pretty paper. true stories. {and scrapbooking classes with cupcakes.}

Not so much with the baking this week, but that doesn’t mean I’m steering clear of the cupcakes! We’ve been splitting them so we don’t have to just choose one flavour. So far, red velvet and cookie dough from Crumbs and snickerdoodle and devil’s food from Magnolia.

Yum.

Now to try out the cupcakeries in Kansas City! May your weekend include something delicious!

xlovesx

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These scalloped cardstock rectangles from Bazzill Basics are one of my go-to items for pages, and it was only the other day that I realised quite how often I use them. So what do you say I get these blog posts back to life with a few ideas for putting these fancy pieces of cardstock to work?

Stretch it over a two page layout
The Lombard Street layout above is from the November Garden. I love scattering big blocks of patterned paper across two page layouts, and the scalloped rectangle helps bring all those colours and patterns together in the centre.

Make it a simple focus
For single-photo layouts, one rectangle can be a home for photo, title and journaling. Super fast and easy, but the scallops make it a bit more purposeful and cute than a plain rectangle.

Cut it in half
I love running these rectangles over the edge of the page and cutting off the excess — I like the look plus it stretches one supply over more than one layout. It’s perfect for a title block with stickers like these from BasicGrey. The shading around the edge of the scallops is much easier with a foam ink applicator than inking straight from the ink pad.

Add a little something
Use the scallops the hold some other embellishment, like buttons, gems or punched circles to add a bit of dimension. Plus the look is quite different when the rectangle is on an angle instead of straight across the page.

And here is a (albeit silly) example of what to do with bits and pieces left over — those tiny pieces will work in corners and clusters of embellishments so there’s nothing going to waste.

So…what go-to item have you been putting to use for some time now?

xlovesx

PS: Those Blogging for Scrapbookers are throwing some blog parties this weekend! Check out The Creative Circle and I think there are more starting later today. I’ll post links here when I see them!

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Exciting news today — I’d like to introduce the Baker’s Dozen! Thirteen fabulous crafters who are going to share projects made with my digital kits and that starts today! They’ve all made something lovely with The Long and Winding Road kits.

So meet the lovely thirteen, and check out their blogs for more! Allison, Anso, Avital, Dolly, Elisa, Helen, Karen C., Karen M., Kate, Nadine, Rani, Sheri and Yvonne.

So excited to see what these lovelies will come up with in both digital and hybrid projects. I hope you will find them just as inspiring!

I’m also looking forward to a few cherries on top as well — some lovely ladies that will be our special guests over the coming months.

On a related note, it’s not too late to apply for the Two Peas Digital Creative Team — but don’t leave it too long as entries close tomorrow!

xlovesx

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Because I would like them to report here pronto. I am sure there are some hours left in each. I think they departed before the 24 hour time limit.

In fact, I think something similar may have happened to the last week or so.

So for now, let me direct you to other places, but come back, because the hours and the days and I are making a deal, and that deal includes time to blog. Oh yes.

Elsewhere, you’ll find…
…I’m a special guest at Studio 101 (not to be confused with Room 101) and you can participate in the first of three Shim-meets-101 challenges by making a layout with the same sketch I used to create the page above. (This weekend’s challenge will benefit charity: water, so you’ll want to check that out too.)

…You can win a free place on Journal your Christmas at Two Peas this weekend.

…I’m embossing polka dots at the Frog Blog.

…this weekend I’m leading a little Wizard of Oz magic at the UKScrappers cybercrop, and there are about as many challenges, classes and otherwise good things in a UKS cybercrop as there are munchkins in all of munchkinland, so definitely worth playing along if you have time to scrap this weekend.

Now, if you see my extra hours skiving around your place, send ‘em back here pronto!

xlovesx

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_{©twopeasinabucket.com. Supplies: Making Memories patterned paper, Hero Arts stamp with Ranger Distress Ink, stickers by Making Memories and Narratives, square tag maker edges, Heidi Swapp clear die cuts, Fiskars border punch and Tia’s Toy Camera Frames on the small photos. The pink doilies are paper coasters for drinks that I found in a 100yen store in Tokyo and I have been rationing them for perfect projects ever since!}

Every year or possibly every season someone says ‘stickers are on their way out’. Well, if stickers are ever not cool, I don’t want to be cool. I love the variety available and that they don’t just have to be stuck down… it is far more fun to layer them, ink them, cut them apart, sew them together and all manner of sticky things.

This month’s garden is filled with sticker layouts, which makes me a very happy and inspired scrapper. I loved making this layout with its sticker sandwiches (well, that’s what I call it anyway…two stickers with lots of stuff in between!) and the stamped pattern over the patterned paper. SJ took these not-quite-trash the dress photos for me and I can’t explain how much fun it was to get dressed up in wedding gear again and walk along the beach. And now I have a big stack of those photos to scrap…so you will likely be sick of them soon.

Of course there are more sticker layouts from the other Garden Girls! My favourites include this white on white action by Tia, the always adorable Jen Johner, a crazy amount of cute from Mary, border stickers gone supersweet by Caroline, digital stickers with Sheri and this just perfectly perfect layout by Nichol.

So…stickers: cool or uncool? What’s your vote?

xlovesx

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With the calendar turned over to November, it’s going to get more and more difficult to ignore that the holidays will be upon us…so perhaps it’s best to stop ignoring and start embracing the Christmas season! After all, the shops already have aisles filled with Christmas chocolates and stocking stuffers, so it must nearly be time to celebrate!

