Scrappy Challenge #7 - Sketch

The sketch...

So, you know me, I can't even follow my own sketches...

EK Success DP

AC DP

Tim Holtz Distress Inks

Puddle Jumpers "Animals Companions" by Claudia and Co. Stamps

Copics

Stop on over to A Crafty Little Place and play along with us. We'd love to have you there!

Oh, and don't forget that Die Cuts R Us is still having that extraordinary sale on EK Success DP.

You can save 75% off through Saturday!!!

SMiLES!

GWeN

Busy Little Hands Way Challenge #1

Wow! Can you believe a whole week has gone by since the announcement? We are already seven days into 2010, the older I get the faster time flies. Are you ready to play? Here we go...

This week's challenge is a Scrap Challenge.

Scrap Challenges are limited to scraps only. You can't buy anything for this project, you must use what you have on hand. Now, I'm trusting everyone here so lets keep it honest...no sneeking in any must have items you just can't refuse at the crafty store...LOL! I'm am up to my ears in scraps and items that just don't get used and I really need to either purge them out (but they are all so pretty) or use them up. I thought this would be a fun way to get us all started on the right foot this year. Save the trees! Scrap the scraps and on hand papers...hehehe.

Rules:

1) Make a project using only on-hand supplies (the one exception may be adhesive, if you are like me you go through it like crazy, so if you are out of adhesive and have to buy some...

it won't count against you).

2) If you are a digi stamp user and you already own the image you are allowed to print it out, this won't count as a new items since you've already paid for it...just try to print on a scrap piece of paper...hahaha

3) What ever you do...have fun with it! That is what these challenges are all about right? Having fun, getting creative, letting your hair down and utilizing that right side of our brains that most of us neglect (yeah, I'm a righty too...my left brain is overworked and my right brain

is withering up to die at this point!)

4) Leave a comment at the end of this post and a direct link to your project. I'm going to be checking everything out personally and I'll also be hand picking the winner.

Now, for the fun part...PRIZES! For those who participate and win a weekly challenge you will get access to a very sad and pathetic button that I made. Wow...right? At the end of the month all winners will go into a drawing for a RAK. Now, I don't have any sponsors yet (if you know anyone that would like to sponsor the challenge please email the information to me) but you will be getting a prize of a crafty nature and I promise it will be something that you will want. Maybe some adhesive to have on hand...LOL! ( Lynn, that was just for you sweetie...I'm hoping you will stop by and see this.)

Here are the scraps that I had left-over from my challenge cards at TGF's Club Anya and Friends Challenge this past weekend.

Here's what I did with them:

This little Chibi is so cute and I couldn't just leave her laying around any longer. Layers of papers behind her in all kinds of sweet patterns and her little cupcakes made this perfect for a "thanks so much...for being so sweet" card.

This card was inspired by one that Margie C made and posted on her blog. You should stop over and check it out...it really is awesome! I used up some of my more masculine papers and took my little Hugh from TGF (already colored from the challenge) and used Margie's design to create this nice man-ish card. I know just who it is going to. Someone very close to me who has had a rough couple of weeks.

Created by Anna Beth (my DD):

Anna used some scrap supplies to create this cute little card. She featured a digi from TGF on the front. The inside of the card she used a premade sticker sentiment. She also punched out dozens of little flowers and a few butterflies and glued them on individually. I wish the photo would show how pretty this really is.

Now here is a cute one:

This is Bekah with the card that she made from my scraps. I love that she wants to be part of this too. She's only four...I'm thinking in time she may just be a papercrafter extroidenaire.

You may be wondering, "If Gwen and her two older daughters were busy making cards, what was the baby doing?" Well, she was doing this:

Thanks so much for stopping by and looking over all of our projects.

Please join me in the challenge this week and Play the Busy Little Hands Way. To kick things off you are more than welcome to grab the button that I used for the header of this posting. It will be on my sidebar. Feel free to grab it.

All feedback is appreciated, even if you aren't able to play along please leave a comment. Thank you.

New Weekly Challenge at Busy Little Hands!

So many new and exciting things are happening at the beginning of the year that I just had to jump on the band wagon and share in the excitement. So, I'm starting my own weekly challenge right here at Busy Little Hands!

The challenge will be posted on Thursdays each week with a winner announced on the following Thursday with the new challenge post. I will mix it up and any rules will be posted at the time of the challenge. I will create fun color, sketch, recipe and themed challenges that we can all enjoy. I will also be taking suggestion on challenge ideas. You can email me an idea at busylittlehands@sbcglobal.net .

Our first challenge will be posted this coming Thursday, January 7th. So, mark your calendars and get ready to play the Busy Little Hands way!

Smiles!
Gwen

Matchbook Mini Album Tutorial

Items needed for this project include:

Cutting tool with a 12" capacity

Scor-Pal or ruler with 1/8" measurements and a scoring tool

12 x 12 card stock of your choice
Adhesive

Photos cropped to a 2x2 square or equivalent shape and measurements

Magnetic strips with adhesive backing (for closure)

Journaling pen Estimated time to complete basic project: 15 - 30 minutes

(a more elaborate book will take more time, this estimate is for a very basic book)

To begin this project I decided to go with a double sided pattered paper. This will eliminate the need for additional paper cuts for decorative purposes and will save a considerable amount of time.

Trim the 12x12 paper to the following measurements:

Strip 1) 2.5 inches wide by 6 inches long (this will make the matchbook cover)

Strip 2) 2.5 inches wide by 10 inches long (this will make your accordion album page)

Next you will score to the following measurements:

Strip 1) 1 inch mark and 5 inch mark, then you score 1/8" from those marks to give you a nice fold for expansion.

