A Little Studio J

I found some photos of my nephew by googling him.  I suppose we could all find pictures of ourselves that way, but these are the types of photos that I always try to capture when I watch my nephews play baseball.

The newspaper photographers did a great job, don't you think?  There are a couple of reasons I chose to do this layout in Studio J.

1. I couldn't find the right paper to match his uniform.  But in Studio J, I can change the color of the paper to anything I want!  The star patterned paper was originally black, but I changed it to smokey plum.   It still wasn't quite the right color but I changed the intensity of the color to make it match just right.  All the while, I was able to keep the star pattern!  I also added honey (the yellow color) to the layout because their colors are purple and gold.  The grey in the embellishments matches the uniform pants, so it all coordinates just the way I like it!
2. I know that as soon as this arrives and I see her, I will be giving this layout to my sister.  But I am going to want a copy for myself, too!  In Studio J, I can make as many copies as I'd like!

Have you tried Studio J yet?  I'd love for you to hop over there, and set up a free account.  It is free to try - you can even upload photos and play around with it for absolutely nothing.  There is no need to download anything as this is online software.  Close To My Heart has made this so easy to use that I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised.  Do you see the stitched stars?  Those are an embellishment - finally I am stitching on my layouts!!

Have I told you about the Express Collections?  You've got to pop in and see them!  They are pages all ready to go!  How easy is that?!  All you need to do is pop in your photos and do some journaling.  What a great idea!

One last thing - are you sad when a paper packet discontinues?  I know I was sad to see Sonoma go!  But it lives on in Studio J.  I can go in there and use the paper, matching stickease, and embellishments. Take a look, and as always, let me know if you have any questions!  I'd love to show you how to use this fabulous program!

Rubber Ducky

I have been spending some time working on a Studio J learning assignment for the Close To My Heart Convention.  I think this is a fabulous perk of attending a Corporate function.  There are things that Studio J can do that I would never have guessed!

What a cute pair these two are!  This is my nephew and his girlfriend - and their cardboard boat.  This was an assignment at the end of the year.  This is a great way to make learning fun, don't you think?

Kind of like my learning experience in Studio J the past few days - very fun!  Do you have questions about Studio J and how this online software can work for you?  Please contact me if you do!

Prom

This is my nephew and his very pretty girlfriend at their prom.  I grabbed the photos off of Facebook, but I still think I was able to capture the beautiful yellow of that dress.

As beautiful as the dress is, I had to do some searching to find some paper that would match.  I finally decided on some of Authentique's Blissful.  I cut the flowers from a piece of the paper, and I used black cardstock, licorice gems, and dimensional elements from CTMH to compliment the Blissful.  Leaving the dimensional elements white was the perfect pop to match Trevor's white suit.

This is the Life

I saw these pictures of my nephew and his sweet girlfriend on Facebook.  Don't you love being a scrapbooker?  I so enjoy this hobby and love putting pictures to paper!

This happens to be a Studio J layout because I wanted to use the Moon Doggie paper.  Have you ever taken a peek into Studio J?  I love all the different paper packets.  Some are exclusive to Studio J, and I think that's fun!  Now I have this layout saved, and I can make copies for my nephew, my sister, and myself.  Pretty cool!

Nephews

I had a couple of awesome pictures of my nephews, and I could hardly wait to scrap them.  I had to find some sports-type paper to use with all of my CTMH goodies, so I went with Bella Blvd's Making the Team.  I thought that all of my embellishments complimented it beautifully!

I love these two boys.  They are both so kind and caring - truly great teenagers!

Items that can be found on my website:
Pennant Alphabet
Honey Mini Medleys
Black Baker's Twine
Milepost Shapes (Banners)
Lagoon Mini Medleys (retired)

Thanks for stopping by today!

Riley and Trevor

I've had these pictures of my nephews for a little while, and I've been wanting to scrap them.  I finally decided to create the layout in Studio J.  I thought might sister might want a copy, and I also love this discontinued paper called Game On.  It's not discontinued in Studio J - yippee!!!  Don't you think this layout called Super Star is perfect for these photos?

On the left page, I've got a picture of Riley holding his first homerun ball.  I love this picture.  I can only imagine what he must have been thinking looking down at that ball!  The journaling on the photo reads "Very cool - Riley's first homerun ball!"  In the picture of both of them, Trevor is holding his MVP award.  The journaling on that photo reads "Trevor's MVP award!  What I love about these boys is that they support each other and are so happy for each other's success. That will always make them champs in my book!"  One of the things I love most about Studio J is that I can journal wherever I want.  Sometimes I like to add a little blip here or there, and it allows me to do just that.

