10 Cards Using Herringbone and the ALCM Idea Deck

Club Scrap has tons of great ideas to help you with card making! Every month the Club Stamp Rap (full color newsletter that comes with the monthly Club Stamp membership kit) includes images of 15 great cards that are often created by members, using that month's kit. There are often tips and techniques scattered throughout the Sr, Jr, Club Stamp, and Digital Raps that either deal directly with cards or translate easily to them. There is also a full set of free instructions available to members to help them make 15 cards using the optional monthly Greeting to Go side order. And then there are countless videos in the Cinema with more ideas... And finally, the awesome ALCM (Assembly line Card Making) Idea Deck which has 52 idea cards with full cutting instructions so that you can transform a few sheets of 12x12 and/or 8.5x11 papers into a set of coordinating cards! A sampling of these cards were given away for free during the last PSL (Pro Scrapping League, a multi-week challenge to work as teams to create layouts and/or cards, competing for prizes and discounts... a brand new Summer Camp PSL is opening up on July 6th)!

Today, I'm going to share 2 new cards that I made using the Herringbone Technique that was just featured in a recent CS Cinema episode and some cards that I made during the last PSL using the 5 of Hearts card from the ALCM deck and papers from the Vintage Choice Collection! Enjoy!



Club Scrap: Concrete Jungle 6/09 - Birthday CSt WM Stamp; Milestones 12/08 - Plain Paper in Soft White; Wings 7/05 - Plain Paper in Apricot, Brown, Dark Blue, Light Blue, and Mustard; Hybrid Ink Pad in Earth; Herringbone Technique;
Carpet Tape;

The Herringbone Technique was features in the Henna 5/09 Club Stamp Rap and there is also a great video up in Club Scrap's cinema that teaches the technique! Basically you take thin scraps of cardstock and adhere them to carpet tape (from the hardware store) or another equally sticky surface, and lay them out in a Herringbone-like pattern then trim away! very simple and lovely! Use plain cardstock, printed papers, or stamp all over them before cutting... use left over scraps or cut up some extra paper, anything goes! It's a really great way to use up tiny scrap from your projects! I wound up diving into my ziplock baggies with old scraps in them and trimmed the strips to some skinnier pieces!



Club Scrap: Concrete Jungle 6/09 - Birthday CSt WM Stamp; Collections 6/06 - Plain Paper in Red, Saddle Brown, Tan, and Teal;
Ranger: Adirondack Dye Ink Pad - Stream;
Carpet Tape;



Club Scrap: Idea Deck Assembly Line Card Making - 5 of Hearts; Vintage Choice Kit: DIY Green Block Print, DIY Light Tan; Extra Extra 6/04 - UM; Rhapsody 3/07 - UM; Refresh 2/07 - UM;
Ranger: Adirondack Dye Ink Pads - Latte, Starfish Green, Meadow; Distress Ink Pad - Walnut Stain;

What do two sheets of 12x12 paper do when thrown into a PSL final challenge? Why, pair up with the Assembly Line Cardmaking Idea Deck's 5 of Hearts and become a quick set of 4 cards, of course! And I love this recipe since it creates cards which fit into standard invitation sized envelopes while also working quite easily with printed papers and stamps! Or toss some simple embellishments onto the smaller rectangle to finish out the cards!



Club Scrap: Idea Deck Assembly Line Card Making - 5 of Hearts; Vintage Choice Kit: DIY Purple Print, Time & Space Mauve Dust; Ivory Elegance - UM; Chapter One UM; Unknown Flowers and Brads; FFC Ways of Stamping - UM; Palette Hybrid Ink Pad - Noir Black;
Colorbox: Unknown Purple Ink;

Stay tuned for some more ALCM Idea Deck cards, coming soon!

9 Layouts, 1 Digital Hybrid Card, and Tons of Free ALSB Instructions!

I just had to share a few more creations before posting more FFC Exclusive kits!

The first is a Digital Hybrid Invitation that I made with the brand new Club Scrap After 5 Digital Kit... Log into http://clubscrapchat.com tonight at 7 PM Central for a live online class with Jacqueline Carney, using this kit!

After that, I have a bunch of layouts to share using my favorite ALSB instructions from Club Scrap's Pro Scrapbooking League Scrapper Bowl Scramble Challenge! In under two days, Club Scrap challenged us to create as many layouts as we could, using any of the 28 new ALSB designs that they released for the challenge! Download all of the layouts for free at http://www.clubscrap.com/08PSLScramble.pdf! In this post I'm just using the instructions for layouts 11, 12, 15, and 16!

