Hello Sunshine!

I just realized I haven't posted this layout yet. It's for My Scrapbook Nook using Lily Bee's Hello Sunshine collection in their July kit. I think of this as my re-purposed layout. Re-purposed because I used a couple of the supplies in a slightly different manner.

I fashioned a 3 dimensional photo frame using the Lily Bee mini diecut. I die cut a circle out of the bracket shaped paper and mounted that on another sheet of patterned paper using 3D foam dots. I then cut out a scallop circle frame and mounted that on more 3D foam. So the photo frame in effect is 3 layers deep.

Re-purpose idea number 2: Make use of product packaging for your title. My title here comes from the packaging for the rub-ons.

Speaking of rub-ons, these ones are fun:

Thanks for dropping by and be sure to check back on Sunday for the Nook's blog hop where you'll have a chance to win some great prizes.

Blog hop coming soon

Be sure to check back here on Sunday August 1st for the Nook's blog hop. There'll be prizes to win and lots of inspiration along the way. See you then!

DT Call at My Scrapbook Nook

My Scrapbook Nook's having a DT Call. I've been on the Nook DT for 3 terms and I can honestly say they're one of the best DTs to be on. The kits are chockful of the latest releases and always beautifully coordinated with matching embellishments. Here are the details:

-----

My Scrapbook Nook Kits is looking for a few designers!

You might be a great fit if:

You like working with brand new product!
You can create on a deadline!
You’re a team player!
You enjoy actively participating on a message board!
You have a blog!
You contribute to online galleries!
You’re friendly and kind!
You can create an online tutorial detailing how you created something!
You love to scrapbook, alter or make cards!

All designers receive one free kit per month, plus a 25% discount to the online shop and all kit add ons. Your bio will be on our site, you get your own folder in our gallery, you get to participate in give-a-ways, bloghops, virtual crops, and we send occasional freebies and manufacturer donations your way.

To apply, please send an e-mail to dt@myscrapbooknook.com .

Include:

Full name
Message board username (if applicable)
Phone number
Address
Other design obligations
Why we want you
A link to your online gallery (no attachments, please)


Applications are due by August 10th, at which point we will invite our top finalists to a meet and greet on the message board. DT will be announced by August 14th.

Your DT term is 6 months, with an option to reapply for another term.

We accept international applicants, but we ask that designers outside of the US and Canada contribute $10 toward kit shipping each month.

Check us out at www.myscrapbooknook.com !

Good Luck!

Altered Mini Tin - Playing with alcohol inks

I made up this mini altered tin a couple of afternoons ago. You'd be surprised at how quick and easy it is to create. I wrote up a little tutorial for it for Your Scrapbook Stash and am sharing it here with you too.

First off, you need just a few supplies for the class. A mini tin, a couple of alcohol inks and an ink applicator.

If you've never played with alcohol inks before you may be a little apprehensive. But trust me, it's really simple to use. And fun. To begin, drip a couple of drops of alcohol ink onto your applicator. I used three colours for my project - Pesto, Raisin and Copper. Make sure the different colours of ink do not overlap, or you may end up with a brown mess.

Now for the fun part. Simply pounce your applicator directly onto your tin. Pounce, don't drag the applicator. Cover up as much or as little of your tin as you like. It took just a few seconds and I had my tin all inked up. I love how the inks magically transformed my plain jane tin into a beautifully marbled, almost batik-styled tin.

The inked tin:

You can leave the tin as is, pretty as it is. Or you could alter it some more by adding your favourite embellishments. I wanted a romantic vintage-looking tin. So here's my finished altered tin, using my favourite Prima flowers, leaves, lace, pearl flourish and Hambly transparency.

And a view from the side:

Thanks for dropping by. :)

Supplies:

Flowers - Prima Mini Rose (535476), Belle Artes Aquarius (539313)
Leaves - Prima Rose leaves (540456)
Pearl flourish - Prima Say It In Pearls (529338)
Lace - Prima
Ribbon - May Arts
Transparency - Hambly Studios
Alcohol Inks - Tim Holtz alcohol inks in Pesto, Raisin and Copper

My Scrapbook Nook August Kit

Look at the Nook's August Kit! It's packed with Sassafras Lass' Indie girl collection and beautifully coordinated embellishments from Basic Grey and Jenni Bowlin.

Kit Contents: 

Sassafras Lass Indie Girl papers (2 each)
Sassafras Lass Indie Girl Banners
A handful of Coordinating Buttons
Jenni Bowlin pins
Bo Bunny Flowers

Sassafrass Lass Indie Girl stickers
Sassafras Lass Indie Girl Glitter Alphabet in Chartreuse
Basic Grey Lace Ribbon (Paper)

Get your kit here and look out for the fantastic add-ons and member specials. 

