Saturday, September 28, 2013

First Helmar Post

Yesterday I shared my first blog post over at Helmar - here's the basics!
Creating a one of a kind dimensional tree - by Christine Meyer for HelmarTips:  To create my dimensional tree I used three different cut out pieces.  the first I added just small amounts of Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots to it and put it on.  I gave it a little time to dry and then added my second piece with taller Liquid Scrap Dots.  Finally I added my third piece with the highest Liquid Scrap Dots.  
Techniques:  To make my tree stand out even more, I inked the edges up with brown ink.
Closeup
Supplies Used:
Adhesive: Helmar
Everything else is from Bella Blvd

Create Your Own Napkin Rings

Busy, busy, busy!  This post was shared yesterday at CutCardStock with a quick and pretty way to dress up your dinner table!  
Create Your Own Napkin Rings by Christine Meyer for CutCardStock
 I created some napkin rings to add to my table using some CutCardStock in beautiful fall colors and a few simple embellishments.

To begin cut a 2 X 5 1/2" strip of cardstock using the  Dark Orange Basis Cardstock and die cut a leaf (I used my Silhouette Cameo - but any shaped leaf, even a punch, would work great) using the Stardream Metallic Gold Cardstock.  I love all the sparkle that the Stardream Metallic Cardstocks add!  

 I love to upcycle items from around the house.  The base for my napkin ring is made up of a gift wrapping tube that was left over!  I cut it down to 2 inches.  The cutting on this does not have to be perfect...as you can see it is well covered up.

 I covered the tube with my cardstock and then inked the edges in a coordinating color.  I then added a lace border sticker right down the middle.  I topped that with an offset leaf, a cork heart, and a few sparkles.

Create Your Own Napkin Rings by Christine Meyer for CutCardStock
Once I slid those onto the napkins, I decided I wanted an extra punch of color and texture.  I added a green wired ribbon simply tied with a knot and that took care of it!  

You've got a few more days to get in on this month's sale!

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Weaving Ribbon to create a card background

I have one of those weeks where I am up on several blogs on the same day.  This card actually went up yesterday at Ribbons Unlimited, but because of my We R Memory Keepers post, I saved it for today!
Weaving Ribbon to create a card background by Christine Meyer for Ribbons Unlimited http://scrappingwithchristine.blogspot.com
Now are you looking at the card and wondering where the ribbon is???
Believe it or not, I used the White Organdy Ribbon to create my background.  To create this effect I cut out my one inch frame (the aqua striped background) leaving an empty square in the center.  I then added adhesive all around the border and laid out my ribbon pieces diagonally.  I then slowly went through and weaved my rows for the other direction.

It kind of reminds me of the look of vellum!  And doing the weaving on the diagonal instead of straight across adds a different interest.

Love this look?  Next week I will be back with a less subtle, but still just as fun weaving project with our Delight Satin Edge Ribbon!  See you then!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

We R Memory Keepers Guest Designer and Giveaway!

I am beyond delighted to be the featured Guest Designer today at We R Memory Keepers. They sent me pieces from their new Chalkboard Collection to work with.   I created four cards and you can find three of them over at their site.  I am sharing the fourth and a giveaway here!


Tips: 
Sequins are really hard to machine stitch through.  I learned that lesson the hard way on my first attempt at this card.
-Using an Epiphany Crafts Round Tool is an easy way to create a coordinating embellishment.

Techniques:
I discussed recently in another post the use of threes and here I did that again.  Three different types of circles...different textures, different colors, but still a pretty clean style!

Supplies Used:
Patterned Paper: We R Memory Keepers
Sequins
Round Epoxy Maker: Epiphany Crafts
Ribbon: Ribbons Unlimited
Corner Rounder: We R Memory Keepers

!!!Giveaway!!!
I have some patterned paper and die cut pieces left from this collection that I would love to share with one of my readers!  I'll even make you some coordinating Epiphany Crafts rounds to go with what I send!  Here's how you can get entered in my giveaway:

Do Any of the Following (one entry for each)
1-Be a follower here (click the follow button)
2-Subscribe to the email list for this blog (also available on the sidebar)
3-Become a facebook fan of this page (click here)

And then leave me a comment to let me know what you did :)  Thanks to each of you for stopping in today!  I will close the giveaway and announce a winner on October 1st!

