Gams

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Bella & Epiphany Crafts Team Up Week

This week Bella Blvd and Epiphany Crafts have teamed up to provide you with loads of inspiration!  
 
 
If you've been checking the Bella blog you already know that we've been combining Bella products with many of Epiphany's fun shape punches, epoxies and charms settings. The combination of the two lines is perfection! And if that's not enough, there are giveaways including Bella's newest Sand & Surf collection!

I had a couple of projects up on the blog on Thursday.  I was given Epiphany's Shape Studio Oval Tool, Bubble Caps and Metal Charm Settings to work with. I've been wanting to try out the ever popular ombre trend, that's been popping up in all sorts of design mediums, for some time now. The Epiphany Shape Studio Oval Tool allowed me to highlight many bits and pieces of pink, from some of my favorite Bella patterned papers, to successfully accomplish this look.

Bella supplies used: Kiss Me: Bouquet Kisses, Flutter; Birthday Girl: Dancing Queen, Cute Cuts, Celebrate; Sophisticates: Punch (Hot Pink), Tall Tags (Bookmark Size), Pink-Red High Five Alphabets, Piggy-Punch High Five Alphabets; Button Market: Fruit Punch, Pink Flowers, Hot Pink Flowers. Epiphany supplies used: Shape Studio Tool Oval 25, Bubble Cap Oval 25, Metal Charms Oval 25. Other: Bazzill cardstock, crochet thread, machine stitching.

After punching and piecing the ovals into an ombre design, I used the Oval Bubble Caps to turn some of those simple patterned paper pieces into fun and dimensional accents. 



The Oval Metal Charm helped me to highlight a favorite sticker phrase, from the Kiss Me collection, and make it a focal point on my page.




The Epiphany Oval Shape Tool, Caps and Metal Charm proved to be the perfect size to house and show off this sweet little home image from the Thankful collection. 
 
Bella supplies used: Thankful: Our Spot, Borders, Burlap, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Alpha+Bits Stickers. Epiphany supplies used: Shape Studio Tool Oval 25, Bubble Cap Oval 25, Metal Charms Oval 25. Other: Stampin' Up border and heart punch, kraft cardstock, machine stitching.
 Turning this sweet sticker into a custom charm, makes it the focus of the card and in addition, pairs so nicely alongside the Bella sentiment sticker.

 
For my final project, I pieced my favorite border strip, from the Kiss Me collection Border & Cute Cuts paper, along the outer edges of this card front, to mimic the look of a full sheet of patterned paper. A simple white embossed cardstock piece, covers up the empty space that is left behind from the thin border strips and creates a great backdrop for embellishment. 

Bella supplies used: Kiss Me: Borders & Cute Cuts; Ciao Chip: Stars & Hearts. Epiphany supplies used: Shape Studio Tool Oval 25, Bubble Cap Oval 25. Other: Paper Studio wood grain embossing folder, American Crafts ribbon and foam adhesive, machine stitching.
I have been hanging onto this Bella chevron chipboard heart for just the right project. I love it on this card, topped off with the Epiphany Bubble Capped Oval and coordinating 'Kiss Me' sentiment.


 
 
Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope to be back soon with lots more to share!
 

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Emme: Pebbles Layout & Giveaway winner!

First things first, the winner of the stack of pretty Bella Blvd Kiss Me collection goodies, from my last post is... STEPHANIE EAKEN!  Congrats, Stephanie and thanks for following my blog!  Email me at jaclynrench@yahoo.com with your shipping info, so I can get your prize in the mail to you!


Admittedly, I am a rather S-L-O-W scrapper.  It typically takes me 3-4 hours or an evenings sitting to complete a scrapbook page.  Last week I was assigned to  'Whip it up Wednesday' over on the Pebbles blog, which involves 'whipping' up a project in around 30 minutes or less.  As you can assume, this presented me with a bit of a challenge, but I was up for it!   

The first step in tackling this challenge was to take out my square punch and a variety of papers from the Walnut Grove collection. Once I had my stack of pretty squares, it took me only a minute or two to lay out a beautiful over-sized photo mat, that mimics the look of a cozy, worn quilt. Attaching the squares was quick and easy, once I had the first in place to use as a guide. I then chose to add some stitching to make that backdrop look even more quilt-like, but that step could certainly be skipped to save on time. 

