Becky Fleck has posted her new August Page Maps - these are free to use (isn't she awesome!). Grab a sketch and some supplies, and create a page. Easy peasy! Here are a couple of examples from her site from the Imaginisce Design Team. I always love their papers!
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Scrapbooks Etc has some new 12x12 page sketches up. They are great for inspiration and to get ideas. Each one has the sketch and then a sample layout. Check them out, there is about 30 new ones.
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Difficulty rating: Intermediate
I like experimenting with craft foam since we have a ton of it in the kids' craft drawer. My daughter is really getting into journals, so I wanted to stock her up with a bunch to use during the summer with different themes. Combining the two, I came up with embossed foam journal covers!
1. Heat brown craft foam with heat tool on protected surface. Be sure to keep the heat gun constantly moving so you do not scorch the foam.
2. Very quickly place Woodgrain Texture Plate onto heated foam and press firmly and evenly. If you aren't happy with the embossing, simply heat the foam back up and it will flatten before trying again.
3. Trim embossed foam to size of design with trimmer and run ink along embossing if desired to make the design more defined.
3b. Repeat steps 1 and 2 onto purple foam using Filigree plate.
4. Cut out butterfly using Ultra ShapeXpress and Butterfly Shape Template. Tear or cut the rest of the way through foam.
5. Ink over butterfly's embossed designed with assorted metallic inks. Sew onto woodgrain cover with button and title.
6. Trim notebook paper and chipboard to size of cover.
7. Punch two holes into cover and mark position on inside pages and back cover to punch or drill.
8. Run rubber band though one hole on front around twig and feed back through other hole around twig for binding. Any usual binding can be used, but I just wanted to keep this journal nature inspired.
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What Can I do with My Photos? - Tips and Ideas to do something with your photos.
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Are you overwhelmed with the volume of digital images you have? Do you find it hard to manage or do anything with them? When was the last time you held a printed image of a photo you recently took, in your hands?
I am going to give you a SUPER BIG hint to deal with this problem. It seems so simple at first, but trust me on this, if you discipline yourself to do this from this day forward, you will have a lot less frustration and guilt surrounding your photos, and will even get to the point where you can enjoy your photos again.
If I can give you ONE hint, to help you, it would be to take a few moments after the event, and DELETE, yes, I said DELETE, some of the photos you took right in your camera. Now before you gasp in shock, read on.
In the film days, you would have taken 6-12 photos or maybe even a roll of 24 photos for something really special. Now with digital, we tend to take 100+ photos of an event. You end up with 3-10+ times the volume of photos that you used to have. This becomes overwhelming to organize, edit, share, or do anything with so if you are like most people, you do nothing.
Do yourself a favour, and go back after the event, and delete ones that aren't great - someone blinked, you cut someone's head off etc. Also delete ones that are super similar- keep the best 1 or 2 of the 10 similar ones you took. Do this right in your camera before you upload to your computer. (If you must upload them all, then make sure to take a few minutes and delete the not so great ones, or similar ones from your hard drive right away.)
Here is a good example of photos my husband or one of my daughters (not sure who) took while we were in Hawaii.
Now while these are cute photos just in the fact that they are of my daughter :), I don't need 5 of them. I wouldn't do a layout with all 5 of these photos, I might include one of them on a layout, or in a photo album about our trip to Hawaii. So, looking at them, I can delete the top left one right off the bat, as I can't see her face or what she is looking at. I can then delete the other top one, because she is making a funny face and the other ones are cuter of her. I can also delete the bottom right one as it is similar to the other two bottom ones, and her face is more in the shadows. So that leaves me with the bottom left and bottom middle photos. I could leave it at this, but if I discipline myself, I would only leave the middle photo as it is very similar to the bottom left photo, but shows more of her, has a better expression, and also shows the waves in the background.
So after this few minute exercise I am left with this photo. Now this is very easy to do something with - whether I want to edit it (it is much less overwhelming to edit one photo than 5!), or upload it and print it for an album or scrapbook page.
Really stop and take a moment to think about this...what if you had 1/5th of the volume of digital images to do something with?! How would that feel?! I bet you could get something done with them! Even if you only had 1/2 of the photos to deal with, you would probably feel a lot better!
Doing this on a regular basis from today forward, will make the volume of digital photos that you have to deal with way more manageable and doable. Instead of having 10 photos of one "image" that you have to edit or share or print, you will have one or two to deal with of an image. This is way more manageable and doable. But you MUST DISCIPLINE YOURSELF TO DO IT RIGHT AWAY. (or at the very least asap before uploading to your computer.) I give you PERMISSION to delete photos. It is okay and will allow you to treasure and love the ones you have in a proper manner!
