JBS & PDCC..'look down'

Hello, did you join in with the Play Date challenge? What a lovely lot of inspiration from the JBS DT and Ambassadors during the week...I'd like to also share my take on the challenge today..

for the background of this page I firstly added some gesso with a palette knife and once dry placed the exclusive stencil over it and created the pattern using a weather vane paint dabber

I've also used a couple of new stamps on this page including the one below which came in the exclusive 'canning jar' stamp set. I've stamped it out several times onto white paper and then cut it out and added a bit of journaling in one..the white paper makes the journaling stand out and also allowed me to move them around until I was happy with the placement before sticking them down..

How cool are the new flatbacks range? I've used one from the 'icons' set along with a piece of the packaging behind the photo for contrast.. 

the other new release stamp is from the 'dictionary' set and I've just inked up a small amount of the text stamp and pushed it down with my finger rather than using a stamp block..

thanks for stopping by and happy creating!

xox

Collage Challenge from Megan Klauer

Megan Klauer was very much inspired by the collage video that Karen Grunberg did for us last month.  She was so inspired that she challenged herself to incorporate some of Karen's collage techniques on her next layout.  I love the results.  Megan's issued a collage challenge to you all on our message board.  Are you in for a little creative play?

Spawn of True Scrap

Hello Monday! Today I wanted to give all you Jenni Bowlin fans an exclusive sneak peek into my class at Spawn of True Scrap.  It's called Going Off the Grid and features lots of unique and innovative ways to take grid design to the next level.  And there's plenty of fantastic JBS products involved - including this fun page featuring a grid made of circles:

JBS design team member Shimelle Lain is also an instructor at this exciting event. Her class, Go With the Flow, is all about creating flow in your albums.

You can check out the event details at the True Scrap site - hope to see you there!

Mixing Old & New

Do you have a secret stash of old patterned papers that have been overlooked because you're too busy scrapping with the latest and greatest products? I'm guilty of that too, but let's work on changing that today!  One of the best ways to make older papers look fresh and exciting is by mixing them with new papers.  And no one makes that easier than Jenni Bowlin!  Her new releases always mix seamlessly with older JBS products, and it makes the design process simple.

On this page, I've chosen some of the new papers - Jolly Jack and Starry Night from the Halloween line (even though my page is not about the holiday!) and mixed them with old favorites: Blue Die-Cut Label paper, Play Date papers, and a navy polka dot from the Trendy Paper Pack.  Because Jenni keeps her colors consistent through the releases, these papers blend perfectly (and it cuts the time it takes me to select papers in half!)

I used the new Classic Foam Stamps with Cough Syrup dye ink to matte my photos, and the Bunting Stamp to create a colorful border.

For my title,  I mixed the new Alterable Alphas (rubbed with Cough Syrup dye ink) with my all-time favorite JBS alpha stickers (colored in with yellow Sharpie).

And if you're looking for tips on combining patterned paper in your designs, be sure to join me at Ella Publishing's Boot Camp, where I'll be issuing design drills to get your scrap booty in shape!

Happy Scrapping!

Back to School with Stephanie Howell

Stephanie Howell is going back to school with Two Peas in a Bucket! You can read more of her first day adventures HERE. Thanks for the inspiration Stephanie! :)

Soldier Sparkle Shoes by Stephanie Howell

did you know that play date can be used to do a military themed layout?? HA! it can. i am not one to make traditional army pages, and this page proves that.you don't have to use camouflage or red, white and blue on every military themed page.i mixed new and older JBS products on this page. in my opinion, "older" JBS products never look dated!

supplies: papers- play date collection. stickers- cardstock alphabet, tab stickers in black. embellishments- red embellished butterflies, cream cheese pearl flowers, red die cut shapes

Sweetness! Thanks for the inspiration Stephanie!

