Scrapdango

WOW! What a Whirlwind!

2012-01-20T12:46:00.000-08:00

Wow, it has been a long time since this blog has been updated. Back when the last blog post was made, I was finally making the decision that I was going to step away from Scrapdango and I thought December kits were going to be the last, and I didn't know what that meant exactly for the future of the message board and rest of the site. By mid December, I had given up on finding anyone else to take Scrapdango over, which was what I really hoped would happen because it is such a great site and kit club. I just knew that with other committments I had with photography and just my family, which just seems to get busier and busier, I could not continue to do Scrapdango and do it well. Thankfully, though, I did find someone who wants to buy Scrapdango and is excited about continuing to put out fun and fabulous kits each and every month. Aimee Takayoshi will be the new owner and it just so happens that we have a mutual friend and have even both been to that friend's cabin in the Snoqualmie area in Washington. Since Aimee does live in WA and relatively close to me, we will be able to personally meet and I will really be able to help her get started in this new endeavor for her. I hope that you will all welcome Aimee and really support her as she takes this jump into small business ownership.

We will be making the final transfer next week sometime I think (barring anymore illness and/or winter snowstorms in the area), but before I hand over the reigns, I am having a final kit sale with kits from just $12 to $20 each. And as an added bonus, if you order 3 or more kits, you get and additional $5.00 off. Here are the kits I still have available--even the most recent Dec. sugar kit is just $20. Email me at dhlough@comcast.net if you would like to order any of these kits. I can send you a Paypal request or get credit card information.

Also, I did design the January kits and Aimee will be shipping them out pretty much on time toward the end of the month. With all the transition, there will be a slight delay in the kits going out, but for the most part, Scrapdango is continuing without interruption. Here are the sneak peeks for the January kits. Aimee will be receiving all the product and will get full images of the kits posted as soon as she can. I am equally as proud of these kits as I was with the first I designed two years ago. The spice kit is filled with vibrant and fun colors and patterns while the sugar kit just makes you think of spring. Even though that may be a ways off, I know many of you welcome the idea of spring right about now.

January Spice Kit Sneak Peek

January Sugar Kit Sneak Peek

Right now is a fantastic time to start up a new kit subscription. All year long, you can get a kit(s) delivered right to your door to bring you the motivation and inspiration you need to meet any of your yearly scrappy goals or to really help you get back in the scrappy swing of things. It's like Christmas every month. You can sign up for 6 or 12-month subscriptions. Single sugar or spice kit subscriptions are $28.50/month plus shipping while combo kit (both fabulous kits) memberships are $56.00/month plus shipping. If you would like to sign up, please contact Aimee at scrapdango@gmail.com. You can pay by Paypal or credit card every month. You can order you kit subscription in the store using Paypal, but please note that if you want to pay by credit card, you will need to contact Aimee so she can set that up.

It has been a crazy month for me with Scrapdango and lots of ups and downs and twists and turns, but I am so happy that it will be continuing on, and I will definitely be sticking around as a member and really look forward to be able to participate in everything. I know Aimee will have some great contests and crops and be on the lookout for a design team call coming soon. I thank everyone so much for making these years I've had as the owner of Scrapdango so wonderful and fulfilling. I hope you all have a fabulous 2012.

Scrappily Yours,

Heather :)

Who's ready for Christmas?!

2011-12-01T11:08:00.000-08:00

Since today is the first day of December, I thought I would share this advent calendar that I made. I used Imaginisce papers and embellishments, SRM stickers, felt and a whole lot of fabric glue. Yep, it looks sewn together, but it's actually glued! The only sewing that I did was around the edge as a border. (you don't really need to sew the edges of felt). Then I also sewed around each square of paper, but the paper isn't sewn onto the felt. I just sewed the paper as a detail, then I glued it onto the felt squares. It's so much easier that way because if you mess up, you only ruin one square of paper, not the felt too. Also, sometimes when I try to sew two things together, it will slip and end up not totally straight. This way, I knew the paper was going to be straight over the felt because I was gluing it!

I also used fabric glue on my accordion flowers. I find that it holds better. Really, I used almost an entire bottle of fabric glue on this calendar!

A couple of quick cards

2011-11-29T11:15:00.000-08:00

Since I see some of you are working with your October kits now, I thought I would share a couple of quick cards that I made last week using some of the remnants of my October Sugar kit. I didn't have a lot left, but I love these papers so much that I wanted to use every last bit. Then of course there is that doily! I had used one on another card, and this one I used as a mask previously. Love them!

Member Monday!

2011-11-28T11:04:00.000-08:00

Kristin was scrapping up a storm this weekend. Check out these pages that she created for a couple of the challenges. She used her October kit here - isn't it gorgeous! I love the chevron bottom and that title cluster!

I love the punched circles on this one. Isn't that clever how she embellished each one?!

KIT SALE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-11-25T10:25:00.000-08:00

HUGE kit sale!!!!!!!!!!

update..the following things are sold out:

May 2010 Spice
June 2011 Spice
Oct. 2011 Spice

I also only have 1 left of:

Feb. 2011 Sugar
May 2011 Sugar
Aug. 2011 Spice

Also, if you get my Constant Contact newsletter, I have a coupon for an additional $5.00 off of 4 or more kits if you order by Dec. 1st. If you're not on the newsletter list, let Heather know, and she can send it to you.

click on the image to make it larger...

YOU CANNOT BEAT THOSE PRICES!

Here are some layouts that I created using bits and pieces from older kits..mostly the September Spice kit.LOVED the red and teals in this kit so much!

Happy Wednesday!

2011-11-23T09:49:00.000-08:00

Ellen here with a Sugar Kit tip....

With the Holidays quickly approaching, I thought I would share a quick card with you that I created that can hold a gift card.

You can never have too many of these! AND I used the November Sugar kit.

I just made my card an inch bigger along the bottom, used a border punch and then folded it up.

Use some twin or ribbon to help keep it closed. EASY!

Here is the inside. I just used some tape to tack down the card. You don't want it falling out the sides ;)

Member Monday!!!!!!!!

2011-11-21T12:39:00.000-08:00

I Just love Member Monday because I get to go through the gallery and check things out.

This layout by shykiwi stood out right away because of her use of the photos.

SIX 4x6 photos (trimmed a bit) on one 12x12 layout!

How cool is that?!?!

The Spice Girls

2011-11-19T06:28:00.000-08:00

The November Spice kit features Prima North country! Oh my!!!!!!!!!! This kit is full of fun papers and embellishments!

Here is Celeste's awesome creations!

Wouldn't you love to get this card in the mail?

LOVE the icy feeling this layout portrays!

The design of this layout is awesome!

Celeste ROCKS the two page layouts! Those trees are too cute!

I also got to work with the fabulous November Spice kit!!! Here is what I made

For this page I cut apart the green paper and pop dotted the border to add some dimension...The cuties are my boys!

I love to fussy cut and for this card I ct the reindeer out of one of the papers....

I also love to make flowers and used the leftovers from my layouts to create the flowers!

LOVE this paper...I added the snowflakes from the kit and a few gems from a previous kit and voila! The sweet baby is my Goddaughter with her grandfather (my brother)

And to wrap it all up I finished with this card!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Scrapdango Sugar Reveal!

2011-11-16T04:43:00.000-08:00

Good morning ladies! Yesterday the talented design team ladies revealed their November kits! WOW!!!! Such fantastic projects!

Today I thought I would highlight the sugar kit!

Meg really utilized her kit fabulously!

Such a pretty card...so delicate and pretty!

Fantastic design on this two pager and those photos are gorgeous!

I LOVE the colors and design! It is so fabulous!!!!!!!!!!! That photo is AWESOME! Such an outstanding layout

I love how the photo is really highlighted in this photo!

Vanessa really rocked her kit!!!!

LOVE the photo strip! AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This color combo is fabulous!

Such a pretty and lovely layout!

beautiful card! that bird is fantastic!

Another gorgeous card!

Although the subject is painful the layout is absolutely delightful....

Thanks so much for stopping by! The inspiration here is fantastic!

Using New Stamps

2011-11-08T13:19:00.000-08:00

Some of you will be getting this Prima Marketing North Country Stamp in your November Spice Kit.

I thought I would share with you a tip I learned from the talented Tim Holtz. When you use your stamp for the first time, ink it with an archival ink. It doesn't matter what color, just ink it up and stamp it off on some scrap paper. Now your new stamp is primed and ready for whatever inks you want to use on your projects.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T12:12:00.000-07:00

Created using a simple template and the Scrapdango September kit.

Halloween!!! Day 3

2011-10-28T04:48:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone! Today I thought I would share some ghoulish Halloween Titles for your next macabre page!

