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

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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One of those things I’m excited to share with you every week this year is a new scrapbooking sketch! Having a guest each week is going to keep me on my toes and I’ve already seen the first several pages they’ve made and I love them. I hope you will enjoy this new take on the old sketch posts too!

I’m starting the year very simply, with a sketch that includes one large photo and two smaller images. I printed all three at home (rare for me!), printing the large image as a borderless print on an A4 sheet of photo paper and the two smaller images at 2.5 inches square. If you’re looking to order large prints, I suggest Photobox in the UK and York Photo or Persnickety Prints in the US – all three offer large prints, including 12×12 photos, and you upload your photo online then the prints are delivered to your door.

For this video, all of my supplies came from the January Best of Both Worlds kit that I’ll be using all month, with the exception of the baker’s twine, which I had in my stash (plus ink, stamping block, pens and adhesive, of course).

The sketch itself includes a bit more embellishment at the top left of the large photo, but adding something there would have covered the lovely faces in this case, so I just swapped sides and added that top embellishment at the right. But our special guest kept it in its original location!

I’m delighted Rhonna Farrer could join us as the first sketch guest of the year! I love her beautiful digital take on the large photo idea. And her creative process for the page makes it even more special:

The New Year is on my mind the past few weeks. I wanted to document my approach to this New Year in a scrapbook page. This is created digitally with my elements in my Rhonna Designs Insta Fonts and Brushes. I plan on printing this out & hanging it on my Inspiration Board so I am reminded everyday of my one little word & goal for 20.thirteen. I took the sketch & added photos that will inspire me: my family and a photo of my mountains. The sketch is perfect for drawing my eyes to the sky… looking up… focusing. Each element is placed there for a reason: to draw my eye first to TODAY at the top. Then, flowing through the entire layout to remind me to BE STRONG in one thing each day. That feels doable. I know I can do that.
I used one of my favorite color schemes with colors from 2012 & a POP of the 2013 color of the year: emerald in my family photo!

You can find more of Rhonna’s gorgeous work on her blog and shop, plus you’ll find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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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2013 will be an amazing year for scrapbooking. I know that sounds a little strange for a hobby that isn’t at the popularity height it was six or eight years ago. I know it’s hard to imagine when we hear of many old favourite stores closing their doors. I know it might be rough at an industry level in a year when many are making plans to cut their unnecessary spending even more. But hear me out: I so believe scrapbooking has just turned a corner.

We’ve turned a corner to knowing it doesn’t have to be about gathering in huge groups to finish hundreds of pages over a weekend. The sad news of losing some lovely specialist stores we perhaps took for granted has made it more obvious of just how much our remaining favourites need our support when we do choose to shop for something new. And the changes in crafty spending have seen different types of business innovate to make something out of nothing.

Some examples:
Starting today, Two Peas in a Bucket will now have new scrapbooking tutorial videos six days a week. Almost every designer there now contributes videos, and there are six different scrapping series, so there are all sorts of crafting styles and creativity sparks on offer. (And I am delighted to say my sparkly friend is back: The Adventures of Glitter Girl will continue to be the Wednesday broadcast, and I have more to share about that in just a bit.) All of these videos are free to view and invite you to participate by trying a featured idea or technique. Videos can be viewed at home or on the go, through the Two Peas site, Youtube, or the designers’ respective blogs.

The Paperclipping Roundtable podcast brings together a variety of voices from the scrapbooking world to discuss a new topic each week. Again, completely free to listen. You can listen at home through each episode’s blog post or you can subscribe (for free) in iTunes and listen on your phone or iPod or whatever you prefer. I listen to PRT with my headphones while I’m on the train or walking home. I know quite a few listeners queue up the PRT to listen while in traffic. I know it seems a little odd at first to listen about scrapbooking – since scrapping is such a visual thing. But it really works. If you think about it, it’s not really that odd: I could happily talk about scrapbooking over coffee for ages without a single visual aid. It’s just that if I’m talking with them on the roundtable, I have to click the button to mute my microphone whenever I actually drink the coffee. (Confession: forgetting to mute the microphone is pretty much my biggest fear when I’m on the PRT. I will quite happily say something stupid or get flustered and stutter my way through a point I swear makes sense in my head, but a coffee accident is just waiting to happen.) The Paperclipping team also has a membership programme with regular videos, and in their 2012 round-up post, you can watch the most popular members’ video for free to see what it’s all about.

In a world dominated by quick bits of social media updates, there are bloggers sharing in-depth stuff. From someone who rocks the product like Jen Gallacher pulling together all different layouts to demonstrate how versatile some items in your stash might be (her Product Focus series) to Ali Edwards and her encouragement to choose a word to guide your year, which can help in terms of scrapbooking but also in much more (I love that this concept is something you can do on different levels – carry it in your own mind, work on your own projects, or sign up for a more specific workshop Ali teaches throughout the year). In a scrapbook-blogging world that includes daily updates like this, this, this, this, this, and this, there is inspiration aplenty (some of those I love for the words, others for the visuals, but all of them make me want to stop typing right this second and go glue paper to other paper in an aesthetically pleasing manner). I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to follow every scrapbook blog known to the universe, but there is just so much good stuff being shared right now. Apparently I’m not the only one fixated the the ‘amazing’ thing, as Simple Stories just shared that one of the papers in their new line reads make today ridiculously amazing. Clearly I will need multiple sheets of that paper.

