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

This morning I had every intention of being on the train into the city nice and early so I could do one of those very rare things in my world and work with people actually in person instead of through email inboxes. Except it has snowed and snowed and snowed some more this past weekend, and the trains in our corner of London are not running. So instead, I am scrapbooking. I think I can cope with that idea, provided we can reschedule our day of working in person for sometime soon.

As a result of that, here’s a starting point! It started with a full sheet of patterned paper for the background, two narrow strips (they were the two off-cuts from that large square on the last sketch layout), and two 4×6 cut-apart cards, plus an off-cut of what was left of the camera print in the middle. Everything here is still from my January kit of supplies – this is the fourth page to come from that stack of goodies so far.

_{Oh snow, you have taken away all the natural light. Perhaps I can rephotograph this soon.}

Almost everything on the completed page is still from those supplies – including lots of the button card used to create the bunting. I added the thread to finish that detail plus gold and black mists and three pink enamel dots for that little row of embellishments in the middle. The stamped ‘Happy’ words at the right are just stamped with regular black ink, but faded to match the ombre pattern of the striped paper by simply adding more pressure or stamping off some of the ink.

Once this was finished, the combination of the tall narrow strips and the small photos reminded me of this sketch, though there are certainly a few differences. Worth a comparison if you have more narrow strips left than larger boxes.

If you want to give this starting point a try, choose any papers you want and arrange them in a similar fashion to the second image in this post. Then ignore my finished layout and complete your page to suit your style and photographs. When you’re done, share your project with us so we can see all the different ways that same starting point can continue to a completed design.

Have a great week – and if you get snowed in, at least you can always scrapbook!

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In sketching out a whole collection of page outlines to get things planned for 2013, I realised just how much I like a very simplistic sketch to get scrapping. Yes, it can be lovely to have so many little extras built in, but it can also be so helpful to have just a few basic things in place and then have the freedom to add and subtract without feeling like it’s an abandonment of the original idea. So don’t be surprised at just how simple some of these sketches may be: that way they are yours to dress up or keep simple as the mood hits!

I imagined this sketch with two photos printed slightly larger than my usual, and in fact I printed mine at 5×6 inches. If two photos is too few for you, never fear, as today’s guest has made it work with four images instead. And if you fancy making this into a two page layout, look at the middle line of this sketch and pretend that is the centre of the two pages. Then just extend the design outward, possibly with two portrait 4×6 pictures side by side instead of the single 5×6 pictures. Does that help?

This marks my third full project with the January kit, which is now starting to look well-used but there are still some full sheets untouched that I want to use as backgrounds. Because this page will go in my Round the World album, I added a sheet of kraft cardstock so it matches all the other pages in those books, plus some glimmer mist to paint on that frame around the edge, but everything else is from that same set of supplies.

If you check out the Black Water Rafting website, you’ll see just how alike all the photos are, but if you ever find yourself touring New Zealand, it is certainly an interesting item for your itinerary. It’s called ‘black water’ rafting because you’re in a cave and entirely in the dark. Well, maybe not entirely, as there are glow worms on the ceiling that make it a bit like looking up at the stars, except once you find out what a glow worm really is, it’s not nearly as romantic as it sounds, but it is still pretty cool. It’s very cold (even in a wet suit) and very touristy, but New Zealand was our stop of ‘let’s do all the things they show in leaflets’, so indeed we went rafting, paragliding, and scuba diving to ship wrecks. (I say ‘we’. When it comes to the scuba diving, I mean ‘he’. But still.) And at the end of the rafting adventure, they give you hot chocolate and a DVD of pictures from your day, perfect for a scrapbooker.

Today I’m thrilled to welcome Ashli Oliver (also known as SoapHouseMama in the world of scrapbooking message boards) with her beautifully layered and detailed style. She had no trouble converting this sketch into one with additional photos, so I know you’ll find her ideas inspiring, no matter what your style may be.

When I saw this fun way to incorporate four photos onto one page, I knew I would be heading straight to my stack of Disney pictures. After all, I took loads of fun pictures and I need to maximize my page real-estate! As you can imagine, this album of our vacation is chocked full of fun and whimsy, so I just overlapped and tilted my photos a bit to maintain this consistency. Not to mention that I just couldn’t bring my self to cover up that fabulous polka dot print from Dear Lizzy 5th & Frolic. The choice of the gold dot vellum also allows for the pattern to peek through a bit, while adding a nice touch of sparkle. In addition to the who, what, when, and where journaling, these photos have a bit of a longer story that I wanted to tell. So, I added a little pocket from Whiskers Graphics to include more journaling. A touch of gold in the title work helps pull in the gold sparkle from the vellum and some doodles finish it off. Plenty of room for pictures with still enough space left for embellishments… This is a sketch that I will be returning to again and again, I just know it!

