The Scrappy Gourmet "So Sweet" Layout Kit

I have a new layout kit for sale at The Scrappy Gourmet. "So Sweet" includes all products and instructions to create a two-page layout, a one-page layout and a bonus card. The colors make these layouts perfect for boys or girls!

The layouts include a lot of techniques to give your creations extra texture. 

There are just 4 kits left of my "Our Everyday Life" mini album and layout kit at The Scrappy Gourmet. This was such a fun album to put together. And this concept works for anyone!

And, if you are in the market for a Christmas kit...here's one that I put together earlier this year for The Scrappy Gourmet. I love the shape of the ornament mini album and it includes pre-punched papers so it is easy to put together. I also include instructions and images to create the layout and card. 

Finally, I'll have another layout kit for sale at The Scrappy Gourmet over the weekend. I'll post here once it is up. Think 4th of July!!!!! :) Here's a sneak peek! 

Noel Mignon Challenge: No Patterned Paper!

So, patterned paper is pretty much essential to scrapbooking, right? When we were first given the challenge to create a layout using no patterned paper at the Noel Mignon Challenge Blog, I thought, "No way!" But, this designing opportunity challenged me to use rub-ons, stickers, die-cuts, cardstock and other embellishments in other ways and I ended up LOVING this challenge.

Here is my layout using mostly the Seaside Cottage kit and a few things from my stash:

I'm slowly weeding my way through photos of the girls meeting certain family members for the first time and created this layout of them with my grandma. I cut a Hambly doily rub-on in half to frame the larger photo and a sticker from The Girls' Paperie was a perfect border along the bottom of my layout.

I used a Jenni Bowlin label sticker, Melissa Frances rhinestones, Making Memories chipboard alphabet, The Girls' Paperie sticker and some tulle to create my title. 

I used a Martha Stewart doily die-cut, Jenni Bowlin label sticker and button threaded with twine to highlight these photos. A Prima flower connects the smaller photos to my larger photo.

I also used a Jenni Bowlin bingo card above the smaller photos. I used my trusty Uniball Signo pen to create journaling lines.

That's all for today...we're celebrating our 7th anniversary! It's hard to believe we have been married that long! Have a great Monday! :)

Noel Mignon: Office Party Kit and Ad Challenge

I love to look through magazines for scrapbooking inspiration and this ad for Bose radios in a recent issue of Ladies' Home Journal caught my eye. I liked the iPod playlist in the background with the radio and iPod in the front. 

I tore out the ad and used it as the inspiration for this layout of my husband with our daughters. The colors in the NEW "Office Party" kit at NoelMignon.com was perfect for this layout! When the girls were really young and crying a lot, the one thing that would bring "instant calm" to our lives was for them to sit outside in the glider with daddy. I used the Pink Paislee and Basic Grey patterned paper to create a circle (the playlist in the ad) to ground two of my photos. The block of light blue in the ad became another photo (a shot of our deck and back of the house to add context to the other photos). 

Here's a close-up of my title and the Lily Bee canvas flower that I layered with Basic Grey stickers. 

I inked the Making Memories alphabet for extra dimension and machine stitched across the bottom to ground them to the layout. 

Finally, I added a little more machine stitching for added visual interest. 

Everything in this layout is from the Office Party kit...be sure to pick one up before they are gone! 

Have a great weekend! :)

Melissa Frances & Noel Mignon Sneak Peek!

Today, I wanted to share with you one of the projects I created as a guest artist for Melissa Frances. I used the Vintage Posey line, a resin frame, pearls, button, ribbon and rub-on. The butterfly was punched using a Martha Stewart punch. 

And, I also wanted to share sneak peeks of the gorgeous "Office Party" kit available at NoelMignon.com on July 15th! I just got my kit in the mail yesterday and it is AMAZING!!! It has a lot of "earthy" colors and would be great for all types of layouts - school, travel, fall, the man in your life, etc. And I'll definitely be able to use for my girls too!

