Class starts tomorrow! Will you be there? Hurry over and register today! 
Here are a couple of fun pages from the gallery-
A layout from Jean:
A layout by Lori:
A layout by Sherri:
Be inspired to scrap today and this month on our forum and in class!
Here’s a fun way to give yourself more room on a layout…just plaster some pretty paper on a manila folder! Cover the front and inside of a folder. Then adhere to your page, like I did on the right hand side of this layout.
Here’s a picture of the folder opened up:
Tip: Keep a sanding block handy for projects like this. It helps to get your curves and rounded corners smooth after you’ve trimmed the paper around them.
Be aware that using a manila folder with all that extra paper will add bulk to your page. You can always use decorative file folders, like these.
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I have finished all of my samples for the Sketch Class, and am anxiously waiting on Sunday to arrive! Stacey has come up with some great sketches, as always, and we look forward to seeing you!
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Did you know that there’s a kit giveaway on facebook?
Have a great week, y’all! Make it work!!
Lu
You never know what you’ll find in the forum!
How about a good recipe? Michelle found this one on Pinterest.
Crock Pot Ranch Pork Chops
Pork Chops
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup with one can water, or 2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Ranch Seasoning Dry Mix Packet
Mix well, put in crock pot, cook on low 4-6 hours.
(I made this, and it was pretty good! I used 6 pork chops.)
Take a look at this layout I found in the Gallery. Julia rocked the Mystery Meal Challenge!!
Stacey posted the big prize for the upcoming sketch class! There will be an optional digi prize!
There’s still time to do some of the March challenges. In a little more than a week, brand new April challenges will pop up!
See you Monday!
Lu
Hello ladies!!
My first response when I was asked to be a guest blogger here at Inspired to Scrap was, “Who, me?!?!” But I am super excited for this opportunity, and I want to thank you all for joining me today. I have a fun challenge for you.
Scrapbooking is all about preserving our memories, and telling our stories. So I thought I would share a story from my family.
It was the first day of summer holidays, and my son’s friend brought over a dirt bike so they could ride around the farm. My daughter decided to give it a try, but it didn’t go so well. She fell over, landed on her arm, and broke her wrist. Really not a great way to start off the summer! So we headed off to the ER. And of course, me being a scrapbooker, I made sure to grab my camera so I could document her experience.
Well, after the x-rays, it was discovered she was going to need surgery to have it fixed, that they would have to put a pin in her wrist. But it was a very busy couple of days at the hospital, so she had to wait a couple of days before she could have the surgery done. So she had a couple of days to hang out at the hospital, and then finally it was her turn.
Well, the day arrived that she could have the cast removed and the pin taken out. She was thrilled!! She couldn’t wait to go swimming again!
After returning home, she was playing on the computer. She typed out a page all about her day, and printed it out. Now, my kids love to write. They always have little notebooks, and they are often writing something. So for her to be typing about her day was no surprise. When I found the page on the desk later that day, I thought how great that would be in her album.
Who better to tell her story then, well….her!!
So, there it is. My challenge to you is to give your layouts a bit of a personal touch by letting the subject of your layout share their story, in their own words.
Can’t wait to see your layouts!
Michelle (fivekids)
Want to see a peek of my sample for day one of class??
Class begins in less than two weeks!
April 2012- Sketch Class We will be presenting brand new sketches, samples and some tips and techniques along the way! The design team will have some fun challenges to spark your creativity. We can’t wait to share *17* new sketches along with samples with you! SBC+ templates will be available for digi scrappers!
Cost- $15
A hint on photo sizes:
Of course, you are welcome to substitute different sized photos on the sketches. We welcome your personal touches and variations…that’s what makes sketches so versatile! I love that they have the ability to be adapted to your scrappy needs. But, in case you are a planner, here are the photo sizes that my sketches call for in this class. Get ready!
Sketch #1- two 3×4’s V, 3” circle
Sketch #2- DPS-three 4×4’s, three 3×4’s H, four 3×3’s
Sketch #3- two 4×6’s H
Sketch #4- one 4×6 V, one 4×4, two 3×3’s
Sketch #5- one 3×4 H, three 2×3’s H
Sketch #6-DPS- two 4×6’s V, nine 3×3’s
Sketch #7- two 4×6’s H
Sketch #8- four 3×4 H
Sketch #9- four 4×6 V
Sketch #10- one 4×6 H, two 3×4’s V
Sketch #11- DPS- six 4×6’s H
Sketch#12- three 3” circles, one 4” circle
Sketch #13- two 4×6’s H
Sketch #14- one 4×6 H, two 3×3’s, two 2×3’s H
Sketch #15- four 3×3’s
Sketch #16- DPS- two 4×6’s H, four 4×4’s
Sketch #17- three 4×6’s H
I love seeing new member layouts in the gallery! So inspiring.
