Stamptember #SMBiGbloghop

Sorry for the delay in my post, I had NO idea until really late last night that for some reason my post didn't go up! Suz pointed it out to me, so I rushed home this morning to fix it! Hopefully you'll get the chance to check it out, I LOVE what the other girls have done this month!

How was your Stamptember?? Hopefully full of stamping, and we're hoping to help you finish it off with a little bit more stamping inspiration! The paper-crafting industry is widely known for celebrating stamps in the month of September, and this month there was definitely NO shortage of cute new sets being released! [have you SEEN the new Kelly Purkey Simon Says Stamp exclusives???!!! If not, go, no RUN to check them out & order them while you can!] Plus all the CHA summer lines are slowly but surely showing up at stores, I myself am addicted to the new Studio Calico stamp sets, and impatiently waiting for them to come in!

See? We go crazy over stamps! Which brings us to today's blog hop topic, stamps of course!
I challenged the girls this month to think out of the box for their stamping assignment, and really wanted to be able to show different ways to use them! For my layout, I chose to emboss one of my favorite stamps sets EVER, this Basic Grey/ Hero Arts Zig Zag & More Background:

I HAD to have this stamp, and I have realllllly been digging Basic Grey the past few releases! This page is made from the Paper Cottage collection, funny stuff-- that's where I work! :] Here's my LO & a few detail shots:

[notice the hand stitching to go along with the BG papers = LOVE]

The colors were perfect for a sepia photo, and there's hidden journaling behind the photo about our friendship-- secrets, faves, girly stuff! LOVE my Sar :]  Next up, you'll loop back around to Jenny!  If you get lost along the hop, make sure you return back to our new Social [Media] Butterflies blog home here. Want to join in on our fun? Email me at sbookinshay29@aol.com if you would like to become a butterfly, we are always looking for more paper-crafters who LOVE to inspire! Thanks for joining us for another fun month!

a crafty celebration.

I was lucky enough to spend this weekend getting crafty & celebrating, and I am SO excited for my classes at the Paper Cottage in October! Fall is just incredible, and I really wanted to mix together all of my favorite parts of the seasons into my Trendy Tuesday classes! Here's a few sneak peeks of the classes that I've shared on instagram:

[[All About Arrows]]
Paper, stamps, cuts-- we'll use a little bit of it all in this My Minds Eye class! Where will arrows take you? To this fun class of course! Join me next Tuesday, October 2nd from 6-8pm.



[[Lovely Leaves]] October 9th
Have plenty of scraps after cutting the base of your fall pages? Why not add a little [autumn] spice to your projects with these handmade embellies?! Get the pattern I use, and try your hand at making your own leaves in this fall themed Bella Blvd class!

<<<
[[Neon in the Night]] October 23rd
Doodlebugs Haunted Manor, pretty pearls, twine && bright neon make this class an adorable take on the trend & how to include it into your holiday!

&& coming soon I'll be able to show you the class on the 16th, Perfect Polaroids-- you WON'T want to miss out on this one!

Visit the Paper Cottage facebook page here to see all of our class offerings and details! We have some exciting events coming up as well, like our Fall Festival and Holiday Open House! Just a reminder that tomorrow's class is Washi Wonder, and there are still a few spots available! Call the store to sign up 937-912-5324. If you can't make the class, and would still like a kit with all the materials we use in class, just let me know, I will gladly get it to you, with no additional charge for shipping ;]

happy birthday

to ME!

Normally I would not celebrate myself, but this year, I was SOOOO excited to get picures of myself done, and to make a 26 before I turn 27 list! I cannot wait to use this list & the pics my friend Julie took, to make a LO later today! Here's a few things on my list---


visit New York City during Christmastime

learn more about my DSLR

do things for MYSELF & less about others

go to a Cubs game

get crafty everyday

eat at a rooftop restaurant



&& you'll see the completed page after I finish it later this week! I'm definitely excited about this, as a list lover I knew I would do it, and thought it'd be the perfect way to celebrate my birthday! My big plans for the day?? getting crafty, of course!


