winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Thanks to all who entered! It was fun to read through all of your potential projects using this kit. Now, down to business. The winner of the Lemon Lush kit is...

Gina200 said...

These are gorgeous colors. I think I would scrapbook all the fun photos from last summer that I haven't quite got to yet - just ordered a big stack of photos so I'm ready to go!

February 24, 2015 at 6:14 AM

 

Congratulations Gina! Please send me an email (link's the the sidebar) and I'll ship out your prize ASAP! Enjoy!

DIY mini notebooks

Shall I share with you my latest post for the We R Memory Keepers blog? Alrighty then, here goes...

For years I've carried a mini notebook around in my purse. Despite how much I rely on modern technology (read my iPhone) my mini notebook always comes in handy for something--from keeping my preschooler entertained in the grocery store, to taking notes, to writing down funny things my kids say, to making grocery lists. Don't know what I'd do without one. So...when my current notebook ran out of paper of course I could have bought one at the store for a buck, but making one is so much more fun. And it looks cuter too!

I used some leftover Albums Made Easy 3x4 journaling cards from the Indian Summer collection to create my notebooks. The journaling cards make for quick and easy covers, and they break up the plain lined paper inside the notebooks as well. It was easy to find the journaling cards I was looking for in my Albums Made Easy Card Cabinet Organizer.

I simply trimmed down some 8x8 Chipboard to fit the 3x4 journaling cards and rounded the corners with my 3/8" Corner Chomper. I adhered the journaling cards to the chipboard, paying careful attention to the edges and corners.

Then I cut up some loose leaf lined paper into 3x4 pieces, rounded the corners, mixed in some journaling cards, and bound it all between the chipboard covers using my Cinch tool.

These little notebooks are for me to keep, but they'd make great little gifts for friends, neighbors, co-workers, or teachers. Creative cheers!

the power of creativity

"Art has the power to transform, to illuminate, to educate, inspire and motivate."
--Harvey Fierstein

Over the years I've had the chance to interact with crafters and scrapbookers from all over the world. As I've taught classes I've been inspired by many stories, and I've learned what crafting and scrapbooking means to some people.

One story consistently touches my heart and makes me feel even more glad to be involved in such an amazing hobby--scrapbooking and crafting brings hope and healing.

I've known some women that have serious struggles with health and depression, and who have endured some great losses and tragedies. For these women scrapbooking and crafting provide a sense of hope, healing, and inspiration. It's what they live for each day. It's what keeps them going.

That is powerful.

"Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting." --Edward de Bono

I have a dear friend and neighbor who is homebound and struggling with serious health issues. We recently had a conversation where she shared with me that each day part of what keeps her from losing her mind is her time in her scrapbooking room. I smiled when I heard that. I'm so blessed to participate in such a great endeavor.

That is powerful.

Scrapbooking and paper crafting has meant so many things to me. Friendships, learning, excitement, challenges, happiness, opportunity, fulfillment, connections, creativity, peace. It's something I look forward to each day. It gives me great pleasure and fulfillment. I love what it has brought into my life. I don't plan on changing that. Ever.

So, what do scrapbooking and paper crafts mean to you?

let's party layout

Today I'm sharing a fun new Echo Park Paper layout. While browsing through my photos the other day I found some from my daughter’s third birthday party in 2012. It was so fun to see her little smiling face, and I just had to scrapbook my favorite photo of her. 

The colors and celebratory theme of the photo fit perfectly with the fun new Anything Goes collection, so I pulled out some papers and embellishments from my stash and came up with this fun page.

This collection is full of awesome embellishments and journaling cards so I decided to create a collage design element on my page, and then sprinkle some of the lovely goodies around for fun. I love the result!

I’ve got a few tips to share with you for using some of the fun items in this adorable collection. I’ll start with a tip for using the brads. Previously I shared a tip for using brads on cards HERE, and today I’ll show you a tip for using brads on layouts. I like to use a paper piercer when attaching brads to my layouts. That’s an easy way to make a little hole where your prongs fit perfectly without creasing your paper.

