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

Actually two winners to post today! Ruth is the winner of the selection of goodies from the Love collection by American Crafts.

…and Joy is the winner of a gift certificate for Jenni Bowlin scrapbooking goodies!

Ruth and Joy, please email me (shimelle at gmail dot com) and I’ll get your prizes sent to you!

Thanks so much for all your entries. There’s a new chance to win this coming weekend, of course, so it might be your lucky week soon!

xlovesx

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This weekend, one commenter will win a selection of scrapbooking goodies from the American Crafts Love collection.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post saying something you’re looking forward to soon!

Entries close at midnight Sunday UK time and the winner will be posted Monday, along with the winner of the Jenni Bowlin giveaway.

Good luck!

xlovesx

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…and so it proves more difficult to find internet access in a country where most people have the internet at home and at work. Who knew it would be easier to get online in Laos than Australia? A few of you warned this would be the case and you are certainly right. I’m posting this from a McDonald’s, of all places, with a connection so wobbly I will be impressed if something good happens when I hit the submit button.

So my apologies for the sporadic blog posts and the terrible state of my email inbox! We are staying with friends for a long weekend starting tomorrow, and I am hoping this means I can change my ways and get on top of everything. If you’re waiting on an email from me, I’m so sorry for the delay. (That goes to our families as well as work stuff, oh goodness! I promise we are healthy and fine – just not as plugged in as usual.)

As it will be Valentine’s Day before our next sketch of the week, it seemed only right to have something heart-themed and happy! So here is a bit of an older layout with an even older photo… and you can take that as inspiration for something heart-accented yourself or you can replace the hearts with any embellishment you fancy, of course.

This sketch is great for a longer title with a mix of letter stickers – perfect for using the remainders of a few sheets that are thin on the ground. OR you can reclaim that space for a second or third photo if you prefer that to the single picture option. The three spots of embellishment help bring everything together, and as long as they have some sort of theme they can be a bit mismatched, so all the same colour or motif can work just as well as three identical embellishments. All great for busting the stash!

This darned lack of internet means I haven’t been able to post the great layouts that have been created from the last two sketches! I’ll get that fixed as soon as I have a connection that lets me look at all your blogs. I’m dying to see your pages!! Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Happy scrapping, and appreciate your internet connection today, ha!

xlovesx

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Welcome to Jenni Bowlin Studio’s CHA Winter 2011 Blog Hop brought to you by our newest release, “Be Our Guest!” This is the largest release ever from JBS, filled with all sorts of pretties from the patterned paper, stickers, rub-ons, bingo cards, and unique embellishments you’ve come to know and love to a new foray into acrylic stamps and project foundations. You can see the entire release here. To celebrate, JBS is offering so many opportunities to win $15 gift cards to JBS Mercantile, including this post – just leave a comment to be entered!

You can also enter to win at the following locations:

Twitter: We will be giving away TWO $15 gift cards to one new follower on Twitter. These will be sent to the winner and to a friend of the winner’s choosing, so if you’re already a follower of jbsmercantile then get some of your friends to follow us too! We will also be randomly choosing a winner from those who retweet the “CHA Winter 2011 Giveaway” post.
NEWSFLASH . . . Jenni now has her own Twitter account! It’s jennibowlin and we will be choosing a random winner from her followers as well!

Facebook: Look for the post that mentions the “Be Our Guest Giveaway” and leave a comment to be entered into the first drawing. We will also be randomly choosing a second winner from our NEW Facebook followers, so share this post with your Facebook friends (there’s a little button to click at the bottom of this post to make it easy).

JBS Mercantile Message Board: On the Town Square forum, leave a comment on the thread marked “Be Our Guest Giveaway”.

The JBS Inspiration Blog: Leave a comment on the “CHA Winter 2011 Blog Hop” post telling us which of our new products is your favourite.

The blogs of the design team members: find a full list of those giveaway blog posts on the JBS Inspiration Blog. But of course, you’re here so please enter now before you hop away!

Leave a comment on this post to be entered for a chance to win!

Get to hopping! And good luck!

xlovesx

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After five quite blissful days in lovely Luang Prabang, the most laid-back place I have ever ventured in my life, it was time to move on. How exactly does one move on from the calm of monks, the beauty of waterfalls, the peace of elephants and an overwhelming quiet? Basically with one big slap in the face.

