Poppy!

I read lots of challenges - looking for inspiration - but don't have time to do many of them.  And I read lots of design team calls - looking for courage to apply, but always chicken out.  This week has been no exception.

In the last few days I saw a sketch using lots of  tags. I loved the sketch, but can't find it back.  (I know - I need a better system, but I will share it with you when I find it.)  Then I read the Chic Tags Sunday challenge - incorporate gold into your project.  And then, to top it off, I saw a DT call from Little Yellow Bicycle looking for team members for a new line.

Then I happened to be in my LSS and saw the new LYB line, Poppy.  The colors are so bright and fresh, but still have a softness about them.  They really were my perfect summer palette.  I bought almost every piece of the collection they had.  Then I came home and made this layout.

I used papers from the collection and almost the entire package of these journaling tags - they were so much fun to layer. I used gold ink on some of the edges to help make them pop.   And I used the cardstock stickers to embellish one of the cork tags from the LYB Naturals line.

But my LSS didn't have the full line and since I am have tons of fun with transparent elements lately, I especially missed the clear cuts.  Fortunately I was able to add pieces from the clear cuts for the Just Because and Hello Fall Collections.

The colors in the Hello Fall pack were really perfect.

I also played with the vellum tape strips (a new product for me) and added some gold sequins and some MME Boy Crazy enamel dots (because who can do a layout without sequins and enamel dots).


Now I'm off to find that sketch and to read that DT call again.  Maybe this will be the time I enter?

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Non Traditional Pages About Places I Want To Visit

A while back, I did two non traditional pages for my This Is Me project, and last week I realized that I never shared them.  They were both simple and could be adapted for a lot of themes.  Today I'm sharing my page about travel dreams. 

The first was for a class challenge.  I chose to do a page about all the places I wanted to visit.  But I wanted to do more than a list - I wanted to document why I wanted to go visit those places.  I started with a glassine bag, printed a world map on blue handmade paper to put in the bag, and added pockets on the front and back to create the base of my page.  And then I added embellishments to make a bright, fun page.

The front

The back

To finish I used individual Project Life cards to document the places I wanted to go and the reasons why I wanted to visit those place.

Now the truth is, there are more than 10 places I would like to see, but this is a great start.  And I ended up loving this approach because it's so flexible.I can easily add other cards in the future for different places.

• If (hopefully when) I visit some of these places, I can create a similar page for places I have visit and I can use the back of the same cards as a brief documentation of taking the trip (at least when and a brief summary.)

•  I can easily add more cards to the page as other places make my priority list of places to visit.

Hope you're having a great Tuesday!

Going Pink with Atlantic and Lily Bee

I've never been a big fan of pink - it was just too over the top girly.  And my daughter was never very into pink either.  So the color pink rarely found its way into my stash or on to my layouts.  But then I got the papers in Studio Calico's new collection, Atlantic.


I love all of the papers - the kraft and gold is amazing and the vellum is my all time favorite vellum.  But I can't get enough of the pink and yellow papers in the collection.  They remind me of a sunrise on the beach. 

Seabrook

New Haven

South Hampton - I love the B side

Rockport - again I love the B side

And this piece of Lily Bee paper could have been made to coordinate,

Sweet Shoppe - Marshmellow

I've dug out lots of old beach pictures of my daughter when she was young to scrap with them - the soft colors in the photos and papers seem to be made for each other.

This is one of my favorites - I actually used the Heidi Swapp gold lame color shine like a pint to add the gold glimmer to the base sheet.  And I combined cameo Mister Huey's with the Color Shine to color the arrows to match.  And of course, no layout is complete without sequins and enamel dots (from Theresa Collins Summer Stories Line).

I'd love to know what papers are inspiring you lately.  Have a marvelous Monday!

Layering with Pop Off The Page

This month's class at Studio Calico is Pop Off The Page 2 - I missed the first class, so was thrilled to have a chance to take this one.  I am always trying to add dimension and texture to my pages and am excited to try new things.

This week's challenge was about layering with patterned papers. I love to add layers, but struggle with keeping a clean feel to the layout.  I tried layering in a horizontal pattern across the page for this layout.  It ends up adding lots of dimensions without getting too busy.

I started with this picture of my daughter - I love the vintage feel of the photo (even though it is only a few years old).

 I thought I'd share some lessons learned (even thought they may be obvious to you.)

1.  When you don't like an effect you create, don't give up.  I started this page by using gold lame color shine with a mask to create a background texture on white cardstock.  I hated the effect.  But when I wiped the mist of with a paper towel, I love the soft, beigey-gold color I ended up with.

2.  If your picture is dark, add some darker papers to balance the feel.

3.  Repeat patterns and colors.  I used some of the patterned papers more than once and repeated the gold color shine on the doily.

4.  Not everything has to glued down  - loose edges and pieces of trim add lots of interest and texture.  For instance, this gold ribbon is much prettier loose than fastened flat to the page.

5.  Add embellishments after you finish your layering.  Cluster small embellishments for bigger impact.  And mix up your embellishments - variety is way more interesting to the eye that a single style of embellishment.

6.  Repeat elements to tie the layout together.  I added a new piece of trim to the top of this layout, but layered with the resin flowers and the gold ribbon to tie it together.

