One of the “in” and fun thing is to use a sketch to create your layouts.   They’re  helpful when you aren’t sure just where to begin or need a little inspiration for a page. This is a simple sketch and layout I created.  The one fun thing about using sketches is that your embellishments don’t have to match the ones on the sketch the butterflies here are 2 flowers and 1 butterfly on my layout.  You can turn the elements in any direction you’d like. Card makers use sketches, too! 

The following products can be found at CreateForLess:

• K & Co. Spring Blossom Paper Pad
• K & Co Abrianna Chipboard Chipbox
• Paper Accents Variety Pack Cardstock
• Fiskars Punch Everywhere Starter  Set
• Marvy Uchida Clever Lever Spring Flower Punch
• Paper Trimmer
• Green Brad
• Favorite Marker
• Favorite Taper Runner
• Click to Download Fun with Sketches PDF
  

  Fun with Sketches

Once  you have the paper and embellishments to create the layout,  you will want to print out the sketch and the pictures.  First trim the pictures according to the sizes listed on the Fun with Sketches PDF.   Next, trim the background  paper (yellow Paper Accents Cardstock) to be a little larger than the pictures.  Here I left those measurements up to you because you may have a piece of patterned paper that doesn’t have a large pattern  such as the tulips in the right corner.   My background papers measured 6 ½” x 4 ¼”  for the large photo and 1 ½” x 1 ½” for the smaller ones.  Adhere to photos and the background paper to the layout using your favorite tape runner.  Be sure to keep the sketch design in mind. 

Punch 2 flowers using the Spring Flower Punch and the yellow cardstock and 1 flower from the green cardstock.  Layer the green and one yellow flower on top of the last yellow one and put the green brad through the center.  Attach the flower on the layout where you’d like it.  Remember the fun thing about using a sketch is it’s ok to put things in different places. 

Trim a piece of yellow cardstock for your “title” square that measures 2 ½” x 3″ and lay it aside.  Trim a piece of green cardstock that measures the same size.  Center it in the Fiskars Punch Everywhere as shown in the picture.

The punch is made to punch once to set the pins and then you will have to push down a second time a little harder to make the cut.

You will now have a piece that looks like this.

Place some adhesive on the back of the frame and attach it to the yellow cardstock you trimmed. 

Adhere it onto the layout and write in your message.  Notice on my layout, I turned my frame sideways.  That’s ok because I’ve still used the element of the sketch and made it my own.  Add the flower and butterfly to the layout where you’d like them and your layout is now finished. 

Be sure to use the sketch and create your own layouts!  For even more fun join the CreateForLessFacebook page and share with everyone what you have created. 

Enter to win a prize pack from DCWV! This prize from DCWV includes The Glam Rhinestone Stack Neutrals & Brights! We are celebrating National Scrapbooking Day all month long at Think Crafts. Look for Scrapbooking prizes for Free Stuff Friday all of May!

 The Glam Rhinestone Stack includes 24 sheets of 12″x12″ printed cardstock, with rhinestones on every page! Comes with 24 sheets; 2 of each print. The Glam Rhinestone Stack has array of flowers and geometric designs, all highlighted in shades of olive green, butter-cream yellow, coral red, and robin egg blue.

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 the Week: Are you following CreateForLess on Pinterest?

If the comment box is not below, scroll to the top and click “comments”.

In spring and summer time I love the pastel colors you start to see.  There’s just something special about the pinks, light greens, blues, etc.  This time of year, there are also a lot of celebrations that take place…birthdays, baby showers and even bachelorette parties and more which makes this card and its color versatile for many occasions.  

• White Cardstock
• Pink Cardstock
• Echo Park 6 x 6 Victoria Gardens Paper Pad
• Petaloo Hydrangea Roses
• Colorbox Tutti Frutti Queue Ink Pad
• Inkadinkado Wine and Tags Stamps
• Acrylic Block
• Bo Bunny Trinkets
• Favorite Tape Runner
• Tombow Mono Aqua Glue
• Mini Pop Dots
• Martha Stewart Precision Scissors
• Martha Stewart Deep Edge Scroll Punch
• We R Memory Keepers Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper
• Imaginisce i-rock Hot Rocks Jewels
• i-rock Tool

Start by cutting a piece of white cardstock to measure 11″ x 4″ and fold in half.  This will be the card base.  Round each corner of the card base using the ¼” side of the Corner Chomper.   Next, cut a piece of the pink patterned paper from the Victoria Gardens Paper Pad to measure 3 ½” x 5″ and round the corners.  Adhere it onto the base. 