Friday, September 20, 2013

New Design Team

Looking forward to designing for the Kiwi Lane Design Team.  Want to learn more about Kiwi Lane and how they take some of the thinking out of the process...Head here to check out some of their videos, which explain everything really well

design_team_2013_2nd

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Paper House Productions Birthday Card - Using Little to No Patterned Paper

Since it is my hubby's birthday it seems like a good day to share a birthday card.  This one is obviously not for my husband :)

Paper House Productions Card by Christine Meyer - creating a card without using patterned paper

Tips: Sometimes you don't have to use a lot of patterned paper to create a beautiful project - all you need is some layers of several smaller items and that takes care of it!  In my case, layers of leftover tags, die cut, and doily!

Techniques: If you look at almost anything I have made you will notice I almost always work in threes and triangles.  This is especially true if I am doing something in a freestyle collage style!  Look carefully and you can see that my wood hearts form a triangle and each one is part of a cluster of embellishments.  This doesn't mean every single item you use has to have three of them - because that will make things crrrrazy!  But a couplet significant elements this works really well with!

Supplies Used:
Stickers: Paper House Productions
Marquee Die Cut: Paper House Productions (cut from patterned paper)
Enamel Dots: My Minds Eye
Wood Hearts: Studio Calico


Saturday, September 14, 2013

Sweet Birthday Girl Collection - My first Paper House Productions Post

I am so excited to share with you my first post for Paper House Productions!  Today I am going to share a layout and a spread done in the life project style!  As soon as I saw the colors in the Sweet Birthday Girl collection, I knew it would be perfect for documenting Lucy's birthday last year!  
Tips:
-I really wanted to use this banner paper but because it is busy I had to find a way to make the pictures still stand out.  In comes the triple center mat that brings the eye into the pictures.
-Sometimes we have a couple really amazing pictures from an event and a lot that just tell the story...this was my first time employing a layout and life spread...and it worked beautifully.  I have already started separating pictures in order to do more this way!

Techniques:
-To create a different style banner embellishment I combined patterned paper strips with organdy ribbon.
-Some quick white pen doodling helped to separate the boxes on the bottom from the top.


And here's where that tip from above comes in...I have not done a lot of "Project Life" style creations because frankly the idea of trying to keep up with anything on a day to day basis is more than I can wrap my brain around.  But, because I have four kids, I love the idea of doing this for pictures that tell a story but aren't necessarily layout worthy on their own.  When I saw the patterned paper in this collections that was made up of 4 X 3 and 4 X 6 pieces, I knew I wanted to do a spread to tell the story of the rest of her party.  It was actually quite fun to embellish these and play with where to put each thing!  This is the left side of the spread.

 And this is the right side of the spread!  I love that I didn't feel like I had to do 17 layouts to complete her birthday party story but got it done still in a quick, cute way!  And if you are wondering where to find page protectors like these...I got them at my local store The Scrapbooking Studio (which will have an online store soon!!!).  They are no more expensive than regular page protectors and you can buy them in packs that have a variety of arrangements or all the same.  

Photographing these was a little tricky as everything is in the page protectors, but as with everything, it will get easier with practice!  

I had a blast with my first round for Paper House and look forward to sharing more with you again 

Supplies Used:
Patterned Paper: Paper House Productions
Cardstock: American Crafts
Gems: Queen & Co
Twine: The Twinery






Friday, September 13, 2013

My premiere day at CutCardStock!

Happy Friday!  Christine blogging with you today!  Many times when I go to wrap a present, I realize that I have a great bag for it but no tissue paper!  Today I have a tutorial to share with you for how to make a gift bag topper that is prettier and more fun than tissue paper!  For my topper I used the gorgeous Stardream Metallic Gold Card Stock available here in the CutCardStock Store!
Gift Bag Topper Tutorial by Christine Meyer for CutCardStock - Who needs tissue paper when you can create something this pretty?

First off you will fold  your 8 1/2 X 11 cardstock in half - the long way. This step you may have to change (cut, fold a different direction, etc.) depending on your bag size...use your best judgement.  My bag was nearly 11 inches wide - making this paper the perfect fit!

Lay the cardstock on top of your bag and mark just beyond the handles.

Using the pencil marks as your guide, use your trimmer and cut down 1/4 inch or less to form a very small slit.

