Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

Supplies Needed

Decorative Paper or Cardstock
Scissors or Craft Knife
Metal Ruler
Craft Plastic, Acetate or Page Protector
Thick craft foam, Cardboard or Cardstock
Paper Glue
Shaker Stuff: Confetti, small paper punched shapes
Optional: Mat Cutter (oval or circle)

Step-by-Step

1. There is more than one way to make a shaker box or card. And you can buy shaker box kits or pre-done pieces. This is a way to make one from scratch.
2. There are 4 pieces to a shaker box: The front, the window craft plastic (or acetate or page protector), the thick frame and the backing.
3. Decide on the design of your shaker box. For beginners, a simple square is best. But keep in mind you can use a square with a circle window or even cut out a shape for your shaker box. Let’s start with a square with a square window. The measurements will be 4” x 4” with a 3” x 3” window centered in the middle.
4. Cut the front, the plastic, the frame and the backing. All will be 4” x 4”.
5. Cut a window for the front and the frame. The window for the front should be slightly smaller that the window in the frame.
6. Adhere the backing to the frame. Backing can be simple plain cardstock. Or if you want a decorative paper to show through the window, make sure you glue the right side showing through the window.
7. Adhere the plastic to the front. Make sure you get a good seal all the way around the window.
8. Add your shaker confetti into the frame.
9. Adhere the front to the frame. You might want to put a heavy book on top for a few hours to get the best seal.

A stitch in time and sew special, needle and thread
can be the perfect embellishment to a project.

Supplies Needed

Scrapbook Page, Collage or Card
Sewing Machine With Thread: Needle should be one used for delicate fabric and tension set for delicate fabric.
Sharp Hand Sewing Needle: Needles are either blunts (not a sharp point) or sharps (yep, you guessed it).
Sewing Threads: Use a quilting thread or other quality thread designed for needlearts so that the thread will hold up without breaking or splitting.
Fibers: This is usually specialty yarns that are colorful and full of textures.

Tips

• When using a sew machine always use a scrap piece of paper (the same weight as the paper you want to use for your scrapbook page) and run some test stitches to get the feel of how your machine sews the paper.
• Experiment with the width of your machine stitches for different looks.
• Sewing machines do a great job for sewing a border, sewing on a pocket for your page or just randomly sewing across a background paper.
• Use any decorative stitches your sewing machine might have.
• When hand sewing you might have an easier time if you paper punch small holes where you plan to hand sew. It’s much easier than hoping your needle can pierce the paper evenly.
• Threads and fibers can be used to dangle charms, paper roses and small buttons.
• When hand sewing you might want to lightly trace your pattern or design onto the scrapbook page or cardstock (for a card).
• Try using embroidery flosses and threads, tapestry yarn, tatting thread, metallic threads and specialty yarns. The variety makes for a fun textured page or card.
• To keep fibers from unraveling dab just a touch of clear paper glue to each raw end.
• A dab of clear nail polish with hold any knot and keep it from coming through the paper. Make sure the knot is to the back of your scrapbook page.
• Try mixing colors and textures of fibers for a page.
• Use thick fibers to frame your title, captions or photos.
• Don’t throw out your scraps of threads and fibers. Keep them in a small box and use them for smaller projects.

Many have heard of serendipity squares, but you can’t cut out squares
if you don’t make a sheet of serendipity paper! And don’t get boxed in
to just squares! Serendipity paper is beautiful as strips, weaves,
circles, tags, frames and more.

Supplies Needed

Heavyweight Cardstock: This is your background or “base” sheet of paper.
Scraps Of Paper: The more variety the better. Select a color theme and get out your scraps of textured paper, vellums, velveteens, handmade papers, tissue papers and more.
Paper Glue
Paper Cutter or Scissors & Ruler
Pencil
Optional: Rubberstamps, inkpads, sponges, embossing powder and heat tool.

