Sneak # 6

Ready to Roll by Aphra

This is such an awesome masculine line.  Note the neutral colors and fun embellishments.  Do you know it?

Sneak # 5

Ready to Fly by Brenda

Oh my.  Aren't those pictures just lovely?  What a glorious afternoon that must have been.  Any ideas who makes these fabulous papers?  The butterflies are sooo pretty!

Sneak # 4

4 Months by Melanie

After you stop looking at that cute picture, you might notice what a fun line this is!  LOVE all the colors and patterns and doodles.  Know what it is?

Sneak # 3

Splash Day by Jenny

Grab all your water play pics because this kit is perfectly bright and cute!

Sneak #2

Love, Laugh & Be Happy by Beth

Oh my, what a fun layout and what pretty spring colors!  Any guesses as to this one?  

August Sneak #1

Trouble by Theresa 

Love this sweet layout!  And the colors of the papers are so pretty and chic.  What line are you hoping this is?

Just One Thing: Buttons and Brads

Ok, so, buttons and brads aren't really one thing, are they?  But, I just had to share how Brenda and Jenny used all the fabulous buttons and brads in this month's kit to create embellishment clusters sprinkled on their layouts.

Underground Adventure by Brenda

Myrtle Beach by Jenny

A sticker and a few well-placed buttons or brads add a lot of dimension and texture to a layout.  And the Crater Paper fabric brads in the July Flavors of the Month kit are so varied and lovely.  Don't leave 'em in the bag, ladies.  Sprinkle!

What Comes First: Paper or Pictures???

What comes first for you: the paper OR the picture??? When your kit arrives do already know which pictures you want to scrap this month or do you let the kit inspire you?

Most often I receive my kit, then decide which pictures I am going to scrapbook. Luckily, I have A LOT of pictures that have not been scrapped yet so I have quite a few to choose from.

When I got the July kit, I was instantly drawn to the Crate Paper: Story Teller line. I saw the alphabet paper and tag: Chapter 1: A New Beginning....and the inspiration for my layout began.

I knew these products would be perfect for my son's preschool graduation photo. I used these 2 elements to begin my layout...then chose the extra goodies from this month's kit too ....plus stitching.

How do you scrapbook???? The Paper or Picture first???

Melanie

Another July Page Starter Sample!!!

Last week I introduced the July Page Starter. Here's the simple layout for this month.

Today, I have another sample layout to share.  This time I used Simple Stories Summer Fresh collection and two vertical 4" x 6" photos.

First Clovers of Spring

When putting this one together, I could not settle on one of the patterned papers in the kit. LOVED them all! So, instead of one large block of paper, I used four strips of paper. I love that effect. 

How cute is that denim pocket sticker?  I had planned to put an initial on it but then remembered that I had pics of both boys on this page.  So, I layered some more flower stickers on top along with jewels to give it more dimension. 

Remember you have until Tuesday, July 31st to link up your take on the July Page Starter HERE.  I can't wait to see your completed layout!

Fussy Cutting Patterned Paper with Jenny

Hey everyone!  Jenny here with a few little tips on how to use your patterned paper to its fullest potential!

When I was assigned the Pink Paislee "Prairie Hill" collection for my sneak peek, I panicked a bit because the embellishments that were included really didn't go with any of my photos. So, I turned to my patterned paper to look for things to cut out and use as "embellishments." I do this alot! It's great for using up paper and getting exactly the look you want. :)

I saw the diamond shapes on one of my sheets of patterned paper, and I knew they were perfect for my page. So, I began cutting. It may look like it took a long time to cut all of these out, and I'm sure you could probably use a cutting machine and cut out diamond shapes much faster, but I chose just to use my patterned paper and do these by hand. I used these little CraftSMART scissors that I bought from Michael's:

I like the way I got to use SO many different patterns, but since they are in small, repeated shapes...they look good together and don't detract from the photo.

Other than the hand-cut diamonds and my title, there are no real "embellishments" on this page! I also found some great tips for fussy cutting paper accents from the Creating Keepsakes website:

1. Choose a sharp pair of micro-tip scissors. The smaller the tip, the easier it will be to snip out those tight corners when cutting out your image.

2. Start by roughly cutting out the image you wish to fussy cut, so you can easily handle the image as you cut out the details.

3. Place your paper near the fulcrum of your scissors, not the tip. This will allow you better maneuverability and result in clean-cut edges.

4. Make long, slow cuts rather than quick snips. Quick snips result in choppy edges. If you encounter tight corners that won't allow you to make long, slow cuts, go back later and snip those pieces out using the tip of your scissors.

5. Turn your paper, not your scissors, as you cut around the edges of your image. This will lessen the urge to snip.

I hope these tips will help you whenever you are looking for that perfect embellishment and decide to use your patterned paper instead! ;)

Card Class: Paper Pieced Sunshine

This month's kit is full of bright and sunny papers, so I thought I would challenge a few of our designers to create a card that contains a paper-pieced sun.  Here's what we came up with.

Happy Birthday by Melanie

Melanie cut a variety of lengths of paper strips and circles from the Bella Blvd's Sunshine & Happiness Flavors of the Month kit.  The stitching and buttons are such a nice finish.

Smile by Theresa

Theresa used her die cut machine to cut several concentric circles, which she backed with fun yellow chevron paper from the Pebbles Sunnyside Doubleshot kit.  She finished it off with a circle of tiny pennants.  Such a unique and happy sun!

