Making a Statement with your Titles and A Huge Contest

This month we are having a contest with the winner receiving a $25 gift certificate to Happy n Scrappin', where low prices on the newest products keep Scrappers happy!

Here's how you can win:  Get people to visit our site through your blog.  We are able to track which site is providing the most links to ours and we will determine who sent the most our way at the end of the month.  You can place a link on your sidebar, or your blog roll, or mention us in posts.  Anyway they get here will count!   We want people to check out our new style and we hope you can help us get out there even more!

Now, on to some inspiration...

Titles can be tough!  If you aren't trying to find a creative way to title your layout, you might be trying to place it in a  way that stands out.  Today we want share with you some ideas for making your titles pop and provide you with inspiration to change things up a bit!.

One way to make your titles stand out more is to place them in different ways.  

Erin placed her title over die cuts, making the title pop out more.

October Sketch Extravaganza reveal!

Please read to the end for the winner of The Stamping Boutique digital stamps!

We gave you the sketches, and you shared your projects! It was hard to narrow it down, but here are my favorites for each designer's sketch.

Based on Sasya's Sketch:

 Anastasia

Based on Pia's Sketch: 

 Mieko Sejima

Based on Ann-Katrin's Sketch:

Marianne Skorpionen

Stay tuned for more sketches coming in November, and the chance to share your interpretation here!

Our winner of 5 digital stamps from The Stamping Boutique is Tiara Moore.

Tiara commented : "I hadn't really thought of using digi stamps as home decor before, but now that you mention it, it sounds like a pretty great idea! Definitely something I'll be trying in the future! Thanks for the inspiration!"

Happy Halloween!

How about some distressing tutorials this morning?

We have such incredible ideas to share with you today! Here at Practical Scrappers, we are all about sharing ideas, tips, and techniques. We've had two marvelous tutorials submitted showcasing distressing. Both feature different ideas about distressing and to be creative when using this much loved technique.  First up is a tutorial submitted by Cricket Rookie. She is going to inspire you to create a grunge purse. Talk about a fabby gift idea, you could even drop in gift card to recipients favorite store or restaurant!

Dixie Pieces Kit Club

We are going to be regularly sharing with you some of the different kit clubs that are available out there.  Dixie Pieces has generously been a sponsor for us the last two months!  Here is a couple samples of projects made with their October kit

Not only do they sell beautiful kits, but they also have a gallery and forum to peruse.  Both are chalk full of great ideas!  I only pulled a few samples from over there, believe me the selection is boutinful!

Black and Orange Project Showcase

It's the Friday before Halloween and we have our special theme challenge for the month to showcase for you. The theme of these projects, to use the colors orange and black, but not create a Halloween project. Before we showcase the projects using black and orange, how about for some fun we give you a little history lesson on how the colors black and orange became associated with Halloween.

The colors orange and black can be traced back to the occult. They were connected to the commemorative masses for the dead, which were held in November. The unbleached beeswax candles used in the various ceremonies were orange. The ceremonial caskets were covered in black cloths. And let's not forget the modern-day "Jack O' Lanterns" orange in color.
There are also some that say these two colors are on the opposite energy spectrum. Orange is a very lively and happy color, the color of fall bounty and the warmth of fire. Orange is often called the "social" color, as it creates energy to promote lively conversations and good times in your home. Black, on the other hand, is the color of mystery and void. The color of a space with no beginning and no end Full of energy of mystery and sophistication; black also holds the energy of power and protection. Now put these two energy combinations together you can see why they are a perfect representation of Halloween, a night full of fun and social activity, yet filled with the mystery of not knowing who is going to show up at your door.

Enough history, how about some black and orange fun of our own to share with you. Now these first three projects were created by some of us design team members, but we didn't follow the rules (we like to play tricks). We cannot celebrate Halloween and not have some Halloween layouts to share.

Claude

Christine

Kerri

Spook-tacular Message Board Highlights!

