Mou & Lucy

We've yet to introduce all our blog contributors to you, so we thought it a good idea to post a few today. We had intended on writing up one of our Email Monday posts, but we're pushing that post forward because we're awaiting further submissions. If you've been creating with some of our CP goodies, please do pass it along to us at info@cratepaper.com. Your project isn't required to be 100% Crate Paper - 50/50 is totally fine. We encourage you to blend our products with other manufacturers because we realize that most scrapbookers don't scrapbook with just one manufacturer's product. When sending us your submissions, please ensure that your images are at least 500 pixels wide at 72 dpi. We also welcome detail images if you have them and of course, tips and ideas are a feature we especially love. So, if you have a CP project in the works or created one previously, send it our WAY! Those that submit will have a chance to win $50 in Crate Paper product if chosen to be a SGND (we try to select at least two SGND's a month!). Just this morning we emailed someone to be our next SGND - we'll share her with you in a few short days!

You may already be familiar with these two ladies, but we'd like to formally introduce them to you anyway. They're a part of our new blog contributions team here at Crate Paper! Say "hello" to Mou and Lucy!

Mou Saha

Simply beautiful. Mou has done double duty with our Paper Doll "Peyton Ellie" pattern paper. Not only does it serve as the background for her layout, she also punched butterflies from the paper using Martha Stewart's butterfly punch. One of the great things about CP's pattern papers is that they're double-sided; pattern front & solid color back. They can be used together interchangeably and match perfectly.

Designer's Tips & Techniques:

Using the two sides of a double-sided paper gives me variety without having to worry about coordinating paper.

Mou has converted our CP photo tab stickers into "photo hangers" from lines which she drew on our Bloom "Pebbles" pattern paper. We love how simply this layout portrays her birthday boy's big moment - happy birthday!

Designers Tips & Techniques:

Give your title sticker a little lift with foam adhesive for a layered look!

Pattern papers are now popular for hosting a barrage of surface finishes. Even though our papers are without a special finish, you can still dress them up with glitter, markers, gel pens and as Mou has demonstrated above, clear drying dimensional adhesive.

Lucy Edson

Hi Everyone! It seems like I have been crafty all of my life and have always loved color. I started scrapbooking after becoming a mom and watching my photos pile up. I wanted to incorporate my photos into my artwork - I had been doing mixed media for about six years and have sewn and dabbled with stained glass painting and quilting for years, and scrapbooking was a natural progression. I immediately fell in love with scrapbooking and combining techniques from other crafts. I still love mixed media and often create OTP projects combining all of my favorite things; fabric, photos, paint, and stitching.

I have been married for fourteen years to a wonderfully supportive husband, Mark and we have a four year old daughter, Emma, who provides so much inspiration for my artwork. We live in a small town in North Florida and enjoy going to the beach and rivers. My family is first in my life and I love sharing my life with them.

This hobby has certainly changed my life more than I ever imagined. The wonderful friendships and sharing community have presented many great opportunities and I've been able to design and share my love for being creative. I have been fortunate to be a frequent contributor to Somerset Publications with my artwork and tutorials. I can't wait to see what the future holds! You can follow my work on my blog: http://lucyscraftylife.blogspot. I'm so excited to be a part of Crate Paper and working with such wonderful artists.

Echoing the movement of waves, Lucy hand-trimmed and border punched a variety of pattern papers, including our "Down Stream" paper, and sewed them to her layout to create a one-of-a-kind oceanfront view. If you look closely, you'll notice she used a variety of "scallop" style border punches to make her pattern paper pieces feel like waves - we luv this idea!

There are bits and pieces of Crate Paper hiding throughout this layout - we couldn't resist sharing this layout because is absolutely adorable. Check out the way Lucy incorporated some of the layout's design into her photo set-up. We don't normally think of our photos as being something we can always alter when creating a layout. Lucy did so in the most whimsical way and it suits the layout wonderfully.

Vintage meets new is a trend we're all enjoying right now. This last layout from Lucy is a delightful mix of Season used in conjunction with an old sheet of music. The layout houses an old photo of Lucy's from 1978.

Speaking of "Vintage", we're curious to find out what sort of vintagy things you've been playing with lately? Have you incorporated vintage items into your Crate Paper creations? If so, tell us about it! Leave your answer below - inspire us with your ideas!