Keisha Campbell inspired by Jenni Bowlin

Today's post is brought to you by Keisha Campbell who writes, "I love the way Jenni keeps things so simple-but I still feel like there is so much to take in. Her work is vintage gorgeous, and I have come to really love using her vintage finds on my pages. Especially those old checks & ledger papers!"

My take on Jenni's lovely layout...

Howdy, Dina here with my lift of the talented and sweet Jenni Bowlin. Jenni's work always inspires me...the photos are always the star, and the little details are always so thoughtful. I decided to lift this layout:

Because my photo is landscape instead of portrait, I flipped the design. Here's my take:

Lisa Dickinson inspired by Jenni Bowlin

Sixteen by Jenni Bowlin

There's no doubt Jenni has an elegant, timeless style that's inspired many of us!  I adore the way she can effortlessly combine paint, ink, rub-ons and more in creative and unique ways.  On Jenni's page above, she used the Classic Foam Stamps with Weather Vane Paint Dabber to make little homes for all her page elements. Then she stamped the Cabbage Flower over one, and applied the Receipt Rub-on over another to add lines for her journaling.  And how sweet are the feminine touches of a butterfly and Doily Flower?

Two by Lisa Dickinson

Inspired by Jenni, I took her cue and used a foam stamp with Fountain Pen ink to create three frames.  I topped them with a rub-on butterfly before adhering my photos.  On the bottom half of the page, I used a bold stripe paper from the new Red & Black Extension IV, and topped it with a thin strip of ruler paper and a red chevron ribbon (all of which are included in November's Papercrafting kit!)  As a final touch, I added a label for my journaling and one of the new flash cards from the Vintage Number Set.

If you're inspired by Jenni as much as I am, hop on over to the Mercantile Forum and take a look at all the challenges the design team has issued for ScrapFest!  You've still got time to create a page for these prompts (pages are due Sunday, October 30, at 3 p.m. CST) and be entered to win a $10 gift card to JBS Mercantile.

JBS Mercantile November Peeks

The November Kit features our new Red/Black Extension IV line. Here are samples from Celeste and Betsy featuring the main kit and some bits from the Artisan Add-on.

And here's one from Briana that is mostly from the Project Kit. Looking forward to the big reveal on Halloween night!

Challenges!

We had SO much fun at the crop this weekend, and the fun's not over! Check out our message board for several great challenges like the white space challenge involving this delightful Halloween layout from Megan Klauer and the journaling challenge featuring this "old school" layout from Jill Sprott. All challenges end this Sunday, October 30th at 3:00pm CST.

Check the blog this evening for a peek or two from November's Kit!

Mindy Miller inspired by Jenni Bowlin

When I think of Jenni Bowlin I think of fun vintage touches, great use of white space, and just the right embellishments. Jenni has a way of bringing it all together and making it look effortless.

I thought I would try my hand at combining those design elements to create Halloween cards.

I used the new Weather Vane paint dabber with the Borders 1 foam stamps to create a decorative border along the edge of the card. Then I laced a variety of JBS buttons and embellishments on a piece of fiber and wrapped it around the card.

Here's another take on the same concept.

There's still time to make Halloween cards, so get out your JBS embellishments. Here's a complete list of the supplies I used:

Borders 1 foam stamps

Weather Vane ink dabber

Vintage Halloween chipboard buttons

Mini chipboard stars

Rhinestone decorative brads

Numbered decorative brads

Black doily flowers

Orange vintage sew-on buttons

Happy crafting!

Mindy

Celeste Smith inspired by Jenni Bowlin

Jenni Bowlin is simply amazing. She knows exactly when to stop putting items on her pages and underlying her techniques is a breezy simplicity that I just adore. I loved her layout (above) so much I didn't dare alter it much. 

I converted the page to 8.5x11 and used a journal card instead of the label paper Jenni used. As well, I added stars instead of butterflies. I avoided her ink treatment because I'm notorious for making a huge mess with ink and used a star punch instead. Jenni even inspired me to use my handwriting! I usually type my journaling, but in this case I think it adds personality and warmth to the page.