It is such an honor have joined you this week. Thanks you for having me, Shimelle! I hope to see you all over at purplemailbox.com. You can also find me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. I look forward to “seeing” you soon!

And now it’s your turn! Create a page in your style with this sketch, post it online, and share it with us. You can upload to your blog or to a scrapbooking gallery like Two Peas or UKScrappers, then just follow the steps to link to your project wherever it can be found online!

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I have my work cut out with me creating posts for all the remaining CHA booths and I’ll be on that straight away now that I’m back home in snowy London! (To be fair, Southern California wasn’t that much warmer, though there was a great deal more sunshine.) And to make up for a bit of lost time while I was off staring lovingly at all the new paper for 2013, this weekend I have two scrapbooking sketches for you – both with videos and guests, of course.

This second sketch of the year uses my favourite photo combination: two 4×6 prints in the same direction (portrait, in this case). It stays pretty simple from there too: a title, writing space, and three areas of embellishment. Of course, what you choose for those embellishments is totally up to you!

This is my second page to come from my January kit, though you might have noticed Glitter Girl sneaking a title from my kit lettering options last week. I added some thread and a tiny bit of gold mist (it sells out fast but it is restocked often – click the ‘request & notify me’ button if you’re still searching for some and that way you have a good chance of catching it as soon as it arrives), but everything else is from the kit.

I did add one tiny bit of additional embellishment not on the sketch – two initials and the date at the top left corner. I like having just a few things that repeat on every page in a specially themed album, and in the Harry Potter album, it’s the initials ‘HP’ somewhere on each page. It just seemed a bit more balanced to place them in the top corner rather than add them into one of the existing areas of embellishment since those three were so similar and the initials would make one grouping so different.

The scrapper behind this gorgeous page is this week’s guest, Melissa Mann. I love how she repeated one motif in two unique ways through the die-cut background and the patchworked embellishments.

I loved that this sketch included two 4×6 photos. I usually stick to one photo scrapbook pages or multiple smaller photos. I stuck pretty close with the sketch but changed the place I put my title. It didn’t seem to flow as well with the title in the lower right hand side. That is the one thing I love about sketches! You can duplicate the sketch in its entirety or use it as a jumping off point. I really wanted to use the lime green card stock on this layout, but it was too bright in my opinion to use as the base. I layered it on top of some dark gray card stock and stitched it down with my sewing machine. I then layered a piece of white card stock that I ran through my Silhouette Cameo and cut a triangle design on and stitched it down on top of the lime green card stock. I matted my two 4×6 photos with a piece of patterned paper that had more geometrical designs on it. I created my own custom arrow embellishments by cutting the arrows out of cardstock. On two of the arrows I layered strips of paper across and trimmed off the excess. On the biggest arrow, I punched out squares of patterned paper and laid it down on top of the cardstock and again cut off the excess. All three arrows were stitched around the border with my sewing machine. A couple of stickers and brads were placed around the photo and the title was placed above the photo mat. The supplies I used are by American Crafts, Studio Calico, Basic Grey, Ki Memories, Tim and Beck, and October Afternoon. The cut files used were by Studio Calico and Silhouette.

You can find more of Melissa’s work on her blog or her galleries at Two Peas and Studio Calico.

And now it’s your turn! Create a page in your style with this sketch, post it online, and share it with us. You can upload to your blog or to a scrapbooking gallery like Two Peas or UKScrappers, then just follow the steps to link to your project wherever it can be found online!

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Lots of work done and some decent internet found, so on we go to a few more booths at the winter CHA trade show. Next up is BasicGrey. (You can find their current collections here, and almost everything is at least 25% off while it lasts.)

BasicGrey have four new collections, and the first two are companions: Knee Highs and Bow Ties. Though interestingly enough, there are neither socks nor dapper neck accessories included in the motifs. Go figure. (Also, if it’s not already, I’m sure Knee Highs and Bow Ties should be the name of some adorable tap dancing boys and girls somewhere, yes?) Knee Highs is the girly collection and Bow Ties is BG’s boy option this spring.

Pretty chipboard pieces. Glitter Girl is rather fond of all the hot pink + turquoise going on in the Knee Highs collection.

Three Knee Highs stamps – two clear on the left and one red rubber background stamp on the right, which looks promising as I’m not sure how on earth I’ve never seen a background stamp in something so lovely as a heartified polka dot. (Polka heart? Again, it sounds like a dance troupe.)

