How to Make Scrapbook Embellishments

Calling all scrapbookers and memory keepers. Would you like to make your photos and memories be the highlight of your scrapbooks, have more fun while you are crafting and SAVE MONEY? Then this blog post is for you!

We invited some amazing designers to make scrapbook layouts, pocket pages, December Daily projects and Traveler's Notebook layouts using the stamps and dies from our Scrapbooking Collection. Each of their projects show how you can use stamps and dies to make titles, embellishments and journaling spots using colors that complement your photos and reflect your own style.

So grab your favorite Sunday morning beverage and take a few minutes to see how you can use stamps, dies and cardstock plus a little ink to be more creative and save money!

Make Unique Accents Using Plain White Cardstock

Oh be still my heart... I love this layout! When we were designing the Love Home stamps and Build a Birdhouse dies I imagined them being used to make photo captions and embellishments on pages about building a new house or layouts about hanging out at home. I also thought about using them to make gift tags or cards to welcome new families to the neighborhood or church. But the colorful birdhouse embellishments and these scrapbook pages by Lorilei Murphy are even better than what I imagined.

Lorilei used the Build a Birdhouse dies to cut out black and white birdhouse pieces. Then she used some ink to add color to the white cardstock elements. Finally she reassembled the inked pieces with the black roofs and perches to make one-of-a-kind, birdhouse embellishments for her scrapbook layout.

To finish her project, Lorilei used some black ink to stamp her layout titles using the Love Home stamps. The simple black sentiments create such a lovely contrast with her colorful scrapbook embellishments and background!

Want to see more projects and a video about how to use these stamps and dies to make embellishments? Hop over to our website!

Make Photo-Corner Embellishments

One way to highlight the pictures on your scrapbook layouts is to make photo-corner embellishments using colors that are in your pictures. Nathalie DeSousa used the Just Us Girls Stamp Set and Matching Dies to make feminine embellishments, photo captions and to start her journaling block. Here's how she did it.

Nathalie got out markers that were similar in color to the clothes the people in her photo were wearing. She used those markers to add color to the stamped flower images. Then she used the matching dies to cut out beautiful corner embellishments to go around her photo.

To add balance to her two-page spread, she made another set of flower accents and used those corner embellishments to highlight her journaling block. What a lovely way to make embellishments for your layouts about the girls and women in your life!

See more project ideas and a video tutorial over on our website!

Create Dimensional Embellishments

These dimensional heart embellishments would look AMAZING on soooo many different projects. And this layout could go in so many different albums! For example, you could add a page like this to your children's scrapbooks to help them celebrate and remember their grandmother and grandfather. Or make a similar layout and give it to your children's grandparents. Or make a scrapbook spread about your grandparents and put it in your own album.

This delightful layout is by Neftali Zambrano. She used the Grandma Blessings stamps and matching dies to make this layout and create the 3-D heart embellishments!

To get started Neftali stamped the heart image using pink ink fifteen times on white cardstock. Then she used the matching die to cut them all out. (She saved the strips of white cardstock with the negative spaces left when she cut out all those hearts.)

She folded the stamped hearts down the middle. She layered 3 of the stamped hearts to create five dimensional-heart embellishments. Then she sewed the layered, stamped heart accents to the white cardstock strips that were left over when she die cut the hearts. To finish her scrapbook layout, she used one of the sentiment stamps to make the page title.

If you are worried about what to do with this much dimension in your scrapbook, here are a couple options. You could put your layout in a shadowbox and use it as home decor. Or you can simply flatten the embellishments out before sliding the layout into your page protector.

If you'd like to make additional dimensional elements (not just hearts), look for stamps that are symmetrical. For example, you could make similar layered butterfly embellishments using the butterfly image that is included in the Grandma Blessings stamps and matching dies bundle.

Use Phrases as Embellishments

Often we think of butterflies, stars and flowers as being page embellishments. But here's a traditional scrapbook layout by Amanda Baldwin showing how you can use sentiments or photo captions as accents on your pages.

Amanda used the Remember When Scrapbooking stamp set plus the Oval and Rectangle Stitched Labels dies to make this beautiful, traditional scrapbook layout. To get started Amanda stamped some of the sentiments and cut them out using the rectangle dies. Then she used more phrase stamps and a second-generation stamping technique on the background of her layout. The phrases stamped on the labels are more prominent and add a sense of dimension to her page. While the lighter stamped background phrases and butterflies create an almost ethereal feeling on this layout.

You can see more scrapbook projects featuring these stamps and dies in a video tutorial on our website!

Turn Your Photo into an Embellishment

Sometimes you see something and think "why didn't I think of that?" I had one of those moments when I saw this layout by Theresa Doan. She turned her photo into something that also acts as an embellishment on her very creative scrapbook page.

Theresa started with a simple photo of eight women having dinner. Then she used the Pieces of My Heart die to cut it out. She reassembled the picture puzzle pieces to make the heart-shaped photo on the left side of this layout. The puzzle-piece photo embellishment really amplifies the idea that when people come together they can make wonderful things happen.

To finish her project, Theresa stamped the "Together We Make a Family" phrase as the title for her scrapbook page. Then she scattered several more puzzle piece embellishments toward the bottom of her scrapbook page. 

