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

NEW CLASS...Wedding and Anniversary Cards

While William & Kate were busy tying the knot today, I was busy designing my next class. Join me Saturday May 28th from 12 - 3 pm for my newest class, Wedding and Anniversary Cards. We will be making 6 elegant cards perfect for giving to the newly married couple or the couple that has been married forever. Fee $24

I look forward to seeing you soon!

Cindy

It's all about the GLUBER

What say you?

CHECK OUT this project:



I used all new Prima Flowers, and the NEW GLUBERS
to create the fabric rosette in the middle.

What's a GLUBER you ask? Go check it out in the store.
It is a big honkin' GLUE DOT.
Perfect for making fabric and/or paper flowers in a snap.
Super fun watering can project made easy with PRIMAS and GLUBERS.

Perfect day to create something Springy, wouldn't you say...
-Hetrick

6 x 6 Mini Chip Board Album - design team

Woohoo, I am on a roll now! Second blog posting ever!! I have to say I had sooooo much fun making this mini album. I really had a hard time choosing the card stock, I wanted to use it all! I ended up using Hometown Summer - Heat Wave, Green Acres and Summer Fun and Cosmo Cricket Coral Bloom. For embellishments I used Lovely Bits Butterflies and Doilies, my Cricuit Machine (for the words, baskets, tag mats and the interactive tag that can hold lots more pictures) lots of paper flowers and, the flower border punch, its a Martha... I just loved the bright bold colors. I am always looking to be able to put the most pictures in a small space... At least one pocket is a must for me in a mini album and I did manage one early in the album. I filled the pocket with tags cut large enough for pictures and room to journal on the back. Loved the green paper and thought it a perfect backdrop for flowers, lots of them! I cut out the baskets on the Cricuit machine, a little ink and gel pen and they were ready to be filled with flowers embellished with pearl bling! Family fun which was the theme for this album. I cut out tags, scored them at the top so they would bend and made a little album with in the album! Quite a feat when you are only starting with a 6x6 to begin with. If you had a chance to view this in the store, you got to see the silly side of the Dinsmore's as we barely survived our encounter with the plastic alligator ... Lots of smiles on the next page and I went whimsical with the letter placement. Straight lines don't work well for me... I love to cut out patterns from card stock to use for embellishments, and the watermelons punch perfectly! To keep the watermelons from getting crushed - I also punched a piece of chip board (or was it a cereal box?) and then attached the punched out watermelon to it. I did the same thing for the front cover.

I saw lots of people taking pictures, of the album. If you recreate this album it I would love to see it. I am always in awe when someone takes my basic design and makes it their own. Keep creating! Tina

Design Team Mini Baskets- Tina

Wow! This is my first blog posting - seriously... I know the month is almost over and we'll be designing something new in a week, but I really did need to learn how to do this...

I know most of you have seen the little mini-baskets that I could not resist making. Traditionally baskets = Easter this time of year, but I wanted you to think out side of the box (or in this case basket :D) so I added the friendship one. Think of the smile you will receive as you hand someone one of these sweet little baskets. I have to give kudos to Jill who told me she saw little baskets like these and described them so well - it was almost a tutorial - and here they are! I used Hometown - Summer and Fruit Stand - Green Acres card stock for the basket bases, ribbon for the handles and a scallop circle punch for the doilie effect on the outside of the basket. The fence boarder is a Fiskars punch - LOVE IT!!!! The treats inside were stamped using Stampendous Friendship Assortment, Impression Obsession Just Because and Happy Easter and of course, colored in with lots of copic markers. Have to go. Next blog will be on the mini album!

"SCRAPBOOKING" banner

Hopefully you have noticed the new Scrapbooking display we put up at the store--if not, it is on the wall by the scrapbook bookshelf display in the back of the store. Each month, one of the scrappin' gals at Photo Scraps will display their layouts with some motivational prompts to entice and educate you on the fabulous art of scrapbooking! We have such a passion for this pasttime and we want to share it more with you. Anyhoo, those layouts needed a "title" and what better idea than to make a huge "SCRAPBOOKING" banner to define that area! I started with 2 banner chipboard books from Fancy Pants and used 12 of those as my bases. Then, armed with tons of scraps and the handy-dandy pink glue gun from Reminisce, I put this together over the very rainy (but perfect for scrapbooking) Saturday afternoon. Lots of layers of papers, border punches, flowers--lots of different styles, ribbon, bling, Stickles and big chip letters I painted turquoise made this a great project. I love how bright and happy the colors are and I think it will be eye-catching on that wall. Come to the store soon and check it out....let me know if you have any questions about any part of this creation. Try a banner project yourself. You could spell out your child's name, or spell out "Happy Spring", or make a "Welcome" banner for your home. The possibilities are endless. See you soon!! Lisa H., aka: Tall Lisa

Another Design Team card

Here is a quickie card using our fabulous Cosmo Cricket and Pink Paislee papers for April's Design Team. I used the yummy looking watermelon paper (front and back) to get the different patterns on my card. I paired that up with a Hero Arts stamp, a little ribbon, and just once piece of bling, and I got a quick and cute card to use for just about anything.

Have you seen the Design Team wall in person? There are so many terrific projects to look at...albums, pages, cards, altered items. Make sure to check it out when you are in the store!

Cindy