"Fangs" for the Memories

"Ill get you my pretty!...and all your candy too!!"
"The Boo Crew"
A Bootiful Night
A fairy enchanting time!
A haunting we will go
A HOWLIN' Good Time
A spooking we will go
A Spooktacular Day
A Spooky Good time
A Spooky Night
A Terror-ific Time
Best Witches
Boo Bash
BOO! Buddies
Bootiful Ghouls
Broom Parking - 5 cents
Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble
Carving Memories one Pumpkin at a time
Chills & Thrills
Coffin Break
Creature Feature
Creatures Of The Night
Creepy and Kooky...Altogether Spooky!
Cutest Pumpkin In The Patch
Eat drink and be scary
Fangs for the memories
Frightfully Delightful
Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun!
Goblins on the Loose
Hallo-Scream
I want my mummy
Jeepers, Creepers
Make No Bones About It
Mischief and Mayhem
Monster Mash
Monsters on Parade
Pumpkin Picassos
Scaring Up Some Fun
Spook-tacular Kids
Spooktacular Halloween
Spooky Friends
The Witching Hour
There's Mischief Brewing
Too Cute 2 Spook
Where the wild things are

Hope you enjoy these and they come in handy for your next spooktacular page!

Halloween!!! Day 2

2011-10-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

Are you having a Halloween Party? Or want to make some spooky treats for your family?

Here are a couple of yummy recipes I thought might be perfect for your ghouls!

What You Need

1/2 leaf lettuce leaf

1/2 cup Kraft Rancher's Choice Dressing

4 cups assorted fresh vegetables (snow peas, carrots, cherry tomatoes, pepper strips, cucumber slices, cauliflower and broccoli florets, mushrooms)

Make It

LINE half of small bowl with lettuce for the skeleton's hair; fill with dressing. Place at one end of large tray or baking sheet for the skeleton's head.

ARRANGE vegetables on tray to resemble the skeleton's body.

Scary Skillet Shepherd's Pie

What You Need

3 cups frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, corn, green beans)

1 lb. (450 g) ground beef

1 cup beef gravy

125 g (1/2 of 250-g pkg.) Philadelphia Brick Cream Cheese, cubed

1 cup milk, divided

1 cup water

2 cups instant potato flakes

1/4 cup Kraft 100% Parmesan Grated Cheese

Make It

COOK vegetables as directed on package. Meanwhile, brown meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in gravy; simmer until heated through, stirring occasionally.

MICROWAVE cream cheese and 1/4 cup milk in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 30 sec.; beat with whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in remaining milk and water. Microwave 2-1/2 min. or until hot, stirring after each minute. Stir in potato flakes and Parmesan until well blended. Spoon into resealable plastic bag; cut 1 corner from bottom of bag.

REMOVE 12 peas from mixed vegetables; stir remaining vegetables into meat mixture. Squeeze potato mixture into 6 mounds on meat mixture to resemble ghosts. Add 2 of the reserved peas to each for the eyes.

"Boo-tiful" JELL-O Cups

What You Need

3/4 cup boiling water

1 pkg. (85 g) Jell-O Orange Jelly Powder

2 cups ice cubes

2/3 cup thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping, divided

8 miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Make It

ADD boiling water to jelly powder in large bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add ice; stir 3 to 5 min. or until jelly is thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. Whisk in 1/3 cup Cool Whip until well blended. Pour into 4 dessert dishes.

REFRIGERATE 30 min. or until firm.

DROP remaining Cool Whip by spoonfuls onto desserts to resemble ghosts. Add chocolate chips for the eyes.

Witches Brew

What You Need

2-1/4 cups boiling water, divided

Hands

2 pkg. (85 g each) Jell-O Giggly Grape Jelly Powder

1 pkg. (85 g) Jell-O Orange Jelly Powder

3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Eye Balls

10 cups cold water

1-1/4 cups Kool-Aid Orange Sugar Sweetened Drink Mix

Punch

Make It

ADD 1-1/2 cups boiling water to grape jelly powders; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Pour into 8-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.

MEANWHILE, add remaining boiling water to orange jelly powder; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Pour into ice cube trays. Refrigerate until partially set. Press blueberry into centre of jelly in each section of ice cube tray to resemble eye ball. Refrigerate until firm. Add cold water to drink mix in 2.5-L pitcher; stir until mix is dissolved. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

TRACE outline of small hand on piece of paper. (Size of hand needs to be 8 inches or smaller.) Cut out pattern with scissors; place on top of grape jelly. Cut around pattern with knife. When ready to serve punch, carefully remove gelatin hand from pan; place on rim of punch bowl, allowing fingers to hang over rim. Cut "fingers" from grape jelly trimmings. Add to punch bowl. Add jelly eye balls and punch.

all of these recipes are from www.kraft.com

Halloween!!! Day 1

2011-10-24T09:56:00.000-07:00

I thought this week I would post some Halloween things for you!

Today I thought I would post a few Spooky projects found in the Dango Gallery!

this festive layout is by Lisa (pictures2pages)...he is so adorable!

And this too fun multi photo layout was created by Kimmy (lostinadream) fabulous pumpkins!

Kim (karennie34) did a fantastic job creating this sweet layout!

SGodard really did create a fun and fabulous layout...it is purrrrrrrrrrfect!
Don't you just love this layout from Susan? Love how she was able to incorporate so many fun photos without the layout being overly crowded

This fantastic layout was created by Cheryl....aren't those photos adorable?

I hope you found some inspiration for your next Halloween project!

October Kits and Some Examples

2011-10-22T21:38:00.000-07:00

Well after being a little delayed in getting some product, I finally got the October kits put together to reveal. I do think they were worth the wait, although they will ship on time, so no wait for kit club members to get them.

So here is the spice kit. This is a company I have used before, but it is fairly rare. It's the Ruby Rock-It Bella Paper Boy line. I love the bright, fun colors of this. All the cardstock in this kit is Core'dinations. The first two colors (red and aqua) are color core cs and the last color is black magic cs with a light blue core. I showed the black side and then the blue side.

October 2011 Spice Kit Featuring Ruby Rock-It Bella Paper Boy

Here are some examples of layouts by DT member, Celeste Brodnik.

And the sugar kit is a very eclectic mix of papers from the new Amy Tangerine line from American Crafts, which I loved when I first saw it. I love how the papers all go together but aren't matchy matchy and there are some fun brights but lots of neutrals. One of the papers has real stitching on it too.

October 2011 Sugar Kit Featuring American Crafts Amy Tangerine

Here is a fabulous example layout by DT member, Megan Aaron.

and a fun one with a clever title by DT member, Ellen Sosnoski:

Terrific Tuesday

2011-10-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

Well thank goodness Monday is over because now we can get on with our week. I don't know about you, but Monday's for me I am just barely able to get the kids to school and do the basic tasks for the day. I just feel like I'm doing so much catching up from the week prior and weekend. That may explain why I didn't get the Member Monday posted yesterday. So I bring you terrific Tuesday and some more great examples from the Scrapdango Gallery.

These are still some great examples of cards from our World Cardmaking Day Crop that I want to share with you. Here are a couple that caught my eye.

Love the simplicity and color of this one by Kim (karennie34)

Also love this adorable card and pencil set by Kristin. What a fabulous gift this would be for a teacher either at Christmas or end of the year.

Kristin, by the way, was the lucky winner of the School's In contest and will get a FREE 3 Month kit subscription. Congrats Kristin. Be sure to check out the forum, blog and/or Facebook page regularly to find out about new contests where you can win kits and other great stuff. As a side note, watch for news on an upcoming design team call. ;)

Coming soon: The much belated reveal of the October kits.

September Sugar Kit Tip

2011-10-12T07:39:00.000-07:00

Today from Megan!

Fussy cut the leaves from the patterned paper to make your own, unique designs.

You will love love this kit! So many gorgeous papers and embellishments just for fall.

Twine Flower Centers

2011-10-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Baker's Twine is quite the rage in scrapping right now, so I thought I'd show you a quick way to use it to make a flower center. Start with a large circle of foam adhesive (I used American Crafts This to That Foam Tab Circles). Place the end of your twine in the center of the circle and wrap the twine in a circle until you have filled the entire foam circle.

Here is how I used the flower center on my card using Scrapdango September Sugar Kit.

Member Monday

2011-10-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

Our members are finishing up on the World Card Making Day challenges. Here are a couple cards that caught my eye in the gallery.

This great boy card by Cheryl (chillycharlie) made for Laura's sketch challenge.

This cute diaper card by Kim (Karennie34) for Megan's clean and simple challenge.

Kits are arriving NOW!

2011-10-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

September kits are arriving now...who is excited???

PERFECT timing for some CARD challenges, right???

Don't forget there is still time for the WCMD Challenges. You have until Sunday Oct 9th so get busy.

There are RAKS up for grabs and a 10 dollar GC to the STORE!!!

Here is Megan's Clean and Simple Challenge:

Heather's Tag challenge;

Celestes' Banner challenge:

Laura's Sketch challenge:

Ellen's Colour Challenge:

Vanessa's Recipe Challenge:

I'm interested to see what different things everyone will come up with so I will post my example closer to the end of the week.

