Project Life (or card) Sketch

Hi there ScrapRoom peeps.  Aphra here today to share another Project Life sketch with you.  I used the sketch as the basis for my title card for my Week 47 spread, but you could just as easily use it to create a card or for creating a title area on a layout.  

 As you can see, the basis of the sketch is a polaroid die cut.  I used the one that came in my Jillibean Soup Flavors of the Month kit.  If you don't have a pre-made, you could use your square punch to create one or you could cut one on your die cut machine.  The other shapes on the sketch are simple ones that you could duplicate with your punches or die cut machine as well.

 Thanks for stopping in today.  I hope you are able to use my sketch for one of your projects.  Happy Scrappin'!

"Stash" Challenge Update (Week 4)

Good Morning, Scrappin' Peeps! I am happy to report that this has been one super-successful scrappin' week for me. I got a whopping (7) layouts and (8) cards made, using my sketches and my photos from 1999 and 2001, and I had a blast! I'm figuring out what works for me right now, and I am totally lovin' my layout-creating process.

While I've landed on some key "this-works-for-me" things over the past several months that you've heard about repeatedly (pre-selected sketches and pre-selected photo groups), I have continued to struggle with a consistent time slot that works for me. Guess what I discovered this week - that 5:30 AM is the perfect time slot for me to scrapbook! I have become a morning person over the years, so I thought I'd try starting out my day with some scrapbooking to see how that would work - and what do you know - it worked! I get up at 5:00 AM, brew myself a hot mug of fresh coffee  (and tidy up the kitchen while I'm waiting for my coffee to brew). I head down to my scrapspace in the basement by 5:30 and have an hour to work on layouts before anyone else in my house wakes up. It's enough time to really get into a layout, but not so much time that I don't get anything else done. It is bliss, and I am really starting to look forward to that creative hour by myself in the morning.

And, while I got (7) pages and (8) cards done and totally used up the entire November Doubleshot Kit this week, I'm only going to share one of the layouts with you today. I'm saving the rest for the big reveal of the November Kits on the website tomorrow. So, consider today's "Scrappin' The Stash" update this morning your final sneak peek at the November Kits. This one is from Echo Park Paper's So Thankful line.

Sketch #1 (This was a fun one!)

Kit: 11/13 DS Kit (Sneak Peek)

Photos from 1999

Tammy

"Scrappin' The Stash" Round 2 Running Total: (13) pages and (12) cards

November Sneak Peek #4

Today's sneak peek is from the fourth and final paper line in the November Flavors of the Month Kit. I love the fresh color combo - and the embellishments in this kit will give you lots of options to choose from, along with an EXCLUSIVE TSR Flair!

November Sneak Peek #3

Today's sneak peek is a paper from another new line, with great colors to complement your fall photos. And don't you just love the little campers - great for vacation photos - or try a page with a "Home" theme, taking a cue from the phrase that runs between the two campers on the paper, "Home is wherever I'm with you!"

November Sneak Peek #2

A page full of mugs! I love it! It instantly brings to mind one of my favorite things to do in the fall - drink a hot cup of coffee. (Oh, who am I kidding? Drinking a hot cup of coffee is one of my favorite things to do all year long - but it is especially satisfying in the fall, isn't it?!) Any guesses on what warm and cozy paper line this paper is a part of?

November Sneak Peek #1

We're starting off Sneak Peek Week with an actual "peek" at our first November paper line. It's warm and cozy, just in time for cooler weather and fall traditions! Any guesses?

"Stash Challenge" Update (Week 3)

It's Wednesday and time for my weekly "Stash Challenge" Update! I find that having to come clean each week with you here about whether or not I actually made time to do what I say I want to do (scrapbook!) makes me 100% more likely to do it. I probably wouldn't be making the time for scrapbooking right now if I didn't have to report to you, and I find that I really do enjoy all of my time spent in my scrapspace engaging with my photos and fun supplies. I always walk away energized, so thanks for the accountability!

