Thanks for coming back for If the Shoe Fits… Scrap it! challenge #21!

This week we are having fun with a color challenge, just in time for the upcoming Valentine’s Day! Have you guessed the colors yet?! RED, PINK and WHITE. Ok, yes, I have Kraft cardstock as my base, but I couldn’t resist myself, it just worked so well!  I had some fun playing with some of my new Papertrey Ink goodies — Through The Trees and Background Basics: Hearts. I put off buying the heart set in December but quickly realized that it was a must have. I did the same thing with this months new Background Basics: Petal Power, but am pretty sure that it will be on the list for next month {Mostly because of this card HERE}!

For those of you who actually clicked on the link to see the inspirational card — Becky, is an amazing artist! Always love her cards and I think most of the time her creations have something new and different that I have never seen before. I love it when it works out that way :)

Other challenges I used were for:

• Crafty Creations: Wings
• Papertake Weekly: Love Actually Theme
• Pollycraft Challenge: Things with Wings :)

Hope that you all will find some time to play along with our color challenge this week!

Enjoy those whom you love!

Hey all… are you all just itching to watch the Season 6 Premier of LOST tonight? I just have 40 minutes until the recap, so I thought I would share my card for the day.

Over at the CARDS blog, Paige is challenging us to create a Valentine without red or pink. I say, yay! to this one because I rarely use those colors in my valentines for my hubby. It just isn’t his thing. And since he is an artist, I need to make sure that my card will be impressive versus ‘cutesy.’ So here is my little card, made special just for him! Don’t you just love this color combo, this stamp set (Giga Guidlines) and just how simple it is? Those are all of the reasons I love it, anyway…

The other challenges I used for this card are from Pile It On, to use Non Wintery Colors; Creative Card Crew, to create a Valentine; Easy Craft Projects challenge to create a Valentine for a man; Paper Sundaes Valentine theme challenge. The way I do challenges is that I sit down each day and make a list of all of my favorite challenges and their link. Then when i am working on a project, I try to incorporate the challenges in for inspiration. Of course, this week was pretty easy because many were for Valentine’s!

Other than create this card, today I reorganized my scrap area (much needed) and I realized something… I AM ADDICTED TO BUTTONS! Seriously, I never knew how many buttons I have; now I know that the next time I see a totally adorable set of buttons that I can’t live without… I will remember that I CAN live without them, in order to give life to those just sitting and waiting for me to beautify them! I couldn’t resist taking a snapshot of my button collection so you can see what I mean… Keep in mind, these are only the buttons I am keeping out and available to myself. The rest are still in bags and jars, stashed away until they are needed again {perhaps in another decade or so, heh}

This is how I reorganized my bags of buttons that were recently purchased over at PTI! Grabbed these adorable little glass jars for a great price over at ROSS.

Here is my ‘old’ way of organizing my buttons, before I had a crazy collection… these are still precious to me and will still be used though:

Here is a close up of the detail to the card (before I decided to add the ribbon):

• Cardstock:  PTI Kraft & Rustic White and CTMH Chocolate
• Inks: CTMH Juniper, Honey, Sweet Leaf and Chocolate
• Stamps: PTI Giga Guidelines, PTI Take Note, My Cute Stamps – Ashley’s Blossoms, PTI Polka Dot Basics II
• Accessories: Misc. Honey Button, PTI White Silk 1/4″ Ribbon
• Tools: Fiskars Scalloped Scissors

Don’t forget to check out my earlier post: SNEAK PEAK OF STUDIO J FROM CTMH {coming March 2010}

Hey hey,

Welcome to my first week on the Design Team for If the Shoe Fits… Scrap It! I am excited that my first challenge with the team is definitely a challenging one. This week, create something VINTAGE! I very rarely scrap in this style, so it was fun and new to me. I really enjoyed breaking out the accessories that I consider vintage. I literally just went through my stuff and pulled out everything: Lace, Pearls, Hemp, Distressed Papers, Light Pinks, Doilies, etc. It was a fun time (…that is until I had to put it all away again!). Card Patterns had a great sketch (as always) this week so I couldn’t resist sneaking that into the challenge list…

In my January Project Kit from Scarlet Lime, I got these adorable paper punch outs from Pink Paislee. They have a bunch of cute Valentine sayings on them and this Potion No. 9 tag looked vintage to me with the light pink plaid, etc. I think that this card would also be adorable with a cute baby image or saying for a Baby Shower! You know what I found out about Doilies!? They can really be used year round! You don’t have to be creating a Valentine in order to use them (which was my previous mindset). I am totally excited to use these more, but feel free to let me know if I am using them too often :)

If anyone has any photography tips for projects with shiny accessories, such as buttons, pearls, rhinestones… let me know! I feel like the pearls on this card came out a bit blurry and too glowy (is that a word?). I don’t have a fancy camera, just my precious Canon Powershot — I do love my camera but sometimes have a tough time taking photos of my creations.