One nice thing about acrylic stamps is that you are able to place them on the stamp block with the ends higher than the middle because they do have a little give to them as seen in the picture.  Place the “Let’s Celebrate” stamp from the Wine and Tags Stamp Set onto the acrylic block with the ends curved a little upward.  Ink the stamp using the Pinkolicious ink pad from the Tutti Frutti Queue Ink by Colorbox and stamp in the center of the patterned paper. 

Take the Martha Stewart Scroll Punch and pink cardstock and punch a row of the hearts.  Trim 3 of the hearts with scissors to fit on the bottom of the card, making sure the largest heart is centered with the center of the card and that the edges of the hearts on the sides are a little rounded to match the curve of the rounded corners.  Glue on using the Tombow Mono Aqua Glue. 

Place the Petaloo flowers onto each of the top corners using 2 mini pop dots that have been stacked onto one another for each flower.  Also, add the Bo Bunny trinket using 2 more stacked pop dots to the center top of the card.  After heating the i-rock tool, affix a green Hot Rock Jewel onto the center of each flower. 

Now, let the celebration begin and use these as invitations to your special party!  Write the important information on the inside or use this really cool Party Invite stamp set by Inkadinkado!

Having flowers in the home isn’t always possible, especially when there’s kids or animals who can easily get at them. In that case, a better option is to make paper flowers, which is an especially cute craft idea to do with kids. It requires only a handful of items, but you can end up with a small window box of adorable paper flowers that everyone will love.

What you’ll need:

• Rocks
• Colored paper
• Tissue box
• Mod Podge
• Green pipe cleaners
• Scissors
• Pencil

Step 1. Draw petals on various colors of paper, then cut them out. You can mix and match, do single colors or a combination of both.

Step 2. Cut out circles for the middle of the flowers.

Step 3. Glue the edges of the petals onto the back of the circles to form flowers, then give them ample opportunity to dry.

Step 4. Trim the top off a tissue box, then fill the box with rocks.

Step 5. Use Mod Podge to adhere a single green pipe cleaner onto the back of each flower. You can use the pipe cleaners to also make leaves or you can leave them without.

Step 6. Stick the flowers into the rocks. If they start to fall over, use the rocks to hold the stems in place. Make sure all of the flowers fully stick out from the box.

I have to admit that National Backyard Games Week was new to me when I first heard about it.  I searched the internet to find out that it is used to observe the unofficial start of summer and comes the week before Memorial Day every year.  This year it’s May 18^th – 25^th.  

The week is used to promote physical and social activity amongst family, neighbors and friends all while playing the games that we grew up on such as pillow case races, H-O-R-S-E and many others.  One idea to celebrate the week is by having a party or a carnival.  A good place to start for that is by creating invitations to send to friends and family telling them to come join the fun.  This is a quick and easy invitation that even your children can help you make. 

Begin by using items that will represent some of the games that you used to play and will be playing at the carnival.  It will add an element of excitement to the receiver of the invitation when they remember what games they used to play and for kids trying to guess what games will be there. 

Using a piece of green cardstock that measures 9 3/8″ long x 6 1/2″ wide and fold in half.  Next, punch the rope, using the EK Success Braid Punch, to represent the game of tug of war at the bottom of the front flap. 

I have been using the new American Crafts Dear Lizzy Neapolitan line and loving it.  The line had the perfect elements I was looking for to include on this invitation.  I began with using the Accents and Phrase Sticker Book and chose the bicycle to represent a bike parade, the arrow for a bow and arrow contest and of course you have to include some fun so I used the “fun” ticket sticker.  One of my favorite pieces is the 3 tickets stickers because on them they say, “Here’s the scoop” and I used a black marker to write on the lines, “You Are Invited.”   I, also, included a the measuring tape piece from the Sunny Skip patterned paper to represent a jumping contest and the ice cream cone from the First Date patterned paper to include an ice cream eating contest. 

Since the celebration is all about being outdoors I just had to use the Silver Lining Vellum for some clouds.  I didn’t just want to stick the entire sheet on because it just didn’t fit correctly into the design so I used my Xyron Create A Sticker Machine to make them into stickers after cutting them out.  This helped to adhere them onto the invitation without have the adhesive show. 

In order to make the clouds into stickers, simply run them through the Xyron Create A Sticker Machine, peel them off the adhesive and stick them to your project. 
Now that you have an idea for the party invitations, start inviting your family and friends to join you for the unofficial kick off to summer and have fun playing the games you played as kids with your children and their friends!

