Scrapbooking South Africa ~ Online Scrap Booking Shop ~ Embellishments ~ Paper ~ Buttons ~ Beadlets ~ Creative ~ Stickers

We received this tip from Joleen Bester – If your family loves camping holidays (or any other holiday for that matter), Joleen recommends that you take along a number of scrap kits instead of trying to fit in all your stash, tools and papers. If you do this, you need only take along some basic tools and glues to complete your page layouts. You will also not have your husband blowing hot and cold because he has to try and fit in the hoards of scrapbooking luggage. We do know that all scrappers want to take along everything they have (just in case we need something #$%^&*). Thanks for this great tip Joleen.
Just to add to this. Once you get the scrap kit, add the embellishments you may need to personalize the kit. Put everything together in one pocket. Make sure not to forget the photographs. At Bohemian Scrapsody we sell the following scrapbook page protectors for R25.00. They are made out of a strong plastic and works very well to keep your projects together and also protect the papers and embellishments.

If you plan on using genuine elements from nature on your page layout – e.g. shells, stones, feathers, etc. these items must be left in your freezer for at least 3 days to kill any germs that may contaminate your page. When you remove the items from the freezer, leave it to dry completely before using on your page. This is an example of how Elmarie Bronkhorst from Tzaneen used small shells and stones as well as sea sand on her page. The sea sand was adhered to the page with glossy accents.

Scissors that has become sticky as result of cutting tape, etc. can be cleaned with nail polish remover, thinners or spirits if you do not have Un-Do for this purpose. Herewith the link to the UNDO product. UNDO is also used for lifting your photos, journalling, stickers, etc. once you have glued it on a page and suddenly realised that it is scew. This is the product to save the day!!! It will lift your photograph without leaving any mark. The photo will also not get damaged. You can then reposition your photo on the page.
To tear the edge of your paper for a vintage look, run a water-soaked Q-tip or ear bud down the line where you would like to tear the paper. Keep your hands close together and tear towards your body. Torn edges can be aged with a chalk or inkpad to enhance the vintage look of your paper once your paper has dried completely. This tip is most effective when working with the handmade papers.
If you want to stain a piece of paper e.g. a tag, wet your paper and then bathe it in a mixture of instant coffee and warm water. The stronger the mixture, the darker the coloring. Put a few granules of dry coffee directly onto the wet piece of paper for variations in color. Leave to dry and straighten with a hot iron (optional).

Do not get disillusioned when you experience 'scrapper's block'. We all go through this at some or other stage of our scrapping. During these phases, I usually take all my left-over pieces of paper and the odds and ends of my embellishments and then I start scrapping some back pages. These pages are then used for the excess photos to create a new layout. Herewith one example that was done in this manner.

If you want your sepia photo to stand out on a page, use beige cardstock to mat your photograph before placing it on your page.
When using lace or doilies on your page, spray them with Glimmer Mist in a color that will compliment your other embellishments. On page 113 of the Scrapbooking Memories magazine (Vol 13 No 8) this tip is shown on a page layout. If you cannot get hold of this magazine, please contact us and we will post it immediately (042 293 3386). The cost is R65.00 plus postage. This is one of the best overseas magazines on the scrapbooking market.

Use the 'notes' section of an old calendar (month at a glance) for easy journaling space on your layout.
Make a unique background by layering and scrunching fabric or old paper dress patterns onto your cardstock, then paint and sew over it. This tip is for the more daring scrappers who enjoy a challenge.
Use a red-eye pen to blot out the red glare we get on photographs from time to time. First test the pen for any dry or sharp edges that could scratch the photo. Place the photo on a flat surface and dab the pen gently on the red area until the glare is gone. Allow it to dry completely.

You can stamp on photographs or transparencies. It will however only work if you use an ink that is suitable for non-porous surfaces e.g. staz-on. These are ideal ink pads to be used for this purpose. Other ink pads will not dry and will also smudge if used for stamping on photographs or transparencies.
To achieve an overall aged feel, use a foam applicator to apply distress ink to the edges of your photos and papers.

When using alcohol inks you may find that your colors are too intense. You can add some surgical alcohol if you do not have alcohol blending solution. It should however be a surgical alcohol that is not diluted. Any watered down alcohol solution will result in blotching your inks.
If you stain your paper with tea or coffee, the following is important. Tea produces a yellow look whilst coffee maintains a brown color.
There are a number of distressing techniques that can be used to create an aged look on your pages. Here are but a few of them:
a. Tear the edges of your paper. Tear from top to bottom and towards yourself. This allows some white to show. Wet your finger and use it to fold the torn edges to the inside at certain places. This will give an effect of an aged page.
b. Use a sanding block to sand the edges of a photograph or a page. This creates a smoother distressed edge around the paper or photograph. These blocks come in fine, medium and coarse textures.

c. Use a Paper Distress Tool to create a more rugged edge on paper and chipboard. A heavy grit sanding block will create a similar effect.

d. Use a fine pointed paint brush to paint the edge of your page or photograph with white craft paint.
e. Use your chalk or ink pad to chalk your paper (shades of brown are always more effective for a heritage look). If you are working with a photograph, use staz on as they are the best inks to use when working on non-porous surfaces.