Once I insert the prongs and set them, I cover them with a piece of washi tape. That way they don’t get caught as I’m inserting the layout into the photo sleeve. Plus, I know my washi tape is safe to use and won’t destroy my photos.

The next tip will help with adhering intricate die cuts to your pages. When I’m cutting a thin font, or an intricate design I like to add an adhesive transfer sheet to the back of the paper before die cutting. Then I simply peel the sheet off the back and adhere the die cut to my page. Easy peasy!

Finally, I love to layer bits and pieces of journaling cards and stickers when creating a collage element on my pages. I’ll often have just a bit of an item peeking out from behind something else. To make my supplies stretch further I trim those items before adhering them to my page, and save the other bits to use on another project.

Check out the darling new Anything Goes collection. It’s perfect for celebrations of any kind. I hope these tips were helpful. Be sure to try one on your next layout. Let me know how it goes!

lemon lush giveaway!!

Last fall I launched two new paper craft e-classes over at Craftsy. My Celebrating Everyday Moments: Playful Scrapbook Layouts class used a gorgeous kit from Studio Calico that included the items from the Lemon Lush collection pictured below.

I just passed the 300 follower milestone on my Facebook page and to celebrate I'm giving away one of these awesome kits! 

If you'd like to be considered for this giveaway, please leave a comment below telling me what you'd do with this kit if you won. I'll select a random winner and announce them on Friday morning. Comments will remain open until 11:59 (MT) on Thursday night. Good luck, and don't forget to check back to see if you won!

**If you need some inspiration and/or ideas of what to create with this kit, check out my Celebrating Everyday Moments: Playful Scrapbook Layouts class over at Craftsy. You'll get $10 off the retail price if you CLICK HERE. If you're new to Craftsy and would like to try out a free class, CLICK HERE.

To watch a short intro video about my class, CLICK HERE. Enjoy!

photo sleeve fuse

One of the hottest tools that debuted at CHA last month is the We R Memory Keepers Photo Sleeve Fuse. If you've been dying to get your hands on one, HSN has a very limited quantity available HERE. Don't miss out and don't wait--they're going fast!

This awesome tool can cut and fuse together photo sleeves giving crafters endless possibilities when it comes to pocket page projects, shakers projects, and much much more. We R recently released a video demonstrating some project inspiration using this much-anticipated tool. To watch it, visit my Facebook page HERE. Super creative ideas!!

I had the opportunity to use this fabulous tool to create some projects for CHA last month, and I thought it would be fun to share those with you. Check out a 12x12 pocket page I made with the soon-to-be-released Hello Darling collection.

I used The Fuse tool in a few different ways on this layout--first I cut a 3x4 pocket diagonally and fused the bottom of one to create two triangular pockets. Then I created a shaker pocket filled with confetti, die cuts, and sequins. I fused the top of the pocket to secure the confetti inside.

Then I used one of the 4x4 waterfall sleeves that are sold separately and fused it to the top of the page over one of my photos. I inserted a 4x4 Instagram Journaling Card from the Sheer Metallic collection which allows the photo to show throw the lovely frame on the card. I added a few sequins to the card as well.

Finally I cut one of the 4x4 pockets into four 2x2 pockets, fused the bottoms, and then added some 2x2 photos and journaling cards.

I also used the Photo Sleeve Fuse to create an Instagram Mini Album about my daughter's 4th birthday party. I ran out of time to photograph it before I mailed it in, but my fellow teacher at Big Picture Classes, Tami Morrison, photographed it in the We R booth while she was at CHA so I borrowed hers.

So, what do you think about the new Photo Sleeve Fuse? What would you use it for? Is this a tool you'll be adding to your wish list, or will you be passing this one up?

inspired by pinterest

Raise you hand if you're a Pinterest fan. (I am! I am!)

