Have you seen Scoot?

Seriously cute stuff - the "Scoot" collection by Echo Park Paper.  Just CLICK HERE to see the full collection.

I had a few gorgeous photos of my good friend, Tammy's, son and they were perfect for the cute boy elements in this collection. Check out the little truck stickers! I love the blue in this collection, if you know me, you know I am always looking for a REAL blue and this collection has a great blue. My favorite of the papers is the argyle, ok maybe the dots papers because they are so fun too.... well check it all out and pick your faves.  I keep thinking of how well it will work with my Disney pages as well.

Here is a little peek at the layout. So, pop over to Echo Park Paper HERE to see the full 2 page layout with Free step by step instructions.

New View and an Echo Park Bloghop winner!

First I have to share a super cool layout with a photo of my son in his new glasses. He looks so great that I had to snap a photo. I used the new Love Story collection by Echo Park Paper because the colors and embellishments were just perfect. Yes, it is a love themed collection and I LOVE his new glasses :) and just look at this adorable chipboard camera! The hearts and arrows worked out great too.

I chose a kraft background using Kraft Cardstock from Carta Bella and added some black paint splatters. I also cut a tiny pair of glasses from a scrap of cardstock.

Today's question, have you ever used a holiday themed layout for non holiday layouts? if your answer is no, you just have to give it a go.

 

 

 

Now for the exciting part!!! My random winner of the January Echo Park Paper Design Team Blog Hop is...... KATE BLUE!!! Congrats to Kate! Please send me your mailing address and choice of collection kits at sstring@earthlink.net

  kate blue said...
glad you switched it up too & showed the versatility.. I personally can't make cards so I so appreciate those who say they can't do 50 of the same card :) Very pretty!

 Great Big Thank you to all of you for all of the sweet comments! Lots more layout ideas to come, and of course come back every month for a chance to win a collection from Echo Park Paper in the Design Team Blog Hop!

Hooray for Hollywood

Today's layout was for a challenge at DisneyScrappers and also as an example for a sketch.  The challenge was about scrapping some Hollywood parts of the theme parks and I chose to scrap these old photos of my family going into the front of the Great Movie Ride at MGM/Disneys Hollywood Studios, because it's just such a great replica of Mann's Chinese Theater and this was the first time we rode that ride, it was first thing in the morning and we had it to ourselves so the photos aren't full of the typical crowds that we usually see in that park.

I used various My Mind's Eye papers from the Lost and Found collections. I also used some plain vellum. The sketch had a sunburst element at the top of the photo area and I chose to stick with that type of element but in my head it is the spotlight/searchlight of a Hollywood opening... yeah ok, maybe not but you get the idea. I used some Ranger film strip to make it a bit more filmy. Of course it needed a bit of Hollywood glitz so I added a few little sequins too. This is for Sketch #101 at Sketch Savvy HERE

 

 

***January Echo Park Design Team Blog Hop!***

Welcome to the Echo Park Paper Design Team Blog Hop! 

Today the Echo Park Paper Design Team is showcasing projects from our latest collections. Be sure to follow the blog hop list below as you hop from one blog to the next. Return to the Echo Park Paper blog at any time for the next blogger on the list in case you get lost or confused! ONE winner will be selected from each blog to receive an Echo Park Paper collection kit of their choosing. To qualify for the kit, comments will be due by midnight EST, Sunday, January 27th to qualify for the drawing. The winner will be announced on each blog Monday, January 28th  so be sure to check back to see if you've won.

Echo ParkPaper

Linda Auclair

Tamara Tripodi

Lowri McNabb

Wendy SueAnderson

SusanStringfellow (You are Here)

Nancy Damiano

Kandis Smith

Laurel Seabrook

And back to Echo Park Paper 

Do you make more Scrapbook layouts or cards? I couldn't decide if I wanted to share a layout or a card using the new Love Story Collection by Echo Park Paper, so here are both! I don't have alot of photos of my boys with cute little valentines or cupcakes because although they love cupcakes, it's not quite the same with a 20-something boy. LOL! I have been using this collection for everything from everyday photos that have these colors to Disney layouts,  but I just went to take photos of my sister when she and her BFF/Maid of Honor were having a dress fitting and I thought the love theme would be ideal! I used the great animal print for a border with the distressed solid white paper for the background, then added a few of the little cute goodies like the sparkly and the cute silhouette brads, that great chipboard frame and my personal fave, the tiny chipboard camera! There is a bigger one too but this one is my fave. So yeah, this collection is perfect for a BFF page, don't you think?

 

Now for a couple of super fast cards using Love Story. I often make cards for my mom to give out so of course I made some cute Valentines. I have these two cards oriented differently but they are basically the same card. I am not good at doing the same card over and over because I get bored, but if they are similiar, it's still fast and fun. And don't you love these chipboard flowers! To make the plain white envelope a bit less plain, I added a length of border sticker to each and a little stitching. 

 

Thanks for visiting my blog today, now start HOPPING!!! Good luck!

Merry and Bright *CSI: Case File 54

CSI: Color, Stories, Inspiration turns a year old this January and I was asked back to join them for a challenge. Of course I said yes! Its so fun to use up some stash and play with the great colors. So visit CSI for Case File #54 HERE and see all of the great creations by the design team, and then play along!

 

This Case File has a sketch which was pretty fun too. Here is my take. I used a ticket, polka dots, and a music pattern, and then I did the handwriten journaling. I used mixed papers from My Mind's Eye collections and some great embellishments that my friend's sent to me to use with my December Daily. I am liking vellum snowflakes, gotta remember to do that again.

