Making Memories

Inspiration from Joey

What's black and white and red all around? Well, I'll get to that. Lately though, I've had jewelry on the brain. And not just any jewelry, but HAND-MADE jewelry. I've also had spring cleaning on the brain - because, well, it's spring. So what do these two have in common? Using older product in a new way.

Back to the first question - what's black and white and red all around? The answer is my Sweets Charm Bracelet. I have always LOVED  Making Memories Sweets; aptly named by the way, and have been saving my favorites for something special. When I pulled them out this past week, I knew I needed to make a charm bracelet out of them. I would recommend wearing this a little at a time and don't get it wet. These are still scrapbooking and paper making products, but they can make a fun and flirty accessory too!

Inspiration by Joey

Go with the flow. That's the inspiration this month - just go with the flow! I've spent many years designing scrapbook pages, home decor, and other various projects and one of the key factors for doing this is to be original, be fresh, and do something new with the products at hand. It's pretty much ingrained in my creative process to immediately try to think outside the box, expand upon the product and thus, create added value.

Well, that's all well and good, but it pulls me away from the primary reason for programs and themes in scrapbooking products. So this month I decided to go with the flow and use Making Memories' Just Chillin' collection pretty much out of the box. You'll see in my "Make a Splash" page that I didn't do anything extra to the papers and elements - no inking, distressing, or special techniques. It just goes to show how truly incredible and versatile the Making Memories products are.

I used Just Chillin' as my background paper (my bottom layer) and how changes from blues to greens - just the opposite of my pictures with the green grass on top and the blue pool water at the bottom. The Just Chillin' double sided papers give me plenty to choose from for my color strips, adding texture and interest and breaking up the patterns a little. I used the journaling blocks from the glitter die cuts to tell the story and added little doodle outlines around the white cardstock to contain the rest of the embellishments.

So go ahead and let go a little. Create from the box and see how easy and fun it can be!

This page was created using the following from the Making Memories Just Chillin' collection: papers, metal signage, glitter die cuts, layered chipboard, and glitter brads. The title was created using Making Memories' Puffy Alphas in green.

Joey

Inspiration from Joey

Change can be difficult and sometimes we tend to shy away from it. What happens then when we can't stop the change? How do we react to something that is less than welcome in our lives? Well, this month's inspiration isn't anything as major as it may sound, but I thought it would be fun to see what happens when we embrace change and document our feelings.

I recently had my 39th birthday, and the mere fact that I'm admitting it and not flinging myself on my bed and crying is a pretty good indication that I'm doing okay. But, I wanted to capture my feelings this year before I hit the big 4-O. What a great idea for an inspiration - right? So, what changes are you not so excited about, but willing to remember in the form of a scrapbook page? You might find that change isn't so bad after all.

This page was created using Making Memories Flower Patch collection; a very spring and Easter friendly line. As you can see, it lends itself very well to a more mature subject - yeah right, I'm 39 but I'm not all that mature!

As a bonus here is my favorite tip for creating this page. Make the perfect ribbon knot by tying your ribbon around a spare brad. Decide where you want your knot (or bow) and attach brad through ribbon and paper. This give you leverage to tie the ribbon and makes a really pretty end product. Use any old brad too - especially ones you don't care for especially - the color will be hidden under the ribbon!

Joey

Inspiration by Joey

Once my Christmas decorations come down, I feel like my house is bare and boring. So, I was inspired this month to create a Valentine that would stick around for a little while and incorporate itself into my now sparse home decor. Hearts are so popular and using them to decorate your home, even after February has come and gone - works! Plus they make great gifts to give away.

In my 'family; we belong together' layout/frame, I bought an 11"x 14" frame in a beautiful barn red. Because of the kraft background and inked edges in brown, the reds don't have to match exactly - the overall look coordinates and the reds in the layout pop outside the darker frame. Using the foiled letter stickers with the distressed inked edging gives this an eclectic look as well.

The framing space is longer than the 12x12 paper - which isn't a problem. I used a piece of the Love Notes Vintage Pearl specialty paper for that extra edge and some striped ribbon with a ribbon slide to join the two different papers together. You'll notice that all of the embellishments on this project are on the flat side; the lower profile makes putting this behind the glass easy and doesn't smash and distort the look.

A few tips to try from this project:
1 - Use decorative papers to create flat embellishments (great for glass front frames) like I did with the Heart Doily Love Notes paper.
2 - Be creative with letter stickers. I used an 'h' to make my 'l' in "family". I liked the loopy at the top which balances out the other letters, but there wasn't an 'l' left on my sheet. Simply cutting off that extra part expands my use of the letter stickers.
3 - Don't be afraid to mix different tones and intensities of the same color - like the reds in this case. The vintage red of the frame coordinates really well with brighter, happier reds in the papers.
4 - Let images go off the edges of the page. Every one of the doily hearts on this project have a portion cut off, but you don't really notice it. Your brain automatically knows what shape they are and doesn't miss that extra part. Try this tip with everything. It expands the area you are working with and doesn't make elements seem like they trapped within the edges. Allowing elements to escape off the edges once in awhile is actually relaxing and good design.

This project was crated using the fabulous Love Notes line, including: Foil Alpha Stickers, Tiny Alpha Stickers, Title Alpha Stickers, Vintage Brads, Ribbon Slides, Trims, and papers; Heart Doily Love Notes, Sampler Love Notes, Stitched Heart Love Notes, Vintage Pearl Love Notes, and Kraft Striped Love Notes.

