Saturday, May 31, 2008

Card Challenge!



Emelyn Magpoc brings you a Saturday Challenge!

Now that we are in week 5 of Spring Survival - you probably have a few scraps laying around!

The challenge - Make some cards!

Here are a few examples of how Em took her SSK scraps and created some cards!



Show us what you create! Post your links in the comments below!
Have a great weekend!
Emelyn

Friday, May 30, 2008

What's HOT! What's NEW?

Summer CHA sneak peeks are starting to roll in and so far I am in love with just about everything I see! I love the bright, fun colors that I am seeing in the peeks!

Bo Bunny has an awesome looking "Freedom" collection that would be perfect for all those 4th of July photos. Bo Bunny is also featuring a full set of themed sports lines.

Daisy D will have a new collection "Chloe Marie" that has a bit of a softer summer pallette, complete with matching embellishments. It looks like new rubons and rubon tape too!

NOW available from Cosmo Cricket is the "Hello Sunshine" collection and oh my this one makes me smile! The bright colors just scream summer to me! As usual the collection comes with fabulous matching embellishments too!

Mementos is a new company (or new to me at least) that has 6 new collections. All of their paper is printed with 100% natural and biological ink on a cardboard quality paper, double sided too! Looks like neat stuff!

We all know American Crafts knocks it out of the park when it comes to releasing products, this time looks to be no exception! So far I see NEW glitter thickers in the Shoe Box, LAX, and Sprinkles fonts.... be still my heart!

Basic Grey has released a new collection called "Euphoria" with a beautiful color pallette! Lots of pinks and purples and of course a full set of matching embellishments! I look forward to seeing their full summer sneaks!

I think SEI has knocked my socks off the most with their summer release peek! I am in love with these colors and the entire collection! The bold colors of the new "Poppy" line and matching embellishments just make me happy!

Scenic Route has a release that is out before the show called "Liberty", another great collection with a matching stamp set and buttons for all those 4th of July photos!

My Minds Eye has 2 new beautiful collections from the Garden Party collections called "My Sunshine" and "Lush Blooms", both beautiful collections I am sure to add to my collection of patterned papers!

It's still a bit early for a whole lot of sneaks but I am certainly looking forward to the sneaks in the coming weeks!

-Kim Moreno

Thursday, May 29, 2008

In case you haven't seen the eye candy yet...



Presenting Summer Survival 2008! You can pre-order here:
Add-ons will be available for purchase for those who have pre-ordered this weekend, and open to all on Monday. What a happy weekend! :)



Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Who wants an add-on sneak?

Here are a few of the beautiful ingredients on the add-on list for Summer Survival. Yes, you will need them all. I promise! :)






Eye Spy!!

Good morning!

I perused the Week 4 Spring Survival Participant Gallery and picked some stand out layouts to share with you this morning!!

April - h2bigblueeyes posted this wonderful layout called 1st Grader:


Jude shared this awesome layout that used the Spring Survival kit AND was her response to the Color Challenge posted here on the blog. It's called Santa Barbara! Just beautiful!!


and last but not least - this stunnig layout was posted by MarieP - First Memory!


If you have not had a chance to have a look at the galleries - please do and remember to share the love!

Enjoy your midweek Wednesday!!
Lisa

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Designers Lift!

Happy Tuesday!!

Today we bring you a wonderful lift! Two incredible layouts!!

Janine Langor's Flying High


And Audrey Tan lifted Janine. She created First Foray.


I challenge you to go to the galleries - pick your favorite, lift it, put your spin on the design and make it your own!

Have a miraculous day!
Lisa

Monday, May 26, 2008

Summer Designer Reveal!!

Kimberly Kwan


More than you ever wanted to know about Kim...

She grew up in sunny Southern California and still swears there is salt-water and sand in her veins.

She lives in Sunny Scottsdale, AZ most of the year, but escapes to Channel Islands Beach, CA for most of June & July where she can be found with her butt parked on the sand and her nose in a book.

She has three kids (Steven, Alexis and Olivia), a 90 pound Golden Retriever named Sam.

She has been scrapbooking in some form or another most of her life, but addictively since 1997.

She travels across the US and internationally teaching at scrap-booking and mixed-media art events such as Silver Bella (2006, 2007, 2008), Sparkle Bella and Version Scrap Paris (2007 & 2008)

She was a regular contributing writer and designer for Scrapbook Answers Magazine for over a year and designed for Daisy D’s Paper for four years. She also participated on the Art Warehouse design team for a year.

She counts among her wonderfully generous and regular sponsors: Bazzill Basics Paper, LUXE Designs, Maya Road, Melissa Frances, Rouge de Garance, May Arts, Fiskars and Hewlitt Packard.

