Alicazam

Michael's Scrap-IN Event Sat. 02/02/13 (Monrovia, Ca)

2013-01-29T09:49:00.000-08:00

Michael's (in Monrovia, Ca) will be having a Scrap-IN event on Saturday! I will be there to answer any questions; come join!

Get in to a Scrap-IN for just $5! Join us 3pm-9pm on the first Saturday of every month for scrapping, chatting and project inspiration. February Scrap-IN sponsored by Fiskars® and 3M.

Cost: $5 Reserves Your Spot
Date: Saturday 02/02/13
Time: 3-9pm

Tear Bear Card 1: Christmas

2013-01-29T09:15:00.000-08:00

I recently learned how to make a homemade card that can be propped up on its own, and decided to make a tear bear card out of that new found knowledge. For this card, DCWV's Holiday stack was used, and the Beyond Birthdays Cricut Cartridge was used for the words Merry Christmas; everything else was handmade. Unfortunately, these grainy pictures are the only copies I have of the card; my camera is broken and all I had was my cell phone. But at least it's better than nothing. :)

Here is how the card looks, opened and propped up on its own stand. The gold is very glittery, but my camera phone did not pick it up too well.

Here is the propped card by its side view.

Here is how the card looks once it is "closed". The tree is actually layered; can you tell?

Scrapbook Tear Bears 8.1-8.4: Christmas

2011-12-14T16:34:00.000-08:00

Santa Claus

Mrs. Claus

Tangled!

Scrapbook Tear Bear 7.1: Office

2011-07-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a working tear bear, carrying a briefcase and wearing a business suit. This bear would be perfect for Father's day! Tear bears are available at www.facebook.com/alicazam.crafts.

Isn't the suit tie adorable?

Scrapbook Tear Bears 6.1-6.2: Wedding

2011-06-11T18:17:00.000-07:00

Weddings are such beautiful occasions, aren't they? Here are two wedding tear bears, a bride and a groom, all dressed up. These bears are handmade and available at www.facebook.com/alicazam.crafts

The groom is wearing a glittery silver cummerbund and a cute bowtie.

The bride's dress is made of a satin ribbon, and embellished with white mulberry flowers; she also wearing a beautiful sheer veil!

Scrapbook Tear Bears 5.1-5.2: Graduation

2011-05-19T20:04:00.000-07:00

It's that time again, graduations! Here are two cute tear bears to celebrate the completion of hard work, one in a blue cap & gown, and one in black. These bears are available, and can be customized to any school color, at www.facebook.com/alicazam.crafts.

Scrapbook Tear Bears 4.1-4.3: Easter

2011-05-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

Here are 3 tear bears celebrating Easter with bunny ears and Easter print outfits.

A pink bear for the girls who love pink.

This girl's outfit has chicks and eggs.

A blue bow to match the blue in her dress.

Scrapbook Title Sets 2.1-2.4: Easter

2011-05-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

Hoppy Easter everyone! Easter is such a fun time, with all the kids scrambling to gather the eggs and treats. Here is a paper piecing project to celebrate Easter: eggs and bunnies!

The letters were cut with Cricut's Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. My favorite part of the basket is the butterfly that looks like it just might flutter away...

The pastel paper is so fluffy; it gives the bunny a nice 3D look.

Peekaboo, this shy bunny is hiding behind Easter eggs!

The whiskers were a little hard to work with, but it really adds character to the bunny, doesn't it?

I really had a lot of fun working with the pastel colors.

Scrapbook Layout 9: Sandy's 60th Birthday

2010-11-03T16:21:00.000-07:00

This is a layout for someone's 60th birthday. DCWV's Sweets stack and Nursery stack were used for the photo mats.

Full Layout

Left Page

Right Page

Birthday Girl

The birthday hat was made with the Cricut machine, using the Celebrations cartridge.

The lollipop is handmade.

Who doesn't love a lot of presents?

The candles were made with the Learning Curve cartridge.

The cupcakes were also made with the Celebrations cartridge; then they were dipped with microbeads. The microbeads look just like the sugar beads you can find on cupcakes, and I'm tempted to eat them!

The Celebrations cartridge was also used to cut the balloons.

The Happy Birthday font was made with the Beyond Birthdays cartridge.

It was fun using the hinges to make a miniature picture frame, featuring the birthday girl's name.

Pastel colors are so soothing, aren't they?

