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!

The Natural and the Unnatural - 4 Digital Layouts

Here are a few of my recent digital layouts for you guys!



Club Scrap: Mirror Mirror 11/08 CSDigi Sr Kit;

Uatchet in the Mirror Maze
With so many arrows to choose from, it's so easy to cut one out of a printed tag, or use the stencil shapes to cut arrows where none existed before! Layer them up, copy and paste sections of the arrows from the background print to make it overlap one of them... Add a tall and skinny photo and even borrow a natural border from the photo to help matte it! In no time you'll have the perfect layout! (Of course, if your photo also happens to be of your daughter's first adventure in a mirror maze, then things will really fall right into place!)



Private Eye CS DigiGoodies Kit 10/08;

Look! - Sebek and the Stag Beetle
Zoom in on a photo by enlarging a section of it and clipping it to fit inside the magnifying glass. Create a shaded glass overlay by duplicating the layer with the photo and using Layer Style >> Wow Plasic in Photoshop Elements.



Club Scrap: Retreat 2007 Digital Kit - PS06; Refresh 02/07 Digital Kit - PLtGreen, PTrans, Trans14, Trans18;
Fonts: CoventryGarden, Glider Girls;
Photoshop Elements 5.0: Blending Modes - Difference, Overlay; Altered Hues;



Club Scrap: Avant Garde 3/08 Digital Kit - DP; Great Outdoors 10/07 Digital Kit - Xtra66, Xtra67, Xtra68; Collections 6/06 Digital Kit - Alpha;
Adobe Photoshop Elements: Blending Mode - Multiply; Drop Shadow - Soft Edge; Altered Hues;
Personal Scan of a Tile;
Clay Sculpture by Nekhebet;

Summer Camp Layouts

Club Scrap still has the Camp Yah-Hey-And-So PSL Challenges running at clubscrapchat.com with plenty of prizes and challenges to jump start your creativity! This week I've been busy making a lot of "before and after" layouts but haven't had time to scan them! So, instead I'll share a few more camping layouts!







Club Scrap: Road Trip 3/05 - Peach Print, Green 8.5x11 Print, Peach Plain, Green Plain, Blue Plain, JR Cut Outs, Design Classic Yellow Print on Mosaic Twist Lemon;
Cuttlebug: Stop Sign;
Zig: Memory Writer - Denim;



Club Scrap: Pad 'O Blocks 2008 -
8.5x2.75 Inches Neutral; Collections 6/06 - Saddle Brown Plain; Pets 2003 - Horse Print;
Scrapbook Takeout: Harvest Feast 10/07 - 7 Gypsies Tag Corners; 7 Gypsies Romantique Label Sticker Book;
Heidi Grace: Punchboard Embossed Shapes - Wild Daisy Rd. #12-71187 | 27991_10;
Offray: Dashes, Dots, & Checks - 369360;

To create a hidden journaling pocket, I lifted my photo up from the matte by layering up 1/4" wide strips of coordinating cardstock scraps to create walls for the journal tag and supports for the other end of the photograph. I prefer using matching color papers or even fibers to pop my elements up over the bright white (or sometimes black) of foam mounting squares, plus the sides aren't sticky! :)

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day! Today my kids marched with their Scout groups in our town's annual Memorial Day Parade and ceremonies... plus I have some layouts and cards to share with you from past holidays, elections, military service, and more!


Club Scrap: Freedom 2003 - Flag Print;
Ranger: Distress Ink Pad - Tea Dye;
Vintage Ephemera;

The kids and I made a series of these little Squash Books and sent them, with other gifts, to the Army soldiers that we adopted the last time that my brother was serving in Iraq.


Club Scrap Digital 1/08 A Study in Red papers, tags, and ribbons with altered hues; Font Gardens FG William computer font;
Layout is my take on Bistro's Sr ALSB Layout #1.

Journaling reads: January, 2008
Chris has only just returned to Iraq for a second tour of duty. From this photo it seems perfectly clear that the front infantry is where he has wanted to be all along. I may never understand, but it is what he wants.


