A Wonderful Weekend!

I just returned from an amazing, creative weekend at Creative Escape. So many ideas are brewing. I can't wait to create and share things with you.
If you want a more detailed update on the weekend, you can stop by my personal blog!

The easy sewing look

I always have the best of intentions of embellishing my pages. But, sometimes I'm too tired, I just 'want to be done', or just too lazy when it comes right down to it. On this page, I was going to sew around all the edges of the paper. Instead, I got out my black marker and just made lines along all the edges so it looks like I sewed! Much simpler and quieter too -- you can do this while you are watching your favorite TV show!

So, now you have no excuse not to have that cute, 'sewed on' look! :) Happy Scrapping!

Need to find a home for those handmade cards?

If you are like me, you probably have a pile of handmade cards that are just waiting to find a home :o) We love to create for challenges, just because, etc. but don't always have a purpose for the card at the time it is completed....well, here's a suggestion for you!

Earlier this week I was surfing the web (ok, I was checking in on some of my favorite blogs...) and came across the Cards For Kate Card Drive on Jana Millen's blog, This Little Card of Mine. She has all of the details spelled out there! Go check it out...my cards went out in the mail last night....& it gave me such a warm, fuzzy feeling...knowing that a few of my cards will hopefully bring a few smiles to this family!

Here's wishing you a wonderful weekend! Hope you get to do something scrappy!!!

Take care! Stacy

Journaling Sprouts

I was very happy too see that the August kit included some journaling sprouts by Jillibean Soup. These are so fun and versatile, they can be used on their own, for journaling or as part of a title. In the layout below I used a journaling sprout with the word "one" on it to include in my title. I hope you will have fun scrapping with these very unique and versatile paper elements.

Happy scrapping!

Mélanie

Easy-peasy layout

This layout was incredibly easy to make. One full strip on the left (with twine and buttons wrapped around it), 2 chunks of paper to the right with a photo in the middle and two small sized pictures. Add horizontal strip for title and 3 journaling stickers and you are done! Using a black background makes everything just pop off the page!

tip of the day....

today's tip comes from Noell Hyman, I thought it was great!

Road Map cards

I absolutely loved all the road map cards in the August kit. This layout was SO fast and easy -- I just used a few of the cards as the mat for the photo and then just wrapped the black twine around and ta-da! I'm done!

I think the off-centered factor adds to the 'free and easy' feel of this layout -- so try going off-center next time! It creates great white space and is something easy and different.

Happy Scrapping!

"The Boyfriend" & more...

The August Kit here @ Scrapbook Circle has just been so much fun to create with! I have previously shared layouts using mostly the Cosmo Cricket "The Boyfriend"....oh, I am so in LOVE with "The Boyfriend"! And a quick Toot-Toot for Scrapbook Circle: We were mentioned on today's Cosmo Cricket blog post!!!! Why??? Because our August kit was full of "The Boyfriend"!!! Thanks, Lisa, for working so hard to get us the very LATEST & GREATEST :0)


Ok...enough about "The Boyfriend" for now....I'd like to share a layout I created using Sketch #33 at 52Sketches52Weeks and the August kit goodies from Glitz Designs. The patterned papers from the Olivia line are so fun, vibrant & full of color! & the Glitz Frosting...it is so gorgeous!


Just You & ME:




I absolutely love the Luxe Designs Simple Alpha in black. I used this sticker alpha from the August kit to create my title. Clean & simple, but these alpha are heavy cardstock stickers...& I can't tell you how many times I moved them around, trying to find just the right title placement!


and here's a close up of the very popular October Afternoon Road Map label stickers & Making Memories tiny alpha stickers, both from the August kit:





Supplies from my stash: black cardstock, wire flower, date stamp, ink & journaling pen.

Supplies from the August kit: PP by Glitz Design-Olivia Hearts, Olivia Roses & Olivia Stripe, Glitz Design Frosting in green, red button, black twine, October Afternoon Road Map label stickers, Luxe Designs Simple Alpha in black, & Making Memories tiny alpha-black on white.


Thanks for stopping by! Take care & have a great weekend! (Hope you get to create something!)

Altering kit items

Hello everyone! I hope that you are enjoying the August kit! I love that is full of new releases, which most of us can't even get in the stores yet! :)

I created the layout below with the August kit and I have made a couple of alteration some items in the kit to make them fit in my layout. First off, I cut the October Afternoon card in two parts, so each part could peek at the top and bottom. I hated to waste the cute little camera, so I used the bottom part of the OA card lower down in the layout instead of hiding it behind the paper. As well, I used Glossy Accent on the black stickers, this gives them a fun shinny new look.



