Thursday, September 27, 2012

Time to Get Sketchy!

Most of us like to use sketches (if not ALL of us). They are a great starting point to get the design and creativity going.
My challenge this week is to find a sketch on your own and use it. Pretty simply, right? There are so many sites online that have sketches. You'll fin the perfect one for you. We even have an ongoing list of great sketch sites HERE on the board.


I found this sketch on Ro Phillipsen's blog and I really like it. Its simple but it really got me going.
Here's what I created using the my MS kit which was full of Jillibean's Country pumpkin Chowder collection:

I also love to make cards. Shaped cards are fun, it brings me back to the paper piecing technique -which I love.
You can get your own fall Jillibean papers from the store HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Carol's WIRED INSPIRED - Trend Watch - 9/20

I've said it before, but I'll say it again, I love Pinterest!

I think of cool things to do on my layouts, and then I find MORE inspiration on Pinterest!  I love that you click on the photo and you then go to the site/blog where that photo was pinned from!  This clicking has led me to some inspirational blogs!  :D

Well, you know me with my stitching!  I'm in love with my sewing machine!!  ♥♥♥  I remember a long time ago, I saw a layout that had a stitched through title.  I thought it was so cool!  There is just something about the look!

Here's what I found on Pinterest:

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Which led me here: CRATE PAPER COLOR CHALLENGE AUGUST

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Which led me here: LILY BEE BLOG

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Which led me here: MAGGIE HOLMES DESIGN

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Which led me here: STUDIO CALICO BLOG

Here is me trying this a long time ago:


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Here is my latest:

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To me, the stitched through title really just ties the whole layout together! :D

Of course, I used my Jillibean Soup September DT kit!! :D

So, your challenge is . . . add some interest to your layout title with STITCHING!! Machine stitch, hand stitch, cross stitch . . . whatever you want to do! Just get stitching!! :D

Have fun!!

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Our GDT is wired and inspired to the max!

So Tami here with you today and I super duper excited to share with you that Susan our resident scrappy journalist is our GDT for the month of September.  And this month our theme is wired and inspired.  Well let me tell you that Susan has come up with a great challenge for you girls today...

In Susans own words:
This month we've been exploring our relationship as scrapbookers with the computer world - how we get inspiration, use websites, and access information from it. This got me to thinking how much our society uses computers and how much things have changed since they became a common tool in the American home. I also thought about how my life personally has changed once I started using a computer regularly, and what I remember about life before that time. So, I made a page about that and did some extensive journaling on the subject. I like to think of future generations reading my little "essay" and comparing my life with their own. Here's what I made

Now, my challenge to you is to do some journaling - yep, journaling! - about anything related to the computer world. Don't worry, you don't have to write as much as I did! Just write something. And it can be about lots of things: a favorite website, a blog or your blog, how you use the computer, your first computer purchase, your computer-related job, how you love the computer, or, how you hate the computer! It could be about a story you remember concerning computers, a computer class you once took, games on the computer, your children and their computer use. There's so much that can be done - just use your imagination!

Here's the text of my journaling if you would like to see it better:

"I can remember when there were no computers. Life was much different in those days and the changes the computer age has brought into my world is difficult to totally comprehend. To me, the days before computers were both a simpler time and a more complicated time. Yes, the computer can make today’s life much easier and efficient, but it has radically changed how we relate to others.
The first time I saw a computer I was a young girl visiting my mom at her job. She worked at a bank, and there was a room with glass walls which held several computers the size of refrigerators! Back then computers didn’t have monitors. They printed out information on large sheets of paper which was bound into books. In my 20s I had a job that involved looking through stacks and stacks of those books for a particular piece of information. It was a dull task.

