Gallery Pick

Inspiration!

by Carrie Schwartz, Carrie's Creations

Inspiration, it is every where!  From toddlers' pj's to a full blown billboard.   It may be a catchy phrase, a song or an outing with the family that sparks your imagination.  Once you have it, you can begin to build your layout or create a die-cut.

Flipping Pages

When I was first introduced to scrapbooking I began to see things like I had never seen before.  I remember flipping through a magazine at the dentist office when I came across a two page advertisement, an ad for Capri Sun.  I no longer saw this as an ad, but a two page layout!  It had a big title, some kids playing in water and a huge wave of water.  I was so inspired that I searched through my purse for some paper to sketch on, only to find a receipt which was good enough!   I flipped that tiny receipt over and began sketching. That was the moment that I realized I was seeing things in a different way.

I never had the chance to create that layout, but when I began to work on my “Wonderfully Wet” file I had the perfect sketch to make my wave.

Music to My Ears

Listening to a song can start the wheels turning. The song “Watching You” by Rodney Adkins was a country hit just a couple of years ago. The chorus quickly became one of our family favorites.  “I'm your buck-a-roo, I want to be like you” since we had a toddler boy who followed dad in everything he did.  The title was an inspiration for “Little buck-a-roo”.

Although I had the title, I wasn't quite sure of the images.  But that didn't take long! Not too far from home, down the highway, there was a Dodge dealership billboard with a cowboy hat that looked like a die-cut. Once again I dug through my purse finding the only scrap of paper to sketch the image as we passed the bill board.

Get the Picture

A picture pulled off the web can strike up some inspiration.   When I was asked if I could make a pool hall file, I didn't know what I wanted.   The last time I was in a pool hall was when I was a teenager and I wasn't satisfied with the rectangle I was drawing.  With some browsing on the web I was able to find some pictures.

Once I had the table I liked, I began seeing the angles and position that made a perfect pool table. From the picture, I was able to begin drawing on my art board.

Don't Forget Your Camera!

On our recent visit to “The Magic House”, a children's museum that was newly renovated, I brought my camera to snap pictures of the kids playing. 

One hallway that we passed had this fabulous mosaic of wild animals in a tree.  I called the kids over to it saying look at this piece of art.  It was truly amazing seeing all those tiles put together to make this twelve foot tall piece of art. My daughter said “Why don't you take a picture?” so I did.

I believe it will be my next inspiration!  Once you train your eyes you can find inspiration every where.

Designer Spotlight: Diana Weber of Diana's Designs

by Ileana Russell, I Scrap Designs

All of the designers here feel fortunate to call Paperthreads home but I am even luckier because I get to spend some precious time with each one.  So grab your favorite drink, pull up a chair and sit with me as we get to know Diana of Diana's Designs right here.

Crafting With Color Swatches: Think Spring!

by Shelly Sweigart, Shelly's Art
Crafting With Color Swatches is a new regular column in the Paperthreads Newsletter!

Do you ever sit and stare at a stack of photos wondering what colors to use to on the layout?   Colors are so important. They not only enhance our photos, but they convey the feeling of the layout.   We often associate bright colors with cheerful topics.  Pastels are used for Easter or baby themes, and red conveys love.   However, sometimes you have photos that just won't work with traditional colors or perhaps you are tired of typical color schemes.  I hope to help inspire you by providing a color swatch in each newsletter along with examples of how I used the colors.

I chose the colors above because they reminded me of the awakening and rebirth of the spring season.  It's time to stow away the dark winter wardrobe and emerge with the fresh colors of spring. 

In the layout above, I used the “spring” colors but these photos don't have anything to do with spring.  Take a close look and you'll notice the photos do contain the turquoise, yellow, green and the coral pink.  That is why this color scheme works with these photos.  I wanted the focus of this layout to be on the cheese and cracker packets.  Therefore, I used yellow in the largest quantity.  I used the coral pink in a very small amount as an accent color.  Just a touch of sponged coral on the background, coral arrows in the photo corner and coral color brads is all that is needed to make this layout “pop” without it looking too feminine.  The patterned paper contains each of the colors in the swatch which works wonderfully to pull all the colors together. 

