Step by Step Layout Tutorial by Nicole Doiron

Nicole Doiron is up today with a step by step layout tutorial featuring our September Main Kit!

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This month I have decided to share with you step-by-step instructions on how I created my 'Live It Up' layout with the Main kit featuring the lovely My Mind's Eye Jubilee Mint Julep collection.

I chose the "Journey" Fields paper as my background paper.

I added a 11 1/4 x 9 1/2 piece of the striped side of the "Wild" Ampersand Foiled paper.

I fussy cut 7 doilies from the "Beautiful" Doily paper and cut them in half.

I added 2 3D foam square on the back of each doily.

I stuck the doilies along the left edge of my background in a vertical line.

You can see below the added dimension that the 3D foam squares add to each piece.

I then placed a 7 1/2 x 4 piece of peachy side of the "Ride" Bike paper.

Next, I added my mat, cut out of white cardstock, 6 1/2 x 4 1/2.

It was then time to add the picture.

(sorry for the camera flash!)

I took out the gold frame chipboard piece...

And cut the top and bottom edges off (saving the other pieces for another project).

I slipped each piece of the frame behind my picture.

And then added the title, including the word 'Enjoy'

which I fussy cut from the "Journey" Adventure paper.

Here is a close-up of the title

I then added a few of the die-cut elements from the Mixed Bag.

I decided to add another half-doily, this time in the upper right corner

along with a black flag and gold chipboard photo corner that I used as arrows.

Next, I took apart the aqua colored rose and added each piece to my layout

along with a few other die-cut pieces.

I created more flowers using a flower punch, a circle punch for the centers and cardstock.

I added little punched hearts to the back of the scooter.

Then it was time for the finishing touch... the stitching.

I started off by piercing holes using a ruler and a paper piercer along the top edge of each doily.

I then added the stitches with black embroidery floss.

Here is my finished layout, as seen in the DT Gallery.

Hope you like it!

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You can see more of Nicole's beautiful work in our Design Team Gallery!

Here's the September Main Kit:

We invite you to join us and experience the possibilities that our coordinated monthly kits offer. To purchase a kit, please visit our website, here.

Step by Step Layout Tutorial by Sandi Clarkson

Sandi Clarkson is up today with a step by step layout tutorial featuring our September Limited Edition Kit!

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Hello, My Creative Scrapbook fans!

 Sandi here with you today to share a Build a Page on one of my pages this month using the Limited Edition Kit. 

This was one of my favorite layouts although Primary colors are not my usual palette nor were they truly intended for this collection, I don't think.  Just goes to show you how versatile things can actually be! 

As I went through my Limited Edition Kit contents I was struck by this quote about Family and knew instantly that I had to use it as a page element .. as a whole. It speaks volumes, doesn't it?  Apparently I was not alone in thinking that as most of the designers used it. 

I was also really, really wanting to scrap this sweet photo of my twin grandsons, Bobby and Danny with their sweet blue umbrella and bright blue shirts that matched. The photo was taken by an older sibling, so not the best quality but I adore it! I tried converting my photo to b/w, sepia or even antique or other filters and it just wasn't quite the same. I really like the bright blue which is so unlike me. So, I had to cover that teal ribbon at the top of the page, color it, ignore it or something. Lots of people mix and match their blues but that's hard for me. 

So, problem solved! 

A little punch work and that makes it even better! I also re-printed my photos and made them smaller and printed 2 of them. Small is trendy, 2 is trendy. That works perfectly with Danny and Bobby being twins! 

After getting some idea where I wanted to place my photos and embellies, I did some stenciling with molding paster to the right lower corner. Prior to that I had primed with Clear Gesso. 

A little misting applied with a moist baby wipe and Prima's Bloom Spray in Cobalt.  I use baby wipes for both adding and subtracting color. 

Next, I added more depth and dimension with some of my favorite stamps. 

Then I started layering strips of paper and the back side of a note card (red polka dot) as well as the first flower and photo. I've used foam tape behind my photos for the sake of time .. goes a little faster.  I think I used 4 layers of tape on photo #1 and about about 8 layers on photo #2.  Crazy but fun! 

Onto another layer of flowers and photo #2 as well as some secondary embellishments. This kit is full of parts and pieces to add here and there.  

In the completed page, you can see that I've added some underlining beneath the word "family" and "wonderful" in the fabulous quote to really make the heart of the sentiment stand out. I tucked some Spanish Moss from my craft stash in under my flowers to coordinate with the bird theme from the bottom left. I little tweaking, gesso-ing and it was done!

 Something  a little different from me but I really like the outcome! And enjoyed finding a way around the color dilemma! 

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You can see more of Sandi's beautiful work in our Design Team Gallery!

Here's the September Limited Edition Kit:

We invite you to join us and experience the possibilities that our coordinated monthly kits offer. To purchase a kit, please visit our website, here.

How to Get a 3D Effect on Your Pages by Elizabeth Hellum

Elizabeth Hellum is up today with a tutorial featuring our September Main Kit!

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Hey there, Elizabeth here and today I want to show you a cool way to get a 3-D affect on your pages when I created this layout for My Creative Scrapbook!

