Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Clear Scraps First Day of School layout

Hey everyone, just wanted to share this fun layout I did for the Clear Scraps design team!

As my background, I used a 12x12 Acrylic Sheet. I love this option as it adds a lot of flair to your project!


I used the Curiosity line from Authentique. Love the colors and the vintage feel of this collection!



I also added a Clear Shapes small acrylic star to my layout. I first used Glossy Accents along the edges and then applied the new Ranger Distress Dry Glitter. 



I added some finishing touches such as wooden veneers from Studio Calico and flair from {a flair for buttons}


That is all for now!  See everyone soon!





Monday, September 24, 2012

new addition

No not a baby but a puggie. People that are close to me know that I've wanted one for YEARS. My husband finally caved..how I am not sure. But, I'm not complaining.

We welcomed Max into our family last week. I drove to St. Louis to pick him up, as we adopted him through Southeast Pug Rescue.  He is around 2 yrs old but still looks (and acts) like a puppy. He was rescued from an animal hoarder and lived in a cage most of his life. So, he's still learning that we only go potty outside and how to walk on a leash.  He loves people and other animals as well.


Actually it's been hard to get anything done lately. It's like having a toddler around. He doesn't like it when I don't pay attention to him. And Max LOVES to be held like a baby.  He instantly falls asleep.  

Also, tomorrow morning I go in for surgery..I'm having a hysterectomy so I'll be out of commission for about a week or so.  Which means no scrapbooking. :(   The hardest thing for me will be just sitting and not doing much. That's so not me!  

Hopefully I'll be back soon to do some more updating, as well as sharing of projects!

Monday, September 17, 2012

44 days til Halloween!

Anyone that close to me  knows that Halloween is my favorite holiday. Go ahead and call me weird. I love the fall and everything that comes with it: crisp leaves, cooler days, pumpkins, and of course Halloween.  Don't get me wrong its not that I don't like Christmas...it's just that Halloween is so much less stressful and all about fun!

Today I am sharing a mini acrylic album I did using the Clear Scraps mini pumpkin and the new My Mind's Eye's  Lost and Found Halloween. The album is only 3 inches tall...so cute!



I left my front cover blank with the exception of using Tattered Angels Glam to outline the openings.  My first page is covered with the patterned paper and stamped at the bottom. I added black cardstock to show through to define the eyes, nose, and mouth. 


Love the brads and pennants!


This line has lots of orange embossed glitter! Here is one of the chipboard pieces with a cute owl. 


More chipboard which gives dimension to your projects!





That's all for now! I'm hoping to get into my scraproom for the night and get some projects done. I am having surgery a week from tomorrow and won't be able to craft for awhile. :(
Thanks for reading!



Saturday, September 15, 2012

Country Pumpkin Chowder

Happy Saturday!  It was a LONG day for me! I worked at The Scrapbooking Studio today from 10-6. We are celebrating our one year anniversary with an awesome sale! It was steady all day and that kept me busy! Not complaining though since 1). I LOVE our store and 2). I love that I can help our customers select fun paper and products!
After work, I met my family for an impromptu dinner out!  My sister in law and her family were in town so it was great seeing them!  They all had went to the local pumpkin farm for a few hours. Sad to have missed out but I know we'll have a chance to go again soon!  I love this time of year!

Tonight, I am sharing a layout I did using Jillibean Soup's Country Pumpkin Chowder collection.  Jillibean is one of my absolute favorite companies!! Every release, they amaze me with the paper lines and embellishments!  Country Pumpkin Chowder is no exception!  I love the colors of this line!


I used the Alphabeans Corrugated letters for my title, then stitched through.


 I created a flower with the Maya Road denim tulle trim and placed an epoxy button in the center. I finished it off with some baker's twine (Whisker Graphics) and one of the coordinating small die cut tags.  

Lots of layering!  I love the new Hexies!  I also used half of one of the new banners. I placed on of the new Maya Road naked Bingo pieces on top. I lightly colored it with Ranger's Broken China Distress Stain. I then placed one of the stars that can be found on the 12x12 die cut sheet. 

I created my own chevron out of three of the patterned papers and stitched them together.  I added a journaling die cut, as well. 


One of the Soup Labels I used. Love these as they can be used anywhere!  I also used the Denim Alphabeans for the date. Love how they coordinate not only with the paper, but my denim tulle as well! 
I also used a Studio Calico wooden veneer arrow...absolutely LOVE using these!  I think it's a fun, but small way to accent your project. 



It's late and I need to get to bed! My aunt and I are going to 3rd Sunday Market in the morning. I'm excited since I've never been before! 
Thanks for reading! -Jen


Thursday, September 13, 2012

5 and a half...

Hello everyone! Can't believe this week is almost over! Time is flying as always.  Being a stay at home mom, I am never home and always on the go. But, I wouldn't want it any other way. I feel very fortunate to be able to be home for my kids.

Today I am sharing a layout I did using some fun Clear Scraps Scallop Circle Frames and My Mind's Eye's The Sweetest Thing: Tangerine collection.



I first cut the scallop frames to fit around my 5x7 photo. I then covered them with paper and sanded the edges.


A close up of one of the doilies and wooden buttons that come with the collection. I added the vintage pins and some baker's twine, as well. 


Love layering embellishments!  Here are some of the cardstock stickers, chipboard buttons, and of course some flair!  


Here, I used Tim Holtz's Ideology numbers.  This is how old Hailey was when this picture was taken.  Seems like yesterday, but she's already 9 (and almost as tall as me!).



