Love is in the Details

Lately, I've been moving away from simple, sleek pages towards pages with a lot more detail. I won't lie: they take A LOT longer to make, but for those extra-special pages--the ones where you want to commemorate something of deep significance--it's well worth the effort.

The layout above celebrates my son's First Communion, a spiritual milestone and something I hope he remembers all his life.

When I looked at my stash for just the right papers, I was a little vexed. Lately, CTMH has been offering a beautiful array of shabby chic and quirky papers--not quite right for these photos. The solution? Cardstock! It's easy to alter the tone of patterned papers with cardstock.

I decided on a monochromatic blue colour scheme (because of the dark blue vest and lighter blue shirt, of course) and used CTMH cardstock and ink colours Outdoor Denim, Indian Corn Blue and Lagoon. The pops of colour come from Ruby ink and Skylark Yellow (from the Skylark Paper Packet). There are only two patterned papers on this layout: Skylark (the one with the bird) and Wanderful (blue dots). This is a great example of how well CTMH papers from different paper packets co-ordinate.

Once the page was assembled, I opened the flood gates on my embellishment stash. Even though this is a "boy page", I turned to shiny gems to bring sparkle to the page. (Yes, "This Little Light of Mine" was stuck in my head as I made this page.) From the current Annual Inspirations Idea Book, I used Bling Gems Gold Assortment, Sparkles Clear Assortment and Bitty Sparkles. All the other gems are no longer available, but if you've got them in your stash, use them!!

To add a bit of a masculine touch, I stamped some of the banners in  the Houndstooth pattern from the Distress Backgrounds stamp set. I also used pewter badge buttons and embellishments--metals go a long way to relieving the softness of the patterned papers.

I added in a die cut title and some bling flourishes to finish off the page. I'm really happy how this page turned out. The little details, like the letter for his name, the die cuts and twine give the page a lot of texture and interest. This is one of my all-time favourite pages!

Simplicity is Beautiful

More often than not the pages I like most are very simple. Lots of white space, lots of colour and an eye-catching design. Of course I love elaborate layouts too--lots of layering, bling, intricate die-cuts and lots of stamping--but I began as a simple scrapbooker and I keep going back to that style.

Simple layouts have important advantages too. Aside from being quick and easy, they tend not to have a lot of ephemera to bulk up a scrapbook. I find they also give me a sense of accomplishment ("Ah! Another page done!") when more elaborate pages sometimes leave me frustrated.

Can you believe this page was pulled together, start to finish in 15 minutes?! Here's how I did it:

1. Start with coordinated products. Here I used Snowhaven paper and Complements.
2. Keep embellishments simple. Just a length of twine and Glitz Glitter Gel added all the necessary sparkle.
3. Trim and mat your photos on a single piece of paper. Keeping all your photos together on one mat creates a tidy visual space for them.
4. Instead of creating a journaling spot, write directly on the white space in your photos.

One of the tricks I used to keep it simple was to use a single piece of patterned paper. The diagonal stripes along the bottom are actually the Zip Strip from the B&T Duos paper! Instead of trimming off the strip, I trimmed off a half-inch from the patterned paper.

For your next scrapbook page, look for the beauty in simplicity.

Happy October!

October is my favourite month of the year! There's lots to celebrate this month. Birthdays, Thanksgiving, Halloween, fall festivals and it finally begins feeling like autumn weather. I love crunching through the fallen leaves, watching the salmon run and taking advantage of the cool, crisp weather to get the last of the year's gardening done.

Though I'm delighting in picking pumpkins and decorating with corn stalks, in my scrapping life, I begin to think about the next big holiday: Christmas!! Now is the time to get Christmas cards, home decor, scrapbook pages and hand crafted gifts ready for the most wonderful time of the year.

This year, start your Christmas crafting with a bang using October's Stamp of the Month: Scandinavian Wishes. This gorgeous stamp set reminds me of warm woollen sweaters and cups of hot chocolate. Perfect for cards, pages and gift packaging, this will be a stamp set you come to again and again over the years.

