JulieChats

2012...Be Inspired, Get Organized, LEARN

2012-02-03T16:10:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's sure been a while since I've blogged...maybe it's about a lack of time or maybe it's about a lack of inspiration...maybe it's a bit of both.

But, as I attempt my first Roundup (I'm inspired by Katie Nelson, just took a class from her at Big Picture Classes, check out the Roundup section on her blog for more info.), of January 2012, I took a few minutes to read through some emails I've been meaning to get to. I had 5 emails from the Ali Edwards series 52 Creative Lifts that I had been waiting to read. While my January photos uploaded to Costco, seemed like the perfect time to get to them. Reading through these weekly emails, inspired me to head over here and write a post about what I'm up to this year.

First, I began January thinking about my One Little Word for 2012. WAY back in 2010, I decided on BELIEVE and ACHIEVE for my word(s) :). I set goals for myself that had to do with blogging, losing weight and working on my finances. I have to say that, as is usually my habit, I began with a strong focus on my goals and LIFE got in the way. When it was time for 2011, I had helped my finances by taking a 2nd part time job, but doing so had squeezed out time to concentrate on blogging or anything else. It seems to take me quite a while to "right my ship" when I encounter a big change like this, so here I am in 2012, forcing myself to make time to be creative (that might even include some blogging here & there). With Jake in preschool, even for only 2 mornings a week, I can do some of my second job (transcription) during the mornings and not just into the wee hours of the night. Getting just a little more sleep sure helps with the creativity and motivation!

So back to that 2012 word....mine is LEARN!

One of my huge goals is to learn Photoshop! I purchased two online classes at Jessica Sprague .com and now I have to make the time to go through them so I feel like I have a better handle on Photoshop. I would LOVE to use it in my regular scrapbooking AND to get started with some digi scrapbooking (I bought a subscription to The Digi Game over at The Daily Digi last year and I'm SO excited about all the great digi items I get for only $7.50 a month). I have used a few of my digi elements to create invitations and some other fun little projects, but I have yet to complete a real scrapbook layout! So I really need to get to those PS classes! (I did make my LEARN tag with PS and a kit from the Digi Game, but it took me forever and I can't figure out how to just use the part I want and not a rectangle background...time for the classes!)

As a part of my effort to create enough time to LEARN in 2012, I thought I'd better get organized! I have read Katie's blog for a few years and have always admired how she rounds up each month at the beginning of the next month and then moves on. (Read how Katie explains Roundups HERE on her blog!)I took her Roundup Class in January, over at Big Picture Classes and it inspired me to design a Monthly Roundup Workshop at Whimzee's Scrapbook Studio, where I'm in charge of all the marketing, while also teaching & designing. I wanted to share Katie's basic technique and help the participants form a sort of support group that will meet each month to create a Roundup layout and also discuss the different ways that we can incorporate Katie's technique in regular paper scrapbooking in many different forms. I want to share the ideas I am finding on creativity, inspiration and organizing with the group. So, I guess, here I am using my LEARN to teach and share too!

In the first couple days of 2012, LEARNing Photoshop was a major goal of mine, and then it was pushed slightly aside when I was the LUCKY winner of a Silhouette Cameo die cutting machine on The Today's Creative Blog! I was SO excited to win, that organizing my scrapbook studio and making a space for my new toy on my crowded tables became a more urgent goal! And, now that the Silhouette has arrived, LEARNing it's software has become my most pressing creative goal! I am SO happy that the software is easy to use (I have previously used the Pazzles Pro software, so it may have come quicker to me that it might to others). I LOVE being able to download cool designs right from the Silhouette website for only 99 cents! I have used the $10 download card included with my machine to grab a few die cuts for my Roundup workshop and I'm excited to share them with everyone who attends!

Now that my studio is more organized, I find it's easier to run up here and cut a few shapes or finish a project. (Another goal of mine is to finish some projects that are half finished and filling a box under my table...having that box empty at the end of 2012, would be an amazing accomplishment!) I am also hoping that having things more organized will allow me to get started on a project I have been procrastinating since November. I am creating a custom album for a friend, I think I my reasons for procrastinating are both emotional and then just plain procrastination. This album is very personal to me, being a celebration of a close friend's life. Brent died in 2003 and thinking about creating this album gives me feelings of joy, being able to honor someone who is so important to my family and feelings of sadness at the memories being in the past. But now that I have the perfect space, I will press on and find joy in remembering someone so special.

I'm confident the book will turn out beautiful and hope that it will be the beginning of a new chapter for me, creating custom albums at home in my studio.

In order to keep my word, LEARN, foremost in my mind during 2012, I have signed up for the One Little Word class, taught by Ali Edwards, over at Big Picture Classes. I signed up a bit late, so I'm still getting my book started, but I think that the little exercises aimed at getting to know my word and making it part of my life will be perfect lessons for this year! I am excited at the idea of exploring my word a little bit each month! I promise to share what I'm "learning" about my word this year. I'd love to know what your word is for 2012 too! So leave me a comment & we can chat! ;)

I've also decided that I need to LEARN to knit this year! During January, I have been able to learn one stitch...the knit stitch. I'm not pushing myself and I'm not sure how far I will get on this journey this year, but I'll keep you updated!

Layout of the Week: Halloween Headstone

2011-09-23T22:24:00.000-07:00

Even though it seems like summer only just arrived here in Oregon, the calendar says it's time to get ready for Fall! Never one to miss out on seasonal decorating, these extra large pennant banners just jumped right out at me during the EK Success Craft Fest this fall in Portland.

These large arched chipboard pennants are 10" x 16" and when flipped upside down it just screamed Halloween headstone!

I gathered some fun Halloween papers & embellishments, some new, some older...

I think I used all these papers, except the tiger stripe. After laying everything together and deciding which to use, it just didn't seem to fit into the look I was creating. For my first step, I used the Soot Ink Pad from Tim Holtz, rubbing it along the sides and over the enter front of my headstone. Then I cut strips of paper and attached them with spray adhesive, before adding some fun embellishments like self adhesive strips, ribbon, twine, a tag from 7 Gypsies, punched bats and a piece of jack-o-lantern flair. We're planning to use the Halloween Headstone as a fun place to attached little notes in our booth during this weekend's Scrapbook Expo. After the Expo, I'm planning to add some orange glittered THICKERS announcing Happy Halloween!

Tips:

Sand double layer cardstock, such as Core'dinates, to add a distressed look to your Halloween projects.

Don't be afraid to give your tags a distressed look too! Wad them up & rub with ink to give them that "just found in the haunted house" look.

Trim your patterned papers and lay them over another coordinating pattern. This diamond pattern takes on a banner look when trimmed.

Punch a strip with your favorite punch and mount it over a thick ribbon for a custom embellishment! The bats have also been sprayed with Luminarte black shimmer mist (difficult to see in the photo) for and added texture.

Supplies:

Paper Accents

Tim Holtz Ink Pad

Papers-Teresa Collins, Authentique Paper, Core'dinates

Various Ribbon, Paper Twine & Yarn

Tag-7 Gypsies

Spritz-Luminarte

Sticker Strips-K & Co.

If you're looking for other creative Halloween inspired ideas, stop by Today's Creative Blog for Get Your Craft On Tuesdays. 100's of creative types submit their creations each and every Tuesday, I'm sharing this project and I'd love to see yours over there too!

Party Favors the Kids Can Make...

2011-06-06T22:52:00.000-07:00

If you're like me, you're getting tired of spending all the time and money to throw your kids wonderful birthday parties only to be left wondering what kind of fabulous gift you should spend even more money on to send home with each little party go'er...

Well, personally, I'm trying to move away from the party favor/gift bag craziness. Last year for Delaney's party, we had a great American Girl Craft Party where the girls made their own favors as part of the party. And the year before that, we had a Tie Dye theme for Delaney's party where the girls tie dyed a shirt and wore it home as their favor. (Click HERE to see the mini album I made featuring all the fun of the Tie Dye party.)

This year, Delaney wanted to take three friends to dinner at Benihana and then back home for a sleepover. Since dinner was going to be pretty expensive, I wanted to do some cheap little favors for the girls. While I was thinking about my plan for the party, we got in some fun little tubes at the scrapbook store where I work.

The tubes are about $1 each at the store and are about 1 1/2" in diameter and 8" tall.

We gathered our supplies. (Of course I used my new favorite Willow House piece, the Riverstone Tapas Set...so useful, but I digress!) Delaney wanted some fun bright colors for the tubes, so she chose Jelly Belly Jelly Beans in the colors she wanted (frankly the most expensive part of this project, you could choose any little candies that fit in the tubes). Then we used some extra ribbons we had at home and a few little spools of $1 American Craft ribbon from the store. I punched the tags with my large tag punch and printed out some cute cupcakes from a the Crystal's {Playground} elements pack, a digi scrapping pack I got over at JessicaSprague.com (I made the invitations from this same kit, I'll share them soon.)

Once Delaney had all her supplies, I left her alone to make up the favors while I finished cleaning the house. I did have her let me know when she finished a step, so I could hurry in & shoot a photo or two. Delaney's 10, but I definitely think that 7 or 8 year olds could do this project by themselves or as a fun activity during the party.

In preparation, we cut the ribbons in about 4" pieces and wrote the girls' names on the tags.

Then the fun began....

First Delaney filled the tubes with jelly beans.

Then she added the cap.

Next, she tied a few ribbons around the tube, adding a tag to the top ribbon before tying it.

Such a fun, simple & inexpensive party favor! Give it a try for your next party...birthday, graduation, 4th of July, Halloween...the variations are only limited by your imagination!

My Birthday Girl had a great time with her friends & everyone left with a sweet little memory of the party!

Remember to join me over at Today's Creative for the "Get Your Craft On" link party every Tuesday! If I'm not posting, I'm over there hanging out seeing what the creative ladies are sharing every week!

Layout of the Week - Quick & Colorful

2011-05-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

Some projects are just for fun! This is one of them. I've always been wanting to try more of the fun tints on the Costco Photo Center website and this seemed like a fun photo to use. I love the whimsical look of Andy Warhol's pop art and so does Delaney. She took an art class last year where she got to create some very cool pieces of pop art! Thanks to her, I have all sorts of fun, bright pieces around my home.

Since she turned 10 this Spring, I used this photo where a "10" appears to be coming out of her head...don't even remember where this was taken, but it's a fun photo! Then I used the tints in the editting menu on Costco's Photo Center website to change the colors, saving a copy of the original and then going back to the original and doing it all over again for each color. I printed each tint as wallets (you get 4 of the same photo, wallet size, for 39 cents...a GREAT deal, if you ask me!)

Next, photos in hand, I headed to Whimzee's to see what I could find. I knew that my layout needed to be a simple one, with simple papers & embellishments. I started this project with my ribbon chosen...we needed a sample at the store using this fun white felt flower ribbon from Creative Cafe, so I started with a couple pieces of it. To add a little texture, I chose the white Bazzill dot paper with it's embossed texture. Finally to mix in just a bit of color, I used some KaiserCraft rhinestones in colors that matched as closely as possible to my tinted photos. I ended up with green, blue and red. I was hoping to find an orange or gold rhinestone to match my sepia photo, but we didn't have any at the store. So I used what I could find and spaced them out in the centers of the flowers with a few spaces in between.

For a simple layout design, I decided to arrange my photos "Warhol Style" in a square (I know it's a rectangle, but square just sounds better.) I added a few rows of the ribbon and filled some of the flowers with the rhinestones & I was finished. I love the look and the layout was super quick. It's a fun design to use with any photos you have. Just print out some wallets or crop your photos to wallet or small square size, grab your ribbon and you'll have a finished page!

I know some of you purists will notice I don't have any journaling...but I don't think every photo or layout needs journaling. Sometimes just a photo or 4 photos tell the story!

Have fun scrapping!

Stop & visit me on Facebook, where I'm putting together a new page for the JulieChats Blog!

Tips

Use a group of 4 small photos and some ribbon or paper strips to create a simple, quick layout.

Try some tinted photos on your next project!

Don't feel like you always have to use tons of printed paper or lot's of color, sometimes neutrals & a little burst of color is all you need.

And DON'T worry if you don't want to journal every page!!! It's YOUR page after all, there are no rules to scrapbooking!!!

Supplies

Bazzill Dot Paper

Creative Cafe Felt Ribbon

KaiserCraft Rhinstones

Costco Tinted Wallet Photos

Summer's Coming Tablescape

2011-05-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm in the slow lane on the way to Summer...it's taking FOREVER for any Summer weather to arrive here in Oregon. So I've decided to turn up the heat and get creative. When the box arrived with my Villa Appetizer Tray, it was just the inspiration I needed.

I combined the tray with a couple of my other Villa pieces to create a light, Summery centerpiece that creates a peaceful feeling with natural, neutral pieces.

By adding a piece of burlap as a table runner and tossing some shells in a pair of martini glasses, you can create a breezy summer look on your dining table or just a fun vignette on a side table.

If you're decorating your dining table, you probably need more than just one small tray for your centerpiece. If you have two matching trays, great! Use the second to create this same look and you're ready to go. If you're like me and have just one tray, look through your dishes for two small ones that will give the other side of your tablescape a similar look, and use the same martini glasses and shells to finish the look. One side balances the other out, even though they are not exactly the same.

I used two salad plates for my grouping opposite the tray. For a nice balanced look on a medium size dinner table, place the tray grouping in the center of the table and one plate & glass grouping on either side. These salad plate/martini glass pieces would be perfect as singles on small tables or in a row on your mantel. (Maybe I'll try this for my next mantelscape...hmmmm....)

Now, if you're trying to fill a larger dining table, like I was, think of the tray grouping and the two salad plate groupings as the right & left sides of your centerpiece. For the center, look for a larger basket, bowl or similar container. The exact size isn't nearly as important as the look of your container. If you have a piece that matches the other bases you are using in this arrangement, perfect! But it's fine if you don't, too! I didn't have a larger piece for the center of my tablescape, so I chose a large hammered bronze bowl as my center container. I think a large basket would look wonderful here also, in keeping with the neutral colorscheme. I used this Cyprus Footed Bowl for my tablescape's center. And to add a little height to the center of my table, I added new favorite thing, the Villa Pedestal with some shells and a chunky summer potpourri surrounding it and a large shell sitting on a bronze candle stand to top it off.

This center grouping can also stand on its own in the center of your table or on a side table. Combined together these smaller groupings created a beautiful centerpiece on a large dining table.

Remember some of my favorite tips for creating great centerpieces for your table:

Find a color scheme that blends well with your room.

Think of the scale of your room...use larger pieces in larger rooms or rooms with high ceilings and smaller pieces in smaller rooms.

Use smaller, shorter items one the ends or around the edges of a larger center piece. Then place larger items, progressively toward the center. Picture creating centerpieces as creating a triangle or pyramid shape with the tallest items in the center.

Think in 3's...groups of items in 3's (or any odd number) are most pleasing to the eye. For my Summer tablescape, I used 3 separate groupings...the Villa Tray serves as one, the Villa Salad Plates serve as another and the Cyprus Bowl serves as the third.

If you're looking for fresh, summer look, think neutral and stop by your local craft store. Grab some of their economical burlap for a table runner and a few bags of their bargain shells to fill your containers. Look around your house for some neutral dishes and containers. White, ivory or brown would look great with this colorscheme. Also, a natural basket or two would mix in nicely. And instead of martini glasses, grab a few of your wine glasses to fill with shells.

If you need some decorating advice...just ask! I love to help people organize and decorate their homes, just let me know what you'd like help with and I'll work on a post just for you. I hope you get a few minutes to take a break from all your work and create a more beautiful space in your home.

Find most of the pieces I used in this tablescape over on my Willow House page. I sell these beautiful home decor products and I also share them & more decorating tips on my Willow House Julie page on Facebook. Stop by & visit when you get a chance.

And stop back here soon to see my next Layout of the Week project! Trying to decide which will be next...a Bella Blvd. project or one designed with Webster's Pages???? Hmmm..we'll see! :)

Have you made something lately & posted it to your blog? If you have, you should check out the creative links at Made You Monday over at Skip to My Lou....

Join me over at Kim's for THE BEST Linky Party on the web...Tuesday's Get Your Craft On @ Today's Creative Blog. You'll find all sorts of great crafting & decorating projects, many with DIY tutorials. Be sure to leave Kim a comment to let you know what you think and tell her Julie sent you :)

Layout of the Week - featuring Bo Bunny's Ad Lib Collection

2011-05-02T23:35:00.000-07:00

I'm on a streak right now...two Layout of the Week posts in a row!! This week, I'm featuring a layout I created with paper & embellishments from Bo Bunny's Ad Lib Collection. This collection features some fun printed papers decorated with turquoise blue, creamy yellow, grass green & a nice cantaloupe-y shade of orange.

Lately, I've been creating a lot of one-photo layouts and the paper I chose for my background here works perfectly with one photo. This photo is one of my favorites from last summer's trip to Seattle. Delaney took this self-portrait of us on the Seattle-Bainbridge Ferry. I mounted it on Bo Bunny's Licorice Flourish paper from the Double Dot Collection. I trimmed the floral and dotted papers to use as embellishments. Next I used two 2" x 12" strips of the Turquoise Stripe paper, also from the Double Dot Collection. I punched one edge with a Wavy Dotted Scallop edge punch from EK Success. Then I put the strips through my paper crimper and folded it to look like a pleated ribbon.

For a finishing touch, I added the Bo Bunny Ad Lib Trinkets to the upper left corner of the photo and a little fluffy orange yarn on each side.

Tips

For extra embellishments on your layouts, trim out a few of the graphic elements. They add some texture to your layout and are very economical embellishments too!

Dig out that old paper crimper & use it to create a ribbon look with paper strips. To give your layout an up to the minute look, use an edge punch to help your paper ribbon stand out even more.

And I know I've said this a million times, but use a black & white photo! By printing in black & white, you can make any one of your favorite photos match any one of your favorite paper collections!

Supplies

Bo Bunny Ad Lib & Double Dot Printed papers
Bo Bunny Ad Lib Trinket embellishments
Embroidery Floss and Yarn, vendor unknown

Tools

Fiskars Paper Crimper
EK Success Punch

Join me over at Today's Creative for the Get Your Craft On Tuesday Blog Hop!

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit! I'd love to see what you think of my blog, so if you've got a sec, leave me a comment. And if you have another sec and are interested in decorating, stop by my Willow House Julie page on Facebook & click "LIKE" to get bargains & decorating tips every day. Thanks so much!

Layout of the Week - Easter 10 Minute Mini Album

2011-04-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe I'm actually writing a post for a Layout of the Week! :) I know it's been a while! During the time I've been away, I've been very busy...working a few part time jobs, organizing & rearranging things around my house, being a mom & wife and also getting in a little creative time.

I thought you might enjoy a quick idea using some of those photos you took this weekend of your Easter festivities. You can make this album as simple or fancy as you like! Use just the 10 minutes I allotted for my first album like this or go crazy with tons of photos & embellishments and spend an evening creating a masterpiece to share with your friends.

I created this fun mini album a month or so ago, and thought I'd better get on the stick and share it with you! To create this quick album, I used a template I designed a while back as a quick gift for my mom. For that album, I chose to use some scraps from a fall layout and the extra wallet photos that come with the Costco wallet sheet (they print 4 for 39 cents). Check it out on the blog I write for the store HERE.

This time, the paper was my inspiration! I chose two papers from WeR's Peep Collection, the Easter Tags & the Easter Eggs. All you need to create one of these small albums is a few wallet or trimmed down photos (all the same size), a piece of paper just a bit larger than each photo (I used a 1/4" border around all the edges) - plus one for the cover, a hinged ring and a few embellishments. Mount each photo on paper and punch a hole in the corner with a regular round hole punch. If you have some fun small coordinating embellishments, use them to add a little flair to a page or two of your album. Stack all your pages with the cover on top and place them on the ring and close it. Embellish your ring with a few small pieces of ribbon, if you like.

As always, I'm linking my creative post to the Get Your Craft On Tuesday post over at Today's Creative! DON'T miss all the great links over there! And remember to add yours!

Create a Crisp Look for Your Mantel this Spring...

