Upcoming Tutorial + Extras

We've simply have not done enough sharing of the projects we've been receiving from our blog contribution team these last few weeks. We thought today might be a good day to do a lil' catch'en up, so we've reserved this post exclusively for them! They've put together some really great ideas for you, including an upcoming tutorial from Lucy Edson which will premier the week of June 7th. We've posted a sneak peek from her tutorial below...well, technically it's not a sneak peek, it's the actual project. We couldn't resist showing it off cause it's unbelievably cool!! You'll definitely want to be here the week of June 7th to find out how she made this phenomenal canvas based collage. Also posted today are a couple of layouts from two of our talented team members, Suzanne Sergi & Emily Spahn. They've included tips and techniques to go along with their projects, so be sure to check them out before you leave today! Have a great weekend you guys - we'll return Monday with our next SGND :)

Lucy Edson :: Brook, Pink Plum & Brook Collections

Here's the canvas project we spoke about earlier on..what do you think? We told Lucy that we wanted to replicate this project for ourselves - never have we seen our products used this way before! We can't wait to see how the tutorial comes together..we're sure it will be great because the project is pure eye candy - look at all that paper!!

Lucy Edson :: Paper doll & Brook Collections

Designer Tips & Techniques:

My daughter has taken an interest in crafting and wanted to learn to stitch, so I punched stitching holes in a tag for her to practice on. To my delight, she allowed me to use it on my layout, along with photos of her work in progress.

I so love all the gorgeous colors in all the Crate lines and had fun combining border stickers from both the Brook and Paper Doll collections to form borders along the top and bottom of my layout. And more mixing with the embellishments by adding in a bit of Pink Plum, too! I created some dimension and texture by layering flowers over a lace doily and a butterfly on top. I kept with the stitching theme by adding lace, buttons and stitching to finish it off.

Emily Spahn :: Pink Plum Collection

Designer Tips & Techniques:

I knew the colors of the "Pink Plum" collection would work wonderfully with the photo of my daughter's first smile. I explain in my journaling that if I had known she was going to smile, I would have chosen a different outfit to put her in that day! But the pink and red onesie was a perfect match to the Pink Plum patterned papers.

When I began this layout, I envisioned the title directly beneath the journaling on the right. However, after playing around with a number of different alphabets, I realized that I had really not left enough room to put a proper title on the right (ever done this?), so instead I moved it under the photo. In the end, I liked this placement much better, as it left more room for me to use some of the coordinating Pink Plum diecuts on the page. I tend to be a very simply scrapper, and embellishments are a bit scary to me at times! But these diecuts fell into place perfectly. I raised them up from the page to add a bit of dimension. I also used a paper piercing template to add a little detail under the photo and above the journaling. Finally, as I tend to do on most my layouts, I inked the edges of everything!!

Suzanne Sergi :: Pink Plum Collection

Designer Tips & Techniques:

I'm all about layers, and texture on my pages! I love creating border strips along the bottom of my pages. When I first saw the beautiful floral print in the Pink Plum collection, I knew Prima flowers would be a perfect combination! This snapshot of my little girl captured her beauty, and playful personality. I knew I wanted my layout to reflect this. I created my own "scallop butterfly" to add that bit of playfulness to the page. I'm always trying to incorporate more texture to my handmade elements, so my Swiss Dots Folder from Cuttlebug is always near by! I added more dimension by creating more layers onto the butterfly. I was going to use stick pins for my butterfly, but found a perfect replacement on the designer diecuts sheet in this collection. Take a look at the paper embellishments; you'll find creative and fun ways to use them on your projects! Also, I'm all about the ribbon right now. I love twisting and turning it on my pages to add a bit of whimsy to my pages!