Details . . .

Becky always has an amazing eye for mixing colors and patterns in her hand-cut titles. This month she threw in a brad for an "O" for added dimension and detail.

I love how Danielle is inspired by product. This month she used the vintage memo paper from the add-on kit as the base for this delightful thank you card.

Wilna is just a master with neutrals. This month she's collaged a variety of neutral elements for her background then add fun whimsical bits on top for a classic Wilna look.

Lining elements up all in a row is a great way to spotlight them and it makes a great design element as well as Ranjini shows us here with a row of brads.

We see lots of homespun elements on Michelle's layouts, like here with the lovely bow, trailng threads, brads in buttonholes, tiny stitches, and always a touch of distressing.

Lisa demonstrates that a touch of Malted Milk Paint Dabber adds a great deal of depth to a white cardstock title.

This is such a sweet look that Kerry Lynn has created here with the layered buttons and brads in the heart shape.

Keisha is the queen of vellum. I think she has single-handedly made it all the rage again. I know I find myself reaching for it more and more often lately.

This is a gorgeous look that Jill is creating each month with her tiny bits on bingo cards in her monthly "Savor" mini-album. This would also be a great trick to try for this months Sunday Star challenge!

The letter stickers in this month's papercrafting kit are perfect for altering. Dina loves to do this with sharpies. It's a fun way to get more variety from your alphas.

Product doesn't have to be left as is. Make it work for your purposes as Celeste has done here by trimming out the boys from one of the number flashcards and popdotting them on this layout about her two sons.

What a lovely vintage feel that Betsy has created here by overlaying the vintage sewing pattern paper over regular patterned paper on her bunting. It gives the paper such a nice faded appeal.

You can also ruffle that same vintage sewing paper as I did here. There are so many creative options with this stuff!

Seasonal Sightings

Snow is in the air for most of the design team! Here are a few seasonal sightings for you from the January Gallery . . .

Ranjini welcomes winter with a lovely vintage stamp collector's sheet that she found in our new Vintage Paper Packs.

Michelle made a gorgeous layout that reminds me of an old barn thanks to her much loved Chilli Powder Dye Stamp Pad.

Charming white cardstock snowflakes falling down Lisa's page . . .

More snowflakes from Doris using a Martha Stewart punch . . .

Still more snowflakes from Doris plus a handcut title from the Vintage Paper Pack . . .

Even more snowflakes from Ranjini using the January Add-on . . .

and Betsy created her snowflakes from that same die-cut paper that Ranjini used.

And if you made resolutions this year but haven't scrapped them yet . . . hers an awesome bit of inspiration from Lisa!

Mercantile Monday . . .

Today we're spotlighting a striking layout from Lisa Dickinson's December Gallery. Using Lemon Drops and Stick Candy Jenni Bowlin for Ranger Paint Dabbers, she created this wonderful plaid background. Delicious!

She says, "Playing around with my Dabbers here! I used the Stick Candy and Lemon Drops to create a freehand sort of plaid background. I did the green first and waited until it was almost dry before using the yellow dabber. Once the background of paint was dry, I topped it with thin strips of patterned paper, hearts, and stitching."

Thanks for the inspiration Lisa!

Tutorial

Today I have a few tips for making a background similar to this one. First off, when your December Papercrafting Kit arrives, don't throw away the product packaging from the Studio Calico Pinwheels. The plastic circles make an excellent paint stamp!

I started out by applying some gesso as a foundation for my design area. Next I opened up my Soap Powder Paint Dabber, used my fingers to spread the paint over the plastic circles, then carefully stamped them across the bottom of my gessoed area. The circles stood out a little more than I wanted them to, so I added a little gesso over them. Of course, I was too impatient to wait until the paint had dried, so it smudged a little, but I like the messy look. :)

Next I used Fountain Pen Re-inker to make a mist. I put 10 drops in my Mini-Mister and then filled it halfway with tap water. Once again I was impatient and misted before the gesso was completely dry. This resulted in a more blended look in the wet patches. Cool!