I purged my scrap room (AGAIN) as I was getting overwhelmed with product and finally made myself let go of some things that I have been holding to for several years. I eliminated my patterned paper stash down to three Cropper Hopper storage units (yay! ME). I work more with kits these days anyway but I had some paper I just had to keep. I'm scrapping a lot more than I used to some I hope to break into that stash. Budget-wise I'm a lot more selective about what I will buy. 

Well, I best get moving today. It's my afternoon to work out and run errands so I've got to get my crew going! 

Have a great day! :)

GCD Studios Theme:: Birthday Fun!

The winner of the Midnight Rooster mini kit giveaway is: The Mom!!!!!

For the month of July, it's all about birthdays! My twin daughters celebrated their 1st birthday in May and we went all out to celebrate!

I made the girls birthday tutu's and birthday hats and their entire party was built around a cupcake theme. Here's a layout I created with photos we captured on their 1st birthday. 

I covered chipboard cupcakes by Maya Road with patterned paper from the Homespun Chic collection and topped each of the cupcakes with a brad from the collection. The cupcakes make a fun border across the bottom of my layout.

 

For the title, I used tiny alphabet stickers by October Afternoon and a faux wood chipboard alphabet by K & Company. I tied pink and red baker's twine around one of the letters that brings out the colors of the GCD Studios patterned paper.

Enjoy!

Jill

Midnight Rooster July Mini Kit Giveaway

The July Midnight Rooster kit is up and is so beautiful! I loved working with this kit. In honor of its release, each designer is giving away this beautiful mini kit! All you have to do is visit each blog and leave a comment answering whatever question they come up with. The giveaway is open until Sunday night. 

Paper:

Crate paper - Paper Doll, Katie

American Crafts - Dear Lizzy, Lazy Ladybug

American Crafts - Dear Lizzy, Sunny Spot

Jillibean Soup - Egg Drop Soup, egg yolk

Stamp - Purple Onion Designs

Fabric - 6x11

Lace Ribbon - 1 yard

Label Stickers - Jenni Bowlin

Mini Mark Rub--on's - American Crafts

Here's my question:

Once the 4th of July hits, summer is about half over. What are some summer activities you hope to squeeze in before it's time for "back to school"? 

Remember, you have until Sunday night to comment and I'll choose a winner and the kit will be shipped out around the 14th. 

Enjoy your weekend! :)

Midnight Rooster July Kit!

The Midnight Rooster July kit goes live today so that means it's time for me to share my work with this month's kit. I was able to work with the add-on kit again this month and I LOVED it just as much as the main! 

For this first layout, I used the large banner stamp in the main kit to create a banner using two colors of patterned paper. I used the Pink Paislee patterned paper as my base and spritzed a little Bed of Roses Shimmerz in a couple places. 

I used both of the alphabets in the main and add-on for the title.

Here's a close-up of the banner. I used foam adhesive for extra dimension.

I created the flower by using a Jillibean Soup journaling spot in the main kit, white fabric flower in the main and removed the pin from the blue flower in the add-on kit. The button is a Midnight Rooster exclusive! 

The photos in my next layout have a special place in my heart because it's my father-in-law with Lily. He has a special nickname for her (Darlin' Lil') that makes up the title of this layout. 

I used the fabric swatch in the main kit as patterned paper in this layout. 

This embellishment was made by layering an October Afternoon sticker, Jillibean Soup journaling spot and Jenni Bowlin butterfly. 

I scrapped some more Florida photos in this next layout. I used the October Afternoon map patterned paper as borders on the top and bottom of my layout. 

The Collage Press patterned paper had very cool designs in it so I cut a chunk of it out to use as grounding for part of my title. I used an October Afternoon label sticker to back the other part of my title.

The vintage orange juice cap in the main kit was perfect for a layout about Florida and added a great burst of color. 

The chipboard clouds are Cosmo Cricket and included in the main kit. And here's another Midnight Rooster exclusive button. 

I used the small banner stamp in the main kit as a border along the bottom and some orange My Mind's Eye rhinestones from my stash. 

