Scrappy Crushes...

Yep, I'll admit there are a few scrappy gals out there that amaze me.  When I get stuck on a project, or just need a little push, I head to these gals for a major dose of scrappy goodness.

One of my standbys, along with everyone else is Ali Edwards.  Seriously, is there anything she does that we don't just LOVE?  Her new stamps are out, and they're fabulous, of course.

My newest crush belongs to Elizabeth Kartchner.  We are sooooo lucky because the March kit contains some of her new goodies.  I just love her new line, and I don't think it's possible for anyone to be any cuter.  I mean, really!!!  One of my fave things of hers:

Now there are a couple other gals that their work just inspire me beyond belief...first up: Lisa Dickinson  Her stuff just wows me, and I am always inspired after a visit to her blog.  One of my faves of hers?  Right here:

Last, but definitely not least...my sweet girl Sasha Farina.  She is one of the most talented gals I know, and also one of the sweetest people ever!  Her work is amazing, just whimsical and perfect all at once.  I could seriously spend hours gushing over her work.  Head over to her blog and prepare to get inspired.

Who are your scrappy faves?  List 'em here so we can check them out!

Everything's Coming Up Roses...(or Flowers!)

It seems that all the rage these days when it comes to scrapping is flowers, flowers, flowers and since this next month's kit is going to have little bits of florals thrown in and a feminine flair I thought it might be fun to share some of my favorite flower tutorials and techniques with you!

Martha Stewart of course has some beautiful templates and tips to share when it comes to crafting and making flowers is no exception! Check out this beautiful Crepe Paper Rose!



Tutorial and template can be found here.

I found some beautiful Poppies made from crepe paper as well on A Very Chocolate Life's site.



These recycled paper flowers are fun and would be fun on mini books or banners don't you think?



And speaking of recycling...check out these stunning flowers made from recycled egg cartons!



And one of my favorite sites, Zakka Life has this fun tutorial for creating some tiny delicate tissue paper flowers.



Hope this inspires you to perhaps create some of your own floral embellishments!

Jen

Lifesavers

So today I thought we could talk about Lifesavers...no, not the candy kind! I'm talking about the little tools and items you keep close and handy to get your projects done. Those inexpensive, hopefully not taken for granted time saving items that never leave your desk.

Here are my favorite cannot live without tools:














A. Drafting brush - dusts away eraser grit, lint, fibers without leaving fingerprints or smudges.

B. White prismacolor pencil - perfect for marking temporary lines on dark papers

C. Fiskars Soft Grip Scissors - the spring does all the work for me (love these so much)

D. Soft White Click Eraser - the perfect eraser, gets into tight spots, never marks up my paper

E. QuickStick by Quickutz - a poker pickerupper and gem applier (you need this. serious.)

F. Basic Grey Rubon Tool - makes rubons go on like butta

G. American Craft 05 Precision Pen - my favorite journaling pen

H. 18" Metal Ruler - stretches across my entire layout, lines up w/ grid so I get straight lines

I. 24" Black Mat - i will not scrap without it and it's mighty grid power

J. Adhesive Pickup - rubs away adhesive, great for Xyron X to remove excess around shapes

K. Dotto - put some on the back of every layout to hold paper straight to the grid

L. Adjustable Triangle - lets me make sure that items are all at the same angle or perpendicular


What are your go to's girls? Got any favorites? Share them and link them if you can.

Sketchety Sketch Time!

Don't you just LOVE sketches??? I do! They make scrapping sooo much easier. No more wasting time shifting papers aimlessly around the page or agonizing over a cut. Using a sketch lets you skip right to the fun part of picking paper and placing embellies. Like I said, I love them. :)

This month it was my turn to do the sketch. I drafted up a one-photo LO for the team to use. I really enjoyed seeing what everyone did with it. Check it out:


Jenn's stuff always makes me go "eeeeee!". LOL. I am a big fan of her ability to make every page look so balanced and clean. Love that. Her photos are great and she really plays to her strength in photography by scrapping in a way that features the photos. Her use of the sketch reflects her style, too... I like how she shifted everything to the left a bit and used a large vertical photo instead of the horizontal 5x7.


Laina took this kit and kicked it up a notch! BAM! :) She re-colored the chipboard alphas to match the blue of the Sass buttons and she machine stitched on the chipboard JB button (did you break a needle doing that, Laina?). How fun! She took the sketch and shifted things around a bit to suit her layout... journaling on the left, title on the top, and a fun cluster of embellies on the bottom right. It's all the little details in her pages that melts my heart! The stitches, the colored insides of the alphas, and the precise little brads. Happy, happy, happy!


You know Amy must be such a friendly down-to-earth person just by looking at her layouts. They are relaxed and comfortable. Pretty and shabby. Unpretentious and friendly. She scraps with confidence and that comes through in her layouts! I love the loose and carefree stitched ruffles, the hand-cut heart, the strings, the tucked-in journaling card. Nice. I also love how she pretty much followed the sketch to a T. And it's still all her.


And there's me. Heh. Not so easy to talk about my own layout... let me try: Well, I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. It's the bestest. I rocked it. LOL. ;) But seriously, I do love how I tried some new things... like ruffles! That was (not) easy. Almost sewed my finger to the page trying that technique. I also tried making a crepe paper rose (it looks much better in person), and I moved my journaling along the left hand side to try to balance the page.