I have gotten pretty good at deleting photos in my camera, but I know I have to get more ruthless with this. I have been working my way backwards in my images on my hard drive, and deleting ones that are not great or very similar. This is so liberating once you take this step, as the volume of photos to print and put into a photo album or scrapbook so people can enjoy them, is waaaaaaay less overwhelming. The first few sessions of doing this were stressful, but now I feel the guilt lifting off my shoulders and I know that I can scrapbook my favourite images, and place the rest in a regular photo album to be enjoyed. (I use the pages that are 12x12 and 4x6 that fit in my 12x12 album, this way I have ONE layout that tells the story, and the rest of the images related to that story are in pockets right behind.)
Keep watching for more simple tips to help you in your photo life.
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Becky Fleck has published her June Page Maps and June Card Maps. She is an incredible lady and so generous. If you are looking for some inspiration, take one of her sketches and "just do it".
Here is a sample from the June Page Maps
And a sample from the June Card Maps
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Many of you have asked questions as to just what does Tim Holtz's Vagabond Machine do. Here is an excellent video Tim has done, showing you just how versatile this machine really is and how to cut all the different brands and styles of dies in it.
Purchase the Vagabond at Photo Express for the LOW PRICE of $199.99!!! (no further discounts apply). Also available while supplies last Vagabond Bundle for $249.99.
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Create Characters with Buttons and Embellishments
Design by Cathy Blackstone
To create bird accents, Cathy embellished buttons with googly eyes, patterned paper, and feathers. A chipboard branch grounds the accents, while a stamped sentiment balances the design.
Layer Die Cuts for Dimension
Design by Robyn Werlich
Soft browns and pinks pair with a pretty die-cut butterfly for an elegant Mother's Day card. Robyn layered two matching die cuts, embellished them with a straight pin, and placed the finished accent on an embossed background.
Add Texture with Embossing
Design by Leslie Lightfoot
A cool colour scheme provides the backdrop for Leslie's nature-inspired Mother's Day card. She embossed the background paper with a circular motif for added texture, then attached chipboard accents and sentiment.
Layer on Texture and Sparkle
Design by Valerie Salmon
Add pizzazz to your Mother's Day card this year with a variety of textura lembellishments. Valerie included chipboard accents, felt flowers, and sparkly gems on hers
Go Sweet and Simple
Design by Erica Hernandez
Give your mom a sweet card this Mother's Day. Erica uses soft colors and a butterfly embellishment to create a simplistic but perfect card for such a special occasion.
Play With a Variety of Shapes and Borders
Design by Valerie Salmon
Punched shapes, scalloped edges, and a ribbon detail give this Mother's Day card a playful personality. Valerie used letter stickers to spell out "Mother" near the bottom of the card.
Draw Attention with Special Sentiments
Design by Leah Fung
The large circle embellishment on Leah's card pulls together the colour scheme and draws attention to the sentiment. A tab with the word "Grandma" extends from the top of the card, balancing a family-theme accent in the opposite corner.
Keep the Palette Simple
Design by Melissa Phillips
Soft vintage-inspired papers, hand-stitched details, and a pretty script title give this card feminine flair. Ivory-color buttons and a light pink ribbon adorn the chipboard heart, giving it a pretty touch without overpowering the design.
Use tissue-paper confetti circles to create colorful flowers on this card.
Let kids put a personal spin on a Mother's Day card: Add a photo that twirls on a string.
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Do you have some winter sports photos to scrapbook? Look at these ideas from Scrapbook Etc.
Use Oversize Winter-Theme Accents
Design by Leslie Lightfoot
Chipboard snowflakes and patterned-paper strips make Leslie's hockey scrapbook page pop. She let her bold embellishments and sports photos take center stage by minimizing her title and journaling at the bottom of the layout.
Editor's Tip: Jazz up plain white snowflakes by adding extra embellishments to the centers, as Leslie did here. Anything from buttons to stickers will do, but it's also a great way to use up winter-theme paper scraps.
Repeat Patterns Found in Photos
Design by Tracy Kyle
Tracy scores top marks for this streamlined figure-skating scrapbook page. To complement her photos, she mimicked the dotted pattern of her daughter's skirt in her title and page accents and picked up on the metallic sheen of the skates themselves with reflective silver accents and letters.
Editor's Tip: Give a small sports sticker more presence on your scrapbook page by matting it. Tracy applied her skates sticker to scalloped circles punched from metallic paper.
Overlap Photos to Include More Sports Shots
Design by Dana Smith
Dana included multiple photos on this sledding scrapbook page to capture the adrenaline rush of her son's snow-covered excursions.
Editor's Tip: Want a ribbon accent but don't have the perfect print? No problem. Dana created her faux bows with patterned papers. To get the look, cut two even strips of matching paper, brush on decoupage medium, and tie them together. (The wet adhesive makes the paper less likely to tear.)