Curls by Betsy Sammarco

How lucky I am to have nieces that like getting their picture taken! I was originally goingto go digital with this shot, but when I saw this gorgeous Picnic Lunch paper I got the itch to do some handcutting! The Core Impressions background was sanded in areas tohighlight the cut patterns. The Vintage Buttons adhered with Helmar craft glue worked perfectly with the colors in the paper. The sweet Photgrapher’s Mark Banner Stickers are hung on baking twine. Other supplies I used include the pink Embellished Butterfly with the rhinestones replaced with Pearl Flower pieces and some of the same gorgeous patterned paper in mini form!

Can you tell the photo of my sweet niece was printed on textured cardstock? It’s all I had around, but I love the homespun look!

So very darling! Thanks for the inspiration Betsy!

Thirteen by Wilna Furstenberg

It's amazing how fast our kids grow! I know it sounds like a cliche but when you see it before your eyes and feel it in your heart it becomes part of reality. My first born turned 13 on the 26th of July and she invited 4 friends to spend the day with her. It was a special day and this layout is just for her.I want to point out a few points for you to consider when you make your next layout... (not that I know anything! he-he)

1. Try layers. I used layer upon layer upon layer in this layout. I love those little Jenni Bowlin patterned paper squares and adding them together make for an interesting alternative to a solid piece of patterned paper.

2. Tia's dad gave her 13 red roses and using this piece of floral trim is a reminder of the flowers. Using paper/accents to remind us of an event is just as good as journaling about it!

3. Using one of Jenni Bowlin's date cards is such a cool way to remember the month and day. They come in big and small sizes and it perfect to add to layers.

4. I used Helmar's premium craft glue to adhere the trim and Helmar's scrap dots is such a cool product to make things 3 dimensional on your page.

5. I love journaling on a page but with this page all the elements tells such a perfect story that I honestly felt no need to write it too. (apart form the fact that there is no space on the page to journal)

smiles! Wilna


Gorgeous! Thanks for the inspiration Wilna!

Customer Spotlight: Chikotto

Introducing a new monthly feature . . . Customer Spotlight! Each month on the 5th we'll be spotlighting one of YOU! We will be cruising the customer gallery in search of our next winner, so get your layouts loaded!

This month our winner is Chikotto! Be sure to check out her JBS gallery to see all her pretties. Chikotto, please email me at doris.sander@gmail.com with your mailing address and we'll send you a JBS prize package worth $20. :)

P.S. We can't stop creating with the July kit! Check out Jenni and Becky's windows in the design team gallery for more inspiration!

Guest Star Rhonda Bonifay!

I absolutely adore Jenni Bowlin and everything she creates. The Play Date collection is so fun for summer -- I love the bright colors with vintage designs. For this layout I cut out the sun from the die cut label paper and used the blue dots from that same sheet on their own too. The journaling card is tucked in the side of the photo and the buttons and twine are from an older JBS kit.

So stunningly elegant . . . thanks for the inspiration Rhonda!

Guest Star Summer Fullerton!

I really loved all the papers in this collection but I think the multi colored scallop paper really spoke to me the most. I thought it would be a great piece to use with some swimming photos. I played around with it so much trying different things I was only left with a few scraps left over for the actual layout. I pulled the banner idea straight from the photos. I hope you enjoy.

Awesome work with the patterns! Thanks for the inspiration Summer!

Guest Star Kerry Lynn Yeary!

Hi everyone!

I'm Kerry Lynn Yeary, but everyone calls me kL and i live in beautiful Sonoma, California with my husband and our two beautiful children, who we affectionately call "the littles". I am so happy to be able to share some work with you using the newest JBS release. Just like you I am {and have forever been} a lover of everything Jenni Bowlin. Not just because I share a passion with her for everything vintage, but also because Jenni is such a kindred spirit. She has such a wonderful heart and is always so inspiring and supportive to others in the paper arts industry.

You can view more of my work and see snippets into my life on my blog live.craft.learn.

