A Different Kind of Mini-Album

By Krissy Clark McKee

If you recall, I somehow managed to convince the Powers-That-Be at the STORE to let me showcase a little bit of everything this month. In addition to the KaiserCraft and Pretty Little Studio goodies they sent which I showed you earlier this month, I also received papers from Glitz Design and items from 7 Gypsies, including 7 Gypsies Binderie Ephemera.

At first I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with the gorgeous cards included in the Ephemera pack other than to ooh and ahh over them; however, the more I looked at them, the more I felt compelled to make a mini-album. I've been looking at various art and travel journals lately, and I wanted my mini-album to have a little bit of an eclectic feel to it - as if it had been pieced together over time. And since the cards in the ephemera pack all had a travel theme, I decided that my mini-album would feature some of my favorite adventures over the past few years.

My improvised mini-album was so easy to make. I simply hole-punched the cards and added a couple of binder rings. I used my wonderful Glitz Design papers and a whole lot of odds and ends left over from past purchases that were perfect for my album.

I didn't have quite enough cards in my ephemera pack so I added a few flash cards from Pink Paislee's Daily Junque Collection that I purchased from the LCOM STORE earlier this spring. Since the style was essentially the same and I didn't want a "perfectly put together" look, I thought the two collections worked well together.

I just traced the paper out that I wanted to use on the back of each card. The cards in the ephemera pack are definitely sturdy enough to hold the paper and any buttons, brads or other trinkets.

I created pockets to hold my journaling tags by sewing three sides of my pictures or on the cards which I occasionally layered on top of each other.

I used more of those sweet banner pieces by Pretty Little Studio to accent the edges of some of my pages.

I added a few left-over Tim Holtz embellishments, too...

The end...

I'll be back next month. Until then, go check out the great goodies the STORE has gotten in, including three new collections by Studio Calico, and challenge yourself to see if you can use those items in a slightly different way!

Productes Used:
Glitz Design Laced with Grace Collection
Pretty Little Studio - Antique Mini Bunting Flags, Home Spun Lemon Sliced Garland Flags, Mini Bingo Vintage Flash Cards, Mini Bunting Flags
7 Gypsies Apothecary Collection - Vintage Stickers
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Chain Tassels
Tim Holtz Key
My Mind's Eye Brads - Stella and Rose Collection
Bo Bunny Brads
Pink Paislee Daily Junque Ephemera
Prima Say It in Crystals Flourishes
Doodlebug Gemstones
7 Gypsies Gaffer Tape
7 Gypsies Binder Rings
Small Star Punch
Ribbon

Big Sister, Little Brother

Big Sister, Little Brother
by Krissy Clark McKee

I am back, fresh from a trip to California where I took lots and lots of pictures of my sweet niece and her brother, my brand new little nephew! So of course, the primary thing on my mind when I sat down at my scrap table was what papers did I have that worked with my pictures. And, it quickly became apparent that my Kaisercraft Class of '87 Collection from the LCOM STORE had exactly the bright colors and graphic patterns I was looking for. If you think papers from a school collection are only for school pictures, think again!

The collection's striped and crossword puzzle papers were perfect for my handmade accordian flowers, especially when combined with a couple of Fancy Pants' chalkboard tags from its Off to School Collection.

My banner was super easy to make. I used a small star punch on a cut out strip of my patterned paper. I cut out squares around the punched star shapes, outlined each square with fine-tip black marker and then punched a tiny hole in each corner through which I threaded my baker's twine. I used pop dots under each square on my banner to make it stand out more. Pretty cute, don't you think?

I also added these little resin flowers from Maya Road. I think they make really sweet accents without being overwhelming.

I could easily see myself using more of these Maya Road embellies in the future either as the centers of larger, more elaborate handmade flowers or by themselves on cards.

Do you need a little more inspiration? Then head over to the STORE which has just a received a shipment of the newest, completely droolworthy lines by Studio Calico and Glitz Design. And, if you are in the Saint John, New Brunswick area on Wednesday the 28th, you can drop by the Hampton Inn and chat with Kristine and the gang about the latest and greatest in scrapbooking. For more info, click HERE.

Until next week...

