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How To’sday

Dec 18, 2012

How To’sday | Crafting with Balsa Wood

kerys , , , , , Altering, Card, How To'sday, ScrapbookSteals Design Team Comments

Today’s How To’sday by Julie Koets is a definite must read! It’s quite simple but is such a great idea. I will certainly be trying this one myself!

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I have always been a fan of woodgrain pattern and love the rustic feel that it lends to my projects.   Did you know that you can add actual wood to your cards and layouts without adding weight and bulk?   Balsa wood is one of the lightest varieties of wood available and is sold in sheets at craft and hobby stores.  I bought a sheet of balsa that measured 4 inches by 24 inches and then cut it down into small sections to use with my Big Shot embossing and die cutting machine.
Because the wood is super thin, it can be cut with scissors or a craft knife.  It tends to split easily along the grain, so handle with care.
After the image is embossed, you can add ink to bring out the details.
The embossed background adds great texture to cards or layouts without adding additional weight.
Balsa wood can also be cut using shape dies.  If you have alpha dies, you could easily use balsa wood to cut your own dimensional title letters.
Again, I inked the edges and adhered to a card to add additional dimension and texture.

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Julie, thank you so much for sharing with us today! The embossing and distressing on the balsa wood looks amazing!

If you have an idea that you would like to share as a How To’sday tutorial, please send your photos and directions to ksharrock@steals.com.

Now we  have one matter of business to take care of, and that is announcing the winner of the December ScrapbookSteals.com Blog Hop! Our lucky random winner comes to us from the blog of Alice Carman. The random winner of the $20.00 gift code to the ScrapbookSteals.com store is Kelly Holifield! Congrats Kelly. Please email angie@steals.com and we’ll send you your code. We hope you have fun doing a little shopping and that you will share what you create!

Thank you to everyone for participating! Have a great day and be sure to stop by tomorrow for our next installment in the Mid Week Mojo Jade series!

 

Dec 11, 2012

How To’sday | Christmas Gift Tags

kerys , , , Christmas, Design Team, Holiday, How To'sday, ScrapbookSteals Design Team Comments

Today’s How To’sday by Amy Coose shows you just how quick and easy it can be to make simple Christmas gift tags! They’re perfect for using all those scraps of paper you’ve been hoarding!

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Hey there, I am so happy to be popping onto the blog today with a quick technique share. We’ve all seen the Christmas trees created from different strips of paper, which is an awesome way to use up those scraps.  I decided I would create a set of tags inspired by the strips of paper.  Here’s what I created.

First I gathered my supplies, some Christmas themed papers along with some more neutral papers.

Then I stamped a pattern on my tag bases.

I created the tree tag first. I just cut each strip a bit smaller than the last.

I used a pencil to lightly draw a triangle for my stitching, added a star and some glitter and it was finished.

For my second tag, I started by cutting several strips down to 1 1/2 inches, then drew a circle on the tag to use as a guide.

Then I created the wreath shape just glueing down the end at the center. When I had it completed, I stitched around the center, and curled up the ends just a bit.

My third tag might be my favorite. I used more 1 1/2 inch pieces and just glued them down the middle of the tag. Then I lightly sketched a star to use as a guide for my stitching.

Here is another look at the final project.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed my project!

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Amy – thank you so much for sharing with us today! The tags look great and I love the fact that it is nice and simple to do!

If you have an idea that you would like to share as a How To’sday tutorial, please send your photos and directions to ksharrock@steals.com.

Have a great day and be sure to stop by tomorrow for our next installment in the Mid Week Mojo Jade series!

 

Dec 4, 2012

Lifestyle Crafts Box Dies | How To’sday

kerys , , , , Announcement, baby shower, Christmas, Cutting Dies, How To'sday, Monday Craft Madness Comments

I’m here today to show you just how easy and fun the Lifestyle Crafts Box Dies really are! I have two examples to show you that can be used for any theme imaginable!

First up – the treat carrier cutting die:

Step 1. Cut out 2 of each of the box shapes.

Step 2. Add extra stong double sided adhesive tape onto the flaps of the base cut out.

Step 3. Attach the base cut out (as shown below) – you need to make 2 of these.

