Photo Expressions

Die cut ornaments

via www.bhg.com

Use your diecuts and glitter ritz to create a stunning ornament

Holiday ornament idea

via www.bhg.com

Another ornament idea - punch out snowflakes or other shapes and glue them to an ornament, add some ribbon and done!

Inexpensive Gift Ideas for Christmas

via debbiedesigns.typepad.com

Just Rite is doing a blog hop with easy last minute gift ideas. What a great way to use your Just Rite Stampers (still a few left at PE), clear paint tins (at PE) and Spellbinder dies (at PE also) to create personal inexpensive gifts. Great for Teacher gifts, mailman gifts, hostess gifts, neighbour gifts etc. Instructions here on Debbiedesigns blog.

Mantel Magic for the Holidays

via www.bhg.com

Saw this on BHG. This would be so cute using the snowflake die cuts in our Accucut center. You could cut them from the sparkly glitter paper, or chipboard and paper to make a pretty, inexpensive decoration for your home. Instructions here. Take this idea also and do the same things with a mitten die, or Christmas tree die etc etc.

Flower Soft is in the house!

 
Flower Soft is the most exciting and versatile craft product for years. It can make fantastic realistic miniature flowers and plants in minutes, which can then be used to decorate your cards, scrap pages, presents, pictures, eggs, dolls houses and much more. Not only does it create flowers but is also creates a floral effect on text, borders and designs. 

This stuff is sooooo cool.  Come in and see the samples.  And you can use it for much more than flowers.

 Take a moment to look through the ideas and projects sections to find amazing new ways to use your Flower Soft ™.

http://www.flower-soft.co.uk/Ideas/Idea-Gallery.php

http://www.flower-soft.co.uk/Projects/Projects.php

Here are a few examples of what you can do 

Easy as One, Two, Three!

Here are some great ideas for super simple layouts that you can finish in a flash!

This super sweet paper from TPC Studios is the perfect background for a one page wonder! All you need to do is add a couple of matted photos, a title using whatever stickers or QK dies you have in your stash, and a bit of journaling using a white gel pen. Voilà - the page is done!

          

How about this pre-made double page layout from Little Yellow Bicycle?

 

 

I simply added 4 photos, a title and some journaling. Anyone can do it! This layout is available in both boy and girl colours.

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We have oodles of die cut papers in the store from a variety of companies, in lots of different shapes and colours. These papers make stunning, yet simple layouts that can be assembled and finished within a matter of minutes! All you need is a coordinating colour of 12x12 cardstock for the background, stickers or die cut pieces for the title, a photo or two, and a pen to do your journaling. Seriously, who couldn't do that?! We even have dies in our die cut centre that will cut your patterned paper or cardstock into fabulous 12x12 shapes....

   

 

 
Simply cut out the shape of your choice....

....mount it on a piece of 12x12 cardstock....

 

...and add your photos, title and journaling...

 

Scrapbooking has never been so easy!  

Stay tuned for more ideas on fast and fabulous layouts tomorrow!

Page Commitment with Michele. Win $100

Summer is here, and with it a more relaxed schedule. Even though summer is very busy with activities, it is still important to make time to scrapbook.  To help you, I am "challenging" you to join me in making a commitment to get one double page layout per week of summer done.

This means that every week this summer, you will sit down and create a layout. (If you know you are going away one week, then create 2 layouts the week before.) The layout doesn't have to be fancy, and if you preplan your pages, shouldn't take more than about an hour. (Of course if you want to do it fancier, that is great too).

What this means is that by the end of summer (Labour Day), you will have at least 10 layouts created.  (If you do more that is awesome! 10 is the minimum). Challenge one of your friends to join you, and maybe even get together every week to create the layout, making it a social event too. (Complete with lemonade and watermelon!)

Once you have completed your "Commitment Sheet" (available at the PE demo bar) and have 10 PE staff signatures on it, enter it to win a $100 Prize basket. There is a maximum of 3 weeks initialed in any one visit. (To allow for holidays, but to also ensure that you don't wait until the end of summer and stress out over getting 10 layouts done in one week!)

If you are one of our out of town friends, you can still participate, by emailing us a scan/photo of your layout each week to scrapbooking@photoexpressions.ca. We will keep a commitment sheet on hand for you to initial off on, and we can email you a copy also for you to keep track with.

Please don't "cheat" yourself, and submit layouts you have previously done.  Use this challenge to create some more layouts that will be cherished for many years to come and to get another story told. There is space on your Commitment card to write down some ideas for layouts each week so you can preplan what supplies and photos you need.

FAQ (actually the answers) Yes, you can do two single page layouts instead of a double page layout. Yes you can use a kit or PTM Kit, or class layout, or predone type layout like Bisous - but it isn't finished until you have photos AND journaling on it! Yes, you can do 2 or 3 layouts in one week if you miss a week. Yes, you can create way more layouts once you get your groove going. Yes the layout can be simple or fancy - it just has to have photos and journaling. The answers are pretty much yes, as this is for YOU to help YOU get something done!

And yes, you can still participate even if you don't want to bring it in and show us.  Mark down each week which layout you got done to keep on track.  You'll never regret time you spent creating such a precious keepsake.

Michele

Great Layout with Basic Grey Wisteria

For a complete supply list and full instructions, visit here.

'Ahesive Woes' with Karen

Many of you have heard us say how important it is to use acid free products when you are scrapbooking. I have learned this lesson the hard way and I wanted all of you to see what can happen when you aren't careful with your supplies. When I was starting out with scrapbooking, I knew the importance of using acid free supplies, but I cringed at the price of adhesives. Someone at another scrapbooking store (not PE) told my Mom that she bought all her adhesives from the dollar store around the corner, and that they were just as good as what they were selling. I was thrilled! The package even said that it was acid free. I proceeded to use the tape on several layouts from my daughters first two years of life. Those layouts got tucked away and forgotten about until just a few months ago when I started to flip through their scrapbooks to reminisce. Imagine my horror when I saw this!