Step-by-Step

1. If you want to use your rubberstamps, stamp images onto scrap papers. If you want to emboss stamped images use pigment ink, embossing powder and heat tool.
2. If you want more color variety you can use a sponge to apply inks directly to the paper. Heat set any ink.
3. Tear scrap papers into smaller pieces no bigger than 1”. You’ll want variety so make different sizes and shapes.
4. Begin to glue torn paper randomly to your background or base paper. Keep gluing until the surface is covered. This is serendipity paper. Allow glue to dry.
5. Cut your serendipity paper into squares for letters, small photos, borders, pockets and other designs for your scrapbook, rubber stamping or card projects. The random pieces all seem to fall into place creating a very unique paper to use for mats and frames too. No two pieces of serendipity paper ever turn out the same!

Elements of DesignNo matter in what order you take the elements of design each should play a role in your construction of a scrapbook page. Being aware of and understanding each element will often help create scrapbook pages with ease and will help you pinpoint exactly what is “wrong” in a page design you are unhappy with and how you can correct it. The nine elements of design to consider when scrapbooking are:

• Color
• Intensity
• Value
• Line
• Direction
• Size
• Shape
• Form
• Texture

Color

Color is produced when light strikes an object and reflects that light into our eyes. Color is simply the name given to a specific hue such as Peacock Blue or Goldenrod Yellow. Colors are described as warm or cool. Warm colors are yellow, orange and red. The colors of blue, green and violet (purple) are considered cool. Warm or cool colors work well together and combining a warm color with a cool color can help accent or highlight a photo or piece of journaling on a scrapbook page.

Color and color coordination are one of the most important elements of your overall scrapbook design. If you aren’t happy with your color selections you should invest in a color wheel, a handy tool that easily shows colors that work well together. The color wheel is divided into three main categories: primary, secondary, and tertiary. The three primary colors are red, yellow and blue. These colors are used to create all other colors. By combining two of the primary colors, three secondary colors are formed, orange, green and violet. Combining a primary and an adjacent secondary color on the color wheel makes the six tertiary colors. These colors are red-orange, red-violet, yellow-green, yellow-orange, blue-green and blue-violet.

What is known and been studied about color theory could and does fill dozens of books. If you want to learn more about color theory you can find additional reading selections in the appendix.

Intensity and Value

Intensity describes the strength of a color. Value relates to how light or dark a color appears. The blue of the sky on a sunny day (light blue) has a different value than the color of the deep blue sea. You want to coordinate your color intensity and value. Most color wheels incorporate these two elements as well as color.

Line and Direction

A line is defined as a continuous mark made on a surface that can vary in appearance. A line can have length, width, texture, direction and curve. The five directions of lines include vertical, horizontal. diagonal, curved and zigzag. You will see lines and directions within your photographs, in borders and frames, within patterns of decorative papers and within the overall finished page.

Shape and Form

A shape is two-dimensional and encloses space. Think of a circle, square, rectangle or triangle. Shape is geometric, man-made or free form. Keep in mind that shapes can have underlying meanings such as an upside-down triangle reminds of to yield or to take notice. You’ll find shapes in your photographs, lettering, fonts, decorative paper patterns, die cuts and other scrapbooking supplies. Forms are three-dimensional shapes, expressing length, width, and depth. Balls, cylinders, and boxes are forms. Make your shapes and forms work towards coordinating and accenting your scrapbooking page.

Texture

Texture is the surface characteristic or feel of an object. Adjectives like smooth, bumpy, shiny, glossy, rough and soft describe textures we see around us. Textures may be “actual” if you include memorabilia on your scrapbook pages or “implied” through your photographs. Texture can add emotion, appeal to our five senses and make scrapbook pages have a dimensional feel.

Size

As you gather all the different photos and create titles and captions for your scrapbook pages you will discover that each may vary in different size or all maybe be relatively the same size. It’s important that you do have different sizes because if your photo, title, memorabilia and journaling are the same size your eye will not know where to start and the page will look flat and boring. You need to blend a pleasing variety on your page.

Space

Although you may want to fill every space on a scrapbook page, you do need some space that is left open or bare. The blank space often helps feature or highlight a photo or journaling. Avoid overcrowding your page, which ends up looking cluttered, and having a too busy feel.

