Pages from the past week...

 The starburst pattern was a sketch prompt over at the October Afternoon blog. When I took this picture- it was the perfect time to use it. Although, I didn't use any OA- I used pieces from my last two Studio Calico kits.

 CP: Story Teller; Basic Grey (for Studio Calico) alpha stickers

 Easter pictures- using Dear LIzzy, Neopolitin. I need to replenish my stock- I had to dig through scrap just to make this one L/O.

 Eric picked a tulip for Ella on his way home from work last week and she anxiously waited for it to open up. And when it finally did, she was gone for the day, so I took some pictures for her.

 Thanks to my dear friend, Leah for taking so many wonderful pictures at Ella's party. She captured details I would have missed, being the hostess. See, once again, just how Pretty Party must have been made just for Ella's b-day pictures?!

After several themed pages- I always look forward to scrapping a picture of a random, everyday moment- because those are my favorite. The bottom three pages are CP's Pretty Party, using Ella's 5th birthday party pics (still have several of those to scrap, yet).

Have a great day! I don't know about you, but I'm sure looking forward to the weekend!

"Be Present"

My newest mantra; inspired by yoga. It's an 8X10 canvas using Crate Paper: Story Teller. It's front and center on my desk so that I'm reminded often.

Ella Ballerina

Ella started ballet lessons again this past week. I'm so lucky she loves to have her picture taken. She pranced around to her little heart's content (and mine, as I clicked away!). It was about 5pm and I love the streaks of light in the pictures.

"Story Teller" Creations

 Good Monday morning! It's the post- Easter, post-Spring Break "hang-over" for most people today!! I made a few layouts using the Crate Paper "Story Teller" line that I'm going to share today. I've never been a fan of primary colors when scrapbooking- but "Story Teller" is made up of the most beautiful shades of primary colors. They are vintage and modern at the same time. I've loved school and office supplies ever since I can remember, so this line was just plan fun to create with.

When I first looked at this picture of my kids in my sister's car, the old VCR  ">>FF>>" popped into my mind. And the red, green and yellow just so happened to work perfectly, mimicking a traffic light.

For "Wish" I used stickers from both the border and label sheet. To make my title, I cut the letters I needed from the "Chapter" paper. I used a border punch for the torn-out spiral notebook look. The jar is a stamp that I cut out.

This is my favorite of the my "Story Teller" pages. I love pictures with sunlight streaks. The sun was right behind Cohen in this picture and I think it looks pretty neat. I knew I wanted my journaling to say "You shine brighter than the sun." This led to my title and also led to the sunburst idea made with PP and a paper doily cut into triangles.I sew 4 or 5 circles around the whole thing; it reminds me of an old quilt.

And just because I was having fun, I made a very quick 4X6 layered picture to put in a glass-less frame. I used book paper and vellum among my layers and the chipboard typewriter. How cute would a bit of journaling be that said "You're just my Type!" ?!

Well, go have some fun creating with the "Story Teller" line- it's incredibly versatile and totally adorable.

Happy Easter!

Here are post-egg hunt pictures. (I had my camera on the wrong setting for the egg hunt, and they aren't great). Eric and I hid eggs last night at 10pm in the pitch dark. We were seriously giggling. We will color eggs once Cohen gets up from his nap. Hope you're enjoying the day as much as we are!

"Pretty Party" Creations

 Hello! I'm back, as promised, with a few creations using Crate Paper's Pretty Party (available now at VIP). I mentioned yesterday that even though it's a femine birthday party themed line- it's more versitile than you may think.  I have SIX ideas in just this post!

1. Easter/ Spring Layout. The bunny is a sizzix die by Tim Holtz. I used a small paper doiley behind the picture, added a manilla shipping tag, some black and white twine, a label sticker and a scrap of book paper. The black ink droplets are the new Dylusions spray ink. I opened the lid and dropped the ink instead of spraying it.  The rest is "Pretty Party". Oh, and as always, I used my "Dear Lizzy" date stamp.

 2. Birthday. Of course, it's perfect for my little fairy's 5th birthday party photos. I went crazy with the chipboard accents. Just those alone can inspire an entire page. When I saw the cake stand, I just knew I had to used it as a focal point to make my picture stand out. I used the lime-green circle frame behind the picture and behind that is a large paper doiley. I added the "Party Day" chipboard banner on top of the cake stand. The lime green square of paper is from the 6"X6" paper pad. What's nice about these is the patterns are the same as the 12"X12", but smaller.

