Let's Play Mashup: In Bloom + Sweet Escape

Happy Wednesday! Lex here to show off the versatility and fun of mashing up two of Kristin's kits: Sweet Escape and a more recent release, In Bloom:

I love love LOVE the neutrals in both kits and thought they'd work well mixed together. So I used papers from Sweet Escape and added a few of the kit's leafy elements as well. Then for pops of color I went with In Bloom's gorgeous flowers (seriously, nothing beats Kristin's flowers!).

Actually, the more I think about it, I totally believe doing the opposite would also work--using the warm palette of In Bloom's papers and then keeping most of the neutral-colored elements. I should try that myself! :)

Anyhow, I hope I was able to show how awesomely versatile Kristin's kits can be mixed together, even if they have differing color palettes and moods. Happy scrapping! :)

Raindrops Keep Falling

But we are so happy that they do! Looking for a happy, playing in the rain kit? Here's Kristin's latest, Raindrops Keep Falling, and it is adorable!

Rainy days don't have to get you down..and this kit proves it! A sweet little rainy kit from Kristin will keep your memories happy and dry as you create tons of gorgeous pages. Lots of patterned and solid papers come in a rich palette of blue, turquoise, yellow, red and green and feature patterns like rainbows, umbrellas, stripes and flowers. The array of happy elements includes clouds and raindrops, a rainbow, a musical staff, an umbrella, word art tags, flowers, a postage stamp frame, hearts, scatters, a full alpha and more. So relax, grab a moment to scrap and just remember, even when “raindrops keep falling” the sun can still shine!

Take a look at some of the gorgeous layouts done by the creative team.

by Glynis

by Sarah

by Laura

by Shannon

by Jacinda

by Stephanie

Get to the store today to pick up Raindrops Keep Falling on Saturday and you'll get it on sale! Have good clean, wet fun this summer!

Friday Sneak Peek!

Happy Friday, friends! Lex here bringing you the funnest (oh yeah, I'm claiming that word) sneakie peekie of a new KCB kit:

Have you ever seen such a cheerful palette for a rain-themed kit? Definitely makes me feel like splashing about in a puddle or two! :)

In the spotlight - KCB Gallery Standouts

Hello digi fans! Happy longest day of the year for the northern hemisphere! I hope that you get to spend some of that time doing exactly what you love, whether it'd be just spending time with your family or getting some layouts done that you've been wanting to do for a while. :)

I'm Yari and speaking of layouts, today I am bringing you a little chunk of Kristin's awesome gallery at the Sweet Shoppe of some of the most awesome layouts I have found that are NOT made by us members of her creative team or by a babe. So, here it goes... images are linked if you want to leave them some love. :)

First up is My Mr. Fix-it by jessica31876: I love the simplicity of this layout. I tend to put a lot of embellishments on my pages but when I see something like this that focuses on the photo so well and the journaling, I just love it. simply beautiful. The graph background paper is perfect and the man in the picture looks very manly too haha. Great layout!

Next up is Italië 2011 by Leontine78: What a fantastic 2-page spread! I love the pop of color from all the flowers and foliage and the photos are all so beautiful and perfect! Great fun and really love it. I have a thing for 2-page layouts that are done so well like this one so thumbs up! The choice of kit (Tropical Hideaway) is a perfect choice also for these wonderful vacation photos. I swear I don't think that kit will ever go out of style, it is so gorgeous!

Next is So Sweet by SirScrapalot: Such a cutie! Just look at that main picture! That little grin and those dimples. Really cute picture and I think that the message that he was trying to portray was successfully done since he used a sweets/bakery kit from Kristin (Bake Me a Cake) to show off his little girl's sweetness. Really awesome layout and I love his use of ribbons especially and his use of embellishments.

Next up is 10 things by brooke22: Oh oh oh so very darling! You make any layout about you loving being a mom, and you got me. Motherhood is so special to me and I love the feeling that is portrayed, sensed in this layout just by looking at it, the love that she feels for her children. Very inspirational and sweet. I also love the colors that she pulled from the kit (A Bushel and A Peck) and her photos are stunning. Nothing is more beautiful to me than to see a mama with her children. :)

 

And finally, here's one that just blew my socks right off, Mallory & Reagan by farrijc: OK, can you think of any better kit for these photos than Kristin's Boho Chic kit?! No! Of course not. I look at this layout and I think perfection. I see all of the photos she was able to use on there and just how gorgeous those little girls are, and then how the outfits perfectly match the kit, and then, and then, well you get the point. I just absolutely love it!