On that note, I enjoyed (3) "Stash Stints" this week and completed (2) one-page layouts. I find that it takes me a little over an hour (on average) per page, and I still struggle the most with embellishment placement. I still find that the pre-selected sketches and organized 2-years-worth-of-photos-in-photo-sleeves are saving me TONS of time and stress. Almost all of my scrapbooking time is spent creating pages, with only minutes spent on selecting photos and a layout design. And, working with the same sketches more than once makes creating the pages more fun, as they come together faster and with more confidence. Also, I love seeing how the same layout design looks with different photos, papers and embellishments.

Anyway, here are my two pages so far this week, and I've got another page in progress. :)

Sketch #3 (possibly my favorite sketch right now)

Kit: 11/13 DS Kit (SNEAK PEEK!)

Photos from 1999

Sketch #5

Kits Used: 8/13 & 9/13 DS Kits

Photos from 2001

Tammy
"Scrappin' The Stash" Round 2 Running Total: (6) pages and (4) cards

Magic Monday Member Steal

Just in time for Halloween, this Week's Steal is a virtual class kit, featuring the Fancy Pants "October 31st" HALLOWEEN line for only $6.00 - a whopping 60% discount! Quantities are very limited, so if you're a TSR member who is interested in adding this kit to your November shipment, e-mail me right away at admin@scrap-room.com.

• VIRTUAL LAYOUT CLASS!
• Featuring everything you need to create (1) 2-page layout and (1) 1-page layout
• Class Kit includes (2) FULL-COLOR CLASS RECIPE CARDS  THAT INCLUDE LAYOUT IMAGES, CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS, AND STEP-BY-STEP DIRECTIONS(sent via e-mail)

Weekend Inspiration: Simple Stories Smarty Pants

Good Morning Friends and Happy Friday! It's time for a little weekend inspiration, inspired by Simple Stories Smarty Pants line found in TSR's October Flavors of the Month Kit. I hope you'll be able to find some happy scrappin' time this weekend! All of the below eye candy is brought to you from The ScrapRoom's Idea Gallery and Simple Stories' blog. Ooh, seeing so many great layouts really makes me want to pull out this kit and start scrappin'!

Scrapbook layouts:

by TSR Designer, Jenny Moore

by TSR Designer, Melanie Call

from Simple Stories Design Team

from Simple Stories designer, Kelly Goree

by Simple Stories designer, Cari Locken

Project Life Style Layouts:

by TSR Designer, Aphra Bolyer

by TSR Designer, Aphra Bolyer

And some Cards and other non-page projects:

by Simple Stories designer, Liz Qualman

by Simple Stories designer, Tonya Dirk

Have a beautiful weekend!
Tammy

"Stash Challenge" Update (Week 2)

Good Morning! It's week 2 of our Fall "Scrappin' the Stash" Challenge, and I wanted to share my pages with you. I completed my 2-page spread below in (2) Stash Stints, and I spent another 45-minute stint working on (4) cards that used up my scraps from the My Mind's Eye Charm Kit from last week. So, 2 pages and 4 cards for me this week - which is way better than none!

Okay, so I had to scrapbook a Recipe Card for the website with the Pink Paislee Hey Kid layout kit this week, and since I've already used both of the my approved 2-page sketches for other Recipe Cards recently, I had to go rogue to keep it fresh for my TSR gals! (I do, however, like the flow of the layout and may have to turn that one into a sketch for my next "Scrappin' The Stash" round, as it would be pretty quick and easy to duplicate using other papers and embellishments.)

And here's my cards. I used all three card sketches, and I used almost every last little piece of paper and embellishment still left from the MME Kit, which was super-satisfying since I hate to throw anything away. (It's a sickness...) You will probably notice that I don't have any sentiments on the cards yet. I'm not sure what I'm going to use them for, but I did realize this week that I want to take some time to stamp some sentiments on neutral paper strips so that I can add them to the fronts and use the cards for whatever the occasion calls for. I'll be taking some time to do that this week!

So, how are you doing with your own "Stash Challenge?" I'm looking forward to some time set aside today to finish up a layout I started during my last stash stint, and then I'm going to dig into the November kit! :) I'd love to see your finished pages and projects. Please leave a link in the comments section!

