Design Team October 2008

I participate on a design team at the local scrapbook store. It's great because...1) I get a discount! and 2) I get free stuff to create with and 3) I have a really good excuse to visit the store every other week. I also worked at this particular store during my five years of college so I'm familiar with the store products, layout and even the employees. Kinda handy! Anyway, I'm posting my projects for October 2008. You can also view mine and other team member's stuff at the Picture This website. Our assignment this month was to create at least one layout relating to back to school or late summer. Since there's no kiddies to scrapbook, I chose the later and made a page to show why I do (and don't) love the changing of the seasons from summer to fall.

Product Listing:

Paper - (white cs) Bazzill (black cs) Rooney Printing Co. (red and tan cs) Worldwin (red pattern) Basic Grey (green/tan pattern) Cosmo Cricket; Accents - (flowers) Hero Arts (buttons) craft supply (swirl diecut) Cuttlebug (scroll stamp) Heidi Grace (ink) Staz-on (title) custom cut - Americana font***; Other - (corner rounder-sm) EK Success (swiss dots embossing plate) Cuttlebug (treading water border punch) Fiskars

***I bought a Wishblade machine when they were BRAND NEW...before Xyron even bought them out and paid WAAAAAY too much. Anyway, finally using it. Love it for custom titles. You can even weld letters and create outlines for your titles. It's really versatile and the new model is MUCH MORE affordable. Check it out here.

The second page I made for the DT was a spur of the moment thing - based on a totally awesome page by Elizabeth Karchner that I found while perusing her website on the advice of a friend (thanks, Michelle!).

Supply List:

Paper - (white cs) Bazzill (teal cs) Die Cuts with a View (floral) Scenic Route (black paisley) Doodlebug; Accents - (paper borders - black/pink) Bazzill (rickrack sticker) My Minds Eye (flourish stamp) Autumn Leaves (ink) Staz On (paper flowers) Prima Marketing(rhinestones) Queen & Co. (acetate hearts/butterflies) Heidi Swapp (diecut scroll) Cuttlebug (pen) Photo Signature by Zig; Other -

black foam

I thought the page turned out cute and it was super fast too! Less than one hour.

Because I had scraps from each of these pages, I also created cards. I figured that thank you cards always come in handy!

(Same supplies as "Changing Seasons" page above)

(Same supplies as "Adorable" page above)

My tip for the day: Try foam and felt in your Cuttlebug machine. It cuts great and you can make super cute shapes and puffy/textured letters in a snap. So much cheaper than buying them premade too! If you don't own a Cuttlebug, definitely consider it. You can get one 40% off at Michaels with a coupon or at a great sale price at your local store - in Eau Claire, both Picture This and Down Memory Lane offer them at a discount every day. (Around $60.00 for the machine and starter kit).

Note: I plan to do the Ali Edwards challenge this week - "A week in the life" by taking lots of everyday photos, recording my daily activities, and collecting bits of life. Check out the completed project on a future post. Have a great day.

Just a few of my favs right now...

A new addition to my album. A take on one of Ali Edward's scrapbook pages (of course). I simply love the idea of scrapbooking a moment in time - recording what's going on RIGHT NOW. Let's face it, you don't need to scrapbook only birthdays and holidays. The everyday moments should be remembered too 'cause they are the ones we forget the fastest. I'm really big on using Basic Grey products right now. They have amazing paper patterns! Also loving rub-ons. My favorite tool for applications is the Doodlebug rub-on tool - stylus ball on one end and a smooth "spoon" on the other. Works great - got it online at Joann's.

And this is one of favorites just because the kitty' is so darn cute! Kittens are really the best. My July 2007 "Creating Keepsakes" magazine really got a workout during one scrapbooking weekend since it had a Jamie Waters showcase article. I love her work also. She has a real knack for placing cute little accents (you know...the ones we ALL accumulate!) all over a page, but not letting it look too cluttered. I loved her super fast pages article and cranked this out in less than one hour. You'll also likely notice I'm a firm believer in journaling. I try to tell a story on each page (though not always successful). For handwritten journaling, I use the handy clear ruler included with Heidi Swapp's "Love Your Handwriting" idea book. Usually I just draw lines lightly in pencil and journal with a slick writer (after contemplating my journaling on a scrap sheet). Then I use a white art eraser to clean up the lines. Voila!

This final one was great for using up scraps. (As a sidenote, I keep the majority of my scrap pieces of paper. At least all that are atleast 4x6 - smaller if it's a favorite pattern that I know I'll use again. I have the cardstock ones sorted in a paper container (12x12 with dividers). All my patterned scraps are kept in a 12x12 plastic storage box and a 12x12 drawer which I pull out each time I scrap. I often look here first before pulling out a fresh sheet.)

This layout was another lift of Ali Edwards - she is a scrapbooking genius when it comes to new/fresh ideas. The layout idea is from her Studio A article - May 2007 ("My Hope for You"). I loved the idea of using a transparancy frame to highlight the title and the random use of chipboard letters - a great way to conserve alphabets too!

Today...

Today I decided to start my own blog. It was a long thought-out decision...something I've been considering for quite awhile, but just too lazy to actually do it. But here I am. Posting. Finally! I guess I just wanted somewhere to put my thoughts. I used to keep a journal (as a teen) and religiously wrote it in each day. I don't anticipate being that punctual with this, but you just never know. Mostly though, I wanted a place to post my newest scrapbook layouts. A place for my tips and tricks. A place to communicate with other scrapbookers and crafters...if they ever find my blog. So that's it. I'll start today with posting a few of my favorite layouts. Ones I just love to look at. And I promise I'll be back with more pages, cards, questions, and answers - and all the wisdom I can muster. Until then, have a fabulous day!