All of the layouts that I used that dollar store tape on are damaged. That so-called acid free tape most certainly wasn't. The tape is quite literally eating through my paper and photos. You can see in this sample that the paper has become translucent anywhere that it is touching the tape. I am heartbroken over this because this layout is one of my favourites and I can never reproduce it. The paper and embellishments are several years old, so I will never be able to get my hands on more of it. This layout isn't even all that old. I would have scrapbooked these photos less than three years ago. What I want to get across to you by showing you these pictures, is that you have to be very cautious with the scrapbooking supplies that you find in a dollar store. I know that we're all trying to be careful with our money these days, but scrimping on adhesives is not the way to do it. You will only end up with heartache later on.

Karen

May Page Maps

Here is the link for Becky Fleck's May Page Maps and a few examples:

By Kristi Bergin-Smith

By Megan Klauer

Pick a sketch and go create a layout!

Get Something Done

A similar struggle that everyone has with scrapbooking is just "starting" - once you start, the page goes together naturally.  It is that "starting". Scraplifting is perfectly legal (as long as you are not entering a contest) and is a great starting point. Grab a layout you like, or grab a sketch book, pick a layout and just start.  Often, your finished layout looks nothing like the original by the time you are finished.  And if it does look similar, that is great too. It is done!

I highly highly recommend taking my FREE Getting It Done class. (It runs monthly at a different time each month, the next one is April 27th.)  It goes over a lot of the very silly pressures we place on ourselves (there is lots of giggling and nodding of heads in class as everyone recognizes themselves) that aren't necessary, and how to create a "kit" in 5 minutes or less, so that when you sit down to scrapbook, you are actually scrapbooking within a few minutes, not staring at your supplies for 2 hours. At the start of the class, most people look at me as if to say "there is no way I can pick out all my supplies in 5 minutes", and yet every single person does it! (Of course I have the whip out, so you have no choice! lol just kidding.)You will also find a great selection of "Getting It Done Kits" in the store.  They include patterned paper, matching cardstock and various embellishments so that you can quickly start scrapbooking. And they save you money too! 10-15% off the price of buying everything separately and we've done the co-ordinating for you.

But seriously, you could spend 2 hours finding the PERFECT shade of blue, but it doesn't matter when the shade of blue you found in the first 2 minutes looks great.  The 2 hour "perfection" time, is the time you should be actually creating the layout(s), not looking for something "more perfect". No one is going to look at your album and say "why didn't you use pink on that layout?" or "why didn't you cut this picture into a circle?" or "how come your layout isn't piled with stuff?".  They are going to look at your photos, and be interested in the story you wrote to go with them. That is it! Sure, they will notice that your page looks pretty and is more interesting to look at than a pile of photos, but they aren't going to notice the stuff, they are going to notice the "done"!

Remember, those who look at our pages, don't care what company the paper is from or what technique you used, they do care about your photos and your story. Period. So just get something done. Simple, easy, and done!

I used to put waaaaay too much pressure on myself to make my pages perfect.  I finally let go of that silly pressure a few years ago, and I have created waaay more pages.  I keep it pretty simple and love the results. Using my "kit" method, means when I do find time to sit down and scrapbook, I get lots done. 

So join me in the movement to "release the perfection gene", and enjoy the process of "getting something done"! This weekend, set an egg timer for 5 minutes.  Grab a set of photos and from your stash, pull out cardstock, patterned paper and a few embellishments that look good with the photos.  Once the timer goes off, STOP! No more looking, what you have in front of you, is what you use. Now grab a sketch book and your basic supplies and create a simple layout. Within 30-60 minutes you will have a done layout including your journaling. Now breathe and smile and pat yourself on the back that you have one more memory done. Repeat as necessary ;) Trust me, it feels great.

Then post about your results and how this works for you.

Michele

Cute little Easter Basket to weave

This cute little basket was in my newsletter from Cornish Heritage Farms and they have given us permission to link to their tips and tricks.  This one is by Lisa Silver

Admit it... you always wanted to sign up for that basket weaving class in college and never did. Today's technique outlines how you can create the simplest weaved basket ever with minimal supplies

Consider making these for teachers, neighbors and just about anyone that could use a smile.

See here for instructions and photos

Copic Marker Tutorial

For a great intro video, check this one out.

For something more advanced, take a look at this faux fur technique!

Easter Card Ideas

Jo has designed these FABULOUS Easter cards using a Pebbles 4x6 Creative Pad and a bit of Stickles and bling. She cut a 3/4" strip off the long end of the pad, giving her several sheets measuring 4x51/4" - the perfect size to decorate the front of a card. She then had a whole bunch of 3/4" strips of patterned paper, plus all the cardstock stickers included in the Creative Pad, to embellish her cards. And voilà!! Her cards were done in no time at all.

This is a fabulous way to get a bunch of cards done in a short period of time, whether it's for a seasonal celebration such as Easter, or perhaps a gift for your child's teacher, or maybe you're expecting a baby and need to make a bunch of thank you cards. Whatever the reason, we have the Pebbles' Creative Pads in many different colour sets and themes to meet your needs.

  

  

 

Drop by soon to see the demo boards and let us show you the versatility of Pebbles Creative Pads.

Precious layout with Basic Grey Porcelain

Here is a Precious layout using the new line of Porcelain from Basic Grey.  Instructions and supplies needed are below. You can come in for a printed colour copy of the instructions, FREE with purchase of Porcelain.