Well there you have it! I hope you enjoyed looking at some of the gorgeousness some of Kristin's customers are able to do with her amazing kits! Because she rocks it every time with her designs, I know that you too will rock your layouts as you use her awesome designs. Keep having fun and keep scrapping! :)

Hybrid: Strawberry Notepad & Pen

A few weeks back I helped host a baby shower for a dear friend. I was in charge of games, so I decided to create a quick, easy, and inexpensive gift to use for the prizes.

I just LOVE Kristin's A Bushel and a Peck kit! The color palette is one of my favorites, and the papers are so unbelievably yummy!



This kit was the perfect choice for a sweet summer gift. I got the note pads in a package of 10 from an office supply store. I don't remember the exact cost, as they've been in my stash for a while now, but I know they weren't very expensive. The pen is a Pentel RSVP, but any pen that will allow you to remove the end and place a piece of paper inside will work.



I measured my notepad and then created a canvas in Photoshop that was an inch longer than the front so I would have extra paper to wrap around the top and back part of the notepad. I added a few papers and then selected a few elements from the kit to embellish the front. I could have printed these out separately, but since I was pressed for time, I chose to add shadows instead to provide some visual dimension to
the front.



I measured the barrel of my pen and created a canvas that was 3/4" wide and the height of the barrel. I added a matching stripe paper to that canvas.

I printed everything out onto matte presentation paper and then cut the pieces down to size using a Fiskars paper trimmer. I removed the pen end, rolled up the strip of paper, and placed it inside the barrel. I replaced the end of the pen. I added a couple of strips of red line tape to the top and top back of the notepad, and then placed the red portion of the printed cover on top of the tape.

I picked out some red ribbon and tied it around as a way to attach the pen to the notepad for giving.

It was a very quick little project and took me about 15 minutes from design time to completion. It's a great little gift for anyone!

Bake me a Cake!

It's FRIDAY!!!

TGIF!!! Seriously it has been a long week! I can't wait to show you a peek of Kristin's new kit set to release tomorrow!!!

Patty Cake, Patty Cake
Baker's Man....

As Fast as you can!!!!

Don'f forget to check out the Sneak Peek thread at SSD for some gorgeous Layouts made with this wonderful kit! And remember 20% off this New Release on Saturday!!!

Inspiration: Words words words

Hi everyone, Lex here :) Likely you've seen a gadzillion "inspired by" Pinterest blog posts--I have to admit that by far it is my favorite time-suck. For a change, I thought I'd share some pins from a pinboard of mine that's filled with words. I'm a freelance writer by trade, and words have always fascinated me. One of the best things I've ever done this year was get back into reading regularly. Devouring new books and escaping into the words of another is a joy unlike any other (much like how I'd describe digiscrapping!)

And George Gordon Byron said it best when he quipped, "Words are things, and a small drop of ink, falling like dew, upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps, millions, think." So here are a few words that made me think and marvel :)

... and this last one is particularly beautiful to me because a few weeks ago, I'd just come home after getting disappointing news about a medical condition I have. I was crying, I was furious, and I was hurting so much. Then I read this--and cried harder. But it allowed me to find peace and to, in the words of Tim Gunn, "carry on." :)

What words have helped you, shaped you, and inspired you?

Source: all pins from this board

Quick Teacher Appreciation Gifts

Hi everyone. As school comes to a close very soon, I thought that I'd help you out with some ideas for teacher's gifts that you can make. So here's a list of some tutorials and ideas I found today while checking out Pinterest:

Kisses in a bottle:

Glass marble magnets

Straw toppers with lemonade packets:

And for any of these projects you could use this kit for your printable Teacher's Gifts:

Let's Make a List!

Hey Everyone! Crystal here to talk to you about journaling a little bit and give you some fun ideas! One of my favorite things to see pages about are lists. I just love them and there are so many ways you can scrap them. Often times when talking about journaling, people tell me that they don't exactly how to start or what POV to scrap from. When you are doing a list page those issues are almost resolved. Once you decide what kind of list to do you know from whose point of view to scrap from. Say you are doing a list of your childs favorite things...you could easily just do the page from the child's POV if you like to mix that up on your scrapbook pages. When I journal I just tell everything my POV. I am the one doing the pages and it's just easier for me. I decided to just stick with that so I didn't have to decide on each page I did.

Today I decided to make a list as an element on my page instead of as my main journaling. Having it as an element on my page allowed me to elaborate on the list a bit in my journaling. Here's what I came up with:


Kristin and Jenn's Take Note kit was perfect for what I had in mind with this listy page.


Some other ideas for list type page are--(I am linking a few to kits that I think work well with the theme)--

• current favorite things of you or your children, spouse, etc.
• things to do
• resolutions
• hopes and dreams
  
• shopping lists
• "reasons why I love you"
• things to remember
• important moments in time
  
• instructions on how to do something
• wish lists
• baby names
• "honey do" lists
  

The possibilities are totally endless and KCB has some gorgeous products to do some fab listy pages with...like THIS ONE for books and THIS ONE for movies. I hope you are inspired to go scrap a list! If you do please link me up so I can see it!!!