To start making  your own Scandinavian Wishes, simply place an order of $50 or more in regularly priced product and add the Stamp of the Month for only $5. Aren't placing a qualifying order this month, but still want the stamp set? Scandinavian Wishes is available at the regular price of $17.95, but only in October.

Want to make the items seen in the photo? In addition to the October Stamp of the Month, you'll need Frosted Paper Packet, Frosted Assortment, Baker's Twine Harvest Assortment, Bronze Shimmer Trim, Stitch Guide, Scallop Border Punch, Cricut Artiste Collection, and of course inks!

Sweet and Simple

If you're like me, in the autumn you like decorating with pumpkins, cornstalks, chrysanthemums and sunflowers. Take your usual seasonal displays up a notch with simple embellishments from your stash.

Dress up pumpkins with some Burlap Ribbon. Add a stamped tag with Baker's Twine. This pumpkin looks adorable sitting on a mantle or as part of a table centrepiece.

Create a spooky pumpkin with Moonlight Felt Shapes and Bitty Sparkles. A little bit of Black Tulle Ribbon and pins from the Bling Assortment finish off this pumpkin. For a little more ambiance, display with a chipboard sentiment.

Most of these items are no longer available, but if they're not in your stash, stock up on some current items to create the same look. Try Opaque Licorice Gems, Black Shimmer Trim, Black Striped Grossgrain Ribbon, Mini-Medley Accents Black Collection, or Base & Bling elements like Base & Bling Floral Accents and Base & Bling Black Jewels.

These mini pumpkin projects only take minutes to make and add a lot of impact to your display!

If you have a little more time, get out your My Creations Mini-Banner (you know, the one you received for free a few months ago and haven't gotten around to using yet), the new Huntington Workshops on the Go kit and some more of your favourite stamps and embellishments to create a Give Thanks banner.

To create this banner, I began by inking the entire surface of the mini-banners with Cashmere ink then stamping with the chicken wire stamp from the Distressed Backgrounds Stamp set in Cocoa ink. Next, I added a scalloped circle punched from Huntington papers to each banner. I dressed up each circle with assorted stamps, rub ons and corrugated shapes from my stash. The sentiment, Give Thanks, was stamped in Goldrush, Autumn Terracotta and Cocoa inks with the Token Alphabet stamp set. To make the letters look like epoxy buttons, I covered each with a thick layer of Liquid Glass. I tied the banners together with White Hemp Twine and Burlap Ribbon.

This easy project only took a couple of hours to make and I'll have this beautiful banner on display for Thanksgiving for many years to come.

Visit my website for more ideas on Home Decor and project items you can create easily and quickly. The Project Inspiration area has videos to inspire you to create special, personal projects for yourself.

Sneak Peek Day 8

Calling all cardmakers! CTMH has lots of fun new products to take your cardmaking to the next level.

Workshops on the Go Laughing Lola Cardmaking Kit

There are two new Workshops on the Go Cardmaking Kits! Use the materials, kit-exclusive accessories, and instructions to create 15 beautiful cards (five cards each of three designs) inspired by Jeanette Lynton!

The Laughing Lola kit comes with My Acrylix Laughing Lola Cardmaking Workshop Stamp Set, Laughing Lola papers, five cardstock sheets, 15 White Daisy cards and envelopes, Whisper, Black and Silver Baker's Twine (10 yards), Purple Gems and instructional brochure.

The theme of this set is love and support.Whether you're creating a get well card, sending a little something to cheer up a friend or making a sympathy card, this kit makes cards that are stylish and heartfelt.

Workshops on the Go Frosted Cardmaking Kit

The Frosted kit is perfect for conveying your Warm Winter Wishes. The D-size stamp set is one you'll turn to over and over again, not only for cards, but for scrapbook pages, holiday projects and even tags and packaging!

The kit comes with a Frosted Cardmaking Workshop Stamp Set, Frosted papers, five cardstock sheets, 15 Colonial White cards and envelopes, Champagne, Colonial White and Silver Baker's Twine (10 yards), Silver Glitter Gems and instructional brochure.

