... just Laura

scrapbooking tips & tricks: summer fun & travel issue + GIVEAWAY

creating keepsakes has a new special issue, that just hit the stores this past week. scrapbooking tips & tricks: summer fun and travel issue, is the newest issue in the tips & tricks series.

 

Summer is the perfect time for adventure, fun, and travel. In Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks: Summer Fun & Travel you'll learn the best ways to capture all those memories in your scrapbooks. You'll see ways to take and use scenic photos, learn colorful ways to enhance your summer and vacation layouts, and discover money-saving ideas for using found objects, maps, and travel memorabilia on your layouts. In addition, you'll be inspired by a gallery filled with 94 ideas for scrapbooking your summertime adventures. Make the most of your summer by checking out this issue today!

 

here's a peek at one of my layouts in this issue. i'll share more about it in the next few weeks.

you can also find lots of downloads, tips, and ideas from this issue in the online content for this issue, found HERE.

if you'd like to purchase a copy for yourself, you can use coupon code CKFUN10, which is good for free shipping (in the US) on all orders of $25 or more. coupon expires august 8th, 2011. 

creating keepsakes is letting me give away a copy of this issue, to one of my lucky blog readers. to be entered, just leave me a comment and tell me what summer photos you are looking forward to scrapping and getting in your albums. i will leave the comments open until thursday evening, and will announce a winner on friday!

the making of soccer stars - a creating keepsakes layout

guess what time it is around here? soccer time! we got our first call about fall soccer a few days ago, and should get our second call any day now. it's always exciting for the girls to hear what team they're going to be on, what color jersey they get, who their coach is, and if any of their friends are on their team. and it reminded me that i've been wanting to share this layout. 

 
as seen in the July/August 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

creating keepsakes had a call out, earlier this year, looking for layouts based around the theme of "through the years". i knew right away, what layout i wanted to make for this call. and luckily,  they liked what i created enough to want to publish it in the magazine.

 

there's a little story behind this layout. i had the idea a few years ago, to do a layout showing the girls progressing from year to year, in soccer. in fact, i actually started it. see these two rows of photos on the first page of the layout? the five photos of alyssa and the five photos of sarah? i had put those together years ago. it had to be over 3 years ago, since the photos went until 2007. i had the photos cut out to size, and adhered them to white cardstock to make my photo strips.

and then i never did anything with them. so, when this call came up, i already had a start on this layout. i just pulled out these two strips of photos, and used those as my starting point.

 

of course, the girls had added three more years of soccer to their resume. so i printed out three more photos of alyssa and three more of sarah, and turned it into a two page layout.

we have had a wide range of colors through the years. actually, now that i look at it, i guess it's not that wide a range. a lot of red, blue, grey, and black. with a little green, bright pink, and light pink (the least favorite by far) mixed in. btw, rumor has it that we'll have one girl in red this season, and one in black. again. since there was so much color in the photos, i kept the papers pretty neutral. i used a tan sort of colored, swiss dotted cardstock for my background pages, along with a strip of black & white polka dot patterened paper.

 

these soccer stickers are super old. i really liked how they were arranged on the sheet, all collaged together. but it wasn't quite big enough to stretch 12 inches tall on my page. so i adhered each of the stickers to white cardstock, and then cut them out. that way, they weren't sticky, since i wanted to use pop dots on some of them. i just collaged them together, on a strip of white cardstock, leaving little spaces between each of the stickers. i used pop dots on some of the stickers, to add some extra dimension. then i adhered the entire piece to my layout.

 

these soccer ball buttons are super old too. it's interesting what i hold onto sometimes.

journaling reads: alyssa and sarah started playing soccer 8 years ago. alyssa was 7 years old, and sarah was just 4 years old. it is just crazy, how much a part of our life, soccer has become. between the 2 of them, they have now played on 21 teams total, 4 of those indoor soccer teams. joe and i have drive them to at least 550 practices. we have watched close to 240 games. they both play forward, and have scored dozens and dozens of goals over the years. they have collected 18 trophies, and 4 medals. they have both gained so much experience and knowledge of the game. their skills and abilities have improved more than we could have expected, making them valuable soccer players. we absolutely love watching them play, year after year. it's amazing to think back to when they first started playing the game, and compare it to where they are now. we are so proud of the soccer stars they have grown into!

right after making this layout, i had taken photos of each of the photos on the layout. half of these were before the digital days, so i couldn't just pull up the images. plus, i wanted to be able to see the year that each photo was from. i think i had meant to blog the photos at one point, knowing that it would be months before the layout came out in the magazine. since i have these, i figured i'd toss up their cute faces, through the years :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

since making this layout, we can add 2 more teams to their list. sarah's all-star team from this past season, and alyssa's first year playing for high school. maybe i need to do a layout about joe's years of coaching, and my years of being team mom too ;)

friend for life - a creating keepsakes layout

i have another layout to share today, from the tips & tricks: fabulous flowers issue from creating keepsakes.

 
as seen in the Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks: Fabulous Flowers issue, from Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

this is another layout, where i went digging through older photos, looking for some to re-scrap. i found these 3 photos, along with an additional one, on a plain blue cardstock layout. and it had a vellum title, saying something about friends. that was it. seriously? so i tore off these three photos, and decided to scrap them. this it the girls, with 2 of my past daycare kids.

but more importantly, riana and amanda are friends of my girls. these photos were taken over 8 years ago, when the girls had both been with me for at least 2 years already. and 8 years later, they're still friends, hang out at school, go to each other's birthday parties, and occasionally share the same class.

 

this layout was part of an article on creating your own unique flowers, by mixing and combining flowers of all different types. to create my flowers, i used a mix of felt flowers, clear plastic flowers, paper flowers, and metal flower grommets. the different textures add lots of dimension to my flowers. and the colors all play off the papers and the photos. i used a few die cut borders for my flower stems.

 

the pink dot paper is from bobunny, and the rest of the pattern papers are all from bella blvd. it's kind of hard to see in that top photo, but i added tiny alpha stickers to a few of the clouds in the yellow pattern paper, for each of the girls names. the red letter stickers are from jenni bowlin. i love the "school" feel to those stickers.

edge of the water - a creating keepsakes layout

a full month ago, i did a post about the new scrapbooking tips & tricks: fabulous flowers issue from creating keepsakes. and i showed a peek at this layout of mine, and said "i'll share more about it next week". let me repeat. a full month ago. lol!  better late than never, right ;)

 
as seen in the Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks: Fabulous Flowers issue, from Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

i really love how this layout turned out. i created this layout months and months ago. it happened to be around the time when i was using white cardstock backgrounds a LOT. and i was doing very linear designs, with the photos all lined up in rows. i wanted to mix it up a little.

and it all started when i was choosing my pattern papers. i had these two bella blvd papers picked out, and side by side, to visualize my spread. instead of using just pieces of the papers, and adding cardstock or more pattern paper, i decided i liked the look of these together.

 

the photos are from a trip to my uncle's cabin, back in 2005. i grew up, going to the cabin with my family every summer. we've managed to get there a few years with the girls. this family shot of us, is a favorite of mine, from our trips. i have had it printed as a 5x7 for years. glad i finally got around to scrapping it.

 

this is a fun technique that i have used before. i used a circle cutter, to cut a few circles from my sheet of pattern paper. i knew where i wanted my photo and title to go. so i just eyeballed where the circles would look the best, and cut them out. i then adhered the entire sheet of pattern paper to a full sheet of white cardstock, using lots and lots and lots of pop dots.

this creates a "window" of sorts. and you can then fill up this window, with whatever kind of embellishments you want. since this was the "fabulous flowers" issue, i went with flowers. i have a fun mix of paper flowers, felt flowers, plastic flowers, acrylic flowers, button flowers, and flower brads. i tucked some of the flowers under the edges of the circles, so that they were peeking out. and i added some coordinating rhinestones to some of the flowers as well.

 

the embossed sun sticker is from little yellow bicycle. i adhered it to some white cardstock, and then cut around the edges with my scissors. i do this a lot with stickers, so that i can then pop dot them up. i added a few brads to the sun, before adhering it with pop dots to my page. i also added a few strips of additional pattern paper from bella blvd.

