Altered Photo Frame with Graphic 45

Another great use for your scrapbooking supplies is to make custom picture frames.  Think of it as creating a 3D scrapbook layout.

I created this frame as a birthday present for my husband.  I started out with a picture frame that I picked up at a craft store.  The frame can hold an 8x10 photo. I placed a mat in it that would surround a 5x7 photo.

This photo of us was snapped while we were on vacation in Hawaii, and I just love it.  I printed it out at 5"x7".  The papers that I chose are Graphic 45 Tropical Travelogue. I wanted a tropical feel, and the vintage look to these papers really gave the project a lasting, classic look.

I traced the mat onto two of the papers, then cut them. I adhere them to the mat.  I set the photo and mat in the frame under the glass.

I then created all the details for the frame design.  The roses and rosette were made using this tutorial.  I also made the small flowers (I'll need to do a tutorial for those soon!).  The leaves, parrot and small yellow flowers were fussy cut from some of the Graphic 45 papers.

The palm trees were created using coordinating cardstock. I cut the trees using my Silhouette Cameo and then paper pieced them together.

All of these details were adhered on top of the glass. This gave the frame some really great dimension.  Some items are adhered using double sided foam adhesive. Some I even doubled up the foam adhesive to give it extra depth.

You can get a feel for some of the layering looking down into the base of the palm trees in the image above.

Next time you're looking for a way to preserve a special photo, think 3D. Create a one-of-a-kind, personal photo frame.

Smash Book/Mini Album

Hi there, it's Cathy, and I've got another type of Smash style mini album to share with you today.  This one was made using a UniKeep binder. These are great for creating mini albums, photo books, and journals.  They help protect your photos and creations. They are sturdy and can stand up to traveling too. So they make great projects to take with you on vacation. They also make great storage for unmounted stamps! (See this post for them in use as stamp storage)

This particular UniKeep binder came with photo sleeve inserts. This will make it easy to create a mini album. You can insert photos and journal cards in the sleeves and presto, you've got a quick personalized album!

Here are a few more views:

My album is a hybrid project. I used a combination of digital kits, cardstock and traditional crafting supplies.  I cut several of the images using the Silhouette Cameo and paper pieced them. To create an insert long enough to wrap the cover front, back and spine, of the binder, print 2 papers with the background digital paper pattern and join them in the center with a strip of paper the width of the spine. Or use 2 8.5x11" traditional scrap papers and join with a strip of paper or ribbon at the spine.

For a complete list of supplies, you can see this post.

Photo Scavenger Hunt

Cindy here!  Our family just got back from a weeklong vacation to Bear Valley, CA.  My inlaws own a cabin there.  It's less than 5 minutes from beautiful Lake Alpine.

I am a huge fan of scavenger hunts.  Just about every time we travel, I make a scavenger hunt for the trip.  I've made scavenger hunts for Disneyland, for camping, and for numerous other occasions.  (Any excuse to use my scrapbook supplies!)  My 6 year old son had just finished a 3-week online Photography Summer Camp, so I thought it would be fun to do a photo scavenger hunt at Lake Alpine.  (Not to mention, it would be a great way to reinforce the skills he'd learned.)

I started by typing up a list of items I knew we'd be able to find at Alpine.  I kept the list fairly generic, but left room for interpretation and creativity.  I backed the list with patterned paper, added a sticker, and backed the whole thing with cardstock.  Here's how it looked:   

 

I wanted to be able to use these cards again for future trips, so I covered them with clear contact paper.  Then I added grommets and yarn.

 

When it was time for our scavenger hunt, I passed out the lists to the family.  I asked each person to photograph their list before we started.  Later, when it was time for judging, this would make it really easy to find the start of the scavenger hunt photos on the photo card. 

The family took some great pictures of spider webs,

moss,

and an unusual rock.

My husband took this picture of "something alive."  

My sister-in-law took this creative picture of her own shadow.

I loved watching how each person photographed the letters in their name.  My inlaws photographed license plates in the parking lot to spell their names.  Trevor used pinecones, rocks and sticks to spell his name along the trail.

 

My husband Steve took five different pictures and put them together into a collage.  Cool, huh?

 

With a few scrapbook supplies and well under an hour's work, I made a unique photo scavenger hunt that was fun for the whole family.  Not only that, but we can enjoy it again on future vacations.  I'd strongly recommend a scavenger hunt for your upcoming family vacations!

Designer Showcase: Vacation/Travel

Hello there, it's Cathy again to bring you this weeks Designer Showcase theme. This week we are sharing vacation and travel themed projects. So sit back and relax and take a little trip with us!

Before going on vacation we have to pack our bags.  I made this suitcase box to hold a mini album that I created of a road trip that my family took last summer.  I made it using foam board, a grocery sack and digital and traditional scrap supplies.  You can find my step-by-step tutorial on my blog Scraps of Life.

This is the cover of the mini-album. I created the cover digitally, printed it out and decoupaged it to the chipboard album cover.  Using photos from our trip, I created the look of post cards from the states that we visited.

Here is a sample of one of the interior pages. You can see that I included photos as well as memorabilia that collected too.

Cindy shares 2 pages that truly showcase her style. This one and 2-pager are very clean and simple.  This is a great tip for getting your vacation pages recorded quickly. Blocking the photos and journaling helps to fit many pictures on the page. Cindy also keeps her embellishments to a minimum, which keeps her pages from looking crowded and allows the pictures to shine.

Vicky created this beautiful page that shows off a gorgeous photo from her travels. She tucks some pretty lace patterns behind the main mat paper and repeats it at the frame of the photo.  The flower cluster is wonderfully balanced by the detailed work of the chipboard faerie.

There are a lot of little details on this page by Marlene.  Let's start with her clever use of a patch that she acquired during her travels. She has placed it on her page as a featured embellishment. Great idea!  She has included a strip of map paper. On the black patterned paper she has border punched and done some blanket stitching. She has added an ornate top to the photo matting, and placed some cute buttons on the side.

Anupama created this beauty. I really love how she has brought the soft pink colors from her photo onto the page. I like how she has created a photo corner out of the title word "dawn". She adds dimension to her page with the strung seashells and chipboard accents.

On this page Anupama used a travel related patterned paper as her background.  The paper is filled with labels and could be an overpowering background. But Anupama has calmed it to help her photo stand out by ripping the paper and separating it on the page.  What a great technique.

These 3 pages from Gael showcase chateau's in the Loire Valley.  Each is a beauty all on it's own. In the top one she has framed the photo with the fussy cut paper flowers and set the chipboard like a gate leading the the chateau.  In the 2nd one Gael has created a raised frame around the gorgeous picture. Her clustering of flowers across the bottom gives the page a look of being in a garden.  The 3rd one does a great job of replicating the colors of the land and sky by bringing out the browns and blues.  Her 3 scalloped circles on the top pull the sky upward.  The one scalloped circle at the bottom visually extends the walkway.

Wow, I feel like I've traveled around the world and collected some new techniques to try out on my next vacation. I hope you've enjoyed this showcase as well.