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 2012 Studio Calico - Summer of 69

It is time again for my monthly re-cap of what I created with my Studio Calico kit in the month before my new kit arrived on my front porch.  

My first layout is a layout celebrating my first scrappy paycheck!  I got my first paycheck from Creating Keepsakes a bit ago and I thought it would be fun to create a layout with it!  (Account information blurred out.)

My next three layouts are all layouts that I created for the Pop Off the Page class over at Studio Calico. The first, "Olivia" was created for weekly challenge #1 - to layer in a confined space.  It was fun to limit the area I was working in!

The next layout is the layout that I created with strips of paper as the background.  I distressed the edges of the papers a bit and stitched them down.   I thought the colors were perfect for the topic of the page!

My last layout from the kit for August was created for the September Crate Color Challenge.  (Actually most of the product on the page wasn't from the SC kit, but three of the items were, so in my mind it counts.)  The color combination for the month is:

Here is the layout I created:

I just got an Iphone two weeks ago and downloaded Instagram as fast as I could.  This is the first photo I took with Instagram.  It is a photo of my layout from above!  

How much did you get done with the August kit?

Have a good week everyone!

  

Pop off the Page Challenge #1

Studio Calico now offers a different class available for purchase each month.  The class for September was "Pop off the Page" by Jen Jockish, with a number of other contributors.  I have been a fan of Jen's for many years and just love her style, so I thought this would be a fun class to take.  The class came with PDFs of the lessons,  a kit that included fun stuff like lace, tags, sequins, and badges, wood veneer stars, and exclusive use of a Pop off the Page message board.  The kit that came with the class was so fun that I started to use it even before the class started on Sept. 1st!

There is going to be a challenge every week, and this week's challenge was to "layer in a confined space."  I decided to combine the challenge with the first lesson, the kit, and the August 2012 Studio Calico kit to see what I could come up with.

I would have to say that the layout is definitely not my usual style (if I have one), but I absolutely love it!  The photo is of my niece, Olivia, that I took just a few weeks ago during my vacation in Wisconsin to visit my family.  Such a gorgeous photo of her!

I'm looking forward to more Pop Off the Page challenges this month!

Have a great week everyone!

July 2012 Studio Calico - Elmwood Park

Today I'm sharing all of the layouts that I created with the July 2012 Studio Calico kit, Elmwood Park, from the time the kit came until I received the August kit.  This post is a little late this month due to a vacation last week and really bad internet connection in the woods of Wisconsin!

I absolutely loved Elmwood Park and created seven layouts with it!  In addition to the main kit, I also got the add-on Monkey Bars.

My first layout, "I Took Shorthand," is the second in my random fact series.  The October Afternoon paper from the 9 to 5 collection couldn't have been more perfect for the layout, especially since I didn't really have a photo to go along with the topic.

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the circle/bubble cluster out on the layout "The Look of Terror."  It was time consuming to back it with different patterned papers, but I love the way it turned out.

"Laurie's Pond" has some fun misting and I used the Silhouette to cut out some cattails to embellish the page.  The photos are some really old ones of my parents.

I did some fun layering on my layout "Kitty Love."  I loved the Basicgrey paper with the big letters on it and cut them out for my title.

This next layout "The Ledvina Farm" is pretty much a scraplift of "Kitty Love."  I received the cow stamp from a RAK from a SC gal and put it to good use right away!

I used the stamp set in add-on #4 to create a word border on my layout "Topsfield Fair."

My last layout "Quebec City" was spotted by the team at Scrapbooking Mag and will be published in an upcoming issue of their new Ipad only magazine.

I've been on vacation since the 17th and haven't had a chance to do anything with the August kit!  I'm hoping to play with it tonight!

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!

Kitty Love

I am having so much fun working with the July 2012 Studio Calico kit, Elmwood Park.  I finished my sixth layout with it last night and I have at least one more in the planning stages.  I have so much of the kit left - it looks like I haven't even started playing with it!  I bought one add-on this month - Monkey Bars and I bought more SC paper.

This is one of my favorites that I have created so far.  I cut out the letters for the title from the BasicGrey paper.  The 'o' didn't match the other letters at all, so I cut out a heart from another paper.  

I love the exclusive denim thickers that came with this kit.  I honestly wouldn't have thought I'd like them much, but I have used them on three layouts so far.

The Studio Calico wood veneer birds that came with the kit are so adorable!  I couldn't resist putting a few of them on a cat page.

The August kit arrives at my door on Tuesday, so my next post will be my monthly installment of "what I got done with my SC kit before the next month's kit arrived at my door."  It's going to be a big one this month!

Have a great week everyone!

I AM a cardmaker!

(She tells herself, a bit unconvincingly.)

  I never considered myself a cardmaker.  I don't make a lot of cards.  I struggle with them much more than with a scrapbook page.  I make them mostly to use up excess supplies.

However, I have made cards that are good enough to be published - three of them!  So, I decided to embrace calling myself a cardmaker.

With cards, I generally start out with a sketch, a challenge, or I lift a card I saw somewhere (but only if I am  just sending the card to someone - not if I am submitting it.)  Cards magazine has a sketch and a style challenge each month, so sometimes I create something for that.  The style challenge for January 2013 is:  the colors chartreuse, aqua, light grey, with the element tags.

 

I went through my stash of Crate papers because they always have the best chartreuse colored patterned papers.    I found a chartreuse and an aqua in the Pretty Party collection pack.  I had a great tag from an older Studio Calico kit that I knew that I wanted to use.  I cut two more tags out using my Slice and decorated the card with butterflies, a border sticker and my favorite embellishment - a mini clothespin.

I think it came out pretty cute!!

So, do you scrapbook and make cards?  Do you enjoy creating one more than the other?  Are you better at cardmaking or scrapbooking?  I'd love to know!

Have a great week everyone!