Memorial Day with Pink Paislee

I am convinced that the "sewing with material" gene skips generations in my family. Both my mom and my mother-in-law are expert seamstresses . . . Me? Not so much. I can sew on paper, but give me something flexible, like fabric or ribbon, and I fumble like a fish out of water.

Now, that doesn't mean I don't admire the look of homespun items, . . . infact, every year about this time I get the itch to create a quilted-looking item on my scrapbook pages. And that is one of the things I wanted to show you today. :)

First of all, here is my completed page. First, I'll show you how I did the background, and then I will show you how to create the 3-D star embellishments (they are sooo super easy! You will be shocked at how simple they are! :) )





First, I cut out a series of 3" hexagon shapes from several Pink Paislee Papers using my Cricut Expression machine and the Accent Essentials cartridge.

I arranged them on my paper in a combination that was pleasing to my eye, then I inked the edges with dark brown ClearSnap Chalk Ink and curled up the edges a bit with my fingers.



Before adhering them down, I stitched around the edges using my sewing machine. I like to stitch my elements before adhering them *just in case* I make a mistake. That way if I mess up, I can just remake one little element and not sacrifice my entire page. :)



And that's it! Now you have a colorful, summer picnic quilt look on your background. Fun, right?!!

Now, the 3-dimensional star embellishments. This week I found these rustic, barnwood stars on clearance at my local craft store. I am going to hang them in Owen's bedroom, but first, I'm using them as my inspiration piece for this page.



I cut out two 2.5" stars, one 3.5" star, and one 4.5" star for this page.

Using the Scor-It-All add a score line going from each tip of the star to the opposite indent, like this.




Continue around, scoring each of the five tips until you are finished.



Use your fingers to pinch and fold the star into shape.



Now it looks like this! :)



Stack a few foam dots together and adhere to the underside of your star. You are now ready to add it to your page.



Easy! I hope you'll try this star technique on a soon-to-be Patriotic Parade layout of your own.



Happy Scrapping!
Jana

Scor-It-All Dimensional Leaves Tutorial

I have a tutorial featured in the May 2010 Newsletter for the Scor-It-All board (one of my very favorite tools!), and thought I would share it here on my blog as well. :)

With it's raised metal scoring bar, the Scor-It-All allows you to score through a double-thickness of cardstock which means I can create these really fun leaves for my projects. :)

DIMENSIONAL LEAVES TUTORIAL by Me! :)

STEP 1
Cut a rectangle from green cardstock. Place it on your Scor-it-All board so that it is centered, lengthwise, and score a line to create the center vein on the leaf.

STEP 2
Fold the rectangle in half along the line you scored in Step 1. Cut a simple leaf shape.



STEP 3
To create the veins in the leaf, place folded leaf shape on the Scor-it-All board at an angle. Make a score line for the first vein. Move the leaf shape slightly and continue to make evenly spaced score lines all the way to the other end of the leaf.



Open the leaf to reveal the symmetrical, textured vein lines. Beautiful!



TIPS:

Leaves can be any size and color. They add dimension to layouts, cards and other projects.

Use leaves to create the feel of a jungle or combine them with flowers, vines and other elements

For a totally different look, highlight vein lines and edges of the leaves with ink or chalk, or distress with a sanding block.

AT THE ZOO



SUPPLIES:
Scor-It-All board; Cardstock (Bazzill, Prism); Patterned Papers and Dimensional Stickers are by Imaginisce; Letter Stickers, Mini Letter Stichers and Chipboard Letters by My Little Shoebox; Journal spot by Sassafras Lass; Buttons by Basic Grey

I wanted to end my post by telling you WHY this is one of my favorite tools. :)

With it's raised metal scoring bar and metal-lined score tool, this set simply creates the highest quality score I have seen in a portable tool. I come from a family that owns a print/copy store with large, professional bindery machines. I have tried all kinds of scoring tools including ones with premeasured grooves and scoring attachments for trimmers, and have always been disappointed that I couldn't get a quality score. The plastic tools used with boards with premeasured grooves would quickly go dull and not create a crisp score. Trimmer attachments worked inconsistently and would tear or cut through my cardstock. UGH! Frustrating! When I found the Scor-It-All board I fell in love because you get a professional looking score every single time. :) I LOVE IT!!!

(You should know that, YES, Scor-It-All did give me my cute NEW pink Scor-It-All tool when I joined the Design Team . . . but I already owned the 12 X 12 board of the "older" model and have been using it for a long time. When I was asked to create projects for their site, I couldn't help but say YES because it has always been one of my favorite things to use. I gave my dad my "old" tool to use at his print shop for smaller bindery jobs. :) )

Have a great day!