 
Supplies used: Pebbles - Walnut Grove Harriet (751294), Walnut Grove Caroline (751295), Walnut Grove Nellie (751297), Walnut Grove Nancy (751298), Walnut Grove Grace (751303), Walnut Grove Laura (751300), Walnut Grove Carrie (751302), Walnut Grove Eliza Jane (751304), Walnut Grove Accent and Phrase Stickers (732119), Tricks and Treats Black Glitter Foam Thickers (732135), Sunny Side Dimensional Flowers (747184); Other: American Crafts kraft cardstock, Veteran Typewriter font, machine stitching.

The next step was to turn to my stash of Thickers and pretty Pebbles stickers to add my title and a few specifically placed embellishments. Four strips of journaling around the outer perimeter of the photo mat, complete the page, and believe or not (I could hardly believe it myself!) my page was done in just under 30 minutes!

 
Sometimes a challenge is just the right creativity booster - it certainly was for me!  In fact, I enjoyed this challenge so much I shared it with some of my favorite scrapbooking friends on a recent scrapbooking trip, and we all tried our hand at 30 minute layouts. I'll be back soon to share my results!
 
Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Love is in the air: Pebbles Layout

In keeping with the love theme from my last post, I have another heart-filled page to share with you today.  This week the theme over on the Pebbles blog is "Love is in the air".

Supplies used: Pebbles - Family Ties Journaling Cards, Family Ties 6x6 paper pad, Family Ties Grandfather paper, Walnut Grove Eliza Jane paper, Walnut Grove James paper, Walnut Grove Dimensional Stickers, Walnut Grove 6x6 paper pad, Seen & Noted Journaling Cards, Seen & Noted 6x6 paper pad, Seen & Noted ABC stickers, Sunny Side Bouncy paper, Sunny Side Happiness paper, Sunny Side Tickled Pink paper; Other: Buttons, Twine and Cardstock - American Crafts, Gems - Doodlebug, Mist - October Afternoon, Vellum - The Paper Company, Epoxy dots - My Mind's Eye; machine stitching, computer font.
 
As you can see from my page, I interpreted this week's theme quite literally into my project. 'Love is in the air' immediately made me think of floating hearts and my sweet four year old boy who is always reminding me that he loves me! 

I ran with those ideas by grabbing a recent favorite photo of him and turning to my pile of Pebbles scraps, to start cutting and punching a variety of hearts. 


This page features paper and products from four different collections, but stays unified through the heart shape and color palette. 

 
I 'love' how this page turned out, and am especially glad to have documented this sweet little personality trait of my youngest son.
 
Thanks for stopping by today!  Don't forget about my *GIVEAWAY* from Tuesday's post - I'll be drawing a winner on Sunday evening.
 

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Two Bella layouts and a GIVEAWAY!

So, it's officially February, the L-O-V-E month.  I know many of us are busy crafting up all kinds of lovey, dovey cards to give, treats to share, or maybe even pulling out last year's Valentines photos to scrap.  Whatever the case, I'm seeing lots of fun love-themed products and projects popping up all over the web. I have a couple of my own heart filled projects to share with you today.

This first page was up on the Bella Blvd blog on Monday, along with lots of other beautiful cards and pages featuring the Kiss Me collection.

Supplies used: Bella Blvd - Kiss Me: Bouquet Kiss, Flutter, Borders & Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Blue High Five Alphabets; Designer Tape: Punch Chevron; Chipboard Icons: Baby Girl; Button Market: Blues; Crochet Flowers: Juniper. Other: Bazzill cardstock; Martha Stewart doily punch and small diecut doily; Studio Calico kraft heart stickers, Me and My Big Ideas gems; American Crafts ribbon and wooden epoxy button (Dear Lizzy); Veteran Typewriter computer font; machine stitching.

I'm in love with the navy and pink color combo that's so prominent in the Kiss Me collection! It's certainly a no-so-traditional color scheme for Valentines projects, which in turn, makes it suitable for so many more subjects, as well.  I knew with it's feminine touches and great color scheme it would pair great with some pictures of my baby girl in her pink tee and blue jeans. 
 
The floral border strip near the bottom third of the page, helped me to ground my title, and allowed for another excuse to tie in lots and lots of additional Bella floral elements.

 
I had fun layering up flowers of all different mediums on this page - patterned paper, chipboard, doily and even Bella's crocheted flowers.  It creates lots of dimension, texture and interest, don't you think?


 
I had another layout go up on the Bella blog today.  Myself and some other design team members were give this inspiration image to base a layout off of:
 
February_InspirationImage1
 
Here is my take on the challenge...