Q1. How do I create a vintage look on a layout or card?

A1. A good starting point to achieving a vintage look is by inking the edges of your projects in a brown or sepia ink. Another easy thing to do is to distress the edges of your paper. Once you have them distressed you can ink the distressed edges or leave them alone. If you are doing any stamping on the project you can stamp the image in the brown or sepia ink to give it an old look. Using tan, yellows or brown papers, too, is another great way to achieve a worn, vintage look.

 Q2. Do you have any organization tips?

A2. CreateForLess carries a large selection of organizational and storage items for all of your craft supplies. Some of them are created to fit into your craft space to store things like small tools, ink pads, embellishments and other things in. There are some storage pieces that are designed to help you store your paper especially those 12 x 12 sheets. Don’t forget that sometimes you will want to take your supplies with you so those made with handles and divided sections are good for on the go.

 Q3. What can I use to temporarily mount unmounted stamps?

A3. Tack ‘N Peel are reusable sheets that help your rubber stamps cling to the acrylic or wood block and are the perfect answer to using those unmounted stamps. The adhesive side creates a bond between the sheet and the block which helps keep the sheet from moving and when the stamp is applied you don’t have to worry about it falling off or moving while you stamp the image.

 Q4. How do I keep the intricate pieces from sticking in my dies?

A4. The answer to this is an easy one.  Blue Painter’s Tape.  Since it’s made not to permanently stick and won’t harm surfaces it’s a great choice to use on your dies.  Simply cover the intricate areas on your dies before placing the paper over the top.  Run it through your die cut machine and once you’re done pull the tape off.  Those little pieces pop right out!

Q5. I like to use my distress inks and spritz them with water to use on things, but my paper curls up.  What can I do about that?

A5. The first thing is to make sure that you are not oversaturating the paper.  Watercolor paper is good to use for this technique as it is made to hold water without becoming too wet.  It is made so that when water is placed on it the water sits on the surface and doesn’t bleed the color into the fibers making them less intense and since all the liquids aren’t absorbing into the paper it doesn’t have the chance to saturate and cause the paper to curl.

Many girls love the color pink, so what better way to decorate the packaging of a special gift than to use a handmade girly gift tag. It takes only a few items, but before long, you can have a perfect gift tag the recipient will adore.

What you’ll need:

• Pink cardstock
• Gift Tag
• Pink scrapbook paper
• Pink ribbon
• Hole punch
• Mod Podge
• Silver glitter glue
• Puffy sticker

Step 1. Use the Mod Podge to adhere a section of the pink scrapbook paper to the pink cardstock.

Step 2. Cut the piece into the shape of a gift tag.

Step 3. Cut a piece of ribbon that fits horizontally across the top part of the gift tag, then cut another piece large enough to make a bow. Attach the horizontal piece first, then follow it up by attaching the bow on top of it.

Step 4. Punch a small hole just above the bow.

Step 5. Use glitter glue to go over any designs that are on the scrapbook paper to make it pop.

Step 6. Attach a puffy sticker in the center of the gift tag.

When you’re giving a gift to someone who loves birds and/or the outdoors, a bird gift tag can be a beautiful addition to the wrapping. The best part is that you can personalize it for the recipient, right down to the color ribbon you use.

What you’ll need:

• Plain gift tag
• Book page
• Mod Podge
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Tissue
• Ink pads in two colors
• Bird stamp

Step 1. Choose a book page to adhere to the front of the tag. I chose a page from an antique french dictionary, but you can choose any you think the recipient would love.

Step 2. Trim the excess paper from the tag.

Step 3. Rub the tag along an ink pad until there’s color along the edges.

Step 4. Stamp the image of a bird into the center of the tag.

Step 5. Dab a tissue into the same color ink you used along the edges of the tag, then blot it all over the front of the tag.

Step 6. Take a second tissue, blot it in a second complementary color of ink, then blot it all over the front of the tag.

Step 7. Punch a hole into the top of the tag

Step 8. Put a ribbon through the hole.

School is almost out and I wanted to make something special for my Kindergartener’s teacher to wear on the last week of school! It thought that the Lemon Flower Stack would be the perfect “happy, spring” stack for this project!

I created a special badge that says “Best Teacher Ever” for Mrs. M to wear. It shows just how we feel about her!! The top was cut out with a Tim Holtz Sizzix Die….layered patterned paper and chipboard to make it a little sturdy.

Then I layered ribbon that matched the stack to jazz it up a little bit. This ribbon is sooo pretty!!

