Wednesday, October 12, 2016

October Scrapbook Club "Swan Lake"

(Links to all supplies used in this post are featured at the bottom of the layout - will take you directly to my site where you can click and add them to your cart).

Love Love LOVING this month's paper choice, featuring the new "Swan Lake" workshop kit and matching products from CTMH!  Wowzas!  My scrapbook club members created two layouts (four pages) and three cards.  Seriously.  Adorable.  The two layouts came from the Swan Lake Workshop Kit (included in links below) and I came up with the cards.  Okay don't bug me right now...I've gotta go make more cards!  LOL!

This layout is super simple...take two base page sheets, add a 4x12 strip along the top, a 1/2x12 border below, and then two 6x10 rectangles as photo mats.  I printed six photos, each in a 3x4 size (I'll share how to do that below), and that added some fru-fru and cutesie stuff to finish it off.  That's the beauty of CTMH products...the papers have matching complements and stickers, and when you buy just ONE $26.95 workshop kit, you get it ALL.  Makes creating cute artwork an absolute breeze.  :)


This is the left page, simple...with the highlight being the photos (as they should be in all your layouts).  I added a 2x5 piece of cardstock and stuck on the 'blessed' stickers from the Complements pack.


Right page, finished off with journaling.  This month I'm taking some time to talk and teach about the importance of adding the story.  I see many scrapbookers who don't like to journal or don't feel like they're good at it, so they just dates and basic details and call it good.  But think about this...what do you want people to know/remember about the pictures when you aren't around to tell them?  Those are the things to include in your journaling.  Add thoughts, feelings, background info, funny stories or events that happened behind the scenes.  Anything that will spark a memory and/or engage your reader is perfect to add.


This layout is especially meaningful to me, as my dad shared these two photos in tribute to my mother, his wife, who passed away after less than 7 years of marriage and five kids later.  I noted in my journaling that although the family picture on the right was old, faded, scanned/copied and not very clear, it was an absolute treasure because it's the last picture I have of our family before my mother passed away.  Guess what?  Sometimes it's okay to put in less-than-stellar pictures, especially if that's all you have.  The photo and the memory is important.


How cute is this couple?  I was only three when my mother passed away, but I sure would have liked to get to know her longer and build some memories with her.


Yes that's me with the dark hair and pigtails sitting by my mother.  I'm so thankful to have this very old, but very wonderful picture in my possession!  :)


Lastly, here are the three cards we created.  Quick tip if you like to conserve paper.  Instead of making a standard 4-1/4 x 5 1/2" card, where you can cut two from one 12x12 sheet of paper, make the finished card size 4 x 5-1/2" instead (only 1/4" smaller on one side).  It won't really be noticeable, will still fit nicely in the envelope, AND you will be able to get three cards from one sheet instead of just two.  I do this all the time.  Cut one end of your paper at 11" and set aside the 1x12 strip.  Then turn the paper once so that you are now looking at the 12" side, and cut it into three 4x11 strips, then fold in half to make your card base.  That's it!

The first card on the left is simply a 4x6 Picture My Life "Hello" card from the workshop kit paper, trimmed down to fit on the card front (size is 3-3/4 x 5-1/4).  The center card is a 4x6 white Picture My Life card from the workshop kit, trimmed down to match the card front size of 4 x 5-1/2, then layered down the center with two zip strips from the paper, and finished off with three flower stickers with white enamel circles (all came in the workshop kit!).  The card on the right has a gold heat-embossed star and 'Noel' stamped from the October Stamp of the Month set.  Cute and easy card!


Links to Products Used:

'Adventure' Fundamentals Projects

Last month my September scrapbook club members created these really fun, bright projects using the new "Adventure" Fundamentals line of paper and matching complements.  I'm in love with all of them, and especially how they work so nicely together, have so much variety, and each has its own flavor.  Check out these layouts created using the ADVENTURE color palette from Close To My Heart!  This palette contains all of the new colors for the year, which makes it even more fun.  :)  Here are the links to some of the products you'll see below.  Click to see and buy them - they'll ship out in just a day or two from CTMH and head your way to play.  :)


 If you need a fun but fast layout, try this...take THREE coordinating pieces of 12x12 pattern paper and cut them into three strips of 4" each.  You can see on the right that these were just stacked on top of each other.  Then cut the leftover strips in half to make 4x6 strips, and lay them on the left to match up.  This extends the room for photos, and also draws your eye to the solid burst of pink and the title on the left.  Try it - cute and easy!


I LOVE the products that complement here...the ribbon matches the color and theme of the paper, and the glitter words come in a set of Complements that are perfect with the colors as well.


On our second layout, we have lots of clean lines and bold stashes of color throughout.  This would be great for a summer, vacation, or kids layout.


My favorite thing about this layout is the really cool mini protector that will get put in the center of the layout in your album.  It adds additional space and room for photos and journaling, but it also adds a fun flip to the layout which makes it even better to look at and keep things together.  We have quite a few of these mini protectors in different sizes, so that you can add exactly what you want.  :)


This glitter title is already DONE for you...I just used some pop dots to pop it off the page for more depth.  Seriously, so cute.  Topped with some sticker stars and your title is a winner!


Don't forget about fun accents and groupings to add visual interest.  This one is a strip of white/purple ribbon, topped off with a glitter heart and another matching sticker to pull the look and elements of the layout together.