circles and use as flower centers!
Cut a 12x12 piece and use as the background on your page!
Burlap also makes great "sand" for Beach pages!
Get creative and see what ways you can come up with!
At Photolicious, we sell burlap in 18"x24" rolls:
They retail for $2.49, but this week they are on sale for only:

$1.99

So stop by this week a grab a roll and let the fun begin!!!

Technique Tuesday {05.03.11}

Today's Technique Tuesday is super cute and easy! Let's make

PLEATED ROSETTE FLOWERS!

Today's tutorial comes from April's Scrapbooks, Etc magazine:

(click on the instructions to view them larger)

Here is a page I made featuring my pleated rosettes:

Hope you've enjoyed today's tutorial!

Stop by the store this week and take advantage of our Technique Tuesday sale:
Bazzill Cardstock $.50 and Mini-Misters $1.50