Graduation Layout

My sister gave me these graduation photos of my nephew who also happens to be my godchild.  He's such a great kid with such a big heart.  I wanted to create a really special layout of his pictures.

I had two sketches sitting on my desk that were so similar so I put them into one layout.   Both are such versatile sketches, so I was happy to have just the photos to use.

Sassy Lil Sketches April 7th Sketch

Sketchy Thursday April 21st Sketch

Item used: Bo Bunny Learning Curve paper and stickers; Really Reasonable Ribbon twine; CMTH button 

Congratulations Trevor!!

I need to take some time to congratulate my nephew, Trevor.  It is such exciting news!! 

Trevor attended Under Armour national tryouts this summer.  Yesterday he was called and invited to play ball in the Pirate City World Series in Florida!  Oh, I am so happy for Trevor!!  He doesn't graduate high school until 2013, but he was one of ten in that group chosen to play.  Can you imagine how excited he, my sister, and their family must be!!  Trevor gets to play, train, eat, and sleep like the pros down at the Pittsburgh Pirates training camp!  It is exciting to me that he gets to compete on a national level.
I'll brag on Trevor a bit now.  He is an amazing student, so kind and compassionate, could beat anyone of us in Scrabble (really - I'm pretty good and he rocks that game!), and is an awesome ball player.  What impresses me the most about Trevor (and actually all of my sister Patti's kids) is how caring he is toward family.  My sister and her husband should take great pride in the Christian way they have raised their children!
So, a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE congratulations to Trevor!  You are amazing, kiddo!!

Lucky Me from Little Yellow Bicycle

That is the paper I've used for these layouts and cards. The greens and blues of this paper were perfect for these pictures. (I've erased the addresses on the pictures - that's the crude white blocks.) These handsome nephews of mine graduated in different years, but these pages will go side by side in the "cousins" book for Shane.

Other items used: American Crafts Thickers, LYB buttons, K&Company chipboard & rub-ons, Melody Ross chipboard sentiments, Bazzill flowers, CTMH brads, May Arts ribbon

I had some scraps leftover from making the pages, so here's a couple of cards that I will send off to OWH.

Other items used: May Arts ribbon, Bazzill flower, LYB buttons & border strips, CTMH brads, Unity & Tim Holtz stamps

Brotherly Love

This is one of the sweetest pictures I have ever seen! These are two grand-nephews of mine, Owen and Logan. They were at a baseball game and their mom captured this shot. So special, so heartwarming.

I used Stardust paper for this layout. Along with it I added CTMH On Target Dimensional Elements. I just brayered over them in Honey ink to give them color. Other elements used are Making Memories transparency, Stardust My Stickease (stars, round button bases, and arrow), CTMH White Craft Buttons, Sunflower Brads, and an EK Success sticker.

We are so blessed to have days of warm sunshine right now, so I was able to snap this outside.

I love that my nieces put pictures on Facebook for me to copy! I've got loads sitting on my desk just ready to scrap. I can't wait to get them done and show you!

Chick'n Scratches Layout

Over at Two Chicks Design on Facebook, the Head Chick put out her first sketch challenge. If you don't have a Facebook account, Two Chicks is a great reason for getting one! Christie is always putting out good challenges, and not only that, she has amazing scrapping clothes and kits. Look for her at expos. You will see her booth!

Anyway, you will see that I flipped my pages form left to right, and then I rotated the sketch. My design holds true,you just see it a little differently - isn't individuality great?! Here are the challenge "rules":

1. You have until 11:59 pm central time on Sunday, Oct. 18 to upload a photo of your layout using the sketch.
2. Two Chicks will draw a name to win a $50 gift certificate to their site.
3. You must use at least 2 buttons and 1 piece of chipboard on the layout.
4. One word on the layout must be in your own handwriting.
5. You have to use one piece of patterned paper that you have been "hoarding" for at least 6 months.
   

What a fun challenge! I knew right away I would be pulling you Moon Doggie from CTMH. I have had that paper sitting around since April. It's been a hoarder because I just didn't know what to do with it. Also, I wasn't quite certain when I bought it that I liked the paper packet.

All the products used are CTMH (except for the Bazzill flower). You'll notice that the skethc called for 5x7 prints. Well, here is a hint if you don't have any. I used 4x6 pictures, and there are four mats under the (2) 5x7 spots. They are measured in quarter-inch increments. I don't know how well you see it on the computer, but in "real life" - LOL! - I like the looks of it. I also popped up a few photos for character.

