Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog: Happy National Scrabooking Day!

Welcome to the SCT National Scrapbook Day celebration! We have so much in store for you—you’ll be glad you stopped by! We have a fabulous “So Sketchy” sketch by blog editor, Allison Cope, an insightful interview (and a challenge!) with one of our favourite designers, Vicki Boutin, a layout challenge completed by our designers, and last, but certainly not least, we have an incredible QuicKutz prize package to give away.

so sketchy

Allison is always so great at providing our readers with a fabulous sketch to get their creative juices flowing—and today is no exception! This great multi-photo layout combines linear lines with circular elements and emphasizes the photos by leaving ample white space. Love the vertical title, Allison!

spring clean up
by Allison Cope

supplies: CARDSTOCK, Bazzill, Prism; PATTERNED PAPER, BoBunny, Jillibean Soup; STAMPS, myStamp BOX; Bella Blvd (white), American Crafts (green); BUTTONS, BasicGrey; TOOLS, Spellbinder's Nestabilites, Provo Craft deco scissors, paper crimper, Tattered Angel's tree mask; INK, Copic, Stampin' Up!; PEN, Sharpie; ADHESIVE, Scotch, SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L; OTHER, embroidery thread

interview with Vicki Boutin

“I love that each day holds new opportunities and experiences, and I just try to grab hold and get through it all,” said Vicki when we asked her some questions about her style, her favourites, and a typical day in her life. Vicki has always been one of our favourite designers and we were thrilled when she shared a great challenge just for you!

Q. What tool do you find yourself reaching for again and again?

A. I have a few tools that I can’t live without! I love my craft knife and steel ruler; I think it is a throw back to my training in Graphic Design. I also love my punches and stamps!

Q. What spring colours and/or product lines have you feeling inspired right now?

A. Aqua is one of my favourite colours and I love it all year round! So, any paper line with aqua blue finds its way into my stash. I have also been using a lot of stamps lately and mixing up the techniques.

Q. How often do you clean and purge your scrap area?

A. Oh my! I could do this every day if I had my way! I find I work better if my space is organized and tidy. Unfortunately, this usually is not the case. When it gets out of hand I will do an overhaul. I actually did a mini purge right before Easter and plan on finishing it this month. I have expanded my work space to include a mini “craft” area in the family room. I wanted room to spread out and leave work “in progress” and be where my family is at the same time. Keep an eye on my blog for photos of both of my work areas. I should have them posted by the end of May.

Q. Can you tell us a little about your style?

A. I don’t think I have a “defined” style. I like to dabble in a lot of different creative areas and I am always on the look out for new techniques to try. I think I need to change it up in order to feed my endless need to make things and reinvent old ideas. As long as the design is balanced and works well, I will try anything.

Q. What is your trick for using patterned paper so effectively?

A. There is a definite formula to working with patterns. I like to mix a stripe, a large pattern (i.e. a large floral), and a small pattern (i.e. a polka dot). I may mix these up a bit or add an additional pattern or two, but this is the basic rule I follow. The colour combinations in the papers also come in to play. Generally, the stripe or large pattern will contain the basic colour palette and then I will pull colours from that palette in my other patterns papers.

Q. Your photos are always so eye catching. What is your secret?

A. A big part of the quality of my photos is the camera and lenses I use. But aside from that, there are a few things any photographer can do to improve their photographs. First, find the light. I like to use good diffused, natural light either outside or by a window in my house. Second, crop your subject with the camera. Zoom in on your subject and “crop out” any distractions in your background rather than doing this step when you are editing your photos. Finally, change the direction you hold the camera. Most people only take a photo holding the camera horizontally. Switch it up and try holding the camera vertically. My key is to try to “fill the frame.” If you are taking a head shot of one person and are trying to shoot horizontally, you will not be able to fill the frame. But, if you take the photo shooting vertically, you will.

Q. What is your upcoming teaching schedule?

A. I have workshops booked in June with a few exciting new projects and techniques. Then, I take most of the summer off from teaching to spend with my family. The fall is already starting to book up and I am looking forward to that. You can find a list of my upcoming workshops on my blog.