---

Club Scrap: After 5 2008 Digital Kit - DP02, DP05, DP08, Expansion16, Expansion17, Tran03, Tran07, Tran11; Sparkle 12/07 - Brown Metallic Paper; Serengeti 11/07 - Yellow Paper;
Font: Spellbound;
Ranger: Distress Ink Pad - Walnut Ink;

Planning a fun get together? Grab a few kit elements, create an exciting layout, print it as a photo and slap it on some coordinating paper mattes, pop it in the mail, et voila! You're sure to have a full house!

---

Club Scrap: PSL ALSB Scramble #11; Farmer's Market 10/06 Digital Kit - CSBlue, CSLeaf, CSPBlue, CSPBrown2, CSPPumpkin Trans Sunrise;
Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0; Blend Modes - Difference, Exclusion, Overlay; Altered Hues, Sharpen; Drop Shadows;
Font: Zero & Zero Is;


Club Scrap: PSL ALSB Scramble #11; Bistro 7/07 - Gold; Chapter One 6/07 - Red; Stratosphere 4/07 - Dark Blue; Refresh 3/07 - Dark Green; DIY 2003 - UM Font;
Ranger: Adirondack Pigment Ink Pads - Pitch Black, Snow White;


Club Scrap: PSL ALSB Scramble #11; Retro 9/06 - Dark Raspberry; Wheel & Sprocket 8/06 - Black Print, Red Plain, Purple Cut Outs; Evergreen 12/03 - Green Handmade;

Note: There will be a companion page with journaling about this trip in a tow truck... the girls got official police authorization to share a seat and it got a bit funny, especially when we had a police escort in the breakdown lane during a traffic jam!


Club Scrap: PSL ALSB Scramble #12; Avant Garde 3/08 - Light Aqua Sr Print; Chapter One 6/07 - Red; Stratosphere 4/07 - Dark Blue, Jr Alphabet Stickers; Refresh 3/07 - Dark Green; DIY 2003 - UM Font;
Ranger: Adirondack Pigment Ink Pads - Pitch Black;


Club Scrap: PSL ALSB Scramble #12; Avant Garde 3/08 - UM Stamps, Starburst Stencil; Bistro 7/07 - Grape; Farmer's Market 10/06 - Blue, Leaf; Wings 7/05 - Apricot Raised Print;
Ranger: Adirondack Dye Ink Pads - Ginger, Pitch Black;


Club Scrap: PSL ALSB Scramble #16; Avant Garde 3/08 - UM Stamps; Sparkle 12/07 - Brown Metallic; Serengeti 11/07 - Brown, Dark Teal, Light Teal; Farmer's Market 10/06 - Leaf;
Ranger: Adirondack Dye Ink Pad - Pitch Black;






Club Scrap: PSL ALSB Scramble #16; Serengeti 11/07 - Yellow, Brown; Fossils 8/04 - Rust Print, Kraft Print, Green, Jr Alphabet Stickers;


Club Scrap: PSL ALSB Scramble #16; Sparkle 12/07 - Brown Metallic; Serengeti 11/07 - Brown, Dark Teal, Light Teal; Farmer's Market 10/06 - Leaf;
CTMH: Make New Friends UM Stamps;
Crayola: Watercolor Paints;
K&Co: Brownies Scrap Pad;

Note: I used up a bunch of scraps on this layout! Not only did I use tiny cuts from my Club Scrap scraps, but also unused remnants from a cardmaking event that I put on for our Brownie troop!

Butterflies and Swirls... When Handmade Books and Purses Meet!

Today I went to a party for a butterfly loving friend and just knew that I had to make her this gift! I paired up the great Bistro 7/07 Club Stamp Album Purse with this month's Be Still 9/07 Serene Swirl Stencil and Bugs 5/02 Jr Butterfly & Flower Sprigs Stencil to decorate the cover and create a matching card for her!







Supplies Used: Bistro 7/07 CSt Album Purse Kit, Grape and Tangerine Papers; Be Still 9/07 Serene Swirl Stencil; Bugs 5/02 Jr Butterfly & Flower Sprigs Stencil; Wings 7/05 CSt UM Stamps; Ranger Adirondack Inks in Wild Plum and Sunset Orange with Cut 'n' Dry Foam; Stewart Superior Palette Noir Blank Ink;

6 Fast Cards Without Scraps!

Nathalia Castelon came up with a great cutting diagram/plan for using up almost every last scrap of 5 sheets of 12x12 paper to create 9 greeting cards! It's up on her blog and another version was featured in the Club Scrap Academy 8/07 Scrap Rap! I took the cutting plans and made them my own to make two different batches of cards. Here is a sample of each batch!