I hope she likes it! Troy is so excited to give it to her

There’s nothing more fun than to receive a flower on a special day and what better thing to have is a flower pot that you can keep.  This beautiful flower pot card was created using the new American Crafts Neapolitan Dear Lizzy Collection. This would be a great project for Mother’s Day, which is on the 13th.

Plus tomorrow for Free Stuff Friday enter to win a prize pack from the American Crafts Neapolitan Dear Lizzy Collection!

Products Used:

• Orange cardstock
• American Crafts Dear Lizzy Patterned Paper:  Hazy Horizons, Sweet Sundress and Warm Memories
• American Crafts Dear Lizzy Ribbon: Printed and Specialty
• Craft Stick
• Foam Sheets in Green
• Wet Glue
• Tape Runner
• Martha Stewart Scoring Board
• Martha Stewart Paper Trimmer
• Stylus
• Scissors
• Ruler and Pencil
• EK Retro Flower Punch
• EK Open Scallop Edger Punch

Begin by cutting a piece of orange cardstock to be 4 ½” x 12″ and score at the 2″ mark using the Martha Stewart Scoring Board.  Now move the 2″ score line over to the left so that it is at the zero mark on the scoring board and score at the 5″ mark.  This will give you 3 sections- one that is 2″ wide and two that are 5″ wide. 

Fold the last 5″ long section up over the other; leaving the 2″ section unfolded.  Measure 1 ¼” in from each side of the paper and make a mark. 

Using a ruler and pencil draw the lines from the marks you just made to the top corners of the 5″ flap as shown in the picture. 

Place the paper in the trimmer matching the pencil line to the trimmer’s cutting track and cut on the pencil line. 

Repeat this step with the other side again lining the pencil line up with the track. 

Using the EK Open Scallop Edger Punch, punch a scalloped edge on the top of the 2″ flap.

Trace 2 of the flower pot shapes using one of the flaps as a template onto the Hazy Horizon sheet and cut them out.  Adhere one sheet with the wavy stripes out onto the front of the flower pot that will be the front of the card.  Lay the second sheet aside for now. 

This is what your card will look like at this point.  Run a piece of tape from your favorite tape runner along the inside edge near the fold.  Tie the ribbon around the flap and fold the flap down to secure. 

Now, punch 8 flowers using the EK Retro Flowers punch and the Sweet Sundress and Warm Memories Patterned Paper from the new American Crafts Neapolitan Dear Lizzy line.  Glue them together using your favorite wet adhesive glue.  Taking the stylus and 2 foam sheets stacked on top of one another gently emboss the center of the flowers going in circles until you reach the center.  This will give each petal a little curl to add a little dimension. 

Take one of the foam sheets and trim 4 long strips off to make the flower stems.  Next, fold each strip in half and then open up and add some glue onto one of the halves.  Fold down again and hold until secure.  This will create a stem that is sturdy enough to hold the flowers up right. 

Once the stems are dry, glue them to the flowers using the wet glue and allow them to dry.  After they are dry, run a piece of tape along the edge of your flower pot and place the stems over the tape making sure the flowers are at different heights.  Trim off any excess stems that are below the tape using a pair of scissors.  This will help remove some of the bulkiness when the patterned paper is placed over them. 

Take a craft stick and trace around it onto the Sweet Sundress Patterned Paper, cut it out and adhere it to the craft stick using the tape runner. 

Attach the pinwheel from the American Crafts Dear Lizzy line to the top and put it in the middle of the flowers on the flower pot making sure it is the tallest of all the pieces.

Take the second flower pot shaped paper that you traced earlier and making sure the green side is up; adhere it over the flower stems and the bottom of the pinwheel as shown in the picture. 

Find the four small flower shapes shown in the picture from the Serendipity Thickers and place it in the center of each flower. 

Use one of the cute stamps or fun stickers that are in the new Dear Lizzy line to add a special sentiment to the card and plant some smiles in a person’s day!

Scrapbook paper can be used in all crafts, not just scrapbooking. Scrapbooking paper has fun designs and coordinating color sheets to use in your projects. In this project they used scrapbook paper for the front on a passport cover. Adorable!

I love this idea! Why shouldn’t your passport be so darling and personable?!

The New American Crafts Neapolitan Dear Lizzy Collection is so scrumptiously fun that my imagination went wild when I received it.  I am so excited to share some of the fun new things in the line with all of you!  I know once you see it you’ll have to have it.  I heard recently the colors of this line being described as candy coated and after hearing that I knew the perfect picture I had to use to create this layout. 

