Maggie Holmes Photography Class Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Would you like to take your photography skills to the next level?  Then you absolutely must check out Maggie Holmes' online photography workshops!

Maggie Holmes has been a professional photographer for 7 years and has created two online workshops in which she gives you all of her tried and true secrets, tips and tricks with you. She shares her knowledge in a format that is candid and easy to understand. Past students rave about how much they learn in such a short amount of time and that the workshops more than pay for themselves because the progress they make is invaluable!  Maggie's photography skills are nothing short of AMAZING!! You can see some examples of Maggie's beautiful work in her online gallery.

Maggie will be offering two fabulous workshops:

Photography 101: July 9th - August 18th, 2012 -- This is a 6 week online course that will cover the basics of photography. You will learn things like aperture, shutter speed, iso, exposure and how to shoot in manual mode. You'll also explore creativity, style, composition and lighting.

Advanced Photography: August 20th - September 29th, 2012 -- This is the perfect follow-up to photography 101.  You will take your skills to a higher level and learn how to edit your photos so they are magical!  This 6-week course also covers things like advanced lighting and when/how to use your external flash. Video materials are included so you can see exactly how Maggie edits her photos.

Registration for these classes has just been posted here. These are the last two classes Maggie is offering in 2012 and class size is limited, so  register now in order to guarantee your spot!  Maggie is offering an early bird discount of $50 if you register before May 31st.

Now for the GIVEAWAY info!  Maggie is giving away a spot in each of these classes on her blog:  Maggie Holmes Designs.  PLUS, a bonus spot in Photography 101 will be given away to one lucky winner who will be chosen at random from one of the blogs on the hop. To be entered to win the bonus spot, leave a comment here before Wednesday, May 23rd.  Note: If you purchase a class and then are drawn as a winner for that class, your registration fee will be refunded. Does not apply to purchases made for previous classes. Be sure to visit and leave a comment at each blog on the hop to increase your chances of winning.  The next two blogs on the list are Megan Hoepnner and Kim Watson. Good luck!

Washi Workshop Blog Hop!

If you've come here for the Washi Workshop Blog Hop, then you're in the right place! If you haven't heard about the Washi Workshop, you'll definitely want to check it out!

This workshop is all about -- you guessed it -- creative ways to use washi tape.  Megan Hoeppner of Creating Keepsakes magazine is full of ideas to share for digging into your stash to make amazing new projects. She'll be joined by a gaggle of talented contributors, including Nicole Samuels, Kelly Purkey, Allison Waken, Sasha Farina, Julie Ebersole, Tina Aszmus, Lisa Truesdell, and Amy Tan.

They'll be providing brand new layouts, mini albums, cards, and other great projects.  You can get more information and sign up for this class on the Studio Calico classroom page.  At the end of this post I'll tell you how you can win a spot in this class!

I have to confess.  Up until about a week ago I was a complete "washi tape virgin".  I had never even touched the stuff!  But all changed when the lovely owner of Queen & Co. (for whom I sometimes do design work) sent me a box of her adorable new Trendy Tapes and asked me to make some cards for an upcoming trade show.  I said, "but of course!" and jumped right in.  After playing with it, I totally get the whole washi/decorative tape craze!!  This stuff is awesome!  It's perfect for an indecisive scrapper and cardmaker like me who moves things around a gazillion times before finally settling on where to put things.  You can remove and reposition it many times.  How cool is that?!?

Here are a few of the cards I made using the the Trendy Tape (aka Washi Tape):

 

{Credit for this washi tape pinwheel idea:  Virginia Nebel}

  

 

I am now officially hooked on this sticky stuff!!!

Megan's Washi Workshop will be filled with many more ideas and lots of inspirational projects.  I get to give away a spot in this class to one lucky blog reader! To win, simply leave a comment here by next Wednesday, May 23rd.  For additional chances to win, visit the the Studio Calico Blog and the Creating Keepsakes Blog.   Then continue along the Blog Hop and leave a comment on these blogs for even more chances to win . . . 

Allison Waken: http://allisonwaken.squarespace.com/
Tina Aszmus:  http://lifelovepaper.com/blog/

Monday, Monday

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope all you moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day.  I'm so behind on sharing layouts and projects I've made this year.  I probably have several dozen projects that I haven't posted here yet.  Here's a pair of paper shoes that I made for Prima's CHA booth back in January:

I made these using my shoe template.   Follow the link for the downloadable shoe template and full instructions.

