Creative Memories Traditional 411 Blog

Cherished Springtime Memories

Can you believe that in some parts of the US (but NOT in Minnesota!) buds are starting to pop up out of the ground? One moment it's -11 degrees or even 32 degrees and a few days later the temps are as high as 74. What is happening to our four seasons?

Even though I like a good winter season, especially when there is snow around so my kids can build snowmen or make snow angles, there is nothing like spring. It's my most favorite season. I love every moment I get to open the windows allowing for a cool breeze of fresh air cleanse my home of any toxins that's been hovering around through the winter months. Plus, I really enjoy being outside, playing with my kids and tending to my herb, veggie and flower gardens. One thing I do not like is pulling weeds, but having a little one around kind of makes that a little more exiting.

It's a time for young kids to explore, touch and feel all of what nature has to offer. Lots of questions are asked about what kind of plant or weed is growing all over the yard or flower beds. I remember back in the day when I was young, I loved playing with weeds. Blowing dandelions in the air watching the fly around me. I was even more excited to pick them when they were in full bloom and put them in a vase to give to my mom. She loved when I would give them to her, but I'm sure deep down inside she wasn't too thrilled having weeds hanging out on her kitchen windowsill either. It was the thought that counted, right?

This brings me to my layout of my baby girl getting to know her spring blooms, one in particular, the dandelion. She loves to play with these pretty white fluffy weeds that grow by the hundreds in our yard.

Matter of fact, her and her brother will have a contest to see who could blow the most of the white airy flowers in one breath. It's quite fun watching them do this and can be a disappointment when they run out of dandelions. But not for me! That means less weeding for me and more admiring my clean flower beds.

When creating my layout, I went with a simple approach in my design and added layers the same or similar elements for depth and texture. I love to use a mix of collections when I create and the flowers are a prime example of that, where I used the back of paper flowers from the Divine and Enchanted collections. I also layered in large paper flowers from the Reflections collection. I love the tone-on-tone affect of using white backed flowers, giving a subtle look to the layered flowers that also pop with the blue flower beneath.

To add more depth and texture to the page, I tucked in a bunch of green leaves from the Reflections collection to create a dimensional border. This is something I've been wanting to do for a long time and glad I did it for this page! It's a wonderful way to add dimension to a page and try something new.

I love combining the Enchanted and Reflections collections together - the patterns and color palette are perfect for spring and Easter projects.

Now, get ready to capture those spring moments with your love ones enjoying the flowers that bloom into weeds! Create something beautiful and cherish those memories as they happen.

 

A Simple Way To Step Up Your Journaling

Do you ever struggle with what to say when it's time to journal on your layouts? Do you want to capture the who, what, where, and when but also take your journaling a step farther? They say a photo is worth a 1,000 words and typically that is true, photos alone are good at capturing the basics behind what you are scrapbooking; however, I think that just about every photo tells an even better story when it is paired with great journaling.

So today I’m going to show you a simple exercise that you can do to improve your journaling; journaling that will help you tell the story behind your photos in a detailed, heartfelt, yet still fast and easy way.

My technique is word bubble mapping. Some of you may remember this technique as one you learned in school. You start out by writing the main idea behind your layout in the center of a blank piece of paper. For my example today I’m going to pretend that I’m working on a layout about my son’s 8^th birthday, so that is what I’ll write in my center bubble. 

Next I’ll give myself a few blank bubbles around my main one to add my first memories of this event. 

Now I just quickly add the first few things I remember from this event: #1. My son’s good friend was there #2. All he wanted as gifts was Lego stuff and #3. We gave him a Cub Scout uniform as one of his presents. I could add more if I want, but three is usually a good number that gives me plenty to write about.

Next I’ll add some other bubbles around my three smaller bubbles to help me fill in the details. For example, off the "friend" bubble I’ll add a bubble about how his friend almost wasn’t able to make it to his party, but did make it at the last minute. My son was really excited that he was able to be there because they had become such good friends when they were in the same first grade class. Now they are in separate classes and don’t get to see each other often. 

I’ll fill in details about my other bubbles as well. I might even add an additional 4^th layer of bubbles to include my own feelings about each of the details.

Now I have a lot of information about the special parts of his birthday. I’ll gather it all up and write my journaling to include all the details I thought about while bubble mapping. I might even go back and add further bubbles as I think about other details I want to include.

Look at all the great stuff to journal about! Not just the basics, but details about what he was excited about. It paints a bigger picture of his special day and the memories that were made that day.

Give it a try the next time you're struggling with what to write!

Happy journaling everyone!

Ginger

Make your own gift card holder!