Pinterest is one of my all time favorite places to find inspiration for projects of all kinds. Recently I came across something that really inspired me on Pinterest to create a fun piece of home decor--a Washi Tape Letter.

I was inspired by a pin that was originally from Anthropologie (another favorite place of inspiration) and I loved it. Here's it is:

When I saw these Candied Letter Desk Clips I just knew I had to replicate the concept with washi tape and paper. After thinking and planning for a while here's what I came up with!

To learn how to create this decor piece click here to visit the We R Memory Keepers blog.

If you'd like, you can hot glue some twine on the back of the piece for hanging, or you can stand it up on a shelf to display it. I love what this decor piece adds to my craft room!

coming soon--the new BPC

This month is launch month for the new Big Picture Classes website platform and I can't wait for you to see it! It's beautiful, inspiring, up-to-date, and will be full of amazing classes. You're going to love it!

I've been busy prepping some new classes that you'll see over the next few months and recently I spent the day taking photographs and recording video for my classes. Don't you love this selfie of me taking some selfies in my craft room? Ha ha!

If you want to finish some scrapbook pages this year you'll definitely want to check out my classes. You'll be inspired to git 'er done in 2015 for sure!

Anyway...the team over at BPC is busy getting everything ready for the launch. I'll let you know as soon as they release the date so be sure to check back often. Wahoo!

tassel garland

Did you love all the photos from the Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show last month as much as I did?

I thought so. =)

Not only do I love seeing the new products coming out, but I can always find fabulous trendy ideas for all kinds of projects there. This year I was very inspired by all the tassels I saw in CHA photos used in various forms of booth decor. I love the cute celebratory look of them and I decided to create a tassel garland using my stash of We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy Baker's Twine Spools.

It was easy to create this tassel garland. To grab the full tutorial, visit the original post on the We R Memory Keepers blog today >>>>>CLICK HERE.

A Baker's Twine Tassel Garland is perfect decor for any room or for any occasion--showers, parties, holidays, birthdays, or just for fun. Creative cheers!

rootstech family history conference

I won't lie. I LOVE the creative side of scrapbooking. I love making beautiful things. But, the reason why I have remained so loyal to this hobby for over 17 years is because of the story telling. I am passionate about recording my story and my family's story. I believe there is great power and strength in knowing who we are, where we've been, and in having a vision of where we want to go. Preserving family stories is key in accomplishing that. I'm strengthened by my parents' and grandparents' family stories, and I hope my children and grandchildren are strengthened by our family stories as well.

This weekend my family and I had the pleasure of attending the final day of the RootsTech conference in nearby Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the largest family history/genealogy conference in the world and is all about the importance of telling family stories, of knowing where we come from, and of preserving that for future generations. We had an awesome time!

We learned from keynote speakers about discovering and being true to who you are;about focusing on the past, the present, and the future and how that helps us to be successful; about including children and grandchildren in telling and documenting family stories. We used computer programs from familysearch.org to find out which famous people we are related to. We found out we are very distant cousins with the likes of Samuel Adams, Elvis Presley, Emily Dickinson, and Walt Disney to name a few. Our 11th great grandfather is pilgrim William Brewster. We also discovered that our ancestry is almost 50% from the United Kingdom. Our kids played games from various generations in history, including marbles, jacks, shuffle board, yo-yo's, pinball, arcade games, and pool. And to cap things off we were treated to an awesome closing session from a favorite local family friendly comedy troupe (Studio C) and singer David Archuleta (runner up in American Idol season 7). Man, that boy can SING!

The rest of the conference this year included keynote speakers Laura Bush and Jenna Bush Hager, Donny Osmond, A.J. Jacobs and others. Although I didn't get to enjoy their addresses, I heard they were amazing. I'm sharing this with you today because I know many of you are scrapbookers and are as passionate about telling stories as I am. I invite you to learn more about the RootsTech conference and consider attending next year. You'll be so glad you did! For info about this year's conference CLICK HERE.