Sooo... try this sketch out if you can! And link to it here in the comments so I can gush over it. :D

Happy weekend!!!!
-Brook

march sneak

i am super excited about next months kit

Die Cutting

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of die cutting machines. I use some form of die cutting on almost every page I make.

This month I brought out my trusty BigShot to cut my "Grandpa" title from the Reuse font by Quickutz. The BigShot is awesome as far as traditional die cutters. I can use any die on the market in it. My favorite are all of the Quickutz 4x8 alphas. Love them, so easy and quick to use. (I find that cutting small cardstock letters out of a electronic die cutting machine to be stressful. Quite simply - they usually tear if under 1")
I used my Cricut to create the flowers under the title. It's a great way to use up those li21ttle scraps of pattern paper and make your embellishments.

I have the orginal Cricut and my mother and I share a Cricut Expression. I use software called Sure Cuts Alot (SCAL for short) that allows me to bypass Cricut cartridges and cut fonts from my computer on the Cricut. I have a huge font library and love to mix and match fonts. I highly recommend getting SCAL if you own a Cricut. There are many tutorials and Yahoo Message boards dedicated to it. You tube has tons of great videos on the Cricut and SCAL. Another new piece of software for the Cricut is called Make the Cut. I haven't tried it yet but many boards seem favorable to it.

I also like to use my machine to cut vinyl and contact paper for pages. I found this woodgrain contact paper at Lowe's! My next project for it is some wall words for my little guys' cowboy bedroom. Vinyl cuts like butter on digital cutters. It can be tricky to apply so make sure to use the image transfer method on this video before you try.

My mom and I have been having a friendly argument over who's house the Cricut Expression resides at...so in all fairness, it truly belongs to her. I lose. Time to get another machine.


After researching, I was pretty sure I wanted to purchase a Silhouette, especially after seeing all the new designs and partnerships they are forming. Their machine has some pretty cool print and cut technology and you don't need cartridges. You can download images right from their site. After reading Kristina Werner's blog, I am convinced it cuts better than the Cricut as well. The only drawback for me is that it only cuts up to 8 1/2" wide and that kinda bugged me a bit. So I looked some more and found...


The Lexus of Die Cutting Machines - the eCraft. This baby can do it all  - 12" wide with unlimited lengths. It can even cut felt! I really want need this...now to convince my husband that our tax return should be spent on this. :)

So - what's your favorite die cutter? I'd love to know!

Trying Something New...

I have never, ever scrapped a layout using the two-page 8 1/2 x 11 format until this month's kit from Mosh Posh! Isn't it funny how we get in scrapbooking routines and stick with them? Do you scrap in a particular size ALL the time or perhaps you always journal using your computer or only handwriting...I challenge you to try something different just for the sake of doing it! Do I like the new format of the above layout? Honestly, I'm not so sure...but I am glad that I branched out and at least tried it!

What are you going to try?

RUFFLES!!!!

I am addicted to ruffles right now, and from the looks of this month's gallery, I'm not the only one.

These other design team ladies can rock the ruffles like nobody's business!

I did a bit of surfing around, and found these fabu examples as well...

From Liz Kartchner:

and these from Heidi Swapp:

And one more from me:

Hope you have a great Monday!!!

Challenge Yourself

It's February. It's cold and dreary out. I tend to get very bored at this time of year.My solution? Try something new!
I have been surfing a few different blogs and have found a few techniques that have caught my eye. I tend to get in ruts where I use the same techniques over and over. I love to look at other people's work to find inspiration. Here are five ideas I plan on trying. Want to join me?


Katy Watson makes the cutest projects for Maya Road using Glossy Accents and Martha Stewart Microbeads. Check out her tutorial here.


I drool every time I look at these Cosmo Cricket flowers.Check out Natasja's tutorial here. Amazing.



Here's a great tutorial on ribbon scrunching!


I've been late on the misting craze. I'm just getting into it now. Here's a great tutorial from the Maya Road blog.


Last but not least...paper pinwheels. Ahh. So pretty. Check out Style Me Pretty's tutorial.

I am going to challenge myself to use at least two of these ideas on my March Mosh Posh kit! Can't wait to get started.

February Gallery is Up!

The Design Team just filled up the gallery with some wonderful layouts! Check it out: FEBRUARY GALLERY. Here is a 'lil taste of the goodness...

Craft Day

I am always looking for new crafts to make with my kiddos, especially during these cold dreary months of Winter. I found this project last night and fell in love.

We definitely will be making a batch of these this weekend for the school parties next week. You can find the directions for the card here and melting the crayons here. Sweet, huh!

Super Sleuth

My middle name should be Sherlock! I have been snooping around the internet and spotted some great pages from our Mosh Posh friends and fans.



Sweet Child of Mine by Miracles momma using the January kit. I love the journaling and darling picture.



Split 3 Ways by Popgoesthelala uses the Mosh Posh January sketch. Any page about fondue is cool with me.

Who else has dug into their kits and made some pages? Link them up below so we can see what you are creating!

A Couple February Project Sneaks!

I've been busy having some fun creating with my beautiful February kit! Just thought I'd pop on and share a couple project sneaks with you. Really loving how versatile this kit is...I can go from playful and fun to more traditional looking pages in a snap. Loving the double-sided papers from October Afternoon so much, then again, I love everything about October Afternoon so that's no surprise! I'm also having some fun using a bit of my January kit on some of this month's layouts...love it when multiple kits can mix and match!

Wishing you a creative day!

Jen