Tutorial for creating a layout....with the "Madame Butterfly" April Kit

 Hi everyone, Tina here to show you all how simple it is to create a layered page with your lovely April Kit!  Don't feel bad if you have a hard time even choosing what papers to use first. I always do! That will be your first battle:)
After choosing what papers you will use, have a rough idea of a design in your head.  **TIP** I sometimes use scrap pieces of paper or old cheap cardstock to precut and arrange my layout. This way your not cutting into your pretty papers, before you know exactly the sizes, arrangement, number of layers etc. 
Once you have your papers and a design idea, you can get started. Here is my paper I will use and first layer.
I decided to cut out the scroll on the page, so the layer doesn't cover it up. Using a pencil lightly draw a line along the added layer. This will give you a guide to how much of your design needs to be cut.
Now you are ready to make your cuts. Move your layer to the side. Using a craft knife make your cuts.
When you are finished cutting around your design you will be able to slide your first layer in, under the cutwork.
I will add a second and third layer on top of this one. Another square slightly smaller than the one that's been cut and a circle. Okay now the fun part! Once you have your basic design and photo in mind, you can start playing with your embellishments.Add your photo placement and layers.
Now that you have your whole page in front of you, time to ink and distress. **TIP** You can use wax paper instead of a craft mat to do your inking. It works just as well!
Add adhesive to your layers. I used Zots and some Clear Tacky Glue.
I added some rock candy stickles, diamond dust and some pearls to my embellishments.
Added the title from the stickers included in the kit. more stickles and diamond dust around the title.
Using molding paste and the Liquid Pearls included in the kit and the beautiful laser cut Dusty Attic Dress forms. I covered the Chipboard Dress Forms. You can see the complete tutorial for this at Dusty Attic

Add adhesive to your embellishments. I sometimes use hot glue. That is going to wrap up your page...YAY!! You are finished!!


Happy Creating!
Tina  xo

Welcome to the Scrap That! Anniversary Celebration Blog Hop!

First stop on your “hop” is this blog, so if you are here you are in the right place!  We have EIGHT AMAZING  blogs for you to visit today, each with some beautiful projects that were created using the Scrap That! May Kit "Romantic Spring".  

First of all, you will need to visit all EIGHT blogs :) There will be a randomly drawn comment winner from each blog! That means EIGHT winners will receive a yummy package of Prima goodness!  Easy so far right?

**When you visit each blog be sure you leave a comment and become a follower so we know you have joined in. **

Once you’ve done that, you’ll need to swing by our * facebook page, and LIKE us, and then head over to our *social community and become a MEMBER.  

Plus, while you are hopping you will want to be looking for the special word on each blog. (you will want to jot these down as you go along)

Once you have visited all the blogs and collected all the special words, create the sentence and email that sentence to friends@scrapthat.

All qualifying entries  will be entered into a draw for the GRAND PRIZE, a FULL Scrap That! Paper Crafting Kit!  

TO QUALIFY:

1) VISIT EVERY BLOG ON THE HOP, LEAVE A COMMENT AND BECOME A FOLLOWER

2) GO TO SCRAP THAT! FACEBOOK PAGE AND BECOME A FRIEND

3) GO TO THE SCRAP THAT! SOCIAL COMMUNITY AND BECOME A MEMBER

EMAIL THE SECRET SENTENCE TO FRIENDS@SCRAPTHAT.CA

This month we are offering a BONUS PRIZE of some delicious Dusty Attic chipboard!  We want to give a special thank you to our good friends over at DUSTY ATTIC for their generous contribution of the gorgeous laser chipboard dress form in our May Kit.

Visit their NING community and become a member, then leave a comment in the thread under Scrap That! BLOG HOP which you will find under FORUM  - “Featured Discussions”  We will draw a random winner from all who leave a comment!  A big fat pile of Dusty attic pieces might be yours!

Scrap That! is also EXTREMELY EXCITED to share with you that we are sponsoring The Color Room for the month of May!! 

If you are not familiar with The Color Room, they are a fabulous online community of over 3,000 like minded people. They inspire creativity by offering a sketch and a color palette each and every week.  They also have tons of tutorials to push you even further!  

The color palettes during May will all be created using the colors of the ScrapThat! Kits!

It's a great place to spend some time, share your art and push yourself to be more creative and confident in this craft we call scrapbooking.  