To the left you'll see a tag in which I used the colors in the swatch again.  Notice this time the color pink was my predominant color.  This makes the tag much more feminine looking than the layout above.  I used the papers I had left over from the layout to make the tag.  This is a super quick way to make use of scraps.  You know the colors already work well together since they coordinated in your layout.  I like to make items out of my scraps right away instead of stashing them.  I now have a tag that can quickly be added to a card, gift bag or layout at a moments notice.

The layout below is a digital one using my newest digital kit called Spring Splendor.

Notice the colors the photos.  The green is lighter than the green in the color swatch, the pink is a little lighter, and purple is present instead of turquoise.  However, these colors are in the same color family so they still work with the color swatch.  If you like this layout you can get the quick page of it for free on my blog.   Oh, a tip for Photoshop users:  you can save the photo of the color swatch, open it in PS then use your magic dropper to pick up the exact color in the swatch to use in your projects.

Also, keep in mind if you like a set of colors but the photos you would like to work with clash with the color swatch, simply have your photos printed in black and white.

Now it's your turn.  I would love to see layouts, cards, home decor items or any paper crafting projects using this color swatch!  If you use at least one item Paperthreads sells, you have a chance to be published in the next Paperthreads Newsletter.  The products included to qualify may be embellishments like flocking, dew drops, and glimmer mist or any of the Paperthreads designers' files including my digital kits.  Please post your submissions in the Newsletter Color Swatch section of the Paperthreads Gallery and from those submission a winner will be chosen to get published in the next newsletter.

I do hope this article inspired you to try some non-traditional colors in your crafting projects.  I look forward to seeing your creative works.

Think Spring!

Draw & Cut on the KNK Maxx

by Jan Bryson, Sam & Hailey Designs

Does the thought of using a pen in your KNK Maxx intimidate you?  It's easier than you think!  The new KNK Maxx blade jaw allows many different thicknesses of pens and other tools.  The freedom this allows also presents a bit of a challenge if you want to use the pen tool to draw something on your project and then cut around it.  If your pen does not have the same barrel diameter as your blade holder, your drawn lines and cut lines will not match up.  You can return to using the KNK Multi-Purpose tool and the standard Silver Blade Holder and things will match up perfectly.  The drawback to this method is that you are then limited to pens that will fit into the Multi-Purpose tool.  Here are step by step instructions for using the KNK Maxx's Laser Alignment function to make drawing and cutting in the same project a snap!

Click Here to read the Draw & Cut on the KNK Maxx Tutorial!

Product Review: AtYou Spica Pens ~ It's All About the BLING!

by Lori McDonald, Beloved Keepsakes

Normally I wouldn't consider myself a “bling” type girl.  Girly girl – yes… but not so much into the “bling” factor.   So when Michelle announced that she was now carrying the new Spica pens by Copic markers, I was like “Ok, whatever.”  I mean I am not a marker girl either.  I own a few but definitely not enough of any one kind to make a complete set.

Then, I went to the Paperthreads Retreat in Charleston SC.  In our gift bags was a Clear Spica pen. I took it out of my bag, looked at it and thought, “Hmmm, that's kind of cool” and dropped it back in my bag and forgot about it.

Fast forward about a week and all of a sudden I have a “major” product for an outdoor wedding in Hawaii.  As I am sitting at my desk working on the flowers I think to myself, “Hmm, a little sparkle would be nice” and that is when I remember the clear Spica pen.

I pulled it out of my pen box and I applied it to the center of my flower – and OH MY GOODNESS!!! This pen freaking ROCKS!!! 