 

i knew i was adding my journaling to a text based pattern paper. so i decided to go with white text, on brown. to do this, i created a text box in word and typed my journaling inside the box. i then changed my font to white, and changed the color of the text box to a dark brown. when i printed this out, there was a brown box on my paper, with the white journaling lines. much easier then trying to print on brown cardstock.

 

my photos on the second page of the spread still have the collaged look. but i didn't line them all up perfectly in rows, which is something i was doing a ton at the time. i arranged them in a way, that i could fit another cut out circle and this fun lace cut wave die cut from little yellow bicycle. 

i was originally only going to use the wave on the left side of the spread. so i had cut off the part of the wave that extended off the page, and i threw it away. then i realized that the first page needed a little something else along the bottom. so i dug that piece back out of the trash, and added it to the first page. i'm very glad i did, since i think it pulls the two sides of the spread together.

 

i used some brown foam thickers, and my favorite doodlebug loopy letters, for my title. the checklist die cut is also from little yellow bicycle. there were little check boxes in front of the items on the list. so i added a few mini brads to those boxes.

 

the second page of the spread was done the same way as the first page. i cut out my circle, once i knew where i wanted it to go. then i pop dotted this entire sheet of pattern paper, onto a sheet of white cardstock, using lots and lots and lots of pop dots.

these are the days - a creating keepsakes layout

do you remember THESE senior photos i took of my niece, jovaughnna? well, she graduated from high school last week. in fact, the first project on THIS post, was actually her graduation gift. i thought it was a good time to share this layout i created for the tips & tricks: fabulous flowers issue that recently came out.

 
as seen in an online article for the Tips & Tricks: Fabulous Flowers issue, from Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

i created this layout for an article on how to alter your premade flowers. the article ended up getting moved to an online article for members only, on the CK Club site. so it didn't quite make it into the actual magazine. luckily, you can still see my layout here ;)

 

i almost always start my layouts, by choosing papers. i used the colors in jovaughnna's shirt to determine what papers i would use. i really love the penmanship paper, by studio calico, and figured it sort of fit with the senior/school theme i was going for. from there, i choose the ruled paper from studio calico, and the red wood paper by october afternoon, to use as well. 

 

the chipboard title piece, and the chipboard border piece (2nd page), are both from the mix it up kit, an older CK kit of the month club. i can't believe they still have some of those kits left. so many amazingly fun pieces in that kit. both of these pieces were raw chipboard. i heat embossed the title piece, using silver metallic embossing powder. and i really love those black letter stickers from jenni bowlin, and was glad i could work them into my title.

 

since my assignment was to alter flowers, i choose these older white flowers from making memories. i know white is kind of basic, but they really went with my layout. i used an embossing folder, and ran them through my cuttlebug, to add the embossed circles. then i used a glue pen to draw around the outside edges of the flower, and then sprinkled silver glitter over the edges. i layered some additional flowers, and secured them all with a denim fabric brad, and tucked two maya road pins under the flower. and that green piece, is a leather like trim, from bo bunny.

these flowers actually went through quite a few changes, before my layout finally got sent in. i guess i shouldn't have picked white flowers. turns out, they don't photograph very well. lol! i don't have a picture of the final version, for some reason. but i ended up adding some stickles to the embossed dots, and then added some silver chalk to them as well.

 

hmmm. got some glare going on this photo of the second page. i really wanted to use a good selection of jovaughnna's photos on this layout, and i wanted them to really show. which is why i used five 4x6's, and one 5x7 photo.

i love this chipboard border strip. i sat and punched out the small chipboard circles, so you could see through the strip. i decided to adhere some white cardstock behind the chipboard piece, so that it showed through the dots. i heat embossed the border piece with a distressed red embossing powder. it gave it a a rough and gritty texture to it, as opposed to the shiny and smooth texture on the heat embossed title piece.

 

another circle and flower cluster on the second page, just like the first page. i love using my circle cutter and circle punches, to make different sized circles to fill in the empty spaces on layouts. and for my journaling, i wanted to print with white text, on black paper. there's different ways of doin this. i just created a text box, and changed the background color to black. then i typed my journaling, and changed the text to white.

slow down & enjoy the moment - a creating keepsakes layout

exactly one year ago today, alyssa graduated from the 8th grade. so it seems fitting to share this layout that i created for creating keepsakes with you today. it is featured in the may/june issue, that is out in stores right now.

 
as seen in the May/June 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

i created this layout for an article about scrapping less-than-perfect photos. i was asked to use a blurry photo on my layout. the photos from this night came to mind right away, since i knew i had plenty of blurry shots. i don't usually keep blurry shots, but these captured a moment and i'm so glad i didn't hit the "delete" button.

 

like this one, with her friend idalis.

or this one, with her friend alyssa.

 

i decided to tie in the blurry shots, with my journaling and what i was feeling when i took these photos. how most of the photos that i took after graduation, were blurry. which sort of represented how much of a blur the school year had been. it just flew by so fast.

 

i remember when i was making this layout, i had just gotten a bunch of goodie boxes from some manufactures. and i was picking and choosing products, right from the boxes. those fabric american craft thicker, are one of my favorite thickers to use. love them. i extended the title onto the canvas tag, using some tiny alpha stickers. 

 

i half created these photo collages in photoshop. usually, i do the math and make the photos all similiar sizes, to fit the space i have. but this time, i tried something a little different. i randomly cropped and sized each photo, so that i had an interesting mix of sizes. i created two canvases in photoshop, and arranged the photos as i wanted them on the layout. just to get a feel for how they were going to look, and what spaces i would need to fill.

after i printed the photos, i did end up trimming each one and adhering them to a piece of white cardstock. then i just trimmed pattern papers to fill in the rest of the collages, and adding a few embellishments and journaling tags to some of them. i used a clear making memories clock embellishment on the first page, and a jenni bowlin chipboard clock (and some buttons) on the second page. they represent time, and how quickly it passed that year.

  

i think my journaling pretty much summed up that evening. for the both of us. and the crazy thing is. i thought her 8th grade year went by so fast. turns out, her freshman year went by even faster. lol!

and with that, another school year is almost over. we don't have a graduate this year. although sarah is finishing the 6th grade, and heading into junior high school. that's a milestone! tonight, another 8th grade class is graduating and moving on to high school. both my girls will be there, playing in the band for the ceremony. the 6th and 7th grade band members play for graduation. but alyssa, and a few of her freshman bandmates that went to our school last year, are coming back to help out tonight. i think it's cool that they are going back to where band all started for them, and helping out the band teacher that they all loved. and since we live right across the street from the school, i should be able to hear the band playing from here :)

scrapbooking tips & tricks: fabulous flowers + GIVEAWAY

creating keepsakes has another new issue out this week. can we handle two new issues, right in a row? i know i can! scrapbooking tips & tricks: fabulous flowers, is dedicated to anything and everything related to flowers.

 

there are lots of ideas for using flowers on layouts of all kinds, no matter what the theme. you'll find ideas for creating your own handmade flowers using supplies in your stash, and for using premade flowers in creative ways. there are ideas for taking photos of flowers, and for scrapbooking photos of flowers. you'll have to check out the issue yourself, to see what else is in there ;)

 

but i will show you a peek at one of my layouts in this issue. this is a new favorite layout of mine, and i'm so glad it's finally out. i'll share more about it next week.

here's a little peek inside the issue as well.

if you're looking to purchase a copy of this issue, use code FLOWERCK for free shipping in the US on orders over $25. it's good until june 3rd.

creating keepsakes has been generous enough, to offer a free copy of this issue to one of my lucky blog readers. just leave a comment here, telling me your favorite type of flower to scrapbook with. could be your favorite color of flowers, your favorite brand of flowers, or your favorite way to make your own flowers. i'll leave the comments open until thursday night, and i will announce a winner on friday morning.

smile tag - a creating keepsakes project

remember the easter layout i shared last week? i was working with ribbon scraps for the accent on that layout, and was asked to make a fun little tag as well.

