One Sentence Journaling . . .

"every now and then the camera still catches a glimpse of the baby you used to be and my heart gives a little flutter."

Doris here, and I just have to say how much I love today's challenge from Ella Publishing's Spring Training: Create a layout featuring single-sentence journaling. I can do this! In fact, I think many of my favorite layouts are ones with a picture that has captured my emotions and that one thought that takes hold of my heart. These layouts can be whimsical, poignant, or thought provoking. One sentence journaling . . . do try this challenge. One sentence can speak volumes.

"he who has the hose holds the power."

"you cannot resist puddles and i cannot resist you."

"life is in the details."

Spring Training with Ella Publishing!

We are so very excited to be sponsoring Ella Publishing's Spring Training over the next two weeks! Today's workout from Wendy Smedley is amazing! So amazing, that a few of our design team members were motivated to get in the game! You can join in too! Head on over for Day 1 and learn to stretch your style! Did I mention prizes?

Today's challenge is to "Share a layout that shows off your signature style!" Shimelle Laine shares one hot off the press! She says, "My style elements that are shown there are: a love of colour (with a u. colour is better with a u.)... 4x6 photos - my favourite size, and i often use just one or two on a page... the kind of layering that happens by just looking for gaps on the page and then things to fill the gaps. i could work for hours on filling little spots of pages and then leave the rest quite open with a patterned paper... a mix of handwritten journaling and a wordy title. i love long titles and lots of letter stickers.

Danielle Flanders asks, "How about a card? (We say YES!) I think my style is on the feminine side and a little bit shabby. I love to add layers of interesting details and use products in a unique way!"

Jill Sprott writes, "Although I think of style as something organic, shifting and changing as we shift and change, I do notice that there are some telltale elements that have been present in my style for years:-- Bright colors mixed with neutrals. I definitely prefer colors that pop, but I also tend to go for neutral backgrounds so that I can have a bit more freedom when adding bolder colors to a page. -- Bits and pieces. Scissors in hand, I hunt for "telling" bits and pieces to add to my layouts. I especially love cutting patterns and journaling cards into smaller pieces and finding homes for them on a layout, working them into the layers. "Gatherings" of bits and pieces also tend to show up often on my pages. -- Sewing. A page never feels finished to me unless it includes some form of stitching.-- Painterly touches. Paint and mist always add that extra oomph and equal parts loveliness and funk to patterns and accents. -- Motifs. There is always some kind of repeated pattern or idea on my layouts. It's the English major in me, no doubt; I'm always working with a metaphor, a symbol, or a central theme."

From Lisa Dickinson, "My scrapping style is simple, using a minimum of products, but I don't want it to look plain or boring. So I like to throw in something unexpected or just a bit messy to keep things visually interesting. Sometimes it's as simple as tilting the photos in a very linear design, or adhering the title letters a bit askew. Sometimes it's a spray of mist on the background. And sometimes, as with this layout, it's all these things! This layout is very "me" because on the surface it's simple (a grid of squares) but take a second look and you'll see there's plenty of interesting elements in the details."

Stephanie Howell shares, "This layout is my style for several reasons. It has a black and white photo, handwritten journaling, soft and feminine accents (pearls,tulle,flowers)...but most of all it's an emotional, from the heart kind of a page. or as my friend Jill told me..."soul scrapping". That's kind of my niche and it makes me happiest when i make pages like this one!"

Repurposed Washboard by Betsy Sammarco

Try repurposing a vintage washboard into a memo or inspiration board!

First, you'll want to find your washboard. The washboard needs to have a metal washing surface. Some washing surfaces were glass and some reproductions are plastic. You’ll need the metal surface for the magnets to work.

I found a washboard with a nice header on it. Since my board will be used in the sunniest room of our house, it was perfect!

Here's what I did to customize my washboard:

1. Make a removable butterfly topper:

Cover a JBS Butterfly Chipboard piece with JBS patterned paper. I added a piece of Sunburst chipboard to add to the "sunny" theme. The butterfly's body is made of various buttons.

The butterfly's antenna is a Rhinestone Bow Embellishment turned upside down:

Magnets are glued onto the back of the butterfly with Helmar's Professional Acid Free Glue.

By adding magnets to the butterfly topper, it can now be removed or changed around as needed.

2. Make the decorative magnets:

The magnets are Chipboard buttons, Vintage Sew-On buttons, and other embellishments layered on top of each other and glued with the Helmar glue.

The Helmar glue holds the magnets quite well and you can take the button magnets on and off without worry.

3. Use your new memo/inspiration board! Mine is hanging in my scrapbook area holding bits and pieces of inspiration!

JBS Mercantiel May Peek!

Here is one little peek at May's kit from Doris Sander. Do you follow us on Twitter or Facebook? We'll be updating you on those sites this week as our designers share more peeks. The May Kit and Gallery go live this Saturday at midnight! Looking forward to it!

Easter Decor with Bridgette Truong

Hi Everyone! Bridgette Truong here and I'm back with another Shadowbox layout! (you can see my October one HERE and December one HERE.

I decided to do things a bit different this time and use all the mini bingo cards from a pack, instead of just one in the center. There aren't any pictures of it hanging in the shadowbox with cute easter accents on the shelf below because we just moved a few months ago and I have yet to hang a few things up.
I have to admit that this shadow box was a bit difficult to do, as I am not the best at mixing. I took the 'baby girl' print from a mini paper pack and inked it with the chewing gum ink so you wouldn't focus on the fact that it said 'baby girl'. LOL I used a butterfly die and punch to make some butterflies. I topped the larger butterfly with a yellow butterfly sticker and folded the wings up to make it dimensional. Now, I know a frog seems a bit odd for an easter shadow box, but my oldest son adores frogs, and there isn't a store I have gone in to that hasn't had a stuffed frog with bunny ears in their easter stuff. So frogs are spring-y. For the frog, I used a light green cardstock inked with stick candy to make it stand out a bit more from the grass underneath.

I used a punch and cream cardstock from this pack for the basket and eggs, and inked the eggs with chewing gum, soap powder, and lemon drop. I added a few mini butterflies, and also used my butterfly punch to punch out one from a yellow banner sticker. I used a variety of banner stickers on baker's twine for the "Happy Easter" and the rhinestone bows to finish them off. I have to say, I think this is my favorite one yet. Thanks for having me!

Happy Easter everyone! and thanks for the inspiration Bridgette!

Vintage Easter Decor from Becky Novacek

Here is a little vintage Easter inspiration from Becky Novacek. We hope you are all having a lovely holiday weekend with friends and family.

Jill Sprott and the Dime Store Kit

Hi all!  It's Jill here, happy to be sharing yet another Dime Store kit creation with you.

I just can't get over the amazing colors in this kit.  The turquoise and vermilion really POP alongside each other, don't they?  This complementary color scheme is a favorite of mine, and this layout is the proof!

In the spirit of all that "pops" deliciously, this layout features a favorite restaurant of ours, Cholo's, which is on the North Shore of Oahu.  The colors in the kit remind me of the flavors we experience there when we indulge in salsa, cheese enchiladas, fried rice, and refried beans.  Yummy!

The page makes use of simple layers -- cards over cards, stickers over stickers, and a banner over a banner.  Since everything in the kit already works perfectly together, the page itself really came together in no time at all!

I added an extra punch to the red chipboard buttons by misting over them.  I just love how the brocade pattern still peeks through.   

I will definitely be going back for a second helping of this kit!