Slope Title and Photos to Imitate Sledding Motion
Design by Pam Callaghan
For this fun sledding scrapbook page, Pam grouped several photos in a large block for a big emphasis in the center of her layout. She curved the same edges of the patterned paper and the photos to add movement to the page.
Editor's Tip: Create a title that mirrors the action in your photos. Pam lined up her sticker letters along the bottom edges of staggered supporting photos to play up the downhill action.
Choose a Winter-Themed Color Scheme
Design by Paula Murakami
The patterned paper Paula chose for this snowboarding scrapbook page immediately reminded her of snow and helped her pick a colour scheme for the page. Converting photos to black-and-white allowed her to use any colors she wanted so she chose frosty hues that play up the winter theme.
Editor's Tip: Use seasonal shapes to further drive home your theme. Paula used snowflakes in several spots on her page, including the one that subs for the letter "o" in her title.
Dress up a Plain Background with Rub-Ons
Design by Suzy Plantamura
This quick and easy sledding scrapbook page perfectly captures the joy of winter sports. Suzy used snowflake rub-ons to add interest to her plain cardstock background, the large chipboard letters, and her patterned paper accent strip.
Editor's Tip: No room for a journaling block? No problem when you're using winter sports photos with snow backdrops. Suzy handwrote her journaling in the empty space of her large photo using a Sharpie pen.
Tell a Story with Your Photos
Design by Kah-Mei Smith
The snapshots on this two-page layout tell the story of the first time Kah-Mei's mother tried on skis. A sequence of photos like these really helps tell the story.
Editor's Tip: Think about balance in your two-page layouts. In Kah-Mei's design, an oversized photo anchors the left side of the design and launches a series of skiing snapshots. As the winter sports story moves from left to right, the diminishing size of the photograph balances the escalating size of the title.
Use Supplies from a Coordinated Line to Make Scrapping Simple
Design by Elizabeth Van Der Wier
To create a cohesive scrapbook page, Lisa paired individual photos of her kids with coordinating papers and embellishments from a single scrapbooking line.
Editor's Tip: Imitate a classic black photo frame by building your design in the center of a solid sheet of cardstock and leaving a thick border. To keep the layout grounded, let some elements overlap the frame, as Elizabeth did here with winter-themed stickers.
Use More Winter Sports Photos in a Two-Page Design
Design by Melissa Inman
Melissa's two-page winter layout lets her capture multiple sledding photos in one unified scrapbook design. Though not mirror images of each other, the two pages have very similar structures, making the two pages feel connected.
Editor's Tip: Arrows are great design accents for pages with a lot of elements. Melissa used arrows to direct attention to key photos and to echo the movement of the sledding and the sentiment behind the title.
Fill a Digital Scrapbook Page with Winter Sports Photos
Design by Traci Turchin
Traci has long admired her husband's snow hiking pictures and finally decided that a layout was due. She filled her digital background with photos from a snowshoeing outing, adding one in a middle strip, which overlaps the others to give a sense of dimension to the digital scrapbook page.
Editor's Tip: When you have great pictures to use, don't overpower them with bold titles. Traci used subtle see-through strips for her page title and label. To create the translucent strips, Traci drew the shape in Adobe Photoshop and then lowered the opacity.
Use Inspirational Quotes as Journaling for a Quick Scrapbook Page
Design by Martha Crowther
Hockey is a big sport in the Crowther household, so Martha wasn't surprised when her son put on his first hockey skates. She snapped this photo of her son in his gear and found the perfect quote to accompany it.
Editor's Tip: Streamline your designs to get photos scrapped fast. Using plain cardstock, Martha chose a black background to coordinate with the black-and-white hockey photos. Subdued shades of gray and blue cardstock and a length of twine wrapped around the skates' photo finishes off the look.
Snowcase a Single Large Sledding Photo on a Simple Scrapbook Page
Design by Jill Beamer
Since Jill's family rarely sees toboggan-worthy snow in their Canadian city, she wanted to make sure she captured the fun her daughter, Delaney, had sledding on her daddy's lap at a local park. A single great shot taken that day became the star on this easy scrapbook page.
Editor's Tip: Create a picture-perfect focal point. By enlarging her photo, Jill draws the eye directly to her subjects. Horizontal stripes in ice-tones give the scrapbook page energy, while individual snowflakes punched from coordinating patterned paper and placed under round epoxy stickers highlight the title.
Stamp a Snowflake Pattern for a Page Background
Design by Mellette Berezoski
Bold colors pulled directly from the photo give this scrapbook page about a skating adventure pop. By stamping white snowflakes on a deep blue strip of cardstock, Mellette was able to create a one-of-a-kind border for the left-hand side of her page.
Editor's Tip: Mix and match sticker letters for a playful page title. By combining red and white letters from set that feature lots of different letter styles, Mellette created a title that's as bouncy and fun as her photo subject.