Brads and some fancy bottle cap-inspired embellishments. (Sorry I didn’t get a better photo of those as the booth is always quite crowded!)

Um, why, yes: those are lyrics from One Direction. I am somewhat speechless, but every girl under the age of about twenty probably just jumped for joy. Or nodded ironically.

These little embellishments are always my favourite part of the BG booth. It makes me want to start crafting instead of keep working though!

Both Knee Highs and Bow Ties have alphabets I like a lot, and this 12×12 sticker sheet looks really useful. It’s only the owl that will take some creative thinking, but owls work great on cards if they don’t fit your scrapbook look. I have a friend who seems to be collecting quite a stack of notebooks with owl motifs so perhaps that’s a project I need to remember!

Knee Highs papers – lush colours.

Exemplar pages and a few cross-over embellishments that link the two collections – wood veneer banners, a printed notepad, and metal tabs in the style of bookmarks.

This is something new at BasicGrey – the 6×8 minibook with a ring binder and woodgrain-embossed chipboard cover. The spine is patterned (there’s another pattern option in another collection coming up) and there are a variety of tabbed dividers and pocketed page protectors to fit.

Which leads us to the Bow Ties collection!

The paper flags in this collection are very sweet and I think they would work for any age really, depending on the other page elements you chose.

Two stamp sets with this collection – a background of old cars or a clear set of rocket ships and comic book POW!s.

If you never scrap boys there is one thing you still need from this collection – the letter stickers. They are notebook paper with a stitched detail at the edge (printed stitches rather than actual stitching). My picture doesn’t make them look nearly as cool as they are, I’m afraid. They are on my must-have list.

And the papers to round off the collection.

Hipster is the darkest colour palette for BG this show, and it’s not too dark – and will easily mix with brighter colours, I think. That sounds good to me.

I’m pretty sure there are no One Direction lyrics in a line called Hipster, by the way.

…though there may be plenty of moustaches. (But I know some of you are not fans of this motif and I can safely say there is plenty in this collection without carefully curated facial hair so don’t skip it completely!)

This last board even shows how Hipster can look quite feminine.

File folders and chipboard buttons…

Brads and a die-cut acetate alphabet…

and printed chipboard pieces.

But the stamps are my absolute favourite! I always wanted an excuse to stamp ‘rad’ on every third layout! I look forward to this new phase of my scrapping. (No, really: in real life I say ‘rad’ far too often, so I’m not even being sarcastic.) I like the distressed touch to that Polaroid frame stamp too.

And three more – five sets of stamps in total for Hipster! The two backgrounds are red rubber, the other three sets are clear.

Hipster has the ransom-style alphabet with the two smaller fonts at the bottom, and the 12×12 sticker sheet includes things like mix tapes and vinyl, which could be just what you need for those no-photo pages telling stories from the days before digital cameras. (Because you know if there had been camera phones in 1985, we all would have been Instagramming every mix tape we ever made, received, or tore piece by piece from the failing car stereo.)

And the papers… I like that last one with the boxes especially. BasicGrey don’t really do cut-apart sheets but this one could definitely work that way as a less expensive form of embellishment.

I also look forward to the day when researchers wonder why circa 2013, there were so many people in the world suddenly named Awesome. (The name badge trend is still going strong!)

And here’s the final collection from BasicGrey at this show: Mint Julep. Light and sweet and delicate… and there are deer.

Told you. (Also: check the bottom right badge. Love it.)

Interesting die-cut patchwork pieces, plus two kinds of brad embellishments.

All sorts of prettiness, actually!

Five stamps in this collection too – three backgrounds and two clear sets. All the deer are in one set so you can be pro-deer or anti-deer with ease. (I say embrace the deer! But if we have deer with moustaches and name badges next season, that is GOING TOO FAR. Anything other than that is acceptable.)

The stickers are surprisingly primary coloured, but they do look very lovely with the papers, I promise.

And there are the papers, by the way!

Card inspiration!

And ahem: enamel dots in every colour needed to match all these lines. Perfect for stocking up.

And one last look at the BG binder – so you can see both paper options: one for Hipster and one for Bow Ties.

Now… when will all this actually be available to buy? Soon:
Knee Highs and Bow Ties will arrive in stores in mid February.
Hipster and Mint Julep is available in April. Enjoy!

Click here to shop for BasicGrey products and here for the inspiring BasicGrey blog.

