Today is Etsy Day, and I am joining in the fun of celebrating!  (And btw, posting this over at MyCraftBooth.com too)

What is ETSY, you ask?  It’s a “place to buy a sell all things homemade”!

And it’s addictive, if you like arts and crafts at ALL.  I joined over a year ago, and browsed off and on for months, and finally in October I decided to get a shop going.  And then I started REALLY shopping, because I met so many fabulous people in the forums and the chat rooms… and it was hard NOT to buy!  Thankfully I managed to sell a few things too, and I now have TWO etsy shops.

One of my most favorite things to do at etsy is POUNCE.  I didn’t find this feature right away – probably sometime near Christmas last year.  It’s essentially a way to find out about all the NEW shops.. and those with NO sales in them yet…. (OR you can see what has JUST SOLD, but I like undiscovered better).  You can change the settings and see up to 10 shops at a time (which I like to do), and you’ll get to see up to 5 featured items from each shop.  Browse, pounce again, browse, pounce again. I tell you, it’s addictive!

So… click on over… check out ETSY.  Check out POUNCE… and consider purchasing from someone who has yet to be discovered!

Happy ETSY Day!

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So here’s a bit of info I’m hoping will help you get started, but be forewarned…. once you start, you won’t want to stop! And for some challenges, products and inspiration… check out my coordinating article on my blog called Hybrid Card Making – Getting Started!
Tutorial:

First I’ll entice you with a photo of one of my finished cards:

Now for the list of materials that I used:

* Digitally created, printed background
* Digitally created, printed extras (butterflies & “sweet” wordart)
* Matching ribbon
* Coordinating brads
* Glue runner (I like Scotch brand)
* Glue Dots (I use Craft & Minis)
* Scissors
* Card base (I get 50 with matching envelopes for less than 8$ at my local Walmart)

Here’s a visual for you of my materials:

Steps for making you’re first hybrid card:

1. Of course you’re first step will be to design the digital portion of you card. I like to do some kind of background, and sometimes I add on a separate printable page some extra elements like in this case I added the word-art and butterflies, and I also added borders that I could cut out and use in case I couldn’t find matching ribbon. Then you will need to print the digital portions. I like to print at 4×6″ because it’s cheap to print at Walmart, and I print with a Mat finish.

2. Trim the edges of your card’s background paper, and cut out the additional elements that you printed.

3. Glue the background piece to the (folded) card base. I like to use my glue runner for this, it dispenses glue in a strip. I add glue to the 4 sides and a strip across the middle too.

4. Now you can add whatever extra elements/embellishments you’d like to use. I added my ribbon, then I added the brads. Next I used glue dots to add on the butterflies and word-art. Now you’re done.

5. You can use greeting card rub-ons (stores sell these for card makers) on the inside of your card for a greeting, or you can add it to the front of you’re card if you didn’t print one in the first place. I’ve been making a lot of cards with no greeting lately, then when I need a card I can add a rub-on greeting for whatever occasion I need the card for.

I’ve been addicted to digital scrapbooking since 2005, scrapping anything I can… desktop backgrounds, my blog design, greeting cards, wall art, recipe cards and of course layouts! You can find more scrapbooking inspiration and information on my regular blog, Monique’s Scrappin’ Blog and if you’re on Facebook feel free to join me there too!

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Welcome everyone to another monthly 2 part hybrid special! This month I’m going to show you not one, not two, but three different trick or treat bags that I made… I’ll tell you all about how I made them (Below), and (over at Monique’s Scrappin’ Blog) I’ll link you up to some more tutorials, some templates and pre-made products so you can make your own! Sound good? Great!

Altered Coffee Can Tutorial:

So you’ve seen the altered paint cans right? Well I live in a small town and have no access to nice clean alterable paint cans, but I wanted to make a cute little trick or treating container for my DD to use this year. So here’s what I used:

• 925g (empty) coffee can
• 2 – 18 gauge floral wire (I bought mine at a dollar store in the craft section, can also be bought at your local flower shop)
• Mix of craft beads.
• Photo paper cover (printed on 2- 8×10″ Mat finish photo paper)
• Modge Podge and foam brush
• sandpaper
• Dremel drill tool (hubby did that part for me!)

Ok, so after I gathered/bought my materials, I measured the dimensions of my coffee can (they can vary), designed the cover and printed it. I designed mine in one piece (19.25″x6″) then cut (using the crop tool once, then clicked undo and used it again) it in half and pasted the two halves onto their own 8×10 images to print.

Next I used a ruler and a marker to mark where I wanted the holes drilled for the handles (into the lip that goes around the inside edge of the can), then my hubby graciously drilled them for me. Then I used the sandpaper to rough up the sides of the coffee can, and used the Modge Podge to glue the covers on. I did mine one side at a time, and used rubber bands (tons of them) to keep the paper on the coffee can while it dried.Add a few sealer coats if you’d like, I use a spray sealer and do it in my garage as it’s pretty strong smelling. Be sure to follow the directions on your sealer if using one. After the paint and sealer has dried, you can add any other embellishments you’d like to add.

For the handle, I inserted both wires about 3/4″ into one of the holes that were drilled and bent the wires that were inside the can to 90 degree angles. My DD and I then strung on the beads, bent and inserted the other end into the other hole and bent the inside part of the wires again. So far mine are holding just fine and my DD has already tested it by filling it with tons of little toys as she practiced her trick or treating (lol, I kid you not!). Here are closeup photos of the handles to give you a better idea of what I did:

And that’s it! Now my DD has a cute little trick or treating can!

Altered Canvas Bag Tutorial:

This was a super easy project to make. And can be used year round by simply changing the insert!

