Embrace the snow!

Hi Everyone!

Sharon here today to share some winter pages that I just made this past month. ♥

If you live in North America anywhere near the north-east, you have probably been getting a snow, ice, and freezing rain -  filled winter like we have here in Pennsylvania.   Even the southern states were not spared this winter.  In trying to keep a positive attitude throughout all of this, I attempted to embrace the snow instead of disliking it.  I did it by doing two things that I love to do:  taking lots of photos and scrapping them!

Here are 3 pages that I created using snow filled photos:

To make these pages, I decided to use only things from my stash.  I had beautiful Anne Griffin papers:

and the Prima "Lyric" papers:

I love these collections and both are perfect for my snow photos.  

Next I found some old punches:

and even dusted off my Cricut Expression:

I used one of the cartridges that came with it:

to make the large snowflakes:

Then I added some stamping, inking, and white paint.

and some Stickles for added sparkle:

My Karen Foster star-bursts were calling out to be used:

and some beautiful ScrapFx chipboard pieces:

I ended with a little machine stitching and distressing to finish off the look:

I really had fun using some old stuff from my stash that I had not gotten out in a long time!  

That's it for today . . . my way of embracing this snowy season. ♥

Thanks so  much for stopping by!

 VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S BLOGS/GALLERIES
Cathy Dippolito
Dolores Schaeffer
Cindy deRosier
Marlene Murphy
Lesley Walker
Gael Spence
Sarah Routledge
Sharon Fritchman
Tanya Ham
Sheila Burns
Pam Callaghan

My Sew RibbonTutorial!

I am a tool junkie.  I love to try out new gizmos, especially the relatively inexpensive ones.  My Sew Easy was a natural addition to my arsenal, so I thought the Sew Ribbon was worth a look.  I bought Scallop and Shoelace.  The tool is in three pieces:  a top and bottom with a cutting blade.  The blade handily fits in the handle of the template.  You insert a piece of paper between the templates, then it is held together and automatically lines up with magnets.    

Scallop is a breeze to use, with the help of a T-square and pencil line it is easy to get a straight line.

Shoelace is very hard to use.  It is hard to get the blade into the insert.  After a couple of failed attempts I finally looked at a YouTube video which shows that you line the cutter up at a 90% angle to the template it is easier to insert.  

Although, I do like the results of Shoelace, I will not be buying anymore shapes.  Both cutters require a bit of pressure to insert into the template, I would not recommend this tool for anyone who has any strength or mobility issues with their hands (I have carpal tunnel problems). 

I think the addition of the button flowers absolutely set this page off.  They were made according to a reader's submission, Bev Code, on IFS last week. http://ideasforscrapbookers.blogspot.com/2011/11/readers-pages-and-button-flowers.html 

Designer Showcase: We are Thankful

With the Thanksgiving holiday quickly approaching here in the US, we thought it would be great to share with you what we are thankful for.  But there is a twist.  It's what we are thankful for that is crafty related.  This is a jam packed post, with lots of inspiration, tools to add to your wish list, and some great layout ideas too!

Vicky shares that she is most thankful for a supportive husband that gives her plenty of "me time" to play at her craft.  She adds, "I'm still working on the unlimited budget though, LOL." Vicky also is very thankful for the inspiration that she gets from her family, "my layouts would mean nothing without my main inspiration - my family (especially the 3 little short ones - at least shorter than me for now."  Awwww, that's really sweet!

She is also thankful for her Distrezz-it-All by Zutter, this is one tool that she can't live without.  Looks like a pretty cool tool. Check it out, they are having a sale right now, your choice either 20% off or free shipping, good through December 1, 2011.

Heather is thankful for her Cricut.  She has even given it a name "Bessie". Here is what she had to say "I am thankful for my Cricut because it makes things so much easier. I remember the "old days" of cutting out paper piecing patterns by hand. I used to spend so much time making layered embellishments and now it goes much quicker. My kids also adore it for creating school projects. Plus, it's green and absolutely fabulous!"

I love the title of her page "The best bug" very cute!  Have you checked out the Cricut web site? I don't own a Cricut so I've never visited the site. But, wow, there is a lot of inspiration there!

