Peekaboo!

More sneaks on Jenni's blog . . . and you'll be able to see it all in a couple more hours on the site!

It Just Keeps Getting Better and Better!!!

Lisa Dickinson . . . aka BlueStarDesign . . . is joining the JBS team!!!

The May gallery is going to be smokin' I tell ya!!!

April Micro Mini

Another little project from the April Kit. I can't seem to stop creating with it. I'll have to take a break soon though since the May Kit is almost ready!
Don't forget to share your April Kit creations with us. There's still time to enter this month's contest. See details HERE.

Building Blocks For Creative Storytelling

Jenni says - "My products are indeed, merely building blocks. I designed them with the truly creative spirit in mind - to be interpreted in different ways by different people. Simple enough as not to overwhelm the novicee, but with a creative edge that inspires the most seasoned scrapbooker. I believe there is something for everyone in the line."

Doris says - "Thanks for inspiring me over and over and over again Jenni!"

A Little Birdie Told Me . . .

. . . that "Front Porch" was the cutest JBS release she'd ever seen. Now that I've seen it myself, I have to agree. Can't wait to show you more! Stay tuned . . .

Treasures Waiting to be Discovered

Don't you love the excitement of opening a gift that you know is going to be just fabulous? That's how I feel right now about the new JBS spring release. Did you see the teeny tiny peek on Jenni's blog? It looks totally yummy! I can't wait to see MORE!

In the meantime, here's a little treat for you. A giftbox made with lots of fun goodies from the last JBS release. Enjoy!

And don't forget to work on your entry for our April contest this weekend!

Gypsy Girls

Have you seen the gorgeous gypsy book Ranjini made with the April project kit?

She said, "I used some of my own papers combined with some of the papers Jenni provided, the seam binding from the kit and the seven gypsies numeral cards. I used some Seven Gypsies "Gypsy" Stickers combined with some vintage gypsy images as well. You probably know I have all those vintage images and I have been wanting to make a "Gypsy" book for awhile!"You can find the project in its entirety on her blog along with the vintage gypsy images if you'd like to download them and make the project yourself.

Thanks for all the inspiration Ranjini!

April Design Team Favorites . . .

Did you catch Rita's fantabulous projects in the gallery this month? I just adore how she used the rainbows and sunshine on this one! April was filled to the brim with delights. I polled the design team to find out what their favorites were and this is what they had to say . . .

Rita: I'd have to say my favorite kit items were all the brightly colored FP Whimsy papers. I'm a huge fan of bright fun colors, so these just really popped for me!

Jenni: I love the tiny letter stickers. I keep pulling different colors in on different kits. They are just the perfect size and the blue-green color this month was to die for!

Michelle: I would definitely have to say my favorite product of the kit was a two way tie...the patterned paper because I could use my xacto (one of myfave things to do) and the Kaiser Pearls. I just love the dimension that the pearls give a layout.

Keisha: I have to say that I loved the die cut flowers!! They were funky & cute...great to layer with!! But it's really hard to pick one!!

Ranjini: Favorite kit item is a toughie. I loved so many things - the polka dot diecut paper of course, but then I also loved the crystal glass-like brads. Hmmmmmm I think, though, if I have to decide, my very favorite was the blue flower shaped buttons. Something rather small, but so utterly charming!

Doris: I was charmed by the rainbow rub-on. It added a delightful touch of whimsy.

What was your favorite?

April Questions Answered . . .

Niella asked: I'd love to know what cardstock Keisha loves to use:-) And what inspired her colour combinations in her gallery?

Keisha answered: For the Kit projects I used the cardstock that was included in the kit...except for the 8x11 lo-I used some white Bazzill. I really love Bazzill, especially the 'orange peel' texture. I have tons of 'orange peel' Bazzill . I also love the swiss dot, washboard, and smooth!

I took the color schemes from the kit. I love the brightness & fun papers. I don't use orange very much, so it was a nice change for me. It worked so nicely with the turquoise/teal papers in the kit.Judy asked: How does Michelle get those curly edges? I can't seem to get them to look like hers.