I love making eclectic layouts that include fun vintage embellishments, like on "believer". I also love including pieces from packaging as you can see here with the mini cutouts from the back of the journal card packaging, it's a great way to stretch your supplies and use every piece possible.

for this layout i really wanted a fun feel while making sure that the focus was on the sweet photo of my little riding bikes in our backyard. i love adding stitching to layouts and although my machine decided to fight me a little while sewing the title down i decided to keep it as it adds a funky aspect to the lo, something i always love to incorporate.

i adore the new JBS banner stickers but i'm always trying to figure out how to use things like this in more ways than what they were initially intended for, as you can see here when i used the flags to create a flower motif instead.

this wreath actually came about accidentally as i was using my new slice to create some banner tags for a layout idea i had with the mini playdate paper stack. i had set three banners that i had cut with my slice on the table and walked away for a day and when i came back i saw them in a semi-circle and realized they would make a beautiful paper wreath. i all i needed was to cut some more, mount them on a hand-cut circle base and add the flower buttons and butterflies.

Thanks for the inspiration Kerry Lynn!

Guest Star Celeste Smith!

Awesome! Thanks for the inspiration Celeste!

Guest Star Kayla Aimee Terrell!

I'm a pretty big fan of Jenni Bowlin products in general so when this collection arrived at my doorstep, I was so giddy with excitement I could barely contain myself! Then I had to explain my overzealous behavior to the mailman, who isn't quite accustomed to me gleefully hugging him. Of course, he's normally bringing me bills, so in the end I think he understood.

Here are a few things I did with the Play Date collection. I decided to scrapbook some of our engagement pictures (taken by Shannon Wright - www.shannonseye.net) because they had a fun, playful feel to them and Jeff's shirt matched the bold colors well.

She & Him: I used the full alphabet here and switched the colors out on just our initials. I drew a freehand swirl for the butterfly and outlined it with glue and glitter. I wanted to use the number 22 for our date but the paper just had 24 on it, so I handcut a tiny 2 from another part of the paper and adhered it over the 4.

Engagement: I trimmed each photo and patterned paper to match the size of the JBS tags and then added contrasting elements to each piece. I also trimmed the center out of the bracket paper and some elements out of the JBS tags. I love that there are so many little elements included on the tags that they work well as a whole or divided up into smaller pieces. Glue dots held up the banner and the butterflies are two stickers pressed together, so that their wings are pretty from both sides, and attached with staples so they'll stand up.

Bio: A southern girl through and through, Kayla Aimee likes scrapbooking, Macy's at Christmas time, and really good fitting jeans. By day she is a social media marketing manager but by night she is a blogger and scrapbook teacher at www.littlelightstudio.net. KA's scrapbooking work has been published in several publications including Creating Keepsakes, Memory Makers and Scrapbooks Etc. KA lives in a tiny little town in Georgia with her husband Jeff and their puppy Lucy. You can read about her slightly neurotic life on her blog: http://kaylaaimee.typepad.com

Gorgeous Work! Thanks for the inspiration Kayla Aimee!

Guest Star Jennifer Johner!

"This photo is one of my favourites of my daughter.. and it just so happens that the colours were a perfect match for the Play Date line! Loving the contrast of the feminine butterflies, with the photo of my daughter in the mud lol! I used a combination of butterfly rubons (large red), stickers (small yellow) and punching (medium).. I also took my scissors and cut a border around the remaining punched paper for the outlined looking butterflies."

"Lots of little bits and pieces on this one! Photos are from July 08.. oh how time flies! They both look so little! I also used one of my new favourite techniques.. tone on tone punching and gluing! Love the added dimension."

"One of my favourite parts of playing with these yummy goodies.. all the pops of yellow! Yum! As much as I wanted to use the solid textured cardstock as a background.. I decided to cut into it to spread it across as many layouts as I could! On this one, my favourite part is the thick yellow mat behind the photo.. that texture is so so so yummy!"

