My first Memorable Seasons reveal: LYB Winterings!

I had a blast working with Little Yellow Bicycle's Winterings collection. I love that the papers are full of browns, tans, creams and grays in addition to the typical blues and white you find in a winter line. It's also awesome that the winter-themed papers have neutral patterns on the B-sides. The stickers have all sorts of fun detail on them - embossing, metallic flocking and tiny buttons! The chipboard embellishments are so much fun too. And the vellum strips and sentiments? LOVE them!

Here's the link to the entire collection in the Memorable Seasons store!

Here is the kit I received (first photo) as well as the backsides of the paper (shown in the second photo)...

And here's the list of exactly what's in my kit and links to it all in the Memorable Seasons store...

• LYB "Winterings" Flurry Dot Multi/Flannel Pin Stripe Paper
• LYB "Winterings" Barnwood & Dolies/Grey Dot Paper
• LYB "Winterings" Fancy Flurry/Fancy Frame Paper
• LYB "Winterings" Cozy Cable Kint/Cozy Quilt Paper
• LYB "Winterings" Chevron Wool/Frosty Forest Paper
• LYB "Winterings" Winterings Stripe/Dark Denim Brocade Paper
• LYB "Winterings" Journaling Cards
• LYB "Winterings" Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse
• Two sheets of various shades of Bazzill blue cardstock
• Bazzill Dotted Swiss brown cardstock
• Jillibean Soup kraft mini white alphas
• White Brads
• Snowflake Ribbon
• Silver tinsel

And of course I had to order some extras (first photo) and the backsides of those papers (second photo)...

And here's the list of extras I got with links to it all in the store...

• LYB "Winterings" Wonderland/Flurry Tonal Paper
• LYB "Winterings" Winter Plaid/Deep Brown Knit Paper
• LYB "Winterings" Wintry Words/Worn Denim Paper
• LYB "Winterings" Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces
• LYB "Winteirngs" Chipboard Shapes
• LYB "Winterings" Vellum Tape

And here are my creations working with this amazing collection! In honor of this month's sketchathon, the four projects below are all based on sketches by Becky Fleck of Page Maps. But don't you worry! These aren't my sketch-a-thon challenge sketches - I would never reveal those early. Consider these a sort of bonus that you can put away in your sketch collection for a rainy day!

 (Supplies: Little Yellow Bicycle Winterings papers, chipboard, vellum sentiments and journaling spot; Bazzill cardstock; Jillibean Soup tiny numbers; unknown ribbon; DMC floss; Sakura pen.)

 (Supplies: Little Yellow Bicycle Winterings papers, chipboard, sentiment stickers; accent stickers and vellum strip; Bazzill cardstock; Jillibean Soup tiny alphas; Studio Calico Mr. Huey's mist; StazOn and Close To My Heart ink; Ranger Inkseentials enamel accents; Creative Cafe journaling spot stamp; Sakura pen.)

  (Supplies: Little Yellow Bicycle Winterings papers, stickers and vellum strip; Bazzill cardstock.)

  (Supplies: Little Yellow Bicycle Winterings papers and sentiment sticker; sliver tinsel twine; Jillibean Soup tiny alphas; Kaiser Craft rhinestones.)

And be sure to visit the Memorable Seasons forum to check out what the rest of the Design Team did with their kits! We are not only showcasing Little Yellow Bicycle's Winterings Collection but Crate Paper On Trend, Basic Grey Lucille and a mix-up of various winter-themed products from the Memorable Seasons store. Oh, and we have our Sketch-a-thon going on all month long!

Top 10 Layouts of 2012

So, it's that time of year again. A time to reflect and when it comes to the scrapbooking part of my life, it's the time to look back at all my creations from this year and feel proud of the memories I've preserved for years to come. It was very hard for me to narrow down this year's layouts to a handful a favorites, and most of that difficulty I attribute to many of my layouts being of Liam - and of course I love all of those. But, after much deliberation, here is my final list...

Apple Of My Eye. I love the dark background with the layers of bright colored paper, the stitched circle and the fussy-cut apples surrounded by the colored pearls. If memory serves me right, this one was based on a Creative Scrappers sketch.

Baby Shower Joy. This design is one I have used several times when I've wanted to include lots of photos on a layout. So I pulled it out again for this layout documenting my baby shower. I wanted to have a Winter/Christmas look since it was a December shower but didn't want it to be too themey because it was a shower. This old Pink Paislee Christmas line of papers was perfect because it picked up the colors in the invitation and the patterns weren't overly Christmas or Winter-based. I love how the lollipop flowers turned out too!

