I Believe We Can Make Magic!

Hello everyone, Jennifer here today to show you a layout using rub-ons to alter chipboard stickers and alphas coloured with pen... magic in scrapbooking as well as in my photo!

At the start of each year I like to think about things I believe in or that I'm wishing for, to keep in mind throughout the year. I have a firm belief that magic is real... perhaps not the wizarding kind, but certainly the magic we can make in moments small or large, when something makes us smile and we know the moment will be remembered forever...

I Believe We Can Make Magic:

This moment is certainly one to hold on to - I was so impressed with how many people put on Disney costumes to help me and my little sister celebrate at our joint birthday party ... I grinned all night long!

The letters that spell 'believe' are some Prima White Canvas Alphas, which I coloured with a Sakura Gelly Roll Pen to make them aqua. You can also use Sharpies to colour the alphas. Just make sure you leave the letters to dry thoroughly before you touch them again or you'll get inky fingers!

I used some Jenni Bowlin Doilies Rub Ons and Tiny Trims Rub Ons to add some extra pattern to the background ledger paper:

You can also use them to add details to chipboard stickers, like I've done here by adding some Tiny Trims to a camera from the Simple Stories Daily Grind Chipboard Stickers:

And I added some more trim to this black label-style sticker from the My Mind's Eye Chalk Studio Chipboard Elements:

The rub-ons stand out best when they are on plainer backgrounds - if you try anything to patterned then they will be harder to see.

Of course a page of mine wouldn't be complete without my usual sprinkling of gems and some Studio Calico Tiny Stars Wood Veneers for magical good measure!

What do you think? Have you any beliefs or wishes that you haven't documented? Get them onto a page and make sure you link us up so we can see too!

The alphas, rub ons, daily Grind Chipboard, wood stars and chalk elements are all available to order from the S J Crafts Shop!!

Bye, Jennifer x

Jennifer is Mum to two young children and blogs regularly at Jennifer Grace Creates .... pop over there soon as she is currently running a Giveaway to celebrate her happiness at recently moving house!!

Decorated Frame for the New Year and Beyond!

Hello everyone!

Jennifer here today. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! 

I've started looking back over the year that's nearly finished, and looking forward to the year that's ahead. To try and channel good thoughts and welcome 2014 into my house I made this frame, which I can change the central panel of as the year goes by...

Want to make one for yourself? Here's how...

Step 1: Find a frame with a solid colour (woodgrain or patterns don't work so well for step 2) and take out any glass/plastic and backboards:

Step 2: Use some Jenni Bowlin Tiny Trims Gold Rub Ons to decorate the edge of the frame. I used triangles along two opposite edges and stars along the other two edges. If you want to make sure they go on straight then draw a pencil line with a ruler first as a guide - I didn't mind mine being a bit wobbly:

Step 3: Use a strong adhesive (I used a hot glue gun) to adhere three lengths of wire to the top of the frame at the back, and also a length of bakers twine a little below the top edge of the inner frame:

Step 4: Create a panel to hang inside your frame. I used the 'b' side of the Crate Paper Bundled Up 'Candy Cane' Paper layered onto some cream card. Then I decorated it with a Bundled Up Journal Card, a Chalk Studio Label Sticker, some Simple Stories Daily Grind Chipboard Stickers, Prima's White Canvas Alphas, and some Studio Calico Tiny Stars Wood Veneers. I also used a couple of Jenni Bowlin Doilies Gold Rub Ons.

Peg the panel onto the twine using some small pegs:

Step 5: Then use a few more Doilies Gold Rub Ons on some smooth white card - I used the white card that came as packaging in the rub ons packet! Fussy cut these out and glue them to the top of the wires:

I love how these look a bit like fireworks, but then in spring they could look like flowers, in summer they represent suns, in autumn they echo golden leafy trees, and in winter they are like pretty snowflakes - so I can use the frame all year round!

Then you just need to put the frame on display and smile each time you see it!

I wish you all a very Happy New Year!

