A Perfect Summer!

Hi, Lisa-Jane here today!

Recently, Sarah asked me to create some layouts with the lovely Echo Park A Perfect Summer Collection Kit.

I had already seen this collection in the shop and fallen in love with its bright colours - but once it arrived and I opened it up, I loved it even more!  I really don't think that the little snippet you see on the front of the collection packs do them justice - I certainly appreciated the patterns a lot more on the full page and couldn't wait to get started.

There is quite a lot of red, white and blue in this collection so it was absolutely perfect for some photos of my daughter in her pretty Jubilee dress.  The wave patterned paper is really great because it ties in with water themes of all sorts, not just summer, but isn't so themed that it is in your face and detracting from the layout itself.  The airmail postcard was the perfect place to journal too.

I added some ribbons and brads and made pin-wheels from very small pieces of the chevron paper.  I made the scalloped borders with my Fiskars Threading Water (Scalloped Lace) punch.

Although the collection is called "A Perfect Summer", I love that most of the papers and stickers are a lot more generic than purely sandcastles and sunglasses. 

This next layout is about my daughter being able to manipulate people with her cuddles and cuteness and is streetwise beyond her years when it comes to playing people.

I wanted to pick out the orange and turquoise in her outfit but, at the same time keep it subtle with the addition of the pale blues.  I added a few buttons, twine, brads and a charm from my stash to add lots of texture. I edged the gorgeous hot hair balloon paper with American Crafts ribbon and WRMK washi tape.

The lettering, hot air balloon and blue border along the bottom are all from the 2 co-ordinating sticker sheets that come in the collection pack.  I added the "Be Who You Are" stamp from the fabulous new Hero Arts 'My Notebook' stamp set - a wonderfully versatile and useful set

I'm busy working on more layouts with this collection so do check back soon for more colourful layouts.

Lisa-Jane x

DT member Lisa-Jane is Mum to two young children and regularly blogs at Come Inside My Head ..... she loves paper, writing and being creative in her lovely craft room!

Sweet Baby Girl

Hello

 

This layout was made for the "Scraplift Challenge" for Issue 73 of Scrapbook Magazine. I can show you now as the issue has now gone off sale, with issue 74 hitting the shelves last week!

 

I used Echo Park Sweet Girl papers and embellishments.

The patterned papers were cut and layered up to create a "messy" matt for my photograph. Placing them at slight angles is more playful and "free" to emphasise the fun she was having playing on the swing.

 

 

I layered up some chipboard pieces in the top left area - they read:  "play - happy - smile" and then balanced this with a cluster to the right of the photo with the title and the chipboard camera.

The tiny punched hearts create a visual triangle. Placing the same element in 3 places around the page is something I often do on my layouts.

Twine wrapped around the photo adds some texture and also breaks up the big area of grass in the picture. I used a pink Mister Huey to flick a few spots of ink and some enamel dots to finish off the page.

 

Here it is, in the magazine!

 

 

Did you see the date the photo was taken? 2004!!! Almost 10 years ago!!
Sometimes I like to "dig out" an older photo and scrap it. It makes a change from more recent photos.

Have you ever scrapped a photo that's several years old?

Thanks for stopping by today!

Sarah x

Monthly Kit Samples ... All About A Boy

Hello ... hope you are well!
It's Louise here today!
SJ Crafts have released two new kits and and I had the opportunity to create with the

"All about a boy" Kit
 

This kit feautires gorgeous Echo Park papers and is full of colour with a big selection of chipboards and stickers to embellish. At first the name of this kit might suggest that it is more suited to layouts featuring young children. I wanted to show you that not only is it suitable for the younger boy but for the bigger boy too. In fact I used the kit to create three layouts, one for a little boy, one for a big boy and one for the biggest boy of all!!

I used the kit exclusively and did not dip into any other supplies at all - not even my favourite washi tape ... the tape I seem to reach for constantly.

