February's Demo Day card and repeat class

Spring, where art thou?  Join me and the rest of the Photo Scraps girls on Saturday February 18th from 11 - 3 for our fabulous Demo Day!  To bring a little touch of Spring to February's Demo Day, we will be making a floral card at my table (with the beautiful Hero Arts stamp Fleurettes) with colors that I feel evoke early Spring - bright pink and green.  These colors make me happy, happy, happy! 

And for those who were unable to attend my last class, I am rerunning it on Saturday February 11th from 12 - 3 pm.  We will have lots of fun Copic coloring, trying out Distress Stains, making background paper with a technique, and creating some great cards.  Seats are already going quickly for this repeat class, so call the store soon to reserve your spot!  Kits are not available for this class due to techniques.  Here are the cards we will be making:

And lastly, be on the lookout for the Photo Scraps Design Team creations using our pick for February...3 fabulous lines from My Mind's Eye.  You have to see these lines in person.  They are gorgeous!

Hope to see you soon!

Cindy

Another Altered Box

Hi Everyone,

I know that I promised to show more of the Dare to Share projects this time but we were swamped with shipments of new products.  Hopefully, I'll get them in my next email.  

In the meantime, here is another gorgeous cigar box.  Ginny Cunningham used some of the same techniques that Dale used in the previous post.  She used the Graphic 45 Tropical Travelogue.  I like how she kept the outside of the box neutral and saved the pop of color for the inside.

I will have more Dare to Share Challenge projects next email.  This time one of our customers showed us a fun cigar box.   Dale Kaplan made this elegant cigar box.   I love how she used the gold paper to create a frame effect.  She fussy cut some of the flowers and popped them up for some added dimension.

Puppy Love

With Valentine's being our Design Team theme this month, I had to think in a more broad sense because I don't usually take pictures for Valentine's Day. I immediately thought of the new love in our family -- our puppy! So, I did a layout I just "love" with my hubby and our new puppy back in the Spring. I designed the layout with the whole thing on the diagonal just to create a different look and to keep your eye moving across the page.

For my base I used my new favorite cardstock color: DARK KRAFT! It complemented my puppy's fur color so he stood out in the pix. Then I used a Fancy Pants Love papers combined with Jillibean Soup embellies. It's so much fun to mix and match. My title "Puppy Love" is an old Jolee's from my stash.

Have you ever used a themed product collection for something a little different? Share it with us! We love to see your work too!!

LOVE STORY layouts by Gina A

Hi scrapbookers! Happy New Year one and all!

I've had a ball creating these two single-page layouts with this month's Design Team papers from Fancy Pants' LOVE STORY line. I really love the designs and colors and think they are so versatile! I intentially created two different layouts that are not Valentine themed because I think these patterns can be used so many different ways. "4 Ever" is a layout about the fourth anniversary of my husband's kidney transplant. (As an aside, he received a kidney from his sister, my best friend Brent, who is a regular Photoscraps customer so you may have met her at a crop or two!) This layout came together quickly using the LOVE STORY pattern papers. I embellished with the wallet-size designs from the "card" page and some buttons and stickers from my stash. The second layout was created with a scrap of leftover pattern paper combined with a piece of cardstock and embellished with some felt flowers, a small piece of ribbon, some ticket stubs and a journal card (flower shaped) also from my stash. (You can easily find equally cute substitutes among the current inventory at Photoscraps!) BTW, even though the subject for this page is a boy (my great-nephew... isn't he a cutie?!?!?) I found that the flower embellishments still worked - grouped together they create a solid pattern for the eye - and combined with the chosen colors the page doesn't look too feminine. I've often had ladies tell me they can't use flowers because they only have sons...look at this example and challenge yourself to use a traditionally "feminine" embellishment on your next "male" themed page. Then bring it in on a Monday night... I'd love to see your results!!!

Happy Scrapping everyone!
Gina A.

New card class with Hero Arts

Join me Saturday January 28th from 12 - 3 pm for an all new card class featuring Hero Arts stamps.  We will use a mix of new and older Hero Arts images to create 5 cards.  Get ready to ink, stamp, spritz, emboss, and do some Copic coloring!  Make sure to bring sharp scissors since we will be doing a little detail cutting.

This class will NOT be available as a kit due to techniques.

Please bring the following Copics with you if you own them:

BG11
BG13
Y19
Y21
YG13

I look forward to seeing you soon!
Cindy

Elisabeth Crafts Cards from Lois Butts

One of our wonderful customers, Lois Butts, shared some of her card creations with us.  She has taken the Elizabeth Crafts classes with Tawni.  Now, Lois has been making lots of great cards to send to her friends and luckily she shared them with us.

Holiday wishes from Gina A!

