     | | newsletter signup | store directory | bulletin board | calendar | surveys | shop online | coupons | digital designers | Journal Jar -- Article Journaling jars are great for so many reasons! Ceramic or glass jars come in many different styles and take well to altering with a number of familiar scrapbook supplies. I wanted to create a jar that I could change out for different holidays, so hung the decorations on a ribbon and lace that I could easily remove and replace with a new look.
Mango Luau Surfboards -- Article For this project, I collaborated with my dad, a retired engineer who makes furniture as a hobby. I love all the wood shapes that are now being used for scrapbooking and home décor, and had the idea to use wood surfboards to show off my daughter’s surf camp photos. I created a surfboard template out of chipboard, and my dad cut it out of ¼” pressed wood with a jig saw. Bo Bunny’s Mango Luau line is currently one of my favorites and was perfect for giving my boards the look I wanted! I was so excited with the result, that I have designed more custom wood shapes for decorating.
Masculine Wall Hanging -- Article It’s often tricky to create a card for a man’s birthday. Here’s a chipboard puzzle piece, decorated with metal, text, twine and earthy colors. It can be used as a wall hanging.
Pretty Girl Project -- Article My daughter is 4 years old and has quite a collection of hair bows and barrettes. We had them in a basket in our bathroom drawer, but were constantly on the hunt for a missing barrette or one of a certain color to match a particular outfit. I came up with this altered hanger as a way to store all of her hair accessories in an organized and attractive way.
Recycled Candy Holder -- Article Being a scrapbooker, which isn’t really the world’s most “green” hobby, I’m always looking for something to do with the leftover packaging from the items I buy. I have been holding on to this American Crafts packaging that originally held buttons for a couple of weeks now. I’ve seen some different projects made with them, so I thought I’d try it out myself.
Altered Book -- Article I scraplifted the original idea for this altered book, that I made my own. The idea comes from a mixed media blog, created by Françoise Melzani, along with Céline Carbonnel and Manuela Antunes. You can find it at http://lejardindumixedmedia.over-blog.com.
Library of Memories -- Article I am a huge fan of Big Picture Scrapbooking, an online resource for scrapbooking classes. As part of the “Library of Memories” class, I received a blank clipboard and was asked to decorate it to use as a portable desktop. I wanted it to be fun, so I used some of my favorite papers and I also wanted it to remind me of the purpose of the class (which is to get my photos organized), so I added a few of my favorite photos and a quote. Feeling inspired? You too can make one of your own!
Thankful -- Article I created this altered notebook to make a journal of the everyday things I am thankful for. Sometimes it is the little things in life that can truly make a person happy. A simple smile from my beautiful daughter, having a good meal, reading a good book, a kiss from my hubby... these are just some of the things I am thankful for each day. By writing down these things, I learn to appreciate what I have and be thankful for them rather than complaining about life.
Tin of Delights -- Article Decorative papers are not just for scrapbooking anymore. Papercrafting has taken on a faithful following of its own. It is popular among scrapbookers because they already know how to effectively use decorative papers. So it is not uncommon for the creative sort to use just the right amount of decorative paper and embellishments to add flair and personality to dull and unattractive items around the house. This is a very simple project to give as a gift or it could be a tin for you to store your stash such as buttons, ribbons or even quotes. It's recycling as an art form!
Whimsical Stamped Photo Treatment with Gesso -- Article For a wonderfully whimsical photo treatment, grab a fun photo, zoom in on your main subject and print it out. Once the ink is dry, paint over the background with gesso, from the art supply stores. Don't worry about even coverage as you'll be collage stamping all over it! (Note: if your original background was very busy, you may wish to apply a few layers of gesso.) Once the gesso is dry, you have a primed "canvas" that is ready for stamping and painting on!
Altered Jumbo Clip -- Article Jumbo clips are oversized clothespins that will "artfully" hold photos, notes, or even small scrapbook pages on a desk or shelf. This project uses paper and embellishments from a kit to create a one-of-a-kind Note Holder for a calendar page. This altered clip makes the perfect holiday decoration for your desk or table.
My Love Affair with Moleskine -- Article This summer, while trapped indoors to avoid melting in the Nashville heat, I was starting to feel completely useless. You’re all artistic souls, you know the feeling I’m talking about — like the couch is becoming a permanent appendage, and you haven’t done anything to let out all that pent-up creative energy. Well, that feeling had really started to set in right around the time that I discovered a lovely little thing called the Moleskine journal.
Don’t throw it away! -- Article In this day and age of trying to reduce, reuse and recycle, a lot of fun can be had with packaging (with the same idea behind, see Tracey Locher’s Patriotic Milk Carton Mini Album in the July issue). Look carefully before you throw it away, look at the possibilities it offers you and, if it inspires you, go for it, don’t throw it! Here I am sharing three examples of altered packaging made from things you can find easily.
