May I?

Offer you some inspiration?

Welcome to May!  Today we have our mini mag all ready for you.  We are so happy to share pages by our talented and amazing designers.  Our readers are wonderfully talented and we love showing off their work every month.  Take a peek at this issue:

And, of course, this issue comes with a free digital kit.  Our own Katey created a kit that is more than just perfect; it is pure Bliss. 

Download Links:  {one}  {two}
Please respect this generous gift and do not upload/share this kit.  Friends are welcome to download it here for the next month.  Thank you!

We hope you will join in with so many talented scrappers and share your art with us this month.  Take a peek at our calls and send in your creations.

You Have My Smile

Hi, its me again Veronica with a layout I did of my daughter Vanessa and I.  I just love this photo because first it brings back great memories of my wedding; but also the love I have for my daughter.  She has my smile and she is a big part of my inspiration to create.
Now to the layout, I used an electic array of paper and techniques.  One of "go to" techniques when I design is to layer.  I love to layer and give depth to my work.  I also used acrylic paints, glimmer mist, distress inks, glossy accents, silk paints, stencils and stamps.

Because I had plenty of extra ... I also made a card.  Hope you enjoy :)

Time for a Coffee Break!

Today I want to share my Cuppa Joe project with you.  It was really quite easy to make and although it will need a hand made envelope, due to the coffee pot handle, it will fold flat.


I finally decided to dig out my Cricut Expression.  I have to admit, it was covered with a mighty huge layer of dust.  But what's worse is that I even have some cartridges still in the store packaging, this one included.  I guess you would say that I just lost interest in it, until now.  Now I'm Cricut cutting out things like a mad woman.


I cut the coffee pot, cup and saucer using the cartridge From My Kitchen.  The cup is actually a tea cup on the cartridge but I simply folded under the base of the tea cup to make it look more like a coffee cup.  The card was made by cutting ovals and creating an easel style card. The patterned papers are from Teresa Collins, and the sentiment is from K Andrew Designs, the butterflies were fluttering around in my box of embellishments.

I hope you enjoyed this little crafty coffee break.  Visit my blog, Needful Things, if you would like to see some of my other creations.


Happy Crafting!


MelissaO

oh baby baby

I have a secret...actually, it's more of a tip. I'll share it at the end (this is really my way of making sure you look at my whole post--hee hee).

Quick and easy layout here... I used the other We R Memory Keepers Lucky 8 punch that I received for my birthday...this one creates a large circle shape and the punch is called Tatted Doily (it's my favorite). I love being able to create large, shaped, die-cut paper out of any paper I own.  If you missed my first post about the other shape I have, click here.




There is a secret journaling tag behind the top photo, but that is still not my secret.




Here is the secret...the blue, pink, orange plaid paper that I used for my background frame. I didn't "waste" the whole sheet of paper as my background.

Here is my tip...
as you can see in this photo above, using a ruler, I framed out the edge of the paper (1 inch on all sides). I cut out the center square and just used the frame as my background. This way I still have a 10" x 10" sheet of this paper.

Here is what the layout looks like from the back.

This a great "trick" for paper you love dearly and don't want to part with. Do you have any of those?

Here is another secret...I do.

~Kelly

Reminding Myself

It's only April and I am reminding myself the word that I chose for 2012: STILL.

 Isn't it amazing how quickly we forget and/or get distracted?  The easy out would be to just change my word but I know that wouldn't be the right thing to do. Nothing quite like committing to it, once again, than creating a layout with that reminder.

The past few months have been busy on all accounts. Some life changes going on and just business in general. It's easy to get caught up in it and get frazzled. Thankfully, I have the word on my wall so I am reminded constantly. It also fit perfectly to create something to remind myself using the April kit from Scrapbooking from the Inside Out - CONTENTMENT.

I went a little bit out of my style and comfort zone with this one. I find that I feel safe and cozy when my layouts are centered and linear or horizontal in nature. But this one, I wanted to try something just a little different. I think I was inspired by the patterns of the Teresa Collins papers and elements from the kit.

Not sure.

I like the symbolism of calmness that the banner creates. For some reason I picture laundry hanging outside, blowing gently in the breeze and a calmness hanging in the air.

Love those tickets from Jenni Bowlin! I wasn't quite sure how I would incorporate them but I just went with it. Filled in the blanks and turned it into a way to date the layout, balance the layout and complete the journaling.

So how are you doing with your word? Had to do any reminders yet?

