Throwback Thursday - Bright Sunshiny Day

One of my goals this year is to use some of my stash of old supplies - and to find ways to incorporate them with my new supplies. Even thought we are only days from the premier of the new CTMH catalog, I dug into my old stash at the Crop N Time event this past weekend to create this layout.

For this layout, I started with the large piece of blue paper from Sarita that I had cut with the Cricut. Then I went to my scrap bin. I pulled papers had pink and salmon colors as well as some that coordinated with the neutral kraft base page.

Tip: When choosing papers from multiple packs or collections, use one color or shade as your guide.

I ended up including strips from Claire, Sonoma, and another paper so old I can't remember the pack! The three strips coordinated with each other and provided contrast to the large Outdoor Denim die cut and kraft base.

When it came time to embellish, I dug deep into my stash again. Both the pin on the title tag and the die cut arrow have been hanging around in my bag for a number of years. I only found these particular embellishments because I recently reorganized my entire collection.

How do you store your embellishments so that they end up on layouts not in bags? This is an area where I could use some help, and I would love to hear your ideas!

Happy crafting!

Throwback Thursday - Buddies

I have a confession. I am a bit of a paper hoarder. In the spirit of using some of my stash, I've decided to make an effort to use older papers (and other products) and share them.

This layout features paper from CTMH's Elemental pack from winter 2012

Do you see the stamps on the tag and the title? Another throwback! All of the images are from an old CTMH set called Childhood Boy.

 

I love this paper and these stamps, but I didn't want them to look dated. I washi tape, baker's twine and epoxy bubbles to help update this throwback layout.

Tip:  Use current products along with your old favorites to update your layouts!

I'm off to Crop N Time this weekend, so I'm sure I'll have another throwback to share next Thursday!

Happy Crafting!

Fondue and Kids

Fondue and kids. It's a scary thought. And yet at our house, it worked!

This layout was inspired by two totally different sources: the Babycakes paper packet I've been creating with for my layout club that met last night and a sketch at Simple Sketches.


















I've missed the deadline to submit my layout for the challenge, true. But I'm still very excited about what I've created!

I love the look of these messy layers. They include lots of fun paper, but still let me get three large photos and a large journaling block on my page. This layout is heavy - with four layers of paper plus photos. If I had it to do over again, I would cut out the centers of the middle layers to conserve paper.

Because there were multiple patterns and colors, I kept the embellishments simple. Thickers, washi tape and a few Mocha Opaques.


I don't split my titles very often. This sketch called for a title and subtitle and I like the results.





Do you notice the date at the bottom of my journal block? It reads "photos winter '12; journal 1-14". When my journaling tells more about my feelings that the events of the photo, I often include the date of the story as well as the photos. Just as I want to record - and date - what we are doing using our photos, I want to record - and date - my feelings and stories. It is the stories, after all, that keep me scrapbooking.

For the love of Coffee

This fall I ended up at a crop planning to work on Christmas layouts. I had Christmas papers, Christmas stamps, Sparkle and Shine washi tape. I was ready. Except I forgot my photos. I was at a loss. I had half a day of scrapping ahead of me, and I had no idea what I was going to do. Enter the photo-less layout. I know that these don't fit with everyone's style. They don't bother me because the primary focus of my scrapping is telling the story. If I have a story with no photos, I still tell it! This one certainly fit the bill for me that day.

I have been saving paper coffee sleeves for some time. There is some paper hoarder part of me that wants to keep them. Two on this page are from special coffee dates. The third I cut apart for the perfectly shaped title block.

Since this was a layout about the story, with no photos, I wanted the journaling to be the major focus of the page. The long journaling block on the right  balances the three coffee sleeves on the left.








 
In addition to my coffee memorabilia, I used three different retired CTMH papers on this page. Can you name any of them? The first commenter to correctly name any of the three paper packs will get a prize!

Sneak Peak!

Check out a couple of photos of the layout for next Thursday's club night! We'll be creating a double page layout using the Babycakes papers, the January stamp of the month and some dimensional elements!

 

Are you interested in creating this layout? Why not join us at layout club next Thursday?

National Papercrafting Month Cloud Nine Cardmaking Kit

It's National Papercrafting month, and boy do I have a special for you! 

Would you like to earn almost $100 in Close to My Heart products for just $55? Here's how:
1. Place a $35 order from the Autumn/Winter Idea Book
2. Add the Cloud 9 Card Making Kit for just $15.
3. Add the stamp of the month for just $5.

Viola! You have ordered almost $100 of product for only $55!

In addition to all of these fabulous products you will receive, buying the Cloud 9 kit reserves you a seat at my February 12 Cloud 9 workshop! You'll get a fun night out crafting and you'll leave with all 10 cards completed!

What does the Cloud 9 Card Making Kit involve? I'm so glad you asked!



If you are interested in any of these products, you can order via my website or contact me. You are going to love these cards!

A hoarder's creative use of scraps - Xmas pjs

I'm a papercrafter, and I'm also a hoarder. I know some of you may be with me on this. I have a very hard time throwing scraps away. My problem has only gotten worse since I began cutting for workshops. Now I often have scraps already cut into useful sizes and off cuts from my Cricut sitting right on my desk. Sometimes I get inspired and turn them into a layout. This is one such layout.

The full page of cut out circles was the original inspiration for this layout. I completed the background before I had any idea what the design would be like (unusual for me.) In addition to the circle background, I used scraps of Frosted B&T and Crystal Blue cardstock to "fill in" some of the circles. The only piece that started out as a whole 12X12 was base page.

I feel very frugal when I use scraps like this. It is not as if I don't have other paper, but it feels good not to waste the bits and pieces as well as the time I spent cutting them. I stamped the title on a clear frame using pigment ink. (I then let it dry for about two days.)

Because the background was quite involved and eye-catching, I kept my embellishments to a minimum. I used some buttons, flax and ribbon in three different places on the layout to create a visual triangle.

If you have been following me very long, you know that the story telling aspect of scrapbooking is very important to me. I had many snipits to include on this layout rather than one long story. It turned out, I had just enough snipits to fill all but one of the Crystal Blue circles. To continue the pattern, I included the year in the final circle above the photo.




On this layout, I think my hoarding paid off, but there are still more scraps on my desk. It is a good thing there are still more stories to tell!

What do you do with your scraps? Are you a hoarder? Do you organize? Or do you throw them away?