Featured New Products

Chatterbox

The Tag-Along has been called one of the best organizational tools and a must have for all scrapbookers. It is designed to hold a 32 ounce drink and a trash bag away from your work but within easy reach.

The Scrapaholic Mug is a 32 ounce thermal (hot or cold) mug featuring a spill proof swivel lid, adjustable straw with fun scrapbook sayings to provide enjoyment with every sip.

Ever get tired of creating your own lettering? Looking for a way to avoid your unsightly handwriting? Check out this original Journaling Font CD from Chatterbox containing 20 new journaling fonts for all of your paper-crafting needs. Contains true-type, calligraphic, scripts, and hand written fonts Compatible with PC or MAC PC System Requirements: Windows 95 or higher + desktop publishing program Mac System Requirements: Mac OS 7 or higher + desktop publishing program

Your erasing days are over... with the Chatterbox Vanishing Ink Pen! This 0.8mm/Medium Point Vanishing Ink Pen was made especially for scrapbookers to use with their Journaling Genie templates. A light pink line is drawn to create your traced shape, disappearing just hours later. Perfect for journaling lines, this amazing pen is completely photo safe.
* The Vanishing ink does not work well on dark colored paper.
* It can take 24 to 72 hours for the lines to completely disappear. Make sure that your templates are clean of any pencil, pen, chalk, or marker residue before using the Vanishing Ink Pen, or it may "wash" the residue from your template onto the paper and then the line may not vanish completely.

Magic Scraps

Coastal Netting is a loosely woven ultra fine hemp. It makes great memorabilia pockets, and it is ideal for beach pages. Each bag contains approximately 2 feet.

Magic Scraps 12x12 cork paper is great for any type of paper craft. Use as a full page or as an accent. Paper cuts and tears well, and it can be chalked and inked to create a unique look. Each package contains one sheet of cork.

Magic Scraps Fashion Skins Leather Papers look like reptile skins. This paper is great for rustic, vintage, and masculine paper crafts. Available in Dark Brown, Tan and Charcoal.

Junkitz

Unzip your imagination with the latest embellishments for adding dimensions to your layouts. The Junkitz collection includes zippers, assorted buttons, alphabet buttons, zipper pulls, license plates, and a new collection which includes Double Playz, Squarez, Bucklez, Labelz, Swatchz and Buttonz.

Double Playz are an original way to embellish. Great for titles, journaling or simply adding a decorative element for your craft projects, these acrylic tiles are acid free and pre-punched to attach with mini brads, fiber, wire, stitching, or adhesive. Easy to coordinate as the image changes when backed by different colors or patterns. Four acrylic tiles per package.

Squarez Alphabets include 36 letters per package and two each of A,E,I,O,U,L,N,R,S,T. Squarez can also be be embossed or chalked.

Silver Bucklez are great for threading paper, fiber and ribbon across your layouts and craft projects. Acid Free, with two 3 inches long Bucklez per package.

Labelz coordinate with Swatchz and Buttonz. Just like the ones on the back of your t-shirt, Labelz are actual clothing labels with cute sayings. Two labels per package.

Swatchz by Junkitz add the texture of fabric in patterns of tone on tone, striped, floral, plaids and more. With coordinating labels and buttons Swatchzs make it simple to embellish all your craft project. Three pieces 6" x 12" each per package (Fabric pieces are subject to change based on availability).

Buttonz coordinate with Swatchz and Labelz. Available in eight themes, including Friends, Grandparents, Boy, Girl and Baby.

Heidi Grace

The Ellements collection was inspired by the fung shui elements; water, earth, fire, wood and metal. After researching fung shui for her own home decor, Heidi Grace discovered it was applicable to many of her scrapbook projects.

Heidi believes that color, shape, and design are tools that can be used to describe emotion.

Water is peaceful, quiet, artistic, mysterious, spiritual, and creative.
Earth is stable, simple, organic, rustic, patient, traditional, but careful.
Fire is light, playful, passionate, aggressive, risky, and should never be taken too seriously.
Metal is strength, power, rare, ambitious, organized, self-relient, wealthy, sophisticated and magical.
Wood is natural, refreshing, positive, rooted, supportive, nurturing, and thoughtful.