Many years ago, I went to school and became a Certified Chocolatier and had this picture of one of my chocolate pieces lying around waiting to be scrapped. After hearing the comment about the colors in this paper line I knew I wanted to use it to go with this picture.  Think of all of the fun pictures that you have waiting to scrap yet and you will soon find that many of them are just waiting for the new American Crafts Neapolitan line, too! 

The New American Crafts Neapolitan Dear Lizzy Collection Used Here:

• American Crafts Neapolitan Dear Lizzy Patterned Paper- Lucky Laugh & Cheerful Notes
• American Crafts Neapolitan Dear Lizzy Large Tags
• Thickers:  Neapolitan Dear Lizzy- Splendid
• American Crafts Neapolitan Dear Lizzy Brads
• American Crafts Accent & Phrase Stickers Book
• American Crafts Ruffle Paper
• American Crafts Neapolitan Vellum Sheet:  Sparkling Smile
• Additional Craft Tools Used:
• EK Success 1″ Circle Cutter
• Martha Stewart Travel Trimmer
• Martha Stewart Scoring Board
• Favorite wet glue: I used Tombow Mono Aqua Glue
• Favorite Taper Runner

Often striped paper just isn’t the look we are wanting on a layout, but it could be and we just don’t think about it.  Turn the striped paper so the stripe runs horizontally.  This will always give your layouts a new and creative look because we often don’t think of turning a striped paper in a different direction.   The pastel stripes in the Neapolitan line make it fun to do that! 

I love the new Ruffle Paper in the line.  It can be used as a whole sheet for the background of a layout or trimmed down like I did here and used as an embellishment strip.  It is easy to use in a paper trimmer and can be trimmed as long or wide as you want it.  How fun is that? 

I used my Martha Stewart Scoring Board to score the Ruffle Paper every 1″ and then folded peaks and valleys so that it would stand up off the paper to create a raised dimensional look.  I added two strips of wet glue on 2 of the peaks and glued my picture which was adhered to the dotted paper from the Cheerful Notes sheet. 

I punched a circle from the Sparkling Smiles Vellum sheet and put one of the fun matching brads through it to create a layered look and to fill an empty spot on the layout.  I love that the paper punches so easily and the additional look that is added by using the brads in it! 

The stickers are fantastic!  There are so many different sayings and pictures to add just the right touch to any card or layout.  I had no trouble finding a saying that would work with my chocolate shoe picture.  In fact, I had trouble deciding what one to use so I included several and by adding one of the tags (you get 12 in the package) it allowed me to add more stickers.  

I can’t say how much I love the letters.  The whimsical cursive letters are perfect for titles or whatever you imagination dreams up!  The smaller foam ones add a sharp contrast to the cursive ones to make a statement.  It just doesn’t get any more fun than that! 

The new American Crafts Neapolitan Dear Lizzy line is so much fun all you will want to do is to create with it and not do anything else!

Around my home we always seem to have great opportunities to take pictures of wildlife.  Every year we have several different types of butterflies that enjoy these purple phlox I have planted.  Butterflies are one of my favorite things to take pictures of and make into layouts.  Often though, it is hard to see them in a picture.  Do you have pictures like that?  Where there is so much in the picture it’s hard to see the subject?  There’s a fun way to draw attention to them in your layouts…frame them!      

Supplies Used:

• Bo Bunny Gabrielle Flight 12 x 12 Paper
• Butterfly Embellishments from the Gabrielle Line
• Coredinations Black Magic Cardstock-Orange
• Coredinations Sanding Tool
• Dust Buddy Tack Cloth
• Lagoon Stickles
• EK Layering Heart Punch
• EK Large Butterfly Punch
• Light Yellow Cardstock
• Light Orange Cardstock
•  Orange Coredinations Hocus Pocus Cardstock
• Heritage Cricut Cart
• Cricut Die Cut Machine
• Favorite Adhesive and Tape Runner

     Start by attaching your photos to your layout using your favorite tape runner. 

Punch 1 heart per picture on your layout from the light yellow cardstock using the EK Layering Heart Punch set to the middle heart and lay aside the solid heart to use on another project.   Take the open heart pieces, which will be the frames for the subjects in your photos, and go around the top of the heart with the Lagoon Stickles.  Lay all of the pieces aside to dry.  

