Thanksgiving Card

Monthly Monday Challenge #1 Here

November, with so much gratitude in the air, is a great time to catch up on all those thank you's you owe to the people who have lent a hand throughout the year. I created this warm and cozy thank you card with the lovely Autumn Melody stack from DCWV, one of the big sponsors for ScrapbookUSA Expo. If you've ever been to the Expo before, you know their booth is the one to hit early -- they have crazy deals on all their great paper and a ton of cute home decor.

I used a stamp set from Close to My Heart for the sentiment, embossing the leaves in gold.

Placemat Book Cover

Monthly Monday Challenge #1 Go Here

 

Hello my wonderfully fabulous friends!

When I was in high school, we were required to have covers on all of our text books to help protect them.  Back then, the store bought fabric covers were fairly new, and not too popular. Instead, we made them out of paper grocery bags. I loved this!!! Not only was it simple and free, I could doodle on it all I wanted during class when I got bored. =)

Fast forward to today.... I got a great deal on composition notebooks back when school sales were starting.  I love them!  However, the covers leaves something to be desired...

 

DCWV to the rescue!!! They have these great Paper Placemat stacks that are 12 x 18 in.   They are the PERFECT size for making adorable custom notebook covers!

The one I used for the main cover was plain dark brown in the center, but I really liked the border... I decided it needed a little something more... So, I cut out the center medallion of another placemat and glued it on... I added some color and shimmer by using Creative Inspirations paint.  I then accented the center with a epoxy sticker from DCWV's "Autumn Melody" embellishment flip pack.  The very edges of the medallion aren't glued on well... as the note book gets used, they will tatter... I love that! It shows how well loved it is. =)

 

 

I could have gone fancier with my decorations, but I wanted to keep it fairly smooth so I can write on the backs of the pages without any bumps. 

 

 

A little crinkle ribbon allows me to tie it shut to keep all my thoughts safe inside. 

 

Enjoy!

~Kassi

 

Supplies Used:

Paper: DCWV "Autumn Inspirations Paper Placemats"

Creative Inspirations Paint: Rose Quartz

Other: DCWV "Autumn Melody" Embellishment flip pack, crinkle ribbon, composition notebook



Paper Pinecone Tutorial

Monthly Monday Challenge #1 Here

Hey there loyal readers!  It's Andrea here with a technique to make paper pine cones using a 3D flower die.  How did this all come about?  I went on a walk yesterday afternoon, saw a cute little pine cone in my path and started thinking about how I could make a dimensional pine cone out of paper to adorn either Fall or Christmas gifts.  I know of at least one very cool die out there that already makes 3D pine cones (thank you, Tim Holtz!), but I didn't have one.  What I did have was a 3D flower die from Sizzix.  So here's how I turned a 3D flower into the pine cone you see on this embellished tin:

Start by cutting out two identical 3D flower spirals from the die of your choice (Sizzix, Lifestyle Crafts, Cricut and Spellbinders all have these spiral-flower designs).

I used DCWV paper because it's sturdy and both sides are colored so you don't have to worry about a back and front.  Next, roll the flowers into their 3D shape, starting from the outside in.  Remember my earlier tip about using a quilling tool to do this!  It makes life so much easier!

You now have two spiral flowers rolled.  You are going to stick these together to form your pine cone.

Because you're going to stick one flower into the other, cut out the center of one of the flowers so that you'll have room to insert the other flower into it.  The one that you cut will form the top of your pine cone.

Use hot glue or the adhesive of your choice to glue the two flowers together.

Once they're glued together, use needle-nose pliers to pull and elongate the bottom flower into a more narrow pine cone shape. 

Wah-la!  The last thing I did was to rub black ink across the pine cone (especially the edges) to give it a little more distinction and to blot out the white core of the paper.

So there you have it!  An adorable pine cone just ready and waiting to be put on the perfect gift!  For my little tin, I used paper from My Mind's Eye as the background and used fabric, tulle and lace to add accents at the top of the pine cone.  I used alphabet stamps for the sentiment.

The great thing about pine cones is their versatility.  You could add glitter to make it more festive or "frost" the edges with white for a winter look. 

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check out my my blog for more holiday fun this season!

Monthly Monday Challenge #1

Hello and good morning...

I am soooo excited to share that we are going to start something called the Monday Monthly Challenge here at the Scrapbook USA Expo blog... Each month,you will be given a challenge, whether a themed challenge, a sketch, color challenge, anything can happen here, and you will have the whole month to play along with, and be eligible to win a wonderful prize. You will have till the end of the month, at midnight MST to upload your project, page, card, etc to the challenge post and be entered to go into the drawing for a prize.

Let's get started for this months challenge, since it's the month of giving thanks, you challenge for November it so create something regarding the word THANKFUL... You can create a layout, a card, an altered project, or even a mini album, it's up to you.