2011-03-17T17:47:00.000-07:00

With today being St. Patrick's Day & all, I thought I'd share a few photos of my latest "mantelscape." I didn't change my mantel very much to achieve this crisp, clean look. Take a look at my last mantel post & you'll find I didn't move or replace many of my pieces. I was inspired by another Willow House Consultant's photos using split peas as fillers for this project. I'm sorry I can't remember exactly whose page I found that idea on.

To me, green isn't just for St. Patrick's Day, although this does make a cute holiday arrangement. I think of green as Spring, bringing with it all the new daffodil and tulip buds, as well as those tiny green leaves that will soon replace the flower buds on the trees outside my house.

I was very excited to find split peas at Winco in the bulk bins for only 51 cents a pound. I bought 5 pounds, and after filling these containers, I still have quite a bit left. So if you'd like to just buy a couple pounds, that should work well for this project.

As I mentioned, I didn't change my mantel much to create this look. I removed a couple pieces and replaced them with a large hurricane and some fun green items collected from around my house. Most of the mantel items come from the new Spring/Summer 2011 Willow House catalog. (I'll put a link to my website at the end of this post for those of you who would like some more Spring inspiration or who would like to order an item or two from my mantel.)

Being someone who loves symmetry, I always try to give some balance to my designs whether they are created on the computer, with paper or home decorating items. For this mantelscape, I left my two Stiletto Pedestals in the center, filling in around the candles with the bulk split peas.

My large hurricane is one of my favorite decorating pieces. Here, I filled it about 1/3 of the way up with the split peas & pushed an ivory candle down inside until it was firmly set into the split peas. I've used this hurricane for all sorts of fun holiday arrangements that I share during my parties, and I promise to share those ideas with you soon too! On either side of my mantelscape I placed small Dragonfly Lanterns filled with just a few of the split peas and a small battery operated tea light.

I placed the small lanterns on either end of my mantelscape to help lead your eye up to the next, taller items. Sometimes I like to create a pyramid shape with my mantel, having the smallest items on the outside edges and then progressively taller items on each side until you reach the tallest item in the center.

With this mantelscape, I chose to place the smallest items on the outside edges and then a tall item next to each of those. Next I placed a shorter item on each side and then a taller one in the center. Sometimes I think it's fun to create a look that encourages your eyes to follow the lines up & down as they view a design.

Some of the fun green items I collected around my house help create a whimsical, personal look for my mantel. The little plastic grass in the wood container was originally purchased to place out at Easter, but over the years, I've used it in many ways, my favorite being combined with some sand & sea shells for a summer centerpiece. On the dark pedestal, I placed a dark green ceramic vase with a small frog and next to that I placed Delaney's gymnastics photo from last year. Dressed in green with a green background, Delaney's photo adds some fun to my mantel and helps it become a much more personal look. This mantel is mine and couldn't be found in anyone else's home.

While you're looking through magazines, blog posts & internet articles for decorating ideas, never forget to add a little something to personalize the look. Of course you want people to oh & ah about the decorating looks you create, but you also want them to see you & your family in your home too. We live in our homes, they aren't just created for magazine photo shoots, so don't be afraid to use your family photos and keepsakes in your decorating!

If you're looking for items included in my mantelscape, head over to my Willow House website to find the Stiletto Pedestals, large Galveston Hurricane, small Dragonfly Lanterns and Rosedale Plant Holders. (The tall pedestal is a discontinued Southern Living at Home item.) On my website, you'll find all sorts of decorating ideas and you'll be able to order from both the Willow House catalog and bargain priced outlet.

And if you just can't get enough decorating ideas, don't miss the new MyStyleShare website created by Willow House as an online decorating community. It's free to join and upload your decorating photos and videos. Tons of ideas are already on the website and I'm working on adding more to my page during the next few weeks. My username is julies, and I'd love to hear your decorating comments and questions either here on my blog or over at MyStyleShare.

Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day! I'm off to add a little green frosting to my cupcakes & make an Asparagus Pizza for dinner! All green, all the time around here!

This week, I'm sharing my post with the bloggers over at Today's Creative! Tuesday is "Get Your Craft On" day over there and there are usually about 500 bloggers who link their creations every Tuesday!!! So this is THE Place to find all sorts of new ideas perfect for decorating & crafting of all kinds every week!

Layout of the Week - Me & U with Bo Bunny

2011-03-03T17:20:00.000-08:00

Hi there! :) I'm Julie and I have a problem.... OK, maybe it's not that bad, but I certainly haven't been a good blogger for...about a year now! I guess for quite a while, I was in a creative funk. Now I'm just so crazy busy that this is the first scrapbook layout I've really taken time to create for myself in months. And in another amazing feat (for me anyway), I even shot a photo of it, uploaded it and Photoshopped it a bit for you. So I'll share a little bit about it's story & then get back to my 4 part time jobs. Yes, 4, no lying around here!

If you can remember way back when in this blog, I'm sure I've mentioned that I moderate an online community for the local scrapbook store where I work, Whimzee's Scrapbook Studio. Well, right now, we have almost 600 project photos posted, so that's where I go to look for layout inspiration. And just look what I found...

This fun layout was created by Kris, our online member with the most uploaded photos. I love how she uses only half of the bracket die cut and gives the illusion of the other half by tracing its shape onto her background. Such an amazing idea and also a money saving one. Now, she has the other half of the bracket to use in another project. I'll have to ask her what she did with that other half, or just check her project photos to see if I can find it!

Personally, I think "scraplifting" is the highest form of scrapbook flattery! It says, "I love your layout so much that I'd use it with my own photos!" It also gives those of us who are unpublished, the those warm fuzzy feelings of having people love us for our creativity! :) So please, please use my layout (via Kris, of course) to create something for yourself!

For my project, I chose mostly Bo Bunny products from the Love Bandit line from Valentine's last year. If you remember, I had another layout of the week, back then using this same collection, Little Love Bugs. For my background, I chose Bo Bunny's Turquoise Dot paper from their Double Dot Designs Collection. Such amazing colors and wonderful matching backgrounds, with just a touch of texture. Now they are available in more patterns than just the dots! When we were ordering for the store, we just couldn't decide, even after hearing from our loyal Facebook fans, and decided to order them all! I hear they just arrived yesterday, so I'm heading down today to check out the yummy colors and patterns in person!

This is a very simple layout to create. Just choose your background and a die cut shape. Cut the shape in half and lay one half down on your background. Then take the other half and a pen in a matching color and trace the die cut onto the background. I loved Kris's idea of moving the background askew a few times and tracing it over & over. Don't worry about your lines not matching up perfectly. Just use a paper stripe or a page length sticker (or both, like I did) to cover up the edge of your die cut and the area where the lines meet its edge. Then have at it! Lay your photos and embellishments on top and play with them until you like the way they're arranged and get gluing! :)

Being a fan of a beat up or distressed look, I took a large brown Bo Bunny "U" and sanded it with some sand paper from the garage and then rubbed some brown Technique Tuesday ink all over it's surface. Always being one to add extra texture, I had a piece of thin pink twine on my table (left over from creating samples for this weekend's workshop at the store), so I wrapped it around the "U" a few times and tied it in a knot. For one more distressed item, I used a tag from Creative Cafe. Now, I've had this sheet of tags lying around FOREVER, just waiting for the perfect project. I HAD to have these tags, but was never sure what to use them for. They look exactly like the tags that The GAP used to use on all their clothes, I worked there in college and they brought back lot's of fun memories. I chose the brown tag that says "Just Because" at the top and in fine print "I Love You" in the center. My love of distressing took over at this point and I remembered a previous layout where I took a new tag and made it look old in my, Children of the Corn layout. So I wadded up the tag as much as I could and then rubbed the TT brown ink over the ridges, not too much, I still wanted to read the writing. Then I punched a hole and added a small piece of the BB green dot ribbon.

Overall, this was a pretty simple project. I gathered my supplies and then put it together in about 15 minutes. So the next time you're looking to "scraplift" an idea, try looking online in one of the many scrapbooking communities like ours. These communities are a great way to meet other scrappers, share ideas and ask questions. Remember...all scrapbookers love to hear that you like their layouts & ideas. So when you find something you love, be sure to leave a comment for the creator and if you want to use their photo on your blog, like I did, always ask permission first. Thanks, Kris! :)

Tips

- Browse online scrapbook communities for layouts to "scraplift".

- Don't be afraid to use left overs from another project to create something totally new.

- Holiday collections aren't just for holidays...this collection was a Valentine's collection & I've used it here to showcase a fun summer photo of my kids.

- To get a distressed look, use your imagination & items from around the house. Here I wadded my tag & sanded my chipboard before inking both.

Supplies

Papers, Stickers, Chipboard & Ribbon

Bo Bunny

Miscellaneous

Rhinestones by Kaisercraft

Tag by Creative Cafe

Ink by Technique Tuesday

Unknown...Sandpaper & Twine

Organize the Clutter in Your Entryway

2011-01-10T07:30:00.000-08:00

By the time you're reading this, I'll be in Phoenix getting ready to watch the BCS National Championship football game. My husband & I are taking the kids and heading to Phoenix to watch our beloved Ducks play in their first National Championship. It's sure to be a blast, I can't wait to share a few of our stories after we get back.

Since it's January and we're all trying to get organized and find places for all those Christmas gifts, I thought I'd share the way I keep my everyday items organized in my entryway.

The next you look at all those keys, sunglasses, electronic items and other things that clutter up our countertops and tables, remember these tips:

* Grab a basket, bowl or box and use it to stash those items that you need close by but don't want just hanging out on the counter. You might want to choose a container with a lid to really hide your items. If your container doesn't have a lid, don't worry, just gathering them together will help give your entry an organized look and you will have one place to find those things that seem to wander around the house and lose themselves just when you need them.

* If you have a plug in close-by, use it for the cords to your electronic items. Cut a hole in the back of your basket or box and stick the end through, now you can use your container as a charging station.

* Of course, any container will help you become more organized, but a pretty one also lets you add a bit of your own style into an area where everyone coming & going from your home stops.

For my organization project, I used a couple of my favorite Willow House items. The Farmhouse Tiered Basket gives me a place to organize my stray items in its bottom basket and a place to display some seasonal decorations in its top basket. To keep things even a bit more organized and divided into sections, I used two of our small Gail Pittman Alfresco Collection Servers. In the top basket, I used a grouping of 3 IKEA vases and 3 silk flowers. At 79 cents each, the vases were my big bargain for this project. To give my entryway a seasonal look, I change out the flowers every once in a while. During the fall, I used some sunflowers from my garden to create a cheery, sun-filled look.

Next week, I'll give you some how to tips for the tag I added to my arrangement. It was a fun craft project we created at the scrapbook store during one of our events last fall.

If you'd like to see the Farmhouse Tiered Basket or the Gail Pittman Collection items, stop by my Willow House page.

A Fresh Clean Look for Your Mantle to Carry You Through January

2010-12-31T00:17:00.000-08:00

Now, don't get me wrong...I LOVE Christmas just as much as the next decorating-happy lady. But there is also something to be said for taking down all those colorful decorations and replacing them with something streamlined, something fresh, something that creates a calm feeling after all the excitement of the holiday season has slipped away into your memories and hopefully a scrapbook page or two.

As we move deeper into winter and see the sun less & less (I live in Oregon, so it's pretty dark around here this time of year.), I decided to add a little light to my mantle. In a family room with dark red walls and a lot of black accents, a shades of creamy ivory seemed like the way to go.

I like to carry a theme across my mantle while varying the heights of my display pieces. Ivory candles and stoneware pieces combine to give a calm, peaceful look to my mantle and serve to create my theme. For a touch of whimsy, I added a bust my daughter created in an art class to the mix. And to bring a little nature inside, I added some evergreens from the yard and natural spheres.

To add some height on the right side, I added a luminary and some more greens from the yard atop a dark pedestal. Using the ivory items in combination with dark iron accents and shiny glass pedestals.

When I create displays for my mantle, I try to follow a few simple tips:

Choose just one or two colors.

Use items of varying shapes, sizes & heights.

Add a little something from nature, even if it's a group of silk flowers.

When arranging my items, I try to space items of the same color across the mantle, leaving space between them. I like to see a little of the wall color between my items.

Using dark color items or items made from dark metal in varying shapes adds a nice texture to the display.

Use some of my tips the next time you create a new display for your mantle, I think you'll be pleased with the results.

Find some of the items I used to decorate my mantle on my Willow House Website. And look for more decorating tips on my Willow House Julie Facebook Page.

From left to right on my mantle are these current Willow House items:

Villa Footed Server

Drake Firefly Lantern

(Set of 2, I used one.)

Estate Trivet Trio

(Set of 3, I used one.)

Stiletto Pedestals

(Set of 2, I used both.)

Rosedale Planters

(Set of 2, I used both, one here & one on the far right.)

Villa Stoneware Salad Plate

Amira Luminary

(Set of 3, I used one.)

A New Year's Centerpiece & A Bloggy Resolution

2010-12-28T16:04:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

I can't believe that 2011 will be here in just a couple days. 2010 was an eventful year around here, and I'm sure 2011 will have its share of surprises too! I'll be back soon to share a year end wrap up and more about my plans for 2011. But for now, I'd like to put my first 2011 resolution in print. "I, Julie from JulieChats, will do my VERY BEST to post every week here on my blog, sharing something creative to inspire my readers to pull out their papercrafting supplies or do a little something to beautify & organize their homes."

This week, I'm getting a jump on my resolution by sharing a centerpiece I've created to celebrate the coming New Year. To me, silver is the color of New Year's. And since I use a lot of red & green in my Christmas decorating, it's fun to pull out some of my blue items to combine with the sparkle of the silver.

To create my centerpiece, I took a tour around my house thinking about things that would create fun silver & blue New Year's theme centerpiece. Since starting my Willow House business in September, I've managed to collect some fun new items to use in my centerpieces. I wholeheartedly believe in using items you already own with new ones to create a look for your home that's all YOU! Mixing the old with the new also saves money, which is a big theme at my house. So the new items I choose have to be versatile and useful in many ways, for many occasions, all over my home. Getting them for free or at a discount is a HUGE plus too!

So on my little tour, I found one of my favorite Willow House items that I ordered in August, even before I became a consultant. I chose to purchase the Cyprus Footed Bowl with Hostess Dollars from my 40th Birthday Willow House Party...so, it was FREE for me! :) (Bowl was $59.96, now $49.96) Then, I continued my tour and found two items from the new Spring/Summer 2011 Willow House catalog that I just knew would go perfectly with silver & blue.

I chose the gorgeous, Mediterranean Sage Bowl and the stately Stiletto Pedestal (I used the small pedestal, it comes in a set of 2 with a large & small version) (Set of 2 $49.96).

To fill my bowl and pedestal, I gathered silver & blue decorations from other centerpieces & arrangements around the house. Fun silver garland with little stars, a silver string of beads discovered for less than $2 at the grocery store, one pick cut into 3 pieces featuring sparkly balls found at Michael's for about $1.50, 3 mirror-ball ornaments from Michael's (about $1 each), a collection of various small ball ornaments I've had for years, in shades of blue & white gathered from a Christmas arrangement and a silver, iridescent bead encrusted candle purchased years ago from Pottery Barn during a day after Christmas sale...I now had everything!

I started putting together my New Year's centerpiece. First, I set the Mediterranean Sage Bowl inside the Cyprus Footed Bowl, to raise it up and give it a larger presence on my table. Next, I placed the candle inside the Stiletto Pedestal and set the pedestal in the center of the Sage Bowl. I ran into a little problem here, the center of the bowl is concave and the pedestal wouldn't stay in the center. It kept sliding to one side or the other. I thought about what to do. If I had any of the little sticky stuff that you use to hang posters on the wall without damaging the wall, I would have tried to stick the pedestal to the bowl with that. But since I didn't have any, I used a white fabric napkin, folded in quarters and placed in the center of the bowl. When I set the pedestal on top of the napkin, it didn't slide around. Now this isn't a really sturdy fix, but I'm not leaving the centerpiece where my 2 year old can play with it and I don't live in earthquake country, I think it will make it through New Year's Day just fine! The napkin did stick out from under the pedestal's bottom, but I just made sure to arrange my garland and beads to cover it as I laid them around the bowl, circling the pedestal.

No, expert knowledge is needed to create this centerpiece. Garland and beads are forgiving and since they sparkle, any arrangement of them looks great. Just toss the garland in the bowl around the pedestal and lay a length of beads over the top, letting it fall into the spaces between & around the garland. I did have a small piece of beading that I'd cut from the larger length in order to create a different arrangement, so I used inside the pedestal, laying it around the candle to give it a little more sparkle & another layer of silver.

Next, I placed the mirror-ball ornaments. One of the design principles I've learned after years of doing my own decorating, watching tons of decorating shows and following even more decorating blogs, is that an odd number of items makes an arrangement that is pleasing to the eye. And being a layout designer with some graphic training & a lot of scrapbooking experience, I know that using touches of the same colors or same shapes in a triangle pattern around your canvas, paper or container, helps the eye travel around your creation in a pleasing manner. For me, it's easiest to use 3 similar or identical items and arrange them in a triangle. So I did this with my mirror-ball ornaments, placing them gently into the garland and beads. Next, I arranged the 3 picks in a triangle around the bowl, tucking the ends into the garland. Last I took my small ornaments in various shades of blue & white and used them in little groupings around the larger mirror-ball ornaments. I used the principle of odd numbered items here too. While placing the small ornaments, I considered their color and tried to place each group of them in a triangular shape around the bowl.

TIP

Now, when I talk about placing the items in a triangle, I'm not saying that you should be exact and place everything very symmetrically into your centerpiece. For this arrangement, I placed the smaller ornaments in a triangle around the bowl, nestling them in around the larger mirror-ball ornaments, but not in exactly the same spots, just in close approximation. Check out my photo and look for the "same color" small ornaments to see what I mean. The arrangement should have the colors and shapes, well placed to help the eye travel all around it, but it should also not be obvious that you were trying to create a triangle in your arrangement. If it helps you to create a very symmetrical arrangement first, that's great. Then try moving your elements around just a bit, so that they look like they just happen to have fallen into their places and weren't placed there with the precision of a magnifying glass & measuring tape. It may take a little work to be happy with the placement of your elements, but I think that if you take a some time moving your elements and looking at them again & again, you'll find a look that's pleasing to you.

I hope you enjoy my centerpiece and learning a little about creating your own centerpieces. Sign up to follow me or have my posts emailed to your inbox and you'll be among the first to learn more about decorating around your own home.

If you're interested in the items I used to create my centerpiece, please visit my Willow House Website. And if you'd like to receive my monthly Willow House newsletter, featuring design ideas, recipes and the latest sale & special news, leave me a comment saying so here, with your email address. I also have a Willow House Facebook page, where you can "LIKE" me and get fun decorating ideas & sale info. in your news feed.

Thank you for following JulieChats and I hope you enjoy my new creative direction. I'm planning to share papercrafting ideas along with decorating tips & projects each week. Stay tuned for all the news on my Scrapbook Studio reorganizing project.

The Mediterranean Sage Bowl is featured in the new Spring/Summer 2011 Willow House Catalog and will be available for sale January 1, 2011. The bowl sells for $69.96 and is microwave, dishwasher and oven safe. It is large, measuring 15" in diameter and 4 3/4" high. In addition to creating a centerpiece in my new bowl, I used it to hold a big salad for Christmas dinner.

Leave comments here or email me at willowhousejulie@aol.com anytime. You don't need to be invited to a party to order from my website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And when you stop by my website and click "Shop Online," don't miss the Online Outlet featuring tons of mark down items and showcasing Weekly Specials that change every Monday. Items will be delivered directly to your home and when you spend $40 or more (including regular and outlet priced items), you qualify to receive one regular priced catalog item up to $40 for 1/2 price. So stock up on outlet items and get your favorite catalog item for 50% off!!!

Welcome Back...Special Announcement from JulieChats

2010-10-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to my blog!

After taking a break for summer and a major absence of creativity over the summer, I'm back. I worked a crop at Whimzee's the other night and started working on a fun new banner project for my studio space. I'll share it as soon as it's finished!

I'm not exactly sure of the reason behind my break from blogging. I guess it started after my 40th Birthday Mexico trip with two of my closest friends. Before that, I had been working very hard since January, at blogging, working at the store, volunteering at Delaney's school, house sitting for my neighbors and being a mom-wife-friend to those around me. I was also forcing myself to complete creative projects in order to submit them for design team consideration.