Here is your recipe:

A4 card (4.25" x 5.5")
4" x 5.25" piece of patterned paper
0.5" x 5.5" strip of cardstock
1 - Border strip (sticker or diecut)
1 - Chipboard piece
1 - Sticker
1 - shape punched from cardstock (i.e. circle, scalloped circle, butterfly, leaf...etc)
Adhesive

Mix these ingredients to your liking.

Spice Kit Tips

2011-10-05T04:20:00.000-07:00

Venssa is up with her September Spice Kit tips today!

First: Cut out the letters from the mini letter patterned paper and use pop up dots to accent them.

Second: Fussy cut the border around the Happy Days paper. Cut it up and use it as border strips.

Third:

Fill in the Basic Grey circle stickers with patterned paper.

Spice Kit Tips

2011-10-04T07:06:00.000-07:00

We have some Spice Kit Tips for you today from Ellen:

First up take the LYB letters and rub some ink with your finger to make them "not so white". They are really smooth and you can smear it around really easily. I used some Gray American Crafts Pigment inks on these alphas.

Who doesn't love googley eyes???

They are super cheap at the craft store and I love having them in my stash to add a fun element to any project.

When I saw these glasses on the BasicGrey sticher sheet, I knew I would use them right away.

Use the BasicGrey circle cardstock stickers for easy accents on your pages.

Member Monday!!!!!!!!

2011-10-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

I was in the gallery this morning looking for some inspiration and saw THIS!

HOW CUTE IS THIS SET??? Makes me want to be a teacher :)

Kristin made these for one of the pop quiz challenges for the School's In Crop.

Here are the things I love about them:

1. BEES!

2. Scallops!

3. Big, huge ribbon

4.) POLKAS!

5. It was my challenge ;)

CONGRATS ON MEMBER MONDAY, KRISTIN!

Member Monday

2011-09-26T14:22:00.000-07:00

I love fall...the colors, the temperatures, the falling leaves....and of course Halloween! I really love the photos and design of Lisa's Pick the perfect pumpkin layout!!!!!!

With Schools in going on right now, there are so many awesome projects in the gallery right now so stop by the gallery to get some inspiration!

Sugar Kit Tips

2011-09-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Good Morning!

Today we have some kit tips from Celeste.

Tip 1.) Unscrew the cap of the walnut ink and flick the end to make paint-like drops on your project. Be sure to store the open container somewhere where it can not easily be tipped over while you are doing this (learned from experience ).

Tip 2.) If the words on the tags don't work for your layout, cover them with word stickers from the sticker sheet.

Tip 3.) Don't throw away the strips that you cut off the bottom of your papers. They have a fun border that can be fussy cut and used on your projects. I used some on this card.

Bustin' out Old kits

2011-09-21T07:10:00.000-07:00

So I looooved my July Spice kit so much

that I used it AGAIN!

I cut all the little journaling cards from the Simple Stories papers and saved them so I used them on this layout for the background.

I also used the ribbons for banners, too.

I challenge you to bust out an old kit and get at it!!!

Have a great day!

Ellen

Teacher's Pet

2011-09-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

CONGRATS TO GRANNY!

SHE IS

THIS WEEK'S TEACHER'S PET!!!!

Such a cool layout ... love the visual triangles and the red...

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Make sure you check in the School's In Thread for all the awesome

challenges!

Member Monday!!!!!!!!

2011-09-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday!!!

We love Mondays around here...we get to highlight YOU!

Make sure you check out the gallery here for some awesome inspiration.

Did you know that School is in??? Members are working like mad to get their homework done for Scrapdango's 2011 School's In month long celebration.

I don't know about you but I love love love to read and this Bookmark challenge is the best!
So today, for Member Monday, we are going to highlight some bookmarks from Pop Quiz #3.

First up is one by kshanley:
LOVING these buttons!

AND look at these super cute details on SimplySusan's bookmark. The arrows and book...TOO cute!

I love love all the inking stamping on this bookmark by ChillyCharlie:

And who isn't a sucker for flowers??? Loving this bookmark from Kristin:

And stripes are so hot right now! Super cute bookmark from lostinadream:

Have a great week!

Member Monday

2011-09-12T21:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday Everyone (well almost end of Monday). Hope that you all had a great start to the week. We are half way through Week #2 of School's In at Scrapdango and everyone is doing fabulous on all the challenges. The design team did have the tough task of picking the Teacher's Pet for Week #1. That person was:

Audrey (audreykit) with this layout:

There are also many other stand-out layouts in the gallery. Here are a few that really caught my eye.

Crazy Summery Days by Kimmy (lostinadream)

Love that Smile by Sue (using the August Spice Kit)

& Pizza by Lisa (pictures2pages)

Looking forward to many more fantastic layouts during School's In. You still have a couple days (until Wed. at midnight EST) to get in your Week #2 Core Class Challenge for a draw, but you have all month to complete the elective class challenges and pop quizzes.

Submit with Scrapdango Kits

2011-09-08T20:50:00.000-07:00

I rarely think of submitting to magazines before I make a layout. Sometimes after the fact I look through and see what calls might fit my page. For those of you that receive Scrapdango Kits, I thought it might be useful to compile a list of current call that would work with the August kits. That way you can jump right in with a plan in mind, and maybe get published! There is also a sketch challenge happening over at the Authentique blog. Get crackin' cause it's due Sept 14!

Most of the magazines right now are looking for Spring layouts. I think the yellows and blues of the Authentique would go perfect with Spring photos. The blue also works well for some of the Winter calls.

Here the links and a few of the specific calls:

Creating Keepsakes - Due Sept 14

Call for Baby Layouts
Have you created a layout using baby photos of your niece, nephew, godchild, grandchild, or friend’s child? If so, we’d love to see how you scrapbooked photos of a baby that wasn’t your own. Send a scan or photo of your layout to editorial@creatingkeepsakes.com along with a complete list of supplies and any techniques you used on your layout by September 14, 2011.
Priority will be given to 2-page, multi photo layouts.

Calling All Sketch Artists
Creating Keepsakes wants to see your fresh, never-before-published pages about babies and family following this CK Sketch. Send us a scan or digital photo of your layout, along with a supply list and short description of any cool techniques you used to create it by Wednesday, September 14, 2011 to editorial@creatingkeepsakes.com with “CK Sketches” in the subject line. Please include your contact information, a complete list of supplies and details about the techniques you used on your layout in the body of the e-mail. Your page could be published in an upcoming issue!
Priority will be given to 2-page, multi photo layouts.

Scrapbooks Etc - Due Sept 22

Spring!
It may be back-to-school time, but we’re already thinking about spring! We’re searching for your best spring-y layouts and projects, from scrapbook pages about Easter, flowers, and playing outdoors to paper craft projects such as Easter baskets and DIY flowers.
To submit your pages, e-mail a scan or photograph of your layout to submissions@meredith.com by Thursday, September 22. Please type “Spring” in the subject line. Limit submissions to three per person, and keep attached files less than 500k.

Scrapbook and Cards Today - Due Oct 3

"wonderful winter call"
Scrapbook & Cards Today is pleased to announce its “Wonderful Winter” call. Scrapbook & Cards Today is a beautiful, seasonally inspired free publication that can be found in both Canadian and US independent scrapbook stores. It can also be downloaded internationally, in its entirety and for free, by visiting www.scrapbookandcards.com.
Scrapbook & Cards Today would love to see your artwork—including layouts, cards, and altered projects with the following themes:

holiday celebrations
winter fun-both outdoors and in
the "perfect" winter day
Valentine's Day!

Scrapbook Trends/Cards/Create ... Due dates vary

TOO MANY TO LIST!

Happy Scrapbooking....and good luck to those of you that submit :)

Member Monday

2011-09-05T13:34:00.000-07:00

School's In is in full swing over at the Scrapdango forums.

Here are some of my favorite layouts from the past few days of School's in:

I really like the blocks of patterned paper and journaling cards in this one from chillycharlie

This one from #3sagirl has some great vintage elements

Kristin's 2 pager is awesome with the fussy cutting and the banner title

Keep those layouts coming! And look for more "classes" coming up on Thursday :)

Recipe of the Week

2011-08-31T05:45:00.000-07:00

Today I thought I would share a recipe with you. I found myself with a LOT of peaches this past week, after my husband and daughter went peach picking. I was looking for some things to make other than pie or crumble. I remembered this apple cake that my mom always made. It's delicious! She made it often when we were growing up, with granny smith apples, but any kind works. It always turns out very moist and delicious!

But this time I used peaches! I reduced the oil a little bit - to 3/4 of a cup, and added a little bit of flour a little less than a 1/4 cup, to compensate for the fact that peaches are less firm than apples and have more water. But I will give you the recipe for apples.

Apple Cake

1 cup oil

4 eggs

1 3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

5 to 8 apples cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350

Spray bundt pan with non stick spray.

Mix dry ingredients in medium bowl.

Mix wet ingredients in large bowl then add dry ingredients mixing well.

Fold in the apples.

Bake in bundt pan for 45 minutes to an hour.

hope you enjoy!