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How cool are these!! Designed by Ron, they are perfect for Christmas or Maple Ridge or Christmas in Maple Ridge Photos. (or just cover the titles and they are perfect for winter!) Available in red and green. Exclusively at PE.
And this is a beautiful view of the Golden Ears Mountain (could be used as any mountain) and says Winter Wonderland. Perfect for all that snow that you know is coming!
Kaylyn liked the paper so much yesterday when she saw it, that she whipped up this adorable layout. The embellishments are from Basic Grey's Joivial and match perfectly!
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A gift basket of your handmade cards, a Words to the Rescue Book (avail at PE), and some stamps, makes a thoughtful gift for a neighbour, friend, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle, student away at college etc etc.
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Create Plush Page Embellishments with Flock
Design by Vicki Boutin
Vicki added colored flock (avail at PE) to the chipboard stars that line the bottom of this scrapbook page, attaching the finished stars with simple stitches. She also coated adhesive dots with the powdery flock to create the polka dots around the page edges. Fun flock is literally "fun" to play with!
Scrapbook Present-Opening Photos
Design by Miley Johnson
Miley was thrilled with this great reaction picture of her daughter. She pulled the blues and greens from the gift's packaging and the red from her daughter's shirt. She also cut out the stars from the patterned paper to use as bullet points for her journaling.
Use a Grid to fit Multiple Holiday Photos
Design by Shannon Montez
A multiple-photo grid and clean lines make Shannon's detailed layout totally hardworking. She converted her color photos to black-and-white so that she could pick the colour scheme she wanted.
Scrapbook Cookie-Baking Sessions
Design by Anabelle O'Malley
Who could resist this little guy? Anabelle grabbed a priceless shot of her son gazing over the year's best cookies. She kept a piece of white background paper showing to handwrite her journaling, cutting it in a swirl to add movement to the page.
Scrapbook Old Holiday Photos
Design by Ruth Dealey
Ruth wanted to remember a Christmas from 1975 on this scrapbook page, but didn't remember much about the event. So she based her journaling on what she could see in the photos and designed a page that gives equal weight to the snapshots and her story.
Showcase Holiday Decorations on a Scrapbook Page
Design by Sande Krieger
Decorations are a big part of Sande's holiday, and she snapped a few photos of her decor for this scrapbook page. Sande grouped, edited, and embellished her photos using her image-editing software, then printed out the collage and added more embellishments and design elements by hand for a paper/digital hybrid scrapbook page.
Contain Photo Groupings with Large Design Elements
Design by Robyn Werlich
Robyn drew attention to a cluster of holiday photos on this scrapbook page by placing supersize die-cut brackets on either side of her collage. The bright green color draws your attention to the action, while subtle textural touches keep the background interesting.
from Scrapbooks Etc
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Gather inexpensive supplies -- cardstock, photos, photo corners, and ribbon -- for this easy-to-make card and frame combo.Cut a sheet of card stock in half lengthwise, and tape ends together to make one long piece. Fold every 4 inches. Attach photos with photo corners. Punch a hole in the back for ribbon to wrap around the booklet.
Instead of giving toys to a child, assemble a crafts box. Cover a regular gift box in brightly colored wrapping paper. Fill the wrapped box with crafts supplies. Include a list of directions for various projects using the provided supplies. Top the gift with a bow.
Purchase a plastic divider box to decorate and use scrapbooking supplies to dress it up. Trim patterned paper to fit the exterior of the lid, and embellish with stickers and painted chipboard. For a nonsugar alternative, fill with scrapbooking supplies or small trinkets.
Trace around a jar lid on paper; cut out. Glue the paper circle to the lid. Cut a piece of ribbon to fit around the center of the jar, and glue it to the jar. Fill the jar with goodies and finish with an ornament and ribbon attached to the lid if desired.
Know someone planning a trip? Use the destination as a theme and gather small items, such as a photo album,scrapbooking embellishments, and a disposable camera. If the recipient is going to a tropical location, swap in a disposable underwater camera. Pack the items in a mini suitcase gift box.
Dress up a mug by gluing a scrapbooking border just below the rim. Set the sugar-cube-filled mug on a small plate and add a tea ball and lidded clear tubes filled with loose-leaf teas. Identify the teas on computer-typed labels.
Use a round 1-inch punch to make dozens of dots from black paper. Glue them on a gift bag, domino-style, and draw a black line with a marking pen. Fill the bags with yummy salty or sweet treats. (This would be so fun for a games night also!)
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Create a personalized, monogrammed gift with a wood letter (Avail at PE) and leftover crafts supplies. Paint the letter a neutral color, and embellish to suit the recipient's personality.
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How many of you can say yes to these questions?!
To see a bigger version, Download A Better Solution Picture Keeper
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