This set of cards uses Club Scrap's Egyptian 8/03 Green as a base, with Yahoo ALSB 2007 Kit's Green Print (a remixed design of Musical Interlude 12/05 on Wild Wild West 10/05 Green) with a Design Classic Retreat 2005 Print on Chocolate Shop 2/05 Chocolate.

On the medium card, I used the UM Stamps from Chapter One 6/07 and added Embellishments from Scrapbook Takeout including Passion for Paisley 3/07 Kit's American Crafts Annie Felt Flower and Elements Mini Brads with Adventures in Altering 8/07 Kit's Prima Press 'n' Petals. I also used Ranger's Distress Inks in Aged Mahogany and Peeled Paint along with Archival Ink in Coffee.

On the small card, I used the Chapter One 6/07 CSt UM Stamps on the inside with Ranger's Distress Ink in Brushed Corduroy. I embellished with Scrapbook Takeout's Passion for Paisley 3/07 Kit's American Crafts Annie Felt Flower and Elements Mini Brads.

On the larger card, I added small Brown POPs from Interior Design 11/06, The Written Word 11/05 CSt UM Stamps, and Journeys 6/03 Stencil along with Ranger's Distress ink in Peeled Paint & Cut 'n' Dry Foam along with some Offray Ribbon.

This set uses Egyptian 8/03 Gold as a base, combined with a Design Classic of Color In Black & White 4/06 Land Duplex Print on Ivory Elegance 12/06 Light Brown and Wings 7/05 Brown.

The tall card uses The Written Word 11/05 B&B UM Stamps in Ranger's Coffee Archival Ink. I applied Ranger's Distress Inks in Aged Mahogany, Brushed Corduroy, and Spiced Marmalade by pressing them onto my Non Stick Craft Mat and swirling them onto glossy paper with Cut 'n' Dry Foam. I finished the card off with some Offray Ribbon.

On the medium card I used the Color in Black & White 5/06 UM Stamps with Ranger's Distress Inks in Aged Mahogany and Walnut Stain. I added embellishments from Scrapbook Takeout including Passion for Paisley 3/07 Kit's American Crafts Annie Felt Flower, Journal Jammers 4/07 Kit's 7 Gypsies Jaune Flowers, and Adventures in Altering 8/07 Kit's Prima Press 'n' Petals.

On the small card I added Chapter One 6/07's UM Stamps with Ranger's Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink and Coffee Archival Ink. I also added on Scrapbook Takeout's Passion for Paisley 3/07 Annie & Sadie Felt flowers and a found brad.

Don't Forget To Dream Card

Here's a "simple" little tri-fold card that incorporates solid papers, rub-ons and embellishments! The one tool that really helped facillitate this card was the Tonic 12" Small Base Guillotine Trimmer (larger ones would work as well, and even the mini!). Because of its precision in making even the tiniest of cuts, I was able to slice the long, thin, border rub-on in half and create thin strips of Apricot cardstock for the card!

The chipboard created a wonderful opportunity for both dimension, and an interesting edge for one of the card folds! Also, notice how cute the rub-on flowers look on the snaps? If you have a bin full of large snaps and brads, why not dress them up a bit with tiny rub-ons or stamps?

And, of course, the Wings Kit is on sale all month long! Isn't the Apricot paper just wonderful??

Club Scrap Wild Wild West 10/05 Brick Paper; Club Scrap Wings 7/05 Apricot Paper; Club Scrap Tonic 12" Small Base Guillotine Trimmer; Scrapbook Takeout Spring Fling 2/07 Fancy Pants Vintage Summer Rub-Ons; Making Memories Snaps; Creating Keepsakes Mega Chipboard Kit; Ranger Adirondack Paint Dabber in Lettuce;

Five Artists' Trading Cards (ATCs)

Well, right before I left for Canada (school vacation week!) I had to churn out about 80 Artists' Trading Cards (ATCs or 2.5"x3.5" creations) spread between about 9 designs! Only two were designs I had made before! Yes, I was up a little late, but these were all relatively simple and not too time/mind consuming!

