I have been mulling around for a while now on how to make a little interactive album for my Daughter. Something fun and imaginative and where she can use her very own unique story making skills.

Well thanks to these adhesive Velcro Strips…the world is my oyster!

Remember this album is not suitable for Kids 3 and under.

Supplies you will need for this project:

Hula Monkey by Amy Sumrall

DIGITAL:

This fun kit is just a  perfect addition for your Summer pages and Hybrid Projects… be sure to grab it!

Hula Monkey by Amy Sumrall

Amy Sumrall specializes in Kid Friendly Digital Kits and is also the creator of the very special ‘Shape Up‘ Create and Learn Kit designed just for kids!

You can easily use any kit for this project just make sure it is Kid Friendly and has some great little Characters like these adorable Monkeys!

PHYSICAL:

• 3′x3′ Inch Chipboard book by Creative Imaginations
• Epson Premium Matte Photo Paper
• Adhesives (Liquid Craft Glue, Double Sided Tape and Glue Dots)
• Trimmer, Scissors and Craft Knife
• Nail File
• Velcro Adhesive Strips/Dots
• Crop-A-Dile/Hole Punch and Eyelet Setter and Eyelets
• String/Twine
• Distress Ink and Applicator
• Piece of Scrap Card stock same size as your Characters/Monkey’s
• Mod Podge and Applicator
• Optional: Flowers, Buttons and Rhinestones.

STEP 1

Measure your Album and determine the Width and Length of the Inside Pages and the Outside Cover. For my Outside Cover the dimensions are 3′ inches for the Front plus 0.75′ inches for the spine and another 3′ inches for the Back; so it was 6.75′ for the width and 3′ for the height. The Inside measured 3′ inches plus 3′ inches; that is 6′ inches for the width and 3′ inches for the height.

I created one 6.75′x3′ inches Shape and 4 6′x3′ inches Shapes and clipped my Papers to it.

I arranged them on 2 documents (8.5′x11′ inches @ 300dpi) and in the open spaces I added 3 scalloped borders included in the kit, 1 Floral Border also included in the kit and 2 sets of the Monkey’s. You can also add extra flowers or elements in the open spots on your documents.

NB If you want your Monkey/Character to be double sided remember to Mirror the image so keep one at its original position and change the 2nd image to the mirror image. You can do this in Photoshop by clicking on the Edit Menu and selecting the Transform<Flip Horizontal.

Print out your pages onto the Premium Matte Photo Paper.

STEP 2

Trim your album pages and cut out your borders.

Adhere one set of monkey’s to the scrap piece of card stock.

Cut them out with your scissors.

Now glue the Mirror image to the back of the first Monkey.

Repeat this with the remaining Monkey.

Feel free to play around and add some interesting embellishments to decorate your monkey…some felt/corduroy to add to the monkey’s hat and maybe a little flower for the girl, or even some grass for the hula skirt!

Ink the edges of your Monkey’s; I used Tea Dye Distress Ink by Ranger Ink.

Apply 2-3 coats of Mod Podge to the Front and Back.

Let it dry between individual coats.

STEP 3

While the Monkey’s are drying…arrange your page borders on your album pages. I layered the scalloped Borders to simulate ‘water’.

Adhere your strips with Glue Dots (You don’t want to glue down the whole border but want to leave pockets for the monkey’s to ‘swim’ in)

Now adhere all your Inside Album Pages with Craft Glue.

Do not adhere the album cover just yet!

Let it dry.

STEP 4

Trim the edges with your Craft Knife and using the Chipboard Pages as guides.

Sand the edges of the album with your sanding file.

You can also ink the edges with your Distress Ink.

Sanding and inking edges are a great way to disguise those little mishaps! It is also a great way to finish off a project.

Now Apply 2-3 thin coats of Mod Podge to each page.

Let it dry thoroughly before doing the next page.

STEP 5

As soon as the inside pages are dry apply the Velcro strips.

NB Make sure to only apply the softer strips to the inside pages…leave the more bristly/negative strips for the Monkey bodies to ensure that they stick.

The Glue on the adhesive strips need to set for at least 24 hours before use so keep this in mind when creating these little books.

It might be best to complete these at night when you don’t have little bodies around who cannot wait for you to finish! Trust me been there done that!

STEP 6

Apply the Negative/Bristly side of the Velcro adhesive strips to the back of the monkey’s.

Please Note: If you are accident prone as I am rather use  Card stock to print your monkey’s out, the ink is ‘absorbed’ which makes it unlikely that the colors/printed image will come off like mine did when I Mod Podged it.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing! But luckily it will be on the back so nobody *should* notice?

STEP 7

Using your Crop-A-Dile/Hole Punch punch a hole in the center at the top of the Monkey’s head.