These is my sister Patti's family, and she is in the picture as well. We spent a day in Duluth with them, and it was gorgeous by Lake Superior. Truly it is wonderful to see her kids together. They certainly love each other, and their kindness towards each other is amazing. My sister Patti is truly a mother to be admired...

Jerry loves the layout and the faux woode grain paper that is used as the base sheet. Me? I like this layout, but I'm still not too sure I'll make anything else with this paper. Maybe it will be my one hoarding paper set!!

Ah, Such Cute Boys!

My niece, Jessica, brought over pictures of her cuties. Pop open the layout and look at those faces. Tell me if that doesn't make you smile!!

With the antique picture, I thought that Twitterpated was just the right paper to use. I was not sure of this paper because I'm really not fond of the Sorbet color. However, the teensy chocolate dots are just perfect on this paper. I also LOVE that chocolate plaid. I popped up the owl and mushroom from the stickease packet, scalloped some borders, and this was just right for this layout. Other than Twitterpated Level 1 (yep, this is a Level 1 - I really, really like using them) and the matching stickease, I used a chocolate brad, a little liquid glass, and some Artsylicious velvet ribbon.

Creative Scrappers Layouts

This is a layout of two of my grand-nephews. You will find the matching layout in my next post. Are they cute or what?!
The paper and journaling tags are Paper Loft. The rub-on is MME, and the brads, buttons, and hemp are CTMH. This was a challenging sketch because of the way the papers were laid out. However, the I do like the finished product and it shows off these cuties really well!










I love this picture and that face on my grand-nephew Aaron. The journaling blocks were perfect for his expression. They are from Cosmo Cricket. Paper is Basic Grey's Wassail (yep - a Christmas paper!) CTMH has new dimensional elements that are round, and how easy was it to cover it with the paper. (Hint** I used Bonding Memories glue when covering dimensional elements or chipboard. It is awesome!**) The buttons, felt, and hemp are also from CTMH. I am quite certain this layout and that precious face will make you smile!










This is the matching layout for the one above. Again I've used Wassail from Basic Grey. The tags are from Cosmo Cricket. Chipboard, hemp, felt, and buttons are from CTMH.
My nephew has a great-looking family!

scrap sketch Week #52

This is a fun sketch from scrap sketch. I really like the simplicity of it and how it allows for so much possibility. I chose to scrap a couple of my grand-nephews and their father, my nephew Ryan. Oh, what precious pictures of them!

The paper and sentiment tag are from Paper Loft. Buttons and hemp are CTMH. The hardest part of this layout was putting hemp through the buttons, and even that wasn't hard! Very easily a 20-minute layout!

Eyelets, Eyelets, Eyelets, and a Very Cute Little Boy

What a cute little boy in his Daddy's shoes! This is my grand-nephew Aaron, and he belongs to my nephew Adam and his lovely wife Kristina. What a smile that truly makes my heart sing!

If you head over to Practical Scrappers, you are going to find this and many more layouts that will give you tons of fun ideas to use up those eyelets. I know you've got bunches - we all do! In this layout, I've used the adorable Animal Cookies paper and My Stickease from Close To My Heart. The felt frame and felt shapes you see are also from CTMH. If you click on the layout, it will enlarge, and you can see the detail. It was so much fun to set those eyelets. The Crop-O-Dile makes it easy to go through felt. I used the 3/16" punch and matching size eyelets. That size eyelet also makes it easy to thread large ribbon through the hole.

Julie's Youngest Three

My youngest sister Julie is 10 years younger than I am, and she has four children. Her oldest son Nick is not pictured here, but I had pictures of her other three children. Caine, in the picture on the top, is our godchild. We love this picture of him, and I was really happy to be able to scrapbook it. And look at the smiles on the two youngest - Jaimen and Miranda. They are adorable! I was able to chat with all of these kids last weekend, and I loved catching up!

I used a Basic Grey sketch from October 2007 for my pattern. You can find these and all kinds of other cool sketches at Page Maps. Let tell you a bit about the product I used for this layout:

• White Textured Cardstock - CTMH
• Twilight Textured Cardstock - CTMH (scored in a grid with the Scor-Pal and then sanded)
• Cranberry Plaid B & T from Route 66 - CTMH (short right edge against white journaling piece scalloped with green EK Success corner rounder)
• Sweet Leaf Ric Rac - CTMH
• White Daisy Craft Button - CTMH
• Chipboard Frame - CTMH
• Cranberry Waxy Flax - CTMH
• Chipboard Stars & Saying - My Mind's Eye
• Rub Ons - My Mind's Eye
• Prisma Glitter - CTMH