In the meantime don't forget to check out our Design Team Call, and keep an eye on the Facebook Page for details of a sale that's coming soon!

Jennifer x

Jenni Bowlin Hexagon Love!

Every now and then a new trend hits the scrapbooking world ... one of the latest seems to be hexagons!! So today I would like to hand over to DT member, Louise to share her fab ideas with hexagons!
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Hexagons seem to be everywhere in scrapbooking at the moment so I was pleased when Sarah sent me these lovely Jenni Bowlin vintage journaling tags, Identify, Numbers and Memo stickers.

         

      

To go with the hexagon based stickers I cut out, by hand, lots of hexagons from papers from my Dilly Dally 6" x 6" pad. My journaling is on the Jenni Bowlin vintage tag which you can just see peeping out from under the photo.

So that I could get the placement of the hexagons exactly where I wanted them I first mounted the stickers onto card. This also made it easy to draw around them onto the patterned papers.

Stanley Age 6 - hence the number 6 stickers.

Some of the stickers are specifically for journaling or recording on, you can see in the above photo that I put words on these ones using Glitz white alphas.

Wondering how these hexagons would look on cards I used the same papers and some of the Jenni Bowlin stickers to make up a couple of cards.

Firstly, a card for him...

....and this one for her, using paper scraps from MME's lost and found two collection . The Jenni Bowlin identify sticker that you can just about see under the best wishes flag actually had "Place" written on it so I turned it upside down and placed the flag over the word.

I really enjoyed working with these stickers and as the sticker sheets are so generous I was able to use them on several different layouts and projects.

You can see more hexagons on this layout and also on this mini book!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jenni Bowlin Butterflies

Who loves butterflies?!

I don't think I've ever met a scrapbooker or card maker who doesn't love them!

 

Butterflies are one of those timeless embellishments that just seem to always work on a project. Punched butterflies, stamped butterflies or embellished butterflies - so many options!!

 

I sent DT member, Lisa-jane a couple of packs of Jenni Bowlin butterflies!

 

Want to see what she did with them?

 

50th Birthday card - By Lisa-Jane

 A beautiful card for a special birthday!

The JB Butterflies have vellum wings and come decorated with pearls.

Layering them up on punched circles as Lisa-jane has done here is so effective.

 

"WOYWW" Layout - By Lisa-Jane

 

Lisa-jane made a great layout about the fun of joining in with WOYWW, probably the biggest weekly blog hop ever!!

 

 
Using scalloped circle punches and the JB Butterflies, she made a gorgeous banner across the top of the page!



"Let Him Fly" Layout - By Lisa-Jane

Next, Lisa-Jane made a stunning layout about her young son who is growing up so fast. The single photo and three small clusters of embellishments leave plenty of space for the journaling.
The layout background has been misted with tattered angels Glimmer Mist and paint applied with bubble wrap.



Close up of the Jenni Bowlin Blue Butterfly!

Jenni Bowlin Butterflies are available to purchase here!

To see more of Lisa-Jane's work, hop over to her blog.



We will be back soon to show you what Jennifer did with this box!

Have a fabulous day!!



 

Playing with Paint!!

For the second post in our "How to .... " series, DT member Jo has been having fun with paint and come up with some fab ideas for using paint dabbers! 

If you missed the first "How to....." post which was all about border punches, it's here!

Over to Jo.....

I have always loved playing with paint .... long before I found scrapping I was playing with paint!! I was delighted when Sarah asked me to come up with some ideas for using the Jenni Bowlin Paint Dabbers. I love the these paint dabbers because they never seem to clog or dry up so they're always ready to use. All my projects in this post use the "cough syrup" dabber.

First of all I created this layout:

I used the dabber over a mask to create the circles on the cardstock.

I used the dabber to colour some patterned paper shapes. I think most of us have some pattern paper that has writing or newsprint on it, well the shade I had didn't fit with my page so I changed it. The paints aren't thick enough to totally hide the print which is perfect.

For my "Lillies" layout, I really went to town with the paint, emphasising the beautiful colour of the flowers in my photo.

