Love those Flowers! (#2)

Okay, so the design is not too different from layout #1, but it's pretty cute in its own right. I used an overlay that I've had practically forever as the title. And to spruce it up without adding too much pattern, I used my awesome lace border punch. I'll warn you...using this punch requires getting tiny little punched out dots ALL OVER your workspace. But if you're like me, the more mess you make, the better the pages turn out.

Also, you can see I only used one of the flowers from the set on this one. It's probably my favorite design in the bunch. To add a little layer, I also diecut small circles and popped them up on mini foam squares. This allowed me to make the flowers more dimensional by pulling up the edges a bit before slipping the page into the protector.

Supplies: Paper - black cardstock (Bazzill), white cardstock (Georgia Pacific), yellow/pink "painted" background (Basic Grey), pink floral (Crate), Misc. scraps for punched flowers; Accents - "Love" overlay (Creative Imaginations); brads (Doodlebug, Making Memories), photo corners (Heidi Swapp for Advantus); Tools - flower diecuts (Cuttlebug), circle diecuts (Nestabilities), lace border punch (Martha Stewart)

Flower diecut - two ways

I love my Cuttlebug. Just love it. People may say that the Cricut machine is a better investment...but at less than $60, let me tell you, a Cuttlebug is SOOOOO worth it! And to show you what I mean, I'm showcasing two pages done with the same flower diecut set. I believe I purchased this set at Michael's with a readily-available 40% coupon. Probably ended up being $10 or less. Just think about the value per use of that! Awesome.

Anyway, saw a page in one of my Scrapbooks Etc. magazines - either last issue or the one before - where the page background was done in kraft and border punches were used (in the same kraft tone) to overlap and create a texture. Loved the idea and just had to try it. A muted black worked better for me with the colors in the photo, so I pulled out several punches and went to town. The trick is to make sure you have AT LEAST two sheets of the same tone. This creates the awesome dimension but in a super subtle way. I also cut some plain strips to mingle in with the fancy borders. Rather than some fancy embellishments which may have been a distraction to the super adorable photo, I used textured cardstock and my handy flower diecuts. For a little extra pop, I didn't glue the flowers done. Rather, I used brads to fasten them only in the middle and then tucked the edges up with my finger. Also, the one flower style comes with a background which worked perfectly to tie-back the black. All in all a super fast and simple page. So easy too!

Supplies: Paper - (black) My Minds Eye, (black cardstock) Bazzill Basics, (blue cardstock) Core'dinations; Tools - (flower diecut) Cuttlebug, (lace, double-dot border punch) Martha Stewart, (scallop with dot, deco-edge) Fiskars or EK Success?; Accents - (black brads) Doodlebug, (plastic letters) American Crafts

Stay tuned for page #2 using the same flower diecut set.

Ink-tastic!

I am a huge fan of ink. The kind that gets all over your fingers...and inevitably your face and maybe even your clothes. And, no, I don't think it can only be used for antiquing; it's a simple addition to a page that just adds...that finishing touch. Inking works especially great with black and white or sepia-toned pictures. I'm not sure why except that perhaps it brings out the crispness in the photo. In any event, I used ink generously in the page below. My favorite (and BTW super easy) technique involves taking a sponge and dabbing it directly on the ink pad. Then take the sponge and rub it directly against the edge of your paper. Simple. Sometimes messy, but very easy to do. Usually I end up doing this on all the edges on my page. It's a little time-consuming, but very worth it. Trust me.

How completely adorable is this baby? I mean, really! And the page...pretty cute too, if I must say so myself.

Supply List: Paper - (Pink Floral and Off-white Damask) Crate papers, (Paisley/Floral) Basic Grey, (Teal polka dot) Bo Bunny, (cream cardstock) Michaels, (brown cardstock) Bazzill Basics; Accents - (Paper flowers) Martha Stewart, (pink gem accent) Prima Marketing; Tools - (border punch) Martha Stewart; ("little one" diecut lettering) "Jolly" by Quickutz; Other - (Ink) Staz On

Photo by Angi Randall

All in the Details

Detailed photos I promised.