Thinking about my "Words" for 2010, see post about that HERE, made me rethink what I was doing and how I was going about it. My "Words" are BELIEVE and ACHIEVE. After spending countless hours over about six months and not being chosen for any of the design teams I had submitted creations for, I thought I should reconsider what I was doing.

First of all, I love creating! I love sharing my creations with friends, family and blog readers. Also, not all of my creations are scrapbook pages. I love creating beautiful things for my home and as gifts for others. I love how the papers & embellishments originally created for scrapbooks can be used to create things that I enjoy seeing hanging on my walls and adorning my surfaces everyday in my home.

One day it occurred to me that no one was paying me to write my blog or create projects for it. I knew that there were a few who would miss my posts, but I had to start thinking again about my goals for this year. One of them was to make some money to contribute to my family's expenses each month. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I needed to separate my creative projects from my desire to make money. Being totally honest with myself, I had to admit that it would be very difficult (or next to impossible) to make much money as a scrapbook blogger. I know that people do use their blogs to make money and I give lot's of kudos to them for their efforts. But with all my other responsibilities, I didn't have the amount of time I thought I would need to devote to making my blog a money maker.

So while I took a "Summer Break" from my blog and enjoyed the long days at home with Delaney and Jake and also some summer travel, I thought about how I could help my family and get my "creative mojo" back. I think that turning 40 this summer was also a part of my re-examination of my choices.

Speaking of turning 40, I decided to throw myself a Willow House home decor birthday party. I invited friends and had them skip the gifts and get something for themselves. My gift was all the great free items I received as the hostess. My consultant, Darby, is also a friend of mine from the scrapbook store and a mom at Delaney's school. She's great at her business, starting out 7 years ago with Willow House's predecessor, Southern Living at HOME, Darby retired from teaching a couple years ago to concentrate on Willow House full time. She's now a Director, inspiring a team of more than 40 women, and making a great living, even earning a couple free vacations each year. So I listened when she suggested, nonchalantly, that I would make the perfect Willow House Design Consultant.

My love of home decor, design, color and creating, along with my retail background (I have sold so many pairs of jeans at The Gap, that it would make your head spin...along with 1,000's & 1,000's of pieces of scrapbook paper.) all combined with my desire to help out with the finances at home, all contributed to my decision to join Willow House as a Design Consultant.

Into my second month with Willow House, I'm very happy with my decision. This job allows me to be home with my two year old, volunteer at school, be a good wife-mom-friend, make some money and even have some time left for my creative endeavors. I'm still house sitting for the neighbors and working part time at the scrapbook store, so I'm a pretty busy lady. But I'm now able to separate my desire to help out with the home finances and from my blogging and my creativity.

So, yes, I'M BACK! I'm excited to create again and share some fun home decorating items with you! So join me here at JulieChats, as I embark on a new journey in my life! Of course, I welcome you to join me on Facebook, where I keep a Willow House Julie business page. And also on my Willow House website. I promise not to be one of those pushy sales people, but to share things that I think will help bring beauty, creativity, simplicity and organization to your life! When you see something you like, you're able to order it on my website where the entire Willow House catalog is available for purchase, along with our bargain-priced outlet for those among you looking for a deal...I love a deal, so I'll be sure to share as many of those with you as I can!

I'll try to post some new ideas each week, check back here for posts to inspire your creativity and home decorating in the coming holiday season. But I'm not going to push myself over the edge trying to be sure I post something each and every week, so if you'd like to receive an email reminder when I post something new, be sure to click subscribe to JulieChats over in the right side column of this page.

I look forward to sharing my creativity and passion for decorating with you! Thanks for sticking with me through this long break! I look forward to communicating with you through comments here and messages on my Willow House Julie page. Let me know what you're interested in seeing here or things that you need help with around your home, I'd be happy to help!!!! :)

DIY...at Home: Summer Craft for Kids, Decorated Photo Frame

2010-07-16T15:27:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note before I start with the frame instructions.

My daughter and I created these frames for her 9th birthday party. All the children had a great time making them after I had completed the first two steps for them. If you’re only making one frame and not ten, like I did, go ahead and let older children complete all the steps themselves. Allow an afternoon to create this project, as the paint and Mod Podge will require time to dry in between each step.

Instructions
Start out by opening your frame up (removing any backing and/or glass) and placing it face down on the reverse side of a piece of patterned paper large enough cover it. This paper will be the background for all your embellishments, so be sure it’s a pattern you love. Use a pen to trace around the outside and inside of the frame. Next, use scissors to cut about ½” inside each of your marks. The end result will be a doughnut sort of shape. Cutting inside will create a shape slightly smaller than your frame. In the next step, you’ll be painting the frame and you will want to see some of your paint around the edges of your paper.

Using a paper plate as your palette, apply the acrylic paint to your frame with the foam brush. Paint around the edges and center and then onto the face of the frame about 1” all around. Take the background paper you cut in the last step and hold it over the painted surface, just to be sure you don’t have any unpainted part of the frame showing through.

Allow the paint about an hour to dry.

Once the paint is dry, use a second paper plate as a palette for your Mod Podge. You can use either matte or sparkle Mod Podge for this step. But if you have both varieties, use the matte, since most of it will be covered by your paper. Since it’s slightly more expensive, you can save the sparkle variety to use as the top coat for the project. Paint the Mod Podge onto the face of the frame. Gently place the background paper onto the Mod Podge. Try to place the paper as close as you can to where you want it. You can move the paper around to center it, but do it quickly. The paper will soak up the Mod Podge as soon as it’s placed and will tear easily after that, so be careful. Once the paper is centered, use your fingers to gently smooth out any bubbles on its surface.

Allow about an hour for the project to dry.

Before adhering the flat embellishments in this step, it’s best to choose the ones you plan to use and then place them on the dry surface of the frame. Arrange them how you like, being sure to allow some of the background design to show through. These embellishments can be placed entirely on the surface of your frame or allowed to extend past the surface of the frame. In this step, use only flat, one-dimensional embellishments. Save your buttons, rhinestones, 3D stickers, etc. for the final step. The embellishments added in this step will be covered over with Mod Podge. Take your arranged embellishments and lay them down around the outside of your frame, near where you will place them. Paint Mod Podge over the area where you will place an embellishment, being sure to paint a space slightly larger than your embellishment. Place the embellishment into the Mod Podge. Repeat, painting the Mod Podge and placing the embellishment for each embellishment you have left to decorate the frame’s surface.

You do not need to wait or allow drying time before moving on to the next step.

Once your flat embellishments are placed in the Mod Podge, put a top coat of Mod Podge over the entire surface and edges of your frame. Now is the time to use the sparkle Mod Podge, if you have it, and were using matte to apply your paper and embellishments. After you have covered the edges and surface of your frame with Mod Pod, run your brush through the Mod Podge, one last time, in one direction. This step will create a smooth surface for your frame, removing any random streaking from your top coat.

Allow at least an hour for this surface to dry.

After your project is completely dry, apply your 3D embellishments, either with their own self adhesive backing or with Glue Dots. Placing these items on top of your last coat of Mod Podge will give your frame and extra, fun layer.

Fill your frame with a fun photo and display it where you will enjoy it most!

Supplies
Chipboard or Wood Photo Frame – There are several sources for these frames including your local scrapbook store, framing shop or local crafting center.
Mod Podge – Use regular matte and/or Sparkle Mod Podge. It acts as the adhesive and top coat for this project.
Patterned Scrapbook Papers – Find a group of coordinating papers that will look nice where you plan to display your frame, whether that place is your living room or your child’s bedroom. We used the American Girl paper pad from EK Success to create our frames.
Embellishments – Choose a few embellishments that coordinate with your patterned papers, die cuts, buttons, rhinestones, 3D stickers, etc. We used the American Girl Stacked Flowers & Embellishments pad, along with a pack of their stamps to stamp on some solid cardstock.
Adhesive – If your 3D embellishments (buttons, rhinestones, stickers, etc.) are not self adhesive, Glue Dots will be helpful to adhere these items in the final step.
Acrylic Paint – Use a color that coordinates with your papers and embellishments. We used KaiserCraft acrylic paint in Magenta to cover our frames.

Tools
Foam Brushes – for applying paint and Mod Podge
Paper Plates – I use paper plates all the time for many different projects. Use them here as palettes for your paint and Mod Podge.
Wax Paper – Use it to create a space for your frame while using paint and Mod Podge. You will be able to easily remove your project even if the paint sticks a bit to the paper and no newsprint will be lifted onto your project.
Scissors and Punches

***Stop by & party with me Saturday night at Ann's Virtual Girls' Night Out Party! She's moving it to Saturdays this weekend to help it stand out from all those other Friday night parties out there. And maybe those of us who're chasing kids all day Friday will be a bit more relaxed on Saturdays! See you over at Ann's!

DIY...at Home: Chipboard Mini Album Workshop

2010-05-21T16:08:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm putting together the Tip Sheet for the Chipboard Album class I'm teaching tomorrow at the scrapbook store where I work, Whimzee's Scrapbook Studio in Beaverton, Oregon. I originally wrote the parts of this post as a DIY class for the store blog. As I was doing research for my class, I realized that I haven't put many classes (workshops, tutorials or whatever you want to call them) on this blog. I think I'm going to start including some here, so everyone can see how I put together my projects and maybe they'll want to try something new. I have a few on the store blog, so I'll probably use those first while I figure out what to share with you all next. If you want to get a head start on the rest of the class, zip on over to the Whimzee's Girls Online Blog and click on classes down the right side column, I've got a few fun mini album classes over there. I'm off to get everything together for tomorrow, so I hope you enjoy your Friday! And don't forget stop by my friend Ann's Virtual Girls Night Out tonight, she's lamenting being older than PACMAN and I'm right there with her!

PART 1 - Gathering the Supplies

I want to share how easy it is to create a mini-album with a Bo Bunny My Word chipboard album. I chose the PARTY album. For your own project, feel free to choose any of their albums (or any other chipboard album that suites your fancy). The techniques are interchangeable between chipboard albums.

See all of Bo Bunny's My Word Albums and check out their completed projects on their website. Click HERE for Bo Bunny's Tips & Tricks for these albums.

I started with my PARTY album, Junkitz Salsa Celebration collection papers, Creative Imaginations Art Warehouse Candles & Cakes collection papers, craft paint, Creative Cafe rings, Blossoms & Leaves by Creative Impressions, any coordinating ribbons I could find.....and most importantly Spray Adhesive.

As far as tools, I like to cut with my large Fiskars paper cutter. I used my lime green Doodlebug Designs craft knife and cutting pad, it's so nice when things can be so useful and also so stylish! I used Glue Dots and Hermafix squares to attach the embellishments on my pages. I decorated my pages with Fiskars Acrylic Stamps, brown ink and numerous shapes cut out in the store on the Cricut using the Alphalicious font cartridge. I love the Cricut! We have it available for you to use in the store for a $2 fee. It's so easy to use and we have lot's of fonts for you to choose from.

So after collecting all of my supplies, I was ready to start the project.

PART 2 - Choosing & Adhering the Paper

First I take a look at both sides of each paper. I use double-sided papers for the Bo Bunny albums. I make sure I choose papers that are truly 12 x 12 inches in size. (Just a few of our papers are slightly smaller than 12 x12.) I trim any white strips from the edges, on these papers there were white strips showing the manufacturer & collection names, UPC, etc. Next, I cut each piece in half, forming a 6 x 12 inch piece. I sort them and flip them from front to back, just seeing which patterns I like together.

When you make one of these albums, you have to choose a paper to cover both sides of each letter. So be sure to look over your choices for, say the back of the P and the front of the A, to be sure they look nice together. It's possible to mix & match small prints with large, dark backgrounds with light. As long as you choose papers that coordinate, it makes no difference if the papers come from the same collection. For this project, I choose two collections that I like together. If you aren't confident you can mix the collections, lay everything you like together on a table in the store and see what you think. Don't be afraid to ask one of the Whimzee's Girls for help, or ask someone who's scrapping that day, everyone has an opinion and one person might see something another misses. If you want a fail safe, quick way to choose your papers, pick them from one large collection. Some of our collections are very deep in their choices. Some of my favorites are Bo Bunny, Basic Grey, Chatterbox, Cosmo Cricket, Little Yellow Bicycle and Reminisce.

After I choose my papers, I use spray adhesive to adhere the paper to the chipboard. I like to use spray adhesive outside or in the garage. Not only does it have a strong odor, but the over spray creates a sticky surface on everything it touches.....your table, floor, carpet, etc. I spray the front of each letter and carefully lay the paper I have chosen for its front over the adhesive, lining the edges of the paper with the edges of the letter first. Spray adhesive is a bit forgiving, so you do have a little time to lift the paper in case it isn't perfectly lined up on your first try. After you are happy with the position of the paper, lay everything on your table and press the chipboard firmly onto the paper. Set the letter aside and repeat the process with each letter. By the time you're finished with this process, the first letter should be dry & ready for trimming.

PART 3 - Trimming the Paper

Be sure to use your knife to cut out the paper covering the 3 holes in the end of each letter at this point.

Next, repeat the instructions in Class #2 for the back of each letter. Don't forget to remove the paper from the back sides of the 3 holes.

PART 4 - Painting the Edges

After you cut the excess paper from each letter, it's time to paint. Choose a paint color that runs through each page or one that coordinates with all of your papers. I use acrylic paint. I mix colors together to achieve the look I like. If you can't find a paint in a coordinating color, you might want to give mixing your own a try. If you aren't in to mixing, maybe black or brown would look nice with your paper, eliminating the extra step of mixing.
Instead of paint, you could use a small ink pad to ink the chipboard and paper edges. Personally, I like acrylic paint the best because an applicator sponge allows me to get into tight corners that an ink pad doesn't.
Once you have the paint you like, dip a paint applicator just barely into the paint. Touch the applicator to the edges of your letters, dragging it slowly along all the edges. I like a thin border of paint on the outside of my letters, so I just touch the applicator lightly along the edges. If you would like your border thicker, use a little more pressure when you drag your brush along the edges. After painting the edges, use the applicator along the inside edges of the letters with "holes" in them. (In this album, the P, A & R have inside edges)
Lay your letters on wax paper and wait for them to dry. Do be sure to look at both sides of the letter, so that you can be sure you have covered the chipboard edge up to the paper on both sides.
After the letters all dry, place the rings inside the holes and arrange your album. You can embellish the pages while the album is hooked together with the rings or take it apart for easier access.

PART 5 - Ribbon, Ribbon & More Ribbon

On of the things I love about the Bo Bunny My Word albums is that I can go crazy with one of my favorite embellishments....RIBBON! I like to squeeze in some ribbon where ever I can, in my projects. For this album, I chose lot's of white background ribbons with dots & words like...party, celebrate, birthday. I also picked some lime green shimmery ribbon, a red sheer ribbon with a swirl pattern and a medium blue rick-rack. I don't have too much rhyme or reason to how I pick the ribbons. I usually grab all the ribbons I can find in the store that are coordinate with my paper and make a pile of them on the counter on top of the paper. I try to pick a variety....pattern, solid, printed, shaped (like the rick-rack). I think a bit of everything mixed together looks great in a project like this.

I buy about a yard & a half of each ribbon for a project like this. Next, I cut the ribbon in 4 inch pieces. Since there are 3 rings, I cut three 4 inch pieces. I use the rest of the ribbon to tie on the letters and to decorate the inside of the album. Take your 4 inch pieces and tie them, one at a time, onto the rings. Being a type A person, I divide my ribbon so that each ring has a piece of each ribbon. You can do it however you like, really, one can have too much organization in her life! I just tie the ribbon around the ring once, so that there aren't too many big knots taking up room on the ring and I like the ribbon ends to be a bit longer.

For my PARTY book, I used 7 different ribbons. The number is up to you. If I found wider coordinating ribbons, I would probably only use 5 or so. I think it really depends on how many ribbons you find that you like. As far as ribbon goes, I'm not a "less is more" kind of girl!

PART 6 - Embellish it!

OK, now the fun part! Take all the papers & ribbons you have left, flowers, brads, and any of your favorite embellishments. It's nice to see everything at once, so you can decide what fits & matches with each page. I like to take ribbons & tie them around any edges I can. For this project, I tied ribbon around the A, R & Y. (NOTE: I liked the way the double sided paper showed through the holes in the P & R, so I left it this time & didn't cut it away when trimmed around all the other letters. Just check out everything before you trim to see if you might want to leave anything.) For this project, I used the Cricut at Whimzee's & its Alphalicious alphabet to cut out a name & some other shapes. I'm giving this one to my friend's daughter, Josie, for her 1st birthday, so I wanted to put her name & age on it. I stuck with the scraps of the papers I had already used for most of my inside pages, and I added a little coordinating cardstock. I also used a set of Fiskars clear stamps (a birthday set) and brown ink to add a little something to many of the inside pages. There were so many colors in these paper collections, that I thought brown would go with everything. And I wanted the ink to be subtle, something you might miss on first glance but would stand out after you took a few looks at the album.

So let's check out the pages:

Since this is a gift & I don't have photos, I took scraps from the project and cut shapes that I thought would work well as backgrounds for photos. I used a square & a circle on this page. You could put a photo in the circle or a little piece of memorabilia. I snipped a couple pieces of the party hat paper to use as decoration. Next, I layered two flowers together with a leaf and held them together with a small silver brad. Glue dots are the best way to adhere plastic items and ribbon to paper, so I used them throughout the book. I added a piece of ribbon, to the edge of the square photo, being careful to include the words "happy birthday" in my piece. I then closed the page and saw a little area of the A showing through and decided to put a little "make a wish" stamp in that space. For one last touch, I took a piece of dotted ribbon and wrapped it around the page, through the hole in the A, leaving the knot and long ends to show on the next page.

When I put the ribbon around the A, I used a large needle tool to poke two holes into the ribbon. I put one flower & brad in each hole and tied the knot in the ribbon. All that was left was to add a square photo background. I like to use the paper from the facing page to make a background. Since I already made sure the papers coordinated, it was easy to pick the facing paper for this page. And on this page it was extra easy...the paper on the back of the A is the back side of the paper on the front of the R. As far as embellishing the front of the R, I went a bit conservative here. Since the back of the A is pretty busy, I placed one background (see, it's the facing paper again) and a small piece of green ribbon on this page. I like being able to see some of the words on paper that has so many words. I did use another stamp with brown ink here. Near the top of the brown box, I stamped a group of balloons that peeks out when the book is closed.

On the next pages, I love these dot patterns and wanted them to stand more on their own. I used the back sides of the papers as photo backgrounds. On the left, I placed two pieces of ribbon under the background with the words "birthday" and "party" sticking out. For the right, I used one large photo background and one small square with a stamp and a plastic flower & silver brad in the corner. I like the look of all the dots in circular patterns covering these pages.

For these pages, I used two different photo backgrounds. On the left I chose the party hat paper and cut it about an inch larger than I originally thought I needed. I used the extra room to place two thin yellow paper pieces, stamped with birthday sayings, placing them on the left and bottom. I used two flowers and brads, one on each piece of paper in the extra space at the ends. For the right side, I used pink cardstock, cut a little long, with a stamp along the edge. For a little extra zing, I put three pieces of ribbon, folded in half under the side of the background with the edges sticking out. On this page, I used the pink dot paper to cut a large "1" & small "st" on the Cricut and adhered them so that they could be seen when the book was closed.

For the back of the album, I used a turquoise dotted piece as a background, cutting it extra long along the top. To give the impression of a gift, I tied a ribbon on the side of the paper with the knot at the top. Then I used a few last flowers, layered two on a brad, and arranged them in a triangle on the left side.

I was excited to finish the project and can't wait to have my friend unwrap it for her daughter and use it to showcase the photos from her first birthday. I love the Bo Bunny My Word Chipboard Albums. And I think that whoever receives them as a gift will cherish them as keepsakes for years to come!