Using the EK large butterfly punch, punch 2 butterflies from the orange Coredinations cardstock and sand the wings  with the sanding tool inward leaving the body of the butterfly and antennae black.  Wipe off the pieces using the tack cloth to remove any leftover dust and then run a line of Lagoon Stickles down the center for the body and allow to dry. 

Next, you will use your cricut and the Heritage cart to cut the words “Butterfly Love”.  Set the size to cut to 1″ and cut the words, “Butterfly Love” using the font key on the keypad and the light yellow cardstock. Then, cut them again using the font key and the shadow key turned on together to cut the letters from the light orange cardstock.  Adhere the font letters onto the shadow cut letters using your favorite adhesive. 

Assemble all of the pieces on your layout using your favorite adhesive and tape runner.  Don’t forget to place your hearts around the subjects in your pictures that you love.  On this layout I placed the word “butterfly” unevenly to make it look like  it was floating like a butterfly would; which added extra interest to the title, too.  Have fun adding special features like this to your layouts, also! 

Next time you have the opportunity to capture great photos don’t hesitate to get them even if they are further away.  When you do your layout you can add a frame to bring attention to what you love about the photo! 

I have fun experimenting with different scrapbooking materials and one bad habit I have is to save the packaging from the embossing folders that I buy. One day, I came across them and decided to try making my own embellishments with the leftover packaging. I used my Cuttlebug Embossing Machine, a floral embossing folder, my favorite color of Stickles & viola

Supplies Used:

• K & Company Spring Blossom 12 x 12 Paper Pad
• Yellow and Blue Cardstock
• Stickles:  Glam Pink, True Blue, Firefly and Yellow
• Tombow Mono Liquid Glue
• Weathered Wood Distress Ink Pad
• Martha Stewart Monarch Butterfly Punch
• Fiskars Fingertip Craft Knife
• Self Healing Mat
• Cuttlebug
• Fancy Corners Embossing Folder Set
• Favorite Tape Runner
• Scissors
• Ruler

Remove the packaging from the embossing folders and cut a piece large enough to fit the folder with a pair of scissors.  Run the folder through the Cuttlebug using the “A” plate and 2 “B” plates.

This is what you will have after doing this step. 

On the reverse side, the debossed side, color in the pattern using the Glam Pink and Firefly Stickles.  Allow to it to completely dry.  If you have some areas that you missed you can go over them again to fill them in.  Use the Yellow Stickles to put a dot for the flower center on the embossed (top) side of the piece.

We often use a mat behind the photo, but I have a second way that I like to bring on the attention…by adding a frame around the picture.  Begin by measuring just the picture; not counting any border that you have left around the outside. The photos I used measured 2 7/8″ x 2 7/8″ so I cut a 3 ½” x 3″ piece of yellow cardstock.  Next, measure the photo from the edge to the side of the actual photo and then measure that on the all sides of the cardstock and connect the lines.  It will give you a frame that looks like this. 

Using the penciled in lines as your cutting guide, cut the inside of the square out using the Fiskars Fingertip Craft Knife and self healing mat.  Remove the center piece.

Adhere the photos using a tape runner and put the frames over the photos using either a dot of Tombow Mono Liquid Glue or a little tape from the tape runner on each corner.  Also, adhere the dried Stickled embellishment you created to the center of the layout using small dots of glue on the areas colored with the Stickles so it’s not seen. Let dry.   

Punch 8 butterflies using the Martha Stewart Butterfly punch and blue cardstock.  Ink the edges of 4 of them with the ink pad.  Layer the pieces to create 4 butterflies and add the True Blue Stickles to create the bodies.  Once these are dry, glue them to the corners of the frames using the Tombow Mono Liquid Glue. 

You know have a finished layout using recycled items. It’s a great way to create fun embellishments and to recycle the packaging from the tools you buy.

We eat, breath, and sleep army type stuff in this house. So, when I seen a rather large box in the garage I knew just what to do with it. However, if you don’t have a large box tucked away in your garage, your neighborhood Lowes or Home Depot sells them.

What you will need:

• 1 large box and one 1 medium box. Must be large enough to fit in unless this tank is for decoration purposes.
• Tape (I loved the camo duct tape)
• 1 brown bag paper roll
• Scissors
• School glue
• Construction paper
• Markers
• Craft knife (or a steak knife works if you are in a bind like me )

Directions:

Tape the medium box to the large box. Cut off the top. Cut a hole in the large box so that you can fit into it.

Cut a small hole into the medium box and insert the paper roll. Secure it with tape both on the inside and the outside.

Cover with construction paper using school glue to attach. Cut 6 round circles and glue them on the bottom to make wheels. Cut out two rectangles and write US ARMY on them. Glue them on. Make a star for the front and back.