I have been waiting all month for this day, the day where I get share with you one of our new features-- our message board highlights. Some of you have already found our message board. Great, we love having you there. But, for those of you who haven't found us yet you have to come on by. Just "click" on the "MESSAGE BOARD" script on the top of the right side bar, create a free account, and start having some fun with us. You can ask questions of the staff; jump in daily on our scrapbooking question of the day; share layouts, cards, and altered projects in our galleries; check out some great tutorials we've found around the web, participate in our message board challenges; or even join in on some fun swaps!

Some upcoming events happening on our Message Board:
Christmas Card Swap Sign-Up (deadline November 1st)
One Hour Layout Contest Saturday, November 13th, 8pm EST for USA/Canada, and guess what? You international followers can even join in on this one, but you'll have to check out how to on the message board!
Secret Santa Sister Swap Sign-Up (deadline November 14th)

We always welcome new projects you have created to add to our gallery. We love inspiration!  And don't worry - there are complete "how to post pictures/images " instructions in each gallery for your convenience.

Here are my favorite projects from our message board:

Distressed Layouts Showcase!

We've kept you all in the suspense and I'm sure wondering just when we were going to publish these! And, guess what? I am going to keep you waiting for just a few more minutes because I have two layouts of my own I want to share with you first.

Have you ever had those perfect pictures, perfect papers, and perfect embellishments but when you put it all together it was totally missing something and your layout just felt incomplete? In my case, I have! What was was lacking from my layout was some good old distressing.
Here's the first take...now this was one of the very first layouts I've ever completed when I began scrapbooking in 2007. This was before I ever heard of distressing. I had these great vintage photos that I spent hours (literally) digitally restoring and removing discoloring; found the perfect paper I wanted to use, and had this great title from a vellum quote stack and suited my pictures well.

You can see this great paper and great pictures, but are left feeling like the picture were just put on a piece of paper with very little effort. Now, here's the altered layout I did about 7 months ago...

I used the same photos (minus one from the original), title, paper(I just cut it up and distressed with an edge distresser and ink), and added some extra flare with some embossing and beads, and lace flowers and my layout that had no vintage flare finally has plenty of character and helps tell the story without writing a word by adding just some distressing!

Onto the showcase of distressed layouts! There were so many amazing layouts with great distressing. I was in awe and so inspired after looking through all of them but these are highlights:

Digi Stamps as Home Decor

Digi Stamps make stunning cards and embellishments for layouts, but our designers have come up with a couple great ways to show them off in home decor.  Prepare to be wowed!

Erin sized these digital stamps from The Stamping Boutique at 11.5 inches tall and then paper pieced them using papers and letter stickers from various  Basic Grey collections.  Ranger Distress ink and Stickles add the finishing touches. She plans to hang these in her newly finished laundry room/guest bathroom

This is a recycled chocolate box.  Using the From My Kitchen Cricut cartridge,  She cut the oven mitt then printed The Stamping Boutique Digi Stamp, Kitchen Pantry Shelf, over it and colored it using Stampin' Up Markers.  She printed, colored and cut a second image to apply the little teapots around the outside of the box which she lined with paper doilies.  She printed the recipe for the Chocolate Biscuit Cookies on the opposite side of the oven mitt which can
be seen through the clear box lid on the inside.

Our winner from last week is:  AJ said...

I've recently started to use digi-stamps. While I haven't mastered coloring them (seriously, I haven't gotten over my childhood issue with coloring in the lines!) I do enjoy them!

AJ send us an email at practicalscrappers@gmail.com and we will get you set up with your free digis!

We have heard your requests for some digi tutorials and we are working on getting some made for you!  Look for some to start premiering next month!  

We have one more giveaway this week from The Stamping Boutique, another generous five digis!  To enter leave a comment telling us if you've ever used a digi for home decor and if not, tell us something you'd like to try with them!  The deadline for entry is Saturday Oct. 3Oth!

The Big Picture: 8 X 1O's on layouts

This month we've shown you a bunch of ideas for creating layouts with many photos.  Today we are focusing on using 8 X 1O photos on layouts.  I have chosen a wide variety of styles to give you an idea of how you can make an 8 X 1O work, no matter what your style!

