Breaking All The Rules: Get Creative With Your Block Designs

Block designs offer us a great way to mix patterns and colors in our design and to squeeze more photos onto a layout--all while lending a sense of order to our pages.

Products by Biograffiti and One Little Bird Designs Available at Oscraps

Because of their clean look you can get away with some pretty crazy things when sporting a block design...here are a few ideas...in case you feel like breaking the rules ;)

1. Get Loud... here's your chance to bust out those BOLD colors!

Products by Biograffiti and Aja Abney available at Oscraps

2. Make a Scene... Life isn't always so clean and simple, if you like a little bit of clutter in your life, try building a scene around your block design.

Products by HGD by Laurie Ann available at After 5 Designs

3. Get Busy... with your patterns, colors and embellishments I mean!

Products by Biograffiti and Emily Powers available at Oscraps

4. Walk on the Wild Side... Don't worry, by pushing your block design aside you can make it the center of attention! 

Products by Kitty Designs and Paislee Press available at Oscraps

5. Don't Be a Square... try filling in one or even a few of your blocks with something decidedly not square.

6. Get Busted... using your block designs to bust a single photo into several pieces is one surefire way to make sure all eyes are on your "prime suspect."

Products by ErinINK available at Mscraps

So how about it?!  When it comes to block designs do you keep on the straight and narrow or do you enjoy breaking a rule or two?

Eggs-tra Special Memories

Hope you all had a great Easter!  This year was egg-tra special for us because this was the first year Caleb really participated in an egg hunt.  And though it was just in our front yard...he had a blast!

I'm so glad I was able to capture the pure joy on his face as he found all 12 eggs!  

Friday Faves: I LOVE Etsy

A few of my favorite Etsy shops:

The Twinery: for baker's twine in every color!

CT2 Designs: Handmade jewelry with an edge.

Zandie: Vintage inspired photography props, accessories and decor.

Bella Sorella Couture: Handmade floral headbands and hair clips 

MEJ Collection: Romantic jewelry and gift sets.

Young Gun Vintage: For great vintage finds.

Regina's Studio: Ephemera lots.

My Little Artist

I recently brought home this art easel for my son from Ikea...

Here is my little artist at work...

Knowing that my little guy has his own desire to create makes me smile!

Inspired by...Amy Butler

Probably the most important thing I learned from March's Masterful Scrapbook Design Seminar on Inspiration...is that inspiration truly is all around us...you just have to be open to the possibilities!  The inspiration from my latest layout came from Amy Butler's In Stitches: More Than 25 Simple and Stylish Sewing Projects.

Source

When I first saw this cover it was the accompanying inspiration piece to a layout by Celeste Smith.  I completed the layout below as a challenge to use the same source of inspiration.  I was attracted to this cover's brilliant color scheme, the circular grid design that echoed throughout and the title and typography, as well!

Products by Creativity by Crystal

On my most recent trip to Barnes and Noble this same cover caught my eye once again.  Now not only do I have a fun layout featuring my goofy little guy, stemming from this book...but hopefully a house full of fun projects to look forward to as well!  I guess it just goes to show you that sometimes...you can judge a book by its cover!

Monday Makeover: Making Over Your Workspace (Part Four)

Now that you have a new workspace that meets your needs, all that's left to do is to take the TIME to keep it maintained--which I think we can all agree may be the toughest task yet!  Cleaning up after ourselves is the least fun part of any project...but in order for our space to stay organized and inspiring...it must be done.  

I find that I like to break my maintenance tasks down by the amount of TIME it might take to complete them...so that even if I only have five minutes to devote towards maintaining my space, that way my TIME is still put to some use! Here are a few ideas to get you started on your own maintenance plan.

FIVE MINUTES: The Bare Essentials

• Clear off your work area and place supplies into a tray to be put away when you have more time.
• Make sure everything has a lid.
• Make sure all of your tools are unplugged or turned off.

FIFTEEN MINUTES: A Quick Clean-up

• Put away all of your products and tools that don't require sorting.  
• Clean the surfaces and tools you've used recently to remove scraps, glue, paint, glitter etc.

HALF HOUR: Deep Clean

• Sweep the floor of your craft area, while looking for lost embellishments, etc.
• Put away items that require sorting, such as scraps, brads/eyelets, etc. 

ONE HOUR: Special Project

• Take on a project like sorting photos, re-assessing your inventory, tagging files or compiling kits.

I hope after our journey over these past four posts that you are making progress in your space or at the very least have a better idea of where to start!  Thanks for joining me and remember to have fun with this process! If you wish to re-visit the older posts in this series just click here.

Good Luck with Your Workspace Makeover!