Scrapbooking is in her veins, but mixed media and altered art are her passions!

She as a bad sugar addiction.

She is a Usui Reiki Master/Teacher.

She has been a photo-holic for most of her life, taking portraits professionally since 2000.

Her kids rarely see her face unobscured by a large black camera.

She is an honorary Chinese chick by marriage (and probably the only blonde Kwan you will ever meet) and is learning Mandarin with her kids.

She is an admitted techno-geek and loves all kinds of gadgetry and technology related stuff

Three words that best describe Kim: compassionate, exuberant and organized.

She is nearly fluent in Spanish and knows how to say dirty words in Cantonese.

She graduated from UC San Diego with a degree in Philosophy and is STILL scanning the Help Wanted ads for jobs in that particular specialty.

She could eat Mexican food every meal, every day for the rest of her life.
although she loves diamonds, she'd rather receive camera equipment as gifts on special occasions.

She has a professional background in motivational speaking and worked for years as a technical designer, writer and teacher for accounting and management software companies.

Clutter freaks her out in every area of her life except her studio, where she finds it oddly stimulating.

She does not possess an “edit” button, so what you see is what you get (and more often what you’ll hear) from her.

You should NEVER give her a microphone if you ever intend on getting it back.

After owning a small chain of pizza delivery shops, Kim can still toss a mean pie.
her favorite art products are her ginormous collection of vintage “crap” and her Golden mediums. She is also quite fond of paint, ribbon and “rubber.”

Her husband David and she are forever on the quest for the perfect margarita, but will settle for good red wine in pinch.

She uses Nikon cameras and glass exclusively.

She has never met a carbohydrate she didn’t like.

She is a committed volunteer for Girl Scouts and the American Child Photographers Charity Guild.

She is a huge audiophile, favoring 80's alternative and old school R&B.
her favorite color is rich, jewel purple.

She can tie cherry stems in knots with her tongue.

You can view her art and awesome photography on her Blog:
http://kimberlykwan.typepad.com/

Please join me in giving Kim a warm Welcome to the Homegrown Summer Survival Series!!
We look forward to her inspiration!!

Enjoy your Monday!!
Lisa






Sunday, May 25, 2008

The Color Challenge!!

Color
Seems can seem like such a simple thing however, it can become incredibly complicated when trying to create a balance and unity on a scrapbook page. A few years ago I took a class at a LSS on incorporating color schemes into scrapbook pages. The instructor (I so wish I could remember her name) did an incredible job approaching color. She completed three layouts with the same exact pictures each with a different color scheme. It was simply amazing how matching purple with a sunset could bring out a totally different look and feel of the photo and layout. I was so inspired by her message of thinking out of the box on color that her message has stayed with me throughout my scrapping years!

This is one of the easiest to understand color wheels I have found:



Color Challenge

For this color challenge I would like you to select a photo or photo’s to scrap and while you would normally be going through your paper selections think outside the box. For example – If you would normally select a blue paper scheme head directly across the color wheel and use orange instead. If you are really brave you could substitute green instead of blue!!

Another way to think about color in scrapbooking is to decide what mood you want your layout to have. Certain colors will dictate the entire mood of a layout.
Cool colors like purple, blue and green tend to inspire feelings of tranquility and peace. Warm colors such as red, yellow and orange evoke energy and playfulness.
It is certainly fine to mix both cool and warm colors on your layouts however, you do need to pay attention to how you mix them so you don’t affect the mood you want your layout to represent.

Have fun with color and I can’t wait to see what you create!
Melissa Bierlein

Friday, May 23, 2008

RAK Winner!!!!!!!!

Happy Friday!

I almost forgot to come post he winner!!
I am so sorry.
The random number picked was 1

Andi is the winner!!

Andi said...
I love the daily posts. I especially love the sneak peeks for summer and additional ideas to use the spring kit.


Thanks Andi!
Please e-mail your full name and address to me at
lisanroxy822@earthlink.net
We will get that awesome RAK right out to you!
Lisa

Some more Summer Sneaks!

I know you aren't here to READ anything, so I'll just post these 5 yummy pics and let you drool over the beauty of it all :)







Thursday, May 22, 2008

Rebecca's Corner



A quick post to celebrate this incredible inspiration from Rebecca Sower - Spring Survival's Star Designer. I hope you enjoy this awesome layout as much as I did when I first saw it. I love the design and the color combination.



Check back tomorrow for another Summer Survival Sneak Peek!!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Member spotlight!!


