Unity Blog Hop March 2017!

We’re hopping today and the season of spring is {almost} here. Bunnies, flowers, and sentiments, OH MY!

I was in the mood for scrapbooking, so I pulled out a photo that was taken almost 23 years ago of my oldest two (who were my only two at the time), Brandi and Jake, and used it on this scrapbook page with Unity’s March 2017 Sentiment Kit.

Do you ever feel nostalgic when looking at a stamp from Unity? Well I have, did, and done with this cute little bunny from the sentiment kit this month.

Here’s a look at the kit along with a card made by Lisa Arana—It’s so freaking cool!

It’s just so cuddly and cute!!

I made some videos showing you some things I did on the above scrapbook layout. Sometimes I just like to sew stuff.

In the first video, I demonstrate using a zigzag stitch to add as an embellishment to stamping projects for scrapbooks, art journals, cards, etc.

Supplies Used for this Portion of the Scrapbook Layout
Unity Stamp Company's March 2017 Sentiment Kit
3 or more scrapbook papers, collage paper, etc.
Adhesive
Thread, scissors, and sewing machine

In the second video, I demonstrate using a sewing machine to add buttons to a stamped image to use as an embellishment to stamping projects for scrapbooks, art journals, cards, etc.

Supplies Used for this Portion of the Scrapbook Layout

Unity Stamp Company's March 2017 Sentiment Kit
Buttons
Adhesive
Thread, scissors, button foot, and sewing machine

In the final video, I put the scrapbook page together using items made in the previous two videos.

Supplies Used for this Portion of the Scrapbook Layout

Unity Stamp Company's March 2017 Sentiment Kit
Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher (with staples)
Cardstock, scrapbook papers, collage paper, ephemera, etc
Adhesive
3D Adhesive Dots
Distress Ink
Daubers

We have TWO amazing Unity filled prize packages to giveaway. Leave a comment on EACH blog in the hop (including the Unity blog) for your chance to win.

— PRIZE WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED MONDAY NIGHT —

Be sure you take advantage of Unity’s NEWEST promotion at https://www.unitystampco.com/!!

PLEASE share your lovely creations on Facebook with the Unity {show & tell) Facebook group.

Lots of us check-in there daily (I check in several times daily--I’m addicted to inspiration).

LINK: https://www.facebook.com/groups/434773279941105/

Thank you all for hopping along with us and leaving comments.

Click on the next picture below to be taken to the next blog in the hop for some Unity inspiration!

Unity Blog HOP 10.20.15!!

HAPPY Hop Day, Unity Folks!

Today I’m sharing a tag using this month’s NEW Unity {be inspired} Challenge Inspiration Color Photo as my prompt with the NEW sentiment kit this month, “Love is a Magical Thing”.

Every month, Unity has a NEW CHALLENGE which is meant to inspire you to use

Unity’s lovely stamps.

In case you didn’t know, the winner gets the following:

3 Kits of Your CHOICE--(each kit valued at $29 or under)
{no KOM, SMAK, LOL, or Stamp of the Week, please}

AND

10 Itty Bitty Stamps of Your CHOICE
That is a VALUE of $150!

Here’s this month’s NEW Challenge (click on the photo which will take you to the challenge on Unity’s blog with ALL the details).

Here’s a peek at this month’s NEW sentiment kit.

and . . .

In case you want to watch a quick little video on how to sew a pillow using one of Unity’s stamped images, here you go. I uploaded this little gem last week to Unity’s blog for the Inspiration Wednesday post but haven't posted it to MY blog yet.

NOW . . . on to the REALLY good stuff!!

— Link up your Unity projects through Wednesday night (linky closes at Midnight CST) —

There will be THREE $25 GIFT CERTIFICATES given away by random selection

Winners picked from comments left on the blogs linked up below and to someone who links up a project to HOP with Unity

— PRIZE WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED FRIDAY NIGHT —

Be sure you take advantage of Unity’s latest promotion!

http://www.unitystampco.com/

PLEASE share your lovely creations on Facebook with the Unity {show & tell) Facebook group. Lots of us check-in there daily (I check in several times daily--I’m addicted to inspiration).

