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

I loved this project so much that I had to make another coffee cup scrapbook with this free printable kit by Wilna Furstenberg.

These kits make everything so easy — you just print out the pages, paste on your photos and add any extra embellishments you like. There’s even a free printable coffee cup included in case you don’t have one to hand. There are full instructions included too.

Your next challenge is to find out just how easy it is! Make a coffee cup book using Wilna’s kit and then take a picture of it and upload it to your blog or a page gallery. Post a link in the comments on this post to enter for a chance to win.

One randomly selected entry will win a Starbucks gift card OR some of my favourite coffee beans sent straight to you — the winner can choose depending on which suits her best!

You have until 6am UK time on Monday morning to enter!

Happy scrapping! And don’t forget some happy music to keep your creativity jiving!

xlovesx

Comment [17]

I am a skirt and dress type of girl. I am also a coldest-person-in-the-room kind of girl. And oh my if these two things don’t always mix.

But thanks to 1980s fashion flashbacks, I have found perfection in the return of legwarmers. So much so that nearly every photo of me since about the first of October 2009 will include…legwarmers.

They are perfect for keeping warm on cold (and exceedingly muddy) coastal hikes.

They dress up, they dress down, they make you feel like standing on your toes and twirling along the seawall!

1. Dainty Leg Warmers, 2. 18/365 – Leg Warmers, 3. Funky Ballerina, 4. lucky star. 176:365

So as far removed from scrapbooking as that may seem, I’ve been loving the inspiration they can give, be it in texture or colour or the idea that the top half of the page could have elements that are narrower and more central with the bottom half of the layout having more bulk and texture. Okay, so that seems a stretch but that is exactly how the mind works sometimes!

And… just how many legwarmers were in the costume trailer for this fabulous gem?

I’ve come clean with my 1980s fashion love… is there any fashion item you love no matter how wrong it may seem?

xlovesx

Comment [11]

Digital brushes constantly amaze me: they can dress up a so-so photo and make it something extra special and they make it possible to do things like draw a perfectly straight line with a scalloped edge or repeat a handdrawn design exactly the same way but in another size or colour. It’s just like stamping and yet I never worry about making a mistake or dropping my inkpad, because the handy undo button saves all.

Rhonna constantly amazes and inspire me with what she does with brushes. Her digital pages are fabulous but I also love what she does to individual photos, like how she dressed up the pictures in this post with a little brushwork. Definitely check out her blog – she posts so many pretty things. And she’s going to send the winner of this challenge a prize! Thanks Rhonna!

If you have Photoshop Elements (or full Photoshop), then brushes are so easy once you get the hang of how to turn them on and make them go. This video tutorial by Sande Krieger shows exactly how to install and use brushes in Photoshop Elements. Or try this written tutorial from Rhonna if you find written instructions easier than the video. If you have full Photoshop, those tutorials will work too – it’s just that some of the menu options may be in a slightly different place.

If you don’t use any Photoshop software, not to worry! You can still use digital brushes as individual PNG images. Just open them in any image-editing software and you can copy and paste them onto an image. When you open a digital kit of brushes it will usually have a .ABR file (that’s the brush file) and a set of .PNG files (those are the individual pictures you can use in any image-editing suite).

Your 10am challenge is to create something with brushes, and you can download a free set of my hand-penned words brushes to get started. You can use any brushes (or other digital elements if your editing software of choice doesn’t include brushes) to complete the challenge so if you have a collection you can take your pick.

This challenge can be a digital or hybrid challenge. If you scrap digitally or want to give it a try, use the brushes on a digital page or element. If you are a strictly-paper scrapper, why not try adding a brush to a photograph and printing it out, then using the photo on a traditional paper page? If this is something you’ve never tried, then consider that the reason why it’s called a challenge and give it a whirl!

Whatever you make, post it to a gallery or your blog then leave a comment on this post with a link to your entry!

