Layout of the Week

Happy back to school! So, now that the kids are back to school you will have plenty of time to scrap! So here is the perfect chance with our layout of the week. This layout has been created by the lovely Michelle using the great new Urban Rhapsody collection from K&Co.

Materials:
5"x7" Photo - portrait

Urban Rhapsody - Blue Starbursts, Tickled Pink and Points of Interest patterned papers
Urban Rhapsody - Die Cut Sitckers, Chipboard Letters
Creative Cafe green felt ribbon
Autumn Leaves Journalling Stamps
VersaMark bronze stamp pad

Instructions:

1. Use Blue Starbursts paper as you background sheet
2. Cut a piece 8.5"x9.5" from Tickled Pink
3. Cut a piece 3"x11" from Points of Interest
4. Stick your piece of Points of Interest paper onto the backing sheet about 2.5" from the left hand side and about 1/4" from the bottom of the page
5. Stick your piece of Tickled Pink paper down on top of the brown paper flush with the right hand edge about 3/4" from the bottom
6. Stick you photo down flush with the right hand side up about 1" from bottom of the pink paper
7. Draw a free-hand heart on a piece of scrap paper that is about 6.5" high and 4.75" wide at the dip in the heart. Cut it out and use as a template. Place the template to one side so that some of the heart is off the page. Take the die cut stickers and place them around the outside of the template, place something heavy on the template to stop it moving if necessary. When all stickers have been placed on your photo, remove the template and trim the edges of any stickers that are overhanging with a craft knife.
8. Cut a piece of Creative Cafe green felt ribbon about 6.5" long and stick it down flush with the right hand side and approximately 1/4" from the bottom of the pink paper
9. Select your title from the chipboard letters and stick down, overlapping the photo if desired
10. To finish off use a journalling stamp or similar to add some journalling to your layout

Making Memories Love Story

Well, I gave you some sneak peaks at the Love Story collection by Making Memories last week, and we are all loving this range so much that we thought we would offer a special giveaway! Let's face it we like to share the good stuff!

All you have to do is purchase $35 of goodies from Making Memories Love Story collection and you will score the Word Fetti that goes with the collection and a meter of MM ribbon to go with it!


Be the first to make this purchase and then come and leave a comment here with your order number and we will get the extra goodies in your package! (purchase must be made on-line)

RenataK was the lucky winner of the Two Scoops prize last week! You will have to show us what you create now!!

Time is running out for the Reverse Auction for the Cricut! If you haven't made a bid yet, what are you waiting for?? Such an easy way to win a Cricut!! Remember it is the lowest unique bid that will win the prize. The competition is getting pretty fierce now.

Last week the lovely Tammie gave some details in the e-mail newsletter for hand-stitching on your layouts, we thought this was such a great technique to use that we have decided to elaborate on what was in the newsletter here, so grab your cuppa and sit back to find out more.

Why Stitching?

Handstitching on layouts, cards and off the page projects provides an interesting and versatile embellishment and can be used to draw attention to the focal point of the layout. The possibilities for stitching are only limited by your imagination, it can be used to outline photos or patterned paper, provide lines, secure items to the page, create shapes, flourishes and even your title.

What to use:

There are many different stitching mediums available and they come in every shade imaginable allowing you to colour match to your project. You can use embroidery thread, floss, ribbon and raffia. Embroidery needles are the best to use as the eye is larger and easier to thread. Other helpful tools are ruler for drawing straight lines and a paper piercer to pre-pierce the holes in your design. There are several piercers on the market there is a basic one by Heidi Swapp and there is the Cuterbee Bugs by EK Success. The bugs come in a set of two and are rotary peircers one does a single line and the other a double line. They create uniform holes about 1/8" apart. The double piercer is great for doing cross-stitch and zig-zag designs. Using a mouse pad under your work when you use a piercer makes it easier to get defined holes.



How to successfully stitch onto your layouts:

What to Stitch - Keep your design simple and stick to the outline of your image. You can embellish finished designs with doodling, brads, gems , ink etc after. The image can be created by tracing a design or using a stitching template. Use a pencil to trace your image onto your page/project and then you can erase this guide once you have pierced your holes.



How to stitch - Use a simple back stitch (coming up through the second hole, and going down through the first hole, coming up through the third hole and back down through the second etc..) is the simplest stitch to use. To finish off ends on the back of your work simply stick down with tape.



The featured layout "Write" demostrates the effect of stitching. A circle was traced and stitched using green embroidery thread and back stitch. This creates a link between the journalling and draws attention to the photo.

Cricut Design Studio

Do you own a Cricut and have you been wondering about the new Cricut Design Studio and whether it is something you need to have??? Well, we are lucky enough to have our very own roving reporter and regular forum member Jen to fill us in on this new product from Cricut!

