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

I’ve never scrapbooked my photos in chronological order. For the most part, that is how I choose to tell my stories within my albums, but as far as creating those pages, I need the freedom to jump from one thing to the next and back again. Last week I was reminded of just one of the reasons why.

Last week marked two years since the final day of the London 2012 Olympic Games, which was a pretty monumental evening in my life story. Not the most monumental, but in the list of all the nights, it comes pretty high. I’ve scrapbooked about it a fair bit.

Yet with that second anniversary date on the calendar, it was what I wanted to reflect on, and I do that in scrapbook form. Maybe I just need to indulge my nostalgia some times. I have always missed this group of people since the end of our crazy rehearsal schedule. I still see some of them here and there, but never as a big group, and there is no way to recreate the atmosphere of spending twelve hour days in a tent in a rainstorm, wearing a plastic bag over your costume and comparing notes on the nutritional content of our meals provided by the Olympic sponsors.

Some things really stick in my mind with dates and others don’t, so I love the Timehop app for reminding me of random things that happened on any particular day years ago. It shows me what I tweeted, Facebooked, or Instagrammed on that day going back through the years. (You can also set it up to work with your photo library if you don’t post your pictures to social media sites.) Most of the time, I just take a second to look and smile at anything that was quite sweet, but sometimes it prompts me to email an old friend or dig out a photo and scrapbook with a happy heart.

For this page, I worked with supplies from my own line mixed with the Notes and Things collection from Crate Paper, some gold sequins and a couple stamps from Studio Calico, and some little letter stickers from Simple Stories. Since the costumes for our team were all different shades of turquoise, from the blue end to the green and light to dark, I loved going through the papers, stickers, and die-cuts to find a similar effect in paper, then throwing it all together to frame one photo.

Fellow Timehop users: what were you doing this day in history? I hope it was something that makes you smile to remember.

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Actually, the words ‘birth story’ make my skin crawl a little bit and I can’t put my finger on why. My best guess is because in the last few months of pregnancy, I suddenly read so many birth stories and like anything else in the world, they run to extremes. Some were beautifully written and compassionate, no matter what did and did not go to plan. Others resembled a horror movie and some were devoid of all emotion entirely. For a while it became my answer to reality TV: pick a story and click and see if it would make me excited, nervous, or confused. Do I have any idea my mind thought that was a good idea? Not really. Not at all.

But of course I eventually got to a point where in theory I had my own story and for me, stories go in scrapbooks. What struck me when reading is how there are so many birth stories told all in one go, essentially a chronological narrative from the first twinge to meeting baby, and that often made for long and somewhat tedious stories that lost the best bits of storytelling. My aim is not to write one long piece of work under the birth story heading, but to break it up into different pieces, telling the story across a series of scrapbook pages, allowing for pace and reflection and a focus on the things I really want to remember rather than just a timeline of contractions. Though Wonder Boy really took his time to arrive, there is a lot of humour of those days that is dear to my heart. We were at a hospital on the Thames near Waterloo station and we kept singing Waterloo Sunset but couldn’t remember most of the words though I could usually tell you the lyrics to that backward and forward. At one point I needed to move and get some fresh air so we walked back and forth across Westminster Bridge, which was closed for the London Marathon. I had to stop every few steps to brace myself and the bridge was filled with spectators watching the race, so at one point I was convinced someone had just instagrammed a picture of me with the caption ‘someone is in labour at the marathon’. And even a few weeks later I was able to have a big laugh with the instructor of our birthing class, who had started one session by saying ‘If you meet someone and they say they were in labour for forty-eight hours, that’s not completely true’, explaining that bit about how the hours of early labour don’t really count and the active stages tend to be significantly quicker. I can’t debunk her quote entirely, but my discharge papers break down the active labour time and my total was forty-seven hours and forty-two minutes, so I guess I did my best to try to prove her wrong!

There is something else in my scrapbooking process that makes telling this story a bit of a different exercise and that is that I have no intention of actually writing it in order or all in one time span. I’m using my personal standard for scrapbook storytelling: I have a notebook where I jot random things down and another book where I draft longer pieces of writing if I want to get my thoughts in order before I start writing on the page. From there, I have ideas for a few different pages to help this story come together, and I use that to look at my photo library and see how the two can match up.

