The Winner of the September DT Challenge...

...is Robin with this stunning layout using the "Ooh La La" papers from My Mind's Eye! Robin's combination of "fussy" cutting, layering, ribbon, rhinestones and that fabulous & inspiring quote is just perfect - and what a beautiful daughter! Congratulations Robin and thank you so much for playing along with the Design Team. Debbie has your prize ready for you - a Gift Certificate to Scrapbooks Plus!

Here is a little head's up to get your creative juices flowing for the October DT Challenge. Next month's challenge is a little different. We are asking you to use this page map (designed by our own Erin Saravia) to create your submission:

Everything else is still the same:

1. Select the papers and embellishments you want to use from the Design Team display area by "The Wall" in the classroom section of the store.

2. Create your layout in which the majority of the materials used are from the current month's kit.

3. Complete and post your layout by the 21st of the month, leaving a comment on the challenge post (always on the 1st of the month when the new kit is revealed) and include a link where we can view your submission online - OR - you can email your entry to debbie@scrapbooks-plus.com .

Check back tomorrow to see the October Kit...

I am anything but square...

He he he...finding titles for blog posts is always challenging for me but since the layout I am going to talk about is very symmetrical and has squares, I immediately thought that I was anything but square! Okay, so I digress but it made me chuckle!

This layout I happen to love the simplicity of it. It was very clean, straight lines but yet just came together so nicely. I simple used four same sized squares in the center as a "mat" of sorts, with four different patterned papers that nicely complimented each other. I was originally going to use a black and white photo, since the doggy seems to be such a beautiful doggy that complimented the paper nicely I chose to just leave this photo in full color.

Not all layouts need to be complex. Not all layouts have to have tons of photos. Sometimes less is more and you definitely have to find your design and your comfort zone.

Sometimes you just need to make your own title!

I was searching through my stash for the right font for this layout. I searched through thickers, and stickers, and rubons, and stamps... and nothing felt right. I wanted something simple and soft and a little romantic. We got a piece of velvet paper in the kit... and I decided to just make my own title with it instead. I got a piece of scratch paper and outlined the curve of the die-cut that I wanted to follow. Then I wrote out the title and started outlining the letters until they looked the right size. At this point, I'll cut it out with scissors, ignoring the inside cuts... the inside of the K and E, leave those intact. Then I it flip it upside-down on the back of my velvet paper and outline it in pencil. Once it's outlined, I redraw the inside portions by hand. Starting with those inside portions, use a craft knife and craft mat to cut them out. Then I take my really pointy, little scissors and carefully cut out the outsides. It takes a little extra care, but it's easier, faster, and more accurate for me than using a craft knife for the entire process. Flip it over and you have a custom title all you own! :)

thanks for stopping by!
erin

Pineapple Mini-book by Esther

Aloha!

When I think of Hawaii, I think pineapples. While vacationing there, we visited the Helemano Pineapple Plantation. My desire to use those photos led to the design of the pineapple book. The Oh LaLa papers were great for the subject. I started with a shape cut from chipboard using the trial & error method. Half of the 12' square looked like a good start in order to accomodate the 4"x6" photos & journaling with embellishments. The shapes were traced on the back side of the Bazzil gold cardstock. Next, I painstakingly cut each of the shapes (so they lined up) & inked the edges of the chipboard with a green marker. I glued the cardstock shapes to the chipboard and punched holes for the rings.

After the pages were ready for photos, I concentrated on decorating the cover. The cross-hatched diagonal lines were sketched with a brown marker on gold paper.

They were shaded with brown stamping ink. Orange Staz-on ink was used to give contrast.

The leaves were cut of green paper & shaded with markers & ink pads.

Overlapping them in layers gave a more realistic effect.

Of course, I had to add bling to the intersections of the pineapple diamonds. The rhinestones already had glue on back.