Hi there! I hope your holidays are off to a good start! How is that Christmas shopping going? :)
It seems like each year I give at least a few gift cards to friends and family, so I came up with an easy way to make my own gift card holder. And today I want to show you how to do it!

Here's what you'll need:
Patterned paper (I used the Be Merry papers here)
Stickers (I used the Be Merry Title Stickers)
Corner Maker
12-inch Rotary Trimmer
Tape Runner

Now let's get started!
A standard gift card measures 3.5 inches wide x 2 inches tall. Your gift card holder needs to be bigger than that obviously. Start by cutting a sheet of patterned paper to roughly 4.5 inches wide x 8 inches tall. {don’t sweat it though! none of the measurements here need to be exact!}

Use your Corner Maker to round the top 2 corners. This is really an optional step. You don’t have to do this. I think it just looks prettier!

Then fold! 
Fold the bottom up ~1.5 to 2 inches from the top of the card.

Then fold the top part down so that it overlaps.

Unfolded, your card will look like this:

See how easy this is?! 
The "card" part is done & now you just need to make a little sleeve-thingy to go around the card to hold it together. Cut a strip of paper 1.5 to 2 inches wide and ~10 inches long.


Okay, now fold the strip around the card holder.


Adhere it together with your Tape Runner and then trim off the excess. Now you have a little sleeve-thingy that you can slide on and off the gift card holder.


But you still need to embellish this thing a little better to make it cuter! Add stickers, die cuts, flowers, punches, bling as desired to get the look you want. This is a good place to add a sentiment too!

And voila! Adhere a gift card inside and you have your own hand made a gift card holder to give away!
Here is another example using the same pattern. I did not round the corners on this one so you can see the difference. 

Thanks for stopping by the blog today! Enjoy the holidays!

Note: Be Merry and Nordic Christmas products are limited edition and quantities are expected to last only until January 1, 2013. Be sure to order yours soon!

:)
gretchen

Fast and Forgiving Gift Bags

Hi! Jen here ... It seems that I am forever looking for a gift bag when it comes time to wrap Christmas presents. And of course, I never have one on hand for those small gifts. So today I’m going to show you how to make a simple gift bag – no real measuring necessary!

There are tons of tutorials on the internet to guide you in making “real” gift bags. I’ve done those, too, but the “real” ones involved measuring and precision. I’m more of a wing-it sort of girl, and this style of bag is both fast and forgiving. So let’s get started!

You'll need some 12"x12" paper (I used Be Merry - love it!!), a tape runner, a paper trimmer, and your embellishments (again, love the Be Merry Title Stickers and photo mats).

Step 1: Start with a sheet of 12"x12" paper. Trim the paper to 9"x12”. This determines how tall the bag is – it isn’t necessary to be exact. You just want to be sure your paper will be tall enough to cover whatever you are going to put inside your bag. In the photo, the cream is the back side of the paper, folded over onto the red & white striped side.

Step 2: Fold the paper towards the center, then fold the other side to meet the flap. You want them to overlap a little. Tape the flaps together so you have a creased tube. 

Step 3: With the seam facing up, fold up the bottom. I didn’t measure this – just eyeballed a couple of inches.

Step 4: Put on your origami hat. You are going to open the flap you just folded up to make triangles. The photo hopefully explains it better than I do! Do this on both sides.

 

Step 5: Now use your tape runner to stick the bottom together. I like to put a little tape under the triangles, and then under the overlapping points.

Step 6: Open up the bag and push the bottom into shape. Load up the gift, and then fold the top.

Step 7: Embellish! I used the tape runner to hold the bag shut, but you could use ribbon or staples. I added a folded photo mat that was trimmed to about 3” wide, and them some of the adorable Be Merry Title Stickers. 

The best part? I can make one of these in under five minutes. Actually, I think it took me about five to make all three of these!

There you have it. No excuses for not having a cute, color coordinated gift bag!

 

 

How To: Chevrons with Square Maker

Have you noticed that chevrons are a hot trend lately??

They are all over fashion, home decor, and crafting!
And I am loving it!

Chevrons look like they could be a bit tricky when trying to create the pattern yourself. But I have an easy trick for you: use your Square Maker! I used my Square Maker to create the chevron border on this card and I am going to walk you through how I did it.

To get started, grab your Square Maker, Tape Runner, and White and Silver Shimmer Cardstock. 

To make the base of this card I made a card measuring 4.25" wide x 5.5" tall with Silver Shimmer Cardstock. Then I cut a piece of White Shimmer Cardstock to 4" wide x 5.25" tall and adhered it to the center of the card. 

