Inspiration Station - Ode to Nicole Nowosad!

So happy to be here with you for another instalment of Let's Capture Our Memories' Inspiration Station - where I aim to inspire by being inspired. This week, it's no secret. It's all about Nicole Nowosad. A very popular name in the scrapbooking industry for quite some time now, Nicole has designed and is still designing for some top-notch scrappy manufacturers and suppliers out there such as Jillibean Soup, Bella Blvd, Fancy Pants amd Cocoa Daisy, not to mention being on Scrapbook & Cards Today's regular line-up. I mean, that alone says a lot!

I first started noticing Nicole's work in 2012, when I seriously fell in love with hand-stitching on most of my layouts. I could always recognize Nicole's work by noticing her unique ways of stitching elements on her pages. Here's an example:

Amazing stuff, eh? I know! LOVE!! I've often said that Nicole invented the infamous pie-chart design element on layouts. Here is one of my absolute favourite layouts of hers with one of my all-time favourite Basic Grey collections, Highline:

Stitching and a dimensional pie-chart on one layout - REALLY! Who could ask for anything more? Hee!Hee! But wait! There's more! Nicole has been a pioneer in showing scrappers from all over the world on how to use die-cut elements - she actually has her very own collection of Silhouette free cut files to download right here (she designs for Silhouette, too!).  Here's an awesome example of hers on how to balance a layout with such an element using some quilt-like features:

I recently got the chance to meet and take a class with Nicole at a Scrapbook & Cards Today Crop & Create event. It was absolutely FABULOUS to see how she uses patterned paper to create her designs. "Cut and commit," she would say. I must admit, I was a bit intimidated by meeting such a well-known scrapper, but boys! Was it ever nice to see how "normal" she is and how she genuinely loves to scrap just as much as the rest of us. Enjoyed speaking to her and learning from her so very much that I instantly thought of this blog post and asked her a day into the event if I could create a design based on her work. She agreed! WOO!HOO! Excited was not the word! And imagine just excited I was when I showed her my design and she stamped it with her seal of approval!! My goodness! Just like opening a new box of scrappy goodies on Christmas morning, I tell ya. Hee!Hee! So... without any further adieu, here is my Ode to Nicole Nowosad:

Used tons and tons and more TONS of My Mind's Eye Jubilee - Sherbet collection on here along with a Jillibean Soup placemat, Queen & Co. washi tape, Prima Sculpture Flowers, American Crafts Pow! Glitter Paper, Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze, Making Memories staples, and yes, hand-stitching using DMC floss with CTMH and Tim Holtz stitching rulers. And be still my beating heart! Do you see what I see? Yes! Unstitched holes!! Holy camoly! Living on the wild side! I must have been channelling the inner Nowosad in me - Hee!Hee!

On that note, I want to give a very special shout out to Nicole Nowosad for giving me the OK to do this post. It was truly a great and "humbling" experience to meet you and speak to you. Thank you for letting me see a bit of the real you! ;) You are such a great example for all of us scrappers. Thank you for all you inspire and all you share with us all. Hope to see you REAL soon! ;)

Happy scrapping! 

Inspiration Station - Here's Missy!

Hello, everyone! Aurelie here to share some inspiration with you all. I thought I would change it up a bit this week and have a special guest. Exciting, eh? I know! Can I have a drumroll, please? ... ;) TADA!

Hi there, scrappers!  My name is Missy Whidden, and I’m from Florida.  I started scrapping about eight years ago.  My mother-in-law asked me to help her make a baby book for my husband just before our first daughter was born.  I was instantly hooked!  My style has really changed since using just stickers and deco scissors, although those were very cool back then!  I love incorporating mixed media into my scrapbook pages, especially watercolors.  I love working with die cuts and patterned paper.  Honestly, I’ve never met a scrappy supply I didn’t love.  I currently design for My Mind’s Eye, Chickaniddy Crafts, My Scraps & More and Creative Scrappers.  I love scrapping for the creative aspect, but it’s also therapeutic for me.  I love working with photos of my family and friends, and I hope my work somehow inspires others to create something awesome!  Thank so you so much for having me!

No problem, Missy! The pleasure is all ours!! Yes, Missy Whidden has been a favourite scrapper of mine for a few years now. I have always been drawn to her bright colours, her funky way of adding mixed media to her designs... and what can I say? She is a layering and embellishment placement guru! Her style is so distinct! I can always spot a Missy layout a mile around. Love it!

