Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog

Monday with Megan: Meet Amy Yingling, Today’s Trend Friend

As I came up with the idea of adding “Trend Friend” interviews to our blogging line-up, Amy Yingling was the first person who popped into my head. This woman a remarkably passionate crafter who naturally lives and breathes trends in all that she does.

 

Amy and I met while working together at Stampin’ Up! some ten years ago. (Eep! Should I even admit that, Amy? How time does fly!) I quickly fell in love with her and her natural ability to make paper sparkle in a way that’s truly unique. She doesn’t follow trends; she sets trends! More than all of this, she’s about as nice as they come. If it were me and I were as cute and naturally gifted as she, I’d strut around in all my cuteness like a male peacock, but not Amy. She has a heart of gold and I’m SO excited to introduce you to her today!

Let’s get started!

Trender Bender

Megan: Welcome, Amy! To kick this party off, I’d love to know how you’d describe your style as a crafter. I know how I’d definite it (“classy,” “cool,” and “fab” come to mind), but I’m curious to see how you see yourself. Mind sharing?

Trend Friend:  I love to try new things, which makes it difficult for me to define my style. Out of necessity and time I tend to do things simple and clean. However, I love layers and texture and lots of interest. To give you an idea of my style, here are a couple of projects I’ve created recently.

 

Megan: Of the many amazing trends on the scene at the moment, what is your current fav when it comes to the world of crafting?

Trend Friend: I love texture so the new letterpress plates from Studio Calico happen to be a favorite of mine right now and I hope to see lots more!!

Megan: From your trend-savvy vantage point, what would you say is the next big thing we can look forward to in the world of paper crafting?

Trend Friend: Maybe it is because I am a little obsessed with it right now, but I have been crushing on all the dipping, dying and watercolor I’ve seen. Here’s a small sampling I put together to show you what I love.

 

Megan: Mind sharing one of the ingredients in your secret “Yingling” sauce? I’d love to know where you turn for trend inspiration. Some of your lesser known online stops for trend investigation.

Trend Friend: There are a few key ingredients to a “Special” sauce!! LOL! It starts with really good tunes, some “cherry coke zero” and one of my favorite online stops is Society 6. I love artwork! It is always a great starting point for a color combination or to find a new way to think about your supplies. And this little shop is filled with the most current trends.

 

Megan: As you find yourself inspired by trends, how do you translate that inspiration into projects? For example, do you have a notebook where you keep your trendy tidbits contained to pull from as you’re crafting?

Trend Friend: Pinterest is absolutely the best tool for keeping visual inspiration but I have always been a long-time fan of Moleskin notebooks and post it notes. I use them religiously for all my sketching, thoughts and notes. Together they are the perfect combination for me to explore my thoughts and plan future creative projects. But a super fun tool I use to create my own personal visual mood boards and collect images from my Pinterst is a tool on my Ipad called Noteshelf. I’ve been using this app for a few years and continue to love it!!

Megan: As one who has had the pleasure of visiting many incredible crafting spaces over the years, I must say yours stands out as a favorite. It’s so fresh and inviting. Didn’t you recently move and start all over on your crafty surroundings? Would you mind sharing a look inside your space and share an organizational secret or two with us?

Trend Friend: Currently I am in a temporary space so I can’t do the things I really want to.  I only moved in my necessities and focused on the two areas I spend most my time. The computer and my stamping station. Here’s a little peek!

Megan: You’ve recently started your very own company, which is phenomenal. Congrats! Please, tell us a bit about Inspiration Ave.

Trend Friend: I have worked behind the scenes in this Industry for 12 years and decided to use my talents to start Inspiration Ave. I currently have a small line of stamps that I plan to grow every month, Online Classes are in the works and I hope to provide my fellow paper crafting friends with lots of inspiration through my blog. I simply love to create and want to share that with others- I have some fun things planned for the future and can’t wait to make them a reality.

 

 

Megan: How can our SCT Trend Friends learn more about you and your style?

Trend Friend: You can find me at:

www.inspirationave.com

www.instagram.com/inspirationave

www.pinterest.com/yinglingamy

Amy, reconnecting with you in this way feels great! Thanks so much for taking time out to make this happen. You’ve provided awesome insight that I know the SCT community will adore. Great playing with you today, sweet trend friend!

Questions for Amy?

Have questions for Amy or simply want to leave her a little love note? The comments section is where it’s at, and I know she’d love hearing from you!

