April - Paper Collection of the Month

It's the last day of the month, and I remembered to post my projects.  I think I deserve a round of applause, dontcha think?  ;)

This month, I chose another DCWV Stack.  They are incredibly convenient, super duper cute and easy to find.  These projects are all part of the "La Creme" Collection, a sophisticated black and cream palette.

I chose a LOVE word book by Bo Bunny for this Wedding album:

A combination of silk, prima and fabric flowers combined with black rhinestones and a package of wedding-themed 3d embellishments and turned this blank chipboard album into something classy and elegant.

I also made this 6x6 acrylic album:

And finally, I added a few red Valentine-theme papers to this collection and made the following album, which spells out I {HEART} YOU.  I left out any paper that had the cream color and went more for strict black and white.  Adding a few sheets of inexpensive red papers created an entirely new look!

I'm always happy to answer your questions or hear your comments - so don't be shy!

Thanks for looking and I hope you get some inspiration for your own albums. 
-Erica  :)

March Paper Collection of the Month

For March, I chose to showcase the "Nana's Nursery: Baby Boy" papers by DCWV.  It is readily available and is more versatile than you might think.  :)  I love to use button accents with my baby projects so you'll see lots of them.

But I think my favorite part of this paper line is that, while geared toward boys, if you are selective with the papers, you can even get it to look totally girly!

Use the papers with the purple accents to do just that - you'll be surprised how much it changes the look of your project.

Here are two paper bag albums - from the same paper stack.  One is undoubtedly BOY and one is definitely GIRL - just by selecting a few of the sheets of paper.  Use the purple accents for the girl album and leave purple completely out of the boy album and Voila!  See how easy?

Thanks for looking!

I hate being late!

Okay, so it's March 2nd and I'm just now posting my February projects.  I'd love to have some radical, excellent excuse, but I guess I'm just slacking!  :)

February's Paper Collection of the Month was Wild Saffron by K & Company.

This paper collection is available in a 12x12 paper stack, which is what I used on these projects.  You can see that by limiting the papers used on each project, you can vary the look.  Use just blue, green and one... use all the colors on another one... I still have a pile of papers with just yellow and brown that I plan on turning into an album at some point.  I love that I can get so many projects out of one simple stack of paper - so much fun!

This "Family Photos" album got a sophisticated look from beads and fabric flowers.

For a less formal look, a square album and fun picnic table accents were used in this Summer BBQ album.

A mixed shape album gets a warm feel with soft brown accents inks throughout the pages.  By keeping the color palette limited, a completely new look is created.  The pearl accents contribute to the worn and well-loved look of this "Home Sweet Home" album.

And for fun, this two page layout makes use of the mostly blue paper (for sky) and the mostly green paper (for grass) to give this an outdoorsy vibe.  Flowers and a happy sunshine complete the look.

Thanks for looking, and I'll try to be on time next month!  :)

WISTERIA by Basic Grey: January Paper Collection of the Month

Here are FOUR projects I made using Basic Grey's Wisteria line of paper.  The lilacs and the soft green are just stunning together, and every time I used this paper I had to stop myself from drooling!

You can see how easy it can be to make unique projects, even using the same paper line.  In this case, to give each album it's own look, I varied the album base.  This first album is made of 7 chipboard panels (each measuring 7"x5") that I hand cut from 12x12 chipboard sheets.

It gives a nice work surface if you are new to albums, since each page is the same size. 

If you want more of a challenge, and a completely distinct look, I recommend using this multi-shaped album base by Basic Grey.  It consists of a variety of shaped panels and you can rearrange them to completely customize your album.  Here I added TONS of primas and leaves, along with a stunning beaded butterfly to give the album cover a wow factor.  Do you see the butterfly charm dangling from the top binder ring?

Finally, my fourth project to share is a tabbed acrylic album.  Acrylics are FUN!  I hesitated to try one for so long, but now I can't stop making them!  Half the fun is planning how each page is going to look... you can leave spaces on each page if you want to see the next one through the acrylic.

I have uploaded detailed photos of each project to a Picasa Web Album.  And I do mean DETAILD photos... I think there are 108 photos of these four projects, LOL! Simply click here to be taken to the web album.  Remember that I'm happy to provide you with inspiration and tips, and you may scraplift for your personal use, but please don't copy my work for resale. 

Before you go, be sure to become one of my Followers.  Next month I'll be sharing my projects using Wild Saffron by K&Company, which is another drool-worthy paper line.

Thanks for reading,

Erica  :)

2010!

I am embarassed to say that this is my first post of 2010 - it's already the 20th of January!  I wanted to let you know that I have some great things coming your way this year.  What are they?  Glad you asked!

First of all, I am going to be doing a "Paper Collection of the Month".  I'm one of those paper hoarders that buys everything in bulk!  Very rarely do I buy just a few sheets of a paper line.  That means I use a single paper line for multiple projects... and now I'll be sharing those projects with you all in one place!  I'm hoping you'll be able to take away an idea or two for how to use the same papers in different ways - be it on a mini album, a full 12x12 layout, cards, tags, mat sets, handmade embellishments... the list goes on and on. 

The January Paper Collection of the Month is Wisteria by Basic Grey.  I'll be posting my projects soon, so check back. Future Paper Collections of the Month will include: Nana's Kids Baby Boy by DCWV, Wild Saffron by K&Company, and Classic K Margo - also by K&Company.  And those are just a few!

I'm also hoping to re-organize my scrap area throughout the year, and will be sharing my progress and my organizational tips with you as I go.  And since I also have plans to relocate my scrap space, this could be very interesting (and messy!).  I hope you'll follow me throughout the year as I share these project ideas and tips with you.  Of course, I'll still be posting lots of photos of my eBay projects and custom orders, too.

So, I might be off to a late start, but - HEY - It's still a start!  Here's to the New Year! 

Smiles and Scraps,
Erica