Family Photo Shoot - A few reasons I love Studio J

After working with Studio J last month on my blog hop project I was inspired to keep creating! I had photos languishing on my computer from a family photo shoot in December 2011. I knew that I wanted to show these photos off in a big way on my layouts, I just hadn't done it yet. I decided these photos were perfect for some Studio J play. I created 10 pages (5 two page layouts) in four days - normal at home, with the kids, make dinner days.

Through this process, I (re)discovered a few reasons I love Studio J:
1. Large photos

I knew I wanted my photos to be the stars on these pages. I didn't have to print 8X10 images to see if I would like they way they looked. I swapped photos in and out at will. When the printed pages arrived, I had beautiful layouts that included large photos for no extra charge!

2. Retired (and Studio J exclusive) papers

We chose a blue theme for our photo shoot. I love that I was able to use one of my favorite - now retired - My Reflections paper packets, Pemberley. The colors of the paper were perfect with our wardrobe selections. It was also fun to revisit a favorite paper that is no longer in my stash!


3. Undo

One of my favorite features of Studio J has to be the undo button. It saved me many times in this project. Not only could I remove a photo that didn't really work, I could shift an embellishment slightly, change a paper color (and then change it back) add - or remove - a sticker. And I could do all of that without worrying about adhesive or folding, tearing, wrinkling!


Have you tried Studio J yet? There is no obligation, no download, no commitment and no cost until you order layouts. Why not create an account and check it out? Let me know if you have any questions! I'll share a couple more layouts and a few more reasons I love Studio J soon!

Out with the Old, In with the New! New Catalog Open House!

Join me for an Out with the Old, In with the New open house! 
The open house will include:

• A free idea book
• A free make 'n take project
• Lots of chances to win prizes
• A first hand look at many new products
• Preview of upcoming classes
• Refreshments
• Cash n' carry items
• Clearance stamps
• A good time!

How can you get a chance to win prizes?

• Attend the open house - Thursday, August 1 - 6-9 PM - 1 entry
• RSVP to me by July 28 - 1 entry
• Bring a friend - 1 entry per friend!
• Make a cash and carry purchase - 1 entry for each $10 purchase
• Place an order at the open house - 1 entry per $10 purchase
• Sign up for an upcoming class with a $5 deposit - 5 entries per class
• Book a home gathering - 7 entries!
• Join a hostess club - 7 entries!
• Place an order on my website and join the "Out with the Old, In with the New" gathering - 1 entry per $10 purchase
                      - you can order outgoing products right now or new products in August!

Surf's Up - July Paper Trail Blog Hop

Welcome to this stop on the Paper Trail blog hop.You may have just surfed in from Lynne's blog, but don't worry if you didn't. Our hop is circular!

My technical difficulties are finally resolved and I can share my Surf's Up layout. I created it using Studio J. First, a bit of the story.

I came home from an event last month and I couldn't wait to scrapbook the photos. I am not a fast photo printer. I usually let things languish on my camera and computer until I have an order large enough to justify a good coupon or a sale price. Needless to say, I wanted to record the day, but didn't have a good plan to do so. Enter Studio J. I uploaded my photos and off I went. I had the layout mostly completed before I went to bed. I added some finishing touches to the journaling and embellishment a few days later and, voila, a layout completed within weeks of the event itself!

The blue wave paper was a good background for my daughter's Daisy ceremony (even though it didn't take place anywhere near water). I re-colored a few elements to emphasize the Lagoon in the papers and then added Pear - a color not featured in the papers - to coordinate with the photos. This was one of the biggest bonuses for me. I was able to keep a pattern that I loved but make it fit in even better with my final product.

I have to admit, however, studio scrapbooking can be a bit addictive. I've created 12 pages (6 layouts) in the last few weeks. I'll share them here starting next week. I hope you'll stop back and see some more of the reasons I love Studio J.

Now surf on over to Tracey's blog. I'm sure you'll like what you see!