Have a wonderful week!

More "Clean and Simple" scrapbook pages

Today I'm sharing a couple more layouts that I created for Creating Keepsakes' Simple Scrapbooks issue.  Going "Clean and Simple" is a little bit of a challenge for me.  I have to resist the urge to put more "stuff" and layers on my pages.  But I do like to play with different styles from time to time, so I enjoyed stepping out of my box and creating layouts that were a little different for me.  

This first layout was for an article about using a limited number of supplies -- same as the two page "Age of Innocence" layout I shared earlier (two blog posts down).  Part of the challenge was that I couldn't use any  patterned paper on this layouts.  I made up for the lack of patterned paper by using textured cardstock and colorful premade embellishments.

This next layout was created for an article about scraplifting.  I was given a layout made by the very talented Suzy Plantamura, and I was asked to simplify her layout.  Suzy had made a very lush pool-themed layout with a large wave behind the photos.  This was my simplified version:

Hope your day is "simply" wonderful!

Simple Scrapbooks winner and Creating Keepsakes' NSD Celebration!

Sorry for the delay in announcing the winner of Creating Keepsake's special issue: Simple Scrapbooks. Without further delay, the winner is commenter #24 . . . Patricia!  Congrats Patricia!  I'll email you to get your mailing info.

We are celebrating National Scrapbook Day on both the Creating Keepsakes Blog and the Club CK Blog.  The theme is "scrapbooking around the house."  There are activities, tips, challenges, and prizes, on both blogs.  Each day this week we have been focusing on one room of the house.  I volunteered to do the Living Room challenge on the Club CK blog.  My challenge is to decorate a frame with flowers.  I decorated my frame with a plethora of handmade roses that I made from gorgeous Melissa Frances patterned paper:

Supplies:  Patterned paper and resin frame: Melissa Frances; Small paper flowers and alphabet stickers: Prima; Die-cutting machine: Silhouette; Flower die: Lifestyle Crafts; Punches: EK Success and Family Treasures

I started with a $1.00 naked wood frame from Michael's, painted it white, then covered it with the paper roses I made.  I filled in the empty spots with small white Prima flowers.  You can find this paper rose tutorial (and the original source of this great tutorial) back on my blog post here: paper rose tutorial.  The tutorial shows how to make the roses with flower punches, but I also used a flower die to make some of the roses seen here.

The challenge on Club CK is to Decorate a frame using any type of handmade or premade flowers (or a combination of both).  Because flowers are my favorite embellishment, and I tend to go a little "flower crazy" with my projects.  But you don't have to use nearly as many flowers as I did!  For the full details about the challenge and the great prize you can win, be sure and check out the NSD Countdown/Living Room on Club CK.


What are you all doi

Doilies, doilies, doilies

I have a post up on the Creating Keepsakes Blog about my favorite trend right now: doilies.  From crafts, to home decor, to clothing, doilies are popping up everywhere. Here's a layout I made using doilies that I cut at home using my favorite doily die, made by My Favorite Things (Die-namics High Tea Doily die).

I used products from Crate Paper's lovely and adorable Pretty Party collection (one of my favorites from CHA!)

Be sure and check out the CK Blog to see some inspiring photos showing different ways to use doilies!

Creating Keepsakes: Simple Scrapbooks giveaway!

Creating Keepsakes' newest special issue is out!  Check out Simple Scrapbooks:

Make scrapbooking faster and easier than ever with the hundreds of ideas in this new special issue from Creating Keepsakes, dedicated to scrapbooking simply. Discover quick tips for simplifying your layout designs as well as ideas for scrapbooking with limited products. Plus, with plenty of 2-page layout options, you'll get more photos scrapbooked in less time. It's all in Simple Scrapbooks from Creating Keepsakes.

I don't normally scrap "clean and simple", but it was fun to step outside of my box for this issue and create some pages that were more minimalistic. Here's one of the simple layouts I made for this issue.

As seen in Creating Keepsakes special Simple Scrapbooks issue. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

You can find a copy of this special issue at your local newsstand/bookstore, or you can purchase a copy  from CK's online store:  Simple Scrapbooks.  Here's a link to the online extras where you can find the  downloads, sketches, techniques, etc. that compliment this issue: Simple Scrapbooks Extras.