See more cards and layouts featuring this set of stamps and dies over on our website!

Set the Mood with a Colorful Background

Color plays such a big part in establishing a theme or mood for your scrapbook pages. But when you are using premade stickers, chipboard accents, patterned paper or really any embellishment, you are stuck with their colors. That's where stamps and dies really are your friends. Here is an example of how you can use stamps and dies to make unique backgrounds for your pages.

This enchanting layout by Neftali Zambrano is all about her adorable son. She used the phrase stamps that are most relevant about her son and stars from the Kids Are Cool stamp set along with sherbet-colored inks to make patterned paper for both sides of her project. Then she used the coordinating Kids Are Cool dies to cut out similarly-colored hearts, stars and words to embellish her project. The colors she used reinforce the playful nature of this wonderful scrapbook page. Plus this is a one-of-a-kind scrapbook layout her son will cherish!

Tell Your Story Your Way

Here's another example of how to stamp your own patterned elements to help tell your story your way. Adelina Starace's pocket page project is all about the 4th of July.

Adelina used red and blue ink along with the Things Change stamps and Captions and Labels dies to make the photo caption at the top of her pocket page project. She also used the same set of stamps to make a ticket-patterned 3" x 4" pocket page insert for the middle row on her layout.

The red, white and blue color scheme is often associated with the Fourth of July. But the phrases Adelina used are not the traditional sentiments you would find on premade 4th of July patterned paper, pocket page inserts or embellishments. Her layout is a reminder of how easy it is to create your own unique elements and tell your own story your way!

Create December Daily Embellishments

If you make a December Daily album every year, you know that creating your foundation pages and as many elements as possible ahead of time is ESSENTIAL to finishing your album during December! Plus you also know that finding December Daily embellishments in non-traditional Christmas colors (or colors that you and your family would actually wear) can be really hard.

Here are several projects showing how you can make embellishments for your December Daily scrapbooks that complement your own style, feature your favorite colors and that are much less expensive too!

Ashley Horton created these pink Christmas-themed pages using the Story of December Days stamp set and the Postage Card dies. She stamped the Dec 25 circle and then used the dies to add the visually-interesting postage-stamp edge.

She also used the same set of stamps to add her journaling prompt. Then she stamped the "Magical Moment" sentiment from the December Moments stamp set below her photo. What a wonderful Christmas story and lovely December Daily layout!

Want to see more December Daily project ideas? Watch this 2-minute video featuring the Story of December Days stamp set and the Postage Card dies!

Make Some Tag Embellishments

Tags are another easy way to spruce up your traditional scrapbook layouts, pocket pages or December Daily layouts. Kari Stiles created several tag accents for this very classy December Daily pocket page.

Kari used the Story of December Days stamps (the same set that Ashley used on the previous layout) to make several of the elements on this pocket page. Kari stamped the rectangular December 9 accent and cut it out. To make the white tag, Kari used the "DEC" stamp and generation stamping. Finally she used "the Story of" sentiment stamp to make the journaling tag embellishment.

One of the things I really like about Kari's project is that there isn't a single red or green accent on it. And she didn't get stuck using someone else's trendy color scheme. She kept it simple and only included embellishments that complimented and helped highlight her photos.

Now that you've seen Ashley's and Kari's December Daily pages, imagine how much faster your album would go together this year and how much money you would save if you made date embellishments and stamped journaling spots like theirs for all your pages!

Make Your Own Santa Embellishments

Just look at the amazingly creative Santa accents that Tina Stepanova made for her December Daily album! I want to go straight to my craft table and make some embellishments and pages just like hers!!!

To make this December Daily transparency, Tina used the Dear Santa stamp set and permanent white ink.

 

She used the same stamp set along with the matching Dear Santa dies to make embellishments for several 3" x 4" pocket page inserts.

And just like Ashley and Kari, Tina created date embellishments using the Story of December Days stamps.

Tina shares more details about how to make these projects over on her blog. Plus she shows several more Christmas-themed scrapbook pages that are AMAZING. This is a blog post you don't want to miss!

You also aren't going to want to miss this 2-minute video where you can see lots more Santa embellishment ideas!

Wow... whether you create clean and simple layouts or prefer a more elaborate look, I hope you saw some ideas here that inspire you to make some embellishments for your own scrapbook pages!

PS: Don't Miss Your Chance to Choose a FREE Stamp Set!

If you saw some stamps and dies on any of these projects that you'd like to own, now would be a good time to get them. From now until Thursday, 9/19, you can choose your own set of free stamps when you place an order on our website. Here's how to claim your FREEBIE!

1. Go to our website and put $30 of products in your cart.
2. Then go to the Free Flair page, choose your free stamp set, and add it to your cart.
3. When you check out, enter the code Free-Flair. The charges for your free stamp set will be removed from your order.
4. BONUS: Spend $75 or more and you'll get FREE shipping too!

Not sure where to start shopping? We've included links to all the stamp and die bundles used to make the projects featured in this blog post. Or you can see the entire collection of stamps and dies designed especially for scrapbookers!

Comments

[Cathy Ruud]

Love the ideas presented!