What's all the noise?

At Club Scrap, we try to incorporate some sort of texture or "noise" into every collection. And for the most part, each rubber stamp series includes some sort of representation of that texture. It might be text, a tiny pattern, water droplets, etc. Using these stamps can sometimes be a challenge, but it's nothing you can't overcome! And in honor of UM Stamps Week, I've got a fun tutorial for 'ya!

Noise stamps can be great for creating awesome customized sheets of paper that can be incorporated into cards, pages and projects.

Check out the process using three different recipes:

1. Bold Blooms Club Stamp Unmounted Sheet; Carnation, Tangerine and Ruby Inks; Light Pink paper.

Ink and stamp the texture noise onto the paper and stamp several more times until all ink is off the stamp. Repeat until the sheet is covered.

Tip: When stamping off the edge of the paper (and be sure to do that), do not stamp back onto the paper fully. The stamp will make a nasty straight edge on your paper and you'll be super-bummed. If this happens, all is not lost . . . simply stamp over it until the line disappears.

It's fun to add depth to the texture by stamping with additional ink colors.

2. Equestrian CS Unmounted Sheet; Mahogany and Earth Inks; Tan Paper.

At first, the stamped image might seem to have a harsh, straight edge. Don't give up. Keep stamping additional times at different angles until the edges blend.

3. Bright Lights, Big City Unmounted Sheet; White Pigment Ink; Black Paper.

Be sure to heat set if you are using pigment ink.

Once the texture sheets are complete, incorporate them with matching papers and our Idea Deck card making formulas to create fabulous cards!

I was able to make the entire batch of 14 stamped and decorated cards in about 90 minutes.

There 'ya have it! Go make some noise!

Tricia

I Resolve to Make More Projects

Happy Thursday! Ron here with another installment of Club Scrap inspiration.

I don't know about you, but I've never been one to make a bunch of New Year's Resolutions. Oh, I've made an attempt now and then, but I don't have a good track record with following through. But this year, I read a thread on the CS Forum about crafting resolutions and I thought I might just give this one a try. So I hereby resolve to make more projects this year. you see, I really love projects - books, boxes, home decor, I love them all and I've got a hoard really nice collection of unfinished CS Projects to prove it!

To start off on fulfilling my resolution, I made the project from December's Bright Lights, Big City  - the Expanding Calendar Project this week. If you haven't made it yet, take some time (an hour or so is really all it took) and make one. Better yet, make 2 - one of the really cool things about this kit is that you get enough supplies to make not just one, but two calendars - one for you and one for a friend!

I really can't believe how quickly this project came together. Sorry I don't have step outs, but If you have the project, the instructions show you everything you need to know! I read the part about sanding and thought, "Ugh, I hate sanding!" but it really only took a couple of minutes. The longest part of the whole project was wanting for the paint to dry! And while I was doing that, I was able to cut up the calendar pieces, glue them to the tags and add the fibers! Seriously, plan for 90 minutes, but don't be surprised if you're done early!

And here's how it came out:

Not bad, huh? It's gonna look great on my desk at work. And the second one? Not sure yet - maybe it will sit on my desk at home or maybe I'll gift it.

I'm seriously gonna try to make at least 1 project a month (and blog about it!). Let's see how I do! Now it's your turn - go and create something wonderful!

Bright Lights, Big City JR Spoiler!

Happy Monday, everyone! Today is JR shipping day, and I couldn't wait to share the Bright Lights, Big City JR ALSB pages with you. I took time yesterday to finish up a few of the pages with photos and journaling. I can't believe how quickly they came together.

I just love how colorful this collection is...I mean, the pages really do go with almost anything! Here are pages 1 & 2 with some photos from 2012 Retreat:

The title strip on pages 3 & 4 had the perfect sentiment for these photos of my oldest son, Hunter, and his "baby". Last year he took a Parents and Family class, and each student had to bring home one of the computer-programmed infants to care for over a 4 day period. I was so proud of how responsible Hunter was with his baby. Some of Hunter's classmates thought it was a joke to have a "robot baby", but Hunter took the task very seriously. Even "Auntie Emma" and "Uncle Max" got in on the act and took turns babysitting. I just had to capture these photos of the kids with "baby Simon". Don't the colors in the photos go perfectly with the BLBC collection?

Finally, I've been meaning to scrap these photos from our 2011 (yep, last year's) Halloween Party for quite a while now. Turns out the BLBC papers were an awesome compliment for all of my guests' colorful costumes!

You gotta love the JR kit and the fact that it's "all inclusive". I simply grabbed the kit, along with my adhesive and trimmer, and in about an hour the ALSB pages were done and ready for photos. In another 30 minutes, the pages had photos and journaling. As a busy wife, mom, and CS employee, ya gotta love the fact that you can get eight scrapbook pages COMPLETELY done in under 2 hours. Talk about a sense of accomplishment!

Fun Fact: Did you know that a Club Scrap JR membership is only $365 a year? (That's including shipping and handling folks!) That means as a JR member, you'll create 96 scrapbook pages a year, for only about $1 per day. What an amazing value!

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Today is also Day Six of Club Scrap Creates "12 Days of Giveaways"! Today's prize is an Orient Express JR kit. To qualify for the drawing, leave a comment below no later than midnight tonight (CS/Central time). Tomorrow I'll randomly draw one name from the list of those who commented, and that lucky person will receive this awesome kit for FREE! Good luck!

Creatively yours,

Karen