Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog

Project 12 - April Reveal - June Sketch!

Hello!  Welcome to the weekend!  It is Memorial Weekend here in the U.S.  and I plan to spend as much of it in the outdoors as possible.  I have shrubs to plant, a garden to consider, and kids with no school.  Entertainment is a must!

The end of the month also brings us to the next sketch and layouts for Project 12.  First I want to thank you so much for participating!  Life is getting extremely busy at my house these days, and I’m so thankful to have this project as a way to document life at our house.  I’m able to utilize my journaling space and I way I don’t normally do with layouts.  For example, I mentioned I was sick for several weeks with a cold.  It may seem silly to document, but maybe getting a cold will be a thing of the past someday.  It might be nice for people to see how things happened “in the old days”.

With that nasty cold and April on my mind, here’s a reminder of the April sketch:

 

And this is what I came up with:

 

Of the sketches we’ve had so far, this was the most difficult for me.  That’s why I like them.  They stretch me creatively while still doing their job in offering place to document our family history.
I was curious to see what others came up with for this month, and enjoyed perusing the layouts linked in the comment section, and the submissions sent in for the Facebook gallery.  Of course, I had to share a few. 

I love this first one from Brenda, which just happens to use the WRMK line that’s the prize for this month:
 

I love the mix of patterns with cardstock for the base of the layout and the embellies she used to fill the white space.

I’m in love with this one from Jennifer:

 

The way she trimmed that October Afternoon patterned paper in this design and used part of it as a banner is brilliant, brilliant I tell you.  I’m going to file that away for future use.  I adore that piece of patterned paper.  I also really like the brown stitching used to frame the page.

You know I’m a fan of those calendar type pages so I really dig what Jennifer H. did this month.  This is a great idea for the calendar you buy from the store.  Just keep track of what you do and add some photos at the end of the month.  Love this one!  I really like that banner with the umbrella too.  Perfect for April!

 


Lastly is this one from Margy:

 
I really like the color palette and clean lines to this design.  I love the different flowers, how she journaled about each person in the family, and the way she punched and tore the journaling box.  Nicely done!

Thanks again to all those who played along with the challenge!  As our monthly thank you, we have some prize winners.

The prize winner from my blog is:  Tara O. 

and the winner here at SCT is:

Here is my April Layout ... March is also in this link but I just caught up and posted them both in the same blog update...http://mycreativenonsenseandotherscrap.blogspot.com/2010/05/project-12-march-and-april-2010.html   Posted by: Laurie| May 01, 2010 at 05:14 PM

Thank you again for playing along!  If you play along next month, don’t miss your chance to win the new Summer Squash Collection from Jillibean Soup!  A perfect summer themed paper with those patio lanterns!

 

 

 
 
 Don’t forget!  This is what the May sketch looks like:

You have until June 20th to either send us your layouts at ideas@scrapbookandcards.com or to link your May sketch here for a chance to win our May prize!  If you miss that date, please send your layouts anyways!

And as summer gives way to swimming lessons, picnics and backyard fun photos for June, here is the upcoming sketch:

Dates and links to remember:

May's sketches link here by June 20 - reveal on June 26th

June's sketches link to today's post by July 20 - reveal on July 31st

July sketch reveal - June 26th

And don't forget that we love to place your sketches in our Facebook album so be sure to send them to us at ideas@scrapbookandcards.com!

I’ll see you next month! 

~ Davinie

Freebie Friday with...Echo Park!

Good morning and happy Friday!  Hope everyone is getting ready for a great weekend and to our US friends, enjoy your long weekend! 

With temperatures in Toronto hovering around 100 degrees this week (can you believe it???) we are already looking ahead to summer and that being said, we have got the PERFECT giveaway today!  Have you heard of Echo Park Paper?  This is a brand new company with a fabulous first line called "Sweet Summertime".  With a fresh palette of reds, greens, yellows and oranges and names like "Happy Spots", "Citrus Circles" and "Raspberry Delight", it is the perfect paper for those fun, summertime photos.  The best news is that our good friend Madison at Echo Park Paper has offered our blog readers a full collection pack of this new line.  So sweet!

and here is just a sampling of what is inside the collection pack...

Sunny Days Border

 
Sunny Spots

Cool Treats

Summer Argyle

Blue Sky (don't you just love those clouds?!)