Club Scrap - Stratosphere 4/07 Fuchsia, Green, & Light Blue Papers; Retro 9/06 B&B UM Stamps & CSt Right On UM Stamps; Ranger Adirondack Ink Pad in Pool; Stewart Superior Palette Ink Pad in Noir Black;


Club Scrap - 2007 Mocha Java Remix UM Stamps; Ivory Elegance 12/06 Cream & Dark Brown Papers; County Fair 7/04 Tan Paper; Ranger Archival Ink Pads in Coffee & Sepia; Ranger Adirondack Ink Pads in Butterscotch, Caramel, & Ginger;
Brushless Watercoloring and Torn Paper;


Club Scrap - Stratosphere 4/07 Fuchsia Paper; Club Scrap Fizz 1/07 White Translucent Paper, Club Stamp WM Stamp, & CSt Crazy About Fizz UM Stamps; Ranger Adirondack Ink Pads in Pebble, Raspberry, and Watermelon; Stewart Superior Palette Ink Pad in Noir Black;
Zig Memory Pen in Black;
Technique Junkies - Modern Grid Technique;


Club Scrap - Imagination 2006 Host Reward UM Stamps; Stratosphere 4/07 Dark Blue & Light Blue Papers; Ranger Archival Ink Pad in Cobalt;
Ranger Nick Bantock Ink Pad in Cerulean Azure;


Club Scrap - Nature's Wonders 5/06 Borders & Backgrounds UM; Wings 7/05 Dark Blue & Mustard Papers; Niji Waterbrush; Ranger Archival Ink Pad in Sepia; Ranger Adirondack Ink Pads in Butterscotch, Caramel, Lemonade, Oregano, Pesto, Stonewashed, & Sunshine Yellow;
Watercoloring with water-based dye ink pads;

Distress Ink Monoprinted Bookmarks by 1st Graders!

These bookmarks were created by my daughters' First Grade class! Each of the kids selected one color of my Club Scrap Cardstock Pieces first, then some stamps, and together we selected the ink colors, in the end, using nearly the complete line of Ranger's Distress Inks! We pressed each ink color on my Ranger Non Stick Craft Sheet and then misted the inks with water before the kids' pressed their glossy paper into the inks, then swirled, swiped, bent and striped it, etc until they were satisfied! (I helped cover a few white spots for them.) Then we ran adhesive across the backs of the inked paper and stuck them right down onto the Non Stick Craft Sheet and stamped over the papers with Ranger's Waterproof Archival Inks and Club Scrap Stamps! Then, while each child cleaned their fingers, I adhered the inked papers to the cardstock, laminating them all at home!

They did such a beautiful job! Each child selected one bookmark to keep and one to contribute to the Class Auction Project! They also each made Japanese Stab-Bound Mini Books last week and I'm going to bind one Writing Workshop story per child, with about the author pages, into a Hand Stitched Journal. Along with all of these handmade goodies, parents are contributing towards storebought books and book related items, some additional handmade surprises, and an unfinished wood nightstand bookcase! Rocky's Ace Hardware of Millis is also donating the winner's choice in colors for one quart of paint or stain and advice to complete the bookcase!

I've also donated a complete Mini Kit For a Cause Handmade 6"x6" Postbound Scrapbook with ALSB Layouts (ready-for photos) and accompanying cards, stamps, stencil, and more! This will be a separate auction item!

I've had such a blast working with the kids in the classroom, and especially loved the enthusiasm from some of the boys... including the extra twinkle when one worked with purples and pinks! So adorable!

I will also be making bookmarks (die cut shapes and possibly this same ink technique as separate options) at the Millis Girl Scouts Craft Expo on March 25th! It will be from 12:30-3:00PM at the Church of Christ, with a $2 entry fee for adults (children under 19 are free!), with plenty of crafts to make and buy as well as a full concession stand to benefit the Girl Scouts of our town! (We will even have extras of my daughter's homemade GS Cookie Inspired Chocolates for sale at our booth! Mmmmmmm!!)

Hand Stitched Journal and Paper Bag Books

I must admit that I'm fairly addicted to making handmade books! I just love this hand-stitched journal project that Club Scrap put out in many designs, inclusing this Paisley version!


Here's a sneak peek at another project! This unique Paper Bag Album skips the lunch bags and goes for a more streamlined Kraft Bag. You will learn to (or practice!) use Japanese Stab Binding while folding extra pockets into your pages.


You can choose to seal your pockets' edges with additional stab binding, simple whipstitches, brads, eyelets, staples, etc! And, the class can, optionally, come with additional supplies to fill the pages with coordinating papers and prints! I've actually left the threads long on my Textiles & Notions cover because I want to add some sewing themed charms to the tails! This little book will be wonderful for scrapping about my children's knot tying lessons with Scouts, the girls' Sit-Upons, my son's Cross-Stitching, and the gorgeous Korean Gwi Ju Meoni pouches that my children just made!

