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

Back in the States for my first Thanksgiving in many, many years. Food galore and happy faces too.

Hope your Thursday was lovely!

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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I’m sure right at the beginning of this month I had every intention of creating lovely Halloween decorations and sharing them with you. Somehow that plan ended up derailed! Instead I’m on a bit of a last minute kick with these party printables.

The printable set comes with little cards that can be used on their own, matted on the front of a greeting card or added to a treat bag, plus cupcake topper flags (just cut out and glue on a toothpick) and a poster too so you can put something on your door even if you didn’t have time to carve a pumpkin. Just thought I’d share in case anyone else is finding their plans of early decorating have gone astray.

I have a notion of doing a bit more today with a can of black spray paint and some old tin cans – will report back with results if it works! Or possibly even more entertaining if it doesn’t?

A few other notes…
…Pieces for Christmas Journal kits have started to arrive! No exact date yet for these to go on sale as not everything is here just yet, but it will be soon.
…Check back here tomorrow for a giveaway and some further notes on the new online class Blogging for Scrapbookers.
…Thank you so much for your kind words about the end of the magazine. It meant a great deal that many of you enjoy reading it!

xlovesx

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By now many of you have heard the news that the next issue of Scrapbook Inspirations will be the last, as it was announced late last week. Perhaps I hadn’t said anything here just yet because I was in a bit of denial. But also because it was admittedly quite difficult to read speculation from others as to how this happened, why this happened, how long it had been happening. It is very difficult to see speculation from the other side, when part of you wants to say ‘No, really, that’s not how it worked’ but really the end result is the same: after the Christmas issue, there will be no regular, monthly issue. I’ve worked on this magazine since issue two, and over the past few years have done more work behind the scenes, so inevitably it has been very sad news.

In a way, coming to work for SI came from a similar experience, going away with some scrapping friends for a weekend having just learned of the end of Scrapbooking Memories and More, a magazine we had worked on back when things like that were really in their infancy in the UK. We had all been upset about it individually and by the time we headed home, we had banded together in hopes of working together on something, somewhere. And SI gave us that opportunity and trusted us with ideas that went from silly conversations and rough pencil sketches into real articles. Sixty issues later, that is still a magical feeling for me. Working with that team always had energy and creativity and I loved seeing how we would each interpret a single idea.

It has also been lovely working with new scrappers, and recently new team members, as the hobby took a step in a new direction earlier this year and we were able to see new styles evolving from British scrappers. I know these ladies will continue to be inspiring crafters, even if I don’t have that little glee of seeing their work before it goes to press.

And please indulge me as I must say a huge public thank you to Rosie, Cara and Jane, our editors. These girls are amazing and I am so sorry that such amazing people are now faced with the upheaval that comes with the end of a job. Jane, our art editor, needs a medal just for not killing me, as I often send her notes like ‘I know this article was supposed to have three layouts but now it has five. Ummmm. Sorry.’ or ‘I dropped an ink pad on this layout at the last minute. Can you fix it?’ and I would completely expect her to call me every name in the book and just refuse to make the changes, but presto, it would have all five layouts and no scary ink pad evidence, beautifully and without any swearing that I ever heard. Cara is an organisational goddess, and I have never known anyone to be so calm with changes and short deadlines. If I were her, there would have been many times I would have shouted at me for leaving things close to the deadline (ahem, I am deadline motivated, but that is an entirely different discussion) but nope, she always had everything under control. And Rosie, well, Rosie is so awesome I have no words right now. And if I did, we would both get really upset to the point that it wouldn’t be pretty in any way, so let’s just say for now that I feel incredibly lucky to have worked with her and now I’m going to try to end this paragraph really quickly before I lose it.

Less than two weeks ago, we drafted the entire 2010 editorial calendar. There is so much stuff on there that makes me excited. Here’s to hoping it finds its place, even if it’s not where we first thought.

xlovesx

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Most of the time, I am constantly trying to get closer to something with the camera. I love to find textures and shadows and hidden, sparkly light and sometimes eliminate the background entirely! But it’s time for something different.
Over the last two weeks, I’ve made a conscious decision to step back and zoom out with the camera to catch the whole scene. Sometimes even more than I can see with my own eyes, which is an interesting experiment!

What’s your favourite wide-angled shot? Share a link with us so we can all have plenty of zoomed-out inspiration!

xlovesx

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