Frugal Fun: DIY Masks

Try reusing the backings from your chipboard alphas and stickers as masks, to use along with your spray inks and paints.  Here's how:

• When you remove the backing from your chipboard alphas and accents there is a glossy side and a paper side.
• Add a removable adhesive to the paper side and adhere it to the area of your project you wish to mask.
• Spray ink or paint over the mask.
• Remove excess ink from the glossy side of the mask by dabbing at it with a rag, before removing the mask from your project, to avoid any unwanted transfer of ink.
• Store your new mask on a piece of tinfoil or wax paper.

Have Fun and Keep it Frugal!

Monday Makeover: Making Over Your Workspace (Part Three)

Photo Source: Flickr

By now you should have--at the very least--a picture in your head of what your new space is going to look like. If you've been keeping up with your homework, then you've evaluated your current space, as well as, your supplies and you've developed a plan of attack...now it's time to Take Action!

Start by Making Sure You Have Everything You Need

Do you have everything you think you'll need for your new space, including adequate storage, lighting and workspace?  Remember you don't have to go out and buy all new things.  Think about things you already have that you can re-purpose.  For example...an old dining room table might make an excellent new work table or those leftover canning jars could be just what you need to house some of your supplies. Keep an open mind and you'd be surprised!

Then, Create Workstations Within Your Space

Set up separate spaces for different tasks so that you can work efficiently within your space.  Depending on the amount of space you have and the different types of crafting you're involved in--you may want to consider creating a computer station, a sewing station, or an art station in addition to your primary work surface. Or if a lack of space does not allow for this, then plan for a single work station that can be easily reset for different tasks.

Next, Stock Your Workstations With the Necessary Supplies

Using your available storage, begin stocking each station with the supplies you'll need.  Make sure your supplies are easily accessible.  If your supplies are not visible you may want to consider clearly labeling their containers so you know where things are and equally important--where to put them back!    

Finally, Give Your Space a Polished Look By Adding the Finishing Touches

Whether this means hanging photos of your children on the wall or adorning your new space with a fresh coat of paint or even arranging your fabulous vintage collectibles throughout, don't forget to surround yourself with a few things that will inspire you to create!

If your just joining us, check out Part One and Part Two of this series. And don't forget to tune in next Monday for the final part in this series: Taking Time!

Friday's Five: Things I Have a Crush On

In honor of the release of Biograffiti's NEW kit Crush (pictured in the lo below), I thought it would be appropriate to share five of my current crushes (in addition of course to this adorable kit!)

Photo 1: Source; Photo 2: Source; Photo 3: Source; Photo 4: Source; Photo 5: Source

This kit will be on sale thru 4/12 and while you're there download the freebie I Love You This Much by Fei Fei's Stuff --this adorable set of spring colored word art is the perfect compliment!

Do you have a crush?

Remembering...Your First Train Ride

As I was making this page of our son's first train ride back in November of last year, I began to think back to my own first encounters with trains.  Finding that without pictures or the stories of those who were older and wiser than I, it was difficult to remember the event.  Come to think of it I'm not sure I ever even rode a train as a child--though I have many recollections of having seen them.  Does the train at the zoo or Disneyland count?

I remember the model trains in my uncle's basement that he had made by hand.  I remember visiting Union Station with him to learn all about them.  I remember wearing my grandfathers railroad worker hat about the house when I was young...but still nothing of riding on trains.  Could it be that I shared the experience of my first train ride with my son just last year?

Vagabond by One Little Bird, available at Oscraps

Its moments like this that make me happy to be a scrapbooker!  Not only will my son have brilliantly colored pages to glance over as a child to remind him time and time again of the fun we shared, but when he is older he will have a record of those memories to share with his children!

How about you...do you remember your first train ride?

A Few Pages...

It turns out that while your laying in bed with your two sick boys, watching Marmaduke for the third time in a row --feeling pretty "crum-bumbly" yourself--it may just be the perfect time to get your scrap on!

Products by One Little Bird and Template by Biograffiti,
 both available at Oscraps

Products by One Little Bird available at Oscraps

Products by One Little Bird and Template by Biograffiti
both available at Oscraps

 

Calling in Sick + POTD

Some of you were expecting the third part of my Making Over Your Workspace series today, but the boys and I have decided to call in sick : (  Between the three of us we have a sinus infection, a double ear infection and one bad case of RSV, so we've all been out of commission for the past few days.

Captured with my LG Vortex Phone

However, here's a link to my previous Makeover Monday posts for you to browse through while we recuperate and I promise to have the third part in the workspace series for you next Monday!  Enjoy your week and stay healthy so you can enjoy the beautiful weather coming our way!

Friday Faves: Check Out These Fabulous Hybrid How-Tos

Hybrid Scrapbooking: Fill Text With A Photo by Paula Gilarde
Scrapbooking With Your Computer: Layouts With More Than Two Pages by Ali Edwards
Paper Plus Pixels by Celeste Smith
Make Your Own Persoanlized Placemet Digi-Scrap Style by Biograffiti
Digital Products To Use On Your Hybrid Pages by Debbie Hodge
Rolled Fabric Flowers Using Digital Backgrounds by House of 3