Thank you all so much for hopping along with us and leaving positive comments. They are MUCH appreciated. If you ever have questions regarding my creative process or crafty items or tools that I use along the journey, PLEASE leave me your questions in the comments.

Click on the next picture below to be taken to the next blog in the hop for some Unity inspiration!

Print-at-Home Fabric for Holiday Pillows!

This is the last of my over-the-weekend projects.  It’s been quite a little while since I made a pillow.  This past week, I was lucky enough to get a peek at Nancie Rowe Janitz’s upcoming workshop at jessicasprague.com.  I can’t spill the beans too much except to add it’s a home decor series with gorgeous wordart like the one above on the pillow and the matching card/tag I added to the zipper for gift giving this season.  Inspiration OVERLOAD—I had to make a pillow using one of the graphics from the workshop.  What do you think of this festive, cozy gift? 

Printing your own fabric at home is very rewarding and really gets you motivated to create.  I printed the wordart onto Fabric Stick and had my Silhouette Portrait cut it perfectly! I was thrilled with that. Then I zigzag stitched it onto a square piece of cotton fabric a bit larger than the graphic, and then I blanket stitched that to the middle of what was the body of the pillow before constructing the pillow case and installing a zipper. It's approximately 12-x-12-inches.  From computer to real-life pillow, this project took me less than two hours.  During that time, I even had to dust off my sewing machine AND re-familiarize myself to installing a zipper (it’s been a while).

Unity Stamp Company Tag Challenge Day 2

There is a tag challenge going on at  the Facebook Unity Show & Tell Group Page all week long!  Go check out what everyone is creating—the tags are pure eye candy and awesome inspiration to get you going with your stamp collection.

The above tag is my Day 2 submission.  Frazzled is one of my all-time favorite Itty-Bitty stamps from Unity.  She’s such a cutie!

Supplies for Tag 2

Frazzled Itty Bitty Stamp and sentiment from Unity Stamp Company’s June KOM 2013

Tim Holtz Tag & Bookplates Die & by Sizzix; Black Soot, Vintage Photo, & Pumice Distress Inks

5x7 Chicken Wire Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

Scrap Art Starts 7 by Nancie Rowe Janitz available NOW at jessicasprague.com

Tag topper and tag fastener by Silhouette America

Twine from hardware store

Buttons are Autumn Leaves (remember those?)

Below is a peek at Nancie Rowe Janitz’s Scrap Art Starts 7 kit which was used as the background in the tag above.  This is another one of her kits that are a pleasure to use with your stamped creations.  In the tag above, I printed one of the backgrounds for my tag and added the above distress inks to edge it once the tag was die cut. To give Frazzled some dimension, I adhere her to the tag using some 3D glue dots and then applied some glossy accents to her eyes and heart.

I genuinely hope I can keep up with the tag challenge all week.  I’ll be so proud of them when I’m done!

Fabric Composition Book Cover with Appliqué

I made the above fabric composition journal cover using printed appliqués made from a digital image and sentiment. If you're a beginning sewist, here's a link to the tutorial that I used to make the fabric journal cover: http://www.stitchedincolor.com/2012/08/tutorial-journal-covers.html

The tutorial was easy to follow. Once that was sewed and ironed, I then filled the images in PSE with Amy Tangerine's Sketchbook digital prints from acdigitals.com and printed/cut them in conjunction with my printer and Silhouette Portrait which cut the images like appliqué. Then I applied them to the fabric journal cover and applied some bling to the middle of the flowers.  This is just a light synopsis of the process. 

Below is a picture of the first page of this composition journal.  It’s going to be my new stamp journal. I stamped/cut some Unity Stamp Company Fashionistas. They are just adorable as always and make me happy! 

Crate Paper Fourteen Pocket Scarf

Sew! Yes you can! If you’re a digital crafter, anything is possible. 

