February Favorites

This is the easiest submission category ever...send us something that you made this month and you love!  Here's what we got for February...here's your chance to get started on March!  We can't wait to share something from you!

Christine used one of Echo Park's newer lines Little Girl

Cheryl

Olga

Jannike

Tag, You're It!

Today we look at another one of those trends that have come and gone and has managed to make its way back-- tags. Tags are highly versatile and can add a lot of dimension and embellishment to your cards, layouts, and other projects. Let's visit some of the ways tags can be used in your scrapbooking.

Journaling
Tags are a good size item to make a note of the date, time, and what was going on in your pictures. Whether you are leaving your tag out in the open for everyone to see or maybe hiding it behind some pictures so your journaling is hidden and more private, tags are perfect fix for this.

Framing Pictures
Do you have lots of little pictures (2.5" x 3.5" or smaller)? A great idea to do is use your tags as frames for those little pictures. Try this, you have a group of 8 mini pictures; pick a few (3) mat them on tags, and arrange on your layout to highlight those pictures that you want to "pop".

Takes on February Sketches

Remember the fun sketches from Pia and Jannike that we posted at the beginning of the month? Well here they are again, with some great examples from our readers and design team! Thanks to everyone who played along with us, and sent in their pages. We love seeing your creations!

Pia 

 Pia

Natasha

Bev

Carolina

Krissy Clark

Jannike

Jannike

Jannike

Erin

Christine

Stay tuned for new sketches coming up in March!

Pixie Dust Paperie Kit Club Giveaway

Pixie Dust Paperie is a monthly kit club dedicated to bringing you the newest products available in the paper crafting industry. Each month, you will receive a beautifully designed kit with the latest papers and embellishments, all designed to coordinate perfectly, and ready for you to create, whether it's scrapbook pages, cards, a mini album, a coffee table brag book, or altered projects.  Each kit includes 1O double sided patterned papers, 4 solid cardstock papers, plenty of embellishments, and 4 yards of hand dyed to match crinkled ribbon.  I worked with the November kit and because of the diverse contents I was able to work in three directions....Christmas, little girl, and baby boy. This kit had some of my favorite embellishments that I hadn't been able to get in a store, so when I opened up the box I was delighted.  Kirsty, the owner, does a great job of putting together sophisticated kits that will knock your socks off!  Here's what I did with this kit:

Kirsty is giving away a $2O gift certificate to Pixie Dust Paperie.  To enter make sure you are a follower here and  leave us a comment here telling us your favorite previous or current kit from Pixie Dust Paperie.  To get a second entry become a follower on their blog and let us know about it.

Discovering your Scrapbooking Style: Classic

Feel like we've gone thru all these styles and you don't fit anywhere....you probably fit in classic style.  I like to think of this style as the middle style...it falls somewhere between the big productions of sophisticated, shabby chic, whimsical and artsy and the smaller works of clean & simple, cutesy, and graphic.  It may combine elements from many of these styles in one layout.  Classic definitely does not mean old or boring.

Some of the characteristics of Classic style:

Uses a wide range of tools including punches, scissors

Uses some embellishments but not a lot

Lots of solid colors or monochromatic papers

Uses both cardstock and patterned paper

Die Cuts

Letter Stickers

Stickers

Not extremely trendy but not devoid of trends either

Pictures are the focus

Any color goes

Pia

Christine

Kerri

Brenda

Bev

Christine

Erin

So....now that we've been thru all of them what style are you or do you fit in multiple styles?  Or are you still not sure where you fit in?  If you'd like my opinion, leave me a link and I'd be happy to check your stuff out!  I think I dabble in many styles but am mostly a Classic & Cutesy Style Scrapper.  I've got some Glitz Design goodies to give away to one of the people who leave a comment here by Saturday, the 26th.  I hope you've enjoyed this series, 

It's been fun putting it together for you!

Discovering your Scrapbooking Style: Grungy

Grungy style has a vintage feel similar to Shabby Chic but with a harder edge to it that is not as feminine.  Tim Holtz is the king of this style and his products fit into it to a tee.  I don't think I've ever done a thing in this style, but I am officially inspired to try!

Some characteristics of Grungy Style

Blacks, Browns, Oranges, Grays or Deep Autumn Colors

Torn paper

Old book or music paper

Misting

Pirate themed embellishments

Maps

Textured papers

Embossing

Dark ink distressing

Slanted placement of pictures and papers

Little or no measuring or paper trimming required

Jannike

Kerri

Mieko

Jannike

Kerri

Erin

Pia

Tomorrow we will wrap up this series with "Classic."  

Discovering Your Scrapbooking Style: Whimsical

Whimsical style is similar to cutesy but you often see scenes being made within a page.  I am often drawn to these types of layouts because I amazed at the creativity that they require.  Many of our designers work in this arena, not exclusively, but regularly.

Some of the characteristics found in whimsical style:

Bright, playful colors

Creating a scene on your layout

Fun fonts

Clouds

Kites

Pinwheels

Banners

Trees

Flowers

Dimension

Using fanciful products

Christine

Erin

Christine

Brenda

Brenda

Brenda

Kerri

Debbie Burns

Two more days and then we'll be having a fun contest challenging you to try working outside your style!  We'll see you tomorrow for Grungy!

Discovering Your Scrapbooking Style: Graphic

I think this is the hardest style to define because it fits in somewhere between clean & simple and classic.  But there are many out there who work in this style a lot and there's no doubt they fit in this category.

Some of the characteristics you'll find in Graphic Style:

Kindergarten shapes without a lot of altering to them

White Space

Minimal Supplies

Straight, bold lines

Strong Colors

Dimension

Items from the page pop at you, can have a digital feel

Uses a lot of basic art elements to create a detailed project

Christine

Michelle

Claude

We'll see you tomorrow for "Whimsical" projects.

Discovering your Scrapbooking Style: Shabby Chic

Shabby Chic is all over the place in decorating and has become huge in scrapbooking.  Anna Griffin, Pink Paislee, and Melissa Frances all produce a lot of stuff that fits in the Shabby Chic style.  This is probably the easiest style to predict as far as fitting the name goes.  One of our former designers, Sandi, is a master in this style.  If you want to explore Shabby Chic more, I highly recommend checking out her stuff!

Some of the characteristics you see in Shabby Chic Style

Layers of ribbons and other accents

Muted colors and pastels

Pleating

Flourishes

Flowers

Pearls

Clusters of embellishments

Distressing

Lace 

Doilies

Light Colors paired with one dark color

Vintage items like keys, treasure boxes

Romantic feel

Sandi

 Aymee

Aymee

Sandi

Jannike

Jannike

Libeeti

Hope your weekend is off to a great start!  I'm heading out on vacation, so you know mine is starting off nicely!