Click Here for our chalk Pads

f. Use a paper shaper to shape the edge of your paper e.g. the deckle paper shaper scissors - this scissors provides your paper edge with a torn effect. If you want to enhance the distressed effect, chalk or ink the edge once you have cut it.

You can use ordinary kitchen tin foil to sharpen your punches. Just take a piece of foil, fold it double and punch through the foil a number of times. Repeat this whenever you feel your punches are getting blunt again.
If your punches are really very blunt, you can use the finest water-based sanding paper sheets to sharpen them. Just punch through the sanding paper a number of times to get the desired effect.
When storing your chalk or ink pads, store them upside down. This will prolong the life of your chalk and ink pads.

When you are layering an embellishment (e.g. a tag) to use on your scrapbook page or a card, it is recommended that you start with you background – e.g. the bottom layer of the tag. As the layers are added to the bottom part of the tag, you can create even more dimension with your inks. Ink the edges of the cut-out pieces you are layering – this will create a shadow effect around the image you are layering.

• If you want to layer from the top down, the most effective tools to use are the edge wheels. You cut out the shape that will be used on top. Then you place the shape on the next layer of paper, choose the size of edge wheel (depending on the width of the edge you want to create), place your pencil (not a clutch pencil) in the hole and move the edge wheel all along the side of the shape you are tracing. This process can be repeated as many times as you want to layer your shape (e.g. tag, alphabet letter, etc.)

Having the right tool for the job is an absolute must. When you heat emboss, you need an embossing heat gun. We have tried it all – a frying pan, a toaster, an iron, a hair dryer, etc. etc. etc. The easiest way to put you off a technique is by trying to succeed without the right tools. Only an embossing heat gun can achieve the smooth effect with the embossing powders. Any other heating tool will result in burning or bubbling your embossing powder because it cannot provide enough heat or it becomes too hot for the embossing powder. The wrong tool can also result in blowing your embossing powders all over the place. When using the embossing heat gun, please do not use it like a hair dryer. It should be held steady, in one place and when the powder starts melting, move it slowly across the object to be embossed. Do not swing your heat gun from side to side. This will affect the smoothness of the embossing surface.

When applying glossy accents or diamond glaze, make sure that there are no air bubbles that have been caught beneath the glossy accents on your object. The small air bubbles can be removed with a sharp, thin pin. Use the tip of the pin to move the bubble to the side or pricking it until it busts. This can only be done while the diamond glaze (Product name = Dimensional Magic) or glossy accents is wet. Click here for Plaid Royal Coat Dimensional Magic and here for Ranger Matte Accents - Clear

• Once you have applied glossy accents or diamond glaze to your letters or embellishments you need to move it away from the area where you are busy scrapping to avoid touching or smudging the items. If this does happen by chance and there is a mark left on the item while it is busy drying, take a fine pointed paint brush or ear bud, dip it in water, let the excess water drip off and then paint over the glossy accents until it smoothes out the mark. Do it very subtly so as not to leave a mark. If the glossy accents is too dry, this will not work.
• Do not shake your bottle of diamond glaze as this causes bubbles to form.
• Some teachers recommend glossy accents or diamond glaze as a glue. Be careful when doing this as this product dries completely and becomes see-through. Once it has dried it can crack quite easily. If this happens on your page, it will result in the embellishment coming off the page.
• Glossy Accents comes in 4 different colors or textures - Gloss, Matt, Crackle or Sepia. The sepia color is great for heritage pages. The matt color is used on items where you do not want the shiny gloss of the ordinary Glossy Accents or Diamond Glaze.
• The main purpose of using this product is to highlight and add dimension to your embellishment, item or page.

SCRAPBOOKING & CARD MAKING "FLAVORS OF THE MONTH"

The staff of Bohemian Scrapsody does a lot of research to determine the latest and greatest trends in scrapbooking and card making. You may be aware of it, but scrapbooking does have a 'flavor of the month' tendency. Although the basic techniques stay the same and will always stay the same, there are some nuances that are picked up from scrapbooking and card making magazines, web-sites, blogs, etc.

As from this month we will give a few of these "flavors" in every monthly news letter. For the month of April we found the following trends and techniques featuring on overseas as well as local page layouts and cards:

• Use cake doilies (made of paper) in all shapes and sizes on your pages. You can color the doilies with your inks or chalks, cut them up, stitch them onto the pages or even use the edges to replace ribbon or lace. It gives the same effect as using a border punch. The layout below was done by Clarissa Rudd

'Washing line' title banners and flags are still quite popular. Here is an example of how Clarissa Rudd used the bannerson her page.