We left one extreme behind in Laos and came through immigration to the other end of the spectrum in Hanoi, Vietnam. For all the quiet zen of Luang Prabang, Hanoi is the loudest place I have ever been, hands down. It’s a crowded city with everything seeming to lean on whatever is next door. It’s a city where hard sales are the only sales. A city that gives an entirely new definition to the term ‘street smart’.

We had only been in the country minutes when we happened upon our first attempted con: a taxi driver who cornered us at the currency window to give us a ‘good price – cheap price’ to our hotel. This is forty-five kilometres away, he told us and quoted us a price. It will take an hour, at least. Except we knew it wasn’t and it wouldn’t and we finally managed to walk further away than he was willing to follow. The metered taxi outside took half the time and cost less than half the original quote. Oh, hurrah.

We found ourselves at our hotel in the old quarter, a place with teeny-tiny streets and towering buildings that seem to hang a bit over the road in some death-defying stunt of architecture. And once we checked in, we found ourselves shouting to each other. Because even nine floors up, with the windows closed, the noise from the street level was so loud we couldn’t hear a darned thing we said. Things got even better around 3am, when full-fledged building work started up across the road, complete with bulldozers, sledgehammers and assorted things I can only describe as a full tabernacle chorus of banging pots and pans together. Trust me, there are no ear plugs in the world that would have equipped me for the shock of going from peace to chaos in just one day.

The next day we explored Hanoi on foot. We walked through the citadel (if only for my love of official world heritage sites), wandered through a history museum that documented the early history of Vietnam and its links to China, admired the lovely opera house. We talked to a group of university students preparing a debate about a local problem with people setting their pet turtles free in the city’s lake — they would be debating in English and wanted to chat to native speakers for some rehearsal. That was lovely fun. But so often, we would turn to walk down a street and each one just seemed to assault us a little more – more traffic, more noise, more things crammed into a tiny space. Eventually all I was craving was somewhere that wouldn’t make my heart race with the stress of it all.

I am terrible at finding things (or remembering where they are) and The Boy has a knack for this. As he likes to say, I know where your stuff’s at. And yes, he says it that way just to annoy my inner English teacher for ending a phrase with a wholly unnecessary preposition, because that is the sort of thing he finds hilarious. But presto: he found us a somewhat abandoned park on the edge of a lake with no cars, no shops and very few people. Indeed, he knew where this stuff was at.

I’m still not quite sure if this is a working fun fair or an old fun fair that has just been left to rust. It looks abandoned to me, but we did have to pay an entry fee (albeit not much) so I’m not too sure. Earlier that day we had been talking about how traditional illustrations of animals like lions and tigers in very old Asian pictures don’t look anything like the actual animals, and how this is because the artists had never seen a lion or a tiger, but instead had taken a description from someone who had taken a description from someone who had taken a description from someone who claimed they had seen a lion or a tiger, and thus sometimes lions look a bit like dragons or poodles or goat-people as a result. I think the ferris wheel cars are what happens when someone who has never seen Mickey Mouse or 101 Dalmatians paints Mickey Mouse or 101 Dalmatians, based a description from someone who had taken a description from someone who had taken a description from someone who claimed they had seen Mickey Mouse or 101 Dalmatians. In that case, it’s pretty darn good. (In any other case, I’m not sure why Mickey has multiple sets of ears, so there we go.)

Everywhere we walked that day, we saw brides having their photos taken. At first I thought it was a fashion shoot for a magazine or something. Then I thought maybe it was like Japan, where having your photo taken in a Western-style white wedding dress is a bit of a trendy form of playing dress-up, and often has nothing to do with an actual wedding. But later it all became clear: here, the wedding portraits are taken before the wedding. The bride and groom in Western dress and tux, photographed a week or two before the big day and the photographs all go on display at the actual wedding, where they may wear traditional dress, modern dress or a combination. We were in Hanoi in the few days right before the new year and January is the luckiest month to getting married in the Vietnamese calendar, so seeing brides everywhere turned out to have more to do with the date than anything else. It was exciting to spot them though – I wish we saw more of this back home, just because it is hard to not be happy when you pass a couple getting ready to get married. Or perhaps that is just because I am a romantic sap, which is okay too.

