Product Shuffle : Mesh

Hello friends!

What a beautiful day today.  The sun is shining and I'm hiding in my basement scrapbooking summer pictures!  It's perfect!
I love to cook and spend a great chunk of my day in the kitchen.  This week's product shuffle came to me in the kitchen.  As I was preparing my ingredients for my chili, I cut the top of my onion bag and set it to the side while I started chopping them.
Later, when everything was simmering, I started cleaning up and found the mesh bag top of my onions that lay in a perfect circle on my counter.  That was the starting point of my layout.  How perfect was this Page Maps sketch to incorporate my mesh circle?

All I had to do now was find the perfect paper to use with the orange mesh.  I finaly chose some delicious Carta Bella and the Hello Again 6X6 paper pad.

To make the circle, I just placed a big glue dot in the center of where I wanted to place my mesh.  I then cut the metal tie from the onion bag and placed the center of the opening on the glue dot.  The rest of the circle simply stretched away and I added the picture and the embelishments on top.

Along with the Carta Bella, I also used Studio Calico paper, a Jillibean Soup vellum butterfly, Prima flowers, Basic Grey Buttons and stickers, CTMH cardstock and stickers and a Teresa Collins brad.

Here is the finished layout.  I love how the mesh gives it just a suttle little something to tie everything together.  Have you ever found scrappy inspiration in your kitchen?  Let us know and see you soon!

Product Shuffle - Gold Pen

Good Morning and Happy Father's Day!

I am not used to making anything masculine.  I love my Prima flowers and my ribbon but that was just not going to cut it on a father's day card.  As I was cleaning out my scrapbooking carrier, I was testing out my markers to see if they were still working and came across a Pilot gold pen that I had forgotten I had. It still worked and I knew I wanted to use it on my card.

To make the focal image, I used a CTMH stamp and some reinker.  Adding a few drops of reinker to a sponge and then over saturating the stamp let you stamp a wider image.  I then used the gold pen to draw over the stamped image.

I used the same pen to doodle around the torn cardstock and draw a few stars around the card.

I also used a ruler and my trusty pen to add faux stitching to the bottom part of the card.
And there you have it!  My husband's father's day card.

Along with CTMH cardstock, ribbon and stamp, I used Carta Bella's Well Played paper, Basic Grey photo frame, My Mind's Eye enamel dots and Prima wood buttons

Have yourself a great day and I'll see you next month!

Product Shuffle: Stencils and masks

Happy Thursday to you, Let's Capture Our Memories readers!  Aurelie here to talk to you about stencils and masks, and how we can all use them differently than how we usually do with mists and inks. Now, I know what you're saying - Huh? Use a stencil or a mask without mist or ink? But really, think about it. Some are just so, so pretty! I thought to myself, how can I use one in a new way to give it center stage in my design?

Oh, yes I did! I totally did! I used one as an embellishment!! I've had this Christy Tomlinson vintage doily mask for some time now and never actually used it - I think it was one of those scrappy purchases I did because the product was so darn cute! ;) I know you understand... Hee!Hee! Chances are if I hadn't used it until now, I wouldn't ever use it. So... I went for it. Took it out of the package and realized it was a perfect match for Carta Bella's Wildflower collection! Two birds with one stone! I dropped it on my background piece and instantly thought of a Kristine Davidson sketch I actually scrapped with a long while ago:

And off I went. Added some American Crafts Dear Lizzy brads with some punched circles from a piece of Stampin' Up gold foil paper, splattered some Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze here and there and everywhere, sticked some American Crafts Dear Lizzy alphas on my photo, embossed some of those yummy, new Jillibean Soup beanboard alphas in my Cuttlebug, tacked on some black We R Memory Keepers staples, and stitched some DMC floss using a Bazzill Basic template. Want to see the finished project? Ta-da!

But wait! There's more! While I was preparing for this blog post, I stumbled upon a few websites that talked about other different ways of using stencils and masks. Stitching? Embossing? Layering? The possibilities are endless! I must admit that the stitching and embossing options are very tempting... must try that sometime. See? I'm already seeing stencils and masks in a new light!

Can't wait to see how YOU use them differently! Please feel free to link your design on our Facebook page here. Get those stencils and masks out and get 'er done! Hee!Hee!

Join us again on Saturday when three designers show us what they created using the same set of products with the the same sketch. You'll just have to "Sketch it Out!" for yourself! ;)

Happy scrapping!

Inspiration Station: Carta Bella!

Hello everyone! I'm back with an inspiration post today featuring Carta Bella's So Noted patterned papers and sticker sheet. If you're unfamiliar with these papers, you can view them in the store HERE. The specific pattern papers I used are: Dear Jane, Script & Scribbles, Note Cards, and Always You.