I'd love to hear your tips and tricks for layering and making your layouts pop.  Hope you have a great Sunday.

This Is Me (Still)

Last month I took a great class at Studio Calico - This is Me.  The class was intended to help you put together an album about yourself.  I loved the idea, loved the class -- and got almost nothing done during the month. But I found even thinking about what to include a really rewarding way to think about where I am and where I want to go in the future.

I decided to use a SNAP binder for my album, but turned it on its side so it had a landscape orientation.  I shared the cover and my title page here.  I also did a couple of non-traditional pages about places I want to visit and how things change last month.  But mostly I didn't get past the cover.

The dividers I did broke my album up into a section on the basics (sort of just the facts), The Good (things I feel good about), Needs Work (things I want to improve on in the short run) and Goals and Dreams (big wishes, bucket list, and long term goals).   I don't think I shared these when I did them.

I used gesso, spray inks, washi tape, wood veneer and my favorite Amy Tangerine alphas on these.  And let me admit now that I love picking colors and patterns that appeal to me without considering the personality of people I'm scrapping about.  It is so fun!

Since I didn't get very far in April, I did promise myself that I would work on doing a few pages each month til I felt like I had a finished project.  Because the pages are small (6x8) they really go together quickly.  So yesterday I did two pages about things I feel good about - baking and my nook.

Dear Lizzie, Heidi Swapp, Studio Calico, Freckled Fawn, Simple Stories, Elles Studio - and inspired by the color challenge at Life Paper Scrapbook

Simple Stories, Heidi Swapp, American Crafts, Dear Lizzy, Elle's Studio, Basic Grey, Studio Calico.

Both of these projects started with Planetarium kits and add-ons which I supplemented to finish my pages.  And I have to admit that I am currently addicted to those Heidi Swapp arrows that resist spray inks. 

I have lots more to do in this album and will share as I get pages done.  I'm working hard to keep it fun and not become a task, so you never know when I'll have more to share.

Hope you had a chance to play today.  Enjoy the rest of your Saturday.

Using Project Life Cards on Traditional Layouts

I was excited to start Project Life this year.  I wanted to like it.  I had a hard to get subscription to the Studio Calico kit.  I bought an album, page protectors and grid cards with my Christmas money.  I bought little calendars to document what happens each day. 

But sorry - I know its not fashionable - but I hated it.  We don't do interesting things everyday- with teenagers, kids in college and 3 jobs between parents we don't even see each other every day.  And figuring out PL cards in pocket pages didn't give me the creative outlet I use scrapbooking for.  So I quit.

But I love the Studio Calico Project Life Cards.  The colors, patterns, and text are so fun!  And I like Elle's Studio cards and find other patterned paper intended to be cut into cards that I really love.  So I started thinking - grid design layouts are some of my favorite.  They tend to come together easily for me, they provide lots of opportunities for layering and using bits and pieces and always seem to look unique.  And wouldn't project life cards make those grid layouts even faster?  They would cut out lots of cutting.

As an experiment, I picked a piece of background paper, a photo and picked a theme - the end of my son's senior year.  Then I got out my PL cards and went to work.  This grid layout came together in about an hour, is visually appealing and says exactly what I want to say.

Here are some tips that seemed to make the process work for me.

1) Pick a base sheet and a color scheme before you pull out your cards. 

2) Make sure you use 1 card that can hold journaling.  (This is a great way to push yourself to add journaling to your pages.

3)  Pull some possible embellishments and scraps for layering before you start.  Don't forget vellum - your best friend when adding layers.

4) Don't be afraid to overlap your cards, embellishments and pictures - it adds depth and lots of visual interest.

5) Plan for your title - it should be part of the grid design, not an afterthought.

So try playing with those PL cards - I'd love to see your projects where you used PL cards in unexpected ways.  Have a fantastic Friday!

Simple Thank You Cards

I don't make cards very often - I just have a hard time getting the proportions right.  But I needed a couple of thank you cards and didn't have time to go to the store.  And I have a room full of supplies.  So I dug in and got to work.

The first card was for one of my daughter's friends. Elisabeth had some health problems this year and she brought her the homework on every one of the 30+ days she missed this year.  We wanted to give her an ITunes card to show our appreciation.  And the card needed to appeal to a  year old girl. 

So I dug out a kraft card base and an assortment of washi. I covered the card base with strips of washi to create a bright fun base.  Then I decided to use a shipping tag to add the sentiment.  I attached it with some bright color twine that was secured inside the card. 

I used a glassine bag on the inside of the card to cover the place where the twine was attached.  The gift card fit in there perfectly and created a finished look.

I also needed a card for her mother who drove her daughter to our house to drop off the homework all those days.  I wanted to make something pretty and sophisticated.  I started with a card base with a decorative edge on the front.  I added a strip of that beautiful ombre washi from Studio Calico to the insided of the card so the edge really stood out when the card was closed.  Then I went for these Amy Tangerine stitched vellum embellishments (some of my favorites and created a simple border design.  I added a layered sticker from Simple Stories and used Heidi Swapp alphas for the sentiment.

 

The end result was pretty and feminine.

And I had so much fun making these cards that I asked for a score board for Mothers Day.  I think I'll be making more cards in the future.

Hope you have a tremendous Thursday.