#Life

Recently with the new re-launch of Big Picture Classes and the opportunity of enjoying a short period of free membership to the site, I have been exploring the classes BPC currently has to offer. My favorite so far is a class taught by Lilith Eeckels that focuses on scrapping quickly and today I want to share a layout that the class inspired.

 

After doing a quick pick of supplies, I really set out to get the layout done in under thirty minutes and I was (suprisingly) successful. 

 

 

It honestly felt great to get this memory documented and in the books. I kept the layout pretty simple and re-used some of my basic design go-tos. Basically, I took much of the over thinking out and just played with pretty supplies--nothing wrong with that!

 

Michelle

Elle's Studio: April

The months are flying by and the release of Elle's Studio's exclusive April Kit has arrived! We are excited to bring you another kit that is FULL of fun journaling and embellishment tags to help you capture your memories and share your stories--and don’t forget, if you purchase it today (April 10th) you save $2 with our launch day special pricing! Here is a look at the contents of this month's kit:

 

Digital cutfiles and printables that co-ordinate with April's Kit are also available:

 

 

Also today, a new Design Team Gallery is live and here is a look at the two projects I contributed using both the April Kit and Elle's newest collection Cienna:

 

 

 

And to makes life even sweeter, Elle's Studio also has grab bags available, too - this only happens twice a year so this is your chance to stock up and SAVE! There are three different types of bags to choose from: Scrapbook, Stamp, and Journaling Tags. These grab bags are available while supplies last, but they probably won't last long, so make sure you grab them now!

 

 

Wow! Lots of fun stuff going on right??  Make sure and hop on over to the Design Team Gallery for more inspiration and to see the lovely April Kit in action!

Michelle

Fast

For my son's 14th year (um, did I really just say 14??), I am doing a 6x8 album and I find that when I put together layouts they come together super fast, like so fast I am sure I am totally doing something wrong! Ha ha. Here's the latest full page layout I put together for him:

 

I recently purchased my first ever alpha stamp and this is my first attempt at using it. As you can tell, the first two letters were not as crisp as the second two. I think that the textured cardstock is a little difficult for an amateur stamper llike myself and I made a mental note to next time go with an untextured cardstock and see how that works.

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, I love working on my son's album this year. The smaller size is just perfect. He's a busy, active, and sometimes camera shy teenager (at least when I am taking the photo) and I struggled the last year trying to get enough photos to fill a bigger album. Switching to a 6x8 Handbook was definitely a great decision :).

 

Michelle

 

 



Hip Kit Club: Sweet & Happy

Lately I have been following a few online discussions related to background choices for layouts and it has really made me think about my own. For awhile now, I have been doing the majority of mine on a white cardstock base. I like the way color pops off a white background and the "clean" look that a white based layout has. I also see lots of white in online galeries and can certainly say its a common trend. My second most used type of background is patterned paper. I am particularly fond of using any sort of neutral or natural looking patterned paper such as the woodgrain paper from the Hip Kit Club March Kit that I used in this layout:

One of the pluses of using a woodgrain or neutral patterned paper is that is will go well with the other colors that you choose to work with. I chose the pink plus sign paper and it really jumps right off of the page.

What kind of backgrounds do you like to use for your projects? Do have an automatic go to background or do you mix it up? After writing this I am thinking that I might need to branch out a bit from the white and do more with patterned paper and colored cardstock.

Wishing you a great day!

Michelle

Hello Beautiful

Last week on the Elle's Studio blog I shared my take on the Thursday Sketch and now I want to share it here with you.

The sketch, which you can here, is a basic grid design based off of this layout by Jill Sprott. Using Elle's newest collection Cienna, here is what I created:

 

 

 

Now, in anticipation of the reveal of both Elle's Studio's exclusive April Kit and a new Design Team Gallery on Friday the 10th, I want to leave you with a few sneaks of my two projects:  

 

 

See anything that you might like? I will be entirely honest here--these layouts nearly put themselves together! Ha ha. But really, the combination of the April Kit and Cienna is a match made in scrapbooking heaven. Absolutely looking forward to sharing the full projects here with you real soon!

 

Michelle

Citrus Twist Kits April Reveal

Today I am super happy to share the reveal of my projects using the Citrus Twist April Kits. This month I worked with both the Main "Flight of Whimsy" and the "Adorable" Embellishment Kits. Here is what you can find in the kits:

Main "Flight of Whimsy" Kit

 

"Adorable" Embellishment Kit

 

 

 

This month I was able to create three layouts and one card. Here they are in no particular order:

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make sure and hop on over to the Citrus Twist Gallery to see what the rest of the designers have done this month-I am sure you will be as impressed as I was!

 

Michelle

Hip Kit Club: Right Here

 

I am a big fan of all things scrapbooking related and when I open up my Hip Kit Club kits each month I am in papercrafting heaven. As I sift through the products sighing at all the beautiful things, I am always the most enamored with the alphas that Kimberly picks out for the kits. This month's kits were no exception, the alphas stole my heart, especially the kraft Amy Tangerines Thickers in the March Embellishment Kit.

 

Here is a look at how I used them on my layout:

 

I almost always machine stitch through my alphas to both adhere them and add a little detail.

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So what is your favorite part of a scrapbooking kit? Is it the patterned paper? The embellishments? Or do you just love it all? Whatever it is, let me know in the comments!

 

Michelle