Crate Paper "On Trend" Collection

Way back in August, I won the Crate Color Challenge (yay!)  You can see my layout here.  As the winner of the challenge, I got to choose a Crate collection as my prize.  Since I pretty much had almost every other collection, I chose one that was just being released "On Trend."   I had to wait for a while to get my prize as it was still being manufactured at the time that I chose it.

The package finally came last week and I couldn't wait to open it - it was much heavier than I expected!  Crate was so generous!  Not only did I get the collection pack, but they also sent a sheet of chipboard stickers, 3 packs of Thickers, a sheet of mini alphas, tape stickers, vellum garlands, brads and buttons, and a 6" X 6" paper pad.  WOO HOO!!  What a haul!

I wanted to create something with all my goodies and knew that this picture of me that my husband took last weekend would be perfect.  I had gone to my salon to have an "up-do" for a wedding that we went to.  I loved the way my hair turned out and the picture turned out really good, too!

I'm taking the "Cut It Out" class from Studio Calico this month and I used the POW glitter paper and the vellum from the class.  The tissue paper came in a package that I ordered from Etsy and I used it as part of the matting to add some texture.

Have a great week everyone!

October Crate Color Challenge

I've been playing along with the monthly Crate Color Challenges from the Crate Paper blog for the last several months.  I'm finding that it is a great way to use up my enormous supply of Crate products.  It is also a fun challenge - the color combinations are a lot of fun, but not always very easy.

This month's challenge can be found here.  The colors are Dove Grey, Peacock Blue, and Gingerbread Brown.

The colors made me think about last weekend when we spent the weekend in Vermont.  We drove to Brandon and the whole town was decorated with "Leaf People."  It was a very fun, festive look.  I had taken several pictures of them and printed out a few for my layout.

I used paper from four different Crate collections - Pretty Party, Paper Heart, Farmhouse and Portrait.  The only non-Crate items are the white cardstock and the letters "VT" were both AC supplies.  I used my Silhouette Cameo for the title and for the leaves.

The winner will be posted on the Crate blog tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

Have a great week everyone!

Instagram Newbie

I finally got an IPhone a few weeks ago and the first thing I did was download Instagram.  I had a feeling that it would change the way I scrapbook, and judging by the last three layouts I created, it sure has!  All three of the layouts were created with Instagram photos.  Two of the layout have pictures of events that I normally wouldn't have pictures of because I wouldn't have a camera with me.  

This is the first Instagram photo I took.  I was in my scrap room when I downloaded Instagram and as soon as it was ready I took a photo of the first thing that caught my eye - it was a scrapbook page I had just finished.  The color palette is from the September Crate Color Challenge.

The next layout has pictures of the food truck that I often go to on Fridays and the grilled cheese from that food truck that I am in love with.  Mmmmmm!!!!  

I used the September Studio Calico kit, Central High, for this layout. 

The last layout I created was pictures from last weekend, the last weekend of the summer.  My hubby and I went to Harold Parker National Forrest for some mountain biking.  I never would have had a camera in the woods with us, so I am so happy I can now take pictures like this with my phone!  

How about you?  Has Instagram changed your scrappy world?

Have a great week everyone!

August Crate Color Challenge

The color palette for the August Crate Color Challenge was posted here just over a week ago.  The colors for the month are:  vintage linen, pear green, and sea glass blue.

I started by going through all of my Crate products and pulling out the papers and embellishments that I thought might work.  Then I peeked through some recent photos of mine and found one that I could use.  My husband and I spent four nights in Quebec City this July and I had taken this photo of the outside dining area of the restaurant that we ate at.

I ended up using patterned papers from three different lines:  Pretty Party, Emma's Shoppe, and Portrait.  The embellies were all from Pretty Party, with two OA buttons and a couple of Prima crystals added.  I also added a little strip of Freckled Fawn washi.  I did just a bit of misting with Studio Calico's Mister Huey in Dewey.  I had kept the receipts from the restaurant, so I tucked them in behind the photo and stapled them with my tiny attacher.

The "flower 4-petal square" design from Silhouette that I used here may be my new favorite design.  I think it is fabulous for layering!

Have a great week everyone!

June Crate Color Challenge

Here is the color palette for the June Crate Color Challenge:

I decided to create a page with a picture of a bowl of fresh strawberries from a farmer's market that I took last summer.  I thought that the green of the colander in the photo would offset all the pinks in the color palette.

I used all Crate Paper products from the Paper Heart and Pretty Party Collections.  The stamp for the letters F-R-E-S-H are from the Studio Calico set sold here.  The font for the word strawberries can be downloaded here.  I tried to play around with lots of fun layering on this layout and I love the way it turned out!!

Wish me luck and have a great week everyone!!

May Crate Color Challenge

I was able to spend most of the evening on Saturday scrapbooking for National Scrapbooking Day.  I decided to combine the May Crate Color Challenge with a Studio Calico challenge - triangles.  Two birds with one stone!  

I loved the color combination that Crate chose.

I had hoped to get more than one layout done on Saturday, but this one took quite a bit of time!  I ended up with 65 triangles on my page that had to be individually cut, adhered, and then sewed down.  I love the way it turned out though.

I used all Crate papers from three different lines:  Pretty Party, Paper Heart, and Farmhouse.  The wood frame was from Story Teller.  The orange button, die cut butterfly and the journaling label were all from Pretty Party.  I love how all of Crate's collections mix so well together.

I didn't add Mr. Huey to the layout until the very end and it terrified me a bit!  I almost didn't do it, thinking I could easily ruin hours of work, but I think it turned out great.  I used "sunshine" Mr. Huey - one of my favorite colors.

Have a great week everyone!  

April Crate Color Challenge

Crate has become one of my favorite scrapbooking companies.  It all started with the Restoration Collection, which is one of my favorite and most used collections of all time.  Since then, I have also fallen in love with the Portrait Collection, Farmhouse Collection, Paper Heart Collection, and the Storyteller Collection.
The February and the March Studio Calico kits contained lots of Crate goodness.  I also bought the entire Paper Heart Collection from my local scrapbook store.  So when I saw the April Crate Color Challenge on the Crate blog, I had plenty of product to play with.
Here are the colors:

I created a layout with a recent photo of my cat Elliott.  It is hard to get a great photo of a cat, but I love how this one turned out.  I call Elliott the "BIG E" and I used both of his names on the layout in different fonts.  The three fonts were all cut with the Silhouette.

Have a great week everyone!