Happy Anniversary and Is There Such A Thing As Too Many Photos . . .YES!!!

I have so many photos--2 huge boxes printed, that I decided I'm going to try doing Studio J for new ones and traditional scrapbooking for my heritage or printed photos. Well one day when I wokeup with every part of my body hurting (thank you Mr. Fibromonster!), I opened the computer and went to Studio J. I created 12 pages in one afternoon, in my comfy recliner, under a blanket. No moving around, getting up and down to get different things. It was all in one space! Plus I have access to bunches of papers, embellishments, layouts, "inks," stickease, ribbons, and more--FOR FREE!!!

That's right. You can go to My Website and click the links until it takes you to Studio J. You will need to create a password and log in. Once you upload your photos, you have 90 days to play. During that 90 days, you will need to buy one 2-page layout (JUST $6.50 Starting 8/1!) and your 90-day period will start all over again. Plus you'll get a free JPG so you can post your own layouts on your blog or facebook to share with family and friends. There is no software to purchase or memberships to buy. Faster, Simpler, and MUCH EASIER, than the others and I have tried them. You also have access to old papers and layouts.

This first layout was made with Elegant Bouquet. I cannot remember how many paper packs of this one I bought. It was around a few years ago and we were all heart-broken when it was retired.I used it below for photos of when our granddaughter presented us with a beautiful collage she made for us of pictures throughout out 39-years together. On the left page, there is a picture above my husband's head. I wanted to crop it out, but didn't feel like learning how (yes, it does have photo cropping capabilities), so I just built a bouquet of roses with digital My Stickease--just like our paper, cardstock stickers except I don't run out.

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My next layout is with a current and (HURRAH!!!) a future paper pack . . . Victory. This one was my favorite out of the spring/summer book. It is so versatile. You will see from other layouts coming soon that Victory is fantastic for boys, military, camping, or just change a few sheets of paper and you can make it work for girls and as I did--our anniversary. My friend Candice was over and she was going to treat us to dinner. I chose this pack because I like to be different. I also thought it went great with my husband's shirt, my granddaughter's hair, and my jacket. But what to do about our sweaters??? I changed the buttons. When you go to change the buttons, you are given suggested colors. Well, the color I selected isn't one of their choices so they I went outside the box and opted for one that matched the pink of our sweaters almost perfectly.

Our marriage has truly been an "everyday adventure" so the Stickease went perfect with the situation. For journaling, I learned that you have to have a journaling box for each spot you want to "write" on. So in the top right corner, you see I created a little tiny journaling box or journaling spot. In future layouts, you will notice that I got smarter and just left the spot empty and filled in my jounaling later with a marker or pen of my chosing.  

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Studio J was perfect for this layout. I had 3 photos and wanted to use this Cruisin' paper so bad because as you can see--it is PERFECT. However, I didn't want to buy an entire paperpack and Stickease/stamps or a Workshop On The Go for just 3 photos. Plus, I don't print photos in oddball sizes like the one on the left page. I think it really is a magical program. I drag and drop my photos and it enlarges them or shrinks them to the perfect size! No cropping for me. Cruisn' has been retired, but not on Studio J.

 

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One last Studio J layout to share: Roxie. The perfect layout for teens. But I would have rather not shared it with our poor granddaughter hooked up to IV's. However, The Snuggie was a gift to me from my dear friend/like-a-sister Susan--she's up on the right of my blog front page. It is a hug from her when I am hurting and need warmth. BUT Sam couldn't resist those animal stripes and snagged it! When she is in this sort of shape, I have a feeling Susan would rather it be wrapping her up!

 Roxie is such great paper. I really hate to see it go because animal print is still big.plus, look at the plaids and flourishes; Just great. I actually covered the switch plates in Sam's room with Roxie. On this layout, I built some layered Stickease. You cannot tell that they weren't "officially" adjoined." I also left space on the tab on the right page to hand journal. If you want actual thickness to your pages, when you get them home, add some bling, real brads, or real buttons and you're good to go.

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Products Used: Studio J and a journaling pen--how simple is that?

CTMH Spotlight Blog Hop: Circle Cards

If you have arrived from Wendy's Scrapbooking Blog, you are in the right place. If not, I'll get you there. Each person's site follows another like a circle of us sitting around a table, sharing what we have made with you and if you keep clicking on the following name (my page will take you to Elizabeth's), you will wind up back to Wendy, and then back to me.

