Making Memories

Use the Slice to create your own embellishments by Wendy Anderson

Sometimes when I'm putting together a page, it's hard to find just the right embellishment in just the right color.  That's why I love making my own embellishments with my Slice.  On this layout, of my son's first time at the beach, I used my slice in a number of different ways.  

    

First, I cut two surf boards from patterned paper.  I layered white cardstock behind them and then I stitched around the edges with my sewing machine to give them a little bit of personality.  I even added a metallic star brad on one of the boards, just to tie it in to the other metallic elements on the page.  

Second, I made this fun little wooden sign to coordinate with my layout.  I cut the sign from two different papers, then cut off the boards from teh dark paper, added rub-ons and then attached each board to the lighter sign with adhesive foam squares.  

Finally, I wanted to add the "beach" die-cut to my page as well, and I wanted to tie it in with the metallic flowers in the corners, so I added gold glitter to the entire piece.   With the Slice, it's easy to make your own embellishments to coordinate with any paper line, any photos, any theme!

Wendy Anderson

Sneak Peak! CHA Winter 2012

Can you believe CHA is less than a month away?  Since this is a sneak peak I guess we'll try to hold back from showing you everything, but we do however want to show you some of the goodies we have been working on.  We are excited to say the least!

Ok you ready... first up Sarah Jane, have you heard of her!  Please tell us you have seen her amazing fabric line?  Sarah Jane is a children's book illustrator and textile designer, as well as owner of Sarah Jane Studios where she sells her designs on wall art and paper products for children. Inspired by simple childhood, vintage storybooks and fresh, modern color, Sarah Jane has created a line that captures the innocent play of children in a very classic style. Sarah has created a collection that not only is appealing to parents and children a like, but is also versatile and easy to mix up together. So while the boy and girl collection are strong sets on their own, they actually coordinate perfectly together!

 

Sarah Jane designs fabric for Michael Miller Fabrics, and also has a fabric collection in this theme.

Layering by Keisha

Keisha always brings us beautiful projects and this layout is exactly that!  Using the Slice Digital Design Cutter, she has created this layout layering different materials keeping this layout unique and exciting. 

Layout project: Use the negative butterfly die-cuts and add felt behind the cuts to create a layered effect that is sure to catch the eye.  Also layer additional die-cuts and tags to finish off the layout. 

 

Layering is definitely not new to scrapbooking, but it is one of the best ways to create depth to a page and to complete the perfect layout. 

Guest Designer Shelley May

Shelley May here on the Making Memories blog - honored to be featured in December!!! I have been a fan of Making Memories products since I first started scrapbooking back in 2005. I love the coordinating items that come out with every line and this newest Christmas line from Making Memories called TWINKLE is no disappointment! Each package of embellishments has so many little bits and pieces to choose from - you really are getting a great deal of product for your dollar. 
 

When I was approached for a feature, I wanted to take a thrifty approach for my project, as this holiday season is going to be a very creative one for my family. We are down to one income and looking for every way possible we can be thrifty, creative, and maybe even recycle as much as possible! With all of the food containers I toss into the recycle bin each week - I got an idea... what if I use some of them for packaging for little homemade goodies at Christmastime? Sweets, cookies, all different little bits of goodness? So I began setting the recyclables aside... in my studio! I had a nice little stockpile and decided to use this for this project! For this project I used a Laughing Cow Cheese container, a frosting container, and a paper bag that our apples came in (hello cute little new and upcycled gift bag!!!)

I then got to work with my Twinkle line of Making Memories products. These items went together so quickly and simply. I made all three items in under an hour! First up is the Laughing Cow container - turned into an ornament! I covered the top and bottom with paper, inked the edges, used ribbon for the loop, and used embellishments to - well - embellish. And of course, used pop dots for dimension. I love dimension on all my projects! And are you kidding me with this cuteness? I just love it if I do say so myself!

 

Next, is just a frosting container. I simply wrapped it with paper, then another layer, some ribbon, "pop-dotted" (yes, I made a verb out of pop-dot) a sentiment embellishment sticker, covered the lid with paper, and added some buttons, and it's ready to be filled with cookies or candies and given to a special someone, because as it says, It's better to give than to receive!

Last, is my easy as Apple Pie Gift bag - made from an Apple Bag! Yep - that's right! The bag my apples came in.. I loved! I kept it, added a square of paper, some ribbon, a sentiment sticker, and some die cut embellishments, "pop-dotted", and a tag, "To: Mommy, From: Santa", and it's done! YES! You can do it too... it's THAT easy!

I hope you are finding many ways to recycle and be creative this holiday season! I encourage you to look around and pay attention to all the things you throw away or recycle. Chances are you have projects waiting to happen right in your recycle bin and garbage cans! Follow me on my journey while I do the same this holiday season! We will be crafting and making most of our gifts this year. Follow me at ScrappingGoodness.

 

Christmas Cards by Keisha

Check out these easy Christmas card ideas from Keisha. 

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cards3rd person singular present, plural of card

Noun:

A piece of thick, stiff paper or thin pasteboard, in particular one used for writing or printing on. A toothed implement or machine for this purpose.

Verb:

Write (something) on a card, esp. for indexing. Comb and clean (raw wool, hemp fibers, or similar material) with a sharp-toothed instrument in order to disentangle the fibers before...

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I did these quickie cards 2 weeks ago using Making Memories new Twinkle collection...

 

Guest Designer AnnaMarie Mondro

Hi, my name is AnnaMarie Mondro, and I am so honored to be featured as a Guest Designer on the Making Memories blog!

