Using Foto Flaps to make a “Hidden Door"

Outdoors and More Scrapbook Décor’s Foto Flaps are great for not only quickly and easily adding additional pictures to any scrapbook layout, but they can also be used to make a fun “Hidden Door” full of embellishments with pictures hidden underneath in four easy steps.

First thing, decide whether you want to place your hidden door horizontal or vertical. Next, decide whether you will use Outdoors and More’s Portrait or Landscape Foto Flaps. Both Portrait and Landscape style Foto Flaps can be used to open up horizontal or vertical.

Second, cut a 4”X6” paper, the perfect size to fit in all Foto Flaps. Choose a paper that coordinates well with the scrapbook paper you will be using on your layout.
Third, design your paper to coordinate with your layout. This will be your “Hidden Door” cover. For this example, we made a campfire. This can be done with watermelons, Christmas presents, birthday presents, pirate chests, ocean waves and many more ideas; just let your imagination run wild!
Fourth, layer multiple Foto Flaps on the plastic page protector of your chosen Scrapbook page layout, and add your decorated “Hidden Door” cover to the top Foto Flap. Pull off the white strip, and it will self-attach to the plastic. Then fill the rest with your own photographs. Want to add more photos after you are done? Just layer more Foto Flaps and stick your decorated “Hidden Door” cover to the top most Foto Flaps.
To find out more about Outdoors and More’s Foto Flaps, or to order some for yourself, please click here.

Foto Flaps Popular at Scrapbook Consumer Shows

Scrapbookers have been grabbing Outdoors and More Scrapbook Décor’s new patent pending Landscape and Portrait Foto Flaps by the arm full at several scrapbook consumer shows and expos. They love the ease at being able to add multiple 4”X6” pictures to a single scrapbook page layout, even scrapbook pages that were finished years ago.

The following are typical comments about Foto Flaps from consumers at the shows after a short demonstration on how easy Foto Flaps were to use:

“I can go back to finished pages and easily add all those pictures I wasn’t able to add when I was making them!”

“I can use these on every scrapbook page about any subject!”

“Foto Flaps is the only new idea I’ve seen at the show!”

“I can add multiple pictures to a scrapbook layout AND keep pictures protected in plastic with Foto Flaps.”

“Foto Flaps are great because I can use them on 8 1/2” X 11” scrapbooks as well as the traditional 12”X12” Scrapbooks.”

“I love to add a little journal entry underneath each picture and would have to pull out the page to read the story. But with Foto Flaps, I can include the pictures AND the journal entry and never have to pull out the page again!”

“I like to scrapbook every picture I take, but it takes so much time to scrapbook everything. Foto Flaps now make it so I can easily add every photo to my layouts!”

Many scrapbookers at consumer shows and expos spent time calling others to let them know about Foto Flaps and ask if they wanted any as well, often leaving with arms full of Landscape Foto Flap packages and Portrait Foto Flap packages.

“We know Foto Flaps are a great product,” said John Butler, creator of the popular Foto Flaps, “but the immediate and tremendous response by the general scrapbooking community has almost been overwhelming as we try to keep up with demand.”

Outdoors and More Scrapbook Décor is excited to continue it’s pursuit into interactive scrapbook pages and helping scrapbookers and theirs families to relive memories. To find out more about Outdoors and More’s Foto Flaps, or to order some for yourself, please visit http://www.outdoorsandmore.com/servlet/the-Foto-Flaps/Categories .

Outdoors and More Wins Top Honors at Winter Craft Fair

Scrapbook Dimensions Magazine named Outdoors and More’s Moving Memories and Foto Flaps most innovative product at the CHA Winter Craft fair February 10-13, 2008. That’s right, out of hundreds of other scrapbook companies, Outdoors and More wins most innovative products.

Moving Memories scrapbook pages is a fun way to add interaction to your memories, as entire scrapbook pages turn to reveal new pictures. Children love them, and even many men have gone absolutely ape over the fun they have had playing with them.

Foto Flaps are a quick and easy way to add pictures to any scrapbook page, journal, or photo album. They create an instant “hidden door” that can instantly create fun for children, women and even men when they relive those precious memories.

“It is an honor being recognized for our hard work,” said John Butler, creator behind the highly successful Moving Memories and Foto Flaps. “We are heading in the new direction on interactive scrapbooking, and it is great that Scrapbook Dimensions recognized our creative efforts. This is unlike anything any other company has ever done before, but it has turned out really fun for everybody.” Scrapbook Dimensions is a magazine devoted to highlighting the best in both traditional and digital scrapbooking.