Thank you all for the birthday wishes, I had a scrappy wonderful day && feel very loved :)

trendy.tuesday [Wonderful Washi]

Hello there!
Back again with a view of this coming week's edition of Trendy Tuesday, the Wonderful Washi class! I have a lot of students who see these little rolls of tape all over blogs, on DIY items & at the store, but don't really know how to use it on their own projects! So this coming Tuesday, I'll be teaching you all about WASHI :]

If you yourself haven't gotten into the washi craze, or if you've already started your collection, this is the perfect class for you! Come on by & make this layout:

If you would like to sign up for the next Trendy Tuesday class, Wonderful Washi, call the Paper Cottage at 937-912-5324 This series of unique technique classes are only $15, which includes the supplies [and some extras!] to finish a 12x12 layout and you also get to play with additional products in the class! Not in the area? You can still sign up, and I will send you the kit for the class, complete with instructions!

devastated.

After a not so wonderful couple of days, I am very ready to hold my chin up and move on, no more sadness here.

I cannot believe I missed such a big event, and it broke my heart when I could finally log on and see what fun all the girls were having. I looked forward to it ALL year long, and am genuinely bummed at missing the opportunities I had to work for three amazing companies, and hope that they understand. Missing out on meeting some of my amazing scrappy online friends, going to Typo, this event is my happy birthday to myself, and would have been SUCH a great pick me up. For those of you I am close with, thank you for being there for me, and all of those I let down in any way, I apologize. Somethings in life you just cannot do anything to change, no matter what the situation is like. It was hard to come back home and NOT participate   in Scrapfest, but I absolutely guarantee I will be there next year.

To those of you who were expecting emails or calls, I'm sorry for being so out of touch, and I am plowing through them right now as I write this, I apologize if I let you down AT ALL.

In the meantime, back to classes, butterflies & trying to pretend I don't know that I just missed out on the best event EVER. Ladies who are there right now, I'll love seeing your photos and projects, and it's with a very heavy heart that I regret not being there.

xoxo

August #SMBiGbloghop.

If you're following along on this months Social [Media] Butterflies blog hop, you should have arrived here from Sabrina's blog, which just so happens to be who I chose to be inspired by as well :] I absolutely adore Sabrina's style, how she mixes layering with washi & bright colors. This quote she used for a project in her Studio Calico gallery totally captured my attention, and was SO relevant to how I'm feeling right now! I knew I had to do something crafty with it :] Add in our color challenge, and here's what I came up with:

 

[[yes IG followers, I found my missing E LOL]]

 

I love the pom pon look on these new papers, but thought making my own would work better for the look of my layout! It was a great way to use up the scraps I had from another project with these papers :]

I used products from the Studio Calico Yearbook collection, which will be available sometime in September, and I LOVE it. Definitely my favorite school themed collection ever, and I cannot wait to get my hands on all the great embellishments with this line! I've already made a mini album that I'll be teaching at The Paper Cottage, and then I just had to use it for this layout :] Hopefully you're as inspired by these papers as I am!

Next on the hop is KRISTIN, who has some exciting new to share as well-- she's opening her online shop on Septeber 1st:] Introducing: Rukristin Papercrafts: The Shop! Offering trendy & quirky handmade memory-keeping supplies. Find her shop here: rukristin.bigcartel.com Before it opens, we are giving away Two Brand New Sets of Journaling Cards: 'Days of the Week' and 'Boy + Girl'. All you have to do is comment, follow or tweet using the hashtag #SMBiGbloghop, letting us know which of those you do-- the more of the hop you complete, the more chances you have :] Chances will end Saturday, September 1st at noon, and will be released later that day! Good luck!

 

 

[ sorry ladies for the delay in posting today, NO idea why one post scheduled went thru & not the other!! Hope it was inspiring enough to still be loved! LOL ]

Hello Again!

Welcome back! We are so happy to have you back for the August edition of our Social [Media] Butterflies blog hop! This month we thought we would change it up and have a two part challenge for our members. Not only will we be taking inspiration from one of our members, but we will be using this color palette:

Now go see some incredible inspiration, here's this month's blog hop order:

Melissa P http://www.melissapriest.com/

Ellie http://scrapbookmamaof4kidz.blogspot.com/

Jenny http://mycreativelife29.blogspot.com/

 

Angel http://kindlelover.blogspot.com

Suz http://livealifeextraordinary.blogspot.com/

Patricia http://harmonyhealthandfaith.blogspot.com/

Erika http://erikabardo.wordpress.com/

Trisha http://www.trisha-grace.blogspot.com

Amanda http://somethingsorta.blogspot.com/

 