This page is the first under that heading and I wanted to start pretty simply as a bit of a warm up. Partly because scrapping less for the last few months makes me doubt myself as I paste pretty paper to other pretty paper, partly because I’m still adjusting to the work flow of creating a page with plenty of interruptions rather than a solid block of creative time, and partly because I don’t like diving into the most weighty writing first. I always find I tell the story better if I start simply and find my feet before I work on something that feels more important.

Most everything here is from my own collection, but I added in just a few little extras – some Doodlebug enamel dots, thin turquoise washi tape from the Amy Tangerine Plus One collection, and the gold mist and the chipboard ‘love’, hearts, and arrow are from Heidi Swapp’s line. And this page includes some pieces from the ‘Lovely’ Project Life edition, which coordinates with my line. From the top left, the turquoise hearts, pale pink with embossed hearts, aqua date, and white hello are all 3×4 cards in that kit, which includes cards with dry embossing and gold foil. (By the way, I’m continuing to update this post with shops that have the collection in stock.)

And a big yay from me to The Boy, who was with it enough after those forty-seven hours and forty-two minutes to snap these photos of Wonder Boy and I. They are something I never imagined in my photo library and definitely in that ‘what do you grab from a burning building’ category to me.

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I think it has taken me nearly three weeks to finish this spread, working just a few minutes at a time, but it’s complete now! Week four in Wonder Boy’s baby album is made almost entirely from supplies in my American Crafts collection. I added some Studio Calico wood veneer hearts and that Amy Tangerine stamp I’m using throughout the album.

I guess my two colours this week are aqua and orange, though I didn’t specifically set out to do that from the first step like I had in the earlier weeks. It’s not a combination I think I would pick often, but I like it here, especially balanced with the vanilla.

There is actually a coordinating Project Life kit for the collection, but it hadn’t arrived when I started working on this, so I started with the 12×12 papers, plus the sticker book and the smaller set of stickers that include words and letters. Plus plenty of the half-height pop dots!

That 3×4 photo is cut down from a 4×6 print I ordered in my first try of the Free Prints App. This app (available for Apple and Android) lets you order up to forty-five free 4×6 inch prints each month, though you do pay for postage, which runs between £1.49 and £3.99, depending on what you order. In comparing these prints to the same from Photobox the free prints were just a smidgen darker and the paper is just a teensy bit lighter weight, but I was certainly happy with the quality. I order more than forty-five prints per month so I think I will continue to use both printers. If you’d like to give the Free Prints app a try, you can use code SLAINE3 for five extra free prints for each of us, then you will get a code to share with your friends to continue getting the extras.

Start the timer now: let’s see if week five can be completed a little more quickly!

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I just wanted to keep a post with links to where you can purchase the Shimelle collection. I’ll update this as it reaches additional stores. If you know of a store with stock on hand that is not listed, feel free to let me know. Thanks!

First to have it ready to ship seems to be Blue Moon Scrapbooking.*

Also in the US, you can find select products at Simon Says Stamp*, A Cherry on Top, and Scrapbook Generation.

For California shoppers, you can find the collection in store at Paper Tales, a lovely scrapbooking store in San Diego.

Many thanks to kit clubs selecting my products as well! Take a look at Hip Kit Club and Citrus Twist.

In the UK, you can find products at Hey Little Magpie and Craftie Charlie.

In Germany, find them at Scrapbook Werkstatt.

In Thailand, products are available in store at Mind Memory, Bangkok.

There are also four coordinating cut files available from the Silhouette Online store.

As stock arrives elsewhere, I’ll add those links! Have a great week.

_{*Stockists with an asterisk are affiliate links. Your purchase from these sites helps support shimelle.com, including payment for all our guest artists. For more about what affiliate links do for this site, see the last paragraph in this post. Thanks for your support!}

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The situation was incredibly surreal. Wonder Boy was sound asleep in bed, which was surreal enough, and I was staring at a desk full of papers, embellishments, and tools with my own name on them. Exactly where does one start in this scenario? I figured I had to just start cutting paper or I might stand there paralysed by fear, and I know that is never a wise decision in those short windows of time in which a baby sleeps contently!

