Winner!

Good morning!  As promised I am here to share the winner of the cutfile from The Cut Shoppe from yesterday's post:

MARY ANN JENKINS

Yay! Mary Ann, I will be contacting you so that you can claim your prize!  Meanwhile, I would like to mention that The Cut Shoppe is having a One Year Anniversary right now.

Wishing you a great weekend!

Michelle

The Cut Shoppe

Today I am so happy to announce that I have jumped aboard the Design Team for the months of June through August for The Cut Shoppe!

 

The Cut Shoppe, an Etsy store owned by Ashley Horton, offers a variety of Digital Cut Files in PNG and SVG formats to be used with your electronic die cut machines for paper projects and scrapbooking.

 

This fun announcement comes on the 1 Year Anniversary of the opening of The Cut Shoppe and in celebration I am giving away one of my favorite cutfiles:

To be eligible, just leave a comment at the end of this post. Tomorrow morning I will randomly pick a winner and announce it here! Good luck!

 Michelle

Hip Kit Club: Three

Patterned paper is by far, my favorite scrapbooking supply and when I open a kit the first thing I do is slowly go through each beautiful piece of paper imagining the possibilities. So you can imagine, that when I set out to make a layout, my initial instinct is to "use all the patterned paper." LOL. Luckily, my inner-logical-voice tells me to narrow it down a bit and today I want to share some insight into how I do just that. When I start a project, I will first pull out all the paper. This time, I not only pulled out the paper from the May Main Kit, but I also pulled out the 6x6 Chickaniddy paper from the Embellishment Kit (I like to have choices!).

   

My first paper pick is always a big, bolder pattern with lots of color. For this layout I chose the multi-colored striped paper from Dear Lizzy's latest collection. This piece of paper will be what I base the rest of my decisions. When deciding on my secondary picks, or my "supporting papers," I look for a variety of patterns that do not compete with each other and colors that will compliment the first paper. I also will include at least one paper that is neutral in color. Here is what I ended up with:

 

By narrowing down my choices and following some basic rules when selecting papers, I was able to put together a combinations of papers that worked together as opposed to competing with one another for attention. Here are some details from my layout:

 

 

So how about you-how do you narrow down your patterned paper? I would love to hear from you!

Michelle          

Make a Wish & Bath Time

Hello! Playing around with colors and patterns is always a fun endeavor when I set out to make a project and these next two layouts are an example of where I did just that by trying out a new color combination: pink, copper, red, and orange.

Pink, copper, red, and orange?? Yes, I just said that and it does sound a little crazy to me too! LOL. The pink, red, and orange combo all come from Dear Lizzy's latest collection Fine and Dandy. I had planned on adding in another paper that included more white with an addition of green, but I could not get it to work right, so I eliminated it. Here is a look at what I did:

 

I think this is a crazy color combo, but I like it ;). The addition of black plus a white background mellowed the colors out a little bit.

Copper is GREAT. Really, I am hoping this is going to be the new metallic.

For Bath Time, it really helped that the picture was very neutral in color. I definitely picked my photos carefully when I knew I was going to use these colors. 

Nothing quite like stepping out of your comfort zone, right??  Wishing you a great last week of May!

Michelle

Elle's Studio: Let's Eat

Today, Elle's Studio's latest collection "Let's Eat" is now available for purchase!

 

 I received my box of Let's Eat two days ago and I will tell you this--it's delicious! Really it is! I got hungry just looking though the stamps and stickers! Ha ha. To see this yummy collection in its entirety, head on over here!

 Michelle

Hip Kit Club: Sunshine

Do you ever have that one favorite photo where you are almost afraid to scrapbook it because you want to do the photo justice?  Well, that was me recently. During a recent zoo trip I snapped this perfect picture of my youngest daughter and as much as I was so excited to get this picture documented, I was a little nervous too. Often times, when this mental block pops up, my go-to response is to start simply. I nix all the grand plans I have in my mind and start with some basic blocks of patterned paper and go from there. This is exactly what I did for this next layout using a combination of May's Kits from the Hip Kit Club:

   

 This layout came together relatively quickly. I purposely went with a comfortable design to ease some of the self-imposed pressure, yet this layout is still unique and different from my others. By going with an "easier" design, I gave myself room to play with the details. Here is a closer look at them:

   

The flamingo washi tape that is included in the May Embellishment Kit is so incredibly fun and really mimicked the good time that my daughter was having at the zoo.

 

The combination of the Pink Paislee chipboard pieces and the puffy Evalicious shapes from the May Main Kit is a perfect match. I love the variety of textures that they bring to the layout. I also added a different texture by cutting hearts out of the Chickaniddy woodgrain paper and adhering them with pop dots.

   

 The addition of the wood veneer "Life is Sweet" was a last minute decision. To make it shine a bit, I sprayed it with a gold mist, something that I almost always do with my wood veneer. By removing the pressure of coming up with a design as fantastic as my photo, I ended up creating a layout that has since then became a favorite. Most importantly though, I have a fun and special memory documented. Wishing you a great day!

  

Yogurt

Hi! Today I want to share a layout where I scrapped THREE photos! Three is a lot for me. Ha ha. I tend to go for one photo per layout most of the time. Occasionally I will do two, but three is pretty rare around here.

 

This layout is definitely not my usual style of layout and there is a reason. I am currently participating in Kelly Purkey's Sketchbook Class at Studio Calico, something I have done for the past few years, and this layout is based (loosely) off one of the sketches. Kelly's style is more on the graphic/modern side than my own which is why I am always excited to work with her sketches. Sometimes I need to do something different and scrap outside my little box and taking one of her classes always inspires me to do this.