I love how this layout turned out. I think it was easy to create because of the paper patterns and the fun embellishments!  I think the scallop frames help give the layout different layers of dimension.  I've always loved working with acrylic!  

That's it for now..short and sweet. Thanks for reading! 



Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Fun Clear Scraps Teacher card

Happy Humpday! I am loving this weather..it's warm but you can definitely feel that fall is in the air!  I can't wait to decorate for fall and Halloween. Actually, if I would've had it my way decorations would've been up September 1st!  LOL But, my husband thinks it's too early.

Anyway, we are in the routine of school. Another reason why I love this time of year.  I love the routine and well...having the house to myself! Does that sound selfish? LOL 

As my first design team assignment for Clear Scraps, I made this card with the Send it Clear Belgrave card,   a Clear Shape small star and the Curiosity line from Authentique.  


If you haven't played with one of these cards, you need to!  Each Send It Clear card comes with clear adhesive circles to assemble the three pieces together. I love how it opens in the middle! 

For my card, I painted the Clear Shape star with gray chalkboard paint. My first intention was to write a sentiment on the star but I decided to embellish it instead.  


I applied two coats allowing an hour drying time in between.


After the paint was dry, I used a white paint pen to outline the edges.


Next, I added some of the cardstock stickers, as well as a mini wooden ruler by Maya Road and baker's twine by Whiskers Graphics. 


I covered the inside with paper as well, plus added a cardstock journaling sticker.


Be sure to stop by the Clear Scraps shop to check out these products and a lot more. You would be amazed on what you can do with acrylic and how you can add it to your projects!
Thanks for reading! -Jen







Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Back to School

Hi everyone! Sorry for my absence...even with the kiddos in school all day, its seems that I'm busy running errands all day. Plus, I've been trying to get into my scraproom to work on some projects!

Today I am sharing two projects I did for The Scrapbooking Studio design team using Graphic 45's An ABC Primer collection.  I love Graphic 45 but usually don't use it very often because honestly, I don't know how to use it. I don't think the vintage look is my thing..but I was happily surprised on how much I liked using this collection.

First up is a layout I did with a picture of my daughter on her first day of 2nd grade. I used  my Tim Holtz paper distresser on the edges of my patterned papers to give my layout a more vintage feel.



I loved the chipboard and die cut tags and used them to layer around my photo. I finished it off with a vintage button from Tim Holtz's Ideology collection.

 Here I used the Tim Holtz rosette die followed by a bingo piece from Maya Road. 


More Tim Holtz goodness!! I stamped "discover" on a small piece of paper and used of of the vintage plates. 


Next, here is a card that I created using the same line.  I used some of the patterned papers as well as the chipboard die cuts.  I also incorporated a tag from Jenni Bowlin, as well as cardstock circle stickers.
The photo holder is part of my stash...I've had them for so long I don't remember where I bought them. I'm sure we all have items like that in our supplies! LOL  I finished my card with some black and white baker's twine from Divine Twine.


Lastly, I made a mini book using Wendy Vecchi's Art Parts as pages.  I inked the front cover using Dylusions Post Box Red. And I wanted my book to have lots of tags and baker's twine!  


I mixed in some more Jenni Bowlin...here I used a tag as well as a flash card sticker. 


Another Jenni Bowlin tag and I also used a tab above my picture.


Here, stamped a Jillibean Soup kraft coin envelope and added some Ideology pieces to it.  The stamp is one of Wendy Vecchi's!  



This time, I used a Jenni Bowlin tag as my background. Perfect for journaling!


One of the chipboard die cut frames that coordinate with the line.  





Just off to the right, you can see one of Maya Road's new kraft pennants!  Love these!!


Well, that is all for today! Hope this gave you some inspiration to scrap those back to school photos! 
Until next time, thanks for reading!








Wednesday, September 5, 2012

The Sweetest Thing





Hi all, hope you had a great Labor Day weekend. I know here in Central Illinois it was pretty soggy and wet.  However, my family and I were in Northern Michigan for the long weekend and it was gorgeous.  My husband's cousin have a cabin on the Betsie River so that's where we spent most of our time.  We stayed at Crystal Mountain Resort but really just slept there. Although our kids did get to enjoy the swimming pool and alpine slides.  We'd love to make this a yearly thing!  Sunday night, we went to Elberta Beach along Lake Michigan to watch the sunset. The kids loved playing in the lake. After dark, we shot off fireworks and just enjoyed our campfire.

Anyway, today I wanted to share two layouts I created last week using My Mind's Eye's The Sweetest Thing collection.  I am a huge fan of MME!  They never cease to amaze me with their patterns and fun embellishments!  This release they added washi tape, coordinating enamel dots, and crochet doilies!  

Here is one I did using the "Honey" line. Love the bees!!  


 One of the fun layered stickers that come with the collection.

I created a banner using semi scallop circles with some of the very cool brads and pennants!
At the bottom, you can see the honeycomb yellow washi tape :)


Layering some of the pattern paper, stickers, and die cut. In the upper left hand corner is one of the wooden buttons that come with every line.

 I added some washi tape and a couple of the cardstock sticker pennants in the upper left corner.  


Here is another layout I did using a mix of the Honey and Tangerine lines.  The style of this layout is a little out of my comfort zone but I really like how it turned out.  


Using some of the layered stickers and wooden buttons. Plus, added some flair from "a flair for flair". :)




This is actually one of the cardstock stickers that goes with the Honey collection...love that it looks like a Polaroid!  


Well that is all for now....the kiddos will be getting home in a little less than 3 hours so I'm going to get some crafting time in! Thanks for reading!