Didn't have much time for blogging in these past weeks leading up to Christmas, but I was busy creating! Stop in the store soon to see the sample treat bag and luminaria candle (in the mason jar) that I made. These are samples of some of the same small treats/gifts I gave this Christmas. Tracy is also adding the photo here of the decoupage frame I made for my daughter this year. I used one of our TPC Studio chipboard frames. I altered it using some black and white papers from my stash and from the new Basic Grey "Little Black Dress" line. After the modge-podge dried I added a finish of Glossy Accents and I love the result! This is an easy idea for you to "scraplift" for yourself or your own gift-giving occasions in 2012.

Speaking of 2012... I hope all of you enjoy a happy, healthy, successful new year! It has been my pleasure getting to know so many of you from my shift-work and classes. I hope to see many of you often in the new year!

Happy New Year!
Gina A.

Love Is In The Air

Can you feel it?  Love is in the air at Photo Scraps this month.  The Design Team will be bringing you creations from not just one paper line, but from several lines that we have in store for Valentine's Day.  Our theme this month is Love and Valentine's Day.  The papers we are using are just beautiful and colorful, some with playful patterns, some with fantastic text patterns, and you will be sure to love them all!

I have made 4 cards so far.  I think these cards are great examples of how a person can create in several different styles.  The cards I have made range from cute to clean and simple to easy elegance.  I feel that I have lots of styles I like to create in, but at the core of my creating are some things that never change:  layers (I love lots of layers), ribbon (almost always a must), and bling (gotta have it).  How many styles do you create it?

My first 2 cards feature the ever adorable Flopsey and a fantastic patterned paper from Fancy Pants.  Even though I used the same stamp and even the same paper, I wanted to show you how different cards can look when you change up colors and patterns.  Each card uses one side of the Fancy Pants paper.  I love when papers are double-sided - it's like getting more bang for your buck!  Flopsey has been colored with Copic markers and then each of her chocolates has something different...Rock Candy Stickles on the pink card (looks like her truffles have been dusted with sugar IRL) and Glossy Accents on the red card to make her truffles shine.

My next card is of the Clean and Simple (CAS) variety and I just realized that it does not include any stamping at all (a rareity for me)!  The paper is from We R Memory Keepers "Love Struck" line.  This card will be available to make at an upcoming Wacky Wednesday.  Isn't it sweet?

My last card is a good example of easy and elegant.  The roses were created from MFT's Rolled Roses die and wool-blend felt (the same felt I showed you at Demo Day in November for making poinsettias).  The sentiment is also from MFT and can be found on one of their Inspired By Flowers sets.  This patterned paper is also from We R's "Love Struck" line.  It's flip side has great words all over it and I can't wait to make something with that.

Remember to stop by the Design Team section of the store to see all our creations in person and to pick up these terrific papers.

I look forward to seeing you soon!

Cindy

Frame Inspirations

Since we don't have any Valentine creations yet, here are a couple of bits of frame inspiration to tide you thru.   First up is Gina Adolph.  She made this cool decoupaged frame for her daughter for Christmas.  She used one of my favorite techniques, tearing paper.  I love the Little Black Dress papers that she layered in a seemingly random pattern.  The black and cream tones work great with her daughters photo.  

Next we have a cute frame from Gina Painter.  Her daughter had her whip up some fun frames for her friends for Christmas.  My daughter loved this one so much, she copied it and gave it to one of her friends for Christmas too.  Gina used the Fancy Pants Beach Babe line.  Using the same paper line that matched her embellishments made this frame a snap to make.  We carry a variety of sizes and shapes of these chipboard frames from ANW Creswood.

January's Demo Day card

Wow, only one more day left of 2011!  It is hard to believe that another 365 days has flown by so quickly, but I am looking forward to 2012 and all that it will bring. 

The first Demo Day of 2012 will be happening on Saturday, January 14th from 11 - 4 pm.  As always, we will have fantastic projects for you to create and we will help guide you through them.  My card will use a stamp from MFT (My Favorite Things) though I will also bring along some basic sentiments that could be used instead, and a gorgeous paper from Basic Grey's Little Black Dress line (which I think Gina A gave a shout out about in another post) - this paper line is stunning!

One of my objectives when creating cards is to use layouts that can be used over and over again for many different occasions.  The card I've created for Demo Day is one of those kinds of cards. 

On a personal note, I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone that I have gotten to know over the past few years of working and teaching at Photo Scraps.  So many of you have become friends and I feel so blessed to be able to share doing something that I love with so many people.  You have inspired and encouraged me, and I hope that I have given that back to you.  I look forward to seeing you throughout 2012.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year!
Cindy

Holiday greetings from Gina A!

Hope all of you are enjoying a wonderful holiday season!