Member spotlight this week is megd-Megan Dvorak

I am 28 years old and live in Junction City, KS, right outside Fort Riley. I've been married for almost five years to my wonderful husband John. I have two boys Matthew 4 and Maximilian 2 and I am a SAHM and an Army Wife. I love Stephen King novels, watching action and scary movies and Mixed Martial Arts. I also like to take trips to the casino with my husband to play Poker, jacks or better and craps.


1. When did you start scrapping? In 2003 right before I got married. I was flipping through the channels on the t.v. and saw a scrapbooking show on QVC. I thought "this looks fun", so I bought a kit and when it arrived I started working on some pictures of a trip to NYC and I was hooked.

2. How would you describe your style? Conservative and linear. I try not to crop too many of my photos and I like straight lines.

3. Do you have a favorite manufacturer? American crafts. I love papers with energy and I think that foam thickers are the most fun to use on a page.

4. Do you scrap 1 page or 2? Mostly one page layouts, I try to get 2-3 pictures on one page.


5. What is your creative process? First I take a look at how the pictures make me feel. If they feel fun and happy then I pick some papers that make me feel the same way. Then I pick out embellishments I want and start making the page. I tend to make quick decisions and just "glue and go", when I start to second guess what I'm doing then I end up frustrated and not enjoying the process as much.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

It's Time for a RAK!!

Good morning!!

Today is a beautiful day for a RAK!!

We have been posting daily for 20 days now and we want to know what you think. We want this blog to be inspirational and motivating for YOU! What better way to ensure that happens than to solicit your opinions! So in a quest for your ideas and desires - we ask you to share your thoughts by posting your thoughts - we will be selecting a winner fom the comments to this post!

So just post a comment including your thoughts on what you have seen so far and what you would like to see in the future!! On Friday - I will pick one winner from all the commets left and that lucky scrapper will receive a VERY fun RAK!!

So Come on guys!!

Share your thougths!!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Designer Lift!

Today we have a fun lift!

Leenah Loh created this wonderful layout titled "Just the Two of Us"



Kim Moreno shows us her take on Leena's layout with "Sleep Good?"



We challenge you to selct a layout you love and give it a lift! Be sure to link us up so we can see your art!

Have a Crafty day!
Lisa

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Summer Survival Designer Spotlight!

I am excited to introduce you to one of the talented designers that will be on the Summer Survival Design Team!!

Rachel Millington aka KiwiGirl





My name is Rachel Millington and I'm 35 years old. I've been scrapping for 3 years now, after making Xmas cards in 2004 and cardmaking for a while, I got fed up with always giving away my creations. So I turned to scrapping in May 2005 and now that's my first love. I make cards for special people these days and still don't like giving them away!






I work as a freelance graphic designer & artworker in an advertising. I trained in graphic design but I never did get my degree cause I got a job in the summer holidays and dropped out before my 4th year! Maybe one day I'll go back and get it lol! I love scrapping because I can use my design skills but it's all up to me, I don't have to follow the corporate ID or have a client saying 'make the picture smaller' or 'make my logo bigger', I make all the decisions and nobody changes anything! Just watch me try and get a scrapbook style advert in a magazine for one of the automotive clients I work on, now there's a challenge eh!




I was born and bred in Auckland, New Zealand. I came to England 10 about years ago and now live in the Cotswolds with my partner & our cat. I have been published in most of the UK magazines, I teach at retreats and shops and have been on various DT's. I scrap myself a lot because I don't have kids and there's only so many LO's of your cat you can do. So I borrow my friends kids and scrap them when I can!





I'm looking forward to designing for the Homegrown kits, I love being on the DT for kits because I love the challenge of just taking what is in the box and creating with that. I find really difficult not to add my own stuff, especially new bits I've just bought and am dying to use, so it's a real struggle sometimes!


Welcome Rachel!!

Check out the gallery on the Homegrown website as I believe Rachel will be uploading and sharing more of her work with us soon!!

Please join me in giving Rachel a warm welcome and congratulations for being a part of the Summer Survival Design Team!

Saturday, May 17, 2008

I just could not wait another second...

To show you what I just ordered for Summer Survival...

I saw it and HAD TO HAVE IT! And that benefits you because YOU will see it and think the same thing. Problem solved - it's in the kit!

Voila! I've waived my magic kit wand over all the yummy goodness!

So join me in a big welcome and say Hello Sunshine!








Don't you LOVE it? Doesn't it scream SUMMER!!!!????!??!?!?! WOW! I love lemon yellow - love love LOVE it! And I am so excited to finally see it getting its due. And no one does gorgeous like Cosmo Cricket, wouldn't you agree????