Clean and simple (and quick) stamped card

It's Megan here again and today I would like to share a card that I made recently. I have been on a clean and simple (CAS) kick lately. I guess I have always liked the clean sort of modern look. These hearts were part of a new release from joy's life and I couldn't wait to make a card for them to take center stage on.

The hearts are from the new Joyful Hearts set and the 'I love you' is from the everyday occasions set. I used some clearsnap dye ink in a dark berry color to make the hearts really pop. A little bit of bling from My Mind's Eye finishes this card off perfectly.
Just a little tip - I lined the hearts up on the acrylic block and stamped them all at the same time so that I could be sure they were lined up perfectly. I probably should have added the sentiment at the same time, but I didn't think of that beforehand.

A Spring Digi Freebie

Welcome to our digi freebie post. To celebrate Spring we have some fun butterflies or "flitters" for you to use on your scrap pages. These are at least 4 to 7 inches in size so scale them down if you need to.

You can download them here for the next week, then they will fly away....
 
Use them digitally or print them out and use them with your paper scrapping. Journal on them, make a butterfly banner or just embellish - the possibilities are endless! Enjoy.

 

{watercolored butterflies}

Its been a very gloomy, dreary day here, so lots of blacks in my photographs. So very dramatic :)

Pulled out my watercolors and butterfly punches for these. I didn't use my paints directly, but instead added a little paint to water do get some light color.

Used a punched butterfly negative here as a mask. I then spritzed some yellowy water all over...

Finally, I did random brush strokes on a waste paper, and punched my butterflies out of that.

This would make a beautiful scrapbook layout too, will be making one as soon as I can! Happy Friday to you all :)

Masking made easy!

Hello scrappers! I know there are a few of you who are afraid to use mist on your layouts but let me share with you how fun and easy it can be! This month, Rachel has some fun things in the SFTIO Kit! There's mist by Smooch Spritz and a 6X6 template by Crafter's Workshop and lots of other fun stuff! But my main focus today is to show you how fun and easy these two things can be together!

The first thing I did was place the template on my cardstock. Then I cover the areas outside of the templates with scraps so that when I spray the mist, it doesn't go all over the layout.

Once the areas were covered, I sprayed the mists onto the template. Be sure to spray several coats so the color is rich.

After I sprayed the pattern on my cardstock, I carefully removed all of the scraps and then I gently picked up the template and flipped the side with the mist in a different area on my layout. I used my paper piercer to rub the template to make sure I got all the mist off the template and onto the cardstock. I then gently removed the template and let it sit a few minutes. Then I layed a book on top of the cardstock to keep the cardstock from bulking up from all the mist.

And here is my final layout! I love this... even with all the purple :) (which is a color I rarely use).

Shape Up

Greetings!  

Below are some page I've created using circular photos.  By using a shape other than square or rectangle, you can give your page a totally different look!  And thanks to digital software, cropping a picture in a circle shape is easy-peasy!

 Kit Credit:  Lucky in Green by Pretty In Green and Bring Me a Rainbow by Pixel by Jen

 Kit Credit:  Precious Moments by Keep In Touch Designs

 

Kit Credit:  For Us by Pretty In Green

 

Kit Credit:  Love Struck by LDrag Designs

 

 

Kit Credit:  Happy Hopscotch Elements by Valarie Ostrom, Happy Hopscotch Alpha and Paper Pack by Luv Ewe Designs

 Kit Credit:  Doodle Girl 2 by Nicole Young

 

Kit Credit:  February 2011 Digital Scrapbook Place Club Digital

I hope you've gathered a little inspiration from my pages ... thanks for stopping by!!

 

New Releases Coming Soon!!

Hi everyone. Normally I'm not one for a big sales pitch, but when it comes to crafting yummies,bring it! If you're anything like me, you get really excited when companies release new goodies!! During CHA, I visit every blog I can to find about the latest and greatest stamps, inks, papers, tools and any other new yummies. I read the reviews, watch video demos, scour the blogosphere for pictures ... Yeah, you could say I'm a junkie. Just a little bit.  One of these days I hope to actually visit CHA and witness all the exciting news first hand!

In the meantime, I'm glad the virtual world offers an opportunity to keep up with the latest trends, techniques and hot new products. Scrapbook manufacturers have gotten really good at using the Web to not just share, but interact with its global customers. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, company websites and blogs, message boards, paper crafting communities and, of course, digi magazines like ScrapStreet have opened up the world to us! We can share our work, comment on projects, enter challenges, contribute articles and so much more. We can also access a huge array of supplies made available for purchase online. You don't have to live in a big metropolis to get your scrap on anymore!

