Happy New Year!

We have so much to be happy about as we start 2011!  Not only do we have a fabulous new issue of ScrapStreet.com Magazine AND a full (and gorgeous) free digital kit to share, we also have the first issue of our brand new sister publication:  GingerScrapsStreet Magazine.  This new mag puts an emphasis on all that is digital and hybrid.  We hope you will love it!

You will see the work of our darling new dozen staff members between both issues.  We could not be more excited about having all of these talented writers and designers with us.  Here is to an amazing 2011.

Ready for some inspiring reading?

ScrapStreet.com Magazine:

GingerScrapsStreet Magazine:

Free Digital Kit by the super talented Jennifer Labre Designs!

Downloads available all month long!  

{expired}

We wish you the happiest of New Years and look forward to chatting and creating with you all year long!

More from GCD!

I made a holiday card with the gorgeous GCD papers we received.





I used my tab-maker punch to make the tab and the "noel" sticker and "JOY" chipboard letters are all by Creative Charms. I cut out the ornaments from one of the papers and "hung" them on red floss.

Hello friends! A friend of mine wrote a poem about Christmas which was published in "The International Library of Poetry". I wanted to share this with you all... Let's not forget the true meaning of Christmas. Happy holidays everyone!

Meaning of Christmas

This is the time to celebrate, but no one has patience, no one can wait.
Lines are long, sales-people are tired. We want that gift our loved ones admires.
A doll for Susie. A shirt for Dan. A truck for my husband. for me a mini-van.
My son, he wants a game for the computer. My daughter just wants a boyfriend to suit her. So after work I'm off to the mall with my bottle of Tylenol.
My head is pounding. My feet are sore, but somehow I'll make it to one more store.
The day of Christmas is finally here. I see the ones that I love so dear. I look at my family with hearts aglow. They look back at me and we all know, the meaning of Christmas is not just in giving, but what's in our hearts and how we are living. God gave us a gift, the birth of his son and the love that God has is for everyone.

by Jodye Gottlieb

Make your own Holiday cards!

This year, I decided to make my own cards rather than buy them and I am going to share with you how you make your very own in no time! Forget about spending $1 per card and make your own!

Here's what I used:
Plain White Envelopes by Staples
Photo paper by Staples
Papers and embellishments
Black pen by Creative MemoriesStraight Trimmer by Creative Memories
Score blade by Creative Memories
Foam dots by Creative Memories
Tape runner by Creative Memories

Using your trimmer, cut a piece of pattern paper to 8-3/4x6-1/2".
Score the pattern paper at 4 1/2".
Attach a 4x6 photo to the front of the card.
Attach the embellishments as shown.





Once you've created the card, scan the card, crop out the background. Print the cards on photo paper and mail them out! This is a quick and easy solution for your Christmas cards and will only cost you about 10 cents per card after you buy your supplies, rather then spending a great deal of money on boring cards.

I love how my card turned out and I hope I inspired you in some way with this class!

Happy Holidays!

We hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!  We are going to give the Wednesday Freebie a holiday break for the next two weeks while we all enjoy our family time.  We will be back with new pretties in the New Year.

We wish you a wonderful season!

A Little Piece of Christmas

This Christmas I wanted to create some decorations to lay across my mantel piece. As I was searching around the Internet, I discovered how to make this cute ornaments. I didn't hang them up. I wanted them to look like ornaments spread across my mantel piece.

Our sponsor this month is G.C.D. Studios. Their Christmas papers were perfect for this project! Thank you so much for sponsoring us this month!

Happy Holidays Everyone!
Diana

Sweet fun with GCD

I had such fun working with one of our fabulous December sponsors:  GCD Studios.  My absolute favorite papers had to be the ornaments pair.  I am not normally one to cut items from sheets of paper, but I could not stop myself.  I put these ornaments on EVERYTHING. 

I always like to have a few little sweets on hand that I can grab for those last minute gifts.  I made up several of these little containers of mints.  They took only a few minutes and I love the results!

Supplies:  Paper: GCD Studios, Die Cuts: Jillibean Soup, Alphabet: American Crafts, Bling: Kaisercraft, Marker: Copic.

Thanks, GCD Studios for being our sponsor and for creating such adorable papers.  You inspire me!

Welcome to the Wednesday freebie everyone! We have the last of the little mini kit this week! Called The Taste Of Snow, this was inspired by our December Magazine cover winner Mary B. Giemza. You can see her lovely card here


Today we have the papers for you to complete your kit.


You can get them here using the password snowman.

We hope you enjoy them!

CHRISTMAS and KIDS

I used to think that Christmas is really just for kids - - it's all about toys and candies and gifts. I look at them and see how happy they are when they receive and open their gifts - - you can literally see their eyes widen and well up from too much excitement!!!

My view changed when I got my own kids. Suddenly, I feel that the joy in giving gifts and kisses makes you look forward to Christmas. While I still make sure that they still get their own loot of toys and candies - - I tell them that what's most important is love and family and faith in this season.

