Party of 6 - Bo Bunny "Family Is" line

Today I have another layout to share using the Family Is collection from Bo Bunny!  Love the navy in this line and decided to really pull that out for this one!

As I was playing with the blues/greens/whites I felt like I needed another color to add some pop.  That is where the coral color came in.  I decided to use it to frame the whole thing as well as in embellishing.  There are so many fun things about this collection but I think one of my favorites was the cute patterned paper that was full of polaroids with sweet phrases and patterns.  

This was one of our first family pictures as a family of 6 - hard to believe that was six months ago!

Supplies Used:

Everything is from Bo Bunny!

My spin on Project Life

I just shared this over on Practical Scrappers and thought I'd share it with y'all too!

When I first started scrapbooking I wanted to preserve the little memories.  I knew I wouldn't forget about the big stuff...but it's the little special moments that are so easily lost.  Lately, especially since having my fourth child I feel like I'm losing those memories long before I get them commited to a page.  

I've always admired the approach to Project Life but for me and my schedule I knew I couldn't keep up with it on a weekly basis (trust me I tried Project 365 and failed about 9 months in....).  With so many companies creating cute little journaling cards and phrase cards I knew I could make a similar concept work in my favor and save more memories that way.

Every couple days I grab a few journaling cards and jot down anything that has happened that I want to remember.  I also have been writing down things about who we are right now (favorite tv shows, etc).  I then add those into my page protectors.  I also am taking pictures that may not be quite layout worthy, are not enough for a layout into the page protectors.  I try to correlate the pictures with the journalling...it doesn't always happen though.

Here's a sample of what one of my spreads looks like:

Some of my favorite stories from the last month are recorded here.  

Here's a couple of rules I made for myself:

1) In addition to the journalling/phrase cards I am only using scraps....I will not cut into a new sheet of paper

2) Keep the page coordinated...so once I commit to a journalling card I try to still stay within that color set up.

3) Do not include any photos that I intend to scrapbook later.  For instance the picture of my baby in the bumbo playing....this is a regular part of his routine but I don't have a desire to do a layout all about it.

4) Write about myself and my hubby too - not just the kids!

So that's my spin on Project Life...no weeks, just lots of quick memories documented before they are gone! 

Bo Bunny "Family Is" Layout

This month I got to work with "Family is" from Bo Bunny for The Scrapbooking Studio.  It is such a fun, eclectic line!  I love the colors of it and all the sassy sayings it brings in.  This first layout that I am going to share is out of my normal style, but I had a lot of fun playing around with techniques and fussy cutting on it!

The paper I used consisted entirely of speech bubbles.  I wanted to find a fun way to use it but also incorporate a place for a title and some white space.  So I trimmed out a few areas with my paper trimmer and backed it with red cardstock.  I rounded a bunch of corners to add some visual interest.  I fussy cut some of the blank speech bubbles out and then added a picture of each family member to it.  I then doodled a black outline to draw more attention to them as well as adding buttons and wood pieces for dimension. Ended up being a kinda fun and funky look!

Supplies Used: Bo Bunny paper

Maya Road Arrows

Studio Calico wood diamonds & circles

American Crafts Thickers

Easter Cards

Last night I was on a technique kick with making cards and decided to play around with my SRM Stickers that are Easter themed.  The way their stickers come always makes me think of subway art...so I decided to put them all together and make my own little piece of Subway art for a card.

It took a little bit of configuring but wasn't too bad to put together and was definitely made easier by being able to overlap the clear stickers!

I also wanted to make a shaped card to look like an Easter egg and cover it with washi tape.

This was super quick to put together and way fun!  I added an SRM Sticker for a sentiment as well as some vintage seam binding and pins.  I'm so addicted to washi tape and every time I reach to use some I realize there is another color that I need :).

Supplies Used:

Washi Tape: My Minds Eye, Target, Bella Blvd

Pins: Little Yellow Bicycle & Maya Road

Ribbon: Doodlebug

Stickers: SRM Stickers

Cardstock: Colorbok

April Cards Class: Isabella by BoBunny Quilted Cards

Since my last class of Quilted Cards went so well and there were requests for more, I decided to do another class with a similar theme!  This time I use some similar techniques and add a few more new ones in too!  Here's the cards I will be teaching on Thursday, April 11th at The Scrapbooking Studio in Bloomington.