Layout of the Week - Our Peaceful Free Spirit

2010-05-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been away from blogging for so long! I've been in a bit of a funk for the last few weeks. Just a combination of coming back to the rainy weather from tropical Mexico, not getting enough sleep, lot's to do at work & school, mortgage issues (don't get me started on this one...) and wondering where my time would be best spent. You know, those problems all of us have. But this week I decided I was going to get out of my funk, start working out again and try to get back to my regular routine...at least until school is out for the summer and it all blows up in my face again! The appearance of the sun here in Northwest Oregon definitely helped urge me along in my effort to get back to normal. A little sun can do wonders for your mood!

So I'm back at the blogging gig! And I have a layout to share with you that matches my newly sunny mood this week! I create this one during my stint working at our National Scrapbook Weekend Crop. I had been looking for the perfect papers & embellishments for these photos of Delaney we had taken at Sears. She's wearing her favorite birthday outfit from her favorite store Justice. She's really into t-shirts & skirts, bright colors, peace signs & a little bling. We love how these photos turned out...just like a magazine ad!

Tips

Save money and create a beautiful double page layout by cutting a large die cut in half and placing one half on the inside of each page. The great die cut effect is now part of both of your pages.

Add a fun embellishment by using die cut felt self-adhesive ribbon trimmed into pieces & added to your projects.

Try tearing & sanding your Core'dinations cardstock! The inner layer of these great textured cardstocks comes in lot's of great colors that can be revealed by tearing, sanding & embossing.

Supplies

Little Yellow Bicycle Free Spirit collection papers & stickers
Core'dinations cardstock
Kaisercraft Fozz Felt Ribbon
Prima paper flowers
Boxer buttons

I shared this Layout of the Week...

with Today's Creative's Get Your Craft on Tuesday

and with the ladies at Ann's Friday Night Virtual Girls' Night Out

Making Time to Be Creative

2010-05-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

Check out my latest article published on the Oregon Women's Report Website! I thought I'd share a few of the ways I squeeze my creative projects into my busy days. I'm always looking for new ideas, so share the ways you manage to get creative in the comment section! I'd love to hear from you!

Making Time to Be Creative

Posted using ShareThis

Layout of the Week - Punky Posh Mini Album with Punky Sprouts & Chatterbox Part 2

2010-04-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share a few detail shots of the album I featured last week. I'm still in love with this album. I have some more ideas for creating a totally different look with this same album. I did make another of Punky Sprouts's albums last week. And after I return from my relaxing vacation to Mexico, I'll share it with you. I'm in Mexico as you're reading this, hopefully laying in the sun sipping a margarita celebrating 40th birthdays with a couple of my closest friends. I don't have my 40th for a few months, but we're all going to celebrate all year...there's no law against that...is there?

I like to embellish these little mini albums with all sorts of things. For this one, I added some tags, ribbon & twine.

I liked the burlap page I made so much, I added a little scrap to the cover. It was fun piling things on the cover over the dry brush painting I had completed earlier. I think the date tag is a great idea, it's always fun to remember the exact date of an occasion. The felt birdie was a fun last minute addition when I thought the empty space was a little too much.

For Delaney's page, I created a girly look...sparkly glitter paper, velvet flocked paper with a scalloped edge, pom pom fringe, ribbon and a butterfly.

I created my own page to add to this album, trimming burlap and using a zutter hole punch to create the holes. I thought the rough texture suited a rambunctious little boy! I added the bit of ribbon on the right at the last minute, just pulling on the burlap's twine pieces to create a space to weave the ribbon.

This was my quickest page of this album, just a square of lime paint to frame my photo.

This page probably took the longest to create. I wanted a brown canvas page, so I got some at my local sewing shop and cut two pieces the same size as the album's other pages. I used my sewing machine and ivory thread to add the details. I'm not very experienced with the sewing machine, so I tried out the scallop stitch on this project. It's so nice that when we use machine stitching on papercrafts people don't expect or want perfectly straight lines. This would drive my mother nuts, she's such a great seamstress and tried for years to teach me to sew. But she was forever pulling out my mistakes and I finally gave up. I'm excited I finally found a use for that sewing machine that was stuck away in a closet! And thank goodness, I still have my mom to do the "real" sewing! :)

Oh, and I love the felt embellishments that Chatterbox made to match these collections, so cute and self adhesive too!

On the back of my canvas page, I stuck with little circle embellishments and a tag to create a boyish look.

This was another quick page. Delaney is our artist, she loves all things creative. So I just grabbed a foam brush, dipped it into the paints I was using on this project and randomly added touches of color to this ivory canvas page. For a final touch, I added a little tag & some fun embellishments from my packs.

After the last busy page, I wanted to calm things down a bit. I used the self adhesive felt embellishments on this one.

I love acrylic, especially when it's mixed with other types of pages. For the acrylic, I painted the Tropical Water paint around the edges with a small, dry regular paint brush. When you try this type of technique, don't be too perfect, the messy look is in! :) I used a Crop A Dile tool to punch two holes in the right edge and then tied a couple ribbon knots as accents.

I like how the acrylic page looks when it's turned & placed over the photo on the left too!

This page is on the right behind the acrylic. I used a patterned paper to cover this page and then placed a smaller torn, inked piece of foiled paper on the left. Next I inked around the whole page and added a little garden twine on the left, as a fun contrast to the foil paper.

For a fun Jake page, I chose a checked paper and some star & button embellishments.

For my last Delaney page, I used acrylic stamps and my lime & tropical water paints to stamp some flowers onto the canvas. It was fun adding a little tag & butterfly as a finishing touch.

Again I used the stamps and my two paint colors for this page. For my little journaling, I used a letter stamp that creates an old fashioned typewriter still look. I stamped, "At Home Together, Our Favorite Place," in brown ink.

This acrylic page was my biggest stretch yet.... I used a large Technique Tuesday stamp in Versamark ink and then added lime embossing powder and heated it with my heat gun. Just let me tell you, this technique is not for the faint of heart or perfectionists out there. The acrylic folded up all funny while I was heating the powder. I was doing this page while I worked a crop at the store and boy everyone was nervous about how it might turn out. I'm pretty sure they all thought I'd ruined the page. But I grabbed two pieces of white paper and used them to help me flatten the acrylic back to its shape. I think it turned out great! It definitely isn't perfect though. There are a few little spots of embossing powder that didn't get blown off the ink and created little green spots. And the acrylic isn't as flat as I would like it to be. But I love the look and don't really mind the bumpy-ness of the page. What project is really PERFECT in the end anyway. How would you know it's homemade if it's perfect!!!?

Here's the stamped, embossed acrylic page laying over the page to its left.

For my final page, I used the teal blue flocked paper, a bit of ribbon and a little monogram tag.

As you probably noticed, I used sepia tone photos again on this project. If you've never tried them, you definitely should. It's impossible for me to imagine how busy this album would be with color photos. And of course the perfectionist in me loves when color schemes are in harmony in my projects.

You should also know that it's OK to just shoot some photos around your house or yard and use them in a family album. This wasn't a photo shoot, we were just hanging out outside in the yard on one of the few warm spring days here in Oregon. I did get my mom to shoot the family photo, but the rest are just candids my husband & I shot with my point & shoot. So don't worry about everyone matching and setting an appointment, just get together & take some photos. Depending on your chosen papers, sepia tone or black & white can cover a million color matching mistakes!

I decided to skip photos on the back cover. Just a little paint & a dry brush...the ribbon is tied around the whole page.

Supplies

Brown Cardstock - American Crafts

Patterned Papers - artsy.licious, Fabulous and Together by Chatterbox

Embellishments - Tags, Buttons, Journal Boxes, Ribbon

Kaisercraft - Acrylic Paint: Lime & Tropical Water

Ink - Brown Pigment Brush Pad by Color Box and Versamark Pad

Stamps - Technique Tuesday and Provo Craft

Embossing Powder - Zing by American Crafts

Ribbon - Various Manufacturers

Garden Twine - Unknown Manufacturer

Sewing Supplies - Burlap, Brown Canvas and Ivory Thread from Local Sewing Shop

A little note from Julie...I hope you're all having wonderful weeks! I am in Mexico this week to help my friends celebrate their 40th birthdays (well, I'm celebrating mine too, albeit a bit early!). I can't wait to see what I can find on my vacation to inspire my next project! Have a wonderful weekend! :)

Blog of the Week: Meet Melanie from Bags by Melanie

2010-04-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of a new feature here on JulieChats. Whenever I get a chance, I want to feature other creative bloggers on my blog...every so often. The world of creative bloggers is huge and I think it's a great way for us to meet other creatives from all over the world, so enjoy my first feature & check back soon for more....

I want to introduce you to a new friend of mine...Melanie from Bags by Melanie! I met Melanie in a group I'm involved with in Creative Bloggers online community. I'm excited to share Melanie's creations with you! I love her litte bags, perfect for stowing your business cards in your handbag without bending them. I've got to order myself one of these for those blog business cards I created a while back.

And for you scrapbookers out there, Melanie has a second Etsy shop she started with a friend to sell all those extra supplies left from their joint creative endeavors. Stop by Blinky & check out all the fun crocheted flowers, ribbons & even Sizzix supplies. I'd love to have some of their funky ribbons, this one is a favorite of mine...

Stop by & visit Melanie on her blog and in her Etsy shop!

If you're looking for a fun way to promote your creative blog, stop by Creative Bloggers and check out all the groups you can join.

Layout of the Week - Punky Posh Mini Album with Punky Sprouts & Chatterbox Part 1

2010-04-15T23:13:00.000-07:00

Ta Da! I shared a sneak peek of this album with you last week and here is the finished product! As you can tell, I'm very excited about this mini album! I love all of the albums from Punky Sprouts, who makes these very cool albums. The albums all include pages made from chipboard, ivory canvas and acrylic. The comb binding on this album, Punky Posh, holds the pages together very loosely. The binding is loose so you can pull the pages out, decorate them and replace them on the binding. The flexible style of these albums is my favorite quality. It allows you to push your creative boundaries as far as you want on each project.

I took this album home and my first thought was that I should add some of my own pages into the mix. After reading about so many creative uses for burlap all over the blogosphere, I just had to use it in this album. And with my love of sepia tone photos, I knew that a brown canvas page would look great too.

To decorate my album, I chose papers, ribbons and embellishments from the Together, Fabulous and artsy.licious collections by Chatterbox.

If you're looking for more fun ideas using the Punky Sprouts albums, check out their blog!

As for me, I'll share some more detailed photos of this album in Part 2 of this post next week. I'll be writing it this weekend as I pack for my trip to Mexico. I'm lucky enough to be celebrating my upcoming 40th birthday with two close friends I met in the dorms my freshman year at UofO. We'll be laying in the sun & having a few margaritas this time next week. After I'm back, I promise to make more rounds of all the cool, creative blogs out there!

If you're in need of a party tomorrow night, don't forget to stop by Ann's Virtual Girls Night Out. You'll meet lot's of other fun bloggers and get tons of comments for your blog.

If you're looking to find other creative bloggers, stop by Today's Creative for Tuesday's Get Your Craft On Blog Hop.

Layout of the Week - Spring Mini Album Project & a Punky Sprouts Sneak Peek

2010-04-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

I've been a little busy lately to finish any actual layouts to feature as my "Layout of the Week," so I'm sharing what I have been working on. This Saturday I'm teaching a class at the scrapbook store where I work, Whimzee's Scrapbook Studio in Beaverton, Oregon....in case you're in the area & want to sign up! I taught this class at Christmas and a few people asked me to do it again. I thought a Spring theme would be fun for the little mini album. You could use it for a great Mother's Day gift or maybe for a special friend's birthday.

This project takes 3 pieces of cardstock, up to 14 different patterned papers, a couple feet of ribbon, lot's of adhesive and TONS of patience. In just a couple hours you too can have a fun little album with lot's of little doors to hide all your photos & journaling.

I hope you're in the area so you can sign up for my class! It really is much easier to make the album with a little help from someone who's done it before. The instructions are kind of confusing, but if you're handy, you can probably make one up from my photos. Give it a try when you have a couple hours & want to try something new.

I've got to get back to my projects for this week, two Punky Sprouts albums. I've been very excited about Punky Sprouts for a few weeks now. I had the chance to crop with one of the owners, Doralisa, and we had so much fun that I left pumped to give one of her albums a try. It's so fun to be able to share a local Portland area scrapbook manufacturer with all of you. Keep reading for links to the Punky Sprouts site & Facebook page, so you can ask your local scrapbook store to carry these awesome albums!

Here are a couple sneak peeks at my first project, using Chatterbox papers & embellishments, along with some great Kaisercraft paint colors!

Here's a quick look at the pages included in the Punky Posh album....

I'll share my take on this great album concept next week!

Head on over to the Punky Sprouts site to check out all their great albums! I'm working on Punky Posh and Prim & Punky right now. Punky Sprouts is on Facebook too & looking for a few more fans, tell them Julie sent you!

Just a little reminder to join me over at my fellow Portlander, Ann's, Virtual Girls' Night Out. Join the party, every Friday night! Ann's got a great music video, a yummy drink recipe and lot's of fun bloggers to hang with! Get & Give tons of comments and find more followers for your blog! Of course, you can visit Ann anytime...it doesn't have to be a Friday for you to get a laugh out of her adventures!

I also hang out every Tuesday at Today's Creative's Get Your Craft On party. Head on over to another of my Pacific Northwest peeps' blog to find a huge list of links to other creative blogs. Kim features a new creative blogger almost everyday and the huge Get Your Craft On blog hopping party every Tuesday.

Hey all you Mom Bloggers!!!! Don't forget to head on over & check out all the fun, prizes & friends at 5 Minutes for Mom's Ultimate Blog Party 2010!

Join me & enter to win! I'm hoping to win #6 The Double Stacked a lot of Love Necklace, #11 $100 Gift Certificate to Restaurant.com and #17 The Books Found Art and Real Women Scrap!!!! Wish me luck!!!!!!!!!!!

Layout of the Week - FRIEND chipboard mini album

2010-04-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to share this week's Layout of the Week with you! But first, I want to apologize for missing all sorts of blogging opportunities last week. It was Spring Break here and we took Jake in to have hernia surgery on Tuesday. We were expecting to be home that day, but our wise surgeon advised us to stay overnight in the hospital just in case the little guy needed some extra pain meds. And thank goodness we did, those extra pain meds let him sleep through just a few of the MANY interruptions...I know that the wonderful nurses & residents have to check in on patients all night long, but boy, it sure would be nice if patients could get more sleep in the hospital. So my schedule was thrown for a loop last week. But I'm bouncing back this week, just like Jake...baby steps for both of us! If you're in the Portland area & in need of an excellent Pediatric Surgeon, I highly recommend Dr. David Bliss. He's done surgery twice now on Jake and he's a great listener, explains everything so even people who aren't medical geniuses (like he is!) can understand and he's saved the lives of countless preemies, infants, toddlers & kids!

So back to my project! I created this mini album to celebrate Delaney's 8th birthday. I did actually get it done a couple months ago, so she did get to see it before her 9th birthday! I used Bo Bunny's My Word Chipboard FRIEND album and Basic Grey's Lime Rickey collection pack, plus a ton of fun embellishments to create a fun, bright colored album, perfect for Delaney's Tie Dye Slumber Party Photos. (Read all about our Tie Dye Slumber Party activities HERE.)

I used one of my favorite tips to squeeze a ton of photos into this small book. I created photo collages with Costco's photo organizer program so I could cut them apart and put all different sizes of the tiny photos on my pages. I love being able to create these collages and use so many photos in such a small format album.

Here are all the fun inside pages!

Of course, since it's Friday, you can join me over at Ann's for her Virtual Girls' Night Out! I'll be celebrating mine by working the crop tonight at Whimzee's Scrapbook Studio in Beaverton...if you're in the area, call to sign up (we have a couple spots left) or stop by & shop, I'd love to meet you! Be sure to check out our online community if you're in need of some extra inspiration, we have 300 project photos for you to enjoy!

Tips

Use Costco's photo collages to squeeze a few more photos into your projects!

Don't be afraid to mix it up with bright colors & patterns, it creates a whimsical page!

Use paint to coat the edges of your chipboard albums, it covers up any number of flaws in your (or my) paper cutting skills!

Supplies

Basic Grey Lime Rickey collection pack paper & stickers

Bo Bunny My Word Chipboard Album - FRIEND

So many embellishments...it would take a year to list them all, if you have a few you're wondering about, leave me a comment & I'll get you the manufacturer info.

Happy 9th Birthday Sweet Delaney!

2010-03-21T01:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Delaney!

My sweet, loving daughter turns 9 today!

I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to this wonderful, creative, athletic, intelligent, compassionate, thoughtful girl. She makes a great daughter, big sister, friend, granddaughter...and so much more!

Your dad & I are so proud of everything you do!

And Jake, well, he says, "PLAY DEE DEE!! PLAY DEE DEE!!"

Have an awesome day and never forget how special you are!

PS-Kudos to Brooke at the Washington Square Sears Portrait Studio! She took these wonderful photos of Delaney and so many more...of Jake also, even though it seemed we were pulling out all his teeth without anesthesia. She somehow manage to make the phots look like they were both having a great time, not just Delaney! So if you're in need of a photographer, give Brooke a call!

I'll share more photos & tell you more about Jake's fun Saturday in another post.

Wish us luck on Tuesday, Jake's having his second surgery for an inguinal hernia...first was at 5 weeks.

Layout of the Week - Family with Graphic 45 Papers & A Special Annoucement!

2010-03-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

This week, as the sun shines outside here in Oregon, I want to share my family with you. Dave, my wonderful husband, is a sports fanatic who loves to play with his kids. He managed to combine those this week...he got Delaney to fill out an NCAA bracket and then had Jake do one too. Dave used blocks with the first letter of each team and had Jake pick his favorite of the two. Yes, it took quite a while and Jake's bracket is full of M-named teams (his current favorite letter). Poor Jake didn't fare well with Montana last night, but he still has a chance to beat his Daddy. I keep telling Dave that knowing about sports really has nothing to do with winning with these tourney brackets. On to Delaney, my beautiful, talented, creative daughter, will be 9 on Sunday. Delaney is so well-rounded, she loves participating in all sorts of sports (those talents come from Dad), creating original, eye-catching art pieces and she's a "bit" of a perfectionist (that, I'm sorry, comes from me!). She is thoughtful and loving, especially to her little brother. So that makes Jake last. Mr. Jake is now two and FULL of ENERGY! He loves the movie "Cars," any every character in it. We're missing Sally right now and he asks for "Yaddy" every chance he gets...I'm sure she's around somewhere, probably in one of Delaney's shoes. We all love to hang out together and are very excited that the weather's warming up here!

So that's a bit of our story! On to my layout...this design idea came to me a bit backwards. Usually I have a photo and then come up with a layout. OK, sometimes I have a paper collection that I love and take photos to go with it. This time, I was inspired by a pile of mismatched Graphic 45 papers laying all over my counter while I was creating projects for the Graphic 45 design team call. Seeing these papers, most are the backsides, reminded me of a patchwork quilt. I thought & thought about how to combine them and came up with using a brown background and my favorite sepia tone photos. I didn't shoot a new photo for this page, I remembered that my mother-in-law shot some photos of us when she was visiting in early December. This one was almost our Christmas card photo, but it didn't quite make the cut. We were very excited at the time, being huge Duck fans and having just attended one of our most exciting games ever...the Civil War win over the dreaded Beavers! So we decided to have a Duck theme Christmas card. Even though we didn't use this photo, we found some even more fun Duck photos of all of us. My trusty sepia tone came into play because dark green and almost neon yellow don't exactly match the Graphic 45 color scheme.

Since I had been thinking of this project as a patchwork quilt, I searched the internet for patchwork quotes. I found a few that combined the quilt idea with the family idea. I didn't find one that fit my thoughts exactly so I made up my own. I didn't want a big wordy journal box or title on this one, so I used photoshop to print my quote right on top of my photo.

For the patches, I cut my papers to 2 1/2" square and then used a ruler to gently fold the edges in 1/4" on each side. I tore upward along these folds so the white would show on the edges. Next I inked the edges with brown ink. I used one little Hermafix square on the back of each square and placed them on the brown background, leaving an area in the bottom right corner for the photo.