The curtains were handmade by securing scrunched fabric with a colored staple.

Happy Birthday!

Scrapbook Layout 8: Cruisin Together

2010-10-15T03:18:00.000-07:00

This layout was made with DCWV's Travel Stack; each photo mat was edged with Colorbox Pigment Ink (Earthly Ores). There was a request for a chubby tear bear wearing a lot of make-up, to resemble someone, so pink eyeshadow was added with chalk.

Full Layout

Left Page

Right Page

Another cruise ship in the distance

Lifesaver

This took me a long time to make so perhaps I will just buy one next time.

Island

Notice the crab and starfish?

Palm Tree

I had a lot of fun making the palm tree.

Lawn Chair

This was handmade.

The Mr.

The water background was made with a sheet from DCWV's photo stack.

The Mrs.

She is enjoying the cruise with a drink in her hand.

Cruisin

I wanted the rail to pop, so I cut long strips of chipboard, but it ended up taking a long time to make!

Together

The block is made of acrylic and adds something 3D to the layout.

Photo Mat #1

It was so lucky to find a mulberry flower that looked so similar in shape and color to the flowers in the cardstock.

Photo Mat #2

Photo Mat #3

Photo Mat #4

The palm tree and flowers were assembled so that a picture can still be tucked behind them.

Some words to describe their fun times.

Celebration

One Lovely Blog Award

2010-10-10T05:36:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I was excited to discover that there was a blog award waiting for me; I was so touched, honored, and surprised, all at the same time. I have seen blog awards before, but it was something I never expected to receive so it was a very special day for me; I think my heart did a little jig or dance... Thank you Lisa Ladrido for picking my blog as one of your 15 favorites! Please check out her wonderful and touching blog, I Am All A Twitter About Life. Lisa's blog is about, well...life; there are stories about motherhood and family, inspirational stories about people who have impacted her life, and great recipes and books to recommend. I also liked her humorous story about Social Network High in particular; check it out some time! It is amazing how she personified all the popular network sites as high school students; they were all so accurately funny! What a creative imagination.

Now back to the blog award... In order to accept the award, there are a few rules.

1. Accept the award.
(Post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.)
2. Pay it forward to 15 other bloggers that you have newly discovered.
3. Contact those blog owners and let them know they’ve been chosen.

So, it is now my duty to select and announce my 15 newly discovered blogs. It took awhile to find blogs that I found both entertaining (perhaps even addicting) as well as helpful, and I came up with these (in no particular order):

1. Kerry's Paper Crafts
2. Brown Paper Packaging
3. Scrapbooking By Syrena
4. justintimedesign
5. KitsNbits
6. The Things We Find Inside
7. A Million Memories
8. DeeCee's Wire Wonders
9. Crafty Storage
10. Put More Paper in Your Diet
11. hip2bsquarescrapbooking
12. sparklybits
13. thequeensscene
14. Pretty pressings
15. Dooce

Please check out these blogs! I am so glad that I discovered them, and I will refer to them often as inspiration for my blog, my writing, and my dedication.

Site Under Construction

2010-10-10T03:59:00.000-07:00

In an effort to make my blog easier to navigate and faster to load, it will be under construction. Please be patient during this construction period, and please refrain from using the tabs on the top of the page; the tabs will not work yet. The archive links will still be active for your convenience. Thank you.

Scrapbook Layout 7: China Airlines

2010-09-05T01:43:00.000-07:00

This China Airlines layout was made with DCWV's Travel Stack and Far East Stack; each photo mat was edged with Colorbox Pigment Ink (Earthly Ores). The letters were cut with Cricut's Plantin Schoolbook cartridge and the airplane was cut with the My World cartridge. The tear bears were hand-torn and fluffed; the pilot and stewardesses were based on actual China Airlines uniforms. If you are interested in the pilot tear bear, it is available for purchase at my Facebook store; it can be found under the tear bears category. alicazam* Facebook store

Full Layout

Left Page

Right Page

Title Runway

Pilot & Stewardess Tear Bear

The title reads Zong Hua Hang Kong (China Airlines)

Peek-a-Boo Tear Bear

Notice the passport in her hands?

Luggage Carrier

Airplane Taking Off

The airplane windows are made of diamond stickers.

Photo Mat #1

The airplane tag was made with the Cricut machine and secured with an eyelet and brad.