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And CHA is open for Winter 2013! I’m here in Anaheim for the big trade show in the craft industry. Hundreds of companies are here to debut their collections for 2013, and part of my lovely press duty is to share all that goodness with you. I’m starting with one of my all-time favourites: Jenni Bowlin Studio.

I have two top picks at the JBS booth this time: a new line called Modern Mercantile designed by Lisa Dickinson and Jenni’s new stamps – but actually there are lots of lovely new embellishments throughout this JBS release.

Modern Mercantile is a lovely new twist on Jenni’s vintage style, with some brighter spring colours and a mix of current trend motifs like feathers with the ephemera style we know from Jenni’s ticket stubs and ledgers.

Cut-apart cards are perfect for journaling boxes on a 12×12 page or for the small pockets of divided page protectors, of course.

All the papers are double-sided, cardstock weight paper. (I have a video to come with the lovely Lisa telling us a bit about her design inspiration, but I’ll have to find a better internet connection so I can share them!)

Some design inspiration for the Modern Mercantile papers, plus some of Jenni’s new embellishments – including more paper feathers.

And here are those new paper feathers – the last release of these were very popular (Glitter Girl is a big fan too). This time there are kraft feathers with text and other small patterns plus a colourful floral set.

Flatbacks are Jenni Bowlin’s new flair or badge style embellishments – perfect for adding dimension in a flash. They come in three different packs, all with a classic vintage style. I definitely have my eye on the set on the left.

And new mini card sets – great for layering and a good size for cards, scrapbook pages, and other projects.

Plus brand new tape! These are really rich colours and versatile patterns, but there is one in particular that has my heart:

…sigh. Whitewashed woodgrain washi tape. Seriously, just typing that sounds so pretty it’s almost a song lyric.

New additions in the True Vintage offerings include price signs and tickets. These are real vintage pieces, so each pack is unique, all sourced from Jenni’s adventures in the antique world.

JBS rub-ons are always such high quality (I may have stocked up on a lifetime supply of those beautiful large butterfly rub-ons with no regret!) and there are new designs including feathers and jars. That jar can do something rather beautiful for an embellishment, by the way:

…stamped on vellum with a pocket of stars and sequins inside, then stitched onto the project. So pretty!

New chipboard packs include bare feathers and leaves read to be customised and printed dominoes, bingo chips, and clock faces.

And these are my second pick from the JBS booth: the new clear stamps, all in sets of two to make little books or perfect for creating journaling cards for pages or pocketed page protectors.

They stamp so beautifully, and would create such lovely gift wrap tags, especially dressed up with a photo in the frame stamp a bit like a paper locket.

Taking a look around the rest of the booth, there are some lovely twists like combining the vellum butterflies with the bingo cards. As a product, this is a great idea for those who sell completed crafts rather than just supplies, but if you have these items in your stash, there’s your inspiration for a great gift or something to dress up your own wall.

And of course, it wouldn’t be Jenni Bowlin without some red and black to grace the booth!





This is the mid-release Red and Black collection from just a month or two ago. You can find this in stores now. (There’s a sheet from this collection in my January picks for the Best of Both worlds kit.)

New releases from Jenni Bowlin Studio will ship to stores in February!
Click here to shop for current Jenni Bowlin products
and check out JBS Mercantile for Jenni’s kit club and a full range of classic JBS products.

By the way: at the end of CHA on Tuesday, I’ll take all the comments and throw them in a hat for a few prize drawings. Just something informal, but I’ll just mention it now and catch up with you about that with some winners on Wednesday, if that sounds good!

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Oh Dear Lizzy papers. Such pretty pastels with just the right amount of sweetness. I’ve loved so many of these papers since the original ‘Spring’ line a few years ago now. These cards were made with the Neapolitan collection last year. And this weekend, there’s a whole new collection to add to that tradition. American Crafts is thrilled to announce its sixth collection from
designer Elizabeth Kartchner, “Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm”.

From American Crafts:
“Beautiful paper with a cool mix of blues, mint, orange-red and yellow,
with a pop of pink in the each of the pretty florals. Lucky Charm was inspired by jewelry charms so you will find your favorite ‘lucky’ icons here and there. As well as dreamy clouds, star-maps, hot air balloons, and darling umbrellas. Some of the new products sure to get you excited include the roller phrase-only stamp. Scrapbookers loved the Dear Lizzy Date Stamp, so in this collection you will find a new stamp that is full of just the fun phrases. There are also awesome 4×6 diecut cards, striped square buttons that look like candy, a perforated sticker book, tissue fringe flags, fringe garland, printed clothespins, and a colorful Daybook. Of course, a Dear Lizzy line wouldn’t be complete without some Lizzyesque icons including jars, kites and handwritten phrases.”

