Summer Fruit

Summertime and the living is easy... well at least that is the goal.  For me, the season is not complete without backyard barbeques, lazy days at the beach, tall glasses of iced tea, and snacking on fresh picked fruit.   

Using summer fruit salad as my inspiration, I created a few digital scrapbook pages to share with the SOC family.  As always, if you like them please feel free to download (right click & save) them for your personal (non-commercial) projects.  

Wishing you all a wonderfully fun, creative, safe and truly awesome summer.

Thanks for looking!

 

DIY Shrink Embellishments

Did you know that you can make your own mini embellishments?  All you need to do is collect the plastic cups at your next summer bbq.  As long as the plastic has a #6 on the bottom it will work.  I created these little plastic embellies in a few easy steps.

Some of them melted into wonky shapes, I am guessing it is due to the cylindrical shape of the cup.  But, I like the organic feel of the melted shapes.  The little butterflies are my favorites.  Is this something you would try?  What shapes would you make?

Thanks for looking!

 

Color Flow for Low Mojo

Lately, when it comes to inspiration the struggle has been REAL.  I am not sure if it is in the air, the water or what.  But my creativity game has not been where I need it to be.  In order to remedy this I have been scanning some of my photography, hoping that something in the images will spark something.
  

Here is a photo that I took while visiting a local arboretum.  I love how rich the color is on such tiny flowers.  Almost like they know that this may be their only moment to shine, because once all of the larger flowers grow they may not receive as much attention.

I pulled a color palette from the picture in hopes of creating a paper project (scrapbook layout, card, mini-album) using these colors as inspiration.  Wish me luck!  

What would you create using these colors?  What do you do when your mojo is low?

"Dee-Dee" Digi Stamp

How many of you are stampers? Despite the fact that I have a semi-huge collection of rubber and acrylic stamps I don't consider myself a big stamper.  Especially when it comes to the kind that you have to color.

Although lately I have been catching a little stamping fever and decided to create my own digi-stamp.  I think she would be great for a Mother's day or Birthday Card.  She is named after my aunt Dee-Dee and she has a sassy vintage feel.  This was my first attempt at illustrating and digitally coloring a design of this type, but I am pretty pleased with how she turned out. 

If you would like to create a card or project with her, you are welcome to it.  Simply right click the image below and save the file.  As always, the design is free for personal (non-commercial) use only.

Thanks for looking, enjoy!

How to Make A Paper Bracelet

Paper, paper and more paper!  I cannot be the only one with a super abundance of paper.  Not complaining...I love it.  That said, I am always on a mission to use up as much of it as possible and I cannot bring myself to throw away the scraps.  So, I am always thinking of ways to creatively use my scraps.  Beaded jewelry has been pretty popular lately.  So, in the spirit of the jewelry makers (which I am not) I created a beaded bracelet out of paper scraps.  I chose colorful Spring colors but the options for style and patterns are practically endless.   Check out the video to see how it's done.


Thanks for looking!

Je T'aime Card

I know Valentine's Day is not typically a huge card-making holiday.  But, I usually try to use it as an opportunity to send a little love to a few special people in my life.  However, I've been so busy in the last few weeks that I wasn't able to get my cards made.  

No worries...it's my stash to the rescue.  My first stop was my box of handmade cards that I keep on tap for "emergencies."  A quick search revealed this lovely little card that I had forgotten about.  

It was super simple to make.  The textured circle was made with a craft punch and an embossing folder.  And how adorable is the little girl?!  The graphic was a free printable from The Black Apple.  The illustrator has some amazing artwork. Definitely worth a look see.

Here's hoping you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day with lots of love!

Thanks for looking.

Shero

Just wanted to share a little sisterly love.  I am so grateful to the many women who love one another, care for each other, support those in need, encourage the discouraged, enlighten the dim, inspire the soul, educate the mind, and generally handle the business every single day!  Despite what people may say about women not "getting along" and not supporting one another, I know the opposite to be true.  Yes, there are always a few exceptions.  But, we will not lose focus over a few fools.  Today, I salute my sistahs!