I'm looking for a Tropical Hideaway!

Happy Friday! I'm typing up this post during the third day we've been having steady, drizzling rain. It's the perfect bed weather and totally heralds the rainy season in our part of the world. So I'm crazy envious that in other parts, people are relaxing on chaise lounges sipping pinacoladas or even worse, digging their toes in the toasty sand of a beach.

So to make myself feel better, I thought I'd highlight one gorgeous, summery kit from Kristin :D Tropical Hideaway is perfect for any summer getaway or even a sweet staycation with his bold color palette and fun, detailed embellishments.

Here are some fun layouts I found in the gallery with this gorgeous kit:

summer samba by adrianka

splash by purple_colourz

captured moments by leontine

tranquil getaway by rochelle789

and this uber-cool two-pager, mountain hike by suladesign

Hope you were inspired as well to get to summer-related activities, whether it's planning that once-a-year getaway or relaxing right by the pool tomorrow. As for myself, I think I'll be treating myself to a mani-pedi and will maybe try a bright, ocean-blue hue for my toes :) 

Father's Day Gift Ideas!

It seems like just last week I was complaining about it being super-cold outside, and now we're in the high 90s in north Texas. I can't believe it's JUNE already! School is out, and already I don't know what day it is unless I consult my phone or computer!

Father's Day is a mere ten days away, so I thought I would highlight some fun and unique gift ideas for the dads in your life.

Kristin has this great 12-page album in the shoppe! Have your kids answer some of the journaling questions for a unique gift Dad's sure to treasure.



If you're feeling particularly adventurous, you can put together an album using one of Kristin's fabulous masculine kits. Mr. Fix It is a fantastic choice!



I also really like My Wish for Him. It has a great masculine palette and is full of elements that are perfect for a Daddy album.



Looking to give something other than a digi-scrap gift? If you live in an area with a paint your own pottery place, you could put your child's fingerprints or handprints onto a tile square or coffee mug or plate. One year we purchased digital photo frames for all of the dads in our family and loaded photos onto the frames. You could go a step further and add digital layouts to the frames. One friend is photographing her son with the letters D and A and then putting the three photos into a frame that has three openings to spell out DAD.

Here are some other ideas I found while browsing Pinterest!

I love this stamped washer keychain tutorial.



On the more labor-intensive side, check out this fabulous Altoid-tin-turned-mini-tool-box! How cute would this be as a mini-album container?



I thought these stainless steel collar stays from Red Envelope were pretty cool.



And finally, this gel transfer puzzle would be a clever gift.



There were many, MANY more ideas out there. These were some of my favorites! What are you getting the dads in your life for Father's Day this year?

What inspires you?

I recently came across a thread at SSD that was about pinterest. I have never heard of it before then but clicked on one of the links to see what it was all about, and let me tell you I was hooked!!! For those of you who don't know what it is...probably not many of you LOL!...it is a site FULL of inspirational things from decorating ideas, favorite quotes, photography poses, color pallets, recipes, you name it, its there!! I spent hours looking through some of the boards! And today I got an invitation to join!! I have been pinning all night LOL! But now I am curious...what inspires you? Not only creatively but in life, in thought?

For those of you who would also like to check out Pinterest here is a link!

Look at this gorgeous color pallet!!

Summer Journaling Prompts

Summer always seems to be a time when we spend lots of time outdoors with family and friends, or just relaxing by the pool with a good book but for some reason we don't scrapbook those fun summer memories as much as we do in the winter. So on this lazy Sunday I thought that I'd provide you with some summer journaling prompts to help give you a little bit of a mojo kick so that you actually scrapbook those summer activities, or scrapbook about your own summertime relaxation.

Why not scrapbook that family picnic by interviewing everyone and asking them what their favourite picnic food is? Take a picture of it and scrap it!

Got a favourite weekend activity? Why is it your favourite? How often do you do it?

Do you have a summer project that you are procrastinating on? Why? What are you doing instead?

What's your favourite summer outfit?

What's on your summer reading list?

Those are just a few summer journaling prompts to help you get started. Want some more prompts that will help you earn Kristin's new products at a discount? Then check out the Sweet Shoppe Designs Scrapper's Portfolio, where you get a monthly list of prompts and you earn points toward discounts the following month. June's just started, so why not get in on this and if you haven't picked it up yet, you could get A Bushel and A Peck at a discount in July!

So get scrapping and save twice....save those memories and save on great new products!