Soak up the Sun - a musical challenge

I love music. I often listen - and sing along - while I create, so it seems only natural that sometimes I create layouts inspired by songs. This particular one was inspired by Sheryl Crow's "Soak Up The Sun".

left page

right page

The bright, sunny colors of the Dream Pop paper were the perfect with the photos and the title - Sheryl’s title - soak up the sun. 

I stamped the title using two different sizes of letters from the Trinity alphabet set. This is my current favorite alphabet because the three sizes make it so flexible. I don't usually use many themed embellishments, but the wooden sun burst was just the right touch. The round sun was also just the right balance to other very linear elements on the page. I decided to accent with buttons to add a few more round elements. 

This is the park nearest our house. We go there regularly. Every summer. I have already created other pages from this year (and other years) that told the story about going to the park. This time I decided to tell a slightly different story by listing the necessities of the trip. I borrowed (and modified) a line from the song- “we’ve got our 45 on” - to include it in my list-style journaling.

*Tip - If you have multiple sets of photos of very similar events, create a layout that tells a different part of the story.

*Tip - Create a visual triangle with similar embellishments. I used the washi tape and buttons in three different places.


What about the challenge, you ask? Create your own layout inspired by "Soak up the Sun"! You might choose to focus on the title, the lyrics, a memory of the song - whatever inspires you! Why not play along? Link to your layout in a comment on this post sometime this month. I'd love to see how this song inspires you. Also, this is the challenge I created for all of my friends who attend  Crop N Time events. If you're around here, why not join us on September 21?

Sailing Away with Tommy on the Paper Trail

Welcome the the Paper Trail Blog Hop! This month we are sailing away with the Tommy paper packet. If you're coming aboard from Diane's blog, you are in the right spot. If this is your first stop, never fear, this hop is circular, so you can start your travels right here! These papers fit right in with the nautical trends in design and the colors - Cranberry, Honey and Outdoor Denim - are terrific!

We don't do much boating, but fortunately, I had some fishing photos which went well with the nautical theme. I created two coordinated one-page layouts that could easily sit side-by-side in my album.

Learning to Fish

I love nautical chart B&T paper! It made a perfect background for this layout.  Other bright colored B&T papers helped to lighten the layout as a whole.

The blocks of paper and the photos were very boxy so I chose to complement all of the boxy, cornered shapes with a half-circle for the title space. I used some old circular letter stickers from my stash along with the Cocktail Alphabet to create the title.
*Tip - Including one or two round elements can help to balance a layout that uses mostly straight lines and rectangles.

 I created this corner embellishment from strips of B&T paper, white baker's twine and Durables Round Studs. I folded the strips of paper over the twine and adhered them back to back. Then I trimmed the strips to the pennant shape and attached the Round Stud. I hung the pennant over the corner of my page and the rest is history!
*Tip - Use regular scotch tape to adhere the twine to the back of your layout. No one will see it and it is less expensive than scrapbook adhesive!


With Dad

This photo is from the same day as the two in the first page, but since I had already told the story of this fishing trip, I took the opportunity to write about fishing with my dad through the years. The text-print zip strip inspired a tribute to my dad. Since the journaling was a bit more personal, hid it between the mats (you can see the honey B&T peeking up).
*Tip - When you have "leftover" photos from an event, use them to tell a story about the person or the place instead!

Since my goal was coordinating single-page layouts, I used similar embellishments - Durables Round Studs and white baker's twine. For the title I dug out some other old letter stickers from my stash. I used creative capitalization because I didn't have any lower case "a's". It also helped to emphasize the word "dad" in my title.
*Tip - Use all caps - or all lowercase letters - for emphasis (as well as when you run out of the other!)


So glad you were able to sail this portion of the journey with me. I hope you'll stop back again soon. For now, bon voyage as you head off to Linda's blog where I'm sure you'll be inspired!