Top photo: I must admit that I am crazy for KI Memories. Always have been. Though, sometimes I do find their products a little difficult to use. One example are these new plastic stickers...the sheet comes with several words and various pictures. The word I used below ("welcome") was actually included on a HOME sheet, but I thought it would work nice as a title. Kind of took my inspiration from the typeface you see in magazines and such and added a bit of flair by overlapping. I love the dimensional look it gives since the letter stickers for the "baby" part are actually a vinyl material too. It really pops off the page!

Bottom photo: I totally love the look of ribbon on a page, but have yet to find a super-duper way to adhere it. Whenever I attempt to use it, it ends up crooked, bent, wrinkled or otherwise mangled. My new trick...just use paper! I cut some strips on my paper trimmer and then using a sharp pair of scissors, clipped the ends at an angle or a w-shape. I cut a second shorter layer, using the end clipping technique. Since it was pattern-on-pattern, the cuts were difficult to see. I used some super cute square pop-ups to add some dimension and make the cuts more evident. I think if you didn't feel it or look ultra-close, you may just believe it was ribbon. Cool, huh? Oh yeah, and just love the monogram diecuts by Quickutz. You get several different fonts, sizes of one letter in the pack (Cookie-cutter style dies). My goal was to collect them all, but really haven't gotten too far. Luckily both Laura and Lucy start with an "L"...lucky girl!

Little Love

One of my best friends in the world, Carrie, announced to us last year that she was having a baby. How completely exciting! When it was finally time for the baby shower, I knew the perfect gift. She loves the look of scrapbooking, but has tried it and just doesn't enjoy doing it herself. Why not give her an empty book and the gift of my time and talent? Perfect! And so Lucy was born March 17, 2010. Less than a week later, she was photographed by Angi Randall . Adorable photos, by the way! Perfect timing since I was headed off to yet another weekend at Greenhaven Retreat and I needed something inspiring to work on. (Those of you who are creatively challenged have just GOT to check this place out. The workroom is awesome: huge tables, brightly lit, comfy chairs, and Cricut and Cuttlebug machines to use! I would highly recommend this place. I even have a work room at home, but it seems when I set aside the time at the Retreat, I just get more stuff done. No interruptions. No feeling bad about not making dinner or doing a load of laundry. Just time for you and your creativity!)

Anyway, brought the pictures and a variety of embellishments, papers, and more. You see, I plan ahead by deciding the general idea of the page. Usually this means finding a magazine page to scraplift, picking out the colors/papers and grabbing various items I think might go well (like ribbons, stickers, brads, etc). I throw all this stuff in an Iris 12x12 scrapbook box and am set to go. Way easier than trying to bring your whole stash with! I'll try to log-in here and show you the pages through out the week. Below you'll see one with little Lucy and her dad, Steven.

When I was picking out the supplies for this page, I just wasn't sure how it would turn out. I was copying a page done for a little boy and his soccer pictures and was thinking the bright colors might be too much. Completely wrong! I love how the bright colors contrast with the black-and-white photo. And even though the patterns and colors aren't girly in the least, I think it works well as a dad and baby girl page. Realized again over the weekend how much I adore my Cuttlebug...used it constantly to cut out circles, ovals, squares, rectangles, and various alphabets (including the monogram "L" above).

Supply List: Paper - Teal dot and yellow dot (Reminsce), orange dot (Scenic Route), green dot (Bo Bunny), cream cardstock (Michaels multipack); Accessories - white brads (Karen Foster), "welcome" plastic word (KI Memories), felt star brads (Making Memories), silver star "studs" (Colorbok), white lettering "baby" (American Craft Thickers); Tools - circles & scallop circles (Nestabilities), "L" monogram (Quickutz), scallop-edge border punch (Stampin' Up!); corner rounder (small-EK Success)

See post to immediately follow for detail shots of accents.