For the little boy layout I used layers with all the patterned papers. I love the colour orange and use it a lot on layouts of my boys.
 

The big boy layout uses one of the 12x12 patterned sheets. It reminds me of denim and I just know that this paper will be falling into my shopping basket next time I place an order with SJ Crafts!  It's fabulous!
 

Onto my third layout ....
This layout has a photo of the biggest boy of all who just couldn't help himself!
I wanted space to journal and created the flap on the right hand side to record some more details from our holiday.
 

After creating three layouts I had one sheet of cardstock left and lots of scraps so I made two cards. A Happy Birthday Handsome card ...
 

and a Thank You Best Friend card ...

 

The kits are currently available in the shop ...

  Click here to buy "All About A Boy" Kit!

   Click here to buy "Sweet Girl" Kit

You really will not be disappointed!!

Enjoy the rest of your day!
Louise x

See more of Louise's crafting projects on her blog:
Boys, Bugs and Beautiful Buttons

Kit Release Day!

Hello!

As many of you will be aware, earlier this year we introduced our kits!

 

Our kits are released on a bi monthly basis and contain beautiful patterned papers, cardstock and embellishments.
Each kit has enough "scrummy" stash to make at least 2 layouts (probably a lot more!)

No more spending lots of time gathering together your stash to make a layout .... we have selected beautiful co ordinating producs for you ... all you have to do is CREATE beautiful layouts with it!!
Today we have released our March/April kits!

 

This month there are two kits to choose from or why not treat yourself to both!!

 

This is the "SWEET GIRL" kit containing papers from the Echo Park collection of the same name!

 

 

and this is the "ALL ABOUT A BOY" Kit - again papers are from the Echo Park collection of the same name!

 

See all the details and buy the kits in the shop here!

 

Sample layouts made with the kits will be right here on the blog and also on our facebook page very soon!

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

 

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!

 

 

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

NEW Echo Park Collections

Sorry the blog has been a little quiet lately. I've been busy browsing the new CHA stock ... sadly not in person (I wish!!) but on line and choosing new stock for the shop. There are just so many gorgeous new lines and products coming out, I can't wait!

New stock is gradually starting to arrive, kicking off with two collections from the ever fabulous Echo Park!

Just arrived today:

I just love the bright colours and fun images! A great for boy layouts - young and old!!

Click here to shop for Scoot now!

Also new from Echo Park:

Love Story is for all those Valentine/love themed layouts but also many of the papers are pretty floral designs which can be used for a wide variety of layouts!

Click here to shop for Love Story Now!

Watch out for lots more new stash arriving soon!

12 x 12 Collection Kit - Part 4!

Today I have my 5th layout to show you. By now, there wasn't an awful lot left from the Echo Park kit that I started with but I managed to squeeze this one out of it.

It's all good

As I mentioned back in this post one of my boys doesn't like attention, so when I asked him to write down some words that best described him, he couldn't do it. So I did it for him and even asked his older brother to describe him too.

I am very much a B side girl and I really wanted to use this bright green scheduled paper. The middle of the 12x12 was gutted and another panel of patterned paper stitched over to cover the hole. I could then use another panel of the green paper on top. As in many of the other layouts I've shown you this week I wrote the journaling onto the layout first and then built everything else around it.

For this layout I didn't add any extras apart from the sewing! 

So after 5 layouts from one collecion kit, I have 1 full sheet of 12x12 left, a few paper scraps, some alphas and stickers - which I will be able to use up on other layouts and crafty projects.

Thank you for joining me this week - I hope you've enjoyed it!

Later today Sarah will be along to tell you how you can win your own collection pack!!

Until then I hope you have a wonderful Friday!

Louise x

To see more of Louise's work - visit her blog: Boys, Bugs and Beautiful Buttons

Collection Kits - 2 More!

Hello again, Louise here back with 2 more layouts to show you!

So, just a reminder I'm using just one Echo Park collection pack to make 5 layouts!