Club Scrap: Surf's Up 7/06 - UM Stamp; Mosaic Twist 1/05 - Blue; Freedom 2003 - Red;
Vintage Ephemera;
Personal Stash - Fabric Flower, Mini Brad, White Ink Pad;


Club Scrap: PSL ALSB #7; Farmer's Market 11/06 - Leaf; Freedom 2003 - Flag Print , Blue Print, Red Print;
Sticker;

These recreations of National Monuments were created by my son's 4th grade class!






Club Scrap: Crafter Retreat 07 - ALSB Scramble; Academy 8/07 - Brown Plain, Tan 8.5x11 Print; Interior Designs 11/05 - Right Companion Stair Print on Brown; Collections 6/06 - UM Font; Poetic 9/03 - Blue Plain;
Ranger: Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber in Gold;

We happened upon this Flag Retirement Ceremony being given by an Eagle Scout candidate in Lynch Park. It was an amazing ceremony filled with history about our flag, beautiful music tied in, and a large Flag Retirement Ceremony for the town.





Club Scrap: Sparkle 12/07 - UM Stamps; Time & Space 12/04 - ALSB #9 & 10, Gold Plain, Star White Galaxy Print; It's a Boy/It's a Girl 2006 - UM Font;
Ranger: Archival Ink Pad - Grape;

Tripods, delayed photos, and long shutter exposures are your friends if you want to capture shots of a fireworks display! Or, call them Fireflowers, like the Korean translation for fireworks! :)


Club Scrap: Down To Earth 4/05 - Lt Green; County Fair 7/04 - Green; Workbench 8/05 - Green; Unknown - Dark Green; Americana 2001 - Stencil;
Tsukineko: Brilliance - Pearlescent Ivy, Rocket Red, Galaxy Gold;
Stippling through a stencil;






Club Scrap: Crafter Retreat 07 - ALSB Scramble; Poetic 9/03 - Brown Print, Brown Plain, Blue Plain; Heritage II 6/00 - Journaling Stencil;
Scrapbook Takeout: Clearly Speaking 7/07 - Hambly Screen Prints Rub-Ons in Vintage Motifs Black;
Stewart Superior: Memories Ink Pad in
Art Print Brown;
Zig: Millennium Pen in Pure Black;

Unfortunately, when we visited the Statue of Liberty, they weren't releasing tickets to climb up inside of her... but the kids were still in awe!

Club Scrap: PSL ALSB #8; Freedom 2003 - Flag Print , Blue Print, Red Print;
Making Memories: Alphabet Rub-Ons - Heidi Small White;

We saw this amazing display when we visited Ellis Island. At first glimpse it's just a representation of our flag, but as you pass it it transforms into photographs of Americans from all walks of life.







Club Scrap: A Study in Red 1/08 - Dark Red Plain; Sparkle 12/07 - Blue Metallic Plain; English Garden 5/04 - Library Pocket Stencil; Freedom 2003 - Blue Print, Red Print, Translucent 8.5x11 Foil Print;
Scrapbook Takeout: Adventures in Altering 8/07 - Chipboard Numbers;
American Crafts: Pigment Pro Marker - Blue;

At the time of the last presidential election, my kids were very revved up about voting from both their parents and their school! They saw everyone out holding election signs and wanted to be a part of it, especially when they saw people parking at town hall to pick kids up from school and not voting earlier in the year... So we made up very impartial signs and they got permission to hold them in front of town hall to remind people to vote, even with kids in tow! I think my kids have only missed going to the polls with us once in their lives!


Club Scrap: A Study in Red 1/08 - Dark Red Plain; Sparkle 12/07 - Blue Metallic Plain; Freedom 2003 - White Print, Translucent 8.5x11 Foil Print;

During high school, our Governor was running for President and came by a youth center where I served on the board. The photo is of him with our two exchange students! I'm sorry that this layout scanned so poorly, but it's chock full of metallic and foil finishes that don't like my scanner!

My Favorite Kit, Needle Felting, and Stencil Tutorial Links!

One of my favorite Club Scrap kits has got to be Color in Black and White... it's so full of great muted tones alongside copper and with duplex prints showing a more neutral version of the full color prints. The patterns are a mix of industrial style prints and nature... both are things that I love, it's like when you find a fire hydrant in the middle of the woods, only much more beautiful! I love it so much that I made myself a needle-felted purse with the design based on one of the prints (please bear in mind that the photo is after I'd used the purse for months, but the grittiness in the pattern was intentional)!


