Hi there!

Hi there, fans of Scrap N Craft with T!

It's Sarah here - the newest Dt member. Some of you may know me from Scrapbooking Memories magazine, some of you may not know me at all, lol.

I hope I can bring along some inspirational Tips and Techniques to share with you here. I got my first Kit from Tan only a day ago and I couldn't wait to get my hands on this wonderful paper from Fancy Pants! It simply cried out to be turned into a Shabby Chic card...

Here I used Fancy Pants "Wishful Thinking" paper range, with some Sam and Lucy Weave Pink gems strips to help scallop the bottom edge of the card. I used both the front and back of the Fancy Pants paper as well as some extra embellishments and paint to create a feeling of depth without the whole card looking "overdone" (I hope). I also painted some Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Lipstick Pink around the journaling spot to make it sparkle. Last but not least, I added a few different sized flowers to the top and bottom of the card greeting.

So, here are a few tips for you to take from this little card:

* Bring out the fancy edged scissors again. When you use them repeatedly with a plain white cardstock the effect can be both textured and unfussy.

* Layer your papers and embellishments for depth and dimension.

* Don't be afraid of colour - you can always tone it down by introducing white or black cardstock into the card or page.

So there you go - a very quick and easy card, made with literally 10cm of patterned paper, some card and some embellishments. By simply adding a touch of texture, it looks more exotic.

Have fun creating everyone!

Sares x

Score Pal with Susan Luke

Here is our first layout by Susan Luke. 

Materials:

• Photos
• cardstock
• Bella Grace Paper
• Inks
• Green Tara - Batic multi flowers
• sheer nylon ribbon
• FTI Rhinestone 
• Little Yellow Bicycle journaling tag
• American Crafts Glitter Letter Stickers (Thickers)
• File set
• Mesh Ribbon
• Needle and thread
• Sewing machine
• Double sided tape

First choose your photo and mat.

Now cut a wide strip of paper for the middle of your layout from the Coordinations cardstock. Crumple it up and smooth it out again.

Use the Rose Red ink to highlight the crumpled folds and add interest to the piece. I also sanded the edges of it and scuffed it up a little

I wanted to use some of the other side of the paper, so I 'stole' it from the middle. I laid my 12" x 12" scrapbook paper out and measured how long it was, then flipped it over and took the middle pieces I wanted. 

When I was done taking the pieces out, I lined up the 12" x 12" paper again on the original measuring points so I could add my own centre and have it wind up measuring 12" x 12" again.

I then brought my harvested bits around to the front of the page and taped them where I wanted them to be.

Next I taped the red cardstock to the front of the layout as shown.

And then I sewed a double line of black stitching around it with my sewing machine. I took the black netting and pleated it up on either side of where the photo would be, then sewed it to the layout as well.

I thought the photo mat I chose was too bright so I inked the edges with Taken with Teal ink.

To make a little flower I rolled some sheer ribbon into a circle

And stitched it in the middle.

Then I spread out the 'petals' and stitched them in place. After that I added a flower and a button to the top. I added in some more flowers and buttons, some bling, my journaling tag and a title, and I was done!

Thank you susan for this lovely layout... 

Hope everyone has a lovely sunday

luv tanXX

Handmade flowers with a twist by Ingeborg Dijkstra

These two cards both feature a large handmade flower. They are made in exactly the same way, but look quite different, since one is made from plain paper and the other one from patterned paper. These are truly flowers with a twist!

A while ago I saw a tutorial about making paper flowers using border punches and a paper crimper. I wish I had saved the link, so I could give proper credit, but unfortunately I didn't, so I cannot tell you exactly where I saw a similar idea.

So what do you need to make these flowers:

• a border punch (I used the Fiskars Effervescent punch, but most border punches would look good)
• a paper crimper
• strips of plain and patterned paper (about 12" long and 3/4 inch wide, but you can vary this too to suit the shape of your flower)
• a circle punch (I used 1 1/2 inch, but again, use a bigger circle for bigger flowers and smaller circles for smaller flowers)

I cut a few strips of paper. It is important to not use cardstock (that won't work well) or thicker patterned paper. I used fairly thin paper to get the best results (picture 1). Using my border punch I punched a border on all my strips (picture 2). To create 'folds' and texture, I used my paper crimper (picture 3). I punched a circle out of cardstock (I used 1 1/2 inch) and I added a layer of glue on it (picture 4).

Now for the sticky and twist part: I held the strip of paper with one thumb, while twisting and folding the rest of the strip around the circle. If you have a bit left at the end, just cut it off (picture 5). I held it for a while to make sure the outer circle was truly dried (picture 6). I added a second strip (picture 7) and a third strip (picture 8).

I added a little rose in the middle of the flower to make it look like this:

Using the patterned paper strips the flower looks like this:

These flowers are very versatile and by changing the size of the strips, circles and punches the possibilities are endless! These are two cards I have made using the plain and the patterned flowers: