Ombre Inspiration

The Ombre trend burst onto the scene over a year ago and is still going strong.  Today our designers are going to share some of their projects showcasing this colorful trend!

Practical Scrapper Mary Pat

Practical Scrapper Jennifer Campbell

Practical Scrapper Becci Manies

Practical Scrapper Becci Manies

Practical Scrapper Wendi Robinson used ombre in her misting

and her papers down the page.

Practical Scrapper Karen used patterned paper scraps in varying shades to create this subtle ombre effect on her scattered hexagon background.

Practical Scrapper Cathy

Practical Scrapper Patty

Practical Scrapper Heather Sweet uses the ombre technique to make her own backgrounds for a fun tag.

Practical Scrapper Jennifer Haggerty

On Trend: Chalkboard

One of the fun trends in the paper crafting world right now is...Chalkboard.  You can achieve this look with black cardstock and white chalk or paint or ink.  But there are many companies that are incorporating this technique into their papers, stickers and embellishments these days!

 

We hope you enjoy what the Design Team created for you today!  Make sure to pin the projects if you love them and leave some love for the designers on their blogs!  We love to hear from our readers!

Practical Scrapper Wendi Robinson used some Crate chalkboard paper and embellies along with using a white pen to write on the black cardstock.

 

Practical Scrapper Charity used paper from Kaiser Craft and Recollections to make this "Just Because" card.

Practical Scrapper Mary Pat used some Core'dinations cardstock and scored and sanded it. She then stamped and heat embossed various sentiments.

Practical Scrapper Cathy used a collection from Elle's Studio and a white chalk marker from Zig to create the Hexagons along with some Marshmallow Glimmer Mist!

Practical Scrapper Marcia Dehn-Nix used Chalkboard from We R Memory Keepers for this layout.

Practical Scrapper Karen chose to mimic the chalkboard look by sanding Core'dinations paper and adding a few smudges to give the appearance of chalk dust haze.

Practical Scrapper Lisa used Basic Grey's Fresh Cut collection and the chalk sentiments from Studio Calico to document her focus this month for her One Word 2014: Choose album.

Practical Scrapper Charissa used a chalkboard cards from Studio Calico and some Fancy Pants Chalk Tape to add interest to her page about her little princess.

 

 

Practical Scrapper Kim Ryden used a Chalkboard sticker by Pebbles on this fun "Hello, hi" card.

 

Trendy Trees

It is only fitting that after hopping all weekend and showing off our wood products, we would start the week off heading back to the source, getting back to our roots in a manner of speaking.  Don't "leave" just yet - come see what our On Trend has created with this week's assignment - trees!

 

Practical Scrapper Wendi Robinson used tree stickers on her page along with the word "planted" in her title work.

Practical Scrapper Nicole Laha gathered BoBunny's Trail Mix collection to document her nephew's first fishing trip, using the 12x12 tree-themed paper as her background.

Practical Scrapper Cathy used Echo Park's Happy Camper collection for a fun layout with popped up trees for some log crawling adventures!

Practical Scrapper Lanette created an Art Journal Page using Dylusions Mists.

I Mustache You A Question - Mustache Layouts

I "mustache" you a question.  How do you feel about facial hair - specifically, faux facial hair - on your layouts?  Mustaches are a hot trend right now on fabrics, art, home décor, and, yes, on cards and layouts.  Check out these layouts to see how our On Trend team tackled this hairy assignment.

Practical Scrapper Wendi Robinson

Practical Scrapper Malika Kelly made a mustache layout using Bella Blvd's Lovey Dovey line.

Practical Scrapper Julie made her layout using the Swagger collection from Fancy Pants.

 

Practical Scrapper Cathy also used Fancy Pant's Swagger to create her layout!

Using Sequins

Happy Monday, Practical Scrappers!  We all love things that sparkle - and what's the hottest new trend in sparkling embellishments to add to our layouts and craft projects?  Sequins!  Let's see what inspiration our On Trend Team has for us with these tiny, shiny bits of blingl

Practical Scrapper Wendi Robinson used sequins to add some shimmer at the bottom of her page

Practical Scrapper Caz used sequins to make a shaker page for the front of her latest mini album

Practical Scrapper Malika used sequins to highlight the title on her page.