Joey

To start off the new year I wanted to get back to the simple things with this inspiration. So, my focus is about frames - something we practically use every time we scrapbook. We usually frame something on our page to help the eye focus on what is really important. I wanted to explore the idea of frames a little bit and ended up having fun!

 With the Snow Angel page I have four different frames focusing on my one great picture. I wanted something to emphasize that single shot (which was totally accidental, just pointed the camera and shot - funny how the good ones turn out that way sometimes!) and started with the photo. I took three Making Memories Paperie papers and used large scallop scissors to make the edges interesting. Frames don't necessarily need to completely encompass the subject so I kept one edge blank. I used the partial decorative edge paper to frame the left side of the picture and snowflake pattern paper. For frame number three, I used a variety of Making Memories Paperie buttons along the edge of the same pattern paper, again only a partial frame - repeating the same idea as before. Finally, the black outer edges of the entire page make up the final frame.
 
So, take something simple, and explore different ways you can be creative with it!
 
This layout was created using Paperie Rouge papers, buttons, stickers, flowers, and embellishments. Fa La La paper and Passport buttons were used as well. 

Joey

Inspiration from Joey

Wow - the last month of the year and I have a head full of things inspiring me! The splendor of the season, the sounds and sights, even the stress of trying to get my house clean for guests and family visits tends to inspire me. In this month's case - two distinctive things stood out to inspire my layout. First was my 14 year old daughter who is so with it and put together, all I can do is cringe at the memories from my life at her age. Second, with my cleaning and organizing, I was inspired to use my scrapbooking stash mixed with the Fa La La papers to create a layout that can be holiday as well as every day.

This layout is important to me. It explains how proud I am of my daughter's accomplishments as well as my amazement at her level head and smarts. I suppose it makes me feel good to know that somewhere along the line, I must have done something right! But this layout isn't just going in a scrapbook to be enjoyed every once in awhile. It will become part of my decor and the colors needed to match my Christmas decorations. As you can see, my U amaze me layout is front and center in my family room - where it should be for all to know what a wonderful girl Chloe is. It coordinates with the tree with just enough sparkle, but after the season has passed and the room is just a room again, it will still feel a part of the room.

This layout was created using papers and stickers from Making Memories' Fa La La line, papers from the 5th Ave. line, and glitter stickers and chipboard.

Holiday Layouts

You have lots of holiday photos so now what do you do? Scrapbook them!
Here are some great ideas for you to try.

Slice Inspiration?

I knew as soon as I used the Slice die cut machine from Making Memories that I had to use it for an inspiration. Simply because that is exactly what it did - it inspired me. I used it for the first time for a "design off" project organized by Good Things Utah and Channel 4. We were given ladder type bookshelves to decorate by adding paint, embellishments, and photo inspiration. You can see an example of our shelf - a little girls dream - in the first picture. The second picture shows the darling layered flowers that were the focus of this project and also the inspiration of my "Grateful" page.

I love the airy, retro, feel to these unique flowers which are so easy to make with the Slice and Making Memories Paperie papers in Greenhouse and Mocha. I used flower shapes from the Noteworthy and Basics 2 design cards. Vary sizes between 3" and 2" as well as patterns, layer, and curl flower edges with a pencil. Finish off with a brad or button and that is all the embellishment you'll need. Since there were so many patterns going on in the paper flowers, I decided to use a plain background allowing the focus to be the picture and flowers.

So, this season, along with your slice of pumpkin pie - you might want to look into a different kind of a Slice... I know I will.

Joey

 

 

Inspiration from Joey - Spellbound

This month, Joey shows us how she converted one of her previous layouts into a Halloween page by using the Making Memories' Spellbound line.

Have you ever created a layout that you absolutely loved?  Or one that invokes comments of beauty, appreciation, and maybe a little bit of envy?  I think just about all of us have and that is where this month's inspiration comes from.  I decided to use a layout that many people have liked (including myself), where everything from the picture to the embellishments just came together.

 

My "water" layout is one that I have wanted to mimic again, and after seeing the beautiful embellishments in Making Memories' Spellbound line, I knew it was time. Here is an opportunity to make things easy on yourself.  You've already created the layout once, so copy it!  I took exact measurements of my photo mat, edged with paints, used five decorative paper strips, and even the smattering of buttons.  The overall look is quite different from the original, yet the layout is the same.  This is scrapbooking to its greatest potential.  Taking something that you like and changing up the colors can still be very satisfying, and for those of us who find ourselves a little short on time, not reinventing the wheel really pays off.

Thanks, Joey, for sharing your inspiration with us.  What a great idea!

Inspiration from Joey - Quotes

We all have favorite quotes. Some inspire us, some motivate, and others just make us smile. This months inspiration is from one of my favorite quotes;

"Music is what feelings sound like" - author unknown.

Music has been a huge influence in my life and this is exactly how I feel about it. I chose a picture of my daughter on her first day of 4th grade. I remember 4th grade and the excitement I felt with starting "real school". I was excited with homework, projects, and learning new things. I look at this picture and I can hear the soundtrack of her day - full of music that's hyper, adventurous, gets the heart pumping and brings a smile to her face.

What quotes inspire you? Are they about creativity, love, or motivational? Stay tuned over the next four weeks where we will explore more about how music influences us in scrapbooking in all facets of the creative process!

This layout was created using the new Paperie collection - Rouge and Mocha. The lettering was done with the Alphabet 2 Rub-on book.