One project will be randomly chosen to win digital brushes from Rhonna Farrer. You can enter until 6am UK time on Monday 19th April.

Oh, and don’t think I forgot the tunes either!

xlovesx

Comment [15]

In my first year of teaching, the amazing librarian came up to me to ask my favourite book so she could add new members of staff to an open house display. I froze. That’s the sort of question that needs thought: if everyone will see what you’ve declared as your favourite, you don’t want it to be too much of a best seller exactly. You need something with substance and something that says ‘Why yes, I do read books that make me sound like an English teacher!’ And yet in the end, I could not get away from what I would truly declare as my favourite story, which is Through the Looking Glass.

So you can only imagine how amazing life can seem right now with Alice things everywhere! Though I think my days of finding rare and interesting copies of Alice books at bargain prices in little used book stores are long gone. I went in one last week to find all copies sold out and the only two remotely Alice items had prices that would shock and scare us all. So until all the fuss dies down I can placate myself with smaller Alice delights in fabric, stationery and lipstick.

Truth be told, I was very nervous about the new film. Burton can be amazing, especially with Johnny Depp and Helen Bonham-Carter of course, but I was ready to change my mind entirely with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I can never and will never accept the idea of Willy Wonka the American, and it was just something I could not get over. Roald Dahl’s stories are just as British as Alice in my mind and I never once read Charlie’s story and thought it would be in America. And because of this, I held a grudge. I think it was only Sweeney Todd that made me a little more confident that Burton did remember England after all.

And without saying anything else…why yes, I adore the new tale of Alice’s return.

So…what is your favourite book then?

_{On odd-numbered hours throughout the weekend, I’m posting little bits of things that inspire me. I’d love to hear what inspires you too! Check back on even hours for new scrapbooking challenges and prizes to be won!}

xlovesx

Comment [14]

1. Corner Love {Explore ♥!}, 2. Polaroid Calendar from JerseyMaids, 3. Nursery, 4. ten garlands in ten days: index card lurve, 5. Strawberries & Cream bunting banner, 6. christmas garland, 7. Untitled, 8. Molly’s Sketchbook: A Party Garland, 9. DIY 5 Minute Doily Garland, 10. spring bunting, 11. Molly’s Sketchbook: New Year’s Garland, 12. Cozy Winter Decor, 13. 214/365.2 Bunting at Blists Hill, 14. #11, 15. sprightly spring scraps…, 16. kitchen bunting, 17. d o w n t o w n, 18. Valentine bunting, 19. living room, 20. Untitled, 21. newspaper bunting, 22. tiny bedroom vignette, 23. Shadeé‘s room, 24. newspaper heart bunting, 25. delicate newspaper bunting

If tonight’s three challenges are all about my three favourite design motifs, any guesses on what the final trend would be? Hopefully all those pretty pictures give you a clue.

And of course, before we go any further, we need to call the party DJ back to action and request another rockin’ tune.

I love very simple bunting. These little triangles became bunting for our wedding that now appears anywhere I can put it: above the bed in the guest room, on the Christmas tree, and across my table whenever I am a vendor at a craft show! No hemming at all, and I actually think it looks sweeter with age and a bit of fray around the edges.

And now bunting is everywhere in crafting land too! I can only applaud this. You can see more in the video I posted this week.

Your 10pm challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to create something – anything- with bunting! Make something, take a picture and upload it to your blog or a page gallery. Then leave a comment on this post to enter!

One project will be randomly chosen to win a prize package filled with bunting themed scrapbook supplies. You can enter until 6am UK time on Monday 19th April.

xlovesx

PS: This is our final challenge for Friday night — challenges start again at 8am tomorrow morning! But you can enter all challenges until Monday morning so you can pick and choose your favourites to enter! See you tomorrow! Party on!

Comment [39]

It’s 8pm so it’s time for another party challenge all about one of my favourite design motifs: woodgrain!