Corinna

Andrea MacDonald

Cards, tags, buckets....Blog Hopping

As you are getting ready to put the final touches on those Halloween projects to send to school, work, or for your hauntingly fabulous Halloween party, I thought today would be a great day to share some recent spooktactular finds to add to your inspiration.  I found these while I was out blog hopping.  Keep your eyes out and we may just feature something from your blog too!

This little tin lunch box is created by Angi. She has a tutorial here on how to put this incredible little gift together. Now who wouldn't love to get a box like this just filled with chocolates!!!

Cards with Real Pictures

You don't see too many handmade cards with real pictures on them.  But as you are going to see today, it is an easy and fun way to do some quick card making.  It might just inspire you to try something a little out of your crafting comfort zone!  First up we have a few cards with people pictures on them, followed by some beautiful nature photos.

Christine Meyer

Two Card Tutorials for you!

A great tri shutter card tutorial from Bev , our new video designer!

An easel card tutorial from Amanda, one of our favorite video designers, that shows how to make a card like this:

If you want to add to our video and tutorial library, we'd love to have you send us your project to practicalscrappersideas@gmail.com

We would love for you to leave us a comment telling us what kind of tutorials you would like to see in the future!

A little Bo Bunny for you

As part of our new style, I thought it would be fun to feature some of our favorite manufacturers and their products.  I have been on a huge BoBunny kick ever since I saw their ad for the Peacock Lane line.  I even bought my daughter a dress to match that paper just so I could lift that ad.  If that doesn't make you smile I'm sure these projects will!  I also want to encourage you to check out their site, blog, and facebook page; they are all abundant in inspiration!  Enjoy!

Debbie Burns: Sunkissed 

Time to Distress...

Here at Practical Scrappers, you know that we are all about distressing this month. We are pleased to share some beautiful distressed layouts today by Lacey. You can find her blog at http://www.handstampedbylacey.typepad.com/. She uses many different types of distressing when creating her layouts.
In this first layout, "My Brown Eyed Girl", she uses some soft inking techniques around the edges of her base cardstock, some little ink stains for a bit of pattern, and the sweet touch of stitching. Notice the distressing about the stamped image, just barely there, yet enough to make it glow on the page.

Flock and Glitter Dots Tutorial

Want to learn something else you can do with your adhesives? Using Aleene's Tack it Over and Over liquid glue, you can make your own peel and stick glitter or flock accents. What an easy way to add a touch of bling to your next project without having to wait for glue to dry. I've used these as accents on Christmas cards as well as flower centers. You could use them anywhere you'd normally place a pearl, gem or brad. If you come up with any great ideas on how to use these, let us know! E-mail practicalscrappersideas@gmail.com with your great ideas.

Thanks for watching!

Collage Layout Ideas

I was first drawn to scrapbooking because I loved collage layouts.  I especially loved how people could take a bunch of pictures and make them into a shape and it remains one of my favorite techniques to use on occasion.  This month we have focused a lot on ways you can use a lot of photos on a layout and the projects today should give you some more fresh ideas!  The common thread you will notice in these is that collages tend to make for very theme focused layouts, either thru the actual collage or the embellishments used.  

The first type of collages we are going to look at are shape collages.  I am going to show you several layouts where the pictures are put together in a way that makes them into a shape.  This look can be achieved by using a template or just careful planning.

I based this layout on something similar I had seen in the past.  I had to carefully measure to maintain the appropriate symmetry.  In doing a layout like this you have to keep the embellishing to a minimum, because the pictures are doing a lot already!

Let's Get Organized Day 2!!!!

As scrapbookers and paper crafters, we love to collect and in some cases, gasp, "hoard" our supplies! How do you manage to keep it all together and organized? This is our second feature on getting everything organized. Today I'll be sharing some ways that I personally organize things in my scrapbook room. I spent about a week this past summer getting things really organized so I could easily locate what I needed, while keeping things pretty and on a budget.

The photo above shows how I organize many of my rub-ons, stamps, alphabets, punches, etc. My Honeybee built the bottom white shelf for me several years ago. The three white shelves on the top came from Target and were about $15 each. Notice I use many different little bins to store items in.

Why Digi Stamps?

Ever wonder why digi stamps are so popular...well today I'm going to share with you just a few reasons why.