 ~  Simply upload your work to The Color Room and the Scrap That! galleries each week to be considered for a RAK or a Spotlight Feature.  You will need to use EACH color in the revealed palette.  (you can add base colors of white, cream, black, brown or kraft) Use the sketch if you like, but it is not required.

~ Resize your image to  750 pixels, and no larger than 250kb.

~  Post your project before the next Friday palette reveal.

We hope you enjoy everything The Color Room has to offer and have fun participating!

Happy Scrapping!

Scrap That! Anniversary Kit "Romantic Spring"

Main Kit

Embellishment Add-On Kit

READY?  SET? OFF YOU GO!! to the first blog which is:

 Ivana's

Are You Ready to Get Your Hop On?

Join us for our Anniversary Celebration Blog Hop!

We will have EIGHT AMAZING blogs for you to visit.  Each blog will have some beautiful eye candy, in the form of some AMAZING projects from our design team using the newly released "Romantic Spring" Kit! 

We also have some fabulous prizes to give away!  

The hop will start at 10 am MST April 26th and will finish at  midnight on April 28th.

Here is a Sneak Peek of what you will get to feast your eyes on during the hop!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It! April Newsletter Posted

Please visit the homepage of our community to learn about the upcoming festivities planned to mark the occasion of our One Year Anniversary!

We have some really terrific contests prizes and some BIG SURPRISES lined up for the month of May!!  So be sure and head over there.

You will also find the names of all the lucky winners of our March Blog Hop!  Perhaps it was YOU that won?

Where Has April Gone?

It is hard believe that it is time for another Scrap That! Sneak Peek!  It seems like such a short time ago we released our hugely popular Madame Butterfly Kit which sold out in days!

We are sure that our May kit will not fail to impress.  May is our one year Anniversary Celebration and we really wanted to create a special and memorable kit to mark the occasion. 

It all begins today with this tantalizing taste of what you can expect in our May kit.  Be sure and join us for our reveal Blog Hop which begins April 26th at 10 a.m. MST!! 

Making the most of your chipboard, die cuts and bling

Vicky here posting this month's design tips...

Sometimes we buy amazing embellies but before adhering onto your project, think about if this item can pull double duty and be used for something else first. Here are a few tips to get the most out of your expensive papers and embellies...

Lace-type die cut papers - before using them, mist these on their reverse side onto a plain piece of cardstock to be used as a cool background for another layout. You can also do this with plain dollar store doilies too... just slap a few in different sizes onto plain cardstock and mist away - the result is beautiful.

Die-cut shaped papers like large scallop circles and bracket frames - trace these onto cardboard to use as a template for another project.

Fine cut chipboard and cardstock die-cut pieces - you can use these as a mask before permanently adhering to another project. Gesso will easily prime and cover any misting on the chipboard so that you can start over to match it to your new project. You can also trace around things like branches and twigs to have homemade templates using as a stencil for later on.

Chipboard with adhesive backings - keep the backings to use as masks.

Bracket and scalloped shaped mini album chipboard - use these to repeat an outer edge design on plain cardstock and create your own unique paper die-cut shapes. The hand-cutting is worth every minute for the end result.

Bling transparency backing - keep these to use the indentations as a guide to make your own homemade bling. Simply poke holes where each gem was and then place over your project. Next, mark each hole with a pencil. Using dimensional paint, put paint dots on the pencil marks. I like this better than placing the paint directly on the transparency backing and cutting around... but that is another option.

I hope you find these little tips helpful to stretch your scrappy budget and add unique features to your projects!

Scrap That! Monthly Featured Member for April

Please help us give a warm welcome to our Monthly Featured Member

Dorothy Clee!!!!

Scrap That! radomly chooses one member each month to feature at our NING community site and our blog and in return we send a yummy package of goodies out to the Featured Member for participating!

We recently sent Dorothy a set of interview questions - just like we do with every random Featured Member to get to know them better - and here are her responses!

How would you describe your scrapbooking style?

I am always experimenting with different styles.  However, I love the distressed edges, machine stitching and layering the best.

Complete the sentence: I cannot scrap without... double sided tape.  I use glue a lot be it annoys me in that I get it all over my fingers.

How long does it take you from start to finish, to complete a layout?

This can vary.  If I have an idea in my head before I start it can take an hour however I have been know to come back to a layout over a few days until I am happy with it.

