Sunday, August 28, 2011

Doing some research...

I'm working on a scrapbooking-related research project. Would you mind taking a few minutes to complete a short, 10-question survey for me?

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DF6NN7X

And don't forget, you have until Friday (Sept. 2) to become a blog follower and get entered into the drawing for a brand-spankin' new, CHA 2011 release Unity itty bitty stamp!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Use of embellishments... or perhaps overuse of embellishments?

What can I say? I like lumpy and bumpy things on my page. I'd like to blame my need for texture on my friend Jenni and claim that our during our shopping adventures she expertly brainwashed me into searching out and feeling anything with a fun texture on it. Somehow though, I don't think anyone is going to buy that story!

I've been longing to make some of the pretty satin Maya Road flowers ever since they debuted them 2 CHA's ago, but just hadn't found the right opportunity yet. Plus, I've been dealing with some really old Making Memories metal strips for YEARS now. Every time I open my "metallics" bin I have to push them aside to reach the embellies underneath and then I have to carefully line them up diagonally across the bin to make sure the lid closes. So perhaps this layout was as much about removing my organizational fustrations as it was about creating a cool layout.

Anyway, enough about my organizational woes and moving on to the fun stuff... embellishments and lots of them!

When I scrapbook I like to look to the world around me, and like many, I've been addicted to Pinterest lately. That addiction inspired me to create a vintage style page with a corkboard "pinned" with photos of some favorite finds taken during a few junkin' adventures. I love the idea of "diamonds and denim" and wanted to mix textures that were blingy and fabulous, with other embellishments that had more of a simple everyday feeling. With all of that in mind I set out to create this page.

Click image to bigify
Supplies: Patterned paper - Pink Paislee; floral vine - Prima; Scalloped boarder - Sizzix Die; Tulle - Bazzill; beaded spray - craft supply; Rhinestone button - Bazzill; cork - Lifestyle Crafts/Quickutz; Chipboard Letters - Basic Grey with Sizzix Embossing folder; kraft journaling spots, pink resin flowers black ribbon flower, yellow felt flower - Maya Road; Pearl strip - Recollections; Paint, brads - Making Memories; font - Bohemian Typewriter

Friday, August 19, 2011

Exciting News! (And a giveaway!)

I'm so excited (thrilled actually) to announce that I have the priviledge of designing for The Scrapbooking Studio as part of their first Design Team!

*insert screams of joy and jumping up and down here*

I'm totally psyched to be designing with a great team of creative women. Check them out!

Oh, and since I'm all in a "pass the good karma along" kinda mood, how about a giveaway?
I've got a new, summer CHA 2011 Unity Itty Bitty stamp for one lucky winner.

All you have to do is become a follower of my blog. You have until midnight on Friday, September 2 to become a follower. (And don't worry, if you're already a follower,  you're already entered to win.)

Ready?

Set....

GO!

  

Monday, August 15, 2011

More Fair Fun - Flowers that never die :)

One of the paper crafting categories is "cutting/folding/decoupage." For this category I thought it'd be fun to make a bouquet of paper flowers from some vintage sheet music using a Lifestyle Crafts die that I bought at The Scrapbooking Studio. (It got an "honorable mention" ribbon). Can you believe that one piece of sheet music made all of these!?
I even found this fun vintage crystal pitcher to put them in. I ran a little short on time and wasn't able to make a bouquet big enough to fill the entire pitcher, but I found some adorable reproduction milk bottles this past Sunday and I'm planning to put the flowers in there when they come back from the fair.

 
Supplies: Pitcher - Thrift Store Find; Vintage Sheet Music' Gold beads (Hobby Lobby); Beaded centers (candle holders from Michaels); Raffia and Gold Leaves - May Arts

And if you're like me and you enjoy having pretties around, but need them to be maintenance free... these are the perfect flowers!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

The Iowa State Fair Starts Today!

So today's snippet is of a State Fair Themed layout.

A great page starts with great photos - Shoutin' out a big thank you to Sabrina for the photos!





Wednesday, August 10, 2011

It's Iowa State Fair Time!

This week leads up to the Iowa State Fair, so I thought I'd post little snippets of my entries in the spirit of building anticipation of the fair. Check back next week for the full details.

For now, here's a little snippet of my favorite entry :)

Monday, August 8, 2011

Inspiration Station: Kitchen Kitsch

When I was at the thrift store this fun little meat grinder was sitting on a shelf calling to me. I'm not sure why. Perhaps because if I had to pick a decade that calls to me, I'd say it's the 50s. I resisted the impulse to buy it, but gave in a few days later. Right now it's sitting in a pile of cool finds that I need to figure out how to display. I seem way better at "picking" than I am at using....

I like the silver and whites. I could see them as the base for a glitzy wedding page, or a silvery winter scene.