Friday Sketch

This weeks sketch is from one of my favorite sketch sites Inspired Blueprints. Have fun using this sketch and make sure to upload your take on it to your Inspired Blueprints page and your new galley in the User gallery!

The sketch:


My example:

Make sure to check the left sidebar for all the sales and contests going on right now at the Stash!

Stash Faves

One of my favorite things in the store are the Elle's Studio tags! I love them! Every time I make an order I make sure to get a few more to add to my collection. They are great for pages, cards and mini books and a great scrapbook item to bring along with you to a crop when you wouldn't have a computer to do your journaling. I also love the handmade look they add to you pages. Check out all the great types in the store today!

Here are a few examples of my favorite ways to use Elle's tags! Check out more great ideas on her blog.

On mini books:

On Scrapbook pages:

On cards:

Also right now there is a special on Elle's Studio Tags - Buy any 3 sets of tags from her NEW line and receive a free set. (We choose the free set. Limit 5 FREE sets.)

Stash Faves - Special Edition

I've been hoarding this post for too long but I have to share.

How often do you pass over a line of paper because its 'themed' or more specifically a holiday line?

I'm guilty of it.

I wanted to create a Valentine Banner and Valentines for my son to give away at school this year but I wasn't impressed with the papers covered in hearts and Love words. Nope, I wanted something a little different.

As I was going through the warehouse making room for new products I came across the My Minds Eye Colorful Christmas line. It was full of fun pinks and teals (my new favorite color combination thanks to Elle.)

After a few days of thinking about designs, I came up with these. Nothing special really but would you guess they were made with CHRISTMAS paper?

(Those are crayons in the baggie. I melted old broken crayons in heart molds for the kids.)

I used the same paper line for the banner and added stickles. The school loved it and his Valentines were a hit!

So here is an extra challenge - use themed papers for something other than what they were designed for. Use Christmas papers on a Valentines layout or card, use Valentines paper on an everyday layout. Look past the design and theme. Link up your ideas to this post (post a comment with your link) and we might have some CHA goodies to pass on to you!

Tuesday Tips

Photoshop Elements Tip: Adding text to photos

Adding text to your photos can be a fun and inexpensive way to spice up your scrapbook pages. You can even use the text as the title for your page or just a fun caption or subtitle. Here are a few easy steps to take you through it.

In the left hand toolbar click on the “T” icon and it will bring up the text options and a cursor will appear on your photo. With the text layer chosen you will see more options for your text across the tool bar at the top. You can choose the colors, size, style and font there. Now you ready to type your message.Once you have written your message you will want to take the mouse and click at the beginning of the word this should underline it and the mouse will show up as a small arrow meaning you can move the text anywhere you would like. Use the icons on the toolbar on top to change the color, size and font of your text. Once you are satisfied with the look and placement of your text you can either save the image as a jpeg or play around with some special effects. In the top right hand corner there is a box called effects under that there is things you can choose to do to your text like shadows, bevels, gradients and all sorts of things. Once you select one hit the button at the bottom right hand corner of the box that says apply and see what happens. If you don't like the look you can choose under edit the undo apply style and it will revert it back the way it was. Now have a fun creating photos with text the next time you are editing photos! You can repeat these steps if you want to add more words. Have fun and I can’t wait to see what you create!

Here are a few fun ways to use text on your photos:

As a caption:

As a title:

As a subtitle:

Don't forget only a few more days to save with this months coupon. Use code LOVE2010 to get 20% off your entire order with us this month!

Winners Announced, New products and Monday Markdown.....

Whew!

Remember this post?

We have 6 winners.

1. Joni Parker

2. June

3. Joli

4. Mica

5. Holly B.

6. Miwa

Please email your mailing address to admin (at) yourscrapbookstash.com to claim your prize.