And so, I’ve done it: one completed scrapbook page to get me started using my own supplies! Nearly everything here is from my collection, with the exception of three aqua enamel dots, Mister Huey’s green mist and gold Color Shine mist. There are five patterned papers (one cut-apart and one branding strip), some of the die-cuts and stickers, three designs from the stamp set, glitter hearts from the rub-ons, the ‘lovely’ steel die, and all three lettering options – two kinds of gold Thickers plus a small tile alphabet in grey.

I know Wonder Boy has a Project Life album and then I go and scrap him on 12×12 pages. I promise there is method to my madness: the Project Life album is a baby book made for him; the 12×12 pages are for my chronological albums. I would call those family albums but I make them for me, most of all. When others enjoy looking at them, that’s a definite bonus, but I create them for my own wellbeing first and foremost. Plus I don’t like choosing one extreme or the other. Having both album options keeps me happy, no matter how much time I have or what mood I’m in. Sometimes more is more, right?

It’s been gloriously sunny, which is lovely but does produce some rather extreme shadows!

To answer a couple product questions, the collection is shipping to stores imminently, and when it arrives I will post links here to a variety of places where you can purchase what you like. (Thanks so much to anyone considering a purchase!)

I’m looking forward to making more with these now that I’m past the fear factor of it all! And even more excited to see what you make with it. Cannot wait for that!

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I know it’s been ages since we first mentioned it, but today I’m thrilled to finally show you my debut paper crafting collection for American Crafts, which hits stores this month! Here’s a look at what just hit my desk.

Embellishments include wood veneer pieces, glittery rub-ons, and a pack filled with paper die-cuts.

The wood veneer includes four heart designs, so you have enough for a visual triangle on your page without needing multiple packs.

And so many die-cuts! Some have gold foil and some are embossed.

I’m hoping you can see the embossed texture here!

There are two sets of transparent overlays. The big set is seriously big! They have the holes in the side like a page protector so you just pop them into an album and the next page shows through. They can be used plain or with extra embellishment on top. The smaller set has 4×6 and 4×4 overlays to go over photos, including colour, white, and gold foil designs.

There are three sets of stickers – printed cork, a small pack with mini letters + words and phrases, and the eight page book of stickers, which again has gold in the mix. Still keeping those page design tricks in mind – there cameras and three hearts on the cork, and the small letter tiles match the numbers on the clock die-cuts.

And two packs of Thickers letter stickers – one in gold glitter on foam and the other is gold foil on chipboard circles.

Plenty of patterned paper, of course! I wanted colours that could seem bold and muted at the same time, and shades of the same colour so there is red but also multiple shades of pink, turquoise, and orange.

Because you might otherwise miss it – the back of the aqua paper with words and hearts has this calendar journaling print!

There are four cut-apart papers: 4×6 blocks, 4×4 squares, 3×4 cards, and a ticket and tag print with a variety of sizes.

The clear stamp set includes the globe and camera, but also two texture stamps – one for corners and one for layering under words. The date stamp has months in the middle, like 01 JUL 2014, for example.

Aside from the roller date stamp, there is also a set of metal dies and a woodgrain embossing folder.

I gave the dies a run this morning and they came out like this with my Big Shot and kraft card stock. Still a bit surreal to see my handwriting as a die!

And one last little addition: adhesives of all things! The roller is a narrow adhesive, perfect for small pieces, and the pop dots are half the height of the standard AC dots, so you can vary the dimension in your layering or use them in a pocket where the thick dots might be cumbersome. Plus, yes: a tape dispenser that looks like a camera for your favourite wash. Because why not?

All of this ships to stores in mid-July, and I’ll be sharing projects here that I’m making as well as the AC design team! Thanks so much for taking a look! Take a look at the American Crafts blog for more images and the chance to win the collection!

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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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