CRICUT DESIGN STUDIO

This product (for moi at least) has got to be the best find. It is fantastic it did exactly what I wanted it to do. It was so easy to set up and get started. As long as you read the instructions carefully (they are not complicated) you will be creating to your little hearts content. I was curious to see how combining different cartridges would work and I must say it was much easier than I thought. I chose 3 letters and a flower from each of my extensive collection of 4 cartridges and formed a word. Once I had "Welded" the letters together and was happy I pressed cut. The cricut then told me what cartridges to load eg "load JASMINE" you load Jasmine then it says "load PRINTING PRESS" you load printing press etc etc until the cartridges that you used have been loaded then simply press cut and off it goes. I really am amazed at how simple it actually is and it is going to be sooooo much fun to finally use words on my layouts instead of letters. I am so glad I purchased it and I highly recommend it to anyone you has a CRICUT mind you I have only played with it 1 night you never now I may put it on EBAY by tomorrow night lol. No I am confident that anyone who purchases will not be disappointed. Only two slight negatives but I got over them quickly. 1. It cuts at its own pace which is quite slow but that is ok. 2. price tag of $145.00 slightly expensive but if it

continues to do the job that it is currently doing then it will be money well spent. So nice to have

a product on the market the is electronic AND simple to use well done Provocraft.

This is Jen signing off with 2 thumbs up.

A few days after this review Jen wrote to say......

"Nope still holding firm on my review. I just can't get over how easy it is to use..The only problem is that I don't have enough cartridges. Just love it more and more each time I use it."

Sounds like a must have for those of you who own a Cricut!!

Thanks for your great review Jen, it is always great to hear first hand whether these new products live up to their expectations.

If you have a review you would like to give us on a new product or tool, email the shop at:

info@scrapbookcity.com.au

Thanks for dropping by and see you soon.

Layout of the Week

Welcome to another week! Is it just me or are they flying by already?! This week we have a gorgeous layout for you using the new Bazzill Stitch'z range, teamed with the beautiful Cloud9 Designs - Be Loved collection. This new range of cardstock from Bazzill has pre punched holes in various patterns for you to use as a sewing guide or any other way you see fit!

Materials

5x7 portrait photo

Bazzill Stitch'z Hearts - Pomegranate
Cloud 9 Design - Be Loved - Lustre Candy Box Hearts Green, Stripes, Chipboard Stickers - hearts
Heidi Swapp Alphas - She - Raw
Green Ribbon (0.5 - 1m)
Red embroidery thread (to match)
Paint in red (Kaiser Craft Red or MM Cranberry)
Kindy Glitz
EK Success Corner Rounder (medium)
CutterBee Bugs

Directions:
1. Cut Bazzill to 9" accross with hearts on left and remove 1/4" from top and bottom
2. Cut around the hearts on the left leaving a border of about 1/4" (I found using the Fiskars Shape Express cutter freehand made this job really easy)
3. Thread the green ribbon through the centre heart, leaving one end free to tie once completed. Tie a knot and trim ends.
4. Round other corners of Bazzill, and the right hand corners of the green hearts paper.
5. Cut 4 1/4" x 11 1/2" piece from the stripes (so stripes run horizontally) and use corner rounder to scallop one long edge.
6. Stick striped paper along edge of bazzill leaving about 1/4" border
7. Place photo so it overlaps the striped paper
8. Place a selection of chipboard sticker hearts along join between striped paper and bazzill
9. Paint the chipboard letters for your title and when dry coat with Kindy Glitz, place title under photo
10. Adhere Bazzill to green hearts paper to the right hand side leaving about 1/4" around
11. Use Cutterbee Bugs to make stitching guide to complete square on green hearts paper, and use red thread to stitch border
12. Add journalling if desired.

To purchase the products for this layout go to our Layout of the Week section to find a shopping list! But most importantly, have fun!

New Making Memories - Love Story

Wow! That is the best way to describe this limited edition collection from Making Memories! By the name "Love Story" you can probably guess it has come out for Valentines day, but take my word, it is so much more versatile than that! The range is very classy in colours of pink, cream, red and black and like the Noteworthy collection comes with shaped patterned cardstock as well. Ok, enough of my talking, lets show you some pictures!

These are two out of the three shaped cardstock sheets.

This is one of the patterned papers (double sided too!)

Some gorgeous chipboard shapes.

And beautiful trims to go with it all!

Now, I haven't put all of the range up, or there will be no surprises for you! But stay tuned, I know that Kerri will have this loaded into the shop in the next day or two! Just beautiful isn't it!!!

And talking of beautiful, we are all still so in love with the Basic Grey - Two Scoops range that we want to offer a special giveaway to the first person to order $35 or more from this range. They will receive a sheet of element stickers for free! What a great way to round out your collection of Two Scoops!


