Paper Bag Book

This can be filed under the most clever creations I've ever seen from my friends at Captured Moments in Rotterdam, NY.  This is a flip book for pictures, made out of two PAPER BAGS!!  Who comes up with something like this?  Tara and Tiffany are so creative.

The crazy thing is...this is so simple to make.  You start by stamping the edges of your paper bags.  Layer two bags on top of each other, facing opposite directions.  Fold them in half.  Punch three holes in the fold and tie them together with ribbon.

You'll want to cut blocks of designed paper for each page of the book.  Another thing I love about Tara and Tiffany is that they are not afraid to use bold patterns and mix them together.  Ink your edges.  You can place photos or notes on these pages.  The girls chose to use titles to inspire a theme for your pictures.

The bottom of your bag with half a fold.  You can use that for something fun and unique...a clever pocket.  If you prefer to cover it, simply glue the fold closed and adhere your patterned paper over the top of the fold.

The tops of the bags offer pockets for pull-out pictures.  Throw a block of patterned paper inside and attach some fiber to the edge to give your book some texture.  This makes the book interactive...some pages flip, others pull out.

Embellish your cover and enjoy.  I think I had more fun with this project than any of the other make-n-takes I've brought home.  Mostly, I was impressed by the originality of the idea.  You can find more work by Tara and Tiffany at www.capturedmomentstore.com

Tiny Accordion Book

Why do cute lockets, keychains, and picture frames always come in sizes that are impossible to fill?  Because tiny is just cute.  Simple.  How can I find a picture of my cute niece the size of a quarter?  We always find a way to figure it out and the results are sweet when we open our necklace to reveal the teeny face of someone who we can't get enough of.

If a locket isn't big enough to show off your whole family, make your own tiny brag book.  This is another credit to the girls from Captured Moments in Rotterdam, NY.  They taught Crafty Girl and I how to make accordion books.  We've loved making them ever since.  Start with a strip of paper that you  fold in typical "accordion" style.  You'll need two small pieces of chip board to put on each end of your book...the back and front covers.  Cut pretty paper for your front cover and fold the edges around to the inside.  You'll cover the inside with the end of your accordion strip.

Repeat the process for the other end of the book.  But, put a piece of ribbon on the inside of the back cover, before you adhere that end of the accordion strip.  That will wrap around your front cover to keep it closed.  You can either tie the ribbon or attach a tiny metal clasp.  Throw a few cute flowers on the cover or any small embellishment.  Done!!  Giving credit where credit is due...check out more of the Captured Moments creativity on their website, www.capturedmomentsstore.com.  This is shaping up to be sort of a Captured Moments make-n-take tribute month.  Monday we'll show you a twist on this type of book that they came up with.  Plus, I'll bring you one of my favorite CM creations soon...a paper bag book!!  Keep checking in.  Until then, give this to a friend empty and let them fill it OR fill it with pictures of a special occasion.  I like to keep one in my purse to look at when I need a tiny smile.

Paper Flowers

Flowers can be the perfect touch on a scrapbooking layout.  I've bought my fair share of cute crafting flowers over the years, always paying more than I should.  

Still, I'd find myself struggling to match the exact shade of the embellishment with my background paper.  That problem is solved.

You can make beautiful flowers out of any paper pattern that you like.  

The crafty gals at Captured Moments taught me how to make my own flowers.  Start by punching out three paper circles, each slightly bigger than the next.  

Crinkle the edges of each circle with your fingers.  Use your thumb and forefinger to hold the center of the paper in place.  It is important that the edges are bent and wrinkled enough to break up the fibers in your paper.  Eventually, start to shape your circle, with portions raised and lowered, to give the flower dimension.  

Once you're done crinkling, ink the edges of your flowers to add a subtle coloring.  Layer the circles with the largest piece in the back and the smallest up front.  Use a brad or button to hold the pieces together.  Then, add leaves using the same crinkle method.  Cut roughly the shape of a leaf, crinkle it, and glue it down.  Voila!!  You have a handmade flower with any paper pattern you like.  If you want to see the full page layout the girls from Captured Moments created, using this flower, scroll down the the next blog post.