For my example, I created a page with the title being Thankful for my Family.. now lately, family photos, that we are all in, are pretty hard to come by, so the best one I have is us at Halloween....

I used the DCWV Autumn Melody Cardstock mat stack and embellishments.
I used the metallic paper and used an embossed border punch to really make it stand out on the page.

So what are you thankful for??? What kind of project will you come up with.

So:
Create a NEWLY created layout, card,  or project with the theme of THANKFUL for this challenge. (no previously made projects or enteries will be accepted)
If you have a blog ADD your project to this blog post using the link below, NO LATER than November 30th, midnight MST. If you do not have a blog please e-mail a photo of your project to info@scrapbookusaexpo.com and we will add your project here.

A random winner will receive a prize from the entries for this contest. This month our prize will be a card kit giveaway sponsored by Basic Grey!! Product will include their brand new Aspen Frost, Kissing Booth and Little Black Dress!!!!

We hope that you will play along!!!! We can't wait to see it!!!!!

Blog Hop Winner

Thanks SO much to everyone who participated in our very FIRST Blog Hop! I hoped you enjoyed visiting our Design Team's blogs as much as I did!

CONGRATULATIONS to Carla from Utah!! Thanks for participating in our blog hop Carla! You are the winner of 2 stacks from DCWV! Please e-mail me your address and I will get those stacks right out (info@scrapbookusaexpo.com).




DCWV has some DARLING Holiday stacks this year!! I have just started playing with them and I love each of them! Whether you want something thick for crafting or a lighter weight printed paper there is something for everyone!

Watch this youtube video and see all of them!

Give Thanks Holiday Layout

If you are here for the Scrapbook USA Expo Blog Hop, Welcome!! Scroll down to Monday's post and join the Hop!

Ah, Thanksgiving!  I love this time of year -- all the warmth and love and gratitude we share with each other so freely.

I'm thankful today that I get to share a pretty layout as well as some more exciting news! I'm Tomi Ann and  I've been asked to join the Design Team for the ScrapbookUSA Expo.  Twice a year for the last 6 years, my crafty friends and I have gotten together at the ScrapbookUSA Expo for a day of awesome scrapbooking deals, silly games and prizes, and lots and lots of scrapbooking. I love it!  There are such good deals to be had that I end up getting nearly all my supplies during that twice a year spree.  So I was delighted when I was chosen for their first-ever design team.

For my first project, I got to play with the gorgeous Autumn Melody stack from DCWV.  I love these coordinating stacks -- they make it so easy to put together beautiful projects.  For this layout I cut a lot of hexagons from 8 different patterned papers, then used the coordinating cardstock matstack to create some photo mats.  The "Give Thanks" label is a cut out from the same stack.  I added a few buttons and some stamped leaves (using a Close to My Heart stamp), and finished off the layout with some ribbon and orange chipboard numbers from October Afternoon.  I can't wait to take some great pictures this Thanksgiving to fill up this layout!

Picture That Sound And MME Memory Box Gift

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Hello!  Andrea here with a great gift idea as the holidays approach.  I wanted to create something handmade that was pretty to look at, but also had the POW of emotional impact.  The result?  This memory box!

So what's the theory of a "memory box" and how did I create it?  I wanted to make something for my mom, who has filled my life with gifts from her talented sewing hands.  She made me beautiful clothes while I was growing up, she sewed a quilt for me when I got married, and she kept my dolls stylin' when I was a kid by surprising me with new outfits for them.  She is so talented in any sort of handwork and I wanted to honor her for that.  So I put together some notions and fabric to fill the inside of the box:

On these items, I wrote some of my favorite sewing-related memories of her (stamped onto the cloth that unrolls from the spools, written on the back of the button packages, etc.).

Next, I included this nifty recordable card from  Picture that Sound (Special web code at the bottom of the post).  It's a company that makes cards which you can embellish and record a message onto.  You get 20 seconds of recording time to leave just the right sentiment for your loved one.

The card started out like this:

(Front and back views-- you can decorate either side)

And I made it into this.  My mom will just push the "play" button on the back to hear my message.

Adding a personalized message instantly makes any gift more memorable!  So with the notes written to my mom on the sewing notions and a card with a recorded message, I'm hoping she'll see just how much I love and cherish the beautiful things she's made me over the years.

For this project, I used paper, stickers and embellishments from "The Sweetest Thing" collection from My Mind's Eye.  Always LOVE pretty much anything that MME cranks out!  I also used stick pins from Maya Road and flowers from Prima, some of my other favorite brands.

So if you're struggling to know what to give someone this year, try a memory box filled with things they love, and reasons why you love them, too!  And keep checking my blog for other great holiday ideas!

Shop early!! Picture That Sound has their products Buy 1 Get 1 Free for a limited time! visit them at www.picturethatsound.com and use the code "EarlyBird" to save!