| | | |
|
This week, here, on the Fancy Pants Designs blog, you will get a handful of inspiration everyday and we focused on our now popular Brag Books! Whether you are into mini albums, want to scrapbook your Summer memories from last year or document your daily life, our Brag Books are the best companion for memory keeping.
Meet Victoria today for our fifth Brag Book Day!
1. For the layout in my Brag Book I cut a piece of paper 8 ¾ inches long and 6 3/8 inches wide and then chose other papers and embellishments that match my photo.
2. Then I cut contrast paper 6x5 inches and adhered it to my background paper. One of the Brag Pad sheet I use as a journaling card and I just placed it on the background. Another piece from Brag Pad I put over and stitched to the background on the left side. The stitch is a little bit longer here than this mat.
3. Then I add stitch on the other side, but this time it is shorter, and its purpose is to hold the journaling card. Now you can easily put it in and out.
4. The next step is to add a photo. I use a mat of contrast paper for it and adhered to the stitched mat with the help of scotch.
5. Then I made a cluster from die cuts and just stapled them to the page.
6. For the journaling card I used label and alfa stickers. I usually heat them with a heat gun and then press hard to be sure they won’t fall off.
7. The last step is to adhere the pages into the Brag Book and enjoy the result.
For my second double page layout I used craft pages mostly as they are.
1. I added some color to the background using stencil and acrylic paints that match my photo.
2. On the right page there is a long journaling on a lined paper, and on the left I placed a photo on a mat.
3. A photo mat I fold at half an inch on the right and adhered this part directly to the page. There is a hidden journaling under this photo.
Finally, for my third layout I used photo protectors.
1. I created 4x6 inches layered cards with photos and on the mat created a cluster using die cuts and some memorabilia – cinema tickets.
2. Then I just put cards with photos into clear protectors and added a journaling on the other page.
I hope this week brought you lots of inspiration and ideas to come up with your own BragBooks!
- Victoria
| | | |
|
This week, here, on the Fancy Pants Designs blog, you will get a handful of inspiration everyday and we are focused on our ever popular Brag Books! Whether you are into mini albums, want to scrapbook your summer memories or document your daily life, our Brag Books are the best companion for memory keeping.
Meet Alexes for our fourth Brag Book Day !
Hi there, Alexes Brown from Dear Lexe Designs here to give you a step-by-step tutorial on how to make “A Few of My Favorite Things” mini album.
Scrapbookers devote their lives to documenting the stories of their families and those around them but the most often neglected stories are the ones about themselves! Today is all about making an album featuring, you guessed it, YOU! We will be using product from the Trendsetter line, a little of the Artist Edition and with the amazing Brag Books from Fancy Pants Designs! Let’s get started!
The first thing I did was to carefully pull the metal binding apart to make it a tiny bit loose, just enough to pull all the pages out from it. This is useful if the color of brag book doesn’t match your color scheme. In this case my Brag Book was brown but my color scheme was Navy, Pink, and Teal. In this tutorial I’ll show you how to not only customize the cover with patterned paper but also how to cover the binding (the brown part) with paper as well.
The first thing I did was to take one of the covers and adhered patterned paper by first putting down some glue onto the kraft part of the cover and then laying the patterned paper so it aligns right next to the brown “seam” if you will.
Then I flip the cover over...
...and trim the paper by cutting alongside the chipboard cover. I prefer this method because I don’t have to worry about aligning my pre-measured and cut paper perfectly before my glue dries. This way I just can cut the page after it’s already glued down and I’ll have the perfect size, every time.
The next step is to cover the brown part of the cover or the binding. I measured out a piece of Navy paper to the right height and then cut the width to twice as long as the brown section. It’s useful to cut the width a little bit longer, to account for the actual thickness of the chipboard cover. Be sure to only glue one side.
After the glue dries its time to cut out the holes so the binding can go through.
This is where a precision set of filing tools comes in handy. I just took my flat file and filed along the four edges of each square. Another way to do this is to use an exacto knife, but I think this left the edges cleaner.
This is what it looks like when one side is all finished. Now that you have finished one side it’s time to glue the other side down. Then you can repeat the same filing process on the unfinished side.
All finished! Now you are free to layer on your embellishments onto the front cover.
Notice how the patterned paper on the front cover is upside down compared to the back cover? This is because when the back cover is flipped around (so the patterned paper will appear the backside of the book) the patterns will match up.