Crate Paper’s Fourteen, the full collection, became available at acdigitals.com and I’ve been over the moon about it.  One of my all-time favorite lines.  Who can blame me?  I was compelled to make something my 9-year-old-daughter would swoon over.  Trying to keep her warm is one of my biggest concerns right now.  It’s January after all.  I came across this tutorial and decided to make it happen using Fourteen, fleece, and PhotoFabric. 

Pockets added to a scarf—brilliant for so many reasons—hands, gadgets, notes, little stuffed critters to nestle in there.  Look at the smile on her face—she’s using her new scarf to warm her hands AND hold an iPod.  Plus, she got to pick out the prints from a computer screen. Sew on!

Here are a few tidbits to help get you on your way to making a pocket scarf for your little girl:

In this project, I used PhotoFabric as the vessel between digital product and the real world of fabric.  What is that, you ask?PhotoFabric is a paper-backed fabric for use with inkjet printers. It’s sold on a roll sized, 8-1/2-x-120-inches! You can cut as much or as little from the roll as you need. Usually, I cut 8-1/2-x-11-inch sheets to print. To make this easier, I have a piece of chipboard sized at 8-1/2-x-11-inches that I use as a template to measure. Certainly you can use a ruler but I find this template is easier to use.

By the way,  I like to use the Cotton Twill PhotoFabric.

In Photoshop Elements, I created three 8-1/2-x-11-inch documents and filled them with squares of Crate Paper’s Fourteen (with the help from Gwen, of course, they were her prints to choose after all).  There were three squares on each side, for a total of 6 squares per document, 18 squares in all.  Side Note:  If I plan to make one for me, I might fill the documents with strips instead (which would make the final scarf wider to accommodate an adult), ooh future project!   

I then cut three 8-1/2-x-11-inch pieces of PhotoFabric. Because PhotoFabric is stored on a roll, it may have a tendency to curl, so I pressed the sheets down to make them flat and trimmed any stray threads with scissors. PhotoFabric provides a sheet with tips to printing on their product. Using this sheet as a guide, I changed my printer settings appropriately.  I own a printer (HP Photosmart B8550)that gives me the option to select borderless and am able to select a custom size for my projects.  This helps me get the most available space on PhotoFabric. I want to fill that stuff, edge to edge, if possible.

Once printed, I let them dry for at least a half hour before sewing.  Sometimes I will print a project out the night before and let it sit overnight.  This is the point that I tend to vary from PhotoFabric directions.  You’re supposed to peel away the PhotoFabric backing and rinse the PhotoFabric under cold water BEFORE sewing.  I’ve found my prints maintain their integrity and it’s easier to sew my projects if I do this a week or two AFTER I’ve sewn my project.  I suggest you do this.

I then cut my fabric in half lengthwise, each piece approximately 4-1/4-x-11-inches, and surged them together to make one long piece for the printed part of the scarf.  Each short end of this long piece was pressed under and sewn, to finish the ends. 

Using one of Gwen’s other fleece scarves as a guide, I measured the length of the fringe at the ends, which was approximately 6-inches.  In my fabric stash, I had some off-white fleece which I used as the backing/fringe of the scarf.  To figure out how much I needed, I measured the big long printed piece, added the 6-inches for fringe, and approximately 4-1/4-inches for the size of the pockets, plus an inch or two.  I cut my pocket pieces which were sized 4-1/4 inches (square).  I surged the tops and bottoms to finish the pocket pieces.  Whew!  Almost done. 

I then pinned the printed piece to the middle of the long piece of fleece, pinned the pockets at each end, being sure to measure for the fringe at each end, and surged the long left and right sides of the pinned project.  I top stitched all around the printed piece and the pockets with red embroidery thread. 

Lastly, using scissors, I cut the fleece from each ends to make fringe.  Yay!  Finished!

