scrapping with jax

I enjoy spending time with my niece Jackie. She is sweet, at least she is when she is hanging out with me. I am sure she lets her 13yo-ness out at home with her parents. She has discovered scrapbooking and is eager to try out new techniques and ideas with the photos she has collected of her family and friends. She asked to spend a few days between camps and the beginning of school with me scrapping and I immediately agreed. We are working with Copic markers here, another Jacque teaching us how to use their color chart and blend when coloring with the markers. I've used some Basic Grey Lemonade paper, flowers I cut with a Sizzex die and bling from I don't remember where. I call her Jax and I am glad to have a family member keeping the scrapping going as none of my own three daughters seem interested.

cruising...

They layouts feature photos I took at our Labor Day Picnic at my sister's. Sue and Dave live near Lake Nockamixon and we enjoy going to their home for family celebrations...especially in the summer when we can go out on their pontoon boat. We all enjoyed the cruise Dave took us on. As usual during our family celebrations everyone brought something to the table and we feasted and played games. It was a lovely day and a delightful way to say goodbye to summer and get ready for school and the fall.
I used October Afternoon patterned papers and Bazzill solids. The alphas are also October Afternoon. I used my Nestabilities label dies and punched flowers from matching cardstock. If you work them with a stylus on a cork or foam pad you can make them resembles Prima flowers.
Enjoy!

fishes

I am having a great time with my class at ACMoore in South Philly. The ladies are so much fun to hang round with and we're teasing each other like old friends already. They inspire me as well to challenge them and myself. Color theory isn't easy, yet as we went through the process they seemed to get it pretty quickly and we had fun deciding the colors for stack of photos I brought. Next up: Journaling. It can be tricky figuring out what to say, how to say it, and how much you want everyone to see. I'm looking forward to seeing what the ladies come up with this week. It should be fun. If you're interested in scrapbooking classes at whatever level, check out the SDU program in an ACMoore or Joann's near you (preferably the ACM's in South Philly or Bensalem!).On to the layout: I made this layout to specifically showcase color theory and how to use color in a layout, as well as how to use design basics. Papers are K & Co., Bazzill; alphas K & Co. and Gin-x rub-ons. Enjoy!

fall

Here's a cute layout with photos from last year. It will be on the sample board at ACMoore in Bensalem. I was going for the monochromatic look using Basic Grey and Bazzill papers, Thickers alphas and some faux stitching using a brown-glitter Spica pen.
SDU classes start in the Bensalem ACMoore in October: Tuesday evenings from 6-8pm and Friday mornings from 10am-12pm. Check out the store calendar for more details.

http://www.acmoore.com/classschedule.aspx?sid=6

classes

I'll be teaching some classes this coming September! I'm in the schedule at ACMoore on Columbus Boulevard, South Philly for Saturdays 4-6pm where I'll be teaching Scrapbook Design & You also known as SDU. You can sign up at ACMoore for this 4 week class series. If you're new to scrapbooking this class will teach you the basics. If you're an experienced scrapper you will build on what you already know to take your scrapping to the next level. Their class calendar can be found here:
http://www.acmoore.com/classschedule.aspx?sid=61
Right now it still has August's calendar but September's should be posted soon. Classes are two hours long, and you will go home with a completed layout weeks 2, 3, & 4. Cost for the four week series is $45.

I'm also teaching at Stacie and Gracie's Scrapbook Shoppe' in September. The class is a fun acrylic album. You'll learn some new techniques with acrylic in this class and complete a cute little album. Class dates are Tuesdays, September 8 & 29 at 2pm or Saturday, September 28th at 12pm. The class will run about two hours. You can call the shoppe to sign up for this class. The cost for the class is $20. Here is a photo of the album:



Hope to see you this September!

wedding

I am in wedding mode. I'm wearing many hats--mother of the bride, or the MOB, sometimes the mom-zilla, depending on who you ask; the wedding planner, the decorator, the caterer, and all around pain in the neck. Just ask the bride. Nine more days. Then I can scrapbook again!

Meanwhile here is a layout I finished before wedding planning kicked into such high gear:
October Afternoon papers and journaling cards, Maya Roads journaling cards, Prima rhinestone swirl, layered flowers made with Sizzex dies, scraps and denim, Queen & Co. felt strip and Thickers alphas. Photo collage technique.