To find out more about interactive scrapbooking, please visit outdoorsandmore.com

Scrapbook Resolutions you can Keep

At the beginning of a new year, many New Year’s resolutions will be made and broken by the end of January. Exercise more consistently, lose weight, spend more time with the kids and/or spouse, stop biting fingernails – all broken because of the large time commitment. But there is one New Year’s resolution everybody can keep: scrapbook more.

Scrapbooking takes time, something everybody nowadays seems to be lacking, but there are four things you can do to take the time out of scrapbooking.

1) Scrapbook what you like to do

This follows the old saying, “If you do something you enjoy doing, it’s not really work.” This applies to careers, but also to scrapbooking. If you liked participating in the event or you like the person, then it’s easier to do. There are many people who scrapbook because they have the photos, or everybody is making a page on that subject, and they feel they should too. As they get into the project, it never gets finished because they lose interest in the subject. My dog, I love, and I could do a hundred pages on her because I have so much fun with her and I want to remember those memories.

2) Don’t compare your scrapbook to others

Some people just have talent. They’re the type who you are afraid to eat their food when you visit their house because you feel sacrilegious eating a masterpiece. I cook for the taste, I don’t cook to impress. This is the same with scarpbooking, it doesn’t matter what you do, it just matters that you do it. I know several who have been burnt out with scrapbooking because they cannot make their pages look like the Jones’. So what? Are the Jones’ going to scrapbook your life and your family’s life? No! Them whatever you do is fantastic.

3) Make it a habit to scrapbook by setting aside a set time to scrapbook

I know several people who set aside an hour or two the first Sunday or Monday of the month. They scrapbook their favorite memories from the past month, and at the end of the year they have filled an entire album with their favorite memories.

4)Find scrapbooking kits that you can do

This is the part I love the best. I cannot sit down for hours and scrapbook six months of photos at a time – that to me is burnout. I CAN do a little bit each week or month, never reaching that point of burnout. Outdoors and More has created a fun and easy product to help this. The Year at a Glance Scrapbooking Calendar comes with one page of stickers and four 12" x 12" scrapbooking pages for every month of the year for a total of 48 pages and 120 stickers. Two pages are ready for scrapbboking and two are perfect for journaling. The scrapbooking pages are ready-made layouts, just add your own pictures for beautifully finished scrapbook pages. This is the perfect product to remember memories over the entire year - and takes very little time to complete. You can find more information about Outdoors and More’s Year at a Glance Scrapbooking Calendar here.

Adding pop to your project

Pop dots can be a fun and easy way to add a little “pop” to your project, adding a three-dimensional look to any craft or scrapbook page. Outdoors and More’s Thanksgiving Turkey was made using pop dots, helping the turkey come to life off the page.

Both sides of the dots are self-sticking, so they are simple to use. Just peel off one side, stick to your craft, peel off the other side and stick it to your page. For our turkey, we stuck two dots between each layer of feathers. After both layers were attached, the finished turkey body sticks off the page about 1/4 and inch.

The first image is a photograph of the final product stuck on a scrapbook page, picture two is of some pop dots, and picture three is a side view of the finished turkey to show how high it rises off the page.

The owner of a local scrapbook store gave us another great secret to help utilize all the material that comes in a pop dot package. She said after she has used all the pop dots, she cuts up the excess material, and uses that just like little pop dots to make even more crafts pop off the page.

This technique can also be used in Outdoors and More’s Thanksgiving Turkey Kit available here for purchase.

Double-Cutting a Pattern

A simple way to make a clever decoration for a page is to layer multiple colored papers onto a precut pattern. Even though you will have to cut out the same pattern twice, or “double-cut” the pattern, it will save time in trying to cut the pieces out separately and then trying to match them together. By using this double-cutting technique, even children can get there pieces to match up perfectly.

Step one: Draw the pattern on the back of a paper.

Step two: Cut out the pattern.

Step three: Turn over the pattern so the pattern lines are no longer visible. Attach strips of new colored papers onto the pattern.

Step four: This is the step where you will “double-cut” the same pattern. Turn the pattern back over. Cut off any extra material that is not on the pattern.

Step five: Flip over, and you have a finished piece. In this case, we made a simple candy corn.

Step six: Attach to scrapbooking pages for a creative hand-made layout, or onto cards and invitations for a personalized touch. This candy corn is shown on Outdoors and More’s Halloween Blocks scrapbooking paper available here for purchase.

This technique can also be used in Outdoors and More’s Ghost, Santa Claus and Snowman Krafty Kits available here for purchase.