There is one type of message I received now and then throughout 2012 that made me so ridiculously happy. It would come from different types of people – all over the world, different ages and stages in life, different creative styles – and would say pretty much the same thing: I had given up on scrapbooking, but now I love it again. Oh thank you, thank you for not giving up. For giving it another try. For finding what works for you and staying creative. When I would read that, it made me so excited about this entire craft. You know me: I do tend to go over the top.

So here’s the thing: all this awesomeness is out there and you can help support this drive of creativity. You can do things like…
…share something you like with others, like emailing a link to a friend or posting it to Twitter or pinning it to a Pinterest board.
…click the like button on videos or gallery posts or anything else that inspires you to create.
…take a moment to leave a comment in a gallery, on a video, on a blog post or in a reply on social media to let the people who inspire you know you are out there appreciating what they do.
…consider making your selected purchases in ways that support those people and companies providing you with the free stuff you love most.
…create a project in response and share it – post it in a gallery and credit your inspiration or enter a challenge or write a blog post.
All of those things go so far to making this little world of scrapbooking as fabulous as it is, and all but one are free. Okay, making a project probably means you spent something on supplies at some point in time, but trust me, all of us working on projects like this are really happy for you to use any supplies you want, and that includes making an effort to work through a collection you’ve already stashed away! And the one I mention that isn’t free isn’t a case of you-must-spend – rather, it’s a case of if you are going to shop anyway, it would be awesome if can support the projects you love. That’s reasonable, right? And this stuff works for all your favourites across this industry – so many people doing things in different styles and formats, there’s much to share.

Also, I’m a bit biased that I know all of you are amazing because you are the people who have helped me raise thousands of pounds for charity, helping girls get education and fair treatment, and all of that was possible because of scrapbooking. I don’t care that I go over the top: I really do think this is an amazing time in an amazing community of creative people.

I hope you agree. I hope you get excited by the good stuff being shared. I hope you find something that is just right for your style, whatever that may be.

In addition to the return of Glitter Girl, there is some other new stuff you’ll find here starting right now. It includes a monthly kit concept for 2013 called The Best of Both Worlds. It includes three guest bloggers right here every week, working with me to share tutorials and their take on a scrapbooking sketch. Which means yes: there really and truly is a sketch for every week. As in the next six months of sketches already exist as I type this and I can’t begin to tell you how happy that makes me: I have always wanted to have something like that planned so far ahead and this is the first time it’s really happened. It includes lots of opportunities for you to get involved. It includes more video. It includes new workshops soon and a rerun of a requested class from the archives (Pretty Paper Party will run again starting on the 14th of January – more about that coming up soon, but feel free to sign up if you fancy). It includes buttons at the bottom of the screen to take you to the most popular sections of the site. It marks the very first time I’ve ever put my face in the sidebar (it’s still a little odd to me – we’ll see how it goes). It includes coverage from CHA-Winter, the big craft trade show that is now ridiculously close. It includes a lot of scrapbooking and a little bit that isn’t. Changing things around means it’s quite possible I’ve broken something along the way, so it may also mean a few little changes here and there until it all seems settled, but basically: it will be an amazing year for scrapbooking, and I really want to be part of that.

I hope you do too.

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There are some things I absolutely love about scrapbooking kits: the ease of something selected to mix and match perfectly without it all being one collection, the right amount of stuff to make quite a few pages or projects without having to dip into too many other supplies, the portability factor that makes it easy to pick up and scrap anywhere by grabbing a kit with some photos and basic tools, getting to see how different crafters are so creative with the same set of supplies, and the chance to take up the challenge to use something I might not otherwise purchase for myself. But then there are downsides: accidentally duplicating items I’ve already purchased, ending up with supplies I won’t use because they are beyond a challenge and just aren’t my style, wishing I had something very close to that kit but with maybe a small change or two, and the conundrum of what to do with a subscription that arrives every month whether I’ve had time to use the last one or not.

So for 2013, I’ve put together a little something designed to be the Best of Both Worlds. These are my product picks that I’m assembling into a kit each month, with a few guidelines: the kit will stay at the same budget (just shy of $40 USD – but keep reading because there’s a solution if that’s too much for you) and always include at least two elements that will last long after the paper and stickers are gone (usually a stamp set for one, then things like tape, mist, or ink for the other). You place your order through Two Peas in a Bucket, so you can add more products while you’re shopping if you like (they offer free US shipping over $50, so that may be beneficial to you) and they ship all over the world. You can skip straight to the January kit here if you fancy.