Because I put inks on the cardstock cover, some stones had to be glued on a second time. An attempt was made to color the silver rings using alcohol inks. The color is faint though.

The photos, embellishments & were added. Hand formed letters were used with markers & a calligraphy marker in green. Ribbons added that festive touch to the rings (see them on the display board).

This was a fun project that kept the creative juices flowing for a couple of weeks. Try shaping a book from the chipboard pieces you can get at Scrapbooks Plus.

Aloha!

Last Hurrah! of Summer

Have you ever been to a sea shell store? You know, those places along the beach that sell nothing but shells? If you are like me, you go into those places and buy all these shells and have no earthly idea what to do with them when you get home. We'll here's an idea...use them in your scrapbooking! Over spring break we traveled to the British Virgin Islands. My favorite spot was Anagada, a small flat island that is surrounding by a coral reef. It was remote and spectacular! I definitely wanted to make a mini album that captured all that beauty. When we were in St. Thomas, I had purchased this lion's paw shell at one of those shell shop places.

I had spotted on Two Peas how someone used the shell for a cover to a minibook, so I had to try it myself. The Anagada album seemed perfect. The hardest part was drilling those holes through the back of the shell for the rings. I had to reinforce my drilling with chip board strips and rubber cement because the shell itself wouldn't hold up.

Inside the shell, I used Basic Grey milk letters left over from my Beach book project (another project where I used a star fish). I embellished with left over strips of paper from My Mind's Eye and from Creative Imaginations embellishments.

The pages themselves were pieces of chipboard from my cat's wet food boxes (yes, I'm still saving those inserts!). I cut them out in the shape of the shell, painted them with acrylic paint, then covered them with My Mind's Eye Ohh La La paper. I made a template to cut the photos all identical to add consistency.

The finished project is on display at Scrapbooks-Plus. When we were in Key West for my birthday two weeks ago, I bought four more large flat shells to try my hand at making more of these cute little albums for Christmas. There is some terrific Heidi Swap island themed double sided paper at the store that will make beautiful minibooks for that last "Hurrah!" of summer.

And speaking of Hurrah! I designed the make and take for the Wednesday make-and-take with accompanying two-page layout this week. The project features Basic Grey's Indian Summer and gold leafing. One page is a single page Basic Grey design. I created the second page with the make and take. Come by the store this Wednesday early, because we're sure to sell out. The full layout is posted on my blog SharonVM.blogspot.com. Come check it out!

Wednesdays at Scrapbooks Plus

Have you had the chance to get to Scrapbooks Plus on a Wednesday?

You should get over there, the Design Team and the Staff at Scrapbooks-Plus have been working really hard to bring you a new page each Wednesday!

If you go every every Wednesday Scrapbooks-Plus gives you a page Element, and we design a page for you to copy. You even get directions. Bring your basic class kit and sit down and put your page together right there...Plus that is like 4 layouts a month done with no fuss or muss...we have done the work for you :)

Here is a sneak peak of an up and coming layout.....
...you are going to get the apron, and you even get to assemble it...This is a so cute if I do say so myself...the apron is so fun and is from the "from my kitchen" cartridge...Perfect for the upcoming holidays...or perhaps from holidays past!

This quick, simple mini-album was made with 6x6 chipboard, crop-a-dile, and binder rings. One hint, make sure all the holes in the chipboard line up before adding paper, etc. Punch the holes in the chipboard first, then adhere paper to one side. Punch the holes a 2nd time, then adhere paper to the other side and punch holes. If you punch holes at the very end, and they don't match, you may end up with a page like the 3rd picture, extra holes! Aren't you glad I try this out and work out all the kinks! :-) Have fun!!!

Are you ready for some Football?!?

I love the wedding layouts from Debbie and Lisa - the papers were classy and elegant and they reminded me of weddings, too...but I noticed how similar the colors were to some papers by Teresa Collins Designs - The Sports Edition - and I went in a totally different direction.I want everyone to notice that I *gasp* tore and inked on this layout! It made the papers seem more rugged and tough - like my son!

