Friday, April 30, 2010

May Sneak Peek Week Day #6

We're winding up May's Sneak Peek Week here on the blog with one final layout that sneaks our 2nd May Doubleshot paper line. Today's eye candy is brought to you by Doubleshot Barista, Shawnna Samples, and it features the wildly popular "Queen Bee" line by Pink Paislee. The ribbon pleats (pictured below) and sparkling Bella Brads (not pictured - but oh so cool!) really make layouts special!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

May Sneak Peek Week Day #5

We continue our Sneak Peek Week with a layout by Barista, Brenda Carpenter that showcases the fourth and final paper line in our May Flavors of the Month kit - Fancy Pants Road Show. The colors in this paper are so beautiful and the combination gives a truly vintage feel to this layout kit. And, wait until you see the great vintage embellishments that we paired up with these papers. (Crocheted flowers will be featured in the Dear Lizzy layout kit; we've got something else equally fun for this Road Show kit.)

Stay tuned tomorrow for our final sneak peek for the week. We'll be highlighting the second kit in our May Doubleshot Kit, along with a little extra inspirational eye candy. :)

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

May Sneak Peek Week Day #4

Today's Sneak Peek is brought to you by Barista, Christine Dunker and Crate Paper's brand new Brook collection. I love the subtle masculine feel of the colors in this line of paper and embellishments. But, even though the color palette is favorable toward photos of boys, the organic elements in this line make it work beautifully for both genders.

I love how Christine paired this paper with an oversized black and white photo and just a couple of well-placed embellishments to bring balance to the page - quick and easy and beautiful!

Monday, April 26, 2010

May Sneak Peek Week Day #3

Day #3 in our May "Sneak Peek Week" showcases a layout created by Doubleshot Barista Rebecca Bose using our May Doubleshot Kit. One of our two May Doubleshot lines is the new Pink Plum line by Crate Paper. Always a favorite of mine, Crate Paper never fails to impress me with the quality and beauty of their textured paper and versatile embellishments. I can hardly wait to dig into this kit to create a Mother's Day card and layout.



Stop by tomorrow for the reveal of the third layout kit in our upcoming May Flavors of the Month Kit. You can see the full reveal of all of our May kits on our website on April 30th. Mark your calendars!

Week #17 Weekly Challenge!

In addition to doing a lot of working with The ScrapRoom, I also spend a LOT of time cooking for my family of 6 men (1 husband and 5 boys, ages 16, 15, 13, 11, 10). Our family is officially in the middle of our "eating years," so my mind is thinking about food preparation a good portion of every day. So, since I seem to have food on the brain, this week's challenge will feature the same theme.

THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE: Create a layout with a FOOD theme. Your layout can feature a favorite recipe and a photo. Or, you might choose to do a layout about some traditions in your family that revolve around food. Or, maybe you'll prefer to just do a layout that features your favorite foods (and drinks - I wouldn't want to leave out the well-loved latte). Upload your layout to the WEEK #17 CHALLENGE FOLDER. All layouts must be uploaded by 9:00 a.m. CST on Monday, May 3rd.

And, as a bonus, below is the recipe for one of my family's favorite homeade snacks. :) I get lots of love when I make these yummies for my boys. And, even though I always triple the recipe, I can't seem to make these treats last for longer than a few days in our house. Considering how many different snack options are available these days, this is a pretty healthy way to go.


HOMEADE GRANOLA BARS:
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 T. honey
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1-1/2 cups oats
2 cups crisp rice cereal
1 cup sunflower seeds or chopped nuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, brown sugar, honey, vanilla and egg. Add flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Mix well. With a large spoon, stir in oats, cereal, nut, fruit and chocolate chips. Spray treat a baking pan. Press the mixture evenly into bottom of pan. For chewy bars, bake at 350 degress for 20-30 minutes until lightly browned on the edges. For crunchy bars, bake at 300 degrees until the surface is golden brown all over, about 40-50 minutes. Cool completely and cut into bars.
(TIP: I use a cookie pan - longer and thinner so that the bars are not as thick - and we definitely like the crunchier version!)

