Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog

Project 12 - November and December reveal!

That date is different and there is more than one project to share, but Hello and welcome to another edition of Project 12!  With the holidays behind us and changes for 2012, things are looking a little different around the blog, but change is good!  I hope you all had a chance to check out the new challenge "Old, New, Borrowed, COOL!" hosted by Kelly Goree on the 1st day of the month.  There is a lot of creativity in store for you every month on the first.

We are a few days late, but I have my November layout to share with you.  As a reminder here’s the November sketch that Becky challenged us with for the Project 12 challenge:

(

I admit to staring at this sketch for a long time before deciding what to do with it.  In the end, I walked away, looked over my digital files, and chose all the photos that highlighted the month and used them on the layout.  I’m really happy with how my layout turned out:

You can still see the general sketch idea with this layout.  I had a lot of fun with textures here, between my buttons and leaves, and the stitched and stamped edges.   It was a lot of fun, working on this one.
Because it’s January, you are likely working on your December pages.  Normally I don’t share my December layout until the first of February, but I also have that layout to share with you today.

As a reminder, this is the December sketch:

And this is what I came up with:

This was a simple sketch, and it made the layout come together really quickly.  Inspired by the embellishments, I used a couple of punches and made my own snowflakes inside of circles, and that combined with the color palette really spoke winter and December to me (not that we are seeing any kind of wintry December weather at my house). 

As I was creating I noticed my photos were mostly posed photos of my kids, but with the holidays, and the fun we had, combined with the fact I actually had a worthy photo taken ON Christmas Day, I used them all.
As promised, there’s a prize for playing in November.  A mystery prize (and mystery prizes from SCT are always good!)  The winner from the SCT blog post revealing the November sketch is Jennifer Larson!  And the winner from my blog is: Mustangkayla

Congratulations ladies!  There’s still a prize attached to December’s sketch, so be sure to link your December layouts to the sketch reveal post HERE. 

As for the future of Project 12, I’ve had emails and blog posts questioning what is happening so I wanted to quickly address it.  Project 12 has been a great challenge for me.  For the past couple of years Becky Fleck has been creating sketches for this challenge, and it’s been fun working with them.  On January 15 (in just 3 days!) I will be back with the new concept for Project 12! And from now on, the 15th of the month is when you are going to see the latest inspiration piece for this challenge.  There’s a little twist on the traditional idea, but I have really enjoyed the prospect of this change so I hope you will check back and play along!  Project 12 has always been about capturing your real life and telling your story, with a little bit of art thrown in, and that will never change. 

Have a great day! 

~ Davinie

Spring call, Crop & Create and more little bits!

Happy Thursday!  Where has the week gone?  In the past week we have announced our newest monthly challenge Something Old, New, Borrowed, COOL with Kelly Goree, introduced our newest team member Lynn Ghahary who provided a great challenge to start our week, showed a great resist tutorial by Aly Dosdall and are wrapping up a mystery box giveaway (closes at 6:00 p.m. EST today!) that is the creme de la creme of mystery boxes.  We are also getting ready to announce another great giveaway tomorrow.  A busy week indeed.

Today we thought we would just catch up and let you know about a few things...

• Our "spectacular spring" call is still open until January 15th and we LOVE showcasing our readers artwork.  All the information to submit your artwork is HERE.
• We had many requests to open our Crop & Create event in Markham to those that could only attend Saturday and we heard you!  We have opened up a select number of seats for Saturday only.  You can find all the details are HERE.
• Crop & Create Moncton registration is opening up on January 23rd.  Classes will be listed on January 16th!  Mark your calendars as we have some very excited readers there!
• We have new information about Project 12 right here on January 12th.  You'll love the twist!
• I know we have many new readers over the past few months but did you know that you can both view or download every issue of SCT both past and current?  At any time? For free?  Oh yes you can right HERE!
• CHA sneak peeks are starting to come in so be sure to keep checking HERE over the next few weeks!  And of course we'll be blogging right from the CHA show floor.
• And lastly, if you can't get Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine at your local store, please tell us who your local store is and we'll be sure to share information about SCT with them.  Send the information to us at ideas@scrapbookandcards.com and put "local store" in your reference line.

Ok, off to pack more goody bags for Markham!  Join us tomorrow for another great giveaway!  Oh how we love Friday's!!!