Don't be afraid to mix papers from different lines...and different companies. You will end up with a page that is completely unique!

Cards with Die Cuts!

Need a little card inspiration? I went a little crazy making cards this month - buy why not! It was so easy to pull a few together with these kits, especially with the die cut sheet. I used a die cut in each of these:
Here I used a journaling block as the main design. A few flowers layered with a gorgeous Creative Imginations brad and it's done.

I layered two die cuts for this card, then added a little black bling to make a center for my flower.


The tag is from the die cut sheet - you don't need much more than that. I added a scrap piece of Bazzill scalloped paper left over from my wedding layout, a bit of ribbon and a couple of staples.

And I just made this one the other day! I had the birthday brad and ribbon scrap left over from our June kit and layered them to make a flower. Where's the die cut in this? The edging strip!

Working with Wedding Photos

The patterns in the My Mind's Eye paper really work well with wedding photos. They seem so elegant - and of course, flowery! Honestly I haven't scrapped hardly any of my wedding photos. However, this paper really got my mojo going and I got to fully express my girly side!

So here's how I put it together:

I knew I wanted to make a flower accent with the die cuts. I cut a smaller flower out of a piece of the patterned paper to layer on top of the die cut. Then, I added a paper flower and topped it off with a gorgeous Creative Imaginations brad I picked up at Scrapbooks Plus. You can't tell in this photo, but the top of my wedding dress was covered in fabric flowers similar to this brad.

In design there's the "rule of three." It's good to have three of an element in your layout to repeat a color, pattern, or shape. I used the "rule of three" in a couple ways with this layout. First, I chose several papers with patterns that resembled the metal work in the back of the altar of the church - not exact, but close enough to emphasize as a "theme." And, I repeated scallop shapes. The Bazzill swiss dot scalloped paper was an impulse grab when I picked up my kit - but I love it as a mat. When I was putting together the layout I noticed that my photo also has scallops - in the window at the top most noticeably, so I decided to use a border punch along the left-hand side of another piece of paper to repeat that element again. Finally, I repeated the gold color in the background paper, the flower, and in the paper surrounding my photo.

Making the Most of your Die-Cuts

We got sets of My Mind's Eye papers this month and I was working with the Ooh La La line for my projects this month. In true page-kit style, it comes with a page of die cuts. My goal was to try to use all of them... because, really, if you save them to use later they will just sit there collecting dust... and then I will feel guilty. My totals for this kit were pretty impressive. I got one 1-page layout and five 2-page layouts plus 2 cards out of the kit... and I still have a few good-sized scraps left for another layout or several cards. What a great deal!

This layout is my favorite this month! The dotted paper made me think of the paper on the inside covers of children's book... which made me look for photos of Adrianna reading... and I found Lyle. She didn't like the book that much... only a single read for this one... but the green croc on the cover inspired the little framed title. I often get these little frames in kits and I confess that I generally leave them unused. Perhaps that's because I was limiting myself to their obvious use: framing a picture. I dedided to frame my stamped title here instead and I like it a lot better! I rumpled the notebook print paper and inked the edges green to help it stand out from the cream backed dot paper. I accidentally ripped the top edge... so I had to rip a little more to make it look right. :) Then it needed something else, so the hanging tags were born. I stamped the first two words of my title on them and looped a piece of thread on each. Then I threaded them through my needle and ran the threads through to the back. I used a little adhesive to hold them just so, keeping the stamping visable. I used part of a decorative edge die-cut along the edge of the photo mat to add some additional contrast between the cream-backed patterned papers.

I used the leftover piece of the decorative edge die-cut for this cute, all-occasion card. A die-cut flower and a pair of labels decorate the front... with a little bling to finish it off!

