January Kits from Up The Street

Happy New Year!  One of the things I was going to try to do in the new year was blog more often.  You can see it's going really well.  Hmph.
However.
What a crazy winter we've had.  The boys had put up a skating rink in the backyard this year and Friday was the first day they were actually able to use it.
When I left for work on Saturday, they were all out enjoying the day ... sunny ... not too cold ... perfect for outdoor activities ...

They used it a bit yesterday ... and now it has rained all night. 
I honestly don't miss the snow and extreme cold.  I think they should put up this rink every year if it means we'll have a mild winter :)
But on to scrappier things ...
January Kits from Up The Street ...
"Live in the Moment" ...

and "Little House" ...

Here's the funny thing about the kits ...
You'll see that "Little House" is absolutely crammed full of October Afternoon goodness.  I find that on a local level, for whatever reason, October Afternoon just doesn't sell.  I still order every line ... just small amounts of it.  But plunk it in a kit and it catches everyone's eye.  Maybe it's just this particular line that appeals to my local customers, but it's moving more quickly than the other side this month.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the reason this kit has been selling so well is the gallery.  Lesley and Sarah always create such beautiful projects, and this month was no exception.  Definately one of my favorite galleries of all time.  In fact, I've already had to remove one of Sarah's layouts from this month's gallery because it's been picked up by Scrapbooks Etc.!  I feel like a proud Mama :)
As for my scrapping mojo, I haven't had much time to play (big surprise), but I think I've also found myself in a bit of a rut.  I don't know if I just need a fresh batch of photos to inspire me or what.
I've been receiving daily e-mails from Creative Jumpstart 2012 organized by Nathalie Kalbach and have been trying my hand at some mixed media and art journaling.  I'm hoping this will help me get back to the scrapbooking.
I'll try to remember to take photos of my new projects today, but until then, here are a few layouts completed with the January Up The Street Kits ...

For the faux folder behind the photo, I just traced around the tab on a regular office folder and cut down my patterned paper to the size I wanted.

Once I had the bird stickers on the layout, they looked too yellow against the rest of the layout.  I just coloured over the yellow portions with an orange Copic marker in layers until I was happy with the colour match.

This looks like a lot of layers of paper, but in fact, I've "gutted" the backs (cut big portions away that are covered) to use on other projects.

I have so loved the wood Pink Paislee alphas from the last release.  I have now used all three fonts in different kits.  Hoping to see some new fonts with the new CHA releases! 

Hope you all have a wonderful week :)

December Kit from Up The Street

This past week has been just crazy ... a new kit and a Christmas Open House at Up the Street, an incident with the dogs and a bit of Christmas shopping to round it all out.
I'm also bound and bent that I will complete a December Daily this year.  Although ... "daily" might not be the correct word.  Does "December Every So Often" sound OK?  I'm trying to keep up with some of Shimelle's prompts and hope to be able to put together some sort of December journal.  Fortunately, I've included loads of product in the December kit that will help me with my project.

I'm looking forward to working on this tomorrow ... even if I can get a day or two caught up, I'll be a happy scrapper :)

Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas

We were just talking about this course the other night and I wanted to make sure I signed up before I became distracted.  I love all of Shimelle's courses and have always wanted to tackle a Christmas project like this.   And I've got my album ready to go ... the Bazzill Likety Slip Album with lots of cool page inserts.  I can't wait to dig into my Christmas stash that goes back several years but it just as gorgeous as it was when I first bought it all.  Go here to check it out.  Once you've signed up, you have access to previous years and will get any future years as well.  Fantastic deal :)

A few more from September ...

... and then I'll get on to the latest (November) kit.

I took this photo back in the summer as I was driving to work.  I've gotten just terrible at remembering to take photos while the "subjects" are around.  A perfect example would be that I didn't take one single picture of the kids in their Hallowe'en costumes this year.  I may have to make them dress up just so I can pretend that I was on the ball on All Hallows Eve.
But I'm glad I stopped the car, rolled down the window and clicked a few times at this wheat field.  It's not our own field ... but who's to know ;)
I typically don't go this linear with my designs, but I really wanted the photo to shine.  I had also applied a TTV frame to it in PSE before I printed it.

The tag is die-cut from a Sizzix die and then fancied up along the short edge with the Spellbinders Classic Triple Scallop Edgeablilities die.