This layout definitely has a more "geometric" feel to it, but I softened up the hard edges by adding machine stitching.

I really like how this layout turned out, it's different and that's good. However, my favorite part is that I was able to actually get photos of all of my three kiddos in one layout. My son, the teenager, is often not around, so it's a pretty good day when he actually participates in family outings--even if I have to bribe him with food to hang out with us! Ha ha.

Wishing you a great Monday.

Michelle

Hip Kit Club: June Reveal

The fifteenth finally arrived yesterday, which means the June Kits at the Hip Kit Club were revealed! Yay! Here is a look at what June brings us:

June Main, Embellishment, Color, and Cardstock Kits

 

For June, the awesome Kim Watson has designed the cards for the Project Life Kit!

June Project Life Kit

Isn't this such a great way to jump into summer?! I sure think it is! 

To order your kits and to see a full list of supplies, click on the links and they will take you straight to the kits. 

Michelle

Hip Kit Club: Remember This

This past Monday I started off a new week of inspiration with a new layout on the Hip Kit Club Blog and today I want to share my project here with you .

   

When beginning this layout, I set out with the intention to make lots of layers so that I could play with all the fun patterned papers in the May Main Kit. First, I layered three patterned papers underneath my white cardstock. To add detail to the cardstock, I layered white strips on top of it at random intervals and anchored them with stitching. Next,  I pulled out a floral sheet of 6x6 paper from the Embellishment Kit to layer underneath the photo. Finally, I cut apart tags and layered them in two areas along with an October Afternoon label from the Project Life Kit.  Here is a closer look at the details:

 

Wishing you a great Wednesday!  

Michelle

Game Ball & Fun

Happy Monday! This past week I was able to catch up on my son's Handbook Album and today I want to share two of the 6x8 traditional layouts that I put together.

First up is Game Ball, a layout documenting Hayden receiving the game ball after having pitched an amazing game:

 

This layout was inspired by the NSD Sketch Challenge at Studio Calico. You can see it here. 

 

This next layout is a little bit more minimalist, a trait that repeats itself throughout his album. I think that this simpler style is really indicative of the point in his life that he is at right now--he's fourteen, four years away from being an adult, he knows absolutely everything, and he's "cool", so I take it a little easy on his layouts.

   

"Forced Family Fun" would have been a more appropriate title! Ha ha. It is incredibly hard to get my teenager to join in the fun sometimes. On this particular day I basically kidnapped the guy. I picked Hayden up from school and told him he was going to the park to play with us, end of story. Lucky for us he was in an indulgent mood ;). 

 

I am currently really digging all the chipboard and stickers from Ali Edwards' Story Kits, I find myself applying them to so many projects lately. I thought this one really caught the moment--the girls with their huge smiles and Hayden bracing himself and the girls for the abrupt stop at the end. Love this "Seriously Fabulous Moment."

Michelle

P.S. I too have gone down this slide and more times than not I end up on my bum--it is steep and fast and the landing is so totally awkward and emberassing for those of us who are no longer pint size. And I whole heartedly believe the makers of this slide had that exact idea in mind!

Elle's Studio: May Reveal

Happy Saturday! The reveal of the exclusive May Kit from Elle's Studio is coming to you one day early this month. This month's kit is again packed full of fun journaling and embellishment tags to help you document your stories and capture your memories. Here is what you will find new in the shop for May:

May Kit

 

May Printables and Cut Files 

 

 Good Day Stamp

 

This month's kit and its coordinating extras have been released one day early due to tomorrow's holiday, however the special release price for the kit, $9.99, is good throughout the weekend! Yay!

Now here is a look at what I did with May's Kit: 

 

To see a complete list of supplies as well as more projects from the rest of the Design Team, make sure and stop by the gallery!

Michelle

Hip Kit Club: Celebrate

Today I am so happy to share my first projects made with the May Kits from the Hip Kit Club.

When the kits were revealed last month, I knew that I wanted to use them to open up my youngest daughters new album and that is exactly what I did. 

 

This is what her album opens up with-a 6x8 pocket page layered over a traditional style layout. The addition of the Project Life Kit to the monthly line up of kits makes it super easy to coordinate my pocket pages with my regular layouts. Here is a closer look at each individual page:

 

Whenever I have a smaller sized pocket page layered over a bigger layout, I like to include some coordinating elements between the two. I don't want them to be matchy-matchy, but consistent in color and embellishments.

Well what do you think? Are you liking the bright, vivid colors? I know I am :). Wishing you a great day!

Michelle

Citrus Twist May Reveal

First off, HAPPY NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY!  Love that we get our own special day :).

Second, today is the second of the month and that means it's time for the reveal of the May Kits at Citrus Twist! 

This month's beautiful kits feature beautiful aquas and golds with pops of color everywhere. With products from Crate Paper, Heidi Swapp, Webster's Pages, and Citrus Twist exclusives, the kits are bursting with creative possibilities.

I worked with both the Main "Life Is.." Kit and the May Sprinkles Kit. Here is a look at what you will find in both:

Main "Life Is..." Main Kit

May Sprinkles Kit

Here is what I did with the kits:

 

  

 

  

 

Something exciting to note is that as of last month the price of a subscription to the Citrus Twist Main Scrapbook kit has been lowered to $26 (plus shipping) to make it more affordable. Yay! 

I also want to invite you to stop by the Citrus Twist Fan Page on Facebook where we are having lots of NSD fun! Challenges, giveaways, and daily deals are all included in the lineup as Citrus Twist celebrates--and this is an all week long thing! 

Michelle