justem: little bits of this and that

Gossamer Blue

I received a wonderful surprise last week, when an email from the lovely Lori Gentile appeared in my inbox.  Lori has started a brand spankin' new kit club called Gossamer Blue, and she invited me to be a member of her first ever design team.  Gossamer Blue features multiple manufacturers and uses fun color schemes, which is basically my ideal kit!  So, of course, I accepted!  Each kit also contains exclusive cut files, so if you are a Silhouette owner, this is an awseome perk!  The August kit (which I did not work with) is up for sale now.  And because everybody knows scrapbookers love a good givewaway...there are a few awesome giveaways in honor of the grand opening if you comment on the Gossamer Blue Blog. You can also receive additional entries if you like them on Facebook, or follow them on Pinterest or Twitter. Definitely check it out, and be back here in a month when I reveal my first Gossamer Blue layouts!  Have a great Monday!

Trendy Triangles

The sweet and talented Teka Cochonneau has post up at write.click.scrapbook today about oh-so-trendy triangle!  She created a great layout and a sketch. I hadn't made a layout in weeks, so I basically invited myself to play along!  My final layout actually looks nothing like her original sketch, but I love it just the same.  I was inspired by this Pinterest image:

(source: Molly Flanders Makerie)

and came up with this:

This layout uses papers from the new Echo Park Everday Eclectic collection. I saw them at my local Archivers and had to pick a couple of them up!  I love the colors! :)  Anyway, to see Teka's original layout and read a bit about my creative process, check out the post over at write.click.scrapbook! Have a great Friday!

On the washi wagon...

I'm a little late to the washi tape party. I tend to be that way with scrapbooking trends.  Now that it's been around for a year or two, I'm finally on board, which you may or may not have guessed based on my CHA picks!! ;)  I have slowly been accumulating washi and other decorative tapes from various places: my Studio Calico kits, Target, cutetape...and yesterday I got a package with my very first order from Freckled Fawn.  I am slowly starting to understand the washi obsession.  I love it for a little extra on my layouts and it comes in super handy with Project Life. My husband goes to Japan for work next month...I'm going to start coaching him now on appropriate washi tape purchases to make for me! ;)  So yeah...maybe I need to be a little better about jumping on the trend bandwagon...though I don't know that you'll see any neon from me anytime soon. ;) Tell me...what is your favorite use for washi tape?

CHA favorites...a mega post! ;)

I spent all day yesterday at CHA ogling over the newest product! I took a bunch of photos to share of some of my favorites. I apologize in advance for the wonky color. Every single booth had it's own light set-up...and I was not about to set my white balance in every booth.  That would have taken up precious paper-gazing time!!  It's funny...even though I went to each booth at least twice, I am still seeing things I love on the web that I never even noticed yesterday!!  Be forewarned, I'm a paper lover. So the vast majority of photos I took were of just that!  ;)  For your viewing pleasure...in no particular order...my Summer 2012 CHA faves:

Simple Stories: Their new SN@P line is maybe my favorite thing from the entire show. It's perfect for Project Life, it's colorful, it's fun. I love everythign about it!!

Glitz: So, I'm an honest person...Glitz has never been my cup of tea. It was always very froofy, which is not a verb that is often used to describe me or my scrapping.  The new lines are still rather girly, but I'm loving like everything they came out with.  Maybe that means I am becoming a more froofy scrapper?  Who knows. In any case, their stuff is awesome.  The papers are fabulous...the washi...perfect. :)

love the top paper and the pink w/hearts...

great colors, fun patterns...

that bottom paper...very cool.

Teresa Collins: This normally fits into the same category as Glitz. However, I LOVE this first piece of paper and a lot of the elements of her "Tell Your Story" line.  It's very cute...without being cutesy!

KI Memories: They're back!  I kind of want to do a happy dance. Waaaay back when I started scrapping, KI was like MY paper. I think I owned every single sheet of their paper and nearly every embellishment they had. I may or may not still be hording some KI... ;)  They have one new line they released, and I really love it! It's fun and cute...and there is cloud washi!!

My Mind's Eye: I'm totally in love with their new "The Sweetest Thing" line in Tangerine! I would buy every single piece if I could!

Bella Blvd: They had some totally cute projects in their booth. I especially love their embellishments and chipboard alphabets!

Lily Bee: They had some of my favorite layouts of the whole show in their booth!!  I especially liked their Persnickety line...that yellow paper is my favorite!

Jillibean Soup: They had a  ton of people in their booth...making it hard to get any product pictures, but they, too had some fabulous projects I managed to snap!

how crazy cool is this wreath?! (says the girl that never makes anything buy layouts w/her scrapbook supplies)

October Afternoon: I will be honest, I really only "loved" one of their lines: Midway.  It includes one of my favorite papers of the entire show!  The other three lines were just okay for me.  

this is the paper i love.  the circles, not the slightly spooky faces...

Pink Paislee: This is another brand that is always really hit or miss with me. I remember when they first began, I was in love with everything. But lately, they have moved over to with the froofs...but I did really like a couple of things in their booth!