Study your photos before using them, and decide which of the elements is best represented. For every project ask yourself, what are you trying to convey? After categorizing your themes, use the Ellements collection's printed paper, rub-ons, and embellishments simply by choosing the coordinating element. Bring balance and harmony to your projects with Ellements by Heidi Grace Designs.
The collection includes 18 12x12 papers, Rub-Ons for each of the five elements, 97 Ellement embellishments (many made from the element), Charms and four different shapes of Brads.

7 Gypsies/Autumn Leaves

Autumn Leaves 8x10 Transparency Sheets are colored ink printed on acetate for a special look. These images come to life in different ways when place over other images and colors.
From the Gypsy Librarie come 7 Gypsies Rubber Bands. These are approximately 2 inches long and available with "Hold Me Tight", "Remember", "Love, Love, Love" or "Bibliophile" printed on them. Slipped over small cards, they are perfect for referencing those special pages.
Nineteen new Autumn Leaves 12x12 Paper are here with beautiful French themes include Circue, Poste Carte, Adore, and Provence. These papers are elegant enough for your most graceful pages, yet epitomize shabby chic styling at it's best.
Three more colors of 7 Gypsies 5x10 Label Stickers are here as well as "Travel Words" in creme or kraft on rippable, matte paper.

Scrapbooking Tips

The Four Principles of Design

by Emily Hansen at www.onescrappysite.com

There are many principles that are used in traditional graphic design. I have summarized those that I feel are most important when it comes to designing scrapbook pages.

The four major principles of design that can easily be put to use in your scrapbooking are:
Contrast
Repetition
Alignment
Proximity

Contrast

A simple way to think about applying contrast to your page is; “if things are not very similar - they should be very different.”
The easiest place to start with this principle, is of course, color. Try to choose light and dark colors on your page, or warm and cool colors. You can also think of contrast in terms of small and large lettering, rough or smooth texture, thin lines and thick lines, big embellishments with little ones.
To use contrast most effectively make the differences as distinct as possible. This will create striking visual interest that makes people want to look at the page.

Repetition

This principle probably comes most naturally to everyone. We like consistency. You will notice in books or newsletters that there are usually elements that are repeated on each page - a line, a graphic, text or placement of a page number. So when relating this principle to scrapbooks you can think of repetition in two ways:
If you are creating a scrapbook that has a consistent look throughout (a wedding album, a heritage album, etc.) you can provide repetition on every page by using identical (or similar) elements or styles on each page.
For a scrapbook where each page or each spread of pages is unique, you can use repetition within each one. Using a consistent color scheme, or repeating a single element several times on a layout will have the effect of repetition. Some other things to think about repeating are fonts, lines, spatial relationships, and even style of embellishments. Think of repetition as an accent, it will create visual interest, but too much of it will be distracting.

Alignment

For a clean, well-designed page make sure each element is placed in a deliberate way. No items should be arbitrarily placed on your page. There should always be visual connections or lines between your elements. Be conscious of the tendency to place items on the page just because there is room. If the item does not have a close relationship with another item on the page (see proximity below), they can be placed far from each other, but making sure they are aligned will give the page more unity and sophistication.
An example of alignment would be when you line up your title, your main photo and a journaling block on the same visual line, whether left aligned, center aligned or right aligned. Creating a visual triangle is also an effective way of aligning items on a page. Which line or connection is not important - just make sure there is one.

Proximity

The guiding thought with this principle is to group related items together. When items are together they appear as a unit. If items are scattered over the page they will not have as much impact. Related items in close proximity will generally add visual power and interest to your pages. They can also draw attention to specific areas of a layout that you want to highlight.
One way to think about proximity is to think of the result of placing things close together on a page - “white space”. Having space on your page makes your layouts look organized and allows the reader to easily move their eyes to the important items. A simple way to judge proximity on your page is to squint your eyes and count the groupings, three to five groupings are generally the most effective.
"White space" and groupings create a balanced layout.

In addition to the above principles try to keep the following in mind when designing your pages:
Don’t be afraid to leave “white space”.
Choose asymmetry to add more visual interest. “Uncentering” things can sometimes make your layout stronger.
Use fonts and lettering as important design elements. Remember the four principles above when choosing fonts (especially contrast) and don’t be afraid to go very big or very small.
Make each design choice consciously, make sure your choices compliment or reinforce your overall page idea.
Most of all - have fun with design, you are an artist, let your pages reflect that part of you.

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