Featured layout

Yay! My layout, Just Walking, is featured over at Inspire Me, Webster's Pages' ning site.

I love Webster's so this is a real treat. :) Here's the layout again:

Luv Ya! Card

I haven't posted in a while but I will have more projects and layouts to show soon. In the meantime, here's a card I created for Your Scrapbook Stash using Prima's Strawberry Kisses patterned paper and coordinating flowers.

I wanted a clean look for the card so the background's white on white; white doily on white cardstock. The doily gives it just enough interest and texture without too much distraction. Something about butterflies makes me want to reach out for my flowers and pearls and ribbons. :)

The sentiment's on a Jenni Bowlin journalling sticker, also available from YSS. Speaking of YSS, they're having a great CHA blowout sale now. Makes me want to shop some more. :D

July Zva Blog Hop Winners

Congratulations to the five July Zva Blog Hop winners!  Their names will be found on the following blogs:

Debbie Olson: http://debbiedesigns.typepad.com/muse_and_amuse/
Veronica Goh: http://scrappychic-pages.blogspot.com/
Julia Stainton: http://bellepapier.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/
Kim Moreno: www.livingthecircuslife.blogspot.com
Jillian Deiling Cassity: http://scrappyjilly.blogspot.com

One winner from each of the 5 blogs will receive a Zva prize package worth $30.00. 
Congrats winners!

Zva Creative July DT Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Zva Creative July DT Blog Hop. All the DTs will be showing off new projects using their favourite Zva products.

The Blog Hop begins at Kim Hughes' blog. She will have the complete list of all blogs that are participating in case there is a glitch along the way. If you would like to play along, I am linking to one of the Zva designers and that designer is linking to the next and so on. There are 19 design team members, so be prepared to be inspired along the way. Hidden on 5 of the blogs is a Zva Creative prize package. Those blogs will be randomly chosen after the hop is over, so it's important to leave a comment on as many blogs as you can along the way.

This Blog Hop runs through midnight US Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, July 20th and the 5 winners will be announced on Wednesday, July 21st on each of the winning blogs and the full list will be found on Kim Hughes‘s blog (linked above). We will do our best to notify each winner, but it's best if you can pop in to all of the blogs once again on Wednesday...plus, you never know what kind of inspirational creation that you may find there. All you need to do is leave a comment on this Zva Blog Hop post. You do not need to leave a comment on each and every designer's blog post to qualify. The more times you leave a comment along the blog hop path though, the more chances you will have to be one of the lucky winners.

So here's my newest layout for Zva Creative:

I went for a soft shabby-romantic look with an old sepia photograph, using papers from Webster's Pages' Life's Portrait collection.


Some close-ups:

A ruffle of lace peeks through a torn and distressed edge, adorned with a trio of pretty petite Zva roses, a string of pearls and a cut out from the patterned paper.

A chipboard birdcage painted a soft cream with a pink bird, glimmer misted then crackle painted, sit amidst a cluster of pretty pink and lilac blossoms from Zva Creative. Some Zva pink pearl flourishes and an edging of white scalloped lace add to the shabby romantic feel.

Pearl flowers and paper flowers dot the Zva pearl flourishes.

Some parts of the patterned paper are raised with 3D foam dots and the title is tucked beneath, peeking out from behind the fauna.

Thanks for dropping by. Be sure to leave a comment before hopping on over to your next stop in the blog hop: Julianne McKenna.

Happy hopping! :)

Sue


Materials used:
Pearl flourishes - Zva Creative (PEB 03CA 103, PE 03CA 111)
Felt flowers - Zva Creative (FL01CB114, FL01CB116)
Paper flowers - Zva Creative (Icy Blossoms FLBK02CA119, Sweet Blossoms FLBK02CA111, FLBK02CA112, Elegant Rosebuds FLBK02CA103)
Patterned Paper - Webster's Pages Life's Portrait Collection
Dies - Tim Holtz Sizzix Caged Bir
Alphas - American Crafts & Jenni Bowlin
Inks - Rangers Distress Inks
Mists - My Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Tutti Frutti
Others - Rangers Stickles

Moments

More Prima goodness for Your Scrapbook Stash. This layout uses papers from the Pastiche and Shabby Chic collections, as well as Prima flowers, lace and journalling chipboards. I like how the birds, butterflies and flora in the patterned paper complement the photo.

Some close-ups:

Sketch Contest

Do you love creating with sketches? Well here's your chance to win some prizes from Your Scrapbook Stash. Here are the details:

Deadline: August 15th, 11:59pm PST

Prizes: 2 random entries will win $10 in Stash Cash. 1 Grand Prize winner will receive $25 in Stash Cash. The Grand Prize winner will be chosen by our DT and will not be eligible for the random prize drawing.