Now grab the Square Maker and some patterned paper. I have used the fun "Dream" collection here. 
And start punching! I stamped all my squares with the 1 1/4" punch.
Punch several different colors while you're at it! 

Once you have punched your squares, you are going to start layering them to the card in rows. Pick the color you want to start with and adhere those squares so that they overlap each other slightly. 

One row done! Now pick the next color you want to use and layer those squares on top of the first row. Adhere the squares as you go.

Two rows done! Moving right along...now pick another color and add a third row of squares. 

I am only adding one more row of squares so I went back and snipped off the top corner of the squares on that last row (you will see why this is important in a minute). 

One last row! Before adhering the last row of squares, go ahead and trim off the top corner. Then stick those squares to your card.

Now cut a thin strip of patterned paper and adhere across the top of the last row of squares (now you see why it's important to cut off the top corners of those squares!). 

Trim off the excess extending off the sides of the card. 

The chevrons are done and now you can put the finishing touches on the card using some fun layered stickers!

Here is another card using the same technique...

Easy, huh??!
Thanks for stopping by the blog today!
Have a great day!

Halloween Decorating Time

Happy October everyone!  I pull out my Halloween decorations on the first day of the month and start getting my home ready for greeting guests this October 31st! Today, I have some fun decorating ideas for you using the Hocus Pocus 6x6 Stack Pack and Hocus Pocus Layered Stickers.

I had a lot of fun working with the stack pack, the colors are really beautiful and perfect for evoking the spooky feelings of Halloween! I used it to create several pieces of Fall decor that would be great for party usage or just to decorate your home.

The first item I created was this Halloween frame. I used a 12x12 Page Frame and filled it with a piece of grey patterned paper from the Enchanted collection. I added a Halloween Subway Art Print that I found through Pinterest to the center of the frame. I printed it on a piece of paper from the Gratitude collection to help it match the other colors in my decorations. 

Next I used my Hexagon Place N' Punch to punch lots of hexagons and then sewed them together to make a garland that I then draped across the top of the frame.

Afterwards I folded some strips of paper into these rosettes to bring color and texture to the bottom of the frame. A few Layered Stickers added some fun Halloween flair to my rosettes. To make them just fold two 6" x 1 1/8" pieces of paper every 1/4" and then glue them together to form a circle. Do the same with three pieces of paper at 6" x 1 1/4, and 6" x 1/2".

I had some left over 2x4 blocks from a previous project so I put them to work in my display by painting them a matching color, sanding the edges down and then covering them with some of the papers in the Hocus Pocus Stack Pack. I then cut out the letters "BOO" with the Creative Memories Divine Wedding Cricut^® Cartridge (size 3 3/4") and added them to my blocks. A few of the cuts outs from the stack pack finish them off.

And lastly I made some treat bags with some simple folded bags from my local dollar store. I added a rectangle cut out from the Stack Pack, rounded the corners with my Corner Maker and then added a Hocus Pocus Layered Sticker to the front of each of them.

Because the Hocus Pocus Layered Stickers and Stack Pack has so many papers and cut outs it would be easy to create lots of fun decor and treat bags in no time! I hope these gave you some fun ideas!

 

Fall is in the Air

As Autumn approaches, we are slowly preparing for Halloween and decorating our home with lots of fall decor. This is one of my favorite times of the year, next is Spring. I love the cool breeze, the bright orange and deep red leaves on the trees and of course, stocking up on candy for my little ones.

Like most of you, our favorite tradition is spending an afternoon dedicated to carving all the pumpkins we've collected in the past weeks. The kids enjoy playing with all the mushy stuff inside while the husband and I try to carve a creative face on the bigger pumpkins. At the end of the carving, all the pumpkin seeds are cleaned and then roasted for snacking while watching a fun family Halloween movie.

My layout, Pumpkin Carving, uses the new Pumpkin Border Maker Cartridge and the Rickety Fence Border Maker Cartridge. I created a bit of an ombre affect using the Yellow Cardstock, Gold Cardstock and Carrot Cardstock. I love the affect it gives to the design of the page and adds a nice balance with the photos. I also used the Hocus Pocus Stack Pack.

I am utterly and completely in love with these limited edition new tools. They work perfect for every fall or Halloween inspired project from scrapbooking to decorating candles being displayed in your home.

Thanks so much for letting me share my creativity and hope you were inspired in getting those favorite fall and Halloween photos.

Place 'n' Punch Tips

Punches are near the top of my go-to scrapbooking supplies list. They're a quick, easy way to create handmade embellishments and add flare to your pages. The new Hexagon and Star Place 'n' Punch tools are great because you can punch them anywhere you need to on your page, and they happen to be some of my favorite shapes!