Megan

Double Page Layout Discussion

2011-08-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

Every month each design team member makes at least one double page layout with the kit. One of the great things about Scrapdango kits is that there are always at two sheets of at least one paper, so it is easy to make double page layouts.

I think most people find double page layouts challenging though. I know I do! so I thought I would share a little about how I create my two page layouts.

I always start by choosing a group of photos where I have several photos that I want to put on one page. Then I look at whether they are vertical or horizontal, or some combination of the two. Then I start sketching!

I can't make a double page layout without a sketch. Working with a premade sketch - like pagemaps - makes things easy, but sometimes it's problematic if you dont have the right photos. So I often make my own sketches.

I usually go for blocks of photos, so I try to arrange the photos in a balanced way, so that not all the vertical and all the horizontal are next to each other. Another thing I often do, is size one of the other, to fit in amongst the others. So for the page below, I resized the horizontal photos, so that two of them together, and a little space in between, ended up being the same size as the verticals.

Once I have found a good configuration for the photos, I think about the rest of the space. I usually try to add something to contrast with the photo block's, well, blockiness. So for the layout below, I added a big circle on one side, and whitespace on the other. Then make room for a title and journaling - sometimes that requires reworking the sketch a little.

Finally, work with the sketch that you have made, just like you would work with a premade sketch - which usually means, some tweaking. Since I planned the sketch around my photos, it usually means less tweaking than using a premade sketch, but this layout is a good example of how some adjustments still need to be made.

I had originally put the two horizontal photos in the middle, but when I laid them out on the papers, I realized that I would have to cut them in half, and there was no good place to cut them that wouldnt totally mess up the photos. so I moved them. Then , I had forgotten a title in my sketch, so I moved the other three down to make room for the title.

Member Monday

2011-08-29T06:25:00.000-07:00

I love this page from Lisa (pictures2pages). What a great photo from her DH's childhood! And I love the monochromatic color scheme. Gorgeous!

Sugar Kit Tips

2011-08-26T06:30:00.000-07:00

Today's tips are from Nessa and Ellen featuring the Sugar Kit.

Nessa recommends using mini letters for you cards, too!

Ellen suggests making a handmade flower accent from the trim that comes in the kit with your Tiny Attacher (or any stapler will do)\

Also don't forget to get out those Shimmerz for the flowers.
you can make the white ones any color you want.

More Spice Kit Tips

2011-08-25T06:28:00.000-07:00

Today's kit tips come from Celeste.

Check out this flower! Celeste used her banner stickers!!!

Hand stitching is the perfect way to accent any page.

Celeste hand stitched a border here...

Get Your School Supplies Ready...

2011-08-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

Because School's In is returning to Scrapdango this September. And guess what the prize is going to be. It is going to be so awesomely fantabulistic!!! It is going to be a...

3 Month Sugar Kit Subscription!!!

Yes, that is 3 whole months of the lovely Scrapdango sugar kit shipped to your door for free. So be sure to head to the Scrapdango forum and find your desk and get organized and ready for this fabulous contest to start.

August Kit tips

2011-08-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

Ellen here with some August kit tips from the team.

Today we have tips from the Spice kit.

Laura had a great tip to combine the flourishes to make one big one!

And Laura flipped over her buttons to use the Earth Tone side of them versus the shiney side:

And last but not least....Fussy cut like Laura did on this layout...GORGEOUS!

Check back all week long for kit tips!

Sugar Kit Tips

2011-08-23T06:26:00.000-07:00

Today we have some Sugar Kit tips from Megan.

First up, hand cut some petals for the gorgeous flowers that come in the kit. This way the coordinate perfectly!

Cut out the circle shapes from the Euphoria paper for awesome handmade flowers!

A GREAT way to use up those scraps.

It is Member Monday!

2011-08-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

Ellen here. I just love member monday because

I get to browse all of the AMAZING projects I see in the gallery.

And today I spied LISA M uploading some treasures.

Check out her gallery here.

Here is a lo she did for Meg's August Challenge.

And Another one from LisaM..since I LOVE food

this one jumped out at me,too.

She used Celeste's August sketch for this one.

KEEP LOADING THOSE LAYOUTS

FOR A CHANCE TO SEE YOURSELF UP ON OUR

BLOG MONDAY

Wild Wacky Wednesday

2011-08-17T23:23:00.000-07:00

Well, my design team has been such a fabulous job at keeping this blog updated with the Member Monday posts and fantastic tips, tutorials and inspirational ideas for you all. It gets to my week to post, and what happens? Nada! Sorry I didn't manage to get the Member Monday posted, but what I wanted to do was reveal the August kits and feature some layouts from these same fabulous designers.

If you haven't seen them on the main page or message board, here are the August kits. These are lines from the brand new company, Authentique, and these papers are such high quality and so gorgeous in person. You can pre-order these kits here.

August Spice Kit featuring Authentique Journey

August Sugar Kit featuring Authentique Blissful

And here some examples of what my uber talented design team did with the kits. These are my favorite layouts from each member.

"Beautiful Bride" by Celeste Brodnik

"Dyeing the Eggs" by Megan Aaron

"Family" by Ellen Sosnoski

"Everyday I Love you More" by Laura Gilhuly

"Our Little Furballz" by Vanessa Blythe

You can see the rest of the design team layouts in the forum here. Be on the lookout for information on the next big Scrapdango event. It's going to be fun-tastic.

Stretch Your Kit

2011-08-11T09:37:00.000-07:00

I always want to hoard my kit when I get it or worry that I will run out of one of the papers before I get to the end of the kit. To help stretch my kit, I usually cut out large blocks of paper that are hidden behind other items. For instance, if you are using pattern paper as your background and are layering other papers and photos onto it you can easily cut out the background paper that isn’t showing.

Compose your layout by laying your photos, mats, other layers of pattern paper, embellishments, etc. onto the background paper. Then, lift up the corner of your layers and mark with a pencil where you can cut…this photo should make it easier to understand.

Once you have marked the four corners cut out the paper with your trimmer or scissors and save the large center piece for other layouts or cards. This is what the background will look like once you are done (you can see some of my pecil marks just outside the cut lines).

And the finished layout.

This idea is from Laura using the June Spice Kit.

I love the Websters Pages but I didn't have two sheets of the paper and I really wanted to fussy cut the lighthouse....so I used a piece of the coordinating cardstock and very carefully cut out the lighthouse. I adhered both parts of the paper to the cardstock using 3D foam dots to raise the lighthouse.

These techniques not only let you stretch a kit, they also stretch your scrapping budget….something us scrappers are always trying to do.

Member Monday

2011-08-08T04:54:00.000-07:00

As I looked through the gallery for this week's Member Monday, it looks like Ginni is the only person who has been scrapping. Shame on the rest of us.

Look at this fun, bright layout of Ginni's grandson playing in the pool. Perfect colors and papers for these summer photos.

Congrats Ginni.

less is more

2011-08-05T05:55:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a project doesn't need much....just a few things here and there and you are all set. I am one that usually layers and crumples and adds more and more but I really wanted to try and simplify my layout and this is what I created....

How often do you do a simple layout? Are you happy with the results?

Hope you have a great day!
Laura

Just Beachy...and a few starfish too!!!!

2011-08-04T10:55:00.001-07:00

My family and I spend a lot of time in the summer at one of our local beaches! its perfect family time....so when the June Spice kit arrived featuring Fancy Pants Beach Bum I was happy! I had a fabulous kit for all the great photos I have taken!

here is another layout I created using the June Spice kit....

To create the 'starfish' I punched the stars (actually I used my cricut) but you can use a punch, then I scored the star...use the red lines as a guide...then round the points....add a few pen marks to the star and then I folded along the scored lines....to finish I inked the edges and a bit along the scored lines....

Hope you all have a great day!

Sketch

2011-08-03T05:24:00.001-07:00

Good morning ladies! Today I thought I would share a sketch I created (using delicious scraps' Spring Mini digital kit)

And for those of you that prefer it in black and white.....

And here is my example of the sketch using June's Spice Kit.....

Hope you all have a great day!

Summer is full swing!

2011-08-02T05:44:00.001-07:00

Are you like me? Do you scrap mostly the season you are in....since it is summer I am scrapping summery photos? After a while do you get stuck on titles? I thought I would share a few titles over the next couple of posts to help out!

2 Hot
A Perfect Summer Day
A Taste of Summer
Barefootin'
Camping Capers
Dive into Summer
Dog Days Of Summer
Endless Summer
Fun in the Sun
Hello Sunshine
Lazy Days of Summer
Lazy Daze
Pool side
Pool time
Slice of Summer
Soakin' up the sun
Splash into summer
Splash Zone
Summer Fun
The Boys of Summer
The Girls of Summer
Walking on Sunshine
Wet N' Wild
You are my Sunshine

Member Monday August 1st!

2011-08-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

It's Monday so it is time to highlight some fantastic projects in the scrapdango gallery!!!!