Monoprinting: a great way to have bursts of color on your work!

When I first was reading about this technique, with its proper name, it involved using specialized monoprinting sleeves... I improvised by using a pair of write on transparencies. But, I have since learned that it is soooo much easier to use the Ranger Non Stick Craft Sheet (which I already use every time I ink and glue)!

The ATC, in the right hand image above, was created with the transparencies, Club Scrap 3/05 Road Trip White Paper, Club Stamp 5/05 Painted Desert Unmounted Stamps, Ranger Black Pigment Ink & Black Embossing Powder (the edges of the ATC are inked and embossed also), and ColorBox Ancient Page Harbor, Lime, & Neptune Inks. I applied inks to the paper by dripping reinkers, one color onto the papers at a time, onto a transparency and used the ColorBox Stylus to spread it out, then sandwiched a blank transparency on it and pressed unevenly. I then spritzed the side of the transparency that I was using with the Ranger Perfect Ink Refresher and laid the cardstock onto the damp transparency. I sandwiched the transparencies again and used a brayer to press the ink into the paper. I then repeated the process with the darker ink.

Basically you can press Ink Pads onto the craft sheet, drip and drizzle Reinkers on it, pounce ink on, smear glitter glue onto it, add Paints, drip or draw onto it with Alcohol Inks, dilute with Alcohol Blending Solution or even spritzes of water (for water based inks) and then take your intended project surface and press it onto the inks, swirl or swipe as you lift and marvel over the finished piece! You can also press portions of the Non Stick Craft Sheet onto itself before adding the inks to your project to get more of an ink blot effect! Glossy Paper is wonderful for this technique, but anything will do! The glossy surface just helps the ink travel and fills the paper better.

In the ATC to the right and in the title image for this Blog entry, I used a combination of Ranger Alcohol Inks in Lettuce & Stonewashed, Ranger Alcohol Blending Solution, and Ranger Stickles in Waterfall to create a backdrop for the stamped scratch marks, frame, and focal image. On the ATC, I used also Ranger's Aqua Adirondack Paint Dabber, Adirondack Bottle, Lettuce, & Stonewashed Ink Pads, and Archival Cobalt & Teal Ink Pads as well as Club Scrap's Glossy Paper plus the 2/07 Refresh Kit's CSt UM Stamps, CSt WM Statue & Fern Collage Stamp, Dark Blue, Light Blue, Dark Green, and Light Green Papers.

The mattes in the layout below were created with Glossy Paper and Alcohol Inks using a combination of monoprinting and direct pouncing with Alcohol Inks. I dry embossed Tinkerbell with a Plaid Embossing Stencil. The papers are all Club Scrap, using the Mint Frost and Cream Frost from the 1/04 Asian Artisan Kit, and unfortunately unlabelled other CS papers. (I didn't post details in the past!)


Below is another sample made with alcohol ink monoprinting, as you can see in the upper right, eventually the colors will blend all the way, simply soak it up and add new inks! I misted rubbing alcohol onto the Glossy Paper and onto the craft mat, dripping Alcohol Inks at random. Then I laid the Glossy Paper face-down on the inked mat and swirled, swiped, and lifted. I used Club Scrap's 9/05 Science Unmounted Stamps, 7/05 Wings Apricot Paper, and Glossy Paper along with Ranger's Non Stick Craft Sheet, Adirondack Alcohol Inks in Butterscotch, Caramel, & Terra Cotta, and Adirondack Ink Pads in Butterscotch, Caramel, Rust, & Terra Cotta.

Below is the new logo for my tutorials at Diversity Designs! I applied small "spatters" of Ranger's Alcohol Inks in Bottle, Lettuce, and Stream to the Ranger Non-Stick Craft Mat, added the Alcohol Ink Blending Solution, then took Glossy Paper and pressed it onto the sheet, swirling and lifting until the paper was well covered. I added more ink and targeted the white areas. After the paper was filled with ink, I added a little Adirondack Metallic Mixatives in Copper to a felt applicator and pounced away! The black art work is a self portrait of me that was then altered by Roselyn!

Tim Holtz also teaches a version of this with his Distress Inks and calls it Wrinkle Free Distressing. With it, you will often spritz the craft sheet or your project material with water and then iron your finished piece to keep the wet work from warping. Ranger has posted one project with instructions for a Monoprint Card plus Distress Ink Tips. Pennywise Arts has a great online class on Monoprinting with Alcohol Inks.