 

i don't remember seeing this in the march/april issue, so i'm not sure if it landed somewhere else. lol! i used lots of scraps from my layout for this tag. the papers were all out, and i had my slice out for my title. so i incorporated those things onto this tag. along with the same scrap ribbon pieces from the easter basket accent.

 

i pieced together some of the paper scraps, onto a plain white shipping tag. i used my favorite scallop border punch on the striped paper, and layered 2 strips on top of each other. i sliced my "smile" sentiment on some brown woodgrain pattern paper, and added a felt flower brad to dot the "i". i added the green ribbon to form the stem of my flower, pleating as i went.  

 

for the flower, i cut small pieces of different ribbons. i think they were about 2 inches in length. i would add a mini glue dot to hold the ends together, to form a little loop. then i glue dotted them one by one, into a circle. i added the flair button to the center, using a large pop dot, to cover the ends of all the ribbons.

back to work. i have 4 little ones running all over the house right now. a 1 yr old, a 2 yr old, a 3 yr old, and a 4 yr old. it's been quiet here the last few months, so it's nice to have all this energy in the house for a change. although i might re-think that at the end of the day, considering how many toys they've taken out already, that i'll have to put away later. lol!

easter egg hunt - a creating keepsakes layout

since easter is this coming weekend, i thought it would be a good time to share this layout from a recent issue of creating keepsakes.

 
as seen in the March/April 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

i created this easter layout for the march/april issue. when i got asked to do an easter layout, i wasn't sure what photos i even had to work with. it's gotten harder with the girls getting older. they're not always into things like easter egg hunts. so i dug deep, and found these photos from 2002.  

 

i used some american crafts pattern papers, and lots of making memories die cuts. i used my slice to create the title, and i pop dotted the "egg hunt" piece. i cut my journaling block from a piece of lined pattern paper. i'm pretty sure i had to make that about 4 times, since i kept messing my what i was writing. lol! 

 

i can tell that these photos were from our first easter, after we moved to where we are now. this was actually at my parents house, who live like two blocks away from us. and we moved within a few months of each other. in a few of the pics (that i didn't use), i could see the houses next to them in different stages of the building process. anyways. that was totally random. lol!

 

i created this fun easter basket, using scraps of ribbon. i started out by sketching out a basket shape on cardstock, to fit the space i had on my layout. i covered the paper with adhesive, and adhered my first ribbon across the bottom of the basket. then i just did one ribbon at a time, weaving them together. i'm not even sure how to explain how exactly i did that, since i made this layout back in october of last year. lol! i want to say i did one across the bottom, and then one down the side. then the next one up on the bottom, and the next one along the side. the adhesive will help hold the ribbon in place. but then i also added mini glue dots at each end of the ribbon as well, to really secure it. 

once i had all the ribbons on the basket, i trimmed off any excess hanging off the sides. i adhered it to my layout using pop dots, so that i could still tuck my easter eggs in. i added the last piece of ribbon, for the handle of the basket.

 

for my "eggs", i used an assortment of embellishments. i basically went thru my stash, looking for anything oval shaped. i had some large rhinestones, a few super old printed foam charms, and some pearls and gems. to fill in the spaces, and to add in the colors that were missing, i hand cut a few extra ovals from pattern paper. i just glue dotted them all together, layering them up and tucking them in the "basket". once my basket was filled to my liking, i was done :)

the patch - a creating keepsakes layout

i have a creating keepsakes layout to share today, from the scrapbooking tips & tricks: texture issue. i know we're just heading into spring, but let's backtrack to fall for a minute :)

 
as seen in the Texture issue of Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

i held onto these photos for almost a full year, before getting an assignment that was perfect for them. texture. i'm all about texture on my layouts. in fact, if my layout is too flat, it just doesn't feel right to me. i need some extra dimension, some pop dots, some layers, something a little bit bulky. doesn't have to be a lot or go overboard. but there has to be something there.

 

my first thoughts on colors for pumpkin patch photos would be brown, orange, and green. but alyssa was wearing a purple shirt, and sarah was wearing yellow. so i worked those colors into my layout. i still think purple and yellow can be very "fallish" colors, when mixed with orange. so i used orange as one of my accent colors, adding a little bit here and there.

 

i cut off pieces from a cardboard box in the garage, to use on this layout. i simply tore the top layer off, so that you can see the corrugated part of the cardboard. lots of texture there. i used two smaller pieces for little accents, at the top of the pages. i took some embroidery floss and wrapped it around the cardboard piece, numerous times. then i used a small safety pin to secure a mini tag with "october" printed on it.

 

i knew i wanted to use my jillibean soup corrugated alphas for my title, since they have the same look as the cardboard pieces i was using for accents. i choose the white alphas, and used my finger to add a touch of orange paint around all the edges of each letter.

it's not super noticable, but my green cardstock is embossed with leaves. adds a subtle touch. you might notice a few little tears on the yellow dotted paper. i originally had my title letters going a little uneven. we, or should i say the editors, decided that they'd look better straight. i do have to agree with them. my love of using strong pop dots did make for a few small tears, but nothing too bad.

 

i had so many photos from that day, it was hard to pick just a few. well, i do have nine photos on here. but i had a lot more i wanted to use. lol! on the corrugated cardboard accent piece on this page, i tucked a few stick pins with little pumpkins on the heads, into the embroidery floss.

part of what i was supposed to do on my layout, was to create a fun layered photo mat. the issue was all about texture, so i wanted to add a lot of texture to my photo mat. i started with some orange polka dot fabric, layered on some purple magic mesh (yes, i still own lots of that stuff!), and then a piece of corrugated cardboard. and then my photo. it actually didn't add that much bulk, since the fabric and magic mesh are thin.

 

and my journaling. i used an orange ink pad on the edges of each journaling strip. which actually makes me wonder if i used an ink pad on the title letters. i seem to remember paint. maybe i used a mix of both. it was so long ago, that i forgot :)

kids say the funniest things - a creating keepsakes kit

did you know that creating keepsakes has lots of paper kits available in their online store? they each contain everything you'd need to make layouts, cards, or even mini albums.

 

i was send one of their new kits, called "kids say the funniest things", to design some samples layouts for. it's a really fun and colorful kit, that's just perfect for scrapping about your kids and the goofy things they do. just so happens, that i have lots of pics of my kids being goofy. lol!

these three layouts were created, using only what was in the kit. nothing extra, no special tools. and i have plenty left over, for more projects. and the instructions for all three layouts are included in the kit. you can check it out HERE, to see all the details about what's included in the kit.

we love you - a creating keepsakes layout

remember THIS BOOK that i made for haley, back when she left for preschool? i had created a few last minute layouts to add to the book, before having it printed. and this is the final layout, that was at the end of the book.

 
as seen in the February 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

i originally created this layout for one of my jillibean soup monthly assignments. then it got picked up by creating keepsakes so quickly, that it was never shown on their blog. and i had to hold off sharing it, when i shared her book.

for the photos, i went through my files and found sixteen of my favorite photos of haley that spanned her three and a half years with us. they are all in order by age, left to right, top to bottom.  so fun to see her growing up through these photos. because i had so many colors going on in these photos, i changed them all to black and white, to simplify things.

 

i printed each photo as a 3x3 inch square. sometimes, when i print at home, they actually come out a little smaller. no idea why. i print as a borderless 8.5x11, but it still shrinks everything just a teeny tiny bit. this makes a difference, when i'm lining up my photos from one side of the page to the other. so i was left with a little gap on one side. just worked it into my design. but i had wanted the photos to go all the way across, just like the filmstrip patterned paper.

 

i printed out the dates when haley started coming to us and when she left, along with her ages. i was going to hand journal it onto the journaling sprout. but everytime i use my own handwriting, i feel like i ruin my layouts. lol! i know that's not the case, but it's how i see it. yes, i'm my worse critic.

 

i kept this layout pretty simple. it's mainly photos and paper. one of my "flatter" layouts, if you will. with the exception of some pop dots behind a few of the journaling sprouts.

