A Walk Down Memory Lane

In Store - Passing It On

If you've been to the store recently, you've seen these cute bottle cap magnets and necklaces. What I love the most about these is that they were made by and are sold by Lisa's daughter. There is something uniquely special about the way crafting brings us together. This past weekend I taught a class at AWDML that was made up completely of mothers and daughters. I went to my first card class when I was in college, because my mom wanted to share the fun with me. It's a special thing to be able to share what you love and pass on the joy of crafting to "the next generation."  Maybe you can find some time to pass it on this week. For me that means not cringing when my 2 yr old and 4 yr old boys want me to get out the glue and glitter.

Monday Manufacturer Highlight - Graphic 45

For this weeks Monday Manufacturer Highlight, I have a layout done by Christy. She did a beautiful job of mixing Graphic 45's A Proper Gentleman line with their On the Boardwalk line to create this great layout. I love that Christy chose to document this part of childhood. Bumps and bruises are just part of growing up, but we often don't think to capture it.

There are some really great details in this layout. Did notice the stitching around the background circles? That was done with a white gel pen, and is an easy way to add detail without having to get out the sewing machine. Finally, I've got to point out how Christy used her number stickers to create a border strip above the title. I always have left over number stickers, and this is a fantastic way to use them up. I can't wait to try it! 

If you can't get enough of all this Graphic 45 goodness, you still have until the end of the month to pick it up at 25% off. Later this week Graphic 45 will also be the focus of a fun jewelry making technique. Happy scrapping!

Newsletter Links

I apologize for this being a bit late, being new to this job there are a few things I'm still figuring out. Here are the links for the 2 most recent e-mail newsletters. If you didn't receive ether of these in your e-mail, just click on the links to read them.

September 7 B&M Newsletter

September 15 Newsletter

For the Love of Photos

I love photos. I'm guessing you do too. It's the reason a lot of us started scrapbooking...it's probably the reason half the scrapbookers I know have professional grade cameras as well. It's amazing how one photo can take you back to that moment when... They evoke emotion, and preserve your memories for generations to come.

I wanted to share these layouts by in store design team member Amy today, because they are all about the photo. I often get bogged down in the placement of my photos, what buttons to use, or finding just the right journaling tag that I get drawn away from the feelings of the photo itself. Not so with these beautiful layouts! I know I'll be stealing...I mean trying my own hand at a few layouts like these with some 8x10's I have laying around. Love those photos!

                                                                                Supply List:

Bella Blvd One Fall Day

Cosmo Cricket Pxie-licous

Core'dinations Card Stock

Jenni Bowlin Butterfly Banner StickersFiskars Scalloped Border Punch

EK Success Large Corner Rounder

Beautiful Bella Book

I dare you not to fall in love with this ridiculously cute paper bag book that Lisa made.

This book is made from 3 paper bags. The openings to the paper bags make pockets in the pages to slip tabs or memorabilia into. There is a diagram at the end of this post that shows how to layer the bags to make the album. I apologize to the maker of the diagram for not giving her credit, I can't seem to figure out who it was.

Lets talk about some of the beautiful products Lisa used on for this book. The paper is all from Bella Blvd's Sunny Happy Skies Collection. This line is full of bright colors and sweet patterns. Remember that Flower Soft I wrote about yesterday? Lisa used it here to outline the cloud that adorable panda is sitting under. There are lots of buttons, brads, twine, and ribbons used in this book too, so it's a great way to use up your embellishment stash (or a good reason to pick up a few more!). Finally, Lisa wasn't afraid to use her border punches to add some extra detail to the layers. I'm so inspired by this album, that I think I'll make 1 or 2 of my own! 

Did you know we have Flower Soft?

That's right! AWDML now carries Flower Soft. In the words of Lisa, "This stuff is just cool!"  It adds texture to flowers, clouds, trees, grass, letters, and just about anything you can think of. The texture and look is different than anything else out there. We carry it in 28 different colors, so you can let your imagination run wild. You're going to love these little pots of colored sprinkles. Here's a card with Flower Soft trees made by Lisa, and check out tomorrows post to see some more uses for Flower Soft.

In Store - Sketches for Scrapbooking and Cardmaking

Here's something fairly new to the store that I just love: Sketches For Scrapbooking. I like sketchbooks for a few reasons: they're great when you get stuck, they can help you complete a page quickly, they're a great place for a bit of inspiration, and they can be a nice way to bring something fresh and new to your scrapbooking. I don't always use sketch books, but when I want to use one, I almost always reach for one of my volumes of Sketches for Scrapbooking. What's especially unique about Sketches for Scrapbooking is that all of the sketches are 2 page layouts that use multiple photos. They also include the measurements for the photos, papers, and some of the embellishments. I especially love that by changing one or 2 small details (i.e. changing the size of the photos, changing papers, and changing embellishments), you can create numerous layouts that look unique, but are from the same sketch. Currently, there are 6 volumes of Sketches for Scrapbooking and one volume of Sketches for Cardmaking. You can check them all out by clicking here.

I made this layout using one of the sketches, patterned paper from Fancy Pants' new Happy Together line, Corrugated Alphas from Jillibean Soup, flowers from Prima, and buttons by Chatterbox, Basic Grey, Jenni Bowlin, and Imaginisce. On the right hand side of the layout I also substituted a train ticket for 2 of the photos. Super fun and easy! 

Monday Manufacture Highlight - Graphic 45 and Stampendous

Today I have another card for you that uses both of this month's featured manufacturers. This card is fairly simple in design, but stamping the image in white ink on a dark patterned paper gives the card a little extra pop. If you've never stamped on patterned paper before, give it a try. It gives your card a different look, and can be a whole lot of fun.

The patterned paper is Graphic 45 Boardwalk She Sells Seashells, Boardwalk High Style Holiday, and Le Romantique Enamored Embrace.  The stamp is Agapanthus Cluster from Stampendous. I also used Fiskars Upper Crest border punch, some Maya Road Satin Pleated Ribbon, and a Jenni Bowlin Button.

Friday Fun - Twine, Twine, and more Twine!

This photo just makes me happy! I love twine. It's great for tying on buttons, making bows, adding a dash of color, closing treat bags, and even stitching with. I'm thrilled that AWDML is adding so much twine in so many beautiful colors to the store. The twine at left is from The Twinery, comes in spools of 240 yards or bundles of 15 yards, and comes in yummy colors like Lemon Drop, Mandarin Orange, and Caribbean Blue. You can also find twine at AWDML by Daisy Bucket, Divine Twine, and Jillibean Soup. So pretty!

An Amazing Project

Every time I walk past this project at the store it makes me drool. Christy really made something jaw dropping. Here's What Christy has to say about her project: 

   "If you haven't seen the Embellished Paper Doily tutorial by Christine Middlecamp then let me highly suggest you check it out.  Amazing, simply amazing!  I immediately fell in love with this project and added it to my ever expanding "to-do" list.  Instead of using a shadow box I picked up a 7-Gypsies Printer Tray to use as my display.  Using an all about "me" concept, I copied some of the doilies Christine did pretty close and others I made all my own.  This was a really fun project and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to snag some more of these Martha Stewart Doilies tomorrow at work, so very awesome!"

If you want to re-create this project with the same paper as Christy, the papers and stitched brads are from Basic Grey's Nook & Pantry Line.