"I snapped this pic of my hubby while we were driving one day (with my phone), and as soon as I saw the die cut paper with the sun on it, I knew it was meant for this photo! I ended up cutting a small portion from the large sun, which is great.. because I still have more sun for more layouts! Yes, I love to hoard yummy paper! lol"

Thanks so much for the amazing inspiration Jennifer Johner! :)

Guest Star Waleska Nerris!

I used some mini papers, created a sun with the yellow banners and punched out the circle from the 'bull's eye' journaling card.

It looks super simple but with the embossed cardstock + the patterned papers i didn't want to add anything else and distract from the pictures. I also created a brad with the 'sunny days' paper (see detail shot).

Fabulous! Thanks for the inspiration Waleska!

Guest Star Nicole Harper!

I have been a fan of paper and stickers since the 80s...(only now I fill my stash with old paper things found at antique shows instead of the school supply aisle, lol). I've decided that for me, scrapbooking is about my family's story. Our lives are CRAZY these days, so I do my best to jot down what I can...but am also a huge fan of retelling stories from my past as I remember them using old photos found in my Mom's attic. My daughter Allie and my husband Mike humor me in my quest to get it all down on paper...and I get a kick out of catching either of them smiling while sneaking a peek at a layout I've made about them. (You can read more about our crazy stories at my blog, www.seriouslybrains.blogspot.com).

I collect stuff. old stuff. after coming home from a recent junking trip, i was trying to figure out where to put my latest 'N'...when Allie suggested I should have a pic of myself with one of them. So she told me to choose one while she got my camera out, and this photo was the result, lol. I am in love with the journaling cards for Play Date, so i cut the inside of one of them out to kind of make a frame...and used it to house my title. (I'm a big fan of making 'frames' and filling them with goodies) i have ten thousand sheets of old ledger paper (I can't resist them...I see them, I buy them. End of story. Haha!), so I used one as a base for this page. I LOVE the rub-on butterflies...LOVE. (keep those coming in every color imaginable please, Ms. Jenni!)

Some photos just 'catch you'...this is one of those for me. A subtle reminder of how amazing my daughter is, in every aspect of the word. I used my Slice machine to cut the 'smile' for the title and then stitched inside of it to help it stand out a bit. Mixed a few older JBS products in here, as they seemed to fit perfectly!

You can see more of Nicole's lovely work in her gallery. Thanks for the inspiration Nicole!

Guest Star Chris Dodaj!

"We Love a Photobooth" is displaying some fun pics from a photobooth shoot. I used the textured cardstock with the rub-on butterfly, and one of each of the pp squares for a fun happy background. I used the butterflies to emphasize the colors and the flats to direct you to the photos and the fun circle letters for my title.

For "2 Brothers" I used the die card stock, the round letters and I used the little yellow printed sheets for journaling.

"Brooke" is about my daughter Brooke, at nine months. I adore the flags and reach for them constantly! I accentuated the butterfly by using the red butterfly against the yellow print paper to make it pop. I love how it turned out!!

This birthday card is using my favorite colors together, pink and red. I used the large pink rub-on and a small embellished butterfly for dimension and the red circle letters in two styles for the message.

My name is Chris, I'm 37 married to my best friend Jeno for 11 years and Mama to my two sweet girls, Brenna, 5 and Brooke, 11 months. I've been scrapbooking and making cards since I was married and it became therapy for me after a car accident left me out of work with a brain injury 9 years ago.

Besides scrapbooking, I love to visit estate sales, auctions and thrift shops for fun items. I also love to cook and bake, decorate and organize. When I'm not doing any of the above, you can usually find me and the gang at the beach in the summer. It's my very favorite place to be.

I have a special place for Jenni Bowlin and her products. Last year, we lost our house and everything in it when a tree fell on it during a rain storm. I had to cancel my subscription, and Jenni wished us the best of luck and sent me a kit for free to enjoy. I am still so grateful for that act of kindness.

Thanks for the inspiration Chris!