 

i loved having this as the ending to her book.

scrapbooking tips & tricks: texture - giveaway

the newest issue of scrapbooking tips & tricks has just hit the stores, and it's all about texture.  

 

this issue is full of ideas for adding texture to our layouts. lots of texture basics, faux stitching techniques, using trims and fabric for texture, ways to add texture to your titles, and even adding texture using your photos. 

 

here's a peek at one of my layouts in the issue.

if you are interested in purchasing a copy,you can find it HERE. if you use code TEXTDT, you can get free shipping on orders of $25 or more. this offer expires on march 31, 2011.

i have one copy of this issue to give away to a lucky blog reader. just leave me a comment (one per person), and you will be have a chance at winning. i will leave comments open until friday night, and randomly choose a winner saturday morning.

my girl - a CK layout

i wanted to share a layout of mine from the february issue of creating keepsakes. this was part of the "new scrap beginnings" article, which was all about some fun ways to boost your creativity.

 
as seen in the February 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

these gorgeous photos were taken by the amazingly talented megan cristello, a photographer friend from florida. this is her beautiful oldest daughter, raygan. some of you might remember some other layouts i have created, using megan's photos of all four of her kids. i've done them all for fun, and then sent them to her to keep. sometimes, just having a fresh face on your scraptable, is just the creative boost you need. well, i have had layouts published with megan's three youngest kids. the two little ones have been on a few published layouts, one of which even landed on the cover of creating keepsakes once. but raygan hadn't made it yet. and being the mom of girls, i know that it's easy to be a little jealous and unsure of yourself sometimes. so when i got this assignment, i asked megan to send me some photos of raygan, so that i could give her her moment in the magazine. i still remember how excited and grateful raygan was, when i showed her a peek at my finished layout. i was secretly more nervous to get her approval, than the magazine. lol!

back to the layout. my assignment was to set a timer for 50 minutes. this is a great challenge, for those of us that spend way too much time picking out products or making decisions on our layouts. i was also asked to stop every 10 minutes, and if i was stuck on something, make a quick decision and move on. i was asked to take some photos of my process along the way. since they didn't end up getting used for the magazine, i figured i would share them here. give you a little insight into how my mind works ;)

 

i had so many great photos to choose from, and honestly, i wanted to use them all. i started my two page layout, with seven 4x6 photos. i laid four vertical photos going across the upper part of the pages, and then three horizontal photos going up and down the second page. i had picked out that strip of pattern paper, that had all the colors from raygan's outfit. lots of earth tones. browns, yellows, greens, oranges, and turquoise.

 

i was digging around for some embellishments. something to really get the layout going. i've mentioned that i always start my layouts with white cardstock (which does get changed out to colors, or covered up sometimes). then it's photos and pattern paper. but then i usually look for something cool, to really give the layout it's direction. this time, it was this chipboard filmstrip, from an older "mix it up" CK kit of the month. i love how it tied into the vintage camera that raygan had in her photos. and it ended up fitting perfectly, under three of the 4x6 photos. which is why i ended up taking one photo off the layout.

 

once i knew i was using the filmstrip, i moved my polka dot pattern paper strip above the vertical photos, instead of below them. i found a coordinating orange pattern paper to go below the filmstrip. a woodgrain pattern paper to go along the photos on the second page. and a fun text pattern paper to go along the side of the first page. i had picked out some puffy letter stickers for my title. i knew i wanted to find some turquoise ribbon or trim to add to my layout. oddly enough, i didn't have much ribbon in that color. and i have a LOT of ribbon.

 

then i remembered this bloomer trim by webster's pages. this is one of those products that i sort of consider "too special to use". which is crazy, i know. i've gotten a lot better about that nowdays, and i don't hold on to much anymore. so glad i finally pulled this out to use, because it was perfect. and it added a ton of extra weight to that side of the layout. without this bulkier trim, the page was feeling a little flat.

 

for the filmstrip, i was thinking i would back each rectangle with some colored cardstock. i cut a few pieces, and tried it out. but it wasn't quite working for me. and i also had no clue what else i would put in each spot.

 

so i took the colored cardstock out, and adhered the filmstrip directly to the white cardstock background. and then i dug through my paper flowers and found flowers in all the same colors that were in the pattern papers and photos. once i had those picked out, i found some old metal flowers and a few fun buttons. i simply glue dotted them all down. nothing complicated.

 

and here's the final layout. the first page.

 

and the second page. all in all, a very simple layout. totally do-able in 50 minutes. believe me, this really did only take me that long. except maybe the journaling. that always ends up taking me longer. lol!

 

 

i seriously love this filmstrip. and filled up with flowers and buttons, it's even more cool. it would also be cool to put photos inside. which is probably the most logical choice for it.

 

and the journaling, written from her mother's point of view. i received this layout back last week, and it's on it's way to megan and raygan. i hope they love it :)

the organized & inspired scrapbooker - a CK giveaway

creating keepsakes has a new book out right now, called the organized & inspired scrapbooker. and let me tell you, it's a gorgeous book!

 

i'm a huge sucker for organization. and organizing scrapbooking supplies is one of my favorite things to organize. it's also a necessity. it's so easy to become overwhelmed and buried in pattern paper, stickers, and photos. and all the other goodies that we use to preserve our memories. which is why i feel it's so important to stay organized, and come up with a plan for what works for you and the scrap space that you're working with.

and this book is full of great ideas and tips. it originally came out a few years ago, and was a hardcover book. just in case a few of you think it might look a bit familiar ;) there are 176 pages, filled with ideas. everything from finding your organizing style, organizing your supplies and tools, finding a system for your photo storage, organizing memorabilia, and so much more. and lots of photos of all different kinds of scraproom and studios.

here's a peek into a few pages from the book.

 

 

 

if you're thinking about ordering a copy of this gorgeous book, i have a coupon code to share with you. it's the same one that i mentioned last week, for the digital book. just use coupon code DS25DT, to get free shipping on orders of $25 or more (expires 2/11/11).

and creating keepsakes has provided me with a copy of the organized and inspired scrapbooker to give away to one lucky blog reader. all you need to do, is leave me a comment, telling me one simple organizing tip. i'll leave comments open until thursday night, and will announce a winner on friday morning.

and to go along with this theme, i also wanted to share that it is organization week (click to see what they have planned for the week) over on the CK editors blog, as well as the CK club site. check back in each day to see what they have going on.

today, on the CK blog, you'll find all sorts of tips and ideas for storing scrapbooking tools. i think i even spotted a few storage tips from my own scraproom ;) i have a few storage and organization posts planned for this week too.

guest blogger: CK blog

i'm guest blogging over on the creating keepsakes blog today. did you know that CK has papercrafting kits now? well, i had a chance to play with the new everyday moments mini album kit. not to make a mini album, but to create a layout and a card. you can check it all out on the CK blog, and also enter for your chance to win one of two kits they are going to give away. 

 

first birthday - a CK layout

have you all gotten your january 2011 issue of creating keepsakes yet? i'm so excited for all the great things that they have planned for the magazine this year. and i think the january issue was a fantastic start to the new year.

 
as seen in the January 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

i should have re-taken the photos of this layout. forgot i had a huge glare on that second page. lol! i knew i was creating a birthday layout for this assignment, so i dug way back for some really old birthday photos. this was sarah's 1st birthday, over 10 years ago. which hopefully, explains my hair style ;)

 

when i work with older photos from my film days, for assignments, i will usually dig out the negatives and get reprints made of them. i have three huge binders full of my negatives, all organized by date. so it's easy enough for me to find the ones i need. and most of the time, when i get reprints made, the photos turn out a lot lighter than my originals. which is nice.

 

i used lots of the design shop 3-d stickers, from making memories. the felt cupcake, the cute little banner, the cupcake tower, and the chipboard accent on the second page. all easy to use stickers.