Here were my inspiration pieces:

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I especially loved the Jimmy  Buffett quote (even though there is no doubt about Heaven for me). In the second inspiration piece, what I really liked was the splash of orange at the top and the bottom. So with those pieces, are you ready to see what I came up with?

If you're unfamiliar with these Carta Bella papers, they are thick and textured. You can view larger photos of the patterns on the Carta Bella website HERE. I also have a couple of close up shots so you can see the layers, patterns, and stickers.

I hope you can find some inspiration in my pieces this week. Hope to see you share your work in the LCOM gallery. For more details about my page, be sure to stop by my blog today.

Inspiration Station: Inspirational quotes!

Happy Monday to you all! Aurelie here today to talk to you about a source of inspiration I've recently picked up - inspirational quotes. Yes, quotes have been around for ages, but I just started looking at them in a brand new kind of way to help me kick my scrappy mojo into action once in awhile. The internet is full of inspirational sites - one of my favourites is Positive Outlooks. I recently liked their Facebook page and now, every day, I receive a great quote which not only inspires my scrapbooking (sparking a memory, a feeling, etc,), but my own day, too!

On that note, here is one of these quotes I saw a while back on the Positive Outlooks blog:

Isn't it beautiful? And when I was asked to play with Carta Bella's Wildflower collection, I instantly thought of this presentation and knew exactly what photo and subject I was going to tackle to best respresent it. Yes, here it is, my layout about my bout with post-partum issues after our daughter was born this past Fall:

Not only was the colour scheme perfect for this design, but the quote was so perfect that I actually used it for my journalling. I haven't really found the right words yet to express what I went through during those first few months (I will eventually and yes, hopefully journal tons about it!), but this was a great start to help me begin that soul-searching journey.

Along with Carta Bella's Wildflower patterned paper, I also used some Bazzill Basics and Stampin' Up cardstock, Bazzill Basics stitching templates, DMC floss, American Crafts alphas, Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze, a Stampin' Up punch, Kaisercraft pearls, and buttons, which, yes, I still have no idea where I got them! Hee!Hee!

I hope you'll be inspired to create something new using a quote or a song lyric, even. Would love to see what you come up with! Please feel free in posting how you were inspired from this post on our Facebook page here. And if you blog about it, please link your URL in the comments section below. Can't wait to be inspired by YOU!

Please join us again on Thursday when Jocelyne will be shuffling those products again for us, and showing us how to use our scrappy stash in a brand new way!

Happy scrapping!

Easy Hidden Journal Tag

I often like to add journaling to my pages.  Sometimes it's right out in the open on the layout, and other times it's hidden, either because of it's sensitive nature, or because I don't want to throw off the balance of the design.  It can be tricky trying to figure out a way to hide your journaling.  I almost always end up creating my own journal pocket.  I usually sew a little pocket together, but today I'm going to show you a quick and simple way to create a pocket without a sewing machine.

The biggest help with this is some sort of narrow double sided tape.  This one we sell in the LCOM store is nice and narrow, and really tacky, this would be perfect.

I either use a scrap of cardstock or an office supply tag as my journal spot.  Sometimes you can even use an actual journal card, like I did on this layot.

I decided this time to decorate an office supply tag using stickers from this sheet in the Carta Bella Beautiful Moments collection.

I should note that I always create my layout first with exception of the journal spot.  This will help me decide on size and placement.

To create/decorate the journal tag, I first cut the shaped journal spot sticker in half vertically.  I then stuck in onto the end of my office supply tag.  I used a scrap piece of cardstock to place under the sticker making it more durable, and keeping it from sticking to my layout, as this is the part I'll need to pull on to reveal the hidden journaling.

I then cut out the journal sticker from the scrap paper using my craft knife.  Once that was completed I need to figure out placement on my layout.

To create the envelop.  I simply used strips of double sided tape placed closely to the sides and bottom of where my journal spot will lie on the layout.  This will create a natural little pocket once the matted photo and papers are stuck on to the layout, keeping the journal tag from sliding out of place.

What you're seeing is the reverse side of my matted photo cluster

**Note** You will not remove the backing from these strips of tape as then the journal tag will tend to stick to the tape inside the pocket once it's placed on the layout.  Leave the backing on, and you will not encounter that problem.

Add adhesive to the edges of the matted photo cluster and stick it to your layout. You are now ready to decorate the rest of the tag and add your journaling.

I used two more stickers from the Carta Bella sticker sheet

Tuck your tag into your new formed pocket, nd you're done.  Easy peasy, and no sewing machine required.  Here is my finished layout.

See how journaling would have thrown off the design?  This way I have a design I'm happy with and all the memories safely recorded on a hidden little tag.

Here are a couple more layouts that have hidden journaling done the same way.

 Hope you've been inspired to give it a try.

All the Carta Bella product I used can be found in the store, here.

Happy Saturday friends!