The next mini-tutorial is how to make a peek-a-boo window. First cut out a square from some type of clear material, I used part of a page protector but honestly you can use anything, a clear plastic bag, acetate, or even vellum.
The next part may seem intimidating but it’s really easy. Just place your square wherever you want it on the page. I chose to center it and I just eyed it, no measuring. And then sew a straight line along three sides of the square.
Next, put in your little bits and pieces of paper. I just used a butterfly punch and a regular hole punch for this page.
After you’ve added what you want close up your square by sewing along the last edge of the square. I like to sew around the whole thing a few more times just because I think it’s cute!
TIP: to hide any sewing you might do take another piece of paper from the journal and glue it to the back of your sewn paper.
The next thing I’m going to show you is how to turn one of the stencils from the Artist Edition into a little mini page.
I took one of the journaling pages from the Album and cut a strip about 1.5 inches wide, making sure to include the holes from the page.
Then I glued the stencil right on top of the paper but notice how there’s a part of the paper that kind of peeks through the stencil? Well I didn’t like that so I just used my exacto knife to remove the pieces I didn’t want.
Then I added the stitching just along the left side of the stencil just for fun!
Okay this next page is really fun and really easy. I simply used my silhouette to cut out a phrase and then (here’s the tricky part) I took another journaling page and lined it up so the holes for the wires were aligned and both of the journaling sides were touching on the inside.
This way the back of this paper will also be this plain kraft color.
Then I just chose a few of my favorite patterns from the collection and put a small piece behind each word to give it some color. The pieces don’t have to be perfect because they will be hidden once you glue the two journaling pages together.
Here you can see how I arranged my pages so both of the sides that have journaling lines are on the inside of the paper sandwich. See, I told you it was easy!
The next page is really fun and probably my favorite!
I took one of the divided plastic page protectors and some glitter and dumped some of the glitter into one of the sections. Then I broke out my handy dandy sewing machine and closed the open side with a straight stich. I did a full back stich that ran the entire length of the edge just to be sure it was really closed off.
Be sure to then shake your page so all the glitter is spread out as evenly as possible.
Then (and here’s the fun part) I just chose the cutest looking stiches my sewing machine had to offer and sewed a bunch of horizontal lines, making sure the glitter was as even as possible as I sewed.
How cute is that?? Something “sew” easy, fast and fun! And not to mention the texture it adds to the album!
TIP: I usually will NOT back stitch on these horizontal lines. If you pull on one of the strings it will usually help the stich on the other side to kind of pop out, you can then pull on it until both the strings are on the same side of the paper and you can then tie them in a knot and cut off the remaining thread. Although I have seen people who like to leave the threads alone too, if you want something different.
Now the very last thing you need to do it put your pages in the order you like and slip the binding back through all the holes, pinch the wires together again and voilà! You’re finished with an amazing album!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you had a great time creating!!
- Alexes
| | | |
|
This week, here, on the Fancy Pants Designs blog, you will get a handful of inspiration everyday and we are focused on our ever popular Brag Books! Whether you are into mini albums, want to scrapbook your summer memories or document your daily life, our Brag Books are the best companion for memory keeping.
Meet Celine for our third Brag Book Day - she has come up with a new video!
| | | |
|
This week, here, on the Fancy Pants Designs blog, you will get a handful of inspiration everyday and we are focused on our ever popular Brag Books! Whether you are into mini albums, want to scrapbook your summer memories or document your daily life, our Brag Books are the best companion for memory keeping.
Meet Nicole for our second Brag Book Day!
Hi everyone! Welcome to this second day of our Brag Book week!
Before even creating I pulled my Brag Book apart. I gently separated the metal binding and separated the three types of pages: plastic photo sleeves, lined printed pages, and the pocket pages. I like putting together albums this way if I can then I’m not constantly fighting the rings or binding.
First off I started with the cover.
I covered the base with liquid glue and placed the dark blue corrugated paper (from the Down by the Shore line) on top. After it dried I trimmed the overhang.
I had previously cut a title for my album with my die-cut machine and knew I wanted that as the focal point. Playing with the arrangement I layered paper from the Park Bench and Etcetera Brag Pads.
Before gluing my title and papers down I took some gold mist and dropped it right on the corrugated background. I really like the way it ran into the corrugated lines and created a linear effect.
