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!

OMG!

So I just checked in over at "All Scrapbook Steals - The Blog" and discovered that I'm the winner of their monthly giveaway for March!  I'm freaking out!  I got goosebumps when I saw my name and I'm smiling from ear to ear.  So I'm saying a great big THANK YOU to the gals over there for having such fabulous, fabulous, FABULOUS giveaways each month.  I'm a big My Mind's Eye fan and this month's giveaway is chock full of MME product, not to mention a Cropodile Big Bite!!! WOWSERS!

I'll be sure to post a link to their April giveaway when it becomes available so you, too, can have a chance to be as excited as I am right now!

Hugs to All Scrapbook Steals,
Erica

March Giveaway at ALL SCRAPBOOK STEALS - THE BLOG

If you love contests and freebies, go check out the ALL SCRAPBOOK STEALS blog right now!  Get your entry in before the March 11th drawing to win a whole smorgasborg of fabulous scrapbook supplies by My Minds Eye, Making Memories and We R Memories.

Be sure to read over the rules while you are there, entries must be in by Midnight PST on March 10th.  Good luck!

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!  :)

Who Wrote the Book of Love?

I don't know who wrote the book of love, but this month I'm the one who made the book!  Here is a look at 3 love-themed albums I created this month.

This first one is an 8x8 paper bag album.  Chock full of pull-out tags, these albums are super fun to make because they are so interactive.  I think my favorite part is filling the pockets!

I also made this 6x6 tabbed acrylic album.  I just adore how this album came out.  The colors are so fun and it's somewhere in between elegant and funky!  This album is currently for sale in my etsy store.

And finally, I created this chipboard album.  The album base is by Bo Bunny and it spells out "I {HEART} YOU in cascading chipboard panels.  This is also currently for sale in my etsy store.

Thanks for checking out my love albums!  I'll be posting my February Paper Collection of the Month projects soon so be sure to check back for some great crafting ideas!

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