Month: September 2016

Happy Digital Scrapbooking Day!!

| cristina

Happy Digital Scrapbooking Day (DSD)!!! Well, technically DSD is Saturday, but at The Lilypad the celebrations are in full swing, with games, challenges, and sales. And lots of awesome new products! Here’s what I made!

Credits:

I was this close to having another surgery, in fact I had the pre-op appointment this week and the surgery was supposed to be next Friday, but we decided to put it off for a short while. Fingers crossed that I don’t need it! Although it is very likely that I will. 🙁

But on to happier topics… this page is about our trip to NYC this past spring. I love these photos we took in Times Square but hadn’t scrapped them yet (except for Project Life), and this awesome collection was just perfect for them! This collection truly had everything you need to scrap NYC, it’s awesome!

Credits:


Make sure you stop by and check out all the fun going on at The Lilypad… they are also having a Pollywog Creative Team Call!! This is a rare opportunity and it’s the best team in all digiland!

Memory Pockets Monthly: Timeless

| cristina

Hello and happy Friday! Today the latest Memory Pockets Monthly collection is in the shop at The Lilypad, along with some great new products!

Credits:
Flower Templates by Scrapping with Liz

These templates were so much fun to use!

Credits:

I was inspired to pull out some really old photos. 🙂 I love how well the Memory Pockets Monthly collection worked with them!
Have a great weekend!

Preview the Studio Calico October Kits: Story Board

| cristina

Hello and happy Thursday! Today is Preview day at Studio Calico (the kits are released on the 1st of October, but we have some sneaks to share today, and subscribers can purchase some of the new products at a discount and have them added to their kit box with no  additional shopping cost).

This month, I received the Story Board Documenter kit, and a Christmas stamp and paper pad. I was inspired to get my projects done right away, and I love how they turned out!

Here is an in-progress shot from when I was putting together a Project Life title card.

There are some cool chipboard shapes and gold alpha stickers included in the Documenter kit.

The colors of the kit are really pretty!

Here is a sneak at a sentiment on the stamp set – it’s a 3″x4″ set.

This has got to be my favorite thing I made this month – I layered a journaling card with some of the transparencies and the die cut numbers in the kit. I am using this in the title page of volume 2 of my Project Life album.

A few of the cards have gold foil details, which I always like. I also love the couple of handwritten cards.

Here I also used the mega date stamp to add the months.

The kit also comes with some phrase strips (gold foil on blue) and two flair badges.
Next, on to the cards I made:

The Christmas stamp set is truly gorgeous!

I tried out a few different designs, and it looks like it will be very easy to get my Christmas cards done this year!

This was a fun card to make – the background is all made with color theory dye inks, blended. Then I embossed on top.

And that’s it for me!
You can view more sneaks of the kits and deals here. See you on the first for the full reveal! I shot an unboxing video too that I will be sharing at that time.

Lettering and Calligraphy

| cristina

In the past several months I have added one new crafty obsession to my already long list: lettering! I am really enjoying this journey, and while I have been focusing on brush lettering, I have also started to learn nib calligraphy through a class at Studio Calico. Now, the intermediate class is coming out:

CALLIGRAPHY 2

Ready for even more exciting ways to spice up your handwriting? Calligraphy artist Maghon Taylor of All She Wrote Notes is back for another look at how to create your own unique hand-lettered projects! Maghon delves deeper into the art of calligraphy by sharing more advanced techniques for creating your own uppercase alphabet and adding the perfect details to your lettered pieces. Plus, you’ll learn plenty of tips and tricks for using gouache and other supplies to create projects bursting with one-of-a-kind flair!
Note : You’ll be using skills taught in Calligraphy 1 in this class. If you missed out on Calligraphy 1 earlier this year, please check out the Calligraphy Bundle for a chance to enroll in both classes at once. 
Class will begin October 18th, 2016!

If you haven’t taken the first class, you can sign up for the class bundle, and pick up this starter kit. Here’s an example of alphabet I wrote out in that class:

So far I have only used black ink with nib calligraphy, but I cannot wait to try out these media:

Dr. Ph. Martin’s Pen White Windsor & Newton gouache Dr. Ph. Martin’s Iridescent Copper Gold

See you in class! This is one class I won’t miss for sure!

Wednesday Pages

| cristina

Hello and happy Wednesday! I have a couple pages to share made with products from The Lilypad (half off today!!).

Fall is nearly here, and it’s time for me to start working on my 2017 calendars! Since 2009, I’ve been making calendars as Christmas gifts for our parents, and this year Scrapping with Liz just made my life easier with her new calendar templates!


Credits:
Simple Calendar Topper Templates by Scrapping with Liz

I also made a page using this kit that was meant for family trees/heritage photos, and I pulled out one of the old photos of my grandparents from when they had just met.