Michelle answered: If you are talking of the curling edges of the paper, I am a BIG fan of distressing and will use any tool imagineable to get my paper and and embellishments to look 'worn'. One of my favorite tools to use is the Basic Grey Presicion File set. It has numerous sizes of files to distress small and large areas. Another favorite tool of mine to use has absolutely nothing to do with anything scrapbook related. I use a serrated steak knife. I know a little uncoventional but it gives me the best results of distressing. I run the serrraed side along the edges of the paper and then use my fingernail to turn up the edges that have been distressed. It does take a lot of practice and and lot of trial and error, but I don't know now if I could scrap without my steak knife ;-)

Judy also asked: Also, Doris sewed a lot and I wondered if she goes through all layers (cardstock and patterned paper). I am just now pulling out my old Singer to keep up with you all.

Doris answered: I do indeed sew through all the paper layers; sometimes I even sew through chipboard or foam. I try to remember to go slowly and use wide stitches when sewing through thicker elements. The most important sewing lesson I have learned (the hard way) is the sewing machine does NOT like to sew through adhesive. Try to adhere elements where you will NOT be stitching.
Annonymous asked: how does one become a guest designer? who chooses the things to go into a kit?

The answer: Jenni and the design team are always on the lookout in magazines and online galleries for inspiring designers to help showcase the kits each month. Jenni herself hand-selects the kit pieces each month and usually starts her search with an inspiring color scheme such as the lovely orange and teal with a hint of green that she brought to you this month.

She said YES!

We are very excited to announce that Keisha Campbell is joining Jenni Bowlin Studio! Now we can look forward to her elegant touch in the gallery every month! It's just so exciting! Did I say that already?

Here's a little more about her:

Hello, I am Keisha! I am lucky to be able to scrap whenever I have the inspiration! Good thing I have two great girls who are my muses. A husband who pops up from time to time on my pages-guys just aren't as fun for me!! I love to do girly pages with flowers & sparkly things. I love being a designer for Making Memories. And I have been very lucky to have also done work for various other companies & online sites. We just moved back to the states after living in Beijing China for that past 4 years. My Fave lo was the one of Mikiela with the big orange flower! I love the cool soft colors. I liked how simple I kept it, and the sparks of bling. I was so excited how great the big layered orange flower turned out with the big crystal button in the center. And I loved the big stapled parenthesis...I was determined to use that parenthesis on one of my lo's! And this page was very last minute, I thought it was too plain at first. Then I just fell in love with it once I added the embellishments!!

I took this photo of Mikiela during her Spring Break and love it. It's so sweet & spring-y! Love her in the background out of focus about to pop a grape in her mouth. Love the spring flowers, the bit of lemons and the big pink flower in her hair!!

You can read more from Keisha on her blog: A Bit East

On a side note: Check out the April 16th post for details on this month's contest. Also be sure to post any questions you might have about this month's kit for our designers on the April 15th post; we'll be answering those Monday.

April Contest!

Here's a colorful April contribution from Michelle McCord.

What about you?
Are you scrapping this weekend?
Would you like to see your layout and name here?
Then enter our April JBS contest!
Simply scrap with the JBS April kit(s).
Post your project online somewhere.
Put a link to it in the comment section of this post by May 5th.
Prize is the May Add-on.
We can't wait to see your creations!

April Q & A

Have you been by the April gallery yet? It's fully loaded now and totally stunning! Keisha Campbell is our guest this month and she adds an extra bit of elegance for sure.

Once you've had a chance to look the gallery over, feel free to let me know if you have any questions. I know sometimes I look at a layout and think, "How'd she do that?" or "What was her inspiration?" Leave any questions you might have in the comment section here and I'll try my best to track down the answers!

Lots of Very Important Information:

First off I wanted to let you all know that I have fixed the commenting section here again today. I think it really works now. You should be able to post and post annonymously if you'd like. Please email me if you're still having trouble and I'll see what else I can do.Now for the fun stuff! Our first JBS Inspiration monthly winner is Angie Backen! Love the dreamy quality of this layout. Angie has an incredible eye for detail; those little clouds and birdies totally charmed me. Congratulations Angie! Email me with your address so I can send your prize!

April kits are in the mail! This is one of Ranjini's delightful creations with it. I can't wait to get the rest posted Sunday night. They are all amazing! And remember . . . we'll be having a contest again this month! Be sure and get your April kit so you can enter! I'll post more details later this weekend. Stay tuned . . .

April Kits Coming Soon!

This one has me wanting to do some spring planting!