Hi there. Grace here to share with you an image that best describes if not the most, one of the most precious gifts I have ever received.

Ever since I can remember I have been a huge fan of musical instruments. At first I wanted to learn voilin. No I'm not musically gifted, I am just purely elated to the idea of being able to play an instrument. Growing up in the Philippines, I didn't have much opportunity to learn any musical instrument so when I moved to the states in 8th Grade, I finally got my wish when my Aunt enrolled me in some piano lessons.

It was awesome and although I didn't stick with is as long as I should have (high school came in the way) I've always had a special spot for the Piano and the beautiful music we can create with it.

So fast forward to today and that desire for beautiful music still lives on. I had told my husband at the beginning of the year that I wante a piano for my birthday (which was in July). He said that if we can find a good deal that we will look into it. I know that a brand new one would be way over our budget so for six months I scoured the Craigslist site to find a used one in the area. There were deals alright but it was a matter of being the first one to see it. At times I was getting frustrated for not being able to find "the one". Fortunately after six months of religious searching I finally found one. I called the owner and by that afternoon we had hauled it to our home and found the perfect spot for it in our living room.

It was perfect timing as my birthday was just days away. This item and the gift of music brought to my home is priceless. And the best part of it all....it was only $50!

Now that's a deal!

Have a great day,

Grace

To learn more about the List it! Everyday life ebook, check it out here.

Creating your own embellishment from digital scrapbooking supplies doesn't have to be complex and time consuming. Today I'll show you how I added a little custom embellie love to my baby boy's album.

I used Karen Lewis Designz Silly Billy Kit to create a monogram embellishment for the first page of my new baby boy's album.

Want to create this yourself?

Follow along with my video:

Or here's the how to in Photoshop Elements.

Step by Step

Set up the Canvas

1. Create a new 300 dpi file the size you want your embellishment to be. I chose 5 inches by 5 inches
2. Save your work as a Photoshop Document (PSD) file, which will retain all the layers of the embellishment so you can return to it later
3. Open up a plain paper, patterned paper and ribbon to use in the cluster
4. Drag them all onto the  new Photoshop Document (PSD).

Create the Base

1. Give yourself a clear work surface by hiding all the layers in my PSD except the patterned paper.
2. Click on the patterned paper to select that layer.
3. Use the polygonal lasso tool to select a few hexagons from the patterned paper.
4. Create a new layer via Copy (Ctrl+J Mac Cmd+J). This will take only your selection.
5. Click on the eye icon in the layers panel to hide the original paper.
6. You have a fussy cut base for your embellishment.

Distress the Text

1. Add the letters with the type tool (shortcut T) in a bold serif font  - I used Rockwell Extra Bold.
2. Move the blue paper up in the layers panel to be on top of the text.
3. Create a clipping mask (Ctrl+G Mac Cmd+G) and voilà my text is now a beautiful textured blue!
4. To add some more distressing I created a new layer and then clipped it (Ctrl+G Mac Cmd+G)  to the text layer too.
5. Use the brush tool to paint black around the edge of the letters.
6. Changed the blend mode to overlay with an opacity of 40% to give a darker, inked look to the edge. The clipping mask means you will never ink anywhere except the letters. Easy!

Add Texture with Ribbon

1. I clicked on the eye icon in the layers panel to turn on the ribbon layer and use the polygonal lasso tool again to select only a portion of the yellow ribbon.
2. Create a new layer via Copy (Ctrl+J Mac Cmd+J).
3. Repeat the process for a second piece of ribbon
4. I clicked on the eye icon in the layers panel to hide the original ribbon.
5. Using the move tool, rotate and move the ribbons till they look good to you.
6. Add a digital staple and to 'fasten' them.

Finishing Touches

At this point I used Rosey Posey's shadow styles to add dimension to my cluster. But it wasn't quite looking finished. I had a little blank spot above EJ.

So I added part of Little Rascal rub on from the Silly Billy Kit:

1. Select just 'lil' with the marquee tool.
2. Create a new layer via Copy (Ctrl+J Mac Cmd+J).
3. I clicked on the eye icon in the layers panel to hide the original rubon.

Adding it to the page

I simply selected the layers in my new embellishment and in the layer panel I used my right mouse button to click and then selected duplicate layers. In the dialog box that appears I selected my digital layout to add everything into my layout. Then I linked all the layers (using the chain icon at the bottom of the layers panel) to keep it all together as I positioned the cluster on my layout.