I love the design and the colors in this fabulous layout by BarbP! Love those stars!!!

And This layout by Rebecca in Mi is so very sweet.....the photos really stand out and I love the design!

This layout by Karennie34 is wonderful! I love it! That owl is so adorable and those photos are so sweet! Terrific layout!

come by the gallery and see all the wonderful inspiration!

Have a great day
Laura

Video Tutorial Wednesday

2011-07-27T07:16:00.000-07:00

Oh my! This week has been crazy for me after coming back from CHA and having to get caught up. I had been planning to post some CHA faves, but to be honest, I am kind of tired of seeing those posts everywhere. So I thought you might like something different.

This is a short tutorial video that I made a couple of months ago and never shared. In it I describe how to make gathered ribbon flowers. Incidentally, these same flowers are the subject of the challenge this week on Northridge Publishing's CREATE: Cards Magazine blog. So, if you happen to be inspired by the video, give it a shot and enter! There aren't any prizes but she features a bunch of cards each week and it's fun to see your name up there! I would love to see some Dango ladies featured!

Member Monday

2011-07-25T06:23:00.000-07:00

The LOAD gallery is just brimming with fun and inspiration! Here are a couple that I noticed today.

First I spied this page by Peggy. I love how the colors match the subject and the rounded corners on the journaling spot and the side strips. They really tie it all together!

Then I noticed this page by karennie34. I love how she combined the purple with the bright sunny reds and yellows. And that sun and banner are amazing!

And finally, last but not least, how cute is this baby album that SimplySusan is working on for her coworker?! Love the colors and the streamlined design.

Quick and Easy Flowers

2011-07-22T05:16:00.000-07:00

Here is an idea for some quick and easy flowers that look like the stickers in the
July Sugar Kit (the right sheet in the photo below).

I wanted some different size flowers to coordinate with the sticker flowers, so I just punched a circle from one of the pattern papers, then cut four small triangles out of the circle. Add a button to the middle and you have a flower. You could also make larger flowers by layering a couple of cut circles and then adding the button.

Here is a closeup of the finished flowers. The large flower is a sticker and the two small ones are made from pattern paper. I also added a little bit of Stickles to the petals to make them sparkle.

July Kit Reveal and August Sneaks

2011-07-19T11:56:00.000-07:00

Hey all, I wanted to bring you some of the fabulous work that the design team did with the July kits. Actually, right now, I just have work that 4 of the DTers did with the sugar kit to show you. Due to high demand of the July spice kit, I was only able to send one to the DT and that one went to Canada where it took awhile to get to Laura due to slow postal issues following the Canada Post shutdown. Laura will be revealing her projects soon, and I will post those when she does.

Here are my favorite layouts by Ellen, Vanessa, Celeste and Megan using the July Sugar kit, which features Simple Stories 100 Days of Summer and some Little Yellow Bicycle Sweet Summertime. You can see the rest of the DT's July projects here. There are still a few of the July sugar kits left, and you can order it in the store.

"Learn" by Ellen Sosnoski

"Going Home" by Vanessa Blythe

"Jump n Splash!" by Megan Aaron

"Relax" by Celeste Brodnik

August Kit Sneak Peeks

The August kits feature brand new papers by a brand new company. I know that these papers have been very popular in all the CHA reveals, and I am very excited to see them. I will reveal the full kits soon and they will be up for pre-order so be on the look out.

August Spice Sneak Peek

August Sugar Sneak Peek

Fun Little Tutorial for July's Sugar Kit

2011-07-15T17:46:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Ellen here with a quick tutorial on how to make a window card with the fun cardstock stickers

from LYB.

First up, Place the entire Lemonade stand card on the cardbase so you can line it up. Leave the inside there.

Outline it with pencil so you know where to cut and then cut out with an exacto knife.

Erase any leftover pencil marks.

And here it is...
It's so cool b/c with the Double Dot Bo Bunny paper, the inside has the stripes and then
the outside has the dots! :)

And the inside....

Have fun with this month's kits!!! THEY ROCK!

Happy Wednesday! LOAD Update!!!

2011-07-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

Just popping in on this great day to remind everyone about LOAD!

For the month of July we have a fun challenge going on called LOAD. It stands for LayOut A Day.

So for every day in July, the DT has come up with some fun challenges to inspire you and help you get through these dog days of summer!

Make sure you check out the forum here and don't forget to sign in here.

MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR WEEK 1 AND WEEK 2 NUMBERS UPDATED!!!!

Those winners will be posted SOOOOON :):):):)

Click here to see that prize package!

Right now there is a copy of ST Create Embellish Idea book up for grabs!!! Just get your layouts "loaded" for the last two weeks of July!!!!!

Member Monday!!!!!!!!

2011-07-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

LOAD is in full swing and the gallery is hopping! We are already into week THREE! Can you believe it??

There are some awesome prizes up for grabs!!!

Here are a few that caught my eye...

Love the festive Patriotic Colors on this layout from BarbP

And I am a total sucker for Christmas in July!!!!

Check out this fun layout from ChrisJay94!

And Rebecca in MI created this wonderful layout...

that photo is priceless!!!

Make sure you check out the LOAD section of the forum for the challenges.

TONS of inspiration to get your through this summer ;)

{New} Member Monday

2011-07-04T05:13:00.000-07:00

LOAD is in full swing at Scrapdango. Please join me in welcoming one of our new members, LauraB., that is joining us for LOAD. Laura is an english teacher and mom of 3 from Blacksburg, Virginia. She's already jumped right in and completed 3 layouts for the LOAD challenge. Here's one of her beautiful daughter.

2011-06-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

Do you need motivation to scrap during the summer? Well Scrapdango has just the event for you. Starting tomorrow, July 1st through the end of the month, we will have our annual L.O.A.D. (Layout a Day) challenge. The design team will bring you daily inspiration which you can use or not. There will be weekly prizes, LOADS (pun intended) of fun and the big grand prize of a fabulous Scrapdango kit. You don't have to actually complete a layout a day. You can scrap a little or a lot and still be eligible for prizes. So sign in on the message board here and join us tomorrow for the first dose of daily inspiration.

Member Monday!

2011-06-27T09:31:00.000-07:00

We all had such a fabulous time with the 'Totally Rad Crop" and the winner was recently announced to be Kristin (Kzfoug)!!!! So I thought I would showcase a few of her awesome creations

Kristin has a great fun style that really makes her projects outstandingly awesome!

June 25 Means

2011-06-25T05:57:00.000-07:00

it's only 6 months until Christmas. I bet most of you didn't want to hear that.

Do you aspire to make your Christmas cards this year? Start early and it will be much easier. Two cards a month will give you 12 cards to send to your 12 favorite people, or one card a week will give you 26 cards. What do you think? Anyone want to start making Christmas cards now?

June Kit Reveal - Nicole

2011-06-22T05:13:00.000-07:00

WOW! Nicole ROCKED this kit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for being such an awesome GDT Nicole!!!!!!!!!

Member Monday

2011-06-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

For today's member Monday, I thought I would introduce you to two new members of our community with the same name.

We have Kristin (kzfoug) who lives in Cypress, Texas with her two boys and husband. She keeps busy with her family and a job that she just started. She did manage to find some time to participate in our crop though. Here's one of her creations of her son playing in the pool. I love these bright, summer colors.

We also have Kristen (KristenS). She also leads a busy life but found some time last week to fit in some scrapping. I love all the flowers and embellishments on this layout.

To see more of their creations, check them out in the gallery.

Reveal Day - Ellen

2011-06-16T16:32:00.000-07:00

I wanted to try something a little different for right now...I wanted to let each DT shine and have their own blog post to spotlight their fabulous creations.

The talented DT did a fabulous job with the awesome kit!

Ellen ROCKED the Spice kit......look at all of these awesome creations!

Fabulous inspiring work!

STILL using my May Spice Kit!

2011-06-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! Ellen Sosnoski here with a quick tutorial on adding some pizzazz to your layouts with "old stuff".

I found these photo corners when I was doing some re-organizing in my scraproom and thought....hmmmmmmmmmm...I can do something fun with these!

So, if you know me, you know I LOVE my Cuttlebug :):):)

Now these corners are self adhesive so you need some wax paper. Remember, you want a tight design since these photo corners are small, you will get more of an impression on them.

This is what it will look like when you are done running it through...

Peel off and trim of the excess and then layer them one on top of the other....

Here is the final layout....

And a close up of how I used them. Again, Using the May Spice kit.

We have a Crop going on!

2011-06-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

That means there are loads and loads of inspirational layouts in the gallery!!!

Here are a few members that have been working hard on some challenges:

Love this one by Ginni for Meg's Girls just want to have Fun challenge:

And how about this gorgeous layout from Kimmie for Laura's Blues Brother's Challenge?!

And Karen shared this layout with us with a photo of what she looked like in the 80's!!!

Swatch Watches!!! LOVE IT!