This was my very first attempt at machine stitching on a layout. I'm pretty excited with the results. I had been planning to give it a try. Dave put a table in the laundry room for my sewing machine and I dug the poor thing out of one of the "holes" or storage closets in the bonus room. It had been in there more than 5 years. I was surprised it worked at all. I searched the internet for ideas on machine stitching and found tons of them. So I experimented with an extra sheet of my background paper and extra little squares. I adjusted the tension, stitch width and lenght, writing each of the number combinations next to that particular stitch on my sample sheet. When I found one I liked, I used it. I chose ivory thread for this project.

After sewing around the page twice, I decided to create my own embellishment for my title. I cut a piece of patterned paper twice as long as my photo, tore it leaving a white edge, inked it with the brown and folded it into pleats. I used the same straight stitch I used on the whole page to stitch my pleats together. I went over the pleats twice. Next I stitched down my brown ball fringe ribbon. For the title, I inked the edges of the Graphic 45 letters with black and adhered them with pop dots. To attach my homemade embellishments, I used glue dots.

I was very happy with how this layout turned out. I loved machine stitching and can't wait to use it again! Next time you're together with your family, shot a photo and remember to create a layout to celebrate these special people!

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

I want to share some exciting news with my readers! I am now a featured writer on the Oregon Women's Report website. I am writing a series of fun, anecdotal stories about scrapbooking. I'd love it if you'd stop by over there and read my first one! I'm planning to post each article here also. I'll post one in both places every two weeks or so. If you're from Oregon or just interested in all the cool women writers on the site, sign up to receive updates from OWR in your inbox. Thanks! :)

Don't Forget! Join me at Ann's tonight for Virtual Girl's Night Out! Stop by to join in the fun, meet lot's of great women bloggers (and sometimes some male bloggers too!), hop around the internet leaving comments and getting some for yourself too!

Tips

Of course, use sepia tone or black & white to help your photos blend with your chosen papers.

If you're looking for a new way to include journaling in your layouts, give photoshop a try!

Look at the backsides of your papers, they might inspire a layout all by themselves.

Think about creating your own embellishments.

If you've got a sewing machine, try machine stitching!

Supplies

Graphic 45 papers...from all different collections, most are the backsides.

Graphic 45 alphabet letters

Bazzill brown ball fringe ribbon

Dark Brown Ink - Cat's Eye ink pad

Ivory thread for machine stitching

Layout of the Week - Believe Achieve (my words for 2010)

2010-03-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

I just have to say, I love this layout. It isn't very often as scrapbookers that we create layouts about themselves. At the beginning of this year, I read a lot of different blog posts about finding a word for yourself for the year. The word would be your theme word, giving you something to focus on throughout the year. I started to think about myself and all the things I've done in my life and the things I'd like to do in the future. Being the mom of a two year old, it has been a while since I've thought about my own goals or even thought much about myself at all. I was just starting to get back to thinking about me when Delaney turned 6 and was at the end of her year of 1/2 day kindergarten. It was nice to look ahead at the things I could start to do for me once she started school full time in September of 2007. And then suddenly my world was turned upside down. I found out I was pregnant with Jake in June of 2007, just a week before Delaney was done with kindergarten. It was quite a shock after about 5 years trying to conceive and then coming to terms with our being a 3 person family. I still can picture the look on Dave's face when Delaney & I told him we'd be having a baby. I'll tell you more of this story another time, but suffice it to say, shock doesn't even come close. So my thoughts took an about face, away from what I wanted to do with the "rest of my life" and toward raising another little one.

As I was reading these "word of the year" blog posts in January, I thought maybe I should think about me a little sooner this time and not wait until Jake was going to be in first grade...for goodness sake, I'll be 43 by then. Here's my first Believe Achieve blog post. And the thought of turning 40 this year also added to my eagerness to make plans that were mine alone. For years, I've been involved in scrapbooking in some way, working on albums at home, helping my friend with projects, working at Whimzee's, writing my blog. I also began another of my efforts at being healthier and losing weight this year.

Being someone who isn't short on words, I couldn't narrow my choices down to just one. For my 2010 words of the year, I chose Believe and Achieve. I chose them even before I walked into Jake's room to get him up from his nap and saw those exact words stenciled on a plaque on the wall in his room. Dave chose it at a baby boutique when we were shopping for bedding & decorations for his room. It hangs over his crib and someday we'll explain to him what they mean...right now, he just enjoys pointing out that there is an "A" on the sign.

These words are important for me to remember this year, because I have a few goals for myself. I want to expand my blog and find a sponsor or two (if anyone has any suggestions, bring 'em on!) and I hope to be chosen for a Design Team of some sort in 2010. I also want to continue with my efforts to work out, eat healthier and by doing those things, lose some weight. One more important goal, for the whole family really, is to make smart money choices.

I think that I am moving toward all these goals, but I do have to remind myself everyday, that I have to Believe in myself and make efforts in order to Achieve them this year. I created this layout to highlight my words and remind myself everyday of what I am working toward. I challenge you to find a theme word or two, even three or four, who's counting.

In creating a layout that highlights my words, I wanted to use some of my favorite products. The papers are from Lily Bee and the embellishments are from all sorts of places. I wanted to show contrast in this layout. Not only am I a mom and wife, I also have personal and professional goals outside of my family. These goals will benefit my family in many ways, but they are my goals. I chose to create contrast in my layout by placing the rhinestone "BELIEVE" on a distressed piece of corrogated cardboard. The rhinestone title also contrasts nicely with the slick orange "ACHIEVE." I created depth by using a cardboard circle covered with word filled paper. I used pop dots to raise my photo above the background. Again highlighting my words, I used Photoshop to print them on my photo.

I love this photo of me. I asked my friend, Pandra, to shoot a photo of me to send in with a design team application. I was planning on changing & doing my hair first, but she just got out her camera one night when we were hanging out with friends. They started telling jokes & I couldn't keep a straight face. It just all went downhill from the very beginning.... This first photo was the best of the bunch! Thanks P! :)

Tips

Think of a theme word for the year & remind yourself of it everyday!

Create a layout or project highlighting your word and place it somewhere you will see it everyday!

Don't be afraid to create contrast with by using totally different embellishments in your layouts. Rhinestone & cardboard...glitter & slick plastic.

Have a friend shoot some photos of you and create a layout that shows your personality or how you felt that day!

Supplies

Patterned Paper - Lily Bee
Rhinestone Title - Kaisercraft
ACHIEVE & 2010 - THICKERS by American Crafts
Paint - a variety of craft paints

This post shared on Today's Creative! Be sure to check them out for links to all things creative and the best features of creative blogs on the internet!

Meet my 200th Follower! And the Layout of the Week - Friends

2010-03-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

WOO - HOO!

200 followers!

YEAH!

OK, you can tell I'm SO excited to have my 200th follower! And since 200 is a pretty big milestone, I want to share my 200th follower with you.

Meet Adrienne from Kitschalicious! She has one of the cutest blogs I've seen, all covered with polka dots, little cherries and a splash of glitter. But that's not the only reason why I love it....the craft ideas & projects are wonderful! If you've got tons of little Happy Meal toys underfoot, just check this out....a Happy Meal Toy Wreath! Boy I wish I hadn't give ours all to Goodwill after they didn't sell in the quarter box at the garage sale! So click on over to Kitschalicious, be sure to leave a comment to say HI, sign up to follow Miss Adrienne's adventures & tell her Julie sent you! :)

I met Adrienne on a great blog hop adventure sponsored by Today's Creative. I've been participating for a few weeks now and I've met so many awesome bloggers. I'm pretty sure that Today's Creative is now responsible for my last 20 or so followers! ThAnKs! :)

Every week there are between 100 and 300 crafty blog posts listed for you to check out. I have tons of awesome ideas for my scrapbooking, decor and organizing, so many that I'll never have time to get to all of them, but still, so much fun to hop around & see who's over there. So click on over to Today's Creative to see the "Get Your Craft On" post. And be sure to see whose crafty blog is being featured today. Kim created Today's Creative & she's also got a personal blog loaded with funny stories & crafty ideas, so skip on over to Scrap to My Lu!

to see what's up with Kim.

OK, now on to this week's Layout of the Week!

This is one of my favorites that I've made in the last few months! I really LOVE Lily Bee, who made this cool paper! Their die cuts are to DIE for...is that a pun??? :) I knew I'd save this paper for something special and this photo of me & two of my bestfriends is just the thing. That's me, Amy & Julie. We've been friends since freshman year in college, wow, 22 years, say it isn't so! We've been through all sorts of things together good, bad & ugly, but we're still together, well, Amy lives all the way out in Denver, but as together as you can be across a few states. Julie & I really are together, I bought her house and when she moved a few blocks away, that's pretty together for two almost 40 year olds! Every time we are lucky enough to be together, we take a self portrait. Now, we've been doing this since college and even with the introduction of digital cameras into our lives, we still do it the old fashioned way...no, not with real film, but without anyone standing there looking at the screen to see if we're really in the photo! It's a tradition, even the order we stand in is always the same. There have been many special occasions when Julie & I (yes, we're the 2 Julie's) have taken a self portrait, just the two of us with a space in the middle, to let poor Amy know she's missed! This photo was taken last fall when Amy came out to visit for a Duck football game...we're all University of Oregon Alumni and fanatically proud of our school & just about everything related to it. It's Oregon, afterall, no NFL here! So GO DUCKS!

I knew I'd have to print this one in my old standby sepia tone if it was going to work with the cream/brown/pink color scheme. There's no way dark green and neon yellow would match with this subdued color scheme. I kept the photo 4 x 6 so I'd have plenty of space for lot's of fun embellishments. I added some cute ball fringe ribbon and a couple other pink & brown ribbons. I love the Mark Richards Mosaic Tiles, cute little pink squares. This was my first layout using them & I just can't stop! For a some more bling, I added a little field of pink & brown Prima flowers. For the centers of the flowers, I looked for tiny bronze brads. Not finding any in my HUGE stash up in my studio, I settled for some copper ones. Then I dipped them into some G Studio glitter glue and then my favorite brown Pink Paislee glitter. I think they turned out great! I also used the G Studio glitter glue & brown glitter to add a little flourish to the brown birdie paper near the top of the layout, a little difficult to see in the photo, sorry!

I used brown ink on the edges of my papers in this layout, I love the added texture it gives. For my title, I chose some brown THICKERS. I painted "3" & "us" with pink G Studio glitter glue and sanded the letters for "of". I like the juxtaposition of the soft pink glitter and the roughed up word in between. Hey, aren't we all soft & glittery sometimes and just a little rough around the edges other times!

I did enter this layout in Lily Bee's Design Team contest this week, so wish me luck!

Hopefully I'll see you Friday, over at Ann's, for her Virtual Girls' Night Out! Such a great place to meet other cool bloggers, get & leave a few comments and see what's going on in the blogging world! :)

Tips

Of course, print your photos in sepia if it will help them blend better with your papers.

Don't be afraid to use one 4 x 6 on a layout, it will give you lot's of room for embellishments!

Ink the edges of your papers & embellishments for a little added texture and it's free to boot!

Chipboard letters, dress them up with glitter glue or down by sanding them.

If you're brads don't match your layout, dip them in glue & coat with opaque glitter, no one will ever know what color they really are!

Supplies

Patterned papers & die cuts - Lily Bee

Mosaic Tiles - Mark Richards

Glitter Glue - G Studio

Glitter - Pink Paislee

Ribbon - Creative Imaginations, American Crafts

Flowers - Prima

Brads - Making Memories

Ink - Creative Cafe

Alphabet - THICKERS by American Crafts

Layout of the Week - Graphic 45 Transatlantique & Grandma's Train Case

2010-02-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, I tried to create some hype last week for this project. But I think it’s worthy! It’s definitely my favorite of all the projects I’ve ever worked on! So maybe I’m not being completely objective (ha!), I did start with my Grandma Muriel’s old train case.

I remember my grandma coming to visit us carrying all her essentials…hair & makeup stuff in this very train case. She never would have left home without being prepared to fix her hair or makeup. And as the years went on, I’m pretty sure most of it was filled with different sorts of medication. But what I remember most about this train case, is that grandma always had little surprises for my brother and I hidden inside, so she could get to them easily as soon as we picked her up at the bus station. Even though she had to switch buses a couple times on her 14 hour journey, she refused to fly. Airplanes just weren’t her thing.

So when my mom gave the train case to me, a few years after grandma passed away, I knew I had to do something special with it. And when the Transatlantique paper collection arrived from Graphic 45 last year, I knew just what that “something” was.

Right when I saw Transatlantique, I knew the blues would match the train case perfectly. And the graphics on the paper drew me to it even more so than the colors. The travel scenes from the early 20th century couldn’t be more fitting for this train case. My grandma grew up in New Jersey, just outside Manhattan. Her father worked for the railroad. Grandma’s family traveled to the Jersey Shore each summer, spending time relaxing at the beach, while my great grandfather took the train to meet them every weekend. Grandma’s parent were from England and Germany. Her German grandmother traveled across the Atlantic by ship to visit her when, as a child, she was stricken with polio. Of course, Grandma survived and later went to school to become a hair stylist. After she married, her husband traveled the world in the Navy during World War II. An independent lady always, Grandma received a letter from her husband that his ship would be coming to port in San Diego, and she set out alone to travel across the country by train. I can’t imagine what determination and bravery it must have taken her to pack her things and get on that train, alone, not knowing where she would stay or what she would do once she arrived in faraway California. Thank goodness, she met a nice family on the train who took her into their home when they arrived in San Diego, for her husband’s ship would not come to port until much later. When the ship finally did come in, in San Francisco, not San Diego, Grandma had fallen in love with another man, who would later become my Grandpa. But that’s a story for another time….

As for the train case, it has also traveled many miles during its lifetime. I thought you might appreciate it and the papers I chose to cover it with, if you knew a little about the travels of my grandmother. So many of the scenes on the Transatlantique papers show trains and ships, while many of the locations mentioned, like New York and Atlantic City, were special to my grandma. I just wish there had been a graphic showing the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. But I’m so happy with how the project turned out, I’ll let it slide!

I’m sure you’re waiting for me to talk about the project, so enough of my grandma’s story. I started by choosing one of each of the papers in the Transatlantique collection, along with the matching die cut tag sheet. I used Modge Podge to attach the papers to the train case.

I started on the bottom of the case, by measuring the distance between the top and bottom trim pieces. I chose a paper with a larger pattern to cover this section, planning to use individual travel “stickers” placed randomly over the top of the paper later in my project. (Many of the papers in this collection show graphics for the travel stickers collected all over the world in times past, and stuck onto the suitcases, trunks and train cases of the travelers.) Once I had cut my paper to the correct height, I folded it around the case, being especially careful to press around the edges of the hardware. I used short tipped, very sharp scissors to cut around the creases the hardware made in my paper. Next, I painted the bottom of the case with Modge Podge and carefully laid my paper in its place. After the paper was laid down, I coated the surface with Modge Podge, using care to avoid getting the Modge Podge on the hardware.

For the strip around the lid, I cut a sheet of paper, covered with travel stamps, in vertical strips and applied it in the same way as I had for the bottom part of the case. Before cutting the strips, I measured the space between the trim pieces on the lid and found that I would not be able to place the stamps in that area laying vertically. I was disappointed, but decided to cut the sheet of stamps in columns and lay them down horizontally. In the end, I think it looks just fine.

Next I looked at the lid and decided to use individual travel “stickers,” cut out of another sheet of paper. I cut out all the “stickers” first, looking to see which ones might have had significance to my grandma. I set these aside. Then I chose large “stickers” to put down first. For the curves in the corners, I carefully pressed the paper pieces down, creating creases to use as cutting lines. I used Modge Podge to apply each layer of “stickers,” putting those I thought my grandma would have liked best on last. After applying all the “stickers,” I applied one more coat of Modge Podge.

For one last touch, I chose some of the tags from the die cut sheet and tied them onto the handle using garden twine and kitchen string. These two items seemed more old fashioned than ribbon. I could see Grandma grabbing them out of the drawer at the last minute before her trip and using them to attach a luggage tag.

I haven’t shared the inside of the case, because I haven’t decided what I should do with it. Right now, it’s a little worn and waiting for a special use. I think I’ll use the case for carrying some of my scrapbooking supplies. It only seems right to use it to carry things that are important to me, just the way Grandma always did.

I hope this project inspires you to create a special memory for yourself! Grab that Modge Podge and a stack of your favorite Graphic 45 papers and get to work! For more Graphic 45 inspiration, don't forget to check their blog!

Supplies

Graphic 45 – Transatlantique double sided papers and tags
Modge Podge
Garden Twine & Kitchen String

Layout of the Week - Graphic 45's Fashionista & My Mom's Wedding Dress

2010-02-18T23:54:00.000-08:00

When I came across these photos, in a stash my mom had given me when my grandmother died, I just knew I had to create a special layout for them. While I'm not sure of the exact date of the photos, I am sure that I was in high school at the time. My Grandma Muriel was visiting. She and my mom had decided to pull my mom's wedding dress and veil out of the hope chest, where they'd been my whole life. They thought it would be fun for me to try on the dress my mom made herself for her wedding. It was a fun day and I remember thinking, "Wow, my mom was sure young when she got married!" She was only 17 years old at the time, barely. But it was the 60's and people were doing all sorts of things very young back then! This year my parents will celebrate their 44th wedding anniversary this year, so I guess everything worked out just as it was supposed to!

Looking through Graphic 45's beautiful Fashionista collection made me think of all the beautiful things my mom has sewn over the years, including a few of my prom dresses and most importantly, my wedding dress. I thought these papers would help tell the story of her creations. I love the idea of creating a fashion board, like the designers do, and set about creating one for my page. I stayed with the blacks & ivories of the papers and combined them with white from the wedding dress. I used odds & ends of ribbons that I felt had a retro feel. With the neutral palette, I chose papers and ribbons with lot's of different textures. I love the lacy-ness (not sure if that's a word, but I like it) of the black die cut paper from Creative Imaginations, mixed with the softness of the felt ribbon, combined with the distressed look I gave the papers, tearing and inking them before adhering them to the page. The little "pop" of black glazed paper is from SEI and helps balance the layout when set opposite the satin ribbon across the bottom of the page.

I love how this layout turned out! For a finishing touch, I used a 7 Gypsies journal card to tell a little bit about the time I tried on my mom's wedding dress. I really like how Graphic 45 papers help me tell the stories from my past. I find that the colors from their collections always combine with my photos and let them stand out. I can't wait to share another Graphic 45 project with you next week. I'll give you a little hint and be sure to check back next week, it's a doozy! I completed my next project back in November and have been waiting for the perfect time to share it with you. It also has to do with my Grandma Muriel, if you've been in the store, you've probably already seen it, but I've got quite a few photos of the process I used to create it, so see you back here next week for the big unveil....

Tips

Use my "fashion board" idea to create a layout of your wedding or prom dress. You could also use this idea to document the process you used to redecorate a room, using the fabrics & embellishement pieces in your layout.

Don't be afraid to distress some of your papers, while keeping others crisp & fresh looking.

Not every layout has to be thought of as part of a double page spread, some pages just stand on their own when placed in your album.

Supplies

Patterned Papers - Graphic 45, SEI

Die Cut Paper - Creative Imaginations

Journal Card - 7 Gypsies

Ribbon - Various Manufacturers

JulieChats - Featured Craft Blogger @ Scrapaholic Studio

2010-02-15T23:17:00.000-08:00

I have some exciting news!

I'm the Featured Craft Blogger on the Scrapaholic Studio blog by Mrs. Licky. Along with the features, she shares her layouts, cards, and all sorts of things she creates with her Cricut in her posts. Be sure to check out her other Featured Craft Bloggers, down in the "Interview with Crafty Bloggers" section.

It was a lot of fun thinking about all the questions and getting my answers together. I had the chance to think about how I got into scrapbooking and crafting in general. It was fun to chat about my favorite scrapbooking supplies and tools. I also got a chance to revisit my goals in blogging and scrapbooking.

I am trying to remember my words for 2010, BELIEVE & ACHIEVE, each and every day. I try to do a little work toward my goals each day. And the honor of being featured on another blog is a big part of my goal of bringing my blog to more readers in the scrapbooking community!