Ribbon Treasure Box -- Article I am a terrible Magpie when it comes to ribbon and can never have enough storage boxes in which to house my little treasures. I can never throw away even the tiniest pieces consequently I am always looking for more containers and boxes. This sturdy case is deceptively roomy and I’m hoping it will stop the panic that sets in when I am desperate to find a particular snippet of ribbon that I put somewhere “for safety”. I know that if I have put something somewhere “safe”, chances are I won’t find it again!
Patriotic Milk Carton Mini Album -- Article Everywhere you look these days you see or hear someone talking about “going green”. From companies telling you how they manufacture their products with hydroelectric power to home improvement channels developing new programs to teach us how to “decorate green,” the green trend is everywhere. Yes, it has even hit scrapbooking. There are many manufacturers already producing green scrapbooking supplies. The future of scrapping is going to be green and gorgeous!!!
Mom’s Diner: Perpetual Meal Planner -- Article My mother used to joke that it sometimes felt like she was running a diner, though she wasn’t a morning person so the breakfast shift at our “diner” was manned by my father, king of the Everything Omelets. Ingredients included anything that struck his fancy, including leftover roast beef and string beans, chopped into pieces and tossed into the pan with the eggs.
Altering...It's For the Birds -- Article Are you like the thousands of paper crafters who keep their scraps? Do you ever wish you could decorate using some of the fantastic designs of scrapbooking paper? You can! There are hundreds of home decorating projects you can create using your favorite papers and customize them to your own décor or that of a friend for a gift. One great little project that can be completed in no time at all is mini altered birdhouses. You can find these unfinished wooden birdhouses at Michael's stores in various styles that range from 3.5” to 5” tall – and the best part is that they are all $1 items! Larger sizes are available at most craft stores, but I've only found these tiny ones at Michael's.
Altered 101 – Altered Bud Vase -- Article This article contains projects for intermediate paper crafters. This month’s project is fun! I’ve saved up a few of those small airplane-sized wine bottles because I always thought they’d make cute bud vases. I could see them all lined up on the windowsill, sun streaming in, little wildflowers or even silk flowers peeking out of the top…
Altered Art 101 – Altered Tissue Box ATCs -- Article I’ve been searching for ages for a good idea for those pretty tissue boxes once the tissues are all gone. Well, some clever soul has come up with a brilliant idea: Cut them up to make bases for your Artist Trading Cards!!
Altered Books 101: Scrapbooking in Altered Books -- Article I have a confession to make: I’m not a big fan of scrapbooking. Don’t get me wrong... there’s nothing inherently bad about scrapbooking, it’s just not ME. I don’t know what it is... a patience factor? A need to keep all of my photos in chronological order and in one place? Who knows, really. I did make a scrapbook to save all of my photos and memories from a 6-week long study trip in England and I still have it: Two albums full of browning, peeling Scotch tape, photos, scribbled memories, and random ephemera. This was back in the 80s, before scrapbooking products were as mainstream and advanced as they are these days. I still look back at those two England albums and think about how much I love the concept of scrapbooking, not to mention all of the supplies. I regularly stroll scrapbook stores for papers and embellishments for my cards, altered books and other projects. I thought about how I love making assorted memory booklets and cards as gifts and wondered why I couldn’t combine my love for altered books with scrapbooking.
AB 101 – Pockets! -- Article This article contains projects for all levels of paper crafters. This month we’ll be looking at pockets for your altered book creations. There are lots of ways to make pockets, whether you simply paste in an envelope, or make a pocket right out of your book pages. We’ll look at some of the simpler pockets in this article.
Many Blessings to be Thankful For -- Article These projects are for all skill levels. At this time of year we take time to reflect on the prior year and count our blessings. The altered pages shown here reflect just a few of the things I have been blessed with during the past year.
Altered Books 101 – Themes and Using Text -- Article This article contains projects for all levels of paper crafters. After you’ve chosen the book (or books!) you want to alter and you’ve prepped the book and practiced with backgrounds, it’s time to put some thought into themes and topics for your pages.
Altered Books 101 – Backgrounds -- Article This article contains projects for all levels of paper crafters. Last month we discussed the basics of choosing a good sturdy book and thoughts about how to begin altering a book. The next step, if you so choose, is to create a good background for your altered pages. This article will discuss some of the myriad techniques for making backgrounds. The slogan “Just Do It” came to mind during the writing of this article, so each technique is very easy and can be accomplished in 10 to 20 minutes.
Altered Books 101 – Getting Going! -- Article This article contains projects for all levels of paper crafters. My childhood home was full of books, whether it was the Winnie the Pooh classics my aunt would give me each birthday, or the books my mom would read to us when we were young, or the shelves upon shelves of “grownup” books my parents had in the living room. I’d scour the titles, touch the bindings, run my hands over the pages. I’d come home from the public library every week with a new stack of at least 10 books to read. At the end of every school year, the nuns had us erase any errant marks in our textbooks so they’d be ready for the next class and I went over mine with a fine-tooth comb, even though I never made a mark in them. I simply love books.