And finally, here's a card I created using the stamp in the add-on kit. The multi-colored paper was actually cut off the bottom of a piece of Sassafras Lass patterned paper. The rub-on, rhinestones and twine are all from my stash. 

And there you have it! I might have another project to share with this kit later in the month. Have a great weekend...we have family visiting again and I might try to sneak away to CKC Des Moines later today or tomorrow! :)

Noel Mignon Challenge: Independence & Paper Rolling

I created this layout for the Independence Challenge that started this week over on the challenge blog and have a couple tips and techniques to share with you today. I'm going to turn 30 in January (yikes!) so I thought over the past decade of my life and jotted down a list of things that truly showed me gaining independence. I'm excited to see what my 30s will bring and it's amazing how much I accomplished and struggled during my 20s. I used the bright, fun Sun-Kissed kit to create this layout:

I placed the Jenni Bowlin butterfly rub-on on vellum and cut it out. I love the look this gives the butterfly as it allowed it to somewhat "flutter" off the page. :)

Here's a look at part of my title...the Cosmo Cricket chipboard alphabet was from my stash but the journaling block and flower are both in the kit.

I used a Maya Road kraft envelope to hide my journaling and dressed it up a little with a glittered flower, button and twine.

Here's a look at my journaling using one of the Echo Park journaling blocks...

And here's a tutorial for you on rolling patterned paper...First, I selected four different papers to work with. I wanted them to have some pattern to them but not have a lot of extra color. In my particular design, I wanted them to basically be monochromatic.

I cut the paper to 2" squares and cut 3 squares from each paper.

Next, I started rolling the paper from one end. You could always roll around something but I just used my fingers to work with the paper.

At the edge of my paper roll, I placed three glue dots to hold the paper in place.

Here's what one roll looks like....

And here's my finished embellishment on my layout. I adhered them to the page with glue dots and wrapped a ribbon around them to help tie them together. 

That's it! A fairly simple technique to give some extra dimension and color. I think these would also be cute as birthday candles on a birthday layout. 

I'll be back tomorrow with some new layouts to share! :)

GCD Studios Giveaway!

This week, we have one BIG give aways for our FUN News Letter!

Heidi and Heather in house just finished our July issue and it's ready to mail! We are so excited about it, because it's our best issue yet!

Here's how it works:

1)Sign up for the news letter here....Inthestudio@gcdstudois.com 

2)Then Leave a comment here over at the GCD Studios Blog. (look for the post that says GIVE AWAY+ HAPPY 4th)

In the News letter you'll see the prize :)

Then on July 12th... Heidi will pick the winner!

And the newsletter has sneak peeks of our new Christmas collections!!!!!

GCD Studios Technique:: Creating a Distressed Frame

Today, I'm going to share a technique on how to create a distressed frame for your layout. I love, love, love the shabby chic look and this is a great way to create it on your projects!

First, gather up your supplies. I chose brown and pink paint and this crackle medium by Plaid, foam brushes and an old lid to hold my paint. (I'll show you this technique on a smaller piece of chipboard but I actually did this to an entire chipboard frame.) Next, put a light coat of brown paint on the chipboard.

After allowing this to completely dry, paint a somewhat thick coat of crackle medium on the chipboard. The medium MUST be completely dry before the next step. (You can speed this step by using a heat gun).

Next, paint a coat of pink paint over the top of the crackle medium. Do NOT go over your brush strokes more than once. As the paint dries, you will notice cracks start to appear.

Finally, you can distress your frame even further by sanding some of the paint off and using distress ink. I also machine stitched around my frame.

Here's the layout I used the frame on using patterned paper from the Lydia, Smoothie Shop and Chic Bebe collections by GCD Studios:

Here's a close-up of my title that I outlined to help pop off the page.

And here's another little tip...I used my Martha Stewart punch to punch circles out of the plastic gift bags in the Homespun Chic collection. The glitter brads are also part of the collection.

Happy distressing! :)

Jill