I'll post after the wedding...you know there will be photos a plenty to work with.

CK VF

I'm off this morning to Creating Keepsakes convention in Valley Forge, PA. I'll be assisting Grace in teaching her Flower Soft card classes and manning the vendor table in the Friday night crop. When I'm not working I'll be shopping, checking out the new products, and taking some classes myself. I can't wait to grab some of the Basic Grey June Bug line, and maybe some more Lemonade. I'll be back Sunday with some new ideas and inspiration.
I'm also looking forward to seeing all the new stuff coming out of CHA that is in Orlando this weekend. Basic Grey has some holiday lines that look good.
As I throw my toothbrush into my suitcase I can't help but think how things came together yesterday to aid me in getting on the road. I found my camera, a distressing tool I tore apart my scrap room for, and running out to pick up my granddaughter from tennis camp at the last minute saved me time and money in the long run. I give God the glory for orchestrating my life to His pleasure.

These two layouts feature my husband's cousins once removed and twice removed (I think that's the right relationship, his cousin's son and his cousin's grandson). Not that the exact relationship matters. It's Kai and his son Marcus visiting from New York before Marcus heads off to Norway to be with his Besta's (grandparents) for a holiday and Kai moves to Jordan for his job.

The first layout of Kai and Marcus is very simple, Amy Butler paper, kraft colored card stock, cream colored card stock and scalloped circles from kraft stock and a magazine. The rub on is from Basic Grey and buttons from a jar. I wanted to keep it simple since the next page is pretty busy. They will sit side-by-side in my scrapbook.

The right side is Kai and me, both sporting our hairless heads. More Amy Butler paper. I cut some paper in somewhat triangular shaped strips, curled the edges and stapled them together, overlapping, then onto the page to make a mat for the photo. I cut corrugated cardboard with my Sizzex and peeled off the top layer. I then added some paint. Flowers are also from a Sizzex die, peeled and painted, then layered with flowers from my stash. I painted a border around the entire page and made some painted swipes in which I wrote my journaling.

Enjoy!

class samples

Some sample layouts for SDU, featuring Eden's preschool graduation.











First up is the use of four colors (quadratic) using the color wheel as the guide. It also features the use of punches to create the flower embellishments. Papers used are from Basic Grey's Phoebe line and Bazzill solids. The graduated flower punch is Marvy Uchida and brads from my stash.

The second set uses analogous colors from the color wheel. I started with the teal from the background paper(Me & My Big Ideas if I recall correctly) and the solid papers are Bazzill. Peace, love and an attitude of gratitude were computer generated and printed onto Bazzill and cut to create the title, which was also the theme of their graduation. Miscellaneous flowers and a Thicker chipboard hand pointing to Eden signing which I recolored with alcohol ink.

Third, the left side is a monotone layout using blues. I stamped one blue paper with ink a shade darker to create some interest. Again, Bazzill papers, Maya Road journal spot and My Little Yellow Bicycle stickers to embellish. Stamp--Club Scrap, ink, Stampin' Up!. The page next to it uses three colors, three butterflies, three photos, three felt ribbon pieces. Yes, the design tool of using threes. It is actually a pocket page. The program from the graduation is tucked in behind, not really a part of the page but kept as a memory. The patterned paper is Black Market, solid is Bazzill. I forget where I got the felt rick-rack. The felt butterflies are from Oriental Trading. I used an Inksentials white pen to write the journaling, "I thank AKWD for all the great hugs." -Eden Edwardson Oh yeah, I remember now. I didn't have quite enough rick-rack to go across the page three times so it is pieced. Why waste good rick-rack behind photos?

Last is triadic--at least on the right side it is. I set up the color wheel picking the orangy color from the My Little Yellow Bicycle Zinnia line. I then added the purple and green. I used the Slice to cut the letters and Sizzex dies to cut the scalloped circles. I used one of the circles to journal on. On the left is a matching page using more Zinnia paper. The lacy photo mat is actually a journal spot from the line and the chipboard backer with ribbon for Eden's name is really a coaster I cut down and rounded corners on. I happened to notice they were the same colors and voila, an embellishment was born!

busy

I've been working on lots of layouts for the SDU classes I hope will get going this fall as well as for Stacie and Gracie's and my own personal "Amazing Journey" scrapbook which is tracking some of my treatment over the seven months. Hopefully my son is fixing my computer so I can get some photos posted soon. I'm thankful for the loaner lap-top but I don't want to clutter it with my photos. Check back soon for some new project photos.

stop to smell the sunflowers...

