Trendy Alternative - Magnetic Project Boards - Updated

Trendy Alternatives Update: 
I found a Beechwood Art Board Stand Easel to put my magnetic project board on. I found it at Hobby Lobby that is the only place I found it. I got 40% off. So I got it for under $25.00. The lip on the bottom is a little smaller then I would have liked but it serves its purpose. It is adjustable height and is 30" x 20" 19" .  I thought it might be too big. But I love the size. It is just right for my craft room.  It is light weight and I love the set up I have.

I have a Trendy Alternative for the Scrap'n Easel and other magnetic project work surfaces.
I do love that the Scrap'n Easel has angled work surface. I love having the option to hold my project pieces in place when designing. I love the fact that it is a 12x24 work surface. I love the fact that it folds up to a nice portfolio. I like the fact that it has a grided work surface.
I would just love to be able to have the Scrap'n Easel but it is just too expensive.

I got to thinking how can I have all of that and be able to afford it.

So I came up with a Trendy Alternative to this.  With some creative thinking and shopping around looking for ideas. This is what I came up with. I love it just as much for a fraction of the cost.
It's a 17"x23" work surface. It is a Magnetic Dry-Erase Board. Sometimes also called a White Board.
It's by Quartet and I picked it up at my local Wal-mart for under $10. I also found some magnets at Wal-mart that work perfectly with this magnetic board.
I had a book stand so I didn't need to purchase that.  It works fantastic! It's very sturdy with the bookstand behind it. The board and magnets cost Under $20.
You would just need to find an easel that would work with it. Maybe you or a handy hubby could build you one. I was lucky enough to have my bookstand available. I like the fact that the white board will hold one 12 x 12 layout.
This leaves and extra space at the side of the magnetic board to hold your cuts or make some notes as you go along.
Here are some photo's of how it looks.

Here's The label from the product

This book stand I already owned.

These are the magnets I purchased seperately.

Trendy Alternatives - Clear Embellishments

Trendy Alternatives - Clear Embellishments
I saw an embellishment online called clear pops. I thought it had a neat effect. What it looks like is a sticker with a clear acetate overlay. I saw it on Pink Paislee website. It is from the Butterfly Garden Collection.  

Pink Paislee

Well I thought this would be a neat project for my Trendy Alternatives post. They are hard to find and I found a trendy alternative for making these yourself.

First I printed and cut the butterfly from the Lori's Garden cartridge on my Imagine.

You can make these clear pops with any clear packaging. I used a cartridge box.

I cut on side off the box.

Next I used the cut only feature on the Imagine and muti cut 4 times.

I did not use the print feature. Pressure and Speed were 5.

Next I adhered the clear acetate overlay on top of the butterfly cut with terrifically tacky tape.

I just put the adhesive on the body of the butterfly.

I then inked the edges so the clear acetate would stand out more.

I bent the wings up to give the butterfly a 3D dimension.

I also used this method with my Vagabond Machine.

I cut my pieces out with the vagabond machine.

First the patterned paper and then the acetate.

I inked the edges of my flower .

I poked holes through the acetate and the paper flower to adhere a button in the center of the flower.

I sewed the button in the middle of the flower to hold the two pieces together.

I inked the edges of the acetate so the clear piece was defined.

I bent the petals up slightly to give the flower dimension.

Here's the card I made with this flower.

You could also make these embellishments with a regular sticker.

Print an image from your computer and cut it out by hand.

Cut the acetate by hand to overlay on top of the image and you have a pretty 3D embellishment.

You could also print the image with the imagine on ink jet transparency.

Trendy Alternatives - Accordion Fold Flowers And Rosettes

Accordian Fold Flowers and Rosettes
By: Mary

A big trend right now is to make flowers. Accordion fold flowers are hot. I'm going to show you some projects I made with these accordian fold flowers. They are a perfect way to give your projects dimension.

Here are some projects you can make with the accordion fold flower and rosettes.

You can embellish cards, layouts, treat bags, banners and boxes.

The possibilities are endless and they are a beautiful addition to any project.

These are some tools that you can use to make these flowers.

I'm going to give a tutorial on how to make accordion fold flowers without a die cut.

I use paper punches to get a variety of looks for the petals.

Take a 12x12 sheet of paper and punch a border with a border punch the full length of the paper.

Trim the paper at 1-1/4" wide

Score the fold lines at each valley of the punch paper.

Some paper punch borders you will want to score the peaks and valleys.

This border punch has a small design so I scored them only on the valleys of the punched design.

Accordian fold the paper strip.

Apply adhesive at one end of the paper strip.

I prefer using Glossy Accents because it dries fast and is a strong adhesive.

Hold the two ends together and adhere.

While the accordion fold flower is drying, punch 2 circles for the center.

One center is chipboard and the other is decorative paper.

Apply adhesive on the chipboard and adhere the decorative paper on top.

This makes for a strong center to hold your flower together.

Gather your folded strip and form a flower with it.

Adhere the circle to the center of your flower.

This makes a 2-1/2" flower finished.

Look at these flowers and see how different border punches create beautiful flowers.

My favorite way to make accordion fold flowers is to use the border punches I already have.

It is a great way to use my paper punches and you're not limited to the size of flower.

You can change borders punches to create a variety of different petals.

Also with dies you limited to one petal shape.

Making these by hand is a trendy alternative to die cuts. 

I do like my sizzix dies by Tim Holtz. I think the perforated fold line makes it easy to fold and saves time on scoring the lines. I just wanted to bring you another idea for those that don't have those dies to make these fan fold flowers. On the layout in the first picture that was made with the Tim Holtz Sizzix dies. They are just as pretty. You don't get as many flowers out of a 12x12 sheet of paper but the results are fantastic also.

1- 12x12 sheet of paper makes 5 flowers and centers for those flowers when you do it by hand.

Trendy Alternatives- Twine, String And More

Twine, String And More

By: Mary

Using twine, string, floss, cord and hemp are very popular right now to use on any craft project.

Here are some projects I made using twine, floss, hemp and cord.

Anyone of these products can be substituded for the other.

You can use them on layouts and slide it through a buckle

On this layout I used cord to run through the buckle.

You can use it for banners on layouts or hang the on the wall.

On these layouts I used cord to string the banners.

For wrapping packages or tie a tag

Wrapping this package I tied on some twine.

Add to Buttons

The first button is twine, The middle button is floss, the end button is cord.

Wrap them on cards

I used floss to wrap around this card.

Use them to stitch borders and frames

I used twine to stitch a border.

Decorate your Preserves

I used twine to hold on the decorative cover for this preserve.

You can hang ornaments

I used twine to hang this ornament.

You can tie treat bags, candy and snacks

I used twine to tie this treat bag.

You can make Lollypops then wrap them and tie them with string

I used twine to make the lollypops.

I used floss to tie the wrapper around the lollypop.

The possibilties are endless.

Use your imagination and find creative ways to use the products you have.

These are all projects I made using different products.

Trendy Alternatives - Smash Books

If your on a budget and you want to get in on the Smash Book trend. I haves some Trendy Alternatives to making your own.

You can use memo books or journaling books. The pages are thinner but you can glue 2 pages together to make your pages stronger. It  is a good idea if your going to put brads on your pages to skip  pages so when you glue the two pages together the back of your brads don't show onto the next page.

Another Alternative is to make your own using your binding system or book rings.
Here's one book that I made myself to personalize the event I am documenting.
I prefer making my own with my binding system using cardstock. This makes makes your pages strong so they won't easily bend or fold.