Supplies used: Bella Blvd - Kiss Me: Bouquet Kisses, Borders & Cute Cuts, Alpha + Bits; Sophisticates: Short Stories, Tall Tags (Bookmark Size), Sprinkles & Lace Oyster, Pink-Red High Five Alphabets; Birthday Boy: Just Write Journaling Stickers ; Baby Boy: Momma's Boy; Designer Tape: Punch Chevron; Button Market: Red Flowers, Pink Flowers, Stars; Other: American Crafts cardstock (white), Stampin' Up scallop border punch, Veteran Typewriter computer font, Technique Tuesday Ali Edwards stamps, Tsukineko black ink, EK Success heart punch, Glossy Accents, Joann's crochet thread, machine stitching, colored pencil.
Can you see the similarities and items I drew inspiration from?

I was drawn to so many of the elements from this image. I knew I wanted to start my project with a mostly white background, just as is featured in the inspiration piece. Because this seemed a bit too plain I decided to back my whole project with a border of the Sophisticates Oyster Sprinkles & Lace paper, for a subtle but impactful effect.   
 
I just couldn't resist creating a row of elements/tags that appear to be hanging, as again, inspired by the original image.
 

 
I went for a bold red title, just like the inspiration text.  The little 'kissy lips' throughout the page, were cut from one of the borders strips on the Kiss Me collection paper.  I popped some of them up and added glossy accents to all of them, to make them look at bit more realistic.
 

 
You might have noticed that I mentioned something about a little giveaway in the title of this post?  I'm sure you haven't forgotten!  I would love to share this pile Bella Blvd's Kiss Me collection with one very lucky blog reader...
 
 
To be entered in the giveaway sign up on the side bar on the right to follow my blog, leave a comment letting me know you did (or if you're already a loyal follower) and I will pick a random number on Sunday evening (Feb. 10th), to receive this pretty prize package. Sound good? Easy peasy, right? 
 
Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, February 2, 2013

A Perfect Day: Pebbles Layout

I'm back again today with another two page layout!  If your a fan of the 2 pager, be sure to check out all the posts on the Pebbles blog last week for LOADS of inspiration.  The theme was "Make Mine a Double", and the Design Team has shared so many fun two page spreads.  I had a layout go up on the blog on Thursday.

Sometimes a two page layout can be a daunting task, as you try to coordinate and balance each page individually and as a whole. If a two page layout is needed, and I'm struggling to make it work, I usually go for a grid style approach. This creates a more manageable formula for plugging in your pictures, papers, journaling and embellishments. For this page, my focal photo is sized at 6x4. I sized my supporting photos at 3x3 inches, and reached for my stack of Journaling and Phrase cards from the Seen & Noted and Family Ties collections. I then trimmed the selected the cards down to match my photo size and plugged them in to the spaces left behind by the picture collage. With the formal design process out of the way, I then had the freedom to play and embellish with all the final stickers, bits and details.



Supplies used: Pebbles - Family Ties Journaling Cards (751357) Family Ties Paper Pad (751360)  Family Ties Accent & Phrase Stickers (732148) Walnut Grove Dimensional Stickers (747188) Walnut Grove Accent & Phrase Stickers (732119) Seen & Noted Phrase Cards (747195) Seen & Noted Journaling Cards (747194) Seen & Noted Paper Pad (751323) Seen & Noted Accent and Phrase Stickers (732128)Seen & Noted Memories (751314); Other: October Afternoon Sprinkler in Doilies, Sequins - Darice, Kraft Cardstock - American Crafts, Tim Holtz Distress Ink, machine stitching, computer font, foam adhesive, crochet thread.

For this page, my focal photo is sized at 6x4". I sized my supporting photos at 3x3 inches, and reached for my stack of Journaling and Phrase cards from the Seen & Noted and Family Ties collections, to fill in the blank spots on the grid.  I then trimmed the selected the cards down to match my photo size and plugged them in to the spaces left behind by the picture collage. With the formal design process out of the way, I then had the freedom to play and embellish with all the final stickers, bits and details.

Here's a closer look at page one, of the spread.

 
and page two...

 
I love cutting out the little banner style words from the journaling cards, attaching them to a little stick and turning them into a flag.  A little string bow adds the perfect touch!

 
I mixed in flower chipboard and stickers from Walnut Grove, Seen and Noted and Family ties.  A little red sequin here and there, adds a fun bit of sparkle!

 


The chipboard tree from Family Ties was the perfect compliment to these park pictures - it begged to be included somewhere! ;)


I have been scrapbooking up a storm, but unfortunately can't share much of what I've done yet.  Soon!  Hoping to sneak in some more time in my craft space on this snowy, cold day.  Hope you get to do the same!  Thanks for stopping by!