Hexagon Place 'n' Punch Layout Idea

This punch makes adorable accents when used with patterned paper (I'm a huge hexagon fan), but using it with photos results in a fun and different look. This works especially well with photos that are close-up shots since the widest point of the shape is only 1 1/2 inches. Check out my layout below that I created with the Summer Additions, Cheerful Seasons Cricut Cartridge, and Hexagon Place 'n' Punch:

For this layout about one of our summer favorites, I had several similar close up shots of my daughter devouring her watermelon slice. I just couldn't leave any of them out because...well...I think she's pretty cute. =) But I didn't really want to make a two page spread with larger photos (since they are all so similar) so using the hexagon punch was the perfect solution!

I used my favorite 3 1/2 x 5 inch photo as my focal point, and then I simply turned the hexagon punch upside down, detached the base, lined up my 11 other photos in the viewer...

...and then, while holding my photos tightly in place, I reattached the base to the top (still upside down). To punch the photos out I held my hands on the corners of the bottom of the base and, with even pressure, I pressed down hard and fast. Standing up while doing this gave me a little extra leverage.

Star Place 'n' Punch Layout Idea

I love the look of a punched border or background with different patterned papers backing the punched holes. Of course you can simply punch out shapes from different patterned papers and add them to your project, but it's kind of like the difference between embossed and debossed images (raised vs. indented)--each has a unique look.

It can be tricky, however, to line the punch up exactly where you want it when punching backgrounds. But, if you select a background paper for your layout with a grid or repeated design, you can use that design to help you line your punch up just right. Take a look at this layout I made using the Be Young Boy Additions, Be Young Stack Pack, Be Young Cricut Cartridge, Cheerful Seasons Cricut Cartridge, and Star Place 'n' Punch:

For this layout about my twin boys' birthday I used the repeated circle pattern on the background paper to line up my starts so they were straight across the bottom of the page.  Again, I turned the stamp over and used the view finder.

But this time I selected a row of circles to center my star shapes on. I punched in the center first, then the outside edges, and then filled the stars in between spacing them evenly. To fill in the holes I punched seven squares of different patterned papers with the 1 1/2 inch square on my square maker. They fit perfectly!

I was then able to use the star shapes that I punched out from my background paper as accents on my page! It's a good idea to save those little guys--you never know when they'll come in handy. I hope these tips have inspired you to use your Place 'n' Punch tools in fun and different ways. Happy scrapping!

 

Basic Design Principles: Page Anchors

Hello! Aly Dosdall again here from the design team for another installment of our July design series. So far we’ve gone over the rule of thirds, balance, color and contrast. This week we’re going to learn about a design principle that applies most often to layout, or graphic design, though it can apply to other creative disciplines as well. We’re going to discuss a few ways to anchor, or ground, elements on our pages.

Anchoring elements on a layout means to connect them to another element so that they don’t seem to float freely on the page.  When elements of a page are not anchored, the page feels disjointed and confusing to the eye.  Elements can be anchored to a page several ways.  We’ll go over three, starting with lines.

Example: Life is Fabulous with Friends

The scrapbook page I created above using the Enchanted Power Palette demonstrates how to use lines to anchor elements. The red punched border together with the green paper ribbon (complementary colors, remember?) help to anchor the decorative paper loops to the title and photos. They connect those elements together. Take a look at the image below where I blocked out the anchor lines.

The page feels more disjointed and has less visual impact than the image with the anchor lines visible.  Notice the small sub-title cluster at the top right corner of the page.  Do you see an anchor line?  Yep.  It’s the green ribbon again.  Without the anchor line there the subtitle would seem to be floating aimlessly on the page.

Another way to anchor page elements is by using backgrounds or mats.  In design the relationship between figure (the element we notice), and ground (everything that surrounds the figure) is very important.  This applies to scrapbook pages as well.  Any important page element (i.e. a photo, title, or journaling) can be anchored to the page using its surroundings, or background.

Example: Thankful Card

Notice on the card above I created using the Gratitude 12 x 12 Paper and Photo Mat Pack that the main elements of the card (sentiment and flower accent) are both matted, or they are both resting on a visually interesting background.  The backgrounds carry less visual weight than their elements do so those elements are still the focus of their spaces on the card.  But the backgrounds do help to anchor those elements on the card.  Take a look at the image below where I blocked out the flower’s background.

See how the flower accent now seems like it doesn’t quite belong where it is?  Like it doesn’t really have a specific purpose on the card?  It makes us feel a little uneasy that it’s not grounded or anchored to something else.