This layout isn’t brand new but it’s one of my recent favourites and it features woodgrain letter stickers and fabric strips from Studio Calico.

_{©twopeasinabucket.com}

Your challenge this time is a little different — it’s not actually to use woodgrain but to use this layout as a sketch. Use a big picture if you want — or you can replace that with patterned paper and arrange standard sized prints over the top. Maybe just use the title portion as the sketch – that’s my favourite part of the page!

Of course… bonus points if you use woodgrain in your layout! Well, imaginary bonus points because we’re not counting but you know…woodgrain! It’s lovely! Is there need for further justification?

Oh, and how about another movie tune for our party soundtrack? Here you go!

_{This challenge: make something based on the design of the layout above — however you would like to interpret it. Then take a picture, post it online in a gallery or on your blog and leave a comment here with a link.}

_{One project will be randomly chosen to win a prize package filled with woodgrain themed scrapbook supplies. You can enter until 6am UK time on Monday 19th April.}

xlovesx

Comment [67]

It’s 6pm here so it’s time to get the party started! Shall we put on a little party music? That’s better!

The party schedule is pretty simple: even numbered hours have challenges and themes and the chance to win prizes. Some odd numbered hours have a little post about something I find inspiring — no challenges for those, just something to keep you creative! Those inspiration posts start tomorrow though! Tonight there are challenges at 6, 8 and 10 — so I’m devoting this Friday night to three of my very favourite motifs! Starting with…cupcakes!

I love to bake cupcakes even though I don’t get to make them quite as often lately. Turns out it helps to have a captive audience when you bake something that often has two dozen servings!

Plus I do tend to like going overboard. Like how we had more than three cupcakes per guest at our wedding. That was just a perfect amount in my mind! My friend Jackie makes amazing cakes (and teaches cake workshops here) and she made every single cupcake and even made them with our favourite recipes to make them extra perfect. Perhaps I shall tell you more cupcake stories over the weekend!

_{©twopeasinabucket.com}

So your very first challenge is to create something – anything – cupcake related! Make a card, a layout, go bake a dozen cute cakes! Then take a picture, post it online in a gallery or on your blog and leave a comment here with a link.

One project will be randomly chosen to win a prize package filled with cupcake themed scrapbook supplies.

You can enter until 6am UK time on Monday 19th April.

And if you’re a shimelle.com member (you’ve taken a class!) then hop over to the forum for a place to chat!

xlovesx

Comment [62]

Participants in Something from Almost Nothing already know this is on the horizon, but it’s about time I extended the invitation to all of you! This weekend, from Friday to Sunday, I’ll be hosting our very first online crop party here at shimelle.com!

Throughout the weekend there will be tutorials, projects and downloads as well as challenges, prizes and a few surprises! And it’s all free. You can stop by and participate in as much or as little as you like, and you can participate no matter where you are in the world (or what time it is there)!

If you have taken a class here before, you’ll have access to our members-only forum, where you’ll find a new section of the board set up just for the three-day scrapbooking party. If you’re not a member, you’ll still be able to find quite a bit right here on the blog, or you can become a member by signing up for any of the online scrapbooking classes you fancy, of course.

All of the party classes and challenges are designed for you to create using what you have on hand, so you won’t need to purchase any special supplies in order to participate. You can use any photos too — there are projects with photos at 2×3, 4×6 and 8×10 inches — but all of them can be adjusted to whatever size of photo you prefer to use. There’s also a balance of paper-only, hybrid (paper + computer) and digital-only projects, and you can pick and choose which ones suit you.

So if your desk is looking a little messy, maybe today is the day to tidy things up and get some photos in your to-scrap pile. Then join us here on Friday, when it will be scrapbook party time!

(Seriously, if you can say the words ‘party time’ without wanting to follow them with ‘excellent’ and an irrational desire to perform Bohemian Rhapsody in a packed car, I bow down to your ability to not have your entire world affected by this key moment of my adolescence.)

xlovesx

Comment [21]