THE PRIZE: This week's prize package features some Vintage papers and embellishments from Making Memories. The little 6x6 paper pad that is included in this kit would be perfect for using to create a little "Family Favorites" Recipe mini-album. :)


CHALLENGE RULES:There are only 2 rules if you want to enter a weekly challenge:
1.) Your submission has to be a new layout created for this challenge. :) You're on your honor here, but the idea of a Weekly Challenge is to finish new layouts and not simply upload old layouts. :) (Your actual layouts can be done in any size - 12x12, 8.5x11, 8x8... whichever size you scrapbook in!)
2.) Please only submit one time for each weekly challenge! (You will need to be registered on our message board to upload your layout to the Challenge Folder gallery. Registration just requires that we confirm your e-mail address so we know you're not a spammer. :) (In order to upload layouts to our gallery, you will need to be sure to resize layouts to about 350x350 pixels and 72-75 dpi. If you're file size is much larger than that, you'll get an error message when attempting to upload. :) )

Week #16 Weekly Winner!

Congratulations to Saara. Random integer chose your entry as our winning entry this week! Please e-mail me at admin@scrap-room.com with your real-life name and address, and we'll get your prize ready to go. :) Check out all of this week's Challenge Entries in our WEEK #16 WEEKLY CHALLENGE GALLERY!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

May Sneak Peek Day #2

"Sneak Peek Week" continues today with a fun layout from Barista, Jenny Moore. Her layout features Bobunny's new Sophie line. I love how the bright colors in these papers really *POP* against the black background. (I'm always a sucker for any bright color paired with black - it just makes me happy. :)

Sneak Peek Week Begins Today!

"Sneak Peek Week" begins today on our blog. Beginning today, we'll be counting down each day until our brand new May kits are revealed on April 30th. Be sure to come back every day for a brand new fresh peek at what you can look forward to in May!

We're kicking off this month's "Sneak Peek Week" with a sweet spring layout by Barista, Lan Amphone, featuring American Crafts brand new "Dear Lizzy" line. Her layout also features a peek at one of the elements in the May Embellishment Kit. Can you believe how pretty those ribbon roses are - wait until you see this sheer and beautiful ribbon up close. You'll be tempted to hoard it because you won't want to run out of it!



Be sure to come back tomorrow (and every day for the rest of the month) to get your daily dose of eye candy featuring the upcoming May kits!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Week #16 Weekly Challenge

I'm sorry for the delay in getting this week's challenge posted. Yesterday we were in the process of having our message board and member gallery upgraded by invisionzone.com (our hosts), and it took a bit longer than anticipated to get the gallery upgraded and live again. So, I'm going to make this challenge super-easy and oh-so fun. In fact, I am so in love with this particular challenge that I just might make it a regular monthly featured challenge!

THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE: Create a layout based on any of the layouts in our APRIL IDEA GALLERY - that's right - scraplift any of the layouts in the April Idea Gallery in whatever way that you are inspired. Upload your layout to the WEEK #16 CHALLENGE FOLDER. When uploading your layout, please make a note that lets us know the name/title of the layout that you scraplifted, along with the name of the designer so that we can see how the original layout inspired you. :) All layouts must be uploaded by 9:00 a.m. CST on Monday, April 26th.

Below are a few of my favorite layouts from our Design Team Members this month:
Lan Amphone:


Jenny Moore:


Deb Wisinski:


Brenda Carpenter:


Melanie Call (Guest Designer):


THE PRIZE: Cosmo Cricket's Material Girl Crafting Kit! You'll receive all of the new Material Girl patterned papers plus the coordinating sticker sheet - perfect for creating lots of homespun layouts - and the perfect place to try out Brenda's backstitching technique presented in the April Mid-Month-Pick-Me-Up Blog post (see below!)


CHALLENGE RULES:There are only 2 rules if you want to enter a weekly challenge:
1.) Your submission has to be a new layout created for this challenge. :) You're on your honor here, but the idea of a Weekly Challenge is to finish new layouts and not simply upload old layouts. :) (Your actual layouts can be done in any size - 12x12, 8.5x11, 8x8... whichever size you scrapbook in!)
2.) Please only submit one time for each weekly challenge! (You will need to be registered on our message board to upload your layout to the Challenge Folder gallery. Registration just requires that we confirm your e-mail address so we know you're not a spammer. :) (In order to upload layouts to our gallery, you will need to be sure to resize layouts to about 350x350 pixels and 72-75 dpi. If you're file size is much larger than that, you'll get an error message when attempting to upload. :) )

Week #15 Weekly Winner!