Supplies:  Up The Street September Kit ("Bliss"), black craft string, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, Basic Grey Hello Lucious Micro Mono stickers, Ranger Black Soot Distress Ink.

Just a super quick layout of the boys heading to the car when we were going away for a sleepover at Grandma's. 

Love the glassine envelopes and the butterfly rub-ons.

And just a little bit of that Best Creations glitter paper punched here and there for a bit of interest.

Supplies:  Up The Street September Kit ("Escape"), Prima Tiny Alphabet Stickers (North Country), MME Lost & Found 2 Precious Brads, WRMK Sew Easy Fancy Floss Baker's Twine (neutral), Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher.

This is one of my favorite layouts from the past while.  Very simple in execution and a story behind the photo.  Bill is my mom's first cousin and because she was an only child, we've been very close with Bill's family.  His daughter Jodi is, and has always been, one of my closest friends and when we go camping in the summer, it's with Jodi's family and now her brother Paul's family.  This day, Jodi's sister Jenny and their parents came back to the Pinery for the day and we all went to the beach in the afternoon.  Just a beautiful day, a nice breeze coming off the lake, all the kids playing together ... a really nice memory.  I was sitting under the umbrellas talking with Bill, only to look over to see him sleeping.  It brought back such a rush of memory as my dad would check out like that right in the middle of our conversations once in awhile.  I never took it personally ... it was just how relaxed our relationship was.  Dad's been gone for eight years now and it's been awhile since someone (other than a little guy) has fallen asleep on me.  I kinda liked it :)
The Bo Bunny papers in this kit ended up being my favorite.  They were already so distressed that I felt as if I didn't have to do too much more to them.  All I really did here was spray a little mist behind the area I planned to add my cluster.

I printed out my journaling on kraft cardstock and trimmed the top to mimic the curve of the glassine envelope.  A little brad finishes my tag.  And while I like that you can see through the envelope to the tag below, I thought it was more fun to cover parts of it up so that only bits of the journaling showed.  It was actually the perfect spot for the title and another of those fabulous 7 Gypsies butterfly rub-ons.

Supplies: Up The Street September Kit ("Escape"), Prima Tiny Alphabet Stickers (North Country), MME Lost & Found 2 Precious Brads, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, Studio Calico mist, Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Ink, Unity Stamps July KOM, date stamp.

One more quick one ... well ... it wasn't really a quick one :)  I've been waiting for the Unity Stamps Blossom Stackers stamps and matching Spellbinders Blossom Tags & Accents dies for months now and as soon as I had them both in my little paws, this is what I made.

Glossy Accents to highlight some of the details in the patterned paper and around the edge of the largest stamped/die cut image.

And a little computer printed sentiment on the inside.

Supplies:  Up The Street September Kit ("Bliss"), Unity Stamps Blossom Stackers Stamps, Spellbinders Blossom Tags & Accents dies, Ranger Glossy Accents, Studio Calico mist, Ranger Perfect Pearls mist, black pigment ink, clear embossing powder.

That's it for today.  The sun is shining here.  Hope everyone is having a wonderful and creative Monday :)

Up The Street September Kit Projects

Hello All!  I'm having a bit of a lazy Sunday today.  So much I should be doing, but blog hopping and reading (One Day by David Nicholls) seems to be filling up my time.

I went with some friends to see the new Footloose last night.  I haven't heard any reviews yet, but I thought it was really well done.  They were able to mix the iconic bits from the original in with a few new little twists.  The soundtrack is definately one that I'll be buying.  Having been a wee teeny bopper when the original came out, I've almost completely worn out the original (cassette tape!).  Now I want to see the original again.  The first time I saw it was with my friend, Heather, and her dad back in the day at the drive-in.  Great memory :)

Although I've just started playing with the next UTS kit, it doesn't reveal until November 1st.  In the mean time, I thought I'd share some of my projects from the September kits.

The first side is filled with greens and blues and, of course, some sparkly bits.  The MME Lost & Found 2 lines are just beautiful.

I don't often do 2 page spreads because they seem to take me forever to complete, but this one came together fairly quickly.  I used one of the new Crafters Workshop templates to create my background.  So simple ... I used the 12x12 Wood grain template with Tattered Angels Sprout Chalkboard Glimmer Mist (one of my favorite green mists) over kraft coloured cardstock.

