Stephanie Howell inspired by Jenni Bowlin

This month the design team is taking inspiration from Jenni Bowlin. Here are Stephanie Howell's thoughts and creativity . . .


It was an honor (not to mention so much FUN) to do a layout inspired by Jenni. Jenni has inspired me for years and years...she is a big reason I fell in love with scrapbooking.

My layout isn't based on a specific layout Jenni has done, just on her overall style.

The handwritten journaling, layered rubons and stamps, and strip of patterned paper (cut with pinking shears) are all a nod to jenni's style.

I am so grateful for Jenni and all of the inspiration she has provided . Not to mention the kindness, encouragement, friendship and love that she's shown me. Thanks so much for this opportunity!!

Shimelle Laine inspired by Jenni Bowlin

This month the design team is getting inspired by Jenni Bowlin! Here is Shimelle Laine's lovely contribution.
Take inspiration from Miss Jenni herself? That literally flooded my mind with ideas - I love Jenni's creative vintage style. But I knew pretty quickly I specifically wanted to take inspiration from something older, because I loved Jenni's pages from the moment they started to appear in magazines and such... and one thing I respect about Jenni so much is how her pages are timeless. The pages she created several years ago are just as beautiful now and have dated from trends and fashion.

I decided to take my inspiration from the second layout in this post: jennibowlin.blogspot.com/2006/06/june-gallery-and-other-s...because it illustrates something I've always loved about Jenni's style - how she plays with proportion and space to create pages with something unexpected but not overwhelming. I loved the large photo, the staples, the addition of little things right on top of the image. So I started with those ideas and away I went. A layout of my own with a big photo stapled to the background, stars and butterflies and writing right on top of the picture. I love how it looks in my album - it's a great change of pace but by picking my favourite motifs, it stays true to my style and fits the flow of all the pages in the book.
All supplies by JBS aside from kraft cardstock (American Crafts).Alterable Alphas - ledgerMemo book - orange (star sticker)Apothecary stickers - red (star border, star sticker)Border cardstock sticker - red (pinked border)Butterfly Banner stickers - yellowMini Chalkboard Alpha stickers - blackDotted label stickers - red and blackname/date stamp

JBS Mercantile October Gallery Updates!

Lots of lovely additions to our October gallery. Check it out!

The October Gazette is hot off the press!

We've just finished up this month's newsletter and it's packed full of inspiration from the JBS design team. This printable pdf is the perfect accompaniment to your October Mercantile kit, so download your copy now!

Sunday Star Sketch Challenge

We're back with our Sunday Star Challenges! This week is a sketch challenge from our September JBS Mercantile Gazette brought to you by Betsy Sammarco.

Betsy's sketch is based on a layout from the August Gallery by Mindy Miller.

We even have a bonus two page version to share!

We'd love to see what you do with it. Post your creations based on the one or two page version of the sketch in our gallery and label it "Sunday Star October Sketch." We'll choose a winner next Sunday, October 16th. The winner will receive a $10 gift card for JBS Mercantile!

JBS Mercantile October Guest Kim Jeffress!

Hi everyone, my name is Kim Jeffress and I live in beautiful sunny Brisbane Australia. I am a former kindergarten teacher now SAHM to two boys aged 5 and 2, they are my inspiration for my scrapbooking.I have been scrapping for approx 8 years and just recently I have been lucky enough to have been chosen to join the DTs for Basic Grey, Core'dinations cardstock and Hambly studios. I am also honoured to be on the Creative Team for Australian Scrapbooking Memories magazine. I am completely honoured to be Guest designing for Jenni Bowlin studios this month.

My favourite project for October has to CHILLIN . It is of my youngest son when he was about 8 months old. He was such a content baby just happy to sit and watch what was happening around him. It brings back such joyful memories for me.

My favourite thing in my studio is my inspiration board , it is filled with memories- a photo of my sister and I , my mums broach and some sweet vintage findings, I keep it at eye level on my shelf so I can look at it often.

My favourite photo right now is of my oldest dressed up as an astronaut for his kindy book week parade, he is totally obsessed with Space!!!

Thanks for the inspiration Kim! You can look forward to more of Kim's creations tomorrow when gallery updates for the October Kits are posted.

Halloween Mini-Album by Doris Sander

How about a fun little Halloween Mini-Album? This one is super simple, super easy, and super fun with a super short supply list. Happy Halloween Scrapping!

Supplies: Chipboard Circle Mini-album, Vintage Holidays Halloween Mini-Paper and Accesory Sheet, Orange/Black Shadow Alpha Stickers, Black Doily Flowers, Orange Pearl Buttons, Black Charms, small silver jump rings.