First, I need to tell you that the Spica clear is actually totally CLEAR, it leaves nothing but sparkle behind, unlike Sakura's Clear Stardust Gelly Roll pen which really is more silver than it is clear.  Here is a comparison I did.  The top words were written with the Clear Gelly Roll pen and the bottom was written with the Spica pen.  While you can read the Gelly Roll words better – you have to remember these pens are supposed to be clear and all you should see is glitter!  Which is just what the Spica pens leaves behind!

(Let me state for the record that this photo does not do the pen's glitter justice.  This stuff is sparkly beyond belief in real life)

Needless to say, I was totally hooked and called Michelle right away to purchase the other 12 colors! 

The biggest difference in the Spica glitter pen is that the sparkle is actually made up of micro bits of glass. Additionally, they dry really fast so the smearing that sometimes happens when using glitter pens is reduced dramatically.

I have found that it is best to store your Spica's laying down flat to insure that they are ready for maximum use when you are!

Additional information about these pens:

• water based pigment ink
• acid free
• non-toxic
• archival
• micro glass flakes for maximum sparkle!
• twice the writing length of other pens -- 360 yds.
• perfect for card making, scrapbooks and doodling
• transparent ink - great for color and bling overlays

Bottom line - If you don't already have these amazing pens, run over and grab them while they are still available at the Paperthreads store! 

Designer Faves

Jan of Sam & Hailey Designs
loves Metallic & Lustre
Rub-ons!

My current favorite product has got to be Metallic and Lustre Rub-ons by Craf-T Products.  I've had these in my stash for going on two years, but I finally broke them out a few months ago and started using them.  Now, I'm hooked!  They are like a cross between ink, chalk and glitter.  They do tend to get everywhere when I'm using them but they clean up off your hands pretty easily.  Keeping a baby wipe handy is a good idea.  See how the edge of the paper in this photo looks like it is inked in silver?  You can see the shimmer really well on the January title.  I was using these when a friend was over the other day and she said, "Those are like makeup for paper!"  They come in little containers like kids watercolors and I like to use an eye shadow applicator to apply them and then rub them in with my finger.  Seriously, they are my favorite thing!

Jennie of JennieBeanCrafts
loves Sakura Pens!

I love to focus more on texture rather than colour.  Consequently, I often create whole layouts and cards all from one colour, or shades of the same colour, but tend to use a lot of embossing, layering, and textured materials.  However, when I do want to add a splash of colour, I adore Sakura pens.  I find the glaze pens are fantastic and even allow me to colour in transparent sheets of acetate.  A perfect example is in my 3D Tiffany Lamp in the store, where you can also purchase Sakura pens and try them for yourself.

Shelly of Shelly's Art loves
Rhinestones!

Do you love bling?!?  Well, then you'll love my current favorite product:  faux rhinestones!  I had won a Kandi Rhinestone Applicator with assorted rhinestones.  I looked at this tool that resembled a wood burning device and all these plastic gems and thought, “Am I really going to use this?”  Once I started playing, though, I just couldn't stop!  I love adding these rhinestones to everything!  In the picture I used it for the eyes on my bunny.  I have used them for the centers of flowers, the eyes on birds, to decorate ribbon, to adorn charms, and even to decorate clothing and home decor items.  I haven't even begun to explore all the creative possibilities for this product!    I purchase the Hot Fix Rhinestones because I own the applicator.  However, rhinestones adhere well with Glue Dots, another favorite product I can't live without!

Making Your Own Envelopes

by Eddita Cain, Accents by Eddita

Have you ever made that perfect card only to find that it doesn't fit any of the envelopes you have at home?  Instead of getting frustrated, just gather up a few supplies which you are sure to have in your treasure trove of crafting supplies and make your own!  By following simple steps you will be able to create the perfect envelope to carry your latest creation to its destination.  Check it out…once you see how easy it is you may never buy another envelope again!

Click Here to read the Making Your Own Envelopes Tutorial!

Freebies for You!