Scrapbooking Sunday: This Paper is not just for Valentine’s Day!

When I first saw the More Amore Designer Paper and the Hearts a Flutter stamp set I had Valentine’s Day on the brain.  And in fact I originally got both for a Valentine’s Day treat class I was holding earlier this year.

But as I started going through pictures and wanting to scrap this picture from Leadership convention with my mom, I saw the quote printed on the paper and thought it would be just right.

The quote is

A loving heart is the truest wisdom – Charles Dickens

Perfect for a picture of my mom who flew out to Orlando, FL with me from Seattle, WA to share the learning and excitement of Leadership and my first time being eligible to attend Manager’s Reception.

So with my base paper chosen, I started adding embellishments and it turned out the Hearts a Flutter stamp set and framelits fit my mood just right.

I grabbed some scrap fabric from the retired Springtime Vintage collection to add textured borders instead of my usual paper layering.  Then I tucked in some banners I cut out using the coordinating framelits.

For the journaling block, I just created an extended photo mat with Very Vanilla paper to give me space for my writing and then added some stamping and a little bit of ribbon to separate the journaling from the picture.

It turned out to be a fairly quick layout but one that I love for the great memories it captures!

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See the Latest Availability & PDFs of all the retiring stamps and accessories here

Supples Used
Stamps – Hearts a Flutter
Paper – More Amore designer paper, Very Vanilla
Ink – Real Red, Basic Black marker
Accessories – Big Shot, Hearts a Flutter framelit, Springtime Vintage fabric, Crochet Ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Scrapbooking Sunday: Got to Love Those Kiddie Rides

This is why I have a hard time giving up my old patterned papers.  Because that pack of paper that you thought totally wasn’t your style and you have no idea how you would use it…. well, along comes a scrapbook layout that suddenly that paper is perfect for and you are so glad you didn’t chuck it in the recycle bin!  And today that paper is Big Top Birthday from Stampin’ Up!

Everytime we go to Fred Meyer, Nicholas *has* to ride the Fred Meyer kiddie ride truck.  We walk in the door and as we walk by the area with the truck he notices it and asks if I have a quarter so we can ride it.  Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t, but either way we invariably stop so he can at least sit on the truck and pretend to drive it.

And of course, now that Caitlin is getting older, she has to get in on the action as well and wants her turn!  So, I had to snap a picture a couple months back of each of them in the truck and create a layout just for this ride.

I had no idea what I wanted to do, so I started shuffling through my (I’ll admit) large amounts of misc patterned papers and cardstock and the bold primary colors in the Big Top Birthday caught my eye.  I had a hard time getting myself to use the paper when I was working on cards because it was so bold, but when used as an accent for a scrapbook page – suddenly it was a whole new paper!

But, one of the best things about this layout was creating my embellishments from random supplies around my craft room.  I especially like how this tag turned out:

It’s a simple rectangle of the Natural Composition designer paper that I snipped off two corners to make the tag shape.  Then I used on of my beloved Jumbo Eyelets (why did these have to be retired!?!) to give me a grommet for my Stitched Pacific Point Grosgrain ribbon.  Then I just used a little bit of linen thread to tie the ends of the ribbon together and added some matching cardstock trim to the bottom of the tag.  Add some dots with the White Gel Pen and some journaling and there you go!

I have to admit, I LOVE how this layout turned out and its kind of nice to do a layout that doesn’t involve pinks and flowers.

To Order Stampin’ Up! Products Anytime, click here!

See the Latest Availability & PDFs of all the retiring stamps and accessories here

Supples Used
Stamps – Rough Type Alphabet (retired)
Paper – Whisper White, Basic Black, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Going Grey cs (retired), Natural Composition designer paper, Big Top Birthday designer paper (retired)
Ink – Basic Black, Pacific Point, Real Red
Accessories – Large Star punch (retired), Small Star punch (retired), 2-3/8” Scallop circle punch, 1” circle punch, Scallop Trim edge punch, Crop-a-dile, jumbo eyelets (retired), Stitched grosrain ribbon Pacific Point, Linen Thread, White Gel Pen, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers

Scrapbooking Sunday: Layering, Misting, and More!

I’ve been trying to start up scrapbooking classes each month… partially because I wanted to have some balance in my classes and also because I am dreadfully behind on my scrapping.  So, creating layouts for a class forces me to get some extra pages done!

So, this month, I ended up turning to the Tea for Two suite from the Spring Catalog as my inspiration in creating two 12×12 pages.  I designed them so they could stand alone or be a two page spread.