Insert an eyelet into the hole and set it with your Crop-A-Dile/Eyelet Setter.

Adding an eyelet will ensure that your monkey will not easily tear off and make it last just a little longer.

I highly recommend investing in a Crop-A-Dile for your craft projects…I really use it nearly in each project and is so versatile.

They go through Chipboard and even Thin Sheets of Metal like Tin Buckets.

STEP 8

Cut a length of string/twine twice the length required for the monkey’s to reach the front page.

Loop the string through the hole and pull tight.

You can use ribbon or even fishing line.

STEP 9

Using double Sided Tape (Terrifically Tacky by Provo Craft is an excellent choice) stick the ends of your twine to the back of your album as shown.

Now adhere the Book Cover with some Craft Glue.

Let it dry.

The twine is a bit lumpy on the back, you can also apply them to the spine if you like.

Use your craft knife to trim the edges.

Sand and Distress the edges.

We are almost finished!

STEP 10

Apply 2-3 Coats of Mod Podge to the cover.

Let it dry thoroughly.

Now if you have managed to keep the little critters away while creating this special activity book; kudos to you!

Gather them to come and test this one out and make their own special stories.

My dd could not wait to test it out! She loves telling me the story of the monkeys who walk in the garden, swing on the vines, surf in the sea and splash in the pool.

I would love to see the stories you create!

I managed to get some great photos last week at the beach house my family and I rented. The one I’m sharing with you today is of my hubby and nephew surfing.

To start on this project select a photo and the digikit you want to use with it. In my case I went the Hot, Hot, Hot! collection by The Digichick Designers. I love the variety and selections this kit has.

Here’s a photo of all the materials I used:

• Digital Material: Hot, Hot, Hot by Digichick Designers
• Other Supplies: Mod Podge, Exacto Knife, Giant Paper Clip from Oriental Trading Company, Ruler, Self-healing cutting mat, pencil, and photo

Step 1: Put your frame together using various elements and papers from the kit. Print them out and the other papers you select to go with it.

Step 2: Cut out the center of the frame so the photo can be placed behind it. Here’s a close-up of  what mine looks like.

3. Set the frame aside to work ont he clip. Take your clip and place it on top of the paper you’re going to use to cover it and trace around it which should look like this.

Step 4. Cut the tracings out and adhere them to the paper clip with Mod Podge.

Step 5. Decorate Paper Clip as you wish. On mine I just added some raffia and a shell.

Here’s a photo of mine all put together.

Feel free to let me know if you have questions on any of the steps and let me know if you make one, I’d love to see it! Have fun!!!

I love browsing the gallery to see what everyone is making and to see what I can add next to my ever-growing list of “must do!” I’ve found some awesome projects that I just had to share with you today.

So let’s get going and have a look at some hybrid goodies, shall we?

First up, I just love NeverendingJen’s Cupcake with Attitude made using Kelleigh Ratzlaff’s Cupcake Box Template and traditional scrapbook papers:

Next I came across this adorable coaster notebook made by SylviaB using Amy Sumrall’s Berry Sweet kit

And last for today is this cute fish magnet created by Donnatopia using Dani Alencar’s Lucky Day Kit:

Aren’t those some fun projects?

We also have something very special to share with you this week. The Digichick Designers have been collaborating together on a new project:

They’ve been busy creating new kits, papers, embellishments and templates to help you celebrate all the precious little ones in your life. The 21 different kits and elements coordinate together so that you can mix and match items from your favorite designers to make the perfect page or album for your loved ones.

And help you out in the inspiration department, we’re also planning a “baby shower” party here on The Hybrid Chick blog. Starting next week, The Hybrid Chick team will be creating Baby Shower themed projects. Be sure to stop back for invitation ideas, baby shower favor ideas, gifts and other projects featuring the gorgeous designs of The Digichick Designers.

We’ll also be giving away some fabulous door prizes during our Baby Shower!

Hope to see you there!

So here is what you need to do to get noticed…remember to post your completed project in the above mentioned gallery with full credits and if you were inspired by one of our amazing artists do not hesitate to leave a comment with a link to your gallery!

We always love to hear from you our special readers!

First I want to highlight this cute Keyholder Frame that Christina made. Isn’t it gorgeous? She used Amy Sumrall’s super cute kit  Berry Sweet available in the Digichick Boutique.

Want to view this project closer?

Visit Christina’s Gallery HERE.

Winkasheart made this adorable Stationary set for her daughter. She used Kelley Mickus’s  Chance of Rain and Just Breathe. I just love how it came out…makes me want to make my own!

View it up close HERE and to leave her some love…

There are so many inspiring project in the Hybrid Gallery, makes me wish I had more time on my hands!

Happy Creating!

Whether it’s a gift for a friend, teacher, relative or even a gift for yourself – this is a gift you can easily make with little or no hybrid experience.