It’s something that started small. One year it was just me and my pen and my book, trying to take back Christmas and rediscover my love of the holiday after a few years when Christmas lacked a certain sparkle. The second Christmas, I shared the idea with a small group of crafty friends, just to see if this reclaiming idea was something that made sense outside of my head. It did. And from there, Journal your Christmas became an online class that I shared with the rest of the world. And by ‘rest of the world’, I mean if we just found an Antarctic explorer who fancied taking part, we would have Christmas journallers from every continent.

This is the most magical time of the year, and Journal your Christmas lets you keep that magic for years to come.

Every year, Journal your Christmas includes daily prompts from the 1st of December to the 6th of January, the twelfth day of Christmas. The 37 illustrated PDF files are delivered straight to your inbox so you can read them over your first cup of coffee and mull over each topic for a full day. There’s also an archive of the class materials online in case you can’t get to your email or in case something dreadful happens to your computer. And like every year, you can go it alone or be as social as you like, with a private discussion forum where you’ll find other Christmas journallers who will cheer you on and share your excitement, but if you prefer to stick to the prompts only, that’s completely fine too. And like every year, if you’re participated once, you can join us every Christmas for as long as you like at no extra cost.

In addition to ideas for writing topics and styles and notes on photos not to miss, the 37 prompts include more than 300 scrapbook pages to inspire your crafting creativity.

Of course, every Christmas needs a little something new, so this year’s additions include:
…a guide to preparing your album this month so you can scrap through the busy schedule of December
…a printable Christmas planner to help keep things from getting crazy in the countdown to the big day
…new printable accents for paper scrappers
…a digital kit absolutely crammed full of papers, templates, overlays, lettering and embellishments designed just for the class
…a bonus workbook on getting the best photographs possible this Christmas, with advice and examples from dozens of professional photographers.
so there is plenty to keep things exciting whether this is your first Christmas journal or your fifth.

Like all online scrapbooking classes at shimelle.com, Journal your Christmas includes
…permanent access to all class materials
…private forum for discussion and sharing your work
…prompts delivered straight to your inbox
…ongoing membership — pay just once and participate as many years as you would like at no additional cost.

Sign up now or gift a place to a friend as an early Christmas gift! You can pay in your choice of US Dollars or UK Pounds.

You can pay by credit/debit card (click on the left of the payment screen) or Paypal account (log in on the right of the payment screen). Please be sure to enter a valid email address as part of your payment so your prompts can be delivered to your inbox. Orders can take up to 24 hours to process, though we are usually quicker. If you haven’t received your class registration after 24 hours, just email me and we’ll make sure your registration is completed and ready for you to get started!

If you participated last year, you don’t need to do anything to join us again. In about a week you will receive an email with some updated info and reminders for you.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll share a few more sneaky looks at what you can expect this year, so keep your eyes open throughout November. (That’s this year’s cover in the first and last images.) Any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments and I’ll get right back to you with an answer! I can’t wait to get into the holiday spirit with new faces and alumni in this year’s class!

xlovesx

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Oh goodness, thanks so much for your enthusiasm in the comments!

Here’s our lucky commenter…

Sharon Brown Says:
I really like the sound of this, I’ve been longing to have a go at blogging but don’t really know where to start

Sharon, I’m emailing you now to get you all set to go!

If you’ve signed up, you should now have received this morning’s email. If it didn’t arrive, you can download it from the class forum but also send me an email so I can make sure your emails don’t disappear into the ether.

If you haven’t signed up yet, it’s not too late. We’re just getting started! Find all the details here and join us!

More news about a class later today…maybe a class involving a certain holiday that will be here before we know it? Check back this afternoon for all the details!

xlovesx

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It’s just a few more days until day one of Blogging for Scrapbookers, a new online scrapbooking class here at shimelle.com. This week, the class forum has already been abuzz with everyone getting excited. I love that we have a great mix of long-time bloggers, those dusting off old semi-abandoned blogs with new intentions and brand new bloggers joining us to see how this system can rejuvenate the way they document their stories for scrapbook pages to come.

The class starts with Blogging Blueprints, a step-by-step workbook for starting your blog, how to post, change the look of the blog and all sorts of other bells and whistles. This is available now, as soon as you sign up, and I was so absolutely thrilled to hear that is has already helped several people get past any technical roadblocks to blogging. Comments like this made me absolutely giddy:

“Last year I bought “Blogging For Dummies”. I read the whole thing; and it got me as far as choosing a blogger template. I can’t believe that this one workbook has got me the rest of the way so easily.” – Sian

(And that book retails for £5 more than the class…and we haven’t even started with the class prompts yet! So definitely happy that you don’t need to invest in any extras, even for the technical stuff!)

A few people have asked how much time would be needed for this class. Each of the 15 prompts has three options for what to do: one option for when you have little to no time at all, a second option for when you have a bit of time and a third option for when you feel like devoting an hour or more. And of course, you could do the five minute option during the course, the fifteen minute option next month and the hour option when you had a bit of a break, so you’ll end up with material you can use how you want, when you want, and no shortage of ideas.

Anyway, I am very excited as there is so much to come, including the scrapbook pages we’ll be making along the way. And you could be joining us!

Leave a comment below to be entered for a chance to win a free place on the class! Entries close Sunday, 6pm London time. Winner will be posted by Monday morning.

And of course, it’s not too late to join us! Find all the class details and sign up here. If you win the free place, I’ll refund your registration or you can invite a friend to take the free spot, so you have nothing to lose!

Don’t forget to comment to enter!

xlovesx

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