Becky Novacek inspired by Jenni Bowlin

Hi everyone, Becky here. I have to tell you, I jumped on the chance to lift one of Jenni's projects! I went through her blog and so enjoyed revisiting the beautiful things she has made over the past couple of years. I chose a vintage frame design that she posted on her blog in February of 2010. I converted my idea to a layout, but stayed pretty true to her embellishments around the photo. Instead of a glitter butterfly, I used the new JBS butterfly stamp with JBS weather pane ink. I also included the new alterable alphas and chipboard heart with Speckled Egg Paint Dabber. The tissue flower is made from JBS crepe paper ribbon that I have been hoarding, but I'm happy to say, is still available through the mercantile. Thanks for taking a look today!

Scrapfest Starts Today!

Scrapfest, our online fall crop, begins today! We'll begin posting our challenges this afternoon and will continue posting them throughout the weekend. Our first chat will be tonight at 9pm CST. We'll have a chat each night at this time. There will be "door prizes" at all our chats, awards for our challenge winners, plus our design team will choose one participant to be our December JBS Mercantile Kit Club Guest! We hope you'll join us!

Waleska Neris inspired by Jenni Bowlin

Today we have Waleska Neris inspired by our very own Jenni Bowlin!

On the chipboard piece Waleska combined Jenni's perfect vintage + rub-on mask techniques."
She wasn't sure where she wanted to locate the butterfly rub-on, so she first transfered it to a piece of vellum and was then able to move it around without getting messy :)

Supplies: Rub-Ons - Butterfly Red, Damask Background Silver + Chipboard Die-Cut Book Set- Small + Mini Bingo Cards-Vintage + Doily Flowers - Cream + Decorative Brads - Rhinestone + Die Cut Journaling Cards- Turquoise

Megan Klauer inspired by Jenni Bowlin

As I sat and looked through Jenni's beautiful blog, I was of course inspired by her love of all things vintage. The way she uses old photographs that have long begged to be put on a scrapbook page. Her use of rub-ons and this amazing technique tutorial; which became the starting point of my page.

I began by applying the Transferware Flowers rub-on onto the backside of the Be Our Guest - Tea Towel paper.

I then in true Jenni style added a thin layer of Jenni Bowlin for Ranger Malted Milk Paint Dabber to "vintage" it up a bit. Followed by the paint technique as shown HERE on Jenni's blog.

I trimmed it down a bit and added it to the bottom right hand corner of my page.

I also used the remaining portion of the rub-on and the same technique with the paint and tape on top of an old manilla tag.

Thanks for the inspiration Megan! And we have a layout from Waleska to look forward to tomorrow following this same technique!

Jill Sprott inspired by Jenni Bowlin

All this month, the layouts featured on the JBS Mercantile blog have been, collectively, a homage to a person who has been a driving force in shaping our crafty sensibilities: Jenni Bowlin.

Jenni's page designs often feature asymmetrical balance and a single photo that focuses on family. There is often a central, simple yet bold accent and, at times, the repetition of a few smaller peripheral accents, like a button line, scallops, or row of tiny flowers. Her pages almost always include handwritten journaling, which enhances the homey feel and amplifies the emotional core that exists in every one of her layouts.

Here is my own attempt to pay tribute to the master (while also learning from her in the process):

My layout focuses on a treasured family member, my grandmother. The photo of her hands inspired me to reflect upon all that they have held and done in a single lifetime. Though Jenni's layouts often focus on family faces, this single photo says more about my grandmother than her face does. These hands tell her story.

The "simple yet bold" central accent is a green bow, and the peripheral accents include a row of pearl flowers.

There is usually some kind of vintage element on Jenni's pages, and so I worked in papers and accents that had a vintage feel, pulling a few items from a hodge podge book. There is a reason for the inclusion of the onion packet. It's not just random. My grandmother grew up on Maui, which boasts the sweetest onions in the entire world, and when I was a child, she used to sing me a song in Portuguese about going to the store to buy some onions and coming home to eat them all.

Jenni has a knack for seamlessly incorporating rub-ons, and I tried to follow suit, working in a gold floral rub-on as one of the layers on the page.

The handwritten journaling adds to the power of the words.

Trust Jenni to know what works, every time.

Sunday Star October Sketch Winners!