Thank You, Mrs. Licky!!! :)

Layout of the Week - Bo Bunny's Love Bandit

2010-02-11T11:43:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is all prepared for Valentine's Day! I still have a few cards to make & projects to finish. I've been a very busy girl for the last week or so. I've finished quite a few projects. One for Delaney, this Valentine layout and one to submit for an Ella Publishing contest...if it wins, I'll share it with you when it's published and if not, it will make a fun Layout of the Week. I'll share the others with you soon.

I created this week's layout with my favorite Valentine collection of the season, Love Bandit by Bo Bunny. (Check out Bo Bunny's Blog for lot's more Valentine inspiration!) I love the use of color on these papers. It's refreshing to get away from just red & pink papers for this holiday. Not that I don't love all the hearts & sparkle Valentine's brings, but too much of anything can be overkill. So this cute collection full of little racoons & bugs jumped out at me.

Once I chose the paper, I happened upon a sketch contest on Ella Publishing's blog. When I looked over the sketch, I thought it was the perfect layout for my papers & the photos of my kids. Since brown is one of my favorite colors, I love to use sepia tone photos. These photos are from Jake's 2nd Birthday a couple weeks ago. He's wearing his red Christmas "mun-in" (monkey) jammies and they certainly didn't complement the Love Bandit papers at all. So I printed them in sepia which looks great with the browns & other colors of these papers.

Lately it seems like I've been making a lot of single page layouts. In the past, I was a total double page spread (DPS) girl. My love of symmetry always led me to create two pages for each layout. But I have started to find more value in one nice large photo for a single page layout, you know, a picture is worth a 1,000 words & all. But I love this Love Bandit paper collection so much, that I decided to add a right side page to my sketch for the Ella contest. I chose the blue patterned paper, I like how it coordinates with the brown background of the left side without being exactly the same. See what you think....

And here the two layouts are side by side, just like they'll look in my album...

I hope everyone enjoyed my Valentine layout! And I hope you enjoy your long weekend...hopefully it is a long one for you like it is for us!

Happy Valentine's Day!

See you back here tomorrow for Ann's Virtual Girls' Night Out! All you bloggers out there really should check out Ann's party! We have a lot of fun every Friday night, meeting & greeting bloggers from all around the web and the world! I wonder if Ann's theme will be Valentine's Day or the Olympics or a combo of the two. Those of us on the West Coast are very excited that they Olympics are in our time zone this year, maybe we'll catch more of the action!

Tips

Use sepia tone photos to easily coordinate a layout with brown tones.

Use 7 Gypsies buckles to hold just one little knot of ribbon instead of on ribbon running all the way across your page.

Don't be afraid to use two different background papers on one DPS. Do try for a solid or unobtrusive background if one side is a pattern.

Don't let your photos hide your pattern. Get out that craft knife & use it to trim around part of your pattern. Check out the right side layout. I used the craft knife to cut around the portion of the tree that would have been hidden under my photo mat. Then I stuck my photo mat under that portion of the tree, letting the tree pop out over my photo.

Don't let those extra dots that come in the packs of THICKERS go to waste, use them as mock brads! I put them on my tags on the left side layout.

Supplies

Bo Bunny: Love Bandit patterned papers, chocolate dot paper, stickers, ribbon

7 Gypsies: Pink Buckle

American Crafts: Green Glitter THICKERS-dots & bracket

Martha Stewart: Punch Around the Page Punch

My Words for 2010

2010-02-08T09:31:00.000-08:00

I've been seeing so many scrapbooking bloggers who have chosen their "theme words" for this year. I find tons of inspiration in the blogs by Ali Edwards and Katie the Scrapbook Lady. Click on their names to read about their words for 2010. I started wondering what type of word I might choose that would embody my goals for this year. I thought about all the goals I've set for myself in 2010. One of the big ones is to get my act together & get back into exercising...OK, it has been a few years, but I still call it getting "back" into it. Along with the exercising, I'm working on eating less & healthier foods. Of course these two things add into another big goal of losing weight. Those three are my personal goals for my body in 2010. Then I have an entirely different set of goals for myself in 2010. These goals concern my love of scrapbooking and this blog. My biggest goal for the blog is to eventually, hopefully in 2010, begin to gather some sponsors. I am still relatively new to blogging, starting about a year and a half ago. So I have some research to do to even start out toward that goal. But I think that setting big goals gives me something to work toward. A smaller, probably more attainable goal, is to find more followers who are interested in scrapbooking and papercrafting. I'm taking some steps to reach that goal already. And of course I'd appreciate it if any of you could pass along a link to my blog, or grab my button to jazz up your blog! Thanks in advance! :)

So after considering these goals, my word, or words just jumped right out at me last week when I was putting away Jake's laundry. Hanging on the wall in his room is a saying that Dave chose when we decorated Jake's room. It says, "BELIEVE and ACHIEVE." Reading it that day made me think of my goals and I realized that these two words would help me reach my goals for 2010.

So along with eating healthy & working out, I'm going to BELIEVE I can ACHIEVE my goals in 2010! I'd love to hear your word(s) for the year...or just get you started thinking about what they might be! It isn't only in January that we can resolve to strive for something special for ourselves and our families this year!

Layout of the Week - Valentine Card #2

2010-02-05T13:09:00.000-08:00

Well, it's finally Friday! It's sure been a busy week around my house...Jake's birthday last Sunday and our niece visiting for the weekend...Delaney out of school on Monday and lunch with my parents...Lot's of homework, housework, preparing for my Valentine card class on Sunday...And then last night two burglaries in our neighborhood. I'm housesitting for my neighbors, who are on vacation this week, and someone broke down their door, but didn't end up stealing anything. At least the alarm was set and seems to have stopped the guy at the door. But just knowing that someone was next door to my house, breaking down the door is unnerving! The police officer who responded last night and the detective I spoke with today said that both houses were dark with outside lights on. So now I'll be sure to leave lights on inside my house whenever we are gone at night. Sure hope they catch the guy soon. I was asked recently if I thought of my neighborhood as safe and I said yes. It sure seems safe to live in a nice neighborhood with nice houses and nice yards, close to a nice school. But I guess I would have to answer differently the next time I'm asked....

OK, I'm going to force myself to think about something more fun right now! I'm getting ready to teach my Valentine card class on Sunday at the Hillsboro Library. If you're in the area, it's free and we'll take the first 15 people who come to make 3 cards, a gift tag and a gift box.

I hope you are all getting into the Valentine spirit, making Valentine's, helping your kids with theirs, or maybe picking out fun decorations for their Valentine boxes. At Delaney's school, the kids make their boxes at home and bring them on Valentine's Day. I'll have to share a photo of hers with you, once she's done with it! If you're looking for Valentine ideas, there are some very cute ones that you can download, just check down the right column of my blog in the "Get Your Creative On" section for some of the latest Valentine blog posts.

I'm in the middle of a lot of great projects right now! I can't wait to share them with all of you! I should have some fun Layout of the Week features over the next few weeks. I'll share some fun details with you, so you have something to look forward to...I'm making Delaney a Bo Bunny Chipboard album full of memories from her last birthday party...I'm creating 2 travel layouts with Reminisce's new Passport collection...I'm putting together a layout about me, yes ME, we really do need to have a photo or two of ourselves in our albums every so often...and for one last Valentine's Day surprise, I'm excited about a layout featuring photos of my two sweeties and Bo Bunny's Love Bandit Collection, one of the sweetest Valentine collections out there!

So if you're a scrapbooker or papercrafter, or if you know someone who is one, please sign up to follow my blog or subscribe to my feed to get my latest posts in your inbox! I'm on a quest to get to 200 followers, and I'd appreciate any help you can give me!

In a trend I've seen on tons of other scrapbooking blogs, I've chosen 2 words to be my Theme for 2010. I'll share them with you in my next post! But part of choosing these 2 specific words, is that I have to put myself out there and ask for what I want. One of my goals for 2010 is to become part of a design team and another is to find scrapbook related sponsors for my blog! If you have any ideas to help me reach my goals, please leave me a comment! And thanks for helping me attain my goals in 2010!

Card Supplies

Patterned Papers - 3 Bugs in a Rug, Smitten Collection

Cardstock - World Win, Bazzill

Sticker - 3 Bugs in a Rug, Smitten Collection

Cardstock Strip - Bazzill, Just the Edge

PS-If you're looking for a fun party tonight where you can hang out in your pj's & meet some other fun bloggers, join me at my friend Ann's Virtual Girls Night Out! Ann is certainly the Hostess with the Mostest...and she needs a little company while she's home tending to a sick little one tonight! As usual, she's sharing a yummy drink, some party music and a little game...just for fun and perfect for the chilly middle of our Oregon winters.

My Mighty 3

3 places I'd rather be right now:

1-Mexico....can't wait, I'm lucky enough to be spending a few days down there with some friends celebrating our 40 birthdays!!!!!! YEAH! More on this later!

2-Sunriver, Oregon....the thought of a little snow and a toasty drink in the lodge...ahhhhhhh

3-Kauai....the Grand Hyatt, a lounge chair & the red dirt margarita, I'm drooling!

3 things I'll never drink again:

1-Boones Farm Wine....freshman year in college, YIKES!

2-Cream Soda

3-OK, this isn't a drink exactly, but never and I mean NEVER EVER consider trying a Cuban cigar when you've had too much rum or any other liquor for that matter...worst Jamaican memory!

3 people I'd like to have dinner with, not necessarily all at once:

1-Patrick Dempsey...you know why...

2-George Clooney...duh!

3-Rachel Ray...she'd be fun at a party and she could cook for me!

(I wasn't sure if the people had to be living or not, if they don't have to be, I'd put my Grandma Muriel at the top of the list. I'd love to get a chance to ask her all about her life and being a mom!)

OK, now head on over to Ann's, join the party and let me know your Mighty 3!

Happy Birthday! Jakey turns 2!

2010-01-31T11:29:00.000-08:00

Oh Jakey! I can't believe you're 2 today!

Well, not really until 11:37pm tonight! At this time two years ago, I was just finishing a late breakfast with my friend Sheri. We expected you to come right on time, tomorrow, February 1st. My doctor was coming back from Las Vegas & inducing me in the morning. But, true to you're, "I'm always in Charge!" attitude, you had different plans. We managed to go out to dinner with Delaney, to the same restaurant we visited the night before she was born. And then came the excitement, we rushed to the hospital at 10:30pm and you arrived at 11:37pm. Just couldn't wait 23 more minutes, huh?

Well, we are very excited you finally arrived....I guess after waiting 7 years for you, the last minute rush of your birth was just part of your plan!

I love you! Happy Birthday!

I can't wait to see what excitement and adventure your 3rd year brings to us!

Layout of the Week - Valentine Card

2010-01-28T23:15:00.000-08:00

For my Layout of the Week this week, I'm sharing a card I created for a class I'm teaching soon. We'll be making 4 cards and a gift box for the class, so I'll have more fun Valentine things to share soon! I wanted to keep this card simple and quick. And as you can tell from some of my past Layout of the Week projects, I love using paper strips as a quick way to get a layout started. I found the idea for this card in an old issue of Card Trends magazine. The original card had a Spring theme and felt flowers backing the buttons. I thought it would be fun to add the die cut heart to the design, afterall it is a Valentine...can there ever be too many hearts on Valentine's Day? I love the idea of using the corner rounder on just the top of the card! Can't wait to use this idea in a scrapbook layout!

If you've been thinking about making your own Valentine's this year, it's time to drag out those supplies and get started! Valentine's are the perfect way to use up those scraps you've been saving. Just dig through your piles...yes, I know you keep your scraps in piles...doesn't everyone? Find all those fun Valentine colors, add in whatever you can find in there that sparkles, grab some odds & ends of ribbons & buttons and you're ready to go. Quick cards just take a little measuring & cutting of your scraps! Add a ribbon & a button or two and you're done! If you're feeling especially creative, add a rub on quote or saying to one of the paper strips or even to your ribbon. The special Valentines in your life will love your handmade cards and you'll even save a little money using up those scraps, so buy yourself a truffle the next time you're near a Moonstruck store! OK, maybe that's my plan, but it will work for you too!

Have a great weekend!

Supplies

Cardstock: American Crafts, WorldWin

Patterned Paper: Bloom & Sweetheart from the Smitten Collection by 3 Bugs in a Rug

Twill Ribbon: Creative Cafe

Buttons: Creative Cafe, Boxer

Floss: DMC

Die Cut: Quickutz

Corner Rounder: EK Success

HUGE Sale at Whimzee's Starts TODAY, Jan. 25th

2010-01-25T12:56:00.000-08:00

Click to learn all about the Whimzee's Scrapbook Studio Winter Purge Sale! Get awesome deals with different specials each day while you help us whittle our inventory for the big count this weekend! There's a coupon in the link too! Stop by the Store at 16630 SW Shaw Street, Suite K, Beaverton, Oregon 97007 or call (503) 259-9130 for more info!

'Click the Share button to create links to this email on popular social networking and bookmarking size like Facebook, Twitter, and Digg.'

Layout of the Week - BELIEVE Bo Bunny My Word Chipboard Album

2010-01-20T17:53:00.000-08:00

Sorry about not posting a Layout of the Week last week. Between regular duties, jury duty & a sick kid, time just flew by. But I do have a special project this week. I want to share the album I created to commemorate Jake's 1st Christmas. I love the Bo Bunny My Word Chipboard Albums and BELIEVE is my favorite one. These albums are great to display on your coffee table or mantle where people can grab them & quickly flip through them. When I created this one, I wanted to use bright colors and traditional red & green to create a fun album the kids would love. I chose Reminisce's Snow Globe collection as my paper & stickers for this project.

If you're interested in how to create your own My Word Chipboard Album, click the links below for step by step instructions and photos. I created this class last Fall for the scrapbook store blog I write. You could also use these techniques for other types of chipboard albums.

Julie's Bo Bunny Chipboard Album Classes

Class #1 - Gathering the Supplies
Class #2 - Choosing & Adhering the Paper
Class #3 - Trimming the Paper
Class #4 - Painting the Edges
Class #5 - Ribbon, Ribbon & More Ribbon

This last weekend, I started a new Bo Bunny My Word Chipboard album. I chose FRIEND to create a birthday party album for Delaney with photos from her 8th birthday party. She had a tie dye slumber party, so I was looking for very bright patterned papers. I chose Limerickey from Basic Grey and it's perfect. I'm ready to paint the edges, so I'm about 1/2 way done. I'll be sure to share it with you once it's all ready to go!

But for now, here's my BELIEVE album for you to enjoy! Remember, January is the perfect time to put together an album with all your memories from last Christmas...while you still remember them! :)

For all you VGNO partiers...

Would you rather have Bob or Jillian as your trainer?

(I've been working out with a group of mom's at school this week, to the Biggest Loser DVD's, and I'm strongly a BOB person! Can't deal with people yelling at me while I'm attempting to work my as off!)

Help my store win a free Cosmo Cricket collection!

2010-01-14T10:20:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note! I really am working on this week's Layout of the Week post! :) But first, a special request:

Please help my local scrapbook store win free products! In this economy small businesses need every advantage they can get. Please click HERE to go to Cosmo Cricket's blog and check out their new releases for CHA Winter. I am a huge fan of Cosmo Cricket and these latest collections are beautiful, my favorite is Material Girl! In order to help Whimzee's Scrapbook Studio win, please leave a comment under the post mentioning our store! As a bonus, if the store you mention wins, you win an individual set of the collection too! If you're interested in learning more about Whimzee's Scrapbook Studio, check out the BLOG I write for the store or visit the Online Community's SITE I moderate for the store!

THANKS so much for your help! And remember to support all the small businesses in your area!

Layout of the Week - December Daily Album Part 1

2010-01-06T13:58:00.000-08:00

This week I want to share my latest project with you. I was looking through the blogs in November and came upon this great idea in two blogs that I read often by Ali Edwards and Katie the Scrapbook Lady. The idea was to create an album with photos & journaling on a page for each day in December. Both ladies suggested getting all your supplies together, some new, some old, collected from all your other left over past December projects. Next create a page for each day in December, so that when each day comes, you can jot down a thought or two and take a photo. Then when you print out your photos, you just have to stick them on their page and viola!, you've got a finished album to remember one of the most memorable months of the year!

Well, OK, that is an awesome idea. And I had every intention of following it to a T....I gathered my old supplies and of course found some new ones at the store. I checked out all sorts of holiday layout ideas. I cut little number tags on the Cricut. And then December came along.....

You'll notice that I haven't had a chance to attach some cute ribbon and put the number tags on each page...but they are coming soon! I also plan to add a few fun embellishments to some of my pages. I'll take photos of all the pages again, once the project is finished & share them with you! (Oh...and I do know that Christmas is spelled incorrectly on Page 1 of my album! So strange to have a manufacturer spell a word that important incorrectly, we are supposed to receive a new shipment of this paper at the store soon!)

I did shoot a photo each day, well, most days! Some days I shot an extra photo, something that was important to me in December, a centerpiece, some special ornaments, so that when I forgot...as I knew I would...to shoot a photo on a given day, I'd still have one to put on that day's page.

I began my album in November, but I was only able to get 5 pages done before the rush of December began! Then I was caught up in all the decorating, special festivities, party planning, wrapping & Christmas pageant practices. Once the excitement died down, between Christmas & New Year's, I was able to complete a few more pages and have the photos printed out.

So I thought I'd share what I've been able to create so far. I hope these photos can inspire you to create some projects to honor your memories of this holiday season!

Happy New Year!

OK, this is for all you VGNO Girls!

I did the macarena with a surfer in your bathroom because that's how I roll!

I think mine's pretty great!

Now, for those of you who I've totally confused, consider yourselves invited to the coolest blog party on the web! Ann's Virtual Girls Night Out! If' you've got a blog, head on over & put yourself on the blog hop list. If not, just click on the names on the list to join in!

You'll meet tons of new bloggers & some great new friends by participating every Friday!

Ann's always got a cool video for us, along with a stiff drink (you know you need one!) and a great party game, I like this week's the best!

Ann's one of my Portland "homey"'s, so head on over & tell her Julie sent you! :)

(OK, totally screwed up spelling & grammar on that one I'm sure...)

Happy VGNO!

Happy New Year! Make one last donation to help others this year!

2009-12-29T10:20:00.000-08:00

I know most of you probably read my post about my husband Dave's best friend, Brent. Brent passed away 6 years ago from Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. He was passionate about raising money to help others with the disease and so we participated & fundraise for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light the Night Walk. Our local walk is held here in Portland each October. I typically fundraise for a few months before the walk and then put it out of my mind for another year. This year, however, I have a special reason for sending out one last fundraising reminder. An anonymous donor has stepped up and offered to match all donations received by LLS by December 31st, up to $100,000! I'm very excited about the prospect of such a wonderful organization receiving such a generous gift! So if there is any way you can donate, in any amount, no matter how large or small, your gift will be doubled this year!

Please take a look at my fundraising page for a bit of Brent's story and to see the last photo of he & Dave. And click HERE to read the flyer about the anonymous donor's offer.

Thanks so much for taking a few minutes to learn about our friend and the organization he was so passionate about! Enjoy your family and friends, and take a moment to remember those close you who are no longer with you, this New Year!

Layout of the Week - 'Tis the Season!

2009-12-23T00:26:00.000-08:00

I'm so sorry I missed posting this layout as my Layout of the Week for last week! Forgive me! I was 'a bit' crazy trying to send out packages, cards & deal with Delaney's class party. Oh, gee, I can hear so many of you who know me saying, "Shocking, Julie took on too many things at once!" OK, I admit it, YES I DID! But it's all over now & I'm on to taking on too many baking projects in one week! But boy those cookies sure taste good! Apparently my problem with not knowing how to say NO extends to cookies too!

Well, this layout is one of my favorite recent projects. It's a photo taken last Christmas of Jake in his Christmas jammies just after he opened his Toy Story phone. He was SO excited! Who knew he would later eat off the number sign & I would have it handed to me by the nice lady who works in the nursery at our church. She just laughed, having a little guy just a month older than Jake. Then she told me what Delaney had said when she found the rubber key in his mouth, "You know, I told Mommy that the phone says it's for ages 3 and up!" Out of the mouths of babes.... But still, his expression and those two teeth are priceless.