Chipboard hedges and corrugated chip shapes and letters seem to grow in popularity. Jellibean Soup has some excellent corrugated alphas and shapes.

Make your own 3-D flowers. Use the various flower punches, inks, lace, ribbons, paper, etc. to create the most beautiful layered flowers. A number of scrapbook and craft magazines feature step-by-step instructions on making your own flowers.
Edge punches and scissors seem to grow in popularity. There are a vast variety of different edge punches and deckle scissors to choose from. Clarissa used 3 different edge punches to create the unique border in the layout attached.

Use circles, circles and more circles!!! Combine circles with ovals and rectangular shapes to create stunning backgrounds
The last tip on flavor of the month is stitching on the page. This has been and is still a very popular technique used by scrappers. You can either stitch by hand, sewing machine or use a pen to apply faux stitches on your page – in other words give the impression that you have used genuine stitching on your page. There are also some rub-on stitches available to create this effect on your page. Use a pen to create faux stitching effects on your title alphas

Too often precious memories fade into obscurity in the darkness under the lid of a dusty box. Photos taken, now forgotten. Special moments in time, hidden, and now decaying. Scrapbooking helps you, and all those to follow you, relive the charm of each captured moment, every time your album is opened. Every page can be created to be as unique as the memory itself. Photos are enriched with embellishments, journaling and memorabilia to create a vibrant record of passed moments held dear, precious ones loved, and dreams and hopes lived, or lost.

Heat embossing on a sheet of overhead projector film

Products Used:

Overhead Projector Film Sheet
Brilliance Teardrop Ink Pad
Embossing Powder
Craft Stamp
Embossing Heat Gun

Steps:

1. Ink a craft stamp of your choice (gel or wood) with a Brilliance Ink Pad. Stamp the shape onto a sheet of overhead projector film.
2. Sprinkle embossing powder over the stamped shape.
3. Emboss the print with your embossing heat gun.
4. Optional – If you would like a glitter effect, rub some Stickles Glitter Glue over your image before cutting out the shape. You can also do this on the reverse side of the shape.
5. Cut the shape out and stick to your layout.

Hint: If you use the Overhead Projector Film you can use both sides of the shape that has been embossed to create 2 different effects or colours. You would therefore emboss on the reverse side, flip the shape over and use glitter on the top.

Tips and Techniques on Crackle Paints

Tim Holtz launched a range of distress crackle paints that open new doors to creative scrappers as far as techniques are concerned. This range will give your treasured memories a timeless, rustic feel and the effect is breath-taking in itself.

We would like to give you some tips on using crackle paint. This paint is used especially to enhance your heritage pages, but some of the brighter and modern colours can add an angelic effect to your page.

Herewith some tips when using this medium on your embellishments:

1. Apply crackle paint much thicker than you would apply any other craft paint. The thicker the layer of crackle paint is painted on, the larger the cracks. The thinner the layer, the smaller and finer the cracks.
2. When applying the Distress Crackle Paint, dab it on to give an uneven texture.
3. If you would like to see through the cracks, apply an undercoat paint (you can use any craft paint) to the medium. Then apply the Distress Crackle Paint. As stated previously, the thicker the crackle paint, the larger the cracks.
4. It is recommended that you stick to neutral colours when you create a vintage page.
5. When the crackle paint has dried, you can enhance the effect by applying stickles glitter over the cracked surface. This will provide your embellishment with a polished sparkling look. Click here to view our Stickles range
6. If you can rub an ink pad over the cracked surface, it will accentuate the cracks. Use a Ranger Distress Ink Pad to ensure an enhanced vintage look. Click here to view our Distress Ink Pad range
7. Apply a layer of dimensional glaze (also known as diamond glaze) over the dried crackle paint to smoothen the crackled surface, yet still allow a clear view of the cracks. Click here to buy the Ranger Glossy Accents
8. Warping can be prevented by using thicker chipboard.

The Acid Test

The question “Is this an acid-free product?” is often asked by shoppers at Bohemian Scrapsody. Scrappers also use the term ‘lignin-free’ to determine whether a product is safe to use for scrapping. What does this in fact mean? And will acid destroy our photos if we break the rules? This month we are going to give you some answers to these questions and also some tips on how to test your products and paper.