Citrus Circles

Raspberry Delight

Happy Spots

Journal cards

Sweet Summertime Element Stickers

Sweet Summertime Alpha Stickers

And so much more!  This fabulous collection could be yours just by leaving a comment below.  A winner will be chosen randomly next Thursday, June 3rd at 6:00 p.m. EST.  Good luck!  (and if you don't win, run - don't walk - to your nearest store to pick some up.  It will not last long!)

Here are the six winners of last week's fabulous adhesive giveaway from American Crafts...

• How awesome of AC!! I tried out one of these runners at Scrapping Turtle and it was fab! Thanks for the chance to win the whole set!
  Posted by: Tracey May 21, 2010 at 06:24 AM
  
• I would love to try the new American Crafts adhesives...always on the hunt for good adhesive.
  Posted by: Celeste B. May 21, 2010 at 08:21 AM
  
• THIS IS SO AWESOME!! I found the squares at a scrapbook store, got them because they didn't have my normal brand... These were SO much better!!
  Posted by: heatherc May 21, 2010 at 06:45 PM
  
• So generous of American Crafts to have six prizes! WOW!! Thanks for the chance to win!
  Posted by: Andrea T May 22, 2010 at 01:28 PM
  
• Who couldn't use adhesive! I'd love to be the lucky winner! Thanks for the great giveaways!
  Posted by: heather garl May 23, 2010 at 11:09 PM
  
• Who couldn't use more adhesives. My granddaughter (age 6) makes cards at my house, so we go through a lot of adhesives. I would love to try these. (I might hide them from her). Thanks for the chance to win.
  Posted by: Debbi May 25, 2010 at 10:46 AM

Congratulations ladies!  Jen will be in contact with you over the next few days to get your mailing addresses!

June sketch reveal is tomorrow...right here!   Don't forget!   Have a great weekend friends!

 

~Catherine

Reader's Submission Thursday!

Good morning!  I know we say it all the time how much we LOVE Thursdays but we really do.  Today's project reminded me why I love spring.  I love spring for the flowers, the longer days and I truly love a good spring clean.  I don't always have a routine but I can tell you after seeing today's project, I do now!  We love Nathalie Leonelli's spring cleaning book - what a wonderfully organized system!  Look how Nathalie put the hours are on the top of each card so you can choose one depending on the time you have.  Aha!  Very clever!    The Victoria's Secret line from Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker was absolutely perfect for this book! 

 


 
Supplies:  Cardstock (Bazzill, Georgia Pacific); Patterned papers (Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker); sticker alphas (American Crafts, Making Memories); sticker pockets and stickers (Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker); binding wires and Bind It All (Zutter); stamp (Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker); Misc. ink, pen.

Just two more sleeps!  Remember to join us this Saturday for the June sketch reveal!  Becky Fleck has another fabulous sketch to share and we will also be showcasing some reader's layouts too!  Mark your calendars!

See you tomorrow for a fun giveaway from........

(did you think I was going to spoil that surprise????)

Designer Project Wednesday with Emily!

Happy Wednesday blog readers! How are you doing finding your inspiration piece for this week's challenge? I hope you've found something very inspiring! My project didn't quite turn out like I'd envisioned, but I need to embrace my own mantra and just go with it, right? I ended up turning the print inspiration into a card. Lots of weddings coming up this summer and I know I'll use this one for sure.

Here's the inspiration:

 

and here's my card:

Here's a step by step to make this card:

1. I used a chipboard tree base from Maya Road. I cut off a few of the branches then inked lightly with some Distress Ink from Ranger.

2. I traced the tree lightly then removed it and stamped my two birds. I used a stamp set from Studio Calico called Tweets. I carefully erased the tree tracing.

3. Then I used a heart mask I'd made a few months ago and misted the heart in place. You could use a stamp as well, or hand draw it too.

4. I attached the tree base to the card with Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive.

5. I then cut a BUNCH of random circles out of the NEW line from Studio Calico called Documentary. The paper is called Holiday and on the back side there are Vespas!

6. I wrinkled up the circles and then randomly started placing them in a circular fashion. Different sized circles are fun to fit into a circle!

7. The final step was to trace w/ a pen the heart and birds, then around the card.

It was really easy, and I think you can see the original inspiration as well.