We are very excited to announce TWO winners from last week's Sunday Star October Sketch Challenge. This first one is Nicolle Kramer with a charming layout of her daughter created with the latest Dime Store Kit. And the second is an awesome two page version of the sketch that Jinny Newlin created with the October JBS Mercantile Kit. Thanks for the inspiration Nicolle and Jinny! Email me at doris.sander@gmail.com and we'll get your $10 gift cards sent your way! :)

Sunday Star - Lift Jenni!

This month the design team is putting the spotlight on our very own Jenni Bowlin by gathering inspiration from her lovely and heartfelt creations. We'd love for you to participate too! Simply cruise through Jenni's blog or her old galleries and find a piece of her art that inspires you. Share your creation with us in our customer gallery along with a link to what inspired you. We'll choose a winner next Sunday, October 23rd and that winner will receive a $10 gift card for JBS Mercantile.

Mid-Month Treats!

Lots of delightful "new" vintage treats on the shelves, but they're going fast!

Briana Johnson Inspired by Jenni Bowlin

Kudos to Doris for coming up with the best blog assignment EVER . . . to make something inspired by Jenni Bowlin! I was so excited to do this! I really took my time and enjoyed looking through Jenni's blog and all of her project kits and posts here on the inspiration blog. She's amazing! I know, we all know, right? : ) Jenni has been one of my absolute most favorite designers for as long as I can remember! When I think of "Jenni Style" I think of a strong design but never heavy looking, confidence in white space, little vintage details, and a bit of shine or sparkle whether it be German foil trim or glitter.

The above layout was inspired by her in many ways. The main way is the patchwork area on the right. It was inspired by this project of Jenni's:

From this post, from August 2010, on her blog. I used a 1" square punch and did the exact same thing but in different proportions. I've always loved the way she cuts up vintage labels and uses them as support in her design, not using the entire piece. Amazing attention to detail, perfect example.

 

So the yellow banner paper on my layout was actually an accident. I intended to do more of a cream on cream look and use the other side but I dropped the paper and it landed on the yellow side and a light went on in my mind. I really thought that brought the attention on and grounded the page well. I try to remind myself that it's okay to use a color not found in the photos at all because it allows the colors that are found in the photo to contrast and stand out against the paper. And since yellow and purple are complementary it worked out well.

Another way this page was inspired by Jenni was the color combo of red and lavender. You can see her page here. So I added just a few hints of red for my third color. The Cabbage Flower (damask) stamp is one of my all time fave stamps so I used it here to create my own patterned paper with Jenni's new Lavender Sachet Ink (thank you, Jenni, for Lavender Sachet, I am IN LOVE). I tried to embrace some white space like Jenni does, and like the picture frame above, with the thick cream border all the way around the page.

The last way I used a Jenni touch on my page was the placement of the star. I got that idea from her page posted here. See all that lovely white space? My chipboard star is covered in vintage cigar box trim.

 

I painted one of the cream doilies with a Lavender Sachet paint dabber. I've really enjoyed having the matching paint and ink (mist too if you want to make it from the re-inker). I layered the doily with a vintage rhinestone button, one of Jenni's chipboard milk cap buttons, a punched and glittered flower shape, then the star.

I had a great time with this! Can you tell? I love this page and I plan to hang it up in my house in a 12 x 12 shadow box frame.  Thanks for stopping in today!

Products used:
Chipboard Stars, Large, 4", and Mini
Mini Papers: Be Our Guest, Trendy (not available but the red pattern in Be Our Guest would work as well)
Cabbage Flower (Damask) Stamp
Ruler Border Stamp
Speckled Egg and Lavender Sachet Ink

Lavender Sachet Paint Dabber

Cream Doilies
Mercantile Exclusive Black Damask Paper
Core'dinations Cardstock: Grandma's Rocker Crosshatch (back side) and Row of Cherries 
Printed Tickets: Punctuation, Name, Baby Girl
Blue Label Stickers
German Foil Medallions Borders in Silver

Banner/Alphabet Stickers Playdate

Chipboard Buttons - Milk Caps

Mini Bingo Cards 

Other vintage items used: cigar box trim, advertising label, dictionary paper, sheet music, heart charm, and vintage buttons