To begin, I created a 4.25 x 5.5” page in my photo editing program. Choose the papers you would like to use and fill the page with pattern paper.

For my note cards I used Amy Sumrall’s Little Bunny Foo Foo Kit. I used the red and white polka dot paper for one set of note cards and the green flowered paper for another set.

On the polka dot note cards, I then added a box inside the page (leaving about a ½” of the pattern paper showing on the edges) and set the transparency of the box to 75%. This will create writing space for the note card. To personalize, I added the name centered at the top of the transparent box.

For the flower note cards, instead of using a transparent box I used the white pattern paper from the Little Bunny Foo Foo kit as the center of the cards. I also added some digital stitches by Pri Rocha to embellish them further. Like the polka dot set, I added the name centered at the top of the white pattern paper.

To print the note cards, you can fit four to an 8.5 x 11” page if you have borderless printing, otherwise you can fit two per page. Now just print and cut them out (I said this was easy!).

I decided to include a set of 6 note cards and envelopes for each set and wanted to package them in a fun way. I used a cello bag for the polka dot note cards and made a matching topper for the bag. I also decided to use the flower embellishment from Amy’s kit to add to the front of these cards. I printed the topper and seven flower embellishments on one page. I used a 1 ¾” circle punch to punch out the centers of the flowers and added one to each note card plus one to go on the bag topper. I packaged the cards and envelopes, adhered the topper to the bag and added some ribbon and a button to the topper.

For the flower note cards I simply wrapped a yellow gingham ribbon around the cards and envelopes and tied it in a bow. I then added a flower and button to the center of the bow.

You will need:

• Chipboard - You can use any chipboard you have on hand – even a cut up cereal box!
• Magnets – I buy thin adhesive backed strips that you can find at most department or office supply stores, then cut them into whatever size I need.
• Papers, embellishments and adhesive

I started my project by printing some papers and flower and leaf elements from the Lottie Dottie Collab by Amy Sumrall & Pamela Donnis.

I cut out the flower and leaf elements and then cut a 2.25″ and 2.75″ square of paper and a 2.75″ square of chipboard. Next I adhered the larger square of paper to the chipboard and then used a Zutter Round-it-All to round the corners of both squares. The round-it-all is specifically made to make punching thick surfaces like chipboard easy, but you could always round your corners with a craft knife or scissors.

After rounding the corners, I used a sponge and some Vintage Photo Ranger Distress Ink to ink up the edges of both squares and then stamped the “bloom where you’re planted” sentiment from Floral Symphony by Verve Stamps a little to the right side of my smaller square to accommodate the embellishment I wanted to add. I used stamps, but you could easily just print some digital word art or elements for your your project.

Next up, I glued the two squares together, then added some ribbon across the bottom of the square, securing with Scor-Tape. I added a little detail by making a dotted border all around the inner square with a brown marker and then added my flower and leaf elements. Then it’s just a simple matter of adding some Diamond Glaze and glitter for some sparkle on the flower and adhering a magnet to the back. If you want your magnet to be durable, you can coat it with mod-podge or acrylic sealant. Just be sure that if you stamped your image or sentiment that you used permanent ink so the image doesn’t bleed when you seal it.

What did I tell you? Simple and fun! You can easily adapt this for all sorts of shapes and sizes. I used some Nestabilities circle dies to make a magnet topper for a little jar. Add a little bit of ribbon around the jar, and you have a beautiful package, with a magnet that can be enjoyed for a long time to come.

Inkjet magnetic sheets make it super easy to create your own personalized magnets. Simply choose which digital kit you want to use and print on magnetic paper. For my daughter’s magnets, she chose Amy Sumrall’s Rawr kit because of all the fun little monsters in the kit.

I picked up my inkjet magnet sheets at a local Staples office supply store.

Here’s how I made my magnets:

• Open a new 8.5 x 11″ white canvas in your favorite program.
• Open the elements that you want to make into magnets.
• Copy and paste each element onto your canvas.
• Resize to your liking – I sometimes need to take a look at a tape measure or ruler to get an accurate visual as to how large or small my printed elements will be.
• Position your elements on your canvas so that you get as many on one sheet as you can.
• Print according to the instructions included in the inkjet magnet sheets packaging.
• Allow to dry – I usually allow my printed project to dry at least an hour before handling it.
• Trim around each element and you’re done!

Some other ideas for magnetic sheets:

• Create a bunch of magnets for your kids to hand out in August/September as a “Welcome back to school” surprise
• Create magnets/magnetic frames to decorate your refrigerator
• Use to create “Save the Date” magnets for events such as baby showers, bridal showers, weddings, etc.

The possibilities are endless. So, go forth and create magnets!
And if you do, please link me up so I can “Oooooo!” and “Ahhhhh” over your magnets!