Once the mist was dry I attached all my pattern paper and title to the top. I finished the look off by tucking in a few tags (from Etcetera and Park Bench), added a sticker from the Park Bench line, and stamped the dates with a date stamp.
On the inside cover I wanted just a little something without going overboard since my cover page would be on the opposite side.
I chose to cover the whole thing with grey cardstock and added a little dictionary paper and some stickers from Park Bench and Down by the Shore lines.
My cover page is an enlarged 6x8 ½ picture. I used my Quickutz tool and punched out the corners from pattern paper. I glued those down at the corners and added a sticker from the Park Bench line over the top of the left over tag piece (Etcetera line) I used on the front cover.
I punched two small circles from some pattern paper and glued those to the sides and topped them with some Ranger’s Glossy Accents. As one last finishing touch I also applied some Glossy Accents directly on the picture to the word Higher for a little added dimension.
Tip: I used Glossy Accents on top of punched circles throughout my album to mimic the ever popular pearls, brads, and enamel dots. I love doing this since it gives the same effect, but you can customize them to whatever color you need.
Page 3 of my album is a pocket page.
I could have placed the page as is into the album but chose to trim off the binding holes.
I then adhered the pocket to the back of my previous cover page to make it a little thicker and sturdier. I then took pattern paper from the Trend Setter and Park Bench lines and covered the pocket area to give it more color. I finished this page off with a sticker from the Park Bench line.
Page 4
This album contains pictures and events that happened while my sisters, step-mom and I attended Time Out for Women. We listened to many wonderful talks and musical numbers and just had such a great time together. The quotes I used are quotes that my sisters and I had written down and I then used through the album to help tie everything back to our wonderful experience.
Using my die-cut machine I cut the quote from a piece of cardstock and backed it with pattern paper from the Park Bench line and accented beneath the quote with a strip of paper from the Etcetera Brag Pad and a sticker from the Park Bench line.
On top I sandwiched a decorative bag between the quote and the kraft page. Inside the bag is a small and large tag tied together. The smaller tag is decorated with a strip of pattern paper and some alphabet stickers to spell out the name of whose quote is on the page.
I finished off the quote with some pattern paper, baker’s twine, and button from the Park Bench line.
Page 5
My step-mom happened to be the guest of the day at our hotel. I took a picture of the sign that was at the check-in desk and enlarged it to a 6x8 ½ size. I punched more corners from pattern paper using my Quickutz and the page is done.
Page 6
Between page 5 and 6 I cut a photo sleeve down to fit our hotel room card (Shhhh, don’t tell anyone I took it). I placed part of a Park Bench title card in with it and sewed it shut.
This page is combination of a picture on the background and a pocket I sewed onto the bottom so I could slip in some journaling tags.
The tags are a combination of Park Bench Brag Pad papers and the decorative tags from the Park Bench line. On the back of the tags I wrote what the amenities were for being guest of the day and my Step-mom’s reaction when finding out the news.
Using gold metallic thread I sewed a strip of cardstock to make a pocket, tucked in my tags, and then placed a picture on top. I matted my picture with some yellow pattern paper from the Park Bench line and cluster some stickers in the corner. Stickers are from the Park Bench and Trend Setter lines along with the flags that were cut from the Etcetera Brag Pad.
To finish off the page I punched a few more photo corners from Park Bench paper for the top photo.
Page 7
Another quote page cut out using my die-cut machine. This background paper comes from the Park Bench line. I backed it with pieces of cardstock and did the same tag/bag treatment at the top.
The embellishment cluster at the bottom is pieces from Park Bench and Trend Setter lines.
Page 8
At the base I used a piece of dictionary paper and placed my pictures on top with some odds and ends from the Park Bench and Down by the Shore lines. My title was cut from some yellow paper from the Park Bench line and I cut a little accent from the Etcetera Brag Pad and stapled it on the top.
Page 9
This page I wanted to include more photos than just the one on top. To allow more photos I cut several of the photo sleeves apart and sewed them to a piece of cardstock.
Once sewn together I put adhesive on the back of the blue cardstock and attached that to the top of the page. I added a title cut with my machine and added some strips of paper and tags from the Park Bench line.
Underneath the pictures I added a piece of pattern paper from the 6x6 Etcetera paper pad and did a little journaling.
Page 10
Another quote page. This one is cute from some pattern paper from the Park Bench line. More corners punched and a small strip of pattern paper at the bottom for easy embellishing.