Fall At The Farm. This layout is based on a sketch from Scrapbook Generation. I also used a very old Treasured Scrapbooking kit I found in my stash. I love that the 7 Gypsies, Pink Paislee and Bo Bunny papers are fall-colored but not really fall-themed. This allowed me to use some fall accents without making it all too over the top. I added some super old embellishments from my stash as well. I love using up old supplies!

February Snapshots. What I love most about this layout is the colors. I am a big fan of turquoise and cherry red together. And I really love it combined with the chocolate brown and kraft on this layout. I also love the clean grid design and the title treatment here. This is one of the twelve monthly layouts I am doing for Liam's first year album. I wanted to have a system for including all the fun miscellaneous photos I have and this was the solution. This design is based off of an Inspired To Scrap sketch.

Home Is Wherever I'm With You. This layout is based on a scraplift from the fabulous and uber-talented Colette Bate. The color palette is based on one found at Design Seeds. I am totally in love with this layout. First, this is a five-year-old photo of Andrew and I that I never got around to scrapping before. The title is lyrics from the song "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. I saw Kinsey Wilson use it once on one of her Studio Calico layouts and being a big Edward Sharpe fan, knew I had to use it on a layout as well. I actually have never used bubble wrap and paint to stamp on a layout but love the look achieved with the technique. I again used a super old Treasured Scrapbooking kit from my stash for this layout and also pulled in some oldies from my stash like the Hambly transparency and My Little Shoebox house accent. And the chevrons are actually old chipboard photo corners that I painted and Stickled!

It's A Good Day. This has to be my favorite Liam layout to date. These photos are of the first time Andrew got to hold Liam. This was truly a special moment as we were not able to hold Liam until a week after his birth; we had to wait for his head ultrasound to be completed first. I love all the texture on this layout - the burlap-looking Core'dinations cardstock, the swiss dot embossed rimmed hearts, the stitching and the twine. Also, Note To Self is by far my favorite Echo Park release from this past year and one of the few new collections I purchased. This layout is based on a sketch from Feeling Scrappy.

Liam David. Of course I wanted to treat Liam's birth announcement layout extra special. I found this old scrap of Dream Street paper with the cute reindeer on it and thought it matched the little reindeer on the announcement perfectly. That is where the layout started. I then decided to use the light blue, red and pink colors in that paper to pick out the rest of the papers and all the embellishments. I totally love how it turned out!!

No One Else. I was super lucky this year in winning scrapbooking supplies - winning a total of five different collections and a few gift certificates. And Fancy Pants Childish Things was one of those collections I won. I used it to first create this super special layout of Liam and I. This was the first time I got to hold Liam. As I stated in the layout where Andrew is holding Liam for the first time, this was a truly special layout since we had to wait a week to hold him. I love the vellum pocket filled with confetti, the button heart and the super long title that doubles as the journaling. I got the quote off of Shimelle's website and also used a Becky Fleck sketch for this one.

Our Valentine. This layout was hands-down my favorite I made for Alexis' first year album. I loved this old Pink Paislee valentine line and just had some scraps of it left. So that's how the banners came to be. I really wanted to make the banners fun and dimensional since they were pretty much the only detail on the page. I also love how the misting turned out on this one. Thanks to Creative Scrappers for the awesome sketch that inspired this layout!

Soaring. I don't scrap super large photos often, but this is one of the few I have done. I am first really proud of these particular photos. I am happy that I was able to completely focus this layout on the main focal photo but then also include the smaller detail photos - I actually added the small photos to the large one in Photoshop and then printed it all as one photo. I used an old Dixie Pieces kit for this layout and the papers and colors were just perfect for these photos. I have to admit I hyperventilated a bit cutting into the Hambly transparency but am so glad I used it! I used another Inspired To Scrap sketch for this one.

Sneak peek of my first Memorable Seasons DT Kit!

January is just around the corner! Can you believe it? 

But, even though 2012 is almost finished I am so looking forward to 2013 - especially in scrapbooking because I am so excited to officially start my design team term with Memorable Seasons on January 1st!

And that term starts with not only the Sketch-a-thon happening all month long but also with my fabulous January DT Kit. As you can see from these sneaks, I've been walking in a winter wonderland! Can you guess what manufacturer and collection I've been working with?

 Be sure to check back here on New Year's Day for the answer and my full reveal!