How it all turned out

I was thrilled with how my cluster turned out, it was just the handmade touch I wanted. I added it to a page created with a template from Biograffiti.

Hybrid Hero?

If you want to combine a digital cluster with a paper layout, follow the steps above and instead of adding to a digital page print your finished embellishment on Epson Premium Presentation Paper and add it to your page with dimensional adhesive.

Not a fan of Photoshop?

Hello Ella friends, Grace here to share with you one of the many ways you can make your own handmade embellishments. PAPER PIECING has been around our crafting hobby since I can remember. It has has it's evolutions over the years from hand piecing to following templates to now, my favorite....using the die cut machine.

I love using my die cut machine to create layered pieces of paper that when adhered together creates an image that's truly handmade and super cute. Since we are coming into the fall season, I decided to show you my paper pieced apple accents that I've added to this layout....

as you can see, I made three and used it as a visual triangle for my layout. I love how with paper piecing, you can personalize your accents matching it with the color scheme and theme of your project. It's also a great way of using up scrap papers. As you can see, I was able to use a bit of white, read, lime green and green cardstocks. Handmade and recyclable...what more can you ask for?!

and because I had so much fun with making this accents, I made a slightly bigger one and added it to a bookmark...

I have found that with paper piecing projects, especially the ones that have small parts like the green itty bitty leaf in my apple, the right adhesive makes a big difference. My favorite with projects like these are the Xyron create-a-sticker machine. It only had a widthof 1.5" so it's really small but that's ok cause I can use my dry adhesive or glue stick for the big ones. With the Xryon adhesive, I am sure that all of the itty bitty cuts are covered with adhesive on the back side and I didn't even have to get my fingers icky sticky with liquid adhesive. I don't think I can create a paper pieced item without it!

and here again are the projects close together...

I hope you enjoyed my paper piecing share today and happy crafting.
- Grace

Supplies Used: (layout) Cardstock- WordWin, Coredinations; Pattern papers- Studio Calico, Jillibean Soup, American Crafts; Letter stickers- (orange) American Crafts; (blue/white) October Afternoon; Buttons- Fancy Pants Design; Die cut machine- Cricut, Provo Craft; Cartridge- CM Cheerful Seasons; Border punch- Fiskars; Pen- Creative Memories; Twine- Carribean, The Twinery; Adhesives- Xyron, Glue Arts, Creative Memories (bookmark) Cardstock- WorldWin; Letter stickers- Creative Memories; Twine- The Twinery; Border punch- Fiskars; Corner rounder- Creative Memories; Pen- Creative Memories;  Adhesives- Xyron, Creative Memories, Glue Arts

Have you heard of a fabulous product called "Washi tape"? Do you OWN some?! I might be way behind the times, but I only recently discovered these rolls of beautiful, patterny, tape-y goodness. I promptly bought about 6 rolls of it,because...who could resist? Then...they sat there. It's a tragedy that such cute rolls of patterned tape weren't being put to good use! So, my brain went to work and I discovered just ONE use that was so easy to do and so darn cute, that I just have to share.

We are going to be making some washi tape clips!

These can be made a variety of ways and can be used in so many more! Today, I'm going to show you two ways to give some clips a washi make-over in just seconds.

First, gather your supplies. I bought a package of large paper clips from the dollar store, as well as a four-pack of magnetic clips as well. I also dusted off my rolls of washi tape (bought from the amazing Pick Your Plum), as well as grabbed my exacto knife (you can also use scissors).

I will be, first, adding some washi tape to the regular paper clips. Grab a roll of washi tape and measure out about 2" of the tape (you can use more if you want the tag a little longer).

Slip the piece of washi tape through the end of the paper clip and stick the two ends together. The middle will bunch up a bit.

Now you can clip the end into a "v" shape, or just snip a diagonal. Done! Cute, right?

Now, cut a slit into a cute little card and clip a few of these on to give as a gift! These make great bookmarks, as well as embellishments for scrapbook pages.

You can also run some washi tape along the bottom of other clips to give as gifts, or hang on your fridge to hold photos or other goodies!

With how adorable the patterns are, and the wonderful adhesive quality of tape - washi tape can make quick work out of making embellishments and more!