If you've only just joined me, don't worry the first post in the series is here and Part two can be found here!

 I have lived in.....

Number one son is my fact boy. He thrives on facts. 
This layout is based on one of his recent statements.

 

The string and number stickers were not from the kit and againn my sewing machine was used!

What's in a name?

Stanley, bless him, gets called many a name. I adhered the tickets and photo to the background and then added paper scraps around them. 

When using these kits, it's worth keeping all your off cuts of paper and using them to make another layout!

The only thing not from the kit is the ribbon!

I also used my sewing machine and some staples!

I have one more layout to show you later this week and there will also be a chance to win a collection pack of your own!

I'd love to know which is your favourite layout so far?

12 x 12 Collections ~ Part 2!

Hello and Welcome back. If you missed the first of this weeks' posts on 12 x 12 collection kits you can catch up on that right here!

Just as a reminder I'm making layouts using just the supplies from 1 collection kit (with a couple of extras added here and there!) and focusing on journalling using the notes my boys jotted down for me.

For the 2nd layout using my  For The Record 2 kit I turned my attention to my shy boy, who doesn't like attention in any shape or form. 

This is the face....

I wanted to make a note of some of the things he wrote down as his "loves" this year. I wrote on the journaling blocks and zig-zag stitched them to the layout.

For this layout, all supplies came from the kit - all I added was the machine stitching!

Do you like to use collection kits? Have you got a favourite kit?

See you soon with two more layouts!

12 x 12 Collection Kits - By Louise

Hello there, it's Louise here today.

I hope your weekend has been wonderful!

Remember Lisa-Jane's fabulous series of projects using 6 x 6 pads?

Well, this week I'm going to share with you my love of 12x12 collection kits. 
Like the 6 x 6 series there will be posts throughout the week, each with a new layout! I hope you'll join me!

Many, many moons ago when I started scrapbooking 12x12 papers didn't exist, at least not here in the UK.  Papers and Cardstock were 8x10 and very limited. Luckily for us scrapbooking has expanded and there is now a wealth of supplies on offer from single sheets of 12x12 to paper pads to 12x12 kits. I've never subscribed to a regular kit from a company and I often wondered if I was missing out. Then earlier this year I discovered Echo Park's  12x12 Collection Kits and now I use these all the time. They quickly became the staple supply in my stash. I love them!!

I've used a few of these kits for lots of different projects like this mini book using the This and That Charming range and Interactive Layouts using the Note to Self Range. 

This week I'm going to show you just how far one of these kits will go and how you can make different layouts using just one kit!

In most of the Echo Park kits you get:

12 double sided patterned 12" x 12" papers. Amongst the patterns is a journaling and border sheet.
1 sticker sheet - the sheet is 12" x 12" and crammed with loads of stickers.
1 alphabet sheet - again the sheet is 12" x 12" and usually has a large alpha and number set and two smaller alpha sets.

 

Using this For the Record 2 Documented kit I have taken it's name quite literally.

 I planned to create five layouts where the story was the main focus.

 I tried to use the kit and the kit only. I tried really hard .... but I have used my sewing machine on each layout and I did add the odd little item here and there. 

Throughout the week, after each layout I've listed any extras that weren't in the kit. 

So, you ready? .... let's look at the first layout ....

I don't just like pigs...I love them

Each layout started out with a story and in this one you can see that I included the journaling on the layout before anything else was added.

For those of you that don't know me I have three boys, earlier this year I asked them to write down some things about themselves. S took himself off away from the other two and wrote down some of the funnest things. Obviously they had to be recorded in a layout.

I worked out where the photo would go and journalled in the space around it.
Then added my papers, embellishments, photo, title and stitching.

  

 I love how he spelt "finc" (think) and "bootafall" (beautiful)! 

 The photo was layered onto an envelope so that his original writing could be kept safe inside.

What did I use that wasn't in the kit? ... only a circle stamp and the 2012 number stickers!!

I hope you'll pop back for my second layout tomorrow!