Trash To Treasure

Our favorite girls over at Captured Moments are creating beautiful things once again! You'll remember we told you they were our inspiration when they were one of our Artist Spotlights in December. If you are anywhere near upstate New York- please go visit them in person! Want to see how they turned this shelf from trash to treasure? Click here!

Artist Spotlight and GIVEAWAY: Captured Moments

 I can thank my husband for introducing me to Captured Moments of Rotterdam New York and feeding my addiction to scrapbooking. Several years ago he gave me a gift certificate to one of their "Crops" and before then- I had no clue what a crop was.

For you new scrapbookers a crop is an organized gathering for scrapbookers to meet and play with their papers and tools. It's the best way to learn new techniques and grow as a crafter!

The crops at Captured Moments are second to none- home cooked meals, generous gifts, amazing advice- I can go on and on because I'm a big fan of the store and the sisters who run it Tiffany Reutter and Tara Burtt.

-Ladies, I can go on and on about your awesome work but I guess I should ask some questions too!LOL Your store just celebrated 6 years but I know you have been "scrapbooking" before there was even the official term-- tell us about your background.

Answer: Tiffany: I was a stay at home mother of three before Tara and I decided to open a business together. A scrapbooking store is what we decided on but we toyed with a number of possibilities. I had started scrapbooks for my girls before it was an officially named hobby and I realized that a scrapbook store in our area was desperately needed. Tara was a new Mom and was just getting into scrapbooking her daughter, so our decision was easy. tara and I have both dabbled in creating and selling unique gift items so taking on a small business together was exciting.

-You are always so generous with your knowledge and your products. One great note- people can come in and crop anytime they want. Talk about your business philosophy.

Tara: Our vision for Captured Moments right from the start was to be a “House of Inspiration” for anyone interested in scrapbooking as well as other paper crafting projects. Even though our business philosophy has not changed over these last 6 years, our knowledge of the craft has, and we try to relay the latest trends and techniques to our customers as fast as we are learning them. We want to keep everyone excited about their hobby, challenge them to do things that they think they can’t and really, there are no rules in this area! Scrapbooking is extremely social. We have so much to share and so many to share it with. It brings so much more personality to our business and true friendships are created among us. It is the best job.

-If you could only use one technique/product on a page what would it be and how would you use it?

Tiffany: Ok, this is an easy question and maybe too easy so I will answer it in two parts. Unless you are excluding ink, ink would be my one product/technique! If I only had paper to work with and I could grab one other thing from my supplies, it would be ink. Applying ink to the cut edges of paper, (and to stickers as well) adds dimension. It pops the edges out and gives very flat paper depth. I can’t live without ink on any of my projects! If ink is a “given” then my one technique would be layering. I love to layer paper and I love to use prints that most people can’t see being used together. I try to encourage people to be bold and grab paper that isn’t a perfect match and show them how awesome it can look together.

-Ha ha! I thought that would be a hard one to answer! How can people learn more about your products, services and store?

Tara: Captured Moments just launched a new state-of-the-art website,which was designed specifically to bring Captured Moments, the store, with it’s personal look and feel to the world wide web. The site is full of information and inspiration. Capturedmomentsstore.com links you directly to our blog where you will find, tutorials, scrapbook page layout ideas and all kinds of useful information on scrapbooking and paper crafting. You can also shop our on-line boutique. The website offers information about all our classes, clubs and events and complete details about the monthly scrapbook kit club we host, called the Kit Terrific Klub.

Thank you Tara and Tiffany for all your inspiration you've given to these crafty ladies!

GIVEAWAY!!!

Tara and Tiffany have put together a Kit Terrific Klub kit along with some Captured Moments'items for one lucky winner! Honestly- this is the time I was a reader and not author of this blog!! You are so lucky!

Rules:

*Drop us a comment on this blog post. Tell us what you love most about this blog post.
* For a second entry be a follower of our blog and leave a second comment telling us you are follower. Just press follow- to the right of this blog! It just takes 2 seconds to do it but it makes us oh so excited!

* Contest ends 12/8/10 at noon.
* One person will be randomly selected!

* Winner will be announced 12/9/10.

ENTER NOW!!!!