Wow, it’s October already!  This year is flying by!  Cathy here with a little project to help you out at Halloween.  Ever end up with plans the night of Halloween and you’re not able to be home to give out the candy?  Or maybe you want to escort your little characters as they trick or treat their way through the neighborhood and just need a helping hand for a bit.  Believe it or not, your craft and digi supplies can come to the rescue!

You can create a sweet sign to leave out with your stash of goodies. This way you get to enjoy your other plans, the Halloween visitors still get their treats and your house doesn’t get tricked, hopefully!

This is a fairly simple project. All that you’ll need is a picture frame, some printing paper and your favorite Halloween themed digital kit.  Lucky for you, the Mix-a-kit series at ScrapMatters for October has some great Halloween themed items.  You can pick and choose the portions of the kit that suit you best.  I used Frightful – The Patterns, Frightful – The Extras (by WM Squared Designs); Scary Elegance – Paper Pack (by Haynay Designs); Shabby Solids - October Mix (by GeniaBeana); Haunted House Elements, Haunted House Alpha (by Dream Big Designs), Purple Monster Alpha (by Amy Stoffel)

I found an old picture frame that was not being used and painted it black. It is an 8.5″x11″ frame which I turned on its side.  I designed my sign in Photoshop.  I printed it out on Red River Canvas paper.  Just popped it into the frame and I’m all set.

Perhaps the creepy eyes “watching” will keep the kids from taking all the candy!  I used a brush to create smoky clouds to help accentuate some of the design.

Believe it or not, I’ve had to leave a bowl of candy on the porch for the trick or treaters to help themselves in the past. I thought they would empty the bowl in no time. But I actually had leftover!  Hope you have a crafty and Happy Halloween!

Hey everyone – LuAnn here with your March Home Matters post.

When I brainstorm ideas for my projects, I often take a look at what I have stashed away in my hybrid supplies.  I’m the type of person that will buy things in the clearance sections of stores and at yard sales with the intent of using them for a project.  Sometimes I use them right away and other times I tuck them away for a rainy day.  Even my kids will stop and ask, “Mom – can you use this for one of your projects?” before they throw something away.  How’s that for training??? 

Anyway, while going through my supplies I realized that I have quite a few things that have been in my stash for a while now.   It was at that point I decided that I was not going to buy ANYTHING for today’s project.  I was only going to use stuff that I had already in my house.

So, the hunt was on…. What all did I have and what could I use to create a project?

Well, here’s what I came up with for today’s Home Matters post – I spent no money at all on this project!!!  Everything used was found in my stash!

The frame was from a Stampin’ Up! project that I didn’t really like when we made them at the party a year ago but I loved the frame so I kept it!   It originally came from the big box store that sounds like Mal-Wart and was only $3.

The chipboard letters are from 2 different, but same sized alphabets.  The background was a left over piece of 12 x 12 neutral, canvas textured cardstock.

I even used a paper pack in my digital stash that I had downloaded before Christmas and never used!  It is a paper pack by Inspirations from Day called Zen Garden.

Aren’t those papers swoon-worthy? 

Additional supplies used: thin matte presentation paper, my Tombow adhesive tape runner, an exacto knife, a sanding block, ink for edges, scissors.

But again, use what you have!  No adhesive tape runner?  Use mod podge or even white glue or a craft stick.

Let’s get started on how I made my framed chipboard welcome sign.

1.  First, I figured out what paper I wanted to use for each letter.

2.  Since my letters are about 3 inches, I resized the papers 4 inch x 4 inch squares.   I printed the squares on presentation paper using my printer’s best print option.  Next, I cut apart my squares.

3.  I didn’t want the gray sides of the chipboard letters showing in my project so I inked the edges of my letters with Tim Holtz’ Distress Ink.  I used Q-tips for the hard to reach spots on the letters – like on the inner edge of the “c”

4.  I applied my tape runner adhesive to the front of each letter and placed one face down on each of the backs of the printed squares of patterned paper.

5.  Using an exacto knife, I carefully cut around each letter and in the center of the “e’s” and the “o”.

This is what all of the letters looked like covered with the papers:

They are very rough looking from being cut out with the exacto knife, but we’re going to take care of that next.

6.  Using a sanding block, I sanded all the edges of the letters (you can also used a piece of fine grit sandpaper, a flat nail file or metal nail file).  This not only removed any excess paper from where I didn’t trim close enough but it also smoothed and distressed the edges.

tip:  always sand in a downward motion.  If you sand up and down, you’ll pull the paper up from the letter.

7.  I then used brown ink and a small piece of sponge to ink all of the edges of the letters and then set them off to the side to dry.

8.  While my letters were drying, I measured the inside opening of the frame.  It was 5 inches x 12 inches.  I chose a light cream colored, canvas textured cardstock that went with the colors of the printed papers.

tip:  if your frame opening is larger than 8.5 x 11, I recommend taking the finished chipboard letters, along with the frame you are going to use, to pick out a coordinating 12 x 12 background scrapbook paper.  Most papers will run between $.59 and $1.99 a sheet but it will save you from having to try to paper piece your background.

9.  I centered my letters on the background cardstock piece.  After I was happy with the alignment and centering, I picked up one letter at a time, applied adhesive using my Tombow adhesive tape runner and replaced the letter on the background.

tip:  you could use a ruler and lightly pencil a line across your background paper to assure your letters are on straight. 

10.  Insert in the frame behind the glass and there you go!

This project would make a perfect housewarming gift, wedding gift or  Christmas gift!  It’s never too early to start crafting those Christmas gifts!!!