I have learned so many techniques from watching YouTube videos or reading tutorials online. I just Google "How to [fill in the blank]", and I usually find what I want on the first page.  If I didn't have this virtual world, I don't think I would have been able to grow and hone my skills. I certainly wouldn't have all the awesome tools I have because I would have never heard of them. Copics? Silhouette Cameo? Crop-a-dile? What are those? Not only do I know what they are, I own them!! And if you have a limited budget, there are so many articles and tutorials that can really teach you how to stretch your crafting dollars!

I have a little confession. I have somewhat of an ulterior motive for this post about how helpful the Web is for paper crafters. I am also announcing a blog hop and live UStream event that takes place one week from today announcing new releases for Pink by Design Stamps, where I am honored to be on the design team. There are some really neat stamps coming out. I am super excited about it. During the hop, we will be sharing projects using the new releases. Later that day, at 9 p.m. CST, Sarah Hamer (owner of Pink by Design) will do a live webcast to show everyone all the fun new sets. You will have the opportunity to live chat with her and everyone else at the event. It's actually really fun. My husband even enjoys it and he doesn't scrapbook!! All the details will be listed on the Pink by Design site. I hope you can join us.

I really do think the paper craft world has evolved because of the Internet and I encourage you to take advantage of all the opportunities it has to offer, although if you're reading this post, you probably already are!! LOL!

Feeling lucky?

So, all of our neighbors and us went in on some Lotto tickets when the pay-off hit 600 million a few weeks ago.  We were not lucky...unless you count $5 between 10 families lucky...50 cents each...hmmph.

However, I was feeling a little lucky when my mom surprised me with two new LUCKY 8 punches from We R Memory Keepers for my birthday. Actually, she is a HSN-aholic, and ordered them not really expecting them to be so big and heavy. She told me she had ordered some punches, but was going to send them back if I didn't want them. When I saw them, I swooned. I had been secretly wanting to see, try, and buy these. It was kismet. They became my birthday present!

The one that I used on this layout and card is called Lace Kerchief (I'll save the other one for another post). With 8 or less punches, I got the look of laser cut and shaped paper with paper I already had. For the layout about "my track star", I used just the outer cut on a 12x12 sheet of cardstock. I made a punch in each corner, then flipped the paper over and punched the opposite four corners. For the card, I used both the inner and outer cut combined on a 7x7 sheet (no need to flip for this size, just four quick punches and I was done).

Now, if I'm going to be picky (which I have a tendency to do), my only complaint is that I would have liked a crisper cut on my paper. I used a cardstock with a slight woven texture from American Crafts for both the layout and the card, and I can see some fray on both. Can I live with it? Yes. Should it happen? I don't think so.

Is it worth it to be able to create all of these paper shapes from a few punches?...I think yes. Is it a good birthday surprise?...I think yes. I'd like to hear your review if you've tried the Lucky 8 punches, and do you have a favorite shape?

~Kelly

Art folders again~

Hi everyone!!! I want to show you the last two Art folders using  Authentique bi-fold cardstock like papers. These are easy to make~Authentique does the work for you because they are 12"x24" and scored to be folded and all you do is glue the sides together..

I used Helmar 450 Quick Dry to glue the sides together. Easy!!!

I used some Jillibean Soup on this along with Vintage Street Market and American Crafts! Here is another one~

When they get full I will make them another one.  These will fit just fine in a page protector and stored with my other pages in an American Crafts 3 ring binder album.

Thanks for stopping in today and have a good one. See ya soon!! by: C. Mercer

Spring is in the air!

Hello! Nicole here and today I would like to share with you a friendship mini album that I created using lots of yummy new Glitz Design product. I adore this and hope you do too!









Supplies:

Glitz Designs "Pretty in Pink" Patterned Paper
Glitz Designs "Pretty in Pink" Rhinestones
Glitz Designs "Pretty in Pink", "French Kiss" Cardstock Stickers
Glitz Designs "Pretty in Pink" Teeny alphas
Glitz Designs "Pretty in Pink" Glitzers
Glitz Designs "Pretty in Pink" Whatnots


Other:
Baker's Twine: Scrap Pantry (Esty)
Buttons: Epiphany Crafts
Word stickers: Cosmo Cricket
Die cut machine: Cricut
Cartridge: Stamp
Pearls: Zva Creative
Flower: Zva Creative
Pen: Adhesives: Creative Memories