Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog

A layout to recap the year with Marla Kress!

Hi there! I’m back today to talk calendars.  On Monday I made a card that I was able to customize simply by circling the date.  Today I’m taking that theme and applying it to a layout.  And instead of focusing on a month, I’m taking on the whole year!

The concept isn’t a new one but sometimes we just need a little push to get moving (I speak from experience).  I took one photo from each month and then listed the highlights.  I kept the lines clean so it was pretty simple to put together (says she who over analyzes everything), holds a ton of information and some of my favorite photos from the year. 

It’s kind of like throwing 12 layouts onto one page!  Have you done a page like this already?  Are you motivated to create one?  I hope so!  Please share if you do. 

~ Marla

Sketches? We've got sketches!

Happy Tuesday friends!  Working with Becky Fleck of PageMaps is wonderful in so many ways.  Not only is she a fabulous editor/graphic designer/teacher but as the owner of PageMaps, Becky provides us with many sketches to get your creative juices flowing in each issue!  So with all the new products hitting store shelves and many working on holiday photos, let's have a little Tuesday sketch challenge!

Use this sketch to create a layout or card and either link it in the comments below or send it to us by next Tuesday and we may just feature it right here!    You can also find many more single and double page sketches by visiting our website www.scrapbookandcards.com or you can download the current winter issue at no charge here.

If you are looking for even more monthly inspiration, our 2013 PageMaps Sketch calendar is available for order here. 

Now go get creative or if you are reading this from work, think about how you're going to take us up on our challenge!  We can't wait to see what you do!

~ Catherine

Pinterest challenge with Marla Kress!

Good morning and Happy Monday!  While we are about half way through the first month of this NEW year, I still find myself trying to get organized.  I’m still in the process of updating my planner, organizing kiddo calendars and I can’t help but admire some of the amazing wall calendars I see on Pinterest!

 Martha Stewart

Southern Living  

So since I seem to have calendars on the brain, I thought to incorporate them into my scrapbooking and came up with this little card!

 

There is NO way I can forget my grandma’s birthday now and I’m feeling like I need a whole set of these calendar cards to send out throughout the year!  So how about you?  Do you have any calendar inspiration to share or can you come up with a way to incorporate them into your work?  I'd love to see what you have!

I have another calendar inspired piece in the works so check back on Wednesday!  Have a great day and be sure to follow the Scrapbook & Cards Today Pinterest boards HERE!

~  Marla Kress

 

Colour Suite challenge - January!

Welcome to the January Colour Suite. I am ringing in the new year with a fun and fresh colour pallet totally inspired by the 2013 Pantone Spring colour picks. If you are not familiar with Pantone Colours it's basically a standardized color system widely used by designers. Every year Pantone releases their colour picks for the upcoming season. These picks are my inspiration this month.

Supplies Used: Bazzill Cardstock, Patterned Paper from Studio Calico/My Minds Eye/Crate Paper/American Crafts, Washi Tape from Bella Blvd/My Minds Eye, Decorative Brads from Crate Paper/My Minds Eye, Buttons from Crate Paper, Chipboard Embellishments from My Minds Eye, Wood Embellishment from Studio Calico, Enamel dots from My Minds Eye, Punch from Martha Stewart, Corner Rounder, Brads Basic Grey, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, Silhouette Cutting System, White Twine, fonts downloaded from the internet Veteran Typewriter-journaling, OldSansBlack - title and Clarendon - title
 
The light pale pink was my inspiration colour, Pantone calls this colour linen. I love the idea of using a really light almost neutral colour in conjunction with bright bold colours. In this case the bright bold colors are a red/orange and a wonderful rich blue. As always I rounded out this Colour Suite with a neutral milky brown. Looking back at my layout I noticed I used my inspiration colours sparingly and gravitated more towards brown than anything else. I love how each month I take a different path with the colours I choose.

I hope you have enjoyed this month's Colour Suite. For more information about Pantone Colours and to see the 2013 Pantone Colour Picks check out their website HERE!  You can also check out previous Colour Suite challenges on the Scrapbook & Cards Today website right here. Be sure to take our challenge and link up your project in the comments below or send it to us at ideas@scrapbookandcards.com!
 
Happy Crafting ~ Summer

CHA giveaway! Doodlebug & Xyron!

We hope you enjoyed being with us on our journey through CHA this week!  Of course you all know how much I truly LOVE our SCT readers so you know that I was picking some things up for a lucky reader each step of the way!  Our partners also love our SCT readers so they were very generous!   So let's start with a little confession about my first stop at CHA each year.  It's Doodlebug.  Their beautiful booth draws me in every time and it is cuter every time I see it...

With darling windows covered by darling curtains and full of some of our favourite people in the industry, it is the perfect way to kick off the show!  So where does that lead us to?  A Doodlebug Designs giveaway of course!  We also have a sweet Xyron mini Sticker Maker for you too!  Here is an image taken from my desk this morning...

It's the brand new Flower Box collection along with a few cute embellishments to play with!  Would you like to win it?  Just leave us a comment below before Thursday, January 24th at 6:00 p.m. EST!  Good luck!
 
Hope you have a day full of sunshine where you are and that you can get some crafty time in this weekend.  Move through your stash friends as there is some amazing new products coming your way!  Next week we have the oh so talented Marla Kress joining us.  See you then!
 
~ Catherine

Final CHA recap! Day Four!

 We are on Day 4 and the final day of our CHA recap.  We could actually go on for about two weeks with all the images we took, but thought we would share some of the highlights from some of our favourite manufacturers.  We may just sneak a few more images in next week as we go through them.  On that note, let's start to drool over these new items... 

Bo Bunny is always a wonderful place to stop for a while...a long while!  We loved the new Mama Razzi 2 line and the new mini books are fantastic!  With great selection and a great price point, everyone should have one to record the everyday!  Here is just a sneak peek of what we saw...

Next stop is Jillibean Soup!  Talk about inspiration!  There were all sorts of brand new products including new placements, corrugated shapes, stamps and some beautiful paper collections!  Feast your eyes my friends and get your scrap rooms ready for these...

For the love of all things fancy, next up is Fancy Pants!  This booth was full of beautiful products, papers and inspiration!  Our friends Jodi and Jared outdid themselves on this release and it was great to catch up with them too.

That's it my friends!  Four days of wonderful products that will be coming to stores near you and that I think you NEED to have...lol!  There is no doubt that CHA was great fun this year with lots of laughs and catching up with new friends and old.  There was a great deal of innovation, new trends and at the end of the day, a true love for papercrafting.  We feel blessed to have been a part of it all and cannot wait to share all that we saw in our upcoming issues!

Have a great Thursday and of course, I brought back something special for you.  Join me tomorrow to see just what it is that I carried in my suitcase  :)

~ Catherine