There came a time when we had to depart the quiet precinct of the park (because while I can’t be sure if the ferris wheel had been abandoned, I am sure the ladies’ room was abandoned a very long time ago) and so we were back to the traffic. Only we were back to the traffic at about half-past five in the afternoon. We were suddenly pedestrians in rush hour, in a place where the traffic will take any available surface to move forward, even if it’s on the pedestrian path and even if it’s a lane heading the other direction. It is sheer insanity that goes against all your survival instincts. Instead of the green cross code, the rule for crossing the road on foot is look straight ahead (not at the traffic) and move at an even pace. Traffic will move around you, provided you don’t freak the heck out and start to run through an open gap or turn around and go back. But every single bit of my insides really, really wanted to freak out. Every single time. Getting to the other side of the road was always a victory! But indeed the traffic always went around us, and the worst problem we had was discovering that a word we had heard from several motorbike drivers was perhaps a bit colourful in nature. Pedestrians are really not their favourite thing, it would seem.

I don’t want to be unfair, but I’ll be honest: I didn’t love Hanoi. I found the air hard to breathe from all that traffic and I felt lucky to have all ten toes still intact when we crossed the street for the last time to board our train. We’ve seen quite a few sad things that have made me gasp along this journey, but crossing paths with a dog-catcher was the worst of them all and I completely lost it right there in the street, with all the locals wondering what the heck was wrong with me. I was worried that much of Vietnam would be just like this and I would spend the next two weeks in a permanent state of migraine-inducing panic, and I wondered how on earth the locals coped with this as a permanent state of affairs. But I promise: it got much, much better as we continued. Just consider yourself warned: Hanoi is really not the sort of place you want to wake up if you’ve become acclimated to an entire town that has the general ambiance of a day spa. Unless, you know, you just love a full assault on the senses. Then it’s totally the place for you.

xlovesx

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This Friday, please welcome the delightful May Flaum with a new five ideas post! I hope she encourages your creativity with a little something just right for something Valentiney!

When February rolls around each year, my thoughts turn to three things: love, chocolate, and hearts. Beyond Valentine’s Day, I believe the heart is a wonderful symbol to include in papercrafting as much as I possibly can. It symbolizes love of all forms, and since I generally craft from a happy place in my heart it suits me wonderfully.

From stamps to punches, hand cut to pre-designed, paper to embellishments love using all colors, shapes, and sizes of hearts! Today I am very excited to share five different projects that all share a common theme: hearts!

Valentine treat bag
First up, I can’t talk about hearts in February and not mention Valentine’s Day! For me, I celebrate all forms of love and enjoy sending treats to friends and family with notes of love and happiness inside. Here is a treat bag I created for this year! It was very simple to make with a small bag decorated with two die cut hearts at the center of my embellishing on the front.

I used a Tim Holtz die cut, Rock Candy & Spun Sugar stickles, and Worn Lipstick distress ink (both by Ranger), Girls’ Paperie papers and stickers from the Paper Girl collection, KaiserCraft lace trim, foam squares, Ranger UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel) in clear, plus a doily and bag from the party supplies section of a general crafting store.

For the tie I folded the bag over (onto the back) and opened it up so that I could punch a hole in the back but not the front of the bag. I wanted the front to be solid, without the lace tie running through. I just love how this turned out – and I hope my dear friend enjoys her treats!

Frame a loved one
I love that Tim Holtz heart die cut so much – it cuts three pieces/hearts that I can either layer together or use individually as I have here on this photo frame. This project was so simple – just a few pieces layered together and put onto a glittery frame just waiting for the right photo.

Supplies include Pink Paislee tickets, Lily Bee chipboard button, Girls’ Paperie patterned paper, Tim Holtz die cut, Smooch Ink and a frame.

Lovey-dovey art tag
Making tags is something I love for warming up my creative muscles! I love to use stamps, glimmer mists, and glossy accents (to create a pattern that the inks and mists won’t ‘stick’ to) paired with a few details to get me going. This tag was created with Stampers Anonymous diamond and angel stamps, CatsLife Press heart stamp; Tim Holtz distress inks in worn lipstick, spiced marmalade, and tumbled glass, Tattered Angels glimmer mists in Dazzling Diamonds and Sugar Maple, Ranger Glossy Accents plus a bit of lace, a blank shipping tag and a heart charm

Scrapbook someone you love
That CatsLife Press heart stamp is a favorite of mine – it tends to show up on projects all year-round. Like this recent layout about my daughter and some of her fashion loves. So many hearts here! I had a blast. I love both hand-cutting and using punches to create masks and stencils for spraying glimmer mists. There’s just something about sparkle + hearts that makes me so happy!