So you can imagine how excited I got when I found out that she had been called to be a member of the My Mind's Eye design team. I mean, a favourite designer with a favourite manufacturer - who could ask for anything more? :) And ever since, she has been creating tons of MME eye-candy. Lately, she's been busy revealing her designs using the MME Market Street collections. Both Ashbury Heights and Nob Hill collections are some of my recent favourites - the gold foil throughout is absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! So, in no particular order, here are some of Missy's layouts with all this fabulousness:

MME - Product Spotlight - Market Street Chipboard Elements

MME - Pie Chart Scrapbook Layout by Missy for MME

MME - Product Spotlight - Market Street 3X4 Cards

Arent't they mind-blowing? Who can't be inspired when seeing these layouts?! Love, love, LOVE them!! If you'd like to be inspired some more by Missy, please head on over to her own blog right here and/or visit her online gallery right here.

And guess what? You can find these amazing MME products over at the LCOM store right now! GO! ;) For the Ashbury Heights, click here. And for the Nob Hill, click here. This is so much fun - I'm making it super easy for you to get your hands on these amazing products! LOVE it!

A big shout out to Missy who so graciously accepted to be featured in today's LCOM Inspiration Station instalment. We are so very grateful to you, Missy. You are a continuous source of inspiration for me and for countless other scrappers! Thanks a bunch of bunches for all that you share!

Happy scrapping!

Product Shuffle : 3D foam squares

Good morning!

Jocelyne, here, and welcome to another installment of Product Shuffle, where I try to show you a different way to use some of our scrapbooking supplies.  This week we are going to take something that is always hidden and bring it to the front of our page.  That's right!  We are going to showcase some 3D foam squares!

How are we going to make the foam square pretty and not so sticky?  Easy!  Simply by taking one side of the already sticky side and dipping it in glitter!  Since the 3D foam square is like a double sided sticker, I simply left one side of the protective backing on one side, took the other side out and dipped it in my glitter.  I used my finger to brush the excess glitter while making sure it was not sticky anymore.  I then added small My Mind's Eye alpha stickers on top for my title.  Do you see it? 

I wanted lots of sparkle to the rest of the layout, so I used the very pretty American crafts gold letters thickers, a strip of Fancy Pants metallic paper that I passed through a scallop border punch, and some My Mind's Eye enamel shapes.

Those glittery hearts are so pretty!

The butterflies, frames and chevron cutouts are from Pink Paislee's cottage farm collection.  They went perfectly with the My Mind's Eye Now and Then and Ashbury Heights and Echo Park's Capture Life paper I used.  I also used some Bo Bunny, Prima and Kaisercrafts flowers, Basic Grey enamel dots, CMTH cardstock and Webster's Pages ribbon.

Here is my finished layout!

So there you have it!  I hope my new twist on 3D foam squares inspires you.  Don't forget to tune in right here next Saturday for even more inspiration when we unveil another sketch.  I can't wait to see what our talented designers have created!

Have an amazing day!

Product Shuffle : framed transparencies and push pins

Good morning everyone!

Jocelyne here with another twist on how to use your scrapbook stash in fun new ways.  Today I have a 2 in 1 combo.  I played with Maya Road framed transparencies and some My Mind's Eye push pins.

Transparencies are fun to add over top pictures to give them that Polaroid retro look and these Maya Road ones are super fun considering they have sayings on them. 

I sometimes struggle with the push pins.  I ususally just add a couple under a flower or cluster of embellishment.  Those My Mind's Eye pins are really very pretty and they come in so many different shapes and color.

So the first thing I did was make little flags using the pin as my post.  I have seen some done with toothpicks, I though using some of these pins would be prettier.  Are they not cute!

I did some fussy cutting of  a tag from my Echo Park Capture Life paper and glued it on itself wrapping it around the pin. 

Now for the transparencies.  Like I said previously, we usually use them over pictures.  To mix things up I decided to use them underneath.

It created the base onto which I laid my pictures.  I love how it framed everything without hiding the layers underneath.

Here is another view of the transparency mat and the push pin flag.  I adhered my mini alpha stickers to this flag

Here is the entire layout.