Credits:
September 2016 Template Challenge – template by Just Jaimee
Roots kit by Dawn Inskip

These old photos are probably my most precious possession. For many years, I didn’t have access to them, until a few years ago my mom was able to track them down. My grandparents were the best grandparents a child could have, and I love them so much. Seeing these photos makes me wonder what kind of life they were dreaming of back then…

Studio Calico September 2016 Lost River Kits – Unboxing

| cristina

Hello! This month I am trying something new – I filmed an unboxing video of my September Lost River Documenter kit and Planner kit from Studio Calico.

I was curious about some of the items in the kits, such as the sticky notepad in the Documenter kit and the smartphone pad in the Planner kit, and I thought showing them off in a video was more effective than just the pictures they gave on the website. They’re both really nice!

I recently got set up with a cheap but very handy holder for my phone to film videos, so this may be something I keep coming.

September Kits from Studio Calico – Lost River

| cristina

Hello and happy September! Today is reveal day for the September kits at Studio Calico (Lost River) and for the 9th month in a row I’ve made some pages using the new digital releases. I paired them up with embellishments from my stash. I was on a roll this month and ended up making 3 hybrid pages last night!

The first one I made is probably my favorite of them all. It’s 8.5″x11″. I printed one of the digital papers on an 8.5″x11″ sheet of matte photo paper, along with a digital stamp that I used for my title (I made it hot pink, because it’s one of my favorite colors ever!).  I had saved that scrap of floral paper from last year (it’s a favorite for sure!!) and then I added embellishments in matching colors. Happy happy!

On this page, I printed the floral frame from this set in blue onto a sheet of patterned paper (cut to 8.5″x12″ to fit into my printer). Then I added some brush lettering in it – this may be my first time using hand lettering on a page, but it won’t be the last for sure! 🙂 Then I added some little envelopes to hide my journaling. The scrapbook kit this month has some little kraft envelopes so I wanted to use something similar from my stash. If you’re curious, the papers and some of the embellishments I used here come from an oldie but goodie – the Antiquary scrapbook kit.
I made this page because I needed the reminder. I’ve been feeling a bit down lately so I resorted to what I do best – scrap therapy!! 🙂

For this last page, I did most of the work on the computer before printing. First, I combined two digital papers – the one with the trees that is my favorite this month!, and the woodgrain one. I also cut out one of the circles from the specialty paper and added it to the background (I was going for a sun effect.. does it look like a sun to you? :)). Then, I cut out one of the lettered sentiments from one of the papers and turned it pink (because.. pink!). Then I also made my title using the Nick alpha. Once my background was ready, I printed it out on an 8.5″x11″ sheet of matte photo paper, added my photo and a couple of embellishments, and I was done.

And that’s that for this month. Happy reveal day! What are you buying, if anything? I’ve got my eyes set on the mini Laina alpha stamp set (here’s the digital version).
I have the original 6″x8″ version (plus the accompanying numbers… I hope they make some for this set too!) and I love it! This 3″x4″ set will be perfect for Project Life/planners!

Classes

This is also going to be a great month for classes!
I cannot wait to dig into the new kit workshops for this month! There’s a workshop for each of the scrapbook, documenter and planner kits, and you don’t have to be a subscriber to take the workshop. This month’s teachers are Geralyn Sy (Documenter), Lisa Truesdell (Scrapbook) and Rachel Lim (Planner) – also starting this month there will be additional projects from the CT in the workshops, I can’t want to check them all out!

Also, the 5th class in the Mini Book Library is open – it’s taught by Karen Baker and it’s about making a 5″x7″ binder album. I cannot recommend the bundle enough though – I love the mini book I made from Lisa Truesdell class on traveler’s notebooks!

MINI BOOK WORKSHOP 2016 

| KAREN BAKER

Celebrate good times! Karen Baker heads up this fifth class in the 2016 Mini Book Library series with inspiring ideas for documenting life’s milestones. Karen uses a premade binder album to create a mini book that allows you to focus all your creativity on the most important part: the story inside. You’ll discover plenty of tips and techniques for filling your album with photos, embellishments, keepsakes, and more that perfectly highlight life’s best moments.
Also, the latest installment in the Day by Day 2016 bundle starts next Monday – Everyday Photography with Marcy Penner.

DAY BY DAY | EVERYDAY

 PHOTOGRAPHY

Get snap happy! Marcy Penner is here to show how to capture more of your everyday story in your photos. Marcy’s tips and tricks will help you unleash your inner photographer and inspire you to get creative with how you document your daily memories. You’ll discover fun and simple ways to set up your shots, edit photos on your phone, and organize them so that you can always find what you need. To wrap up the class, Marcy will share some creative ideas for using your photos in a Documenter spread!

Finally, I am super intrigued by the Cut and Paste class:

CUT and PASTE

Create your own unique work of art with just bits of paper, scissors, and words! In this class, Katie Licht shares her passion for transforming a blank journal page into a masterpiece of colors, layers, and patterns. Katie’s tips and techniques will help you discover how to unlock your creative potential and see how easy it is to use paint, paper, and more to create meaningful art journal layouts!

This class also comes with a free stamp set (while supplies last) so check it out! I can’t wait to get my paints out for this class!