Check to make sure it fits on the top of your bag and then you are ready to decorate it!

Because my bag is plain, I decided to add words, a sentiment, and some fabulous gold washi tape.  
Gift Bag Topper Tutorial by Christine Meyer for CutCardStock - Who needs tissue paper when you can create something this pretty?

To decorate I cut out some leaves, using 140# Muscletone kraft card stock,  on my Silhouette Cameo that were meant to be fan folded. I attached those to the bag and then added some hand cut patterned paper leaves. I also used a couple of rows of washi tape to decorate the bottom of the topper.  I added some burlap fringe to the backside so that it hangs out the bottom. Lastly I topped the whole thing off with a big bow, some twine (with gold in it of course), and pretty medallion.

CutCardStock Products Used on this Project:

Looking forward to crafting with you again soon!
CutCardStock Design Team Member

Monday, September 9, 2013

Getting my kids organized - with paper crafting supplies????

Today I am going to show you a home project that I incorporated my paper crafting supplies on.  
Four kids is a lot.  I am constantly on the hunt for things I can do to make our lives easier, smoother, less stressful...you get the picture.  Last week after my daughter lost her homework for the bajillionth (okay, okay I'm exaagerating!) time, I knew I needed to come up with something.  So with a quick trip to the store and the use of my fabulous paper crafting supplies I came up with this! 

I call it "Meyer Command Central" - 
My answer to getting my kids more organized.
Command Center - helping my kids get and stay organized
 If you know my family, you know that Boaz is not even one yet.  I decided to just set it up for all four kids because then it matches and I don't have to add to it later!  Plus let's face it, even babies have paperwork we need to keep track of.  

The bin at the bottom is for backpacks/lunchbags.  I am planning to add an additional row that they can use for winter gear.  

They each have one hook (3M Command Strip) for a jacket.  Heavy coats will continue to go on the coat rack.   I added a picture of each kid and will switch those out as they bring home pictures or I come across cute ones I want them to see.  


Above that is the most important part of this - the clipboards!  I added some cute washi tape (from Freckled Fawn, Bella Blvd, and My Minds Eye) that matches their white boards.  For the oldest two this clipboard holds their weekly newsletter which includes their spelling list, memory work, etc.  These are papers we spent way too much time looking for last year! They have been ordered to not remove them at all.


Lastly, I got them each a whiteboard in a different color and added their names in matching stickers (Momenta).  These are going to be used for me to write them notes, share a Bible verse with them, encourage them, etc.  Obviously that won't be of use for Boaz for awhile, but I may still use it to keep track of well checks and such for him.


Saturday, September 7, 2013

A "Sweet" Bella Blvd Card

I'm down for the count with a nasty sore throat and that means no crafting - but lots of computer time!  So I'm back to share another card with you!  I was going for lots of color coordinating on this one...but I didn't have a good button to match the gray, so I just matched it up with the blue one :)  Not sure it's perfect - but it's not too bad either!

Bella Blvd card by Christine Meyer using crochet hearts
Tips:
-Matching up colors for embellishing is super easy when you stick with one company.  These goodies all come from Bella Blvd and although they were released at different times, she makes sure the pinks coordinate, etc.
-As much as I like clean lines, every once in a while I like to mix things up.  As you can see here I tilted the main part of my card to add some extra interest.

Techniques:
-Another trend I have noticed just recently is people doodling faux stitching more on projects.  I have always loved to do that...glad to see I'm not alone :)
-Machine stitching onto washi tape is a quick and easy way to add extra texture to your card.

Supplies Used:
Patterned Paper: Bella Blvd
Crochet Hearts: Bella Blvd
Buttons: Bella Blvd
Designer Tape: Bella Blvd
Chipboard: Bella Blvd

Five Minute Bows

I shared this post over at Ribbons Unlimited a few days ago!
I have a 6 year old daughter who loves to wear hair bows.  But because she is six, bows tend to get lost, get dirty, or just plain fall apart from use.  I have found a quick, easy way to make hair bows for her that makes it so I always have a bow to match those special outfits and I don't have to spend hours creating them! I even created one at 11:00 pm the night before school started. Best of all you don't have to be able to tie a pretty bow to create these because these ones take a shortcut! 

 Today I have several varieties to share with you, but first let's start off with a tutorial!  