Congratulations to Oliquig. Random integer chose your entry as our winning entry this week! Please e-mail me at admin@scrap-room.com with your real-life name and address, and we'll get your prize ready to go. :) Check out all of this week's Challenge Entries in our WEEK #15 WEEKLY CHALLENGE GALLERY!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

April's "Mid-Month-Pick-Me-Up"

It's the middle of the month, and it's time for a little inspirational shot in the arm to get you scrappin' with your April kits before we all start getting psyched for the new May kits in a couple of weeks.

This month's "Mid-Month-Pick-Me-Up" tidbit is brought to you by Brenda Carpenter. Her layouts ALWAYS inspire me and make me want to spend my day scraplifting. Take a peek below at Brenda's fun idea for taking some of your April layouts to the next level.

By Brenda Carpenter:
Want to add some extra style to your layouts? Here is an easy way - add some hand stitching details and stitch-on buttons. The layouts below are all layouts that I completed for the April Gallery, taken to the next level by adding some buttons and stitching. I used a paper piercer and a foam matte (or you could use a needle and a mouse pad) to make the holes for my stitching. I used 3 strands of white embroidery floss to back stitch around the flower and on the stem of the flower. To find more information on how to backstitch, check out this tutorial: http://www.wikihow.com/Backstitch

Step 1: Poke your holes with a paper piercer or a needle; space holes as evenly as possible.


Step #2: Backstitch through the holes. (Visit tutorial link above for backstitching how-to.)

See how the flower accent really "POPS" with the white backstitching details.

I added backstitching details here to simulate flight and add an additional layer of dimension.



And, while I don't always take the time to thread my buttons, it does add a nice additional detail when I'm looking for a little bit of extra "pop."

If you've never hand-stitched on your layout and you're looking for a little extra "umph" on one or two of your layouts this month, grab a needle and some embroidery floss and stitch a few of your own details right onto your page. You'll love the way it looks!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Week #15 Weekly Challenge! (It's Sketch Week!)

Don't you just love "Sketch Week" on our Weekly Challenge Blog? It's my favorite challenge every month. Sketches are such a fun and easy jumping off point for scrapbook layouts - I just love them - and Julie's sketches are always easy to use and make for beautiful pages. :)


Welcome to Week #11's Weekly Challenge! This week's challenge will highlight our April Sketch, created exclusively for TSR by Julie Bonner.

THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE: Create a layout based on the following sketch and upload your layout to the WEEK #15 CHALLENGE FOLDER. All layouts much be uploaded by 9:00 a.m. CST on Monday, April 19th.

Below are examples from our Design Team Members:
Lan Amphone:


Jenny Moore:


THE PRIZE: This week's prize package features SEI's Poppy Collection. You'll receive 2-sided papers with metallic finishes, a large die-cut alphabet, along with coordinating elements stickers, chipboard, and big chunky brads (that will make fun flower centers). This collection of scrappin' supplies will definitely get you in the mood to start thinking about summer!


CHALLENGE RULES:There are only 2 rules if you want to enter a weekly challenge:
1.) Your submission has to be a new layout created for this challenge. :) You're on your honor here, but the idea of a Weekly Challenge is to finish new layouts and not simply upload old layouts. :) (Your actual layouts can be done in any size - 12x12, 8.5x11, 8x8... whichever size you scrapbook in!
2.) Please only submit one time for each weekly challenge! (You will need to be registered on our message board to upload your layout to the Challenge Folder gallery. Registration just requires that we confirm your e-mail address so we know you're not a spammer. :)

Week #14 Weekly Winner!

Congratulations to hollyb. Random integer chose your entry as our winning entry this week! Please e-mail me at admin@scrap-room.com with your real-life name and address, and we'll get your prize ready to go. :) Check out all of this week's Challenge Entries in our WEEK #14 WEEKLY CHALLENGE GALLERY!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Week #14 Weekly Challenge!