As far as the layout goes, the wood background is from LUXE (which sadly has closed up shop) and the other papers are new this year from Creative Imaginations. I used three colors & two sizes of the Mark Richards mosaic tiles on this one, along with two different sets of THICKERS. I'm always trying to create just one more title out of a set of these and darn if I don't use each set on 3 or 4 layouts! Just mix & match if you don't have enough to write out your whole title. And if you're, just a bit psycho, about color like I am, don't be afraid to paint them or just add a coat of glitter glue to them. On the " 'tis," I used red paint & red glitter. On the "season," I left them brown & added a coat of red glitter. The "the" is created from Mrs. Grossman's stickers, an old set I have used many times. The cute little letters at the bottom are some of my current faves from My Little Shoebox.

And do take a look again at Mr. Jake's darling smile, my next post will be yesterday's visit to Santa and he certainly isn't the one smiling!

Tips

Again, I'm mentioning Costco, but they really do make great large prints, like this 8 x 8 one. Give them a try for your next printing job.

Don't be afraid to mix your font styles in your titles. Just stay with one or two bold ones and try to stay with the same color or coat of glitter.

When mixing patterns, try a few large rectangle blocks on your page and round the corners for a unique look.

Supplies

Background paper - LUXE Designs - :( not around anymore

Patterned papers - Creative Imaginations

Tiles - Mark Richards

Titles - THICKERS - American Crafts

Mrs. Grossman's

My Little Shoebox

Layout of the Week - Christmas Past

2009-12-11T13:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been away so long! In the middle of my holiday prep and school holiday party prep that I haven't posted a Layout of the Week yet. I have a couple Christmas projects all ready to go, just haven't written anything about them. Time sure flies by this time of year. And maybe I forgot because my fingers have been too cold to type! It finally "warmed up" this morning...my car said it was 15, for the last few days it's said 12 on the way to school. I know that many of you are laughing at me right now, you know who you are...you're from the Midwest, Canada or maybe Antarctica! But really, I'm in Portland and it doesn't get cold like this here for this long! OK, we did have snow on the ground for 3 weeks last year, but that was a fluke...or climate change. Of course just as many of you just ran to get your coats when you read 12, you're from SoCal, Australia or maybe the Sahara! But I'm tired of pasting my daughter with Burt's Bees Lip Balm & that smelly, but wonderful hemp cream from The Body Shop. And who wants to wear long johns under their clothes to school everyday? I'm sure some of your kids do, but they probably also get to play in the snow at recess, we have no snow, just cold and a pond that's frozen over in our backyard.

Well, that's enough of me complaining, it certainly isn't that I'd like rain better, no way! I just want summer back whenever it's convenient for me!

I think it's time to share one of my recent creations! I created this layout with Graphic 45's Christmas past collection. My mom recently gave me an envelope full of photos of me that she saved from photos she had sent my grandma over the years. Grandma Muriel passed away a few years back and she had saved photos of all her grandchildren from the time when we were born. I found these photos in my envelope. They were taken when I was about 2 1/2, a few months before my brother was born and I didn't get all the attention any more! :) I love how these old photos are square with white borders and the dates stamped on them. I thought that they went perfectly with Graphic 45's style. To me their retro papers go perfectly with sepia tone photos and the slight natural yellowing of these photos looks great with them. I didn't want to crop the photos at all, so I let their shape dictate my layout and how I cut the yellowed catalog page to back them. It's so fun to see my clothes and little pig tails, but my favorite part is seeing how my dad dressed in 1972! I guess style really does come around again...check out those sideburns! I can also see a few ornaments on this tree that I still hang on my tree!

I wanted to keep this layout from being very sparkly...I've been using tons of sparkle lately. So I used a pack of Little Yellow Bicycle's felt die cuts along with felt ribbon from Creative Cafe and a few red pearls from Kaisercraft. The next time you're scrapping photos from your childhood, or someone else's, check out Graphic 45's wonderful retro papers. I've got a great project using their Transatlantique papers to show you soon! (probably after Christmas)

Don't forget to stop by Ann's Virtual Girls' Night Out, to get a few more comments for your blog, meet some new bloggy friends and maybe learn something new!

Tips

If you've got some older, maybe slightly yellowed, photos you want to scrap, check out the beautiful retro papers from Graphic 45. Sepia tone photos look great with their papers too!

Remember not to crop all the background out of your photos! Choose a few photos where you will leave in some of the background, especially if it's your home or shows a little slice of how life was at the time. It's fun to look back & remember what life was like for you as a child or for your kids to see how life was for their grandparents.

Supplies

Graphic 45 Christmas Past paper collection (Graphic 45 Blog)
Creative Cafe red felt ribbon (Creative Cafe's Blog)
Little Yellow Bicycle self adhesive felt die cuts
Kaisercraft red pearls (Kaisercraft's Blog)

Layout of the Week - Christmas DVD Case

2009-11-27T11:59:00.000-08:00

If you're a reader of my scrapbook store blog Whimzee's Girls Online, you may have already read about this Christmas DVD case. But since I've been "a little busy" this week, getting ready for Thanksgiving and because more of you read this blog than that one, I thought I'd cheat a bit and post the same project on each blog. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had dinner at our house this year, it was great having all the kids' grandparents here. We hope to spend Thanksgiving with even more of our family next year. We're thankful for all our family and great friends this year!

This DVD case is a fun holiday project if you're looking for a great way to package those DVD's of photos you're sending to the relatives this year. I created this project in the EK Success Craft Fest I attended a couple weeks ago. Don't worry, if you aren't sending out photo DVD's this year, our instructor had a great idea for this case. She said that she uses it to house a special holiday music CD she creates each year for family and friends. Not being a big baker, she uses gives it as a hostess gift when others might give baked bread or goodies. And if you aren't looking to give DVD's or CD's this year, take a close look at the project and 'scraplift' it into a card or scrapbook page.

The DVD case project features K & Company's new Christmas collection Evergreen by designer Brenda Walton (I saw a few of the items we used in Michael's this week). We used the small paper pad from this collection which is perfect for card makers and those of you who create albums smaller than 12 x 12. Another winner is the adhesive border pack, this pack is full of borders that are great for trimming to the size you need or using as is. While we didn't order from this collection, you may be able to find it elsewhere. We did order the small paper pads and adhesive borders from a couple other collections, so be on the look out for those in the store. We loved using these products in creating the DVD case and we're sure you'll love them too!

One last thing...if you're looking for more scrapbooking inspiration, stop by the ning.com site I'm moderating for the store. I've set it up as a place for our customers & fans to share their creations and chat about scrapbooking and papercrafting. Come on by the Whimzee's Scrapbook Studio online scrapbooking community and check out all the new projects that our members are uploading daily. If you're in the Portland area, you'll find the site especially helpful, we have an event calendar over there with all our crops & events listed!

I'm ready to have a fun weekend, my sweet husband's birthday is tomorrow and I'm all ready to decorate for Christmas! Hope you all enjoy your weekends and be sure to join me at Ann's Virtual Girls' Night Out! Ann's a fellow Portlander (not sure if that's the correct word), but it's been great to meet someone cool from my area who understands the whole "Oregonian" thing! Meet tons of other cool bloggers and get lot's of those precious comments we're all looking for! Oh, that reminds me, I'd love it if you'd leave comments for me, even if you're not a blogger! I love to see what everyone has to say about my posts. Happy Friday!

Layout of the Week - Christmas Folding Mini Album

2009-11-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

I've been busy this last week working on tons of different things for the store and trying to sneak in a few holiday projects. In between working on the email newsletter and trying to get the Pazzles cutter working, I created this cool little folding mini album. I'm teaching a workshop on this format on December 5th from 10am to 1pm, in case you're in the Portland area and want to learn to create these fun albums. The scrapbook store where I work is Whimzee's Scrapbook Studio, check out the blog I write for them, if you're looking for more scrapbook inspiration. I do occasionally post some of the same projects on both blogs, but I have created some step by step classes over there, so click on Classes in the list of labels.

OK, back to this project! Using 6 12 x 12 cardstock pieces, up to 14 different coordinating patterned papers (I used doubled sided sheets), a yard of ribbon and lot's of adhesive, these little albums go together quickly. I used a grassy green Bazzill cardstock and the Season's Greetings patterned papers from 3 Bugs in a Rug in my project. This album is a great way to finally use that little black blade that came with your Fiskars cutter! (That's a scoring blade!) Or you can use one of those cool new scoring boards. I saw one at the EK Success workshop last week, putting it on my Christmas list!

I used the Cricut at the store and the Stretch Your Imagination cartridge to create the little die cut holly for the album cover.

I plan to create a couple more of these albums to display during the workshop. These would be great to make to commemorate a special vacation or birthday!

Happy 100th Post to Me!...and boy, did I have fun being creative this week!

2009-11-12T14:28:00.000-08:00

As I came to the blog to write this post I realized that it's my 100 Post! YEAH me! (as London Tipton says...if you're forced to watch Disney Channel as much as I am, you'll know just what I'm talking about, if not...count yourself among the lucky ones!) Help me celebrate my 100th post by signing up to be a follower while you're here! I'm hoping to get to 200 followers by the end of the year, so tell all your scrapbooking friends, bloggers or not, to stop by JulieChats. I promise to bring you all the greatest new scrapbooking products & techniques. And of course, if you're looking for more inspiration, be sure to check out my "Get Your Creative On" section, for links to other creative blogs all around the world & the web!

You'll probably notice that I don't have a Layout of the Week this week! Well, it wasn't because I wasn't creative...I did create a Christmas layout, it is quite cute, if I do say so myself. But since I submitted it in Ella Publishing's December cover contest, I can't share it right now! Hopefully I'll be back to tell you that it's going to be on their cover...if not, I'll share it with you soon! I used LUXE's wood design paper for the background and Creative Imaginations' bright new Christmas paper, a couple types of American Crafts' THICKERS, 6 different mosaic tiles from Mark Richards, those cute little black letters that look like they came from my mom's Dymo Labeler, my large corner rounder and an 8 x 8 photo of the cutest boy in the world...you want to see it, don't you! Well, soon you will, one way or the other, did I say to wish me luck! Oh, and be sure to stop by Ella Publishing's blog and website to check out all their great scrapbooking ebooks available for download, they're only $5.99! I just downloaded two and can't wait to share all the great layouts I create with them!

But even though I can't inspire you with my Layout of the Week this week...don't fret! :) I was lucky enough to attend a fun creative workshop put on by EK Success and Petersen Arne this week here in Portland. The event was for scrapbook & craft stores and Twila, the owner of Whimzee's Scrapbook Studio, where I work, invited me! And boy did I have fun! We got to create some wonderful things with products that aren't available in stores yet and some that we just hadn't gotten a chance to try out! After getting our kids off to school & driving across town, we were a little late, but arrived just in time to create THE cutest canvas bags with Jolee's Jewels and the Hotfix tool. The bags, even without all the bling, are so cool. And I mean COOL, my 8 1/2 year old was so sad, as she grabbed the bag & started carrying it around, showing it off to her friend....I had to tell her, "You know, Delaney, that bag is Mommy's!" So when I say cool, I mean it, just check it out for yourself:

Cool...right??? :) Well, I wasn't really so mean, I did tell her that we'd have these pink bags designed by Carolyn Gavin and the other cool turquoise ones in the store soon and she can make her own. The crystals are kind of difficult to see on the first photo, so I did take a second close up photo. But really, the photos don't do the crystals justice! They certainly aren't your run of the mill rhinestones! So if you're looking for a way to put some bling in your life, don't miss the Jolee's Jewels Swarovski crystal collection and be sure to pick up EK's Hotfix tool too! We'll have them at Whizmee's soon, so if you're in the Portland area, stop by the store to see our cool bags!

I promise to share more of the cool projects I made next week! Just let me tell you, we were all VERY excited to find out we could take home the new Martha Stewart Around the Page Punches that we made one of our projects with! I'm ADDICTED to them now, I MUST have them all!

Layout of the Week - Children of the Corn

2009-11-05T05:00:00.000-08:00

In honor of Halloween, I created this fun layout last week. Our first outing of the Fall was a trip to The Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie's Island, just outside of Portland. If you're in the area, you should definitely add it to your Fall list next year. They've got a great maze, farmer's market, lot's of food booths...elephant ears, corn on the cob, carmel apples, sausage, burgers, loaded baked potatoes...animal barn, gift shop, hayride to the pumpkin patch (or skip it if it's too muddy & pick one from the huge pile next to the market) and of course a HUGE maze. This year's maze was a tribute to the Portland Trail Blazers, check out the photo in my layout.

This layout was my first effort at designing to someone else's sketch. I have all sorts of sketches & sketch books in my inspiration pile, but this is the first one I've done right to the sketch...pretty much, anyway. I created it for a layout call from Ella Publications. It was a lot of fun to try a technique that I've recommended to so many people, but haven't tried myself. I'm near the end of a set of 6 beginning scrapbooking classes where I've designed the layout, then created a sketch and kit for the participants. We'll be starting the classes again in January if you're in the Portland area and in need of some scrapbooking support! They're at the Hillsboro Library and they're FREE! I'll post about them when we've got the dates firmed up.

I was excited to use the Eerie collection from Basic Grey. I'm a big fan of using all sorts of patterns together in my layouts and Basic Grey's collections are some of my favorites. This layout features black vinyl THICKERS from American Crafts, I was excited to be able to create this title from a set I've used for two other layouts. That just shows you that the packs of THICKERS really give you a great selection of letters. My journal box is a tag from 7 Gypsies, I filled in the blanks and then wadded it up and stretched it out again, inking the edges & creases. I inked the outside edge of the layout with black ink to bring everything together. I put my little spin :) on the sketch, by tilting my layout, trimming the edges & mounting it on one last patterned paper...sneaking in another pattern...YEAH! My favorite embellishments on this page are my trusty garden twine (seem to be using it a lot recently) and the little black spiders were in a pack in my Halloween decorations, so they practically "jumped" onto the page as I created it!

I hope you're inspired to design your next layout from a sketch! Check out these cool sites for some great sketches:

52 Sketches ... a new sketch every week

got sketch? ... they've got 92 sketches on their site right now!

Creating Keepsakes Magazine ... all sorts of FREE sketches to download and also lot's of other cool downloads, brushes for you digital scrappers, journal boxes & tons more!

Tips

Give the sketch technique a try. Maybe keep to the original sketch your first time, if you're nervous. Then let your creativity go wild! Rotate the sketch 90 degrees, flip it over for a mirror image on the facing page, set your design askew on another piece of paper (what I did on this one), use journal boxes, embellishments or patterned paper in place of some of the photos...the ideas go on & on!

Use a tag instead of a journal box on one of your layouts.

Check out your gardening supplies, use twine instead of ribbon on your next project.

Supply List

Basic Grey Eerie collection papers

American Crafts THICKERS - Daiquiri black vinyl letters

Thick Twine (not sure of manufacturer)

Mini GlueDots

7 Gypsies Tag

Small plastic spiders (not sure of manufacturer) - found them in my Halloween decorations

I've Been Published!

2009-11-04T11:03:00.001-08:00

I'm happy to announce the publication of my first article! Please click on the following link to read my article from the November issue of Scrapbooking.com Magazine

Scrapbooking.com -- Article - H-O-M-E Project

Posted using ShareThis

This article describes two Fall theme projects that I recently created. The two projects were created using one Rusty Pickle chipboard letter set and the same Bo Bunny papers & stickers. I created the first project for my home and then used the leftover chipboard pieces to create a second project.

Check out Scrapbooking.com Magazine's site and sign up to have their newsletters delivered to your inbox here:

Scrapbooking.com Magazine

I am honored to have my work recognized by Scrapbooking.com Magazine and hope to be published in other magazines soon!

Layout of the Week - I Love Your SMILE!

2009-10-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to see the challenge handed out by the ladies at the Ella Publishing blog. They were looking for layout submissions with the title, "I Love Your Smile." That was the only criteria, just use that title. I think karma brought me to this gleeful photo of Delaney. For the past couple weeks, I've been designing baby layouts for my next beginning scrapbooking class, so I had a pack of photos of Jake when he was first born right there on the table. When I saw this page call, I flipped through the photos to see if any of them fit the title. And boy, this one jumped right out at me. This is THE happiest I have ever seen Delaney in a picture. It was taken, probably by Dave, just after Jake was born. We gave her this great I'm the Big Sister t-shirt and she was so excited, she put it right on. She was over flowing with joy that her little brother, whom she had waited so long for, was finally here! It brings tears to my eyes to look at it, when I think of how happy she was.

Her reaction to the photo, while I was creating this page, cracks me up! She looked at it and asked if it was taken when Jake was born. I said yes and that she was so happy. Being 8 1/2 now and having her brother be almost 2, she said, "I love him, but I don't know if I'm that happy about him now....he did cry a lot and...you know, mom, he's Jake." So that makes this picture that much more special to me, what a beautiful innocent smile, so excited that her baby brother is finally here. Unbeknownst to this sweet little girl are all the things about babies that aren't so fun, the SCREAMING (you have to know Jake to know I'm NOT kidding), the wet & poopy diapers, the hitting, throwing & destroying, etc. Of course she is still the happiest big sister in the world, when her little guy says her name, "Dee Dee, Dee Dee" or when he walks up to her, tilts his head, puckers his lips, closes his eyes, and cranes his neck toward her just hoping for a kiss.

Those are all reasons that this photo makes me a very happy mom! I hope you all create layouts showing something that makes you happy!

As far as the layout, I used the Cricut to cut the circles, placing my matted photo inside the largest circle to draw attention to it. I placed the title around the circle, also in an effort to draw attention to the photo. I chose journal strips for this page because a journal box might draw attention away from my photo. Inside the strips is my jounaling, "a girl was never so happy to have a little brother." I think that all the elements of this page help draw attention to Delaney's photo. I think it's important for her to have some pages in her album commemorating her brother's birth that show her reaction. He will have tons of blue pages showing all the exciting happenings after he was born and big sister needs a little attention too!

Tips

Try mixing chipboard styles when creating your titles. The mix will give your layouts a whimsical look.

If you aren't happy with the color of your chipboard, so ahead & paint it. Here I painted chipboard with both paint and glitter glue.

Don't be afraid to add other embellishments to your chipboard. Here I added ribbon, rhinestones & stickers to my chipboard shapes.

Supply List

Basic Grey June Bug collection papers
Admiral: used the back side
Park Bench: used the back side
Picket Fence: used the back side

Prizm light & medium pink textured cardstock

Pink Metallic Ribbon

KaiserCraft Basics: Rhinestones - light & dark pink and Rhinestone strips - pink

Creative Cafe pink chipboard shapes

Circle shapes all cut with the Cricut

"I" - Tim Holtz Grungeboard harlequin alphas

"your" - American Crafts THICKERS hat box plain chipboard

"SMILE" - Die Cuts with a View foil chipchatter uppercase - pink

Mrs. Grossman's casual alphabet stickers

American Crafts Memory Marker pen - soft black

Paint
Scrapbook Shades by Li'l Davis Designs - marshmallow

Ranger Adirondack Brights Acrylic Paint Dabber - raspberry

Finding Inspiration with Photography

2009-10-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

After a morning of trying to get some creative work done, but not being able to become inspired, I headed out to my backyard with my camera. I left my steaming cup of coffee on the end table next to my laptop. I had just been reading my bloggy friend Yaya's great blog post about her favorite color, orange. I noticed that the sun was peaking out from behind a cloud shining dappled sun down on my newly orange Japanese maple. I decided to take a photo of it to email to Yaya, her favorite color & all.

After I shot numerous photos of Leafy (Delaney named the tree when we planted it), I glanced around the yard. Although it's a pretty gray day, here in Oregon, the sun would peak out for a few moments here & there. I wandered the yard, purposefully looking at everything I could find. I shot photos of my maples turning on their Fall best. I shot photos of some strange mushrooms growing in the yard. Yes, Dave, I know this is strange, but their color & shape was interesting. I shot the ducks sleeping on the island in the middle of the pond behind our yard. I shot a huge yellow zucchini flower growing through the fence from the neighbor's yard. I shot the swings, lonely & empty, barely moving in the light breeze. I noticed how quiet it was for almost noon. All the neighborhood kids back to school & Jake napping upstairs. I shot my last bright red & orange cherry tomatoes of the year. Then I started to realize that I had just taken a rainbow of photos from around my yard. I was just missing the color blue. I stopped to take one last photo of the blue lobelia, still hanging on in my summer containers. As I shot the photo, I noticed one more harbinger of Fall. There was a Preying Mantis, hanging upside down,from the lobelia, watching me. After shooting her photo (Delaney & I always call them girls), I headed back inside to my now cold cup of coffee.