I used the Isabella line from BoBunny and just adore the color combination in it!  If you are in the Bloomington area I'd love to have you join me!

February CARDS Magazine Publication

This was my very first project that I made for  The Scrapbooking Studio using the Echo Park Everyday Eclectic Line...and before I took it in I submitted it to CARDS Magazine.  Lucky me, it got picked up!  So now, I can finally share it with you here!

I am always on the lookout for how to do something unique with patterned paper.  When I saw this scalloped paper I knew I need to cut into it and give it a ruffle look.  I didn't do it to every scallop, just random ones and then popped those up.  Add to that the pearls and the great on trend details from Echo Park of chevrons, and banners and it just came together nicely.  Hands down one of my faves ever!

Supplies Used:

Sticker & Pattern Paper by Echo Park

Pearls by Queen & Co

Twine by Jillibean Soup

Pebbles Family Ties Layout

After three boys, I'm getting the hang of this scrapbooking baby boys thing...thank goodness companies keep putting out fun papers to work with!  I love this picture of Bo and I and thought it deserved to be blown up and have a page of it's own.  This is another layout that I created a store sample for The Scrapbooking Studio.

I have been doing a lot of layouts using multiple pictures so I really had to adjust my mindset on this one!  The negative space trend is such a fun one and definitely one made easier by the Silhouette Cameo!  I created my hearts using that as well as parts of my title.  And of course...there's that fun wood veneer from Studio Calico.  I think I would like to own every pack of that that they make....possibly a couple packs of some :)

Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper and stickers by Pebbles

Thickers by American Crafts

Hexagons by Studio Calico

Thrilling news!

Every month GCD Studios puts out a fabulous online magazine full of inspiration and beautiful ideas.  This month I happen to be especially excited about page 4! Click on the picture and it will take you to have a look!

Last week as I was teaching my band class I received a very exciting phone call from Heidi Sonboul herself!  I had forewarned the class there was a teeny tiny chance I might have to take a phone call.  Didn't think it would actually happen!  But, here we are! I have been sitting on this fun news for about a week and am thrilled to finally share it.  I am so excited to be designing for GCD Studios for the next year and can't wait for this adventure to begin!  Thrilled to be joining a few friends and getting to know a whole new group of people!

Pebbles Family Ties Layout: So Cute!

You always can tell when I am working on magazine submissions...there is a total lull on my blog!  The good news (I guess) is that they don't all get picked up so then my blog picks up again!  Today I am going to share another one of my design team projects with you that I created for The Scrapbooking Studio.  I won't gush again about how much I love this line from Pebbles :)

    Maybe I will gush a little about how much I love this little guy :).  My sweet little Bo is probably the most challenging baby I've had but man he is a mama's boy and those adoring eyes make up for the exhaustion :).  I don't work with a lot of 8 X 10 photos...but this one was too good not to blow up.  I continue to be on a bit of a doodling kick and did a lot of it on this one.  The hardest thing for me about doodling is that sometimes you make a little mistake and there's no turning back.  But as my hubby says "that's what makes it crafty!"  

Supplies Used:

All Patterned Paper is from Pebbles

Stickers from Pebbles & SRM Stickers

Wood Hexagons from Studio Calico

Black Pen from American Crafts

Die Cutting from Silhouette Cameo

Twine from The Twinery

Little Yellow Bicycle "Just Because" Card

I realized I haven't shared this card here yet!  I shared it on facebook and then forgot to get over here!

I made this card as a feature on Practical Scrappers to showcase the laser chipboard pieces from 

Gina's Designs.

I painted the filigree frame and heart white and then paired those up with goodies from the "Just Because" line from Little Yellow Bicycle.  I adore the combination of the red, aqua, and gray!  They definitely hit a homerun with this line...I still have more projects to share that use it!