What kind of camera, photo editing software, die cutting machine and photo printer do you use?

I have a Panasonic DMC-FZ5 camera. (One day I may venturer to upgrade to a SLR). The photo editing I use is Photoshop elements,  This program is a lot more powerful than people often think.  I have a bigshot and a cuttle bug.  Mostly I print out what I want and cut it out.  I have a Canon printer for my smaller photos and a Epson A3 printer for my digital layouts. 

Tea or coffee?

I am definitely a tea drinker.  Sorry but I don’t even like the smell of coffee.

Are you a night owl...or an early bird?

I am an early bird.  As soon as daylight hits I am up and thinking of my next project.

What is your pet peeve?

Glues. I hate glues.  It doesn’t matter what brand I get it every where.

Got blog?

http://russelleebnb-russellee.blogspot.com

Do you prefer cards, layouts, altered items or mini albums and why?

Layouts are my favourite choice.  I can get very involved in layouts.  My two boys (30 and 25) like to look at layouts where as they wouldn’t look at a photo album.  I have done alerted items but I often think that the beautiful work in them will perhaps one day be thrown out as a dust collector.  I have done mini albums for some of the family members but prefer the 12’ x 12” layouts and digital layouts are also a favourite.  I often do a combination of both digital and traditional.

What is on your scrappy wishlist?

More punches.  It never ceases to amaze me how versatile punches are.

Who is your fave scrapbooking manufacturer and why?

Now that is a hard question as there are a few.  However, Dusty Attic is probably at the top of the list.  I just love their chipboard shapes and words.

Now that you know Dorothy a bit better, stop by her profile or her blog and say hello! And remember, we may pick YOU next to be our monthly featured member!

Sending happy scrappy thoughts your way!

*Ivana*

~Scrap That! Challenge~

Good morning! Ivana here with a little challenge...

You have until the 17th to play along, and you could win an awesome prize pack sponsored by Scrap That! if you do!

My challenge to you is to create a layout, a card or an altered item using only two main colours. You can add in neutrals such as black, brown, white and cream as much as you'd like...But try and stick to two colours such as I did in the layout below :) I used teal and yellow as my colours and added in bits of brown, white, cream and black also!

To be eligible for the prize pack:

1. Create a project using the challenge guidelines above

2. Join the Scrap That! community and post your project in the Scrap That! Gallery, including 'Scrap That! April Challenge' in your title

3. Then hop on to the forum and comment below the April Challenge thread, providing a link to your project or a photo of your project as a part of your comment

4. Post your challenge project on your blog (if you have one) and mention this challenge!

You can enter as many times as you like in the next two weeks to increase your chances of winning!

Good luck to everyone who plays along!!!!

Hope you have a happy day.

~Ivana~

Whoot Whoot! We are blowing our own horn!

Hello Lovely Followers!

We are beyond excited that Scrap That! has been featured on the BO BUNNY BLOG today!

Our Madame Butterfly Kit includes the entire Gabrielle paper collection which is one of our recent favorite paper collections. 

Oh - wait..... our first favorite is the May kit paper collection - BUT we can't give away any secrets on that just yet :-)

Take a peek and see what they are saying :-)

Welcome to Scrap That! And Our March Blog Hop Adventure!

First stop on your “hop” is this blog, so if you are here you are in the right place!  

We have NINE AMAZING  blogs for you to visit today, each with some beautiful projects that were created using the Scrap That! April "MADAME BUTTERFLY" KIT. 
 
First of all, you will need to visit all NINE blogs :) There will be a randomly drawn comment winner from each blog! That means NINE winners will receive a yummy package of Prima goodness!  Easy so far right?

**When you visit each blog be sure you leave a comment and become a follower so we know you have joined in. **

Once you’ve done that, you’ll need to swing by our * facebook page, and become a friend, and then head over to our *social community and become a member.
 
Plus, while you are hopping you will want to be looking for the special word on each blog. (you will want to jot these down as you go along)

Once you have visited all the blogs and collected all the special words, create the sentence and email that sentence  to friends@scrapthat.

All qualifying entries  will be entered into a draw for the GRAND PRIZE, a personally signed copy of the latest edition of PageMaps generously donated By Beck Fleck.  A big thank you to Becky for designing a custom sketch for this months Scrap That! kit.

