the first christmas card of the year

hello crafters,
here it is, my first christmas card of the year. christmas is my favorite holiday, and breaking out my christmas supplies always give me a little thrill. i just love this time of year, and the sentiment of this card perfectly describes how i feel-joy :)

i started with kraft cardstock, and layered black cardstock, and designer paper.

this is a very simple card to make, the designer paper is from K&Co's yultide collection, and the ornaments are chipboard stickers that i had in my stash from last year. not sure what brand.

the embossed sticker that i used for the sentiment is recollections. i adhered it to black cardstock and cut it out. the black border really helped it pop off the background paper. the ribbon is from my stash. i added a few rhinestones to the center of some of the snowflakes in the background paper as a finishing touch.

thanks for stopping by.
blog ya later,
avgscrapgirl

mini me

hello crafters,
brace yourself, this is going to be a long post. . .
i made a coaster mini album using coasters that i purchased at michaels. i named it mini me becuse it's a mini album that's all about me (clever right-lol!)

so let's get right into the mini.
the first thing i needed to do was cover the coasters.

COVER THE RAW EDGES OF CHIPBOARD USING DISTRESS INK IN WALNUT STAIN (YOU CAN SKIP THIS STEP IF YOU WANT, I'M GOING TO EGGE THE SIDES AGAIN ONCE I COVER WITH PAPER)

USE A CROP A DILE TO PUNCH A HOLE

I CHOSE DESIGNER PAPER FROM MY MINDS EYE'S STELLA AND ROSE COLLECTION THE GRETTA 6X6 PAPER PAD

TRACE THE SHAPE OF THE CIRCLE AND CUT OUT THE DESIGNER PAPER WITH SCISSORS

TRIM EXCESS PAPER WITH A CRAFT BLADE

SMOOTH EDGES USING BASIC GREY'S PRECISION FILE SET

USE DISTRESS INK IN WALNUT STAIN ON EDGES

CIRCLES CUT USING COLUZZLE AND EDGED WITH DISTRESS INK IN WALNUT STAIN. FLOWERS AND RHINESTONE FLOURISH BY RECOLLECTIONS, VELLUM DIE CUT K&CO ABRIANNA COLLECTION

BANNERS CUT FROM DESIGNER PAPER, FLOWER CUT ON CRICKET USING GEORGE AND BASIC SHAPES, BUTTERFLY IS MARTHA STEWART 3 IN 1 PUNCH, VINE GLITTER STICKER IS RECOLLECTION

CUT SIMI CIRCLE AND ADHERE TO MAKE POCKET. TRIM BY RECOLLECTIONS ADHERED WITH HOT GLUE. FLOWERS BY RECOLLECTIONS. CUT TAGS FROM DESIGNER PAPER. RUB ONS ARE K&CO ABRIANNA COLLECTION

I LOVED THIS LEDGER PAPER AND REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO COVER IT (SO THIS WILL BE A PERFECT PAGE FOR JOURNALING) SCALLOP BORDERS CUT WITH MARTHA STEWART PUNCH, FLOURISH IS A LEFT OVER SCRAP

CUT LEFT OVER SCRAPS INTO STRIPS, DISTRESS WITH WALNUT STAIN DISTRESS INK, USE FISKARS SCALLOPED SENTIMENT PUNCH, STAMP IN CORNER OF JOURNALING BLOCK IS INKADINKADO, BUTTERFLIES ARE MARTHA STEWART 3 IN 1 PUNCH, RHINESTONES ARE RECOLLECTIONS

CUT STRIP AND 1 1/8 INCH AND 1/4 INCH WIDER STRIP TO MAT THE PAPER. PUNCH CIRCLES WITH CIRCLE PUNCH, EDGE WITH DISTRESS INK. FLOWER AND RHINESTONE FLOURISH ARE RECOLLECTIONS

CUT SEMI CIRCLE LAYER FISKARS SCALLOPED SENTIMENT PUNCH. FLOWER CUT ON CRICKET USING GEORGE AND BASIC SHAPES, RHINESTONES ARE RECOLLECTIONS, BANNER CUT FROM DESIGNER PAPER.