Now I promised you a quick tour through Tumblr. I wrote up a tutorial for the Studio Calico blog and thought I'd share it here as well. Tumblr is great! That's where I store all my inspiration that I find on line. I love it!

I'd love to see what you create with your inspiration pieces. Please link me up on this thread if you remember!

Thank you Emily for another fabulous week on the SCT blog!  (Oh, and we are hopelessly in love with Studio Calico's new Documentary line!) 

3T's Tuesday with Summer!

Do you remember this layout by Summer Fullerton in our spring issue?

 
(Supplies Used: Cardstock Bazzill, Patterned Paper and White Corrugated Alphas, Jillibean Soup; Paint from Making Memories, Scallop Punch Stampin Up, small sticker alphas from  Making Memories, Twine Jillibean Soup, Twill Jillibean Soup, Button Jillibean Soup, DMC Embroidery Floss, font Traveling Typewriter)

based on this sketch by Becky Fleck?

 

We had many readers ask how Summer made those twill/ribbon flowers so Summer has put together a little tutorial just for you!

Supplies needed:

• Approximately 10" of twill
• Button
• Twine
• Needle and thread
• Thin strips of green cardstock
• Pencil or Paint Brush

 
Run a basting stitch along the edge of your ribbon or twill.

 
Pull thread to create a ruffled look from your ribbon or twill.
 
Turn your flower over and stitch the ends together.

 
The hole in the center of the flower all depends on how tight your pull the basted thread and how long your piece of twill is.

Layer button over the center of the flower and top with twine.

 
To make dimensional curly accents for your flowers coil thin strips of green cardstock around a pencil or paint brush. Tuck under flowers and adhere with glue dots or your favorite adhesive. Think of all the different materials you can make flowers out of. The flower possibilities are endless.

Here is a close up look at a completed flower on my layout.
 

Thank you Summer - great technique! 

If you missed our big American Crafts adhesive giveaway from last Friday you still have time to enter.  Visit this post and leave a comment!  Oh, and don't forget that the next Project 12 reveal is this Saturday, May 29th.  Mark your calendars for the reveal of the June sketch! 

Designer Challenge with Emily!

Happy Monday friends! My challenge this week for you is to get inspiration from a piece of artwork and turn it into a crafty project. I have a couple of examples for you, as well as a statement of permission. It's sometimes hard for us to move past the direct inspiration and see how it might influence our own work. I am giving you permission to pull at least ONE point of inspiration and just go with it. It could be a color combo, one element of the inspiration piece, the title work, anything, just go with it and have fun!

This first piece was inspired by a piece of art I found on the web, before the days where I meticulously documented my sources (more on that later). To the original creator, I apologize, I wish I could give you credit for this.

 
 I just loved the scientific look of this and I found the perfect way to recreate it with a silhouette stamp that I got from Studio Calico. I went with the look of the heads in a table formation, I didn't at all go with the color scheme, which is what also attracted me to the original. This is what i created, based on the inspiration:

Another work of art that inspired me was this print by Stephanie Corfee from her shop on Etsy. I loved the spray of shapes and the colors were so very happy. I also thought the phrase used would be a great title someday. But for my piece, created for NSD, I went more for the spray look and the colors–although I ended up adding another color because it just didn't seem right. See what I mean about going with it and having fun? You don't have to stick to your original plan! Here's the original:

I used the Becky Fleck sketch that the whole SCT team worked with for NSD, I turned it sideways, made it an 8.5x11, and kept the pictures the same size. I basically kept to the same design, but I think it turned out looking completely different than the original.

 

Now instead of downloading the inspirations to my desktop, I use a cool tool from the web. Have you heard of Tumblr? We're going to explore that great site on Wednesday, but for now, I'll give you a few links for you to go right now and find an inspiration piece. Madame Cupcake, Life Without Filters, Typofile, Fuel Your Creativity, Write.Click.Scrapbook. (tumblr), French Knot, and just about any place you go on Etsy, you'll find inspiration.

 
This is the inspiration piece I'm going to work on for Wednesday, original available at onceuponapaper at Etsy. 
 

Inspriation is everywhere.  Remember my challenge - go find an piese of artwork and turn it into a crafty project.  Be sure to join me again on Wednesday to see how I have turned this into a crafty project!

~ Emily Pitts