Tips and Techniques Wednesday - Another Gift Card Holder

Hi there!

Happy Wednesday and thanks for stopping in to see my tip of the week!  This week I have another gift card holder to share with you.... can't have too many of these with the holidays coming up, right?
 

First off, start with a 5.5" x 8.5" piece of cardstock.  Then create a decorative edge on one of the 5.5" ends, using a punch or die.

Then score along the 8.5" length at 1 1/4".

 And at 5".

 Now fold along the score lines, Your card will sit like so.....

 Add adhesive to the inside area, on the 1 1/4" fold, along the outside edges.  Sounds confusing?  Check out the photo!

 See, you made a pocket!  Perfect spot to tuck in a gift card!

 Now it's time to fancy it up.  Cover the pocket with patterned paper.

 Add more patterned paper to the top flap.  You can use one pattern or two and repeat some of the paper you have previously used.

 I added some glitter, too.  I've been on a glitter kick lately.  Why not, sparkly goes with the holidays, right?

 Next, I used some of these dime sized velcro circles that I picked up from the dollar store.

 Add one the the under side of the top flap and another to the front of the pocket, so that the two line up.

 Here is a look at the conpleted outside with a few embellishments added.

 And the finished inside.

Easy, right?  Are you going to try one?  Go for it!

Thanks again for stopping tin to see what we are up to!
Laura
xoxo

Sketch-y Friday

Hello and Happy Friday All!

It's sketch day, so here it is!

Leave me a comment if you are looking for a specific kind of sketch and I will try to create it for you.    And if you create anything with this sketch, send me a picture here if you would like to see it posted on the blog.

Thanks for popping in today, We really appreciate it!
Laura
xoxo

Inspiration on Thursday

Hello Friends,

I have a little inspiration to share with you today!

Getting ready to set a blaze by Eileen

 Elaine and Eileen have been providing us with a ton of inspiration lately.... why don't we all help them out?   If you have a layout or card that you would like to see posted here to inspire others, email your creations to me here.  The only stipulation is it must be created with at least 75% of product we offer in our store.


Thanks for popping in today!  And Happy Thanksgiving to our American Friends!
Laura
xoxo

Tips and Techniques Wednesday - Re Purposed Packing Candy Card

Hi there!

I have a fun tutorial for you today that is also a little bit "green". 

I have chosen to go with a Christmas theme since we are only 4 1/2 weeks away (yikes).  


First up, chose the package you would like to use and recycle into your card, I am using this packaging from Maya Road.

 I replaced the cardboard back with cardstock in a colour that compliments my card.

 Fill the package with candy of your choice.

 Measure the actual 'bubble' part of the packaging.

 Using light weight cardstock cut an opening  to accommodate your bubble, in your desired location.  Note this is not your card base, it will be the part of the card that holds the candy bubble, this way you will actually be able to remove the candy.

 Insert the candy bubble into the opening and adhere in place by putting adhesive onto the front of the packaging in a spot where it will not show through the opening.  Do not put any adhesive on the back of your candy bubble.

 Now adhere the bottom and side of this light weight cardstock together, this will form a pouch.

 Now, create a card base.  I am using black.

 Adhere your pouch to the front of the card base.

Using the patterned paper of your choice, cut an opening out to accommodate the candy bubble and adhere to your card front, like so.

 Next I used a coordinating piece of cardstock to place along the left hand edge of my card.

 Using a scrap of felt, I die cut a snowflake and added glitter to the edges.

 I added the snowflake to the card and then attached a coordinating embellishment from my paper pack to it.  I also added some baker's twine to the folded edge of my card and tied on a couple of beads.

And that's it!  Pretty easy to make and you can customize them with your recipients favourite candy.

Thanks for stopping by today!
Laura
xoxo

Holiday Scrapbooking and Photography Tips

Hello all!

I thought I'd offer up a few tidbits about scrapbooking your holiday photos, and some photo taking tips for the upcoming season, as well as some basic scrapbooking ideas.

For those of us that scrapbook events like Christmas and Birthdays, you know that the layouts can get a little busy looking and frankly feel quite similar year after year, so I thought I'd offer up a few suggestions for you to keep in mind, when you have your camera out over the holidays.

Sometimes it's nice to document our children's faces, and how they change from one holiday season to the next (they do a lot of growing in a year), so I like to do a close up face photo in front of the tree, capturing them when they are gazing off into the distance kind of dreamy like makes for a nice scrapbook photo.

Another option which is great if you have more than one child (you could attempt this with one child and a pet if your pet listens well, mine doesn't really!) is to have your children hold up a Holiday banner, or even large cut out letters like J  O  Y .  Be conscious of your background, outside in the snow or in front of a fence or brick wall or inside drape a white or black sheet over the sofa or wall.

How about your child(ren) holding two candy canes together to form a heart shape, with their little faces peeking through.  You can do this with your sweetheart too and hold it in front of your smooching faces!

How about having all of you family snuggling into one large chair or a sofa, use the timer function on your camera it is fun and easy.  If you don't have a tripod, drag a little table in front of the sofa, you can always use a few books to elevate the camera to just the right height.

What about a snapshot of your child holding or playing with their favourite gift that year, who says Holiday layouts need to have dozens of photos?

Oh, and the all important letter to Santa photos, these are great memories to preserve.

And as always when we are scrapbooking, don't feel like you have to scrap in chronological order, it's okay to store the layouts that way in an album, but when it comes to creating you will fine the creative  juices will flow much more easily if you scrap what speaks to you each time you sit down to create a layout.

I hope this gives you a little food for thought and helps with some of your holiday photos and layouts.

Thanks for popping in!

Laura
xoxo

Sketch-y Friday

Hi there!

Woo hoo, it's Friday and I am hoping that means we all have a little time to craft.  In my neck of the woods it is a PD day so my little guy is home with me, he loves to create so m chances of getting inky and sticky are pretty good :)

Here is your weekly sketch...

And if you create anything with this sketch, send me a picture here if you would like to see it posted on the blog.

Thanks for popping in and have a great weekend!
Laura
xoxo

Inspiration on Thursday

Hello all!

As promised I am sharing photos today of projects that were created at last weekends retreat!  I am sure you will be inspired to create something beautiful of your own after you have a look at all of these stunning creations.

Adventure by Amber

Water Works by Anne Keyes

Take Time by Brenda Tamm

Way to Go by Brenda Tamm

Take Time by Chris Light

Go Fly a Kite by Danie

You and Me by Julie McCreary

Who you gonna call? by Laura Shaver

Take Time by Mary

Three Generations by Melody S

Say Uncle Canvas Quilt by Melody

I Adore You by Sandy Ross

Take Time by Sandy Ross

Summer Adventures by Sarah Keyes

Park Peas by Sheri Hill

Adore by Stacy

Apples by Stacy R

Picture Perfect by Stacy R

T'is the Season by Suzanne

Thank you ladies for allowing me to photograph and share your projects.

If you have a layout or card that you would like to see posted here to inspire others, email your creations to me here.  The only stipulation is it must be created with at least 75% of product we offer in our store.

Thank you to all of you for checking in today to see what we are up to!

Laura
xoxo