Cheers!

~ Megan Hoeppner

The Spring issue is here...and we're turning 8!

Good morning SCT friends and finally...happy Spring!  With the change of each season brings a brand new issue of Scrapbook & Cards Today and TODAY is the release of our brand new spring issue!  Run, don't walk to your nearest local scrapbook store that carries Scrapbook & Cards Today, or if you don't have one nearby you can always view/download each issue online for FREE!  In fact, you can view/download any of our past issues for free anytime!  If you wish to hold a paper copy in your hands, you can also subscribe for postage and handling only.  We just want you to be inspired all day, every day!  

But wait there's more!  We're turning 8 today!  Happy birthday SCT!  We are planning a fun celebration with our incredible partners as over the next day or two we will be celebrating 80K fans on facebook too.  It would only make sense that we have at least 8 prizes right?  We're going to have more.  We have great partners who love to celebrate right along with us so stay tuned!

Of course we could not leave today with a giveaway so we are giving away not one, or two but EIGHT copies of the brand new spring issue!  Just leave a comment below by Thursday, April 3rd and let us know how long you've been reading SCT and where you're from.  We love hearing from our readers around the globe!

This is also, as the publisher of Scrapbook & Cards Today, where I get to take a moment to thank YOU all for being amazing readers and when I can thank my amazing team and industry partners for their dedication and support of all that we do here at the magazine.  I am fortunate to work with the best and have the best readers too.  It doesn't get better!

On that note friends, enjoy your day and your weekend!  The team is at Crop & Create Moncton and can't wait to open this event in a just few hours.  It will be a weekend of inspiration and creativity but best of all, many hugs, laughs and magical moments we won't soon forget.

~ Catherine

ps...did you notice this blog has a beautiful new look?  Thank you Becky Fleck!

 

Card Cafe Thursday with Kimber McGray...and an announcement!

Hi Everyone!  Today I wanted to showcase one of the new products that were released at CHA Winter by Jillibean Soup & Hampton Art - Stamps and Stencils!  These sets come with a large, 4"x6" stamp and a coordinating or complimentary 4"x6" in stencil. The stencils are flexible and have a sticky back to them. These are great to use on many different materials because they will bend and adhere to stay in place. The sticky back also keeps inks and other mediums from seeping under the stencil and ruining your design. 

I created this JOY card using the new butterflies stencil and Goosebumps texture spray to create a resist technique!

 Start by placing the butterflies stencil on your paper. 

Mist the Goosebumps on the stencil/paper. Spray so it puddles and fills in the stencil a bit.

Peel off the stencil and place it on the clear backing that came in the packaging. Wipe clean with a baby wipe. 

Grab one of your favorite inks and a basic make-up sponge. 

Sponge the ink on the stenciled butterflies. The texture spray acts like as a resist to the ink!

Finish the card with a sentiment sticker (Jillibean Soup, of course), a bit of bling and you have a quick and easy card!

Here are a few more tags I created with some of the new Stamps & Stencils...

These great products are hitting your favorite stores, both online and brick & mortar right now.  If you want to see more inspiration from the Jillibean Soup design team, check out their blog http://www.jillibeansoup.typepad.com.  

Thanks for joining me on Card Cafe Thursday!  Have a great one!

~  Kimber McGray

WIth the release of the brand new spring issue tomorrow, we thought it a perfect time to welcome our returning design team members for 2014 but also to share that we have added one more to the very talented team!  Welcome to the team Nicole Harper!  You can read all about this incredible team we have here!  We love their passion for inspiring you with each piece of artwork they create.  They have a great deal more to share in 2014!  

Kristine Davidson and Simple Stories...it's all about Cats!

Hello SCT Friends! It's Kristine Davidson here today and I'm sharing a layout I created using some the NEW Simple Stories Sn@p Set - Cats. 

Sadly, our 13 year old cat passed away in late February and after two weeks of having no furry friend in the house, my husband and I decided it was time to add to our family. We found two little kittens at only 6 weeks old and lovingly added them to our family. We named them Archer and Willow (aka: Archie & Willie) - in my layout today it's all about Archie!

This Sn@p set from Simple Stories is perfect for those cat pages and they also didn't forget about those of you who have Dogs. These sets contain everything you need to create a mini album, project life spread or in my case a layout. 

I created my layout by using some 3x3 cards as well as cutting some 3x4 cards into this exact size. I added some stickers on pop dots to create dimensions, and even cut out a few cute paws from a 4x6 card.