The last way to anchor elements that we’re going to discuss is by using proximity.  Placing elements close to each other on a page anchors them so they don’t seem to float around disjointedly.  This is sometimes referred to as a collage or cluster of elements (attention all readers…that was your hint for next week…now back to your regularly scheduled blog post).

Example: CHA Fun

This layout I created using the Mediterranean Market Papers and the Cheerful Seasons Cricut Cartridge is a good example of using proximity to anchor elements on a page.  I was able to include seven photos on this single page without it feeling too busy by clustering them into three photo groups.  Keeping the photos close together anchors them so they don't feel like they're floating around on the page, and thus the page doesn't feel too cluttered.

Be sure to come back next week when I share our final design principle.  Please feel free to ask any questions you might have in the comments section below. 

Happy scrapping!
Aly

 

Basic Design Principles: Color & Contrast

Hello! Aly Dosdall again here from the design team to share another fun design principle with you (truth be told, this is one of my favorites)! The last couple of weeks we’ve learned about the rule of thirds and balance. This week we’ll focus on color and contrast. Technically color is an element of design, rather than a principle, but that’s a discussion for another time. =)

There is a ton of information related to color, so I’ll try to hit the basics. First, I must introduce you to the color wheel (or color circle):

The color wheel is comprised of the three primary colors (marked with a “P”), the three secondary colors (marked with an “S”), and the six tertiary colors (marked with a “T”). Primary colors (red, yellow, blue) are the three pigment colors that form all other colors and cannot be formed by any combination of colors.  Secondary colors (green, orange, purple) are formed by combining two primary colors. Tertiary colors are formed by combining a primary color with a secondary color.

The color wheel can be divided into warm colors, and cool colors.

Warm colors are vivid, energetic, and tend to advance in space. Cool colors evoke a sense of calm, reflectiveness, and seem to recede in space. Black, white, and grey are considered neutral colors and can be combined with the color wheel hues to create different tints, shades, and tones.

Color in design is used to evoke emotion, to bring emphasis or focus, and to enhance beauty. These goals are achieved by using certain combinations of colors, or color harmonies. These combinations have a fixed relation to each other on the color wheel. When combining colors, contrast is an important piece to consider. Contrast is basically the difference between two colors. Using contrast effectively is very pleasing to the eye.

Next, let's look at a few effective color harmonies, or color schemes. Analogous colors sit next to each other on the color wheel. 

Analogous colors match well, and when used together they create a sense of harmony and comfort. Make sure to create enough contrast when using analogous colors, and remember to use one dominant color, one supporting color, and one accent color (together with a neutral color—black, white, or grey).

Example: About A Girl

The above layout I created using the Enchanted Power Palette incorporates analogous colors—various blues and greens—with some black and white thrown in as accents and to provide some contrast. Notice in particular the black ribbon border at the bottom which creates a visual triangle with the two black paper flowers at the top left and top right. Using these contrasting elements in a visual triangle creates a frame around the page that keeps the viewer's eye engaged in the photos and journaling. 

Complementary colors are opposite each other on the color wheel.  Because of their high contrast, they create a vibrant energetic look. 

Complementary colors work well together when you want an element on your page to stand out. The card I created below using the Enchanted Power Palette demonstrates a good use of complementary colors.

Example: Hi Card

Notice the red sentiment next to the green border on the card. The sentiment (or most important element of the card) stands out because green and red are complementary, or opposite colors on the color wheel. The neutral white background also provides a nice contrast to the red sentiment.

Split-complementary colors include the base color, and the two colors adjacent to its complement. In other words pick a color on the color wheel along with the two colors on either side of its opposite.

A split-complementary color scheme has similar strong visual contrast to a complementary color scheme, but with a little less tension since the colors are not directly opposite each other on the color wheel.

Example: A Trip to the Beach

The above layout uses a split-complementary color scheme. Click here to go to the project center for full instructions and supplies. The three pervasive colors in the layout are dark blue, orange and yellow. The cool darker blues provide a nice, but not overwhelming, contrast to the warm orange and yellow colors. The lighter blues serve to balance the advancing oranges.

There are many more color schemes than there is room or time to discuss here. The Creative Memories Design Inspiration Pinterest Board is a wonderful source for fun color schemes. Be sure to check it out!  Also, we are lucky to have fabulous Creative Memories designers that take all the guess work out of the design process for us by creating perfectly coordinating products, like Power® Palettes! But if you ever feel like stepping outside the box and creating your own color schemes, just try out what we learned today.

Be sure to come back next week when I share another design principle.  (Here’s a hint…anchors away!)  Please feel free to ask any questions you might have in the comments section below. 

Happy scrapping!
Aly