Just come and post a comment in here with your order number and we will make sure you get your sheet of stickers! (note - orders must be done through the on-line shop to be eligible)

Fiskars Stamp Press

The Fiskars Stamp Press, how many of you have seen this around and just don't know how to use it, or don't know what a fantastic tool it is?? Well, read on and discover just how useful this tool is and I am sure you will have the same opinion as we do, and that is, if you stamp with acrylic stamps, you must have one of these!

Well, first of all, this is what the Stamp Press looks like. Think of it as a large acrylic block, with measured graduations for lining things up like letters and spongy feet. The beauty of these feet are that they keep your inked stamp up off your work until you have lined up your image and are ready to stamp.

Now you need to choose your stamp (here I have used Autumn Leaves Flourishes v. 2) and place it on the under side of the press, if you need to you can use the grid to make sure it is lined up properly.

While still upside down, choose your ink and ink the stamp. Here I have used a Versa Mark cube in brown.

It is best to ink your stamp using a dabbing method until you can see there is ink covering all of the stamps details.

Now, simply turn the press over.

Line up the inked stamp on your work. Here I am just stamping onto a plain piece of paper, but you could be stamping directly onto a partly completed layout or card and you can precisely line your stamp so you know it will be in the correct place.

Once in the correct position, simply press down on the block, you will see the spongy feet compress and allowing the inked stamp to make contact with the paper/page/card. It is best to use two hands and apply firm even pressure over the area where the stamp is located.


And hey presto, a nicely stamped image on your page! Then, for those who are more adventurous you can use the press to add to this first image easily and neatly. See the steps below where I add more flourishes to this first one.

Here I have chosen a different flourish, attached it to the stamp press and inked the stamp with brown ink.

Turn the stamp press over and line up this new image with the previously stamped one.

Once lined up press the stamp as in the above step.

Now you have a unique flourish, created from two separate stamps.
Lets add one more!

Here is another flourish stamp, again inked in brown.

Line the stamp up with the previous images, and when happy with placement press firmly to stamp the image.

The final result! A uniquely intricate flourish made from three individual stamps. And the best part, it was so easy my daughter (six years old) could have done it! The stamping plate measures a large 5x7" so easily covers amost all acrylic stamps, and there is plenty of room to create words neatly with your alphabet stamps.

What more can I say??!! A fantastic tool once you have been shown how easy it is to use! If you are interested in purchasing one for yourself just click on Stamp Press located anywhere in this article.

If you have any other tools that have interested you, but you have just not known how they are used please feel free to leave a comment and if at all possible we will provide some instruction on how to use them.

Layout of the Week

January 14th 2008

Welcome to our new weekly segment called "Layout of the Week". Each week we will bring you a beautiful page and provide a list of materials and instructions so you can re-create it yourself! This week, to kick things off is a gorgeous layout from Ang using the beautiful Two Scoops range from Basic Grey.

Materials:

Photo - 5x8 inches

Bazzill - Aqua and Hopi
Basic Grey - Two Scoops - 6x6 Paper Pad; Shape Chip Stickers; Sweet Sentiments Clear Stamps
Making Memories - Noteworthy - Ava Shimmer Brads; Ava Shimmer Stickers
VersaMark - Turquoise
Ranger Distress Ink - Antique Linen
Fiskars Stamp Press
EK Success Corner Rounder
Craft Knife

Instructions:
1. Cut teal swirl 7.5 x 10 inches. Scallop one edge using corner rounder. If using 6x6 paper pad cut off one inch from the right hand side to adhere behind the photo, and use the pink paper to hide missing portion underneath.
2. Cut a 1.5 inch strip of the pink paper and tear each end.
3. Mount photo on Hopi Bazzill and ink edges. Adhere 1/2 inch from the right hand side of the teal swirl.
4. Stamp the word "Family" on the pink paper then stick on chipboard accents as shown in photo.
5. Add lettering and journalling.

To purchase the products on this list go to our shop to the Layout of the Week section.

Enjoy! Don't forget to check out the rest of the Two Scoops collection, it is absolutely beautiful!

Creative Cafe

Have you seen all the great products in our Creative Cafe??? Well, let me just say the collection we have in at the moment is gorgeous. Scrapbook City is lucky enough to be one of only 200 stores worldwide to have a Creative Cafe, so you need to have a look and grab some great products. The idea behind the Cafe is to have a "bar" where you can come and sit during our "Happy Hours"and do a small project on the spot (there is a fee for each project based on materials used), like a mini class you could say. Sounds great doesn't it??!! Here are a couple of examples of some projects created with product from the Creative Cafe.





And check out this link to see all the product available for purchase in the shop - Creative Cafe. There are die-cuts, buttons, felt, papers, coloured chipboard, ribbon and much more....

