Beginnings and Endings

I love that I get to post on the blog right after the latest issue of Scraps of Color E:spire Magazine comes out! If you have not already, do yourself a favor and take a look at the fabulousness in the December/January issue. With each issue, I learn something new and I am just in awe of the talent!

Since we are days away from the beginning of a new year, I’ve been thinking of all the wonderful things in store for 2012. My husband and I are planning to do some traveling and my nephew is graduating from high school. He’s the oldest grandchild, so he’s the first one of my nieces and nephews to graduate. I will try to behave appropriately at the commencement, but I make no promises! I’m so proud of him and wanted to start working on layouts I’ll add to a book I will make for him.

This first one I’m sharing is using a classic school portrait, but incorporating some interesting elements to try to jazz it up. The title is playful and uses several different fonts. I like how it turned out:

The Places You’ll Go by Moanica Caston. Patterned Paper and Embellishments: American Crafts; Cardstock: Bazzill; Metal Brad: Bo Bunny; Alphas; American Crafts Thickers

2012 promises to be a wonderful year. Take a moment to think about some of the events/moments you want to capture and get it done!

Happy Crafting!

Moanica

It's Here! Dec/Jan 2012 Issue of SOC Scrapbook Magazine!

Myself along with the entire SOC Magazine Creative Team are happy to share with you the December/January 2012 Issue of the Scraps of Color Scrapbook Magazine!   Another great issue filled with great crafting ideas for all of your holiday memories!    

Please download your FREE copy here today!

EnJOY!  And don't forget to tell us what you think!  Leave us a little love!

Have a very Merry Christmas and a 

Happy, Healthy Prosperous 

New Year!

Fun and Festive Pocket Card

Hey Everybody, Barb here! Christmas really is just around the corner and if you’re planning to give gift cards, then this post is for you. I give gift cards all the time, but I don’t like using the standard envelopes that come with the gift card. I like to make my own. While browsing on the Internet, I came across a really cute way to present a gift card. And that is what I want to share with all of you. I’m also giving you a little sneak peek at one of the fun patterned papers from our generous sponsor Signify Pink. Isn’t it cute? I have another gift card holder featured in the upcoming issue of E:Spire magazine...watch for it!

Click to enlarge.

supplies-

patterned paper: Merry & Bright (Glimpses, Signify Pink)

card stock: Pure Poppy, Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)  Fresh Asparagus (GinaK Designs)

stamps: Friendship Jar, Friendship Jar Holiday Fillers, Signature Christmas (Papertrey Ink)

ink: Memento Tuxedo Black  Olive (Close to my Heart) Pure Poppy (Papertrey Ink)

other: Apple Red Glitteritz glitter, Essentials Glue Pad, Copic markers, Sakura Stardust glitter pen, gold cord

And on the inside there is a pocket to hold the gift card.

These were fun and easy to make. Just a simple card base that can be used in many ways; for birthdays, weddings, graduation, you make the base and then decorate to suit your needs. I wanted to show you how to create your own. Soooo...

Gather these basic supplies and watch the video!

·         one 8 ½ x 11 sheet of card stock

·         scoring board- Martha Stewart, Scor-Pal or ScorBuddy

·         bone folder

·         adhesive

There are a lot of tutorials and videos on the Internet that give step by step instructions for everything from creating hand-crafted gift card holders, to learning how to digital scrapbook. Use your favorite search engine and explore! If you find something interesting, make it and then post your link in the comment area…we would love to see your artwork.

I know this is a busy time of year, but even with all the hustle and bustle, don't lose sight of what is really important...spending time with your family and friends. And if by chance, you can sneak in a little crafting time...

Create something beautiful!

Merry Christmas!

Quick and Easy Holiday Ornaments

With the holidays fast approaching most of us have already completed our holiday decorations but there's still time for a few quick and easy projects. I made these cute ornaments using patterned paper from one of our Dec/Jan sponsors Nikki Sivils. Below is a list of what you'll need to make these:

Patterned Paper, Flower Punch

Styrofoam balls - I used 3" white balls

Glitter Glaze or Stickles

Flat head straight pins

Ribbon, pearls or crystal bling to cover the pin heads

Optional - Glimmer Mist to cover the Styrofoam balls

Start by punching out flowers from the patterned paper; next attach them to the ball using the straight pins. Once the ball is completely covered used the crystals or pearls to cover the pin heads. Next add your ribbon and bow for hanging and you're done...it's that easy! This is a great project for kids and a great way to use some left over holiday patterned paper.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Tip #1 - Put the Glitter Glaze or Stickles on the patterned paper before punching out your flowers, that way you don't have to do them individually.