Supplies Used:

Chipboard from Gina's Designs

Paper, Stickers, Pin from Little Yellow Bicycle

Pebbles Family Ties: Family Tree

I fell in love with the "Family Ties" line from Pebbles the moment I saw it.  But this particular sheet with the family tree look had me a little stumped.  That is until I counted the spaces on it and realized there was just enough on there for all my kids and there cousins!  Woot!  Family Tree here I come...now how to give it some dimension and make it pop.

I fully intended to do a canvas...I even bought four of them.  But I had this box sitting around that had this cute green pattern on it and when I set the sheet down it really brought out the colors...so I am using this sturdy old box!

The spots for pictures on this were actually ovals and although they looked cute I still wanted that shape to show some.  So I opted to punch out 1 1/4" circles of the my kiddos and offset those with foam tape on each oval.  I had one oval leftover which made the perfect location for my "cousins" chipboard from Bella Blvd.  I then got out my Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio Tool that makes small epoxy circles and Epiphany Crafts Button Studio Flower maker and went to town with complimentary colors. I opted for solid colored papers simply because I didn't want too much going on.  I added those throughout the tree as well as some little trimmed fabric leaves.  I also added some white doodled stitches to leaves and the trunk.  

I had a little space at the bottom of the box to add something.  I knew I didn't want words..there was already enough words.  I also didn't want to distract from the cute kiddos.  I opted to just add three more epoxy flower buttons and a little bit of twine.  

My kiddos were pretty excited to go thru and name each cousin!

Supplies Used:

Paper: Pebbles

Epoxy buttons and circles: Epiphany Crafts

Twine: The Twinery

Letters: American Crafts

Gems: Queen & Co.

Teresa Collins: He Said She Said Cards

Today I thought I would share the cards that I made using Teresa Collins' new "He Said She Said" line. I created these as samples for The Scrapbooking Studio. This was one of those lines that just screamed "make a card with me."  I love when I can look at a line and get a feel on where I am going with it!  

 I made this one second and mostly I made it because I wanted to make something with a mustache...I had never done that before!  My husband laughed when he saw this...

Supplies Used:

Everything is Teresa Collins except

Gems are from Queen & Co.

Twine is a random old supply

"Just Because" Little Yellow Bicycle Card Class

I am so excited that my February card class at The Scrapbooking Studio has sold out!  So now it's time to start sharing my March card class.  I designed this one using pieces from the "Just Because" line from Little Yellow Bicycle.  Once again they have hit a homerun with this line!  It took me less than two hours to design the class because it goes together soooooo nicely!  Here's the four cards for the class.

After I took the cards into the store as samples I had to pick up some more pieces from the line because I knew I wasn't done playing yet...Stay tuned :)

Teresa Collins: Tell Your Story Layout

So I was lucky enough to win all the patterned papers and some stickers from the "Tell Your Story" line at the Teresa Collins class the other night.  I have been admiring that line for a while but hadn't taken the plunge and bought it.  I have to say that she really does an amazing job with putting out lines with great and unique color combinations.  This layout also utilizes some new Thickers and some chipboard pieces from Gina's Designs.  Even with the cutting on my Cameo this layout came together in less than an hour...love it when that happens!  One of the messages I took home the other night from the Teresa Collins class was putting things down to your kids in your journaling.  My little Lucy has had some challenges lately and I decided it would be therapeutic for me to document that - so I definitely journaled!  Hopefully someday we will look back at this together and be proud of getting thru it all in one piece!

Supplies Used:

Paper & Stickers from Teresa Collins

Brads by ???

Chipboard by Gina's Designs

Thickers by American Crafts

Pearls by Queen & Company

Kleenex Pillow box

As soon as I saw the pillow boxes from SRM Stickers I had the idea to put kleenex in them.  My hubby is a Pastor and regularly visits people throughout the week who are either ill or unable to get out a lot because of their age.  They often have dietary restrictions so sending along food is not always an option.  I am always on the lookout for a fresh, cheery idea that I could send along.  Alas, pillow boxes...I thought they could make the perfect little gift for one of our sick shut-ins that my hubby so often visits!  Here is the first (of many to come) that I created!

For as many SRM Stickers as I own, I apparently do not own any Get Well ones.  So I went with a "Special Delivery" one from a baby sheet. I also used some from their We've Got Your Borders and Valentines by the Dozen.

