october crafted kit - diy fabric heirloom pumpkins

Inspired by the dusky, cool tones of heirloom pumpkins , these pumpkins will add the perfect touch of whimsy to your mantel or shelf this year. And, I have to admit, they were pretty fun to make.

The October crafted kit comes with everything you need to create these three stuffed fabric pumpkins.

The kit also comes with complete instructions including full color photos for each step! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

~ Leah

june jbs mercantile kits still available in limited quantity

Hello, everyone! I wanted to stop by for a minute today and let you know that there are just a few June Mercantile kits still available! Its the perfect kit for scrapbooking summer fun - from roadtrips, to time at the beach, in the backyard, or pool.

Or even a favorite summertime activity?

Be sure to take a moment to check it out! I can't wait to gather the leftover bits that I have to create my project life spreads for the summer, too!

~ leah

summer scrapbooking - look to the horizon

I really, really enjoyed working with the June kits this month! I felt like everything was very versatile and pretty. (Always a good thing!) Even this particular paper - the one that I used for the background was perfect for beach photos, even though at first glance it looks like something for a road trip.

I love that we're celebrating summer this month. Our summers are always crazy - filled with birthdays, tons of pool time, and of course, trips to the beach. Hope you're enjoying yours!

~ Leah 

getting messy in the studio with ink bubbles

I had so much fun stepping into the studio space with our boys to play around a bit and make this piece. It reminded me of some of the fun things I did when I was in grade school - and also took me to a place where I was having fun and experimenting with my artwork - something that I've been working on doing in the classes I'm taking. I also added a bit of free motion stitching on top of the bubbles, but ended up covering all but just a bit of that with my layout pieces...

Here's how we made the bubbles:

Add water and concentrated ink (reinker for ink pads) or paint to a plate, and then add just a drop of dish detergent.

Using a straw, blow bubbles until you get a whole pile of them.

Once you have a whole bunch, gently lay your paper on top. It may take a few tries to get the right amount of ink bubbles on your paper.

Either allow your paper to dry on it's own, or apply a heat gun to dry out the ink.

This created a random, soft and subtle background for my layout piece. If you use paint, the effect will be must stronger...

I then added my random free motion stitching on top of my ink bubbles.

I finished by adding my embellishments on top...

Have fun getting messy!

~ Leah

collecting inspiration

I'm loving the newest goods from Jenni Bowlin Studio this season. I've put together something really simple today featuring a bunch of the lovely wood veneer pieces, flatbacks, rubons, and triangle sequins! One of the biggest projects for a class I'm currently taking is learning to see and collect inspiration from the world all around you. It's been a very eye opening, and lovely experience. I have to say, it really makes you think a bit more about the world all around you that you pass by all the time - sometimes without even seeing.

new year, new life

There's something about the new year that always prompts thoughts of fresh starts. Lots of people make resolutions, and we try to turn our thoughts to the things we're aspiring to accomplish in the coming months... I'm taking on all kinds of new things, including a series of teaching posts for women wanting to start a handmade business.

{inspiration for the OLW January challenge}

One of the big projects that I'm taking on this year is starting Project Life. I'm planning to add lots of mixed media touches, and use my monthly JBS Mercantile kits and my stash to supplement the basic midnight card kit that I bought.

I'm just loving the January kits with all of the fun touches of "radiant orchid". I think there's something magical and hopeful about the color purple. It came slowly and took me by surprise, but I'm definitely loving it now!

What fun projects are you pursuing this year?

~ Leah

a holiday hotel key holder

I finally had a moment to update my hotel key holder this morning for the holidays! Yay! If you've been following along on my personal blog, I posted a mood board for my holiday projects this year, and I'm really happy with how everything has come together.

I love this hotel key holder - it hangs in our dining room and is easy to update for the seasons  with little bits and projects...

I loved the German foil pieces in the December mini album kit - they were such a great touch for the board!

Happy Holidays! 

~ Leah

an album to express my gratitude

As I sat down to create this journal, I was struck by how grateful I am that I have the opportunity to work with companies (and people!) like Jenni Bowlin that embrace the style of my work, and what I love! It makes creating such an enjoyable process, and I'm thankful.

I'm just sharing a simple mini album today that I created using the naked chipboard album - a place to add a couple of photos, and a few words to express the things that I'm most grateful for this year. I haven't added the photos, yet - but you can see where I penciled notes to myself on where I'm planning to add them.

Bits of burlap, felt and gold merge for beautiful texture on this project.

And feathers. Sigh. I still love them.

I couldn't resist adding little bits of foil accents from past Mercantile kits...

Happy creating!

~ Leah

November project kit - thankful

Before I dive into my planning for documenting my December {I just had to toss that in since the album kits and projects are everywhere}, I wanted to spend some time thinking about the things that I'm thankful for.

As I pulled together items for the November project kit, I thought about my favorite colors of autumn - yellow, orange, red, blues for the sky and just a little pop of pink.

Probably the biggest thing that I'm thankful for is our family. We had to opportunity to have our photos taken by former design team member Megan Klauer this summer, so I've included a quite a few of those in this little album. You can definitely customize the album to document the things that you're thankful for!

The kit also features exclusive printable journaling cards and and elements that I sketched and watercolored.

I'm thankful for brothers who are also best friends. Even though they fight!

I'm so thankful that we can be silly together. As a homeschool mom, a lot of my time with our boys is spent in a disciplined, structured atmosphere. I love that we can still take moments and be silly together.

Who isn't thankful for ice cream. And moments to celebrate accomplishments.

Moments together.

Thankful for a partner in life who is also a friend and awesome dad to our boys.

And I love this photo highlighting the chalkboard style flair buttons in the kit - they're hard to get a good photo of when they're together with the lighter elements on the pages:

Happy Monday! I hope this inspires you to journal the things that you're grateful for and to stop by and check out the November project kit! ^_^

~ Leah

carve pumpkins

Pumpkin carving pretty much tops our list of favorite activities  for autumn as a family - yes, we set aside a Saturday in October when we grab pumpkins (either from a local farm or grocer) and carve them together as a family. Time goes into choosing a personal design, and as the years pass, we have to help the boys less and less.

It's always fun to see their creativity shine through when we're finished!

I have loved this Halloween collection from Jenni for so long, it was amazing to have the opportunity to work with it this year! The navy blue is the perfect compliment to the bright orange, and by adding just a few neutral sheets from the Haven and Modern Mercantile collections, my page just pops with that dark photo... A few touches of orange ink to the alterable alphas and remember this sticker, and I just love how this came out.

Do you have any traditions surrounding autumn activities or pumpkin carving?

Spotlight On: August Project Kit

I absolutely adored Tina's project kit for August - and even if you're not in need of a small mini to document your summer fun, the supplies were perfect to create layouts with as well! You see those rectangular pieces that make up my photo mat for this layout? They are actually covered pages from the mini album! The only thing I added was a stick and embroidery floss from my stash...

We travel back and forth to see family in the Midwest several times a year, and we always have to grab a few photos in Chatanooga, Tennessee. It's a 24 hour drive, so the "are we there yet?" sign, is a perfect addition to this layout...

More documenting our road trip fun. It's always a bit chaotic, so I felt the random goods on the page were fitting!

Hope you're inspired to create something fun with the kit! Even if it's not the gorgeous mini album that Tina put together!

P.S.  Leah designed the September Mini-album Kit (which contains exclusive flair badges designed by her as well).  Only ONE left in stock at the last check!  It is awesome!  and inspiring!

P.S.S. Don't forget our September Customer Appreciation special!  Members get 20% off orders!