Strip 2) Score every 2.5 inches (2.5", 5", 7.5" )

Now fold on all of your score marks to create your cover and your accordion page.

Once the folds are complete you can add adhesive to the back of the first square on the accordion page and adhere it to the inside of the cover as shown.

Now you get to place your photographs where you like them, add any journaling and decorations. It is important to do this prior to adding your closure because the thickness of your book will be determined by the amount of papers etc. that you use. (If you like a lot of embellishing you may need to adjust your cover length to accommodate the additional thickness.)


Now that you have everything inside of your album, fold it closed to see where your cover meets. Take one side of your adhesive backed magnet and adhere it to the bottom of the cover where you desire your placement.
Next, take the other half of the magnetic closure, attach it to the first magnet, then peel off the backing. With the two pieces together, you will fold the top of the cover over and press firmly to attach the second magnetic strip.

Your project is now complete! This is a quick and easy project that would make a great little gift for someone special. It is also a great way to use up some of those photos that aren't good for scrapbooking due to poor composition, business, etc. Just crop what you can use and put it in your little book.

(Now, if you were paying attention, you probably noticed that I glued my mangnet right over my title for the book on the inside cover...it was okay...I wrote the wrong thing. I used the inside of the bottom flap to write the correct title of the event. )

Have fun with this one...and remember, you can make these as wide and long as you want to if you do some minor adjustments. The possibilities are endless...

Keep those hands busy!

Gwen

Die Cuts R Us

Wow! So many cool things are going into this blog...

1) The DT of DCRU (Die Cuts R Us) is being announced,
2) The very cool new DCRU DT Blog is open and you need to check it out...there may be a very cool give away,
3) For those who sign up to follow, Sammye Jo at 62 Cards is having a special give away on her blog too!

So lets get things rolling: You can visit DCRU at www.diecutsrus.com. Claudia is the store owner. I have been a cutomer of hers (on several occassions)and she is extremely interested in giving you the best possible service, quality products and an incredibly reasonable price. She has a wonderful store with so many great selections and she is constantly adding to it. This week she added 50 new items alone! Now, don't get me started about her fantastic specials...keep your eyes open on the blog for upcoming specials, especially on Copics...hint...hint. You can also visit Claudia at www.diecutsrus.blogspot.com.


Now lets get down to the nitty gritty: The DT Call went out at DRCU and Claudia and Sammye Jo had their hands full picking their first design team. This group of ladies each offer their own special personalities, unique talents,and are wonderful paper crafters. Their exceptional projects can be viewed on the DCRU DT Blog at: www.diecutsrusdesignteam.blogspot.com. The lucky members of the team are:

Isn't the Die Cuts R Us Design Team button just adorable?

DT Coordinator

Sammye Jo of 62 Cards Etsy Shop


Team Members:

Cara
Carole
Amber
Jessica
Diane
Margie
Gwen - of www.gwensbusylittlehands.blogspot.com

Yes, I am a proud member of the DCRU Design Team! I'm so very excited to be part of this group and look forward to all of the fantastic tutorials, challenges, project ideas, challenges, new product reviews, challenges, tips and ...Oh, did I mention that there will be a weekly challenge? Oh, yes...fun for all! A weekly challenge with a weekly winner! That winner could be you, so please be sure to play along. Don't forget to share the DCRU Blog Challenge with your friends too. The more, the merrier! Log onto the blog and sign up to follow at: www.diecutsrusdesignteam.blogspot.com.

See you around the site...until then, keep those hands busy.

Smiles!
Gwen

Laugh Like There's No Tomorrow

This is the entry I'm submitting for the Ripped and Relevant Challenge. Just finished it and wanted to get it sent off before I finally go to bed. (Its already 2:15 A.M. Ahhh, what we suffer for art...LOL.)

I must admit I had fun ripping the papers, it is one of my favorite things to do. What a great stress reliever! The weaving is all ripped pieces, the two small photos are also ripped from one large photo with a lot of space that just didn't do anything for the girls. So, I edited in my own special way. The title words also written on ripped paper strips and the center border inked in Tim Holtz vintage photo, is the largest of the rippings.

This was a fun page for me and one that I hope my dd and her bff will also enjoy. Well, off to another challenge!

New Challenge LO

Here is my little lovely...recently graduated from the eighth grade and also turned the big 14. Took her first out of state trip without her Mommy. Learned how to boogey board. Realized she really does miss her poor old mom when she isn't around and wasn't too big to hug me in public (more than once) when I picked her up from her return home. Wow! That is a lot to deal with in less than a week. She's holding up pretty well and, for the record, so am I.

I did this LO based on a competition guideline regarding circles. (See the scrap n art blog.) You have to use circles in your designs and are able to get creative. I tried to add a ribbon circle...little loppy, have circle clips holding the metalic letters, circular embellies on the flowers and butterflies, circle brads holding down the ribbon, Oh, there is also a circle on the photograph...well the "seal" isn't quite a true circle but close enough.

The photo I had taken at her eighth grade graduation ceremony. Using a photo editing program (Creative Memories Memory Manager 3.0) I turned the surrounding area to black and white. Then I blurred it to bring the focus onto Anna. The color is strictly on her also done to bring her to center stage. I used an edge blending selection to give the photo a hazy look around her. It really softened the edges where the color and b&w met...made it look so much better.

Hope to have another great LO based on her loaded tomorrow. For now, the laundry calls and so do the children.