Last but not least, here was my two-page layout. I love this green honeycomb paper. It is fresh, fun, and modern looking. I paired it with some of the Whitewash Co'ordinations paper. I used a few of the die cuts... the photo corner is really a half-frame with the edges sanded to make the cut edge match the other sides, and a cluster of die-cuts highlight the quote. The title is a stamped die-cut in a label holder paired with some really, really old Lil Davis chipboard letters. Really, it would be totally easy to recreate these... all you need is some scraps of chipboard, ink or paint, alphabet stamps, and glossy accents to seal it and give it that professional, store-bought look. The journaling is a quote from Laura Ingalls Wilder from a Mary Englebreit card I've been holding onto for 9 years. I knew it would come in handy! :)

thanks for stopping by!
erin

Using Chipboard Frames

I had bought these sunburst frames by Jenni Bowlin a while ago for some great project I was going to do that I have since forgot about (note to self - always write down great ideas when you have them, otherwise they get lost in the brain!). The sunburst design in the My Mind's Eye OhLaLa kits this month reminded me that I had those Jenni Bowlin frames and perhaps they could have a useful role in my two-page layout. I cut the sunburst paper in half and used it across both pages (the background is the Coordinations Cardstock that you can purchase at the store).

I glittered the frames using Martha Stewart's Fire Opal. This color is perfect for fall and it just came in the store. I used hairspray to set the glitter so it wouldn't be all over my scrapbook (and my face) every time I handled it!

I've become a big fan of placing the frames over photos without trimming the photo to fit the frame - note the large sunburst frame on the left. This technique lets you highlight the feature you want to place emphasis on. I used the same technique in my Summer Soiree' class that I taught at Scrapbooks-Plus in June. You will find new purpose with chipboard frames using this technique and it keeps you from having to cut photos down. Just leave the photo in their printed size and use the frame as an overlay for punch. I think I might use the technique this weekend on a football layout (got a game today!), to point out which kid is mine in all those uniformed, helmeted boys out on the field!

Have a great weekend and get some scrappin' done!!

This is the newest addition to the fam, my nephew Wyatt. I am way behind in my scrappin' so he hasn't gotten much face time yet in my albums. I took advantage of these more masculine papers this month to catch up on the little man.

You know how I'm into making embellishments match my layouts, it's a great money saver. I also did that on this layout with the flower, I inked it really well and let it dry for ahile before adhering to the page. It also cleverly covers up a goof I made with the border punch! :-) Happy Scrappin'!

8x8 photos

Ohh La La- My Mind's Eye by Loretta Cooper

I hope you've been logging on regularly this week to see all the amazing designs posted this week by the design team.

One of the things I like best about this kit is the versatility. The Ohh La La kit is great for fall photos, but it could be used for virtually any project you've been planning.

I especially like the more muted tones for photos with bright colors. The monochromatic layout makes the pictures pop. I also love the way the title turned out. This is one of the new Quickutz fonts (teriyaki) cut from the same cardstock as the "base". I used pop up dots to give the title a little...pop!

Bling it Out...

There are many uses for bling. You can use it on layouts and cards. You can use it to make letters pop, or you can use it to accent a border. I chose to use my bling this month on creating the center of My Mind's Eye flower (found on the the element page). I then created a swirly cutesy stem on my flower with my bling. I used black bling which really accented the black, grey, and white color scheme. I thought that these colors along with the bling needed a little POW! I am mildly obsessed with yellow so that is what I chose to do. As you can see in this "Got Waves" layout I used yellow ink around the edges of my flower as well as some white polk-a-dot ribbon as an accent.

This layout is very simple, easly dupicated, and yet still easy on the eyes!

Okay, so easy on the eyes minus the flash...apparently I need to practice some photos skills, I do apologize for the horrible reflection of the flash.

Glossy Accents and Flower Soft

After reading Michelle's post on Friday, I got thinking about how I love to embellish my accents. I love the die cut sheets by My Mind's Eye that came with the kit this month ( I used the Andrea Victoria paper line). There are so many uses for the different die cuts and so many different ways to make them go perfectly with you LO.