Once again, my favorite subject Eden, smelling the sunflowers. The real point of this layout was to show her hair which I straightened for her. We were watching Dora the Explorer and she said she would like to have hair like Dora. When I reminded her that her hair was curly she was disappointed. So I offered to straighten her hair and borrowed Jessalyn's hot iron. She looks so cute and so much older with her hair straightened. It took about an hour to do her whole head and there were some places that I didn't do too well with because I was afraid she'd move and I'd burn her with the iron. I snapped a few photos to show Rebekah. By the end of the day her hair was just plain frizzy--it was humid and rained and Eden didn't cover her hair well. Oh well. Next time I'll get some hair product and do the job right.

I used Prima's stitched mulberry paper for this layout. It almost has a fabric feel to it. The colors were dead on and I've had it sitting on my shelf for a few weeks waiting for the perfect photos. The turquoise and pink flowers I made by tracing circles onto the paper and then ripping out. I wanted the imperfections. I layered the circles and added some white swirls and dots to the upper layers for interest and rhinestones for the centers. I added a few rhinestones at the end of the stitched swirls too. I didn't do any matting because I wanted as much as the paper to stand alone on this. I used bracket punches and a chipboard "e" for a title and journaling strips and heart chipboard from the same set as the "e". Simple but fun.

latest project

I created these two over-sized layouts for a customer of Gracie's. The family went to one of the World Series games as well as the Phillies parade and wanted to create wall art with these special memories. I started with illustrator board and covered it with a large sheet of art paper. From there I added a 12x12 scrapbook paper, matted photos, ribbon and some star punches. Simple, but they'll look great framed for the girls' rooms.

me

To quote my friend Michele, "Don't ya just love the subject line? ME lol" I don't usually do page layouts about myself but decided to put my photo on this page. It is the same photo you see here on my blog. When creating layouts, it's sometimes harder to come up with the photos than the layout. This particular page is somewhat "artsy-fartsy" or "airy-fairy" which is what they say on BBC's Hotel Inspector to describe something that focuses more on the art than the photo. I like airy-fairy better. Yes, I've been watching way too much tv over these last months. Back to the page. I had fun creating the background layering on pieces that I made.


I made the left side background first, actually a couple of months ago. I started with watercolor paper and added distress inks to it using the Ranger tool with the sponge pad attached. I put on masks and added more Ranger distress inks and the added Tattered Angels glimmer mists. I stamped using Ranger Artistry stamps and Prima Build a Swirl stamps in Stampin' Up inks. Idea'ology journaling tickets were stapled on and an idea'ology metal wheel is attached with a random brad. I took a silver metal word, "imagine" and inked it with alcohol inks and inked a grunge board faceplate to frame it, attached with bronze brads from my stash. I inked some idea'ology fragments with alcohol inks and adhered them to highlight parts of the words.

The right side is made from strips of grunge paper from idea'ology. I cut 1" strips, inked half with distress inks, sprayed them with glimmer mists and then dry embossed them with a Cuttlebug folder. The other half of the strips were inked, stamped and then sprayed with glimmer mists. I then wove them together to create a 3" piece to border my left side.

I put them together on a piece of kraft colored card stock, inked the edges with distress ink and then decided to sew the two pieces on. After searching high and low for my sewing machine, to no avail I thought, why not blanket stitch the piece by hand? I am glad the sewing machine didn't turn up. I used green crewel floss and stitched the piece after piercing the papers. I also added a couple of "x's" to join the two pieces. I really liked the final outcome of the background. I matted a photo of myself and added "me" in Thickers that I toned down with some ink. The whole page has such a tactile look and is much better in real life that this photo shows. So, this is me, trusting, hoping, soaring, imagining, dreaming.

SDU

I am very excited about completing my SDU training and becoming a certified instructor. SDU stands for Scrapbook Design & You and is a four week scrapbook class where you learn principles of design, color, use of tools and how to create a beautiful scrapbook layout every time. This program from EK Success taught me a few things even though I've been scrapping for years and have taught classes. I have been assigned to two AC Moore stores, the Bensalem store and the Columbus Blvd. store in Philadelphia. I'll be scheduling classes soon and hope that you check them out.

hot off the table...