How to win: Upload your newly created (after July 13th) projects using any of the sketches in the YSS Gallery (or on our blog) to the YSS gallery, and link your creations to this post on the YSS blog. The following types of projects are eligible: altered items, layouts, mini albums, cards, and tags.

The fine print: You may enter only once in each category (ex: you may enter only one layout, but you may also enter one card, one tag, etc.) Projects must also use at least one item found in the YSS store. Please let us know which sketch inspired you when you upload. Sketches posted between now and the deadline are also fine to use.

Go ahead. Be inspired and win. :)

Live: Tattered Angels Techniques

Join Heidi Swapp and Wendy Senger for tips and techniques on using glimmer mist and all the other wonderful Tattered Angels products. You won't want to miss this.

Luv Card

One of my fellow DT members at My Scrapbook Nook, the talented and very funny Zarah Peterson, came up with this card sketch for us at the Nook:

All the DT members did our interpretation of the sketch and here's mine, using Lily Bee papers from the Nook's July kit:

Erm, yeah, I know, it doesn't really look like the sketch. But I had a great time playing with my Sizzix and Revolution dies, and my Martha Stewart border punches.

A close-up:

And of course, what is a butterfly without a beautiful trail of black pearl flourish? This pretty one's from Zva Creative.

Take a look at what the other designers came up with. And if you'd like to join in the fun, just create a card using Zarah's sketch and share it with us on the Nook forum.

Thanks for coming by. :)

Jaws

My DT box from Your Scrapbook Stash arrived two days ago and it was filled with all my favourite goodies. There were papers, flowers, stickers and stamps from Prima Marketing and even more products from Maya Road. What a fun box. Thank you for your generosity, Erica!

With such an inviting box, I had to dig into it immediately. So here's my first layout for Your Scrapbook Stash:

All Prima goodness on this layout. :) I used Prima's Strawberry Kisses collection, coupled with lots of Prima flowers, lace and crystal centres. The journaling sticker and alphas are also Prima.

Some close-ups:

Thanks for dropping by. :)

List of Supplies:
Patterned Paper - Prima Marketing Strawberry Kisses Collection (Raspberry Lemonade, Cupcake)
Flowers - Prima Marketing (Essentials Strawberry Kisses, Symphony Blend Capella Blue, Athena Flowers Skylight, Athena Flowers Coral)
Alphas & Journalling Spot - Prima Marketing Cardstock Stickers Strawberry
Leaves - Prima Marketing Heirloom Leaves Willow
Lace - Prima Marketing
Crystal centres - Prima Marketing
Others - Rangers Distress ink, Rangers Stickles, Robin's Nest Dew Drops.

Paddling

My new layout using My Scrapbook Nook's July Kit. Lots of bright colours from Lily Bee's Hello Sunshine collection.

I found the perfect flowers from Prima's Costa Brights to complement the Lily Bee papers. I topped off the Prima flowers with the Lily Bee chipboard stickers.

I don't usually scrap with bright colours so to make the layout more 'me', I inked, distressed and tore all the edges. And for a bit of fun, I splashed mist and ink all over the layout, little splashes of red, yellow and black. That was fun. :)

Thanks for dropping by.


Supplies:
Patterned Paper - Lily Bee Hello Sunshine collection (Fly A Kite, Savannah, Twirl, Picnic and Blueberry Pie);
Chipboard - Lily Bee Chipboard Stickers;
Flowers & Leaves - Prima Marketing;
Alphas - American Crafts Honey;
Mists - My Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists

You Spin Me Round

I managed to complete a couple of layouts since my last post but haven't been able to photograph them due to the weather here. It's been raining cats and dogs and I only just managed to snap a couple of photos a few minutes ago before it started to rain again.

This is my layout using Lily Bee's very cheery Hello Sunshine collection from My Scrapbook Nook's July kit. The photo is of my daughter and me in the spinning teacups at Alice in Wonderland in Disneyland. My daughter loves spinning us around so fast we can't walk straight at the end of it. :)

I was a little intimidated by the bright colours initially but a little inking and distressing along the edges, and a touch of lace and ribbons put me back at ease.

I don't use rub-ons often but these ones from Lily Bee were too pretty not to be used. And you've got to love the signature  mini diecuts too.

Thanks for dropping by. :)

Friendship Swap Sneak

A small group of us is having a friendship swap and this is a sneak of what I've done. Can't wait to see what the others have come up with. :)

Off to get some scrapping done. I've got a few layouts due and I'm busy all of tomorrow and the weekend, so all the scrapping's got to be done today. Wish me luck!