I hope some of this information helps you make your little girl a pocket scarf using digital product.  I was so caught up in the moment, I didn’t even think to take pictures for this project, but again, here’s a link to the project that originally inspired me:   http://themuddyprincess.blogspot.com/2010/09/fleece-pocket-scarf.html

Embroidering using Digital Brushes

A few years back, I was lucky enough to receive a Singer Futura CE-250 Embroidery Machine—a gift from my husband!  Since then, I’ve made plenty of projects using this crafty machine--either embroidering projects using online purchased files but mostly using it as a regular sewing machine—it’s pretty fantastic.  The reason I wanted it originally was that it came with software that allowed you to make embroidery designs using your own images and fonts or images found online, etc.  Well, not only did I find that machine embroidering is a major task to undertake and learn but learning to digitize is difficult and I’ve fallen short trying to figure it out on my own.  Basically, I think I moved onto other things due to frustration, etc. 

I decided to give digital brushes a try and found some success.  Again, I used one of Nancie Rowe Janitz Designs’ upcoming brush sets in PSE and saved it as a jpg. The jpg was retrieved using Autopunch (the software that came with my machine) and then digitized.  The machine embroidered the sentiment onto some canvas fabric—Yay!  However, I would like to find out how to change the style of stitches in the digitizing process, like something with a vintage feel to it.   Maybe I’ll figure that out in the next couple of years—Lol! In the meantime, this style will have to do.  After my machine stitched the design out, I used it to make a drawstring bag to hold some goodies for Valentine’s Day. 

Me & You Pillow Set (Stenciling Fabric with my Silhouette Portrait)

Last week I experimented using a fabric pen in my Silhouette Portrait with a digital brush set and experienced success.  Remember this post?

This week, I wanted to experiment using a stencil cut by my Silhouette Portrait.  Again, MORE success!  I used one of Nancie Rowe Janitz’s upcoming Valentine Words brush sets.  The words were sized to accommodate the pillows in PSE and saved as a png file.  Using the Silhouette software, I retrieved them and cut them from cardstock.  Once I had my fabric cut, I sprayed the back of each cardstock stencil with repositionable spray adhesive, so that it would stay in place on my fabric without slipping.  I used a brayer to position them in place really well.  Textile Medium was added to acrylic paint to make my own fabric paint.  To apply the paint to the fabric, I used a foam brush and in no time at all, about a couple of hours, I had this entire set of pillows sewn and stuffed. 

Peace Pillow (Using Silhouette Sketch Feature)

I was recently inspired by a photo I saw on Facebook (thanks, Nancie) to construct a pillow using Nancie Rowe Janitz’s Only Words {heartfelt} brush set (available soon at jessicasprague.com).  To do this, I decided to take advantage of the sketch feature of my new Silhouette Portrait machine using an Amy Chomas adjustable marker holder with a fine black fabric marker made by Tulip. The results were amazing. In no time, I had constructed this 11-1/2-x-14-inch pillow with one of the brushes from Nancie’s upcoming brush set.  I can’t wait to try this again!  More details coming soon!   

Bohemian Bliss with PhotoFabric and some Cards

The above projects is what you can get when you combine Pink Paislee’s Bohemian Bliss Paper Pack and Element Pack (available at jessicasprague.com) with Photofabric!

Below are some cards I put together using the following digital kits available at jessicasprague.com:

Get Happy Full Kit, It’s A Start Template Pack 8, and Free Spirit Paper Pack by In the Making Designs.

The weather has been perfect all week!  I’m looking forward to all of the end-of-the-year activities planned for school—hope you are, too.

Hybrid Pillow Tutorial at Mouse Paper Lovely!

I shared a tutorial at Mouse Paper Lovely showing you how to print digital papers/elements onto Photofabric to make a pillow.  It’s a perfect project for beginners.  Click on the above picture to take you to the tutorial.  Hope you enjoy!

A little change in my schedule . . .

After five years of being at home with my children, I am delighted to have found a job with our local school district as a substitute school bus driver—Yes!  After taking the necessary training, I obtained my Class B Commercial Drivers License, with proper endorsements, and the CHP Special Drivers Certificate earlier this month---whew!   It’s a part-time position in the afternoons, so I am still able to get my youngest children off to school, get some chores done around the house before clocking into work, and so far, it hasn’t gotten in the way of my creation time, either. 

