Studio J Layouts -- Daydream, Class Act, Olivia

I've been really happy with the digital layouts I've completed through Studio J. I usually try to keep one album for my daughter's birthdays, one for my son's birthdays, one for my daughter's school events and photos, one for my son's school events and photos, and one family scrapbook per year or so. This is my intention...but I don't really have one scrapbook for each year for the family photos and there are empty spots in many of the other albums which I do have. I am 'caught up' (yes, I used the dreaded words!) with my daughter's birthday album with all traditional scrapbooking and almost 'caught up' with my son's birthday album (now with a great deal of digital scrapbooking). Using Studio J, I was able to scrapbook my daughter's entire school year for last year in the span of a couple of days. That was about eight double paged layouts. I can't believe it's finished!

Here's one of the layouts:

One thing that was neat for me, was being able to use, Daydream, a paper pack that I never bought (and one I never thought I would use) but I liked how it went with the photos I had. I was able to try them out with these photos on the computer without even having to commit to anything. It wasn't like I had to cut papers and then see how it looked. I think I worry too much about 'ruining' beautiful papers and that's where a lot of my hesitation about actually doing some scrapbooking comes from. So Studio J works for me. I can use it to make digital layouts but I can also use it to plan out layouts to a certain extent.

I also already started scrapping this school year for my daughter's album and inadvertently used the same layout as I used for her first day in first grade. But now I'm glad I did. I also really like this special member's only digital paper, Class Act:

Here's one more layout for you to see using the Olivia papers. I was able to include 15 photos on this layout. The pictures are from this past fall during a trip to one of the pumpkin patches in our area:

So my new goal is to finish my 2010 family album and I will make it mostly, if not all, with digital scrapbooking. Like I've mentioned before, I love the creative aspect of working with actual papers and embellishments in traditional scrapbooking, but it is nice to have a choice and with all the different projects I have going, it's a really nice feeling for me to have when an album is actually completed!

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Friend Cards

Last weekend, I got together with some friends for our annual birthday get together. We are all Capricorns except for one who's birthday is actually in September! Here are the cards I made to give to my friends. I love the new pleated ribbons (Z1398 Wings Level 2 Assortment) and it was neat how just changing the color of the ribbon gave a slightly different feel to each card. The shoe and the word, "Friend," are embossed in black.

                                     

Supplies used: (X7135B) Wings Level 2 Paper Pack, (D1452) Find Your Style, January 2011 Stamp Of The Month, (Z1398) Wings Level 2 Assortment - pleated ribbon, (Z670) Black embossing powder, (Z1034) Designer Ribbon Rounds™ Black Collection

We attended one of the teas at Green Spring Gardens for our get together. If you are in the Northern VA area and haven't been to Green Springs yet, I highly recommend it. The tea programs are really wonderful. First, there is a presentation about a topic (the one we heard was about the botany craze of the 1800s and how indoor gardening became popular), then you walk over to the historic house for tea which includes finger sandwiches, pastries, and scones. Here's one of the pretty teacups our tea was served in.

Even though it's winter and the outdoor gardens are not in full bloom, the greenhouse showcases a beautiful indoor garden. Whenever I walk through there, I feel a sense of tranquility (even though this time it was a bit crowded with the people attending the program). I think I need one of these pretty chairs in my backyard!

I love how they displayed these tillandsias (at least I think that's what they are!).

 It would be nice to have a room like this in the house!

I think I am enjoying looking at these garden pictures so much because of the snow we got last night. It is, however, beautiful in its own right.

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Sneak Peek --- Miracle Paper

Here's a sneak peek at some of the paper (Miracle) that will be in the new catalog. You'll probably recognize it from a previous Constant Campaign. This card layout is another one inspired from a CTMH Idea Book. When you see the new catalog in February, it will be on page 49. The stamp sets are not new but I love that little bird in the A Tweet stamp set!

Supplies Used: (D1438) Circle of Love stamp set, (A1104) A Tweet stamp set, (X7133B) Miracle Level 2 paper pack, (Z2153) Sweet Leaf stamp pad, (Z2114) Cocoa stamp pad, (Z2103) Bamboo stamp pad, (Z2117) Crystal Blue stamp pad, (Z1327) Sparkles Blue and Green Assortment,

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Warm Winter Wishes

It snowed a bit this morning and it looks so beautiful. I love looking at the tree branches right after the snow has fallen. We're lucky though, since it doen't seem like it will snow much more and we've only gotten less than an inch, enough to be pretty but not enough to cause too many problems.

In the process of organizing the basement and cleaning out some of my scrapbooking materials, I've been taking a more thorough look at some of my CTMH Catalogs/Idea Books and I've come to the realization that I don't really use them as "Idea Books" nearly often enough. I am usually so excited to see the new products that I concentrate on the catalog aspect...even though I often do think to myself, "Oh, I'll have to try that layout," or "What a neat technique!"

With that in mind, I'm trying to use the Idea Books more often for inspiration. So, this first card share is pretty much lifted straight from page 41 in the 2010 Autumn/Winter Idea Book. I simplified the card by not including the embossed Dimensional Element snowflake and changed it to a standard size.

Supplies Used: (X7127B) Magnifique Level 2 paper pack, (C1423) Captured Moments stamp set, (Z669) Silver embossing powder, (Z891) Versamark ink pad, (Z2160) Twilight stamp pad, (Z578) Corner Rounder

I did use the idea of embossing a snowflake on a different card though, but again I just kept it simple (even using a sketch from the cleanandsimple blog without adding any sentiment: http://cleanandsimplestamping.blogspot.com/2010/12/120.html). You can also compare these two cards to see the difference between Silver embossing powder and Silver Pearl embossing powder. The Silver Pearl is definitely more "pearly," approaching white but not quite.

Supplies Used: (X7127B) Magnifique Level 2 paper pack, (Z678) Silver Pearl embossing powder, (Z1225) Flurry Dimensional Elements, ribbon

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Happy 2011!

It'll take me awhile to get used to writing 2011. I hope you and yours have a healthy, happy, and prosperous new year!


There are a lot of exciting changes for CTMH! During January, we can order from the 2010 Autumn/Winter Idea Book plus the new January mini catalog, Inspirations. You can find the links for both on the right. Starting in February, we can order from the 2011 Spring/Summer Idea book and CTMH switches to a biannual catalog schedule.

January Constant Campaign
When you buy the Wings Workshop on the Go featured in the January Inspirations mini catalog, you can purchase the stamp sets in Inspirations at a deep discount. Here's a list of the stamp sets featured at their discounted price:

A1113 A Game $5.00
B1369 Rosy Regards $10.00
C1440 Take A Picture $15.00
D1470 Dreams Come True $18.00
E1019 Bohemian Alphabet $25.00

Also, if you order the Wings Workshop on the Go (WOTG), you are eligible to get the January stamp of the month for a discount or free. Order the WOTG plus any other item in Inspirations and get the January stamp of the month for 25% off which is $17.21. Order the WOTG plus two Inspirations catalog items and get the January stamp of the month for 50% off which is $11.48. Order the WOTG plus three Inspirations catalog items and get the January stamp of the month for 75% off which is $5.74 and order the WOTG plus four Inspirations catalog items and get the January stamp of the month for free.Pin It