It's Friday I'm In LOVE!

I've got it all for you today...

a SONG, a LAYOUT and FRIDAY'S FIVE all rolled into one post!

First let the Cure make you smile!



Next have a look at my latest layout of the same name featuring my gorgeous SIL and some fun NEW products at Oscraps...

Check out:

Biograffiti's Distressed Day Stamps

One Little Bird's Air Time Kit

Paislee Press' Press Packet No. 2 

And finally five things I LOVE...

1. Lately, I am really loving the colors turquoise, yellow and gray used together!

2. I love all of the cool techniques I am seeing with the Slice...I definitely have to get me one of those!

3. I am loving my SMASH journal...the pen/gluestick combo...GENIUS!

4. I love that I've had the oppotunity to learn from so many awesome scrapbookers over the last year at MSD and am definitely looking forward to what's in store for the next year.

5. I love woodgrain...papers, rub-ons, alphas...you name it!

Mojo Monday: Using Prompts and Challenges to Light the Fire!

Have you got a case of the Mondays?  Everyone loses their scrappy mojo once in a while.  When it happens to me I turn to the amazing ladies around me who are always quick to offer inspiration in the form of challenges and prompts.  Here are a few of my favorite resources and the pages they've inspired!

Lisa Dickinson's Lift This Page!

Capture Your 365's Monthly Photo Checklists

Paula Gilarde's Ad Inspiration Challenge

Get It Scrapped's Sketch Archive

Ali Edward's Thankful Thoughts

One Little Bird's New 52

Kayleigh Wiles' Colour Challenge 

The next time your searching for inspiration to jump-start your next layout, try taking inspiration away from one of the many challenges and prompt resources available to you.  

Do you have a favorite challenge blog or spot for inspiration?  I'd sure love to hear about it in the comments!

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!

Inspired By...Mumford & Sons "White Blank Page"

When I first started scrapbooking I told myself that starting with a "blank white page" lacked imagination and originality. I wanted as much color in my life as possible!  So I went about merrily using my bold patterns and lively colors as the foundation for my pages. However, after 10 years, I am now comfortable admitting the real reason I avoided it for so long, is because it was the white background that I feared and struggled with the most. So clean and pristine--the white background was in fact the boldest choice of all --for you have no color or pattern to fall back on--leaving your design and your memories exposed and vulnerable.

Despite being inspired by scrapbookers like Karen Grunberg, Doris Sander and Lisa Dickinson--who are no strangers to white--I find that every time I start with a white page--whether I choose to cover it with mist or large patterned mats or every embellishment I own--it inevitable ends up anything but white!





So it was with an open mind and a little inspiration from my husband and I's favorite band Mumford & Sons, that I sat down and embarked on the ultimate challenge.  A half-hour later I emerged with this layout, as well as, a new found appreciation for the power of the blank white page!

Inspired By...Pretty Faces

I am in love with the trend of "silhouettes" that is sweeping over the photography, scrapbooking and craft worlds, as of late.  As I was browsing through Etsy, I ran across this fun little shop that specializes in custom silhouette prints and ceramics called Pretty Faces.

Photo Source: Pretty Faces

Not only would I love to have one of these pendants with my boys' silhouettes on them--but I got to thinking about how much fun it would be to use their silhouettes on a scrapbook page--and as a result, the following layout was born!

Digital Designs by One Little Bird Designs

To make my own layout-ready silhouette of my son I: 

1. Found my photo

2. Extracted the subject in my photo editing software.

3. Clipped a favorite digital paper to the extracted image.

4. Added a bit of definition to my silhouette with a stroked outline.

Need more help with making your own silhouette for your scrapbook pages?  Splendid Fiins has a wonderful tutorial available for making your own silhouette portraits, which includes tips on getting the perfect photo and turning it into a silhouette; a swoop brush set for that great head bust look; and backgrounds and mats for mounting your silhouettes on-- check it out here. 

A BIG thanks to Pretty Faces  for the inspiration! Stop by her shop to have a look...and I think you'll be inspired too! 

Gotta Have That Bag! An Inspiration Roundup

After my post last week (inspired by Donna Downey's messenger bag), I began to see tutorials everywhere for these adorable do-it-yourself handbags and clutches.  Like a big fat reminder, these beautiful bags were all staring me in the face saying, "Eat Your Heart Out!"  But this boring mommy held her ground and convinced herself that none of those bags deserved the treatment that was most certainly in store for them, should they ever become mine.  One day I will have a special portion of my closet devoted to all of the adorable handbags I will own...one day when I no longer find fruit snacks at the bottom of my purse or random papers--like  the kid's menu from IHOP that my son insisted on saving. ONE DAY...but not today.

So instead I decided to round them all up and share them with you...I hope you enjoy making them as much as I enjoy looking at them!

Click on the images below to be linked to their tutorials.

Transparent Clutch

Photo Source:

Honestly_WTF

Suit Coat Clutch
Photo Source:
Craftaholics Anonymous

Placemat Purse
Photo Source:
Alisa Burke

Book Cover Handbag
Photo Source:
  Curbly DIY Design Community

And of course the bag that started it all:

Ruffled Messenger Bag

Photo by 

Donna Downey

And here's one from me:

Jean Pocket Purse

Photo Source:

Amy Kingsford

Know of more great handbag tutorials?...Link us up in the comments below  A girl can never dream of having too many accessories ; )

Inspired By...Donna Downey

Photo Source: Donna Downey  

So when I first saw this adorable ruffled messenger bag made by Donna Downey, my first thought was...I have to make one of those!  But then I thought of the current state of my "over-sized mommy purse" --large enough to house wipies and snacks and with crayons and hot wheels floating along the bottom--and I realized this may not exactly be the time in my life to try to be stylish!

So instead I took that overwhelming feeling of inspiration that this beautiful bag filled me with and translated it into the following layout: 

I was so pleased to be able to capture all of the things I loved most about this stylin' bag: from its bold prints---> to the variation on its funky color scheme---> to those yummy ruffles!  I was also able to cure that "boring mom feeling" that came from my depressing realization that this bag was not practical for someone like me, by using this layout to remind myself of how blessed we truly are to be parents again!

If you'd like to see how to make your own Donna Downey Inspired Messenger Bag, check out this mini how-to on Donna's blog Simply Me! Thanks for the inspiration Donna!  If you'd like to learn more about translating inspiration from all around you into your scrapbook pages,  then join the team at Masterful Scrapbook Design for the month of March, where they will spend the entire month exploring the in and outs of INSPIRATION!