• Pigment inks stay “wet” longer than dye inks. Pigment inks do not work well on glossy papers unless you are going to emboss the image.
• Dye inks dry very quickly, but colors will fade over time. Dye inks are transparent or translucent.
• If rubberstamping for a scrapbooking page, try to use acid free or archival inks and inkpads.
• Different papers will give different results. Don’t limit yourself to just plain old’ white copier paper, but have fun with the variety available to you. Try stamping on transparency sheets, tissue paper, Shrink-it, vellum and laminating sheets.
• Water-soluble markers can be used directly onto the rubber stamps for colorful stamped images. Do not use permanent markers; they will damage the rubber stamp. Use markers to color stamp image and then breathe onto stamp to re-wet the ink.
• Rubber stamps should be cleaned after use. Use a commercial stamp cleaner or a mild detergent. If the stamp is mounted on wood, do not allow wood to soak in water. Clean only the image. Allow stamp to dry thoroughly before storing.
• Store rubber stamps rubber side down in any type of container. One fun way to store the stamps is in a shadow box or printer’s tray and then hang on the wall for display. Avoid exposing rubber stamp to excessive sunlight.
• To make your own embossing ink/fluid just mix 1 part glycerin to one part water. Brush mixture onto a dry inkpad and stamp away.
• Explore the possibilities of embossing powders. You can mix your own unique blends by measuring out small amounts of different colors. For example when creating fall leaves combine: 1 part gold, 1 part red, 1 part orange and 1 part green. Store as you would any embossing powder.
• Practice makes perfect in stamping. If you are new to rubberstamping, practice stamping images with dye and pigment inks. Practice coloring the rubberstamp with markers and stamping the image. Practice applying paint and glazes. Practice on different weights and types of papers. If you have any odd ceramic tiles, glass panes, wood boards, fabric and other fun surfaces, take a few minutes to practice on these surfaces before starting a project that uses that specific surface. The more you rubberstamp the more skill you’ll have.

There are two simple and straightforward ways to create a clean,
sharp image using a stamp. The first uses a rubberstamp and an inkpad
while the second replaces an inkpad with water-based color markers.

Supplies Needed

Rubberstamp
Ink Pad
Surface to Stamp

Step-by-Step

Stamp and Ink Pad

• Your ink can be dye or pigment ink.
• Tap the rubberstamp to the surface of the inkpad several times. Check stamp to make sure the entire image is evenly inked. Lightly tap to the inkpad because using a heavy hand will cause damage to the pad over time and over-ink your image.
• You can also tap the inkpad to your rubberstamp to ink it. Try both ways and see, which you prefer.
• Place paper (or other surface to stamp) on a hard even surface like a desk or countertop. Gently press inked stamp to paper. Do not rock or wiggle the stamp. Lift stamp straight up.

Stamp and Water-based Markers

• Never use permanent markers. Permanent ink will damage the rubberstamp.
• Set rubberstamp on your worktable or work with the rubberstamp in your hand with the image or rubber side up. Using water-based markers color directly to the rubber image. This technique allows you the greatest variety of coloring the image before it is stamped. When done coloring the stamp you will need to breath or huff on the image to make sure all the marker colors are still wet enough to stamp an image. The colors should have a light sheen signaling you that the marker ink is wet.
• Place paper (or other surface to stamp) on a hard even surface like a desk or countertop. Gently press inked stamp to paper. Do not rock or wiggle the stamp. Lift stamp straight up.

Quick and easy, a rub on or decal can make a great embellishment
to a scrapbook page, card or collage.

Supplies Needed

Paper or Other Surface
Rub On or Transfer
Burnishing Tool

Step-by-Step

1. Make sure you start with a clean surface, clean burnishing tool and clean hands.
2. If necessary trim excess from around the design you want to transfer.
3. Place your design face down on the surface you wish to apply it.
4. Begin to rub the transfer. Start by rubbing down the edges of the design. Rub gently and firmly. When you think you have rubbed the entire surface of the design, slowly lift from one corner to make sure you got the entire design. Don’t worry if you miss transferring a piece of the design, lay the transfer back down and rub again.
5. Most rub ons and transfers come with a paper backing. Remove the transfer backing and place the paper backing over the design. Rub gently with your fingers to seal the bond of the rub on.
6. In most cases you can seal the rub on or transfer with a spray sealer or protective coat of finish. Read rub on or transfer packaging for instructions.