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Showing posts with label Anerican Crafts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anerican Crafts. Show all posts

Monday, July 13, 2015

Kit Review: Scrapbook Circle

Prior Reviews

It's another Monday and time for another kit review.  I have been lucky enough to win both the May and July kits from Scrapbook Circle.  My plan was to work with the May kit this week, but when the July kit showed up on my doorstep, plans changed.  So I played with the July kit from Scrapbook Circle.


The kit had a great color palette that would lend itself to both bright and soft layouts.  Papers came from Crate Paper, Shimelle, Dear Lizzy and Pink Paislee.  The mix of embellishments was great too - The puffy stickers from SevenPaper are one of my recent favorites.  And I loved the Elle's Studio wood veneer pack.  (It made me wonder why I don't have more Elle's Studio in my stash.)  And the exclusive cork pieces were really fun.  The kit also came with an exclusive stencil which might help push me into experimenting with some of those mixed media supplies I've accumulated.

However, the only alphabet was the small tile style alpha from Shimelle.  I missed having a large scale alpha in the kit (although I have the world's largest collection of thickers and really don't need any more so that is really silly).  The kit does not include a stamp (important if you are a stamper)and does not include any cardstock - which doesn't bother me because I rarely use it.

These kits are not offered on a subscription basis - an interesting twist in a time when so many companies are focusing on securing commitments.  That's definitely an advantage in my book.  And they offer add-ons (including more pp and cardstock), cut files  and printables that coordinate with the kits.

My intention was to put together a layout that used some of the bright colors in this kit.  But I ended up with this layout emphasizing soft, pretty colors about my daughter helping me fix Thanksgiving dinner (2 and a half years ago - I might be a bit behind).

Design inspired by July 4th scraplift challenge at My Scraps and More
I added the doily, sequins and small pink alpha to the kit products for my layout. The label with the gold border made me really happy and I think I used almost an entire pack of the Elle's Studio wood veneers.  

The kit was lots of fun (the May kit is really pretty too) and I love that you don't have to make a commitment - I will be checking their website every month to see the kits and I am sure that some of them will be showing up on my doorstep in the future.  

Thanks for stopping by. 

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Problem Solving Through A Layout

We all scrapbook for different reasons - and if you are like me, maybe for a lot of reasons.  I scrapbook because I think those albums are important to pass on to my children down the road .  But even more importantly I have learned that I am happier if I find time to do something creative every day.  And sometimes, I scrapbook about a problem or concern that is on my mind.  I find it is a great way to organize my thoughts.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about work, retirement, and finding a balance in my life.  I haven't reached any momentous conclusions, but I know that I have work to do in this area.  So when Studio Calico's member challenge this week was to use a photo to indirectly document something, I chose to do a layout about work and how I feel about work. 


The journaling is very personal to me and not something I want to share with anyone.  So it is on that white tag sticking out behind the photo.  I stuck a library pocket to the back of the photo block so that the tag can go in and out easily.  I don't want to share the journaling right now - but I don't want my thoughts to be buried forever either.

Putting the layout together didn't resolve anything for me, but it did help me to organize my thoughts about the issues I want to address.  That's a step forward.  So next time you're worrying, try focusing on something creative as a way to think through your issues.  If nothing else, you will have some time to relax and play.

Thanks for stopping by.

Note:  The layout design was inspired by the April 4th sketch at My Scraps and More.