Here’s a look at some projects I’ve made this month using hybrid supplies from jessicasprague.com.

Always Card Supplies--(jessicasprague.com)

Everafter Paper Pack & Everafter Elements by Cosmo Cricket

Other supplies used:  Cricut Paper Lace and Lacy Labels cartridges; Tim Holtz embossing folder; embroidery floss with sewing machine.

I Love . . . Forever and Always Layout Supplies (jessicasprague.com)

Design 365 Journaling 1 by Carina Gardner
Artisan Labels #2 by Creativity by Crystal
EZ-PZ Template 6--Fotocentric No.1 by liv.e.designs
Decorative Circles by Splendid Fiins

Other supplies used:  Cuttlebug/Victoria Cuttlebug embossing folder; Cricut/Plantin Schoolbook and Graphically Speaking cartridges; embroidery floss/buttons; pop dots.

iPhone Cozy supplies--jessicasprague.com

(iPhone Cozy Tutorial located at Dog Named Banjo--iPod tutorial)

Design 365 Color Kit 2 & Design 365 Journaling 2 by Carina Gardner
lovely little photo frames by Splendid Fiins

Other Supplies Used:  Fabric Stick, felt, white cotton fabric, button, thread/sewing machine, Velcro.

Camera Strap Makeover Supplies--jessicasprague.com

(Camera strap tutorial located at Make it and Love It)

Material Girl Paper Pack by Cosmo Cricket.

Other Supplies Used:  Fabric stick, black cotton fabric, fusible fleece, black thread, and sewing machine.

Also, don’t forget:  Registration for the NEW hybrid Heidi Swapp/Jessica Sprague class MOUSE, PAPER, SCISSORS is OPEN!

This BETA Class is 20% off!

Happy Hybrid!

Happy Turkey Week!

And what a happy week it is—the kids are off, it’s wet and rainy here, and lots of goodies to play with from jessicasprague.com.  Inspiration really IS everywhere right now. 

Here are some projects I’ve been working on through the month of November.

In the past, I’ve created a few of these cozies for my daughter and friends using traditional fabric following this very fine tutorial from The House on Hill Road blog.  Great tutorial.  This time, I decided to print some Cosmo Cricket Early Bird Candy Candy and Early Bird Paper onto some Fabric Stick.  I then cut out the pattern, attached it to some felt by stitching, and then followed the above tutorial.  This one is for ME!

Early Bird Coffee Cozy Supplies List

Early Bird Candy Candy and Early Bird Paper Pack by Cosmo Cricket at jessicasprague.com.

Other supplies used:  Fabric Stick, red felt sheets, fusible fleece, sewing machine thread, button, and felt flower.  

For the above I got to use the Sentimental Cricut Cartridge with DesignStudio software to design the pattern for the card.  I’m still loving the software.  If you have a Cricut and don’t have the software, trust me, you should get it.

Merry Christmas Card Supplies

Merry Christmas Patterned Paper Pack Kit 1 and  Merry Christmas Element Pack Kit 1 by Echo Park and jessicasprague.com.

Other supplies used:  Cricut Sentimental cartridge; Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls embossing folder; Making Memories Ribbon; snowflake brad, unknown; Embroidery thread and sewing machine

Jackson, CA, doesn’t get much snow—maybe a couple of times each wintery season—but that’s about it.  Last December, the snow actually stuck for about four days.  Two of those days were snow days for the kids from school.  I took the above pictures of our little ones enjoying their winter wonderland—even our pom-chi pup, Dixie, got caught in the action.  You can barely see her next to Gwen making angels in the snow.  I hope it happens again this year.  We also took those few days and decorated the inside of our house for Christmas, made cookies and drank hot chocolate, and just enjoyed the magic of the snow and the spontaneity of it all--TOGETHER.