Photo Mat #2

I edged white mulberry flowers with pigment ink to imitate the China Airlines flower.

Photo Mat #3

Photo Mat #4

Close-up of Charm

Scrapbook Layout 6: Home Sweet Home

2010-08-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

This "Home Sweet Home" layout is made with several of DCWV's stacks: Garden Party, Nursery - Baby Boy, Nursery- Baby Girl, and Animal Crackers; all the paper piecings were edged with ColorBox Pigment Ink (Bright). This layout features a tear bear rooster, hen, and baby chicks; all the tear bear animals were hand-torn out of mulberry paper, then fluffed for a fuzzy texture.

Full Layout

Left Page

Right Page

Photo Mat #1

Photo Mat #2

The polka dots have glitter on them; sparkly!

Photo Mat #3

Photo Mat #4

Photo Mat #5

I've layered the flowers in an assortment of yellow shades to give a cohesive look while still offering variety.

Here the rooster is getting ready to announce the morning sun.

Tear Bear Rooster

Wandering Chick

Peek-A-Boo Chick

Hatching Chick

Tear Bear Hen

Scrapbook Tear Bears 3.1-3.3: Toy Story 2

2010-08-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

Toy Story 2 is a popular beloved movie, a sequel often said to be better than the original. I have created the characters from Woody's Roundup: Woody (the rootin-est tootin-est cowboy in the wild wild west), Jessie (the yodeling cowgirl), and Bullseye (Woody's horse and sidekick).

These tear bears are very popular, and are available for sale on my facebook page. www.facebook.com/alicazam.crafts Tear bears are perfect for embellishing scrapbook pages or handmade cards; wouldn't these tear bears would be so cute to finish a Toy Story 2, Woody's Roundup, or cowboy-themed layout?

All tear bear characters were designed and pieced together without a template or stencil. Each character was hand-torn, hand-fluffed, and shaded with chalk for dimension and personality. Supplies to create the Toy Story 2 characters included mulberry paper, cardstock paper, and yarn.

The Roundup Gang

Who is your favorite character from the movie?

Woody

A scarf, holster, striped shirt, and cowhide vest are essential in capturing Woody.

Jessie

Glitter stitching, white tassles, cowhide pants, and braided hair were all included; must not leave out details!

Bullseye

Bullseye was intimidating to attempt, especially since this character was not my typical tear "bear" but fortunately, it came out successful.

Craft Tutorial 1: How to Use the Crop-A-Dile II (Big Bite)

2010-07-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

We R Memory Keepers came out with the Big Bite, a second version for their Crop-A-Dile; this multi-functional tool hole punches, and sets eyelets, snaps, and grommets.

This is a wonderful improvement and time-saver from the traditional hammer setters. Not only does the Big Bite make the use of hammers obselete, it can also cut through a wide range of different materials, including chipboard, fabrics, leather, plastic, and thin tin. And because it is 6" wide, and has a built-in ruler, it allows scrapbookers to easily reach the center on a 12x12 page. The Big Bite makes setting grommets and eyelets quiet, easy, and fast.

HOW TO USE THE BIG BITE

The Big Bite includes an instruction sheet, but for some reason, it is all in French, and does not include an English version.

Luckily, all you really need are the two charts, the grids for the top and the base.

On the tool, there are two rotating cubes, one on top (each side of the cube has a letter A-D), and one on the bottom (each side has a number 1-4).

IF YOU ARE SETTING:

3/16" eyelets..............choose A & 1
snaps................................B & 2
1/8" eyelets........................C & 3
grommets..........................D & 4 (When setting grommets, they must be placed upside down)

Change the top to:

IF YOU ARE USING AS A HOLE PUNCHER:

For 1/8" holes, change the top to:

There is no need to use the cubes.

For 3/16" holes, change the top to:

There is no need to use the cubes.

Scrapbook Layout 5: Boy Oh Boy

2010-07-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

This layout was made with DCWV's Nana's Kids stack; aren't the planes and trains adorable? Featured in this layout are 3 hand-torn bears, a hand-pieced tree-house and tricycle, and 2 journaling tags. This layout is perfect for those who have boys, especially funny little boys who don't want to have girls around! See how the girl wants to join in the fun, but the boys are keeping her out with a "No Girls Allowed" sign?

Full Layout

Left Page

Right Page

Boys Only

The bears came out very 3D, which is very nice; doesn't it give the layout an extra pop?

