Tips and Hints

The art of tearing!

It may not look like it has a specific technique but tearing is a learned skill! For a straight "clean" tear: lay the paper flat on a solid surface (pattern face up), place your left hand flat on your paper, towards the top and to the left of where you want your tear line, this now becomes your "keep hand" (meaning the torn piece you will use in your layout). Take your right hand and grab the top of the paper to the right of where you want the tear to appear. Pull your whole arm back to tear. The straighter your arm, the straighter the tear! Do not use your fingers; grasp the top of the paper with your whole hand.

Roll out the ribbon!

Being overrun with rolls or ribbon or looking for a better way to organize fibers? A tension rod used to hold cafe curtains may be just what you need! Put the rolls onto the rod and then suspend the rod in a window frame, small closet, desk hutch or anywhere else handy to your scrapbooking area! You'll be able to see at a glance what you have and cut off just the right amount every time!

Stash those embellishments!

Check out your local Kent location for all sorts of containers to organize your embellishments! Storage cabinets designed to hold nuts and bolts make a great way to organize eyelets, brads and other small items so that they're within reach. As a bonus, these units can be mounted on a wall to conserve your precious space. Look for a unit with clear plastic doors so you can see exactly what you have without searching.

Ideas for a Baby Shower

If you’re looking for an original gift for a baby shower, why not try this! As your shower gift, break out your scrapbooking supplies and create small note cards. The mom to be can use these for thank you cards after the shower, saving her time and money which will be better spent on the new addition to the family.

New parents or a newlywed couple

A creative idea for new parents or a newlywed couple is a semi-finished scrapbook! Complete several pages (minus pictures) and include them in a scrapbook. When they have time, all they have to do is stick the pictures to the pages and complete the journaling! It doesn't get much easier than that!

Scrapbooking with kids!

Looking for a great way to get some of your scrapbooking done and bond with your kids at the same time? Here’s an idea. Get a small plastic tote and put leftover materials in here. This can include stickers, fibers, card stock, and anything else. Create a small kit of scissors, glue and markers for each child. When developing pictures, always ask for doubles. One set is yours to scrapbook, the other set goes to the kids. Now when you’re scrapbooking the kids can participate also! You'll be amazed at what they come up with.

Host your own swap!

If you’re always looking for just the right card for special occasions, a card swap might be a great idea for you and your friends! The first step would be to decide on a theme. Maybe you’ll make birthday cards, Christmas cards, or wedding cards. The possibilities are endless! Once you have picked the theme each person will make a copy of their card; one for each person participating. So, if you have 6 people, each person will make 6 cards. Once all the cards have been created, get everyone together to swap cards. You will end up with a number of original hand made cards to give!

Great uses for scraps

Looking to get more mileage out of your scrapbooking materials? Get creative and make some bookmarks to be used as special little gifts! You can use card stock, stickers, fibers and other embellishments to personalize bookmarks to give to everyone on your list! As a bonus, bookmarks make great gift tags, so it’s like getting two gifts in one!