Page 11
This one is one of my favorite quotes. I backed the cardstock cut with pattern papers from the Park Bench line and embellished with some of the border stickers and buttons. The ‘inch by inch, ‘day by day’ is trimmed from a sheet of the Etcetera Brag Pad. I finished this off with another decorative bag at the top and some glossy accents on the words ‘Succeed Gloriously’.
Page 12
Lots of different pattern paper used on this one. Etcetera Brag Pad and the 6x6 papers with some of the Park Bench Brag Pad thrown in for the hints of yellow. I used some of the border stickers from Park Bench along the bottom.
The title is cut with my machine and I used the small Park Bench alphas for the word ‘one’. I used some yellow mist and gold washi tape for the final touches.
Page 13
I combined the receipt paper from the Down by the Shore Brag Pad and the film strip from the Etcetera Brag Pad with a picture of our restaurant. Another bit of gold washi tap along the top and more punched photo corners from some cardstock.
Page 14 & 15
I used one of the photo sleeves and slipped in 4 4x6 photos.
Page 16
I cut down one of the photo sleeves and made it just big enough to hold a 2x3 sized photo. I placed some small letter stickers from Park Bench along the photo and placed two index tabs on the top and sewed around the outside.
This page is all about the picture. I used pattern papers from the Etcetera Brag Pad, Down by the Shore Brag Pad, and tags from the Park Bench line and cut from the Trend Setter tag paper. I placed all the elements down and topped the photo with pieces of washi tape. The title is made up of alphabet stickers from Park Bench and Trend Setter as well as accent stickers from the Park Bench line. I punched another corner from cardstock and finished the title accent off with some glossy accented pattern paper along with the rules of our clicker game.
Page 17
A simple quote page. I backed the quote with some cardstock and matted it with pattern paper from the Down by the Shore line.
Page 18
Pattern papers and banner die-cuts from the Park Bench and Trend Setter lines along with some dictionary paper I staggered along the bottom. I added the banners and tags to the top.
The name ‘Hilary’ I cut using my machine and paper from the Trend Setter line. I misted it with gold mist and applied a coat of glossy accents.
Part of the title is made up of alphabet stickers from the Park Bench line.
Page 19
The last picture is a screen shot of a video we watched. We laughed so hard that I couldn’t help but include it as a memory from this weekend.
I decorated it with some stickers from Park Bench and Trend Setter. Tucked into the top is a strip of paper from the Etcetera Brag Pad and along the bottom a strip from the Park Bench Brag Pad.
I added in a sprinkling of glossy accented cardstock among the stickers.
Page 20
Opposite the picture is the words from this video that I printed out on some cardstock and accented with some washi tape and a felt flower from the Park Bench line.
Page 21-24
The last several pages of the album I left blank and are just the printed lines paper included in the album. I wanted my step-mom to have a place to write down her notes of her favorite talks or what she enjoyed most about our time together.
Inside back cover
I included a final pocket page and slipped in a picture of the thank-you balloons we left for housekeeping in our hotel.
I covered the pocket with pattern paper from Trend Setter and finished it off with some stickers and a chipboard button from Park Bench.
The back cover I glued down a piece of dark grey cardstock and then began placing all my pages back onto the spiral binding.
Once all the pages are in order gently press the rings back together.
As one final accent I tied a big yellow ribbon onto the binding.
Thank you for reading this tutorial, I hope you will be as inspired as I was creating in this beautiful Brag Book!
- Nicole
| | | |
|
This week, here, on the Fancy Pants Designs blog, you will get a handful of inspiration everyday and we focused on our now popular Brag Books! Whether you are into mini albums, want to scrapbook your Summer memories from last year or document your daily life, our Brag Books are the best companion for memory keeping.
Meet Stacy today for our first Brag Book Day!
Hi everyone! Today I’m going to share a Brag Book with you. With summer only a couple months away and the warm weather already upon us here in Southern California, I decided to make a summer -themed Brag Book. I used the fabulous and colorful Down by the Shore collection to decorate my book.
BRAG BOOK / Down by the Shore Colorful Days / Down by the Shore Beachside / Down by the Shore Cruise / Down by the Shore Ocean Life / Down by the Shore Wave Rider / Down by the Shore Strips / Down by the Shore Photo Frames / Down by the Shore Red Corrugate Paper / Down by the Shore Button Set / Down by the Shore Brag Pad / Down by the Shore Pennants / Childish Things Alpha Stickers / It’s the Little Things Chipboard Alphas
Here’s how I made the patchwork cover. First I cut a piece of cardstock measured to fit the cover.