Step 4. Add extra stong double sided adhesive tape to the back of one side of a treat box, and stick together.

Step 5. Use the smaller die cuts in the pack to make the decorative banners and sentiment pieces for your treat carrier.

You are now ready to decorate! I went for a snowman soup theme :

The next box file I was given to play with was the popcorn box:

Step 1. Cut out box using die.


Step 2. Add extra strong double sided adhesive to the flap on the right hand side:


Step 3. Fold in the bottom flaps as shown below:


Time to have fun and decorate! These boxes are so quick and easy to make – you could use them as party favors, baby shower gifts, teacher presents….the list is endless! Here are a few more of my examples:

I hope I have inspired you to hit that ‘steal’ button! These box dies really are super simple and fun to use, with endless possibilities.

If you have an idea that you would like to share as a How To’sday tutorial, please send your photos and directions to ksharrock@steals.com.

Have a great day and be sure to stop by tomorrow for our next installment in the Mid Week Mojo Jade series with Guest Designer Jessica Arrant.

Nov 27, 2012

Dimensional flower tutorial | How To’sday

kerys , , , Altering, How To'sday, Punches, Stamping Comments

Today’s How To’sday by Deb Routledge shows you just how quick and easy it can be to add dimension to your punched out flowers! It takes just a few simple extra steps but it adds a lot of “wow!” factor to your projects.

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Step 1. Punch out your flower shapes.

Step 2. Stamp on the flowers (I used a script stamp) and ink around the edges. Snip into the middles (but not right into the centre) with a pair of scissors.

Step 3. Sit your flower on a spongy surface. I use a soft stamping mat, but a thick mouse mat would do. Use an embossing tool and make circular movements on each petal to give the flower some dimension.

You can see there is quite a bit of difference with not too much effort!

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Deb – thank you so much for sharing with us today! The flowers look great – and I love the fact that it is nice and simple to do!

If you have an idea that you would like to share as a How To’sday tutorial, please send your photos and directions to ksharrock@steals.com.

Have a great day and be sure to stop by tomorrow for our next installment in the Mid Week Mojo Coral series.

Nov 20, 2012

Lifestyle Crafts Punches Dies | How To’sday

kerys , , , , , , Card, Cutting Dies, How To'sday, Layout Comments

Great for a variety of projects from layouts, to cards, decor, gifts, and more, Lifestyle Crafts Punches Dies are a quick and easy way to cut multiple identical shapes at once. Simply pop out the dies and adhere them to any embellishment or design you can dream of.

I did panic when I first saw these dies – they were SO long! I knew I didn’t have any 12″ long cutting plates, so I borrowed some from a friend. When I started working with the dies, I soon realized that you DON’T have to have the long plates. They can be used just as easily with the standard sized plates. Here are the two sized plates they can be used with:

I found it easier to tape down my dies so that they didn’t move on the paper as I was putting it through the machine. This also allowed me to use whichever machine I wanted. To use smaller plates, just put it through the machine twice, moving the cutting plates on the paper.

I also used some cardboard to make it go through a little tighter and ensure the cutting of the shapes.

I loved that the shapes were already lined up without having to keep repositioning them and trying to get them all to run in a straight line! Also, being able to use the negative shaped paper as a background for a layout along with the shapes themselves was an added bonus.


Here is the layout I created:

I used both the negatives for the background and the shapes themselves. I covered the shapes in different colored and patterned washi tapes, sticking some of them back down onto the base and ‘popping’ some of them up for more texture.

Some of these sets come with two additional single punches included. I thought I would try these out by making a card using a similar technique. I taped my single dies down onto the card and ran them through my die cut machine.

Again, I used both the negative piece and the cut out shape.


Again, I added washi tape behind the cut outs and used the shape to ‘pop’ up the butterfly and give some more dimension to the card.

I hope this has inspired you to use more dies, and the possibilities really are endless! You can be as creative as you like!

If you have an idea that you would like to share as a How To’sday tutorial, please send your photos and directions to ksharrock@steals.com. Have a great day and be sure to stop by tomorrow for our next installment in the Mid Week Mojo Coral series.

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