Welcome to our Week #14 Weekly Challenge! This week's challenge is all about the Patterned Paper! The scrapbooking manufacturers continue to bring us such beautiful and eye-catching patterned papers for our scrapbooks. I'm amazed at their creativity. Sometimes the papers are so pretty that I can hardly bring myself to cut into them. I'm not sure what I'm afraid of - that if I cut into it, then I will no longer have it when I think of the perfect place to use it in my scrapbook. :) This week, I'm challenging you to pull out some of that pretty paper and use it in a unique way.

THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE: Cut AROUND some of the fun patterns in your patterned papers. Upload your layout here --->>> WEEK #14 CHALLENGE FOLDER. All layouts must be uploaded to the Week #13 Challenge Folder by 9:00 a.m. CST on Monday, April 12th, to be eligible for the prize.

Here are a few examples from our Baristas using the April Kits.
Notice how Jenny and Melanie cut around the actual lines in the papers to create fun shaped borders.

By Jenny Moore:


By Melanie Call (Guest Designer):


Brenda cut around a larger image from the paper to create an interesting page accent.
By Brenda Carpenter:


THE PRIZE: This week we've got another fun prize package from the American Crafts Blue Skies line. Nothing helps usher in springtime better than these great spring-themed scrapbooking goodies - complete with (2) sets of coordinating Thickers!


CHALLENGE RULES:There are only 2 rules if you want to enter a weekly challenge:
1.) Your submission has to be a new layout created for this challenge. :) You're on your honor here, but the idea of a Weekly Challenge is to finish new layouts and not simply upload old layouts. :) (Your actual layouts can be done in any size - 12x12, 8.5x11, 8x8... whichever size you scrapbook in!
2.) Please only submit one time for each weekly challenge! (You will need to be registered on our message board to upload your layout to the Challenge Folder gallery. Registration just requires that we confirm your e-mail address so we know you're not a spammer. :)

Week #13 Weekly Winner!

Congratulations gabmc. Random integer chose your entry as our winning entry this week! Please e-mail me at admin@scrap-room.com with your real-life name and address, and we'll get your prize ready to go. :) Check out all of this week's Challenge Entries in our WEEK #13 WEEKLY CHALLENGE GALLERY!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Last Minute Easter Idea: PEEPS!

I found a similar idea somewhere in blog-land this week, but I adapted it and used some of my April kit papers and the adorable April stamp set to create my bag topper. One row of Marshmallow Peeps fits perfectly into a snack-size sandwich bag and you can create a topper with your paper-crafting supplies. I just folded over the topper and stapled it onto the top of the bag. How cute it that!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Welcome April's Guest Designer, Melanie Call!

What a fun honor it is for me to introduce you all to our fabulous Guest Designer for April, Melanie Call. I was blown away by Melanie's beautiful layouts using our April kits. They just inspired me to want to dig into the kits and create some beautiful spring layouts for my scrapbooks as well. Melanie has been a ScrapRoom member for awhile now, and you can find more of her inspiring layouts in our member gallery under her username, mommyc. Please join me in welcoming Melanie to our April team.

A bit about me:
I married my high school sweetie over 11 years ago...it was the classic high school love story. I was leaving dance class, he was on his way to art class, we walked passed each other, I smiled, he said hi, and the rest is history. We have the most adorable and funny two little boys...I'm not biased at all :). I work part time as a pharmacist...I loved chemistry in college...didn’t everyone??? For fun, I like watching warm and fuzzy chick flicks, quilting, taking photos of my boys, and scrapbooking of course! Thank you for the great opportunity to guest design for TSR this month!

And, just in case you missed it in our Idea Gallery this month, I'm adding the rest of Melanie's April layouts here (you've already seen two during Sneak Peek Week) - a bit of inspiring eye-candy to get your inspirational juices flowing!








And finally, Congratulations to Renee! You are the winner of our $10.00 Gift Certificate for guessing this month's Guest Designer correctly! If you will e-mail at admin@scrap-room.com with your real life name, I'll get your prize ready. :)