I actually cut the middle transparency in half to make it visible from both side of the picture.  Along with the Echo Park Capture Life collection, I also used some CTMH cardstock, Jillibean Soup's Soup Staple paper. and a My Mind's Eye wooden button.

I hope you liked it and are inspired to look into using your stash in an unconventional way.  If you have any ideas of products you would like to see me use, please let us know in the comments below.  You know I love a challenge!

Have an awesome day!

Inspiration Station - Even using the scraps of "nothing"!

Hello! Hello! Well, here in the Maritimes, some of us are still picking up the remnants of Arthur's visit over the weekend - Tropical Storm Arthur, that is. Luckily for me, the power didn't go out, so it was the absolute BEST time to get some scrappy assignments done! And that's exactly what I did for this week's instalment of Let's Capture Our Memories Inspiration Station - I sat down and got 'er done!

If you're like me, you save every last piece of scrap paper, right? I've gotten better though through the years, but some patterns are so pretty that I just can't bear to get rid of even the tiniest sliver of pieces. I never know when I might need it to make... a card... or a nametag... or a... Hee!Hee! Now, how 'bout when you punch a shape or an image from a piece of paper? Do you keep the piece where there's a hollow image of what you just punched out? I usually don't (egad!), but I've been seeing some amazing designs out there as of late with some great usage of these exact pieces of scrap. I've even seen some designer creating fabulous elements punching out shapes from a larger piece of patterned paper and using the hollowed out piece. For instance, look at these absolutely beautiful layouts:

Kim Price

Laura Whitaker

Melinda Spinks

Missy Whidden

Inspiring, eh? Who would have ever said that holes could be so beautiful? Hee!Hee! A big thanks to these four outrageously inspiring scrappers who graciously gave me their thumbs up to showcase their layouts right here for you to admire and for me to be inspired to create. To say the least, these layouts got my scrappy senses a-tinglin'! ;) Here's what I created, along with a few close-ups for you to get a closer view of this "hollow" effect:

And yes, I admit it. I am one of those scrappers who has totally fallen heads over heels in love with using metallics on layouts. And My Mind's Eye's Market Street - Nob Hill collection is the perfect fit for that little, wee obsession of mine. The foiled gold used throughout the collection is absolutely GORGEOUS!! And I used tons of it here (6X6 paper pad, chipboard elements, label stickers, flair pins, mixed bag), along with some Stampin' Up cardstock, gold foil paper and vellum, Jillibean Soup wise words and mini placemat, American Crafts Dear Lizzy mini alphas, Fancy Pants cork heart, a Tim Holtz rubon, Studio Calico wood veneer hearts, Liquitex paint, a small Staples binding clip, and DMC floss using a Bazzill Basics stitching template. And, oh yes, the ever-so-popular "I have no idea where it came from" button... Hee!Hee! And for those of you who know me, yes, that's a piece of plain, black cardstock as my background!! Be still my beating heart!! Hee!Hee!

Stay tuned on Thursday when Jocelyne will be here to show you how she's yet again revamped the way to use a scrappy product. 

Happy scrapping!

Product shuffle : buttons

Good morning! 
It's a rainy Thursday here, perfect weather for scrapbooking right?  As I though about what I could use for this week's product shuffle, I dug through my scrapbooking supplies and found a box full of buttons.  Buttons were one of the first embellishments I used on a scrapbook page, over 10 years ago. They come in all kinds of shapes, and are made with all sorts of materials- plastic, resin, even chipboard!  Check out these chipboard buttons from My Mind's eye Ashbury heights collection.

 So I used the banners and and one of the button on my layout, but I wanted to incorporate other buttons.  Using my box of buttons I scooped out the pink ones (mostly dollar store and CTMH) and lines them up on my background paper.  I then used 3d foam to stick my photo and matt over the buttons to create a scallop border. 

 I then used my smaller buttons to create a border on the other side of my layout

Along with the paper, stickers and chipboard buttons from Ashbury heights by My Mind's eye, I used a Basic Grey metal embellishment, Prima and Kaisercraft flowers, American Crafts alpha stickers, Webster's Pages ribbon and CTMH twine.

I hope you like it and that you dig out your buttons too.  How do you use your buttons on your layouts or cards? 

Inspiration Station - Geometry Class, v. 2.0 (It's circle time!)