As usual, the generous people at Creating Keepsakes are allowing me to give away a copy of this special issue.  To be entered to win, simply leave a comment here before Sunday night, May 5th, and tell me what your scrapping style is.  Clean and simple? Shabby Chic? Artsy? Fun and playful? Or something else?  I'll announce the winner next week.

Check out these blogs for more chances to win!

Piradee Talvanna
Patty Cieri 
Megan Hoeppner

Creating Keepsakes May/June issue giveaway winner

The winner of last week's giveway for the May/June issue of Creating Keepsakes is . . . Mandi!  Edited to add:  Mandi was kind enough to let me know that she had already won this issue through one of the other blogs participating in our blog hop last week, so I chose another random winner . . . drumroll . . . Lisa Young!  Congrats Lisa!  I'll send you an email.  Uh-oh . . . I hope you didn't already win it too. :)

For everyone else, please check back tomorrow because I'll be doing another giveaway for Creating Keepsakes' newest special issue!  Woot woot!

Creating Keepsakes May/June issue + giveaway

The May/June issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine is out!  This issue is extra special to me because I had the honor of creating the cover layout:

Here's a closer look at my layout:

Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.

Inside this issue you'll find amazing ideas to spur your creativity, such as

• inspiring ideas to scrapbook family,
• fun ways to use canvas and ribbon on your layouts,
• peeks inside creative spaces to inspire your organization,
• tricks to translate pages to just the size you want, and
• tips to add trendy, baking-inspired items like cupcake liners and baker's twine to your layouts.

Packed with plenty of layouts, techniques, and more, this issue is a must-have!

Here's another layout I created for this issue (the Latest and Greatest column):

I got to play with Pink Paislee's Mistables and October Afternoon Sprinklers.  It was so much fun!

You can find a copy of the May/June issue at your local newsstand/bookstore, or you can purchase a copy  from CK's online store:  May/June 2012 issue.  Here's a link to the online extras where you can find the  downloads and techniques that compliment this issue: May/June online extras.

As usual, the generous people at Creating Keepsakes are allowing me to give away a copy of this issue.  To be entered to win, simply leave a comment here before Sunday night, April 22nd.  I'll announce the winner next week.

How would you like more chances to win?  Check out these blogs: 
Patty Cieri 

Mou Saha

Autumn Baldwin

Good luck! 

Exciting news from Prima!

Prima just announced the arrival of a brand new PRINT publication dedicated to all things 'Prima'.

Introducing: My Prima Place . . .

This  bi-monthly Art-Zine is created by Prima's in-house Editor, Sherry Mendoza.  Each issue will showcase a variety of styles and projects including scrapbooking, card making and mixed media. With beautiful photography and written step-by-step tutorials prepared by Prima's talented international design and education team, My Prima Place will be a great source of inspiration and information. Prima will also be adding projects  from acclaimed guest-artists and designers from all over the world to keep every issue fresh and informative. The Art-Zine will be available in stores and distribution to stores begins this month. Magazine inquiries: sherry@primamarketinginc.com  Sales inquiries: sales@primamarketinginc.com

I'm honored to have one of my layouts in this very first issue.  This is a layout I created for the CHA booth:

You can find my step-by-step instructions for making this layout in Volume 1.  And . . . I'll have other projects in the upcoming issues of My Prima Place.  Keep an eye out for this Art-Zine at your local scrapbook store!

Pinterest Challenge on Creating Keepsakes' Club CK

I have a new addiction: Pinterest.  It all started innocently enough.  I was asked to host a Pinterest challenge on Creating Keepsakes' forum, Club CK.  Prior to that I had casually perused Pinterest a bunch of times, but I hadn't joined or "pinned" anything myself.   When I was given the task of choosing five Pinterest images to share as inspiration for a scrapbook layout challenge, I happily obliged and then I jumped into Pinterest head first.  WOW!!  It's opened up a whole new world for me.  Surprisingly, I find myself spending more time looking at non-scrapbooking things, like vintage loveliness, recipes, home decor, beautiful color combinations, and general crafty things.  I love the idea of getting scrappy inspiration from non-scrappy images.  At any given time now I have a couple different Pinterest tabs open on my computer. Must.step.away.from.the.computer. 

You can see the five Pinterest images I chose here:  Pinterest Challenge on Club CK.
 
This is the sample layout I created based on one of those images.  My eye is always drawn to the gorgeous "ROYGBIV" colors, so I love to create rainbow colored projects.