Here are some of the upcoming dates for our Happy Hours if you are around make sure you pop in! I am sure you will fall in love with these products just like we have!

Thursday 24th Jan - 9:30 - 11:00am and 5:00 - 7:00pm

PSSST........I have a secret......We have a really cool new line coming in really soon and I can't wait to share it with you...so stay posted to find out what it is.......

Did you know.....

...that we are lucky enough to boast having Nikala O'Brien on our design team??!! Nikala has just recently been announced as one of For Keeps Elite Team winners! All of us here at Scrapbook City were not surprised of course!

Here is a great example of Nikala's work using the great new KI Memories Pop Culture range:


Here Nikala used the great Hip Chip Chipboard - Multi Shapes and Lace Cardstock to create her gorgeous design.

Here are a couple of other great pages using some more of the KI Memories Pop Culture collection:





As you can see there is so much colour and variety in this range, definitely one you need to try for yourself!

Life Artist - Review

I'll start by saying that I have read Ali Edwards' other books and enjoyed them greatly, so I was most interested when Life Artist was released. But, I am sure like some of you, the title made me a little hesitant. I mean, "Life Artist" that's just a little bit prentious right??!!

Well, I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the book anyway. I say lucky because I beleive this is her best book yet. The more I read the more I enjoyed what I was reading and the more inspired to create I became. This book is not about scrapbookers proclaiming themselves as artists, well not entirely! It is about getting back to creating for the love of creating. It's about learning to let go of the "shackles" that may be holding you back and saying "it is ok" to create the way you want to and to create just because it makes you happy. It's about focusing on capturing your life in a creative way.

In fact the first chapter is titled "It is ok". A whole chapter to tell you 'It is OK' to "let go" of feeling there is a right and wrong way to scrap, and 'It is OK' to repeat what works for you. If you find a design, style or element that really works for you, don't be afraid to use it again and again.

Other chapters cover things like "going with the flow", "simplifying" and "embracing imperfection". As you can see lots of positive ways to embrace what you do and also to enjoy what you do without feeling guilty or that you have to live up to anyone else's requirements or standards. I guess it is like the Nike catch phrase - "Just Do It", this is what we all need to remind ourselves of sometimes!!

There are plenty of inspiring challenges along the way and plenty of fantastic examples too. Ali writes in a way that is easy to read and feels just like she is having a conversation just with you. In a nutshell, this is one of the best books I have read recently and it really did inspire me and made me want to drop everything and just create or at the very least play and experiment.

Now, hopefully I have inspired you to want to get your hands on a copy of this book! To make the idea even sweeter, the first person to buy a copy from the shop and come back here and post a comment with thier order number will score two of the great Foz Felt ribbons from Kaiser Craft. Can't get much sweeter than that!

Have you seen the great new Fozz Felt ribbons from Kaiser Craft?? They are gorgeous, with beautiful butterfly designs, flowers and stars in lots of great colours too. Here are a couple of samples:

It is a little hard to see the detail, but the butterfly pattern (the green example above) is so sweet!

We have also have the KI Memories Pop Culture collection in store and this is very bright and funky. This range includes lace cardstock, stamps ribbons and much more. Go and have a look here and see what I mean!

So have you been bidding for the Cricut in the reverse auction??? The bid's are coming in thick and fast and it is anyone's guess as to what the lowest unique bid might be! I guess that is part of the fun of playing!! Remember to check out the shop here if you want to place a bid. You can also place your bids in store if you are lucky enough to live near the "real" shop!

A bit of house keeping - As seen on the Summer Newsletter, Ang's Love Wall Hanging class scheduled for 31st Jan will now be held on Thursday 7th Feb at 10:30am. If you are interested in this class give the shop a call and book your place!

Thanks for popping by and remember feel free to drop a comment when you are here!

Welcome to 2008!

Firstly a big welcome to 2008! Lets hope this is a fantastic year for scrapping projects! One thing I know for sure is that Scrapbook City know how to start the year with a BANG...our first major competition for the year is a reverse auction.

What is a reverse auction I hear you ask!! Well, this is an auction where the lowest unique bid will win a prize. And in this case the prize is a CRICUT!!!! So you won't want to miss out on that!!!


There is a small fee of $5 per bid and you can do this through the on-line shop. All you have to do is go to the shop and register (if you haven't already) and choose from the options for bidding in the reverse auction section. Or just go here to be in the right place to start.

The auction will run until January 31st so you have plenty of time to get your bids in. The thing to remember is you need to be the lowest, unique bid. You can bid in multiples of 1c, and you can even start as low as 1c if you want, but you have to hope no-one else has made that bid too! I think this is going to be great fun to play and I just wish I was eligible to win the prize too!