I did wait till everything was dry to do my embellishing and journaling. Oh! and I am pleased to report that I finally used one of our new ink pads, Fountain Pen again, for actual stamping. Two thumbs way up! I had so much fun playing with inky painty mediums on this one. You should give it a try!

Scraptastic!

We're almost to the end of another month. Have you had much time to scrap? Are you nearing the end of a kit? Looking for ideas to get one more project completed before the next happy box arrives? This month we had some super scrappy scrap tips from our designers using paper strips and paper hearts. Take a look . . .

I always save any and all paper strip edges until I'm 100% sure I'm done with a kit and this is the reason. Becky has made all the random bits look so nice mixed together. And notice how punched, pinked, and torn edges just add to the charm.

How is this for a clever idea for stretching your resources? The exclusive die cut houses were ever so popular. I know I am tempted to hoard mine. Jill has used hers as a template to make more of the little cuties. Just trace and cut one out out of scrap paper then layer some of your leftover scrap bits over it. Sweet!

Punches are always perfect for scrappy leftovers. This month Danielle made a delightfully homespun look with heart punches.

And look! Betsy took it a step further and punched hearts from the trash heap! These hearts were punched from the backing of the Prima alphabet! I love it!

The kits this month are perfect for Christmas! If you're looking for Christmas card ideas, check the galleries of Wilna, Ranjini, and Danielle.

Jenni made a sweet Christmas mini-album that would make a perfect grandparent gift.

There were also lots of festive layouts including these by by Kerry Lynn . . .

Dina . . .

Danielle . . .

and Betsy.

This one is from a Red/Black Extension release from a Christmas past, but it's a fun idea for using patterned paper to make snowflakes. Simply fold, trim, and unfold . . . just like you did when you were a kid!

Introducing our double the inspiration theme is Mercantile Monday. Each Monday we'll walk through the gallery again, looking for new inspiration that we can learn from. Today we're going to focus on the details that make each layout shine.

Here is a peek at Wilna's gallery that will go live tomorrow night with the gallery updates. This gorgeous creature was treated to some artistic brilliance with Wilna's glue gun and some glitter.

The beauty of the red and black color scheme in this month's kit is that it is so easy to add another color or two to make it suite your scrapping needs. Here Doris added some orange medallions punched from cardstock from her stash and green label stickers from the project kit for a perfect fall themed layout.

Ranjini pulled in some extra detail with these charming little tags floating on button twine bows.
Lisa has been doing such brilliant things with the stencils lately. This month she did a little misting and outlining with the full sized stencil from the add-on kit.

Keisha decided to shake up her style just a bit. I love the result. The funky look of the split butterfly suites her style setting daughters so well.

What a great look Kerry Lynn achieved with circle punches. She just layered two varying sizes to make a great scalloped border. A little birdie also told me that there would be a mini tutorial on making her fabulous gathered ribbon trim too.

The silver rub-on butterfly is truly a classic. I love seeing the unique approaches our designers come up with for it. Jill's signature stitching is no exception.

The vintage style sew-on buttons are fast becoming another of our classic pieces. And again I am amazed by their versatility. Here dina simply set a half inch punched circle inside and painted over it with glossy accents for a great custom look.

Danielle is so brilliant with the layering. The snowflake/flower/button combo was fabulous, but then she added the baker's twine. Brilliant.

Did you notice how popular the flowers made from the velvet trim were? Just run some floss along the edge in a basting stitch and then pull it tight and tie it off to make a little gathered flowers.

I am always so in love with Becky's eclectic paper combinations. These butterflies are no exception. Some are punched from journaling cards and some from mini papers. The butterfly punch is Fiskars. I need it.

We hope you've found some new inspiraton that you may have missed the first time around. Be sure to share your work in the customer gallery. We'd love to see it!