 

i created confetti for my layout, using a regular hole punch and a small circle punch. i picked out a few colors of cardstock, that matched my strip of pattern paper along the bottom of the layout. and then i punched out a TON of circles. then i randomly adhered them along both sides of the spread. i used super teeny tiny pop dots to adhere some of the small circles.

 

i don't think i have ever split a title in between the two pages of a spread. no idea why not. it looks totally fine. maybe my next step will be to split a photo in between the two pages. that idea still scares me. lol!

 

just a random side note, that just caught my eye, seeing this photo above. see those garlands hung up on the fence, in the photo? those were made with cardstock. i remember i cut a TON of cardstock strips, and then made the paper rings, all strung together. i made a huge amount of these, to hang on our fences along the backyard. i'll have to remember that simple idea for the next party :)

together in one spot: a CK/MM layout

i was asked to create a layout for making memories a while back, that was to be featured in an upcoming creating keepsakes publication.

 
as seen in 101+ Creative Ways To Use Your Scrapbook Supplies, by Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

another two pager. yes, i do create a LOT of two pagers for CK. i used some favorite photos from our christmas 2008 get together with my family. i know, at first glance, this isn't necessarily a christmas layout. these photos were all taken on christmas, so i guess it kind of takes the place of one for this particular year. and want to know a secret? i NEVER scrap christmas photos. maybe one or two, for a sample layout here or there. but i never take the time to scrap our christmas holidays. i have years and years worth of christmas photos, just waiting to be scrapped.

 

sometimes, i honestly have no clue how i come up with my titles. lol! usually, it's partially decided by how much room i have left myself to put my title. since it's one of the last things i do. sometimes, it's decided by what letters i have to work with. i came up with the "one spot", and then later worked in the "together in", which i think made for a cute title.

 

i was asked to focus my layout around their new metal embellishments. just about ALL the metal embellishments on here, except the photo turns, were from a new release at the time i created this. one of my favorite things were the pagemarks. i went back and forth on how i was going to work them onto my layout. then i had the idea to make flaps for extra photos, and to use the ribbon pagemarks as the "handle" to lift up the flap.

 

my photos underneath the flap, take up the same space as the photos on the top. to make the flap, i adhered my photos to a piece of cardstock. then i trimmed it down, so that i had an extra 3/4 an inch on both ends. on that extra cardstock right beneath the photos, i adhered my ribbon pagemark.

 

on the other end, i scored the cardstock right above the photos, and then folded it over, and adhered that behind the photos on the layout. you notice the photo turns there on the left side of the photos? i added those, with some rhinestone brads, to hold the flap shut.

 

i did the same thing on the second page of the spread. 

 

the only difference, is that i flip-flopped my flap. say that ten times fast. lol! i used the pagemark at the top, and had it open downward.

making a flap, is a great way to get additional photos on your layout. sure, i could have used these inside photos right on the pages. but one reason i wanted to hide a few, is so that i didn't have to worry about the colors matching. or the santa hat that sarah's wearing look out of place with these papers and products. or the blurry photos, that didn't turn out great. i just tucked all those photos inside, and worked the favorites onto the main part of the page.

want to know another secret? i actually scrapped our 2007 christmas this weekend. and because of all the color issues, i changed everything to black and white. you'll see it on friday ;)

things we do together - a creating keepsakes layout

first up, the lucky winner of the bella blvd giveaway goodies. the random number generator chose #35, which means debbie tope is our lucky girl! congrats debbie! email me your mailing address, and i'll get that mailed out to you in the next few days.

 
as seen in 101+ Creative Ways To Use Your Scrapbook Supplies, by Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

figured that since we're talking bella blvd, it would be a good time to share this layout with you, since it has some of their great pattern papers on it. that brown circle paper is one of my absolute favorites, from the man of the house collection. and the flower paper is from the all inclusive collection.

 

my layout was featured, to show how to use faux metal accents on your pages. those chipboard circles have foil butterflies printed on them. and it does make it look like i added metal butterflies. i love premade embellishments that look this cute and are so easy to use.

 

but here's a little secret for you. i actually created this layout to show how to use a multiple amount of frames on your page, and how to use them for your journaling. that was what my assignment was, but they must have switched the focus of it up a bit for the final issue.

 

i used a fun mix of chipboard frames, clear acrylic frames (backed with cardstock), and glitter sticker frames.

 

to work the journaling into the frame, i simply measured how big the opening was. i created a text box on my document, that was the size of the opening. then i typed up my text so that what i wanted to journal would fit in the box. 

i'll be back tomorrow with a gift giving project share. and don't forget to leave a comment on my other giveaway, if  you havn't already. you have until thursday night.

decorations - a creating keepsakes layout

please tell me we're not the last family to put up our christmas decorations? lol! we havn't even gotten our boxes out of the attic yet. this weekend. that's my plan, and hopefully i will stick to it. but i can give you a peek at what my decorations will look like, with this layout that was featured in the december issue of creating keepsakes.

 
as seen in the December 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

i created this layout for an article on how to bring "light" onto our layouts. and i choose to highlight glitter. which is sort of funny, since i live in fear of glitter. i mean, i LOVE the look of glitter. but it's messy. it ends up everywhere. i find it on my family members, even when they weren't involved in my layout making process. lol!

 

a great way to incorporate glitter into our projects, is to use pre-made products that are already glittered. no messing with glue and loose glitter. the work is done for you. sure, you're still going to have glitter falling off of some products. it happens. but i can deal with a small amount of glitter, for the sake of a cute layout. i used some silver glitter chipboard letters for my title. my buttons have glitter in them. i have green glittered foam tree stickers. my brads are glittered.  and this pattern paper you see here, has red glitter dots on it.

 

how cute are those strung lights? i had to use them. they just called my name. the journaling is true. we don't put a lot of decorations up around the house. we have the tree of course. a 7 foot slim artificial one that we've had for years, and i love. perfect slim size, for our house. and we decorate the mantel above the fireplace. and the entry table by the front door. that's usually about it. of course, i start seeing other people post photos of their homes, decorated from top to bottom. and it makes me wish that i did a little more. someday. 

 

and if you noticed that the detail shots above looked a tad bit different than my layout up top, there's a reason. here is my original layout, which had a different dotted pattern paper and the photos were also right next to each other. they asked me to change out the paper to a small dot print, and mat the photos to seperate them a bit. i like the one that is featured in the magazine. but i really did like this one here too. it felt a little different for me, but i thought it was quite fun.

and speaking of creating keepsakes, have you seen THIS POST on their blog this week? they're doing the "12 days of scrapbooking giveaways". and today is the third day. you'll have to check it out, and see what is being featured each day. some days, it's free stuff for everyone. some days, there are winners selected from the comments. but lots of good stuff going on there. so make sure and stop by today, check it out, and then stop back by the next 9 days as well :)

all girl mini golf - a creating keepsakes layout

after another weekend on the soccer field, i'm still trying to catch up on life. that was our last weekend. for now, at least. lol! i need to do some soccer posts, about the girls seasons. it's on my mental list of "things to do". we'll see how long it takes me to actually do it ;)

 
as seen in the Paper Palooza issue of Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

somehow, i missed sharing this layout from months ago. these were some photos of the girls from last summer, mini golfing with two of their friends. i thought the pattern papers, by crate paper, were a perfect match. and i love the texture on their papers. if i could change one thing on this layout, it would be the title. i've mentioned that the title is usually one of the last things i add to a layout, next to the journaling. well, this was definately a last minute addition. and i didn't love it. but it's done, and that's all that matters, right? and i do believe that i added a few more butterflies to the pocket, before sending it to the magazine. must not have taken a new photo, after making my changes.