The correct answers were:

1. Tattered Angels Crepe Paper ribbon

2. Websters Pages trims

3. American Crafts Dear Lizzy

4. Basic Grey Origina

5. Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type

6. Pink Paislee Queen Bee

7. Girls Paperie by Margie Romney Aslett

8. October Afternoon Fly a Kite

9. Studio Calico rubons

_______________________________

Monday Markdown

Studio Calico Homefront - 25% off

Jenni Bowlin Baby of Mine - 25% off

Collage Press Joyride - 25% off

Further reduced to 50%:

Making Memories Great Escape

Making Memories General Embellishments

Heidi Swapp and Tim Holtz Masks

Sassafras Stamps and Me Likey

____________________________________

NEW product

Jenni Bowlin CHA release is here! All of the cute little banner stickers, papers, Bingo cards..... Its all here.

You can see all of her new release in the CHA Gallery.

Friday sketch!

TGIF! Welcome to Friday! The weekend stretches ahead of us, and it looks pretty inviting from where I am sitting. I am planning lots of scrapping time. How about you?

For this week's sketch, I borrowed a sketch from Pamela Young. Pamela hosts Scrapbook Challenges, a group centered around weekly sketches and great prizes. You can see Pamela's blog HERE.

This is the sketch I chose:

And here is my interpretation:

I hope you get a chance to try out this sketch! When you do, upload your take on it to our gallery for a chance to win prizes or be chosen as our next feature artist! I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Thanks, Pamela, for sharing one of your fantastic sketches with us!

~Alyssa~

Dear Lizzy

You have probably seen this already... but it's worth repeating! One of the hottest new lines from American Crafts in the last few years is Dear Lizzy. Reminding us of springtime breezes and Sunday afternoon bike rides, this line is perfect for every spring photo that you will be taking in (hopefully!) just a few weeks.

Isn't it just the perfect spring line? That bike is the cutest! This entire line and all the embellishments (including the coordinating Thickers!) are in the store right now, so check it out!

Make sure you upload what you create to our gallery for a chance to be chosen as next month's featured member! I can't wait to see your creations.

~Alyssa~

Giveaway time! ** CLOSED**

**Comments are now closed. We have 6 winners. I will announce them on Friday.**

I have 6 paper packs for 6 winners. Yes 6.

Can you tell me the manufacturers shown in each of these pictures. Leave a comment on this post. Remember, manufacturers NOT lines or actual product.

Contest ends this Friday 2/19/10. The first 6 people to guess EACH one correctly will receive a paper pack.

Cards AND Envelopes

Good morning, everyone! Today I have a quick and easy tip for you to decorate envelopes to match your cards, in just seconds. Yep, I said seconds.

Here is what I made:

And here is what I did:

1. I made a card.

2. I took a leftover piece of fussy cutting that I did, and decided to use it on an envelope.

3. I used a Jenni Bowlin sticker as the place to write the name of the recipient, and then added the embellishment I had already cut, and added it to the envelope.

4. Done! How easy was that! And I used a few more scraps and kept them out of the scrap bin. :) Give it a try.

Supplies:

Paper: Sassafras Lass "Sweet Marmalade"

Cardstock: Couture Cardstock

Envelope: Maya Road

Sticker: Jenni Bowlin

Alphas: American Crafts Thickers

Get everything you need in the store. Check it out today!

~Alyssa~

Happy Monday....

Just to update those of you waiting on your orders. We are working long hours to get them all filled and mailed out. Between the huge markdowns and the NEW product, we are behind. By the end of this week, we will be back to our normal 48 hour ship times.

I know you're all anxious to get your hands on your orders and we are trying to make sure that happens.

We have a special offer for you. When you spend $5.00 or more on the NEW My Minds Eye products (Lifestories or Lil Robots) you will receive a FREE gift with your order. Gifts will be included in your orders until they run out. These are limited in number.

Friday Sketch

Happy Friday, Ladies!!

I am going to share a sketch from Inspired Blueprints (http://inspiredblueprints.typepad.com/) with you! It is a sketch site filled with fun sketches and inspirations! I did a layout with this sketch before, and I wanted to do another page based on it again, because it is so fun and versatile!!

The Sketch:
Here is my take on the sketch:

Supplies:
PP and stickers: Sassafras
Chipboard letters: American Crafts
Kraft journaling tag: Maya Road
Ticket: Jenni Bowlin
Black pearls: Prima

I hope that you have fun with the sketch too! Don't forget to share your creations here, as well as Inspired Blueprints!