Happy Monday

2011-06-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. We FINALLY had a fantastic sunny weekend here in the Pacific NW. In Portland/Vancouver, it finally hit above 80 on Saturday for the first time this year (it's barely been above 70 until this month). I didn't feel the 80 deg. weather, though, because I was in Seattle where it didn't quite hit 80, but it was in the mid to upper 70's and very comfortable. I went up there to see U2, which was Ahhhhh Mazing, to say the least, and it was a perfect night for the concert in the open Qwest field. We are back from our little weekend away, though, and it's back to business.

Normally we post a few layouts picked from the gallery to focus on some of our members, but today I want to highlight the design team. We actually are being featured on the Sketch Inspiration site this week. They have a weekly sketch, and I am sponsoring the site. If you do a layout for the sketch and post it on their site by next Saturday, June 11th, you could win a $20 gift certificate to Scrapdango to use for anything, even kits. The design team all created an example for the sketch and did a fantastic job. Here is the Sketch Inspiration sketch and our examples.

Sketch #223 by Sketch Inspiration

-Megan Aaron-

-Laura Gilhuly-

-Celeste Brodnik-

-Ellen Sosnoski-

-Vanessa Blythe-

-Guest Designer, Nicole Wise-

-Heather Lough-

ScrapDango's Totally Excellent Adventure

2011-06-04T06:29:00.000-07:00

Vanessa's Scrap Space

2011-06-03T23:31:00.000-07:00

Before my boyfriend Steve and I bought a condo, I had a small corner of our living room to scrap. Part of my motivation to buy a place was to have more scrapping space. Our condo, which we have been in just over a year has 2 bedrooms, so we use the 2nd bedroom as an office/scrapbook room/storage. Here is my side of the room. Steve chose the colour for this room, and when it first went up I was a bit shocked, but I really LOVE it now!

First is my desk - I like to sit to scrap, and it works out well because I can just reach to my right for just about everything. I had my sewing machine stored, but it is such a pain to get out, so it lives on my desk for now. Right beside my desk is a set of plastic drawers and on top of them is a mail tray and an Ikea drawer organizer which I use to put all my garbage in (this helps me to clean up as I go)
The tupperware container on my desk holds all of the tools and adhesives that I frequently use (i.e. Corner rounder, circle punches, rulers, pop dots, etc.) and the mini blue tote hold my pens, scissors, and adhesive. This is handy for me because a lot of the time I'm not home when I scrapbook.

I have drawer dividers in the top 2 of the white plastic drawers. In the top one are all of my punches. The second drawer has die cuts that were separated from their manufacturer, other paper embellishments, jewels/gems/pearls, border strips etc. The bottom two drawers hold iris containers, and kits that I have made up, or paper that isn't the newest but I still want to keep. They are kept in plastic envelopes. Then there is my colourful drawers and they hold - from the top: extra adhesives, ribbon, glitter, ink, paint, stickers/rubons, chipboard letters, chipboard shapes, cards and envelopes, and 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock.

Then there are my Ikea Expedit shelves. I used to have 2 x 4 cubbies, and have upgraded to the 4 x 4. The old ones are now our TV stand. The bottom row houses all of my albums and magazines. The second row has paper, embellishments (buttons, brads, felt, flowers), photos, and office supplies. I like to house my paper by manufacturer, unless it is Christmas, Valentine's, or Halloween - then it gets its own section. Everyone's main complaint with the Expedit for scrapbook storage is that the Cropper Hopper paper organizers don't fit. All they need is about 1/2 " trimmed off the top and then they fit perfectly.

The orange bins house all of my large tools. My Bind-it-All, Cuttlebug, embossing gun, extra scissors etc. I would also like to start storing scraps in one of them.

Then there is the top row. The silver bins have undecorated mini albums, and rubber stamps. And then I have some cards and my mini albums on display. By having this display shelf, I can enjoy looking at my creations, and also can condense it in the future to make more storage space.

TFL, and I hope this gives you some ideas for your own space.

Member Monday - on Tuesday

2011-05-31T09:55:00.000-07:00

Woops! I missed Monday (maybe because I had the day off and thought it was Sunday.
But anyways, here are my pics for Member Monday.

SherriScraps and Niknik have taken over the gallery this week, so here are my favorites from them

I really like this one from SherriScraps - the colour combo is great and I love how the photos are lined up.

Race for the Cure - SherriScraps

I just love this altered frame from Niknik - great idea using the glove as an "o" in the name


Altered Frame - Niknik

So there you have it....better late than never :)

Photo organization

2011-05-27T04:41:00.000-07:00

Do you print your photos a head of time? Maybe taking advantage of those 'order 100 get 100 free' deals? What do you do with them after?

I thought I would share what I do.....I would love to hear your ideas!!!!

I would love to share photos but we had water in our basement and everything had to be moved and I really can't get too them right now. Sorry

First I will edit, crop and order my photos. When I am dealing with large events I will often order the photos in 3x4

After getting my photos, I put the date on the back of the photo then I place them into photo boxes by year. I then subtitle by month then by event. I would love to get these from cropper hopper

I then take about 3 months of photos and place them in a small photo album. I will then use these for my next scrapping projects.

So what works for you? Do you do something similar to this?

Member Monday 5/23/11

2011-05-23T13:03:00.001-07:00

There are so many awesome creations in the gallery this week....its is hard to choose just one so I didn't...lol!

I just adore this one from Kim!!!! Those photos are fabulous and love the banner!!!!

And Ginni's layout sure has me in the mood for some strawberry pie!!!!

Hisaho created an awesome summer multi photo layout! Looks like a fabulous time!

Come by the gallery and check out all the fantastic creations!

Have a fabulous day!

Embellishment Organization

2011-05-21T05:59:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, I started sorting my embellishments by color. It seems easier to me to find something to go with the project I am working on by looking for something that coordinates with the colors I am using. I bought some canvas cubes from Target and started my sorting.

I used baggies, page protectors, baseball card holders, and divided plastic storage containers. Of course, there are also a few things just thrown in the bottom too.

Small embellishments not in packaging:

Things that can be seen better in their own divided pocket:

Chipboard letters:
Packaged embellishments:
Thick or delicate ribbons and trims:

The rest of my ribbons are stored in this Pull-EZ grouped by color.

Of course, you always have some products that are multi colored and this throws a kink in the system. I usually put them in what is the dominant color or you could make a multi colored bin too.

I hope this gives you some ideas for oganizing your embellishments.

Here's a picture of my room back when it was clean...oh, if it only looked like this now.

May Reveal!

2011-05-18T07:33:00.000-07:00

The talented Dango Girls have outdone themselves this month! Look at the gorgeous creations.....

Here are the wonderful creations using the Sugar kit featuring Crate Papers Emma's Shoppe!

I love how Celeste folded the paper! And her kitty does look like a little princess....

I have a new great niece and this kit was perfect for her baby photos!

Heather created this fabulous layout, love her design!!!!

Vanessa showcases this awesome kit with a terrific layout about her 7 foster kitties! Her design really focuses your eye on the photos!

Now onto the gorgeous Spice kit featuring Simple Stories Destination!

This card from Ellen is superb!!!! You pull on the tag to reveal the rest of the message! Very cool!

Meg created this outstanding layout! Love the large photo! Fantastic layout!

make sure you stop by the forum and check out the rest of the reveals!

Have a fabulous day!

Member Monday

2011-05-16T04:48:00.000-07:00

I thought I would highlight one of our new members today....thecircleguru aka Ally.

Check out these cool layouts she made for some of the Blog Hop challenges.

I'm a sucker for circles, so I love the stitched circles on this layout and the misting.

I love that bubble wrap background stamp and white paint....they both really pop on the black cardstock.

Thanks for joning our community Ally and joining in on our challenges.

Dango Girls' Blog Hop

2011-05-13T09:53:00.000-07:00

Well, we were a little delayed with Blogger being down, but without further ado, the new Scrapdango Design Team welcomes you all to the Dango Girls' Blog Hop.

I am so excited about working with this new Design Team, which will have their first official reveal in a couple days. What better way for you (and me) to get to know them a little better than with a blog hop? So on their blogs, each of the new Design Team members will be posting a little bit about themselves along with a challenge for you that reveals a little bit more about them.

As well as getting inspired by these wonderfully talented ladies, you also all get a chance to win one of Scrapdango's fabulous kits. You can earn draws and, obviously, the more things you do and more draws you get, the more chances you'll have to win.

Here is how you can earn draws:

1 Draw for commenting on each DT member's blog hop post (must comment on all blogs to get the draw).

1 Draw for each challenge that you complete

1 Draw for becoming (or already being) a follower of Scrapdango's Blog

1 Draw for becoming (or already being) a fan of Scrapdango on Facebook

2 Draws for answering quiz questions on the DT Members. The answers can be found in their blog posts. The quiz will be posted on the Scrapdango Message Board in the Dango Girls' Blog Hop forum. Answers must be PM'd or emailed to DT leader Laura Gilhuly (aka AngelBear).

