Oh So Crafty

My local shopping option for scrapbooking is a craft store. The selection of stickers and papers—not to mention brands—is extremely limited, and more often than not, I can’t find what I'm looking for. Yet the craft store remains a favorite shopping spot for me, thanks to the bounty of

fun finds available outside the scrapbook aisles.

Perhaps it's because I've dabbled in many different crafts, but I love looking for unexpected items to brighten up my creative play. I enjoy picking through charms and seasonal ribbons and browsing through all areas of the craft store. The key is to keep an open mind!

Specifically, I watch for:

Note: Many of the items above are available in one version or another in the scrapbooking aisle, but you can often find a better selection and price by venturing to other parts of the store.

In all my treasure-hunting adventures, I’ve gathered quite a collection of interesting supplies, and I recently created three layouts that show off a few of my finds. This first layout uses two charms I bought last Christmas, some foil accents found many years ago, and a favorite staple of mine—embroidery thread, which I use both as a stitched accent and as a thin twine.

	Supplies: patterned paper (Glitz) • (Cardstock Core'dinations) • notes sticker (Glitz) • alpha stickers (American Crafts) • button and book flowers (www.shopevalicious.com) • brad and poinsettia (Making Memories) • rhinestones, charms, foil flower (random craft store finds) • 12 x 12 layout by May Flaum
Click image for larger view

When I'm working with craft-store charms, like the little gingerbread man near my journaling circle (above), I sometimes leave the loop on so I can dangle it from a thread. Other times, I use wire cutters to trim that piece off so I can adhere the charm flat to the page, as you can see with the three stars on the "Woody" layout below.

I had been saving these star charms for quite some time, and it was fun to have a reason to use them. I clipped the loop from each of the three stars, and staggered them throughout my page to create a visual triangle. The brown flower at the bottom of the page also used to be a jewelry piece.

	Supplies:   chipboard letters, clear sticker, artisan element (Pink Paislee) • stencil, ink, and filmstrip (Tim Holtz) • glimmer mist (Tattered Angels) • flower and felt circle (www.shopevalicious.com) • fabrip strip (Studio Calico) • fabric flower charm (Making Memories) • star charms, circle cookie cutter (random craft store finds) • 12 x 12 layout by May Flaum
Click image for larger view

The stars aren’t the only craft-store find on this creative page. I also inked a circle cookie cutter and stamped it on my cardstock to create a custom journaling space. This is a trick I never get tired of. In fact, I use cookie cutters in crafting far more often than in baking. It's a great example of seeing new potential in an item instead of focusing on what it's supposed to be used for.

Likewise, fabric can be used for far more than just quilts and Easter dresses. I love the texture and feel fabric gives to my scrapbook pages. Sometimes the pattern is exactly what I need, while other times my goal is to use up the scraps from a previous craft project. On the layout below, I used a large swatch of floral fabric to dress up my background, also adding a length of tulle found in the wedding section.

	Supplies: cardstock (American crafts) • fabric (Heather Bailey) • digital wordart frame (Ali Edwards) • large buttons and butterfly (Jenni Bowlin) • brown alphabet stickers (Bella Blvd) • pink glittered stickers, rose charm (Making Memories) • journaling stamp (Catslife Press) • Ink (Tim Holtz) • thread, rhinestones, tulle, metal charm (random craft store finds) • 12 x 12 layout by May Flaum
Click image for larger view

Wondering how to keep that fabric in place? I’ve had the best success with double-sided sticky tape or a needle and thread. For smaller fabric strips, brads or other small attachments may work as well. In addition to the textiles used on my page, I worked in some thread, rhinestones from the jewelry aisle, a few charms, and some bits and pieces from my scrapbook supplies.

Whatever elements you choose to use, and however you use them, I hope that you enjoy stepping outside the scrapbook aisle to bring new life to your layouts.