Tip #2 - Use a heat tool to set the Glimmer Mist if using on the Styrofoam balls.

Scrappin' the Box

Christmas is quickly approaching and hopefully we will be done with all of our shopping and/or gift making in time for the holiday. But, have you ever finished your shopping at the last minute to sit down to wrap gifts only to discover that you are out of wrapping paper? No worries, it's easy to wrap beautiful gifts using your scrapbook paper. It's a chance to give a gift with unique one-of-a-kind gift wrapping, especially if you make your own bows, or stamp your gift tags.

Gift Box: To create a gift similar to this use a few sheets of matching scrapbook paper and cover the outside of a box. Next, craft a simple bow from strips of a coordinating sheet of paper, and add gift tags. For a little more interest, add a contrasting satin ribbon around the box.

Party Popper Box: Cut an empty paper towel roll down to a size that will fit your gift. Place your gift inside the roll, then wrap it in brightly colored tissue paper. Tie the ends with floss or string and cut the edges with decorative scissors. Next use your scrapbooking paper to wrap around the roll and finish with a ribbon. For a more festive feel I used a Martha Stewart edge punch on the ends.

I hope you are able to use some of these ideas. May you and your loved ones have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

PS: The digi-paper and tags will be available for FREE in the next issue of the SOC eSpire magazine!

Easy Holiday Fun Frame and WINNER!!!

Are you running around with the Holiday hustle and bustle or are you an early bird who prepared way ahead of time for the season? Well, either way, I have a quick project for you today that you can prepare months ahead of time or within a few minutes if you need a quick little holiday treat to give or to add to your own space. You've probably noticed by now that I love to recycle and upcycle! So for this project I used a little frame that cost me less than 33 cents from Target Dollar isle to create a dry erase board to post silly little holiday sayings for my boys.

One of our amazing sponsors for the upcoming issue of Scraps of Color E:spire is Signify Pink - Glimpses! I had never used their products prior to this issue and let's just say I'm a fan now! I love the coordinating  fun, bright colors of their Merry and Bright collection! It was really easy and fun to create with this line! And for my project all I had to do was cut one of the 4x6 journaling tags from the 12x12 double sided tags/journaling frames page and stick it into my little frame! Bam! An instant holiday fun dry erase board. The cute little stickers are from the Merry and Bright collection too. And, if you happen to pick up this collection another thing that you can do is personalize your frame with names or initials- it's a great way to use up your sticker sheet! These little frames make great teacher gifts too and of course you can add even more embellisment to suit your taste! If I had about 25 more I would use this as a holiday project for my son's class and maybe hang a few candy canes or other treats from the frame and a mini dry erase marker! Hmmm....I think I need to make an impromptu trip to Target! :)

Anyway, I hope I have helped you with a quick little project that you can make for gift giving, crafting with your kiddos, or something fun for your craft space! What are your go-to quick holiday projects? I would love to hear about them or better yet see them- so if you've created some holiday crafts be sure to link them up in the comments so we can be inspired by you!

Now it's WINNER time for last month's Thanksgiving project Studio Calico giveaway.  We only had a couple of ladies actually link up their fall projects, and I appreicate both of them for playing along but unfortunately I only have 1 prize pack. So my 9yoa son and I did a very scientific drawing for the winner...I just wrote the names down on a piece of  paper and he picked randomly...So Congrats....

AJ please email at ngj9600 at yahoo dot com by next Friday, December 16  so that I can get your Studio Calico goodies mailed out to you ASAP! Again, thank you ladies for taking the time to read and comment on the posts! Have a beautiful and safe holiday season!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

We have been busy preparing for the December/January Issue of Scraps of Color. It is full of wonderful ideas that you will definitely want to take advantage of for Christmas. As a sneak peek, I am sharing a card that I made using some Heartfelt Creations stamp sets and coordinating dies. We are featuring Heartfelt Creations stamps and coordinating dies in the December/ January issue. I enjoy their products so much, because they make creating very easy and fast. During the Holidays, easy and fast is exactly what we need when it’s time to mass produce cards and send out to family and friends.

Wishing You Holiday Card by Karen Jiles. Supplies- Stamps and Dies: Heartfelt Creations; Cardstock: Coredinations; Ink: Copic, Memento; Stickles: Ranger; Ribbon: Essentials.

I used a distressed layer on this card to give it a more unique look. The stickles on the flowers adds that extra sparkle that makes this card even more special. I added a duplicate cardinal and angled him to the side to give the appearance of the cardinals sharing a branch. This also added a 3-dimensional look.

Have you finished your cards for the holidays? What quick and easy tips do you use to complete your holiday cards?

Enjoy the Holidays,
Karen