Saturday 16 March 2013

Studio Calico Snippets

Hello and a very happy weekend to you!

Louise here today to show you my projects made with the Studio Calico Snippets Collection!
 
My main supplies were:
 
Snippetts 6x6 patterned paper pad
Chipboard Arrows
Chipboard Cameras
 
All of which are available in the shop!
 
    This collection is perfect - it reminds me of bright summers days. Airy and light. The patterns are a mixture of bold and subtle, the colours being both bright and muted. What I like best about this 6x6 pad is that all the papers are single sided. You don't know what a weight off my mind it is not to have to choose between sides. The combination of colours and patterns is wonderful and suitable for all themes.

I'd like to share with you two 12 x12 layouts and several 4x6 horizontal mini cards/layouts. These layouts are for my holiday album which mixes 12x12 with 4x6 page protectors pockets.


The top two 4x6 cards will accompany a non beach/pool 12 x 12 layout in my album with the bottom two going next to to a 12 x 12 beach/pool layout.

First up is the beach/pool theme. I wanted a fresh bright feel to my holiday album and used the Bazzill white range of cardstock. The 12x12 layout is kept simple with lots of white space. The main focus being the photos.


The journaling is on the back of this page. I have so much to write for this holiday that occasionally there is too much to actually put on the layout. Here is my DH coming down the water slide with two of my boys in the pool waiting for him. He has a water camera in his hand, so while I take a photo of him (on the left), he is taking a photo of me (on the right). You might just be able to make me out in a black cosie standing with my feet firmly on the ground.

I fallen in love with the chipboard cameras and arrows. They are simply Cute!

The 4x6 cards and photos will go in the 4x6 page protector pockets next to the 12x12 layout in my album.


You can see I've used more of those gorgeous chipboard arrows with some titles and quotes.

For my second 12x12 layout I have chosen a non beach/pool theme. First of all I created a misted hexagon background.



To create this background I used an embossing folder. Spray your mist onto the raised side of your embossing folder, turn over and press onto your card/paper.

I used two mists here the Mister Huey Honor Society and Leaf Green

This amazing castle is the Harry Potter Ride in Florida. The title of this layout is taken from the words that my youngest son wrote about this ride at the end of the day.

More chipboard cameras and arrows.
 









As before, the 4x6 cards and photos will go into in the 4x6 divided page protector pockets next to the 12x12 layout.


Once again there is so much to journal for this page. Like.... how I came to have a photo of the "Public Convenience" sign and the story of the Harry Potter Ride, the Forbidden Journey. For this story in particular, the 4x6 card is a pocket which will hold all the details.


So.....I hope you like my Studio Calico projects. Making little 6 x 4 cards to go alongside 12 x 12 layouts is a great way to get all those extra details and photos into your album. I hope you might give it a go.  If you are still not sure I will be making plenty more 12x12 and 4x6 with this range so you may wish to keep an eye out over at my blog.


All these products can be purchased from SJ Crafts.

Thanks for stopping by today

Louise x

Don't forget to visit Louise's blog at : Boys, Bugs and Beautiful Buttons

Tuesday 12 March 2013

More Scoot Projects

Hi, I'm back again today to show you some more projects I've made with the Echo Park Scoot Collection. If you missed the last post you can catch up on that right here.
 
I did lots of stitching on the layouts I made on my Scrapbooking weekend away. On this page I stitched around the pictures printed on the  patterned paper that I had decided to use for my background.




I love the definition it gives to the images!
Almost brings them to life!



I added a length of ribbon, a few stickers including a border sticker and the only other piece of patterned paper that I used was the branding strip for the red banner!




I really got busy with my die-cutter for this double page about a Lego exhibition. I die cut my chevron background and continued the papers over both pages for unity even though the 2 pages are different.



Backing negative shapes with patterned papers is a great way to stretch your stash and use up smaller pieces and you can make a background using a craft knife, scissors or even a manual die cutter depending on the size and shape you want.



 
I used some of the cut out bits on the other page too. I love these colourful papers which would work equally well on lots of different theme layouts ... they're not just for boys!



 
Finally I want to show you a card I made using the papers and stickers to make a scene. I took my inspiration for this from Echo Park Designer Jen Gallacher who did something similar recently.



I used pop dots to add dimension on some of the stickers to raise them up!


Even after all of these fun projects, I still have papers and stickers left! I'm going to finish them off by making some more cards for some upcoming birthdays using the digger stickers and some scrunched up grey paper for stones and boulders. Its such a fun collection, it really brought a smile to my face and I hope it does yours too.
 
Lisa-Jane x
 
See more of Lisa-Janes Crafting on her blog: Inside My Head
 

Wednesday 6 March 2013

Echo Park SCOOT!!

Hi there, its Lisa-Jane here today with some layouts I have made using the wonderful Scoot collection kit from Echo Park.
 
I fell in love with this collection as soon as I saw that Sarah was stocking it in the shop and once I had it in my hands it was even better in real life than it had looked on-line.  I recently went away on a scrapbooking weekend retreat so I had a great chance to play around with the fabulous and colourful papers, stickers and cut apart sheets in the collection. The collection is designed with little boys in mind but I hope you can see from my layouts that I made that its actually more versatile than you might first think as many of the "b" sides are more generic and non-themed.

This first one was fairly quick and easy using both sides of 1 sheet of paper (the fire engines and the ruled lines). I cut the paper about a third in from the edge and then stuck both pieces to a piece of cardstock. Use a sheet of card that you don't like or is damaged!  It gives the layout some stability and makes sure everything stays true to 12x12!!

