Are We Having Fun Yet?

I just contributed to the wonderful blog over at Let's Capture Our Memories. Please feel free to check it out HERE!

I had so much fun playing with the new My Mind's Eye "Gertie" collection that I recently received from the LCOM STORE. Please be sure to check them out as well as many other fabulous new items being loaded into the STORE every day!

Until next time...
Have a scrappy weekend!!!

Sometimes, Enough is Enough!

I am pretty sure you've seen me say several times how much I love sketches. It's true! I love them! Especially when I have limited time to scrapbook but am dying for a fix ("Hello, my name is Krissy and I am a scrapbooking junkie!") because I have been too busy with "real life" to create a layout in over a week!

So, I was really excited to see the new sketch posted at Sketchabilities!

It has wonderful detail and really cute elements so I couldn't wait to play with it!

For my layout, I used:

Fancy Pants Papers, Happy Together Collection;
Bazzill Basics Floss (but any embroidery floss will work);
Bazzill Basics Stitching Template;
Small and Medium-Sized Self-Adhesive Pearls;
Markers and Distress Ink (to outline my papers);
Chipboard Letters; and a
Pen (for journaling).

You will notice that the sketch has the smaller photos located under the main picture instead of to the side like I have. It also includes cute little embellishments and swirls on the bottom and top left side of the layout. I tried to follow it; I really did! But once I spent the time to do my handstitching, I knew I didn't want to cover even a millimeter of it up with pictures. I also had "dead space" on the left side of my main photo so I decided that would be a good spot to place the smaller pictures. I then chose some pretty flowers that matched my layout and tried to place them along with small paper strips as shown in the sketch. They just didn't look right. I tried different flowers - paper flowers, fabric flowers, small flowers, large flowers - nothing looked right to me. I moved on to embellishments in lieu of flowers, but still nothing worked for me. I thought about adding a little more stiching and put several templates in place so I could visualize how that would look...nope. Finally, I noticed two packages of adhesive pearls that I had purchased earlier in the day and decided to add a simple pearl border around my layout. THAT worked.

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love embellishments. Trinkets, flowers, metal charms, anything made by my Silhouette - I love it all. But sometimes, they just don't work; they don't belong. And when that happens, I have to go with my gut and not try to "force" all those cute extras onto my layout.

I am certain I will use this sketch again and follow it more closely because I love the way it looks. But if, for some reason, I don't - it will still be okay - because the end result is MY creation. And if I am happy with my creation, that is all that matters!

I encourage you to create something that makes YOU happy this weekend! For more ideas and more wonderful takes on this sketch, please visit Sketchabilities!

Mini-Album Tutorial from Let's Capture Our Memories

Are you loving those cute mini-albums you've been seeing but are a little unsure as to how you can make one? Check out this WONDERFUL tutorial from Andrea Wiebe at Let's Capture Our Memories! Andrea created her mini album using wonderful Shabby Chic Crafts and adorable Prima and Maya Road goodies that you can find at the Let's Capture Our Memories store!

Shabby Chic Crafts + Prima = Cute Mini Book!

products on the mini book cover: flowers (Prima); flower centres (Prima);
Pins (Maya Road);paper (Echo Park);mini frame (Shabby Chic Crafts)

I instantly fell in love with all of the Shabby Chic Crafts product in the Let's Capture Our Memories Store and I imagined that the line would look great with Prima flowers! Seeing everything together I was instantly inspired to make a Spring mini book and I'd love to share with you how.

The Supplies:

corrugated cardboard
cardstock
embroidery floss
pattern paper
adhesive
needle


The Instructions:

1. Trim two pieces of corrugated cardboard to measure 3 1/2 X 4, as well, cut a piece of cardstock to measure 2 X 4. Glue your corrugated cardboard onto your card stock as shown...making sure to leave at least 3/4 of an inch in the centre.

inside:

outside:

2. Cut a piece of pattern paper to measure 2 X 4 and use to cover the piece of card stock on the outside of book.

3. Fold mini book to form a spine.

4. Trim three piece of cardstock to measure 4 X 7 and fold in half. Place one piece of folded cardstock inside the book, along the spine, and poke holes using a push pin along the fold line...make sure that you push your pin through the spine of the book as well.

5. Handsew the cardstock page to the spine. Repeat with the other sheets of cardstock.

inside:

outside:

The book is now ready to be decorated!

The papers to use for my book was an easy descision...Echo Park Springtime! The lime green Prima flowers were a perfect springtime match :)

Aren't the little envelopes so sweet...

By layering up notecards you get lots of journaling room! I added a Maya Road Star Pin to the flowers pin for a fun look!

The pink and blue Prima flowers look so perfect with the pearl and crystal centres...

I added a little strip of Maya Road brown satin pleat ribbon for some extra dimension...

If you have any questions leave them in the comment section or you can email me...aswiebe@hotmail.com!

Have a great day,
Andrea

More Fun News!

I am so excited that Sketchabilities has asked me to join their design team for the next three months along with these other fabulous ladies:

Julie Comeau – CANADA -returning

Sue Sykes-CANADA

Sandi Smith - CANADA

Shona Keehn - CANADA

Issa Lucido- PHILIPPINES-returning

Ria Mojica – PHILIPPINES

Svetlana Austin - SOUTH AFRICA

Stacy Rodrigues-USA-returning

Michelle McClure-USA

Mandy Starner-USA

Kimberly Arledge-USA

Danielle Aubroeck-NETHERLANDS

Margreet Westerling - NETHERLANDS

Miranda Wedekind – NETHERLANDS

Nicola Childerhouse – UNITED KINGDOM

Amelia Wahab – MALAYSIA

Mazlina Yusoff –AUSTRAILIA

Kanako Sakurai - JAPAN

Teresa Dieguez -Spain

Please take a few minutes to stop by Sketchabilities' website to see all the neat things they have going on. And it is TOTALLY worth your time to stop by each of these talented designers' blogs, too, as they are full of inspiration and eye-candy!