1. The designs are endless and available all over the internet, from cute to sophisticated and everything in between.

2. You can print the image in the size you want and as many times as you want.

3. You can color them using any medium you want.

Today we've got a couple more great projects featuring digis from The Stamping Boutique and a giveaway from them!

Tish created this great Christmas card using the Sledding Snowman digi.

Let's get Organized!

Here at Practical Scrappers we are all about using up our supplies. And I think most would agree if those supplies are organized and able to be seen we are more likely to use them. We are excited to share some of the products that are made by Clip it Up to help you with both of those.

First up is the 36 inch Ribbon Holder. It also has two spots to hold scissors, so they are ready to cut when you are!

A Little (or a lot) of Stress Can Be Good.

A little or a lot of stress can be can good, that's for you to decide when trying to achieve that distressed look on your projects or photographs. I distress nearly everything every project I create; photographs included. Give me my favorite scissors, emery board, and some ink and I'm as happy as a child who just scored "the mother load" of candy while out trick-or-treating. Some you may be sitting there thinking, "no way am I going to do anything to my photographs--what if I ruin them?" Have no fear, I have some tips and little "picture by picture" tutorial for you to help you break out of that shell and get that shabby chic look you so love, but are afraid to try.

Distressing With Scissors
Whether you are a card maker or just strictly a scrapbooker we all have a pair (or two) of these lying around. You got it, scissors! Big or small, decorative or good old cutting shears; it doesn't matter which you have because any pair of them will work to add a little shabbiness to your project. In this project here I created. I used a pair of decorative scissors (Victorian style) to cut off the upper left corner of my photograph, lightly inked the edge I cut off, and there you have it-- just a little bit of distressing, but it adds a little flare to the photograph.

The Stamping Boutique Winner

The winner of five images from The Stamping Boutique is:

Rachel Joy said...

There's so many cute ones it's hard to choose! The little skating princess in the Candy Land collection is mighty cute, and some of the snowmen are adorable!

Rachel, send me an email at practicalscrappers@gmail.com and I will get you the info you need!

Blog Feature....

Welcome back to another day to feature a blog that uses photos in a fun or unique way!
We all love to scrap those perfect photos and showcase them as a one photo stunner. However, to keep it practical, we (scrapbookers), tend to crave pages with multiple photos. I have found so many incredible ideas and inspiration out there. The blog being featured today is Creative Genius. Many of you may know this talented scrapbooker as isay.

Just take a peek at how she stitched around the photos on this page. Doesn't this just pull the eye directly to the pictures?

Also, please notice how she used such wonderful little bits of embellishments right on the corners and sides of them as well.

Distressed Cards Showcase

Last week we defined distressing as altering your paper or embellishments to create a well-worn or aged look. We also shared with you some distressing techniques (paper tearing, crumpling, and sanding)as ways to achieve that look. This week we'd love to share with you some of the highlights from all of the amazing card submissions we had of your distressed creations.

This first card here, I just had to feature from Aymee Gandy, aka "southernbellescrapper". Aymee's card hit on every technique of article on distressing. Here you can see Aymee uses the tearing technique to create her stripes of her American flag, her embellies have been lightly crumpled and distressed with an edge distresser, and her embossing has been lightly sanded to reveal the inner core of her color core paper.




Aymee Gandy
(see below for a new call for submissions)

Black and White but Never Boring.

(See below for a new call for submissions!)

I've always found black and white photos to be classic and timeless, artistic and soulful. Whether you are looking for a way to preserve your heritage family photos, or a fun way to highlight a modern shot of your baby - scrapbooking black and white photos can yield some fantastic results.

We've received some amazing examples from our readers and design team showing various ways to use black and white photos effectively on your pages. Below you will find just a few ways to showcase those little colorless gems.

Heritage Photos
The first thing that comes to mind when most people think of black and white photos is heritage or vintage photos. If you're anything like me, those special family heirlooms still haven't made it into scrapbooks because you've been stumped on how to give them special treatment, while still preserving their vintage feel. The following pages by Sandi Clarkson and Anne Kenworthy are great examples of how to do just that.