 

the idea here, was to make pockets with the layers of pattern paper, so that you could tuck things inside. i cut strips of pattern paper all the same length, but in varying heights. i started at the top, and worked my way down, only putting adhesive on the bottom and the sides of each strip of paper. then i added lots of rhinestone brads to the ends, to secure them. since i don't have adhesive on the top of each strip, it forms small pockets. this is where i slipped in the tags, with each of the girls names. i'll be honest with you. i don't have anything written on them. lol! if they had kept score for their mini golf game, i would have written that on there. but they didn't, so i just left them blank.

supplies: pattern paper (Crate Paper), chipboard title (Making Memories), rhinestone brads (Making Memories), butterfly embellishments (Making Memories), glitter letter stickers & tiny alpha stickers (Making Memories)

I Can Finally Share

I remember about a year ago, when I got to share some exciting news. And I am so, so, so lucky, to be sharing another round of exciting news today! The 2011 Creating Keepsakes Magazine Dream Team has been announced! I have had such an awesome time this past year, working with all the fabulous editors at CK, and alongside a talented group of ladies. And I was so honored and thrilled to be invited back again, for the upcoming year. There are some familiar faces on the team, and some new faces that I have been getting to know better over the last few months. It's going to be a fabulous year!

Check out the 2011 Creating Keepsakes Dream Team:

Joey Manwarren 
Kim Watson
Laura Vegas
Linda Barber
Maggie Holmes
Nichol Harper
Piradee Talvanna
Stacy Cohen
Susan Weinroth
Suzy Plantamura

And the 2011 Creating Keepsakes Contributing Editors:

Cindy Tobey
Deena Wuest 
Mandy Douglass  
Mou Saha

Thank you Creating Keepsakes for allowing me to continue this amazing experience!

nice job - a creating keepsakes accent

i have a project to share with you today, from the 101+ creative ways to use your scrapbook supplies idea book.

 

as seen in the 101+ Creative Ways to Use Your Scrapbook Supplies special issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

i created this accent piece to demonstrate the use of debossing on our projects. debossing is the opposite of embossing, which is raising up an image or element. so when you deboss, you're actually pressing the image or element down. i used the chip art tool by melody ross, for GCD studios, for my debossing.

 

i started by painting my 4 inch chipboard coaster with turquoise paint, giving it a good two coats and then letting it dry. then i choose a orange and white dot pattern paper, and tore off teeny tiny pieces. I lightly spritzed the painted chipboard piece with water, to soften up the chipboard some. then i placed a torn piece of pattern paper down, put the die over it, and hammered it down about 4-5 each. this embedded the paper into the chipboard.

the water helped to hold the paper in place, and then i just gently tore off the excess paper that wasn't embedded down. it was really simple to do, and the paper tore off so easily, leaving behind the parts inside the chipboard. to make sure the paper didn't go anywhere, once it was dry, i brushed a layer of mod podge over the entire chipboard piece. it also gave the accent a finished and glossy look.

 

then i just added a few embellishments to finish off the accent. the "nice job" accent was feature in the special issue, along with step-by-step instructions. the "best friends" accent was my original design for the assignment. but they had too many flower accents already lined up, so i created another version with the stars.

 

supplies: chipboard coasters by bazzill basics, pattern paper by making memories, chipboard stars by american crafts, felt flowers by american crafts, ribbon by lil davis and making memories, brads by making memories, tags by making memories, scalloped punch by stampin up, chip art tool by GCD studios, paint by making memories

ice cream - a creating keepsakes layout

tonight, i have a layout share from the october issue of creating keepsakes magazine.

 

as seen in the October 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

when i got this assignment, i was asked to add something fun to stickers on my layout. so when i went to start my layout, the first thing i did was look for some stickers that i could spruce up. i didn't want to go with letter stickers, because that seemed to easy of an idea. when i found these ice cream stickers from doodlebug, i knew they'd be perfect. and i knew just the photos that i could use.

and yes, these are OLD photos. i'm trying to remember if this was before sarah was born, or after. it's from at least 11 years ago. back then, alyssa used to love mint chocolate chip ice cream. she even used a toy ice cream thing to eat it with. lol! she stopped eating ice cream years ago. no idea why. because the rest of us love it. sarah has it every night, at exactly 8:00pm. joe usually only has it on his night's off. hard to have it before bed, when you go to sleep at 9:00am. and i have mine late at night, when the girls are in bed and joe's at work. i digress with the ice cream talk. back to the layout.

 

i thought all these ice cream and sprinkle stickers would be cute all lined up across the layout, making a fun border. and i added diamond glaze to them, which gives them the look of epoxy stickers. on some of the stickers, i covered the entire thing with diamond glaze. on others, i only put the diamond glaze on the actual ice cream scoop, and not the cone. i added about 3 layers of diamond glaze, to really get the look that i wanted.

 

i know this shot makes the yellow sticker look a little cloudy. but they really did turn out nice, and i think the look so similiar to epoxy stickers. such a simple way to spiffy up your stickers, and give them a new and fun look.

i will give you one little tip, if you decide to try this. let the diamond glaze dry. let it dry for a while. do NOT attempt to finish other parts of your layout, before letting the diamond glaze dry. i'll be more specific. do NOT attempt to staple your ribbon onto the title part of your layout, and hold the layout up in the air to push the prongs back. because if the diamond glaze is not fully dry, it WILL run and drip down your layout. and then you will have to figure out how to fix it. i can't tell you how i know this. i just do ;)

and with that, i'm off to have my nightly bowl of ice cream. french vanilla, with hershey's chocolate syrup. and i let it sit out for at least 15 minutes, so that it's all super soft and soupy. that's the way i love it :)

and just a head's up. do you like fabric? do you like the slice and diecutting? do you want some fun project ideas? make sure and check back in over the weekend. i have some fun stuff to share. and so does THIS girl ;)

some making memories halloween shares + a winner

i just now remembered that i had said i would share my top product picks, when i announced the winner of 101+ creative ways to use your scrapbook supplies. but it's almost 1:00am, and i'm too tired to make my picks and write about them. lol! so i will have to get that over the weekend, or next week. i'm thinking my 10 favorite tools will be a good thing to cover too. so, on to the winner. the random number generator (who thinks it's 8:00am, but it's 1:00am here) has choosen:

 
Do I really have to choose?? What a hard decision.....I guess I have to go with patterned paper.....But that can always change! ;) Can't wait to get my hands on this magazine! Love your LO & Jennifer's ideas are always awesome!! Posted by: Sara Rossi | October 04, 2010 at 03:49 PM

congrats sara! email me your mailing address, and we will get that mailed out to you :)

 

i was really excited to see these lanterns up on the making memories site, and on the blog. i had such fun making these last month. i never tried putting lights inside of them. i just held them up to the window as i was creating them. so i loved seeing that they worked so well, and am thinking i might need to make another set to display in my own house. lol! you can watch THE VIDEO on the making memories blog, to learn how one of these was created.

 

i had shared a few 6x6 halloween layouts around CHA time. but in case you don't remember them, you can check them out HERE.

 

and here's another VIDEO, on how to create this fun halloween card. i thought the little paper doll pattern paper was so cute. takes me back to the days of punching out the dolls, and all the clothes, dressing them, and then pushing the little tabs down on the back to hold them in place. so cute.

wait for it - a layout

i feel like i've been super sporatic with what i'm sharing lately. i've lost track of what i have, where i have it, what i've shared, and what i need to share. i finally took out a good old-fashioned, regular piece of paper. and i made lists of everything i've been creating. and columns to keep track of whether i've blogged it, added it to this gallery or that gallery, etc. and i make check marks. with a pen. love it. we'll see if that helps. anyways. today, i have another layout from the scrapbooking tips & tricks: tools & techniques issue, by creating keepsakes magazine.

 
as seen in the Tools & Techniques issue of Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

i knew i wanted to create a summer layout, when i got my assignment, and these photos of alyssa have always been favorites of mine. in fact, that third photo (the largest on the page) actually won a photo contest ages ago. these photos were taken about 8 years ago. i can't remember what random magazine it was in, but i got a prize and everything. i should dig out the magazine, since i know i have it somewhere.

i also knew that i wanted to use the all inclusive collection, from bella blvd. the collection was new at the time i created this, and i just loved it. the colors, the patterns, everything. i went with the glitter chipboard alphas by doodlebug, because i wanted to pull in more of the darker blue to match that strip of polka dot pattern paper. and because i love those chipboard letters. and i even got crazy on this layout, and i did NOT start it with a sheet of white cardstock. lol! about 94% of my layouts start with me pulling out the white cardstock. i like that i went with colors.