Tammy
"Scrappin' The Stash" Round 2 Running Total: (4) pages and (4) cards

Magic Monday Member Steal

We're bringing back the ScrapRoom Steals on Magic Mondays for awhile. Every Monday, around 8:00 a.m. CST, we will post a new "Steal of a Deal" for TSR Members. We're looking to create some space in our warehouse, so we'll be offering some great deals to our members. Most of the deals will be very limited quantities, and most of the deals will be available to members-only, as they will ship out in the next regularly scheduled TSR monthly shipment. To add any of the "steals" to your next shipment, you will just need to e-mail me at admin@scrap-room.com to order.

This Week's Steal is our "Be A Blessing Card Kit" for only $8.00, which is a whopping 60% discount! Quantities are very limited, so if you're interested in adding this kit to your November shipment, e-mail me right away at admin@scrap-room.com.

Featuring BasicGrey's Paper Cottage line, our "BE A BLESSING" CARD KIT comes with all of the paper-crafting supplies to make (10) gorgeous cards, designed by Designer, Theresa Sovacool. You'll also receive our exclusive "Recipe Card" instructions (via e-mail) to create (2) different versions of each card - one "Quickie" version and one "Stepped- Up" edition. Our card kit was created purposefully with (2) of each design so that you would feel good about giving half of your cards away immediately. Write an encouraging note to a friend or attach the card to a small gift and share some kindness with (5) people this month!

• (18) sheets Paper Cottage 6x6 Paper (1 each of 18 patterns)

• 1 pkg. Paper Cottage Layered Stickers

• 1 sheet coordinating Alphabet Stickers

• (2) Paper Cottage Stitched Brads (varies)

• (2) Paper Cottage Metal Flair (varies)

• (2) Paper Cottage Wooden Buttons (varies)

• (6) Toothpicks

• (2) yards coordinating Bakers' Twine (Mandarin & Caribbean)

• (4) sheets of 8.5x11 cardstock (2 sheets of 4 different colors)

• (9) Envelopes (3 different sizes)

• (2) Lunchbox Notes

• Access to full-color downloadable Recipe Cards with cutting and assembly directions for creating (10) beautiful cards!

Weekend Inspiration

Good Morning Friends! I wanted to send you into the weekend with a little scrapbooking inspiration as your October Kits are arriving. I'm grouping up a post full of inspiration for the new Webster's Pages Recorded line, complete with fantastic layouts from our own ScrapRoom Gallery and other images from Webster's Pages blog. Enjoy the eye candy! I hope it inspires you to "get more pages done" this weekend!

Beautiful Layouts...

by TSR Designer, Jenny Moore

by TSR Designer, Melanie Call

by WP Designer, Jamie Harder

by WP Designer, Kay Rogers

by WP Designer, Jill Cornell

A little Project Life love...

by Aphra Bolyer

by WP Designer, Kay Rogers

Some cards...

by Jenny Moore

by Melanie Call

by WP Designer, Jamie Harder

Scrappin' My Stash Round 2, Week 1 Update

Hello Fellow Scrappers! I'm popping in this morning with an update on my 7-Week Scrap Stash Challenge. This past week has been shipping week for me, which means that most of my time is spent processing and shipping orders, but I did manage to work a couple of 45-minute "stash stints" into my schedule last night. (Okay, yes, they were back-to-back, but the parameters of my challenge did not exclude back-to-back stints, so I watched two episodes of my current TV series on the iPad while I scrapped away. Super-Fun!!) Anyway, I got a 2-page layout completed, journaling and all.

I used photos from 1999, which were easy to locate, as I had previously organized all of my photos from 1999 into photo-sleeve protectors. (I cannot recommend this type of no frills photo storage strongly enough! When printed, file your photos chronologically into photo sleeve protectors and store in a 3-ring album. The photos are easy to store, easy to access, and easy to match to your scrapbooking papers and supplies when you want to do a quick layout.) While the photos I used in my layout were not all taken the same day and are not of the same event, I could see easily find coordinating "play" photos to group together onto a meaningful layout. (By the way, I date the back of each layout with the month and year, and I have found this to be invaluable when working with older photos.)