I didn't have much time for blogging in these last weeks leading up to Christmas because I was busy CREATING! Stop in the store soon to see the sample treat bag and luminaria jar (in the mason jar) that I gave as gifts this year. Tracy is also posting a photo here of the frame I decoupaged for my daughter. I used one of our TPC Studio chipboard frames and altered it with black and white papers from my stash and the new Basic Grey "Little Black Dress" line (if you haven't seen this yet we have a beautiful selection in the store!) After the modge-podge dried I added a finish of Glossy Accents and I love the result! This is a good example of an idea you could "scraplift" for yourself or your gift-giving occasions in the new year.

And speaking of new years... I wish each of you a happy, healthy and successful 2012! It has been my pleasure to meet and get to know so many of you during my shifts in the store, as students in my classes, and/or as fellow crafters at the many Photoscraps Crops throughout the past year. I hope to see all of you often in 2012!

Happy new year!
Gina A.

NEW CLASS: Flopsey Cards

Join me Saturday January 7th from 12 - 3 pm for my first class of 2012!  We will be making 5 cards using the absolutely adorable Flopsey stamps from My Favorite Things.  Flopsey is the cutest bunny stamp out there and is my personal favorite design of all the lines created by MFT.  We will be doing lots of Copic coloring and some detail cutting so make sure to bring your sharp scissors along.  Several cards use Glossy Accents (aka Diamond Glaze) as well, so if you own that product please bring it along too.

If you have your own Copics, please bring them with you.  Here is a list of colors we will be using:

N0
B02, B05, B21, B91
YG23
W1
R27, R83
BG10, BG15
C1
YR04, YR18
E23, E29, E31, E33
RV34

This class will be available as a kit if you are unable to attend in person.  Please let the store know you will need a kit when you call to register for the class.

I wish each and every one of you a Happy New Year.  I look forward to seeing you soon!
Cindy

Where has the time gone?

Wow, only a week until Christmas!  Where has the time gone?  It seems as if November and most of December have just disappeared in a flash.  It hit me today that I had completely forgotten to post some of the Design Team cards I made using the fabulous Winter Twig from Little Yellow Bicycle.  This paper line is just terrific, from it's patterns and colors to it's slight texturing on the papers.

One of my cards I was happy with, the other did not turn out the way I had pictured it but I wanted to show it to you anyway.  We all have those projects that we are not quite thrilled with once completed, but don't dislike them enough to throw them away.  Believe me, I've had my share of throw-aways...if you could only see the trashcan under my desk right now. Can you guess which card I was not quite happy with?

My first card uses the front and back side of one piece of paper.  I added the sentiment (Hero Arts) in brown, edged the entire card with white Staz-On to give it a snowy look (ruined my pad...here's a tip...don't ink edges directly with the white Staz On ink pad...use a dauber), and finished it with a snowflake cut from wool-blend felt and a Spellbinders die and another snowflake cut from Best Creations glitter paper (gorgeous!) then a ribbon and some twine colored with a Copic marker to finish it off.  One of the great things about Copics is that you can custom color your embellishments to match your projects.

My second card uses the beautiful bird stamp from Hero Arts and wood grain paper from Winter Twig.  I turned the patterned paper so that it was running horizontally.  The stamp was heat embossed with Stampendous white embossing powder (my favorite white EP), then stamped the sentiment in Faded Jeans Distress ink and popped it up on a little flag.  Some bling finishes off the card.

If I don't see you before the holidays, I wish all of you a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, and a Happy Everything that you may celebrate at this time of year! 

Cindy

winter twig

If you are like me, you may not be ready for snow yet, but just like Christmas, it will be here before you know it! And if you are like me, you already have snow pictures from our freak storm on October 29th! So it is a good thing we have already got a new winter line from LYB called winter twig. I used 3 different paper prints and a variety of embelishments from this line to make my 2 page spread. I also used color box ink in blue lagoon (my fav.) to distress edges of white cardstock to make them pop off the page. While getting design inspiration from a magazine, I read an article about "clustering". You may already do this and not know there was a term for your design! It consists of grouping things (like photos, words, or embelishments) together on your page by layering to add balance to a title or ground a journal spot, or even draw the eyes to your photos. I like it because it allows you to use many embelishments together without looking junky! So I went nuts with chip elements, transparancies, cardstock stickers, chip titles, and label stickers! They also have borders and cool snow flakes to add to your projects, even some embelishments with glitter for those of us who like some sparkle! I played with my large variety of embelishments until I got it clustered enough for my eyes to enjoy without being overpowered by stuff on my pages. Remember, there is no wrong way in scrapbooking, only how your eyes like to see things! So try something new, like clustering, I am going to try clustering something else next month!