Supplies:  Patterned Paper: Canvas Corp; Cardstock: Bazzill Basics; Alphabet Stickers: BasicGrey; Baker's Twine:  Jillibean Soup and The Twinery; Paint: DecoArt; Die-cutting machine: Sizzix; Die: My Favorite Things; Pen: American Crafts; Punch: EK Success; Adhesive: Tombow. 

I was inspired by the beautiful rainbow colored tags I found on this Pinterest image:

If you click on the photo, it will take you back to the image on Pinterest.  The original source is  CaliforniaCraft's Etsy store, where you can find an abundance of beautifully colored tags, bakers twine, and other goodies.
 
There's a prize to be won if you play along with the challenge on Club CK, but I realize that it's kind of short notice since the entries must be posted by Monday the 9th.  Sorry for the late notice!  But you can still play along for fun at any time.  I'm definitely planning on using the other non-scrapbooking Pinterest images as inspiration for future scrapbook pages.   

Happy Passover, Happy Easter, and Happy Spring everyone!!

Upcoming Prima Layout Classes at Treasured Memories

To all you Southern California scrapbookers, I wanted to let you know that I will be teaching two Prima layout classes at Treasured Memories in Oak Park, CA (near Westlake Village) on Saturday, April 21st.   Due to popular demand, both layouts will be 2-page spreads.  They will be filled with lots of Prima products and other goodies from my personal craft stash.  

The first layout features Prima's lovely new Songbird line.  We'll make a lush springtime layout brimming with layers and textures.

The second layout features Prima's gorgeous new Nature Garden line. We'll make a 2-page spread displaying 10 mini cards.  Each one of these cards will be it's own little "canvas" that you will embellish with your precious photos, beautiful Prima flowers and embellishments, and vintage lace and a pocket for journaling.

You can find more information about these classes on the Treasured Memories class calendar here:  Treasured Memories.

I hope you can join me!

DCWV Deals

Who doesn't love a bargain?  I sure do!  DCWV has just launched a great new discount website for crafters:  DCWV Deals.  You can find DCWV Stacks, stationary, wall vinyl, Blue Moon beads and more, all at significantly discounted prices.

The wonderful people at DCWV were kind of enough to send me a basket filled with all sorts of fun goodies.   My favorite DCWV product is their glitter cardstock stacks.  I used it to make the roses and leaves on this card:

Other DCWV products used:   Scalloped card pack, Halloween Stack, Quote Stack - card sayings.

You can use this coupon code to get 15% off any purchase at DCWVDeals.com: BLOG41208 (expires 4/30/12)

Have fun shopping!

Graceful? Not so much

Here's another layout I made as part of my guest DT work for Scrapbooking from the Inside Out.  The monthly topic is "grace", so I did a page that talks about how sometimes I'm not very graceful. 

The journaling says:
What I lack in grace, I make up for in zeal and enthusiasm.  I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the most coordinated person in the world. In fact, I’m downright clumsy at times. Robert affectionately calls me “Lucy” (as in ‘I Love Lucy’) because I often cause minor calamities. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to embrace the silly, uncoordinated me. I’m not afraid to let loose and dance, jump and be playful. 

I also made a card with products from the GRACE kit.  I associate the word "grace" with being gracious and showing gratitude.  I'm a big believer in saying a proper "thank you" for acts of kindness bestowed upon us by others.  Often a verbal "thank you" or a "thank you" email will suffice, but I think sometimes it's nice to send a written thank you -- even better -- in a handmade card.   My mom does SO MUCH for me and my family.  Her love and generosity go above and beyond.  Sometimes spoken words just aren't enough to express my gratitude to her.  So I made this thank you card for my mom to thank her for all she does and to tell her how much we love and appreciate her. 

I haven't given it to her yet, so hopefully she won't see this blog post before then. Shhhhhhhhhh . . .

Another SFTIO layout plus the Creating Keepsakes magazine winner

First off, the winner of last week's giveaway for the March/April issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine is comment # 28:  Svetlana.  Congrats, Svetlana!!  I just sent you an email requesting your mailing address.

Before the month is over, I wanted to share another layout I created as Guest Designer for Scrapbooking From the Inside Out ("SFTIO").  The topic this month is "grace", so I created a layout about growing old gracefully.

This page features beautiful Pink Paislee papers and chipboard hexagons.  I made the two light pink flowers using the Begonia Petals punch made by Punch Bunch.  I made the two dark pink roses using one of my favorite paper rose techniques:  Paper flower tutorial.

Have a wonderful week!!