Clear Scraps Blog

Using Clear Acrylic Shapes as Templates

You knew you could use Clear Scraps acrylics as surfaces for scrapbooking. Did you realize that you can use all of our shapes and album pages as templates too?

Here's an idea for you to try in your own scrapbook layouts:

Take any of our acrylic album pages, embellishments, or XL shapes. Position it on your paper. Since the acrylic is clear, you can see right through it. That makes it handy for finding the very best spot to use if you are using patterned paper- cool, huh? Then trace around it onto paper with pencil, and cut the shape out. Voila!

To make the layout pictured above, I used one of the Dazed XL shapes as my template. I used it to make the black shape in the center of the layout.

Other Supplies Used:

• Transparencies: Hambly & My Little Shoebox
• Stamp: Inque Boutique
• Flower: Prima
• Marker: Zig Painty Pen

Use the Negative Space Too!

After you've cut out your shape, you might think that the leftover paper scraps are trash. Wait a minute! Don't toss those scraps yet! Maybe you can use them for something else...

Before:
Here's a piece of patterned paper. It's been in my stash for years. The edges on it are beat up and distressed. Let's dress this baby up, and hide the messy edges while we're at it!

After:

That's better!

This is a technique you can use over and over if you have papers that look outdated. Don't purge them from your stash - just give them a face lift with this technique!

I like my paper's new look a lot better, and I'll be using it in a layout soon.

So I've used my Deco shape twice now, but I still have the shape itself! It's like having my cake and eating it too, almost. I could keep making dozens - or hundreds - more Deco-shaped papers like this before I finally decide to use the shape itself in one of my projects.

One More Example:

To make this scalloped heart-shaped paper, I used paper by My Mind's Eye. The heart template was actually a page from the Clear Scraps heart-shaped album. This example is a little more complex than the first example I posted; there are a couple of extra steps you need to do. Instead of a pencil, you'd use a colored marker to trace around the design. Then you'd cut around it with decorative scissors, and color in the edges. Hopefully you get the idea, but if that sounds confusing, I wrote a step-by-step tutorial with photos:

How to make faux die-cut papers using acrylic shapes as templates

I hope you will find it helpful, and that our shapes will inspire you to make your most amazing scrapbook pages ever!

Happy scrapping!

Posted by: Amy Solovay

There is Magic in the Air!

With Christmas approaching soon, I could feel the magical atmosphere everywhere I go. It has inspired me to create a magical look mini album using Clear Scraps acrylic crown album and some gorgeous paper line from Webster's Pages. Here are some pictures of it.

The crown shape acrylic album is just perfect for me to create this magical mini album. Below are some of the pages inside the album.

  
So if you're feeling the magical atmosphere same as I do, why not try document it down by creating your very own, one of a kind magical project! If you want to follow along the week long tutorials on this album, you could check it out at The Crop Spot this week. Enjoy and Merry Christmas to all!

Clear Scraps DT Member

Scrapperlicious

Only 5 more days...

until Christmas, can you believe it?!!! My shopping is done, the cookies all baked, my tree still needs a little more attention and there is lots of wrapping to do.....sigh. 

Just thought that I would pop in and share some little Christmas projects with you. 

The first up is a  MERRY banner I made using the penant/banner shapes. I used the new Making Memories Christmas line with this. The snowflakes are a transparency from that same line. I also used a crop-a-dile to punch holes in the bottom of each piece to add a jingle bell to each one. 

 

These next two projects are just a different style of the same thing. I gave these to my son's kindergarten teachers as Christmas gifts. THe base for these is a 28oz. can. THe snowmen were run through the snowflake embossing folder and then painted and after the paint dried I sanded the paint off of the raised areas...such a cool result on acrylic.

On this next one I covered the Christmas trees with a green tissue paper (adhered with Modge Podge) and then after it dried I ran it through a Cuttlebug embossing folder, next I lightly brushed over the raised areas with gold paint.

Sorry the photos on these are so poorly lit. The weather here has been nothing but rainy and grey...makes for not so great pics! 

Hope you all have the merriest of holidays! See you next year! ;)

Tonya Dirk

Clear Scraps Design Team

Gift Wrappin' With Clear Scraps

Clear Scraps half round tags make great gift tags! They also make lovely card embellishments too. I decided to combine my gift tag and card together to top off a present I am giving to a friend.

This tag is super easy to make.

I outlined around the outside of the tag with Zig painty pen. (You can skip this step to make it even quicker and easier.)

Then I squirted several different colors of Tim Holtz Adirondack alcohol ink onto the tag.

When it was dry, I flipped it over to the other side and stuck on Thickers letter stickers that spell out the recipient's name. The package didn't have any capital letters in it, but I used a number 3 upside down because I wanted to capitalize the first letter of her name.

If your gift recipient has a longer name, don't worry - you can use the longer tag in the set, along with smaller stickers, to make the name fit. I've done bunches of these tags for different people with names of varying length.