When you complete the challenges post a comment on this blog with a link to your layout or post your layout in the Blog Hop forum. Once you get all your draws you're going to get, post how many you have with any pertinent links in a comment on the Scrapdango Blog or on the message board in the Blog Hop forum.

You have until Friday May 20th at midnight EST to complete all the blog hop activities and earn draws for the prize. So I guess you need the order that you're going to hop in. You're going to hop on over to Heather's (my) pad next. Good luck and have fun.

Heather's Pad <===You go here next
Laura's Pad
Celeste's Pad
Megan's Pad
Ellen's Pad
Vanessa's Pad

Handmade Envelope Tutorial

2011-05-11T08:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday to you!

Have you ever gone on a trip and have more photos than you know what to do with? You've already scrapped an album worth of pages and maybe even made a mini album, too, but you still have TONS of photos that you still didn't use. What do you do with them? Pack them away? Well today I have a fun tutorial on how to make your own envelope that is perfect for your friends and family or to store those extra photos.

Supplies:

You can use any envelope as a template or create you own. Please note: I practiced on a piece of cardstock and then recreated the final project out of a different piece in case you were wondering why the colors are different.

By using a pre-made envelope that just peals apart, all you need to do is scor directly over the folded lines. My Scor Pal is always on my desk because I use it on almost every project.

Now fold:

And add your adhesive:

And you have an envelope!

Here are some photos of the finished product. I used Basic Grey Core Impressions cardstock from Core'dinations. The flap was a little short so just add some additional pieces of cardstock or patterned paper.

Embellish with your favorite Basic Grey Cardstock stickers and use brads for closures:

Here is a close-up of the scoring and folding:

And look how many photos it can hold!

Thanks so much!

Ellen Sosnoski

Good Member Monday Morning!

2011-05-09T09:33:00.001-07:00

Happy Member Monday!!!

I love Mondays because we get to see all the cool things people have been posting over the weekend.

Today's Member monday is.....Heather, aka, "hokieez"!!! You can find her gallery here.

How cute is this little guy? And I just love her use of the LYB Twig Line from March's Spice kit and the large photo. Heather framed it with her sweet journaling and awesome embellishments.

Congratulations!

Don't forget to upload your creations to the gallery here so you

can be on our blog!

Have a great week,

Ellen

Megan's Scrap Space

2011-05-07T18:23:00.000-07:00

I just want to warn you, my scrap space is utilitarian. It's not posh, but it is functional. Oh and it's pretty small, so I have had to fit things in where I can. AND these photos were taken during NSD. I cleaned up a little, but it's obviously not as clean as it could be.

I like to see my supplies as much as possible, because I forget about them if I can't. I also am pretty much an organization freak. I usually don't have a lot of time to scrap, and I find that keeping things organized helps me scrap faster. (although I am a pretty slow scapper anyway)

Ok first, this is my desk area. I have spared you the look at DD's desk, which is to the left of mine, because hers is always a huge mess. I clean it up, but she just makes it messy again.

The desks are old workbenches but the tops were corroded from the previous owner working with photography chemicals, so I had my uncle, who does heating and air conditioning, form metal tops for them from the same stuff that he makes duct work. It's great because it's pretty much indestructible, and I can use magnets to hold stuff down.

you can also see up top that I have my ribbon (and some flowers) sorted by color in glass vases from the dollar store. The shelf above the desk has more flowers sorted by color, a little office supply sorter thing that I keep misc stuff in, like pins, and my little purple ribbon remnant box where I throw ribbons that are too small to put back in the jars, or ribbons that I don't feel like putting away. Pens, tools and frequently used items are on the lip at the back of the desk. rulers and my atg gun hang on the peg board (when I put them back)

and there is a knife block magnet thing on the right hand wall, that I use to hold other metal things, like scissors.

love this! a little shelf with all my cat eye inks sorted by color into a rainbow - although it's a little messed up right now

and another shelf with my glimmer mists, those are still in their rainbow. (yes I have a problem - lol - I love things organized)

computer, printer, and sewing machine work area

chipboard - sorted by type into a shadow box turned on it's side, some pottery that my mother-in-law makes, and some boxes cut to fit the drawer. Die cuts are stored the same way, only they are all in cut down boxes, in the second drawer. These drawers are part of the dresser/bookcase from DDs old bedroom set

Blog hop with the new DT - coming soon!

2011-05-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

Huge Thank You to the Fall 2010/Spring 2011 DT

2011-05-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU!!! to the out-going Design Team. Two of the gals, Laura and Celeste are staying on, but we will be saying goodbye (on the design team, not on Scrapdango) to Lynn, who was my right hand woman for over a year now, Audra and Sandi. It was an honor and joy to work with each of them. I look forward to seeing what you guys do next. Thank you again, and here is a slideshow of the creations all the designers did with the April kits, which I should've had up a long time ago. Better late than never, huh?

belated Member Monday

2011-05-03T10:40:00.001-07:00

I'm a day late, but these gorgeous creations are anything but a dollar short. The Scrapdango Gallery is back up and running and our members are not disappointing.

I love this layout by Kimmy(lostinadream). I just adore those twine flowers and the cluster of embellishments in the upper left hand corner! Thanks for sharing your gorgeous work with us!

My other choice for this week is this adorable colorful layout from Nicole(niknik). I love the adorable photo set off by the bright colors, and that journaling: AWESOME! Thanks for sharing!

Spring 2011 Design Team and May Kits

2011-05-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I am a little late in announcing this on here, but after much agonizing, I did pick a new Design Team. I had so many wonderful submissions, and it was such a difficult decision, but I think I came up with a fabulous team. Their term officially started on May 1st and will go until Oct. 31st. So without further ado, let's all welcome the new Scrapdango Design Team.

Laura Gilhuly, Design Team Leader

Celeste Brodnik, Sugar/Spice Designer

Ellen Sosnoski, Sugar/Spice Designer

Megan Aaron, Sugar Designer

Vanessa Blythe, Sugar Designer

I also chose a guest designer for June:

Nicole Wise, June Guest Designer

I am so excited to really start working with this new team. We already have some fun things planned, and I know that they will have tons of ideas. Their first reveal will be May 15th, and we will also have an event going on in conjunction with that, so be on the lookout for more news on that. I am really looking forward to seeing what the team does with the new May kits.

Speaking of the May kits, if you haven't seen them revealed on the homepage or in the message boards, here they are. I just love these kits. The sugar kit is so bright and happy--perfect for Spring and the "hopefully coming soon" Summer. The Spice kit is wonderful for all those vacation photos you might have but it can be used for so much more. I have put the kits up for pre-order in the store. Unfortunately, I am actually sold out of the spice kit already even though I ordered more product to make more kits this month, but I did make a spice kit add-on, so you can still order that and have all the papers and cardstock for a fabulous price. You can see larger photos and all the kit contents here.

May 2011 Sugar Kit
Featuring Crate Paper Emma's Shoppe

May 2011 Spice Kit
Featuring Simple Stories Destinations

May Spice Kit Add-On

Alphabet tips.....

2011-04-21T04:45:00.000-07:00

Do you have lots of leftover alphabets...you know the ones where you are missing the one letter you need....

here are a few tips for using them up

* heat emboss the different font letters you want for your title to all one color

* combine different letters. overlapping and skewing to use a school photo mat

* use random letters, numbers and symbols of colors that match your page on a border for school pages.

* use your dictionary, on line dictionary or a word builder site to come up with a word using the left over letters you do have!

*place your letters all over your background cardstock, them use mist, dabbers, ink or paint! You can peel the letters off after or leave them on for added texture! (if you want to peel them off after, before you stick them to your page, stick them to your clothes a couple of times to remove some of the adhesive therefore reducing the chance of ripping your paper when you are peeling the letters off)

Hope you find these tips helpful!

Have a wonderful day!
Laura

The Gallery

2011-04-20T05:21:00.000-07:00

Is back up and running! Share your fabulous creations with us!!!!!!! You can upload your fantastic projects here

Member Monday!

2011-04-18T04:42:00.000-07:00

The Gallery may be down right now but that doesn't stop the Dango ladies from sharing their awesome creations!!!!

I really adore this door hanger from Nicole! It is fabulous!

Thank you Nicole for the inspiration!

New Member Friday

2011-04-15T05:53:00.001-07:00

With the gallery down, I thought I wasn't going to be able to do a member feature. However, with the design team search going on we have quite a few new members on the message board. I took a look at some of their blogs and thought I would show you a few of their recent creations taken from their blogs.

First is Tenny (santoso10ny). Look at this great double page layout. I love how she added the flourishes and bling to the pumpkins.

Ellen (howdee) has shared some recent creations with us but here's another one that I really like. Love the colors and the big scallop border under the photo. It's perfect with the pattern paper.

Jodi (luvalotmum) created this darling layout for the My Little Shoebox design team call. Can you believe she didn't get picked for the team with this layout?

Be sure to stop by the message board and say hi to these ladies and all our other new members.