Deciding on a layout direction was super-fast, as I chose Sketch #6  from my list of approved sketches. (This particular sketch is from Becky Fleck at www.pagemaps.com.) I then just put it altogether. I decided against "exact measurements" and just chose to wing it with placement of papers, etc, and it went together much more quickly than when I work at everything being so precise and according to the sketch. Letting go of that pressure made the whole experience more fun, so I'm going to work on that more with this challenge round.

So, there you have it. Week 1 ends today, and I completed (2) Stash Stints and (2) layouts. I'm planning on one more Stash Stint today, and I'm looking forward to using up the rest of my MME Charm Kit by creating a card or two and then creating one more layout with last month's Jillibean Soup Happy Campers Kit. I hope that you are able to get into your scrapspace this week and use your scrappin' stash to "get more pages done!"

Tammy

Scrappin' The "Stash" Challenge, Round 2

It's time for another round of our "Scrappin' The Stash" Challenge, starting today and ending on November 21st. That's another (7) beautiful weeks of scrapbooking fun, which will push us right up to the Holiday Season! Here are my challenge personal challenge parameters, which are very similar to my Round 1 parameters, with a few key changes...

• Use only photos that I already have printed.
• Use only products that I already have in my stash.
• Use only (7) different sketches as layout inspiration.
• Set a timer for a 45-minute scrapbooking stint 3-4 days/week.

I kept a few of the sketches from my previous round because I didn't feel like I used them enough and wanted to use them more and/or I just really liked working with them and wanted to keep them in the rotation for another round. I also added a few new sketches from www.pagemaps.com. Becky Fleck creates some AMAZING sketches which are scrapbook-ready, so instead of reinventing the wheel, I chose a few of my favorites and added them to the mix this time. If you'd like to use my Round 2 Sketches, I have created a .pdf for you to download. Enjoy!

STASH CHALLENGE SKETCHES, ROUND 2

I also changed my time frame from 70-minutes (which didn't work very well) down to 45-minutes, as this is the amount of time that it takes to watch one episode of  "Once Upon a Time" or "Bones," which should be enough time to get something done but not so much time that I don't get anything else done. :)

Join us over at Facebook and post  some of your finished layouts. I'll keep you posted here once a week how I'm doing, and I hope some of you will choose to play along with me!

Tammy

October Kits and a month-long Challenge!

Good Morning Friends! Tammy here to wish you all a "Happy Wednesday" - middle of the week, and only two more days until the weekend starts! During this time of the year, my family is gone every Saturday to a soccer game or a far-away cross-country meet, but this coming weekend, we have an unprecedented free Saturday! I think I'll make a delicious breakfast casserole and plan to have coffee on the porch with my husband while my boys sleep in until noon. It's the little things that make life grand, don't you think? :)

Our October Kits went live on Monday night, and aren't they fun! There is so much variety in colors and style and embellishment types this month, and I am so excited to get some extra time to scrapbook on my upcoming "free" Saturday! We will be shipping the kits out on Monday, so there is still time to add some of the great coordinating add-on kits or individual coordinating items from our store to your October shipment. If you are a TSR Member, just e-mail me to add to your shipment.

OCTOBER FLAVORS OF THE MONTH KIT: $23.95

But before I sign off, start thinking about your scrapbooking goals and which (7) scrapbook sketches you want to use for our next "Scrappin' The Stash" Challenge, which will start tomorrow and run (7) weeks - through November 21st. I'm working on my (7) sketches today, along with some tweaks to my challenge parameters. I'll post them all here tomorrow. I'm looking forward to some creative play in my scrapspace this fall, and I hope you'll plan to join me!

OCTOBER PROJECT LIFE KIT: $17.99

AND SOME AMAZING ADD-ON KITS TO MAKE YOUR KITS GO EVEN FURTHER...

OCTOBER EMBELLISHMENT KIT: $12.00

OCTOBER PATTERNED PAPER KIT: $7.00

OCTOBER CARDSTOCK KIT: $7.00

TSR EXCLUSIVE "JOURNALING TAG #8: JOURNALING OVAL TAG Stamp Set: $6.00

(Oval fits on a standard-sized shipping tag; 2 tags are included in this month's FOTM Kit)