Here’s a look at the Lucky Charm daybook! Such a cute mini to carry and create or perfect for making a gift.

To see another product continue on the blog hop to Dear Lizzy for a sneak peek and a giveaway of the entire Lucky Charm collection.

And it’s not long at all now until the show opens – and I’ll be blogging (and Instagramming) photos directly from the show floor! I’m packing my suitcase today and flying out tomorrow. Place your bets now on how many days I’ll be wearing sequins.

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If you’ve read more than say three posts here in the last two years, you probably know I have a great fondness for Amy Tangerine papers from American Crafts. So you will know how giddy I am to have a small part of sharing the newest line with the world! Get to know a little something new called Amy Tangerine Yes, Please.

The new line includes some very fun things, like this embroidery kit. Add lettering like Amy’s t-shirt line to my scrapbook pages? Yes, Please! Oh wait. I think I see what’s she done there.

Yes, Please includes twenty-four patterned papers, Thickers, stickers, stamps and Daybooks, plus new embellishments like wood veneer tags, an embroidery stencil kit, wood alphabet stamps, and a very special calendar stamp.

Today, Amy invited a few friends to share the new collection, so you can click around to all of those sneak peeks then have a change to win the whole shebang for yourself! Your next stop is the lovely Jennifer McGuire. When you’ve seen all the posts, be sure to stop by the American Crafts blog for your chance to win.

So… are we excited for CHA yet?

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Here’s one of the three ways you’ll see guests bloggers sharing their ideas here throughout 2013: with five ideas posts! Each five ideas guest has chosen a product, technique, or idea she would like to share with you across a variety of looks. I hope you find them inspirational! Today I’m pleased to welcome Angie Gutshall, who has falled head over heels for the paper feather embellishments in American Crafts’ Dear Lizzy Fifth & Frolic collection.

Happy New Year! Did you notice in the scrapbooking industry there are always new trends popping up each year? Well, I usually love them and start to use them like everyone else. This new trend of feathers has me pretty excited! I think this is going to be fun new trend that will carry over to 2013!

I picked these American Crafts Leaf & Feather combo to show you five different ideas of fun ways to use them. Like I said before I love trends and this is honestly one of my new favorite trends out there.

For this layout I started by adding some gesso and chalk ink with a mask. Then I used lots of washi tape and stripes of paper. Then came all the fun little embellishments I added to the stripes of color. I love how the AC feathers just add a fun pop to the layout and since all the little rhinestones are already attached it’s a perfect little fit.

This card was a work in progress. I had to walk away a couple of times because it just needed something and I couldn’t figure out what. Then I realized I need to add another piece behind the pink and also added some gesso with a mask. I then stamped the ‘hello’ and hearts and embossed them to make the black bolder. I then added my cute AC Leaf & Feather detail. Lastly, I sewed around the top.

My daughter got some jewelry for Christmas and I wanted to get her a nice little box to put them. I bought this box for a dollar and didn’t like the top design, so being crafty I figured I could ‘doctor’ it up. I took some twine and washi tape and wrapped around the bottom. I then took a piece of paper by My Mind’s Eye to cover the top. I loved the cute little Jillibean Soup sticker and thought it was very fitting for jewelry. I then decorated it with the AC feather, a flair, and some butterflies.

To dress up a dresser, I started with a blue frame and painted it with some gesso to give it an antique look. I liked the oval Crate Paper chipboard but it wouldn’t fit behind the frame so I put it on top and love the result. I then added the papers and title behind the frame. I used the American Crafts feather to accent the oval frame. I love how it turned out.

I had this little binder that I planned to create a desk calendar out of so I went to work decorating it with some fresh new papers. I started by placing some Crate Paper vellum and then added some paper pennants on the side. I then used the AC feather combo to layer over the little pennant stripes.

I hope I have inspired you to have fun feathers this coming year! I have enjoyed sharing with you my ideas of inspiration. I can’t wait to see what you create! Thanks again for having me, Shimelle!

Of course you can click to order the feathers or any number of cute things from the American Crafts’ Dear Lizzy Fifth & Frolic collection.

Angie Gutshall is a stay at home mom for four children. She is married to her high school sweetheart, Brian. She lives in the country in the central part of Pennsylvania. Scrapbooking is where she captures her everyday moments on paper so her children will have something to treasure when they get older. She also loves taking pictures, baking, watching movies with her kids, and created craft projects for gifts. She shares more inspiration on her blog, My Little Blessings.

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