Hello, everyone! And welcome to another instalment of Inspiration Station, where I find inspiration, get inspired, and hopefully, inspire you in the process! But before I get to that, I want to send a special shout out to Let's Capture Our Memories' owner, Isabelle - it's her birthday today!! WOO!HOO! Just a quick message to let you know how much we love you and are proud to be part of your scrappy family. Thank you for all you do to help us express our creativity and preserve our cherished memories! Here's to you! ;)

Now, back to our regular programming... Hee!Hee! Today, I'm bringing it back to my first LCOM geometry class of a few weeks ago (right here). However, today, it's all about the circle, but not any kind of circle. No, no, no. I'm talking about the photo cut into a circle. EGAD! Be still my beating heart! I've been meaning to do this for some time now, but always chickened out for some reason. But I've recently been eyeing some scrappy examples of this very thing and thought to myself, "You can totally do this!" And off I went... Totally out of my comfort zone, no sketch to be found - YIKES! But here it is:

I've SO fallen in love with gold on my layouts as of late. That's why I was so excited to scrap with some of my brand new My Mind's Eye Market Street - Nob Hill collection that I just purchased over at LCOM (12X12 patterned paper, 6X6 paper pad, die-cut mixed bag, and chipboard buttons). Also used some Simple Stories DIY Boutique burlap icons, October Afternoon Daily Flash alphas (in the meringue and dandelions colours), stencils by Tim Holtz and Memory Box with a bit of Ranger Ink/Tim Holtz Distress Ink, Stampin' Up patterned and gold foil papers, a Darice doily, and of course, a Bazzill Basics stitching template with some DMC floss. And those circles? Made them with a few of my favourite tools ever - Recollections and Stampin' Up circle punches and the EK Success Circle Scissor Pro. If you don't have this last tool, you really should consider getting it. It's so perfect to bring at crops! And you can cut circles anywhere from 1" to 6". Awesome!!

Here are a few close-ups:

And without further adieu, here are my sources of inspiration for this week's design (please click on each designer's name to hop on over to their respective blogs/galleries):

Alena Grinchuk

Christine Drumheller

Jennifer Chapin

Melissa Mann

Thanks, ladies, for inspiring me to scrap in a brand new way! Oh! And if you are looking for some sketch inspiration with some circles, I totally suggest Emma Stafrace's sketch blog, Page Drafts. The Page Drafts Pinterest page is an awesome source of inspiration - click here to see for yourselves!! She uses lots and lots and lots of photo circles on her sketches and the possibilities are endless!

And what about you? Were you inspired today? If so... get scrapping! ;)

Happy scrapping!

Product Shuffle : Corrugated cardstock

Good morning!

Have you ever been confronted with a piece of paper that was so pretty that you just did not want to cut into it?  It used to happen to me all the time.  I now take a deep breath and just cut (sometimes with my eyes closed while I slice the paper in my trimmer).  This is how I felt with the collection I played with this week.  My Mind's Eye Ashbury Heights collection is simply breathtaking.  It has a mixture of patterns and graphics with a touch of mettalic that is really very beautifull

Along with the paper, stickers and chipboard buttons that coordinated with this collection, I also had a few sheets of Fancy Pants Designs corrugated cardstock.  Much like the pattern paper, I sometimes feel intimidated with this product and find it difficult to use on a layout.  When I do use it, it's usually as a photo matte. 
So here is what I came up with.  First of all I took my scissors and fussy cut the red flowers with stem from the pattern paper.  I then cut a flower pot shape out of the corrugated cardstock. 

 

I then punched circles out of two different sheets.  The circles were cut in half to create a layered scallop edge.   

I then cut a larger circle that I placed underneath my picture.  I love how the corrugated cardstock adds dimension to any layout. You could easily use any punch and create accent pieces out of the corrugated paper.   Here is the finished project

To complete the layout, I used lots of My Mind's Eye including the backgroung paper, the pattern paper, stickers, chipboard buttons and badge button. I also used Fancy Pants corrugated sheets,  Studio Calico acetate butterflies, CTMH ribbon and American crafts alphabet stickers.

I hope you like it.  Please comment and tell us your favorite way to use corrugated or crimped paper.

Please 

Inspiration Station - Rethinking the way to buy products!