December Brrrr Layout

Everybody Loves Christmas Element Pack and Everybody Loves Christmas Paper Pack #1 by Echo Park at jessicasprague.com.

Other supplies used:  Cricut Give-A-Hoot & Winter Wonderland Cartridges; CTMH cardstock; buttons/embroidery floss

Do your little ones ever express this giddy emotion from time to time? Well, ALL of mine do.  In fact, it’s part of the genes because I do it, too.  I’m tickled, no giddy, that I captured it finally for at least one of my children.  For the above layout, I included the definition of the word “Giddy” under the chipboard Cricut cut of the word.  I love matching a picture to its definition.

Giddy Layout

jessicasprague.com supplies: 

Daisy Jane Flowers, Daisy Jane Paper Bits, and Daisy Jane Solids by Carina Gardner.

Mask Me Photo Masks and Warm Wuv and Soft Hugs Elements by liv.e designs.

November Collection Journaling Snippets by Creativity by Crystal.

Other supplies:  Cricut Cindy Loo Cartridge; misc. craft buttons and sequins; Making Memories brads; embroidery floss and sewing machine; CTMH bamboo cardstock

I hope that you have had a chance to sign up for Jessica's FREE class, Inspiration Everywhere. Class begins in one week, so spread the word.  Click below for more information.

Black Friday starts the store-wide 20% off sale at jessicasprague.com.  Starting November 26th until December 31st, everything on the site will be 20% off, including self-paced classes. Also, with a $20 purchase during the sale, you will receive a special collaboration kit created just for you by the jessicasprague.com design team at no additional charge.

I hope you all have a loving Thanksgiving with your family and friends.  Here’s to cooking way too much, eating way too much, and spending way too much on Black Friday!  Be SAFE out there.

Jeepers Trick or Treat Felt Bag

I couldn’t help falling in love with The Queen of Quirk’s Jeepers Accent and Paper Packs from jessicasprague.com.  The images are to die for.  It was just the kit I needed this Halloween to inspire me to make a trick or treat bag.  I’ve always wanted to but this was the kit to do it with and I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to make another one.  Gwen has her mind set on this one, Raiden is going to want one, and I think I want one for me, too.  Using Crystal Wilkerson’s Tons of Scallops Template Kit helped me put together a pretty decent design for which to insert the images.  All around, this project was a joy to put together.

I found a pretty easy tutorial to follow online to construct the bag.  I changed things up a bit here and there, like measurements, and using images printed on Fabric Stick instead of the felt shapes.  Also, I like using my pinking shears whenever possible when using felt.   Here’s the link to the tutorial:  kristamaurer.com. 

Jeepers Trick or Treat Felt Bag Supplies

Jeepers Accent Pack and Jeepers Paper Pack by The Queen of Quirk at jessicasprague.com.

Crystal’s Tons of Scallops Template Kit by Creativity by Crystal at jessicasprague.com.

Other Supplies used:  Fabric Stick, Black felt, white felt, black embroidery thread, sewing machine, and pinking shears.

Craft Apron Tutorial

Click the above picture to download the PDF to make this hybrid apron.  To purchase the digital products used in the making of this apron, head on over to jessicasprague.com and/or select the links below:

Templates by Crystal V.01, Creativity by Crystal

Brilliant Paper Pack, The Full Collection; Delicious Sweet Pea Paper Pack, and Delicious Grapetastic Paper Pack by Splendid Fiins

Chalkboard Paper Collection by Kitschy Digitals

Sitting Pretty, The Accents, by The Queen of Quirk

Summerific Labels Element Pack by liv.e

Happy printing/sewing!

Some Digital Card Inspiration and Something that can Travel with You

The above class started today and I’m already inspired—see!

I used Crystal Wilkerson’s You Are Awesome Mini Kit.  Clicking the above picture will take you to the exact item at JessicaSprague.com.