Practical Scrapper Nicole used sequins to add a few metallic elements on her page.

Now it's your turn!  You know you have a bag or two of sparkly, shiny sequins sitting in a closet or box somewhere.  It's time to pull them out and see what you can create!

On Trend - Ruffles

Nothing says girly like a few well placed ruffles, but the following techniques involving washi tape, ribbon and paper could just as easily be applied to masculine layouts and cards.  Just like ruffles on clothing, ruffles on projects can add a special detail, texture and interest.

Check out how our On Trend designers used ruffles:

 

Practical Scrapper Cathryn Hanson used washi tape and overlapped paper circles to add a sweet spring ruffle under her photos.

Practical Scrapper Kylie Symons says:

"I love crepe paper which is easy to ruffle up and adhere to your layout and always looks great."

 This layout is based on a sketch by Sara N at STUCK.

Practical Scrapper Malika Kelly used ribbon and her sewing machine to make a ruffle.

Practical Scrapper Wendi Robinson

used paper ruffles to create an ultra girlie page of her daughter and sewed over them for extra texture

Practical Scrapper Marcia Dehn-Nix created a ruffle with paper to tuck under her photo. To make paper more pliable, mist with water first, then gently fold.

Practical Scrapper Erin created a ruffled look by placing flowers under her stamped Sweet Stamp Shop  image.

No need to purchase anything new for this trend, use what you've already got on hand. Paper, flowers, washi tape, ribbons,trim, border punched papers, all make great ruffles. If you're feeling really adventurous, we have past posts showing how to use masking tape, coffee filters, candy wrappers and cupcake liners to create great ruffled looks.

Happy Monday!

On Trend- Stitching

Ok, so there's nothing really new about stitching on layouts and cards. Whether it be machine stitched, hand stitched, hand drawn or rub-ons, stitching has been appearing on projects for a long time now; just another cross over from crafts like quilting. What is trendy however is the innovation crafter's are showing in the ways they are using their stitches, and in the increase of papercrafters who are trying out the technique. So if you're looking for a way to add a little texture and interest to a page, consider sewing as an option as our designers have: 

Practical Scrapper Malika Kelly used both machine and hand stitching on her layout.  The hand stitching around the title helps make the letters pop.

 

 Practical Scrapper Danielle de Konink did a lot of hand stitching to attach the pattern papers to the background and also hand stitched the title.

Practical Scrapper Mary Pat Siehl used the sewing machine to create a large circle around her photos.

Practical Scrapper Nicole Laha used a ZIG Writer to create faux stitching around the edges of this card.

Practical Scrapper Wendi Robinson added stitching to her chevron pattern to make it stand out

 

Practical Scrapper  Marcia Dehn-Nix used handstitching to create a butterfly trail. as well as some stitching through her title letters.

 Practical Scrapper Erin used a pre-stitched sheet of die cut paper from Little Yellow Bicycle

Don't be intimidated to sew on your projects. Remember they don't need to be worn, so no worrying about them staying together, or sewing the wrong sides together...and imperfections can be part of the charm.

here are a few tips you may want to consider: 

• Pre-pierce holes with a needle or tool such as WRMK Sew Easy Stitch Piercer Tool and soft mat when hand stitching.
• Vary the thickness of thread or floss depending on the impact you want the stitching to have.
• Always use a needle reserved for paper when using your sewing machine. remember paper will quickly dull a machine needle, and it should never be used to stitch fabric projects after.
• Keep machine stitches fairly wide, if the stitches are very close together,  you risk "cutting" your paper.
• Keep tacky glues like tape runners and glue dots out of the way of the stitch path ( this goes for both machine and hand stiching). they will gum up your needle. If in doubt, use a liquid glue such as Helmar Professional Acid Free Glue, and stitch once the layers are dry.
• It's always a good idea to "Walk" the needle through thicker layers, and chipboard to avoid damage to your needle, machine and layout. 
• You can choose to include thread tails as part of your design, or hide them on the back of your project. to get them to one side, just gently tug the thread that is on the desired side, and then pull the loop of thread it draws through all the way out. 

But most importantly!..just relax and have fun!