Club Scrap: Color in Black & White 4/06 - Sr Land Duplex Print, Sr White Duplex Print, Black Solid, Stencil; Collections 6/06 Digital Kit - Paper Tan P1; Craft TV Weekly - Tricia Morris's Life and Art Webisode;
Ranger: Adirondack Ink - Currant, Ginger, Latte, Lettuce, Stream; Distress Ink - Walnut Stain; Ink Applicator Tool;
Needle Felted Purse, Inspired by Color in Black and White, created by Neith Juch;

I was creating a list of stencil tutorials for the ClubScrapChat forum because this week's PSL challenge is to create CS layouts using stencils in some manner... in doing so I took another look at the Life and Art Webisode that Tricia recorded for The Scrapbook Lounge at TVWeekly. It features the plainer color side of the Color in Black and White papers and shows you ways to customize them with Direct to Paper inking, stamping, and stenciling. What a perfect way to highlight the colors I chose for my purse!


Club Scrap: Color in Black & White 4/06 - CSt White Duplex Print, Translucent Print, Black Solid, Alpha Stickers;

I have to double check the date on this but I think it's 1976 or 77 and I'm the little blonde while my big sister is hiding her face from the camera!


Club Scrap: Color in Black & White 4/06 - Land Duplex Print, Land 8.5x11 Duplex Print, Translucent Print, Black Plain;
Jo-Ann: Silver Round Concho;
Zig: Millennium Pen in Pure Black;
Personal Swap Stash: Unknown Fibers;

This is from my 1987 week-long hiking trip with the 8th and 9th graders from my small school. I haven't found any other photos and the quality was terrible but wanted to get at least one shot in there!


Club Scrap: A Study In Red 1/08 - Palatial Trim, Black Plain; Color in Black & White 4/06 - White Print, White Plain; Musical Interlude 12/05 - Black Plain;
Sakura: Signo Uniball Pen in White;

We were at Axis, a nightclub, to watch a friend perform, and of course my best friend and I had to escape to the cheapie photo booth! I actually printed the blown up image onto the white cardstock to give it the nice canvas texture of the cardstock!


This one used 6 CS kits: Everything is Club Scrap except the inks and frame... From outside to inside, the papers are Collections 06/06 Saddle Brown Boxes 8.5 Sr Print, Paisley 3/06 Burnt Orange, Farmer's Market 10/06 Brown,and Color in Black & White 04/06 Copper Sr Duplex Print. I also used a Tan Bookplate from the Collections 6/06 Embellishment Pack Tags/Die Cuts, Mini Brads and Fibers from Rhapsody 3/07 Embellishment Pack, plus the letter drawer and "... Defining Moments" stamps from Heritage: Extra! Extra! 6/04 CSt UM Stamps. Unfortunately I don't have a list of the inks, but do know that they were Ranger! I believe I used Ginger Adirondacks (one of my favorites) along with some others!

The photo is from an awards dinner where one of my father's employees, Nella, both emceed and received an award for being an outstanding mentor to other teens... My father asked me to create something for her to display that featured the photo and I had limited random supplies already with me, but it worked out and he surprised her with it already put up at the store when she came in to work... she did get to take it home! I'm still waiting for her to write it up properly for my blog! Sorry to have to use a photo, there was no scanner available!


Club Scrap: A Study in Red 1/08 - Splendid Brocade Stencil; Color in Black & White 4/06 - Black Duplex Print, Black Solid; Mosaic Twist 1/05 - Lime & Handmade Lime;
Scrapbook Takeout: Garden Party 2/08 - Prima Clearly IOD #517809 Lime Scrapping Tape; It's A Date 12/07 - American Crafts Vinyl Shapes, Heidi Swapp Jet Tulle;
Ranger: Black Soot Distress Ink, Ink Applicator Tool;
Sakura: Gelly Roll Glaze Pen in Black;

We all have those not so glamorous photos that capture fun moments, so I went for it! I do need to find the photo we took of her pickle tasting Polaroid up on the Pickle Puss Wall and make a companion page later!

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Now, onto needle felting...


Club Scrap: A Study in Red 1/08 CSDigital Kit;
The King and Queen Computer Font;

Needle Felting... What is that, you say? Oh it's a great art/craft where you take loose roving (wool is great, but many other animal fibers work... I have some that are mixes of silk, alpaca, Shetland wool, Merino wool, etc) and use dry friction to lock the fibers to each other or a base surface with a barbed needle. Animal hairs are scaley and those scales lock together... just like when your children's hair tangles into knots that can become dreadlocks if you aren't careful, or if you intend for them to! Felting is a way to take advantage of that quality and felt is actually the first manmade fabric every produced!

Needle felting takes it to another level where you can create art by using different colors and textures of roving. You can also sculpt with it and create 3 dimensional objects like this little kitten that I have begun! I actually started the kitten during the class at Yarns in the Farms which is shown above! At the class, along with my mother and both of my daughters, we were taught the basics of needle and machine felting and then began creations on a panel from an accidentally machine felted blanket and began our own 3 dimensional projects as well!

You can also machine felt these fibers by washing with a hot wash, cold rinse cycle in the washing machine and watch your sweaters (or intentional things like some of my crochet purses) shrink and get soft and fuzzy, more and more like store bought felt with each washing! There are additional techniques where you can wet felt by hand... the simplest method is to wad some roving into a ball with your hands, dip it in hot soapy water and roll and roll until you have a hard little ball that you rinse in cold water and set to dry! We made around 100 of these balls and made a bunch of little bracelets from them for Christmas gifts and used others as the "buttons" for closures on my purses! Other methods involve all kinds of things like bamboo sushi mats and bubble wrap to help with the rolling friction!

There are many books out there now about felting, plenty of episodes on Carol Duvall, Martha Stewart, Knitty Gritty, etc on the DIY Network, etc. But it's a little hard to get roving at a great price. Many local yarn shops will sell sample bags of multiple colors of roving in small bundles, ebay vendors often sell mixed lots of unknown origins where you win some, you lose some, even after making the purchase! Some local wool or Alpaca farms are known to sell uncolored or hand dyed roving (I LOVE the huge balls of hand dyed roving that I get at a great price from a local farm, Iron Horse Farm in Sherborn, MA). Clover has put out some small bundles of very smooth, uniformly colored roving packages that are available at some of the large craft chains, they also have a great needle plunger tool which makes use of 5 traditional felting needles all at once and sell refills at a good price... whenever you can catch those on sale in the chains or at joann.com it will save you money, which you can in turn spend at those local yarn stores or farms!

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And the promised list of links to Stencil Tutorials! You will need to create a free account at TVWeekly in order to view the guides, but it's well worth it!

• Neith's Stenciling Revisited Tutorial - My tutorial on stencils, showing the same stencil used with different techniques... ColorBox Stylus, Cut 'n' Dry Foam, Chizzel-It, Waterbrush, Paint, Metal Embossing, & Heat Embossing


• Neith's Samples - My stenciled creations on this blog, you can always find these through the Blog Entries by Categories section in the left-hand margins of my blog!
  
• Dawn's (DawnTCB) Sample Stencil Technique Tags - These tags are from a CS Retreat and Dawn's accompanied them with write upa on how to recreate them!
  
• Jac's DIGITAL Stencil Tutorial - Instructions for how to use Transparencies or other shapes to create a digital "stencil" to brush color into, like I did on my Digital Korean Language Flashcards
  
• Janie's (janiesagmoe) List of CS Stencils - MS Word list of all CS stencils and their kits
  
• Luanne's Stenciled Tag Tutorial - Takes you step by step through the process to create a very cool tag, a la Tim Holtz!
  
• Tricia's TVWeekly Webisode Serengeti Mists - Uses Memories Mists
  
• Tricia's TVWeekly Webisode Misty-fied - Uses Glimmer Mist
  
• Tricia's TVWeekly Webisode Life and Art - Uses the ColorBox Stylus
  
• Tricia's TVWeekly Webisode Artist Incognito - Uses Watercolor Pencils

Collections Beaded Necklace & DigiLayout

Something hit me when I saw Christine Strube's Southwest Bohemian Necklace in the June/July 2007 Beadwork Magazine and I just knew that I had to use the base design to create my own necklace! I changed things around a bit in order to make it work with my Club Scrap Collections June 2006 Beads, whipped it together while the kids were at school, and love the end result!

