Latest and Greatest class (part 4) - Embellish it - CKC Lancaster 2012

This was the last layout from the Latest and Greatest class taught by Embellish It!. The layout required a lot of sticker layering from a sheet that came with the collection. We used sticker strips to make multi-colored pleated designs. I love the banner sticker. In order to get it seamlessly across the page we stuck it down across both pages and then cut the pages apart. That assured everything was even and straight. Shelby has a million of those kinds of tid bits to help scrappers.

I used this layout as a part of a gift album for babies' first year. With the addition of some Cricut cuts and some photo mats, it became a layout about the baby's home - New York. Since you never know where life will take you, I believe it's important to document where the baby was born with some pics and important facts about that place. Children always want to know where they were born and all the info. This will make that story a breeze.

La-Vie

French Knots? I think not... Creating Keepsakes Scrapbook Page - CKC Lancaster 2012

At CKC Lancaster this past summer, I participated in the fast and furious 3 hr Thursday night Technique workshop. It was a huge ballroom full of straight tables and croppers learning technique after technique in approx. 5 min timeframes for each presenter.

 

The goal is not to finish the projects, but to learn a technique and move on. [I have a problem with that! I always want to finish.] It's lots of fun and stressful all at once. I love it! They gave out prizes and I won a nice chipboard banner just waiting to be embellished. I'll share some of the things I learned in the next several days.

 

As you can see, they run a tight ship... not even enough time to go to the bathroom and stretch!

We made this scrapbook page to learn how to use stitching on a layout. If you look closely there is no stitching on my layout (other than the embellishment I added later at home). "Ain't nobody got time for that!" I was toast at that point so I skipped it. The layout would've had large "X" shaped stitching here and there and some difficult french knots in the tree to make it look like apples were in it. I love it just the same... don't you?

 

In the past, when I've made layouts in classes, they would sit in my craft room unused. However, I decided to start using them for gift scrapbooks - usually for baby's first year. Here is the opening page of the scrapbook. With just 3 added elements the page is complete!

 

La-Vie

Upscale Instant Scrapbook for Kara's Baby Girl

(18 & 19 of 20 pages)

The first birthday layout is essential for any scrapbook detailing a child's year. Starting with the baby's birth and ending with their birthday is logically complete. This layout was built by me while in a class at the CKC Scrap 'n Play in Lancaster PA during Hurricane Irene. I was one of the brave folks who didn't care that they wind and rain was whipping and it looked like a scene from the birds outside the hotel windows. I couldn't have been happier scrappin' the weekend away! We learned how to make flowers from small strips of patterned paper and to combine several seeming unrelated stickers to create amazing elements on the page.

I love how cheery and light this layout is and how the accents correspond but don't overwhelm as we go from one page to the other. The beige strips of paper are spaces for journaling in short phrase format. This type of journaling ads depth, interest and whimsy to the page. I added some thickers chipboard letters, jolee's dimensonal stickers to complete the look.

What are your favorite birthday layout elements?

La-Vie

Upscale Instant Scrapbook for kara's baby girl

(16 & 17 of 20)

My newest layout obsession is Mosaic Moments http://wishinthewind.com/index.html grid paper which allows for perfectly spaced mosaics. I have been including a milestones layout in most of my instant scrapbooks. It requires a myriad of pictures highlighting the baby's first year milestones. While I have experimented with several types of layouts this one I love best. I learned this basic layout in the Mosaic Moments class at CKC valley forge.

I printed my own stone paper and grass paper with my Cricut Imagine Nature Cartridge. Using punches of various sizes I created the squares for the grid. I accented the pages with clues to the milestones with a tub and sneakers by Jolee's, a bib and baby food print and cut from the Nursery Tails cart, a baby and tooth cut from New Arrival.  I love how it came out!

 I applied glossy accents to the bib and dipped it into Martha Stewart crystal fine glitter.

La-Vie

Upscale Instant Scrapbook for Kara's Baby Girl

(14 & 15 of 20 pages)

Unlike all of the other pages so far in this album, I actually designed this quick 2-page first Christmas layout. . It incorporates a few of my new favs...HSN's 3 birds on parade "all dressed up" die cut paper (which I cut in half to use on both sides of the layout) ,thickers chipboard letters, ribbon tape, red circular zings by Fiskars, a handmade flower accent created by one of my fellow Cricut Circle members. We had a flower swap and although I had not made any flowers she still gave me one of hers. It took me a year to use it, but now it has a wonderful home! A simple layout designed to focus on the family's pictures first and foremost.