 

my assignment was to use a template to make my own journaling spots. i used two acrylic maya road journaling spots as my template. i used to have a lot of templates, back in the day, but had gotten rid of most of them over the years. but anything that you can trace onto a piece of paper, can be considered a template. in my opinion, at least :)

 

for the sun, i traced around the template, onto white cardstock and cut it out. then i adhered that to orange pattern paper, and freehand cut around it, leaving a thin border of the orange paper showing. for the little points of the sun, i drew one freehand onto the turquoise pattern paper, and then cut it out. i then used that to cut out a bunch more of them. just paper pieced it all together. i actually did journal right in the middle of the sun, but i messed up. i simply cut a circle of white cardstock, and adhered it over my mistake. looks like it was meant to be that way.

for the second journaling spot, i traced around my other template, onto white cardstock and cut it out. adhered that onto black cardstock, and cut around, leaving a thin border of the black showing. i drew lines with a pen onto both of the journaling spots, to mimic the look of the journaling spots i was using as my templates. and because they helped me write in straight lines ;)

supplies: all inclusive skipping stones pattern paper by bella blvd, all inclusive ocean view pattern paper by bella blvd, all inclusive bits of bella pattern paper by bella blvd, all inclusive bookin beach pattern paper by bella blvd, all inclusive alpha & stickers bits by bella blvd, new england clam chowder stickers by jillibean soup, acrylic journaling spots by maya road, glitter chipboard letters by doodlebug designs, brads by making memories 

all smiles - three takes on one layout

i wanted to share one of my recent assignments with you. the following three layouts were featured in the october issue of creating keepsakes magazine. the challenge issued to me, was to create a 10 minute layout. and then to step it up, to a 15 minute layout. and then again, to a 20 minute layout.

 
as seen in the October 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

you might think a 10 minute layout is impossible. but it's not. granted, i may have put more than 10 minutes into creating this layout, given that i was creating it for publication and wanted it to be just right. the truth is, my layouts and my process DO take me more time to come up with and put together. but at the same time, i think my layouts come off very do-able. i've been told that by numerous people, and i know exactly what they're saying. i'm not an overly complicated scrapper. sure, i have my moments where i like to do some techniques or use a bunch of goodies on one page. but i think my layouts are easy enough to duplicate, with your own photos and supplies that you have on hand.

you can totally create this layout in 10 minutes.  don't believe me? try it and see. take out 2 4x6 photos, a piece of cardstock, 2 strips of pattern paper or die cut paper, a journaling page, a piece of ribbon, 2 stickers, and a pen. what's that? you want instructions? no problem, they're right HERE. throw it all down, and it just might end up looking like my layout above. and then high-tail it back here, and show it to me ;)

 
as seen in the October 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

maybe you have more than 10 minutes. if you do, i'm extremely jealous. lol! maybe you have 15 minutes, and want to step up the layout a little bit. in addition to what i listed above, you also need one more sheet of cardstock, a few jewels, another sticker, and a stapler. instructions? sure, they're right HERE.

 
as seen in the October 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

say you're just all full of time, and have 20 whole minutes, and want to step it up even more than the last version. then simply add a full strand of jewels, an epoxy sticker, and some letter stickers. instructions are HERE.

if you do try out this little challenge, and find that it takes you a bit longer than 10, 15, or 20 minutes, then please don't hold it against me. lol! i really do believe that layouts can be quick and simple. and still look really cute. and i honestly believe these can be done in that amount of time. and if designers can do a little bit of the thinking part for you, use it to your advantage. take a layout, or an idea, or an element. and use it to create your own layout, with whatever you have on hand, and personalize it however you want :)

supplies: free spirit sunshine/purple peace dots pattern paper by little yellow bicycle, free spirit lace cut cardstock by little yellow bicycle ,free spirit journal tablet by little yellow bicycle, free spirit fabric favorite embellishments by little yellow bicycle, free spirit alpha & numbers cardstock stickers, free spirit fresh verse cardstock stickers, free spirit epoxy stickers by little yellow bicycle, 5 color polka ribbon by jillibean soup, pink crystals by zva creative

trendy sisters - a layout + a giveaway

i have another layout from the tools & techniques issue of scrapbooking tips & tricks magazine to share with you. this is a favorite of mine :)

as seen in the Tools & Techniques issue of Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

 
i got to work with some fun new things from stampin up on this layout. the color coach is a new tool to help in the color selection process. "let this coach help you put together custom color schemes to express your unique creativity. whether you want a quick reference of all colors in a collection, a card for every color, or blank cards to record your own color combinations, this swatch book is for you!"

the color combo that i choose to work with was tempting turquoise, old olive, and pumpkin pie.

i wanted to use these photos of the girls that i took at the beginning of the year. they had pulled these outfits together on their own. the same exact thing, just in opposite colors. the dug out sunglasses, bracelets, a necklace, and even fun colored hair pieces. the biggest reaon that i love these photos so much, is because it shows how much fun they can have together when they want too. how well they can get along. and how happy they can be.

 

my lovely ink pads in the coordinating colors for the papers. and the 2 stamps that i choose to use. the woodgrain background stamp is from hero arts, and the polkadot flower petal is from stampin up. there are more flower petals in the set, but i just wanted to use the polkadot one. 

i stamped the flower petal in all three colors, numerous times, onto white cardstock. then cut each one out, leaving a little white border around each. i adhered the first petal, and then just kept layering them around, overlapping the center points just a tad bit. you can barely see it, but i have a turquoise metal rim tag in the flower center. then adhered the polkadot flower, and the button with mini brads in the holes. i created the stem from a doodlebug paper frill, tieing some string around it for a little added interest.

i layered a printed transparency sheet on top of the green cardstock. the transparency has small green leaves going all across it, and added a nice suble touch to the cardstock.

i used the woodgrain background stamp on the orange and turquoise cardstock strips. using the same color ink, gives a nice tone-on-tone look to it. very subtle. then i added some fun ribbons. the orange gingham ribbon is one of my absolute favorites from making memories. the black velvet rick rack, and the turquoise lace trim are both from rusty pickle (no longer in business. sorry).

my generous friends at stampin up, have given me these 2 sets of stamps to give away to two of my lucky blog readers (one for each winner). i have the "vintage voque" set, and the "tiny tags" set. both are clear mount, rubber stamps. if you'd like to have a chance for these, just leave me a comment and i'll randomly draw a winner on friday morning :)

first day of class - a layout

i have a layout from the tools & techniques issue of scrapbooking tips & tricks magazine to share with you today. i have quite a few things from that issue to share actually. i might be tossing up quite a few layouts on the blog this week ;)

as seen in the Tools & Techniques issue of Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks magazine. copyright creative crafts group. posted with prior permission from the publisher.

my assignment involved using the new chip art tool by melody ross, for GCD studios. the basic idea of this tool, is that it debosses chipboard. if you watch THIS VIDEO, it gives you a good look at the steps involved in this technique.

to get started, you need a few tools and accesories. the chip art block, a chip art mallet, a chip art spray bottle (you could use any spray bottle, but this one does have a perfect mist to it, and it's cute), and a tool handle (there are two sizes, depending which stamps you're using). they also sent me the sparrow uppercase alphabet set to work with (which includes the tool handle), along with the medium chipboard shapes and the medium chipboard frames. 

since i only had the alphabets to work with, i decided to do a school layout. these photos are from the girls first day of school, last year (2009). i know this  might not be typical school colors. i go with what the girls wear, and their backpacks. so last year, it was pink, green, blue, and purple.