I made a layout using papers from Upsy Daisy Designs with that thought in mind and I thought I'd share it with you here:

Supplies: Papers, Brads: Upsy Daisy Designs, Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper, Stickers: Doodlebug Design, Chibpboard: American Crafts, Paint: Pebeo, Specialty Glue, Liquid Pearls: Ranger Industries, Pen: Uni-ball.

Why not create a layout today and share with us what you think of Christmas? I hope I inspired you to play!!!

Have fun creating,
janis

Wednesday freebie

Welcome to the Wednesday freebie everyone! We have a little mini kit which we are giving out over the next two weeks! Called The Taste Of Snow, this was inspired by our December Magazine cover winner Mary B. Giemza. You can see her lovely card here


Today we have the elements, just a handful along with an alpha...


You can get them here using the password snowman.

Make sure to turn up next week for the matching papers. Enjoy!

Feeling sketchy?

Did you ever use the phrase "hmmm that's a bit sketch" when referring to something being questionable?  I was just reminded of that phrase when I typed in the title of this blog post.  Which kind of relates to the topic at hand - sketches!  Our wonderful road maps to scrapbooking and card making!  The great thing about sketches is that they don't have to be used literally.  You can question the layout of the sketch and adapt it for yourself.

In this month's issue of ScrapStreet, I am featuring the lovely Allison Davis in the Blog Bay article.  If you haven't heard of Allison yet, may I strongly suggest you go check out her blog?  Not only is she extremely talented in the sketch and scrapbooking arena but she is also one of the sweetest people I've met!  We are featuring one of her "sketches of the week" in the article along with some examples from friends and family.  Several are on her fabulous new Creative Team.

So let's chat a bit about sketches.  I know some people don't like using them or just never had a desire to but others appreciate the foundation they can bring when you are in a creative rut.  Sometimes you have some papers and photos that you just don't know what to do with.  Everything you do doesn't look right and you are about ready to toss it all on the floor.  It's at that point I start to look at my favorite sketch sites.  I browse the design teams examples and the creative wheels start to turn.  Sometimes I end up using the sketch and other times I begin using it but what happens is Mo and Jo show up and I come out with something completely different!  Pretty cool I say!

I wanted to share with you the sketch Allison posted on her blog for the Creative Team call:

Used with permission. Source: Allison R. Davis blog

Here is the layout I created based on the sketch:

Supplies: Paper, stickers: Lily Bee Design, Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper, Alphabet: American Crafts, Alphabet Stickers: Doodlebug Designs, Flowers: Prima Marketing, Ribbon: Pink Paislee, Bling: Kaisercraft, Floss: DMC, Pen: Zig Memory Systems, Sketch: Allison Davis, Other: thread, Tools: Punch: Fiskars, Electronic Cutting Machine: Silhouette SD, Other: Sewing machine

It's pretty straight forward and almost an exact interpretation but think of all the possibilities... You could do a single photo layout and use patterned paper where the other two photos were to go.  You could flip the sketch and do 3 landscape oriented photos.  You could do one big photo.  You could even shrink up all the dimensions and have yourself a nice looking layout utilizing lots of negative space.  The options truly are endless!

So what are some of your favorite sketch sites?  And do you even use sketches? I'd love to know!

Until next time.  My next post will be on my birthday and I'm really excited about that!

hugs,
Melissa

Welcome New GingerScrapsStreet Staff!

We are so thrilled to announce the very first staff of our new digital and hybrid collaboration magazine!  We sorted through so many wonderful applications and would like to thank all of you who shared your talents with us.  We will be calling for a super Creative Team later this week!  If you love to play with all things digital, keep an eye out for more details!

We selected 9 fabulous staffers to lead our newest publication.  Please help me welcome:

Julie Ann Shahin

Blog: Julie Ann Shahin 

Jeannie DeGruccio

Blog: The Polka Cabana

Maria Snell

Blog: MariaS

Jodi Dolbel

Blog: Jodi's Scraphaven

Sara Frisch

Blog: Scraping All The Way

K Andrew 

Blog: Getting Cricky with K Andrew

 Casey Thompson

Blog: Ella's Ellagance

Sara McCarthy 

Blog: Scrap, Scribble, and Stitch

Zeee

Blog: Z Pink Boudoir

Our first issue will hit your inboxes on January 1, 2011.  We can't wait!

Welcome New Street Staff!

We were humbled by the amazing applications we received from so many talented artists.  Thank you all for taking the time to share your work with us!  The decision was difficult, but lots of fun!  We are so thrilled to share the six amazing women who are now part of ScrapStreet.com Magazine's Staff.

Without further ado, congratulations and welcome to:

Robyn Schaub

Blog: Dreaming In Scraps

Christa Paustenbaugh

Blog: The Paustenbaughs

Frances Sylvia

Blog: Forever and a Year

 Sarah Mullanix

Blog: Welcome to my Neighborhood

Liz Qualman

Blog: My Little Sketch Blook

Romy Veul

Blog: Scrapstuff and More

We cannot wait to share more of their work with you!

New Issue and Free Kit!

Happy December!  (ok, so almost December here)  We like to get our magazine up and out so our non American gals can have their issue with their morning beverage, so we start sending it before bedtime.

Check out the beautiful cover featuring art by Mary B. Giemza.   