In this LO I used the flower die cut as an accent. I embellished the flower with some Polar White Flower Soft. It gave some dimension to the flower- just enough for me. Scrapbooks Plus has a great selection of Flower Soft- go by and check it out!


I also love to use Glossy Accents by Ranger to accent my embellishments. I used my Cricut and cut out part of my title LOVE. When I put it on the LO, it just didn't have the pop I wanted. So, I put a coat of Glossy Accents on it and I really like the way it looks.

Enjoy!
Lisa

When I first got this paper I had no idea what I was going to do with it...I looked at it and looked at it...and looked at it some more...

Then I put it away...

Pulled it out and looked at it again...and put it away again...

Finally, someone asked me what was wrong with me...it never takes me this long to do something...and it was the "gold" color that was throwing me off...

I am just starting to appreciate a black and white palate. So once I got rid of the gold color i knew exactly what to do with this paper. I had this one lone picture left over to scrap from my son's Aunt's Prom.

The butterflies were cut with a punch that is hanging out in the scrapbooks plus crop room...and the paper is some left over Basic Grey lemonade paper I had...yummy so pretty...The flower are flowers that I have been collecting saying "one day I will use these" ... finally that day came :) And all I can say is ladies bust out those flowers that you have been saving for the rainy day. And use them! They are doing no good hiding in the box in the back of your scrapbook room. I see them and I buy them but I never use them. What about you...I see lots of people buying flowers at the store but I am not seeing them on all the pages.

The journal card I used actually had Yellow around it, and it has a damask design on it...but I cut the yellow off, and hid the damask under the picture. I took the purple pen I was writing with and outlined the card, so that it had something around the edge. Just not yellow.

I loved this paper, and hope that you get a chance to run by scrapbooks plus, and play with it too...and don't forget to bust out those flower that you have been saving for a rainy day. Using the bright colors on the black and white really make them pop and look so pretty :) Don't you agree.

Memphis Quick Stop by Esther

The My Mind's Eye Ooh La La papers seemed right for this layout with colors of decades from the past—gold and green. I started with a solid green color cardstock and built layers that accommodated the four photos that I had on the subject. In order to lend some pizzazz to the layout, I cut a circle using the outline drawn with a skillet lid. A third of the biege circle was used on the left side in order to balance the lightness of the map on the right side. Journaling with transparent materials is best done by planning the page first, then printing a whole sheet of journaling to fit the spaces. I print a black & white copy on paper to test the size first. After cutting the size to fit, I do the final printing in color on the transparency.

I used Microsoft Publisher (or Word) with Britannic Bold in 18 point being shaped to align with the arc. It was printed on a transparency sheet. When placed over the beige cardstock arc, the green print is clearly readable. The title was also printed on the transparency in size 44 in Bodoni MT. Scrapbooks Plus sells a transparent sheet by Graffix. I would have used that if it had not been midnight when this was being printed. Those sheets are smooth on both sides. The transparencies are to be printed on the textured side. Adhering clear papers and transparencies present a challenge. After planning layers, the clear printing is adhered under other elements or holes were punched with the Crop-A-Dile & Big Bite (center of page) to insert green brads. Some edges are beneath the photos , like the title. In order to place the brads on the gold cardstock mats for the photo captions, I measured & marked placement on the back of the gold cardstock. That way the clear journaling piece is attached to the gold cardstock with brads. Double stick tape was used beneath the brads to adhere to the sheet.

The additional museum information was found on their website. The map was printed on photo paper. This was a fun way to present a memory of a place I plan to see in its entirety in the future. We only made a quick stop to see the building before it was opened that day.

Making your own ribbon

Ever have the right ribbon in your head but not in your stash? That happens to me often and for some reason this time I figured, why not, just make my own! So I took a leap and absolutely loved the results!