Q. What is a typical day in your life?

A. Typical day? I’m not sure that exists in my life and I kind of like it that way. When I am at home, my day usually consists of chauffeuring my children around and doing all of my Domestic Goddess duties. Add to that, class planning, product ordering, scrapbooking, replying to emails, and all of the other goodness that comes with my paper crafting life. I love that each day holds new opportunities and experiences and I just try to grab hold and get through it all.

Vicki’s challenge:

Recently, I was cleaning my scrap room and came across a pile of paper scraps and discarded bits from previous projects that I had put aside. As I started to sort the scraps into piles, a layout started to take form. I couldn't believe it! None of the pieces had originally been meant to go together, yet when I looked at them sitting in their little piles, I realized that the colours and patterns really fit! I sorted out the scraps, added photos and a title, and VOILA! A layout completed in 10 minutes!

So here is my challenge...dig through your paper scraps (as well as opened or discarded embellishment packs), and create a project. It can be a few cards, a layout, a journal, whatever tickles your fancy! I think you will be amazed at what you can create from forgotten supplies! Post a link on my blog (www.vickiboutin.typepad.com) and I will draw a name for one of my class kits!! The drawing will take place on May 11/09. Have fun!!

To see more of Vicki’s artwork and to see where she will be next, visit her blog at www.vickiboutin.typepad.com.

Inspired by…

Although we absolutely love our design team for their ongoing talent and inspiration, we loved Kimber’s suggestion to the team that they look back through some of our past issues and choose a layout that THEY were inspired by. We all loved this idea. Here is what they came up with!

you color my life
by Kim Hughes
Inspired by Stacy Cohen’s "You Brighten My World" layout - spring 2009 on page 23

supplies: CARDSTOCK, Bazzill (scalloped white, polka dot embossed white, kraft), Core'dinations (purple); PATTERNED PAPERS, Doodlebug Design (chocolate brown), My Mind's Eye (teal and pink), Pink Paislee (orange), Basic Grey (yellow), Making Memories (red), Bo Bunny (green); STICKERS, American Crafts; PEN, EK Success; BUTTONS, Basic Grey and Autumn Leaves; STRING: DMC floss, Scrapworks (pink); PUNCHES, Marvy Uchida; template, Stampin' Up! (I traced butterfly chipboard)

I was inspired by the playfulness of Stacy's page. I love the colourful circle accents, so I created mine with paper instead of embellished circles. I needed to change the position of my title because of the font that I chose. So that meant changing the placement of the journal strips to balance out the page. I added a third yellow element to support my design. I added a pink butterfly like Stacy did (I couldn't resist, it is so cute on her page). I decided to make the base of my layout to fit my style, so I layered a polka dot embossed cardstock on top of the white scalloped cardstock. I chose to hand write my journaling instead of using the computer. Thank you for the inspiration Stacy!

opening day
by Linda Harrison
Inspired by Summer Ford's "Off you go to Grow" layout – fall 2008 page 64

supplies: CARDSTOCK, Bazzill; PATTERNED PAPER, Dream Street (green and blue), Scenic Route (notebook); CHARM, Karen Foster; TWINE, Jillibean Soup; TAG, Best Creation; INK, Clearsnap; FONT, Traveling Typewriter

When I first saw Summer's layout, I was inspired by quite a few things, but mostly her use of notebook paper for the journaling and photo mats, as well as the extra-large element which took up about a third of her layout. I liked how she was able to use such a large embellishment and still not overwhelm her photos. For the journaling, I used Summer's same idea by computer journaling directly on the notebook paper and lining the photos across the bottom. I used a large star in place of her flower and added some twine on the bottom of the entire layout in place of the super cute ribbon that Summer included on hers. Thank you Summer for your fabulous contribution to SCT and for the wonderful inspiration!!