Hello, everyone! So happy to be here with you today with another instalment of Let's Capture Our Memories' Inspiration Station - where I show you how I'm inspired and what I do with that inspiration. In return? A little inspiration for you... I hope! Hee!Hee!

Do you remember when you first started scrapbooking and how overwhelmed you sometimes felt when you were in a scrapbook store gawking at all that scrappy loot? For me, I honestly had no idea where to start - I think it's one of the reasons it took me so long to start scrapbooking in the first place. And looking back on it, when I finally did start, most of my purchases solely consisted of pretty things. Uh, yes, I do still only buy pretty scrappy things (or at least I think I do! Hee!Hee!), but now, after  seven or so years invested in my scrappy habit, I have learned what products I do find pretty, but also love to use the most, that work best for me and my current style. And for me, that's PATTERNED PAPER!! Of course, I have tons of complimenting products, but for me, patterned paper remains my go-to supply. 

Now, when I first started (and for quite a few years after!), and bought a collection, I would buy 2 pages of each available 12X12 patterned papers - just in case I might need the second one on another project. My paper stash is indeed quite beautiful to look at... ;) But for a few years now, many scrapbooking companies have been releasing 6X6 paper pads that coordinate with the 12X12 collections. They actually consist of the same designs as the 12X12 papers, but in a smaller print. At first, many used them solely for cardmaking - I actually thought that was the only thing you could do with them. However, slowly, but surely, these mini-pads have been embraced by all kinds of scrapbookers, including myself. You see, instead of buying every, single piece of 12X12 patterned paper twice from one collection, I now purchase the less busy 12X12 pieces of the collection to make my backgrounds, some 12X12 pieces for fussy-cutting purposes and get the 6X6 paper pad to match it. That way, I get the whole collection, but in a different way! More scrappy cash for me!! WOO!HOO! No, but seriously, the smaller prints are indeed perfect for cardmaking, but are absolutely amazing for layering small pieces of patterned paper on a layout. With them, I never lose the integrity of the print as I sometimes did with a 12X12 piece of patterned paper. Wanna see what I mean? Here we go!

Used TONS of My Mind's Eye Cut & Paste - Charm collection (12X12 patterned papers for the background and the fussy-cut flowers - I was definitely inspired by Jocelyne's fussy-cutting right here), 6X6 paper pad, tiny word stickers, and enamel dots), but also sprinkled some Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze, used Jillibean Soup Beanboard alphas, and stitched me those X's using my faithful Bazzill Basics stitching template and some DMC floss. Oh! And I can't forget the fabulous Laura Whitaker sketch I got from the LCOM design team reveal just this past Saturday (for more information on the reveal, hop on over here!).

And there you have it! Please join us again on Thursday when Jocelyne will be here for another round of Product Shuffle.

Happy scrapping!

Product Shuffle- packaging

I have been going through some older pictures while preparing a school project with my daughter.  My youngest is so calm, never wanting to bother anyone.  This picture I found was of her sleeping on the living room floor.  She had been on her blanket watching me and my oldest daughter playing a game and she just fell asleep there.  I had already scrapbooked that picture, but I wanted to do it again.  I still had my supplies from last week's product shuffle on my desk and I felt that it would be perfect for this layout.
This paper from My Mind's Eye Now and Then collection is just too pretty.  It was just asking to be fussy cut.

 So that's exactly what I did.  I fussy cut and layered the flowers and leaves.  I like how they pop off the page.

Even the packaging for this collection is pretty.  I incorporated the top part of a tag from the 3X4 cards on the side of my layout.  You can see the stripped scallop border hidden under the hearts border

To make the heart border I used the leftovers from the sticker sheet and glued it on coordinating pattern paper.  I then trimmed the paper and adhered it to my layout.  So basically, I'm using the negative of the stickers and making an accent piece.  Here is the sticker sheet I used, also from the Now and Then collection from My Mind's Eye

You see where the number stickers are?  I trimmed the sticker sheet so that I only had the number stickers.  I then removed the negative and glued it to pattern paper.  It made another accent piece under the picture.

To complete the layout I added Thickers by American Crafts, a button from My Mind's Eye and some Prima flowers and a Maya Road butterfly clip. 

I am very proud of how this layout turned out while using supplies that would normally have been thrown out.  I hope you like it too!
Have you ever used packaging on your layouts or cards?
Have a awesome day, and I'll see you on Saturday morning for our next sketch reveal.