I hope that you all will join If the Shoe Fits… for this challenge! Would love to get more vintage ideas for the future! Happy Creating!

• Patterned Paper: K & Company Mat Deck
• Cardstock: PTI Rustic White and Lavendar
• Accessories: Wilton 4″ Doily, PTI Twine and Button, CTMH Cocoa Eyelets, Pearls, Pink Paislee Punch Outs
• Tools: Fiskars Border Punch, The Big Bite (eyelet setter), Foam Squares
• Technique: Distressing with Scissors
• Challenge: Card Patterns Sketch #48

It is coming soon!

Close To My Heart’s brand new Digital Scrapbooking System: Studio J! Check out the details below!

{Screenshot while I was testing out the software — MORE PHOTOS BELOW}

Studio J™ is free online design software that allows you to create custom-printed two-page layouts you put in your albums. There is no software to purchase and install; instead, simply log in to Studio J and start designing your layouts! You can create and immediately purchase your layouts, or you can save them for later completion and purchase.

There are many benefits to studio scrapbooking! Studio layouts can be created quickly for the time-challenged, yet with many flexible options for artists who want a custom look. Plus, Studio J makes it easy and affordable to have multiple prints of the same layout created, perfect for gift-giving to friends and family, awards for team members, and more.

The software is extremely intuitive and easy to use. You will not need to load any software onto your computer to use… all that is needed is an active Internet connection and a web browser with the Adobe® Flash Player Plug-in. The software walks a user through five simple steps that include:

1. uploading photos
2. choosing the desired themed kit
3. selecting an exclusive layout pattern
4. adding photos, embellishments, title, and journaling
5. and purchasing custom-printed layouts ready for a cherished album

Studio J software will be available through my personal website (http://aschultz.myctmh.com) for use in March of this year! Be sure to come back for some more sneak peeks and reviews in the mean time, as consultants are currently testing and sending in feedback to the corporate office. We want to be sure that everything is in perfect condition for your use!

{MORE DETAILS}
{Sample of Journal Editing}

{Sample of Photo Editing}

There will be many paper kits available on Studio J when it launches and more added with each new Idea Book release. New kits making their debut in an Idea Book will be added to Studio J four months later, meaning a new kit featured in the Autumn/Winter Idea Book will be released to Studio J during the Spring Idea Book period. Additionally, many retired, favorite classic kits will be available on Studio J. And YES, there will be other kits, not seen in the Idea Book, available on Studio J!!!

Studio J will include many embellishments you can choose from to add pizzazz to your artwork, including coordinating My Stickease® artwork that you can place yourself. There are also a number of pre-placed embellishments on each pattern called “toggle accents” that include ribbon, buttons, and metal embellishments from brads to photo hangers. For maximum flexibility, you can “toggle” the accents on or off as desired. You can also colorize these embellishments to suit your style in colors that coordinate with the kit’s palette.

The software includes basic photo editing and manipulation such as changing a photo to black and white or sepia tone, adjusting red-eye, cropping, and photo-sizing. It will even allow you to add distressing such as inked edges, scissor distressing, torn edges, and more. You can distress as much or as little as you’d like—using your computer!

{PRICING}

The introductory price per two-page layout is $12.95 US / $14.95 CAN.

You can receive FREE Memory Protectors and FREE shipping/handling based on the number of layout prints you purchase as follows:
For 5–9 layout purchases: Customers receive a pack of 5 clear Memory Protectors FREE!
For 10–20 layout purchases: Customers receive free shipping/handling PLUS a free pack of 5 Memory Protectors for every 5 layouts in their order.

Purchased projects will ship directly to the address provided at the time of purchase.

That is all for now! Remember to return soon for more reviews {from a girl who never thought she would enjoy Digital Scrapbooking — and now loves it!}

I have two wonderful pieces of news to share with you all…

First and foremost, my precious new nephew was born yesterday afternoon– Levi Jett Plaster. He is SO adorable! That makes four handsome nephews for Garrett and I, and we love them dearly. Not to mention the fact that they are great birth control for the time being :) After watching our 2 year old nephew for the last two days (while mom had the baby), we both are very grateful for our free time!

And next, I made the If The Shoe Fits… Scrap It! Design Team! I really applied for this position on a whim because I had just finished my time with Pile It On. I had very few expectations on this one but I am so stoked to have made the team! Looking forward to sharing all of my creations with you all! This week’s challenge was to use the following ad as inspiration in some way. I bet you would have never guessed where my imagination went after first reviewing the ad! I knew exactly what I wanted to go for — Fashion! I have also been wanting to play with hearts lately, so I figured this was my chance (See other challenges used below)! Check out the results!

Other challenges used:

• Papertake Weekly: Pink
• Belli Challenge: Hearts
• Your Next Stamp: Anything that Sparkles
• Crazy 4 Challenges: Pretty in Pink