Before computers and email, I wrote letters - lots of letters to pen pals, friends, and relatives. I still have many of their letters, tucked away in my closet. It makes me sad to think that, because of email, no one’s letters will be saved and remembered.
Getting information now is certainly much easier. If you want to find out about a subject you just “Google it”, and there it is! Before computers, I would go to the library and look things up in the encyclopedia. There were reference librarians whose job was to help people find information.
Computers have also taken the place of maps, and that makes me sad. In the “old” days, I relied on a fold-out map of the city. Using that map I learned my way around and got a “bird’s eye view” of the area. I became very familiar with all the streets and could easily think of alternate routes if I got caught in bad traffic. I learned about my community. Now, mapquest.com tells me how to go. Yes, it can be convenient, but nothing beats knowing your own town like the back of your hand.

The invention of digital cameras has revolutionized the world of photography and I admit that I love it! Film cameras left a lot to chance and I often wound up with bad pictures. Another aspect of computers that I think is fantastic is the changes it has brought to the music industry. I can listen to high-quality sound on iTunes, Pandora, or Spotify. Never before have I had such a huge variety of music at my fingertips!
One of the most successful, popular and – some would say – pervasive aspects of the computer age was the creation of Facebook. On the plus side, you do “connect” with your friends and acquaintances like never before and it does help people to stay in touch. But I wonder sometimes if it doesn’t take the place of personal interaction. A “virtual hug” is not a hug. It’s a parenthesis.

The internet can be a wonderful source of information and inspiration. It has streamlined our lives while making it richer at the same time. But, while it can be a time saver in some ways, it can also gobble up time like nothing else! It is so easy to lose hours of the day while “surfing the net”. This is unfortunate because I could be doing so many other things that are much more productive. Like reading a book, talking to a friend, or creating something. Like it or not, computers have certainly changed my life. Sometimes I miss that old life, sometimes I don’t. In the end, though, I’m glad I can say I knew what life was like “back then” before the Age of Computers."

So here's the deal--take the challenge and make a layout.  you will need to complete this by 9/30 at midnight to be entered in our drawing for the month. 
 
Here's the link the gallery
http://www.memorableseasons.com/gallery/
 
and here's alink to the challenge thread where you will need to post your layout
http://www.memorableseasons.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=11585
 
Come on over and join us ladies--we love to see your creations and most of all make new friends.
 
And again thank you to Susan for all your inspiration and friendship over at Memorable Seasons.
 
WAIT WAIT WAIT
 
Did I mention we are having a SALE ???  OMGSH its that Fall into Savings Sale--Hurry and go check it out!
 
toodles
Tami

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Wendy's Wired Challenge - Technique Time 9/6

Welcome everyone, so glad you stopped by for Technique Time.  I love to learn new techniques as you would see if you saw all of my starred items in my google reader or on my Pinterest board.  Even though I love to learn and try new things, I like to really study the techniques before I try them.

Here are some of the links I read up on as I studied... sunbursts!

Once I felt comfortable with the concept I began creating and man do I totally love the trend of sunburst.  Here is a video of how I went about my sunbursts.

 

Here is a sunburst I created using my Jillibean Soup DT kit - Grandma's Lima Bean Soup...
 
Her is another one I created using some of my Jillibean Soup stash and mists...
 
Well it was snagged for publication so here is a small peak of it.
 
 
 
And then one I created using last month's DT kit October Afternoon - Cakewalk; this was the actual design of the paper and I just layered my elements on top of the sunburst.
 

So, your challenge is to get techy with me and try a sunburst pattern!
* create a new layout, 2 cards, or a project for this challenge
* make sure you post your layout in the gallery and leave a link in this post by September 30th.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

We have some winners!

Thank you each one for stopping by our blogs over the weekend and all the wonderful comments, we really appreciate that!  And now without anymore delay, our winners...

Memorable Seasons winner - Jean
Wendy's blog - Sally
Carol's blog - Laura
Joni's blog - Ruth
Tami's blog-Emily

Congrats girls!  Make sure you send a pm to the owner of the blog that you won at, Memorable Seasons blog can send one to me, Wendy and I will get that taken care of too. 

I hope you each stopped by and saw the full reveals of the different kits we are working with, it promises to be a Jillibean Soup month!