Design Team Call Extended

2011-04-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that the Spring 2011 Design Team Call Submissions are due soon. I had originally said April 15th, but since I have a crazy weekend and probably won't be able to look at them until after the weekend anyway, I am extending the deadline a couple days to Sunday April 17th. This is a great opportunity to get on a fabulous design team and have the chance to work with one of two awesome kits each month. Just as an idea of the first kits you may get to work with for May, here are the May sneak peeks. You can find all the details on submitting on the message board.

May 2011 Sugar Sneak

May 2011 Spice Sneak

Message Board News!!!--Please Read

2011-04-08T18:41:00.001-07:00

Hey all Scrapdango members,

I know that there is some confusion as to whether the message board is still up and running. I just want to assure you all that it is. Many of you probably had the message board bookmarked as scrapdango.net, and that link does not work anymore, but you can still find the message board at www.scrapdango.com/forums/. The main homepage and store are also still up. You can find it all at www.scrapdango.com, so make sure that you make that your bookmark. The gallery is down since it was on scrapdango.net, so I will have to figure that out and hopefully get that back up soon, but more importantly, we can still chat with all the Dango gals on the message board. I do apologize for the previous Member Monday posts where all the fabulous layouts we featured have disappeared.

member monday

2011-04-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

WOW!! There are lots of AWESOME layouts in the gallery... here are a few that caught my eye this week... (luvalotmum) (pictures2pages) (ajmcgarvey)

Member Monday

2011-03-28T17:13:00.001-07:00

It's been a little while since we've done this, but here we are at the last Monday of March already. Summer will be here before we know it. I know it doesn't seem like that, but it will. I hope.

Speaking of summer, my pick for layout of the week this week is this bright, sunny, happy layout by new member luvalotmum.

Doesn't it just make you long for the warm sun?

Surf's Up by luvalotmum

I also love this adorable mini card set, which is also bright and fun by not so new, but returning member niknik.

March 2011 Reveal

2011-03-21T13:48:00.001-07:00

Well, Celeste just posted the Feb. reveal a few days ago, but we also just had the March reveal, and the DT gals did such a great job with these kits. You can see more on the message board or in the slideshow to the right, but here are some of my favorites.

"Thank Heaven for Little Boys" by Laura Gilhuly

"Shining Star" by Laura Gilhuly
"Us" by Lynn Reaney

"Snow Fun" by Audra Wright

"National Gallery" by Celeste Brodnik

"So Tweet" card by Celeste Brodnik

"Welcome Home" card by Audra Wright

February reveals

2011-03-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

The February reveals have not been posted on the blog??????? How can this be???? Well to solve the problem here are the awesome projects from the DT!

Sugar

Celeste

Sandi

Laura

Spice Reveals

Lynn

Audra

hello!

2011-03-09T11:58:00.000-08:00

Good Afternoon everyone. I have been wondering what to write about on the blog this week so I though that I would ask you....what would you like to see on the blog? We are here for you and we are listening.

We all know that Monday is Member Monday on the blog, but what else do you want? So I came up with a list of things and was hoping you ladies would let us know.

reviews on products
sketches
challenges
how to's
layouts
product ideas
what is new
card challenges
sneak peeks from kits/projects

Let us know!

It's Member Monday!

2011-03-07T04:20:00.001-08:00

So with the clean sweep going on the gallery is full of talent!!!!

Look at these awesome works of art!

Lisa (picturestopages)

and this one by Lisa M

and this sweet page by Ginni!

Come and look at the awesome gallery!

- Laura

March Kits

2011-03-02T16:17:00.000-08:00

Wow, I am so glad that March is here and Spring is on its way. I cannot wait to start scrapping some springy layouts, and the Sugar kit this month is perfect for spring layouts. Between blue skies, green grass and plants and brown earth, this kit represents it all. The new Twig line by Little Yellow Bicycle was my absolute favorite new release at CHA-W, and if it was one of yours too, you will want this kit.

March 2011 Sugar Kit ~ Featuring Little Yellow Bicycle Twig

The Spice kit doesn't evoke those typical colors of spring, but I definitely think the gold color gives it a sunny feel, and I absolutely love the crisp, clean navy and turqoise blues in these papers. This is the perfect line of paper for a spice kit with masculine patterns of stripes, herringbone, plaid, and argyle, with just a little bit of floral thrown in. And My Mind's Eye doesn't disappoint. These papers are such high quality. My favorite part of this kit, though, is probably the brand new Faded Blue chipboard alphabet by Cosmo Cricket. It's the perfect touch for these papers.

March 2011 Spice Kit ~ Featuring My Mind's Eye Stella and Rose

Both of these kits are up for pre-order in the store and will be shipping around the 25th of March.

Spring Cleaning Use Your Stash Challenge

2011-02-28T14:11:00.001-08:00

Well, Crowned is wrapping up today as we say goodbye to February. Today is the last day to get in your Talent show competition layout and we will soon announce who will reign as the 2011 Queen of the Dango.

I am sad to see Crowned end but not really sad for February to end. Especially after some crazy winter weather last week here in the Pacific Northwest (still nothing compared to what most of you have gone through this winter), I am ready for March and for the beginning of Spring. To celebrate Spring and to get our scrap stash cleared out to make way for all the new scrappy stuff that debuted at CHA-Winter a little over a month ago, Scrapdango is going to be doing a month long Use Your Stash Challenge called Spring Cleaning.

There will be a list of items that you will get points for on any projects you complete during the month and there will also be special challenges brought to you by the design team that you can earn more points for. To get points, all the items do need to be from your stash and at least 6 months old. The sign-in thread for Spring Cleaning will be up on the forum soon, and this will be a great opportunity for everyone to get lots of scrapping done and use up that stash and possibly win a prize at the end of a free past kit.

Member Monday

2011-02-28T06:44:00.002-08:00

For this week, Scrapdango's going to the dogs. I always love fun pet layouts and thought these two in the gallery this week were cute.

The first is Snow Puppies by lostinadream (Kimmy).

And an 8-1/2x11 layout by Nessa about the dogs she helps at the SPCA.

Great layouts ladies.

Member Monday

2011-02-21T09:16:00.000-08:00

It's time for another Member Monday!! There are TONS of awesome projects in the gallery right now... you guys are rocking the challenges... it was super hard to narrow it down to just a few to highlight on the blog today!! Here are just a few of the ones that caught my eye...

Card by Sharpie... I LOVE all the dimension!!

Double page by karennie34... the stitching is AWESOME!!

Card by nessa9116... super FUN bright colors... so cute!! :)

Make sure to stop by every Monday to see if one of your projects is featured!! :)

Member Monday

2011-02-14T13:33:00.000-08:00

First off, Happy Valentine's Day to everyone out there in blog land. Hope you are able to spend today with someone you love. Oh, and of course, hope you can spend it with some chocolate or other sweet treat that you love. :)

So we about halfway through our Crowned competition at Scrapdango. Today is the last day to post layouts for the "swimsuit competition." If you haven't done anything for Crowned, it isn't too late. You still have today. You can find the requirements of the swimsuit challenge here. And don't worry -- you don't have to really wear a swimsuit. ;) If you missed the first two challenges, you still have two weeks to go and can be eligible for prizes (which I need to announce what those are), so while you can't be crowned Queen, you can still be sashed a princess and have some fun and get some great layouts done.

So now onto my layout picks this week.

This first one isn't even a layout, but one contest in our competition was to make a crown. This one by Lisa (aka Sharpie) was over and beyond. There is a LOT of detail in this gorgeous crown. Hopefully she (or more likely her daughter) is able to use this for something.

Crown by Lisa (aka Sharpie)

Actually I didn't even really set out to do this, but in honor of Valentine's Day, I have chosen to highlight two layouts this week that show love. This first one is by Ginn G using the Jan. spice kit, and is such a loving tribute to another Dango, Suzann and her husband.

True, True Love by Ginni G

My final layout is also fabulous for Valentine's Day and is by Sherri (aka sherri scraps) and this gorgeous wedding layout.

Love by Sherri

Member...Thursday?

2011-02-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

Oops...with all the Crowned stuff going on, I completely missed my Member Monday! If you haven't had a chance to join in the Crowned competition...it isn't too late to do the weekly challenges with us! And if you haven't had a chance to look at the Crowned gallery...you really should take a peek! All the yummy goodness in there made my job WAY hard this week!

I chose 3 of my favorites from the Evening Gown Competition to show you!

Melanie:

Audreykit:

And the winner this week of the Evening Gown Competition: Vanessa!

Happy Member Monday!

2011-01-31T20:13:00.000-08:00

Hi all!

It's once again time for Member Monday... and this week is no exception, I couldn't choose just one so here are several for your enjoyment.

First up is Megamay's layout, called "What a croc." I just loved the colors in this super cute layout:

Next is HB51's layout, called "Views from the Lake." I loved not only the photos but all of the wonderful accents she chose for Heather L's challenge:

Last, but certainly not least is karennie34's layout called "Our boy." I loved the soft feel of it for her treasured pet: