CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--EASTER CARDS

Have you noticed the price of greeting cards lately? It’s next to impossible to buy a nice one for under four or five dollars. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather put that money toward a gift. But people do expect cards on holidays and are disappointed when they don’t receive them. So this year, why not make your Easter cards? I made the one above in less than ten minutes using materials I had in my crafts closet and downloads of computer images.

The first thing you’ll need is card stock. You can buy a package of pre-folded blank greeting cards with envelopes at any office supply store, or just use scraps of index stock you have left over from other paper craft projects. Cut the stock the length of whatever envelope you have on hand x twice the height. Score down the middle and fold in half.

Cut one or two sheets of scrapbook paper to layer on top of the front of the card. I cut the pink polkadot sheet 1/2” smaller than the card and the blue sheet 1/2” smaller than the pink sheet. Using paper glue, glue the layers on the card.

You can find Easter image clip art on the Internet. I Googled “antique Easter card images” and found many to choose from. Print your image to fit the card. I decided to glue mine on at an angle for a little bit more interest.

Finish your card by adding ribbons, lace, gems, or buttons as embellishments.

CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--GUEST AUTHOR AND SCRAPBOOKER CHRISTINA FREEBURN

Today we have a guest crafter joining us, Christine Freeburn. Christine’s The Faith Hunter Scrap This Mystery series brings together her love of mysteries, scrapbooking, and West Virginia. When not writing or reading, she can be found in her scrapbook room or at a crop. Learn more about Christina and her books at her website and blog. – AP

Scraplifting 101

Like with most creative pursuits, there are times where nothing looks right. Writers have writer’s block. Scrapbookers get scrapbooking block, and that’s where scraplifting comes in. For those who aren’t familiar with the term, scraplifting is when scrapbookers copy a layout design they’ve seen in a magazine or in an online gallery when they want to create but nothing on a page looks right. Scrapbookers can also be inspired by an album cover, book cover, or advertisement they’ve seen.

Today, I’m scraplifting the lovely cover of Designed to Death, the second book in my Faith Hunter Scrap This Mysteries Series. I love the color combination and the dimension the stacked embellishment gives the “layout.” (see cover above.)

I stuck to the same color palette of the cover—blues, greens, yellow—and mixed in some red since the topic is the Disney Fantasy ship (doesn’t say Disney without some red.) For the torn photo element, I used two photos of the ship and put them at an angle with the ends touching to give the same effect.

photo border

For the embellishment cluster, I used one premade embellishment, separating it into three parts so the page had a cohesive look. I had a lot of Disney themed stuff, but the brighter colors didn’t work and I wanted more of a “travel” theme for the page. I removed the twine string from the tag and cut off the phrase element.

The main piece of the tag became the sun overlapping the photograph part from my inspiration design. I tucked the base of the tag behind the periwinkle border and overlapped the circle portion so a portion rested on the yellow photo mat.

The saying was used in place of a title at the top of the page. The twine became the yellow circle border used on my inspiration piece. I loved how one embellishment could fill the role of three separate ones from the scraplift.

embellishment

in pieces

on page

To finish off the page, I used washi tape (my “Disney red” addition) to mimic the border of the bottom page. Instead of a wave embellishment, I used a die cut I made with Pack Your Bag cartridge for the Cricut.

And here is my completed layout, the design scraplifted from the cover of Designed to Death.

Designed to Death

Faith Hunter planned the perfect event at her grandmother’s shop, Scrap This, featuring local scrapbooker and Life Artist Diva, Belinda Watson. But the extravaganza goes up in a cloud of glitter when Belinda and her cousin, Darlene, brawl over scraplifted designs. Faith attempts to break it up but only makes things worse. Then when Belinda turns up dead behind the Scrap This store, Faith’s involvement goes viral.

As accusations against her turn vicious, Faith sets out to prove her nemesis Darlene committed the crime, only to realize they are both innocent. Now they must team up or the murderer’s plan will come together seamlessly with the frenemies sharing a jail cell—or worse, a funeral.

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CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--PHOTO COLLAGE MONOGRAM

Photo Collage Monogram

Materials: large Masonite letter (available in craft stores), white spray primer, acrylic paint in your choice of color for background, sponge brush, family photos, copy machine, scissors, glue stick, X-acto knife, clear plastic adhesive sheet (such as Contact Paper) large enough to cover letter.

1. Prime Masonite letter. Allow to dry.

2. Paint sides and front of letter with acryllic paint. Allow to dry.

3. Make black and white copies of photos, reducing size if necessary.

4. Cut out photos and glue in desired positions to letter. Allow glue to dry thoroughly. Trim photos to edge of letter with X-acto knife.

5. Carefully apply clear adhesive film to top of letter. This can be tricky. The easiest way is to cut a piece slightly larger than the Masonite letter. Pull away the backing sheet on one edge and tape the two corners of the sheet, sticky side up, to a flat surface. Slowly remove the remainder of the backing sheet and tape down the remaining corners. Place the letter face down over the adhesive sheet. Using a scissors, trim away excess close to letter. Turn the letter face up and burnish the film. Then using the X-acto knife, trim the remainder of the  film even with Masonite.

CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA - GUEST SCRAPBOOKER AND AUTHOR MOLLIE COX BRYAN

Today we welcome back Mollie Cox Bryan, author of the Cumberland Creek Mysteries featuring freelance reporter Annie and the ladies of the Cumberland Creek Scrapbook Crop. After years of working as an editor and writer for nonprofits and corporations in the DC area, Mollie gave it all up for the "glamorous" life of a stay-at-home mom and part-time freelance writer. Read more about Mollie and her books at her website. 

Mollie is offering a copy of Scrapped, the latest book in her mystery series to someone who posts a comment. Don’t forget to either leave your email address or check back on Sunday to see if you’ve won. – AP

Reflective Scrapbooking

When I look over the pages of the old scrapbook I most cherish, my young grandmother stares back at me from the black-papered pages. Photos were obliviously taken on special days. High school graduation. A dance with a beau I don’t recognize. Gram holding her favorite dog and guinea pigs. If she had only journaled along side those photos, I'd know exactly what was happening. What kind of a day was it? How was she feeling? Who was that young man? What were her hopes and dreams?

Notes and labels are scattered here and there, but not any that were reflective, giving me a more personal glimpse. But one of the notes makes me smile every time I think of it. There is a photo of what looks to be a skinny but handsome young man with his leg propped up on a car. The note says William Snowwhite, Jr. On a closer look, it's my grandmother dressed up as a boy. (Yes, Snowwhite was my Gram’s maiden name and her father's name was William.) What was that all about? Why was she dressed (so well) as a man? She was obviously enjoying herself. But I'll never know the circumstances.

These days, scrapbookers have co-opted the term "journaling" as a way for people to write a little about the event in their lives that’s happening on the page. Often, it’s a simple description of the person or of the event. What I like to see and read are more personal reflections.

Where should the scrapbooker start to add in personal reflections?

Begin with some of the questions I ask in this blog post.

What kind of a day is it? Not just weather, but was there excitement, pride, sorrow in the air?

How are you feeling? Not just your health, but are you hopeful, joyous, longing for something? How about the other person in the photo? Ask them how they are feeling, what they are thinking.

What are your or the person’s in the photo hopes, dreams, goals?

After all, one of the reasons we paste photo to paper, is deeper than simply making it look pretty. It's to leave behind a legacy. Let's not leave our descendants wondering why we are wearing that tacky dress and donning a silly grin, or why we have a photo of that particular pie, or God forbid, why our otherwise very traditional grandmother is dressed like a man in the 1930s.

When you scrapbook, do you journal? Please leave me a comment and you'll be entered to win a signed copy of the my latest book Scrapped (Cumberland Creek Mystery #2)

About Scrapped (Cumberland Creek Mystery #2)

The ladies of the Cumberland Creek Scrapbook Crop are welcoming an eccentric newbie into their fold. A self-proclaimed witch, Cookie Crandall can whip up a sumptuous vegan meal and rhapsodize about runes and moon phases with equal aplomb. She becomes fast friends with her fellow scrapbookers, including freelance reporter Annie, with whom she shares shallow roots in a community of established family trees. So when Cookie becomes the prime suspect in a series of bizarre murders, the croppers get scrappy and set out to clear her name. Annie starts digging and discovers that the victims each had strange runic patterns carved on their bodies - a piece of evidence that points the police in Cookie's direction. Even her friends begin to doubt her innocence when they find an ornate, spiritual scrapbook that an alleged beginner like Cookie could never have crafted. As Annie and the croppers search for answers, they'll uncover a shockingly wicked side of their once quiet town - and a killer on the prowl for another victim.

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Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Scrapped. And don’t forget to either leave your email address or check back on Sunday to see if you’ve won. – AP