There are so many crafty things that I am thankful for. I thought I would share just a few.  I love my Nikon camera. I don't like to be anywhere without. You just never know when you will be creating a memory and want to capture it.  To use the photos that I take for crafting and scrapbooking, I use Adobe Photoshop on my computer. A great deal of my crafting is either hybrid or mixed media, so I absolutely adore my Cutter Bee Scissors.  I recently got a Silhouette electronic cutter (before the Cameo came out) and I'm finding that I am using it more and more. Love that it can cut anything that I design!

This page by Cindy is too sweet. She loves her Micro Tip Scissors by Fiskars.  I just adore how she did this page as a letter to the manufacturer.  She has this to say "They are the most comfortable scissors I've ever held.  Even with hours of cutting, my hand doesn't get sore. As a leftie, most scissors are very awkward for  me. Not these!"   What a great idea for a page.  

Marlene is thankful for her craft space.  Like so many of us, Marlene started out having to find space in her house to do her crafting. She finally landed a permanent location in the basement.  Now look at the space she has. WOW!!!  Here are Marlene's words of thanks "I am mostly thankful for my scraproom.  It is wonderful to have a space that has been organized to my needs.  Often, I do not have time to finish everything I start,  and having my own space makes it so I can walk away and leave everything out.   Over the years I was nudged out of a few different places in my house and finally settled for the bottom of the basement stairs.  I have a love hate relationship with the location - sometimes I hate the isolation of being downstairs away from everything, then other times I love being downstairs and away from everything.  All the time I am thankful to have it."

I'm taking in all that crafty goodness that surrounds Marlene while she works. What a great space for gathering inspiration and letting her inner artist explore!

Dolores shared that she is really thankful for paper punches. "I love paper punches.  Therefore, that is what I would pick as a crafty thing I am thankful for.  I have so many of them and I love that I can use them for so many things (cards, gift boxes, scrapbook pages, the cover of a journal, tags, invitations, etc.).  I am attaching a photo of a couple of my favorite Martha Stewart punches (these are ones I use over and over), they are always close at hand."  I'm so glad that Dolores has this addiction - er, um, love of paper punches. I personally think she does the best work I've ever seen with punches, simply gorgeous!  Guess what, EK Success Brands is having a sale on Martha Stewart punches!  Check it out here.

Nancy shared this layout that she made about her appreciation for the scrapbooking site Scrapbook.com.  "I am thankful for scrapbook.com.  Not only is it a great source of inspiration and products but also opportunity.  Most of all though, it is a place where I have made many friends over the years."  Perfectly stated!  All of the Contributing Artists here at Ideas For Scrapbookers are members of the community at Scrapbook.com.  If you've never visited, you should give it a try.  Just as Nancy said, it is a really great site.

What are you thankful for?  We would really like to know. Leave us a comment and let us know what crafty type things you are most thankful for.

New Tool Tutorial

Today I want to share with you a new tool that I cant live without! In my recent shipment of goodies from The Paper Trail I received the Sew Easy Stitch Piercer tool from We R Memory keepers. I love to add stitching to my layouts and cards but I usually do it by hand. I was very interested in the detachable heads that you can get for tool as they will create different patters such as scallops to stitch. Well, I used it and I LOVED it!!! It made adding a designed stitch 'Sew Easy'! Today I thought I would share a demo and a few things with you on how to use it.

To start your stitching have your paper cut to the size you need, a good ruler, a foam mat and your Sew Easy tool.
NOTE- I did try and stitch through 2 layers of paper and this did not work well for me. I recommend only one layer of paper.

Line your ruler up along side your paper where you want your stitching to be. Keep in mind the stitching will be about 1/4 inch from the side of the ruler. Be sure you have all this placed on your foam mat or your tool will not roll smoothly and you will dull the points on the Sew Easy tool by pressing it in to a hard surface. Hold your ruler with one hand and firmly and smoothly press your Sew Easy tool down and forward until you go all the way off your paper.

Here is the scalloped design my Sew Easy tool created for me in less than 3 seconds!!!

I then selected my thread color and with a needle followed the stitching pattern to create this beautiful design!

Here is how I added the stitched strip to my layout. This tool is a very inexpensive and easy to use product that will help you create several amazing stitching designs in no time! Be sure to head over to The Paper Trail to get yours today!