There’s no subscription so you can jump in and out as you see fit.
You can edit the kit if you want more control by omitting items or replacing them. Say you don’t stamp: removing the stamp set from the kit saves you a sizeable chunk of the kit’s overall price, so that’s a great way to keep things to a smaller budget. Or say you don’t like Thickers (gasp!), you could leave them out or if you just don’t like glittery Thickers, you could replace them with another colour in a non-glittery option in the same font, so the kit would work exactly the same as I’m using it but you wouldn’t be angry at the world for getting glitter on your desk.

And yes, I’ll be using it. Each month you’ll see my projects from the kit come together through different videos and blog posts. I’ll be using the kit for my Sketch to Scrapbook Page videos and Scrapbook Starting Points and a few other spontaneous blog posts along the way. (You are, of course, welcome to participate in those challenges without the kit too.)

I realise this is a different definition to the idea of a ‘kit’ in the scrapbooking world, but that’s certainly what I’m making – a kit of supplies to use throughout the month. It just doesn’t have the subscription element and gives you the freedom to make choices should you wish to change the kit a bit! The January selection includes patterned papers from Pebbles, Echo Park, Studio Calico, Jenni Bowlin, BasicGrey, My Mind’s Eye, and October Afternoon, plus Thickers and smaller flat letter stickers, buttons and chipboard embellishments, colourful tape and a set of clear stamps designed by Kelly Purkey.

Here’s a look at the January selections and some further thoughts on how this works – including why I added certain elements this month and what changes you might want to make if your scrapping style differs to mine!

Click here to purchase the January 2013 Best of Both Worlds kit.
It’s as simple as adding one of everything if you want to use the same kit that I’ll be using all month, but you can of course make any changes you would like. Right now, there is a good supply of all the items in the kit, but as this gives you the option to pick and choose, it may mean some items sell out quicker than others. So waiting is at your own risk, I guess!

If you’re a loyal customer at Two Peas, your customer loyalty discount will be applied! And of course your kit purchase counts toward the customer loyalty discount too.

Coming right up: the first Sketch to Scrapbook Page video of the year, with a layout made from this kit, of course!

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It’s that time again – it’s our final Gardeners’ Digest blog hop for 2012! The Garden Girls from Two Peas have a few things to share with you, as always, so you can hop from blog to blog to catch up on all our favourites from the past month.

This month Glitter Girl has covered all sorts of things like 6×6 papers and plenty of Christmas scrapbooking projects in her latest videos, and the most recent adventure sees her getting glittery with it (na na na na na na na).

It seems the most common question in my inbox lately is ‘Will Glitter Girl be back in 2013?’ but I’m afraid that’s yet to be revealed! Oh the suspense!

So many times I see scrapbookers write things about how annual events (like holidays and birthdays) can be less fun to scrapbook because they get repetitive, but I have to say the inspiration for Christmas pages from the Garden Girls have totally blown that theory out of the water for me. The variety of details they have included is just gorgeous and the entire team has inspired me so much this month. Check out all the Christmas projects here.

As for product suggestions this month, it’s pretty hard to ignore the fabulousness of the huge holiday sale that’s already started – 25% off more than nine hundred holiday-themed scrapbooking products. You can find that sale here, and if that’s a bit too much to take in all at once, narrow it down to just physical products if you want paper and tape and stickers and other such stuff to arrive in a lovely box. (But that first option also includes digital and printable goodies that you can download straight away, perfect if you have some last minute crafting needs!) Plus the warehouse is shipping really fast right now – I placed an order when the sale started and it was out the door and on its way to me in sixteen hours, which is pretty darn cool. (Now if they can just invent a nice little teleporter for scrapbook supplies so I don’t have to wait for airmail? That would be one amazing Christmas!)

Now two more things that are most important!
One, your next stop on the hop is the always lovely Miss Amy Tan, so be sure to head to her next and see what she’s up to in the lovely warm climate of southern California (and she just came back from Maui). Today’s freezing rain here in London is making me think she’s got a good idea going there!
Two, it’s giveaway time! Leave a comment on this post to be entered to win a space on the brand new workshop from Lisa Truesdell (also known as Gluestick Girl). It’s called Start Here and it’s all about letting your photos and stories inspire the way you create your pages, finding a variety of interesting ways to get started (and finished) with great designs that stay true to your style and life! (You can sign up and access this self-paced class at any time here, and if you win this giveaway and have already purchased the class, your purchase will be refunded or you can choose to gift it to a friend, so go ahead and treat yourself to something fun!) Entries close next Thursday, the 27th of December 2012. You can enter up to three times per person: once for leaving a comment, once for following me on Twitter, and once for following on Facebook (you can add me as a friend or just subscribe to public updates – whatever you prefer). Just say in your comment if you’re following on either or both of those and you’ll get up to three total names in the hat.

Good luck, and happy hopping!

xlovesx

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