Sabrina http://vixendeity.com/

Shay http://sbookinshay29.blogspot.com/

 

Kristin http://rukristin.blogspot.com/

 

We hope you enjoy our projects this month, and have a giveaway for a lucky blog hopper-- one of our own Social Butterflies is opening a SHOP! We are so excited for Kristin && would LOVE to show you some of the goodies you'll soon be able to purchase [store opens September 1st]

 

 

Introducing: Rukristin Papercrafts: The Shop! Offering trendy & quirky handmade memory-keeping supplies. Find her shop here: rukristin.bigcartel.com Before it opens, we are giving away Two Brand New Sets of Journaling Cards: 'Days of the Week' and 'Boy + Girl'. All you have to do is comment, follow or tweet using the hashtag #SMBiGbloghop, letting us know which of those you do-- the more of the hop you complete, the more chances you have :] Chances will end Saturday, September 1st at noon EST, and winners will be announced later that day! Good luck!

join me.

Yayyyy my classes went live for sign ups yesterday, and will now be updated on our facebook page! Join us, and see what other classes and events we have available at The Paper Cottage or call to sign up at 937.912.5324.

 

&& my Trendy Tuesdays here on my blog will start Tuesday, September 11th as well, which will be the same theme as each class, but with an additional tutorial! SO, if you're an out of towner, you can still join in & take the class with me! I will have class kits, with full instructions & some of the materials we played with in class for sale as well :]

 

Incredibly excited to be teaching again, hope to see some of you in class! xoxo

Fall Open House.

Lately all my free time has been cutting, stamping && prepping for upcoming events, holiday shows & orders from customers. I love being busy, so it's been great, exciting to have so much going on! The first event I had coming up is my Fall Open House, which is this Saturday, August 25th at Marion's Town & Country. I am hosting the event with my friend Brittany, who is a ThirtyOne rep and I couldn't be more pumped for it to get here!

I hope to see lots of you locals there, I am doing a fall leaf make n take && additionally you will be able to place orders from the 12-13 catalog and the Holiday Mini. Any holiday items ordered will be 15% off, and if you order before the 31st, you get an extra 10% off of your ENTIRE purchase :] I will have cash & carry items, and we are also raffling off goodies from both companies-- earn tickets by bringing a friend, hosting a party, making a purchase-- plenty of ways to get more goodies!

Here's a few sneaks of the items I'll have out on display that are also for purchase>>>

If you can't come, don't worry, the special is open to you out of towners as well! Just shoot me an email at sbookinshay29@aol.com and I can add on your items & get them sent out to you!

back to PL [&school]

With school starting back up this past week, I thought now would be the perfect time to get back into PL, I fell a little behind once summer started, mainly because I got to travel a lot and had fun making mini books instead :] But for the school year, I think this project is incredible, especially because Caleb gets to get involved too-- he loves picking out which of his artwork goes in & bringing me home random bits from his school day!

To make it more fun for myself, once a month I am going to do a linky party with a theme, to inspire myself & my scrappy sidekick, Ellie, and maybe get some of you to join along with the fun :] Look for our challenges to start soon, I adore her and have really enjoyed all of our emails, tweets & messages. PLUS we're planning a visit, so this Ohioian can go visit her in New York!

I started back up with the week of August 6th-12th [I go Monday to Sunday] which was the LAST week of summer vacation for munchkin, and I really wanted to emphasize how FAST it flew by! I feel like we didn't really do anything we normally do during the summer-- no drive in, I am NOT tan, and with school starting over two weeks earlier, it just seems like it went by in a flash! I decided I reallllly wanted my photos to stand out, so I took some inspiration from Vee & Jamacia, and decided mostly white with pops of primary colors to represent getting ready for back to school would be super fun.
Here's my a few peeks at what I've done so far:

[for this journaling, I cut a slit in the pocket I was using, so the journaling could be hidden behind the journaling, but still pull out of the Bside of the page. It is all about how excited & anxious Caleb is for school to start]

I'm excited to start catching back up, and to have extra inspiration to keep me going, I'm having lots of fun getting it all together again! How is Project Life going for the rest of you crafters out there??



Project life is a memory keeping system designed by Becky Higgins. The simple "back to the basics" approach to scrapbooking simplifies the process using journaling cards & page protectors to enhance your everyday moments.