TO QUALIFY:

1)  VISIT EVERY BLOG ON THE HOP, LEAVE A COMMENT AND BECOME A FOLLOWER

2)  GO TO SCRAP THAT! FACEBOOK PAGE AND BECOME A FRIEND

3)  GO TO THE SCRAP THAT! SOCIAL COMMUNITY AND BECOME A MEMBER

4)  EMAIL THE SECRET SENTENCE TO FRIENDS@SCRAPTHAT.CA

 Scrap That! "Madame Butterfly" Kit

Next stop on your hop is Ivana!  But before you leave write down the secret word which is: "JOIN"

P.S if you love our blinkie,  grab it while you are here :-)

If you lose your way on the hop, here is the sequence:

1) Scrap That!

2) Ivana

3) Janis

4) Karen

5) Lisa

6) Tara

7) Tina

8) Vicky

9) PageMaps

April kit Sneak Peek!

Hello Lovely Followers!

Our Girls have done it again!  We all need to give them a big pat on the back and a round of applause.  They were really challenged by time this month as many of the new CHA products shipped late from the manufacturers. Well done everyone!!

And without further ado - here is the April Kit Sneak Peek!

Scrap That! has a new supplier in Australia!

If you are looking for some unique items that you can't get anywhere else at a reasonable price you will want to check out this company!

If you want to make Vicky's AWESOME fuzzy lollipop flowers you can order Mulberry paper from Green Tara.

They also have some gorgeous blooms!

1)  Simply browse their website

2)  Email us with the item numbers of the product you are interested in (friends@scrapthat.ca)

3)  We will respond to you with prices

4)  Once you confirm your order we will send you a PayPal invoice

5)  Products will take about three weeks to arrive

Pre-Order Deadline is March 27th.  Happy Shopping!

http://www.greentara.com.au

Our March Featured Member ~ Michelle Marks!

Scrap That! has introduced a new "Monthly Featured Member", whereby we pick one of the many fabulously talented gals in our community, interview them and feature their interview on our blog and here on our community site! As a token of our appreciation, Scrap That! will sponsor a prize pack for each Featured Member :)
So if you want to be considered as a Monthly Featured Member, all you have to do is participate in our community and either upload some of your creations, leave some love for all the beautiful work in the gallery, or simply partake in one of our many forum discussions! You never know, you may be our next Monthly Featured Member!

We are happy to introduce you to our March Featured Member ~ Michelle Marks!

Interview

How would you describe your scrapbooking style?

I don't really think I have a set style. I like a little bit of everything and like to try new styles  especially when I'm inspired by someone else's work. I do tend to lean toward the vintage/shabby chic style the most though. I love doing heritage LOs!

Complete the sentence: I cannot scrap without...

Diet Pepsi! My fav "go to" scrap supply though has to be inks.I love distressing and inking everything!

How long does it take you from start to finish, to complete a layout?

That depends on the type of Lo I'm doing. A shabby chic/vintage style generally takes 4-8 hours. Depending on if I'm hand or machine sewing and if I choose to make my own flowers for it. Something clean and simple would take about 2 hours.

What kind of camera, photo editing software, die cutting machine and photo printer do you use?
 I have more goodies in this department than I use because my hubby is a tech fanatic and is always buying me new stuff...much to his chagrin because I'm techno challenged and don't have the patience to learn these new things! My main camera is a Pentax digital SRL with a couple of lenses, plus I have a Kodak { which my daughter usually has!] and a little Fuji digital to throw in my purse when the big camera is too much.  I generally use just the Kodak Easy Share for the little bit of photo editing I do. I do have Photoshop Elements 8 { but again ,hubby bought it and I have yet to learn how to use it!}. My photoprinter is Kodak . I'm generally pleased with it and like the fact that it uses a less expensive ink.  My diecutting machine is Cricut . I have used  the original 12 x6 for the last several years but hubby  bought me the larger Cricut Expression for Valentine's Day! I also have a Cuttlebug but so far have only purchased embossing folders for it..no die cuts.

Tea or coffee?           Definitely tea!!!!

Are you a night owl...or an early bird?  
      
Oh I'm all night owl! Lots of nights I get scrapping and then suddenly look up and realize its 2 or 3 in the morning!

What is your pet peeve? 
        
 Too many to mention ! bad drivers, telemarketers, rudeness , poor manners....people who have too many pet peeves LOL

Got blog?
         