Products Used
Kaisercraft Class of '87 Collection (Assembly, Science Project, Sports Day, Times Tables)
Maya Road Resin Blossoms
Thickers and October Afternoon Alphas
Baker's Twine
Fancy Pants Stickers - Off to School Collection
Distress Ink - Faded Jeans and Fired Brick
Two Small Brads
Two Buttons
Small Circle Punch and Small Star Punch

It's Back to School Time

Junior High
Krissy Clark McKee

I had the hardest time deciding what products I wanted to work with and show you for the month of September! Instead of spending waaay too much time going back and forth between different product lines, I decided to choose goodies from several of my favorites so be prepared for something a little different from me each time you see me this month!

One collection that kept drawing my eye was KaiserCraft's Class of '87. I love the vibrant papers that have terrific graphics which are versatile enough to work for any school-themed layout, including this one of my daughter's first day of junior high (when she was giggling too hard to let me take a decent picture). I had so much fun cutting out the crossword paper and fussy-cutting the little circle sentiments.

The tags used for my title were cut from yet another sheet; the front of the paper has a tag with each letter of the alphabet and lines for journaling and the back has each letter with a coordinating picture - there are so many things you could do with them! I added pop dots to the backs of my circles and title tags to provide extra dimension to my layout.

I also thought the "Six" pennant which I handcut from one of the Class of '87 pages went really well with the Pretty Little Studio bunting flags I found in the STORE, so I sewed them all together on my layout and added buttons as decorative accents.

Speaking of the STORE, have you visited lately? There are so many wonderful new shipments that have come in, including the new Crate Paper, Jillibean Soup, and October Afternoon Collections! If you are even a little like me, you won't be able to pick just one!

Products Used:
KaiserCraft Class of '87 Collection: Excursion, Science Project, Show & Tell, Sports Day
Pretty Little Studio - Simplicity Mini Bunting Tags
Buttons
Border Punch
October Afternoon Mini Alphas
October Afternoon Mist
Kraft Cardstock

Display Your Memories the Tim Holtz Way

Tim Holtz Configurations Tray
by Krissy Clark McKee

If you want a fantastic, creative way to showcase your photographs and you are looking for something a little different than the usual scrapbook page, perhaps you should give the Tim Holtz Configurations Tray a try! Not only do you have the freedom to add as many or few photos as you want, but the moveable boxes really allow you to create wonderful 3-D displays of treasured mementos or pieces of ephemera.

The small boxes come in a plain beige color which are suitable for inking, painting or covering in paper as I have done. You can also move the individual boxes around to help achieve just the right look for you!

I was initially going to use more photographs and only my most recently purchased Tim Holtz products for my Configurations Tray; however, the more I played with it, the more I began pulling out stickers, charms, buttons, ribbons - basically all the things sitting in my scrapbook stash that I was going to finish using "some day" - much of it purchased over the past year from the STORE!

I used pop dots to add dimension to some of my ephemera, and each object was glued down so it wouldn't move (or fall off). After I glued my Tim Holtz papers onto each box, I covered everything in a gel medium. And, of course, because I was doing my best to channel Mr. Holtz I ripped, distressed, inked, crumpled, misted, crackle-painted and grunged just about everything I touched!

Would you like a closer look? Here you go:

Hope my month of Tim Holtz has inspired you to go check out his products and all the other fabulous fall shipments that have arrived at the STORE!

Products Used:

Tim Holtz Configurations Tray
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Newsprint Alphas, Chain Tassels, Plaquettes,Crowded Attic Paper, Crowded Attic Stickers
Other Tim Holtz Products: Keys, Clocks, Ribbon, Frames, Art Tags, Gears,Safety Pins, Distress Ink Tea Dye
Glitz Laced with Grace Journaling Stickers and Title Stickers
My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Union Square Tags
Buttons
Flower
Burlap
Scrabble-Type Tiles
Charms
Ranger Crackle Paint and Glossy Accents
Acrylic Gel Medium

Everyday Tim Holtz

By Krissy Clark McKee

When you think of Tim Holtz, the words "distressed" and "grunge" and maybe even "ephemera" come to mind. Projects made with Tim Holtz supplies always seem to use lots of ink, layers of paper, trinkets, gears and such. However, you can just as easily use Tim Holtz supplies to make simple everyday cards that take only a short amount of time to create yet make a big statement!

