Simply Handmade Blog

We have an announcement…

Amy — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 02:21:44 +0000

…our new blog is now live! Come visit us and make sure you update your bookmarks and RSS feeds!

http://northridgemedia.net/blogs/create/

Come check out our new digs!

Tammy — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:54:28 +0000

We couldn’t be more excited to let you know that all the inspiration from the Scrapbook Trends, CARDS, and Simply Handmade blogs is going to have a new home on a single, awesome blog. You can count on tutorials, videos, challenges, ideas, projects, hot new products, and lots more.

In celebration, we will be throwing a housewarming party of giant proportions. Watch for lots of freebies, including online subscriptions and cool prizes from your favorite manufacturers. We want you to be part of the fun! More details to come.

Spellbinder’s Smile!

Tammy — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 06:06:01 +0000

Our friends from Spellbinder’s sent us this very cute layout. Debbie’s gorgeous daughter beams in this easy to make scrapbook page. What a wonderful way to capture this special time in her life.

To start, Debbie cut the blue grid side of My Mind’s Eye patterned paper to 4×11” and attached it to the blue background paper. The green textured paper measures 7×11” and goes just below the blue grid, allowing a ½” border of blue all the way around.

Next Debbie cut/embossed three sets of Spellbinders™ Labels Nine #3 (with #1 being the smallest die template in the set) from patterned paper. She cut them in half lengthwise and placed them along the edge where the two papers meet.

Using the Classic Scalloped Borderabilities® Petite with 2 cut sides (the wider one), and blue cardstock, she cut/embossed a 12” strip of paper. To make the 12” border, cut/emboss, then move the die template down the paper, line it up at the last cut edge, and repeat the process until the entire strip is done. With a paper trimmer, carefully trim the border just below the center holes. Adhere along the edge below the Labels.

To make the journaling spot, cut/emboss Labels Eleven # 3 from notebook style patterned paper. Use a black pen for your journaling. Attach it between the blue Labels, overlapping the scalloped border.

Cut/emboss Blossom #3 & #5 from blue cardstock and Blossom #4 die from green cardstock. Layer them largest to smallest and attach a pearl brad in center. Adhere the flower to the page with 3D Foam Squares.

To make the smaller flower embellishments, cut apart the Flowers Impressabilities™ with scissors. Secure the pieces with Glue Dots as shown.

Cut/emboss an 11” strip of patterned paper with Classic Scalloped Borderabilities® Petite (the thinner one) as above, repeating the cut/emboss down the length of the paper.

Apply ink to the Grunge Board letters to make the title, and attach them with Glue Dots.

Mat your photo with ivory cardstock and it attach to the layout.

Supplies Used:
Page Designed by Debbie Seyer, courtesy of Spellbinders™ Paper Arts
Spellbinders™ Wizard™; S4-233 Labels Nine; S4-192 Blossom; S4-239 Classic Scalloped Borderabilities® Petite; S4-246 Labels Eleven; I2-1004 Flowers Impressabilities™
My Mind’s Eye, Penny Lane Maggie May and Chloe Lynn Bright Moons Paper
Crate Paper, Prudence Collection Virtue
Glue Dots, Memory Dot n’ Go
SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES by 3L, 3D Foam Squares
Bazzill Cardstock
K & Company Brad
Gina K Designs Ivory Cardstock
Tim Holtz idea-ology Grunge Board Alphabet
Tsukineko VersaMagic Chalk Ink, Sea Breeze

Star Spangled Banner & Americana Lollies

Amy — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:38:55 +0000

For those of you that will be celebrating the great US of A this weekend, we’ve spotted some fun projects over on Hilary Kanwischer’s blog. Show your patriotic spirit with a Star Spangled Banner of your own — Hilary gives instructions and detailed photos.

Hilary also has some fun 4th of July lollipops, in the same style as her famous (seriously) Halloween & Christmas pops. They look good enough to eat, so you’d best keep the corn-on-the-cob and watermelon wedges coming to avoid temptation.

Sprinkle a little Americana around this week and enjoy your summer celebrations!

Quiet Book Instructions

Tammy — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:39:15 +0000

Such a darling quiet book from the June-July issue of Simply Handmade, dreamed up and brought to completion by our own Kate Ryskamp. Templates, general book construction directions, and flower page directions are in the book itself; here are the directions for the remaining pages.

Tutorial – fabric flowers

Tammy — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:29:10 +0000

Freshen up a plain headband, make fancy baby barrettes or add a perfect detail to pillows with fabric flowers. This tutorial will show you how to make 3 different types of flowers with one simple technique.

- Scraps of cotton fabric
- Needle and coordinating thread
- Straight-edge fabric scissors
- Decorative-edge fabric scissors (I used pinking shears)

1. Cut your fabric to approximately 2 x 8″ (this is a good size for a headband flower, cut it smaller for barrettes and larger for bigger applications, like pillows.)

2. Use the needle to fray one long edge of your fabric. Pull up one or two threads at a time and pull them from the length of the fabric.

3. Sew a simple basting stitch along the long, non-frayed edge

4. When you have sewed all the way to the end, pull the thread tight. The fabric will ruffle up. Stitch the two ends together to make a complete circle.

Vary the look of the flower by cutting the fabric strip with decorative-edge scissors. For this flower I cut about 2/3 of the way through the strip and frayed all the edges.

This flower uses the same technique, only I used pinking shears to trim the fabric.

This strip looked so wonky and weird when I was cutting the scallops that I was a little worried, but it ended up being my favorite!

You can trim off your threads and finish your flower here, or you can add beads, jewels or buttons to the center to add some extra bling. Or you can repeat the process with another pattern of fabric (or tulle!) to dress up your flowers even more.

These make such a pretty hair accessory for my kindergartner and they’re so easy to whip up, I can match one to her outfit while she’s having her cereal in the morning. Also great for those “how many birthday parties were you invited to?” emergencies. Pretty much there is nothing to limit your creativity but the quantity of fabric scraps you have on hand. Trip to the fabric store anyone?

You should make this for Mother’s Day

Tammy — Wed, 05 May 2010 04:07:46 +0000

Seriously, how beautiful is this?? From Megan Reardon for Holidash.

NEW KIT! Mother’s Day Gift Kit by Crate Paper

Amy — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:47:21 +0000

We’re having a lot of fun putting together these great kits and hope that you are enjoying it as much as we are! Our latest collaboration is a Mother’s Day Gift Kit with Crate Paper. Their gorgeous (and brand new) “Pink Plum” line is full of fashionable spring flowers and butterflies with a color scheme that makes a perfect gift set for Mom. The kit comes with all the supplies needed to create the frame and matching card (including the frame itself, from Fancy Pants Designs) and full color printed instructions. As a bonus, you can get ideas for more gifts and home decor projects with our For The Home Idea Book, available for $9.95 (45% off!) when you add on to this kit.

We’re only selling this for a few days, while supplies last, so order yours now. Mother’s Day will be here before you know it!

Bonus Project: Rocket Card

Tammy — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 19:00:26 +0000

Sometimes we just end up with too much good stuff to fit into our books. Such was the case with this adorable rocket card by Sarah Hodgkinson and our April-May issue. Click on the picture to download a pdf. And here’s a link to the rocket on crayola.com. What an awesome project, thank you Sarah!

Introducing Month to Month Print Subscriptions!

Tammy — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 03:44:45 +0000

In response to requests from our readers, Northridge Publishing is proud to announce that you may now subscribe to any of its five publications on a month-to-month basis.

Click here for more information.