Christmas Garland #11 by Celeste Smith

To create my banner piece, I simply covered a chipboard star with pieces of Vintage Holidays Christmas Accessory Sheet I had sewn together. Then I added silver garland-like trim to the outside of the star to give it a festive Christmas feel. Instead of punching a hole to thread it along the banner, I made a loop so it will sit a bit higher on the strand.

We are very sad to report that Celeste is leaving the JBS team. We would like to take this opportunity to thank her for all her hard work and brilliant creativity this past year. Thanks Celeste! :)

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!

Arctic Blast by Celeste Smith

The most amazing design element that Jenni has brought to her lines is the consistency of colors she uses in each and every line. This makes mixing new and old product a dream. You'll never have a problem matching reds, oranges or any other colors with older product. I don't know about you but the ability to use up my stash and breathe new life into it just makes me happy!For this page I used the new Halloween line - specifically the Jolly Jack paper (the stripe) then I pulled coordinating colors from that paper. First I added the new Starry Night paper from the same Halloween line. I just love the stars! Next I knew I'd find some red, so I pulled the Red Star label paper from the Town Square line and then my favorite orange paper from the Tangerine Dream line!I found it amusing to use a Halloween line to document the ride my kids were on so I added even more whimsy. I took the name of the ride "Arctic Blast" and made it my title using the new Shadow Alpha Stickers in Vintage/Black. Then I dug into my stash and pulled out a pack of die cut journaling cards and punched snowflakes from them. An unconventional color palette for a snowflake layout indeed!As a final touch, I added ink splatters made from the Fountain Pen, Chili Powder, and Chicken Feed JBS for Ranger re-inkers. Instead of misting them, I used the applicator and flicked them on for a more splattered effect. I've been having a lot of fun with this technique lately!

This month our design team members are sharing their favorite new and classic JBS product with you and we're spotlighting them on our new Design Team Board. Learn some more fun trivia about Celeste HERE.

Stamp + Scissors #3

Another "Stamp + Scissors" entry, this one from Celeste Smith who writes, "Stamping scares me! However, the idea of stamping and then cutting the image out is not as daunting. If you goof up, you can always try it again!"

"I stamped on the butterfly on vintage sheet music and hand cut it out. I used a Fiskars stamp press and was really impressed with how much easier the stamping went!"

Thanks for the inspiration Celeste!

Ad Inspiration . . .

Today's Spring Training workout from Ella Publishing Co. is to stretch your imagination and find inspiration from an ad. We did just that at our last crop with this awesome Starbucks ad that Celeste Smith found and shared with us. Celeste Wrote, "Use what you like - the Polaroid photos, the sketchy font title, the black background...you could even just do a page about your love of Starbucks!"

You can see that Celeste used a dark background and a Polaroid type print on her page. If you need a Polaroid maker, check out the website http://www.poladroid.net/. And now we thought we'd share a few of the inspiring layouts our awesome customers created . . .

From Cendrine Grinand

From Christina Aiton, "I love Starbucks and oh yeah, my DH too!"

From Keri, "I was inspired by the wavy line, the layered photos, the sketchy font, the circle accents, and the little "x"s."

Dime Store YUM! from Celeste Smith

Just can't get enough of the "Tangerine Dream" in the 2nd Quarter Dime Store Kit? We can't either! Here's one more from Celeste Smith who writes, "With all of those inspiring Dime Store kits last week, I couldn't resist the pull of the orange and turquoise. The colors look fabulous with black and white photos. Love these colors on layouts of my boy. A little tilting and a little stitching and a fun layout is born!"

Eons by Celeste Smith

This month we're showcasing our Jenni Bowlin for Ranger products! First up is Celeste Smith with some re-inker mist action. Celeste says,

Anyone who know me knows that I am not a mister. I really don't like messy projects. I gave it a shot though. I used the JBS Ranger Fountain Pen re-inker and put 10 drops of it in a Mini Mister (Ranger) then added water to half fill the mister. Sprayed a couple shots on my cardstock and this is what I ended up with - a fun page documenting this great get together.

I punch a star out of corrugated cardboard (this piece was inside a picture frame) and lightly rubbed the Jenni Bowlin for Ranger Chili Pepper dauber over the corrugation for a striped look.

Thanks for the inspiration Celeste! (She has another sweet "Be Our Guest" layout on her blog).

And don't forget all our great giveaways are open till Friday!

Welcome to the JBS Team! Celeste Smith!

We are very excited to announce that Celeste Smith is joining the JBS team! She brings flawless design skills, fabulous storytelling, and boundless energy. We think she's an amazing addition! This is her very first JBS Mercantile layout . . . from the February kit, of course. She'll have lots more ready for the big reveal at the end of the month. Welcome to the team Celeste!