New class!!

Join me Saturday 6/11 from 12 - 3 pm for an all new card class! This class is my interpretation of the fabulous cards on the Darcie's board that arrived in April. We will be making 4 bright and happy candy-colored cards.

I was so attracted to the Darcie's board when it came in because of the bright colors which are truly outside of my comfort zone. It was great to expand my creative horizons and try my hand at the lively colors. Creating these cards was also my first experience with the Darcie's brand of clear stamps and let me tell you, they stamp beautifully! I highly recommend them.

We will be hand-cutting A LOT of pieces in this class as well as getting inky with Distress inks and daubers, so bringing your own pair of sharp detail scissors is a MUST.

The class fee includes 4 sponge daubers. And as always, if you cannot attend in person, kits will be available. Please tell us when you are signing up that you need a kit only. All my class kits come with color photos and directions.

I look forward to seeing you soon!

Cindy

The first shall be last?

Hi from Gina A!
Soooo - I was so happy to be the FIRST to complete this month's Design Team layout...1. Because I've never been first and I was happy to finally reach that honor and 2. because I absolutely LOVE the layout I created! (More about that in a moment!)

So... how did I get to be first? Well, I scrapped at the three-day crop on April 29,30 and May 1st and I used that time to create this layout PLUS two gift books, and a GAZILLION other layouts!!! (OK, maybe not THAT many, but if you've seen the pic Tracy posted of me with all my "stuff" you'll know I got lots accomplished!) If you were there that weekend you already know how much fun the 3-day crop was... please give Tracy your feedback - I'm hoping we'll be able to have another soon!!! And if you missed out, for goodness sakes, sign up quickly for the next one! I promise you'll have a ball and you'll have lots of time to accomplish a lot of art, too.

Now, how did the "first" get to be "last"???? Well, I was so happy with my layout that I placed it on the Design Team wall immediately and kept forgetting to blog - geesh! Does it justify my tardiness if I tell you that the subject of my layout - my beautiful daughter, Caitlin, GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE last weekend?!?!? So, in my defense, I was busy MAKING MEMORIES for future layouts instead of taking time to blog :)

Anyway, here it is - finally! - for those of you who haven't already seen it in the store. I thought this line was perfect for these Cayman Islands pics of my daughter and her friend on spring break last year. I've loved the photos but hadn't scrapped them yet since I hadn't found "just the right" paper and this line fit the bill with the beachy colors and turtles in the design. I used one of our paper edging punches to highlight the striped paper under the journaling block and on the right page border. A little inking of those edges brings attention to the punched detail.

This was my first layout using the very trendy "banner" look and I loved how it turned out for my title. (I used my handy Signo uniball white pen to make the "Turtle Love" letters on the banner flags) Die cuts, buttons, the flags and hearts were all embellishments from the paper line so I didn't have to do any work for matching. You'll note I pop-dotted the "swirlies" over the paper design under the "Welcome" photo. I thought that helped draw the eye to the turtles printed on the paper.

(BTW, the ladybug chipboard accent in the corner of that photo is in honor of Cait's membership in ASA Sorority since the ladybug is their mascot. Try putting little "secret" embellishments on your layouts to add special meaning - did you ever notice Allie Edwards early layouts of her son Simon always include an "S" in the design somewhere? - and another published scrapper I've seen adds a "hidden mickey" to every Disney page she designs... fun stuff to add personal meaning to your family's scrapbooks!)

Hope this layout and those of my fellow Design Team members give you some inspiration for creating your own fun layouts. Stop in to see us at the store soon!

Gina A.

Fancy Pants Beach Bum

Maybe I need to "get a life" but I live for fabulous beach lines! Perhaps because I always long for days at the beach and scrapbooking those pictures is the best way to get a peice of that paradise. Fancy Pants Beach Bum collection (and Beach Babe!) fill that need for me. One of the easiest layouts to create begins with a transparency for me as most of the design work is already done. I put three matted photos beneath so the curlique waves would artistically overlap my pix. Then I put one small, matted photo on top of the transparency as it looks like my son's boogie board ride is exploding out of the wave. Are you intimidated by rubons? The easiest application ever is on a transparency. The rubon literally glides on with barely a "rub". The fish, the words-filled-circle over the sun, and the title all came from the rubons. I added Glossy Accents to the fish and sun to give them a slick finish. Page two began with cutting waves, layering them, and popping them up. The bottom wave is actually a chipboard border from Technique Tuesday that I inked to match. Using the Strips paper I cut out words and arrows, laid them on twine, and topped with Glossy Accents to create a rustic-looking beach sign.