Here are some fun and cheerful pages I found this week in the gallery:
By Wendi-
By Angela-
By Barb-
I hope these bright and cheery pages will inspire you to pull out some scrappy supplies and fix a memory to paper. Have a fabulous weekend!!
If you haven’t scrapped in a while, don’t give up! You might just need a bit of inspiration. I hope you will join us in class in April…we have 17 new sketches along with samples, tips, tutorials and prizes!!
I thought it would be fun to do something a little different for today’s post. I decided to play around with some shrink film (like Shrinky Dinks or Ranger’s Shrink Plastic). You can run this stuff through your die cut machine, use your punches or hand cut shapes out of it. You can color them with alcohol inks, colored pencil, or stamp on them with Staz-On prior to shrinking. (Note: Don’t put alcohol inks on top of a stamped image-it will cause the stamped image to dissipate.)
The Shrinky Dinks plastic has great directions for using your oven, although I found it easier to use my heat (embossing) gun. I liked the control that it gave me. The first thing you must know is that your item will shrink (more than I thought it would). Here is the bird I cut out and colored with alcohol inks inside the cut out area of the size it used to be before shrinking.
Some things I learned about shrink film when l was playing with it: When it heats up the shrink film will curl as it’s shrinking and then uncurl and start to flatten out. You can gently pry the areas apart when it’s hot if they happen to stick together when they curl up.
Use something to hold it in one place (not your finger!) or it will blow all over when you’re using your heat gun on it. After shrinking if it’s not completely flat you can put a stamp block on it to smooth it. Be sure you’re using a non-stick sheet or it will stick when it’s hot to your work surface.
To make my card, I stamped an image onto the shrink film, using Staz-On ink. I cut around the image and used my heat gun to shrink the image. I stamped the envelope so that you can see the size of the stamp compared to the size of the completed embellishment.
Shrink film can be a great way to create customize embellishments. I used the clear Shrinky Dinks sheets. I paid $5.99 for them and used my 40% off coupon, making my cost $3.60. You get several sheets to play with, making this a very inexpensive way to create custom embellishments for your projects. Most of all…it’s fun to play with!
Hope you’ll play along and make something for your next project out of shrink film!
Hello Monday!
Looking for something different when it comes to journaling on your pages? Need a new way to add a title?
Magazine inserts just may be your answer!
If you’re like me, you tear those inserts out of magazines and throw them away as quickly as you can! They’re so annoying!
Have you ever really looked at them though?
The size is fairly consistent, but take a look at the colors, wording and design. You might find something you can use on a layout!
I had three leftover pictures from Christmas featuring several cousins. The “family fun” was just perfect for a subtitle! I put brackets around it to highlight the words a bit more. 
You can make embellishments out of inserts, use them as photo mats, for titles, or for journaling. I really like the Family Handyman insert in the first picture…that would be great for a page featuring your favorite…well…handyman!
So the next time you open a magazine and see an insert, give it a good look. There may be more to it than meets the eye!
Make it work!
Lu
March has certainly come in like a lion here at I2S!! There is plenty of activity…things to do, things to see, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to wind down any time soon! March just might go out like a lion, too!!
The Forum challenges have inspired several people to sit down at their scrappin’ space. Here are four layouts to inspire you.
Kendra took the Four Leaf Clover Challenge. She used four diamonds, 4-sided elements and four colors:
Here’s a digital layout Judy did for the Mystery Meal Challenge:
Michelle’s crisp, clean style was just perfect for the Hexagon Challenge.
Monday’s One Hour Challenge threw everyone into a frenzy! Have you ever tried to do a layout and post a picture of it in an hour?? Daiva is really good at it!
She did all this in one hour:
Everyone who participated in the One Hour Challenge was eligible to win a FREE April Sketch Class. Daiva was the winner!!
And speaking of Sketch Class, we’re counting down the days until April 1st…no fooling! Just click on Classes at the top of the page to sign up!
Have a great weekend, ladies, and set aside some time for scrappin’!!
Lu
I’m so thrilled to be a Guest Blogger for Inspired to Scrap! I hope you like what I have to show you!
I love layouts that show a progression of time as in before and after, or then and now. My son recently started dating his lifelong friend that I happen to have many many pictures of! So I thought this blog post called for a layout about a then and now. (And as an added kick I used the line of paper called “This & That”.)
Here is the then picture taken in 1997:
I scanned it into Adobe PSE 8.0 and bumped up the color a little bit so that when I changed it to black and white there would be a nice contrast. The image was then resized to 5 x 7 as I wanted it to be a nice background size. I do love to use Transparency Sheets (I buy them by the box full at the Office Supply) but normally I just use them for journaling or titles. This time I printed the picture out on the transparency and I just used the same settings I would as if I were printing on photo paper.
This is the layout that I came up with using the transparency of the picture from 1997 and paired it with one from 2011.
Rebecca In MI
http://cometakeapeek.blogspot.com