I was shy an "o", so came up with an alternative by using a Spellbinders Pinking Circles die, a punched circle and a MME glazed brad.

I've included some Smash Pad sheets in the kit but felt the whole sheet was too large and distracting to use with the smaller photos.  I used the Sizzix Tiny Tabs & Tags die to create this little date accent.

And to add the small journaling tags on the photos, I pulled out my vintage typewriter. 

Back in August, I took my three boys, as well as two others to my mom's trailer for a sleepover.  It sounds like a lot of work, but I think it was actually easier than when I just have my own.  I just kept the food and drink flowing and they were content :)

I love the Bo Bunny papers from this kit.  They're perfect for backgrounds when you want to whip out a quick layout.

Rather than sticking with a plain old rectangular photo matte, I used the Spellbinders Creative Book Pages die to create a scalloped base.  I've also lifted the whole matte off the background by using some medium weight cardboard cut slightly smaller than the matte.  I find that if I just use foam adhesive, the photo ends up warping over time.

The large Studio Calico Wood Veneer star is backed with MME paper in order to create more of a contrast from the light coloured background.

And a few more of the wood veneer stars at the bottom with a series of the 7 Gypsies stickers.

I had so much fun creating this layout.  I love the new Pink Paislee Mistables papers.  They're a little bit heavier than the last release and seem to work better with mists.  I started by using Tattered Angels Teal High Heel Chalkboard Glimmer Mist to spray my background.  After it had dried, I used gesso, spread on with cardboard, as a modified photo matte.

I pulled out a few of my favorite Unity stamps to create a little bicycle accent (July KOM) stamped with Charcoal Chalk Ink and again misted with the Teal High Heel.  The sprig at the top of the journaling tag is from the August KOM and is stamped with clear embossing ink and powder.

Another custom "o" in the title.  I've also added some of the beautiful MME burlap trim and some North Country Prima letter stickers.

The 7 Gypsies Butterfly Rubbings are probably my favorite embellishment in this kit.  This one was applied to cardstock, cut out, covered with a coat of Glossy Accents and then sprinkled with some superfine glitter.  Much prettier in person :)

Moving on to the second side of the kit, I've used this photo of my Will and his friend Will from our stay at the trailer.  I'm outside, looking in, when this photo was taken.  A little blurry, but you can see the reflecting of the campfire in the window if you look closely.

These MME papers are so gorgeous.  The yellow glitter is lovely.

The scrolled title accent has been cut from the background paper (I covered the hole with my photo matte and strip of dotted paper) and then popped up for more dimension.  The "&" between the Wills is from the stunning Unity Carnivale Alpha set.

I've done three more layouts and a card with these kits ... just have to get photos of them :)

Another fantastic Shimelle experience ...

I recently undertook Shimelle's "Explore" class, and although I haven't quite finished up, couldn't wait for her new "Learn Something New Every Day" to start. 

It covers the whole month of September and I'm hoping I can keep up.

My problem as of right now is that I've closed the store for the week so that we could take a little mini vacation and get ready for school.  So I have no scrapbook supplies at home!  I may have to take a quick trip into town today to put together a little kit for myself.  Even if I don't, I think from the looks of it that I can just try to keep up with the journaling and put together my book when I go back in next Tuesday.  I recently purchased the Cinch for the crop area at the store and am thinking that a 6x12 coil-bound album might be a fun way to go. 

Let me know if you're participating too :)

shimelle.com Hot Pink Hoopla

This is the last of Shimelle's challenges that I had time for this week.  I used a few major elements from Shimelle's inspiration page. 

I replicated the layout's composition pretty closely but substituted two portrait photos for one landscape.

Also, as Cosmo Cricket is sponsoring this challenge, I decided to dig out some of the older lines.  I am always amazed at how well their lines mix together.  I've got papers from Nutmeg, Boyfriend, Campy Trails (I think) and stickers from Nutmeg and Social Club.

The woodgrain papers from the Nutmeg collection are some of my favorite and after rooting around in my old stash, have realized that I have a whole set that have never been touched!  Like buried treasure ;)

Thanks for a PILE of wonderful challenges Shimelle.  It was a great push to get a few extra layouts done and a fantastic opportunity to use up some of the goodies I've been hoarding :)