Happy scrapping everyone!

Melanie

Layering Journaling Labels

Don't you just love these October Afternoon label stickers from the August kit?
I have absolutely loved using them.

Since I did so much scrapping with the August kit, I was pretty much out of paper, but still had some labels left.

I pulled out some Scarlet Lime paper from my stash and went to work putting a layout together. I wanted to include more journaling than I could fit on one label sticker, so I layered a bunch of them together for a playful journaling spot.
Next time your journaling sticker isn't big enough, try layering a few together to create a custom look and more journaling space.

Cosmo Cricket Card

I made this card using the August kit. Fifteen minutes from start to finish. I wanted the title to really pop, so I used the reverse side of a JilliBean Soup journaling card; the white is a good contrast to the papers. A few matching letter stickers, a punched border and a strip of stripe paper was all the was needed for the front.

As for inside the card, well, easy-breezy:


I think it's a good masculine card, don't you?

All supplies from the August kit except for the mini letters (red and orange) and the medium letters (red).

Claude

tip of the day....

ever have trouble journaling? I know I do! Take out the stress and let someone else in your family help you such as your children or spouse. Get them involved, not only will the layout be complete but it will have been a group effort and more meaningful.

* when going on a trip I often take a notebook with me and at the end of the day I ask everyone what they remember most about what we did that day. Later on when I scrapping I can transfer the information.

* take the journaling off your blog, the journaling is done use it!

Organized Chaos

So, I was trying to follow a cool layout for this page, but either the colors or the pictures just weren't looking right. So, after affixing all the above papers and pictures about three times in various patterns, I pulled it all off yet again in frustration. I held all the pieces in my hand and just threw them in the air! This is how they fell down! Okay, so I had to move the pictures on top of the paper and work with the layering -- but literally -- this is how I made this layout! (I added the buttons later)

So, the next time you are frustrated with a layout -- try the 'organized chaos' approach. Throw it all in the air and see how it lands! :) Happy Scrapping!

A Peek at Our September Kit

Even though it's still well over 100 degrees here, we are hoping that this upcoming September kit, "Vintage Harvest," will help us feel a little closer to cooler fall weather.We love the fabulous color combo brought to us from the Lily Bee Vintage Poppy Line and Pink Paislee Amber Road Line.

We have a lot of brand new CHA embellishments planned in this kit too!

Still creating....

The monthly kits here at Scrapbook Circle continue to amaze me! I thought the June kit was wonderful...then came the July kit with all of its Cosmo Cricket Early Bird goodness...now I am totally IN LOVE with the Boyfriend in the August kit! (Okay, there wasn't a real boyfriend in the kit, but the Cosmo Cricket line is love at first sight for me!!!)

So why am I going on & on about these kits??? Because I'm still pulling items from these kits & creating layouts, that's why!

Here's a layout that I recently created for the PageMaps blog contest. The layout had to have a summer theme, so I immediately pulled out the June kit and started playing!

Here's the sketch:
and here's what I came up with "Soak up the Sun"

I used supplies from the June, July & August kits! I'm sure that I have said this before, but you just gotta LOVE that!!!

Here's a close up of a fun new technique that I have used several times recently:
It adds so much dimension to the layout & is really pretty easy, as long as you have a little bit of patience :0) If you are interested, there is a great tutorial over at 52Sketches52Weeks in their forum.

& finally, a close up of the fabulous little October Afternoon Road Map label stickers from the August kit:
Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you have a great weekend...& SOAK UP THE SUN!!!!

Take care! Stacy

Mixed Fonts

I have recently noticed this trend of mixing fonts when creating titles. I really love this trend. It's fun and adds character to a layout. I think when mixing fonts it's always good to have 2 sizes of fonts and fonts that coordinate well with each other. For the layout below I used for a smaller font Basic Grey chipboard letters and broke up my title by using a larger font sticker by Jenni Bowlin. I think this really put emphasis on my title. I hope that you will try out this new trend as well!



Happy scrappin!

Mélanie

Don't be afraid to cut!

On the following layout, made with the awesome August kit, I used some of the papers as a title and as embellishments. The title was made from a strip of a Cosmo Cricket paper that I then cut up in 3 parts. The traffic lights were part of the October Afternoon journal cards. I simply took my time and cut it out.


There you have it: don't be afraid to use your scissors!

Claude

tip of the day....

today I want to talk about image storage. Do you ever just play with your stamps or punches? I don't like to throw some of these masterpieces away so I store them in this:

it used to have Christmas yogurt covered pretzels, I recycled it! What's fun about storing stamped images is that my kiddos can also go through these and use them on their crafting projects!