Echo Park: I loved their first "For the Record", so I knew these next ones would also be a hit in my book. Theirs was another very busy booth, so I didn't get photos of everything I wanted, like the new Everyday Eclectic line.

Queen and Co.: Um, washi, washi, washi...!

i'll take one of each, please!

Lawn Fawn: I'm not a stamper, but I am loving their Dewey Decimal paper release. It's so cute and fun with great colors!

how cute is this apple paper!

speaking of cute, who are those cute girls?!

Elle's Studio: It was so awesome to see Elle and her products at CHA.  I love her tags...these were fabulous!

Basic Grey: I love, love, love their Soleil line. It's funny...I probably would never use half these papers because I wouldn't know how to use them, but they sure are gorgeous!

some fab artwork at the bg booth, i think...it's all beginning to blur together in my mind!!

Studio Calico: Yearbook...I knew it would be a favorite based on the sneaks.  It didn't disappoint. This is probably my favorite SC wholesale line of all time! I want to buy it all up this instant!!

American Crafts: LOVE the new Amy Tangerine line. It's perfect, in oh-so-many ways!!!

those hearts??  must have them! and the orange and green thickers?? must. have.

I also really like the new Soho Garden line. I wasn't too sure when they revealed it on the blog, but the papers are SO pretty in person!

Crate Paper: Another (probably too) honest remark...when I first saw the three new lines on their blog I was so disappointed.  I just didn't like them at all...they seemed just a little too crazy and colorful...and I'm like crazy and colorful's #1 fan.  But in person...man, my mind has been changed.  My favorite is Acorn Avenue, followed closely by, gasp, their holiday line. As a rule I don't do holiday papers...but it's so versatile and fun!!

paper lust...

Pebbles: Okay, so I know I'm supposed to openly declare my love for Pebbles now that I'm on their design team, but honestly, even if I wasn't...I would still rave about their new lines.  It was awesome to see them in person. I keep pinching myself...I can't believe I am going to get to work with such amazing product!!

clearly this was meant for me, right? ;)

Jenni Bowlin: Usually Jenni Bowlin papers are a little too vintage for my taste, but boy does she make some awesome embellishments!  These were some of my favorites...

feathers...very popular. i like these, though i have no idea what i'd do with them!

a pinwheel punch? genius!

And finally, a fun little photo of my partner in CHA crime, Valerie O'Neill, who is a fellow w.c.s'er.  We met for the first time yesterday and had a blast walking around together! :)  Here she is next to the Craft Wars house.  If you watch Craft Wars you know what I'm talking about. If you are like me and you don't have cable or crafting shows just aren't your thing...well...it's just a cute picture. ;)

It was a super fun and full day...I was happy, but exhausted!!  What are your favorites from this summer's CHA?  Did I miss something you love?

Slow and Steady...

Good Morning!  Thank you so much for all the comments on my Pebbles design team announcement. I am very excited! I feel like I need to say a little something to acknowledge those who may be feeling discouraged because their names did not appear on any lists the last couple weeks.  You may or may not know that I have been a part of the scrapbooking "scene" since 2007 when I had my first publication in Scrapbook Trends.  I have been trying out for teams here and there and submitting whenever I remember throughout the past five years.  I've been lucky to be a part of some fantastic smaller teams along the way, however, in five years, this is my very first "big" manufacturer team. I have been "rejected" so many times that it's just a normal part of my life.  I try not to get down about it, but sometimes it's so hard to see your name missing from list after list.

So, yes, there are people that rise to the top quickly, but there are also those of us who sit back quietly, do what we do, and hope that maybe something good will come our way.  And last week, something good came my way. ;)  So if you are feeling down or discouraged, please don't be!  Take some time to reflect on why you started scrapbooking in the first place. I bet it wasn't to be on a design team or see your work in a magazine. For me, it was because I love paper and glue. And now that I have kids, I like to preserve those memories.  Design teams and publications are nice.  But the other stuff is what it's really about.

Okay, philosophical chit-chat done.  I don't have much to share for you. I spent my weekend cleaning the heck out of my basement (including my scraproom).  It's maybe more organized than it's ever been. When I finally get it all finished, I will post some photos.  I do have one teeny sneak of an upcoming layout...

Tomorrow I am headed to CHA!  I am excited to meet and walk around with Valerie from W.C.S. and spend a little time with local girl Latrice.  I will bring my camera and share some of my favorites!  Have a great Monday!

a happy announcement...