Layout #1: Best Things in Life

So, this page is designed with the Basic Grey pieces to be mats for 4×6 photos – that means once you drop in your pictures there will a little grey mat plus the Old Olive mat behind that.

My favorite embellishment is this layered flower above the photos:

I took one of the Tea Lace Doilies (one of the best deals in the catalog! You get 24 doilies for only $2.95) and I sponged it with a sponge dauber and Calypso Coral ink.  You just have to be careful that you don’t rub too hard or you will tear part of the doily off.  Thankfully, in this case, you can tuck the yucky part (like I did!) under the grey photo mat.

Then I stamped the flower image from Betsy’s Blossom and punched it out with the 1-3/4” Scallop Circle punch.  For the top layer, I used one of the new Designer Build a Brads to create a cute topper.

Now, here is the trick – I snipped off the brad tines from the back of the Build a Brad!  Then stick your brad into a Stampin’ Dimensional and stick it to the front of your embellishment.  This raises the brad up off of the photo mat so you have room to slide your photo underneath!

I also thought it needed something in the upper corner so I used Besty’s Blossom again for the bird and leaves.

And I used this great sentiment from the Feels Good stamp set for my title.  If you are wondering about the shape I used for the title block, it is actually the largest of the Labels Framelits that I hung off the corner of the page and then snipped away all of the extra.

Layout #2:  Misting Fun

This is the second layout we created.  I’ll try to go fast since I know this post is getting totally long.   This page was my “play with all the tools on my craft table” layout.

First I started by misting the corners of my base paper.  I started with Whisper White cardstock and then spruced it up by making my own So Saffron mist.

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To make your own mist, add some rubbing alcohol to one of the Stampin’ Spritzers.  Then add a few drops of your favorite re-inker to the mix and shake it up.   I would add about 10 drops of reinker for about every 1/4 of the spritzer bottle you fill with alcohol.

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Then I used my Color Spritzer and my Calypso Coral marker and spritzed over the So Saffron mist with Coral splatter.  It adds just a touch of coral to the page without jumping out at you.

Finally a few more touches… I used some of the Pool Party Core’dinations cardstock (sanded down of course!) to accent my photo mat for my 5×7” photo.  Then I cut out more of the images from the Betsy’s Blossom stamp set for a corner embellishment, which is also popped up on dimensionals so you can stick your photo underneath.

Finally I had to grab some of my new This and That items to finish it out.  The rotary date stamp for the banner label (I wasn’t sure which picture I wanted to use so I left the date blank) plus some washi for more color at the bottom of the page!

Whew!  Ok, made it through all those photos!  I just love scrapbook pages though because you can use all your different papers, tools, and accents to make one big cool design.

So hopefully this gave you some new idea and I’d love to hear what you think about these pages.  I love hearing what you think in comments, so if you have a minute please leave a comment and let me know what you think!

To Order Stampin’ Up! Products Anytime, click here!

Supples Used
Stamps – Betsy’s Blossom, Feels Good, This or That rotary date stamp
Paper – Whisper White, So Saffron, Old Olive, Basic Grey, Tea for Two designer paper, Pool Party core’dinations cardstock
Ink – Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Old Olive, Calypso Coral, Calypso Coral marker, So Saffron reinker
Accessories – Tea Lace Doilies, 2011-2013 In Color Printed brads, Stampin’ Spritzers, Color Spritzer, This and That washi tape, Designer Build a Brads, Stampin’ Dimensionals, 1 3/4” Scallop Circle punch, Big Shot, Labels Framelits, Spone Daubers, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Stampin’ Sanding System

Scrapbooking Sunday: Scrapping with Washi & the This & That Line

Last week, I got my This and That bundle and finally had a chance to sit down and start playing with it all.  So, this is the first project I created with it:

The full collection (which I had to grab since you get 15% off if you get it as a bundle) includes:

• 12×12 designer paper
• 4 pack of stickers
• 3 rolls of washi tape
• rotary date stamp
• spiral bound journal with embossed cover

I had a bunch of friends who had gotten into the washi tape craze and I even had a couple spools of it but I was still trying to figure out how I was going to use it.  However, it seemed to get easier for me as I started playing around with this layout.  The first place I used it was for making a border at the bottom of my blue designer paper and then I layered a second pattern of tape to highlight the photo above.