For the finishing touch, I tied a bit of Korker ribbon in the tag hole and attached it to my card. You could also skip making a card and attach this directly to a gift if you prefer.

Simple!

Posted by: Amy Solovay

A few more cards using acrylic pieces

I know these little mini shapes come on a keyring and they're perfect for the cutest little mini-albums but as a card-maker, I just can't resist pulling all the pieces off and using them on cards.  They're perfect for inking (alcohol inks), painting, using rub-ons on, glittering, adhering paper or fabric to....so many different techniques. 

Here are a few of my favourite cards (using the snowman, the pine tree and the snowflake) - just in time for the holiday season.

Cathy
My Art...so far

All-Occasion Holiday Greeting Card

'Tis the season for sending holiday cards. This one shimmers and shines, and the focal point is an acrylic star shape by Clear Scraps.

Finished Dimensions:

The card measures 7" wide by 5" high.

Materials, Supplies and Tools Needed to Make This Card:

Patterned Paper – Vintage Plaid Metallic Silver Ink on White Ice Metallic Paper - Screen Print by Hambly

Diecut Paper - Bloom Twirl White Frosty Lace Cardstockby KI Memories

Cardstock - American Crafts

Ribbon - Matte blue ribbon and sheer white ribbon

Star Shape - One page from the new star-shaped Clear Scraps mini

Paint Markers - I used Zig Painty Pens

Scalloped Scissors - Decorative- edged scissors with a scalloped design

Pigment Inkpads - In shades of blue and brown

Heavy White Paper - You'll need a paper that is stiffer than cardstock, such as Strathmore Bristol Board.

Scoring Tool - Such as a bone folder or Scor-Pal tool

Paper Trimmer or scissors and a straight edge

Adhesive - Zip Dry paper glue is a good choice for using with the clear star-shaped motif, because it dries clear and adheres well to acrylic.

Instructions for Making This Card:

Cut a piece of your heavy white paper to measure 10" long by 7" wide. Score it using your Scor-Pal so that the score evenly divides the card into a 7" x 5" greeting card base; fold the card base and set it aside.

Cut a piece of blue cardstock measuring 7" wide by 5" high. Ink the edges with brown pigment ink. P>

Take a good look at your piece of Frosty Lace Cardstock to figure out how to position it on your card. I turned mine over onto the back and drew some curves in the areas I wanted to cut, and then I cut them out by hand. If you look carefully at the photo, you can get a better idea of how I did it. If you just use the paper trimmer, you'll have 2 sides that have straight cuts and 2 edges that have interesting curved cuts. You could do it that way if you want to save time, but it won't look as elegant. Adhere this to your blue cardstock using your adhesive.

Layer the 2 ribbons over each other and glue them down on top of the cardstock and frosty lace cardstock as shown.

Adhere the entire piece to the top of the white card base using your adhesive.

Turn a scrap piece of the blue cardstock over onto the reverse side and draw around the star shape lightly with a pencil. Cut the shape out using scalloped scissors. The textured side is going to be the front, so flip it over and ink the front lightly with blue ink that is just a little bit darker than the cardstock. You want to do this so that the scalloped star will stand out a bit from the background of the card. You can also lightly ink the outermost edges with brown ink if you want to.

Turn the Hambly screen printed paper over onto its reverse side and trace around the star shape again. Cut out the star shape with straight scissors. Ink around the outer edges with brown ink.

Draw around the outer edge of the star-shaped clear embellishment with a paint marker.

Use small dots of glue to attach the star-shaped papers together. Then tie the papers together with the clear star shape using the sheer white ribbon.

Attach the star shapes to the greeting card using your adhesive.

Personalize the inside of the star card as desired; you can rubber stamp a greeting, write your own greeting using calligraphy pens, add stickers, or use any other embellishments you like.

Send it to the intended recipient with lots of love!

Posted by: Amy Solovay

A little "Snow" for this Season...

Here's a fun little project just in time for Christmas! 

About six years ago, my family was blessed to travel the world for 1/2 a year and we were in Paris, France in the Wintertime!  It was such a GREAT time to be there and the day we arrived it was raining but as we were being shown around our apartment (think very small "loft" at the top of the aparment building) we noticed on the windows it was starting to SNOW!!  The guy said "oh no, it doesn't snow here much, in fact it hasn't snowed in about 15 years!"  Well, he looked and sure enough... IT WAS!  So I said we HAVE to get in a taxi and go straight to the Eiffel Tower to see it when it was snowing!!!!  So we did and by the time we got there, it was a BLIZZARD and we couldn't really much but it was still FUN!  It even made the news back home in the States, so it was a very rare and special day!

This little Snowflake Mini Keychain album captures that day and that trip to Paris!

 

I used the Christmas line by Basic Grey and trimmed the edges with Ranger's Paint Dabber in Pearl and added some Stickles to the snowflakes!

Thanks for coming by and checking out the Clear Scraps blog!

Have a JOYOUS Christmas Season,

Laura

http://akissonthechic.typepad.com