One reason my cards came together so quickly is because I used the Tim Holtz Crowded Attic paper pack. This collection of paper has everything from sheets with just one pattern to sheets covered in small squares and borders and everything in between.

And if you want to dress things up a little more, you can simply use Tim Holtz Ribbon like I did with my "Joy" card, or you can add small trinkets, buttons or items like his wonderful tiny metal hangers such as I did with this card:

Products Used:
Tim Holtz Crowded Attic Paper Pack
Tim Holtz Crowded Attic Stickers
Tim Holtz Ideology Ribbon
Tim Holtz Ideaology Hangers
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen)
Tim Holtz Crackle Paint
Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type Alphas (Black and Brown)
Small Burlap Square
Border Punch

Love Affair

Boardwalk
By Krissy Clark McKee

Guess what? I am having an intense, serious love affair...with Tim Holtz. No, not the living, breathing Tim Holtz but with all of his scrapbooking products! Why? Because Tim Holtz stuff is so cool and fun and a little bit funky. His CROWDED ATTIC paper pack has a fantastic combination of neutral and richly colored papers, filled with various-sized images that would make anyone want to fussy cut. And I don't know how, but the more you crumple, tear, ink and otherwise distress Tim Holtz paper, the BETTER it looks!

I wanted my layout to have a vintage theme and look like something you might find in an old trunk in an attic so I edited some recent staycation photos to give them a sepia tint. My faux ruler at the bottom of the photos and the journaling tag hidden behind the left photo, which looks like the cover to an old stamp pad, are both from the Crowded Attic paper pack.

And those pretty Tim Holtz papers make gorgeous embellishments when combined with items like his CHAIN TASSELS and buttons. See?

Finally, I think the Tim Holtz Alpha-Parts Ransom Letters look so cool - almost as if I had taken apart a small printing press and used the keys from it!

I have so enjoyed creating this layout and I strongly urge you to go get some Tim Holtz for yourself at the STORE, get your hands dirty, and have some fun!

PRODUCTS USED:
Tim Holtz: Crowded Attic Papers, Alpha-Parts Ransom Letters, Tassels
Other Tim Holtz Products: Ideology Trimmings, Wander Tag, Clock Hand, Distress Ink (Walnut Stain, Tea Dye)
3 Buttons
2 Number Tabs
3 Rub-Ons
2 Border Punches
Flower Punch
Glimmer Mist

Another 5 & Dime Project

By Krissy Clark McKee

How could I play with the oh-so-fun October Afternoon 5 & Dime collection without doing a layout? I couldn't! The 5 & Dime papers have a wonderful vintage vibe, harkening back to an era of innocence, so they were perfect for a picture of my sister-in-law and sweet little niece.

I followed Sketch #90 found here at the LCOM SKETCH BLOG, which allowed me to to layer and combine just about every spare scrap piece of paper left over from my earlier projects. I had the Jenni Bowlin background paper forever because I couldn't find anything to go with it, but it coordinated perfectly with my 5 & Dime papers.

I really loved using the stickers from the 12x12 Shape Stickers Page, the buttons, and the ephemera from the Miscellany Kit. They were so pretty and added the perfect vintage touches needed to complete my layout!

My fun with October Afternoon has now come to an end, but I'll be back next month playing with products from your favorite guy and mine - Tim Holtz!

Products Used:
October Afternoon 5 & Dime Patterned Papers(Bubble Gum, Butterscotch, Jawbreakers, Lemon Drops, Root Beer Barrels)
October Afternoon 5 & Dime Miscellany Kit
October Afternoon 5 & Dime 12x12 Shape Stickers, Buttons and Image Rubons
Prima Flourish
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
Jenni Bowlin Paper
Plain Kraft Cardstock
Border Punches and Die Cuts
Pop Dots
Floss for Buttons

Sweet Vintage Cards

By Krissy Clark McKee

I was really inspired by the wonderful cards recently made by Nicole using Pink Paislee papers, and I decided to try my hand making my own cards using the sweet, almost old-fashioned looking papers from October Afternoon's 5 & Dime Collection.

The papers are perfect for adding stitching and border punched edges. And the cards from the Miscellany Kit or the Sticker Page make the cutest, best embellishments. I can't wait to send these cards to my friends!