By April Yap

Stash Faves

Maya Road Kraft tags

Maya Road produces really amazing products! I was, and am still crazy about their sheer tags. Now I just can't get enough of their kraft tags/cards! They are right on top of my fave list at the moment. The color of kraft and black just make any projects pops!!

I made a card and a mini album with their journaling tags. They are perfect 'homes' for titles!

Warning: one pack is always not enough! LOL


By April Yap

Gallery Recap and Februarys Guest Designer

First, here is the January Gallery Recap. I could have made a slideshow using EVERY idea from the Design Team this month. As it is, there are 60 photos featured! Thats the most ever!

The Slideshow will be up all month long but you can always visit their individual galleries to see what products they used and get close up pictures of the amazing details on their pages.

Speaking of amazing details, that brings me to the Guest Designer for February. I guess its about time I posted about her! Its been one crazy month with CHA Supershows, CHA Trade Shows and the flood of new products last week. I've been busy filling orders and trying to keep up with it all!

February Guest Designer - Laura Craigie

Blog Link

I've been married for almost 6 yrs to my handsome hubby. We've been together for 10 yrs now. Wow, does time fly! :) We have 2 little boys, Isaiah (5) and Griffin (nearly 3). They keep me on my toes, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm fortunate enough to be a stay at home mom to them.

Messy or organized scrapper?

- Oh how I wish I could say organized....but I'm terribly unorganized at the moment. Although we are in the middle of redoing our middle floor which is one open room with the kids playroom and my scrap corner. I have every good intention of switching over to a clean and organized space. I hope to have pictures in the next week or two. :)

Favorite product?

- Well, I'm going to have to say chipboard. I love love love how versatile and different it can be, A very close second is tags & labels.

Favorite Manufacturer?

- Well this is an easy one! :) Cosmo Cricket, who I am so incredibly blessed to design for. My next favourites are October Afternoon and American Crafts.

3 other scrappers/crafters that you follow.

- Lea Lawson

- Kandis Smith

- Kimmi Achord

When are you most creative and why?

- Usually mid-day which is of course the worst time of day to scrap with 2 boys. ;) But I get most of my work done in the evenings when my kids are asleep and I turn on some good music or pop in a Jane Austin or period romance movie. I rotate through my collection, I'm just a wee bit obsessed.

3 Random things....

-1 I'm 28 and I still don't know how to drive. I have a huge phobia and I'm often the butt of many jokes and prodding in my family but so far I've managed to avoid learning how.

-2 I love Bubble Tea and often beg my husband to drive a long way just to get it for me. :)

-3 We split a house with my parents which has its down sides but many perks. Once the kids are in bed, we often sneak out and go see movies in the theater. Its become 'our thing' and I get antsy if we go too long between flicks.

Laura is a card maker and her cards are so detailed and fun. Check out her gallery later in the month to see what she's created.

Paper Flowers

I love all sorts of flowers, be it papers, felt or fabric. They can be big or small, punch-out or die-cut, store-bought or even hand-made. I especially love making flowers myself, it is something special with a personal touch to add to my page. I am going to share this pretty and super easy-to-make flower with you. I love that it also helps to use up my scraps at the same time!

1) Cut strips of pp (thinner paper is better for this) about 4cmX20cm. You can try different length to make bigger or smaller flowers.

2) Snip through the length of pp as shown. Do not cut through, leaving about 1cm.

3) Gather and pleat the pp in a circle. Glue it down when you are done. You can use a peg to hold it while waiting for the glue to dry.


4) Ruffle the 'petels' a bit with your fingers after the glue is dry.

5) Embellish the flower center and you get a pretty paper flower!


I have an example here, using the paper flower on a birthday card. I embellished it with pp and pebble and glued it on a round scallop diecut.

By April Yap

Last BIG Monday Markdown

Now that the NEW section is just about cleared out, this will be the last Monday Markdown for February.