Tear Bear Boy on Tricycle

Notice how his feet are place differently on the pedals? That will give the illusion that the bear was pedaling.

Tear Bear Boy in Treehouse

Two different patterns were used for the tree foliage, to give it some extra detail.

No Girls Allowed

The shirt has glittery stripes.

Girl Tear Bear

The lollipop is handmade out of polymer clay.

Photo Mat #1

Blue and brown compliment each other very well.

Photo Mat #2

Love the train print. Too cute!

Journaling Tag #1 - Front

Journaling Tag #2 - Back

Photo Mat #3

Photo Mat #4

Photo Mat #5

Journaling Tag #2

These tags came out just the right size for the plate.

Journaling Tag #2 - Front

Journaling Tag #2 - Back

Scrapbook Layout 4: Wedding

2010-06-06T02:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a 1 page layout using DCWV's Luxury Stack; it is a stack with a shimmery design....probably not a stack I would use on a regular basis, but it is definitely a stack that's appropriate for a wedding layout. I wanted to keep a neutral wedding theme, in order for it to be versatile to any wedding couple, so I decided on a "white" theme with a slight black outline throughout the layout.

The tear bears, doves, and church were all hand-made. I had a little trouble when making the satin dress; the satin bow kept popping up, so I had to hand-stitch the dress in order to keep it down. Notice the pearl earrings on the bride? This was a special gift for someone, so real pearls were used.

Full layout

Church paper piecing

It is better to use a less stiff cardstock since there are so many layers; if the cardstock is too thick, it could curl.

Bride and groom

I forgot to give the bride a bouquet when I took this picture.

Bride

I gave her a bouquet later, but unfortunately, I did not have the right lighting for a good clear picture.

Groom

The bowtie was made with ribbon, and for the buttons, actual buttons were glued to his shirt; the gray cummerbund gave it a nice color and texture contrast.

Doves

Photo mat 1

Since this was a wedding layout, I used a lacey trim stitching for the mat.

Photo mat 2

File tag

This may be my favorite thing out of the layout; it has such a nice clean look.

Scrapbook Layout 2: Easter

2010-05-01T01:06:00.000-07:00

Here is an Easter layout that I created with DCWV's Garden stack and Nana's Kids stack. All tear bear animals were hand-torn, fluffed, and then shaded with chalk. All photo mats and journaling tags were fully machine stitched; the photo mats were inked with Color Box pigment ink (pastel).

Full layout

Left page

Right page

Hatching chicks Easter title - one of the chicks has dropped his eggshell!

Egg house

The hinges used were just the right size for this house.

Close-up of the door

Left window

Each flower was secured with eyelets and brads.

Right window

To give some variety and contrast, different colors were chosen for the flowers and their centers.

Embossed rainbow

Saw this idea for embossing a rainbow and just loved it.

Tree

This bird has built herself a comfortable nest.

I was happy to find socks for this bunny.

Shy baby sheep

Close-up of sheep bell

Surprise! A catepillar is hiding in the tree.

This swing looks relaxing.

Snail

Wheelbarrow - looks like someone was collecting flowers.

Since the red plate is metal, and can be a little heavier than other embellishments used, it must be reinforced as much as possible.

These flowers have glitter on them, but it is a little hard to see in the picture.

A flower charm to match the flowers on the photo mat.

I love how this mat turned out; the sheer green ribbon matched the green in the paper very well.

Notice that the mats have been stitched as well?

There is also glitter on this photo mat, on the butterfly and flowers. All mats were also reinforced in the corners with brads and eyelets.

Front of the journaling tag

Back of the journaling tag

Additional journaling tags

I really liked the sturdiness and pastel combination of these tags.

Cricut Project 1: Mickey Room Sign

2010-04-09T23:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a fun project offered by Cricut; it is featured in the Mickey & Friends cartridge booklet.

What a fun and easy way to brighten up a room! This colorful wood sign will delight any little occupant. Make it in minutes following these simple directions.

Materials:

Wood sign board

Acrylic paint: black, red, blue
Adhesive

(If you have a Cricut machine):
Cardstock: black, white, flesh, red, yellow

Cricut font cartridge, sticker letters, or alphabet stencil

Cricut Mickey & Friends cartridge

(If you do not have a Cricut machine):
Click here to buy a pre-assembled Mickey
Sticker letters or alphabet stencil

Step One:

Paint wood sign board with acrylic paints as desired.