I used the dabber to ink the edges of the pattern paper and cardstock and coloured the chipboard flowers and Thickers letters for the title. 

I applied the paint, direct from the dabber, to get this lovely finish on the plain butterflies.

You can also use dabbers to create little paint splatters by unscrewing the lid and use a paintbrush to pick up a little paint which you can then gently "flick" onto your page. Using the non brush end of the paintbrush you can "dot" the paint on your cardstock. Paint dabbers are also great for stamping because they add a tiny bit of texture, you just apply them in the same way you would ink as I have done with this woodgrain stamp!

If you have some embossing folders then you can create this great effect simply by using the paint on one side of the folder prior to adding the paper and embossing through your die cutting machine. be sure to thoroughly clean the folder afterwards though!

If you're on a budget and trying to do some stash busting then these dabbers really are a great investment. How many of us have blooms and ribbons lying around, unused and maybe not even in the colours we want? You can easily customise them with paint dabbers.

I've just used the dabber on just half so that you can see the great coverage they give.

I hope this has given you a few ideas for using the Jenni Bowlin Paint Dabbers which are available in the S J Crafts shop ... here!!

Crate Random Collection ~ By Jo

Today I'd like to share with you the first of the layouts created by Design Team member Jo using  Crate Paper's Random collection.

I am delighted to have Jo on our new Design Team and 'm sure you'll agree she has done a fantastic job with her first box of DT stash!

I love this "Sweet and Adorable" layout ~ just look at that cute smile!

The photo didn't actually have a lot of colour in it but by layering up the patterned papers Jo has added lots of colour and fun to the page.

The chipboard accents add lots of dimension and interest and make a handy title too!

Jo said "I used plenty of the chipboard die cuts on this page, layering them up. The amount of chipboard die cuts on the sheet make them excellent value!"

All the edges have been inked with distress ink, a great technique for bringing the different elements of a layout together.

Jenni Bowlin tiny alpha stickers add the details of the photograph.

I'll be back later to show you Jo's 2nd page but in the meantime if you want to see more of her amazing work, pop over to her blog.

Summer's End Layouts ~ By Louise

I know Louise was very nervous about taking on her first Design Team contribution but I have to say I think she has done an awesome job!!

I sent her a selection of products including the new Summer's End collection by Fancy Pants designs, some assorted Bazzill cardstock and Jenni Bowlin Chalkboard Stickers.

Today I will share her first layout which I hope will give you a few ideas. This layout tells the story of a photo shoot with a 7 year old in charge of the camera!!

A great idea for using the fall frames paper is to make journalling spots. By cutting them out and postioning them along the page they provide an ideal area for telling the story.

Louise carefully hand cut the individual doily shapes out of the changing paper and used them as a line of embellishments under her photos! This really draws the eye along the pictures

The Jenni Bowlin alphas make a great title, framed by the Summer's End Chipboard Banners.

Other tools and supplies used: Martha Stewart Butterfly and scalloped circle punches.

I'll be back tomorrow to show you Louise's second layout and I will have a great offer for you too!

You can see more of Louise's scrapbooking on her blog!

What's New!!

I have been busy unpacking deliveries and adding some new stock to the shop !!

So I have a quick run down of the new arrivals for you....

The  Random Collection  from Crate Paper arrived yesterday, I'm especially loving this chipboard and can't wait to use it on my layouts and cards.

These letter stickers from Jenni Bowlin are great for titles, we also have the tiny circle letters and the very popular chalkboard stickers in various colourways.

The new collection from Fancy Pants designs, "Summer's End" has also just landed, I've got to finish unpacking it and upload it to the website but I love the colours and can't wait to use these chipboard banners.

A huge thank you to everyone who has e mailed me to apply for the new S J Crafts Design Team, I have to say I am a little overwhelmed by the great response and I know I am going to have a tough job selecting the team! I'll be in touch with everyone who applied as soon as I can.

In case you are wondering I haven't forgotten about the giveaway from last week, I will draw the winner as soon as I am done uploading the new stock!

Enjoy the rest of your day! x