Shout out to ScrapbookChris who gave me this lovely reindeer paper. I love it! She also sent me 20 lbs of patterned paper that my daughter and I had to share. My daughter is an avid artist who makes creations all her own every day. We loved her random act of kindness! Thanks so much!

I hope you are enjoying this album. Only 5 more pages... but they are NOT to be missed! Happy Holidays!

La-Vie

Upscale Instant Scrapbook for Kara's baby girl

(pg 12 & 13 of 20)

This cute layout was the result of a class I took at the CKC valley forge this past summer called Think Ink. We learned how to use simple, unrelated elements to create cohesivness in the layout, how to carry elements across the layout in different ways and how to successfully incorporate different patterned papers in the same layout.

Once back at home, I added embellishments to fit the baby theme of my dear friend's instant scrapbook. Unlike the other layouts in the album, these two pages do not correspond in terms of content. The left page is about the baby's trip home from the hospital while the right hand page is about the nursery that awaits at home. With plenty of room to journal on this layout, it will be a treasured keepsake for the Walker family.

La-Vie

Upscale Instant Scrapbook for Kara's baby girl

(pg 10 & 11 of 20)

This layout is one of my favorites! The reasons I love it so much are 1. It is not done in my usual style, 2. Black is the accent color, which is usually hard to do outside of halloween layouts 3. I learned how to make a border out of patterned paper and a new distressing technique. This layout was the result of a CKC Valley forge class taught by Embellish It!

In order to make this layout fit into the baby theme of the album, I add the title first visitors and the dimensional sticker flourish at the bottom right of the page. This layout will house all of the pictures of the baby's first visitors either at the hospital or at home. It's cheery, yet grounded. I like it a lot. I hope you do too.

La-Vie

Upscale Instant Scrapbook for Kara's Baby Girl

(pg 8 & 9 of 20)

This lovely 2- page layout will display the baby's first pictures post birth (which was yesterday by the way... Yeah!!!!!!) Chevrons are all the rage in scrapbook and card design this fall. It's the orange wavy line design. Also everyone's into baker's twine (the yellow string). I learned how to make the rosette embellishment (which was way easier to make that I could have imagined!) And how to make the most out of one piece of paper. The yellow scalloped paper was cut into 3 and used in 2 different areas of the layout. CKC Scrap 'n Play was fun. That's where I met 2 lovely ladies...(you KNOW who you are) who are now friends today. Scrap friends are the BEST friends! Shout out ladies ... and your creative mom too.

With the addition of birth related stickers to give the particulars of the birth and the needed foot and handprints (love bling) this layout is an instant winner with it's vibrant colors.

La-Vie

Upscale Instant Scrapbook for Kara's Baby Girl

(pg 6 & 7 of 20)
I learned how to make this 2-page layout in a Creating Keepsakes class called "Think Ink." Craft cardstock, the brown cardboard looking base layer is hot right now in scrapbook design and cards as well. We learned to I learned the masking technique used with stamps. To leave empty space in the middle of the image we applied painter's tape to the middle of the stamp, inked it and then removed the tape before pressing it to the page. Amazing! The result is at the top of the right page. I also learned how to carry over elements from one page to the other to create a continuous scene.

We used ink to set apart aspects of the layout. The ornate umbrella was cut from Cricut Cartridge Tie the Knot and I added some bling to make it stand out. The layout will highlight Kara's co-ed shower of family and friends.

La-Vie

Upscale Instant Scrapbook for Kara's Baby Girl

(pages 4 & 5 of 20)

The base design was created by Embellish It! In the class at CKC Valley Forge we assembled the left-hand page. The materials for the matching page were available for sale and I finished it at a later date. I learned how to hand-pleat ribbon on a page - a new skill for me. This layout will highlight the intimate friends baby shower  called a "blessingway." The beautiful ritualistic afternoon was filled with meaningful exchanges from the mom-to-be's nearest and dearest as she enters motherhood for the first time. Adding fabric flower stickers, and other birth-related embellishments focus the intent of this layout. I love the vibrant colors of the layout that can be used for spring or fall.

La-Vie

Upscale Instant Scrapbook for Kara's Baby Girl

My good friend Kara and her husband are having their first baby, a girl, this month. I was fortunate enough to be a part of the planning to shower the parents. One of my gifts for the family was an instant scrapbook. I had planned to make it super baby themed and pink, with added pink on top of pink....until she told me ...

she doesn't care for pink or baby themes!