The following items are now 25% off:

Basic Grey Nook & Pantry

Basic Grey Pearls

My Minds Eye Colorful Christmas

My Minds Eye Merry Days Of Christmas

Sassafras Lass Felties

Sassafras Lass Amplify

Sassafras Lass Monstrosity

Sassafras Lass Sweet Marmalade

Maya Mists

And it wouldn't be a Monday Markdown without the FINAL clearance section.....

Check out the newly reduced items we've added this week: (All items now 50% off)

Prima Flowers, Stamps, Felt and Lace

My Little Shoebox

Making Memories Just Chillin Boy/Girl lines

Maya Road Tins

Maya Road Pom Pom Ribbon

Cosmo Cricket Snorkel

Lily Bee French Couture and 3 Little Birds

Basic Grey Wisteria

Basic Grey Lime Rickey

Fancy Pants Summer Soiree

Fancy Pants Delight

Fancy Pants On A Whimsy

Fancy Pants Kraft Kuts

Fancy Pants Frames

Fancy Pants Mixed Media Albums

Fancy Pants Pom Pom Ribbon

Cosmo Cricket Early Bird

Basic Grey Bling Rubons

Happy Stashing!

New Products and 2 winners.....

Remember THIS post? I said I would draw 3 names. Time got away from me while I tried to catch up on orders and new products but here are the three names!

#15 - arlsmom aka Lynda said...

LOVE so many of the new releases...Bo Bunny....Pink Paislee...Websters Pages..

#19 Nitasha said...

There are so many new products that I'm really anxious to get my lil' hands on : ) For the sake of not putting you to sleep with my very long list: here's a short one:
Cosmo, Sassafrass, Jennie Bowlin, Pink Paislee, October Afternoon, 7Gypsies, The Girl's Paperie, American Crafts, Hambly, Maya Road, AC, and Studio Calico-- Ooops...Sorry, I said short list didn't I?!! As you can tell, I'm super excited about all of the amazing new products! Thanks for the fab giveaway!

#32 - Nadine said...

would love to have cosmo cricket! (:

Ladies, please email your mailing address to admin (at) yourscrapbookstash (dot) com and I will get your prizes out this week!

NEW PRODUCT

I know this is what everyone has been waiting for so here it is. The list of everything that arrived this week!

American Crafts Thickers

American Crafts Stamps

American Crafts Dear Lizzy

American Crafts Botanique

American Crafts Letterbox

My Minds Eye Lil Robots

My Minds Eye Life Stories

Graphic 45 Le Romantique

Teresa Collins Bebe Boy

Teresa Collins Bebe Girl

Teresa Collins Mr. & Mrs.

Teresa Collins Welcome Home

Cats Life Press Stamps

Limited Edition Kits designed by Suzy Plantamura and some of the fabulous Design Team

New May Arts Ribbon

Pink Paislee Cupid

Studio Calico Stamps

Whew! Thats all for today! More updates this week as more new product comes in! You can see details and projects using all of these lines in the new CHA 2010 Winter Gallery.

Happy Stashing!

Friday Sketch

Hello scrappers, Friday is here and I am sure we will catch up with some scrapping this weekend.
Here is a sketch for you.

This sketch comes from Julie Bonner's sketch site, 52 sketches 52 weeks.


Here is my LO: School Blues
Using Graphic 45 Christmas Past papers and Domestic Goddess papers.
I also used some Prima flowers and 7G word stickers.


I made a quick card with this sketch, using MME Christmas papers (the blue background) and Websters Pages Vellum(pink). Just in time for Valentine's Day.

You can use your old stash in new ways, just like I did with my Christmas papers.

Have fun with this sketch! Load onto the Gallery and you may be picked next.

Stash Faves

Seeing is believing................ I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the store has Teresa Collins "Welcome Home" collection.

See this gorgeous CHA booth:


Double sided papers

Look at this door... so cute!

And those frames... lovely!


They have transparency too!

And chipboard die cuts!

And 1 last fave: American Crafts Precision Pens.

These pens are highly recommended by Ali Edwards in one of her blog post. I bought and tried it.

Really good! It comes in a variety of tips. I like that YSS sells them individually. You can choose the tip size you like! We have stock of black and brown ones! Grab some now!

Hop over to the store now!