Fun with Mats

I wanted a new way to scrapbook my pictures and display them in my home. So, I took a bunch of mats and started to add some personal touches to give them some flare. You know how it is when you are paper crafters...a mat just isn't good enough, its just got to be cuter.

Some of the mats already had its own texture, so I just antiqued the mat with distress ink pad. On others, I used embelishments, or just used stamp patterns. Take a look at what I came up with and let me know what you think.

Great Gift Idea!

My daughter had a baby and instead of giving out thank you's she made these cute thank you gifts. She used regular soup cans and covered them with paper and decortated them with tags and a stamped sentament. Then she wrapped pens and flowers with floral tape and gave these out to those that brought her meals after the baby was born. I wish I had her energy and creativity! Might be a great activity for our kids when they are out of school for the summer. I have these type of pen's in my house because they are always there. My kids don't seem to take these for some reason. If a pen does not have a flower on it they seem to disapear!

Using Distress Ink

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I love the "Distress Inks". They are really easy to use and add the old time look without a lot of work. They are great for stamping as well and leave the look of vintage. Sometimes they go on dark but fade to perfection. I didn't sample photo tinting and color layering but the "Distress Inks" are perfect for them. These inks are perfect for direct to paper stamping. Hope you have fun watching and getting ideas of your own!

Fun With Photo Corners

I have really enjoyed using photo corners that I can match to my ink. It is a real simple thing to do and adds a lot to your card or scrapbook page. When I make cards I usually make twelve at a time so I cut out as many as I will need and ink them all at once. I ink the photo corners with the chalk box because they ink so easy and fast. It is a wet ink that dries fast. Within minutes they are ready to use. I have also then antiqued them over the ink color. It makes a great effect. Have fun with it and do your own thing!