Start with a white or ivory ribbon, I decided to try gathering so I chose a wider, thinner ribbon that would be easy to sew. If you want to try the gathering, you'll need to make twice as much ribbon. Find an ink that will match your layout, and ink up your ribbon liberally. You may want to leave it awhile to dry.

Since I wanted it gathered, I sewed a straight line down the middle of the ribbon. After sewing, pull one of the threads so that the ribbon puckers, keep going on either end of the ribbon until it is gathered the way you want it.

Once it's finished, apply it to your project, and done! I'm not one to brag, but I absolutely love how this layout turned out!

A Glass of Wine and a Good Book...

Have you noticed the small journals displayed on the table just inside the door on the right as you enter the store? There is a nice assortment and they cover a range of subjects, including vacations, websites, pets, children, teens and - two of my favorite things - books and wine! I don't pretend to be a wine connoisseur, but I do enjoy having a glass of wine occasionally. Many of the bottles that currently occupy my wine rack were gifts and the wine journal provides a place to record what I like and would purchase for myself. (This particular wine was a gift from my brother, Ed, and is a new personal favorite...you can pick it up at Costco for less than $10.)

I also picked up a reader's journal. We are avid readers in my family, but the names of books and authors often slip my mind. The journal has a series of prompts for you to note favorite quotes or characters from the story as well as a place to record your personal review. (It would also be a great place to write down the reading recommendation of a friend, since I am always looking for something good to read.)

In any event, these journals inpired me to do something I rarely do...create a scrapbook page about me! A page about wine and a book I enjoyed...part of that daily minutiae that seems so unimportant...but I would be fascinated to know about my mother and her preferences, for example. The paper is acid-free, the pages are the perfect size, and the "ripped out page look" is just cool!

I think this may be the beginning of a series...I just got back from a weekend in New York where I happened to shared a fabulous bottle of German wine with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law...and I kept the label...

Ooh La La by My Mind's Eye

Loretta Cooper

If you've been reading the blog this month then you've seen some amazing work by the Design Team...

Lisa has picked out some terrific papers for us to work with this month. I chose the Ooh La La kit. I love the fall colors, but the prints and combinations are so versatile you can use them for just about any page.

I had this silly picture of my youngest son and my (oldest) husband. The colors just seemed to work and the design came together almost effortlessly.

Are you Ready for School?

Tomorrow is the day when many kids head back to school (my guys start back on Thursday). So take your camera and get those shots of them getting on the bus, entering the building...whatever great photo you capture of the first day of school, you can record the memory on this great paper from My Mind's Eye. There is this notebook paper 12x12 sheet that is a perfect background for a one page layout. I used strips of other patterned paper from the kit to grab the colors from the door and from Zach's shirt. The letters are Basic Grey. You can find whatever you need for your "Back to School" layout at Scrapbooks-Plus. (And now that the kids are back in school you can get caught up on all your scrappin'!)

Have you been...

When I walked into Scrapbooks Plus this week...I seen these 4 papers right off the bat...sometimes that happens you walk in looking for one thing and something completely different jumps off the shelves right into yoru bag...that is what happened to me.

CHA stuff is starting to come in...and oh my goodness...the New Bo Bunny has come in and I couldn't hardly control myself...

I just HAD to get the new Flutter Butter stuff....So cute...I was so inspired by it...I ran home and had to make a layout. There was no controlling myself...and then I liked that layout so much I had to make another one...

Do you ever feel like that when you see paper? Well, I say run by Scrapbooks Plus, and check out the new Bo Bunny Papers along with all the other new stuff that has come in...I think you will be happy with all the stuff that Debbie has coming in...

The flurish on this layout is from the new sweethearts cricut cartridge....don't have it and want to try it be sure to sign up for the upcoming Cricut Swarm...I will be there and I will have my cartridge with me...

Happy Scrappin'