GO PLAY!

Pop up cards are fun to make, and to using a sketch to put the embellishments on, adds a whole new level of fun.  They are 2 of my favorite things and I know after creating this one they will be on your lists of favorites, too. 

Supplies Used:

• Blue Cardstock
• Yellow Cardstock
• White Cardstock
• Hippity Dance in the Rain by Imaginisce
• Hippity Honey Bunny by Imaginisce
• Ink Pad
• Acrylic Block
• Martha Stewart Craft Knife
• Martha Stewart Scoring Board
•  3-d Adhesive Squares
• Garden Life Stamp By Inkadinkado
• ½” Circle Punch
• Paper Trimmer
• Favorite Tape Runner
• Favorite Markers
• April Showers bring May Flowers Sketch (Click to Download)

First, print out the sketch and then move onto cutting the blue cardstock to be 6″ x 6″.  Also, cut the Hippity Dance in the Rain sheet in half to give you two 6″ x 6″ sheets.  Adhere a piece of the patterned paper to one side of the cardstock for the outside of the card.  Turn cardstock to the other side and tape the other piece of patterned paper to it making sure that the patterns on each side are different and that they are not upside down.  Fold the card in half after scoring the center with the scoring board.

Measure 2 3/8″ from each side of the card and make a mark.  From the center fold, measure ¾” above the fold and ¾” below the fold and make a mark at both points.  Place the card on the scoring board and score  the horizontal lines as shown in the picture.  Cut  vertically through all of the layers from the top score line to the bottom score line on each end as shown in the picture. Fold the center of the piece so that it “pops” out towards you.  Lay it aside. 

Stamp your image onto white cardstock and color with your favorite markers.  Cut around the image to make a 4 ¼” x 4 ¼” square.  Cut a piece of yellow cardstock that measure 4 ½” x 4 ½” and adhere the stamped image to it using your favorite tape runner.  Adhere it to the bottom of the pop up stand that you cut in the step above. 

Now using the sketch, add the embellishments to the inside and outside of the card.  Remember in using a sketch the embellishments do not have to be the same as what is shown, but should in some way resemble it.  Here I used the sketch and changed the clouds to umbrellas that I hand cut from the Hippity Honey Bunny Sheet.  I, also, use it to cut the sentiments out and adhered them to the card using the 3-d adhesive.  I used a ½” circle punch to punch the 3 birds out  which take the place of the flowers on the sketch.  

 Now it’s your turn!  Go have some fun and create this card so you can add it to your favorite things to create list, too!   

For this craft you may need to head out to the recycle bin! What I loved most about this is that my son had the opportunity to really put on his creative thinking cap! I sat several boxes, cans, toilet paper rolls, etc… into the center of the table. From there we began constructing out Recycled Robot guy and we had some great laughs in the process!

 What you will need:

• Recycled Containers (Goldfish, cans, coffee containers, etc…)
• 2 toilet paper rolls (cans work as well)
• 2 towel rolls
• Googly eyes
• Construction paper
• Glue
• Tape
• Scissors

Directions:

1. Assemble your robot as pictured or as desired.
2. Use tape to adhere the toilet paper and towel rolls (legs and arms).
3. Cut out several strips of constriction paper and crinkle it accordion style.
4. Glue it on the top.
5. Glue on the googley eyes.
6. Cut out a nose and mouth. Glue it on.
7. Decorate any way you wish!

For those of us who have quite a bit of wall space exposed, the bottom area near the trim can seem bland and boring. Although it may seem like there’s nothing you can do about it, one of the easiest ways to brighten it up is to put some paper flowers in that space. It’s super easy to make and is the perfect project to do with kids.

What you’ll need:

• Green cardstock
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Colored cardstock
• Glitter glue
• Double-sided tape
• Mod Podge 

Step 1. To make a tulip, cut a stem and leaves from green cardstock. The bottom of it must be flat so it can line up with the trim or floor.

Step 2. Cut a tulip head from any color cardstock you wish. The head should be proportionate to the stem and leaves you made.

Step 3. Use Mod Podge to glue the tulip head to the top of the stem.

Step 4. Use green glitter glue to draw lines on the leaves to differentiate where the different leaves are and to show where the center lines are on the leaves.

Step 5. Use glitter glue that’s the same color as your tulip head to show the lines of the petals. Give all the glue ample time to dry before moving it.

Step 6. Test the double-sided tape to make sure it won’t pull the paper or paint off the wall before moving onto the next step.