Not surprisingly, this line is swimming out the door, so don't delay. Come in and get your little peice of summer!!! Lisa (a.k.a. Flat Lisa)

Hello Sunshine!!

Though I love the new papers from Fancy Pants Beach Boy line that we are using for this month's Design Team, I just couldn't wrap my head around using any of them for this layout. I was determined to use these pictures and the embellishments (rub-ons, chip and cardstock shapes) all matched the theme perfectly. So, I thought outside the box and used another line's papers instead. I was searching high and low in the store for papers with more of a yellow-theme because that is what I pictured in my mind. The Fancy Pants papers, though FAB, had too much navy blue and red in them for my set of pictures. Instead I used the backsides of two papers from the Little Yellow Bicycle Babysaurus line--you never know which papers will work til you turn them over and are pleasantly surprised to find what you need!! I love yellow, esp for a happy summer layout like this. I also can't say enough about the quality of the Fancy Pants rub-ons....LOVE them! The bubbles, large wave, "Hello Sunshine" title and frame around the words "summer 2010" are all rub-ons. So easy to use, they are foolproof. And, yes, you can put them on paper or photos. Hope to see you soon! Off to watch Ellen! Lisa H., aka: Tall Lisa

Patriotic Pups

I know, I know.....you can't believe I am one of THOSE people (ie: people who dress their dogs up in seasonal props and take pictures!!). Well, I am and proud of it, though my kids are horrified every time I do it. (which of course makes me want to do it even more--spoken like the mother of two eye-rolling teenagers!!) These pictures make me laugh and my hounds (Myrtle and Daisy) are so patient and willing to cooperate. Their attention span can be bought with bones held just off camera...works like a charm! Anyhoo, when the new paper line from We R Memory Keepers for July 4th came in to our store, I knew instantly which pictures to pull out! This is one of my fav go-to companies, esp for their chipboard words and awesome decorative papers. I have always been such a fan of the red, white and blue combo and this layout screams fun and summer to me. The cute trio of pics down the left side were simply done with circle punches (plain and scalloped) using left over pictures. Hope this layout makes you smile as much as it does for me. Do you scrap your pets? We would love to see your layouts...bring them in to the store sometime. Anyone else out there have Basset Hounds like me? See you soon, enjoy the spring weather!! Lisa H., aka: Tall Lisa

A lizard, some balloons, and a baby carriage...

Wow, I cannot believe that we are a week into May. A new month brings new goodies for the Photo Scraps Design Team to play with. This month we will be featuring projects made with 2 fabulous new lines from Fancy Pants, Beach Bum and Beach Babe. These lines are colorful, fun, hip, and playful! I've made 3 easy cards to start the month off.

My first card uses a chipboard lizard (couldn't resist it) from the Beach Bum embellishments pack and one of the great Beach Bum papers. Love the swirls! A touch of ribbon and a little bling finish the card off.

My second card uses a wonderful stamp from Impression Obsession stamped in Chipped Sapphire Distress ink and a terrific plaid paper from Beach Bum. I brought this old fashioned pram stamp home well over a month ago and have been dying to play with it. This card would be perfect for the new mom of a baby boy. Again, a little ribbon and bling finish off the card.


My final card for tonight uses the playful striped paper from Beach Bum, a Hero Arts sentiment stamped on Black Cherry Staz On (my go-to red ink), balloons from Stampendous colored in with Copics and Glossy Accents used on the reflective parts of the balloon, plus bling and floss.


All the cards were quick and easy to make and I hope they show off the many different styles of cards you can create using one line of patterned paper.

Be sure to check out the Design Team wall to see all the projects up close and personal when you visit Photo Scraps!

Cindy

Charity Crop for Hospice

Hi Everyone,

One of our wonderful customers is going to be having a charity crop in Gaithersburg and I wanted to pass it along.

NEW! Avocado Arts Stamps

Join me for a class using my new line of clear, photopolymer stamps. This class is loaded with techniques and fun.

Here are the class samples for the Thurs., May 26th, 6-8 pm class. $27
There are five projects loaded with techniques. Everyone in the class will get their own stamp set to use while making these fun projects. If you pre-pay for the class, you will get your stamp set as soon as they arrive and they have SHIPPED.

Call the store and sign-up! Looking forward to stamping with you! -Lisa Hetrick

Click on the pic for more detail!

Butterflies are back...for Demo Day

The butterflies have returned! As many of you know, I absolutely love butterflies. They have not appeared on my Demo Day cards for a few months but they are making a reappearance for May. Here is the card you will be doing at my table for May's Demo Day on Saturday May 21 from 11 - 4 pm.

I look forward to seeing you then!

Cindy