May Creative Weekly :: Summer Splash!

Because "The Pier" is the first beach worthy, backyard-fun collection that Crate has ever crafted, this week's Creative Weekly is all about warm, sunny days spent at our favorite "splash" destinations with family, friends, neighbors and food filled coolers while soaking in the sun's rays and relaxing the day away! Sounds almost perfect, doesn't it? Our designers swam with the theme and have a great assortment of ideas awaiting you using items from the Summer-tastic collection, cards and layouts included! Come take a glimpse at Summer in the making...

A "Summer Splash" challenge is on!! The prize this time around is the same as last month's, The Pier in it's entirety, but this time, we're throwing in a couple of American Crafts surprise basics!! Yep, it's a mighty big prize!! The specifics are as follows...

- Fresh Handmade Wares encouraged - at least 75% Crate Paper (old and new/three product minimum)

- Original Design following this week's CW theme; Summer Splash

- Winner & Runner-Ups published at Crate blog & Crate's Pinterest Board; Creative Weekly Challenge

- Open to most project types; layout, mini album, card, etc. One project per submission.

- Submission deadline is June 4, 2013 (5:00pm Central Time) - cpblog@cratepaper.com

- Winner announced June 6th, 2013. Late Submissions not accepted.

- Prize: The Pier {all of it} + basics!

Stephanie Dagan

This new collection is really surprising. I didn't think I could use colors like these to create a beach themed layout. Amazingly, it lends a soft, soothing atmosphere that is ideal for documenting days spent enjoying the comfort of the warm sun, and inviting waters. To coincide with the collection, I slightly retouched my photos to give them a vintage feel and also, to soften the colors.

Jeanette Lee

When I think of a perfect Summer beach outing, I envision the glistening sun, clear blue skies and sandy beaches. We happened to go to the beach over the school break and it was all that I had imagined it to be. I created a ripple effect using my stamps, splattered different shades of blue mists and place random gold sequins on the page to represent that perfect Sunny day we had at the beach. I used The Pier's chipboard elements, accents from the ephemera pack and built layers around the photos.

I personally feel it's important to make sense of embellishments I choose to place on my layouts. One such example is the "You Number 23" tag that you see on the top right hand corner. I knew I wanted to use it, but the number served as a distraction since it had nothing to do with the photo or story. So, I added a plus sign in between 2 and 3, creating some interest while complementing it with the title 'You are 5'.

Katie Ehmann

Summer is my favorite season, but in Michigan, it's only here for what seems like a few weeks. Luckily, we went to Florida in February and got to spend some time at the beach. The Pier collection is perfect for beachy photos, and the slide frames add the perfect element to make smaller photos pop. Even though my layout has a lot of patterned papers and embellishments (could the embellishments be any cuter?!), my photos still take center stage with the slide frames. Plus, the fun sizes allowed me to add four photos and still keep things balanced!