There are many different ways you could re-create this project and make it your own:

• Use letters to spell out the recipient’s last name instead of “Welcome”.

• Add those trendy rolled roses in a cluster in a corner on the outside of the frame.

• Add a little bling to your letters with a few glued on crystals.

• Spell out a new baby’s name and use colors that coordinate with the nursery as a unique baby shower gift.

The possibilities are endless – you are only limited by your imagination!

I’d love to know what you think about my project!  And if my project inspires you to create your own project, I’d LOVE to see it so please post a link in the comments section of this post!!!

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Hello, Cathy here with today’s Hybrid Corner.  It’s a New Year and that means a fresh start.  In my house I’ve been cleaning out, donating unused items and trashing the junk.  What’s left is being re-organized and straightened up!  So today I thought I would share with you how to alter a wooden container.  This way when you get organized, you can put things away in attractive containers.

For this project I used a round wooden chipwood box with a lid.  I found a set of 3 nesting ones at my craft store.  I’m going to use my box to store hot cocoa packets, so the digital kit I used for this is Frosty by WM [squared] Designs. Aren’t the colors great? And those elements are so cute!

This is my finished project

Other items you will need:

• wooden container
• lite sandpaper
• adhesive/sealer
• trimmer, scissors, craft knife
• ink, paint (if desired)
• glitter (if desired)
• edge punch (if desired)
• ribbon (if desired)

Let me start out by apologizing for the messy craft table in the background of my photos. Let’s just say my clean-up efforts have not yet gotten to that area of the house!  OK, Start by lightly sanding and cleaning the surface of the box.  I painted my box with acrylic paint in a light beige shade and allowed it to dry.

Next I applied crackle paint medium.  This stuff is kind of gooey and thick.  The thicker you apply it, the bigger the cracks you get.  I didn’t want too much texture to my surface so I went with a moderate coat.  As it dries, you’ll see the surface start to crack.

When the cracks start to appear, you can hasten the process using your heat embossing tool or a hair dryer.  It’s really cool to watch the cracks form.  Here’s a closer picture of the cracks:

Once the crackle paint was dry, I rubbed some distressing ink into the surface and gave it time to dry.

While it was drying, I created my design in Photoshop. I wanted a nice wintry scene with rolling hills.  I used Bend in the Road Curved Templates by Stolen Moments to create the hills. I printed this out and cut out the shapes.

To add some sparkle to the snowy hills, I painted on a bit of Glossy Accents and coated them with fine glitter.  I also applied the glitter to the snowflakes, snowman and penguin that I cut out.

I used Mod Podge paper adhesive to adhere the scene and snowflakes to the box. Once that was dry, I used Mod Podge Hard Coat to seal the project.  I like to use the hard coat as it dries non-tacky and will eventually become water-resistant. This is really nice for projects that you will want to be able to wipe with a damp cloth to clean.  I apply several coats of the sealant (4 to 5).  Allow plenty of time for drying and sand lightly between coats.

For the lid, I created a decorative edge using an edge punch, then covered the lid in papers.  I then applied the sealant coats of Mod Podge. Then I trimmed it with some ribbon. I used my ATG gun to adhere the ribbon.

Now I’ve got this really darling container for storing our hot cocoa packets.  Hope this inspires you to alter a container for your self or as a gift.  For me, I’d best be getting back to my clean-up!

Hey everyone!  LuAnn here with your Monday Home Matters post.

Home Matters is a newer feature on the ScrapMatters blog.  Our goal is to give you some new ideas on how to incorporate your scrapbooking talents (and digital supplies!) into your home.

I was inspired by some family tree art by Fancyprints that I found on etsy and decided to create my own family tree art using my digital kits.

Not only would these make special Christmas gifts but how about creating one to give away as a bridal shower or wedding gift?

This was very simple to make.

1.  Pick out an 11 x 14″ frame.

2.  I created my “art” for in my frame – the opening in my frame is for an 8 x 10″ photo so this is the size of my canvas.

3.  Find a tree that you like and want to use – Resize and add to the center of your canvas. The tree I used is the tree from Jady Day Studios’ Family Reunion kit.  A tree with a thicker trunk would probably work best as it allows a little more space for the “carving” on the tree that you will do. 

note: You can turn any element into a silhouette by adding a layer above the element, filling that layer with black and then clipping it to the element.

4.  Choose your background paper.  I choose my background paper after picking out my tree.  The paper was created by Yari (Jady Day Studios – Thank you Yari!) esp. for my project.   If your tree is a more whimsical shaped tree, you may want your paper to also reflect that whimsy.

5.  Find a pair of birds that you like in your digital stash.  Again, Yari was kind enough to create these love birds for my project.  Change your birds into silhouettes and position them in your tree.  Or search your favorite free font site for a bird ding font.

Remember – your silhouettes do not have to be black or even solid!  Play around with different  papers until you find something that you like!  Textured or patterned papers could be really cute for your birds!

6.  Find a heart shape that you like – it can be a solid heart or a heart outline like I used (thanks Yari for the heart outline too!!!).   Position the heart on the trunk of your tree.

7.  Using a fun simple font, add the couple’s first names or the initials of their first name and the date of their wedding.  I used the 2Peas Architect font.

Here’s a close up of the “carving” on my tree – please forgive the not so good photo.   My camera and I are going to have a long talk…

8.  Don’t forget some shadows (or not – it will depend on the look you want for your art).   Save and print on presentation paper or photo paper using your printer’s best print option.  Allow to dry, cut and insert into your frame.

And there you go – a very easy yet elegant custom made gift that is sure to be cherished by the recipient!

I hope I inspired you with my Home Matters project!  Now, go forth and create!