 

As you can see, Cards can also be used for your layouts, not just pocket pages! 

Thanks for letting me share today and be sure to remember to scrapbook those furry friends!

~  Kristine

"Just Ask Jen!" Tuesday featuring the WeR Memory Keepers Instagram albums!

Good morning!  Looking for the perfect album to document all your Instagram memories? Designer Jen Gallacher discovered these great new "Instagram" albums from We R Memory Keepers and just had to share!  These charming albums hold 4 x 4" or 2 x 2" photos ~  perfect for Instragram photos.  They also coordinate with their Albums Made Easy card collections ranging from travel to everyday themes! 

In this week's "Just Ask Jen" video, Jen shows you some creative ways to incorporate these fun pre-made cards into your album, as well, as shares some tips and tricks for adding hand stitching to your pages.

 

Here is Jen's finished album and some detailed close up images.

Be sure to check out today's video and let us know if you're on Instragram!  SCT can be found at #sctmagazine and we would love you to follow us!  

~  Catherine

 

Monday with Megan: Storage solutions!

If you’re familiar with my work over the years, you likely know I’m a craft-storage junkie. I can’t get enough of the topic of getting our crafting supplies organized. So I thought I’d introduce the topic of storage to our weekly exchanges from time to time. What do you think?

Since my overall goal is to share trend-related posts, I thought I’d tie this topic in by sharing ways to organize some of the trendy products on the market at the moment. Today, that means...paint brushes & sequins! Woot!

Paint-brush Placement

With the popularity of watercolor and brush-script stylings, many of us are loading up on paint brushes. So let’s brush up on clever ways to store these tools.

1. It’s Log!

A bitty log?!?  Get out of town with how cute this is. Sure, this is holding make-up brushes (also cool), but you could just as easily incorporate this approach into your crafting area.

2.  Embrace the Embroidery

I’ve really enjoyed using embroidery hoops as decor in my craft area, but I’ve yet to modify one to extent Erika Ripley has here. It is shown holding crochet hooks, but you know it would work for paint brushes too.

 

 3.  Canning Cuteness

Cosmo Cricket is definitely the star of the jar, and I adore what they’ve done with their Show Toppers in this image. The sell both the jar lids and the sconce, making it easy to grab the dynamic duo and get your brushes in business.

 

4.  Can It!

No, I’m not trying to offend. Instead, I’m suggesting you decorate and stack a series of soup cans to create an affordable DIY brush display, like this one from Little Stamper.

 

Sequin Storing & Sorting

It’s a sequins sequence! Check out these colorful ideas for organizing the newest bling on the block.

 1.  Sequin Slots

I put a small wood tray I picked up at Michaels to work as a sequins sorter. I adore this approach, because my sequins are at my fingertips, where I can use them often.

 

And since it’s St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I’d share a little greeting I made using a few of those sequins. I simply stitched them behind a clover I made from tracing paper to create this shaker card. *pinch pinch*

 

Bonus Idea: Scrapbooker Smitha Katti has another idea. She suggests using one of the small Prima wood trays that their wood wood veneer pieces come in as a way to sort sequins and other small embellishments. Great thinking!

2.  Now Serving

Move over coffee brew cups. Thanks to The Crafty Pickle, we now have a new use for this this tree! Use small cups with lids as your sequin container, selecting cups that will fit a coffee caddy like this, and you’ve got a sequin sorter that will offer more get-up-and-go than any cuppa joe could.

 

3.  Message in a Bottle

The message is loud and clear here: bitty bottles make amazing storage solutions. Especially when the item you’re st seeking to store is sequins, like these from the adorable Torie Jayne. Don’t they look beautiful?

4. Testing, Testing, 1...2...3...

I’ve mentioned these cuties on the blog here before, but I couldn’t conclude a blog about sequin storage if I didn’t reference them again—the Hazel & Ruby sequins. They come in these groovy test-tube bottles that look so pretty when bundled together, and they’re sold in sets of three. Open the package, and your storage is ready to rock.

 

Say What?!

What up-and-coming supplies have you recently added to your stash and want to know more about? Leave me a comment and I’ll add it to my list. After all, I aim to please, especially if that means seeking out storage solutions for you! Thanks, all. Happy spring cleaning. :)

Cheers!

~  Megan Hoeppner

Now available for preorder!!!