Apple Magnet Word Game
Pacifier Clip!
Kids Art Block Print Cards
Visit the Best of 2011 Sale and browse our picks for the best products of the year. Save on K & Company Smash, EK Paper Shapers Garland Punches, Clover Wonder Clips and our favorite New Books & Patterns. See more of our favorites of the year…
By Guest Bloggers Melissa + Kellie, from the blog Icing Designs.
There are so many amazing DIY party hats out there, this is just our take on them. All you need to start is your favorite scrapbooking paper, a cheap paper party hat, ribbon (satin or sheer), crepe paper, faux feathers, embellishments of your choice, scissors, a stapler and a hot glue gun! This would be a fun project for New Years!
You can take apart an old or new paper party hat (that you can get at any party store) just to use as a template. We already had a template that we have been using. Just trace the shape of the hat onto the back of the paper you are making your new party hat of. Once traced just follow the lines and cut.
Then just wrap the end of the hat around and shape into a cone and staple. (You can use a glue gun if you want to glue the seems together.)
Its okay if there is a little hole in the top. Use your glue gun to put a dab of glue in the hole at the top of the hat and then stick your feathers in.
Next your are going to take your crepe paper and glue it around the bottom of your hat. Make sure that you glue the crepe paper in the middle so that there is an overlay on the top and bottom. (The middle of the crepe paper should be toward the bottom of the hat).
Then take the top of the crepe paper and pull in down and little bit and the bottom and pull it up just to give it some dimension.
Then you are going to take your two even strips of ribbon and glue them on the inside of either side of the hat. You can use any kind of ribbon you like, satin or sheer. We also glued a strip of different textured ribbon in the middle of the crepe paper.
Lastly, we just embellished the front with a paper rosette with a gem in the middle.
Enter to win a K&Company String Bound Ancestry Scrapbook Album!
The K&Company 14″x 12″ String Bound Ancestry Scrapbook Album has the look of an old fashion scrapbook album with mottled Sienna Brown, “leather look”, paper cover with embossed, ornate, Gold foil borders, at top and bottom, and the word “Album” across the front. Bound on the left side with a Black twisted cord, through eyelets. Inside pages a Black linen-textured paper. Exterior dimensions are approximately 16.5″x 12.5″x 2″.
Every Friday we’ll post a giveaway on Think Crafts and all you have to do is comment on the blog post answering the question of the week. We’ll pick the winner and contact them via email. Deadline is midnight tonight and the winner will be announced Monday. One entry per person please.
Question of week: What is your family’s heritage?
If the comment box is not below, scroll to the top and click “comments”.
These are hand rolled Denim beads. I made some purses with a few pair of jeans and of course kept the legs for a future project, maybe. Well one morning I woke up with this idea. I have made necklace sets, earrings & bracelets with these. They are loads of fun to make and the possibilities are endless. I used Mod Podge Gloss Lustre to roll these up. Wish I could post a second picture of one of the necklaces I made to show just how great they look in a finished picuture.
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Click here to submit a “Featured Crafter”!
By Cardmaking & Scrapbook Layout Contributor, Peg from the blog Peg’s Crafting Corner.
What is New Year’s without a guests or a party? Celebrate by inviting your friends to the celebration using this festive invitation. They are quick, fun and easy to make so you can invite everyone on your list.
Supplies Used:
Begin by cutting an 8″ x 6″ piece of beige cardstock and folding it in half to create card base. Cut a 4 ¾” x 3 piece from the “Leading Ladies” patterned paper from the Graphic 45 Curtain Call Paper Pad and adhere it to the front of the card using the tape runner. Using the gold ink pad, ink the edges and into the center of the card. Repeat this step, using the silver ink pad. It’s ok to ink over the edges of the patterned paper as it helps to tie it all together. In the next step, use the Fired Brick Distress Ink pad and a paper towel to lightly go over the edges to add just a little bit of color to the card. Go back over the red with a clean paper towel to remove any excess ink.
Write the invitation message on the front of the card with the red marker. This will give you a guideline when going over it with the Stickles and a dimensional look to the parts of the letters that are not completely covered by the Stickles.
Adhere the drink glasses to your card, arranging them in a way that you like. I, then, made marks above the glasses to help me know where the Red Stickles confetti dots looked the best and I recommend doing this so that you don’t get too many dots and make things look crowded on the card. You can use a pencil, little dots of paper or whatever you’d like to do this step. Then, create the confetti dots using the bottle of Red Stickles. The last step is to go over the message using the bottle of Gold Stickles and then allowing it to dry completely.