Daddy's Hands Altered Book -- Article The altered book pages in this article incorporate techniques that can be accomplished by crafters of all levels. My father was the best dad a girl could ask for. He understood me because we were so much alike. He was the best example of how to love God, family, and friends and how to take care of those relationships, which included sending cards and letters. My father never took his relationships for granted, but worked at them by keeping in touch.
Alter It! -- Article This article contains projects for all levels of paper crafters. You’ve altered books, tins, CDs and other random thrift store items. Take a close look around the house . . . what else do you have sitting around waiting for your crafty touches?
Easter Baskets -- Article This article contains projects for crafters of all levels. Easter baskets were a big tradition when I was growing up. As the oldest, I of course had the biggest basket. Every year, magically, the Easter Bunny found my basket and filled it with Peeps, jelly beans, and a chocolate bunny, among other treats. Now I’m thousands of miles from my childhood basket, but that’s not stopping me, no sir! The crafty geek in me has decided to think up some brand new basket ideas.
Matchboxes -- Article This article contains projects for intermediate to advanced paper crafters Matchbox shrines, amulets, tributes . . . I call them little boxes that are fun to decorate. Okay, I’ll admit I have a theme and a message to send, but you can use the tiny boxes (less the matches) as an alternative to a card or even as an added embellishment to most any project. They offer an inexpensive way to send a thoughtful greeting that can be hidden until the box is opened. When adding your personal design signature, they become your little masterpieces.
Cures the Wintertime Blues -- Article These projects are for beginner to intermediate stampers. Colorful projects can help to chase away the gloom that winter weather often brings. I hope these vibrant altered art projects will brighten your winter days. Maybe you’ll be inspired to share them with friends.
Freeze Frame -- Article This article contains projects for beginners and intermediate stampers. A new school year brings a slew of new photos of the kids in various sports and school uniforms...here are a few interesting ways to display them, rather than just throwing them into a drawer or a cheesy dime-store frame. Better yet...dress up that cheesy dime-store frame with some of the ideas here!
Mail for Friends -- Article These projects for intermediate to advanced stampers. Mail art is one way to make sure that your correspondence gets noticed. A lovely, cute or funky envelope can give a clue as to what treasures lie within. Since August 1st is Friendship Day, let’s use the occasion to drop a line to a special friend this month.
This Land is My Land Cigar Box Shrine -- Article This project is for beginner to intermediate stampers. Hot dogs, apple pie and ....what else evokes the spirit of the USA for you? I asked a group of my friends that very question and came up with a lot of great answers...some surprising, some unique, all very Americana. Taking those ideas, I decided to build a shrine to the Land That I Love.
Altered Art With Design Originals -- Article Each month our design team is challenged to create art with products from a different manufacturer. This month’s manufacturer’s challenge features Design Originals new product line introduced at HIA in February. Each designer was given an assortment of these new papers, transparencies and other assorted slide mounts and tags.
Girlfriends are Best! -- Article These projects are for intermediate to advanced stampers. Our first experiences socializing in the world as youngsters invariably involve our girlfriends. Your first girlfriend may have even been your sister. Or, she was a neighborhood friend or a classmate. Many of these friendships last throughout our lives. Along the way, of course, we forge many other lifelong friendships.
Spring Chic -- Article This article includes projects for intermediate to advanced stampers. Spring is just around the corner, and with it comes thoughts of proms, Spring parades, bridal showers, weddings, fashion shows, and more. Each of these events seems to call for a new outfit, or at the very least, a new twist for one of our favorite outfits.
Altered Dominos for Great Gifts -- Article This article contains projects for beginner to intermediate stampers. In our Altered Art department, Linda Schultz shows us how to turn a common domino into a fabulous Valentine's Day gift for your friends.
Altered Playing Cards -- Article This article includes projects for a beginner to intermediate stampers. Don’t we all have a deck of cards in a drawer some place, maybe even in your craft room, just waiting to be altered? While growing up I learned how to play many card games, so it’s no great surprise that playing cards hold great memories of times long passed. Maybe that’s why I have such fun collecting and altering them.
Falling for Altered Art -- Article Debbie West shares with us some autumnal altered artwork. Autumn is a time of change, and what better way to change things than by altering them? Altered Art is quite popular these days, although it has been around since the beginning of time. After all, it is human nature to want to improve or change nearly everything we see, be it our own work or that of another.
Dazzling Desk Set -- Article September is a month of changes and new beginnings.
Oh, Domino! -- Article Dominoes are small canvasses that can provide so many hours of pleasure!
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