Who cares about warm coffee, when you can spend half an hour outside with your camera finding the inspiration to create all sorts of wonderful projects. So next time you find yourself needing inspiration, grab your camera & head outside. Shoot photos of whatever interesting things you find. You may find beautiful Fall leaves, white drifts of snow, gray puddles of newly fallen rain or just the shape your boot makes in the mud. But if you look at them with a creative eye, you will find the beauty in the simple creations of nature.

Try it sometime & let me know what you find!

(I wrote this last Monday and have just had the time to attach all these photos to it! Hope you enjoy them!)

By the way, I shot all these with my little Sony Cybershot digital camera, I don't own a DSLR, but it's on my wishlist! Almost all the photos were shot in the "soft snap" setting, where you shoot the subject with a soft background & no flash. Your camera might have a portrait setting, try it for your photos. I love the camera knowing to focus on my subject & then blurring out the background.

Layout of the Week - Our Little Monster

2009-10-22T12:09:00.000-07:00

When I first saw the new Monster collection from Reminisce, I just knew I had to use it for a new Jake page. I had just taken some funny photos of him. Our own little monster turns into a tornado every day. The little tornado moves quickly across the living room to the hearth, where we store his toys, grabs things and starts dumping, tossing, throwing them across the room. He plays & plays in the middle of this mess. We reorganize & straighten up his stuff about five times everyday. All the little cars in their container, books stacked nicely, balls in the toy box, etc. And then he wakes up! And it's back to tornado mode! So one day, I decided to take photos of all the little messes he made that day, all over the room. Of course when I looked at the photos, the room didn't really look as messy as I thought it did. But still, picking up the same toys so many times everyday, I guess it just adds up!

I used my new favorite embellishment on these pages! I outline the edges of paper, stickers & photos with the thick end of my black Zig Writer. I love how the black helps make things on my pages stand out.

The pages have so much going on with all the color & pattern of the paper and stickers. And then there is also the size of the stickers to take into consideration. I wanted to add a little more embellishment, so I added a ribbon to the tag sticker on this page. It gives a little more dimension to the page, while not competing with all my other elements.

That day, as I was photographing his disaster, he just stood, leaning against the couch, smirking at me, as if to say, "Look how cute I am! There's no way you can be made at me about this!"

But wait...could he be turning over a new leaf? As I'm writing this, he just brought me the Swiffer Sweeper, out of the coat closet & had me turn it on so he could vacuum...we'll see...

Tips

After you finish a layout, add a thick black outline to some of your page elements to help them stand out from a busy background. I use the thick end of a black Zig Writer.

Try adding a thin solid color ribbon to your page, for a little extra dimension that won't take away from your page design.

Don't be afraid to cover up portions of your photos with large scale stickers.

Use a few smaller photos or wallets (as I've done here) grouped together. They give the feeling of one large photo, while telling more of the story than one photo would.

Supply List

Reminisce Monsters collection papers and 3 different sheets of Monsters self adhesive stickers: words, tags & journal boxes & large monsters

Thin Grosgrain ribbon, navy & orange

Zig Writer, black

Layout of the Week Bonus - Girlfriends

2009-10-19T01:03:00.000-07:00

This week I have two layouts to share with you. Today I'm featuring one of my favorite layouts using the American Crafts Teen collection papers. I created this layout for Delaney, as a way to remember a fun day out with her girlfriends. Some moms & I got together and planned a little surprise for the girls. We took them out for lunch and to see the very first showing of the Hannah Montana movie. The girls were lucky enough to be out of school that Friday and they LOVED getting to see the movie before any of their other friends.

I chose to print this photo in black & white because lunch that day was at Red Robin and their restaurant colors didn't coordinate well with my paper choice. This is one of the reasons I love black & white photos...they go with EVERYTHING!

I love the bold papers of the Teen collection and it was fun to combine them with American Crafts' THICKERS vinyl letters and accents. I framed my photo with Prizm cardstock and added black & white floral papers from LUXE and black rhinestones from Kaisercraft.

I know that I have featured this layout before without the photo. I thought it might be fun to have an extra Layout of the Week this week so I could share the finished product with you.

Enjoy your week!

Layout of the Week - Fall Leaves

2009-10-14T09:40:00.001-07:00

These pages commemorate one of Delaney's favorite Fall activities, jumping in the leaf piles. Every year, Dave heads out to blow & rake the leaves in our backyard. He piles them up & puts them into the yard debris bin so they can be hauled away and turned into mulch. And it never fails, Delaney runs out into the yard, yelling for him to wait to put them in the bin until she gets a chance to run & jump into the piles. Of course being a mom who is always thinking of the laundry & stains that will be created by her kids' adventures, I remind her to run upstairs & put on some old clothes so I won't have to spend hours getting the wet leaf & dirt stains out. Then I grab my camera & head outside with her. I sit behind the leaf pile shooting tons of photos, so that I'll be sure to get some great action shots.

For the layout, I had a couple things to take into consideration. First, I was given sample sheets of the Shades of Autumn collection from Reminisce to create a sample for the store and I wanted to use as many of the patterns in my layout as I could manage. Next, I wanted to include as many photos as I could and still have the layout look balanced. Since this was one of my first forays into using many mixed patterns on a layout, I chose a neutral background for them. And then chose to use strips of the patterned papers so everyone could see how they worked together. Strips of paper are one of my favorite simple layout techniques. You can adhere them in a jumble manner, like I did here or place them in horizontal or vertical stripes or perpendicular to each other in the corner of your layout. I placed mine in a jumbled way to echo the way leaves fall into piles with colors and shapes all jumbled together.

With so much going on in my layout, I chose to mat my photos in a mix of neutral fall colors pulled from the patterned Reminisce papers. I used stickers from the Shades of Autumn collection on both pages. For a some extra texture, I added ribbons from American Crafts. And for one last embellishment, I placed four square bronze brads on the floral ribbon on the right page and one under the column of stickers on the left page.

For me, this is a fun layout, with a lot going on! And that's just how I feel about Fall, so many fun things going on to enjoy & photograph! So grab that rain jacket & scarf (some of you probably need ski jackets & snow boots too...) and don't forget your camera!

Tips

When shooting photos of the kids jumping in the leaves, try sitting down & stabilizing your camera by leaning your arm on something steady, like a tree, rock or even just your leg. If your camera has a setting for action, use it, if not, just use your auto setting. Next, focus the camera on the pile of leaves & send the kids running toward you, pressing the shutter when they reach the leaves. Try this a few times and you should end up with some fun photos.

If you're new at mixing patterns on your layouts, choose a few patterns from one collection and find a neutral that is common among the patterns and use it as your background.

Using strips of the patterns on your layout allows you to showcase a few patterns without having them overwhelm the photos on your page.

For an added embellishment, place brads on your ribbons.

Supply List

Shades of Autumn paper collection from Reminisce
dark brown cardstock from Prizm
ribbons from American Crafts
bronze square brads from unknown source

JulieChats Wins Blog of the Week Award from Scrapbooking.com Magazine

2009-10-05T05:02:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to be chosen to receive this honor! To read the announcement & description of the blog in this week's newsletter, click HERE. Please check out Scrapbooking.com Magazine! Their weekly newsletter is filled with great ideas that you can use to create wonderful new projects. Every week a new blog is featured as blog of the week. So be sure to sign up to receive their magazine in your inbox and meet a new scrapbooking blogger every week!

Scrapbooking.com magazine has also asked to feature my HOME project in an article next month. It's exciting for me to see that people are reading my Layout of the Week features. I'll let everyone know when the article will be published. It includes a special bonus project I created using the scraps left over from my original HOME project.

So stay tuned to JulieChats & send all your scrapbooking friends my way, I've got all sorts of fun projects in the works to share with you in the next few weeks!

Layout of the Week Basic Grey June Bug

2009-10-05T05:01:00.000-07:00

The bright colors & bold patterns of June Bug jumped right off the shelf & into my basket. At first, I wasn't sure what type of layout I would design with them, but I knew I had to have them. When I set the papers out on the table in my studio, I moved them around thought about their patterns. After some thought I decided that these great bold patterns deserved a bold layout.

I chose Cabana, the navy paper with the white plaid design as my background. Next I wanted to use some of the large flowers from the Fresco print. I decided to use the flowers in two corners of the paper. And instead of cutting a strip or square from this paper, I chose to trim around the flowers and leaves, to help them stand out from the background.

With all of the patterns in this layout, I wanted to include a nice solid that would help divert some of the attention to the photos and away from the design of the page. The June Bug collection didn't have the paper I was looking for, so I decided on Lime Cooler from the Lemonade collection. I used Lime Cooler as journaling strips and the first mat behind my photos. Photo mats are typically created in the shape of the photo set on them. I kept with this idea for the second mats behind my photos, although I mounted these mats and twisted them a bit. Then I veered away from the idea of a traditional photo mat when I included the circles behind my first two layers of photo mats. I liked the idea of using the circle pattern of the Chicken Pox paper, cut into a circle as my non-traditional spin on a photo mat.

When I finished this layout, I was happy with how it turned out. But I really thought it was still missing something. Normally, at this point, I would wander around the store or dig through the stash in my studio to find the perfect embellishment to finish a layout. This time I felt that the strong graphic colors, pattern and design could easily stand on their own. And I really liked the idea of creating a great layout on a budget (5 sheets of paper), without the addition of pricier designer brads, rub ons or stickers. I had used the thin end of my Zig Writer to journal on the strips and realized that its thick end would create the perfect final embellishment for my page. I used the Zig Writer's thick end to draw an edge around my trimmed flowers and non traditional photo mats. After creating this edge, I was very excited with my final product.

This was a fun layout to create and lead to a long list of tips that will help others create similar layouts! I can't wait to use my idea of outlining a layout with a pen on another project soon!

Oh, and I forgot to mention the story shown in the layout. These photos are from Delaney's very first gymnastics performance. She was nervous, but very excited to perform with her team before our local professional soccer team's game this summer. I only have these two photos because I was video taping the performance with my camera. It was important for me to create a memorable layout for this memorable occasion.

Tips

If you're nervous about mixing patterns on one layout, try using patterns gathered from one collection.

Remember to include at least one solid in the mix to use as a mat for your photos. You want people to pay attention to both your design and your photos.

When adding a bold pattern to your layout, use just a portion, trimming around the items you want to include.

Use small strips of your solid as journal strips. This is especially helpful when you want to include a little journaling, but don't have a "book" to write for the page.

Add some non traditional shapes to your mats for an original look.

Save money, by using a thick black pen to outline portions of the graphic papers in your layout. You can choose which items to draw attention to, and let others fall into the background.

Supply List

Basic Grey, June Bug collection
Cabana
Chicken Pox
Fresco
Tea Party

Basic Grey, Lemonade collection
Lime Cooler

Zig Writer pen, black

Layout of the Week Relaxing in the Hammock

2009-09-28T12:32:00.001-07:00

In our family, the hammock is one of our favorite places to relax. These photos were shot on the 4th of July a couple years ago. It was very hot, over 100 degrees. After our morning neighborhood parade, Delaney & our neighbor girl painted their nails, then relaxed in the shade waiting for them to dry. I shot some photos and was very excited about these ones.

When I combined the bold striped pattern of the hammock in the photo and the bold patterns of the fun Creative Cafe papers, I had to rethink my plans. The colors in the photos and the papers coordinated well, but the combination took the focus of this page away from my subject, Delaney. I loved the photos, so I reprinted them in Black & White. I was very happy with the result.

I chose these papers because they all have at least a little red, white or blue in their patterns. It was fun to add the multi color star ribbon from American Crafts. I like how the combination creates a subtle look for this 4th of July layout. Subtlety is not usually a trait I see in my layouts. Most of my 4th of July layouts are "in your face" red, white & blue with fireworks, stars & glitter. It's so nice to expand the horizons of my creativity. I did use my typical m.o. of combining lot's of patterns on this one though. I didn't want to change all of my habits on one layout, it was nice to just change it up a bit.

Go ahead, try something outside your comfort zone on your next project!

Tips

Try printing your photos in Black & White when your papers have bold patterns or a combination of patterns.

Try a subtle approach on your next holiday layout. Use colors to convey your holiday message without using holiday themed papers.

Supply List

Creative Cafe Papers, Buttons, Chipboard Shapes, Rub-Ons, Felt Words & Tag

American Crafts Ribbon

Layout of the Week Apple of My Eye

2009-09-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

If you've never been apple picking in September in Oregon, you've really got to try it. Delaney was three on this particular apple picking trip. One of the ladies in our mom's group set this trip up as a photo opportunity. She recommended we dress the kids in denim & white shirts, which is always a great combo when you're having photos taken. I probably shot a few hundred photos on this outing. At the time, my digital camera had to be changed from color to black & white and then back again. I did shoot a few color photos that day, but my most favorites, as usual are the black & white ones. There is just something I love about removing the distraction color creates and just concentrating on the subject. Of course I thought I had the best subject in the whole wide world, my daughter!

The large photo on the left page is the best photo I've ever taken of Delaney. It may be the best photo I've ever taken, period. There is just something about her holding out the apple toward the camera to show me the bite she took out of it, the look on her face and the dappled sunlight. When I first had these photos printed, I sent them to all the family members & gave them to a few friends. I even had the friend of a friend ask me if she could have one just because it was such a great photo. Now I didn't do anything special to achieve this photo, there was no coaching or retrying over & over again with the pose. It isn't posed at all, I just happened to click the shutter at the perfect moment. I guess I could say it was meant to be, but I'm pretty sure that good photos come from taking TONS of photos. It probably just boils down to math. The probability that you will take a good photo rises along with the number of photos you take. So keep clicking that shutter & you're bound to end up with a great photo for your next layout!

I shot so many photos that day, I couldn't just use one on my layout. My other favorites are shown on the right page. I love the sequence of three verticals. I just told her to show me her favorite apple & she came up with the poses all on her own. Now, the one in front of the barn was set up by mommy. I do like to plan things from time to time (ha ha!), and having the big barn in the background while the little girl with her bucket of apples stands in the foreground tells the story of the day and helps create the feeling of being there on the farm with her.

I love the red apple paper combined with these black & white photos. You don't have to see a red apple in the photos to know that those apples are red. The red apple diecuts seemed to be perfect backgrounds for my white Sizzix letters. And I was very happy with my decision to use my Creative Memories square punch to punch the scrap paper and leftover photos from this layout to create an eye catching grouping.

This is one of my favorite layouts that I've created in the last few years.

On your next project, use squares of left over paper & photos to create an almost free eye catching element on your layout.

Layout of the Week - Tropical Jake

2009-09-18T00:04:00.001-07:00

The photo on this page is the best one I've ever taken of Jake. I knew it was as soon as I saw it on the digital camera screen. Such a cute little boy! I wanted to create a special page for this photo and when these Best Creation papers came in, I knew they were the ones to use. A little sparkle & glaze adds a fun dimension even to a "boy page". I mounted the photo on two layers of cardstock, turquoise and dark brown. I wanted to draw extra attention to the photo with the busy-ness of the photo. I couldn't find an embellishment that really spoke to me. But I did find some pop out die cuts of arrows from Scenic Route. The color palette of the arrows didn't match my papers or photo, which went with each other very well. So I traced my favorite arrow onto the striped paper and cut it out. Then I used my exacto knife to cut a slit along the circle just large enough to slip the end of the arrow through it.

I really liked how the layout looked but something was still missing. I needed to draw a little attention to the arrow, so I drew an outline around it with my dark brown Zig pen.

Even though this layout was very simple and quick to complete, I think it has a bold modern look. So when you're looking for papers for a "boy" page, don't overlook the sparkly, glazed ones...they may be perfect for your project!

Don't forget to snap tons of photos! It will increase the odds of getting just the shot you're looking for!

Tips

Use cardstock mats and arrows to set your photo apart.

Try outlining your photos or embellishments with a thick pen. They'll stand out quickly and for FREE!

Don't dismiss sparkly, glazed papers for your boy pages, take a second look.

Supplies

Best Creation paper

GNO - with Delaney at the Miley Concert

2009-09-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

This is so cute, I just had to share! Miley Cyrus opened her concert tour in Portland on Monday night and Delaney & I were there. I must say it was a great show, lot's of cool stuff, including a red Harley descending from the ceiling & Miley riding on it over the crowd singing "I Love Rock N Roll"...took me right back to the 80's. It was a fun Girls' Night Out with our friends! If your daughter's a fan & you get a chance, you should definitely go! (One little disclaimer though, Delaney's 8 1/2 & loves Miley latest CD, which has some really rockin' music, I'm not sure if the younger only Hannah Montana music fans would have quiet as much fun, but I did see tons of littler ones there.)

If you go, get there early so you don't miss a chance to have your girl's photo taken with Miley. It's sponsored by Walmart, as is the whole tour. The girls get to put on some jewelry & grab a mike then they stand in front of a green screen for their photo. Then the ladies at the computer put your girl in her choice of venues with Miley, either her dressing room, her tour bus or her on stage. (Usually the girls can only pick one, the line was 30 minutes long, but since there was a mix up & they put Delaney in the wrong venue, they took an extra photo of her.) You get a little lanyard with an email code & some photos of Miley on it, so you can look up your photo & share it at home. This is all FREE, which is awesome, considering the t-shirts are $35!!!! Of course I still bought one for my little Miley fan, but really, they could still make a ton charging 1/2 that!

So here's my little angel in her rock star moments!

Layout of the Week - Kraft Kuts Boy Layout

2009-09-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

I created this week's Layout of the Week as the right half of my last Layout of the Week. I wanted to have pages of both my kids on their swings. The two layouts make a nice double page spread. But either layout could also stand on its own.

For Jake's page, I used the same basic layout as Delaney's: a gold background for the Kraft Kuts bracket die cut paper, a single tinted 4 x 6 photo, matted, journal strips and silver nailhead accents. I really like how the Fancy Pants Kraft Kuts collection has both girl and boy papers.

I printed the photo for this page in color, sepia & blue tint. I really liked how the blue tint looked with the papers used on this page.

I used the same journal strips on this page, but at first, I wasn't sure what to write on them. When I thought about writing on Jake's page, I knew I wanted to write something about his swing. Since he's too young to interview about it himself, I thought it would be fun to ask Delaney his questions. It was a lot of fun to listen to her answers about her little brother.

Tips

Use one of the large die cuts that are all the rage right now and center it on a solid cardstock background. These die cuts can also be cut in half or quarters and placed on a solid background.

Create a cohesive layout across two pages by placing the same embellishments on both pages. Nailheads are used in the center of the shapes in the die cuts on both pages.

For a new twist on journaling, try interviewing a sibling of a child too young to talk for himself. It's a lot of fun to hear another point of view, especially one of a chatty little kid!

Supply List

Fancy Pants Kraft Kuts Collection Star Bracket die cut paper
Cardstock in Gold
Cardstock in Navy & Green
Silver Nailheads from Mark Richards
Tinted Photo printed in pink at Costco.com

Don't forget to check out Ann's Virtual Girls' Night Out! My favorite place to party on Friday nights...at home in my pj's anyway! :)

Whimzee's Girls Online: FREE Beginning Scrapbooking Classes!!!

2009-09-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to share a post from my other blog Whimzee's Girls Online. I write this blog for the scrapbooking store where I work part time as a "Designer & Blog Girl", well...that's what my business cards say! So if you're in the Portland, Oregon area & looking for a FREE Beginning Scrapbooking Class, we've got just what you need! Beginning Saturday, September 12th, the Whimzee's Girls are teaching a series of 6 FREE 2 hour classes at Hillsboro, Oregon's Main Library and its Shute Park Branch. Check out this post for all the info. As you can tell, I'm pretty jazzed about this! I have put designed all the sketches & kits for the class and I'll be teaching four of the sessions...my first foray into scrapbook class teaching! Hope you can make it to a class or all six!

Whimzee's Girls Online: FREE Beginning Scrapbooking Classes!!!