Here’s a look at my layout after it had been misted (but before assembled).

To create this page, I used Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists in Pink Taffy and carribean blue, CatsLife Press stamp, Smooch Inks, Distress Stickles in Scattered Straw, Girls’ Paperie chipboard letters, Pink Paislee border sticker, Webster’s Pages sparklers, Fiskars scallop heart punch (L) plus thread, buttons and a pen.

Painted canvas
Finally, I put that CatsLife Press stamp to work one more time in the center of a 8” x 8” canvas. Oh how much fun I had with this one! It was easy too – I made a double die cut (Tim Holtz reindeer die) that I adhered with PPA at the bottom of a golden crackle paint heart. Then I layered on the glimmer mist, glossy accents, and stickles as well as some glimmer glam until I was happy with the results.

Supplies include Tim Holtz Tarnished Brass Distress Crackle paint, distress stickles in Worn Lipstick and Walnut Stain, and deer die cut, Tattered Angels glimmer glam in Lipstick Pink and Chandelier, glimmer mist in dazzling diamond, vintage pink, and blue skies; Ranger glossy accents, CatsLife Press stamp, PPA by USArtQuest, plus my canvas and some yardstick.

A project like this is easier than you might think – just keep adding a bit of color, a touch of mist, and let dry. Use glossy accents to add dimension and shine (or to create a resist!) and don’t be afraid to use a rag to rub mists and such around. I applied my stickles around the edge of the heart while things were very wet and I love the result!

The photos hardly do all the glimmery, love filled, goodness justice!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my five projects featuring hearts, and that you’re inspired to get out there and spread some crafty love yourself. Whether you scrapbook about a personal love, make a card for a loved one, or just enjoy the goodness of hearts I wish you happy crafting.

---

May Flaum is a lifelong crafter who has a deep love of many things including cupcakes, vintage inspired goodies, romance novels, sparkly things, and crafting. She is a long-time instructor, author, and designer within the scrapbook industry and currently is teaching a Creative Retreat class for Big Picture Classes. When not getting her hands all covered in shimmery goodness she can be found in Northern California raising her two daughters and living a love filled life with her husband. For more about May visit her blog at mayflaum.com.

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Sorry for the delay while we got acclimated to Australia! I’m back online now, in the brilliant sunshine of Sydney! G’day, or something.

So here’s another sketch for you, and a little shift from the 4×6 photos to include three 2×3 pictures. Though you could easily substitute one or two standard size prints if you prefer! And of course, more patterned paper love: I used four different patterns for this page, plus the dotted cardstock for the background.

This title mixes a preprinted accent sheet for the first few words with Thickers glitter letter stickers to finish the phrase. Just a little heads up in case thinking that way helps you breathe a little life into some title strips in your own collection.

You can use die-cut papers to trace the label shape onto any paper you like, or you can use a rectangle (with squared or rounded corners) instead, so there’s a bit of variety even without moving things around the page.

And here are eighteen different interpretations of last week’s sketch. So much fun to see all the different patterns and photos you chose! See more about each page on their respective posts:
Top row, L to R: one, two, three, four, five, six.
Middle row, L to R: seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve.
Bottom row, L to R: thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen.

As always, these sketch challenges are for you to use any time – don’t stress about deadlines or changing them to work for you! There is no stress in scrapbooking! Just have fun. If you do happen to create a page from this sketch, I’d love to see it (and maybe feature it in a future post!) so please leave a link in the comments!

xlovesx

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Congratulations to LisaE, who wins a selection of goodies from the Je T’Adore collection by Making Memories! Lisa, email me (shimelle at gmail dot com) with your mailing address pretty please.

Thanks for all your entries! I am a total softie for going ‘awww’ at all the lovely things you listed that have your heart!

New giveaway next weekend so there’s another chance to win – don’t forget!

xlovesx

PS: this week’s sketch will be posted a little late as we’re heading to a new destination today and we need to find an Australian power adaptor! But it will be up as soon as possible. Thanks!

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