Fabulous designer Katia created a special kit perfectly colored to show off her gorgeous card.  It will be available later this month so watch those Wednesday freebie posts!

Ready to read?  Here is your LINK.

Ready to scrap?   Silent Night featuring Arven is free all month long!

Here are the links for the free kit  {expired}

Pop back by in the morning and meet our new staff!  We have a bunch of talented folks to introduce to you!

Tis the Season...

for lots of creating!!! :) Whether you are making decorations or gifts, it's the perfect time to include your kids in the creative process! My boys love to help out...they love to create. And it means so much more when they are part of the process. And while you are at it...don't forget to snap those pictures of your kids creating.

My son and I were making some ornaments the other day. He was SO proud of what he created, and I am so happy I was able to capture that moment. Here's a layout I made using those pictures.

I used papers and stickers from Fancy Pants Designs, and adhesive from Helmar to put my layout together. For a previous layout I wanted a bunch of circles, so I cut them out with my Slice, leaving a sheet of patterned paper that some may call unusable and throw away since there wasn't much left...but not me! :) I thought it was fantastic and wanted to use it. I just laid it on top of another piece of paper. The circle design certainly is not perfect...but I don't care. :) I just built my page on top of it.

Hope you have enjoyed my post today and I hope you take time to include your kids in your creating this holiday season! :)

Pamela

Peachy Keen Peek!

We are so fortunate to be able to work with some of the greatest manufacturers in the scrapping industry as we write ScrapStreet.com Magazine!  Ready to see what is coming up in the December issue?  Check out our peeks using the amazing stamps from Peachy Keen Stamps.

These darling projects and so much more coming in the December issue!  Almost time now!

GCD Peek

We are so fortunate to be able to work with some of the greatest manufacturers in the scrapping industry as we write ScrapStreet.com Magazine!  Ready to see what is coming up in the December issue?  Check out our peeks using the fabulous products from GCD Studios.

 

The new issue goes live tomorrow!  Are you ready for some holiday inspiration? 

Add a personal touch...

What's the fastest and easiest way to add texture, dimension, interest, and that personal touch to any project? Hand stitching, of course! It really says, "I took the time to put some extra love into this piece." Bazzill Basics Paper has had In Stitch'z products out for a while now - a piercing mat and tool, as well as floss and many different templates are available. To add to that, We R Memory Keepers has just released their brand new Sew Easy products, which include little piercing tools that you run down your paper to make the holes for you. So if you want to give hand-stitching a try, many products are out there to help you along. Of course, you can always just use a needle and thread and "eyeball" it, for that slightly crooked look that has its own charm. Here are a few projects I made. In case you're interested, I do own the Bazzill Basics piercing mat and tool and a few templates.




So I challenge/encourage you to give it a try! Who knows, down the road, there just might be a magazine pub call for some projects featuring just this kind of personal touch ;)

Wednesday Freebie Time!

Happy Hump Day All!

Today I have a layered template to share.  I began creating photo templates for myself a while back. I am a block gal and making templates made it easy to group and then scrap my pics in my preferred configurations.

Recently, I started saving my pages in layers so that I can use some of them over, too.  It is easy to use one template over and over both digitally and as hybrid pages with completely different results.  Today I wanted to share one with you.  I would love to see what you do with it!

Here is the template:

Download{here}

And a page I made with it today.  The kit is Autumn Daydream a collab made with two of my digi besties.  You can grab it in the GingerScraps store.

Natural Beauty by Dora Phillips.  Digital Supplies: Kit: Autumn Daydream (GingerScraps), Stitches: Stitched by Anna White No.4 (Designer Digitals), Template: Fall Moon Template (Freebie today!).  Journaling: Sometimes I look at you and am stunned at your natural beauty.  Even though you are allowed to wear make-up, you choose clean skin and simplicity.  You spend every minute possible outside enjoying the beauty of the world with no idea that you add to it.

As always, comments and links are totally appreciated!  Have a spectacular week!

Sticky Situation

Ah, who doesn't love the sticker?  It really is a true staple in the scrapbooking world.  Stickers were here long before chipboard and felt.  They have a timeless appeal and are very versatile!  I used a ton of stickers on my layout below!  The One Fall Day collection by Bella BLVD has awesome Autumn theme ones with bright and bold images and words.  To make an impact, group several stickers together.  Be sure to add pop dots underneath one or two stickers for dimension.

Be sure to check out this month's issue of ScrapStreet.com Magazine...my talented friends all used Bella BLVD products for a feature article.

Remember This Moment

Time flies by so quickly. I can really see it now that I have children of my own. It seems like just yesterday that I held them for the first time and now they are growing up to be little ladies. I want to hold on to these moments that feel like they are quickly slipping through my fingers like sand in an hour glass. What can I do to preserve these memories of my every day moments with my girls? Scrapbook it of course!

One of the things that I will miss as my kids get older are the feeling of their little hands holding mine. Instead of scrapbooking a picture of us holding hands, I decided to actually stamp her hand on paper and place it on a layout. This way I will always have a piece of time forever captured on a layout. What other things can you think of capturing that you'll miss as time passes by?





Happy creating!
Diana