How Do You Do That? Focus on Double-Page Sketches

Hello all! So today is the day! I am super excited to say that Wendy, the DT coordinator over at Memorable Seasons, asked me to contribute a tutorial on creating double-page layouts using sketches. I was so honored that she asked me to do this and had a ton of fun not only making the two spreads below but also sharing some insight on my creative process when tackling the sometimes daunting two-page layout. I would love for you to come over to the Project Life Forum at Memorable Seasons to check out my tutorial! 

(Supplies: Bazzill cardstock; Webster's Pages papers; Making Memories, Fancy Pants and unknown transparencies; Bella Blvd, K and Co, Webster's Pages alpha stickers; unknown ribbon; Pink Paislee fabric; Basic Grey chipboard tags; unknown straight pins; Basic Grey and American Tag Co brads; Jenni Bowlin rubon numbers; DMC floss; Plaid silver paint; StazOn ink; Sakura pen.)

(Supplies: Bazzill and American Crafts cardstock; Jillibean Soup papers; American Crafts, Heidi Swapp and Cricut alphas; KI Memories jelly embellishments; The Paper Co mulberry paper; Doodlebug brads; Die Cuts With A View sticker; Studio Calico wood veneers; Jillibean Soup and Divine twine; Jillibean Soup tiny alphas; StazOn ink; Sharpie marker.)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I hope you all have a very merry and blessed holiday with your loved ones. In honor of the holiday tomorrow, I thought I'd share my top 10 favorite Christmas layouts. Maybe one of them will inspire you when you sit down at your scrap desk with this year's Christmas photos!

Memorable Seasons 2nd Annual Sketch-a-thon!

Has your mojo gone missing with all of the Holiday activities? Has it been awhile since you've had the chance to create? Well, we have a fix for that! Come join us at Memorable Seasons for the whole month of January in our annual Sketch-a-thon! Sketches every day of the week from various places, prizes weekly and a grand prize! What more could you want? We can't wait to see you there to jump start your creating for 2013! And just a little teaser - make sure you keep your eyes open this week over at Memorable Seasons, because Wendy, our fearless DT Coordinator, has a few fun things planned to finish up 2012!

Well folks, we have a winner!!

Thank you everyone who left such sweet comments here about my work and making the Memorable Seasons Design Team. Again, I am so thrilled to have the opportunity to provide you all with some "memorable" inpiration! Thanks to random.org, it decided that of the 48 entries we had for the RAK, that the winner is...

Patricia!!

Patricia - Please email me at msmith912ATgmailDOTcom with your mailing address and I will get you priority box full of goodies in the mail to you this week.

A Scrappy November With Inspired To Scrap!

I know I was a bad blogger in November. But, I must say I did have a good reason - I was too busy scrapping! You see, I signed up for my first Inspired To Scrap sketch class and I cranked out 18 layouts in November - all based on sketches given during the class. If you are a sketch lover, you definitely need to check out Inspired to Scrap. I am not sure when the next sketch class will be, but I can tell you I am definitely signing up! And, if you need some sketches to tide you over until then, Stacey has some great sketches posted in the Inspired to Scrap gallery.

Here are the 18 layouts I created during the class!

Some exciting news and a RAK!

So, I know I've been kinda MIA lately. It's been a crazy busy past month and of course, with the holidays approaching, this month isn't looking any better. But, I have lots of things I need to share with you all, so despite the insanity of December, I do plan on blogging (at least once a week). 

And I am going to start with some very exciting news! After taking a long break from designing to focus on Liam's first year of life, I am proud and honored to announce I am a member of the Memorable Seasons design team beginning January 1st! I have been a member of Memorable Seasons since 2008, have come and gone from the board through the years, but every time I come back, it's just like I never left! This group of scrappers are so warm, welcoming, inspirational and supportive. And I am beyond thrilled to be able to serve them on the design team.

If you are not familiar with Memorable Seasons, I highly suggest you check it out! There is of course the wonderful forum full of great chatter and awesome challenges, the always inspirational gallery, and the amazing store chock full of the latest and greatest scrapbooking goodies (and with some of the best prices around)!

Finally, in honor of the new Memorable Seasons design team, I am giving away an awesome RAK! My RAK box is chock full of goodies from some of my personal favorites including Pink Paislee, Basic Grey and Prima and I plan to fill a priority box for one lucky scrapper. So here's how you get a chance for the RAK...

• Become a follower of my blog (or already be a current follower) and leave me a comment on this post letting me know you follow.
• And for a bonus entry, become a member of Memorable Seasons (or already be a current member)! Be sure to introduce yourself in the Welcome forum when you sign up!

I will draw a winner on Monday!