Christmas is truly my *favorite* holiday, so when I was asked to showcase a layout featuring the new Twinkle line, I was in LOVE and knew exactly what photos I was going to use! I’ve been saving these photos for awhile now, waiting on the perfect line and feel of colors. These photos of my son’s first Christmas were just perfect for the range of beautiful reds and greens offered within this festive line. And one of the things I love most about Making Memories products are the double-sided papers which offer such a range in gorgeous patterns and colors, and for a scrapper like me, who loves to play with layers and bits and pieces of patterned paper, it is a perfect combination!

 

Another thing that I love about Making Memories is the choice of embellishments that color-coordinate so nicely with the papers, and which offer such nice options in terms of texture, dimensionality, and details. Not to mention the bling factor – oh MY! And yes, even though it is a *boy* layout, I still love to add some bling and shimmer to my pages. J Between the sparkly baubles and glittery buttons, shimmer die-cuts, and bling alpha, there are so many options for really enhancing the beautiful colors in this line and making my page POP!

And cannot forget to point out the *awesome* glitter boarder tape! The tape is so versatile, allowing you to trim it to a variety of desired sizes, or you can simply trim out the “pieces” you want for your layout!

  

Thank you Making Memories for allowing me this opportunity!

 

Guest Designer Michelle La Grue

Today we are excited to have Michelle La Grue as Making Memories’ guest designer. Michelle created TWO holiday projects that you will love. Both of these project use Making Memories' new Twinkle collection.

These Christmas Lanterns were created using 3oz Dixie cups!

1. De-constructed a cup to make a paper template of the sides.
2. Trace the template on the 12x12 paper and you can easily get 5 in a row down one side. 
3. Cut each of these out and using a wet glue, I applied the patterned paper to the sides of the cups and tucked the edges under the lip of the cup.
4. Use a variety of border punches,  to create a punched edge and glue them to the rounded lip of the cup.
5. To fit the small led lights, mark a small dot on the bottom of each cup with a pencil, and then using a hole punch. I punched a small hole on the bottom of the cup.
6. Embellish the lanterns with embellishments.

This star garland will take pride of place on my door this year.  I cut a circle template using a cardboard box that some scrapbooking papers arrived in, and I used some batting (padding) to wrap around the cardboard to provide a nice base for the garland.  The circle was then wrapped in red satin ribbon, to give it a bit of a luxurious texture and look.

I used my star shaped Nestabilities to cut 4 different size stars.  Each star was scored lightly from tip to base and then folded into the 3D star shape.  I adhered them to the circle garland with my glue gun and topped some of them with some lovely festive red matt gems.  A bow was all that was needed to finish the project.

 

Guest Designer Tina Walker

Today we have Tina Walker as Making Memories' guest designer.

Agreat way to use up all the scraps of your patterned paper is to layer thin strips of several coordinating papers under your photo and on the edges of your background paper.  This technique works well when your background paper is a solid, coordinating color.  It is a fun way to add a little color without overwhelming the page.  I used several papers from the Noel collection (both patterned paper and background paper) to make this layout.

To add more subtle texture to your background, you can make your own paint mist by mixing acrylic paint and water in a spray bottle and spraying it over a stencil.  To add more dimension to the background, I took the cap of a bottle (that just happened to be the same size as my stencil circles) and added random areas of paint to the sprayed circles.

To add an old, vintage feel to your layout, layering random pieces of fabric and stitching them in place adds texture.  I also like to leave the ends of the sewing thread on my page (instead of trimming close to the sewing) for added texture dimension.

 

 

Another easy way to use up your patterned paper scraps is to use both the positive and negative of your favorite punch. To create a simple, fast layout, follow these quick steps:

1. Add random paint splatters to background paper.
2. Punch out several shapes, line them up in a row next to your photo and stitch them down.
3. Add several pieces of paper behind photo and adhere to page.
4. Add a couple of the negatives from the punched shapes and ‘hide’ them behind a scrap piece of patterned paper at the bottom of the page.  Stitch them in place.
5. Staple several strands of bakers twine across page.
6. Add title and you are done.

 

Excited News from Making Memories

Making Memories is excited to announce our merger with ANW/Crestwood, Inc., the parent company of The Paper Company, Creativity Works, and TPC Studios. As a result, Making Memories will continue to leverage its brand by maintaining all creative, marketing, and product development functions.  
 
This merger will allow Making Memories to refocus its energies on creating products in the scrapbooking, paper crafting, embellishment and creative tools business as well as its ongoing creative technology business under its Slice Brand in the papercrafting and fabric industries.
 
ANW/Crestwood president Mark Caliguire stated, “We will make sure that the creative energy and talent contained in the Making Memories team will be supported by the resources of ANW/Crestwood, but they will also have the independence to grow and develop product categories and brands. We believe it is critical that our companies can draw on the team where needed, but also have the freedom to go in complementary directions.”
 
Looking ahead, you can expect to see trend-forward products to be released at CHA. Making Memories is teaming up with various artists in addition to releasing a signature line that crosses categories into several crafting areas from mixed media, fashion accessories, scarpbooking, papercrafting, and more.

 

Guest Designer Kimberly Seldomridge

Today Making Memories’ guest designer Kimberly Seldomridge created a project that you can create for your home this holiday season.

I was so honored to do this project for Making Memories. I have been a huge fan for a long time. I needed a new wreath for the front door and thought this was the perfect project to do. I had the wreath form and some fabulous scraps from a few different lines. I used Making Memories’ Classic Holiday, Fa La La and Noel collections on this wreath. I love how the different lines work together.

I wrapped a straw wreath (with the wrapper left on) with a jute ribbon and pushed in the sparkly tree brads, it was easy to press them into the straw. The letters and paper I used to make the banner are from the Classic Holiday page kit. I used the paper and stickers from this kit to make the pinwheel flowers as well. The metal sign from the Noel line finished it off. I love the colors and how simple it is. You could use those scraps you have left over that you never know whether to keep or throw away...here's an idea!