 I added a "Sending Prayers" sentiment to the end of the box...that was a tough little bugger to photograph!  I thought that added a nice little touch for when they open it up.

Ribbon, twine, and a polaroid frame were all an added touch.  I barely needed any patterned paper because the kleenex itself had a cute design on it!

Supplies Used:

Stickers by SRM Stickers

Polaroid frame by Little Yellow Bicycle

Twine by The Twinery

Ribbon by The Paper Studio

Patterned Paper by SEI

Teresa Collins "He Said She Said" and little Bo

I am attending a Teresa Collins class tomorrow night at The Scrapbooking Studio and am super excited!  I recently played with her new line "He Said She Said" and had soooooo much fun with it! I have several projects from that line to share but here is the first one (which also happens to be my favorite!)

Now if you are a regular follower here you know this is a little out of my norm for creations.  I had so much fun just playing on this one!  I used a cut file from Kinsey Wilson which you can find on her blog here.  I originally saw this cut file on Danielle's post on Practical Scrappers and loved it.  Thankfully she shared her source with me! I machine stitched on the arrow lines and cut out and inked words and popped dots and all kinds of fun stuff!  I love the way that the arrows draw your eyes right in to the picture of Bo.  My favorite thing about this line is that she had a nice pop of orange in it.  

Echo Park Paper "Love Story" Layouts

I have had so much fun playing with the Love Story line this month.  It has vibrant, bright colors that are perfect for me!  Here's the two layouts I created and you can find hanging up at The Scrapbooking Studio in Bloomington, IL!

 As you can see on both of these I had some fun with my white Signo pen again :) Love to use that thing to doodle and for these it was doodling ruffles!  This layout is of Bo and it felt a little weird to be doing so much pink on a boy layout!

I have seen a lot of people doing the double photo thing where they are layered like this.  I had two copies of this photo so I decided to give it a whirl.  It's kind of a fun, whimsical touch.  I also used my Silhouette Cameo for the "love" in the title.  I am sooooo loving my Cameo.  

Supplies Used:

Ribbon: American Crafts

Twine: The Twinery

Stickers: Echo Park & SRM Stickers

Pearls: Queen & Co.

Pen: Uniball Signo

Cardstock: American Crafts

Patterned Paper: Echo Park

Brads: Echo Park

I'll be back again with more design team work for the store...I got to do a bonus round this month and can't wait to share that!

My next class!

My next class at The Scrapbooking Studio will be a card class in the evening on Friday, February 22nd.  We will be using patterend papers to give a quilted look to cards as well as playing with some fun folding techniques and dry embossing!  If you are in the area we'd love to have you join us!  The class is $18 and you can RSVP at (309)585-0489

Mitered Edges Tutorial

I love mitered edges!  And after being asked several times how I do them I thought it was time to make a little tutorial up.  For my layout today I used the border strips that come at the bottom of patterned papers from several different companies.  Mine today are from American Crafts, Pebbles, and Studio Calico.

You can make this work with any width of strips...I've done it with much larger ones than you see here.  First off you need to line up your strips to form a right angle.  They should be overlapping each other.

Then use your scissors to trim from the inside of the angle to the outer corner.

And that is basically it!  Now you just line them up together and adhere them down.  I do this for all four pieces before I attach them just to make sure everything is lining up!

If you are interested in checking out a couple other layout I have done this on, you can find one feautring Bella Blvd here and one featuring Echo Park here.

Supplies Used:

Stickers from SRM Stickers & Pebbles

Paper from American Crafts, Studio Calico, & Pebbles

Flowers from Maya Road

Super Cooper: A Two Page Layout

I have been having fun playing with two page layouts!  This one I went for a different color scheme of teal, yellow, orange, and navy.  It was based on a sketch from Creating Keepsakes.  Washi Tape has been a staple of mine lately and you can see I used it a whole lot on this layout to highlight different pictures.

Supplies Used:

Stickers by Momenta, SRM Stickers, Little Yellow Bicycle

Washi Tape: Bella Blvd

Paper: Pebbles, Echo Park, Colorbok

Border: SEI

Twine: The Twinery

Wood: Studio Calico