 

Today's Story by Echo Park Paper part 2

As promised yesterday, here is the second half of my Today's Story collection layouts. (Click Here for yesterday's post.) What do you think, will you give this system a try? When you look at the collection you will see the divided cards printed on the papers and you can just cut them and pop them into the sleeves but just adding a bit of stitching or a couple of embellishments can make the pages more eye catching. For this page I hand cut the "remember this" design and attached it to a pink background and just punched a little bit of confetti, because confetti is always fun.

 

I just love this pink page because I never get to play with these fun colors since I have all boys. LOVE the 4x6" block of pink chevrons but I needed two 3x4 blocks so I just cut it in half. Don't forget you have to make these things work for your photos. I punched some holes and confetti and did a really fun square that you can see thru. Oh and the arrow frame thingie is just cut from white cardstock. I am liking arrows for these pocket pages since the journaling could be to the side or above the photo. Don't forget there are some really really cute stickers with this collection, if you aren't a sticker person just put them on foam squares for dimension. Now notice that the bottom row of pockets is actually for 4x6" pieces, but I wanted more of the 3x4" pockets so I just made 4 pieces and put them in the larger pockets :)

 

And this page with all 4x6 photos was very fun and guess what? The step by step detailed instructions are available for a free download on Echo Park's website HERE. Be sure to check out the other great projects and idea books that are available for free download while you are there. 

Today's Story by Echo Park Paper part 1

Have you played with the New Photo Freedom collections from Echo Park? If you are like me, it seems like a bit of a jump to go from traditional layouts to the divided pocket pages. Or maybe the idea of completing one every week and keeping up scares you. I know I can't attempt that right now, but that doesn't mean I can't scrap with these collections. They are just like a fun toy, you have got to try one!  And yes, they might be a bit addictive too :)

Now whether you are doing one page or a whole set of pages, this Today's Story collection is a great one to start with. I think it will work with just about any photos. I wanted to try out all of the page sizes so I chose to scrap my photos from an antiquing weekend. I thought I would show you how I went about scrapping these layouts. Clearly I couldn't have scrapped all of these photos in a 5 traditional layouts so I love the way this worked. Today I will show you my prep and the first two pages, then I will share the other 3 pages tomorrow. *click this image to see it a better size*

I started with this fun Today's Story collection and some brads from the For the Record 2 collections: Tailored and Documented. Next I gathered some of my vintage finds and put them in my depression glass dishes to put me in the mood. LOL! I bought vintage buttons, trim, and even a chenile bedspread to cut up. Then I just pulled some punches that I planned to use.

For my first page I used the full 12x12 sheet protector and made a cover page for my weekend. If you haven't been to the Round Top, Texas area for their spring and fall antiquing festival, it is AMAZING! It runs thru several towns and with thousands of vendors so you cant possibly see the all of it. Can you even stand how cute that little US map is! The date flag, hearts, and little camera were all great icons for my photos. My fave piece is that chalkboard looking "snapshots" block.

 

My second page went together so fast! I just put the large Today's Story panel in the large pocket and added a photo and a couple of little embellishments. Continuing with the theme I decided to pull out my husband's grandmother's typewriter from 1950 to do the journaling. I think I need to get a fresh ribbon because its a bit light. And although early type wasn't exactly perfectly in line or easy to place, it's cute. Now all of these pieces fit inside the pockets but you can attach things to the outside of the pockets as well. The photos of these pages almost make them appear to have the embellishments on the outside but that is because I laid the panels on TOP of the page protectors for photographing to cut down on glare.

 

Now don't forget to come back tomorrow and see the other three layouts :)

January My Creative Scrapbook kit part three

And here is my third layout using the January My Creative Scrapbook Main Kit. If you missed the last two days, it's got the Carta Bella Traditions collection, buttons and chipboard from Teresa Collins, fun Prima flowers and some ribbons. You have to see it for yourself HERE.

This layout was fun because, well, first I started with silly photos of my husband lifting a "boulder". I have learned that some nonsense is happening when he says "hey dear...watch this." This works for the boys too, just insert Mom rather than Dear. LOL! Its a very simple layout. I made a dimensional heart by hand cutting 3 and stitching down the center and then just layered it with a bunch of the  chipboard elements that seem to be perfect for just about any layout. That's the one thing that is very cool about this kit. You can pop just about any photos in here and they will work with the colors, words, and elements.

january My Creative Scrapbook kit part two

Hey guys, as promised here is my second layout. You guys have seen my photos in this spot at Animal Kingdom before but I think this is the very first one we took there. I think its the only one that shows the whole thing with paws, and that's why its my fave spot :) Gotta love giant paws for a chair. Anyway, this kit from My Creative Scrapbook is just exactly the perfect papers for Animal Kingdom. To echo the torn cloth in the photo I fringe cut the wide ivory ribbon and frayed it a bit. Of course with these gorgeous Carta Bella Traditions papers, I had to hand cut the designs for a couple of borders to go with a pleated border strip.  The peacock is cut from the papers too because he reminds me of Animal Kingdom. Just fun rich papers to play with. Check out this kit HERE. And while you are over there be sure to see what the Design Team did with their kits, so many beautiful layouts.

January My Creative Scrapbook Kit! part one

Guess what!? I got the chance to join the talented Design Team over at My Creative Scrapbook Kit Club as a Guest Design Team Member for January!!! How cool is that?! First I have to show you the kit because WOW. just saying.  Its got the gorgeous Carta Bella Traditions collection, some additions of papers and embellishments from Teresa Collins and amazing Prima flowers! Check out the LINK HERE to see it better with details. And then pop over to see what the design team did with these beautiful products HERE.

Now I will share one of my layouts. The others will follow tomorrow and Sunday :)
For this one I started with the Carta Bella Natural White Linen for the background. I made a bunch of banners with the white cardstock and patterned papers and then layered the "happy" banner letters on top. I added chipboard buttons and over the top of the banners. Oh I also splattered some white and ivory acrylic paint on the background.