I really enjoyed making this mini. I'm hoping that I'll get a new tripod and some new video editing software for christmas and i'll do a video tutorial on the next mini that I make. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog, if you have any questions please leave them in the comments. 

blog ya later,

avgscrapgirl 

my craft journey part 3

hello crafters,
welcome to part three of my craft journey. this is all about mini albums and altered projects. i group these two paper crafting style projects together because they use similar supplies. what i love about altered projects and mini albums is the dimension that you can put into your projects. with standard albums that have page protectors it's best to have supplies that are flat, for me when it comes to mini albums the thicker the better.
transitioning from scrapbooking and cardmaking to altered projects was interesting for me because it really expanded what i considered a craft supply. i was no longer limited to the "scrapbooking" isles in michaels. i was now browsing in the wood section and even the wedding section of the store looking for supplies. when it comes to altered projects you can alter or embellish anything you'd like.

 this part of paper crafting is all about thinking out of the box-you're no longer restricted to a 12x12 layout or an A2 sized card, the possibilities are endless.

common altered projects include: picture frames, cigar boxes, jewelry boxes, notebooks, favor boxes, stick pins and tags to name a few.
mini albums: as the names imply are smaller than the traditional 12x12 or 8x8 albums. Usually they're 6x6 or smaller. you can use a 6x6 album, but it's more fun to grab some chipboard and make your own album. it can be square or a circle or any shape you can die cut.

the other thing i love about altered projects are swaps! you can join a swap site and enjoy making new friends and exchanging beautiful projects with each other. 

so here are the tools you'll want to add to your collection to get into altered projects and mini albums
tools

• glue gun-a wonderful adhesive that's strong and quick drying and helps secure heavier items. 
• kraft mat-if you didn't get one for cardmaking you're for sure going to need one now. to keep your cutting mat or work surface from getting stained. 
• paint-perfect for coloring natural wood any shade you'd like
• paint brushes
• distress inks-another item you may already have if you picked it up while cardmaking. i primarily use walnut stain and vintage photo, but you can collect and use as many colors as you'd like. 
• medium and lightweight chipboard. most scrapbooking stores sell 12x12 sheets of medium weight chipboard. i purchase mine at www.bluemoonscrapbooking.com. you can SAVE MONEY on lightweight chipboard by using cereal boxes-you're going to paint over or cover them with paper so no one will ever know it used to be a cheerios box. 

now for the splurge items.(check out part 1 of my craft journey for tips on stocking up on splurge items) 

• die cutting/embossing machine like the big shot, vagabond, or cuttlebug
• embossing plates and dies. 
• sewing machine

• cinch or bind it all

supplies

• textiles: fabric or felt
• feathers/leaves/sprays
• charms/jewels/pearls
• trims/ribbons/sequins/twine
• tags
• rhinestone flourish
• border stickers/chipboard stickers
• bookplates/nameplates
• dimensional sitckers
• glitter/shimmer : perfect pearls, glimmer mist, smooch spritz, and stickles.
• crackle paint

brands that i love

• graphic 45
• 7 gypsies
• recollections
• tim holtz
• websters pages
• sizzix

now for a little inspiration, check out these youtube channels for amazing inspiration.

• livelovescrap
• mybutterflykisses12
• followthepapertrail

thank you so much for traveling along with me on my craft journey. the best part is that once you get to the end you can cycle back and start all over again, mixing and meshing different techniques and skills you've learned from each phase along the way. it's all about having fun and enjoying this hobby i love. 

youtube layout hop

if you've been following my blog for any amount of time you know i'm a youtube-junkie. my subscription list full of paper crafters. i used to watch primarily cardmakers and as i'm now transitioning into doing more scrapbooking i've been actively using the search box to find great layouts for inspiration. . .
. . . and i stumbled upon a youtube layout hop! which i certainly recommend you all check out.
the hop is for the month of november, there are 12 amazing scrapbookers, and be sure to leave comments on each page for a chance to win prizes!
start hopping here. . .



blog ya later,
avgscrapgirl

k&company abrianna recipe box

hello crafters!
for my latest altered project. i altered a recipe box that i purchased at michaels with k&company's abrianna collection. you can watch the video below or over at youtube. . . enjoy!



thanks for watching
vlog ya later
avgscrapgirl

a new toy. . .

. . .who doesn't love a new toy! i know i do.
i was at my local scrapbooking store A to Z Scrapbooking and i decided to pick up a corner chomper. i've been wanting one for more than a year now, and honestly what was keeping me from getting one was that i didn't have any complaints about my fiskars corner rounder-so i felt a little bad replacing it.
but while shopping for my corner chomper i was surprised to find out that the corner chomper also does more than just round corners, they also have decorative edges!
so then i considered buying just the decorative edge corner chomper and staying with my little fiskars corner rounder. but eventually gave into the lack of self control that usually grips me when i'm in a scrapbooking store and i got BOTH!

so here's what the original corner chomper does. give you rounded edges in both a 1/2 inch and 1/4 inch.

the decorative edge gives you a stub (which i LOVE- and used on a recent post) or a deco edge

thanks for stopping by. . . leave any questions in the comments
blog ya later
avgscrapgirl