~  Catherine

 

New year...NEW challenge with Kelly Goree!

Hello, everyone, and a very HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! 

Welcome to the first blog post of the year and my first in a brand new series called "Old New Borrowed Cool"! I'm so excited to start this year-long monthly adventure with you and hope you find it as exciting and inspiring as it's proving to be for me!

First let me share with you a bit of the premise. Each month on the 1st of each month I'll be bringing you a new post that incorporates something OLD from my stash, something NEW that I might have just picked up and something BORROWED from wherever I can get it - but my friend Shannon will be pestered a lot, I can already tell - to whip together to create something COOL to share with you! Fun stuff, right?!

This month's selections were:

OLD: Sassafras Lass Chipboard Numbers & October Afternoon Diecut Sheet
NEW: My Minds Eye "Fun Day" products - papers, wooden flags, banners/diecuts + new stamp ("made by kelly" gifted by my friend Jennifer for Christmas)
BORROWED: My Minds's Eye Mixed Brads (thanks, Shannon!)
COOL: A calendar-style resolution inspired layout that can hold no pictures or as many as you care to fit in! What a fun way to ring in 2012!

I thought quite a bit about what kind of project I was going to bring you to ring in the new year and I just couldn't get away from the theme of "resolutions." I'm not usually a resolution kind of gal, but this seemed like a great time to sit down and list some meaningful ones that I want to accomplish in 2012.I might not be a resolution gal but I *am* a list girl! For me a new year means many new beginnings - from purging supplies to new organizing tools to sparkling new calendars! Then it came to me - I'd list my resolutions in a calendar format! I had done something similar to it before and loved the grid design so I knew it would be the perfect way to document my goals for 2012. What developed was a funky, dare I say COOL!, layout that will keep me on focus and track to achieving my goals!

Supply List:  Authentique PP, My Minds Eye PP, Bo Bunny PP, October Afternoon PP; My Minds Eye Brads, stickers & wooden banners; Sassafras Lass chipboard numbers; American Crafts Cardstock (Grey), Bazzill Cardstock (all other); Stampin' Up! scallop border punch; Xyron adhesive; Pentel & Uniball pens; Colorbox/Clearsnap chalk ink; Fiskars circle punch; American Crafts ink, embossing powder and Thickers (alpha stickers); Making Memories butterfly paperclip; Heidi Swapp heart brad; Silhouette America Electronic Cutting Machine

So what do you say? Are you ready to give it a try? I challenge you to find something old, new and borrowed and create something cool that you'll love to start out 2012 with a bang! Try the calendar or grid format. Try a non-photo layout. Try using your favorite colors or a scheme you've never tried before. Challenge yourself to play along with me! I can't wait to see what you create!  Be sure to send us your "Cool" layouts to ideas@scrapbookandcards.com (specify month) to upload to our "Cool" gallery on the website!

Here's to a wonderful 2012!

~ Kelly Goree

(for Project 12 followers, join us right here on January 12th where we will wrap up 2011 and introduce a new style for Project 12...you are going to love it!)

Note from Catherine:  A special thank you to my team for that wonderful surprise post here yesterday.  To say that I was touched is an understatement.  I can't remember when I have had such a special birthday and sharing it with all of YOU was the icing on my birthday cake!  Thank you for your birthday wishes and thank you to the SCT team for being so extraordinary!  ~  Catherine  xoxoxoxo

P12 - September reveal and new November sketch

Hello November.  Hello fall-like temps! This is by far my favorite time of year.  There’s just nothing like a cozy sweater and a delicious latte.  Are you feeling me?  Locally it’s $4.55 for a pumpkin spice latte, but oh my, how delicious.  We are in the final stretch for Project 12, and that means the September sketch.  As a reminder, this is what the sketch Becky created looked like:

 

And this is what I came up with this month:

We’ve been so busy this month that I actually didn’t have a lot of photos to choose from.  At the beginning of the month we were in the Seattle area for a week and I took a lot of photos then, but with a recap layout, I didn’t really want to use more than one photo from that adventure.  I chose a family photo with my dad when we took the boat across the Sequim Bay to check out a lighthouse.  I also had tons of school photos of my girls together and separately, but just chose one to use.  I made it the focal layout of the month because September is typically the beginning of a new school year.