I am so, so, so excited to announce that I have been selected to be a member of the 2012-2013 Pebbles Design Team.  Have you seen their new releases? Walnut Grove? Amazing. Seen & Noted? Perfection. I can't wait to work with these products and alongside these other talented scrappers!   A huge thanks to Pebbles for selecting me! :)  

Domestic

Christa Paustenbaugh from Manassas, VA
Donna Jannuzzi from San Diego, CA
Emily Spahn from Oak Lawn, IL
Jaclyn Rench from Maineville, OH
Kathy Martin from Raleigh, NC
Kim Kesti from Phoneix, AZ
Lynn Ghahary (DT Coordinator) from Randolph, NJ
Mandie Pierce from Vacaville, CA
Patricia Kumfer 
Renee Zwireck from Aurora, IL
Shawna Webster from Ewa Beach, HI
Tiffany Hood from Syracuse, UT
Vivian Masket from Denver, CO
Wendy Sue Anderson from Heber City, UT

 International
Amelie Mordret from France
Eva Pizarro from Italy
Kim Jeffress from Australia
Laura Craigie from Canada
Laurel Seabrook from Canada
Nicole Nowosad from Canada

Family ABC's

Hi there!  Happy Friday! I'm up today over at write.click.scrapbook with  a fun and relatively easy project to create for kids. I thought I'd share it here, too!  My family and I live in Illinois, while all of our extended family lives in Wisconsin, most up to 7 hours away. We also have family in Georgia.  This means my kids don't get to see their grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins very often.  I decided to create a little game for my daughter that could meet two objectives.  First, it would help her remember the names of all the faraway family members. Second, it would reinforce her knowledge of letters and letter sounds.  There are basically two steps to creating this project.

The family cards I made were super simple, and thanks to my resources, took me very little time to create.  I used my Canon Selphy printer to print out images of all our family.  I love this printer because I can select the "4-up" option, and it will automatically print four images on a single 4x6 photo. After I used my trimmer to cut them all apart, I adhered each photo to a blank Project Life journaling card.  The photos fit perfectly.  That's it. I told you...super simple! 

I purchased a set of generic library pockets from a local educational store. I used a bunch of papers from my stash to decorate them up a bit and included a single letter on each. I kept it simple and didn't spend a ton of time on each one, because let's face it, a three-year old would be playing with them...they are bound to get a little destroyed! ;) 

Mirielle and I reviewed the names of everyone on the cards.  Then I had her figure out what letter of the alphabet each name started with. She already uses a lot of name association with her letters ("J is for Justin") so this was a perfect next step.  Once she decided upon the first letter, she put the card in the appropriate pocket. The Project Life cards just happen to fit perfectly into the library pockets!

I have to say, I was a little surprised at what a hit this game was. Mirielle was so excited to see all her family members. She loved it immediately! We had a little trouble deciding if the grandparents should reside in the "g" pocket for "grandma/grandpa" or the pocket for the first letter of their first name. She decided we should go with the first name, which was probably a good thing or the "g" pocket would have been stuffed!

All on her own, she also started playing  a matching game with the family cards, matching same family siblings and spouses to one another. I was amazed at all the different combinations she eventually came up with. It really helped her understand the relationships between all our family members - things like who mommy's brother, who is daddy's grandma, who is cousin C's mom, etc.  I did have to laugh when she mixed up the great grandparent couples based on her oh-so-scientific method of who had the whitest hair. ;) I made the game a couple of weeks ago, and she continues to play it at least once a day.  As predicted, it already looks, though not destroyed, very loved! 

Let me know if you have any questions!  Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

I am the lucky one.

I went through a stage a couple of years ago where I pretty much just filled my layouts with lots of punched items. Proof? See here. Or here. Or here! ;)  I kind of did a little throwback to that stage of my scrapiness with this layout! It includes what might be my all time favorite photo!  This layout uses the Studio Calico 35mm kit, which was a month that I only got the main kit (and supplemented with a couple of items from Archivers.)  I was feeling like the layout needed a little bit "more" but I wasn't quite sure what to add, so I stuck some mist up in the corner. That might have been a big mistake. I know that misting or splattering or whatever it's called is very trendy right now...but I'm not exactly a trendy scrapper, and I'm not sure if it helped or hurt the layout!!  Can't go back now!  It's not the most technically advanced layout of all time, but I like it...it makes me smile. 

*published: Scrapbook Trends, March 2013*

Pinterest Made Me...

I have caught the Pinterest bug, just like everybody else in the world. I LOVE making new recipes that I find on Pinterest. Most have been pretty tasty! I also love taking photos of my food...I wish I was a better food photographer!!  Anyway, I put my two loves together in this layout!  

And a close up on my typo... ;)

What are YOUR favorite Pinterest recipes?  Thanks for stopping by! :)

Carving Steps

It's was over 100 degrees here all week...so I thought it might be the perfect time to dig through some photos from cooler times!!  Before I got my Selphy printer, I used to "guess" what photos I might scrap and print them out in big batches.  Sounds like a good plan, right? Nope. Terrible plan. I have a stack six inches high of photos that have never been scrapped! I've been trying to use up a bunch of those lately!!  I was super excited to get my Studio Calico Elmood Park kit...I dug right in!

**Published - Scrapbook & Cards Today**

I have done this "type on multiple connected tags" business before, so I knew that some of the letters might get a little wonky where the tags overlapped, but I was not prepared for the fact that these tags are a bit glossy and  therefore made a bit of a mess with my typewriter. Oh well.  As I always say... imperfection keeps it authentic!  Off to enjoy our FINALLY cooler weather! Have a great Sunday!