How to make five minute hairbows using wired or unwired ribbon
 Using your fingers as a guide, wrap the ribbon around them as many times as you wish to create your bow.  For this bow I went around three times.  I start in the middle and end in the middle so the ends are hidden beneath the knot.

How to make five minute hairbows using wired or unwired ribbon
Cut an additional piece of ribbon to use to create your knot and tails.  Again, the length is up to you and the look you are going for.  I usually err on the side of long and then trim it up. Tie a tight knot and adjust the tails to look as you want them to.

How to make five minute hairbows using wired or unwired ribbon
Attach it to a hair clip either using some liquid adhesive, sewing, or a glue gun.  I use alligator clips for this type of bow and slide the top part into the knot, so liquid adhesive works great!  As you can see, these would also work great for a card or gift wrap!

Ribbons Unlimited carries many different types of ribbon and I wanted to show you how this bow looks using different styles of ribbon.  I had a lovely 6 year old model help me out :)

How to make five minute hairbows using wired or unwired ribbon
This one uses the Strawberry Organdy Ribbon, I wrapped it around three times, and I notched the tails.

How to make five minute hairbows using wired or unwired ribbon
I was surprised to find out that wired ribbon works really well for these.  I wouldn't use it for little girls, but for a big girl it will be fine.  The wire is very thin and actually reminds me of fishing line.  the wire makes for a beautiful, fluffy bow!  This one uses the Champagne with White Dots ribbon.  I wrapped it around twice and angled the tail.

How to make five minute hairbows using wired or unwired ribbon
Another wired ribbon! This one is the Berry Ombre Ribbon.  I wrapped it just once and angled the tails.

How to make five minute hairbows using wired or unwired ribbon
This last one uses the Celadon Lyon French Wired Ribbon.  I wrapped this one around twice and trimmed the tails short so you can't see them.

Thanks for joining us here today!
  




Friday, September 6, 2013

Using Fringe Scissors on a Card

Today I have a card to share with you that I created for The Scrapbooking Studio using the American Crafts "Mayberry" line.
American Crafts Mayberry card for The Scrapbooking Studio - how to use fringe scissors on a card
Tip:
Don't be afriad to mix and match stripes, polka dots, and florals!  When done right, they can be a fun, eclectic mix of patterns.   These all came from the same line so there was some color matching that helps pull them all together.

Technique:
I have noticed people using fringe a lot more lately.  Usually when I see it done 2-3 times in a week it means it might be trending.  I think fringe is scarier than a lot of trends because it is hard to think beyond using it as an embellishment that looks like grass :)  Today I used it to create long, ruffle-like layers.  And I even did it on patterned paper.  It has an unexpected but interesting look to it!  Not sure I'll use it a ton, but I think it gives this card a nice, unique feel!

Supplies Used:
Patterned Paper: American Crafts
Die Cuts: American Crafts
Fringe Scissors: Martha Stewart
Ribbon: American Crafts

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Fall Quilted Cards

It's time for another installment of Quilted Cards at The Scrapbooking Studio in Bloomington, Illinois.  This class will take place on Friday, October 11th from 6-8pm!  If you are interested in getting a spot you can call the store at (309)585-0409.

The cards this month are fall themed and use the gorgeous new paper line "Reflections - Fall" by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park.  As soon as I laid eyes on this line, I knew it would be perfect!

Create a Quilted look on cards

Create a quilted look on cards
Create a Quilted Look on cards

Create a Quilted Look on Cards

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Webster's Pages Citrus Squeeze Card

The first time I saw this line, I knew I wanted to make some cards using it!  The fussy cutting possibilities and variety of patterns are just perfection!

Tips:
-Because I knew I wanted to use a lot of the busy bright colors, I was careful to pick a more simple base paper.
-I had all flat elements to use...stickers, fussy cut paper, die cuts...I decided to bring out some dimensional elements to use in the corners.

Techniques:
-I get tired of the same twine/floss bow look over and over.  So lately I have been playing with flipping the tails up, tying the bow upside down, tails going opposite directions etc.
-Epiphany Crafts Round Studio tool is perfect for making a one of a kind embellishment to add dimension to a project.
-Tucking a tag underneath the fussy cut elements helps to ground the card.

Supplies Used:
Patterned Paper: Webster's Pages
Wood: Studio Calico
Sticker: Doodlebug Design

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