My other photos were a birthday photo with Grandma, and a quick photo I snapped during a summer concert we saw in the park where we live.  There were Hawaiian dancers and at one point they invited the kids up to hula, and I got as close as I could to the action.  With a random photo like that, where else are you going to put it in your scrapbook than on a monthly highlight layout?

As usual, I have some favorites submitted to SCT that I wanted to highlight.

I love how Andrea did that banner at the top of her layout: 

a row of stitches and then the veneer pendant shapes on top.  LOVE!  I also adore the notion that she doesn’t have time to scrap but makes time for Project 12.  Bestill my heart, a reason to keep on with the challenge.  Thank you so much for saying that Andrea! 

Hello Natalie, you had me at stitched circles.

 

 I love how clean this design is too.  Just perfect.  A great layout to share this month.

I loved Christine’s color palette.  I also liked how she did the journaling with the tiny alphas.  Basic bullet points to highlight her month.  I also like how she stuck to the sketch!

Thank you yet again for playing along with the challenge this month!  As always, a prize is in store.  I actually used this product on my layout this month.

The winner of the Xyron adhesive from my blog is:  Marci.  The winner from SCT is Catherine with her layout here.  Congratulations ladies!  I hope you like your mega runner, and 100 feet of adhesive!  Woot!  Send us your mailing information at ideas@scrapbookandcards.com (put P12 winner in the reference line!)

Now that we are into November it’s time to work on those October layouts.  As a reminder, here’s the October sketch:

 

The prize we are playing for with the October sketch is a copy of Becky Fleck's Pagemaps 2.  This is a great prize.  After all, we’ve been using Becky Fleck sketches all year!  Just a reminder, your October layouts should be linked to THIS post!

Looking ahead, here’s the fun November sketch to think about as you live your life this month…

The prize you’ll be playing for with the November sketch is...

Yes friends, it's time for a little mystery box!  We've got two mystery boxes up for grabs and they are filled with some brand new goodies!  You'll LOVE it!  Just link your November sketches to today's post when you're ready.  I look forward to playing along with you all yet another month.  This is such a great challenge, isn’t it?!

Can you believe our next sketch will be December's sketch?  Where does the time go?  If you are just joining us, you can see all the sketches here to get caught up!  See you December 1st!

~ Davinie

 

P12 - August reveal and new October sketch!

Good morning!  Can you believe we are 10 months in to Project 12 for 2011?  Where does the time go?  Have you been following it every month?  Did you just start?  Either way, Project 12 is a fabulous way to document your entire year in 12 layouts!  In August, there was one photo that captured the bulk of our month, so when I saw the sketch for August, it was a match made in heaven to include the photo in my layout.

Sometimes with photos and scrapbook layouts, we have a story to tell, and the image we have to capture that story it isn’t always the best.  That said, the photos we take are important, the good ones and the bad, and just because the lighting wasn’t spot on, there was blur, the settings were off, nobody smiled, it doesn’t mean the photograph doesn’t have great meaning.

I used a 5x7 photo on my layout this month, and I never do that.  I did it this time, though, because the photo shared a big story for August.  It may seem like a great big photo with a teeny image of our dog jumping off the pier into the pond to go after a toy, but the story it tells is about the amount of time my hubby and the kiddos spent at Grandma and Grandpa’s house this summer, working on a great big landscaping project.  I was usually at work on these days, so I wasn’t there to share in the fun.  That said, it played a big part in what we our family did in August.  Someday we’ll look back at that photo and marvel at house small the trees were, or how the lot across the street used to be vacant, etc.

As a reminder, this is what the sketch looked like for August:

 
 

And this is what I came up with:

  

 
 

I had to mist around the edges again. The sketches have been calling me to do that a lot lately.  I can’t get over the money saved by doing that over using patterned paper.  I also used my latest Studio Calico kit for this project, since it was already out.

And here’s a couple of layouts from submissions I wanted to point out:

I ADORE this one from Natalie:

  
 

I love the color palette, the scallops, the stitched circle, the pendant banner placement.  Oh my.  It’s delicious.  Love it all.