Step Two:

Create Mickey. Or click here to buy a pre-assembled Mickey

Using Mickey and Friends cartridge and black cardstock, cut one 5 1/2" .

Using flesh-colored cardstock, press Layers: Face/White feature and cut one 5 1/2" to cut face. Using white cardstock, press Shift and Layers: Face/White feature and cut one 5 1/2" to cut eyes and gloves.
Assemble Mickey head

Step Three:

Create phrase.

Cut one 6" x 3.75" rectangle of white cardstock. Mat onto red cardstock and finally black cardstock. Create name or phrase on white cardstock using a Cricut font cartridge, sticker letters, or alphabet stencil.

Step Four:

Assemble sign.

Adhere phrase across bottom of sign board and apply Mickey head above as shown.

Scrapbook Tear Bears 1.1-1.4: Easter

2010-04-08T20:39:00.000-07:00

In honor of Easter, I created 4 cute Easter tear bears. Each bear comes in an Easter dress, a matching bunny ear headpiece, and a pair of cute socks and shoes. The pink is my favorite; which one is yours?

The tear bears were all handmade out of mulberry paper; it is really amazing that paper can create such fuzziness! Each bear was hand-torn, fluffed, and then shaded with chalk.

The fabric used to make her dress looks like denim; it would be cute to make some jeans for the tear bears one day.

I liked the way the colors came together for this dress, with the contrast of the different shades of pink. However, the fabric was difficult to work with; it kept wanting to pop up and did not want to stay put. I'm not sure if I will choose to work with this fabric again.

The style of this dress is different from the other three dresses; I wanted to offer some variety, besides just a difference in color and print.

I am very happy to have found this fabric. It is perfect for making tear bear socks, and it's nice that the stripes on them are glittery.

Scrapbook Layout 1: Candy Factory

2010-03-21T03:19:00.000-07:00

This layout was created with DCWV's Glitter Sweet Stack: it includes a pre-sewn journaling tag and four photo mats, and features three sweet tear bears, a conveyor belt, a candy stand, and yummy polymer clay lollipops. The tear bears, paper piecings, and polymer clay pieces were all handmade. I have to admit, during the course of this layout, I had a few candy cravings!

The "memories" title was made with the Cricut machine, using the Makin' the Grade cartridge.

These photo mats came out very sturdy, which I liked. No, seriously, I was really pleased. :)

The tag and mats were all inked with Colorbox (bright) pigment ink.

The swirls on the lollipops are actually swirls of glitter; the candy pieces are also speckled with glitter.

Each slat was individually inked and pieced; it took awhile, but I think it gave the slats an extra dimension.

The candy stand is made with glitter cardstock; it is a shame the picture doesn't show the glitter too well. :(

Bags of sugar, ready to be made into candy!

I liked how this yellow dress came out; the ruffles added an extra layer and detail.

Craft Tip 2: Prevent Ribbon from Fraying by Sealing with Glue

2010-03-17T00:12:00.000-07:00

THE HASSLE

The use of ribbon in crafts is very common, and always adds a nice decorative touch. However, based on the material of the ribbon, certain ribbons are more prone to fraying than others.

This may cause some crafters to stay away from using particular materials, thus reducing their options, and preventing their full creativity potential.

THE SOLUTION

An easy solution is to seal the ends of ribbon with a clear-drying glue; no more worrying about ribbon fraying, and no more having to cut the ribbon shorter, and shorter...
Just cut and prepare the strip of ribbon, as directed for the project. Before glueing down the ribbon to your project, lightly dab the ends of the ribbon with glue, let dry, and now the ribbon is ready for use.

Make sure to minimize handling of the ribbon until the glue is dried; this will prevent the glue from picking up any possible dirt, and giving it a "dirty" look to where the glue was applied.

SEAL FABRICS TOO

Using glue to seal ribbon is a method that can easily be used elsewhere; there are many possibilities. Fabric, like ribbon, is also prone to fraying, and can be easily remedied by sealing with some clear-drying glue or fabric glue.

Welcome to alicazam*!

2010-01-17T13:18:00.000-08:00

Welcome to alicazam*! The articles found on this blog will focus on crafts, with more emphasis on scrapbooking and tear bears. Included will be tutorials, project ideas, tips, product reviews, and much more!