3. Using a Quote. I used a quote from Dr. Suess that says "Be who you are and say what you mean." The doiley is a Sizzix Tim Holtz die. I added a layer of book paper, white brads, a shipping tag and a camera die-cut.

 4. Boy Layout! Yes!! I used "Pretty Party" to make a boy layout. And, it's one of my favorites of the six. I added book paper, a small shipping tag, buttons and a label.

 5. Non-themed layout. This is a just because layout. I cut a strip from the ledger paper that says "Party List" and titled my layout "Party of Three." The butterfly is from Sizzix, a Tim Holtz die (the same one with the bunny).

 6. A 4X6 mini-book. I cut strips of white cardstock, measuring 4"X 12", folded them in half and sewed the folded side to creat the binding. (You could used staples, brads or binder clips, as well). I used "Yes!" glue to adhere the embelishments.

 This mini-book could really be used for anything, but I'm going to use it to write down some of the things my 5 1/2 year old says. I've been keeping a list, and this is the perfect place to record them.

That's it for now! But I have sooo many more "Pretty Party" ideas. There's a half finished page on my desk...waiting for me to return. Next week, I show you some ways to use the new "Story Teller" line.
In the meantime, visit Crate Paper's blog (http://crate.typepad.com/cratepaper/) for even more ideas. See you soon!

Hello VIP Friends!

For those of you VIP & Scrapbook customers who don't know me, I both work at VIP and I'm a member of the Design Team. You've most likely seen a few (or several!) pictures of my kids around the store. I've been scrapping since my sophomore year in college, which was more than 12 years ago! I love art of all kinds and as you get to know me, you'll see I love trying new things and branching out with new techniques. Some days, I'm brimming with creative ideas and I can't get to one without the next one bubbling over. And other days, I can't come up with an idea to save my life! And that's where visiting other people's blog comes in handy. I love seeing other artists work and often it's just one element on their page that can spark an entire new idea.

I hope to spark some creative energy in you! Visit my blog often and I'll show you how I use the newest product arriving weekly (and even daily) at VIP. I'll also connect you with my favorite blog sites and introduce you to some of my favorite scrappers/ bloggers from all over the world.

But first, I'm going to give you a peak of a line that arrived at VIP yesterday and will be heading out to the shelves TODAY. I"ve been waiting since CHA this past winter for these two lines from Crate Paper...

                                                                     "Pretty Party"

                                                                   "Story Teller"

 

                                                     "Happy Birthday" using Pretty Party

 "Happy Place" 9X9 canvas paper using "Take Note" from Echo Park and "Story Teller" from Crate Paper.

Tomorrow I will show you some more examples using these lines ("Pretty Party" isn't just for birthdays!). Until then, have a great day....and RUN, don't walk to VIP to get yourself some Crate Paper goodness!

~amber

Right- Handed Lefties

Both of our kids are preferring to bat left-handed! We wondered if we should correct them- but they both hit remarkably well this way. I throw right-handed and bat left-handed- so maybe they'll take after their mama and be a bit ambidextrous.

Lovin' Lizzy

 I'm LOVING the new Dear Lizzy, Neapolitan line, available at VIP! It's the perfect spring-time line. I've made layouts and cards with it and my favorite thing I've made is this altered book. I took an e-class, called "Happy Little Moments" through Studio Calico (http://studiocalico.typepad.com/) that gave me the instructions to make this book. I headed to Goodwill and had more fun than I expected looking through the books. The book I chose was based on: a) being black and b) the pages were think and white. I knew I wanted to use the Dear Lizzy line and I combined it with some of my older Dear Lizzy embellishments that coordinated perfectly. I also used paper doilies and punched-out and die-cut butterflies. I had fun digging through my stash of left-overs that coordinated perfectly, like Crate Paper's Dollhouse line.

 I printed my pictures in black and white at 3"X4" to keep the pictures uniform since they spanned over several years.

 I started out using my regular adhesive and used my sewing machine by bending the cover back as much as I could. But, I felt like I needed something to hold it all together better. I used a paste called "Yes!" (it will arrive at VIP next week) which is acid free and great for scrapbooking. It's not water-based, so my pages didn't bubble or wrinkle. They are perfectly flat.

 How adorable is this kid?!

What will you make with the Dear Lizzy Neapolitan line?