Here is my latest layout, hot off my scrap table. It features my granddaughter (natch) and her favorite flower, dandylions...


The challenge I was given was to use the scalloped Bazill paper in a layout. I added the Basic Grey background from the Boxer line and the coral Bazill as well. I cut the swirls and flowers from a Hello Kitty Sizzex die and covered some of the flowers with glitter and added rhinestones. It's all about the glitter and bling baby. Thickers alphas and an acetate journaling spot finish this off.


















Here is my latest layout, hot off my scrap table. It's all about my granddaughter and making dandylion chains into a crown.

atc

I just completed an album for a customer that Grace from Stacie and Gracie's Scrapbooking Shoppe passed off to me. Since this album is a gift for my customer's son I thought I'd add in a little piece of artwork for her. I created this atc using some of my favorite things--K&Co. paper from the Margo line (it was a scrap really); some solid cardstock, stamps, metal pin, fragment and Stickles all from Ranger/Tim Holtz/idea'ology lines. This shows front and back. I like the idea of creating atcs to pass onto customers in the future.

grandmom bidwell

This layout features my Grandmom Bidwell, a truly grand woman. She's the one in the bathing suit--even when everyone else is in street clothes. She lived in Margate, NJ for a time hence her attire. I have wonderful memories of going down to the shore and staying with her. I can still smell the eggs and coffee she made for breakfast. We'd go to the beach and then come home where we'd shower off. Then she'd lay me down on a lounge chair under the mimosa tree for a nap. I still love napping in the sun. She died when I was 10 but she taught me a lot, including how to play 500 rummy. These are just a few of the photos I have of this bold, confident lady.

what I do

I've been preparing for a "trade" fair that my church is holding: Tools of the Trade. This fair is to let our church family know what kinds of businesses we are involved in. Many of our church family have their own businesses and offer diverse services. We can share our talents and let folks know that the next time they need, say a car mechanic, wedding planner or scrapbook teacher there is someone they know in the industry.
I decided to nab a space and let my church family know that I've been working to turn my scrapbooking and papercrafting hobby into a little business. This decision then forced me to examine what kinds of services I would offer. I'm sharing this list here:

One-of-a-kind albums/Custom Albums
Gift Albums
Mini Albums
Unique Cards
Classes for students(kids) and adults
Beginner/Advanced layout classes
Hand-sewn books
Altered art
Parties
Favors
Invitations

If you or anyone you know are interested in what I'm doing, please email me at:
jennedwardson@hotmail.com

Thanks!

vacation album

Here is an original album that I created to capture our memories from summer vacation. I passed it on to my daughter who had to leave early for a business trip so she could see the fun we had with her and with her daughter.

I started with 6x12 canvas boards from the art store. I inked, stamped, masked and stenciled the various designs and color onto the front and back covers. I sprayed the covers with Glimmer Mists from Tattered Angels.

For the insides I created a stacked design with chipboard which I then covered with Black Market papers. They have an almost canvas or fabric feel to them, and I like the way the texture works with the canvas covers. I used Thickers, a favorite alpha in green felt that I enhanced with some pen work. Embellishments from my stash finish off the album which is bound with binder rings that have ribbons tied on for a little more color and panache.

techie I'm not...

So figuring out how to make the images on my new camera go where I want them to go when my printer will only occasionally read the memory card is frustrating me. I will figure it out somehow. Meanwhile here are a couple of projects I completed last fall...

Thank you card is made with Club Scrap papers and Stampin' Up stamps. I don't know why I like this card except I do like the color combination.


Eden, my granddaughter is the subject of these two layouts. Above the tag says, "twinkle, twinkle, little star." I used a Stampin' Up stamp, some rick-rack ribbon and felt butterfly from Oriental Trading, along with Thickers, my favorite alphas. There are random rhinestones to make this page sparkle as much as Eden does.

Below, a snapshot of Eden at almost 4; using Making Memories paper and flowers, foil edged alphas and a metal 4 from Tim Holtz' idea-ology line. Enjoy!

huh?

As you've noticed I haven't been around since the end of September. That's because I have been experiencing some medical issues which took most of my time and just about all of my energy. Healing is on the horizon though and I've been able to get back to "normal" life lately with only a few blips as I finish up my treatment. So come back and check here again for some new projects as I complete them.