Sweet Shoppe Designs – The Sweetest Digital Scrapbooking Site on the Web

Hey there! Jen Tapler here with your Wednesday Hot 4 Hybrid post. As everyone seems to be full swing into those September Portfolios, I thought I would come give you all a little kick in the pants again this month to be sure to get those 10-points for the Hybrid Challenge! 😉 In case you missed it, your Hybrid Challenge this month is to create a set of at least 3 Photo Cubes. Now, this may sound like a big undertaking but trust me, it’s actually pretty easy! And soooo worth it when you’re done!! You end up with a super fun home decor project and keepsake all rolled into one! (hint: these make FANTASTIC gifts too!).

I sat down this weekend and created a set of 4 Halloween themed Photo Cubes using Libby’s fun new All Jacked Up kit, some hybrid goodies, and a few photos of my son Dean from each of his 3 Halloweens. Here’s a photo and list of the physical supplies I used (this would change of course, depending on how you decide to fancify your own cubes:

• 4 pre-fabricated MDF 3-inch cubes (you can also have 4-inch wood blocks cut at the lumber yard, just be sure to sand the edges before working with them)
• Acrylic paint to paint the blocks
• Ink and sponge to sponge edges of printed papers and ellies
• Liquid adhesive of your choice (I also used some 3-D foam adhesive and a hot glue gun, not pictured)
• Glitter / bling
• Bone folder to create pleated circle embellishments

I started out by sizing and printing all of my papers, digital elements and alphas and then cutting them all out. I then used the sponge and ink to ink the edges of all the papers and ellies to give everything a sort of spooky, grungy look. Next, I glued on all of the papers so every side of each block was covered, then added the ellies, photos and alphas to finish everything up. The entire project was completed, start to finish, in about 3 hours. Depending on how I arrange the blocks, you can see a set of spooky Halloween images:

Or those adorable photos of my 3-yr old son from each of the past 3 years (he HATED that monkey costume by the way, which was completely inappropriate for a HOT and HUMID Halloween on Maui. The stupid thing was lined with FLEECE for crying out loud!! So not well planned when I ordered it online!! Lesson learned! LOL):

Or, I can line them up to spell “Boo”:

I think my favorite part of this project are those FAB papers and how amazing they look folded and pleated into those fun accordian circle things with the edges dipped in black glitter!!

So there you have it! See? Not hard at all! So what are you waiting for? Get out your blocks and get those 10 points!! I’d love to hear what kind of Photo Cubes you have planned. Or better yet, come link me up to your project in the gallery here so I can check them out when you’re done!! Can’t wait to see what you all create!