Step 7. Put tape on the back of the flower, then line it up to the floor or trim.

Step 8. Make more flowers and line them up next to the first one or overlap them to make them look like a field of flowers along the trim. If you choose, you can even just put up single tulips randomly around your home. 

April 22^nd is Earth Day.  How are you celebrating this year? One part of helping the earth and celebrating Earth Day is by recycling.   I’ve done several projects this year for that day so I began thinking about what we’ve done to help the earth.  I decided to do this scrapbook layout to show some of the activities that my family has done to help celebrate.  It, also, got me to thinking about the things I use for those projects.  Are they eco friendly?  

One thing I did was to find paper that can be used on my project that is recycled. Of course, my first choice was my favorite kraft paper.  That way I can help keep it out of the landfills and create some fabulous projects with it.  Did you know that if you type in the word “recycled” in the search box at CreateForLess it gives you a large amount of items in all craft types to choose from?  Try it!  It’s fun to see what you can find to use.  I found this really cool recycled symbol done in rhinestones that I can imagine on several projects.  It could be ironed on a shirt or a piece of material and then sewn onto a layout or card. 

This year, my son wanted to plant a garden and wanted to start the seeds himself.  While looking for Earth Day activities that we are doing, I realized that he was doing one by planting a garden for us which will give us enough to use with no waste and no packaging from the stores to go to the landfill.  We have the containers for the seed starters that are plastic but we will use them again next year thus keeping them out of the trash.  Another thing I decided to grow this year was our own flowers.  This will help beautify our area and the seeds I get off these plants will be used for future plants.  We can give back to the earth by planting a tree.  They are important to the ecology in many ways and they provide us with things like shade so you can’t go wrong by planting a tree to celebrate Earth Day, 2012! 

Join the celebration this year.  Plan what your family can do to help the earth.  Start by looking for crafting supplies that are recycled and use those.  Don’t forget to scrapbook what you do because just like giving back to the earth when we plant a tree or pick up garbage, we give back to our families in the future by scrapbooking our activities. 

 Products Used:

• Recycled Kraft Paper
• Paper Accents Cardstock in Apple Green and Lilac or their Variety Pack
• Red Cardstock
• Green Cardstock
• Martha Stewart Flower Stamp Punch
• Martha Stewart Branch Punch
• Favorite Markers- Green and Blue
• Colorbox Ink -Deep Grape
• Colorbox Ink – Mud Slide
• Indie Cricut Cart
• Cricut Machine

After a while we tend to start giving our layouts the same look or have the same sized pictures so they start looking like the ones we’ve done before. The same numbers of embellishments are on each one, everything is smooth on it or has only one layer to it and they become boring.  How do we change this? 

 I started thinking about the things I’ve learned and used it to create this layout.  One of the first things I was taught is it is more pleasing to the eye to have 6 to 7 items in a grouping.  If you notice in nature flowers most often have 5 or 6 of petals on them and that’s what makes them pleasing to the eye.  For the layout, I grouped 7 flowers using the Que Sera Sera Cardstock and Acetate Die Cuts by K & Co. together.  One thing to note is most packages of embellishments contain an even number of items so it is always best to buy 2 packages so you have that odd number in case you want it. 

Another way to give your layout its own personality, is to give it texture even if it’s on the paper you are using.  Here I was able to match the dots of the Watercolor Bouquet Paper Pad to the Wild Raspberry Flowers and Butterflies patterned paper (the backside of the paper is the one I used) for my layout.  I also added more texture by running my letters through the Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots Embossing Folder which helped take away the smooth, plainness of the paper.  The background paper is already smooth so by creating a texture on the letters it will help tie it all together. 

Layering items and adding items of different sizes including pictures layered on other pieces of paper will add more of a visual effect to the layouts.  Something sticking up off the page always draws attention. A photo lifted off the paper or chipboard pieces such as the butterfly from the Abrianna Chipboard Chipbox by K & Co. are great things to use to add dimension.    

One of the most important elements to creating a scrapbook layout is color.  If the colors are inviting to the eye the more time that is spent looking it over and enjoying it.  Too many colors that don’t flow together can be too overwhelming.  A good rule to go by is to pull the colors from the photos.  There doesn’t need to be a lot of different colors in the photo, but even 2 colors that are utilized are a good starting point.  Remember that you can also choose just a couple of colors and do various hues of those colors to add interest like I did with this layout. 

Remembering these 4 simple things will help you in giving your layouts a personality of their own.