Here is a little gift that I hope you will use in a layout, card or project that is dedicated to the most special woman in your life...YOU! (Just click the image below and save.)

No Sew Leather Coasters

Happy Holidays! If you are anything like me, you are busy preparing for the holidays.  This year, I decided to be "make heavy" in my gift giving.  Meaning, I am making most of my gifts.  Of course this opens the door for shaky territory.  Because not all handmade gifts are created equal.  In order to create gifts that are handmade (but don't look homemade) I rely on quality materials.  Here is one gift idea that will be sure to please this holiday season (especially if paired with a bottle of wine.)

Genuine leather coasters, upcycled from an old leather trench coat.  I purchased the coat from the thrift shop for about $30.  These coasters are just one of the many projects that intend to make with the coat.  

*Tip: When buying leather coats at the thrift shop, try to find the largest size.   This will give you more material to work with.

I put together a quick video tutorial to share how I made them.  Thanks for looking!

Portable Dry Erase Board

I had the pleasure of spending this weekend with a wonderfully creative group of ladies.  While there we made a trip to the craft store and one of the ladies purchased an entire pad of dry erase paper.  From that moment on, there was a challenge of what to do with this paper.  I ended up creating a portable pocket sized "erasable" notepad.  Hey, it beats carrying around a thousand sticky notes. 

The size (4x6) is small enough to fit in a pocket book but large enough to actually record something.  Plus, it is durable because it is made out of chipboard. This one was a gift, but I will certainly be making one for myself.

What would you do with dry erase paper?

A Pile of Leaves

Ahh, autumn is officially here! It is my most favorite season of all.  The colorful trees are like beautiful bouquets of flowers...except tree-sized.  I was inspired to create a card that displayed the beauty of the changing leaves.  

It was simple to create, although there was a bit of fussy cutting involved.  To create this card print out photographs of fallen leaves.  If you don't have any, you can find lots of pictures online (these are the leaves that I used).  Once the leaves are printed, cut each leaf out being sure not to leave any white space around the edges.  Next, adhere the leaves to a card base in a random layout, try not to leave any of the card base showing.  The goal is to mimic the way leaves look when they fall naturally to the ground.  Finally add a sentiment and baker's twine to finish the card.  I chose a wooden sentiment from Studio Calico to keep with the organic feel.

This was a different style of card for me, but I really like how it turned out.  

Thanks for looking!

Instagram-esque Photo Filter for Scrapbooking

There are some really cool filters that people have been using on social media sites.  I was inspired to create a "real-life" filter for my scrapbooking layouts.  I created this minimalist layout using my hand-made filters.

Here is a simple tutorial on how to achieve this look.

Thanks for looking, hope you enjoy!

Back to School Digi

Wow! Can you believe it is that time already?  Back to School!!!!! 

Here are a few digital elements that can be used as overlays, titles, frames, etc.  Just a little something to help mark the occasion.  Hope you enjoy! (As always free for personal, not commercial use.)

Here a few ideas of what you can do with them...

Island Style Pocket Journaling Cards

Are you enjoying summer? I hope so.  Lately, I've had a one track mind.  All I can think about is the beach - I have vacation on the brain.  So much so, that I created these island inspired pocket journaling cards.  Of course, I had to share them with my SOC family.  

If you are heading out to the beach this summer (or not) feel free to download and use these fun cards.  Click the image for a PDF. (As always they are for personal use only.) 

Enjoy!

DIY Monogram Luggage Tag

Finally, the summer weather is here!  For many, this means packing bags and heading on vacation.  Here is a quick project that may help your luggage stand out as you fight your way through baggage claim.  I used products that I had on hand to create this sparkly monogrammed luggage tag.  Enjoy!