 

i thought this large chipboard frame would be cute with the alphabet stamped all around it. this did take me a while to do, since i had to switch the letters one by one as i stamped them. and yes, the mallet is loud. there's nothing quiet about this tool. lol! i then misted the frame, in small sections at a time. you want to moisten up the chipboard a little, but you also don't want it too damp. then i used the mallet to stamp the die into the chipboard, creating a "debossed" look. 

after i went around the entire frame, i was ready to paint. i choose to go with purple, and i'm pretty sure i used two coats of paint. i wanted the letters to be white, so i mixed up some white paint with some mod podge. took some experimenting on the ratios, since i couldn't remember exactly how it was done. i ended up with 1/4 paint, and 3/4 mod podge. i brushed that mixture over the frame, getting it in all the debossed areas.

then i used a paper towel to wipe off the excess. this left the white paint in just the debossed areas, and lightened up the purple paint a little bit. which was good, since it was a little bright to begin with. then i did brush a layer of just mod podge over the frame, to give it a shiny look. 

i'm not sure i should even tell you how many times it took, to get this piece right. lol! i started with an entirely different shape. i was eyeballing if the "alyssa eighth grade" and "sarah fifth grade" would fit like i wanted. and messed up on that once. i also spelled "eighth" wrong once, and didn't realize it until i was done doing the paint and everything. i think i spelled "fifth" wrong once too. doesn't help when you're working backwards, even though i wrote it on paper to try and help me. lol! but as you can see, i did eventually get it all done right ;)

supplies:
pattern paper: jillibean soup, creative cafe, scenic route
journaling card: creating keepsakes KOTM
letter stickers: doodlebug, making memories
rubon stitches: daisy d's
brads: making memories
star punch: stampin up
paint: making memories
tools: chip art, by GCD

and i had to show this too. this is the necklace that i made with the chip art tool at CHA, last january. they were doing these for their make and takes. my good friend lynn was working it, and i could always find the booth by listening for the hammering. lol! we used the chip art rectangle metal pendant accesory kit and the butterflies ornamental stamp. i really, really love this necklace. i just think the style is fun and casual, which suits me well. i really need to get some more of the pendant accesory kits, so that i can make some more of these. and a random piece of info? i LOVE these jeans :)

my utah trip scrapped

i finally got around to scrapping my trip to utah, from two years ago. this was a trip that my friend deneen and i won, from the golden ticket contest that creating keepsakes put on, back in 2008. we won a 2 night, 3 day trip to utah (which we turned into a 4 day, 3 night trip). we got to visit the CK offices, meet the staff, have a personal tour of the offices and have lunch with lisa bearnson (the founder of the magazine). we also worked in a visit to the making memories offices, lunch with a bunch of great internet friends, and some awesome warehouse sales. i blogged every detail of this trip, which can be seen HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

since i was so great about blogging the trip as it happened, and including all the photos in my posts, we thought for sure that we would have this trip scrapped right when we got back home. we even had a plan of sorts. we had some papers and embellishments picked out to use. we had plans of doing mini albums. i actually do think that deneen started her's. i remember her showing me something not too long ago. but i never did get around to it. but as of this past weekend, i can say that it's done. different from what i had originally planned. but i'm happy with how it turned out. this is how my stack of stuff looks in my album. love the varying sizes of page protectors going on.  

i decided to use the pack your bags collection, from little yellow bicycle. i loved the bright colors, and their collections always have so many embellishments to chose from, that make putting layouts together so effortless. since the majority of our photos had a lot of dark colors, i chose to chance them all to black and white. i know black and white can still be dark. but it opens up all sorts of color choices, when choosing products.

since i had a lot of photos, i printed the majority of them in the 2x3 inch size. i love that size photo. and then i chose two of my main photos to print as regular 4x6 prints. i lined up two rows of the 2x3 photos, going across both pages of the layout. so i was able to fit 16 photos on here, in addition to the two 4x6 photos. so 18 photos total.

once i adhered down the photos, i started building the page around them. adding some strips of pattern paper below the 2x3 photos, and also above them. adding a larger piece of pattern paper to the top half of the layout. i carried all the papers from one page to the other, so that it all tied together.

i added a fun journaling page to the top corner of the first page, where i knew i was going to add my title. i picked out two fun chipboard titles, and combined them along with some letter stickers, for my title. on the "escape" piece, it had two notches at the top. so i added some blue twill through them, along with a few mini brass brads. makes it look like it's hanging from the top of the layout. then added a fun arrow sticker, a chipboard car sticker, and a clear airplane piece.

if i ever too the time to plan ahead, i could easily have put four 2x3's on a 4x6 canvas, and print as one 4x6 photo. then i would have just adhered four 4x6 photos, going across the page. which would still give you those same 16 photos. but i wasn't that prepared. so i printed these all as 4x6's (with 4 smaller pics on each), and then cut them all apart, arranged them on the layout how i wanted them, and then adhered them down.

i adhered a fun journaling page, and hand journaled my top 10 memories from the trip. i know i have "lunch" on there twice. but we had a great lunch with lisa bearnson, and then a great lunch with our friends. also added some cute chipboard suitcases. i didn't feel the need to journal too much on my layout. i already had a plan for getting the story in the album.

supplies:
LYB pack your bags blue woodgrain paper, LYB pack your bags compass paper, LYB pack your bags orange hexagon paper, LYB pack your bags 6x6 decorative edged paper, LYB pack your bags chipboard embellishment stickers, LYB pack your bags favorite pieces cardstock stickers, LYB pack your bags clear cut shapes, LYB pack your bags epoxy stickers, LYB pack your bags journal tablet, LYB pack your bags word chipboard stickers

i'm so glad that i took the time to blog about every single part of this trip, as it happened. not sure about you all, but i forget most of the things that happen in my life. lol! i love that almost two years later, all the details were there on my blog to look back on. i simply copy and pasted all my journaling from those four blog posts, into a word document.

i wanted to use ali edwards, the story of today 8.5x11 overlays, to go with my journaling. i found it easiest to print the overlay onto white cardstock first. i then set up my journaling to fit the empty space on the overlay, by holding up the paper to the screen and doing some eyeballing and measuring. yes, i eyeball and measure all at once. i'm talented like that. lol! once it was set up, i printed my journaling right onto the cardstock page with the overlay on it. and i did use the correct days overlay, to go with what day of the trip it was.

for example, the journaling here is from friday, december 5th, 2008. it prints the day in bold print, and then i simply circled in with a pen. i hand wrote the date on the bottom. then i added a strip of coordinating pattern paper (from the layout) to the empty space above the date. i ended up with 5 pages of journaling, all taken from my blog, word for word. i added those to the album, in 8.5x11 page protectors.

even though i got most of our photos onto the two page layout, i still wanted to include the original photos in the album. that may seem redundant, to have them in there twice. but this was a very special trip, and i wanted them in there. plus, i might scrap a few of these photos again. i have always had the intention of scrapping about winning the contest, or getting those two golden tickets, or meeting lisa. or doing a layout about some of the great friends that i've made online, and about meeting them in real life. so the photos are here, and when i'm ready to scrap addition pages, i know exactly where to find things. and if i don't get around to extra layouts, everything will still be here, in one spot.

had to include my golden ticket, signed my lisa herself.

we totally missed out on having lisa bearnson sign anything for us, after meeting her and hanging out at lunch with her. so we later emailed and asked if she could possible sign something for us. she wrote us little notes on 4x6 pieces of white cardstock, and mailed them to each of us. and see that "loved seeing your published work"? i'm curious if she looked me up at some point, after meeting. i remember mentioning it at our lunch, about how i had submitted for years and entered every hall of fame contest, without any luck at all. guess my luck turned around months and months down the road, when i finally caught someone's eye at CK :)

 

i used the 12x12 divided page protectors, by we r memory keepers, to hold all the photos.

such great friends, that i was so happy to meet in real life for the first time. loved spending time with industry friends that "get" what it's all about, and the craziness of what we do.

and last, but not least, were the odds and ends that i still had from the trip. my plane ticket, a utah road map, my luggage tag, the hotel room key, the envelope that the golden ticket came in, and a few 5x7 photos that i had already printed. i wanted to keep this all together, so i stuck everything inside of a 6x12 page protector, by american crafts.

i think that about does it. that was a whopper of a post. lol! and stay tuned, because i have another post planned for tomorrow. it's a big one. school album related. and it might even include a video ;)