Happy washi-ing!

Back with some more fabulous projects from inside Amy Powers Inspired Ideas magazine. Today we are highlighting glittery and sparkly projects that you should try out! 

Sugary Cottages 

Heart Wreath

Click on the links above for complete instructions

To see the other Amy projects we highlighted click on the links below 

• Fall projects
• Kid projects

To see all current and past issues of Inspired Ideas, click here

Learn more from Amy at Boot Camp, registration details here.

Back with more Amy Powers projects to share and inspire. These are all kid friendly and would be great to make with your little friends. 

Altered Tiny Notebooks

Cartoon Flowers 

Marble House 

click on the links above to get full instructions

See the fall projects shared prior here. 

We hope to see you in our Boot Camp Barracks! Register here

Introducing creativity coach extraordinaire Amy Powers. She is newer to the scrapbooking world but has been a long time crafter and evangelist for creative living. She is the Creative Living coach for Boot Camp and we invite you to get to know her better. She owns, publishes, edits, basically does everything for her online magazine, Inspired Ideas. All week here on the Ella blog we are sharing projects from that have been previously published in her magazine. (some of the projects are by her others by her contributors)

Jack o Containers

Spooktactular Plant Stakes by Cari Kraft 

Witch Hat Treats 

Click on the links above for complete instructions 

and,

Don't forget that Boot Camp begins in less than two weeks! You can log in daily from October 15 to 27 for targeted daily drills that will shape you up in all four areas of scrapbooking. 

See you in our Boot Camp Barracks! Register here

I find mini books of all sizes and purposes one of the most inspiring activities in scrapbooking. These compact projects are the perfect vehicle for telling a single story with limited time, budget and supplies. I love how easy it us to combine what you already have into a completed album, so much that I recorded a video about my love for mini books. 



This tag book offers a location to document highlights for each month in a single year. The cover is the most time-consuming part of the project and simply requires some embellishment. 



On the inside of the cover I noted this is an "abridged" version of the best of the year. 



Tags for each month of the year are adhered to manila shipping tags, forming the album foundation. Adhere just three sides to create a pocket.



Use the pocket to hold one or two of your favorite 2x2 photos from each month.



Journal a list of highlights on the back of each month's tag. While this mini book is enjoyable on its own, it can also serve as a useful tool to note the stories you most want to scrapbook in more detail.

I recently created a different kind of mini book to document my summer vacation, though it does also embrace petite-sized photos! 
 

I love to read, and I love to share my thoughts about the books I read. Often, I find myself scrabbling for a slip of paper so that I can jot down my ideas as I'm reading, or make note of a great line in a book. Sometimes, I'm searching around for paper pieces for another reason, though -- to use as a bookmark.

This quick and easy project addresses both of those problems and leaves you with a simple mini-album as a record of what you've been reading. 

Supplies you'll need:

• Patterned paper -- one-sided paper is best, although you can use double-sided paper if the pattern can be written over
• Paper trimmer and scissors
• Hole punch
• Binder ring
• Bookmark tags -- (Just click the link to grab the free download. This file contains one 8.5x11 page with 8 tags, ready for printing. It also contains a .png file of just the solo tag if you'd like to modify this for your own use.)

STEP 1.Print the tags onto your patterned paper.

STEP 2. Trim your tags to size, using scissors or your paper trimmer.

STEP 3. Read! Take notes! Enjoy your book! (Right now, I'm working my way through my Summer Reading List.)

STEP 4. Punch a hole in the top of the bookmarks and use the binder ring to clip them together. As you read new books, just add them to your album. 

Hello Readers! So glad to be back blogging and creating for Ella since our big move around the world from the Washington, DC area to Japan.  Along the way I've been taking lots and lots of photos with my DSLR camera, but sometimes that hasn't been the most convenient option for me at all times.  Enter the amazing iPhone app - Instagram. If not for the iPhone camera, many photo ops would have been missed and I'm so thankful to have had it with me.

I decided to make a mini album from several of those photos of our travels to Japan and our first days in our new home country.

I decided to keep the mini rather simple to focus on the photos and the brief journaling I did for each page.  I plan to punch two holes on the top of the pages to secure them. That is, when I can find and unpack my hole punch tool!

So there you have it! Mini albums don't have to be scary, complicated or take days to complete. They can be simple and still meaningful!