DIY Modeling Paste

Interested in those fun art journaling techniques, but don't have the supplies?  Here is a quick and easy recipe for creating your own modeling paste in any color you want.  It may not be as fancy as the pricey brands but it is a great way to get your feet wet or to supplement your stash when running low on "real" modeling paste.

Enjoy!

Game Night Thank You Cards

Recently, I went to a game night party hosted by some friends.  In the middle of a hilarious game of Pictionary, I had an idea for thank you cards.  Some of the drawings that people created were easily identifiable while others were a far stretch on the creative license spectrum.  Some of the sketches were so outrageous!  At the end of the night, I asked to keep a few sketches from the game.  I later used those sketches to create thank you cards for the event.  (I eventually gave the cards to the hosts....hmm, thank you cards as a thank you gift?! Is that weird?)  I suppose instead of thank you cards the sketches can be used to make invitations for the next party, simply by changing the sentiment on the inside.

The cards were easy to make, I just cut down each of the sketches to a size that fit on a card front, added a speech bubble and question mark stamp, and embellished it with a little ribbon.  I printed the inside sentiment with my inkjet printer.  Super simple!

Oh, are you wondering what the answers are?

Answers: Spank, Upstairs, Jail, Heat

6 Fonts for Art Journals

You have been living under a rock if you haven’t heard about art journals.  Lately, they seem to be all the rage.  A free form of expression, not bound by the rules of scrapbooking.  They give paper crafters and would be artists an opportunity to test their artsy chops.  It’s all fun and games until it’s time to do the journaling.  But for some of us, those feelings of “penmanship anxiety” start to kick in.  This feeling is heightened when trolling the blogs and Instagram pictures of some of our favorite art journalists. 

What’s a paper crafter to do?  Well, fake it of course!  Here is a list of six excellent fonts that have that carefree art journal feel.  Just click the name of each font to access the download link.  They are all free for personal use only.

Words Live Forever!

Hey ya'll it's Black History Month!  In honor of some of the great leaders in American history, I have created these journaling cards.  I pulled together a few of my favorite quotes from Malcolm X, Shirley Chisholm, Frederick Douglass, and Zora Neale Hurston.  

 

It's ridiculous how much inspiration can be found in the words of our ancestors! 

 

I love that their sentiments have been recorded in the history of time and continue to live up through today.  It reminds me of why we scrapbook; so that our stories, ideas and impact can persist long after we are gone.

 

The printable journaling cards are the perfect size for pocket-style scrapbooking.  They can also be used as embellishments on cards or standard scrapbook pages.  Click here to download your copy today! (For personal, non-commercial use only.)

Your Family Heritage in 10 Easy Questions

Many scrapbookers by default become the designated family historian.  It makes sense, after all we are the ones who always have a camera handy, save wedding invitations, keep graduation ticket stubs and even collect funeral programs.  At some point in time many scrapbookers are faced with the idea, thought, dream or dread of doing a detailed family heritage project.

For me, it is one of the biggest items on my creative “to-do” list.  I have gathered information from some people in my family.  But, in no way am I finished. 

In order to help myself, and hopefully someone else.  I have created a family interview worksheet with 10 simple questions. The goal is to help get people talking or if nothing else, at least gather the high points about people’s lives. 

In a perfect world, every family member would be an open book and chock-full of colorful stories.  In reality not everyone is excited about the idea of “telling their business.” So, there will be some people that you will be lucky to get a simple yes or no from.  In any event, it is important to remain respectful of people’s wishes and to handle their stories with care.

If you would like, click here to download a copy of the worksheet and maybe it will help you gather some interesting bits of information from the interesting characters that make up your family.

Christmas Sassy Tags

Happy Holidays!!! Christmas time is here and I am loving it.  Not sure why I am so excited about Christmas this year, but I'll take it.  Nothing beats quality time with the family.  I created these "sassy" holiday tags that I thought would be fun to add to gifts or use on a card or layout.  Of course I hooked you up with a free download.  Enjoy! (Personal use only)