All beads are from Club Scrap Collections June 2006 Kit, with the addition of some simple seed beads and findings from Blue Moon Beads. All digital layout components are from the same month's Club Scrap DigiGoodies Kit along with Landsdowne font and Photoshop Elements effects including Inner Ridge Bevels, Drop Shadows, Outer Glows, and Strokes. Some hues have been altered to coordinate better with the photo and elements have been stretched!

Retreat Layout: Celebration of Womanhood Weekend

I'll have to tell you all more about this layout a little later and replace it with a smoother scan! (Away from home and without my regular software/scanner or sleep at 1AM!) But I wanted to quickly share a layout that I did tonite as part of my Celebration of Womanhood Weekend Banquet!

I handed out a sheet to my students (a wee, small class, but I have a few raindates for it!) that were aimed at helping you write about an important woman in your life... a bond with them, emotions, or even to document their life. Here's my little contribution! A page about my mother and I escaping the everyday life and running off to the Club Scrap Main Retreat together last year! (Much more to come about that later!)

Club Scrap: Color In Black and White 4/06 Land Print; 3/07 Rhapsody Cream; Ivory Elegance 12/06 Dark Brown Print & Light Brown Plain; Collections 6/06 Saddle Brown Print; Science 9/05 Ebony Plain; Chocolate Shoppe 2/05 Ivory Press;

Scrapbook Takeout 4/07 Kit: Heidi Swapp Newsprint Ledger Chipboard Alpha; 7 Gypsies 97% Complete Tags Parenthesis and Note to Self; 7 Gypsies 97% Complete Document Stickers;

Ranger Archival Coffee Ink Pad; Zig Brown Memory Writer;

Inspired by Francine's "Finding My Groove" Layout

Asi Es La Vida! - New Cards and Waterbrush Technique!

On these cards and ATCs, I used a technique that is based on last month's Technique Junkies Ink Wash Technique! (Definitely check out the newsletters they offer that are chock full of great techniques and ideas!) I changed things a little bit to suit the colors and intensity that I wanted and to work best with my stamps!



Club Scrap Salsa 11/03 Stamps and Papers from Refresh 2/07. Wheel & Sprocket 8/06, Collections 6/06, and Culinary 3/04; Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink Pad and Adirondack Ink Pads in Butterscotch, Lettuce, Meadow, Red Pepper, & Terra Cotta; Niji Waterbrush; Xyron Sticker Maker; Adapted Technique Junkies Ink Wash Technique;



In order to color the chilis and tomatoes, I wanted to use the Technique Junkies Ink Wash Technique, but wanted my colors a little but more vivid and wanted to still use my Adirondack Inks! So I revamped it to make it my own! First, I stamped the images (as seen on the left and on the right) and then used my Niji Waterbrush with the matching ink to go over the stamped lines (first images from the left). I allowed this time to dry and then did a lighter wash of ink, water, and ink from the stamped image to color in the area. This really made the images pop while making them look as if they may have been handpainted!

Woman's Born to Weep and Fret

Lately, I keep replaying a few versions of this song... Black Coffee, the Ella Fitzgerald version, but with modern female singers. And with the recent Mocha Java Remix stamps from Club Scrap, I just had to make some cards!



Supplies/Techniques Used:

• Club Scrap Mocha Java Remix 2007 Unmounted Stamps;
• Club Scrap Interior Designs 11/06 Brown Cardstock;
• Club Scrap Collections 6/06 Brown Cardstock;
• Club Scrap The Written Word 11/05 Cream Cardstock;
  
• Club Scrap Down to Earth 4/05 Light Yellow Cardstock;
• Club Scrap Heritage: Extra! Extra! 6/04 Club Stamp Unmounted Stamps;
• Club Scrap Mocha Java 11/02 Wood Mounted Sr Stain Stamp;
  
• Ranger Adirondack Ink Pads in Caramel, Espresso, Ginger, and Terra Cotta;
• Ranger Archival Ink Pad in Sepia;
• Ranger Sea Brights Ink Pad in Mussel Black;
• Collage Stamping;
• Direct to Paper Inked Distressing;
• Ella Fitzgerald Lyrics;