I was really lucky to catch my baby boy doing his first roll over at 4 months old. I had the camera out to take a picture of him in his little fireman's uniform when he just happened to roll over! I couldn't resist using the lovely fire engines paper!!



I used some pop dots to give height to some of the stickers and added a couple of buttons, a paper clip and some ribbon.



 
How about something on black for some contrast to those bright colours? 
 
This layout was made when I had completed most of the others so  I decided to use up some of the scrap paper panels to make a messy layered stack. I love how the vibrant colours really pop on the black background the same way the black does on the baby mat.


I used my Cameo to cut the title which refers to the mat being a present from an Aunt in New Zealand that we have never met. She made it all by hand and sent it over in time for his birth and left a space for us to record the birth details.



I journalled around the edge in white gel pen and added a few red cross stitches to give texture and to refer to the hand stitching in the story.



 
Even though quite a few of the papers are aimed at little people, there is a lot of variety in the pack, especially with the B sides. I used 2 of the more generic pieces for my layout featuring my little girl wearing aqua and orange which matched the orange paper nicely.



I die cut my title and the heart background from a template by Daniela Dobson and used the hearts as a mask on the kraft background with Mr Huey's white mist. I used a few bits and bobs from my stash and then outlined the title and the hearts with a white gel pen. I love the subtle effect of kraft on kraft and kraft on orange.




 
I'll be back soon to show you a few more Scoot projects!
 
Have a wonderful day!
 
Lisa-Jane x
 
Visit Lisa-Jane's blog: Come inside My Crazy Head!
 
 

Thursday 31 January 2013

Trend Watch!

Hello, Jennifer here!


In January it was the Craft & Hobby Association’s Winter Show in Anaheim, California, which is when all the Scrapbooking manufacturers (along with other crafting brands) show off their upcoming releases. So I've been watching all their blogs with a close eye as they also revealed all the new products online, for us to drool over whilst we wait impatiently for it to get to the UK shops!

The good news is that Sarah from SJ Crafts has lots of lovely goodies on order, and some of it has already started to arrive! 

I want to tell you about a few of my favourite trends that I've been spotting, so you can watch out for them arriving to the shop!

Trend 1: The Pink and Turquoise Colour Combo 

This has appeared in many collections before, but it’s a combination that will never grow old for me. It just looks so fresh and pretty, and is perfect for spring and summer projects - something we all look forward to after these long grey months!
The Maggie Holmes Collection by Crate Paper has bold pink and turquoise hues, that make me think of tropical days and lots of laughter! Look out for the collection pack coming soon!




The Sundrifter Collection by Studio Calico has slightly softer pinks and blues, but it teams them with black, grey, and patterns with a slightly urban feel, that makes it oh-so trendy and cool! This one is due into stock early February.




The Collectable Collection from My Minds Eye is due to arrive at S J Crafts next week. This collection has four themes within it, and I think Memorable is my favourite with the pink/turquoise colour combination in a super sweet, girly way, with flowers, doilies, and lots of delicate details!





Trend 2: Hints of Travel

I love that a lot of brands are adding just small touches of travel to their lines, rather than it taking over a whole collection. I especially like ones that have hints of going up in the air, as it's been 6 years since I flew anywhere on holiday and I miss it! The travel details can usually be used on all kinds of pages though, so I can add an uplifting phrase here, or an aeroplane image there, and get a sense of travelling on projects that have nothing to do with going away!

The Scoot Collection by Echo Park is a really fun boy-themed collection. It's also got lots of aeroplanes and clouds, and a sweet 'up, up and away' sticker that I adore! Plus the collection pack is in stock already, so you can get your hands on this one straight away.





The Lucky Charm Collection by Dear Lizzy for American Crafts is based on bracelet charms, like horses and hot air balloons! My absolute favourite bit is the 'come fly away with me stamp' which is too dreamy for words! The mini-chevrons and clouds will be sweet little details too. The stamp and the 6x6 pad should be in the shop in early February.




The DIY Shop collection by Crate Paper also has hints of travel. It has a real vintage vibe about it, which works so well on projects all year round. The map-paper details and one little aeroplane chipboard are the perfect touch of escapism! The collection pack will be in stock very soon.






Trend 3: Arrows and Arrow Heads

This trend is so hot right now! There are arrows all over the place. I love it because each new year I feel like I need some 'direction' in my life! It looks great when you go over the top and add arrows all over the page to really emphasise something, or just one arrow tucked away on a layout or card can draw your attention to whatever it's pointing at. Whichever way you like it, the arrow trend is definitely something to embrace!


The Snippets Collection by Studio Calico has some great graphic chevron-arrow patterned papers and wood veneers. It also includes these fantastic arrow stickers, in nice bright colours - I like the mix of shapes and sizes! Look out for Snippets arriving soon. 




My final pick is from Studio Calico too - their awesome Huey's Masks. I just had to draw attention to this one from the Sundrifter collection. It's called a 'Triangles' mask, but it fits in well with the arrows trend, as it looks like arrow heads pointing up and down. This will make a great layering element on layouts, or a background for cards. And you could always block off some of the design to just have one or two rows of arrows! Look out for this and other Studio Calico goodness including more masks, wood veneers, and Mister Huey mists arriving soon.





So there's a few of my favourite trends that I'm looking out for this season! 
Has anything here caught your eye? Now I've just got to wait on the edge of my seat until it all arrives in the UK and into the SJ Crafts shop

Don't forget to 'like' the SJ Crafts Facebook page if you want to know as soon as the new stock arrives! I'll let you into a little secret (Shh!) ... Sarah usually announces new arrivals over there first!!

Bye for now, Jennifer x