Dreaming of Dream Pop - Part 2

I'm continuing my attempts to share some of what I've created lately with a few more Dream Pop creations.

First Visit
The colors in this pack seemed perfect with a sunburst. They also looked nice with the colors of my daughter's shirt and the dentists' chair!

I added a few punched and cut out embellishments to this one. Additionally, I included baker's twine and Durables Round Studs.

The real story, however, happened after I took these photographs. My daughter say the layout displayed in our family room and told me she didn't want anyone to see it. I was surprised because I thought the photos were cute and my journaling told how well she had done on her first dentist visit. When I probed a bit more, she explained that she didn't want everyone to know what she was feeling at the time. It was too good to be true - a memory keepers' dream. After I explained that people couldn't tell what she was feeling from the photos, I encouraged her to write it out. She created a tag for her side of the story and we hid the journaling on the page.



Tea Time
I pulled in some plain light blue cardstock to complement the colors in the kit this time. I couldn't believe how perfectly each color matched my daughter's tea set!

Two-page layouts are tricky to photograph, so here is a closer shot of each page:

Again on this layout I used washi tape to embellish. I think the designs with the printed "tape" make it the perfect choice for embellishment.

Pearls also seemed an appropriate choice for a layout about afternoon tea (as long as you don't look at the attire of the kids in the photos, that is.)


I am having a lot of fun playing with the papers in this pack. In case you haven't been counting, I've created 6 pages so far (and only added two sheets of cardstock.) I have created a few cards as well as two pages that are in progress on my desk right now - and there is still paper in the pack - full sheets of paper!

Remember, the Dream Pop special paper pack is only available through May (as supplies last). The pack which includes 12 cardstock sheets and 12 B&T duos can be yours for just $10 with a $35 order. Let me know if you want to get your hands on these fun colors!

Dreaming of Dream Pop - Part 1

I've been busy creating with CTMH's May special paper pack - Dream Pop. I love the bright colors, the fun patterns, the trendy banners and pennants. I've been creating much more than I've been blogging, so I plan to use this last week in May to catch up a bit by sharing many of my Dream Pop creations.

This first layout is simple and really focuses on the details of the paper.

In addition to my photos, I added a mat, a journaling spot, Slate polka dot washi tape and a few flowers.

The yellow "tape", the multicolored geometric pattern and the "Beautiful" pennant are all printed on the paper! The page came together quickly and the simple paper helped me to keep the attention where I wanted it - on my daughter's photo!

I used the details on the paper for my second layout as well.  This time I chose to accentuate two features - the left hand banner and the flower cluster in the bottom right corner.

Here are some details:


I fussy cut some of the flowers from the second sheet of the matching paper. I used foam adhesive to add some dimension and then accented them with Liquid Glass. I added a bit of washi tape to make the corner feel more finished.

I added more paper strips, some washi tape and a few fussy cut flowers to the left had banner. I also included my title and journaling directly on the paper.

















The first colors I noticed in this pack were the Raspberry, Strawberry and Tangerine.  I liked those colors, but I wanted to stretch so that I could focus on Banana, Grey and Mint as well.

I loved the glossy resist pattern on the cardstock. I liked the tone on tone effect of the glossy for the background of my page. I decided to play with the glossy resist a bit around the edges. I used a sponge and applied the ink directly to the paper. When the whole border was inked, I used a tissue to wipe the excess ink off of the resist pattern.

I was inspired by the May Stamp of the Month to add a few pinwheels as accents. Rather than stamping them, I cut them out so that I could show off more of the patterns.

The title and journaling block is from another sheet in the pack.

Although I did use the Banana, Grey and Mint that I set out to use, I also used a quite bit of the other colors. They work well together, so I'll go with it!










Remember, the Dream Pop special paper pack is only available through May (as supplies last). The pack which includes 12 cardstock sheets and 12 B&T duos can be yours for just $10 with a $35 order. Let me know if you want to get your hands on these fun colors!