Here are the other two cards I thoroughly enjoyed making:

I'll be back next week with more crafty fun with October Afternoon's 5 & Dime goodies. Until then, feel free to head over to the LCOM STORE and get some of your own 5 & Dime supplies to play with!

Products Used:
October Afternoon 5 & Dime papers (Lemon Drops, Circus Peanuts, Bubble Gum, Butterscotch)
October Afternoon 5 & Dime Sticker Page
October Afternoon 5 & Dime Miscellany
Jillibean Soup Alphas
Prima Swirl
Buttons
Flower Punch and Border Punches
Twine
Ribbon

5 & Dime Mini-Album Fun!

By Krissy Clark McKee

Do you love the look of mini-albums but think they are too hard or time consuming to make? If that's the case, you have GOT to get October Afternoon's Mini-Album kit. It comes with four board shapes and pre-cut paper from the 5 & Dime collection so all you have to do is decide which paper you like best and glue it on!

The 5 & Dime Collection has a great vintage feel to it so I decided my album would focus on a few of my favorite pictures and memories from my family's past.

I didn't want to worry about where I would fit my journaling on each page so I created journaling inserts to go with each page by using the 12 x 12 Shape Stickers and cards found in the Miscellany Kit from the collection.

I added buttons and images cut from the 5 & Dime Root Beer Barrels paper along with the Word Stickers and Image Rubons, which were the perfect embellishments. A few Prima swirls, a stick pin or two and some Jillibean Soup corrugated frames and flowers, and I had a mini-album that I wanted to carry around with me and show off to EVERYONE! See how cute October Afternoon made my pages look?

This is what the page looks like with the journaling tag in front of it:

And this is what the tag and the page look like individually. As you can see, the tag started out as a card from the Miscellany Kit. I simply hole punched it, painted it with crackle paint to give it an aged appearance, added paper for journaling on the back and as many cute embellies as it could hold!

I repeated the same process each time:

And here are a couple more pictures of the front and back of my journaling card inserts - so easy to make, and this method let me use even MORE buttons, rub-ons and other ephemera - always a good thing!

I hope you have enjoyed looking at my mini-album as much as I have enjoyed making it. It was incredibly easy and so much fun! And right now, the LCOM STORE has given you even MORE options because Kristine Davidson has taken all the fun October Afternoon supplies and created a complete KIT available for pre-order! So head over to the STORE and get started on your own mini-album today - it's just a mouse-click away!


Products Used
October Afternoon Mini-Album Kit
5 & Dime Shape Stickers
5 & Dime Miscellany Kit
5 & Dime Word Stickers
5 & Dime Image Rubons
5 & Dime Buttons
October Afternoon Mini Market Alphas
5 & Dime Patterned Paper - Root Beer Barrels
Stick Pins
Prima Swirls
Jillibean Soup Corrugate Frames and Flowers
Tim Holtz Crackle Pain - Rock Candy
Charm
Brads

Beautiful Prima, Beautiful Layout

Beautiful
by Krissy Clark McKee

I'm back to share with you another layout using one of my favorite scrapbooking products ever - Prima. If you like Shabby Chic as much as I do, then Prima items are a "must have" for you!

I LOVED using Prima papers to make this layout. The muted designs are so soft and romantic, and they have wonderful vintage-y images which are perfect for fussy-cutting!

Prima's rub-ons, which I had never used before, went on extremely smoothly with no tearing or breaking apart as I have sometimes found with other rub-ons. And I thought the flourishes with both crystal and lace were so elegant and eye-catching - I couldn't wait to use them! But one of my favorite additions to my layout is the lace doily, which is actually part of the Prima PACKAGING that I cut up and used. It was so pretty, I couldn't resist!

Finally - Prima flowers! I can't say enough about them! Even though the ones I used are all from the same collection, they are each slightly different and unique. All are beautiful and have incredible detail!

So now that you've seen all the fun goodies Prima and the LCOM STORE have to offer, what are you waiting for?! Go get started on your own shabby chic layout today!

Until next time...

Products Used
Prima Papers (Moulin Rouge - Folies Bergere, Celeste; Botanical Collection)
Background Gold Cardstock
Prima Rub-Ons
Prima Flowers
Prima Say-It-In-Crystals Flourish
Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type Letters
Distress Ink - Vintage Photo
Adhesive Pearls
Border Punch