I liked this literal translation from Rosie:

  
 

I had contemplated recreating the scalloped circle for the left hand photo, but ended up just going with an “inspired by” version and just trimming a half circle as a photo mat.  I like how Rosie utilized her tools and recreated both that circle element and the dragonfly.  Nicely done!

Lastly, I wanted to point out Megan’s layout:

 
With this one, I liked the clever way she did that circular embellishment, and I also love how she did the subtitle, using different types of alphas to create “August”.  That was really clever.  Love the ultrasound photo on there too!

 As always, if you play with the sketch and link or email by the deadline, you are entered for a prize.  The prize we were playing for in August was the BRAND NEW fabulous collection from Core'dinations with Pink Paislee designs.  Oh my.  This is a great prize!

The winner from SCT is Heaney, and the winner from my blog is Daisymeh (hey, that’s Megan!).  Congratulations ladies!  I’m jealous.  I hope you enjoy that collection pack!

Now that fall is officially here, in the US anyway, it’s time to be reminded of the September sketch:

  
 

Oh my.  Back to school photo going in that 4x6 slot for sure.  Love this one.

AND here is the what we have coming ahead for October:

  
 

The prize we are playing for this month is...drumroll...

 

Good luck!  I’ll see you back here November 1^st! 

~  Davinie

 

 

 

 

 

Project 12 - July reveal and new September sketch!

Hello Friends!   Another month has just FLOWN by, and now the fun begins.... documenting it all on a layout!  I'm glad that July's sketch was full of photos.  My month was certainly full of adventures, and I'm glad to have a place to put some of them.  Some of the photos on this layout may not have made it on to a traditional layout if it wasn't for this monthly sketch.

As a reminder, this is what the July sketch looked like:

  

And this is what I came up with this month:

  

 
 

I used the September kit from Studio Calico for this layout, Glee Club.  I misted the edges of my layout with lemonade mist.  It looks a wee bit orange, but I love the overall effect.  Very cost effective to mist the edges rather than use paper too, right?  I feel like this is a pattern that’s going to repeat itself again in the future. 

This sketch was fun because I could use just bits and pieces of scraps from my kit to fill the spaces and add more color.  I also loved the fun grid.

Here are some things I particularly liked about the projects linked to July's challenge...

LOVED the die cut shape that spanned this layout.  Such a great interpretation of the sketch by our friend on the Paislee Petals blog. 

Diggin the banner on pop dots here!  Nicely done!

And last but certainly not least, this very cool background on Agata's layout! 

 

 If you played along this month and got your layout submitted in time, you were playing for a very fun prize.  The Picture Keeper!

The winner of this fun prize from the SCT blog is:   Natalie (QSOgirl).   And the winner from my blog is:  Cynthia B.

Congratulations ladies!  Send us your mailing information at ideas@scrapbookandcards.com.  Please put in your reference line "Picture Keeper winner".

Looking ahead, I'm itching to try out the next sketch for my August photos.  Oh my.  I've been wanting to try this design for a while since the sketch was revealed on the SCT blog here:

  
 

I love the use of white space and the row of photos.  I can’t wait to play with this one!!  Remember to send us your August layouts for the facebook album or link it to THIS post by September 28th! 

Looking to September's sketch, check out what Becky came up with for those back to school photos:

  
 

Another fabulous sketch!  Both of these are right up my alley.  What a great way to welcome in the fall months!  If you play with the September sketch there’s a great prize too.  It’s the Mega Runner from Xyron.  LOVE this brand new adhesive!  Easy, lightweight, refillable and 100' of adhesive!  What could be better!

 

 

My least favorite scrapbook supply to purchase is adhesive, and I’m always running out.  It gets to be an afterthought at my house until it’s time to stick stuff down.  There’s nothing like an 11pm adhesive run to the store!  Ha!  Good thing my local Walmart is open 24 hours for emergencies such as these.  (okay, I’ve never gone that late, but wouldn’t it be funny!?  Imagine what the cashier would be thinking as they rang up adhesive runners and bags of m&m’s). 

As always, we are glad to have you and so happy to have such support with this challenge.  I think it makes scrapbooking so much easier.  I hope you think so too.  If you are just joining us all previous months sketches can be seen here.  I’ll see you back here on October 1st!

~  Davinie

 

  
29 days until Crop & Create Saskatoon!  Have you registered?