Can you imagine??? Dreams deferred, I decided to use layouts I created during classes at the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Valley Forge PA and the Creating Keepsakes Scrap 'n Play in Lancaster, PA to create the look I knew this family would love! Here we go....

The first page of the scrapbook will highlight the couple's love story. This scrapbook page made out of chipboard, paper, ribbon and acrylic accents started as a make 'n take at the Quick Quotes booth that I assembled at home. They had really cool spritz that gives this layout a gold tone. We colored the acrylic accents with ink as well.

La-Vie

Instant Scrapbook Baby Boy- Hester

This is one of my favorite 2 page layouts in the entire album. Using Cricut Cartridge Inspired Heart, I was able to create this christening page. The title and all the embellishments were cut from the same cart. I used stamps from Stampin' Up and Stamp LaJolla.

The cardstock is bazzill in beige, brown and light blue. The title was cut at 1 " and the embellishments were cut at 4 inches. Christenings are such a blessed ocassion. This layout will help capture the feeling of this important moment in a child's life and of its parents and godparents.

The second page to the layout features a bling cross. My 6-year old daughter placed most of the crystals by hand on to the cross. She'll be taking over the family business in no time!

La-Vie

Instant Scrapbook Baby Boy - Hester

What is better than a baby all bundled up ready for his first car ride home. The slow procession seems to take forever! I remember when I brought my first child home in a snow storm after she lived on the NICU for 5 weeks. We needed receiving blankets, rolled wash cloths just so she wouldn't fall out of the car seat she was so small at 4 lbs. It was the most nerve wracking drive and first night of my life. I kept thinking...is she breathing? will the 2 hour feedings ever end?

This monocromatic layout has a lot of room for writing about the first experiences this family has as their son comes home for the first time and is embellished with large gromlets, rub ons and dimensional stickers from my stash.

Delight....

La-Vie

Instant Scrapbook Baby Boy - Hester

I decided to create my own mosaic layout with my Nana's kids mat stack from Die Cuts with  A View (DCWV). I used a clipping from extra baby announcements from my own son. The booties were too cute to dispose of and no one was having a baby at that time. Recycling at its best!

This simple layout will display small pictures of the baby's first visitors - family, friends, etc. at the hospital. The page is adorned with vellum stickers from my stash. Simple, yet functional. Once the pictures are applied, it will look fabulous!

La-Vie

Instant scrapbook Baby Boy - Hester

Love unparalleled will showcase the first picture of mom and dad holding the baby and bonding. The picture mats are embellished with Martha Stewart punch around the page - heart chain, rub ons and stickers from my stash. I love those tye dye hand and foot prints. The mats are extra large to allow room for brief journaling about the families first experiences together at the hospital.

La-Vie

Instant Scrapbook Baby Boy - Hester

This page is one of my favorites! This page "A Star is Born" started out as a Color Me blank page with silver accents. I then used glimmer mists (in 4 different colors) for the first time to color the entire page. There was minimal buckling and I am very pleased. The baby's first picture will be placed here. He has a big name and I wanted to represent that in his debut in his scrapbook. Dimensional stickers, rickrack ribbon, rub ons all help to complete the look.

Color Me pages can be colored with almost anything...chalk, ink, paint, etc. I bought it at the CKC Valley Forge show from Boxer. Check it out at http://www.shopatron.com/products/category/Color+Me+Papers/382.0.1.1.89409.90058.0.0.0

La-Vie

Instant scrapbook baby boy - Hester

My newest tool is called Mosaic Moments http://www.tamipotter.com/ and this is my first layout using this system. It's a way to create evenly spaced mosaic layouts in a flash! There are many different ways to create a mosaic with several pictures. I highly suggest checking it out. They sell kits if you don't want to do the measuring, cutting and punching as well.

This page will show pictures from the baby shower. The square in the middle will be the largest picture showcasing the mom and dad-to-be. The areas around the boarders will house smaller pictures of guests gifts etc. the pictures are the focal points of this page so the design here is minimal. I used silver outline stickers, silver font stickers and cardstock in beige, blue and brown in addition to the Mosaic Moments grid paper as my base. Another new passion is distressed inks from Ranger. I added antique linen around the edges of the beige squares to make them stand out. The squares were cut with a 1" punch and a 2 1/8" punch (i think). It's the marvy mega punch from micheal's.

La-Vie