Sunshine & Happiness by Aphra

I used the Bella Blvd Sunshine & Happiness Flavors of the Month kit to create a simple sun cut from a 2" circle and several small triangles. I added a button tied with twine and a couple of sticker pennants. The cloud cut out was the perfect companion for my sun.

I hope you're feeling inspired to include a paper-pieced sun on one of your projects this month.  They are so easy to make and add a unique embellishment to your project!

What's In Store: WRMK Divided Page Protectors

The TSR Store has a huge assortment of We R Memory Keepers Divided Page Protectors.  

 

This product can be very useful to a busy scrapbooker.  Today, I thought I'd share a variety of ways to incorporate them into your albums.

1.  Create a title page for your travel, baby, school, or other themed album.

2.  Add them to your Month-in-Review, Project 365, or Project Life album.

3.  Create quick and easy scrapbook pages or albums, especially when you have a TON of photos.  These would make great wedding, baby, or grad gifts as well.

4.  Create a companion page for your traditional layouts by adding multi-photo pockets with or without papers and embellishments.  

5.  Create super fast albums by mixing and matching photos and Simple Stories, We R Memory Keepers, Jillibean Soup and other patterned papers that come with divided sheets.

6.  Print your Instagram pics at Postal and incorporate them into your albums.  The 4" x 4" pockets are the perfect size!

I can see many of these ideas working their way into my albums.  How about you?  Will any of these ideas work for you?  Or do you have another idea to add to this list?  Leave me a comment . . . I'd love to hear!

A Simple Starter for July

I don't know about you, but around here July is a super busy month full of kids' activities, family get togethers, and weekend road trips.  That doesn't leave too much time for scrapping.  Sooo . . . for this month's Page Starter, I decided to keep it simple.  Sound good?

July Page Starter

Here's what you'll need to get started.  First, you need a background piece.  I chose to use a patterned piece rather than cardstock because this month's Page Starter is pretty simple, so having a patterned background won't be too busy. You'll also need two more patterned papers cut to the following dimensions:

                                                     1.  6.75" x 9.75" block

                                                     2.  1" x 9.75" strip

Now you're ready to start adhering the paper to the page.  Here is how I placed mine.

1. Adhere the 6.75" x 9.75" block 2.75" from the left and 1" from the top of the page. 
2. Adhere the 1" x 9.75" strip flush with the right edge of the block.

Finally, you will add your photos and embellishments.  This part is completely up to you.  There is no set limit to the number of photos or no set placement for them.  Also, you can use whatever embellishments you like, wherever you want to place them on the layout.  

Here's one way you could finish it off.  For this one, I used Crate Paper Storyteller and one 5" x 7" photo.

My Pre-K Story

I'll be back in a week or so to show you another finished layout.  In the meantime, I'd love to see what you do with the July Page Starter.  Link up your completed layout to the bottom of this post by Tuesday, July 31st for your chance at a $10 Gift Certificate to the TSR Store.  

Happy Scrappin!

Tuesday Tutorial: For Chevron Lovers AND Haters!

Love chevrons?  Please, take a moment and go drool over this post by Aphra about the chevron trend.  Then come back and get ready to make chevrons out of any double-sided paper you have!

Hate chevrons?  Then feel free to grab some chevron paper, a pair of scissors, and let loose a maniacal laugh - because we're going to deconstruct some chevrons and make them go away!

Love Those Chevrons!  (haters, you may skip this section)
Here's a card made with the Simple Stories Summer Fresh line... and some made-from-scratch chevrons:

 

To create your own, cut strips from any double-sided paper.  I used 1/4" strips, and chose paper with very different sides so that the chevron would "pop".  Using my (well-loved) cutting mat as a guide, I folded the paper every 1/2" on the diagonal:

I ran the strips through a Xyron so they'd stay in place as I sewed them down.  You wouldn't need to sew them, but I think you should use a stronger adhesive than the repositionable Xyron I used.  You can see the strips lifting before I ran them through my machine:

Trim off the ends and you are done.  Easy peasy!  (Now don't look at the next little tutorial... it just might break your heart.) 

Chevron Haters! (you know who you are...)

Here's a layout made with Simple Stories Summer Fresh and a deconstructed chunk of chevron paper:

The border of this page started out as a chevron... just cut apart, roughed up, lined up, trimmed off, and doodled on.  Doesn't that make you happy thinking about it? 

My dog Grey chewed on the green piece when it fell off my table.  Apparently he's a hater...

From here, just trim the overlapping bits flush to the cardstock edge.  I chose to doodle a stitched line around the edges to match the details on the paper, but it isn't necessary.  Here's a close up of the final product:

So there you have it.  Whether you love them or hate them, we've got chevrons.  Might as well go have fun with them!

Theresa

Just One Thing: Heyday My Type Wood Veneers

This month's Embellishment Add-On kit is full of yummy scrap goodies.  Today I want to focus on just one thing from that kit -- the Heyday My Type Wood Veneers by Studio Calico.  SO cute!!!  Here are just a few ideas for using them on your projects.

Just My Type by Beth

Do You Remember by Beth

Just a Note by Theresa

Hello There Sunshine 

by Studio Calico Designer Dawn McVey

Source

Just A Note to Say Thanks 

by Studio Calico Designer Nicole Harper

Source