These kits are only $24.95! That's only $1.66 per card! And represents a savings of $11.83 (the retail value of the individual pieces is $36.78).

These card kit are also excellent projects for Home Gatherings! Split a kit among your guests and each can create and take home three beautiful cards. And of course, your guests will love the cards so much, they'll want their own full kits! It will be easy to earn free Hostess Rewards when you host your own Workshop Home Gathering!

In addition to these kits, CTMH is offering a new My Originals Polar Pals Card Kit. Following up on the popularity and ease of the My Originals Matchbook Card Kit, Polar Pals is an easy to assemble kit for cardmakers of any skill level. The kit consists of 12 tri-fold pop-up shaker cards for sending holiday and wintery greetings to friends and family. The tri-fold cards hold photos and gift cards perfectly. In addition to the cards, the kit includes a sheet of stickers, 12 Shaker Bubbles, 12 adhesive springs and 12 coloured envelopes. These cards are perfect for all the little gift cards given out over the holidays--to teachers, co-workers and as stocking stuffers.

CTMH has also added a new style card to its card family: White Daisy Circle Spin Cards and Envelopes. The focal point of these cards is a die-cut circle that spins! Just the right size for adding a sentiment or spectacular stamp, these cards make a strong statement!

October and November are great for hosting a Home Gathering and choosing a cardmaking project as the theme. At this time of year, people are looking to get into the holiday mood with crafty projects and it's just the right time to start holiday shopping! But you don't have to wait to book your autumn Gathering! Contact me today to get your preferred date!

Sneak Peek: Day 4

My latest home decor piece using the Display Tray.

I love seeing my scrapbooking around my house. Whether it's mini-albums in a basket, a favourite layout in a picture frame or a canvas on the wall, I get a lot of joy out of seeing something I've lovingly made, that's celebrating the people I love, displayed in my home.

The designers at Close To My Heart know exactly how I feel and have neatly organised several new products to make embellishing my home as easy as embellishing a scrapbook page. With Designed Decor (home decor with heart), crafters are encouraged to create artwork with substance.

Turn your crafting projects into enduring works of art with our new Designed Decor products. These art and memory displays are durable enough to last from your child's first finger paintings through junior high art class and beyond.

Designed Decor Black Frame

The mini clothes pins and hooks, sold separately, are ideal for clipping artwork or photos to our new wired frames.

Use the Designed Decor Black Frame, with five wires, to organise and display precious photos or important pieces of paper--like tickets, notes and business cards.

The Designed Decor Colonial White Frame uses honeycomb wire for displaying artwork, photos, accents and more.

Both frames come with sawtooth hangers on the back.

In addition to the Display Tray and the Hinged Display Tray seen in previous Idea Books, the Autumn/Winter 2013 Idea Book introduces the Designed Decor Flip Stand Album.. This clear acrylic stand has rings for displaying photos up to 6 1/2" x 5 3/4". The stand also has a slot for inserting a background image.

Designed Decor Frame Kit

 The Designed Decor Frame Kit comes with everything you need to create a stylish, decorative art piece to display in your home. The kit includes a Designed Decor Colonial White Frame, My Acrylix Frame Kit Stamp Set (B size), 33 Kraft Paper Die Cut Shapes, 6 Mini Wooden Clothes Pins and 1 yard of Baker's Twine Hemp.

This is an excellent project for a workshop Home Gathering! Your family and friends will love crafting this stunning frame to display in their own homes.

It's easy to set up your own Workshop Gathering. Contact me to select a date. Invite your family and friends. Confirm how many kits you need 2 weeks before the Gathering. Get your crafting space ready. On the Gathering Day, I will arrive with everything your and your guests need to create the project, including additional inks and stamps, and will provide instruction and guidance to help your guests create a special keepsake--and having fun crafting the whole time!

Contact me today to book your own Gathering with the Designed Decor Frame Kit!