This is one of my favourite layouts and it's perfect for the Cupcake Craft Challenge this week.  I love the new Cruisin' papers -- especially the argyle -- and it worked perfectly for Sam's music pictures. I also love the new baker's twine -- it gives a more masculine spin on ribbon (and ribbon is SO my weakness!).  Look closely at the pennants -- the twine is there -- as well as on the argyle squares.



Want to make this for yourself?  Check out my Pennant Fever workshop, coming up in March.

I've talked about digital Scrapbooking with Studio J before.  I love how quickly I can put together some really beautiful layouts.  And I also love how, once you get the photo printouts, you can add even more pizzazz.  Take this adorable layout I did, featuring my equally adorable 6-year-old Charlie.



Nice, eh?  A great memory and I'm really happy with how the layout turned out.  But I really like my pages to have dimension.  So where I digitally placed Colonial White brads on the layout, I have now added REAL brads for texture and depth.  It just took 2 minutes and now a great layout looks even better.  Don't you think?

I've been busy designing wedding invites for a delightful and deserving bride, my husband's cousin Ashley.  It was lots of fun, once I got over the "page fright" and felt the creativity.  Here is the one she chose (minus the butterflies and "Love"):





And here are few of the other samples I designed:

This one has bitty pearls in between the pennants.

Happy February 1st.  Tomorrow is Groundhog Day and I certainly hope we learn that spring is close at hand.  In the meantime, here's some news to shed some sunlight on your day:  the Spring & Summer Idea Book is NOW LIVE!

I've been playing with the new papers and products for a few weeks now, getting ready for the season ahead.  Take one look and I think you'll like what you see.

Here are some birthday cards I made using the new papers and stamps:

Superhero papers

Cruisin' papers

Footloose papers

This Idea Book has a really nice balance of masculine and feminine papers.  Here is an adorable waterfall card that I made using some girly pink paper -- something I don't get to play with enough for my personal projects.  Isn't it fun?

Lucy papers and Card Word Puzzle Stamp

Such pretty colours

Build your own message

Want to see more?  Check out the new Idea Book online.  Or email me to get your very own paper copy.  Also, my Spring & Summer Idea Book Launch Party will be held on Thursday, Feb. 23 from 7-9 pm and Saturday, Feb. 25 from 1-4pm.  Come out to see the new products up close, plus get a chance to win some prizes.  RSVP at justscrapit@sympatico.ca

Good morning!  This is my first post of 2012 -- hooray!  Things are busy right now but you're going to hear a lot from me very soon.

What I want to write about today is creative juices.  I know for me, once my creative juices start flowing ... watch out!  Whether I'm participating in a creative blog challenge, planning a workshop or scrapping at a retreat, if the mood is good, my creativity is unstoppable.

But sometimes, I'm just not feeling it.  I may have a great idea but have trouble executing it.  Or I may just be stumped for ideas.  Or I may have lots of ideas but have put too much pressure on myself for it to be AWESOME that I have stage fright.  (Or page fright, in the scrapbooking sense.) 

For example, I'm in the middle of a project right now and I have 4 great design ideas that I'm excited about.  They are all sketched out and ready to execute.  However, I'm having so much trouble actually getting out the paper, trimmer, glue, ink and sparkles to bring it to life.  On one end, I don't want to mess it up.  On the other end, there's the deadline I've set for myself to get it done.  And they are squeezing the creative flow right out of things.

What did I do?  I gave myself permission to walk away.  I had set aside last night to work on this project and was really struggling to get into it.  So I took a deep breath, curled up on the couch and watched Jeopardy instead.  The project is still there.  The ideas are still there.  But I've taken some of the pressure off myself.  And I feel so much better about going back and trying it again today.

So if you're ever feeling Page fright, the best advice I can give is to walk away for a short time.  If it's something for yourself, then it's up to you when you come back to it.  If you have a deadline, then take a shorter break and plan another time to be creative.  But don't be afraid to take a break.  It will do you and your creativity some good.

I love the things you can create with the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartrigde.  There are so many versatile shapes that you can use to make just about anything.  At Halloween, I made a Frankenstein gift bag and I've been waiting for the time to put a Christmas spin onto the same thing.  And here they are:

It all started with Rudolph.  He is simply the cutest thing ever! 

The Santa bag was inspired by a tag that I saw one of my CTMH teammates make. Heather Pitre's little tag was adorable and I thought it would look great on a bag too.  I was also inspired by the Inspired By blog, whose challenge this week is all about Santa.


The elf bag is a spin-off of Santa, inspired by Cupcake Inspirations, whose challenge this week features some yummy cupcakes with red, green and adorable characters.  I thought these bags would fit right in.

By this point, my creative juices were gushing.  Who else could I turn into a bag?  A snowman?  A penguin?  Why not?  And I'm so happy with the result. 



As I said, these were all using shapes from the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.  It's amazing what you can do with some basic shapes and a little imagination.  The hardest part is parting with these little guys.  I want to keep them for myself!  But Sam and Charlie's teachers will like them too, filled with some chocolates and a candy cane.

We're heading to Florida tomorrow morning for a big family vacation.  Thanks to all who read my blog and I hope you'll continue reading in 2012.  Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Best Wishes for 2012!

My newest addiction is Magnolia stamps.  I love Tilda and Edwin, and am so glad I could work Tilda into this beautiful round card. It turned out so much better than I had hoped.  Now it's your turn to make a wish!

Entered in the "Going Round in Circles" challenge over at Allsorts.

Check out my snowman.  He's so super cute and when you open him up, there's a pocket inside to hold a gift card.  And he's really very simple, which I love.

I'm entering my snow friend in the "Going Round in Circles" challenge over at Allsorts!

I've found a new challenge blog and so far, I am so inspired.  Thank you to the talented Laurel Seabrook for your new challenge and your inspiring photo.  Check out Inspired By

Here is the photo for this week's challenge.  I goofed and thought I had until THURSDAY, so I'm just getting this in under the wire.  But my main problem was that I had not one, not two, but FIVE different sketches I came up with inspired by this photo:


Here is my first card.  I was really inspired by the colours and the simplicity in this one. Random stamping is one of my fave techniques.  I also liked the stepped look and incorporated that into the card.



Here are two versions of my second card.  I tried to layer in the vertical panels from the walls and juxtapose it with the steps.  The tree brings in the many shades of green.  The base is actually cocoa cardstock with acrylic paint applied then sanded around the edges to get that distressed look.



And then there is my favourite.  Two versions of this one too, and honestly, I don't know which one I like better.  Inspired by the distressed panels (painted and sanded cardstock again) for my base, I then brought in a cluster of images to add some holiday spin.  In the first card, the tree is water-misted and distressed.  The pops of red add some sparkle.  The second card has liquid glass on the dots of the tree.







I will get back and try some of my other sketches.  But I'm happy with what I've shown you here.  Thanks again, Laurel, for letting me play.  I look forward to a new inspiration tomorrow!