Lignin is a natural occurring acidic part of many plant cell walls that has the ability to make paper turn brown. If paper contains less than 1% lignin, it is considered lignin-free. Acid is a by-product of the pulping process that is used to make most papers. Acid-free paper is neutral or slightly alkaline in pH value. Scrapbooking paper should contain as little acid as possible. If you page through some old photo albums and notice how some of the prints have turned yellow over the years, this is a good indication of how the acid in the album pages leached from the album to your photos. Scrapbooking paper has been treated to reduce the acid level. What we therefore generally refer to as acid-free products, are in fact products that have been neutralised or buffered with a coating to prevent acid migration.

Many quality paper products are ‘acid-free’ these days, but to be sure, the following tests can be applied:

1. Look for paper, stickers and embellishments that are labeled acid-free.
2. Buy an acidic identifier (acid-tester) pen to check the pH level of the paper.
3. Try to avoid dark paper which tends to have a lower pH, unless marked acid-free.
4. Make sure the metal products you use are not prone to rust, as this will damage your work. Most metal embellishments are coated with a non-rusting layer for protection.
5. When working with wood products such as pegs, frames, cork, etc., avoid placing them directly onto your photos as it isn’t possible to remove the lignin from these products.

We often use mementoes such as postcards, letters, air tickets, certificates, etc. when scrapping. It is lovely to display these items alongside your photographs, but they could damage your photos in time. To preserve these items and also protect your photographs, we recommend the following:

1. Spray objects with a de-acidification spray to coat it and stop acid migration. (e,g, Archival Mist)
2. Place letters and post cards in an envelope or plastic pocket.
3. Never laminate products as it cannot be undone.
4. Scan the items on a computer and print out.
5. Mount the items on acid-free paper before positioning them on your page.

Hope you will be able to use the above hints and tips. Please send us any of your own experiences, tips and techniques that you have found useful when scrapping. It is most astonishing to see how scrappers invent ‘tools’ and methods to overcome scrapping pitfalls. Happy scrapping till next time!!

New to scrapbooking?

The following guide gives you the essentials needed to start this great hobby. The following items and tools should be on your shopping list:

1. Cutting Mat

We recommend you get a self-healing mat to protect the table top that you work on. You will be cutting with your craft knife. Although an A4 size will do, it is recommended that you rather invest in an A3 or even bigger if your budget allows it.
Click to View our available cutting mats

2. Metal Ruler

A metal ruler is essential when you use a craft knife. It gives you the accurate and smooth edges that you will not be able to get if you cut with a pair of scissors.
Click to View our available Metal Rulers

3. Small, fine-pointed, sharp scissors

This is an essential tool for intricate cutting that is often required in scrapping. It gives you more detail where required and you will be able to get into those small corners. This will not be possible with a big pair of scissors.
Click to View our available Craft scissors

4. Craft Knife

A sharp craft knife is a crafter’s best friend. It can be used to cut straight edges using the metal ruler, more intricate cutting and do light scoring. Make sure that you also get a pack of refill blades.
Click to View our available Craft Knives

5. Paper Trimmer

A paper trimmer is required to crop your pages and trim your pictures to the right size.

Click to View our available Paper Trimmers

6. Adhesives

You will need a selection of adhesives and glues to stick the various elements to your layout. We recommend you get a pack of double-sided tape, 3-D foam glue pads or tape and a tube of Bostik red gel. These adhesives will suffice for your first pages. Once you have caught on to which adhesive to use for the various elements you want to stick down, you could start purchasing the more expensive adhesives. Click to View our available Adhesives
7. Pencil and Rubber

Choose a soft (2B) pencil for marking out measurements on your design. You need a soft pencil that can easily be rubbed out without leaving any pencil marks or indents on your layout.

Essential tools that will make your scrapping life so much easier.

Once you have acquired your basic tools, we recommend you purchase the following items. These tools are essential when you get into the various techniques that we use to enhance our creative flair and give pages that special, personal touch.

1. Craft Tool Set

A craft tool set will provide you with all the tools required to start making bigger holes, setting eyelets, brads and platting ribbon on your layout. The tool set should include a hole punch and eyelet setter (preferably with a variety of nozzles to handle the varying sizes of the eyelets), a mini hammer to put force into your hole punch and eyelet setter, a mini setting mat to provide the hard surface you need when hammering your eyelet setter or hole punch. Click to View our available Tool Sets

2. Instant Setter

The Instant Setter is the perfect tool for punching holes and setting eyelets with having to use your mini hammer. It handles with ease and the various nozzles provide you with the versatility of using different sized eyelets.

Click to View our available Instant Setters

3. Silent Setter

If you want the ‘noise level’ to be toned down as you are scrapping late at night and do not want the family to be awakened by your constant hammering, we recommend the silent setter. You require a bit more force behind it, but it does the job without the hammering or clicking noise that is made by the other hole punches and eyelet setters.
Click to View our available Silent Setters

Bohemian Scrapsody ~ For all your Scrapbooking & Craft Supplies The art of capturing the soul of cherished memories
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