Want to Win a Free August Kit?

We have started a Facebook Fan page and to celebrate we are giving away an August kit to one lucky winner who joins the fan page.If you have a Facebook account, all you have to do is GO HERE and click the fan button. You are then entered to win the kit.

All fans who join by midnight on Monday, August 10, will be entered a random drawing to win the kit.

(If you already have the August kit, you can have your September kit for free if you are the winner!)

Starting School

My kids start school on Monday. I know Lisa's kids are already back in -- and most of you still have a few weeks. Are you ready? I still have to make one last trip to Target... and make their lunches tomorrow night...

I'm glad my kids are still young enough to be excited about going back to school. I have a 4th grader and a 2nd grader and a pre-schooler. So, we've chosen out their outfits for the first day. Now, my question to you is... any unique picture ideas? Have you seen any layouts or pictures that were different than the typical 'stand by the door with your backpack on' pictures? One year, I took a picture of my kids from behind as they walked across the park to school. I liked that.

I'm looking for fun ideas! I promise to try them out and then scrapbook them with the August kit. This one is perfect for school!

Jennie

Busy Planning and Ordering

I just love this time of year >>> CHA has just ended and I have tons of new scrapbook goodies to choose from while I put together kits for you.

I've been very busy searching through catalogs, organizing products in spreadsheets and filling out order forms the past few days. Wow, I am so excited with what is planned for our kits for the rest of the year.

Some of you are planners and like to know what is coming in your kits just so that you don't happen to pick up the same stuff somewhere else.

I don't want to give away all of the surprises, but I will let you know what paper lines we have planned September through December.

Crate Season
Lily Bee Vintage Poppy
Sassafras Amplify
Bella Blvd. Super Stud
Lily Bee Audrey
Pink Paislee Amber Road
Basic Grey Eerie
Pink Paislee Twilight
Crate North Pole
Basic Grey Nook and Pantry
Pink Paislee Mistletoe & Co.

This paper will all be mixed and matched to create perfectly coordinated kits for you each month!

We will be doing a Special Edition Halloween kit in October in addition to our regular October kit. Be sure to watch for details.

These next few kits will be packed with MORE patterned paper (10 -11 sheets) per kit! This lets us share more of each paper line with you. Yeah!

I'm thrilled to start revealing each of the kits to you.

Boys need a little BLING too!

I will admit....I have never been one to add much BLING to my layouts. Because I scrap mostly my 2 boys, I just never thought that BLING was much of an option for me....

Well, the July & August kits have proved me wrong!!!

The August kit includes some fabulous Glitz Frosting that I have just fallen in love with...& I think it works perfectly on the boy pages that I created:

License 2 Drive:

day one:
DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME:
So....go ahead...add some BLING!!!

Scrapbook Circle and Mix It Up!

I am so very happy to announce that Scrapbook Circle is sponsoring Mix It Up by offering a September kit to the winner of our August Mixers. You can see all the details on the Mix It Up blog. I can only imagine how fabulous the September kit is, so make sure to play along to have a chance at winning this awesome prize.

Thank you Lisa for your support!!!

Mélanie

Using template collages

I apologize for being late. Today's my 8th anniversary and I think I got distracted!

In the following layout, I used a collage template offered for free on the Scrapbook Etc. site. They come in 8.5x11 and 12x12. There is also an easy-to-follow tutorial if you are new at this.

I actually turned mine into a 5x5 picture and had it printed as-is.


Go ahead, give it a shot!

Claude

tip of the day....

Have you ever wanted to include cardboard on a layout or card? I knew I wanted to try this technique.

Wotcha' need is:

1. a piece of cardboard. I happened to luck out and find one in my package of yogurt from Sam's club, it was small enough I didn't have to cut it to a manageable size.

2. a shape, I cut these snowflakes from my cricut. I then traced then on the back of my cardboard. Then I cut it out, CAREFULLY pulled the top off, then inked, stamped, and embossed it!--you don't have to do all those steps. You can stop after you pull the top off.

here is the finished project:

Scrapping your style

Do you think you have a scrap booking style? If so, what is it? Is it clean? Clustered? Simple? White Space? Circular? Distressed? Some of all of it?

I noticed as I was scrolling through galleries and thumbing through idea books the other day that all the layouts that jumped out at me were my 'style'. I definitely like simpler lines -- and normally use at least 3 photos. Every once in a while I'll force myself to scrap 'outside my box' and try something intricate and fancy, but I rarely end up liking it.

So, my tip of the day is simply to embrace your own scrapping style -- As Dr. Seuss once said, "No one is you-er than YOU!"