Sandi Clarkson

Anne Kenworthy

Sandi keeps a soft nostalgic feel to her page with lacy trims and romantic florals, while Anne's vintage color palette and patterns give her layout a fun 1950's flavor.

We're looking for BoBunny projects

Each month we are going to be highlighting projects that feature some of our favorite manufacturers.  I am on a BoBunny kick, so we're starting there!

We'd love to see any project, layout or card, that features several BoBunny products.  You can send layouts to practicalscrapperslayouts@gmail.com or cards to practicalscrapperscards@gmail.com.  Projects do not have to be new!  The deadline is October 22nd.

Make sure to check out our Contests Page to see the latest opportunities to win prizes from our fabulous sponsors this month The Stamping Boutique, Dixie Pieces, and Clip it Up!

Adhesives: They don't just hold your projects together...

We all have our favorite adhesives and use them every time we papercraft.  Today we are going to explore some different ways to use adhesive for enhancing your projects and not just holding them together.

Christine used diamond glaze on this layout.  Diamond glaze goes by several different names including liquid glass and dimensional adhesive.  It is fantastic for attaching beads, chipboard, and other bulkier items to projects.  Christine used it to add some dimension to her cricut cut animals.  Using it on the giraffe spots, monkey belly, and elephant ears makes the animals look more like the store bought epoxy stickers.

A Sketch Extravaganza!!

Are you ready for some serious inspiration? Need some ideas to get the mojo flowing? Here at Practical Scrappers, we are all about feeding that mojo, and providing you with new ideas. Thanks to our sketch designers, Pia, Sasya and Ann- Katrin, we have 3 exclusive sketches for the month of October for you to play with! Pick one, two, or all three, and send a photo (under 200K) or a link to us at practicalscrapperslayouts@gmail.com  with"October Sketch" in the title. Feel free to adjust any of the sketches for cards or layouts as you see fit. Stay tuned-we'll be showcasing our favorites here on the blog at the end of the month!

 

 

Have a great week-end!

Erin

The Stamping Boutique

One of our sponsors for this month is

The Stamping Boutique.

They have got some fabulous images over there for Halloween and fall that you have to check out! Here's a few samples from our designers. If you would like to win 5 free digis from them, head over there and pick out what your favorite image is from them. Leave us a comment telling us your favorite. We will pick a random winner from the comments, to be announced next Tuesday!

First off we have a classic card from Sasya that uses the Back to School apple.

Storage Solutions.....

As we all love to purchase that ever growing stash of supplies, eventually we collect so much that we must think of a way to store and organize those incredible finds. Today's article is featuring some tips for storing and organizing your supplies and your space.

The blog being featured today is Dawn Lotharius. Please visit her blog for more great storage ideas and tips in organizing her HUGE space!!!!!
Here is a video tour of how she put her things into order....enjoy....

Distressing Paper by Crumpling, Sanding and Tearing

Distressing is a popular trend in scrapbooking that can bring a unique look and add dimension to your layouts and cards. Many think distressing is only for creating that old vintage/antique feel that makes you think of a shabby chic style. But, you can also add a lot of fun to bright colorful layouts with some distressing, or even create masculinity by adding some distressing to your projects. Today we are going to talk about three fun ways to distress your projects: paper crumpling, sanding, and tearing

.

Here is an example by one of our designing team members, Kim, showcasing some paper crumbling.

Kim Sparks

Ideas for Using Multiple Photos on a Layout

I find that using more than one or two pictures on a layout can be a real challenge. Sometimes you want to put a bunch on one layout instead of making 3 or 4 layouts on one topic. I especially think it is hard to find unique ways to lay them out which is why I asked for submissions on this topic! These are the submissions we have chosen to share with you today.

Andrea Friebus

Pia

Welcome to the New Practical Scrappers!!

Check in regularly this week to find out what our new magazine style is all about.

Rest assured we are still committed to practical scrapping, but in an expanded, innovative way that will be sure to satisfy your creative juices. Wait and see what we have in store for you!
This post will stay at the top for a few days, so be sure to scroll down and check things out below!

Stamping Challenge Winners

Grand Prize Winner:  Laurel