I’m hoping to help you expand the usefulness of some of your supplies. Today I’m using just 3 main products to create three different card designs. We’ll look at a few tips and tricks to expand the use of layered stencils and background dies. In fact I’ll confess, I only own one cover plate/background die!

Now, I’m going to show you some Easter cards today, but I want you to keep in mind that simple changes can turn these cards into just about any occasion. You’ll get the most tips and details from the video, but I’ll share the basics below.

For the embossing powder, it was used to:

• As a basic stamped greeting
• Edge the card front
• Edge card elements (eggs in upper card)
• Added as focal point accents (flower centers)
• Create a focal point texture piece

The stencil was featured by:

• Using a portion to create a “die cut” focal
• Using it to decorate other elements (the eggs)
• Using it in portions to decorate the background.

The cover plate die was also used in three ways:

• As intended, as a background layer. The tone on tone gives it a special tone.
• As a dry embossing texture (the video covers this technique!)
• As a dry + heat embossing focal piece

I hope you found some interesting ways to stretch your supplies! I’d love to hear the ways you enjoy using background dies, stencils or embossing powders in your crafting.

Oh what a weekend I had a couple of weekends ago. I am a fan of taking classes and the crafty events from Crop & Create Delivered by SCT Magazine are so jam packed that it is hard to get everything done. That stresses some people out, but for me I’d rather get so much for my money that I have things to continue working on! In fact these aren’t all the cards I made. I still have a few classes I’m working on.

The best part? My kids (if you can call a 20yo and a 15yo kids anymore) joined me on Friday for making cards. They chose a specific class… that 6th photo with the flowers & bees. Oh my did we have such a good time. If you get past all these fun cards, there are more below of what the kids made. There is even a very fun and silly take on the bees. So don’t miss that!

Okay I told you there would be more cards. These are the ones that my kids made.

Paige’s

Fiona’s

You made it this far and I promised you a fun & silly card. While this isn’t the most stunning photo, pay attention to the theme of this card!

She made this one as part of a batch of bees cards she made.

She even asked why we don’t craft more together. Heart officially melted!

If you want to get in on these classes, the next event will be in the fall and registration opens up in May. So check out the details… Crop & Create Delivered by SCT

I am part of the creative team over at ScrapHappy. A large part of that team is bringing you blog posts based on our monthly themes. This month is all about organization. And I was writing that blog post I realized that I have created various cut files and diy storage items for organizing. And I want to be sure to share then with you!

First check out the video to see how I organize and which pieces I put to use. (link coming soon!)

This is the ribbon card I use to store my, well, ribbons! Download now.

These are the drawer labels I created for my ink & marker storage. They fit Sterilite brand medium-sized 3-drawer stacks (Outside Dimensions: 13.5 x 11 x 9.63). You can find them on Amazon. Download cut file now.

If you need any help getting svg files into either Cricut or Silhouette (you need the paid-for designer edition), then you can check out the videos linked by each word/system.

Next up is a diy set of paper drawers that is great for storing small items like ink cubes, enamel dots, die cut pieces, etc.

This is the two part tutorial that I created for this little storage drawer system. (It is not a cut file yet. I’ll be converting this to cut files soon. Leave me a comment if you are interested in this!)

I’ve been doing free svg and sketch files for download all year long. This month I am combing the freebies into a single video. You can still download the files individually for just the files that are interesting to you! The sketch shows on the left and the cut file on the right, with a project combing the two in the center. Larger photos follow if you’d like to see more

The sketch features a single 4×6 photo but if you watch the video you’ll see how I sneak in more photos.

This file is made up of various cuts. The gray leaves there are just extras if you want to build a fuller wreath. And the colored layers in the wreath are the backings for the cut file so you don’t have to trace and cut your own backs.

Of course if you have any questions, do get in touch with me at the Contact Me tab above.

I took some video time off around Christmas to clean, organize and plan for my YouTube channel for 2021. I’ve come up with an ambitious schedule but I hope it will be enjoyable for everyone. Here is what it looks like…

This schedule will be permanently posted in my “YouTube Schedule” tab on the main site. I hope you will come along for the ride. And if you have any suggestions, please leave me a comment!

I’m excited to tell you about an awesome event happening in January! 
It’s a weekend of scrapbooking inspiration and education you won’t want to miss. The ScrapSmarter Experience is bringing together 10 amazing scrapbooking instructors for an online virtual weekend of classes and inspiration.

Alice Boll from the ScrapHappy membership community is hosting this second event with a brand new line up of instructors. And I am thrilled to say that I am one of them! I will be sharing simple yet impactful ways to add watercoloring elements to your memory keeping.

How does it work?
The entire event will take place online using Zoom January 15-17, 2021.
The classes are short and are focused on teaching new skills, techniques, and concepts to help you create scrapbook pages you love.

Ali Edwards, the keynote speaker will help us kick off the party on Friday. Saturday features 6 classes with each instructor sharing a pre-recorded class session and interacting in a live Q&A session. Sunday will have 4 more classes and a wind up party with prizes.

Who’s teaching?
The line up instructors includes:
Simon Hurley
Meghann Andrew
Krystal Iduñate
Misty Murphy (yours truly)
Tracey Fox
Alice Boll
Sandie Reverski
Kristin Tweedale
Claudia Azucar-White
Andrea Gray

Prizes???
Of course! In addition to the classes and kickoff party there are prizes including a grand prize with a value of over $250.

Registration?
The ScrapSmarter Experience is NOW OPEN for registration. The regular price for the event is $129USD but right now you can use coupon code: MISTY to save $30! Or simply click here and you’ll automatically get the discount. You’ll only pay $99 for EVERYTHING!
(Coupon valid until December 15, 2020. After that the coupon is only worth $5 off so hurry and get the best value!)

Are you ready to sign up? Here’s the registration link:

ScrapSmarter Experience

Let’s learn some scrappy skills so we can ScrapSmarter!

Hello everyone. Thanks for stopping by. Today I have two things for you. I’ve created a layout process video that uses the day 20 prompt from the LOAD – LayOut A Day – challenge. To learn more about this challenge, visit Scraphappy.org/load.

As you’ll see in the video I created my own shaker elements for my layout. As I am self-learning some Adobe Illustrator skills I will be offering you files for free. And this shaker element is one of those! This is an svg cut file for electronic cutting machines. You can click here to directly download the zip file for that. You can also head over to my freebies section to download it from there and also check out a few other items I have available.

And so, enjoy the video and the cut file!