Yup ...though I wish I had the techie skills to jazz it up a bit! You can find me at  www.michellesscrapbits.blogspot.com

Do you prefer cards, layouts, altered items or mini  albums and why ?

Definitely LOs ! They are my favorite . I also enjoy making cards. Minis I usually reserve for gifts. Love to look at altered items but don't do very many...too much clutter in my house as it is!

What is on your scrappy wishlist?
       
hmmmmm... well it WAS the Cricut Expression for the longest time  but hubby took care of that ...can't think of any specific product right now...just wish there was a scrapstore here in Corner Brook...the closest { and only one in NFLD] is 8 hours away!!! Thank God for on line shopping!

Who  is your fave manufacturer and why?
        
That's a difficult choice...I love so many! But if I had to narrow it down to a couple, then Basic Grey would probably be my fav. I find that their paper lines are very versatile..they lend themselves to many different styles of scrapping and I like that different lines combine well with each other.  Graphic 45 and Websters are also close runners up!  I also ADORE Dusty Attic and am sooooo glad that Scrap That! is a Canadian Retailer!

Photo Editing for Layouts

Hello!
Karen here with you today!
Just to share a quick few things about the pictures you use of your layouts. So as you all know, the picture that you use on your layout is your MAIN focus, with that said, you want to make sure it looks the best it can.

Here are a few pointers on what you can do to edit your pictures so they can enhance your project.

Tip 1.
You take a picture and then you notice there are alot of distracting objects behind your subject, this is the last thing you want in a picture, because the viewers eye goes to what's behind your subject as opposed to the main subject. What you can do to correct this, is simply blur the background.
See the world a difference in the picture below:
BEFORE

AFTER

Tip 2.

There are times you take a picture really quick, one of those candid shots and you didn't take the extra time to center or make sure you didn't have too much of the background showing, this happens alot to me as I have a 3 yr old. When that happens just easily crop out what you don't want, it works wonders!

Here's an example:

BEFORE (You can see all of the park and fence, not so visually appealing.)

AFTER

Tip 3.

When working with a lighter color scheme for a project, a black & white picture is a perfect drastic look to make your entire project pop. Edit your picture to B&W and adjust the contrast alittle and you will be amazed at the result. Just take a look below...

Other things you can do to enhance a picture is adjust the temperature, turn it more to warm for a vintagey look, adjust the contrast to make your color pop, turn it Sepia for an older more vintage effect.

Here are a couple of FREE editing software sites, if you want to check them out. They're quite fun to play with!

Picasa

Picnik

Well thanks for joining me today!

Hope you enjoyed the read.=)

Making the Most of your Patterned Paper

Hi wonderful blog readers!  Tara here today to share a simple tutorial on making the most of your patterned papers.  This month's kit is full of gorgeous papers from Graphic 45 and Basic Grey - both of which are fantastic for fussy cutting!

I LOVE patterned paper! I love the bright colours, the dimensions, the amazing shapes, the beautiful photos of scenery, objects or just about anything you can print on a piece of paper! I love its versatility and I love how it inspires me with so many possibilities.

Personally, paper is everything to me. It’s the primary inspiration, along with my photos, for my layouts.

I always start with a photo that I adore and then I will match my paper accordingly. Once I have selected my papers, it’s on to the organization of the layout and finally, the embellishments and finishing touches.

If you’ve ever found yourself searching endlessly for the perfect embellishment; the one that will compliment your papers flawlessly and bring your layout together just right, look no further than your patterned paper!

That piece of paper with multiple flowers and stems might appear overwhelming at first glance but if you were to individually cut out each flower (not all of them, but some) along with some stems, wouldn’t they make the perfect embellishment? What about that paper adorned with butterflies? The possibilities are endless.

Rather than perceiving a piece of patterned paper as overwhelming, take a look from an embellishment perspective and discover the endless possibilities it has to offer!

SPECIAL NOTE: It’s always a good idea to buy 2 pieces of a patterned paper that you adore – especially if its double sided. One page can be used exclusively for cut-out work and the other for background paper, layering or photo mats.

SPECIAL NOTE: It is MANDATORY to have fabulous detailing scissors for fussy cutting. Sorry, but the kitchen scissors simply won’t do! They make a HUGE difference with regards to fine detailing, angles and teeny, tiny spaces.

Have fun with your paper!!