Cut Your Scrap Time in Half

Hello again!

 One of the biggest roadblocks scrapbookers seem to encounter (besides missing mojo - ha!) is a crowded schedule that leaves little time to actually scrap. Today I've got an easy solution for you to try the next time you have a few minutes and want to crank out a page.
All you'll need is three different patterned papers cut into 2 rectangles and 1 square. Scraps are fine - you may recognize these pieces from my "Killer Stash Kit."

4 x 6 Rectangle

4 x 10 Rectangle

8 x 8 Square

You'll also need one piece of 12 x 12 solid cardstock or tone-on-tone patterned paper. From these, you can create at least 5 different layout variations, and from each of those, you can get four slightly different looks by simply rotating the page.

Variation 1

Variation 2

Variation 3

Variation 4

Variation 5

Note: These are only examples. There are MANY ways these pieces could be combined to make the basic layout.
I chose Variation 1 to create this layout about my bestie:

And used the corners created by the paper layers to guide the placement of my embellishments.

There you go - a super-easy, super FAST way to scrap a page. I'd love to see your creations using this process. Please leave me a comment below linking to your work.

And, if you'd like to discover how to build a killer stash kit from your existing stash, be sure to grab my free e-book 10 Easy Steps to a Killer Stash Kit.

Scrap Your Scraps Design Team Member

DIY Patterned Doilies

What can I say? I adore doilies, with their pristine white, delicate laciness. (Yep, totally made that word up.) Often, a doily is just the finishing touch a layout or card needs - that extra little layer that softens up the finished page.

But on a recent trip to the craft store, I saw something that made my heart go pitter patter. Printed doilies! There they were, in the party supplies section, oh so gorgeous and larger than life. Literally large - they were placemat size, and way too big for a scrapbook page. But seeing them got my wheels turning, and I knew I could come home and recreate the look with some of my plain white doily stash. Today I'm going to show you three variations of patterned doilies that I made, as well as the projects I used them on.

Now, I am working with the inexpensive 4 inch white doilies you can get in the cake decorating sections of many big box stores. They come in  packs of 35 or so for a couple of dollars (less if you use a coupon). These are thinner and more delicate than the ones you can get specifically for papercrafting, so you will want to be gentle when working with them.

Printing
The first technique I tried was printing a pattern directly onto the doily. I'm going to show you the step-by-step tutorial for this technique. For the other two, visit my blog and watch the tutorial video.

1. Select your pattern. I had this pattern in some of my digital scrapbooking files, and it was just the color blue I wanted. You can do a Google images search for patterns you like, or try searching the clipart in your word processing program. Size the image to be just slightly larger than your doily. In this case, I set mine to about 4 1/4."

2. Draw an empty box over your background image. Make sure to set the fill to white, then print.

3. Using repositionable adhesive, place the doily inside the box, then put the paper face down back into the printer.

4. Delete the empty box, revealing your background image, then print. 

5. Remove your doily from the printer paper.

I just love the way this one came out! I used it on this layout about the prismatic pools we visited in Yellowstone this past summer.

Distressing
Next, up, I tried distressing with distress ink and a background stamp. Below is the finished doily.

And here is the card I made using it. I love how the blue pops against its complementary color, orange.

Embossing
And last, but not least, I used an inked embossing folder to create this patterned doily.

And here is the card I made with it.

I hope you got some great ideas about making your own patterned doilies today. Be sure and stop by my blog for full instructions on all three techniques.

Till next time, cheers!
Lisa

Scrap Your Scraps Design Team Member

Making a Kit From Your Stash

Hello again! Wow, time flies, doesn't it? I can't believe it's been a whole month since I was here sharing with you one of the ways I organize items in my stash.

Today, I'd like to show you something else I'm passionate about - scrapping through my stash by creating my own monthly kits. I've been doing this for a year now, and I have seen so many benefits, not the least of which is that I've put a serious dent in my stash!

So, how does it work? Well, first, I find some some sort of inspiration to draw on as a basis for my kit. It could be a color scheme, a challenge, a mood board, or a scrapbooking collection. (See different variations on my blog). This month's inspiration came from a collection of October Afternoon goodies I snagged on Scrapbooksteals.com.


Here's what my January Scraps & Stash kit looks like (read all the details here):

Since creating my kit, I've been working with it all month, and over the course of three crafting sessions, here's what I've made:

Session 1

I started with a double-page layout about my sweet little great-nieces.

Then moved onto a single page.

Then finished up with a greeting card made from scraps. (Why, oh WHY does Blogger turn my photos sideways?)

Session 2

It was a busy week, but I squeezed in a little scrapping time to make this page about my son.

Session 3

And managed to fit in a bit of creating this past weekend as well.

And I've still got quite a few items left to work with - two full sheets of cardstock, a few sheets of patterned paper, three of the 6x8 sheets, and lots of diecuts and journaling cards. I'm hoping to squeeze in a few more projects this weekend, and then I'll be ready for a new kit!

I hope I've inspired you to create your own Scraps & Stash kit. If you'd like a step-by-step guide that walks you through the exact process to assemble your own amazing kit, click here to get my free e-book "10 Easy Steps to a Killer Stash Kit."

Go try it out!

Scrap Your Scraps Design Team Member