Next I punched a mix of patterned paper squares from the Down by the Shore papers.
I then placed the squares in a sideways/diagonal patchwork pattern on the cardstock. I used removable to adhere them so that I could easily move them around a bit while I was deciding on the final pattern and placement.
Don’t worry if the squares hang over the edge of the cardstock, because once you have them all down you can easily trim off the excess.
Because this is going to be the cover of the album, I wanted the paper to be protected, so I coated it with decoupage medium.
Once the decoupage medium it was dry, I machine stitched the patchwork (this is optional). I then adhered the stitched patchwork piece to the cover of the Brag Book
To finish it off, I decorated the cover with paper strips, cut-outs and embellishments from the Down by the Shore line.
The leftover paper scraps and embellishments can be used to dress-up the inside of the Brag Book. Here’s a little peak at one of the inside pages.
I’m thinking this will be a great teacher gift to give to my daughter’s teacher at the end of the school year before she goes off to enjoy her summer adventures with her family.
Thanks for stopping by!
| | | |
|
Hello everyone! Diana here with a few quick and easy cards that you can create in no time.
If you are pressed for time or just don't know what to say on your card, grab your handy dandy Brag Pads.
Scattered throughout the Brag Pads are cute little sayings that would be perfect for a card. What I love about these sayings is that it you don't have to stamp or carefully place letter stickers on your card.
After choosing a saying, all you need to do is add a few pieces of patterned paper and embellishments to complete your little masterpieces! Here are a few cards I created with sayings from three of the Brag Pads.
The first card was created using the Etcetera Brag Pad. The font on this saying is just to die for!
Swagger Paper Top Hat / Swagger Paper Debonair / Swagger Banner Die Cuts / Swagger Ephemera Pack / Etcetera Brag Pad / Etcetera Decorative Tags
Next up is a saying from the Down by the Shore Brag Pad. There are several really cool sayings for summer cards!
Down by the Shore Paper Saltwater / Down by the Shore Label Stickers / Down by the Shore Brag Pad/ Down by the Shore Decorative Bags / Down by the Shore Decorative Tags / Down by the Shore Button Set
For this last one, I used a saying from the Swagger Brag Book. These are perfect for manly cards.
Swagger Paper Clever / Swagger Ephemera Pack / Swagger Brag Pad
That's all I have for you today. I hope these cards got you in a creative mood!
| | | |
|
Hello again! Today I wanted to share with you just a quick little thought:
I recently worked on a book for a class that I was teaching and it was about the The Things I Love ... I found this quote AFTER I made the book, and it got me to wondering if the things I love reflect this quote?
And, after looking back through it, I realized that everything in there, "the things I love" and my happiness truly is based on the happiness of those around me ... my husband, my sweet kids, my family, my friends, my work ... it's all what I love, but it's not as rewarding if the people you love aren't sharing in your happiness! So, I just wanted to share that little quote and a few images from my album and challenge you to make a book about the things you love ... I used a Brag Book so that I could keep adding to it ... there is always more to love :)! Have a great rest of the week!
-Jodi Sanford
| | | |
|
We all love sketches ... they give us a good starting point for creating that perfect page and save us a lot of time worrying about balance and details, right? So, we're going to be focusing in on a sketch or two each month and hope you'll join us by being a part of our monthly sketch challenge! Not only do you have a full month to share your pages with us on our Facebook page, but you'll finish a great page while you're at it ... oh, and be entered to win our sketch winner prize!
As with all sketches, feel free to change things up a bit, move things around and make it your own ... this is just a starting point ... we've included a touch of inspiration using features from this sketch as part of a Brag Book project!
It's simple and sweet, but really makes a statement for your special photo (or photos :))! So, here are the details of our monthly sketch challenge—we hope you'll join us!
*Create a project based on the sketch in this post, using some of your Fancy Pants Designs stash, then post your Sketch Challenge entry to the Fancy Pants Designs Facebook page. This challenge is open to US and International residents. Projects posted to our Facebook page prior to September 7, 2012 do not qualify. Entries are due by midnight MST, Wednesday, September 26th, 2012. We will post the winner on Thursday, September 27th on our blog and Facebook, so be sure to check back then to see if you've won.
-Jodi Sanford
| | | |
|