Now you can ring in the new year by sending these invitations to everyone on your list inviting them to the party of the year!
Happy New Year to everyone!
By Craft Trends Contributor, Gillian from the blog Dried Figs and Wooden Spools.
About the time my kids were toddlers, I made a decision to use photos (of them, naturally) as the main “art” in my home. On top of the photos I take (and there are many!) I’ve also had a photographer take portraits of my kids every few years. I love having their smiling faces all around me, but I’d love it even more if I had BIG photos of my kids everywhere! Unfortunately, the cost of giant, canvas mounted photos has prevented this from happening. Until now, that is.
The process of transferring photos to canvas, or wood, or even fabric, – using a decoupage medium - has made huge leaps of late, making now not just possible, but simple, to create your own large scale (or small, of course). While there are several tutorials floating around, these are the ones we like best. Click on the photos to find step-by-step tutorials!
By Cardmaking & Scrapbook Layout Contributor, Peg from the blog Peg’s Crafting Corner.
Q. I’m looking at buying my first paper trimmer, but am confused on the differences between them. Can you please explain the differences?
A. There are 3 basic trimmers: the Rotary trimmer, Fixed Blade trimmer and Guillotine trimmer.
The rotary trimmer has a blade that turns as you move it down your paper to make the cut. With this trimmer, you can also remove the cutting blade and put in a decorative blade that makes a different cut such as a wavy or scalloped one. A rotary trimmer can cut through multiple sheets of paper of lighter weight paper. Many of these have swing out arms that allow you to cut a 12 x 12″ sheet of paper.
A fixed blade trimmer has a blade which moves on a track from the top to the bottom to cut the paper. Some of them come with a wire guide so you can make sure your cut is lined up. These are good for smaller projects like making cards. They are also more portable.
A Guillotine trimmer has a handle that you raise and lower to cut the paper. These allow you to cut multiple sheets of paper at one time and are good to cut heavier weights of paper.
Q. What are the most common card and envelope sizes to use?
A. Cards can be any size you’d like them to be, but you need to keep in mind when making them that the larger and heavier the card the more postage it will need. The 2 most common sizes seen are 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ which is referred to as an A2 sized card, and 5 1/8″ x 7″ or an A7 card size. A7 envelopes are 5 1/4″ x 7 1/4″ and A2 envelopes are 4 3/8″ x 5 3/4″. Premade card bases and envelopes are the easiest way to create cards, but can, also, be made by cutting cardstock into the size you need.
3. What are the differences in inks for stamping?
There are 4 ink types: pigment, chalk, archival and dye.
Pigment inks, such as Ranger’s Distress Inks, allow you to stamp on different mediums such as paper and clay. They’re a slower drying ink making it easier to use for embossing. These inks are fade-resistant, acid free and archival safe. Pigment ink looks like what you see when you look at the stamp pad and will look the same on paper. These inks won’t dissolve in water.
Chalk inks, such as Colorbox Fluid Chalk Inks, give a softer look to what you are stamping and are fast drying. They can be used on many mediums and can be heat set to make more permanent.
Archival ink won’t smear when used to stamp an image; then colored in with a marker or water based dye ink. It is more permanent and fade resistant and works on all types of paper, as well as, glass, fabric, plastic, metal, clay and more.
Dye ink is water based and will dissolve which makes them good for coloring in areas because they blend well. These inks dry faster and work on all types of paper. They are a more concentrated ink so the color will be bolder when dried. It is a more general purpose ink which makes it good for basic stamping.
Q. There are so many adhesives, which one should I use?
A. There are a lot of adhesive types on the market and which one you use will depend on your project. The two you will use most will be a dry adhesive such as a tape runner to adhere your papers and embellishments and a wet adhesive (an all purpose glue is recommended) to adhere things like ribbons and flowers. Tape runners come in refillable or can be thrown out when empty. You can also purchase repositionable ones that allow you to take your item off and move it around on your projects.
Q. What is wet and dry embossing?
A. Wet embossing is where an image is stamped with ink and embossing powder is poured on the image and is melted to the paper using a heat tool. The heat tool is the most important thing to your creation along with the correct ink.
Dry embossing is done using tools such as a stylus that is rubbed over the paper and texture plate. An embossing machine and embossing folders is another good example of dry embossing.