we love nutters
by Kimber McGray
Inspired by Emily Pitt’s “Christmas Pineapple” layout – winter 2008 page 66

supplies: CARDSTOCK, WorldWin Papers; PATTERNED PAPER, Jillibean Soup; ALPHAS, Sassafrass Lass and Doodlebug Designs

I loved a few things Emily did on this layout, First, everything “angled” is something a bit different and eye catching. Also, she used scraps of patterned papers to help tell her story with colour. I did the same with the kraft, green, orange, and brown. These colours give my layout an outdoorsy feel as Emily's choices gave hers a Christmas feel.
Emily's background had hand drawn lines, but I “cheated” and used lined patterned paper. Emily's title was created by tracing alphas, but I went with cardstock stickers that had the hand-drawn-outline look.

Following Emily's lead, this layout only took about 30 minutes to put together.

grilled to perfection
by Michelle Engel
Inspired by Tanya Gibbs’ “Holiday Tradition” layout – winter 2008 page 64

supplies: PATTERNED PAPER: Doodlebug and Fancy Pants; RUB-ONS: Imagination Project ("grilled to"), CHIPBOARD JOURNALING BLOCK & ACCENT: Autumn Leaves; ALPHABETS: American Crafts thickers, BRACKET: Doodlebug; ADHESIVE: SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L.

I loved how Tanya Gibbs put her title through the photo strip and the warm feel of the layout. I chose to get that warmth through my colour palette as well. I also loved how the star in Tanya’s layout took your eye to the title and through the layout!

big rig
by Roxanne Jegodtka
inspired by Summer Fullerton’s “The Wait” layout – fall 2008 page 65

supplies: CARDSTOCK, Bazzill, Close to My Heart; PATTERNED PAPER, BasicGrey; CHIPBOARD LETTERS, Scenic Route; BRADS, American Crafts; FELT, Fancy Pants, JOURNALING DIE-CUT, Scenic Route; RIBBON, Michael’s; PEN, Sakura; GLAZE, Aleene’s; ADHESIVE, SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L

I was inspired by the linear placement of Summer's photos (especially with the focal photo being matted). I also like the simplicity of the layout, which fit in nicely with the “boyish” photos that I wanted to use for this project.

finally...our fabulous giveaway!

And last but certainly not least…A GIVEAWAY! In celebration of National Scrapbook Day, we have the ultimate in scrapbooking tools! QuicKutz, a leading manufacturer of die-cutting tools and accessories, has generously donated a Silhouette SD package valued at over $500!!! Yes, you did hear us correctly! Is that not the BEST! This package includes: the new Silhouette SD digital cutting system, a hook tool, a scraper tool, a cutting mat set and blade, a 4 oz. bottle of Etchall Etching cream, and 5 rolls of adhesive vinyl—the winner can even choose the colours! For a chance to win this amazing prize, please post a comment below. (Contest closes Thursday, May 7 at 6:00 p.m. est) Thank you QuicKutz for this fantastic prize package just for the SCT readers!

Good luck, enjoy, and have a wonderfully creative day!

Comments

Great inspiration in Allison's sketch. Love it!! And thanks for the chance to win an awesome prize!!

Posted by: Pat Hines | May 06, 2009 at 04:50 AM

This is a great prize.
NSD was perfect, lots of LO.

Posted by: Sonia | May 06, 2009 at 06:59 AM

Love the Silhouette. Something I could definiely find many uses for.

Posted by: Kathleen | May 06, 2009 at 09:15 AM

What a fantastic prize! I will keep my fingers crossed hoping that I will win it!

Posted by: Teresa B. | May 06, 2009 at 10:55 AM

Wow! That is a fantastic prize! Here's hoping.....

Posted by: Veronica | May 06, 2009 at 01:07 PM

Thanks for a chance to win this amazing prize!

Posted by: Anthonette | May 06, 2009 at 08:15 PM

OMG! What an awesome prize package! Imagine the things you could create - thanks for the chance to win! Good luck everyone and hope you had a great NSD!

Posted by: Stephanie Zito | May 06, 2009 at 09:01 PM