I get a lot of inspiration by visiting blogs and finding new tutorials.  Recently, I was inspired by this lined zippered make-up bag tutorial by FlossieTeacakes' blog and could not wait to try it.  I’ve done quite a few make-up bags in my little time of sewing, but this one was different—see the covered ends to the zipper—in the tutorial?  Well, I tried the tutorial, but I didn’t get it exactly right—I’m thinking my zipper was not exactly 8-inches, which was recommended in the instructions, so I will try it again.  Below is how mine turned out the first time.  Not too shabby.  Also, I put a spin on it.  I printed one of the papers from the The Queen of Quirk’s Sitting Pretty Paper Pack onto Fabric-Stick and used that for my fancy fabric in the tutorial.  I’d been keeping my eye out for a tutorial that would use that particular print.  Clicking the below picture will take you to the exact item at JessicaSprague.com. 

TIP:  When using Fabric-Stick, I like to iron fusible fleece on the back as my interfacing—I love how the finished piece feels.  

This little bag will be going places . . . right into my purse and along for the ride. 

Young and Fancy Free

This layout features photos from Brandi’s spring break trip with Max and Kim to Santa Cruz, CA, this past March.  I thought the Kamari Beach Papers/Elements and A Wonderful Day template would best showcase the pictures.  Also, I just had to get my hands on the Vintage Cameras and Fabric Covered Buttons Kits from Kitschy Digitals.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to be using the date strip from iKari Designs on a regular basis—so versatile.  To give the layout a hybrid touch, I used some pop dots to add a dimensional feel to the vintage cameras.   Also, once I printed the fabric-covered buttons, I applied them to the tops of real buttons and actually stitched them to my layout.  In addition, I pleated a piece of the Kamari Beach papers with my sewing machine and stitched that to my layout as well.

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

Credits:

JessicaSprague.com

The Queen of Quirk--Kamari Beach Paper Pack

In the Making Design--A Wonderful Day Template

Kitschy Digital Designs--Vintage Cameras Kit

& Fabric Covered Buttons

IKari Designs--Save the Date Vol.2--Date Strips

A New, Creative Adventure

Last week, I held my breath, took the plunge, and submitted some projects below to a Creative Team Call put out by the Jessica Sprague (JessicaSprague.com).  If you’ve been scrapbooking for a while and use Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, you probably know the name.  Jessica Sprague has been a leader in the digital and hybrid scrapbooking education for the past few years and is responsible for any success I’ve accomplished in using these two programs to create my projects.  She also writes a monthly column for Creating Keepsakes and special digital scrapbooking issues, which I own all of and will continue to purchase when new ones become available.  These issues have been a constant resource for me over the years.  She also teaches live classes around the country.  Her website features classes, forums, a fun-loving, sharing community, and digital products from brilliant designers that I can’t wait to get my hands on—yes—hands!  I can’t wait to print these papers/elements out and introduce them to my scrapbook room, home, friends, relatives—well you get the picture.  I’m beyond thrilled for my new adventure and hope you come back often to see what I’ve done with these new goodies.

(I used Give-A-Hoot, Street Signs, Winter Woodland Cricut Cartridges, DesignStudio, and the basic black Cricut Pen with Digital Papers to make the above layout.  Also, incorporated my Singer Futura-250 for the embroidery stitches)

(The above is a picture of my new Kindle Case I made to hold the Kindle I got for my birthday—Thanks Kids!.  I used the custom shape tool (the grid) in Photoshop Elements to insert various digital patterned papers, printed it onto Fabric Stick, and used a combination of a couple of tutorials from The Sometimes Crafter and One Pearl Button to help me put it all together.)

(There’s that Fabric Stick again.  I printed a dingbat font (Crowns and Coronets from Fontspace) image on some Fabric Stick and made a pillow; printed the same image on some white cardstock and adhered it to chipboard, cut other chipboard pieces to the same size, covered with black cardstock, which I then binded using a Bind-It-All, to make a photo book for a coffee table; printed the same image again, onto white cardstock, and adhered it to black coasters and sealed it with outdoor modpodge to make coordinating coasters).