The materials I used were: a $0.99 bag made from recycled materials that I purchased at a local grocery store (you know, the kind of bag that’s “green”), took an 8×8″ page protector for a scrapbook album, and some black (to match my bag) thread and a needle.

First I cut the edge that goes into the album off of the page protector, then sewed (on 3 sides, leaving the protector’s opening open) it onto one side of the bag. I sewed mine right over the bag’s logo.

Then I designed an 8×8″ insert to fit the theme that I wanted for the bag, pasted the 8×8 image onto an 8×10 image so that I could print it onto an 8×10 Mat finish photo paper (I print at Walmart). Then just cut the excess off of the design’s edges and inserted it into the page protector.

And just like that I had made myself a customizable tote bag! I love it!

Treat Bag Toppers:

These were another super easy project. First I opened a document in my photo editing program that was 4×6. Then I created a Vector Line across the middle so that I could see where the middle was. Next I scrapped the bottom half of the image, then I “Copy Merged” and pasted it into the document and rotated it to fit into the blank half. Or you can rotate the whole thing so that the decorated half is upside down, and scrap what is now the bottom half.

Then I saved the document and printed it! I like printing at Walmart on photo paper with a Mat Finish. Once printed, all I had to do was fold the topper in half and staple it to the top of a sandwich bag filled with goodies!

For more Trick or Treat bag tutorials – and to see some products to help you make your own, check out the corresponding article on my own blog called Hybrid Hookup – Trick or Treat Bags!

You can find more scrapbooking inspiration and information on my regular blog, Monique’s Scrappin’ Blog and if you’re on Facebook feel free to join me there too!

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Char here again… I just have to say a BIG HUGE THANK YOU to Monique for this article.  She works so hard to create fun projects and share them with me and you!  My kids have seen this article, and there is no way I’ll be getting through October without making them a Trick or Treat can!  We’ll probably use formula cans though, since we don’t drink coffee.  I’m sure it will work just as well, don’t you think?

And now… for today’s GIVEAWAY! (You didn’t think I’d forget, did you?)

I think I’ve mentioned before (a time or two) that I own and run a candy wrapper business besides doing all this digi-scrappin’ stuff.  Well, in honor of Halloween AND Monique’s treat bag topper tutorial, I’m giving away 100 custom printed miniature wrappers from HeavenlyPromises.com.  I’m thinking miniature Halloween wrappers for a party or for giving away, but If you win and want baby or wedding wrappers (or something else entirely), that’s ok too!

So, like most of the giveaways this month - leave a comment to win!  I’m only leaving this one open for TWO days, so I can work with the winner and get mini wrappers sent off in time for Halloween if I need to do so.  I’ll pick a random winner on Wednesday morning!

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED – WINNER ANNOUNCED!

Thanks again to Monique!  Be sure to click on over to her blog for more fun hybrid tuts and info!

Happy Monday, folks!

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So here’s what I started with:

A cheap mini composition notebook (I got a pkg of 4 for $1 at a Dollar Store!), I also needed some good sharp scissors and glue (I like Scotch brand tape runners) and my printed cover pieces. I printed the main notebook cover on 5×7 photo paper with a mat finish at Walmart, and printed the tag on a 4×6 with a few other little elements for another project.

First I cut out my tag and then glued the background to the notebook. Next I trimmed the extra background from around the edges of the notebook. Then all I had to do was glue the tag on and I was done! You can also seal it with some kind of craft sealer, however I’ve never sealed anything before and don’t intend to seal this project as it’s just a cheap little notebook for myself. You can also add extra embellishments, but I decided to keep mine simple.

Here’s a photo of my finished notebook:

Digital product credits: Kit used is called Natural Beauty by Kristin Cronin-Barrow; Fonts used are Schooldays & Pea Kate.

If you’d like a little help creating your own altered notebook check out some of the following products:

• Altered Composition Book (workshop & template) by Bree Clarkson
• Lil’ Miss Printable Notebook by Karen Lewis

Or check out some of these tutorials:

• Altered Notebook Tutorial by Jess Gordan (At Prima Hybrid Forums)
• Joscie’s Brainy Little Book tutorial (On Miss Mint’s blog)
• Hybrid How To — Altered Journal by Emily aka emilymomto3boys (On Authentic Artistry blog)

And be sure to check out my personal blog’s post: Hybrid Hookup – Altered Notebooks! for some more altered notebook inspiration!

You can find more scrapping inspiration and information on my regular blog, Monique’s Scrappin’ Blog!

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So, click on over to see some great examples of how digi and paper (or chipboard!) go together!

And because I already had this picture ready, here’s one of the examples of a fun album I wanted to show you:

:

Yep, I see some hybrid in my very near future!

Oh, and be sure to scroll a little for the Thrifty Thursday post – LOTS of great deals today!

[tags] hybrid, crafts, digital scrapbook, albums [/tags]

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Check out their line of Sweet Keepsakes. They are now carrying the actual chipboard albums made by Basic Gray and Maya Road, AND the coordinating digi-albums to work perfectly with them. Here’s an adorable album by Dani Mogstad, designed for the bracket album:

From the Sweet Shoppe website: “Just add your photos and memories to our pre-designed album pages, print and adhere to our amazing assortment of raw chipboard books and then embellish a little (or a lot)!”

You won’t believe how many Sweet Keepsakes albums there are to choose from – click on over and get started with hybrid scrappin’ today!

[tags] chipboard, basic gray, maya road, hybrid, scrappin’ [/tags]

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Head on over for directions on how to make a FUN, FABULOUS Easter-themed altered paint can. If you are a hybrid gal, crafty gal, or want to try to be one, be sure to go try this! And there are more pictures on the Girl Talk blog.

[tags] digi scrap, hybrid, easter, altered [/tags]

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