Then I ended up using the 3rd pattern of washi tape at the top of my page as an accent over the top edge.  You’ll also notice the rotary date stamp on the journaling section.  You pick your sentiment and the date, ink, and stamp.  When I stamped, I wanted to add a little something else, and turns out a mini brad fits perfectly between the sentiment and date.

I also wanted to use some of the stickers that come in the collection.  I knew I was going to use the journal with most of the stickers but I decided that these chevrons (which are each individual stickers) would be a good color accent on that side of the page.

So, overall, I wasn’t sure what I thought of the heavily distressed look of the papers but it turned out when used together they look great.  Especially when you are using black and white pictures.

Finally, I wanted to share something that I didn’t realize when I ordered the journal.  I knew that each page in the journal is designer paper in nice base patterns (no big words or overwhelming elements), but I didn’t realize the first and last page were pocket pages.  Plus inside the front pocket were tucked 2 pocket pouches that can be glued in anywhere in your book (or other projects)

I still can’t decide whether to use my journal for carrying with me to record the random funny things my kids say and do, or if I want to use it for all the inspiration I see for projects and designs.  Kind of like an offline Pinterest!

You can see the entire This and That collection online here

And don’t miss out on the free shipping promotion!  You have until tomorrow evening to receive free shipping on any order no matter how big or small!

To Order Stampin’ Up! Products Anytime, click here!

Don’t Forget!  RSVPs and mail order kit orders are due soon for the Print Poetry Class coming up on April 20th!
Can’t make the party?  Class by mail and instruction only options are available – check it out here

Print Poetry Camp & Class by Mail

Scrapbooking Sunday: Using Stamps as Accents on a Baby Page!

I know it is St. Patrick’s Day and so I should be posting something green, but I finished this scrapbook page for my daughter and just had to share it with everyone for this week’s Scrapbooking Sunday!  So, you can virtually pinch me but I hope you enjoy the ideas for this weeks layout.

I’ve been trying to get through some of the recent backlog of photos I printed opportunistically and then never got scrapped.    This is one of the photos from right before we left the hospital after she was born.  I may not look my best, but it is one of the few pictures of I have of her and me and so I’ll love it no matter how I look.

This whole layout actually started with me wanting to use the elephant from the Patterned Occasions stamp set exclusively available during Sale-a-Bration but to use it for a baby scrapbook page.  So I grabbed my Pink Pirouette marker and started coloring the elephant and making an elephant parade.

One thing I noticed is that the markers are so juicy and the pattern of the elephant is so intricate that extra ink gets caught in the spaces so it wasn’t as crisp of an image.  But I didn’t care and couldn’t be bothered to try again using a post-it note to mask the stamp itself.

But then I tried again using a mix of colors for one more fun elephant accent.  This time I left the flower in the image and cut it all out.  I accented it with a 1 1/4” scallop circle punched out of Pink Pirouette cardstock.

Finally, I needed a little more something at the top of my page and my Hearts a Flutter stamp set and framelits was exactly what I needed.  I just adhered my baker’s twine across the top of the page and tucked my banners under the twine where I wanted them.

I even like the Summer Starfruit designer paper from the Sale-a-Bration flyer (Sycamore Street designer paper) as my background even though initially I was not a fan at all of this pattern.

Don’t Miss the Start of Sale-a-Bration Send Off Week! Giveaways and more!

Don’t forget that this is the last week to get your free stamps and accessories as part of Sale-a-Bration.  To remind you (and me!) of the fun ideas and projects you can make with the different stamps and accessories, I’ll be holding a send off celebration here on my blog all week capped off with a Sale-a-Bration Send Off Party on Friday.

All week you can get entries for prizes and drawings!

So, come back tomorrow when it all kicks off and you can start celebrating and winning with me!

To Order Stampin’ Up! Products Anytime, click here!

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Every order gets you closer to your FREE stamp set! Click here to learn more!

Patterned Occasions Baby Scrapbook Page Recipe:
Stamps: Patterned Occasions*, Hearts a Flutter
Ink: Soft Suede, Summer Starfruit, Rich Razzleberry, Markers: Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Gumball Green
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Primrose Petals core’dinations cardstock, Sycamore Street designer paper *
Accessories: Sycamore Street ribbon & button pack*, Big Shot, Junior Timeless Type sizzlits, Hearts a Flutter framelits, Square Lattice embossing folder, Glue Dots, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Crochet Lace trim, Early Espresso baker’s twine, stapler, Sanding Block, 1 1/4” scallop circle punch

* item that is available for free with a $50 order through 3/22/2013