 First off, I wanted to do some blocking so I cut my papers into squares as well as using a Sharpie around them to draw your eye inward. That's a fun lil' side note, but I wanted to show you this:

Cute layout huh? I like it a lot, but I wanted to focus on off the page! As you can see here, I used pop dots to make the photo and its frame pop off the page:

I am really in to poppin' stuff off of my pages, see here:

and here:

and here:
But I have to admit it's not rocket science. Really nothing I do is, but it doesn't have to be! It just has to be what I like and how I like it and that's all that matters. So I use these little handy things:

And I wanted my layout to look like the photo and background papers holding the photo up were like on an easel. So I only placed the pop dots in the upper left & right hand corners of the papers. This way it looks like a cookbook on a stand! I know right, cute huh? I think so and of course its super easy, which is what I am all about!!

Pop dots are amazing because like I said, they allow texture to your pages and makes it pop of the page!

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You can see more of Elizabeth's beautiful work in our Design Team Gallery!

Here's the September Main Kit:

We invite you to join us and experience the possibilities that our coordinated monthly kits offer. To purchase a kit, please visit our website, here.

September Sketch Challenge

Our September sketch challenge is up and running!
We would love to have you join in the fun.

Have a look at this month's prize package:

We are excited to get this beautiful prize into the hands of our randomly selected sketch challenge winner!

Here's the sketch:

For a chance to win the prize package, create a layout based on this sketch using any products you'd like to use. This challenge is open to everyone, everywhere (you do not need to be a kit club member!) and ends at midnight (EDT) on October 14th.

All of the details can be found on the My Creative Sketches blog,
>>> HERE <<<

We can't wait to see what you create!

Tips You Can Use on Every Layout by Guest Designer Wendy Antenucci

Guest Designer Wendy Antenucci is up today with some fun tips featuring our September Main Kit!

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As I was creating with the amazing September Main kit, I realized that I have a few tricks that I use on a lot of my work.  So for my tutorial today, I thought I would share so that you all can enjoy too.

1.  I just participated in a Creative Blog Hop and a podcast where the question was how do you create.  Well I multi-task!  This layout started from another layout where I had trimmed the outer 1.5" to mat my layout on, but I didn't like the full 1.5" so I cut it down.  I was left with the cool square so I stapled it down to my paper.  I wasn't even working on this layout, but I now had my base covered.  I often will not use a piece on my layout so I just lay it on another one to see if it works.  This allows me to create layouts in under an hour when I actually start them.

2.  I like to use foam adhesive and cardboard scraps to build layers on my pages.  But on this page I already had the large chipboard banner at the top and I really didn't want to have another piece competing with that, but I wanted to use the large floral.  So, what do you do?  You rip the backing off the chipboard until you have the thickness you want!  This allowed me to layer my photo over the flower piece without any problems and I didn't compete with the other chipboard pieces.

3.  I cut my smaller leftovers from other layouts (see multi-tasking again) into 3x4 and 4x6 cards, first because I do Project Life, and second because I love to use these sizes to build layers.  I assembled the colors/patterns that I wanted and stapled them together to hold them while I assembled the rest of my photo block.  I did cut the pink piece down then to better fit my area.

4.  And my last tip/trick has to do with filling up white space that might be unbalanced or empty.  I LOVE clouds (and hearts), so I have a Fiskar heart punch in two sizes and I punch hearts from my white cardstock, edge them with ink and presto lightweight fillers that always look good on layouts (in my opinion).

Thanks so much for joining me and for the opportunity to create with My Creative Scrapbook, it was wonderful!

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You can see more of Wendy's beautiful work in our Design Team Gallery!

Here's the September Main Kit:

We invite you to join us and experience the possibilities that our coordinated monthly kits offer. To purchase a kit, please visit our website, here.

Layout Design Process with Lynn Shaffer

Lynn Shaffer is up today with some looks into her design process featuring our September Creative Kit!

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Hello, 

Hope you are having a fabulous day. 

Today I am demonstrating my process in building a page. 

Trim 11 ¾  inch off each side of pattern paper.  Matt down 11 ¾ x 11 ¾ pattern paper to black cardstock.

I then matted my sticker letters to black cardstock to make it pop. 

Free hand I cut various shapes and inked all the edges. 

I applied Glossy accents in layers and let dry.

I then began layering all the elements and adding brads to my page. 

The trick to layering is to tuck the shapes behind larger elements. 

Also popping up stickers will help give dimension to your layout. 

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For my second layout I changed the look of my page with Gelato's. 

I put a layer of gesso on my base page

inked the edges of my misc pieces.

To add dimension I matt my photo's and pop them with 3D adhesive.

Now that my base page is dry I apply Gelatos. 

I then placed my various cut pieces on my layout. 

Tracing out my sticker words help make titles pop. 

Thank you for joining me. 

Don't forget to check out all the amazing inspiration in the DT Gallery. 

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You can see more of Lynn's beautiful work in our Design Team Gallery!

Here's the September Creative Kit:

We invite you to join us and experience the possibilities that our coordinated monthly kits offer. To purchase a kit, please visit our website, here.

Step by Step Layout VIDEO Tutorial by Marilyn Rivera

How would you like to see another fabulous step by step video tutorial to inspire you for the weekend?

How about a mixed media and shabby chic layout tutorial featuring our September Limited Edition kit?

Well, we're all in luck, because Marilyn Rivera has prepared exactly that.

Here's the layout that Marilyn designs in her video:

So sit back and enjoy as you watch Marilyn create her layout step by step!

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You can see more of Marilyn's beautiful work in our Design Team Gallery!

Here's the September Limited Edition Kit:

We invite you to join us and experience the possibilities that our coordinated monthly kits offer. To purchase a kit, please visit our website, here.