Because I have listed several new products, I have highlighted some and linked each one to my website. You can click on the bolded/underlinded phrase and see more information on the products and pick some up if you'd like. If you do, however, be sure to check out the "while supplies last" section for some great bargains.

This month's Close To My Heart Spotlight product is Circle Cards. I chose to use the Colonial White circle cards to make my card. There come in packs of 12 cards with matching envelopes and are also available in White Daisy. We also have Z1309 4 1/2" Clear Cards that are packets containing 8 flexible, clear cards, 4 square and 4 scalloped circles along with 8 cello envelopes. Each card has a removable protective coating. These are so pretty when embossed and work beautifully with our double-sided papers.

Since I just got my Cricut Art Philosophy collection in my convention bundles, and the great Roxie papers that I already played with I knew I wanted to use these products. Oh and I had to use the NEW cute little Just Blooms Flutter Paper Shapes--Love them. Lots of elements and this is what I came up with, a special card for someone special!

The big black center of the left flower is a velvet button I had laying out my craft table. It was huge and I told some friends I would find something to use it for. It made a great coneflower! Everything else is Close To My Heart Products and most are new.

I cut the Rose at 5 1/2" and the Coneflower at 6" on the Cricut. There is a Tulip-colored belly band underneath the flowers, with belt loops on each end to hold the ribbon. that I believe I cut at 3 1/2". The ticket was easy as the carrier sheet that holds the stamps tells you what size to cut it--1 inch.

We have a stamp that matches the leaves, but to stamp them, I would have had to cut them approximately 3/4." I learned why you cannot cut the leaves that small; their stem turns out less than threadlike and it pretty much disintegrates when you take the leaves off the cutting mat. I think my leaves were cut at 2." Then I just took a swirly stamp and stamped a design randomly all over them. Since our stamps are 100% clear, you they are super easy to stamp after you have cut them out on the Cricut. If your cut image it too small to hold with your finger and stamp, hold it with a piercing tool.

Oh and the shimmer on the rose--that's my favorite--our own glimmer spray/mist. Mix it to match your projects, using our Spray pens, Create-A-Shade Pearl Paint, and Re-inkers. Even mix re-inkers to get different colors--the possibilities are endless and very inexpensive since you only use a few drops of reinker, pearl paint and water. You receive a recipe card in with the Spray Pens showing quantities you use, and measuring marks are right on the pen. If you want more, or less shimmer don't want any at all and just want a spray mist, omit the pearl paint.

SUPPLIES USED
Z1352 4 1/2" Colonial White Circle Cards
X7140B Roxie Level 2 Paper Pack
X5754 Creme Brulee Cardstock
Z1686 Cricut Art Philosophy Collection
D1491 Hooray Bouquet (click on title to see all stamps in set)
Z1615 Designer Ribbon Red Collection
Z1463 Just Blooms Flutter Paper Shapes
Z1333 Mocha Opaques (pearl for center of Rose)
Z1263 Bitty Sparkles (for Butterfly Body and dotting the "i" on ticket greeting)
Z553 Bonding Memories Chisel Tip Glue Pen
Z341 Memory Book Mini Glue Dots
Z1151 3-D Foam Tape
Z1114 Piercing Tool (great for an "extra" hand or finger)
Z534 Micro-Tip Scissors
Z1380 Spray pens
Z1039 Create-A-Shade Pearl Paint
Z697 Round Sponge (for shading ink on my flowers)
Exclusive Inks Z2262 Honey Reinker
Exclusive Inks Stamp Pads
   Z2114 Cocoa   Z2153 Sweet Leaf    Z2166 Tulip    Z2167 Creme Brulee

Believe it or not, this was a quick and pretty easy card to make. It took longer convincing myself that I couldn't play with all of my new toys and cleaning up my table afterwards. I had papers, tools, and embellishments everywhere! I tell you, it is just as hard for me when the new goodies arrive as it is for you when you get a new bag, to get back to everyday responsibilities than it is to sit right down and play!

Now it's time to leave my site and go see what the other creative ladies in the month's CTMH Spotlight Blog have created with Cricle Cards.

Next on the list . . . hop on over to see what  Elizabeth at Broken Treasures made.